July 30: George Crockett Strong

July 30: Brigadier General George Crockett Strong, who led the brigade attack on Confederate Fort Wagner just weeks earlier, as depicted in the movie “Glory,” and was slightly wounded, contracted tetanus and died on this date in 1863.

July 27: Mary Marr Platt

July 27: Mary Marr Platt, movie producer, production designer, and screenwriter, with “The Last Picture Show,” “Paper Moon,” “Bad News Bears,” “Terms of Endearment” and others to her credit, died on this date in 2011.

July 24: Townsend Harris

July 24: On this date in 1986, a monument to Townsend Harris, who opened Japan to the West in 1858 and is still revered in that country, was dedicated.

July 22: Schuyler Hamilton

July 22: Schuyler Hamilton, grandson of Alexander Hamilton, was born on this date in 1822; he would fight in the Mexican and Civil Wars, rising to the rank of major general.

July 21: Patrizio Piatti

July 21: Patrizio Piatti, Italian-trained sculptor who created and proudly signed the spectacular monument to Jane Griffith, and who himself lies in an unmarked grave, died on this date in 1888.