Naval History and Heritage Command

During the First Barbary War, the frigate, USS Constellation, commanded by Capt. Alexander Murray, defeats nine Corsair gunboats off Tripoli, and sinks two.

During the Korean War, USS Valley Forge (CV 45) carrier air strikes hit a fuel or an ammunition train near Kumchon, North Korea.

Adm. Forrest P. Sherman, the 12th Chief of Naval Operations, dies while at Naples, Italy.

Four Navy divers (Lt. Cmdr. Robert Thompson, Gunners Mate First Class Lester Anderson, Chief Quartermaster Robert A. Barth, and Chief Hospital Corpsman Sanders Manning) submerge in Sealab I at a depth of 192 feet, 39 miles off Hamilton, Bermuda for an intended three weeks. The crew surfaces early on July 31 due to an oncoming tropical storm.

USS Julius A. Furer (DEG 6) is launched at Bath Iron Works, Maine. The Brook-class frigate is named in honor of Rear Adm. Julius A. Furer, a naval constructor, inventor, administrator, and author who completed the study Administration of the Navy Department in World War II.

USS Ramage (DG 61) is commissioned at Boston, Mass. The 11th ship in the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers, the ship is named to honor Vice Adm. Lawson P. Ramage, a Medal of Honor recipient from World War II. Her homeport is Naval Station Norfolk.

In a ceremony presided over by President Donald J. Trump, the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) is commissioned in a ceremony at Naval Station Norfolk attended by 10,000 people.  CVN-78 honors the 38th president of the United States and pays tribute to his lifetime of service in the Navy, in the U.S. government and to the nation. It is the first new carrier design placed in service since USS Nimitz was commissioned more than 42 years earlier (May 3, 1975).