Events in History
Victory in Battle
101 BC Battle of Vercellae: Roman army under Gaius Marius defeats the Cimbri in Cisalpine Gaul, ending the Celto-Germanic threat on Italy's border with over 100,000 Cimbri killed
Gaius Marius
- 579 Benedict I ends his reign as Catholic Pope
- 657 St Vitalian begins his reign as Catholic Pope succeeding Eugene I
Abbasid-Era Baghdad
762 City of Baghdad founded by Abbasid caliph Al-Mansur, just north of ancient Baghdad
Learn More >>
Royal Coronation
1178 Frederick I (Barbarossa), Holy Roman Emperor, crowned King of Burgundy
Frederick Barbarossa
- 1419 First defenestration of Prague: anti-Catholic Hussites, followers of executed reformer Jan Hus, storm Prague town hall and throw the judge, mayor and several city council members out the windows. They die in the fall or killed by crowd outside.
- 1537 Resistant of Bomy: French/Dutch cease fire
- 1601 Spanish garrison of Rhine birch surrenders to Earl Mauritius
- 1618 Prince Maurits' troops pull into Utrecht
- 1619 House of Burgesses Virginia forms, 1st elective American governing body
- 1650 Prince Willem II occupies Amsterdam
- 1653 Johan de Witt sworn in as pension advisor of Holland
- 1655 Dutch troops occupy Fort Assahudi Seram
- 1678 English troops land in Flanders
- 1715 Spanish gold and silver fleet disappears off St Lucie, Florida
- 1729 City of Baltimore founded
- 1733 Society of Freemasons opens 1st American lodge in Boston
- 1739 Caspar Wistar begins glass manufacturing in Allowaystown, New Jersey
- 1756 Bartolomeo Rastrelli presents the newly-built Catherine Palace to Empress Elizabeth and her courtiers in Russia
Event of Interest
1775 Captain James Cook with Resolution returns to England
James Cook
- 1809 British armed force of 39,000 lands in Walcheren
- 1811 Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, leader of the Mexican insurgency, is executed by the Spanish in Chihuahua, Mexico
- 1822 James Varick becomes 1st bishop of African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church
- 1824 Gioacchino Rossini becomes manager of Theatre Italian, Paris
- 1825 Malden Island is discovered in the central Pacific by British warship HMS Blonde
- 1826 Java prince Dipo Negoro surprise attacks Dutch colony, 82 killed
- 1836 First English language newspaper published in Hawaii
Event of Interest
1863 President Abraham Lincoln issues "eye-for-eye" order to shoot a rebel prisoner for every black prisoner shot
Abraham Lincoln
- 1863 Indian Wars: Chief Pocatello of the Shoshone tribe signs the Treaty of Box Elder, promising to stop harassing the emigrant trails in southern Idaho and northern Utah
- 1864 Battle of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania - burned by Union forces under McCausland
- 1864 Battle of Petersburg: General Burnsides fails in an attack on Petersburg in the Battle of the Crater
- 1865 Pope Pius IX visits Suriname
- 1866 New Orleans's Democratic government orders police to raid an integrated Republican Party meeting, killing 40 people and injuring 150
- 1869 The Charles, considered the world’s first "oil tanker", departs from the United States headed for Europe with a bulk capacity of 7,000 barrels of oil
- 1870 Staten Island ferry "Westfield" burns, killing 100
- 1870 The Republic of Klipdrift is proclaimed by Transvaal President Andries Pretorius after the discovery of diamonds in South Africa in 1866 resulted in a flood of treasure hunters; ownership of the diamond fields was contested by the Boer republics
- 1872 Mahlon Loomis patents wireless telegraphy
- 1878 German anti-semitism begins during the Reichstag election
- 1900 British Parliament passes several progressive social acts: a Mines Act, a Workmen's Compensation Act and a Railway Act
- 1902 Anti-Jewish rioters attack funeral procession of Rabbi Joseph (NYC)
- 1905 Dutch Covenant of Worker's union, NVV, forms
- 1907 Russia and Japan sign an agreement guaranteeing freedom of China while recognizing each other's special interests
- 1907 The Filipinos elect their first legislature; it will meet on 16 October
- 1907 Starting today, the French bombard Casablanca and land troops to occupy the Atlantic-coast region of Morocco after attacks on foreigners
- 1909 French chemist Eugène Schueller founds L'Oréal with his new range of hair dyes
- 1913 Conclusion of 2nd Balkan War
- 1914 Austrian-Hungary & Russia proclaim general mobilization
- 1914 French troops withdraw 10 km from German border
- 1914 John French appointed British supreme commander
Event of Interest
1914 After initial reluctance, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia is persuaded to decree a general mobilizations in response to Austria; 'Think of the thousands and thousands of men who will be sent to their deaths!' he claims
Nicholas II
- 1916 German saboteurs blow up a munitions plant on Black Tom Island, New Jersey
- 1917 Board of Commissioners of Cleveland Metroparks has its 1st meeting
- 1921 The Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA) forms; the party changed its name to the South African Communist Party (SACP) in 1953, after it had been forced underground
- 1923 New Zealand claims Ross Dependency in Antarctica
- 1926 Albanian boundaries deduced
Event of Interest
1928 George Eastman shows first amateur color motion pictures to guests at his New York house including Thomas Edison
George Eastman
Thomas Edison
- 1935 1st Penguin book is published, starting the paperback revolution
- 1937 Russian Politburo issues NKVD Order no. 00447, to repress former kulak and anti-soviets, 269,100 to be arrested, 76,000 to be shot. Part of the Great Purge.
- 1938 General Metaxas names himself premier of Greece
- 1941 German occupiers forbid SDAP, VDB, ARP, RKSP, CHU & SGP in Netherlands
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Sinking of the USS Indianapolis
1945 After delivering the Atomic Bomb across the Pacific, the cruiser USS Indianapolis is torpedoed and sunk by Japanese submarine I-58. 880 of the crew died, many after being attacked by sharks, the inspiration for the movie Jaws.
Learn More >>
- 1946 1st rocket attains 100 mi (167 km) altitude, White Sands, New Mexico
- 1949 British warship HMS Amethyst escapes down Yangtze River, having been refused a safe passage by Chinese Communists after 3-month standoff
- 1952 Ford Frick sets waiver rule to bar inter-league deals until all clubs in same league get right to bid
- 1954 5th British Empire Games and Commonwealth Games open in Vancouver, Canada
- 1956 US motto "In God We Trust" authorized
Event of Interest
1963 British spy Kim Philby found in Moscow
Kim Philby
Lyndon B. Johnson
- 1966 US airplanes bombs demilitarized zone in Vietnam
- 1967 Race riot in Milwaukee (4 killed)
- 1968 Washington shortstop Ron Hansen makes 8th unassisted triple-play in MLB history and first in 41 years as Senators lose, 10-1 to Cleveland Indians
- 1970 -Aug 5] Hurricane Celia, kills 31 in Cuba, Florida and Texas
- 1970 Riots hit Belfast, North Ireland
- 1971 Japanese Boeing 727 collides with an F-86 fighter killing 162
- 1971 US Apollo 15 (Scott & Irwin) lands on Mare Imbrium on the Moon
- 1974 House Judiciary Committee votes on 3rd & last charge of "high crimes & misdemeanors" to impeach President Nixon in the Watergate cover-up
- 1975 Simon Gray's "Otherwise Engaged" premieres in London
- 1975 US Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa disappears in suburban Detroit; Hoffa legally declared dead in 1982
- 1975 Murtala Mohammed overthrows General Gowon to become Nigerian Head of State
- 1976 Giulio Andreotti sworn in as premier of Italy for the 2nd time
- 1976 4 Protestant civilians were shot dead at a pub off Milltown Road, Belfast; the attack was claimed by the Republican Action Force
- 1980 Vanuatu (New Hebrides) gains independence from Britain & France
- 1981 Belgian Senate accept laws against racism
- 1981 Simon Gray's "Quartermaine's Terms" premieres in London
- 1982 USSR performs underground nuclear Test
- 1983 Official speed record for a piston-driven aircraft, 832 kph, California
- 1984 Alvenus tanker at Cameron Louisiana, spills 2.8 million gallons of oil
- 1984 Holly Roffey aged 11 days is the youngest ever to receive a heart transplant
- 1985 Discovery moves to Vandenberg AFB for mating of STS 51-I mission
- 1985 Valerie Lowrance, of Texas, 18, crowned America's Junior Miss
- 1987 An ANC car bomb directed at the headquarters of the Wits Command in Johannesburg South Africa kills 1 person and injures 68
Birthdays in History
- 1511 Giorgio Vasari, Italian painter and art historian (Vasari's Lives), born in Arezzo, Republic of Florence (d. 1574)
- 1549 Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, born in Florence (d. 1609)
- 1641 Regnier de Graaf, Dutch physician and anatomist, born in Schoonhoven, Netherlands (d. 1673)
- 1763 Samuel Rogers, English poet (Italy, a poem), born in Newington Cross, Islington, England (d. 1855)
- 1809 Charles Chiniquy, Canadian Catholic priest who left the Roman Catholic Church and became a Presbyterian minister, born in Kamouraska, Quebec (d. 1899)
- 1815 Thomas Jackson Rodman, American Brevet Brigadier General (Union Army), inventor of the rodman gun and perforated-cake gunpowder, born in Salem, Indiana (d. 1871)
Emily Brontë
1818 Emily Brontë, English novelist (Wuthering Heights), born in Thornton, West Yorkshire (d. 1848)
Emily Brontë
- 1818 John Heemskerk, Dutch politician (Minister of the Interior 1866-88), born in Amsterdam, Netherlands (d. 1897)
- 1825 Chaim Aronson, Lithuanian inventor and academic, born in Seredžius, Lithuania (d. 1893)
- 1831 Helena Blavatsky, Russian occultist, philosopher, and author (co-founded Theosophical Society), born in Yekaterinoslav, Ukraine (d. 1891)
- 1837 Elon John Farnsworth, American Brigadier General (Union Army), born in Green Oak, Michigan (d. 1863)
- 1838 Eugen Richter, German politician (Liberal), born in Düsseldorf, Germany (d. 1906)
- 1855 James E. Kelly, American sculptor "Sculptor of American History", born in NYC, New York (d. 1933)
- 1856 Richard Haldane, British viscount and lord-chancellor (Life of A Smith), born in Edinburgh, Scotland (d. 1928)
- 1857 Thorstein Veblen, American economist (Theory of the Leisure Class-1899), born in Cato, Wisconsin (d. 1929)
- 1859 Henry Lunn, English humanitarian and religious leader, born in Horncastle, Lincolnshire (d. 1939)
- 1859 Henry Louis Smith, American physicist who made the first X-ray photograph, born in Greensboro, North Carolina (d. 1951)
Henry Ford
1863 Henry Ford, American industrialist and auto maker (Ford Model T), born in Dearborn Township, Michigan (d. 1947)
Henry Ford
- 1868 Alfred Weber, German economist and sociologist, born in Erfurt, Prussian Saxony (d. 1958)
- 1872 Clémentine, Princess of Belgium, wife of Prince Napoleon Bonaparte V, born in Royal Castle of Laeken, Brussels (d. 1955)
- 1880 Robert R. McCormick, American editor and publisher (Chicago Tribune), born in Chicago (d. 1955)
- 1881 Smedley Butler, American Marine general, born in West Chester, Pennsylvania (d. 1940)
- 1882 Leo van Puyfielde, Flemish art historian and museum curator
- 1887 Felix Andries Vening Meinesz, Dutch geophysicist (gravity), born in The Hague, Netherlands (d. 1966)
- 1888 Raden Soetomo, Indonesian freedom fighter, born in Ngepeh, Nganjuk, Indonesia (d. 1938)
Fatima Jinnah
1893 Fatima Jinnah, Mother of Pakistan, sister and close adviser of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, born in Karachi, Bombay Presidency, British India (d. 1967)
Fatima Jinnah
- 1894 Blanche Knopf, American publisher, president of Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. and wife of publisher Alfred A. Knopf Sr., born in NYC, New York (d. 1966)
- 1897 Jacques de Kadt, Dutch politician and writer (Fascism is War!), born in Oss, Netherlands (d. 1988)
- 1898 Henry Moore, English artist and sculptor (known for Three Piece Sculpture: Vertebrae), born in Castleford (d. 1986)
- 1899 Harry Moorman, Dutch vice-admiral (KVP), born in Roermond, Netherlands (d. 1971)
- 1904 Salvador Novo, Mexican writer and poet, born in Mexico City, Mexico (d. 1974)
- 1909 C. Northcote Parkinson, English historian (Pursuit of Progress), born in Barnard Castle, County Durham, England (d. 1993)
- 1910 Edgar de Evia, Mexican-American photographer, born in Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico (d. 2003)
- 1916 Robert van Spaendonck, Dutch resistance fighter, born in Tilburg, Netherlands (d. 1944)
- 1919 Berniece Baker Miracle, American writer (My Sister Marilyn) and half-sister of Marilyn Monroe, born in Venice, Los Angeles
- 1921 Jacques Van der Schueren, Belgian minister of Economic Affairs, born in Aalst, Belgium (d. 1997)
- 1922 Henry W. Bloch, American businessman (co-founder of H&R Block) and philanthropist, born in Kansas City, Missouri
- 1923 Dipa Nusantara Aidit, Indonesian communist leader of PKI (1951-65), born in Belitung Island, Dutch East Indies (d. 1965)
- 1924 William H. Gass, American novelist and philosopher (Omensetter's Luck), born in Fargo, North Dakota (d. 2017)
- 1924 C. T. Vivian, American civil rights activist , worked with Martin Luther King, born in Boonville, Missouri (d. 2020)
- 1926 Peter Trevenen Thwaites, British Brigadier General and playwright (Love or money) (d. 1991)
- 1929 Sid Krofft, Canadian-American puppeteer (Barbara Mandrell Show), born in Montreal, Quebec
- 1936 John Burton-Hall, Dorset England, captain (QE2)
- 1936 Infanta Pilar of Spain, Duchess of Badajoz, daughter of Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona and Princess María Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, born in Cannes, French Third Republic
- 1938 Terry O'Neill, British fashion and celebrity photographer, born in Romford, London, England (d. 2019)
- 1938 Hervé de Charette, French politician, born in Paris
- 1940 Clive Sinclair, British computer inventor (ZX Spectrum), born in Richmond, Surrey
- 1940 Pat Schroeder, American politician (Rep-D-Colorado, 1973-97), born in Portland, Oregon
- 1941 Count Desmond [Edward Benjamin], Binghamton NY, sword swallower
- 1943 Henri-François Gautrin, Quebec politician, born in Béthune, France
- 1945 Patrick Modiano, French novelist (Nobel 2014), born in Boulogne-Billancourt, France
- 1947 Jonathan Mann, American physician and AIDS activist, born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1998)
- 1947 Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, French virologist (Nobel Prize 2008, discovered HIV), born in Paris, France
- 1953 Aleksandr Nikolayevich Balandin, Russian cosmonaut (Soyuz TM-9), born in Moscow, Russia
- 1956 Anita Hill, American academic and attorney, accused Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment, born in Lone Tree, Oklahoma
- 1956 Soraida Martinez, American painter and creator of Verdadism, born in Manhattan, New York City
- 1957 Nery Pumpido, Argentine footballer (played in World Cup 1986, 90), born in Monje, Santa Fe, Argentina
- 1959 Abdullah of Pahang, sixth Sultan of Pahang, King of Malaysia (2019-), born in Pekan, Malaya
- 1962 Andy Green, British Royal Air Force and 1st to break sound barrier on land, born in Atherstone, Warwickshire, England
- 1962 Vladimir Dezhurov, Russian cosmonaut (Soyuz TM-21), born in Yavas, Mordovia, Soviet Union
- 1962 Jay Feaster, American National Hockey League executive, born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
- 1971 Sagi Kalev, Israeli bodybuilder, born in Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel
- 1975 Graham Nicholls, English artist, born in London, United Kingdom
- 1979 Diva Zappa, American artist and daughter of Frank, born in Los Angeles, California
- 2002 Prince Hridayendra of Nepal, Nepalese royal, born in Kathmandu, Nepal
Weddings in History
- 1988 James Ogilvy (under Engl princess Alexandra) marries Julia Rawlinson
Deaths in History
- 578 Jacob Baradaeus, Bishop of Edessa
- 579 Benedict I, Italian Pope (575-79), dies
- 1516 Johan V Nassau, earl of Nassau-Vianden/Dietz, dies
- 1528 Jacopo d'antonio Negreti Palma, Italian painter, dies at about 48
- 1540 Robert Barnes, English churchman (martyred) (b. 1495)
- 1540 Thomas Abel, English priest (martyred)
- 1550 Thomas Wriothesley, 1st Earl of Southampton, English politician (b. 1505)
- 1566 Guillaume Rondelet, French naturalist famous for his study of marine animals, dies at 58
- 1652 John Cloppenburg, vicar/theologist, dies at 68
- 1652 Charles Amédée de Savoie, 6th Duc de Nemours, French soldier (b. 1624)
- 1680 Thomas Butler, Earl of Ossory, Irish naval commander (b. 1634)
Maria Theresa of Spain
1683 Maria Theresa of Spain, queen of Louis XIV of France, dies at 44
Maria Theresa of Spain
- 1691 Daniel Georg Morhof, German writer and scholar (b. 1639)
William Penn
1718 William Penn, English Philosopher, Quaker and founder of Pennsylvania (No cross, no crown), dies at 73
William Penn
- 1741 Wierich PL count von Daun, gov-gen of Austria & Netherlands, dies
- 1771 Thomas Gray, English poet, dies at 54
- 1796 Nicolas de Pigage, French classical architect, dies at 72
- 1832 Jean-A-C Chaptal, French chemist/Internal minister, dies
- 1849 Jacob Perkins, American inventor, dies at 83
- 1863 George Crockett Strong, US Union gen-mjr, dies of injuries at 29
- 1865 George Wright, US Union brigadier general, dies at 61
- 1875 George Pickett, American Confederate general (b. 1825)
Otto von Bismarck
1898 Otto von Bismarck, German "Iron" chancellor, dies at 83
Otto von Bismarck
- 1900 Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, dies at 55
- 1901 Herbert Baxter Adams, American historian (American Historical Association), dies at 51
- 1903 Servas Daems, [Peeter Klein], Flem writer (Wheelbarrows), dies at 65
- 1912 Emperor Meiji [Mutsuhito], 122nd emperor of Japan (1867-1912), dies at 60
- 1914 Jean Jaurès, leading socialist, assassinated in Paris
- 1916 Albert Neisser, German physician who discovered the bacterias that cause gonorrhea and leprosy, dies of septicemia at 61
- 1918 Chaim Soloveitchik, Rabbi of Brisk, talmudic scholar, dies
Joyce Kilmer
1918 Joyce Kilmer, American poet, dies at 31
Joyce Kilmer
- 1927 Robert Marquies de Flers, French writer (Monsieur Bretonneau), dies
- 1930 Joan Gamper, Swiss-Catalan businessman and founder of FC Barcelona, dies at 52
- 1947 Joseph Cook, 6th Prime Minister of Australia, dies at 86
- 1965 Junichiro Tanizaki, Japanese writer (Key), dies at 79
- 1970 Louis Lomax, African-American author and journalist, dies in a car accident 47
- 1971 Kenneth Slessor, Australian poet (b. 1901)
- 1976 Emil Solomon "Solly" Sachs, South African socialist, dies in London
- 1977 Jorgen Ponto, West German banker, murdered
- 1983 Howard Deitz, MGM executive, dies at 86 of Parkinson's disease
- 1985 Julia Hall Bowman Robinson, American mathematician (b. 1919)
- 1989 Lane Frost, American bull rider, dies from injuries sustained by being gored by a bull at 25
- 1990 Ian Gow, British Conservative parliament leader, murdered
- 1990 Karl Weber, dies of heart failure at 74
- 1991 Leonardus S van Egerat, travel expert, dies at 68
- 1993 Edward B A M Raczynski, Polish pres-in-exile (1979-86), dies at 97
- 1993 John Castrios, 1st murder in Washington NH in 200 years, killed at 45
- 1994 Enid Balint-Edmonds, British psychoanalyst, dies at 90
- 1994 Henry Mackie, designer of the Belfast Calorimeter, dies at 73
- 1995 Charles James Dunn, japanese scholar, dies at 80
- 1995 Harry Shorto, British philologist and linguist (A Dictionary of the Mon Inscriptions), dies at 75
- 1996 Father Alan Cheales, Dominican priest for 33 years, dies at 83
- 2005 John Garang, Vice President of Sudan (b. 1945)
- 2005 Anthony Walker, English hate crime murder victim (b. 1987)
- 2006 Murray Bookchin, American libertarian socialist (b. 1921)
- 2007 William Balchin, English geographer, dies at 91
- 2007 Teoctist, Ex-Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church (b. 1915)
- 2008 Anne Armstrong U.S. ambassador to Britain and first female counsel to the President, dies at 80
- 2009 Peter Zadek, German theatre director (b. 1926)
- 2012 Maeve Binchy [Snell], Irish novelist (Light a Penny Candle), dies at 72
- 2018 Ron Dellums, American politician (D-House representative from California, 1971-1998), dies of cancer at 82