Events in History
Battle of the Granicus
334 BC The Macedonian army of Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of the Granicus
Learn More >>
- 760 14th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet
- 1200 Treaty of Le Goulet signed between France and England
- 1370 Jews are expelled and massacred in Brussels, Belgium
- 1377 Pope Gregory XI issues five papal bulls to denounce the doctrines of English theologian John Wycliffe
- 1455 Opening battle in England's 30-year Wars of the Roses. Richard of York takes St Albans, capturing King Henry VI
- 1526 Pope Clemens VII, France, Genoa, Venice, Florence & Milan form Anti-French League of Cognac
- 1570 1st atlas 'Theatrum Orbis Terrarum' (Theatre of the World), published by Abraham Ortelius in Antwerp with 70 maps
- 1594 Earl Mauritius and Willem Louis begins siege of Groningen
- 1629 Emperor Ferdinand II & Danish King Christian IV sign Peace of Lubeck
- 1659 France, England & Netherlands sign "Hedges Concerto" treaty
- 1746 Russia and Austria sign treaty of cooperation
- 1761 1st life insurance policy in North America issued in Philadelphia
- 1762 Sweden and Prussia sign the Treaty of Hamburg, reaffirming the status quo that existed before the Seven Years War
- 1784 Ceylonese student leader Pieter Quint Ondaatje demands democracy
Napoléon Bonaparte
- 1803 1st US public library opens in Connecticut
Event of Interest
1807 Former US Vice President Aaron Burr is tried for treason in Richmond, Virginia (acquitted)
Aaron Burr
- 1807 Townsend Speakman 1st sells fruit-flavored carbonated drinks in Philadelphia
- 1819 1st steam propelled vessel to cross Atlantic (Savannah leaves Ga)
- 1826 HMS Beagle departs on its first voyage to survey Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego
- 1840 The transporting of British convicts to the New South Wales colony is abolished
- 1842 Farmers Lester Howe and Henry Wetsel discover Howe Caverns in New York state when they stumble upon a large gaping hole in the ground
- 1843 1st wagon train with 700 - 1000 migrants, departs Independence, Missouri for Oregon
Historic Invention
1849 Abraham Lincoln receives a patent (only US President to do so) for a device to lift a boat over shoals and obstructions
Abraham Lincoln
Event of Interest
1863 General Ulysses S. Grant begins siege on Vicksburg
Ulysses S. Grant
- 1863 War Department establishes Bureau of Colored Troops
- 1864 Battle of North Anna River, Virginia (Totopotamy River, Haw's Shop, Hanovertown)
- 1868 Train robbery at Marshfield, Indiana by the Reno Brothers Gang, who make off with $98,000
- 1872 Amnesty Act restores civil rights to Southerners (except for 500)
- 1888 Leroy Buffington patents a system to build skyscrapers
- 1892 Dr Washington Sheffield invents the toothpaste tube
- 1893 Montreal Athletic Association beat Ottawa Generals 2-1, in 1st Cup Game
- 1897 The Blackwall Tunnel, London, under the River Thames is officially opened
- 1900 Associated Press organizes in NYC as non-profit news cooperative
Treaty of Interest
1902 US President Theodore Roosevelt signs a treaty with Mexico under which both countries agree to submit a long-standing dispute over interest payments to the Court of Arbitration at The Hague
Theodore Roosevelt
- 1903 Launch of the White Star Liner SS Ionic.
- 1905 Royal Academy in Delft Holland becomes Technical High School
- 1906 Wright Brothers are granted a patent for their "flying machine," having applied for one 3 years earlier (patent no. 821,393)
- 1906 A British garrison leaves Esquimalt, on the Pacific coast, after a military occupation that began in 1858: the last British soldiers stationed in Canada
- 1907 Albert Trott takes two hat-tricks in an innings, Middlesex v Somerset
- 1909 1st San Francisco fireboat, David Scannell, launched
- 1915 Local train collides with troop train killing 226 in Gretna, Scotland
- 1915 Lassen Peak erupts with a powerful force, only mountain other than Mount St. Helens, to erupt in the continental US during the 20th century
- 1916 Battle of Verdun: French troops assault Fort Douaumont but fail to recapture it after hours of dogged fighting
Event of Interest
1919 A. E. Douglass establishes the relative dates of two archaeological sites using ancient wood samples, marking a major step forward in the dating of archaeological sites
A. E. Douglass
Event of Interest
1926 Chiang Kai-shek replaces communists in Guomindang China
Chiang Kai-shek
Baseball Record
1930 Yankees' future Baseball Hall of Fame 1st baseman Lou Gehrig becomes first to hit 3 HRs three times as NY outscores Philadelphia A's, 20-13; teams combine for then-record 10 homers
Lou Gehrig
- 1931 Canned rattlesnake meat 1st goes on sale in Florida
- 1933 First modern sighting of the Loch Ness Monster by Aldie and John Mackay saw "something resembling a whale"
- 1933 World Trade Day/National Maritime Day 1st celebrated
- 1936 Aer Lingus (Aer Loingeas) is founded by the Irish government as the national airline of the Republic of Ireland
Treaty of Interest
1939 Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini sign "Pact of Steel" in Berlin, Germany
Benito Mussolini
Adolf Hitler
- 1940 Dutch Premier De Geer begins working with nazis
Event of Interest
1940 UK Premier Winston Churchill flies to Paris to decide with General Maxime Weygand a strategy to save the city
Winston Churchill
- 1941 British troops attack Baghdad
- 1942 Mexico declares war on Nazi-Germany & Japan
- 1942 The Steel Workers Organizing Committee disbands, and a new trade union, the United Steelworkers, is formed
- 1943 RAF scatters 1st copies of "The Flying Hollander"
- 1945 6th US Marine division reaches suburbs of Naha Okinawa
- 1945 NSB-Fuhrer Rost van Tonningen makes failed suicide attempt
- 1946 Yankees turn triple-play & defeat Tigers 5-3
- 1946 First US rocket (WAC Corporal) to reach edge of space fired from White Sands Missile Range New Mexico
- 1947 "Truman Doctrine" goes into effect, aiding Turkey and Greece
- 1947 1st US ballistic missile fired
- 1950 Celal Bayar elected President of Turkey
- 1950 Dutch poet Gerrit Achterberg wins PC Hooft prize
- 1950 Richard Strauss' "4 Last Songs" (4 letzte Lieder) in London
Event of Interest
1953 US President Eisenhower signs Offshore Oil Bill
Dwight D. Eisenhower
- 1953 Yankee Irv Noren hits into a triple-play, Yanks beat Wash 12-4
- 1954 Robert Zimmerman aka Bob Dylan is Bar Mitzvahed
- 1957 South Africa's government approves race separation in universities
- 1959 Benjamin O Davis Jr becomes 1st black major general in US Air Force
- 1960 Tsunami strikes Hilo, Hawaii at 01:04 AM, severely damaging virtually all coastal towns between the 37th and 44th parallels
- 1961 1st revolving restaurant (Top Of The Needle in Seattle) opens
- 1962 Netherlands telephone network becomes completely automated
- 1962 Major Robert A Rushworth, USAF, takes X-15 to 30,600m
- 1962 Continental Airlines Flight 11 crashes after bombs explode on board
- 1963 Greek parliament leader Lambrakis injured
Lyndon B. Johnson
- 1965 Mad Dog Vachon beats Igor Vodic in Omaha, to become NWA champ
- 1967 Egyptian president Nassar closes Straits of Tiran to Israel
- 1967 Fire at L'Innovation department store kills 322 (Brussels, Belgium)
- 1969 Stafford & Cernan pilot Apollo 10 LEM 9.4 mi(15km) above lunar surface
- 1970 Arab terrorists kill 9 children & 3 adults on a school bus
- 1970 France performs nuclear test at Mururoa atoll
- 1970 Mel Stottlemyre sets record by walking 11, but wins 2-0
- 1971 A British soldier is killed by members of the Official Irish Republican Army in Belfast
- 1972 Ceylon becomes Republic of Sri Lanka as its constitution is ratified
- 1972 Ton Sijbrands becomes world checkers champion
- 1972 US President Nixon begins visit to Moscow
- 1972 Over 400 women in Derry attack the offices of Official Sinn Féin in Derry, North Ireland, following the shooting of William Best by the Official Irish Republican Army
- 1973 President Nixon confesses his role in Watergate cover-up
- 1974 Ruffian begins her racing career as a filly and dies 14 months later
Birthdays in History
- 1622 Louis de Buade de Frontenac, French soldier and Governor General of New France, born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France (d. 1698)
- 1671 Abraham Patras, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (1735-37), born in Grenoble, France (d. 1737)
- 1715 François-Joachim de Pierre de Bernis, French cardinal and statesma, born in Saint-Marcel d'Ardèche, France (d. 1794)
- 1724 Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne, French explorer (made important discoveries in the south Indian Ocean, in Tasmania and in New Zealand), born in St Malo, France (d. 1772)
- 1770 Princess Elizabeth of the United Kingdom, 7th child and 3rd daughter of King George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, born in Buckingham House, London (d. 1840)
- 1772 Ram Mohan Roy, Hindu reformer (founded Brahmo Sabha), born in Radhanagar, British India (d. 1833)
- 1804 John William Livingston, American Commander (Union Navy), born in NYC, New York (d. 1885)
- 1808 Gérard de Nerval [Gérard Labrunie], French writer, born in Paris (d. 1855)
- 1821 Alfred Sully, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1879)
- 1823 Solomon Bundy, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 21st district), born in Oxford, New York (d. 1889)
- 1828 Bartel Wilton, Dutch ship builder, born in Rotterdam (d. 1898)
- 1841 Catulle Mendès, French poet, born in Bordeaux, France (d. 1909)
- 1844 Mary Cassatt, American impressionist painter (Woman Bathing), born in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania (d. 1926)
- 1846 Oliver Perry Hay, American paleontologist, born in Saluda, Indiana (d. 1930)
- 1849 Louis Perrier, Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council, born in Neuchâtel, Switzerland (d. 1913)
Arthur Conan Doyle
1859 Arthur Conan Doyle, British author who brought Sherlock Holmes to life twice, born in Edinburgh, Scotland (d. 1930)
Arthur Conan Doyle
- 1862 August Cuppens, Flemish author (Limburgs Driemanschap), born in Beringen, Belgium (d. 1924)
- 1874 Daniel François Malan, Prime Minister of South Africa (1948-54) who began the implementation of apartheid, born in Riebeek-Wes, Cape Colony (d. 1959)
- 1885 Giacomo Matteotti, Italian Socialist Party leader, born in Fratta Polesine, Italy (d. 1924)
- 1885 Soemu Toyoda, Japanese admiral during World War II, born in Kitsuki, Ōita, Japan (d. 1957
- 1891 Johannes R. Becher, German writer and politician, born in Munich (d. 1958)
- 1891 Robert Gordon Sproul, American educator and college president (University of California), born in San Francisco, California (d. 1975)
- 1897 Robert Neumann, Austrian-British author (Waters of Babylon), born in Vienna (d. 1975)
- 1900 Yvonne de Gaulle, wife of Charles de Gaulle, born in Calais, France (d. 1979)
- 1901 Maurice J. Tobin, 56th Governor of Massachusetts, born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1953)
- 1903 Yves Rocard, French physicist (helped develop the atomic bomb for France), born in Vannes, France (d. 1992)
- 1904 Anne de Vries, Dutch teacher and writer (Bartje), born in Assen, Netherlands (d. 1964)
- 1904 Paul Viiding, Estonian poet, born in Valga, Governorate of Livonia, Russian Empire (d. 1962)
- 1911 Anatol Rapoport, Ukrainian-American mathematician and biologist (game theory), born in Lozova, Kharkov Governorate, Russia (d. 2007)
- 1914 Vance Packard, American journalist and author (The Hidden Persuaders), born in Granville Summit, Pennsylvania (d. 1996)
- 1917 Jean-Louis Curtis [Albert Laffitte], French novelist (The Forests of the Night), born in Orthez, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France (d. 1995)
- 1918 David Land, impressario and theatre producer, born in London (d. 1995)
- 1919 Paul Vanden Boeynants, Prime Minister of Belgium (1966-68, 1978-79), born in Forest, Belgium (d. 2001)
- 1920 Hugh Armstrong Clegg, English industrial relations academic, born in Truro, England (d. 1995)
- 1920 Thomas Gold, Austrian astrophysicist (proposed steady-state theory of universe), born in Vienna, Austria (d. 2004)
- 1923 Aline Griffith, American-born Spanish aristocrat, Countess of Romanones, spy and author, born in New York, United States (d. 2017)
- 1925 Jean Tinguely, Swiss sculptor artist (movement objects), born in Fribourg, Switzerland (d. 1991)
T. Boone Pickens
1928 T. Boone Pickens, American business person and oil tycoon (Shamrock, Mesa Petroleum Co) known as the 'Oracle of Oil', born in Holdenville, Oklahoma (d. 2019)
T. Boone Pickens
- 1930 Dieuwke de Graaff-Nauta, Dutch politician (State Secretary for the Interior 1986-94), born in Sneek, Netherlands (d. 2008)
Harvey Milk
1930 Harvey Milk, American politician and gay activist, born in Woodmere, New York (d. 1978)
Harvey Milk
- 1930 Marisol (Maria Sol) Escobar, Venezuelan sculptor, born in Paris, France (d. 2016)
- 1930 LaSalle Leffall Jr., American surgeon, medical educator, and 1st black president of the American Cancer Society (1978), and the American College of Surgeons (1995), born in Tallahassee, Florida (d. 2019)
- 1936 George H. Heilmeier, American engineer (helped invent LCD displays), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2014)
- 1936 M. Scott Peck, American psychiatrist and writer (The Road Less Traveled), born in NYC, New York (d. 2005)
- 1941 Menzies Campbell, British politician (Member of Parliament for North East Fife), born in Glasgow
- 1942 Pallo Jordan, South African politician and ANC member, born in Kroonstad, Free State
Ted Kaczynski
1942 Ted Kaczynski, American serial killer and terrorist known as the "Unabomber", born in Evergreen Park, Illinois
Ted Kaczynski
- 1943 Betty Williams, Northern Irish political activist (Nobel Peace Prize 1976), born in Belfast, Northern Ireland (d. 2020)
- 1943 Gesine Schwan, German politician (Social Democratic Party of Germany) and professor, born in Berlin
- 1948 Richard Baker, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Louisiana's 6th district), born in New Orleans, Louisiana
- 1950 Alekos Alavanos, Greek politician (Member of the European Parliament for Greece), born in Athens, Greece
- 1952 Jan Todd, woman power lifter, once lifted 248 kg in a squat, born in Pennsylvania
- 1953 John Edward Stevens, American bank robber (FBI Most Wanted List), born in NYC, New York
- 1953 Doris Barnett, German politician, born in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, West Germany
- 1954 Shuji Nakamura, Japanese-born American electronic engineer (invented the Blue LED), born in Ikata, Japan
- 1954 Aaron Rapoport, American photographer (music album covers), born in San Mateo County, California
- 1955 Sam Coppersmith, American attorney and politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona's 1st district), born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania
- 1956 Lucie Brock-Broido, American poet and academic (Noctuary), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 2018)
- 1957 Lisa Murkowski, American politician (U.S. Senator from Alaska), born in Ketchikan, Territory of Alaska
- 1977 Seán Óg Ó hAilpín, Irish hurler
- 1980 Steven Baker, Australian rules footballer
- 1984 Joe Lauzon, American martial artist
Weddings in History
Wedding of Interest
1860 Major General George McClellan (33) weds Mary Ellen at Calvary Church in NYC, New York
George McClellan
Wedding of Interest
1945 Paranormal investigator Lorraine Warren (18) weds partner Ed Warren (18)
Lorraine Warren
Ed Warren
Deaths in History
Constantine the Great
337 Constantine the Great, Emperor of Rome (306-37), dies at 47
Constantine the Great
- 748 Empress Genshō of Japan (b. 680)
- 987 Louis V le Faineant, the Lazy, king of France (986-87), poisoned at 20
- 1068 Emperor Go-Reizei of Japan, 70th Emperor of Japan, dies at 42
- 1455 Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland, English politician (killed in battle)
- 1455 Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, English commander (killed in battle) (b. 1406)
- 1457 Saint Rita of Cascia, Italian saint (b. 1381)
- 1501 Robert Gaguin, French writer/diplomat (Arte Metrificandi), dies at 66
- 1538 John Forrest, English Franciscan friar (martyred) (b. 1471)
- 1540 Francesco Guicciardini, Italian historian/President of Romagna, dies at 57
- 1666 Gaspar Schott, German scientist (b. 1608)
- 1667 Alexander VII [Fabio Chigi], Italian Pope (1655-67), dies at 68
- 1688 Johann A Quenstedt, German Lutherian theologist, dies at 70
- 1745 François-Marie, 1st duc de Broglie, French military leader (b. 1671)
- 1746 Thomas Southerne, Irish dramatist (b. 1660)
- 1760 Israel ben Eliezer, Polish-born mystical rabbi (b. 1700)
- 1772 Durastante Natalucci, Italian historian (specialized in history of Trevi, in Umbria), dies at 84
Martha Washington
1802 Martha Washington, 1st US First Lady (1789-97), dies at 70
Martha Washington
- 1819 Jan Hendrik van Kinsbergen, Dutch naval officer and founder of Dutch Marines Corp, dies at 84
- 1851 Mordecai Manuel Noah, American writer, journalist (b. 1755)
- 1859 Ferdinand II, [Re Bomba], Dutch King of Sicily, dies at 49
- 1868 Julius Plucker, German mathematician/physicist (formula of P), dies
- 1880 Heinrich von Gagern, German liberal politician, dies at 80
- 1884 William T. Wofford, Brigadier General (Confederate Army-American Civil War), dies at 59
Victor Hugo
1885 Victor Hugo, French author (Hunchback of Notre Dame, Les Miserables), dies at 83
Victor Hugo
- 1898 Edward Bellamy, American author (Looking Backward) and socialist, dies of tuberculosis at 48
- 1901 Gaetano Bresci, Italian-American anarchist (assassinated King Umberto I of Italy on July 29, 1900), dies at 31
- 1910 Jules Renard, French writer (Le plaisir the rompre), dies at 46
- 1921 Marie E Wilton, writer, dies
- 1925 John [Denton Pinkstone] French, 1st Earl of Ypres and British field marshall (WW I), dies at 72
- 1928 William HT Gairdner, Engl missionary (Nile Mission Press), dies at 54
- 1932 Augusta, Lady Gregory, Irish playwright (Gold Apple) and patron of Yeats, dies at 80
- 1939 Ernst Toller, German playwright, commits suicide at 45
- 1939 Jiri Mahen, Czech author (b. 1882)
- 1945 Carel Adolph Lion Cachet, Dutch lithographer and wood carver, dies at 80
- 1948 Claude McKaye, Jamaican-American author (Banjo, Home to Harlem), dies at 57
- 1949 Klaus H T Mann, German/American writer (Turning Point), dies
- 1965 Heinrich Barth, Swiss philosopher (Das Sein in der Zeit), dies
- 1965 Christopher Stone, first disc jockey in the United Kingdom (b. 1882)
- 1967 Josip Plemelj, Slovenian mathematician, dies at 93
- 1970 Joseph W Krutch, American writer (Measure of Man), dies at 76
- 1972 Cecil Day-Lewis, Irish poet (British Poet Laureate 1968-72) and detective writer (Nicholas Blake), dies of cancer at 68
- 1977 Gijs van Hall, Dutch politician and Mayor of Amsterdam (1957-67), dies at 73
- 1988 Giorgio Almirante, Italian fascist (member of parliament (1948-87)), dies at 73
- 1992 Zellig S. Harris, Russian-American linguist, dies at 82
- 1994 F. H. McClintock, British criminologist, dies at 68
- 1994 Mitacq, [Michel Tacq], Belgium comic strip artist (Beaver Patrol), dies
- 1996 Duncan Montgomery Stewart, academic, dies at 66
- 1996 Rex Collings, writer/publisher, dies at 70
- 1997 A. D. Hershey, American biologist, worked with bacteriophages (Nobel 1969), dies at 88
- 1998 José Enrique Moyal, mathematical physicist (b. 1910)
- 1999 Alfred Kubel, German politician, dies at 89
- 2003 Ousmane Zongo, Burkinabé shooting victim
- 2005 Charilaos Florakis, Greek politician, long-time General Secretary of the Communist Party of Greece (b. 1914)
- 2005 Julia Randall, American poet (b. 1924)
- 2006 Lee Jong-wook, Korean Director-General of the World Health Organization, dies of stroke at 61
- 2006 Heather Crowe, Canadian activist (b. 1945)
- 2008 Robert Asprin, American author (b. 1946)
- 2012 Wesley Brown, 1st African American US Naval Academy graduate, dies at 85
- 2013 Fusilier Lee Rigby, British Army soldier, murdered near the Royal Artillery Barracks in London by two Islamic terrorists, Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale
- 2014 Mathew Cowles, American actor, dies at 69
- 2015 John Horlock, British vice-chancellor (Open College), dies at 87
- 2019 Judith Kerr, British children's writer and illustrator (The Tiger Who Came to Tea, Mog books), dies at 95
- 2019 Sultan Ahmad Shah, 7th King of Malaysia (1979-84), dies at 88