Events in History
Hagia Sophia
558 In Constantinople, the dome of the Hagia Sophia collapses. Justinian I immediately orders the dome rebuilt.
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- 1274 2nd Council of Lyons (14th ecumenical council) opens, convened by Pope Gregory X
Event of Interest
1429 English siege of Orleans broken by Joan of Arc and the French army
Joan of Arc
- 1697 Stockholm's medieval royal castle is destroyed by fire, the Codex Gigas (world's largest extant medieval illuminated manuscript) survives by being thrown out a window
Event of Interest
1700 William Penn began monthly meetings for blacks advocating emancipation
William Penn
- 1718 The city of New Orleans founded by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville
- 1727 Jews are expelled from Ukraine by Empress Catherine I of Russia
- 1748 French troops conquer Maastricht in the War of the Austrian Succession
- 1765 HMS Victory launched; Admiral Nelson's flagship at Trafalgar, 40 years later
- 1771 Samuel Hearne explores Copper Mine River of Canada
- 1775 Turkish state of Bukovina secedes from Austria
Event of Interest
1789 First US Presidential inaugural ball (for George Washington in NYC)
George Washington
- 1792 Captain Robert Gray discovers Grays Harbor (Washington)
- 1794 Influential Gothic romance "The Mysteries of Udolpho" is published by Ann Ratcliffe in London
- 1800 Indiana Territory organized
- 1832 Greece becomes independent, Otto of Bavaria is chosen as king
- 1836 The settlement of Mayagüez elevates Puerto Rico to the royal status of villa by the government of Spain
- 1840 Tornado strikes Natchez, Mississippi, kills 317
Historic Publication
1846 First printed copies of "Poems" by Emily, Charlotte and Anne Brontë received, published under pseudonym of Acton, Currer and Ellis Bell (2 copies sold)
Emily Brontë
Charlotte Brontë
- 1847 American Medical Association organizes (Philadelphia)
- 1848 Prussians stop insurrection in Varsovia
- 1856 Argentina & Brazil sign a navigation pact
- 1861 Riot occurs between prosecessionist & Union supporters in Knoxville TN
- 1862 Battle of West Point, Virginia (Eltham's Landing, Barnhamsville)
- 1862 Much of Enschede, Netherlands, destroyed by fire
- 1864 Battle of Wilderness ends (total losses: USA-17,666; CSA-7,500)
- 1864 Skirmish at Port Walthall Junction, Virginia (Drewry's Bluff)
Assassination Attempt
1866 German premier Otto von Bismarck seriously wounded in assassination attempt
Otto von Bismarck
- 1867 Blacks stage ride-in to protest segregation in New Orleans
- 1873 US marines attack Panama
- 1875 German SS Schiller sinks near Scilly Islands, 312 killed
- 1877 Cincinnati Enquirer first uses term "Bullpen" to indicate foul territory
- 1885 John E W Thompson named US minister to Haiti
- 1891 Battle in Bunyoro: Capt F Lugard stops Muslim rebellion, 300 killed
- 1895 Russian scientist Alexander Stepanovich Popov demonstrates to the Russian Physical and Chemical Society his invention - the world's first radio receiver in St. Petersberg. Celebrated as Radio Day in Russia.
- 1902 La Soufrière volcano on St Vincent kills 1,680 people
- 1904 Flexible Flyer trademark registered
- 1907 Charles Collier wins 1st Isle of Man TT Race: (38.22 mph)
- 1908 Emperor Franz-Joseph celebrates his golden jubilee with festivities throughout the Austro-Hungarian empire
- 1909 Construction begins on first 100 houses in Ahuzat Bayit (Tel Aviv)
- 1912 Columbia University approves plans for awarding the Pulitzer Prize in several categories, after established by Joseph Pulitzer
- 1913 British House of Commons rejects women's right to vote
- 1913 An ambassadorial conference in St Petersburg, Russia, awards the town of Silistria to Rumania in compensation for Bulgaria's other territorial gains in the First Balkan War
- 1914 US Congress establishes Mother's Day
- 1915 RMS Lusitania sunk by German submarine off the southern coast of Ireland; 1198 lives lost
- 1919 A draft of the Versailles Treaty is shown to Germans
- 1920 USSR recognizes Georgia's independence
- 1923 Mine strike at Belgian Borinage railroad
- 1924 Peruvian Torre forms APRA, Alianza Popular Revolutionaria Americana
- 1927 SF Municipal Airport (Mills Field) dedicated
- 1927 Angelos Sikelianos organizes the first Delphic Festival in Delphi to celebrate the ancient Greek Delphic ideal.
- 1928 The United Kingdom lowers age of women voters from 30 to 21
- 1928 Pulitzer prize awarded to Thornton Wilder for "Bridge of San Luis Rey"
- 1930 Duleepsinhji scores 333 for Sussex v Northants in 330 mins
- 1934 Princess Juliana of the Netherlands opens Juliana Canal between Maastricht and Maasbracht
- 1934 Part of Khabarovsk becomes a Jewish Autnomous Region
- 1934 Pulitzer prize awarded to Sidney Kingsley for his play "Men in White"
- 1934 World's largest pearl (6.4 kg) found at Palawan, Philippines
- 1938 Dutch Minister of Justice Goseling calls fugitives of Nazi-Germany "undesired strangers"
- 1939 Germany and Italy announce an alliance known as the Rome-Berlin Axis
Event of Interest
1941 British House of Commons votes for Winston Churchill (477-3)
Winston Churchill
Event of Interest
1943 Liberty Ship George Washington Carver, named after scientist, launched
George Washington Carver
Josip Broz Tito
- 1945 World War II: British troops enter Utrecht, Netherlands
Event of Interest
1945 World War II: Unconditional German surrender to the Allies signed by General Alfred Jodl at Rheims
Alfred Jodl
- 1945 Princess Irene Brigade moves into The Hague, Netherlands
- 1945 Pulitzer prize awarded to John Hersey (Bell for Adano)
- 1945 SS open fire on crowd in Amsterdam, killing 22
- 1946 William H Hastie inaugurated as 1st black governor of Virgin Islands
- 1946 Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering (later renamed Sony) is founded with around 20 employees
Douglas MacArthur
- 1947 Paraguayian government unleashes contra revolt
- 1948 Nazi collaborator V-Mann Antonius van de Waals sentenced to death
- 1951 Pulitzer prize awarded to Conrad Richter (The Town)
- 1952 The concept of the integrated circuit, the basis for all modern computers, is first published by Geoffrey Dummer
- 1953 "Can Can" opens at Shubert Theater NYC for 892 performances
- 1953 Record 537-kg swordfish is caught by LE Marron, in Chile
- 1954 French surrender to Vietminh after 55-day siege at Dien Bien Phu
- 1954 US, Great Britain & France reject Russian membership of NATO
- 1955 USSR signs peace treaty with France & Great Britain
- 1955 West European Union established
- 1956 Battle at Oran, Algeria, kills 300
- 1956 NY Giant Bill White, homers in his 1st at bat
- 1956 Pulitzer prize awarded to Frances Goodrich & Albert Hackett
- 1958 US Air Force Major Howard Johnson sets world aircraft altitude record in a Lockhead F-104 Starfighter at 27,810 m
- 1960 LA Dodger Norm Sherry's 11th HR wins the game for brother Larry
Birthdays in History
Albert Frederick
1553 Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia (1568–1618), born in Konigsberg, Duchy of Prussia (d. 1618)
Albert Frederick
- 1643 Stephanus Van Cortlandt, American politician, 17th Mayor of New York City (1686-88), born in New Amsterdam (now NYC) (d. 1700)
- 1700 Gerard van Swieten, Dutch-Austrian physician (Austrian Empress Maria Theresa's personal physician), born in Leiden, Netherlaands (d. 1772)
- 1724 Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser, Austrian general, born in Strasbourg, Alsace, France (d. 1797)
- 1740 Nikolai Arkharov, Russian general (d. 1814)
Olympe de Gouges
1748 Olympe de Gouges [Marie Gouze], French playwright and revolutionary (Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen), born in Montauban, France (d. 1793)
Olympe de Gouges
- 1763 Józef Antoni Poniatowski, Polish general and marshal of France, born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1813)
- 1767 Princess Frederica Charlotte of Prussia, Duchess of York and Albany, born in Charlottenburg, Germany (d. 1820)
- 1774 William Bainbridge, American naval officer, born in Princeton, New Jersey (d. 1833)
- 1787 Jacques Viger, French Canadian politician, 1st mayor of Montreal (1833-36), born in Montreal, Quebec (d. 1858)
- 1795 Gerhard Moritz Roentgen, Dutch industrialist (founder of Fijenoord dockyard), born in Esen, East Frisia (d. 1852)
Robert Browning
1812 Robert Browning, English poet (Pied Piper), born in London, England (d. 1889)
Robert Browning
- 1826 Varina Howell Davis, First Lady of the Confederate States (1862-65), born in Natchez, Mississippi (d. 1906)
- 1827 Francis Engle Patterson, American Brigadier General (Union Army), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1862)
- 1832 Carl Neumann, German mathematician and physicist (Neumann-functions), born in Königsberg, Prussia (d. 1925)
- 1842 Isla van Diest, Belgian physician, 1st female doctor and 1st female university graduate in Belgium, born in Louvain, Belgiun (d. 1916)
- 1845 Jacob van Stolk Azn, timber merchant/art collector
Archibald Primrose
1847 Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, British Prime Minister (Liberal: 1894-95), born in London (d. 1929)
Archibald Primrose
- 1857 William A. MacCorkle, American politician, 90th Governor of West Virginia, born in Lexington, Virginia (d. 1930)
Rabindranath Tagore
1861 Rabindranath Tagore, Indian philosopher, poet, writer (Nobel Prize for Literature 1913), born in Calcutta, British India (d. 1941)
- 1882 Willem Elsschot [Alfons Josephus de Ridder], Flemish writer (Mend), born in Antwerp, Belgium (d. 1960)
- 1883 Martin Albertz, German theologist (Jesus Christ's Church) and resistance fighter against the Nazi regime, born in Halle (Saale), Germany (d. 1956)
- 1887 Henri Pourrat, French writer (Gaspard of the Montagnes), born in Ambert, France (d. 1959)
- 1891 Harry McShane, Scottish socialist (d. 1988)
- 1892 Archibald MacLeish, American lawyer and poet (Conquistador), born in Glencoe, Illinois (d. 1982)
Josip Broz Tito
1892 Josip Broz Tito, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and leader of Yugoslavia (1943-80), born in Kumrovec, Hrvatsko Zagorje, Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia (d. 1980)
Josip Broz Tito
- 1896 Pavel Sergeevich Aleksandrov, Russian mathematician (topology), born in Moscow, Russia (d. 1982)
- 1900 Bauke Tuinstra, Dutch/Frisian notary/author (Earste Keur)
- 1901 Lowell T. Coggeshall, American medical scientist and US Secretary of HEW (1956-58), born in Saratoga, Indiana (d. 1987)
- 1903 Basil Nield, British judge and politician (Conservative Party) (d. 1996)
Edwin Land
1909 Edwin Land, American inventor of instant photography and co-founder of the Polaroid Corporation, born in Bridgeport, Connecticut (d. 1991)
Edwin Land
- 1912 Paul Brenneker, Neth/Antillian photographer and folklorist, born in Venlo, Netherlands (d. 1996)
- 1914 Sir Arthur Snelling, British Ambassador (d. 1996)
- 1917 William Geoffrey Biddle, English bomb disposal expert, born in Bromley, Kent, England (d. 1997)
- 1922 Joe O'Donnell, American documentary photographer and photojournalist, born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania (d. 2007)
- 1923 Pete Domenici, American politician, U.S. Senator from New Mexico (1973-2009), born in Albuquerque, New Mexico (d. 2017)
- 1923 Jim Lowe, American DJ (WNEW) "King of Trivia", born in Springfield, Massachusetts (d. 2016)
- 1928 Marvin Mitchelson, American celebrity attorney, born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 2004)
- 1929 Sally L. Smith, American educator and founder (Lab School of Washington), born in NYC, New York (d. 2007)
- 1929 Gisèle Rabesahala, Malagasy politician (1st female minister) and human righter activist, born in Antananarivo, Magaascar (d. 2011)
- 1930 Totie Fields [Sophie Feldman], American comedienne, born in Hartford, Connecticut (d. 1978)
- 1931 Gene Wolfe, American sci-fi author (Soldier of Arete), born in NYC, New York
- 1931 Nel Ginjaar-Maas, Dutch under-secretary of Education (VVD), born in Rotterdam, Netherlands (d. 2012)
- 1935 Isobel Warren, Canadian author and journalist
- 1937 Aviard Gavrilovich Fastovets, Russian cosmonaut, born in Kovrov, Vladimir Oblast, Russia (d. 1991)
- 1939 Ruud Lubbers, Dutch politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1982-94), born in Rotterdam, Netherlands (d. 2018)
- 1939 Volker Braun, German writer (Provocation for me), born in Dresden, Germany
- 1939 Sidney Altman, Canadian-American molecular biologist (Nobel 1989), born in Montreal, Quebec
- 1940 Angela Carter, English novelist (Magic Toyshop) and journalist, born in Eastbourne, England (d. 1992)
- 1940 Jim Connors, American Radio personality, born in Pawtucket, Rhode Island (d. 1987)
- 1943 Peter Carey, Australian author (True History of the Kelly Gang), born in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria
- 1945 Wim A. Mateman, Dutch politician (CDA), born in Aalten, Netherlands
- 1946 Brian Turner, English celebrity chef, born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England
- 1951 Mic Gillette, American brass player (Tower of Power, Cold Blood, The Sons of Champlin), born in Oakland, California (d. 2016)
- 1952 Amy Heckerling, American director (Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Clueless), born in The Bronx, New York
- 1953 Pat McInally, American National Football League player, born in Villa Park, California
- 1953 Ian McKay, British soldier (VC recipient), born in Wortley, South Yorkshire, England (d. 1982)
- 1955 Kevin Reed, American Presbyterian theologian
- 1956 Jan Peter Balkenende, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (2002-10), born in Biezelinge, Netherlands
- 1959 Tamara E. Jernigan, American astronaut (STS 40, 52, 67, 80), born in Chattanooga, Tennessee
- 1960 Arnon Ohad, co-pilot (El Al) plane that crashed on Bijlmer Amsterdam
- 1960 Almudena Grandes, Spanish novelist (Las edades de Lulú), born in Madrid, Spain
- 1962 Robbie Knievel, American daredevil, son of Evel (Chips Something Special), born in Butte, Montana
- 1964 Mustapha Zerqti, Moroccan Dutch writer (Ihtidaar hub fi el-mahd)
- 1971 Thomas Piketty, French economist and author ("Capital in the Twenty-First Century"), born in Clichy
- 1978 Brian Clevinger, American author (Atomic Robo)
- 1987 Chiara Ferragni, Italian fashion blogger (The Blonde Salad), born in Cremona, Italy
- 1987 Katie Danza, daughter of Tony & Tracy Danza
Weddings in History
Wedding of Interest
1883 US Senator Albert B. Fall (21) weds Emma Garland Morgan in Clarksville, Texas
Albert B. Fall
- 1914 28th US President Woodrow Wilson's daughter Eleanor marries in The White House
- 1994 Gary Hart's girlfriend Donna Rice (36) weds Jack Hughes (42)
- 2005 Lawyer Bobby Shriver (51) weds artist Malissa Feruzzi (41) in Los Angeles
- 2011 "The Amazing Race" winners Meghan Rickey and Cheyne Whitney marry at the Hard Rock Hotel, San Diego
- 2016 Rich Kids of Beverly Hills star Morgan Stewart (27) weds cast-mate and real estate agent Brendan Fitzpatrick at the Hummingbird Nest Ranch in Santa Susana, California
Deaths in History
- 685 Marwan I ibn al-Hakam, 4th kalief of Omajjaden (684-85), dies
- 973 Otto I the Great, Holy Roman Emperor (962-973), dies at 60
- 1092 Remigius de Fécamp, first bishop of Lincoln (b. unknown)
- 1166 Willem I, the Bad, king of Sicily (1154-66)
- 1205 Ladislaus III Arpad, King of Hungary (1204-05), dies at 5 or 6
- 1427 Thomas la Warr, 5th Baron De La Warr, English churchman
- 1523 Franz von Sickingen, German knight/protect of poor, dies of wounds at 42
- 1539 Ottaviano Petrucci, Italian printer, dies at 73
- 1617 David Fabricius, German astronomer (discovered variable star), dies at 53
- 1671 Pieter Stockmans, Flemish chairman of Opperkrijgshof, dies at 62
- 1673 Johannes Teellinck, Dutch vicar, dies at about 58
- 1682 Tsar Feodor III of Russia (1676-82), dies at 20
- 1718 Mary of Modena, Queen of James II of England, dies at 59
- 1792 Aert Schouman, Dutch bird/portrait painter, dies at 82
- 1793 Johan A Zoutman, Dutch lt admiral (battle of Doggersbank), dies at 68
- 1800 Laurens Pieter van de Spiegel, Dutch Grand Pensionary of Zeeland and Holland (1787-95), dies at 64
William Petty
1805 William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne, Prime Minister of Great Britain (1782-83), dies at 68
William Petty
- 1840 Caspar David Friedrich, German painter (b. 1774)
- 1863 Amiel Weeks Whipple, US Union gen-major, dies of injuries at 46
- 1868 Henry Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux and Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, dies at 89
- 1871 Louis-Joseph Papineau, Canadian political reformer (Patriote movement), dies at 84
- 1876 William Buell Sprague, American clergyman and author (b. 1795)
- 1884 Judah P. Benjamin, 3rd Confederate States Secretary of State and 2nd Confederate States Secretary of War, dies at 72
- 1887 Samuel Cousins, English mezzotint engraver, dies at 85
- 1887 C. F. W. Walther, American Lutheran theologian (b. 1811)
- 1890 James Nasmyth, Scottish engineer and inventor of the steam hammer, dies at 81
H. H. Holmes
1896 H. H. Holmes [Herman Webster Mudgett], American serial killer executed by hanging at 34
H. H. Holmes
- 1904 Peter Hille, German writer, dies at 49
- 1915 Alfred Scott Witherbee Jr., American 3 year old who drowned on Lusitania
- 1915 Charles Frohman, American theatre producer (Peter Pan) dies aboard RMS Lusitania at 58
- 1925 William Hesketh Lever, First Viscount Leverhulme (b. 1851)
- 1929 Albert Anselmi, American gangster, murdered by Al Capone
- 1929 John Scalise, American gangster, murdered by Al Capone
- 1929 Joseph "Top Toad" Giunta, American gangster, murdered by Al Capone
- 1932 Albert Thomas, French socialist politician (Minister of Armament WW1), dies at 53
- 1940 George Lansbury, British politician, Labour Party Leader and pacifist, dies at 81
- 1941 David Wijnkoop, Dutch revolutionary socialist, dies
- 1941 Sir James George Frazer, Scottish anthropologist (b. 1854)
- 1946 Anton Mussert, Dutch fascist and leader of the Nationalist Socialist Movement, executed for high treason at 51
- 1956 Josef Hoffmann, Austrian architect, dies at 85
- 1957 Wilhelm Filchner, German explorer who led the German Antarctic expedition of 1911–12, dies at 79
- 1958 Nyogen Senzaki, 1st Zen teacher to reside in USA, dies at 81
- 1968 Lurleen Wallace, American politician (46th Governor of Alabama), dies at 41
- 1971 Willem Banning, Dutch theologist/sociologist (Karl Marx), dies at 83
- 1982 Alfred Adam, dies at 72
- 1983 Peter Edel, writer, dies
- 1986 Gaston Defferre, French Socialist politician, dies at 75
- 1994 Clement Greenberg, US art critic (Art & Culture), dies at 85
- 1994 Margaret Skeete, oldest American, dies at 115
- 1995 Ernest Harold Martin [Markowitz], American Broadway producer (Feuer & Martin in A Chorus Line), dies at 75
- 1995 Lawrence Josset, British engraver, dies at 84
- 1996 Albert Meltzer, anarchist, dies at 76
- 1996 Henry Diamond, Irish Nationalist MP, dies at 87
- 1998 Allan McLeod Cormack, South African physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1924)
- 2002 Kevyn Aucoin, Makeup Artist and Photographer (b. 1962)
- 2004 Waldemar Milewicz, Polish reporter (b. 1956)
- 2004 William J. Knight, American astronaut and test pilot (X-15), dies at 74
- 2005 Peter W. Rodino, American politician, U.S. House of Representatives from New Jersey (1949-89), dies at 95
- 2006 Richard Carleton, Australian news reporter (b.1943)
- 2006 Joan C. Edwards, American philanthropist (b. 1918)
- 2007 Octavian Paler, Romanian writer and journalist (b. 1926)
- 2007 Yahweh ben Yahweh, American cult leader (b. 1935)
- 2009 David Mellor, English cutlery designer (b. 1930)
- 2015 Sir Samuel "Sam" Edwards, Welsh physicist (condensed matter physics), dies at 87
- 2016 Harold Kroto, English chemist, (Nobel Prize laureate 1996), dies at 76
- 2018 Mikhail German, Russian writer, dies at 85
- 2018 Miki Muster, Slovenian artist, dies at 92
- 2018 Isyaku Rabiu, Nigerian businessman and Islamic scholar, dies at 92
- 2018 Jeremy D. Safran, Canadian-born American clinical psychologist, is killed during a burglary
- 2018 Tore Torell, Norwegian magician, dies of cancer at 76