Canadian runner and activist (died 1981)

Terry Fox

Terrance Stanley Fox was a Canadian athlete, humanitarian, and cancer research activist. In 1980, having had one leg amputated due to cancer, he embarked on a cross-Canada run to raise money and awareness for cancer research. The annual Terry Fox Run, first held in 1981, has grown to involve millions of participants in over 60 countries and is the world's largest one-day fundraiser for cancer research; over C$1 billion has been raised in his name through the Terry Fox Research Institute as of February 2026.

Born

1958

July 28

Died

1981

Era

1950s

Country

—

About

Terry, in brief

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Life timeline

Key dates

1958 Born
1981 Died

Also on July 28

What else happened on this day, through history

1364 Troops of the Republic of Pisa and the Republic of Florence clash in the Battle of Cascina.
1402 Ottoman-Timurid Wars: Battle of Ankara: Timur, ruler of Timurid Empire, defeats forces of the Ottoman Empire sultan Bayezid I.
1540 Henry VIII of England marries his fifth wife, Catherine Howard.
1571 La Laguna encomienda, known today as the Laguna province in the Philippines, is founded by the Spaniards as one of the oldest encomiendas (provinces) in the country.

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The world in 1958

When Terry arrived

april 14 The Soviet satellite Sputnik 2 falls from orbit after a mission duration of 162 days. This was the first spacecraft to carry a living animal, a female dog named Laika, who likely lived only a few hours.
april 21 United Air Lines Flight 736 collides with a United States Air Force fighter jet near Arden, Nevada in what is now Enterprise, Nevada.
april 26 Final run of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's Royal Blue from Washington, D.C., to New York City after 68 years, the first U.S. passenger train to use electric locomotives.
april 4 The CND peace symbol is displayed in public for the first time in London.

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Same-day contemporaries

Also born on July 28

Alberto Fujimori 1938–2024 Peruvian engineer, academic, and politician, President of Peru (died 2024) Charles Dillon Perrine 1867–1951 American-Argentinian astronomer (died 1951) Francis Veber 1937– French director and screenwriter Harry Kane 1993– English footballer Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis 1929–1994 American journalist and socialite, 37th First Lady of the United States (died 1994) Lori Loughlin 1964– American actress Mike Bloomfield 1943–1981 American guitarist and songwriter (born 1943) Russ Jackson 1936– Canadian football player and coach Santiago Calatrava 1951– Spanish architect and engineer, designed the Athens Olympic Sports Complex

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Same-year contemporaries

Also born in 1958

Adrian Newey 1958– English aerodynamicist and engineer Andy Reid 1958– American football player and coach Anna Politkovskaya 1958–2006 Russian journalist and activist (died 2006) Betsy DeVos 1958– American businesswoman and politician, 11th Secretary of Education Caryl Phillips 1958– Caribbean-English author and playwright Charlie Kaufman 1958– American director, producer, and screenwriter Chris Columbus 1958– American director, producer, and screenwriter Hugo Sánchez 1958– Mexican footballer, coach, and manager Jennifer Saunders 1958– English actress, comedian and screenwriter

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Keep going

More to explore

Terry's birthday July 28 Terry's zodiac Leo When Terry arrived 1958