July 2: A lab experiment at Sylvania Electric Products results in an explosion.

July 8: The mountain Gasherbrum II is first ascended.

July 10: The British House of Lords defeats the abolition of the death penalty.

July 16: With the closing of its "Big Tent" show in Pittsburgh, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus announces all subsequent circuses will be "arena shows" due to changing economics.

July 24: At New York City's Copacabana Club, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis perform their last comedy show together (their act started on July 25, 1946).

July 25: 72 kilometers (45 mi) south of Nantucket Island, the Italian ocean liner SS Andrea Doria sinks after colliding with the Swedish ship SS Stockholm in heavy fog, killing 51.

July 26: Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalizes the Suez Canal sparking international condemnation.

July 30: A Joint Resolution of Congress is signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, authorizing "In God We Trust" as the U.S. national motto.

July 31: Cricket: Jim Laker sets an extraordinary record at Old Trafford in the fourth Test between England and Australia, taking 19 wickets in a first class match (the previous best was 17). (source: Wikipedia)