JUL23
1883 - Birth of Oscar M. Westover, American aviator, major general and 4th chief of the United States Army Air Corps
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Westover
1886 - Birth of Arthur Whitten Brown, British navigator of the 1st successful non-stop transatlantic flight along with John Alcock.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Whitten_Brown
1892 - Birth of Vladimir Iakovlevitch Klimov, Russian aircraft engine designer.
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Klimov
1892 - Birth of William Victor "Struggy" Strugnell, British WWI flying ace who also served in WWII
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Strugnell - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/england/strugnell.php
1893 - Birth of Cleo Francis Pineau, American WWI flying ace, motorcycle racer, founder of Williamsport-Lycoming County Airport and businessman.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleo_Pineau - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/usa/pineau.php
1894 - Birth of Corliss Champion Moseley, American United States Army aviator, WWI fighter pilot and later civilian trainer. Winer of the inaugural Pulitzer Air Race.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._C._Moseley
1899 - Birth of Guy Wilbraham Wareing, British WWI flying ace
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Wareing - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/england/wareing.php
1899 - Birth of James McDonald, Scottish WWI flying ace
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_McDonald_(aviator) - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/scotland/mcdonald2.php
1905 - 1st flight of the Wright Flyer No.III, 1st fully controllable and practical version of the original Flyer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_Flyer_III
1908 - The Blériot VIIIbis, French expemimental monoplane , is destroyed in a crash.
http://www.aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=9617
1913 - With his biplane fitted with electric lights on the wings and his landing area outlined with small blazes, H. W. Blakeley makes the 1st night flight in Canada at the Dominion Livestock Show and Fair at Brandon, Manitoba.
1921 - Birth of Lionel Peter Twiss, British pilot, who held the World Air Speed Record as the 1st man to fly at a speed greater than 1,000 mph.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Twiss
1926 - Death of Kurt Wüsthoff, German WWI fighter ace, 2nd youngest winner of Germany's highest decoration for valor, the Pour le Merite or Blue Max, Aerobatic pilot and flying advertiser. Died from injuries after a plane crash while performing aerobatics a plane built by Ernst Udet in a memorial show to Max Immelmann in Dresden.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_W%C3%BCsthoff - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/wusthoff.php
1927 - Birth of Elliot McKay See, Jr., USN test pilot and NASA astronaut.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elliot_See
1928 - 1st flight of the 3rd Breguet Bre 19 TR 'Bidon' (Later 19 TF Super Bidon), French 2-3 seat raid sesquiplane aircraft.
http://aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=9873
1930 - Death of Glenn Hammond Curtiss, American aviation pioneer and a founder of the U.S. aircraft industry
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenn_H._Curtiss
1932 - Death of Alberto Santos-Dumont, Brazilian early pioneer of aviation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Santos-Dumont
1937 - The International Military Aircraft Competition at Dübendorf near Zürich provides the picturesque venue for the 1st major demonstration of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and the Dornier Do-17 MV1.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_Bf_109#Prototypen
1937 - 1st flight of the Lioré et Olivier LeO H-470, French 4 engines (mounted in two tractor-pusher pairs on the parasol wing) transport and patrol flying boat, military version of the LeO H-47 prototype.
http://aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=148
1938 - The Civil Air Guard, in which the UK government subsidized training fees for members of flying clubs, in return for future military call-up commitments, is annouced.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Air_Guard
1940 - 1st flight of The Yakovlev Yak-7, Soviet fighter trainer developed from the earlier Yak-1 fighter, but converted into a "heavy" fighter.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakovlev_Yak-7
1941 – During Operation Substance, Italian high-level and torpedo bombers attack a resupply convoy of six fast store ships bound for Malta escorted by a British naval forces including the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal. The high-level bombers are ineffective and Fairey Fulmars from Ark Royal shoot down two of them, but the six torpedo bombers fatally damage the destroyer HMS Fearless and cripple the light cruiser HMS Manchester.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Substance
1941 - Death of José Abelardo Quiñones Gonzáles, Peruvian military aviator and national aviation hero, crashing his North American NA-50 "TORITO" into an Ecuadorian battery during the Battle of Zarumilla in the Ecuadorian–Peruvian war.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Qui%C3%B1ones_Gonz%C3%A1les
1942 - Death of Horace Clyde Balsley, 1st American shot down during WWI.
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=57769450
1947 - 1st flight of The Lavochkin La-160 'Strelka', 1st Soviet swept winged jet fighter research prototype.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavochkin_La-160
1951 - Death of W. Wallace Kellett, American WWI pilot and aircraft manufacturer, founder of The Kellett Autogiro Corporation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kellett_Autogiro_Corporation
1952 - 1st flight of The Fouga Magister (company designation CM.170), French two-seat jet trainer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fouga_Magister - http://aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=1778
1954 - Cathay Pacific Douglas DC-4 from Bangkok to Hong Kong is shot down by the People's Liberation Army Air Force Lavochkin La-7 fighters in the South China Sea near Hainan Island. Ten people died, leaving eight survivors. After the incident, Cathay Pacific received an apology and compensation from the People's Liberation Army Air Force. It was apparently mistaken for a Nationalist plane.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathay_Pacific_VR-HEU - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1954_Cathay_Pacific_Douglas_DC-4_shootdown
1955 - 1st flight of The PZL TS-8 Bies, Polish trainer aircraft, 2 seat All-metal low-wing cantilever monoplane.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PZL_TS-8_Bies
1956 - 1st flight of The Dassault Étendard II, French prototype fighter aircraft initially developed as a follow-on project to the Dassault Mystère series.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dassault_%C3%89tendard_II
1956 - Frank Kendall "Pete" Everest sets with the Bell X-2 rocket plane a world aircraft speed record of Mach 2.87, just over 1,900 mph, at 20,802 m..
http://www.astronautix.com/thisday/july23.htm
1958 - The Breguet 1001 Taon, French prototype jet strike fighter aircraft, broke its own international speed record for a 1,000 km (620 mi) closed circuit, achieving a speed of 1,075 km/h (667.98 mph)..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breguet_Taon - http://aviafrance.com/aviafrance1.php?ID=986
1958 - 1st full transition from vertical flight to horizontal flight of The Vertol VZ-2 (or Model 76), American tiltrotor research aircraft.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vertol_VZ-2
1961 - Birth of Michael J. "Mike" Durant, American Helicopter pilot and author who was held prisoner after a raid in Mogadishu.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Durant - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Gothic_Serpent#The_Battle_of_Mogadishu
1962 - Telstar relays the 1st publicly transmitted, live trans-Atlantic television program, featuring Walter Cronkite.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telstar#In_service
1963 - Modified Aérospatiale SA 321 Super Frelon helicopter break the FAI absolute helicopter world speed record with a speed of 217.7 mph.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A%C3%A9rospatiale_Super_Frelon
1963 - Death of Joseph Vuillemin, French WWI fighter ace and high ranking officer until WWII.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Vuillemin - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/france/vuillemin.php
1968 - El Al Flight 426 operated by a Boeing 707-358C on route from London to Tel Aviv via Rome, is hijacked by three members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine shortly after take-off from Rome-Fiumicino airport and forcibly diverted to Algiers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Al_Flight_426
1971 - 1st flight of The GAF Nomad, Australian twin-engine turboprop, high-winged, STOL aircraft.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GAF_Nomad
1972 – Launch of Landsat 1, 1st US Earth-resources satellite.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landsat_1
1973 - Japan Air Lines Flight 404 Boeing 747-246B is hijacked by Palestinian and Japanese terrorists.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_Air_Lines_Flight_404
1973 - Death of Edward Vernon Rickenbacker, American WWI fighter ace, WWII pilot and longtime head of Eastern Air Lines.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Rickenbacker - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/usa/rickenbacker.php
1973 - Ozark Air Lines Flight 809 Fairchild-Hiller FH-227 crashed while landing at St. Louis International Airport, killing 38 of the 44 persons aboard. Windshear was cited as the cause.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozark_Air_Lines_Flight_809
1977 - Death of Hans Karl Müller, German WWI flying ace.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Karl_M%C3%BCller - http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/muller2.php
1980 - Launch of Soyuz 37, Soviet manned space flight to the Salyut 6 space station, carrying Pham Tuân, 1st Asian and 1st Vietnamese cosmonaut, into space.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soyuz_37
1980 - 1st flight of the Eurocopter HH-65 Dolphin (SA.366 Dauphin 2), re-engined version for the US coast guard of the French-built Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin II twin-engined, single main rotor, MEDEVAC-capable Search and Rescue (SAR) helicopter.
1981 - A new helicopter altitude record is set by Charles Praether, flying an Augusta A109A at a height of 6,096 metres (20,000 feet) at Philadelphia.
http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1981/1981%20-%202596.html
1983 - Air Canada Flight 143 Boeing 767-200 runs out of fuel on its way from Montreal to Edmonton. Ground crew at the Montreal airport miscalculated the flight's length and did not put enough fuel in it. Pilot Robert Pearson, an amateur glider pilot, lands the plane safely at Gimli, making the incident famous as the "Gimli Glider"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimli_Glider
1993 - China Northwest Airlines Flight 2119 BAe 146-300 right-side flap actuator failed on rotation, causing the flaps to retract. Unable to get airborne, the plane overran the runway and crashed into a lake at Yinchuan Airport, killing 55 over 108.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Northwest_Airlines_Flight_2119
1994 - STS 65, Space Shuttle program mission of Columbia and Spacelab (SL) flight, is back on earth
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-65
1998 - Death of Mario Squarcina, Italian Aviator, WWII fighter pilot, leader of the 'Diavoli Rossi' (red devils) Italian military aerobatic team, who created the 'Frecce Tricolori'.
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_Squarcina
1999 – ANA Flight 61 Boeing 747-481D is hijacked in Tokyo, Japan. Pilot Captain Naoyuki Nagashima was killed by the Hijacker.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANA_Flight_61
1999 - Launch of STS-93, Space Shuttle Columbia mission (Eileen Collins becoming the 1st female shuttle Commander on this flight) to deploy The Chandra X-ray Observatory, space telescope.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-93 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chandra_X-ray_Observatory - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eileen_Collins
2000 - Death of Mars Zakirovich Rafikov, Soviet fighter pilot and Cosmonaut.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Rafikov
2001 - Launch of GOES 12 (GOES-M), American weather satellite.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GOES_12
2006 - Death of Charles Eldon Brady, Jr.,American physician, USN pilot and NASA astronaut.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_E._Brady,_Jr.
2008 - Death of Richard (Dick) H. Johnson, American glider pilot, aeronautical engineer and prolific writer of articles for gliding magazines, while flying a Ventus A glider from a Midlothian, Texas airport. Probably from a heart attack.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Johnson_(glider_pilot)
2010 - The Qinetiq Zephyr, lightweight solar-powered UAV designed for use in observation and communications relay, sets an endurance record of 336 hours and 22 minutes (2 weeks / 14 days).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qinetiq_Zephyr
2011 - Death of Nguyen Cao Ky, chief of the Vietnam Air Force and prime minister of South Vietnam. Commanding Tân Son Nh?t Air Base, he became the 1st pilot for South Vietnam's Presidential Liaison Officer, which was organizing to infiltrate military intelligence teams into North Vietnam. He recruited pilots from his command for this intelligence program of the CIA, and flew some of the missions himself after being trained by an expert pilot from Air America.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nguyen_Cao_Ky
2012 - Death of Dr. Sally Kristen Ride, American physicist and NASA astronaut. Ride joined NASA in 1978, and in 1983 became the 1st American woman—and then-youngest American—to enter space.