Events in History
- 3114 BC According to the Lounsbury correlation, the start of the Mayan calendar
- 523 St John I begins his reign as Catholic Pope
- 1099 Raniero elected as Pope Paschal II
- 1326 Neopagan religious figure Aradia de Toscano initiated into a Dianic witchcraft cult, goes on to found tradition of Stregheria (according to Wicca writer Raven Grimassi)
- 1415 King Henry V of England lands his army at the mouth of Seine River in France
- 1516 The Treaty of Noyon between France and Spain is signed. Francis recognises Charles's claim to Naples, and Charles recognises Francis's claim to Milan.
Victory in Battle
1521 Spanish conquistadors under Hernán Cortés capture Aztec Emperor Cuauhtémoc in Tenochtitlan marking the end of the Aztec Empire
Cuauhtémoc
Hernán Cortés
- 1536 Buddhist monks from Kyōto's Enryaku Temple set fire to 21 Nichiren temples throughout Kyoto in the Tenbun Hokke Disturbance. (Traditional Japanese date: July 27, 1536).
Event of Interest
1553 Spanish theologian and physician Michael Servetus arrested as a heretic in Geneva (put on trial the next day, eventually found guilty of heresy and burned to death)
John Calvin
- 1578 Duke Frans of Anjou recognized as protector of Netherlands
Event of Interest
1608 John Smith's story of Jamestown's first days submitted for publication
John Smith
Event of Interest
1624 Cardinal Richelieu appointed Chief Minister of France by Louis XIII
Louis XIII
Event of Interest
1630 Ferdinand II dismisses supreme commander Albrecht von Wallenstein
Ferdinand II
Albrecht von Wallenstein
Victory in Battle
1704 Battle of Blenheim (Second Battle of Höchstädt): A combined British, German and Dutch army led by John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, decisively beats the French and Bavarians
John Churchill
Event of Interest
1792 Revolutionaries imprison French royals, including Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette
- 1799 British fleet under Lord Seymour overthrows Suriname
- 1814 Anglo-Dutch Treaty: Cape of Good Hope formally ceded to the British and transporting of slaves prohibited
- 1852 Steamer "Atlantic" crossing Lake Erie from Buffalo to Detroit collides with a fishing boat, sinks with 250 aboard
- 1864 Battle of Deep Bottom, Virginia (Strawberry Plains) & Fussell's Mill, Virginia
- 1868 Earthquakes kill 25,000 & causes $300 million damages in Peru & Ecuador
Event of Interest
1886 John A. Macdonald uses a silver hammer to pound a gold spike, officially completing the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway in British Columbia
John A. Macdonald
Victory in Battle
1898 US forces under Admiral George Dewey captures Manila during Spanish–American War
George Dewey
Meeting of Interest
1908 King Edward VII of Great Britain meets with Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria at Ischl; the King tries to persuade the Emperor to advise Germany against aggressive (anti-British) policies
Edward VII
A Royal Fantasy!
1913 Otto Witte, German acrobat and fantasist, is purportedly crowned King of Albania
Learn More
- 1913 Invention of stainless steel by Harry Brearley of Sheffield, England
- 1914 -14] German army occupies forts at Liege
- 1914 Carl Wickman begins Greyhound, the 1st US bus line, in Minnesota
- 1917 A revolt in Catalonia, the province in northeast Spain that has long seen itself as independent
- 1918 Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW) established as a public company in Germany
Event of Interest
1920 Flag designed by Marcus Garvey consisting of three horizontal stripes of red, black and green is adopted as the pan-African flag
Marcus Garvey
Event of Interest
1921 Simon Kaufman & Marc Connelly's comedic play "Dulcy" premieres in NYC
Marc Connelly
Event of Interest
1923 Gustav Stresemann becomes premier of German coalition government
Gustav Stresemann
Appointment of Interest
1923 Turkish National Congress selects Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Pasja as President
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Event of Interest
1932 Adolf Hitler refuses President von Hindenburg's proposal to become vice-chancellor of Germany
Adolf Hitler
Battle of Interest
1940 Battle of Britain: Hermann Goering's "Adlertag" (Eagle Day) offensive happens, intending to destroy the Royal Air Force; 47-48 German aircraft shot down, the RAF loses 25 planes
Hermann Goering
- 1941 Red army evacuates Smolensk, Russia, as the German army advances
Manhattan Project
1942 The 'Manhattan Project' commences, under the direction of US General Leslie Groves: its aim - to deliver an atomic bomb
Learn More
Event of Interest
1944 Allied generals Bernard Montgomery, Miles Dempsey and Omar Bradley discuss a future breakthrough in the European theatre during World War II
Miles Dempsey
Omar Bradley
Bernard Montgomery
- 1946 Britain diverts illegal emmigrants bound for Palestine to Cyprus
Event of Interest
1950 US President Harry Truman gives military aid to Vietnamese regime of Bảo Đại
Bảo Đại
Harry Truman
Event of Interest
1953 US President Dwight Eisenhower establishes Government Contract Compliance Committee
Dwight D. Eisenhower
- 1954 21st NFL Chicago All-Star Game: Detroit 31, All-Stars 6 (93,470)
- 1959 US Military satellite Discoverer 5 launches into polar orbit
- 1960 Central African Republic & Chad proclaim independence from France
- 1960 USSR withdraws advisors from China
- 1961 Construction of the Berlin Wall begins in East Germany
- 1963 US Customs agents confiscate 21 gold coins from Witte Museum, San Antonio, Texas
- 1964 1st broadcast by Trans World Radio on Bonaire
- 1970 Pamphlet bombs which scatter revolutionary African National Congress propaganda leaflets explode in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban and Port Elizabeth, South Africa
- 1975 Bayardo Bar attack: Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteers carry out a gun and bomb attack on a pub in Belfast frequented by Ulster Volunteer Force commanders; 4 Protestant civilians and 1 UVF member are killed
- 1976 South Africa pledges support for a negotiated settlement in Rhodesia
- 1977 1st test glide of space shuttle
- 1977 Randy Bachman quits BTO, they disband
- 1978 Bomb attack in Beirut, 175 killed
- 1980 Suriname president Johan Ferrier ousted
- 1980 Tatyana Kazankina of USSR sets 1.5k woman's record (3:52.47) in USSR
- 1984 Morocco & Libya sign "Arabic-African Union" treaty
- 1985 South African Defence Force soldiers, travelling in a convoy of more than ten armoured vehicles, surrounded the Thaba-Juluba high school in Soweto and arrest 200 students during a clampdown on school boycotts
- 1986 KRE-AM in Berkeley CA changes call letters to KBLX (now KBFN)
- 1987 Cards outfield sets record of no putouts in a 4-2 in 13 inning
- 1987 Jackie Joyner-Kersee ties world record with 24'5½" jump
- 1988 Palace of Auburn Hills in Detroit opens
- 1988 Ronald J Dossenbach sets world record for pedaling across Canada from Vancouver, BC to Halifax, NS in 13 days, 15 hr, 4 min
- 1989 2 hot-air balloons crash at Alice Springs, Australia, 13 killed
- 1989 US space shuttle STS-28 lands
- 1991 US Vice-President Dan Quayle makes a speech attacking lawyers
- 1993 Hotel in Nakhon Ratchasima Thailand, collapses, 114 killed
- 1993 US Court of Appeals rules congress must save all E-Mail
- 1994 Train crash in Tbilisi, Georgia, 24 killed
- 1996 Microsoft releases Internet Explorer 3.0
- 1997 South Park's first episode is aired.
- 2004 156 Congolese Tutsi refugees massacred at the Gatumba refugee camp in Burundi
- 2004 Black Friday crackdown by NSS on a peaceful protest in the capital city of Maldives, Malé.
- 2004 Hurricane Charley, a Category 4 storm, strikes Punta Gorda, Florida and devastates the surrounding area.
- 2008 The Baltic state slides into recession with a 0.9% fall in second-quarter GDP after a drop of 0.5% in the first quarter; it falls deeper into recession in the third quarter when the economy contracted 3.3%
- 2014 Israeli and Palestinian cease fire agreed to on August 8 is extended for another 120 hours to provide time for further negotiations
- 2014 Iranian mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani is the first woman to win the Fields Medal in mathematics
Event of Interest
2015 Swedish Prosecutors announce they are dropping allegations against Wikileaks founder Julian Assange of sexual molestation and coercion
Julian Assange
Birthdays in History
William Caxton
1422 William Caxton, English printer and translator, 1st to print in the English language (Histories of Troy), born in Kent, England (d. 1492) birth date disputed
William Caxton
- 1584 Theophilus Howard, 2nd Earl of Suffolk, English politician, born in Saffron Waldon, Essex, England (d. 1640)
- 1617 Johannes Andreas Quenstedt, German Lutheran theologian, born in Quedlinburg, Germany (d. 1688)
- 1625 Rasmus Bartholin, Danish physician, mathematician and physicist, born in Roskilde, Denmark (d. 1698)
- 1662 Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset, English politician, born in Wiltshire, England (d. 1748)
- 1666 William Wotton, English theologian and scholar, born in Wrentham, Suffolk (d. 1727)
- 1699 John Dyer, British poet, born in Aberglasney, Wales (Baptism date)
- 1700 Heinrich von Brühl, German statesman, born in Gangloffsömmern, Thuringia, Germany (d. 1763)
- 1717 Louis François I, Prince of Conti, French nobleman and military leader, born in Paris (d. 1776)
- 1748 Pieter L. van de Kasteele, Dutch politician and patriot, born in The Hague, Netherlands (d. 1810)
- 1752 Maria Carolina of Austria, Queen of the Two Sicilies, born in Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna (d. 1814)
- 1764 Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers, French general, born in Paris (d. 1813)
- 1790 William Wentworth, Australian explorer and politician, born in Norfolk Island (d. 1872)
- 1792 Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, Queen consort of William IV of the United Kingdom, born in Meiningen, Germany (d. 1849)
- 1802 Nikolaus Lenau, Hungarian-German poet (Faust, Die Albigenser), born in Lenauheim, Banat, Romania (d. 1850)
- 1803 Vladimir Odoevsky, Russian philosopher & writer, born in Moscow (d. 1869)
- 1814 Anders Jonas Ångström, Swedish physicist (Spectroscopy), born in Lögdö, Medelpad, Sweden (d. 1874)
- 1818 Lucy Stone, American abolitionist (US Woman's Suffrage Association), born in West Brookefield, Massachusetts (d. 1893)
- 1819 George Gabriel Stokes, Irish physicist and mathematician (spectroscope), born in Skreen, County Sligo, Ireland (d. 1903)
- 1820 George Grove, English biblical scholar and misicographer, born in Clapham, London (d. 1900)
- 1820 Joseph Alberdingk Thijm, Dutch poet (Dietsche Warande), born in Amsterdam (d. 1889)
- 1823 Goldwin Smith, English historian and journalist, born in Reading, Berkshire (d. 1910)
- 1851 Felix Adler, German-American educator of political and social ethics, born in Alzey, Grand Duchy of Hesse, Germany (d. 1933)
Annie Oakley
1860 Annie Oakley [Phoebe Ann Moses], American sharp shooter (Buffalo Bill's Wild West), born in North Star, Ohio (d. 1926)
Annie Oakley
- 1866 Giovanni Agnelli, Italian industrialist and founder of Fiat Automaker, born in Villar Perosa, Italy (d. 1945)
- 1867 William Alexander Craigie, Scottish lexicographer (Skotlands Rimur), born in Dundee, Scotland (d. 1957)
- 1871 Karl Liebknecht, German Marxist revolutionary (Sparta Party), born in Leipzig, Germany (d. 1919)
- 1872 Richard Willstätter, German chemist (Nobel 1915), born in Karlsruhe, Baden (d. 1942)
- 1878 Salomon "Sam" de Wolff, Dutch zionist and socialist theorist, born in Sneek, Netherlands (d. 1960)
- 1881 Jacqueline Reyneke van Stuwe, Dutch author, born in Muntok, Indonesia (d. 1955)
- 1886 Jacobus Hendrik Pierneef, South African painter, born in Pretoria, South Africa (d. 1957)
- 1887 Julius Freed [Fried], American namesake and co-founder of Orange Julius fast food chain, born in Montana (d. 1952)
John Logie Baird
1888 John Logie Baird, Scottish inventor and father of the television, born in Helensburgh, Scotland (d. 1946)
John Logie Baird
- 1888 Gleb W. Derujinsky, Russian-American sculptor, born in Smolensk, Russia (d. 1975)
- 1889 Camillien Houde, French Canadian politician and Mayor of Montreal, born in Montreal, Quebec (d. 1958)
- 1890 [Lavinia] Marian Fleming Poe, African American advocate in Virginia, born in Warwick, County, Virginia (d. 1974)
- 1902 Bartoes [Albertus J. Wijstma], Dutch singer and cabaret performer, born in Amsterdam, Netherlands (d. 1976)
- 1902 Felix Wankel, German inventor (Wankel rotary-piston engine), born in Lahr, Germany (d. 1988)
- 1902 Alan Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury, British business executive, born in London (d. 1998)
- 1907 Basil Spence, British architect, born in Bombay, India (d. 1976)
- 1911 James Benton Parson, American judge, 1st African American federal judge, born in Kansas City, Missouri (d. 1993)
- 1911 William Bernbach, American advertising creative director, born in NYC, New York (d. 1982)
- 1912 Jan Peeters, Dutch water colors painter and monument artist, born in Amsterdam (d. 1992)
- 1912 Metten Koornstra, Dutch painter and graphic artist, born in Rotterdam, Netherlands (d. 1978)
- 1912 Salvador Luria, Italian-American microbiologist (Nobel Prize for medicine 1969 genetic structure of viruses), born in Turin, Italy (d. 1991)
- 1913 Albert Oram, Baron Oram, British Labour politician, born in Winchester, England (d. 1999)
- 1913 Makarios III [Michail Moeskos], Greek Cypriot clergyman and politician, born in Panayia, Paphos, Cyprus (d. 1977)
- 1918 Denis Smallwood, British air chief marshal, born in Birmingham, England (d. 1997)
- 1918 Frederick Sanger, British biochemist (Sanger sequencing, Nobel Prize 1958, 1980), born in Rendcomb, Gloucestershire, England (d. 2013)
- 1918 John Bunting, Australian diplomat and senior civil servant, born in Ballarat, Victoria (d. 1995)
- 1919 Rex Humbard, American television evangelist (Cathedral of Tomorrow), born in Little Rock, Arkansas (d. 2007)
- 1924 John Milne, British CEO (Blue Circles Industries), born in Manchester, England
Fidel Castro
1926 Fidel Castro, Cuban revolutionary, Prime Minister (1959-76) and President (1976-2008), born in Birán, Holguin Province (d. 2016)
Fidel Castro
- 1929 Michael Beavis, British deputy Commanding-in-Chief (Allied Forces Central Europe) (d. 2020)
- 1931 Roy Evans, British trade unionist and General Secretary (British Iron & Steel Trade Confederation), born in Pontarddulais, Wales (d. 2015)
- 1933 Jocelyn Elders, 15th US Surgeon General (1993-94) 1st African American holder, born in Schaal, Arkansas
- 1935 Rod Hull, British entertainer, born on Isle of Sheppey, Kent (d. 1999)
- 1939 Saul Steinberg, American businessman, founder of Leasco and CEO of Reliance Insurance Company, born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2012)
- 1940 Ann Armstrong Dailey, American founder (Children's Hospice International), born in San Francisco, California
- 1942 Robert Lee Stewart, American Brigadier General and astronaut (STS 41B, 51J), born in Washington, D.C.
- 1943 Yuri Fedorovich Isaulov, Russian cosmonaut, born in Omsk, Russia
- 1945 Lars Engqvist, Swedish politician (Minister of Health and Social Affairs), born in Sala, Sweden
- 1945 Howard Marks, British drug dealer and author (Mr Nice), born in Kenfig Hill, Wales (d. 2016)
Janet Yellen
1946 Janet Yellen, American economist (Chair of US Federal Reserve 2014-18), born in Brooklyn, New York
Janet Yellen
- 1947 Margareta Winberg, Swedish politician (Minister of Gender Equality), born in Sjuntorp, Sweden
- 1948 Mosiuoa Lekota, South African UDF/ANC leader, born in Kroonstad, South Africa
- 1949 Peter Visclosky, American politician (Rep-D-Indiana, 1985-2021), born in Gary, Indiana
- 1952 Herb Ritts, American fashion photographer, born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2002)
- 1952 Tom Marino, American politician (Rep-R-Pennsylvania 2011-2019), born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania
- 1953 Kristalina Georgieva, Bulgarian economist, Head of the IMF (2019-), born in Sofia, Bulgaria
- 1954 Lincoln Díaz-Balart, Cuban-American attorney and politician (Rep-R-Florida), born in Havana, Cuba
- 1958 Randall Shughart, American soldier and Medal of Honor recipient, born in Lincoln, Nebraska (d. 1993)
- 1958 Domenico Dolce, Italian fashion designer (Dolce & Gabbana), born in Polizzi Generosa, Italy
- 1961 Tom Perrotta, American novelist (Little Children), born in Newark, New Jersey
- 1962 Lady Bunny [Jon Ingle], American drag queen, promoter and founder of the annual Wigstock event, born in Chattanooga, Tennessee
- 1967 Amélie Nothomb, Belgian writer (Fear and Trembling), born in Kobe, Japan
- 1970 Will Clarke, American novelist (The Neon Palm of Madame Melançon), born in Shreveport, Louisiana
- 1972 Kevin Plank, American entrepreneur (Under Armour), born in Kensington, Maryland
- 1973 Molly Henneberg, American journalist (Fox News Channel)
- 1973 Kamila Shamsie, Pakistani British writer (Home Fire), born in Karachi, Pakistan
- 1979 Taizō Sugimura, Japanese politician, born in Asahikawa, Hokkaidō
- 1982 Sarah Sanders, American political operative, Trump's White House Press Secretary (2017-19), born in Hope, Arkansas
- 1982 Ibram X. Kendi, American author and antiracist activist, born in Queens, New York
- 1992 Katharine Close, Scripps National Spelling Bee champion
Weddings in History
Wedding of Interest
1868 Prime Minister of Canada Wilfrid Laurier (26) weds Zoé Lafontaine (27) in Montreal, Canada
Wilfrid Laurier
Wedding of Interest
1943 Evangelist Billy Graham (24) weds philanthropist and Christian author Ruth Bell (23) in Montreat, North Carolina
Billy Graham
Deaths in History
- 586 St. Radegund, Frankish princess, wife of Clotaire I and founder of the Convent of Our Lady of Poitiers
- 662 Maximus Confessor, Greek theologian and court secretary to the Emperor, dies soon after his conviction for heresy when his hand and tongue were cut off (b. c. 580)
- 900 Zwentibold, king of Lutherans (895-900), dies in battle at 29
- 1134 Irene of Hungary [Piroska], Byzantine empress, dies at 46
- 1191 Philips van Heinsberg, archbishop of Cologne, dies
- 1278 Daikaku, Zen teacher Rinzai line/head of Kenchoji, dies in Japan at 65
- 1382 Eleanor of Aragon, wife of John I of Castile (b. 1358)
- 1523 Gerard David, Flemish painter
- 1617 Johann Jakob Grynaeus, Swiss Protestant clergyman, dies at 76
- 1637 Dirck Bas, Dutch merchant, regent, government leader (OIC), dies
- 1667 Jeremy Taylor, Irish author and bishop (b. 1613)
- 1674 Lars Johnstown [Lasse Lucidor], Swedish poet, dies at 35
- 1686 Louis Maimbourg, French-born historian (b. 1610)
- 1721 Jacques Lelong, French bibliographer, dies at 56
- 1744 John Cruger, Dutch-born Mayor of New York (b. 1678)
- 1749 Johann Elias Schlegel, German writer and critic, dies at 30
- 1762 John Alberti, Dutch theologian, dies at 64
- 1787 Isaac de Pinto, Dutch merchant (Dutch East India Company), and scholar, dies at 70
- 1826 René Laënnec, French physician who invented the stethoscope, dies of tuberculosis at 46
- 1860 Danillo II, ruler of Montenegro, dies
- 1863 Eugène Delacroix, French painter and etcher (Journal), dies at 65
- 1865 Ignaz Semmelweis, Hungarian physician who discovered the cause of puerperal (childbed) fever and introduced antisepsis into medical practice, dies at 47
- 1895 Christian Bernhard Tauchnitz, German publisher (T Edition), dies at 79
- 1896 John Everett Millais, English painter (Order of Release), dies at 67
- 1897 Antonius von der Linde, Dutch German librarian, dies at 63
Collis P. Huntington
1900 Collis P. Huntington, American business tycoon and railroad executive (Central Pacific Railroad, Southern Pacific Railroad), dies at 78
Collis P. Huntington
Florence Nightingale
1910 Florence Nightingale, British pioneering nurse (Crimean War), dies at 90
Florence Nightingale
- 1912 Octavia Hill, British reformer, leader of open-space movement, dies of cancer at 73
- 1913 August Bebel, German politician, leading social-democrat, dies at 73
- 1927 James Oliver Curwood, American journalist and writer (Valley of Silent Men), dies at 49
- 1937 Arthur Plunkett, English civil engineer (designed Sydney Harbour Bridge) (b. 1890)
H. G. Wells
1946 H. G. Wells, English sci-fi author (The War of the Worlds, Time Machine), dies at 79
H. G. Wells
- 1958 Otto Witte, acrobat and, purportedly, King of Albania (b. 1868)
- 1964 Peter Anthony Allen is the last person executed (for murder) in England and United Kingdom at Walton Prison, Liverpool
- 1965 Ikeda Hayato, Prime Minister of Japan (1960-64), dies at 65
- 1973 Ben van Eysselsteijn, Dutch playwright (Arid Earth), dies at 75
- 1974 Kate O'Brien, Irish writer (Pray for the Wanderer), dies at 76
- 1977 Henry Williamson, English author (Tarka the Otter), dies
- 1985 J. Willard Marriott, American entrepreneur and hotelier (founder of Marriott Corporation), dies at 84
- 1988 Otto Passman, American politician, U.S. House of Representatives from Louisiana (1947-77), dies at 88
- 1989 Larkin Smith, U.S. Representative from Mississippi (b. 1944)
- 1991 Jack Ryan, inventor (Barbie Doll, Hot Wheels), dies at 65
- 1992 Jan Elburg [Joannes G], poet (Geen letterheren), dies
- 1994 Manfred Wörner, German general and Secretary-General of NATO (1988-94), dies at 59
- 1995 Alison Hargreaves, British mountaineer and 1st woman to climb Mount Everest alone without bottled oxygen (1995), dies in a storm on top of K2 summit, Pakistan at 33
- 1995 Per-Jakez Helias, Writer/teacher, dies at 81
- 1995 Jan Křesadlo, Czech-British psychologist and writer, dies at 68
- 1996 António de Spínola, Portuguese general and conservative President of Portugal (1974), dies of a pulmonary embolism at 86
- 1996 Christopher John Gray, English Anglican priest, murdered in front of his own vicarage in Liverpool at 32 [1] [2]
- 1996 David Randall, British priest, founder of Cara, dies at 49
- 1996 W Gordon Smith, playwright, dies at 67
- 1998 Julien Green, American-French writer (Frere Francois), dies at 97
- 2000 Antony Duff, British diplomat, Head of MI5, advocate for the homeless, dies at 80
David Lange
2005 David Lange, 32nd Prime Minister of New Zealand (Labour: 1984-89), dies of complications associated with renal failure and diabetes at 63
David Lange
- 2007 Brooke Astor, American philanthropist (b. 1902)
- 2007 Yone Minagawa, Japanese woman, oldest person (114) (b. 1893)
- 2008 Bill Gwatney, American political figure (b. 1959)
- 2008 Jack Weil, American oldest working CEO (b. 1901)
- 2008 Sandy Allen, American second-tallest woman in the world (b. 1955)
- 2008 Henri Cartan, French Mathematician, dies at 104
- 2010 Edwin Newman, American broadcast journalist (b. 1919)
- 2012 Helen Gurley Brown, American author/publisher, dies at 90
- 2016 Pramukh Swami Maharaj, Indian Hindu spiritual leader (BAPS), dies at 94
- 2016 Françoise Mallet-Joris, Belgian writer (Signs & Wonders), dies at 86