Events in History
- 322 BC Battle of Crannon between Athens and Macedon following the death of Alexander the Great
- 626 Battle at Constantinople: Slavic/Persians/Avarenvloot defeated
- 768 Stephen III [IV] begins his reign as Catholic Pope
- 936 Otto I the Great crowned King of Germany (East Francia)
- 1409 Council of Pisa closes
- 1420 Construction begins for the dome of Florence's cathedral, designed by architect Filippo Brunellschi
- 1428 Valais witch trial proceedings begin in Valais Canton, Switzerland, first organized witch trials
- 1461 Ming Dynasty Chinese military general Cao Qin stages a coup against the Tianshun Emperor
- 1485 Henry Tudor's (Henry VII to be) army lands in Milford Haven, South Wales
Event of Interest
1573 Francis Drake's fleet returns to Plymouth after a year spent raiding for Spanish treasure
Francis Drake
- 1575 Spanish troops conquer Oudewater, almost all inhabitants died
Event of Interest
1606 Possible first performance of Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth, performed in the Great Hall at Hampton Court Palace for King James I
William Shakespeare
James I and VI
Event of Interest
1620 Astronomer Johannes Kepler's mother arrested for witchcraft
Johannes Kepler
Victory in Battle
1620 Battle at Ponts-the-Ce, Poitou: French king Louis XIII defeats his mother Marie de Medici
Louis XIII
Event of Interest
1782 George Washington creates the Purple Heart medal (original name Badge of Military Merit) as commander of the Continental Army
George Washington
- 1789 US Congress creates the Department of War and the United States Lighthouse Establishment
Napoléon Bonaparte
- 1819 Battle of Boyacá; Bolívar defeats Spanish in Colombia
- 1820 1st potatoes planted in Hawaii
- 1864 Battle of Moorefield, West Virginia
- 1879 The opening of the Poor Man's Palace in Manchester.
- 1882 Hatfields of south West Virginia and McCoys of east Kentucky feud, 100 wounded or die
- 1884 Germany annexes Angra Pequena (Southwest-Africa)
- 1885 Five German warships anchor off Zanzibar
- 1888 Theophilus Van Kannel of Philadelphia patents revolving door
- 1893 53rd Congress (1893-95) convenes
- 1900 Diamond workers in Amsterdam strike
- 1904 Train derails on bridge in Eden, Colorado, during a flash flood, kills 96
- 1908 The first train to travel the length of New Zealand's North Island 'main trunk line', leaves Wellington
Presidential Convention
1912 Progressive (Bull Moose) Party nominates Theodore Roosevelt for US President
Theodore Roosevelt
- 1914 Engagement between British cruiser HMS Gloucester and German cruisers SMS Breslau and SMS Goeben off Greece
- 1914 French government awards King Albert of Belgium the Great Cross
- 1914 French troops under Gen Bonneau occupy Altkitrch at Elzas
- 1914 German army occupies city of Liege, Belgium
- 1914 Russia invades East Prussia
- 1915 WWI: Assault against Russell's Top at Gallipolis, Turkey - 232 Australians are killed
- 1925 League of Nation advises against Turk/Iraqi division of Mosoelgebied
- 1927 Peace Bridge between US and Canada dedicated
- 1927 US rum smuggler Horace Alderman kills 3
- 1929 Charles Ruijs de Beerenbrouck forms Dutch government
- 1930 A large mob estimated at 2,000, lynch two young black men Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith in Marion, Indiana
Election of Interest
1930 Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King loses the election to Richard Bedford Bennett of the Conservative Party
Richard Bedford Bennett
Mackenzie King
- 1933 The Iraqi Government slaughters over 3,000 Assyrians in the village of Sumail. The day becomes known as Assyrian Martyrs Day.
Event of Interest
1934 US Court of Appeals upheld lower court ruling striking down government's attempt to ban controversial James Joyce novel "Ulysses"
James Joyce
Event of Interest
1939 Millionaire Howard Hughes is presented with a Congressional Gold Medal
Howard Hughes
- 1940 Churchill recognizes De Gaulle's French government in exile
- 1940 Largest amount paid for a stamp ($45,000 for 1 1856 British Guiana)
- 1940 Alsace Lorraine is annexed by the Third Reich (Germany) during World War II
- 1941 551 Jews are shot in Kishnev ghetto in Romania
- 1942 1st American offensive in Pacific in WW2, Guadalcanal, Solomon Island
- 1942 Dutch resistance bombs Rotterdam railway
- 1942 Transport 16 departs with French Jews to nazi-Germany
- 1943 Red Army recaptures Bogodukov
- 1944 Anton de Kom arrested by Surinam resistance fighter
- 1944 Canada/Polish offensive direction Falaise: Total Cooperation
- 1944 German counter attack at Avranches fails
- 1944 July 20th Plot trial under Roland Freis in Berlin begins
- 1944 US 3rd Army reaches suburbs of Brest, Brittany
- 1944 IBM dedicates the first program-controlled calculator, the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator (known best as the Harvard Mark I)
Event of Interest
1946 1st US commemorative coin of an African American, Booker T. Washington (half dollar)
Booker T. Washington
- 1947 The Bombay Municipal Corporation formally takes over the Bombay Electric Supply and Transport (BEST)
Event of Interest
1947 Thor Heyerdahl and the crew of the Kon-Tiki crash into a reef in the Tuamotu Islands, French Polynesia after 101 days crossing the Pacific Ocean
Thor Heyerdahl
- 1948 1st Dutch government of Beel resigns
- 1950 Police bar white players-Lou Chirban, Stan Mierko and Frank Dyle, from playing in Negro League
- 1951 Douglas D-558-II Skyrocket reaches 1,992 kph
- 1951 US Viking rocket reaches 210 km height (record)
- 1953 Eastern Airlines enters jet age, uses Electra prop-jet
- 1954 Charles Mahoney becomes 1st US black to serve as a full UN delegate
- 1955 Bar-Ilan University founded in Israel
- 1955 Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering, the precursor to Sony, begins selling its first transistor radios in Japan
- 1956 British government sends 3 aircraft carriers to Egypt
- 1956 Dynamite transport explodes in Colombia; about 1200 die
- 1957 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- 1957 Congress passes the Civil Rights Act of 1957
- 1959 Explorer 6 transmits 1st TV photo of Earth from space
- 1960 Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) gains independence from France
- 1960 Students stage kneel-in demonstrations in Atlanta churches
- 1961 Cosmonaut Gherman Titov circles Earth for a full day in Vostok 2
Event of Interest
1961 Soviet premier Khrushchev predicts USSR economy will surpass US
Nikita Khrushchev
- 1962 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
Event of Interest
1963 Jacqueline Kennedy becomes 1st US First Lady to give birth (Patrick Kennedy) since Mrs Cleveland
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Agreement of Interest
1965 Lee Kuan Yew, Prime Minister of Singapore signs a separation agreement with Malaysia, after 2 years of political union
Lee Kuan Yew
- 1966 Race riot in Lansing Michigan
- 1970 Shootout at Marin Courthouse in San Rafael, California, kills 4, including the presiding judge
- 1971 Apollo 15 returns to Earth
- 1971 A Catholic man is shot dead by a British soldier in Belfast
- 1974 Philippe Petit walks tightrope strung between twin towers
- 1976 US Viking 2 goes into Martian orbit after 11-month flight from Earth
- 1976 Scientists in Pasadena, California, announce Viking I found strongest indications to date of possible life on Mars
Birthdays in History
- 317 Constantius II, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (337-61), born in Sirmium, Pannonia Inferior (d. 361)
- 1282 Elizabeth of Rhuddlan, youngest daughter of King Edward I and Queen Eleanor of Castile, born in Rhuddlan Castle, Denbighshire (d. 1316)
- 1533 Alonso de Ercilla y Zúñiga, Basque soldier and poet, born in Madrid (d. 1595)
Elizabeth Báthory
1560 Elizabeth Báthory, Hungarian countess and serial killer, born in Nyírbátor, Hungary (d. 1614)
Elizabeth Báthory
- 1574 Robert Dudley, English explorer and writer (Arcano del Mare), born in Richmond Palace, Surrey (d. 1649)
- 1598 Georg Stiernhielm, Swedish scholar and poet often known as "father of Swedish poetry" (Hercules), born in Vika, Sweden (d. 1672)
- 1726 James Bowdoin, American Revolutionary leader and politician, born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1790)
Nathanael Greene
1742 Nathanael Greene, American Military Leader (major general during the American Revolutionary War), born in Potowomut, Rhode Island (d. 1786)
Nathanael Greene
- 1746 Daniel Albert Wyttenbach, German-Swiss classical scholar and historian, born in Bern, Switzerland (d. 1820)
- 1751 Wilhelmina of Prussia, Princess of Orange (1767-1806), born in Berlin (d. 1820)
- 1779 Carl Ritter, German geographer and co-founder of modern science of geography, born in Quedlinburg, Prussia (d. 1859)
- 1779 Louis de Freycinet, French explorer and navigator (published the first map to show a full outline of the coastline of Australia in 1811), born in Montélimar, Drôme (d. 1842)
- 1783 John Heathcoat, English inventor of lace-making machinery, born in Duffield, Derbyshire (d. 1861)
- 1783 Princess Amelia, youngest child of King George III of United Kingdom, born in Royal Lodge, Windsor (d. 1810)
- 1826 August Ahlqvist, Finnish poet (Suomalainen Runousoppi), born in Kuopio, Finland (d. 1889)
- 1829 Thomas Ewing Jr, American attorney, 1st chief justice of Kansas, congressman, and Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Lancaster, Ohio (d. 1896)
- 1833 Powell Clayton, American politician, diplomat, and Brigadier General (Union Army), born in Delaware County, Pennsylvania (d. 1914)
- 1836 Evander M. Law, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), born in Darlington, South Carolina (d. 1920)
- 1844 Auguste Michel-Lévy, French geologist and petrologist, born in Paris (d. 1911)
- 1860 Alan Leo, British astrologer, born in Westminster, London (d. 1917)
- 1862 Victoria of Baden, Queen of Sweden, born in Karlsruhe, Baden (d. 1931)
- 1865 Micha Josef Berdyczewski, Jewish writer, born in Medzhybizh, Russian Empire (d. 1921)
- 1867 Emil Nolde [Hansen], German painter and graphic artist, born in Nolde, Kingdom of Prussia (d. 1956)
- 1868 Ladislaus Bortkiewicz, Russian mathematician (Poisson distribution) and economist, born in Saint Petersburg, Imperial Russia (d. 1931)
- 1870 19 kittens, born to Tarawood Antigone (4 still born)
- 1870 Josef Brems, Flemish apostole (vicar of Denmark), born in Scherpenheuvel-Zichem, Belgium (d. 1958)
- 1872 Andries C D de Graeff, governor-general of Neth Indies (1926-31)
- 1880 Ernst Laqueur, chemist/pharmacology/psychology (sexual hormones)
François Darlan
1881 François Darlan, French Admiral of the Fleet during WWII and Vichy Prime Minister (1941-42), born in Nérac, France (d. 1942)
François Darlan
Louis Leakey
1903 Louis Leakey, British paleoanthropologist and archaeologist (1964 Richard Hooper Medal), born in Kabete, Kenya (d. 1972)
Louis Leakey
Ralph Bunche
1904 Ralph Bunche, American diplomat to the UN (Nobel Peace Prize1950), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 1971)
Ralph Bunche
- 1907 Albert Kotin, American abstract painter (d. 1980)
- 1911 R Nicholas Ray, Galesville WI, director (Rebel Without a Cause)
- 1918 C. Buddingh', Dutch poet, born in Dordrecht, Netherlands (d. 1985)
- 1919 John Hogan, American chemist (discovered methods of producing polypropylene), born in Lowes, Kentucky (d. 2012)
- 1925 M. S. Swaminathan, Indian scientist, born in Kumbakonam, India
- 1926 Amo Houghton, American politician (Rep-R-New York), born in Corning, New York
- 1927 Edwin Edwards, American politician (Gov-La), born in Marksville, Louisiana
- 1928 James Randi, Canadian skeptic magician (Nova), born in Toronto, Ontario
- 1928 Herbert H. Bateman, American politician (Rep-R-Virginia), born in Elizabeth City, North Carolina (d. 2000)
- 1929 James Pilditch, British designer, born in Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom (d. 1995)
- 1929 Richard T. Schulze, American politician (Rep-R-PA, 1975- ), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- 1929 Ruth Carter-Stapleton, American evangelist, born in Plains, Georgia (d. 1983)
- 1929 Jo Baer [Josephine Kleinberg], American painter and minimalist artist, born in Seattle, Washington
- 1931 Charles E. Rice, American legal scholar and author, born in New York (d. 2015)
- 1932 Maurice Rabb Jr., American ophthalmologist, born in Shelbyville, Kentucky (d. 2005)
- 1933 Jerry Pournelle, American polymath and sci-fi author (Mercenary, Red Dragon), born in Shreveport, Louisiana (d. 2017)
- 1936 Richard L. Tierney, American sci-fi author (Winds of Zarr), born in Spencer, Iowa
- 1938 Helen Caldicott, Australian physician and anti-war activist, born in Melbourne, Victoria
- 1940 Tom Barlow, American politician (Rep-D-Kentucky), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2017)
- 1940 Jean-Luc Dehaene, Belgian Prime Minister (1992-99), born in Montpellier, France (d. 2014)
- 1941 Thomas F Hartnett, American politician (Rep-R-SC, 1981-86), born in Charleston, South Carolina
- 1943 Alain Corneau, French director (Choice of Arms), born in Meung-sur-Loire, France (d. 2010)
- 1944 Robert Mueller, American lawyer, FBI Director (2001-13) Special Counsel Russian Investigation (2017-), born in New York City, New York
- 1946 Ed Seykota, American commodities and futures trader
- 1947 Mosibudi Mangena, South African black leader (On Your Own), born in Tzaneen, South Africa
- 1948 James Allison, American immunologist (Noble Prize for Medicine 2018), born in Alice, Texas
- 1948 Marty Appel, American public relations executive and author, born in Brooklyn, New York
- 1949 Walid Jumblatt, Lebanese political leader, born in Moukhtara, Lebanon
- 1953 Anne Fadiman, American writer, born in New York City, New York
- 1955 Vladimir Sorokin, Russian writer, born in Bykovo, Russia
- 1955 Greg Nickels, American politician (Mayor of Seattle, 2002–), born in Chicago, Illinois
- 1956 Kent Rominger, American astronaut (STS 73, 80, 85), born in Del Norte, California
- 1963 Patrick Kennedy, son of US President JFK (lives only 3 days)
- 1964 John Birmingham, Australian author, born in Liverpool, United Kingdom
- 1966 Jimmy Wales, American internet entrepreneur and cofounder of Wikipedia, born in Huntsville, Alabama
- 1977 Samantha Ronson, British DJ, born in Camden, London
- 1978 Alexandre Aja, French director, born in Paris, France
- 1988 Melody Oliveria, American internet blogger (bowiechick)
Weddings in History
Wedding of Interest
1869 Inventor Ferdinand von Zeppelin (31) weds Isabella Freiin von Wolff from the house of Alt-Schwanenburg
Ferdinand von Zeppelin
- 2010 "Dancing in the Dark" host Rossi Morreale (33) weds one half of identical twin country duo "Kate and Kacey" Kacey Coppola at the Grande Antigua Resort and Spa in Antigua
Deaths in History
- 1485 Alexander Stewart, 1st Duke of Albany, Scottish prince
- 1547 Cajetanus van Thiene, Italian saint, dies
- 1613 Thomas Fleming, English judge (b. 1544)
- 1616 Vincenzo Scamozzi, Italian architect (Procurazie Nuove, Venice), dies
- 1635 Friedrich von Spee, German writer (b. 1591)
- 1639 Martin van den Hove, Dutch scientist (b. 1605)
- 1657 Robert Blake, English admiral (Dover, Dungeness), dies at about 57
- 1661 Jin Shengtan, Chinese editor, writer and critic (b. 1608)
- 1799 John Bacon, English sculptor, dies at 58
- 1816 Dionysius Godefridus van der Keessel, Dutch jurist (Theses Selectae, Select Theses on the Laws of Holland and Zeeland), dies at 77
- 1817 Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours, French industrialist (b. 1739)
- 1820 Élisa Bonaparte, Corsican monarch of Lucca and sister of Napoleon, dies at 43
- 1821 Caroline of Brunswick, Queen Consort of King George IV (1820-21), dies at 53
- 1834 Joseph Marie Jacquard, French weaver and inventor (b. 1752)
- 1848 Jöns Jakob Berzelius, Swedish chemist, dies at 68
- 1855 Mariano Arista, President of Mexico (1851-53), dies at 53
- 1864 Li Xiucheng, late Taiping's Field Marshal and soul person.(b. 1823)
- 1885 Anthony Modderman, Dutch politician (Minister of Justice, 1879-83), dies at 46
- 1902 Rudolf von Bennigsen, German lawyer and politician, dies at 78
- 1912 François-Alphonse Forel, Swiss hydrologist (b. 1841)
- 1916 Charles E Manning, Australian judge/major, dies in battle at 36
- 1917 Squadron Commander E.H. Dunning, first pilot to land his aircraft on a moving ship. (b. 1891)
- 1921 Alexander Block, Russian poet (Dvenatsat), dies at 40
- 1923 Hendrik Pierson, Dutch theologist (H Pierson Foundation), dies at 89
- 1938 Konstantin S Stanislavski, Russian director (S Method), dies at 75
Rabindranath Tagore
1941 Rabindranath Tagore, Indian philosopher, poet, writer (Nobel Prize for Literature 1913), dies at 80
- 1942 Richard Gott, British gen/commandant of 8th Army, dies in battle at 43
- 1942 Janusz Korczak [Henryk Goldszmit], Polish-Jewish educator and pedagogue (ran an orphanage in the Warsaw Ghetto), is gassed at Treblinka extermination camp along with the residents of his orphanage at 64
- 1943 Gustav Schmidt, German lt-general, dies in battle
- 1960 Salvatore Ferragamo, Italian luxury shoe designer (Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A.), dies at 62
- 1961 Frank Buchman, American theologist (Moral Re-Armament), dies at 83
- 1970 Harold Haley, American judge, shot dead in courthouse shootout in San Rafael at 67
- 1970 James McClain, US African American activist, shot dead
- 1970 Jonathan Jackson, US African American activist, shot dead in a shootout at 17
- 1970 William Christmas, US African American activist, shot dead
- 1974 Rosario Castellanos, Mexican poet (Balún Canán), dies in an electrical accident at 49
- 1987 Camille Chamoun, President of Lebanon (1952-58), dies at 87
- 1987 Nobusuke Kishi, Prime Minister of Japan (1957-60), dies at 90
- 1989 Mickey Leland, American politician (Rep-D-Texas 1979-89), dies with 15 others in plane crash in Ethiopia at 44
- 1991 Shapur Bahktiar, Iranian politician, Prime Minister of Iran (1979), assassinated at 77
- 1993 Kelly Ahrendt, 1st NYer to die of rabies in 40 years, dies at 14
- 1995 Brigid Brophy, British novelist (Hackenfeller's Ape) and campaigner, dies at 66
- 1995 Tom Scott, Scottish poet (Sea Dirge: A Mither's Keenin), dies at 77
- 1996 Peter Winter, naval commander, dies at 78
- 1997 Douglas Gray, Scottish record and film producer, dies at 74
- 1997 Vincent Gulliver, Britain's oldest man, dies at 109
- 2004 Red Adair, American oil field firefighter, dies at 89
- 2004 Colin Bibby, English ornithologist (b. 1948)
- 2006 Mary Anderson Bain, American New Deal politician (b. 1911)
- 2007 Hal Fishman, Los Angeles based local news anchor. (b. 1931)
- 2007 Angus Tait, New Zealand electronics innovator and businessman (b. 1919)
- 2008 Bernie Brillstein, American talent agent/manager and producer (b. 1931)
- 2008 Andrea Pininfarina, CEO of Pininfarina S.p.A.
- 2009 Louis E. Saavedra, American Mayor of Albuquerque, New Mexico (b. 1933)
- 2011 Nancy Wake, New Zealand-born World War II secret agent (Special Operations Executive), dies at 98
- 2011 Hugh Carey, American politician and attorney (Gov-D-NY), dies at 92
- 2015 Frances Oldham Kelsey, Canadian-American FDA Director (stopped thalidomide use in the US), dies at 101
- 2020 Lê Khả Phiêu, Vietnamese leader, General Secretary (1997-2001), dies at 88 [1]
- 2020 Tony Charmoli, American dancer, choreographer, and director (Dinah Shore, Danny Kaye), dies at 99