In honor of Roman dictator Julius Caesar, the month of July was named after him. He helped develop the Julian calendar, which is the precursor to the Gregorian calendar that we use today. Before and during Julius Caesar’s lifetime, July was known as “Quintilis,” which means  “the fifth month” because the year used to start in March, and January and February were not yet part of the calendar.

After he was assassinated in 44 BC, the Romans renamed July, his birth month, in his honor.