Events in History
Event of Interest
1497 Nicolaus Copernicus' 1st recorded astronomical observation
Nicolaus Copernicus
Historic Expedition
1500 Pedro Álvares Cabral departs Lisbon, Portugal at the head of a 13 ship expedition to India that will also claim Brazil for Portugal
Pedro Álvares Cabral
The Protestant Reformation
1522 Martin Luther begins preaching his "Invocavit Sermons" in the German city of Wittenberg, reminding citizens to trust God's word rather than violence and thus helping bring to a close the revolutionary stage of the Reformation
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- 1551 Emperor Karel appoints son Philip as heir to the throne
- 1562 Kissing in public banned in Naples (punishable by death)
- 1566 David Rizzio, the private secretary to Mary I of Scotland, is murdered in the Palace of Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh, Scotland
- 1617 Sweden & Russia sign Peace of Stolbowa
- 1640 Pierre Corneilles "Horace" premieres in Paris
- 1642 English Queen Henriette Maria arrives in Hellevoetsluis, Netherlands
- 1689 Thomas Shadwell appointed second English Poet Laureate by William and Mary after John Dryden refuses to swear The Oath allegiance
- 1701 France, Cologne & Bavaria sign alliance
- 1721 British Chancellor Exchequer John Aislabie confined in London Tower
- 1741 British fleet under admiral Ogle begins assault on Cartagena
- 1745 Bells for 1st American carillon shipped from England to Boston
Historic Publication
1776 Adam Smith publishes the influential economics book "The Wealth of Nations"
Adam Smith
- 1798 Dr George Balfour becomes 1st naval surgeon in the US navy
- 1820 -11) Philippines chases out foreigners; about 125 die
- 1822 Charles Graham of NY granted first US patent for artificial teeth
- 1834 French Foreign Legion is founded
- 1839 Prussian government limits work week for children to 51 hours
- 1841 US Supreme Court rules the kidnapped slaves from the Spanish schooner the Amistad are free
- 1856 Sigma Alpha Epsilon is founded in the Johnston Mansion House on the University of Alabama
- 1858 Albert Potts of Philadelphia patents the street mailbox
- 1860 1st Japanese ambassador arrives in San Francisco en route to Washington
- 1861 Us Confederate currency authorized - $50, $100, $500, $1,000
- 1862 USS Monitor and CSS Merrimack battle in Hampton Roads
Appointment of Interest
1864 Ulysses S. Grant is appointed commander of Union Army
Ulysses S. Grant
Great Blizzard of 1891
1891 Great Blizzard of 1891 begins in England and lasts until March 13; Kills 200 people and 6,000 animals
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Event of Interest
1914 US Senator albert fall (Teapot Dome) demands "Cubanisation of Mexico"
Albert B. Fall
- 1916 Mexican General Francisco "Pancho" Villa invades US (18 killed)
- 1916 Germany declares war against Portugal
- 1918 Russian Bolshevik Party becomes the Communist Party
- 1918 Ukrainian mobs massacre Jews of Seredino Buda
- 1918 Wageningen Agricultural College Netherlands opens
- 1922 Eugene O'Neill's "Hairy Ape" premieres in NYC
- 1922 KJR-AM in Seattle Washington begins radio transmissions
- 1923 Amsterdam taxi strike ends
- 1923 Elmer Rice's "Adding Machine" premieres in NYC
- 1924 South Slavia aproves Italy's annexation of Fiume (Rijeka)
- 1925 Pink's War, the first RAF operation conducted independently of the Army or Navy, begins
- 1926 Bertha Landes elected 1st woman mayor of Seattle
- 1929 Marcel Pagnol's "Marius" premieres in Paris
Event of Interest
1932 Eamon De Valera becomes President of Ireland
Éamon de Valera
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Event of Interest
1935 Adolf Hitler publically announces the creation of a new air force, the Luftwaffe
Adolf Hitler
Firebombing of Tokyo
1945 334 US B-29 Superfortresses attack Tokyo with 120,000 fire bombs
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- 1945 Japanese proclaim "independence" of Indo-China
- 1946 Dutch troops land at Batavia/Semarang
- 1947 US Ladies' Figure Skating championship won by Gretchen Merrill
- 1947 US Men's Figure Skating championship won by Richard Button
- 1948 Provisionary Indonesian government installed in Batavia
- 1949 Brigadier General Edwin K Wright, USA, ends term as deputy director of CIA
- 1949 England beat South Africa by scoring 174 runs in 94 minutes
Event of Interest
1950 Willie Sutton robs Manufacturers Bank of $64,000 in NYC
Willie Sutton
Event of Interest
1951 Edward Teller and Stanislaw Ulam submit a classified paper at the Los Alamos lab, in which they proposed their revolutionary new design, staged implosion, for a practical megaton-range hydrogen bomb
Edward Teller
Event of Interest
1953 Joseph Stalin's funeral is held in Moscow after four days of national mourning
Joseph Stalin
Event of Interest
1954 Edward R Murrow criticizes Sen Joseph McCarthy (See it Now)
Joseph McCarthy
- 1956 Archbishop Makarios of Cyprus arrested & exiled to Seychelles
- 1956 Weather forecasting phone line set up in London England
- 1957 8.1 earthquake shakes Andreanof Islands, Alaska
- 1959 1st known radar contact is made with Venus
- 1959 Barbie makes her debut at the American Toy Fair in New York. Over a billion have been sold worldwide since.
Space Dog Laika Launched to her Death
1961 Soviet flight Sputnik 9 carries and returns from orbit a dog named Chernushka (Blackie), frogs and a guinea pig
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- 1961 Mine cave-in in Japan, kills 72
- 1962 Egyptian President Nasser declares Gaza belongs to Palestinians
- 1962 US advisors in South-Vietnam join the fight
- 1964 1st Ford Mustang produced
- 1964 Creighton's Paul Silas grabs Midwest record 27 rebounds against Okla
- 1964 Supreme Court issues NY Times vs Sullivan decision, public officials must prove malice to claim libel & recover damages
- 1966 Andrew Brimmer becomes 1st black governor of Federal Reserve Board
- 1971 J M Noreiga takes 9-95 WI v India at Port-of-Spain
- 1971 Three off-duty Scottish soldiers are killed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army; 4000 shipyard workers take to the streets to demand internment in response
- 1972 Four members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) die in a premature explosion at a house in Clonard Street, Lower Falls, Belfast
- 1974 Last Japanese soldier, a guerrilla operating in Philippines, surrenders, 29 years after World War II ended
- 1975 Construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System begins.
- 1977 Hanafi Muslims invade 3 buildings in Washington, D.C., siege ended Mar 11th
- 1977 Adm Stansfield Turner, USN (Ret), becomes 12th director of CIA replacing acting director Knoche
- 1978 Ice Pairs Championship at Ottawa won by Rodnina & Zaitsev (Soviet Union)
- 1978 Ladies Figure Skating Champions in Ottawa won by Anett Pötzsch (East Germany)
- 1978 Men's Figure Skating Champions in Ottawa won by Charles Tickner (USA)
- 1979 France performs nuclear test at Mururoa atoll
- 1980 Flemish and Walloon battle in Belgium, 40 injured
Birthdays in History
Amerigo Vespucci
1454 Amerigo Vespucci, Italian explorer (America), born in Florence (d. 1512)
Amerigo Vespucci
- 1564 David Fabricius, German astronomer (discovered variable star), born in Esens, Germany (d. 1617)
- 1568 Aloysius Gonzaga, Italian aristocrat and saint, born in Duchy of Mantua, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1591)
- 1629 Tsar Alexis I of Russia [Aleksey Mikhaylovich], Tsar of Russia (1645-76), born in Moscow (d. 1676)
- 1720 Philip Yorke, 2nd Earl of Hardwicke, English politician (d. 1790)
Comte de Mirabeau
1749 Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, Comte de Mirabeau, French revolutionary (influential member of the National Constituent Assembly), born in Le Bignon, France (d. 1791)
Comte de Mirabeau
- 1753 Jean-Baptiste Kléber, French general, born in Strasbourg, France (d. 1800)
- 1758 Franz Joseph Gall, German-French physician (phrenology), born in Tiefenbronn, Germany (d. 1828)
- 1763 William Cobbett, English journalist and author, born in Farnham, Surrey (d. 1835)
- 1777 Aleksander Orłowski, Polish painter, cartoonist and graphic artist, born in Warsaw, Poland (d. 1832)
- 1791 George Hayward, American surgeon, 1st to use ether (d. 1863)
- 1814 Taras Shevchenko, Ukrainian national poet and painter, born in Moryntsi, Ukraine (d. 1861) [NS]
- 1815 David Davis, Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, born in Cecil County, Maryland (d. 1886)
- 1820 Samuel Blatchford, Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, born in Auburn, New York (d. 1893)
Leland Stanford
1824 Leland Stanford, American business tycoon (Southern Pacific Railroad), 8th Governor of California and founder of Stanford University, born in Watervliet, New York (d. 1893)
Leland Stanford
- 1825 Alexander F. Mozhaiski, Russian aviation pioneer, born in Rochensalm, Russian Empire (d. 1890)
- 1833 Frederick A. Schroeder, American tobacco industrialist and mayor of Brooklyn, born in Trier, Germany (d. 1899)
- 1839 Felix Huston Robertson, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), born in Washington-on-the-Brazos, Texas (d. 1928)
- 1865 Margaret Murray Washington, Wife of Booker T. Washington and Lady Principal of Tuskegee, born in Macon, Mississippi (d. 1925)
- 1877 Emil Abderhalden, Swiss physiologist and biochemist, born in Oberuzwil, Switzerland (d. 1950)
- 1881 Ernest Bevin, British Minister of Labour (1940-45) and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (1945-51), born in Winsford, Sommerset (d. 1951)
- 1883 Umberto Saba, Italian writer, born in Trieste, Austria-Hungary (d. 1957)
- 1887 Fritz Lenz, German geneticist, born in Redło, Goleniów County, Poland (d. 1976)
Vyacheslav Molotov
1890 Vyacheslav Molotov [Skryabin], Russian politician (Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs, 1939-49, 1953-6), born in Kukarka, Russian Empire (d. 1986)
Vyacheslav Molotov
José P. Laurel
1891 Jose Paciano Laurel y Garcia, 3rd President of the Philippines (1942-44), born in Tanauan, Batangas (d. 1959)
José P. Laurel
- 1892 David Garnett, English novelist and editor (Lady into Fox), born in Brighton, East Sussex (d. 1981)
- 1892 Josef Weinheber, Austrian poet and writer (Adel und Untergang), born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1945)
- 1892 Vita Sackville-West, English novelist, poet (The Land) and gardener (Sissinghurst), born in Knole House, Kent (d. 1962)
- 1893 Edgar Scauflaire, Belgian painter and decorator, born in Liège, Belgium (d. 1960)
- 1894 Frank Arnau [Heinrich Schmitt], German crime fiction writer, born in Vienna (d. 1976)
- 1900 Prince Aimone, Duke of Aosta, Italian king of Croatia (1941-43), born in Turin, Italy (d. 1948)
- 1902 Edward Durell Stone, American architect (US Embassy, New Delhi), born in Fayetteville, Arkansas (d. 1978)
- 1904 Paul Klipsch, American engineer, noted for his loudspeaker designs, born in Elkhart, Indiana (d. 2002)
- 1905 Félix Labisse, French painter (libidoscaphes), born in Marchiennes, France (d. 1982)
- 1905 Peter C. Quennell, English biographer and critic (Byron in Italy), born in Bickley, Kent (d. 1993)
- 1905 Rex Warner, English poet and writer (Wild Goose Chase), born in Birmingham (d. 1986)
- 1909 Derk Bodde, American sinologist and historian of China, born in Marshfield, Massachusetts (d. 2003)
- 1910 Ed Hoornik, Dutch writer and poet (Survivor), born in The Hague, Netherlands (d. 1970)
- 1913 Gerarda Brautigam, Dutch journalist and politician (Partij van de Arbeid), born in Rotterdam (d. 1982)
- 1917 Dante Fascell, American politician (U.S. House of Representatives from Florida), born in Bridgehampton, New York (d. 1998)
- 1918 Mickey Spillane [Frank Morrison Spillane], American mystery writer (I the Jury), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2006)
- 1923 James L. Buckley, American politician, Senator from New York (1971-77), born in NYC, New York
- 1923 André Courrèges, French fashion designer, born in Pau, French Basque country (d. 2016)
- 1923 Walter Kohn, Austrian-born American scientist (Nobel Prize Chemistry 1998), born in Vienna (d. 2016)
- 1926 Gerrit A. Kooy, Dutch sociologist (Apartheid & work in South Africa), born in Kedichem, The Netherlands
- 1928 Gerald Bull, Canadian long range artillery designer and engineer, born in North Bay, Ontario (d. 1990)
- 1929 Hugh Desmond Hoyte, Guyanese politician and President of Guyana (1985-92), born in Georgetown, Guyana (d. 2002)
- 1929 Marie Cardinal, French writer (La Clé Sur La Porte), born in French Algeria (d. 2001)
- 1930 Harry Aarts, Dutch politician and 2nd chamber member (CDA), born in 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands
- 1931 Thore Skogman, Swedish entertainer, born in Hallstahammar, Sweden (d. 2007)
- 1932 Simon Heere Heeresma, Dutch writer and poet (Han de Wit goes in development aid), born in Amsterdam (d. 2011)
- 1932 Sister Bernard Ncube, South African religious sister and anti-apartheid, born in Johannesburg (d. 2012)
- 1933 Mel Lastman, Canadian businessman and politician, born in Toronto, Ontario
Yuri Gagarin
1934 Yuri Gagarin, Russian cosmonaut and 1st man into space (aboard Vostok 1), born in Klushino, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (d. 1968)
Yuri Gagarin
- 1935 Andrew Viterbi, American telecommunications scientist and businessman (Qualcomm Inc.), born in Bergamo, Italy
- 1937 Bernard Landry, Premier of Quebec (2001-2003), born in Saint-Jacques, Quebec, Canada
- 1941 Ger van Elk, Dutch sculptor, born in Amsterdam (d. 2014)
- 1941 Ernesto Miranda, American litigant, conviction on kidnapping, rape, and armed robbery charges, born in Mesa, Arizona (d. 1976)
- 1943 Charles Gibson, American television journalist (Good Morning America), born in Evanston, Illinois
- 1945 Dennis Rader, American serial killer who murdered ten people in Sedgwick County, Kansas, born in Pittsburg, Kansas
- 1946 Gherman Semyonovich Arzamazov, Russian cosmonaut (backup TM-6), born in Shubino, Russia
- 1947 Keri Hulme, New Zealand novelist, poet and short-story writer, born in Christchurch, New Zealand
- 1948 Jaime Lyn Bauer, American actress (Young & Restless, Centerfold Girls), born in Phoenix, Arizona
- 1948 Emma Bonino, Italian politician, Senator for Rome, born in Bra, Italy
- 1951 Michael Kinsley, American journalist and editor, born in Detroit, Michigan
- 1951 Helen Zille, South African politician, born in Johannesburg
- 1954 Bobby Sands, Irish IRA member and leader of the hunger strike at Maze Prison where he died, born in Newtownabbey, Northern Abbey (d. 1981)
- 1954 Carlos Ghosn, French Brazilian automobile executive (Renault, Nissan, Mitsubishi Motors), born in Porto Velho, Brazil
- 1956 Shashi Tharoor, Indian politician and diplomat (United Nations Under-Secretary General), born in London
- 1956 David Willetts, English Conservative Party politician, born in Birmingham, England
- 1957 Mona Sahlin, Swedish politician, leader of Swedish Social Democratic Party, born in Sollefteå, Västernorrland County, Sweden
- 1963 David Pogue, American technology columnist and TV science presenter, born in Shaker Heights, Ohio
- 1964 Herbert Fandel, German football referee, born in Kyllburg, Germany
- 1966 Tony Lockett, Australian Rules full-forward (highest goalscorer in VFL/AFL history, 1,360 in 281 games), born in Ballarat, Victoria
- 1966 Michael Patrick MacDonald, Irish-American activist against crime and violence and author (All Souls: A Family Story From Southie), born in Boston, Massachusetts
- 1970 Melissa Rathburn-Nealy, US soldier (Iraqi POW)
- 1972 Spencer Howson, Australian radio broadcaster, born in England
- 1973 Matteo Salvini, Italian politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Italy (2018-), born in Milan, Italy
- 1976 Thor Halvorssen, Venezuelan human rights activist, born in Venezuela
- 1983 Clint Dempsey, American footballer, born in Nacogdoches, Texas
Weddings in History
Wedding of Interest
1796 French Leader Napoléon Bonaparte (26) marries 1st wife Joséphine de Beauharnais (32), changing her name from Rose
Napoléon Bonaparte
Deaths in History
- 1202 King Sverre of Norway (1184-1202), dies
- 1422 Jan Zelivsky, Hussite priest (b. 1380)
- 1440 St Frances of Rome, Italian nun (b. 1384)
- 1444 Leonardo Bruni, Italian humanist, statesman and historian (1st to divide history into Antiquity, Middle Ages, Modern), dies at about 74
- 1566 David Rizzio, Italian secretary of Mary Queen of Scots, murdered by Protestant nobles
- 1620 Aegidius Albertinus, German writer (Lucifer's Kingdom), dies at 59
- 1649 James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton, Scottish statesman, dies at 42
- 1649 Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland, English soldier, executed at 58
- 1661 Jules "Cardinal" Mazarin, chief minister of France, dies at 58
- 1688 Claude Mellan, French engraver, cartoonist and painter, dies at 89
- 1709 Ralph Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu, English diplomat, dies at 70
- 1747 Jacob Campo Weyerman, Dutch painter and writer during Dutch Englightenment, dies at 69
- 1808 Joseph Bonomi the Elder, Italian architect who designed English country houses, dies at 69
- 1809 Jean-Pierre Blanchard, French ballonist (1st balloon flights in England and U.S.), dies at 55
- 1824 Jacobus J Cramer, priest of Holland/Zealand/Friesland, dies at 79
- 1831 Friedrich M. Klinger, German (stage )author (Plimplamplasko), dies at 79
- 1836 Antoine Destutt de Tracy, French Enlightenment philosopher, dies at 81
- 1847 Mary Anning, British fossil collector, dealer, and palaeontologist (Jurassic marine fossil beds of Lyme Regis in Dorset), dies of breast cancer at 47
Hans Christian Ørsted
- 1877 Mark Prager Lindo, English Dutch author (Neth Spectator), dies at 58
- 1883 Arnold Toynbee, English economic historian and social reformer, dies at 30
- 1888 William I, King of Prussia (1861-71) 1st German Emperor (1871-88), dies at 90
- 1895 Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, Austrian writer (Masochism), dies at 59
- 1897 Sondre Norheim, Norwegian skier and pioneer of modern skiing, dies at 71
- 1907 John Alexander Dowie, Scottish-American evangelist (founded the city of Zion, Illinois), dies at 59
- 1913 Eberhard Nestle, German biblical scholar, dies at 61
- 1918 [Benjamin] Franc[lin] Wedekind, German writer/press secretary, dies at 53
- 1931 Ida B Wells-Barnett, African American civil rights activist, dies in Chicago at 78
- 1937 Paul Elmer More, American critic and essayist, dies at 72
- 1947 Carrie Chapman Catt, American women's suffrage leader, dies at 88
- 1954 Eva Ahnert-Rohlfs, German astronomer (b. 1912)
- 1954 V. Walfrid Ekman, Swedish oceanographer, dies at 79
- 1955 Matthew A Henson, met Peary on 6/4/1909 at North Pole, dies at 88
- 1960 Jack Beattie, Northern Irish politician (b. 1886)
- 1962 Howard Engstrom, Boston, a designer of Univac computer, dies at 59
- 1963 Frederic G. Melcher, American publisher and editor who founded children's book week, dies at 83
- 1964 Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, Prussian general and politician, dies at 93
- 1965 Kazys Boruta, Lithuanian writer, dies at 60
- 1969 Riad, chief of staff (Egyptian army), dies
- 1974 Earl W Sutherland Jr, US pharmacologist (Nobel 1971), dies at 58
- 1975 Joseph Dunninger, NYC, mentalist (Amazing Dunninger), dies at 82
- 1975 Gleb W. Derujinsky, Russian-American sculptor, dies at 86
- 1981 Max Delbrück, German-American biologist and molecular geneticist (bacteriophage, Nobel Prize 1969), dies at 74
- 1982 Richard A Butler, England, min of Finance, dies at 79
- 1983 Ulf von Euler, Swedish physiologist famous for his work on neurotransmitters (Nobel 1970), dies at 78
- 1988 Kurt Georg Kiesinger, West German chancellor (1966-69), dies at 83
- 1989 Robert Mapplethorpe, American photographer, dies at 42
- 1992 Jack McEdward, asst dir (Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell), dies at 94
- 1992 James Brooks, US mural painter (Flight, La Guardia NY), dies at 85
Menachem Begin
1992 Menachem Begin, 6th Prime Minister of Israel (1977-80, 81-83) and 1979 Nobel Peace Prize winner, dies of a heart attack at 85
Menachem Begin
- 1993 Max August Zorn, German mathematician (lemma of Zorn), dies at 86
- 1994 Charles Bukowski, author/poet, dies of leukemia at 73
- 1994 Lawrence E. Spivak, American news panelist (Meet the Press), dies at 93
- 1995 Ian Ballantine, publisher, dies of heart attack at 79
- 1995 Edward Bernays, Austrian-American pioneer in the field of public relations and propaganda, dies at 103
- 1996 Alan Hugh Iliffe, psychologist, dies at 77
- 1996 Elman Ali Ahmed, peace campaigner, dies at 42
- 1996 Peter Mansfield, British political journalist and author, dies at 67
- 1997 Terry Nation, writer (Dr Who, Blake 7) at 66
- 2003 Bernard Dowiyogo, President of Nauru (b. 1946)
- 2004 Dr. Gerald Deskin, Ph.D., clinical child psychologist (b. 1929)
- 2005 Kurt Lotz, German business executive and second postwar CEO of Volkswagen, dies at 92
- 2005 Jeanette Schmid, Austrian transsexual professional whistler, dies at 80
- 2006 John Profumo, British cabinet minister (Profumo scandal), dies at 91
- 2006 Geir Ivarsøy, Norwegian programmer, co-founder of Opera Software ASA (b. 1957)
- 2007 Jeanne Hopkins Lucas, North Carolina politician (b. unknown)
- 2010 Doris Haddock, American political activist (b. 1910)
- 2011 David S. Broder, American journalist (Pulitzer 1973), dies at 81
- 2012 Selma Rubin, American environmental activist, dies at 96
- 2012 Lord Wedderton of Charlton, British academic and politician, dies at 84
- 2012 Bill Wedderburn, Baron Wedderburn of Charlton, British politician, dies at 84
- 2015 James Molyneaux [Baron Molyneaux of Killead], MP (Ulster unionist), dies at 94
John Gutfreund
2016 John Gutfreund, American investment banker, CEO of Salomon Brothers (King of Wall Street), dies at 86
John Gutfreund
- 2017 Howard Hodgkin, British abstract painter, dies at 84
- 2018 Joaquin Avila, American lawyer and civil rights champion who advocated against voter discrimination, dies from complications of colon and liver cancer at 69
- 2019 Bobbi Fiedler, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California), dies at 81