Events in History
Historic Expedition
1493 Christopher Columbus embarks on his 2nd expedition to the New World, setting sail with a fleet of 17 ships
Christopher Columbus
Event of Interest
1529 Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and his Ottoman troops arrive in Vienna, beginning of the siege
Suleiman the Magnificent
- 1688 France declares war on Germany
Treaty of Interest
1706 Treaty of Altranstädt: Charles XII of Sweden & August II of Saksen
Charles XII
- 1742 Faneuil Hall, Boston, opens to the public
- 1776 First St Leger horesrace held at Doncaster
- 1786 African American slave and poet Jupiter Hammon makes his "Address to the Negroes of the State of New York" speech advocating emancipation at meeting of African Society in NY
- 1789 US Congress establishes Post Office Department following the new constitution
- 1789 US Federal Judiciary Act passes, creating a six-person Supreme Court
Event of Interest
1841 British adventurer James Brooke obtains lands around the Sarawak river from the Sultan of Brunei
James Brooke
- 1850 Papal Bull issued, establishes Roman Catholic hierarchy in England
- 1852 Henri Giffard, a French engineer, makes 1st engine powered dirigible/airship flight with steam power
- 1853 France annexes New Caledonia
- 1853 Northern Daily Times, 1st provincial daily newspaper, starts in London
- 1862 Confederate Congress adopts confederacy seal
- 1869 Black Friday; Wall St panic after Gould & Fisk attempt to corner gold
- 1872 Franz Grillparzer's "Ein Bruderzwist in Habsburg" premieres in Vienna
- 1877 Battle of Shiroyama, decisive victory of the Imperial Japanese Army over the Satsuma Rebellion
- 1883 National black convention meets in Louisville, Kentucky
- 1885 Five German warships depart to Zanzibar
- 1889 Alexander Dey patents dial time recorder
- 1890 The President of the Latter-day Saints Wilford Woodruff issues a manifesto advising members that the teaching and practice of polygamy should be abandoned
- 1903 Alfred Deakin succeeds Edmund Barton as Australia premier
- 1906 Prince George of Greece, convinced that he can no longer serve the cause of Crete, resigns as High Commissioner
- 1916 Indians' Marty Kavanaugh, hits AL's 1st pinch-hit grand slam
- 1922 Nuremberg fusion congress USDP-SPD; picks Karl Kautsky
- 1924 Boston, Massachusetts, opens its airport
- 1926 Cardinals clinch NL pennant by beating Giants 6-4
Event of Interest
1929 Lt James Doolittle guides a Consolidated N-Y-2 Biplane over Mitchell Field in NY in 1st all-instrument flight
Jimmy Doolittle
Event of Interest
1932 NY Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt visits LA
Franklin D. Roosevelt
- 1935 Earl Bascom and Weldon Bascom produce the first rodeo ever held outdoors under electric lights at Columbia, Mississippi
- 1940 Jimmy Foxx hits his 500th career HR
- 1940 Luftwaffe bombs Spitfire factory in Southampton
- 1941 Nine Allied governments pledge adherence to the common principles of policy set forth in the Atlantic Charter
- 1941 Bomb explosion in German headquarter in Hotel Continental in Kiev
- 1943 Soviet forces reconquer Smolensk
- 1948 The Honda Motor Company is founded in Hamamatsu-city, Japan
Operation Magic Carpet
1950 Operation Magic Carpet concludes after having transported 45,000 Yemenite Jews to Israel
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Event of Interest
1952 American fast food restaurant chain "KFC" [Kentucky Fried Chicken] opens its first franchise in Salt Lake City, Utah
Colonel Sanders
Event of Interest
1955 US President Eisenhower suffers a heart attack on vacation in Denver
Dwight D. Eisenhower
- 1955 Washington Senators lose their 99th & 100th games of season
- 1957 Camp Nou, the largest stadium in Europe, is opened in Barcelona
- 1958 1st welded aluminum girder highway bridge completed, Urbandale, Iowa
- 1958 Donna Reed Show premieres on ABC
- 1960 International Development Association (UN agency) comes into existence
- 1960 USS Enterprise, 1st nuclear power aircraft carrier, launched
- 1962 US Circuit Court of Appeals orders Meredith admitted to University of Mississippi
- 1963 US Senate ratifies treaty with Britain & USSR limiting nuclear testing
- 1964 "The Munsters" premieres on TV
- 1964 1st Minuteman II ICBM was tested
Event of Interest
1964 Ringo Starr forms Brikley Building Company Ltd
Ringo Starr
- 1964 Willi Stoph succeeds Otto Great as premier of German DR
- 1965 Belgium Victor Leemans elected chairman of European Parliament
- 1965 Saudi Arabian & Egyptian accord over Yemen
- 1965 Stefan Stefanopoulos forms Greek government
- 1966 -30] Hurricane Inez, kills 293 in the Caribbean, Florida & Mexico
- 1966 France performs nuclear test at Fangataufa Island
- 1968 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- 1969 1st Elvis convention, 2500 fans attend in Cincinnati
- 1969 Ton Duc Thang elected president of North Vietnam
- 1969 Trial of "Chicago 8" (protesters at Dem National Conv) begins
- 1970 Soviet space probe Luna 16 lands on earth after 1st unmanned round trip to moon
- 1971 90 Russian diplomats expelled from Britain for spying
- 1971 Eyskens-Cools disbands Belgium parliament
- 1972 Antique F86 Sabrejet fails to takeoff at air show, kills 22
- 1972 Jack Tatum, Oakland, returns a fumble 104 yds vs Green Bay (rec)
- 1973 Guinea-Bissau declares independence from Portugal
- 1974 Clarence Jones of Kintetsu Buffaloes hits his 38th HR, 1st American to win a Japanese HR title
- 1975 OPEC announces a 15% increase in government per barrel revenues
Event of Interest
1976 Newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst sentenced to 7 years for her part in a 1974 bank robbery. Released after 22 months by US President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
- 1978 Dutch women hockey team wins world championship
- 1978 Ron Guidry beats Cleveland 4-0, raising his record to 23-3 ERA 1.74
- 1978 USSR performs underground nuclear test
- 1979 CompuServe began operation as 1st computer information service
- 1979 Ghana adopts constitution
- 1979 USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR
- 1980 Iraqi troops cross Iran's border, encircling Abadan
- 1981 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- 1982 US, Italian & French peacekeeping troops begin arriving in Lebanon
- 1983 USSR performs underground nuclear test
- 1985 Apollo Computer Inc lays off 300 employees
Birthdays in History
Girolamo Cardano
1501 Girolamo Cardano, Italian mathematician and astrologer (Ars Magna-1545), born in Pavia, Italy (d. 1576)
Girolamo Cardano
Albrecht von Wallenstein
1583 Albrecht von Wallenstein, Bohemian-German general and statesman (Thirty Years' War), born in Heřmanice, Kingdom of Bohemia in the Holy Roman Empire (d. 1634)
Albrecht von Wallenstein
Johan de Witt
1625 Johan de Witt, Dutch statesman and advisor of Holland, born in Dordrecht, Netherlands (d. 1672)
Johan de Witt
- 1705 Leopold Joseph Graf Daun, Austrian field marshal, born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1766)
- 1717 Horace Walpole, British horror writer (Castle of Otranto), born in London (d. 1797)
- 1725 Arthur Guinness, Irish brewer and founder of the Guinness brewery, born in Celbridge, County Kildare, Ireland (d. 1803)
John Marshall
1755 John Marshall, 4th Chief Justice of the United States (1801-35), born in Germantown, Virginia (d. 1835)
John Marshall
- 1762 William Lisle Bowles, English poet (14 Sonnets), born in Kings Sutton, England (d. 1850)
- 1801 Mikhail Ostrogradsky, Russian physicist and mathematician, born in Poltava Governorate, Russian Empire (d. 1862)
- 1802 Adolphe d'Archiac, French paleontologist and geologist, born in Reims, France (d. 1868)
- 1817 Ramón de Campoamor y Campoosorio, Spanish poet (Doloras), born in Navia, Spain (d. 1901)
- 1821 Cyprian Norwid, Polish painter, poet and playwright (Wanda), born in Głuchy, Poland (d. 1883)
- 1824 Truman Seymour, American artist and Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Burlington, Vermont (d. 1891)
- 1825 Frances Harper, African-American abolinist, suffragist and writer (Iola Leroy), born in Baltimore, Maryland (d. 1911)
- 1827 Henry Warner Slocum, American politician and Major General (Union Army), born in Pompey, New York (d. 1894)
- 1829 James St Clair Morton, American engineer, author, and Brigadier General (Union Army), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1864)
- 1829 Charles S. West, American jurist and politician, born in Camden, South Carolina (d. 1885)
- 1833 Henry Alanson Barnum, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Jamesville, New York (d. 1892)
- 1848 Pieter Louis Tak, literary figure (The Chronicle) (d. 1907)
- 1858 Eugene Foss, American politician (45th Governor of Massachusetts), born in St. Albans, Vermont (d. 1939)
- 1860 S. R. Crockett, Scottish novelist (The Stickit Minister), born in Duchrae, Balmaghie, Kirkcudbrightshire (d. 1914)
- 1870 Georges Claude, French engineer and inventor (neon light), born in Paris (d. 1960)
- 1878 Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz, Swiss writer (Le Petit Village), born in Lausanne, Switzerland (d. 1947)
- 1884 Hugo Schmeisser, German inventor and weapons designer, born in Jena, Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, German Empire (d. 1953)
- 1890 A. P. Herbert, English journalist and writer (Punch, Helen), born in Ashtead, Surrey, England (d. 1971)
- 1892 Adélard Godbout, Canadian politician (15th Premier of Québec), born in Saint-Éloi, Quebec, Canada (d. 1956)
- 1895 André F. Cournand, French physician and physiologist (Nobel 1956), born in Paris (d. 1988)
F. Scott Fitzgerald
1896 F. Scott Fitzgerald, American author (Great Gatsby, Zelda), born in St. Paul, Minnesota (d. 1940)
F. Scott Fitzgerald
- 1898 Charlotte van Pallandt, Dutch sculptress, born in Arnhem, Netherlands (d. 1997)
Howard Florey
1898 Howard Florey, Australian pathologist and pharmacologist who purified penicillin (Nobel 1945), born in Adelaide, South Australia (d. 1968)
Howard Florey
Ayatollah Khomeini
1902 Ayatollah Khomeini [Ruhollah Khomeini], Supreme leader of Iran (1979-89), religious figure and political leader of the 1979 Iranian Revolution, born in Khomeyn, Persia (d. 1989)
Ayatollah Khomeini
- 1904 Owen Saunders, English mathematician and mechanical engineer, born in Streatham, London (d. 1993)
- 1905 Severo Ochoa, Spanish-American physician and biochemist (Nobel 1959), born in Luarca, Asturias, Spain (d. 1993)
- 1909 Gerard Ciołek, Polish architect, born in Wyżnica, Austria-Hungary (d. 1966)
- 1910 Cao Yu, Huaju writer (Peking Man), born in Tianjin, China (d. 1996)
- 1910 Leon MacLaren, British philosopher and founder of the LSE, born in Glasgow (d. 1994)
Konstantin Chernenko
1911 Konstantin Chernenko, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1984-85), born in Bolshaya Tes, Yeniseysk Governorate, Russian Empire (d. 1985)
Konstantin Chernenko
- 1912 Ian Serraillier, English children's books author (The Silver Sword), born in London (d. 1994)
- 1914 Sir John Kerr, Australian politician and the Governor General who dismissed the Whitlam Government, born in Sydney, New South Wales (d. 1991)
- 1915 Margarita Aliger, Russian poet (Zoja), born in Odessa, Ukraine (d. 1992) [OS]
- 1916 John Lapsley, British air marshal, born in India (d. 1995)
- 1917 William Putnam Bundy, American attorney and intelligence expert (9th Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2000)
- 1918 Richard Hoggart, British author (The Uses of Literacy: Aspects of Working Class Life) and warden (Goldsmith's College London), born in Leeds, England (d. 2014)
- 1922 David Lane, British Conservative politician and CEO (Commission for Racial Equality), born in London (d. 1998)
- 1923 Ladislav Fuks, Czech writer, born in Prague (d. 1994)
- 1923 Mervyn Brown, British diplomat and historian of Madagascar
- 1924 Jean-Pierre Warner, British high court judge (d. 2005)
- 1925 Autar Singh Paintal, Indian medical scientist, born in Mogok, Myanmar (d. 2004)
- 1929 George McNicol, Scottish Principal and vice-chancellor (Aberdeen University), born in Glasgow, Scotland (d. 2014)
- 1929 Edward M. Lawson, Canadian trade unionist and politician, born in Gerald, Saskatchewan, Canada (d. 2016)
- 1930 John Young, American astronaut and 9th person to walk on the Moon (Gemini 3 & 10, Apollo 10 & 16, STS 1 & 9), born in San Francisco, California (d. 2018)
- 1930 Józef Krupiński, Polish poet (Marsz żałobny), born in Skarbanowo, Poland (d. 1998)
- 1931 Brian Glanville, English journalist and football writer, born in Hendon, London
- 1931 Cardiss Collins, American politician (first African-American woman to represent the Midwest in Congress), born in St. Louis, Missouri (d. 2013)
- 1933 Catherine Hughes [Pestell], British principal (Somerville College Oxford), born in County Durham, England (d. 2014)
- 1934 Bernard Nevill, British textile designer, born in London, England (d. 2019)
- 1934 Manfred Wörner, German general and Secretary-General of NATO (1988-94), born in Stuttgart, Germany (d. 1994)
- 1935 Lawrence Urquhart, Scottish businessman and CEO (Burmah Castrol)
- 1935 Paul Eells, American sportscaster ("Voice of the Razorbacks"), born in Iowa City, Iowa (d. 2006)
- 1937 Alan Grose, British vice-admiral
- 1940 Yves Navarre, French writer (Le Jardin d'acclimatation), born in Condom, France (d. 1994)
- 1945 David Drake, American sci-fi author, veteran and lawyer (Cross the Stars, Rolling Hot), born in the United States
- 1945 Lou Dobbs, American journalist (Lou Dobbs Tonight), born in Childress County, Texas
- 1948 Bernadette Hingley, British priest, one of the 1st women to be ordained in England, born in Sowerby Bridge, England (d. 1995)
- 1951 Douglas Kmiec, American legal scholar and ambassador
- 1952 Joseph P. Kennedy II, American politician (Rep-D-Massachusetts 1987-99), born in Boston, Massachusetts
- 1954 Stephen Jones, English art historian, born in London, England (d. 1996)
- 1955 Riccardo Illy, Italian politician and businessman, Born in Trieste, Italy
- 1957 Brad Bird, American director (The Iron Giant, The Incredibles), born in Kalispell, Montana
- 1959 Theo Paphitis, Cypriot-born British businessman (Dragon's Den, Millwall Football Club), born in Limassol, Cyprus
- 1975 Kyle Turley, American National Football League offensive lineman, born in Provo, Utah
- 1975 Nick Hague, American NASA astronaut (Soyuz MS-10 & 12), born in Belleville, Kansas
- 1978 Tarek Saab, American TV show contestant (The Apprentice), born in New Bedford, Massachusetts
- 1984 Szilvia Molnar, Swedish writer
Weddings in History
Wedding of Interest
1487 Founder of Sikhism Guru Nanak marries Mata Sulakkhani in Batala
Guru Nanak
Wedding of Interest
1977 Radio personality Rush Limbaugh (26) weds Roxy McNeely, a radio advertising salesperson, at Centenary United Methodist Church in Cape Girardeau, Missouri; divorced 1980
Rush Limbaugh
Deaths in History
- 366 Liberius, Italian Pope (352-66), dies
- 768 Pippin III, the short, King of France, dies at 53
- 786 Al-Hadi, Arabic kalief of Islam (185-86), dies
- 911 Ludwig III, the child, last Carolingian German King (899-911), dies
- 1054 Hermann of Reichenau [Hermannus Contractus], German Benedictine monk and scholar, dies at 41
- 1118 Robert of Knaresborough, English hermit who lived in a cave, dies at about 58
- 1120 Welf II, Duke of Bavaria (b. 1072)
- 1143 Innocent II [Gregorio de' Papareschi], Italian Pope (1130-43), dies
- 1143 Agnes of Germany, daughter of Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1072)
- 1180 Manuel I Komnenos, Emperor of the Byzantine Empire (1143-80), dies at 61
- 1213 Gertrude of Merania, wife of Andrew II of Hungary (murdered) (b. 1185)
- 1228 Stefanus I Nemanjic de Eerstgekroonde, king of Serbia (1217-28), dies
- 1230 Alfonso IX, King of León and Galicia (1188-1230), dies at 59
- 1275 Humphrey de Bohun, 2nd Earl of Hereford, Constable of England (b. 1208)
- 1435 Isabeau of Bavaria, Queen and wife of Charles VI of France, who ruled during her husband's periods of insanity, dies at about 65
- 1494 Poliziano, Italian humanist (b. 1454)
- 1517 Frederik IV, of Baden, bishop of Utrecht, dies
- 1536 Janus Secundus, neo latin poet (Basia), dies at 24
Paracelsus
1541 Paracelsus, Swiss physician and alchemist (Zinc, Laudanum), dies at 47
Paracelsus
- 1545 Albrecht von Brandenburg, German archbishop and monarch of Mainz, dies at 55
- 1568 Antoon van Stralen, Flemish mayor of Antwerp, beheaded at about 47
- 1621 Jan Karol Chodkiewicz, Polish military commander (b. 1560)
- 1707 Vincenzo da Filicaja, Italian poet (b. 1642)
- 1732 Emperor Reigen, 112th Emperor of Japan, dies at 78
- 1742 Johann Matthias Hase, German scientist (b. 1684)
- 1790 John Keyse Sherwin, engraver/painter, dies
- 1802 Alexander Radishchev, Russian writer, commits suicide by drinking poison at 53
- 1815 John Sevier, American soldier, Governor of Tennessee (1796-1801, 1803-09), dies at 70
- 1834 Pedro I of Brazil, Emperor of Brazil (1822-31) and King of Portugal (1826), dies at 35
- 1848 Branwell Brontë [Patrick Branwell Brontë], English painter and writer and brother of the writers Charlotte, Emily and Anne, dies at 31
- 1856 Henry Hardinge, British army officer and politician, 1st viscount Hardinge of Lahore, Governor-General of India (1844-48), dies at 71
- 1889 Daniel Harvey Hill, Confederate General (American Civil War), dies at 68
- 1892 Cornelis A van Sypesteyn, Dutch governor of Suriname, dies at 69
- 1894 Martinus Nijhoff, Dutch publisher (Van Dale) and founder (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers), dies at 68
- 1896 Louis Gerhard De Geer, 1st Swedish Prime Minister (1876-80), dies at 78
- 1904 Niels Ryberg Finsen, Danish physician and phototherapist (Nobel 1903), dies at 43
- 1920 Peter Carl Fabergé, Russian goldsmith and jeweler (famous for Fabergé eggs), dies at 74
- 1924 Manuel Estrada Cabrera, 13th President of Guatemala (1898-1920), dies in prison at 66
- 1930 William A. MacCorkle, American politician, 90th Governor of West Virginia, dies at 73
- 1933 Alice Muriel Williamson, British novelist (b. 1869)
- 1938 Lev Schnirelmann, Russian mathematician (b. 1900)
- 1945 Hans Geiger, German physicist (co-inventor of the Geiger counter), dies at 62
- 1951 Georges Rency, Belgian poet and literature, dies at 75
- 1954 Edward Pilgrim, British homeowner who committed suicide due to housing bureaucracy scandal, hangs himself at 53
- 1961 Sumner Welles, American diplomat (Good Neighbor Policy), dies at 68
- 1967 Robert van Gulik, Dutch diplomat and writer (Judge Dee), dies at 57
- 1968 Robert Arthur Ley, English sci-fi author (Telepath, Power of X), dies at 47
- 1975 Earle Cabell, American politician, 48th Mayor of Dallas (1961-64), dies at 68
- 1978 Hasso von Manteuffel, German WWII general (5th Panzer Army) and politician, dies at 81
- 1993 Bruno Pontecorvo, Italian nuclear physicist, dies at 80
- 1994 Colin Berry Haycraft, publisher, dies at 65
- 1994 David Napley, English solicitor, dies at 79
- 1994 Otto F. Walter, Swiss writer and publisher (Walter Verlag), dies of pulmonary cancer at 66
- 1996 Iorwerth Eiddon Stephen Edwards, egyptologist, dies at 87
- 1996 Pavel Anatolievich Sudoplatov, spy, dies at 89
- 1996 Henry Charles Gordon, American engineer and astronaut (Dynasoar), dies at 70
- 1997 Jonathon Silver, entrepreneur/arts patron, dies at 47
- 2002 Youssouf Togoïmi, Chadian rebel (b. 1953)
- 2002 Mike Webster, National Football League player (b. 1952)
- 2004 Françoise Sagan [Quoirez], French novelist (Bonjour Trieste), dies at 69
- 2004 Marvin Davis, CEO (Davis Oil Company), dies at 79
- 2008 Bengt Anderberg, Swedish poet and writer (Kain), dies at 88
- 2009 Susan Atkins, American murderer (b. 1948)
- 2010 Gennady Yanayev, Soviet politician (b. 1937)
- 2014 Deborah "Debs" Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire and the Chatsworth estate, one of the Mitford sisters, dies at 94
- 2014 Stephen Sykes, Church of England bishop, dies at 75
- 2017 Joseph M. McDade, American politician (Rep-R-Pennsylvania, 1963-1999), dies at 85