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Contents

Events

Births

Deaths

Holidays and observances

External links

Events

★ 1178 BC - A solar eclipse may have marked the return of Odysseus, legendary King of Ithaca, to his kingdom after the Trojan War.

★ 73 - Masada, a Jewish fortress, falls to the Romans after several months of siege, ending the Jewish Revolt.

★ 1071 - Bari falls to Robert Guiscard, ending Byzantine rule in Italy.

★ 1346 - Serbian Empire was proclaimed in Skopje by Dusan Silni, occupying much of the South-Eastern Europe.

★ 1395 - Azzo X d'Este is defeated at the Battle of Portomaggiore by Venetian-Ferrarese troops.

★ 1521 - Martin Luther's first appearance before the Diet of Worms to be examined by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and the other estates of the empire.

★ 1582 - Spanish conquistador Hernando de Lerma founds the settlement of Salta, Argentina.

★ 1746 - Battle of Culloden

★ 1780 - The University of Münster in Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany is founded.

★ 1799 - Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Mount Tabor – Napoleon drives Ottoman Turks across the River Jordan near Acre.

★ 1853 - The first passenger rail opens in India, from Bori Bunder, Bombay to Thane.

★ 1862 - American Civil War: Battle at Lee's Mills in Virginia.

★ 1862 - American Civil War: A bill ending slavery in the District of Columbia became law.

★ 1863 - American Civil War: Siege of Vicksburg – ships led by Union Admiral David Dixon Porter move through heavy Confederate artillery fire on approach to Vicksburg, Mississippi.

★ 1881 - In Dodge City, Kansas, Bat Masterson fights his last gun battle.

★ 1912 - Harriet Quimby becomes the first woman to fly an airplane across the English Channel.

★ 1917 - Vladimir Lenin returns to Saint Petersburg from exile in Finland.

★ 1919 - Mohandas Gandhi organizes a day of "prayer and fasting" in response to the British slaughter of Indian protestors in the Amritsar Massacre.

★ 1922 - The Treaty of Rapallo, in which Germany and the Soviet Union re-establish diplomatic relations between Berlin and Moscow, is signed.

★ 1925 - During the Communist St Nedelya Church assault in Sofia, 150 are killed and 500 are wounded.

★ 1926 - ''Lolly Willows'' by Sylvia Townsend Warner is distributed as the first Book-of-the-Month Club selection.

★ 1941 - World War II: The Italian convoy ''Duisburg'', directed to Tunisia, is attacked and destroyed by British ships.

★ 1943 - Dr. Albert Hofmann discovers the psychedelic effects of LSD.

★ 1945 - The Red Army begins the final assault on German forces around Berlin.

★ 1945 - The United States Army liberates Nazi ''Sonderlager'' (high security) Prisoner of War camp Oflag IVc .

★ 1945 - German ship ''Goya'', overfilled with refugees, sinks after being torpedoed by a Soviet submarine, killing more than 7,000 people.

★ 1946 - Syria gains independence.

★ 1947 - Texas City Disaster: An explosion on board a freighter in port causes the city of Texas City, Texas, to catch fire, killing almost 600.

★ 1947 - Bernard Baruch coins the term "Cold War" to describe the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union.

★ 1953 - Queen Elizabeth II launches the Royal Yacht ''Britannia''.

★ 1962 - The first CARP Rodeo began at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois.

★ 1963 - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. pens his famous Letter from Birmingham Jail while incarcerated in Birmingham, Alabama for protesting against segregation.

★ 1964 - Sentences totalling 307 years were passed on 12 men who stole £2.6m in used bank notes in what became known as the Great Train Robbery.

★ 1972 - Apollo program: Apollo 16 launches towards the Moon from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

★ 1972 - Vietnam War: Nguyen Hue Offensive – Prompted by the North Vietnamese offensive, the United States resumes bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong.

★ 1987 - British Conservative MP Harvey Proctor appears at Bow Street Magistrates' Court in London charged with gross indecency.

★ 1988 - In Forlì, Italy, Red Brigades kill Italian Senator Roberto Ruffilli, an advisor of Prime Minister Ciriaco de Mita.

★ 1992 - The Katina P. runs aground off of Maputo, Mozambique. 60,000 tons of crude oil spill into the ocean.

★ 1994 - The Super J Cup professional wrestling tournament takes palce in Tokyo, Japan.

★ 1996 - The Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association achieve an all-time record 70th win in a season.

★ 1998 - The Nashville Tornado of 1998, one of the most serious urban tornadoes causes one death and significantly damages downtown Nashville, Tennessee.

★ 2003 - The Treaty of Accession is signed in Athens admitting 10 new member states to the European Union.

★ 2007 - Virginia Tech massacre, the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history, leaves 33 dead.

Births

★ 778 - King Louis the Pious (d. 840)

★ 1319 - King John II of France (d. 1364)

★ 1495 - Petrus Apianus, German mathematician (d. 1557)

★ 1646 - Jules Hardouin Mansart, French architect (d. 1708)

★ 1660 - Hans Sloane, British collector and physician (d. 1753)

★ 1661 - Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax, British poet and statesman (d. 1715)

★ 1682 - John Hadley, British inventor (d. 1744)

★ 1728 - Joseph Black, Scottish chemist (d. 1799)

★ 1730 - Henry Clinton, British general (d. 1795)

★ 1755 - Élisabeth-Louise Vigée Le Brun, French painter (d. 1842)

★ 1800 - George Bingham, 3rd Earl of Lucan, British soldier (d. 1888)

★ 1821 - Ford Madox Brown, English painter (d. 1893)

★ 1823 - Ferdinand Eisenstein, German mathematician (d. 1852)

★ 1827 - Octave Crémazie, French Canadian poet (d. 1879)

★ 1844 - Anatole France, French writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1924)

★ 1847 - Hans Auer, Swiss architect, (d. 1906)

★ 1848 - Kandukuri Veeresalingam, Social Reformer of Andhra Pradesh, India (d. 1919)

★ 1859 - Winifred Cochrane, Countess of Dundonald, philanthropist (d. 1924)

★ 1865 - Henry George Chauvel, Australian general (d. 1945)

★ 1866 - José de Diego, Puerto Rico statesman and journalist (d. 1918)

★ 1867 - Wilbur Wright, American aviation pioneer (d. 1912)

★ 1871 - John Millington Synge, Irish writer (d. 1909)

★ 1878 - Tip Foster, English cricketer (d. 1914)

★ 1886 - Ernst Thälmann, German politician (d. 1944)

★ 1889 - Charles Chaplin, English actor, writer, and film producer (d. 1977)

★ 1896 - Tristan Tzara, Romanian poet and essayist (d. 1963)

★ 1904 - Fifi D'Orsay, Canadian actress (d. 1983)

★ 1905 - Frits Philips, Dutch businessman (d. 2005)

★ 1907 - August Eigruber, Austrian war criminal (d. 1947)

★ 1907 - Joseph-Armand Bombardier, French-Canadian inventor and businessman (Bombardier) (d. 1964)

★ 1912 - Garth Williams, American illustrator (d. 1996)

★ 1912 - Catherine Scorsese, Italian-American actress (d. 1997)

★ 1915 - Gerard McLarnon, Irish playwright (d. 1997)

★ 1917 - Barry Nelson, American actor (d. 2007)

★ 1918 - Spike Milligan, Irish comedian (d. 2002)

★ 1918 - Joan Alexander, American actress

★ 1918 - Dick Gibson, British racing driver

★ 1919 - Merce Cunningham, American dancer and choreographer

★ 1919 - Tom Willmore, English geometer (d. 2005)

★ 1921 - Peter Ustinov, English actor (d. 2004)

★ 1922 - Kingsley Amis, English author (d. 1995)

★ 1924 - Henry Mancini, American composer (d. 1994)

★ 1924 - Rudy Pompilli, American musician (Bill Haley & His Comets) (d. 1976)

★ 1927 - Edie Adams, American actress

★ 1927 - Pope Benedict XVI

★ 1927 - Peter Mark Richman, American actor

★ 1928 - "Night Train" Lane, American football player (d. 2002)

★ 1929 - Ed Townsend, American singer and songwriter (d. 2003)

★ 1930 - Herbie Mann, American jazz flute player (d. 2003)

★ 1933 - Joan Bakewell, British broadcaster

★ 1935 - Sarah Kirsch, German poet

★ 1935 - Bobby Vinton, American singer

★ 1937 - Joseph Whipp, American actor

★ 1938 - Gordon Wilson, Scottish politician

★ 1938 - Rich Rollins, American baseballer

★ 1939 - Dusty Springfield, English singer (d. 1999)

★ 1939 - Boris Dvornik, Croatian actor

★ 1940 - Margrethe II of Denmark, queen regnant

★ 1940 - Benoît Bouchard, French-Canadian politician

★ 1942 - Frank Williams, English Formula One constructor

★ 1942 - Jim Lonborg, American baseball player

★ 1943 - Ruth Madoc, British actress

★ 1946 - Margot Adler, American journalist

★ 1947 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, American basketball player

★ 1947 - Gerry Rafferty, British musician and songwriter

★ 1949 - Melody Patterson, American actress

★ 1951 - Pierre Toutain-Dorbec, French photographer

★ 1951 - Ioan Mihai Cochinescu, Romanian writer and photographer

★ 1951 - Björgvin Halldórsson, Icelandic singer

★ 1952 - Bill Belichick, American football coach

★ 1952 - Billy West, American voice actor

★ 1953 - Peter Garrett, Australian musician (Midnight Oil)

★ 1953 - J. Neil Schulman, American writer

★ 1954 - Ellen Barkin, American actress

★ 1954 - John Bowe, Australian racing driver

★ 1955 - Bruce Bochy, American baseball player and manager

★ 1956 - Lise-Marie Morerod, Swiss skier

★ 1959 - Alison Ramsay, Scottish field hockey player

★ 1960 - Rafael Benítez, Spanish football manager

★ 1960 - Pierre Littbarski, German footballer

★ 1961 - Doris Dragović, Croatian singer

★ 1962 - Ian MacKaye, American musician, (Fugazi and Minor Threat)

★ 1963 - Jimmy Osmond, American pop singer (The Osmonds)

★ 1964 - Dave Pirner, American rock singer (Soul Asylum)

★ 1964 - David Kohan, American television producer

★ 1965 - Jon Cryer, American actor

★ 1965 - Martin Lawrence, American actor

★ 1965 - Michael Wong Man Tak, Hong Kong actor and director

★ 1969 - Fernando Viña, American Baseball Player

★ 1971 - Selena, American singer (d. 1995)

★ 1971 - Moses Chan, Hong Kong actor

★ 1972 - Conchita Martinez, Spanish tennis player

★ 1973 - Bonnie Pink, Japanese singer

★ 1974 - Mat Devine, American singer Kill Hannah

★ 1974 - Xu Jinglei, Chinese actress, singer and director

★ 1975 - Sean Maher, American actor

★ 1976 - Lukas Haas, American actor

★ 1976 - Dan Kellner, American fencer

★ 1976 - Shu Qi, Taiwanese actress

★ 1977 - Alek Wek, Sudanese supermodel

★ 1977 - Fredrik Ljungberg, Swedish footballer

★ 1978 - Matthew Lloyd, Australian rules footballer

★ 1978 - Lara Dutta, Indian actress

★ 1979 - Howlin' Pelle Almqvist, Swedish musician (The Hives)

★ 1979 - Christijan Albers, Dutch Formula One driver

★ 1980 - Paul London, American professional wrestler

★ 1982 - Boris Diaw, French basketball player

★ 1982 - Barry Jones, Scottish magician

★ 1982 - Jonathan Vilma, American football player

★ 1983 - Cat Osterman, American softball pitcher

★ 1983 - George Patis, Greek badminton player

★ 1984 - Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, American author

★ 1985 - Mark Baker, Welsh author and historian

★ 1985 - Luol Deng, British-Sudanese basketball player

★ 1986 - Paul di Resta, British racing driver

★ 1987 - Aaron Lennon, English footballer

★ 1990 - Lorraine Nicholson, American actress

★ 1994 - Liliana Mumy, American actress

Deaths

★ 69 - Otho, Roman Emperor (b. 32)

★ 744 - al-Walid II, Umayyad caliph

★ 924 - Berengar of Friuli, King of Italy

★ 1113 - Sviatopolk II of Kiev, Russian prince (b. 1050)

★ 1118 - Adelaide del Vasto, wife of Roger II of Sicily

★ 1198 - Duke Frederick I of Austria

★ 1645 - Tobias Hume, English composer

★ 1687 - George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, English statesman (b. 1628)

★ 1689 - Aphra Behn, English dramatist (b. 1640)

★ 1783 - Christian Mayer, Czech astronomer (b. 1719)

★ 1788 - Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, French naturalist (b. 1707)

★ 1828 - Francisco de Goya, Spanish painter (b. 1746)

★ 1846 - Domenico Dragonetti, Italian composer (b. 1763)

★ 1850 - Marie Tussaud, founder of the Madame Tussauds wax museum (b. 1761)

★ 1859 - Alexis de Tocqueville, French historian (b. 1805)

★ 1879 - Bernadette Soubirous, French shepherd girl (b. 1844)

★ 1888 - Zygmunt Florenty Wróblewski, Polish physicist (b. 1845)

★ 1904 - Maximilian Kronberger, German poet (b. 1888)

★ 1904 - Samuel Smiles, Scottish writer and reformer (b. 1812)

★ 1914 - George William Hill, American astronomer (b. 1838)

★ 1915 - Nelson W. Aldrich, American politician (b. 1841)

★ 1928 - Henry Birks, Canadian businessman, founder of Henri Birks and Sons (b. 1840)

★ 1930 - José Carlos Mariátegui, Peruvian journalist, political philosopher and activist (b. 1894)

★ 1938 - Steve Bloomer, English footballer (b. 1874)

★ 1946 - Arthur Chevrolet, Swiss-born race car driver and automobile designer (b. 1884)

★ 1947 - Rudolf Hoess, commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp (b. 1900)

★ 1958 - Rosalind Franklin, British chemist (b. 1920)

★ 1968 - Edna Ferber, American author (b. 1885)

★ 1970 - Richard Neutra, American architect (b. 1892)

★ 1972 - Kawabata Yasunari, Japanese writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1899)

★ 1978 - Lucius Clay, American general (b. 1897)

★ 1985 - Scott Brady, American actor (b. 1924)

★ 1991 - David Lean, British film director (b. 1908)

★ 1992 - Neville Brand, American actor (b. 1920)

★ 1994 - Ralph Ellison, American writer (b. 1913)

★ 1995 - Iqbal Masih, Pakistani child slave labourer, activist (b. 1982)

★ 1996 - Stavros Niarchos, Greek shipping tycoon (b. 1909)

★ 1997 - Doris Angleton, American socialite (b. 1951)

★ 1997 - Roland Topor, French illustrator (b. 1938)

★ 1998 - Fred Davis, English snooker player (b. 1913)

★ 1998 - Alberto Calderón, Argentine mathematician (b. 1920)

★ 1999 - Skip Spence, Canadian-born guitarist, singer and songwriter (Jefferson Airplane) (b. 1946)

★ 2001 - Michael Ritchie, American film director (b. 1920)

★ 2001 - Alec Stock, English football manager (b. 1917)

★ 2002 - Ruth Fertel, American restaurateur (b. 1927)

★ 2002 - Robert Urich, American actor (b. 1946)

★ 2003 - Graham Stuart Thomas, English author and garden designer (b. 1909)

★ 2005 - Kay Walsh, British actress (b. 1911)

★ 2005 - Marla Ruzicka, American humanitarian worker and peace activist (b. 1976)

★ 2006 - Francisco Adam, Portuguese actor and model (b. 1983)

★ 2007 - Gaetan Duchesne, Canadian hockey player (b. 1962)

★ 2007 - Maria Lenk, Brazilian swimmer and first Brazilian woman to compete in the Olympic Games (b. 1915)

★ See List of victims of the Virginia Tech massacre for the complete list

★
★ 2007 - Seung-Hui Cho, Korean American murderer (b. 1984)

★
★ 2007 - Jocelyne Couture-Nowak, American instructor of French (b. 1958)

★
★ 2007 - Kevin Granata, American professor of Engineering (b. 1961)

★
★ 2007 - Liviu Librescu, American Jewish-Romanian professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics (b. 1930)

★
★ 2007 - G. V. Loganathan, Hindu American professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering (b. 1954)

Holidays and observances

★ Birthday of the Danish sovereign, Queen Margrethe, celebrated in Greenland.

★ Selena Day in Texas

★ Mawlid in Shi'a Islam (2006).

★ Emancipation Day in Washington, D.C.

★ Holocaust Remembrance day
===Liturgical Feast days===
in the Roman Catholic Church:

★ Saint Benedict Joseph Labre

★ Saint Drogo

★ Saint Fructuosus

★ Saint Paternus

★ Saint Turibius

★ Saints Martial, Urban, Eventius, Caecilian, Julia, and their companions, martyrs of 304

★ Saint Bernadette

External links

★ BBC: On This Day

★

★ On This Day in Canada
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