Events in History
Black Death
1349 By this date at least 200 people a day were being buried in London as a result of the Black Death
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- 1536 Pedro de Mendoza founds Argentine city of Buenos Aires
- 1542 Portuguese under Christovão da Gama capture a Muslim-occupied hillfort in northern Ethiopia in the Battle of Baçente.
- 1550 Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, freed
- 1637 Zorilla's "El más Impropio Verdugo Para Las" premieres in Madrid
- 1653 New Amsterdam becomes a city (later renamed New York)
Event of Interest
1709 British sailor Alexander Selkirk is rescued by William Dampier after being marooned on a desert island for 5 years, his story inspires "Robinson Crusoe
William Dampier
Event of Interest
1742 British government of Robert Walpole resigns
Robert Walpole
Articles of Confederation
1787 Arthur St. Clair is elected the 9th President of the Continental Congress under the Articles of Confederation
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- 1798 Federal St Theater, Boston, becomes 1st in US destroyed by fire
- 1802 1st leopard exhibited in US, Boston (admission 25 cents)
- 1811 Russian settlers establish Ft Ross trading post, north of San Francisco
- 1829 Madman Jonathan Martin sets York Cathedral on fire, does £60,000 damage
- 1843 US & British settlers in Oregon Country choose government committee
- 1848 1st ship load of Chinese immigrants arrive in San Francisco
- 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ends the Mexican-American War: US acquires Texas, California, New Mexico and Arizona for $15 million
- 1852 1st British public men's toilet opens in Fleet St, London
- 1852 Alexandre Dumas Jr's "La Dame aux Camélias" premieres in Paris
- 1854 Pope Pius IX encyclical "On persecution of Armenians"
- 1861 The "Organized Incorporated Territory of Nevada" is created, lasting until October 31st, 1864
- 1864 -Oct 7th) Cruise of CSS Florida
- 1869 James Oliver invents removable tempered steel plow blade
- 1870 Cardiff Giant (supposed petrified human) proved to be gypsum
- 1878 Greece declares war on Turkey
- 1880 SS Strathleven arrives in London with first shipment of frozen Australian mutton
- 1887 In Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, the first Groundhog Day is observed.
- 1888 Frank Sprague opens the first successful U.S. electric street railway system, the Richmond Union Passenger Railway, in Richmond, Virginia
- 1892 Bottle cap patented by William Painter
- 1892 Johnny Briggs takes a hat-trick, England v Australia SCG
- 1894 US warship Kearsarge wrecked on Roncador Reef, near Solomon Island
- 1899 The Australian Premiers' Conference held in Melbourne decides to locate Australia's capital (Canberra) between Sydney and Melbourne.
- 1901 Female Army Nurse Corps established as a permanent organization
Queen Victoria's Funeral
1901 Queen Victoria's funeral takes place in St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, England
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- 1901 Mexican government troops are ambushed by Yaqui Indians, 100 killed
- 1901 The US Congress passes the Army Reorganization Act, placing the minimum number of men under arms at 58,000
- 1906 Pope encyclical against separation of church & state
- 1909 Italian writer Marinetti publishes Futurist Manifest in Paris
- 1912 Frederick R Law, parachutes from Statue of Liberty (stunt for Pathe)
- 1913 NYC's Grand Central Terminal opens
Event of Interest
1913 American poet Joyce Kilmer writes his famous poem "Trees" in Mahwah, New Jersey
Joyce Kilmer
Historic Publication
1922 James Joyce's "Ulysses" published in Paris (1,000 copies)
James Joyce
- 1923 Ethyl gasoline 1st marketed, Dayton, Ohio
- 1923 US signs friendship treaty with Central American countries
- 1924 International Ski Federation (FIS) forms
- 1925 Belgian episcopacy rejects liberalism, communism & socialism
- 1925 Dogsleds reach Nome with emergency diphtheria serum after 1000-km
- 1925 NL holds Golden Jubilee Year meeting at same hotel where NL began
- 1927 Harry Tierney/Joseph McCarthy's "Rio Rita" premieres in NYC
- 1927 Ziegfeld Theater (Loew's Ziegfeld) opens at 6th Ave & 54th St NYC
- 1931 1st siyyum of Talmud celebrated by Daf Yomi students
- 1931 1st use of a rocket to deliver mail (Austria)
- 1932 Geneva disarmament conference begins with 60 countries
- 1932 Grimmett takes 14 wickets v South Africa (7-116 & 7-83)
- 1932 Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) organized in the US to provide financial support to state and local governments and to make loans to banks, railroads, mortgage associations and other businesses
Event of Interest
1933 2 days after becoming chancellor, Adolf Hitler dissolves the German Reichstag (Parliament)
Adolf Hitler
Event of Interest
1933 Hermann Goering bans Communist meetings/demonstrations in Germany
Hermann Goering
- 1933 Ucicky's "Rotten Morning" premieres in Berlin
- 1934 Dutch RC Bishops warn against fascism and nazism
- 1935 Leonarde Keeler first uses his polygraph machine on criminals later convicted of assault on its findings in Portage, Wisconsin
- 1941 US male Figure Skating championship won by Eugene Turner
- 1942 LA Times urges security measures against Japanese-Americans
- 1942 US auto factories switch from commercial to war production
- 1943 German 6th Army surrenders after Battle of Stalingrad in a major turning point in Europe during World War II
- 1944 4th US marine division conquers Roi, Marshall Islands
- 1944 Allied troops 1st set foot on Japanese territory
- 1944 Edward Chodorov's "Decision" premieres in NYC
- 1945 Escape attempt at Mauthausen concentration camp
- 1946 The Proclamation of Hungarian Republic made
- 1948 President Harry Truman urges congress to adopt a civil rights program
- 1951 -35°F (-37°C), Greensburg, Indiana (state record until 1994)
- 1951 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
Event of Interest
1952 Hubert de Givenchy presents his first collection in Paris with Bettina Graziani opening the show
Hubert de Givenchy
Event of Interest
1954 President Eisenhower reports detonation of 1st H-bomb (done in 1952)
Dwight D. Eisenhower
- 1954 Snow falls on Gibraltar
Event of Interest
1954 "The Nutcracker" ballet choreographed by George Balanchine with Maria Tallchief as the Sugar Plum Fairy opens in New York, establishes its popularity in the US
George Balanchine
Maria Tallchief
- 1956 Coasters sign with Atlantic Records
- 1957 UN adopts a resolution calling for Israeli troops to leave Egypt
- 1958 Syria joins Egypt in United Arab Republic
- 1960 Michale Eufemia sinks 625 balls in pool match without a miss
- 1961 Prince Bernhard opens new RAI building in Amsterdam
- 1962 8 of 9 planets align for 1st time in 400 years
- 1962 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
- 1964 GI Joe, debuts as a popular American boy's toy
- 1965 Joe Orton's "Loot" premieres in Brighton
- 1966 Pakistan suggests a six-point agenda with Kashmir dispute as number one item for the proposed Indo-Pak ministerial talks after 1965 war.
- 1967 Bolivia adopts its constitution
- 1968 Springer Publishers in West Berlin, bombed
- 1971 US Congressional Black Caucus organizes with Charles C. Diggs Jr. its first Chair
Birthdays in History
- 1208 James I of Aragon (d. 1276)
- 1455 King John of Denmark (d. 1513)
- 1494 Bona Sforza, queen of Sigismund I of Poland (d. 1557)
- 1502 Damião de Góis, Portuguese philosopher (d. 1574)
- 1506 René de Birague, French cardinal and chancellor (d. 1583)
- 1522 Lodovico Ferrari, Italian mathematician (d. 1565)
- 1583 Anna Roemers Visscher, Dutch poetess
- 1595 Jacob van Campen, painter/architect (New Church, Amsterdam)
- 1600 Gabriel Naudé, French librarian and scholar (d. 1653)
- 1613 Noël Chabanel, French Jesuit missionary (d. 1649)
- 1621 Johannes Schefferus, Alsatian-born humanist (d. 1679)
- 1649 Benedict XIII, [Pierfrancesco Orsini], Italian 245th pope (1724-30)
- 1695 William Borlase, English naturalist (d. 1772)
- 1695 François de Chevert, French general (d. 1769)
- 1711 Wenzel Anton von Kaunitz, Austrian diplomat (d. 1794)
- 1717 Ernst Gideon Freiherr von Laudon, Austrian field marshal (d. 1790)
Talleyrand
1754 Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, French statesman, born in Paris (d. 1838)
Talleyrand
- 1780 Johannes van den Bosch, gov-gen (Neth East Indies)
- 1786 Jacques Philippe Marie Binet, French mathematician (d. 1856)
- 1802 Jean-Baptiste JD Boussingault, French chemist
- 1803 Albert Sidney Johnston, Gen (Confederate Army), (d. 1862)
- 1815 Nathaniel Collins McLean, American Brigadier General (Union Army), born in Cincinnati, Ohio (d. 1905)
- 1817 John Glover, English chemist (sulfuric acid), born in Newcastle-on-Tyne, England (d. 1902)
- 1820 Hans E Schack, Danish politician/writer (Phantasterne)
- 1827 Abner Monroe Perrin, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), (d. 1864)
- 1827 Oswald Aschenbach, German painter
- 1829 Alfred Brehm, German zoologist (d. 1884)
- 1841 François-Alphonse Forel, Swiss hydrologist (d. 1912)
- 1842 Yulian Vasilievich Sokhotski, Russian mathematician (d. 1927)
- 1849 Pavol Országh Hviezdoslav, Slovak poet (d. 1921)
- 1850 Carel V Gerritsen, Dutch free thinker
- 1851 José Guadalupe Posada, Mexican artist (d. 1913)
- 1857 Jan Six, Dutch art historian/art collector
- 1859 Havelock Ellis, American physician/sexologist (Psychology of Sex)
- 1860 Curtis Guild, Jr., 43rd Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1915)
- 1861 Mehmed VI, last sultan of Ottoman Empire (1918-22)
- 1861 Solomon R. Guggenheim, American businessman and philanthropist (Guggenheim Museum NYC), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1949)
- 1873 Freiherr Konstantin von Neurath, German secretary of State (1932-38)
- 1873 Johan P earl van Limburg Stirum, Dutch diplomat
- 1875 Annette Kolb, German author (Small Fanfare) and pacifist, born in Munich (d. 1967)
- 1878 Christian Gauss, educator/writer (Phi Beta Kappa award namesake)
James Joyce
1882 James Joyce, Irish novelist and poet (Dubliners, Ulysses, Finnigan's Wake), born in Dublin, Ireland (d. 1941)
James Joyce
- 1882 James Stephens, Irish poet (Crock of Gold)
- 1884 Julius Deutsch, Austria politician and general in the Spanish republican army, born in Lackenbach, Austria-Hungary (d. 1968)
- 1885 Aldo Palazzeschi, [Giurlani], Italian writer (I cavalli bianchi)
- 1886 Kurt Baschwitz, German/Dutch sociologist/journalist (Du und)
- 1890 Jean J M de Lattre de Tassigny, French gen (Indo-China)
- 1891 Antonio Segni, Italian politician, Prime Minister of Italy (1955-57, 59-60, 62-64), born in Sassari, Sardinia (d. 1972)
- 1893 Cornelius Lanczos, Hungarian mathematician, born in Székesfehérvár, Hungary (d. 1974)
- 1896 Kazimierz Kuratowski, Polish mathematician and logician (d. 1980)
- 1897 Howard Johnson, American hotelier (d. 1972)
- 1897 Aimé Avignon, France's former oldest living man (d. 2007)
- 1900 Carroll Righter, American columnist and astrologer to the stars, born in Salem, New Jersey (d. 1988)
- 1902 Newbold Morris, American politician (d. 1966)
- 1904 Buzurg Alavi, Persian author (Panjah va sih nafar, Namal'ha)
- 1905 Jean-Pierre Guerlain, French cosmetics pioneer
- 1907 Bernardas Brazdzionis, Lithuania, poet/editor/critic
- 1910 Charlotte Auerbach, German-born British geneticist and zoologist, born in Krefeld, Germany (d. 1994)
- 1912 Millvina Dean, British civil servant who was the last living survivor of the RMS Titanic and also the youngest aboard, born in Branscombe, Devon, England (d. 2009)
- 1914 Eric Kierans, Canadian politician and economist (d. 2004)
- 1915 Evert Werkman, Dutch journalist (Het Parool)
- 1915 Abba Eban, Israeli diplomat (d. 2002)
- 1916 Xuân Diệu, Vietnamese poet (d. 1985)
- 1918 Hella [S Lelyveld-]Haasse, Dutch author (Cider for Poor People)
- 1923 James Dickey, American poet, novelist and lecturer (Deliverance, Buckdancer's Choice), born in Atlanta, Georgia (d. 1997)
- 1923 Peter Fowler, physicist
- 1925 David Abell Wood, priest
- 1926 Miguel Cardinal Obando y Bravo, 1st Cent American cardinal (Nicaragua)
- 1926 Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, French politician
- 1927 Friedrich K Flick, German industrialist
- 1927 Richard Ray, (Rep-D-GA, 1983- ) [or Jan 2]
- 1928 Luigi Ciriaco De Mita, Prime Minister of Italy (1988-89)
- 1931 Dries van Agt, Dutch Prime Minister (CDA, 1977-82), born in Geldrop, Netherlands
- 1931 Judith Viorst, American author
- 1933 Than Shwe, ruler of Myanmar
- 1938 Nur Hassan Hussein [Nur Adde], Somalian politician, Prime Minister of Somalia (2007-09), born in Mogadishu, Somalia (d. 2020)
- 1939 Akbar Adibi, Iranian scientist, father of electronics in Iran (d. 2000)
- 1939 Dale T. Mortensen, Enterprise, Oregon, economist (Nobel, 2010), (d. 2014)
- 1940 Thomas M[ichael] Disch, American sci-fi author (Genocides, 102 H-Bombs)
- 1946 Alpha Oumar Konaré, ex-president of Mali
- 1948 Alan McKay, rocker (Earth Wind & Fire-Boogie Wonderland)
- 1948 Tony DeMeur, rocker (Fabulous Poodles-Anna Rexia, Suicide Bridge)
- 1952 Park Geun-hye, 1st female President of South Korea (2013-), born in Jung-gu, Taegu
- 1953 James Mndaweni, South African worker's union leader/president (NACTU)
- 1953 Duane Chapman, American bounty hunter
- 1957 Laurie Mann, current DPS curator/geek
- 1963 Philip Laats, Belgian judoka
- 1967 Laurent Nkunda, Congolese general
- 1983 Will South, Thirteen Senses frontman
- 1992 Rebop Rundgren, son of Michelle Gray & Todd
Weddings in History
Wedding of Interest
1870 American writer (Huckleberry Finn) Samuel Langhorne Clemens, pen name Mark Twain, (34) marries Olivia Langdon (24) in Elmira, NY
Mark Twain
Wedding of Interest
1936 Physicist Emilio G. Segrè (31) weds jewish woman Elfriede Spiro at the Great Synagogue of Rome in Italy
Emilio G. Segrè
- 1990 Marina Ogilvy (daughter of Engl princess Alexandra) weds Paul Mowatt
Wedding of Interest
2001 Fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg (54) weds media tycoon Barry Diller
Diane von Furstenberg
Wedding of Interest
2002 Crown Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands (34) weds Argentinean born Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti (30) at the Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam, Netherlands
Willem-Alexander
Deaths in History
- 672 Chad of Mercia, Ango-Saxon saint credited with introducing Christianity to the Mercian kingdom, dies at about 38
- 1032 Rudolf III, last independent king of Bourgundy, dies
- 1124 Bořivoj II of Bohemia, Duke of Bohemia (1100-1107, 1117-1120)
- 1218 Konstantin of Rostov, Prince of Novgorod (b. 1186)
- 1250 Eric XI of Sweden (b. 1216)
- 1294 Louis II, Duke of Bavaria, ruler of Upper Bavaria, dies at 64
- 1435 Johanna II, Queen of Naples (1414-35), dies at 61
- 1461 Owen Tudor, Welsh founder of the Tudor dynasty of England
- 1491 Martin Schongauer, German painter, dies at 40
- 1512 Hatüey, Taíno chief known as Cuba's First National Hero, is burned alive by Spanish colonialists
- 1529 Baldassare Castiglione, Italian diplomat and author, dies at 50
- 1540 George Schenck van Toutenburg, gov/viceroy of Frisia/Groningen
- 1563 Hans Neusiedler, Hungarian/German luitist/author, dies at approx 54
- 1580 Bessho Nagaharu, Japanese retainer (b. 1558)
- 1597 Lucas van Valckenborch, Flemish painter, buried at about 61
- 1648 George Abbot, English writer
- 1660 Govert Flinck, Dutch painter (Isaac blesses Jacob), dies at 45
- 1660 Gaston, Duke of Orleans, brother of French King Louis XIII, dies at 51
- 1661 Lucas Holstenius, German humanist (b. 1596)
- 1688 Abraham Duquesne, French naval officer (b. 1610)
- 1704 Guillaume F A de l'Hospital, French mathematician, dies at about 62
- 1712 Martin Lister, English naturalist and physician
- 1714 John Sharp, English Archbishop of York (1691-1714), dies at 68
- 1723 Antonio M Valsalva, Italian anatomist, dies at 66
- 1768 Robert Smith, English mathematician (b. 1689)
- 1769 Clement XIII [Carlo Rezzonico], Pope (1758-69), dies at 75
- 1793 William Aiton, English botanist (Kew Gardens), dies at 61
- 1802 Welbore Ellis, 1st Baron Mendip, British statesman (b. 1713)
- 1804 Caesar Rodney, American judge (signed US Declaration of Independence), dies at 62
- 1804 George Walton, Signer of the Declaration of Independence (b. 1749-50)
- 1828 Frederik Sigismund van Bylandt, Dutch count and vice-admiral, dies at 78
- 1852 Francis Libermann, French religious leader (Congregation of Heart), dies at 49
- 1867 Forceythe Willson, American poet (The Old Sergeant), dies at 29
- 1873 Edward Johnson, American Major General (Confederate Army), dies at 56
- 1881 Aleksej F Pisemski, Russian writer (Clodhopper), dies at 59
- 1895 Archduke Albert, Austrian general (b. 1817)
- 1904 William C. Whitney, American financier and 31st United States Secretary of the Navy, dies at 62
Dmitri Mendeleev
1907 Dmitri Mendeleev, Russian chemist and inventor who devised the periodic table of the elements, dies at 72
Dmitri Mendeleev
- 1909 Adolf Stoecker, German conservative politician, and reformer who founded the German Christian Social Party, dies at 73
- 1925 Antti Aarne, Finnish folklorist, dies at 57
- 1926 Vladimir Sukhomlinov, Russian general (b. 1848)
- 1931 Theodor Batthynyi, Hungarian contra-revolutionary, dies at 71
- 1932 Agha Petros, Assyrian nationalist leader
- 1936 Owen Seaman, British poet and editor (Punch), dies at 74
- 1941 Johannes Schlaf, German writer and translator, dies at 78
- 1942 Daniil Kharms [Yuvatchov], Russian surrealist and absurdist writer, poet, and playwright, dies of starvation during the siege of Leningrad at 36
- 1945 Carl Friedrich Goerdeler, German Leipzig mayor and Nazi regime opponent (20th July plot), hanged at 60
- 1948 Thomas W. Lamont, American banker; father or Corliss Lamont; great-grandfather of Ned Lamont (b. 1870)
- 1950 Constantin Carathéodory, Greek mathematician (b. 1873)
- 1950 George A. Birmingham, Irish clergyman and novelist, dies at 84
- 1956 Pyotr Konchalovsky, Russian painter (b. 1876)
- 1957 Grigory Landsberg, Russian physicist (b. 1890)
- 1965 Richard P Blackmur, American critic/publisher (Good European), dies at 61
Bertrand Russell
1970 Bertrand Russell, English mathematician and philosopher (Nobel 1950), dies at 97
Bertrand Russell
- 1972 Natalie Clifford Barney, American writer (b. 1876)
- 1973 Hendrik Elias, Flemish historian and Mayor of Ghent (1941-44), dies at 70
- 1980 William H. Stein, American biochemist (Nobel 1972), dies at 68
- 1981 Jan Donner, Dutch chairman of High Council, dies at 89
- 1982 Stringfellow Barr, US educationalist (100 Great Books), dies at 85
- 1982 Paul Desruisseaux, Canadian lawyer and politician (Senator for Wellington, Quebec), dies at 76
- 1983 Roy Horb, Suriname sergeant/putschist, commits suicide
- 1987 Alfred Lion, record founder (Blue Note), dies at 78
- 1987 Alistair MacLean, Scottish novelist (The Guns of Navarone), dies at 64
- 1988 Clive Epstein, brother of Brian Epstein, dies at 51
- 1988 G Mennen Williams, Supreme Court justice, dies at 76 in Detroit
- 1989 Infanta Luisa Fernanda, Duchess of Montpensier, dies at 65
- 1992 Jack [John T] Aitken, British anatomist, dies at 78
- 1992 Maurice J Hill, writer (Track of Thunder), dies of pneumonia at 89
- 1992 Maurice L Kusell, dies
- 1995 Alexis d'Anjou de Bourbon-Condé, French prince/Russian, dies at 47
- 1995 Andre Frossard, French publicist (Defense of Pope), dies at 80
- 1995 David Kindersley, British stone letter-carver and typeface designer, dies at 79
- 1995 Phillip Borsos, Tasmanian/Canadian director (Mean Season), dies
- 1995 Robert L Haller, coon Dog Trainer, dies at 32
- 1996 Ray McIntire, American chemical engineer, dies at 77
- 1997 Godfrey Baseley, British radio executive, dies at 92
- 2002 Claude Brown, American writer (b. 1937)
- 2004 Alan Bullock, British historian and author (Hitler: A Study in Tyranny), dies at 89
- 2007 Filippo Raciti, Italian police officer (b. 1967)
- 2008 Earl Butz, 18th U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (1971-76), dies at 98
- 2012 Dorothy Gilman, American mystery writer, dies from Alzheimer's disease at 88
- 2013 Chris Kyle, American sniper, is shot at 38
- 2016 Intizar Hussain, Pakistani and Urdu writer and columnist, dies in his early 90s
- 2018 Joseph Polchinski, American leading theoretical physicist (multiverse), dies of brain cancer at 63
- 2018 Dave Barrett, 26th Premier of British Columbia (1972-75), dies at 87