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Contents

Events

Births

Deaths

Holidays and observances

Liturgical Feast days

External links

Events

★ 313 - Roman emperor Licinius unifies the entire Eastern Roman Empire under his rule.

★ 711 - Islamic conquest of Hispania: Moorish troops led by Tariq ibn-Ziyad land at Gibraltar to begin their invasion of the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus).

★ 1006 - Supernova SN 1006, the brightest supernova in recorded history, appears in the constellation Lupus.

★ 1483 - Orbital calculations suggest that on this day Pluto moved inside Neptune's orbit until July 23, 1503.

★ 1492 - Spain gives Christopher Columbus his commission of exploration.

★ 1671 - Petar Zrinski, the Croatian Ban from the Zrinski family, is executed.

★ 1789 - On the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York City, George Washington takes the oath of office to become the first elected President of the United States.

★ 1794 - The Battle of Boulou is fought, in which French forces defeated the Spanish under General Union.

★ 1803 - Louisiana Purchase: The United States purchases the Louisiana Territory from France for $15 million, more than doubling – overnight – the size of the young nation.

★ 1812 - The Territory of Orleans becomes the 18th U.S. state under the name Louisiana.

★ 1838 - Nicaragua declares independence from the Central American Federation

★ 1856 - Battle of Rivas, Nicaragua, against North American mercenaries.

★ 1863 - Mexican forces attacked the French Foreign Legion in Hacienda Camarón, Mexico.

★ 1871 - Camp Grant Massacre takes place in Arizona Territory.

★ 1894 - Coxey's Army reaches Washington, D.C. to protest the unemployment caused by the Panic of 1893.

★ 1900 - Hawaii becomes a territory of the United States, with Sanford B. Dole as governor.

★ 1900 - Casey Jones dies in a train wreck in Vaughn, Mississippi, while trying to make up time on the ''Cannonball Express''.

★ 1904 - The Louisiana Purchase Exposition World's Fair opens in St. Louis, Missouri.

★ 1920 - Peru becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.

★ 1925 - Automaker Dodge Brothers, Inc is sold to Dillon, Read & Company for USD $146 million plus $50 million for charity.

★ 1927 - The Federal Industrial Institute for Women, opens in Alderson, West Virginia, as the first women's federal prison in the United States.

★ 1938 - The animated cartoon short ''Porky's Hare Hunt'' debuts in movie theaters, introducing Happy Rabbit.

★ 1938 - The first televised FA Cup Final took place between Huddersfield Town and Preston North End

★ 1939 - The 1939 New York World's Fair opens.

★ 1939 - RCA owned NBC begins regularly scheduled television service from its New York station with the opening ceremonies of the 1939 New York World's Fair broadcast.

★ 1939 - Franklin D. Roosevelt becomes the first President of the United States to appear on television during the World Fair's opening ceremonies broadcast.

★ 1943 - World War II: Operation Mincemeat – The submarine HMS ''Seraph'' surfaces in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Spain to deposit a dead man planted with false invasion plans and dressed as a British military intelligence officer.

★ 1945 - Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun commit suicide after being married for one day.

★ 1947 - In Nevada, the Boulder Dam is officially renamed Hoover Dam again.

★ 1948 - In Bogotá, Colombia, the Organization of American States is established.

★ 1966 - The Church of Satan is founded.

★ 1973 - Watergate Scandal: President Richard Nixon announces that top White House aids H.R. Haldeman, John Ehrlichman, and others have resigned.

★ 1975 - Fall of Saigon: Communist forces gain control of Saigon. The Vietnam War formally ends with the unconditional surrender of South Vietnamese president Duong Van Minh.

★ 1977 - Superstar Billy Graham defeats Bruno Sammartino for the WWWF Heavyweight Championship in Baltimore, Maryland ending Sammartino's second and last title reign.

★ 1980 - Accession of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.

★ 1988 - French-Canadian singer Céline Dion wins the Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin, Ireland in front of 600 million TV-viewers, representing Switzerland with the song "Ne partez pas sans moi"

★ 1991 - A tropical cyclone hits Bangladesh killing an estimated 138,000 people.

★ 1993 - The World Wide Web was born at CERN.

★ 1993 - During a tennis match between #1 female tennis player Monica Seleš and Magdalena Maleeva, Günter Parche plunged a steak knife between Seleš's shoulderblades. Seleš did not return to competitive tennis for over two years.

★ 1993 - Virgin Radio (then Virgin 1215) launches in the UK at 12:15pm.

★ 1995 - U.S. President Bill Clinton became the first U.S. President to visit Northern Ireland.

★ 1999 - Cambodia joins the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bringing the total members to 10.

★ 2001 - The Mitchell Report on the Arab-Israeli conflict is published.

★ 2002 - A referendum in Pakistan overwhelmingly approves the Presidency of Pervez Musharraf for another five years.

★ 2006 - Trapped miners Brant Webb and Todd Russell at Beaconsfield, Tasmania are found alive after being unaccounted for for five days.

Births

★ 1623 - François de Laval, first bishop of New France (d. 1708)

★ 1651 - Jean-Baptiste de la Salle, French educational reformer, Catholic saint (d. 1719)

★ 1662 - Queen Mary II of England (d. 1694)

★ 1664 - François Louis, Prince of Conti, French general (d. 1709)

★ 1710 - Johann Kaspar Basselet von La Rosée, Bavarian general (d. 1795)

★ 1721 - Roger Sherman, American statesman (d. 1793)

★ 1723 - Mathurin Jacques Brisson, French naturalist (d. 1806)

★ 1770 - David Thompson, Canadian explorer (d. 1857)

★ 1777 - Carl Friedrich Gauss, German mathematician (d. 1855)

★ 1803 - Albrecht Graf von Roon, Prime Minister of Prussia (d. 1879)

★ 1829 - Ferdinand von Hochstetter, Austrian geologist (d. 1884)

★ 1857 - Eugene Bleuler, Swiss psychiatrist (d. 1940)

★ 1864 - Juhan Liiv, Estonian poet (d. 1913)

★ 1865 - Max Nettlau, German anarchist (d. 1944)

★ 1869 - Hans Poelzig, German architect (d. 1936)

★ 1870 - Franz Lehár, Austrian composer (d. 1948)

★ 1874 - Cyriel Verschaeve, Belgian clergyman (d. 1949)

★ 1876 - Orso Mario Corbino, Italian physicist (d. 1937)

★ 1877 - Alice B. Toklas, American companion of Gertrude Stein (d. 1967)

★ 1883 - Jaroslav Hašek, Czech novelist (d. 1923)

★ 1893 - Joachim von Ribbentrop, Nazi foreign minister (d. 1946)

★ 1895 - Philippe Panneton, French Canadian physician, diplomat and writer (d. 1960)

★ 1896 - Hans List, Austrian inventor (d. 1996)

★ 1897 - Humberto Mauro, Brazillina director and screenwriter (d. 1983)

★ 1901 - Simon Kuznets, Ukrainian-born economist, Nobel laureate (d. 1985)

★ 1902 - Theodore Schultz, American economist, Nobel laureate (d. 1998)

★ 1908 - Bjarni Benediktsson, Icelandic foreign and later prime minister (d. 1970)

★ 1909 - Queen Juliana of the Netherlands (d. 2004)

★ 1909 - F. E. McWilliam, Northern Irish sculptor (d. 1992)

★ 1916 - Claude Shannon, American engineer and mathematician (d. 2001)

★ 1916 - Robert Shaw, American conductor (d. 1999)

★ 1920 - Duncan Hamilton, British racing driver (d. 1994)

★ 1921 - George Crowe, American baseball player

★ 1923 - Percy Heath, American jazz musician (Modern Jazz Quartet) (d. 2005)

★ 1923 - Al Lewis, American actor (d. 2006)

★ 1924 - Kenneth Kaunda, former Zambian president (1964-1991)

★ 1925 - Corinne Calvet, French actress (d. 2001)

★ 1925 - Johnny Horton, American musician (d. 1960)

★ 1926 - Cloris Leachman, American actress

★ 1928 - Hugh Hood, Canadian author (d. 2000)

★ 1930 - Lawton Chiles, American politician (d. 1998)

★ 1933 - Dickie Davies, British television presenter

★ 1933 - Willie Nelson, American musician

★ 1938 - Larry Niven, American author

★ 1940 - Burt Young, American actor

★ 1941 - Johnny Farina, American musician and composer (Santo & Johnny)

★ 1943 - Frederick Chiluba, former Zambian president (1991-2001)

★ 1943 - Edie Sedgwick , American Pop Culture icon

★ 1943 - Bobby Vee, American singer

★ 1944 - Jill Clayburgh, American actress

★ 1945 - Annie Dillard, American writer

★ 1945 - Michael Smith, American astronaut (d. 1986)

★ 1946 - King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden

★ 1946 - Don Schollander, American swimmer

★ 1947 - Leslie Grantham, English actor

★ 1947 - Finn Kalvik, Norwegian singer

★ 1947 - Mats Odell, Swedish politician

★ 1947 - Tom Kohlert, Brondby IF coach

★ 1948 - Perry King, American actor

★ 1949 - Phil Garner, baseball manager

★ 1949 - Antonio Guterres, Prime Minister of Portugal

★ 1952 - Jacques Audiard, French film director

★ 1954 - Jane Campion, New Zealand film director

★ 1955 - Nicolas Hulot, French journalist

★ 1956 - Jorge Chaminé, Portuguese baritone

★ 1956 - Lars von Trier, Danish film director

★ 1958 - Charles Berling, French actor, director and screenwriter

★ 1959 - Paul Gross, Canadian actor, director, and writer

★ 1959 - Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada

★ 1959 - W. Thomas Smith Jr., American author and columnist

★ 1960 - Kerry Healey, American politician

★ 1961 - Isiah Thomas, American basketball player

★ 1963 - Michael Waltrip, American race car driver

★ 1964 - Ian Healy, Australian cricketer

★ 1964 - Barrington Levy, Jamaican musician

★ 1965 - Adrian Pasdar, American actor

★ 1966 - Jeff Brown, Canadian ice hockey player

★ 1969 - Paulo Jr., Brazilian musician (Sepultura)

★ 1969 - Warren Defever, American musician, composer

★ 1971 - John Boyne, Irish novelist

★ 1971 - Darren Emerson, English DJ (Underworld)

★ 1973 - Akon, American R&B Singer

★ 1974 - Mikey Chan, Australian musician

★ 1975 - Elliott Sadler, American race car driver

★ 1975 - Mike Chat, American actor

★ 1976 - Amanda Palmer, American musician (The Dresden Dolls)

★ 1977 - Jeannie Haddaway, American politician

★ 1979 - Gerardo Torrado, Mexican footballer

★ 1981 - John O'Shea, Irish footballer

★ 1981 - Emma Pierson, British actress

★ 1982 - Lloyd Banks, American rapper

★ 1982 - Kirsten Dunst, American actress

★ 1982 - Cleo Higgins, British singer and actress

★ 1982 - Andrew Seeley, Canadian actor and singer

★ 1983 - Troy Williamson, American football player

★ 1984 - Shawn Daivari, Persian-American professional wrestler and manager

★ 1987 - Nikki Webster, Australian entertainer

★ 2002 - Miguel Urdangarín y de Borbón, Spanish royal

Deaths

★ 65 - Lucan, Roman poet (b. 39)

★ 1063 - Emperor Renzong of China (b. 1010)

★ 1131 - Adjutor, Roman Catholic Saint

★ 1341 - John III, Duke of Brittany (b. 1285)

★ 1439 - Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick, English military leader (b. 1382)

★ 1524 - Pierre Terrail, seigneur de Bayard, French soldier (b. 1473)

★ 1544 - Thomas Audley, 1st Baron Audley of Walden, Lord Chancellor of England

★ 1555 - Pope Marcellus II (b. 1501)

★ 1632 - Johan Tzerclaes, Count of Tilly, Bavarian general (b. 1559)

★ 1642 - Dmitry Pozharsky, Russian prince (b. 1578)

★ 1660 - Petrus Scriverius, Dutch writer (b. 1576)

★ 1655 - Eustache Le Sueur, French painter (b. 1617)

★ 1696 - Robert Plot, British naturalist (b. 1640)

★ 1712 - Philipp van Limborch, Dutch Protestant theologian (b. 1633)

★ 1736 - Johann Albert Fabricius, German classical scholar and bibliographer (b. 1668)

★ 1758 - François d'Agincourt, French composer (b. 1684)

★ 1792 - John Montagu, supposed inventor of the sandwich (b. 1718)

★ 1795 - Jean-Jacques Barthélemy, French writer and numismatist (b. 1716)

★ 1841 - Peter Andreas Heiberg, Danish author and philologist (b. 1758)

★ 1847 - Archduke Charles of Austria, Austrian general (b. 1771)

★ 1865 - Robert Fitzroy, English admiral and meteorologist (b. 1805)

★ 1875 - Jean Frederic Waldeck, French explorer, lithographer, and cartographer (b. 1766)

★ 1883 - Édouard Manet, French painter (b. 1832)

★ 1900 - Casey Jones, American train engineer (b. 1863)

★ 1903 - Emily Stowe, Canadian physician and suffragist (b.1831)

★ 1936 - Alfred Edward Housman, English poet (b. 1859)

★ 1943 - Otto Jespersen, Danish philologist (b. 1860)

★ 1943 - Beatrice Webb, British economist (b. 1858)

★ 1945 - Eva Braun, Adolf Hitler's new wife (suicide) (b. 1912)

★ 1945 - Adolf Hitler, Austrian dictator of Nazi Germany (suicide) (b. 1889)

★ 1956 - Alben W. Barkley, Vice President of the United States (b. 1877)

★ 1970 - Inger Stevens, Swedish actress (b. 1934)

★ 1973 - Václav Renč, Czech poet, dramatist and translator (b. 1911)

★ 1974 - Agnes Moorehead, American actress (b. 1900)

★ 1980 - Luis Muñoz Marín, Puerto Rican poet, journalist, and politician (b. 1898)

★ 1982 - Lester Bangs, American music journalist, author, and musician (b. 1949)

★ 1983 - George Balanchine, Russian-born dancer and choreographer (b. 1904)

★ 1983 - Muddy Waters, American musician (b. 1915)

★ 1985 - George Pravda, Czechoslovakian actor (b. 1918)

★ 1989 - Yi, Bang-ja, Crown Princess of Korea (b. 1901)

★ 1989 - Sergio Leone, Italian filmmaker (b. 1929)

★ 1993 - Tommy Caton, English footballer (b. 1962)

★ 1994 - Roland Ratzenberger, Austrian race car driver (b. 1960)

★ 1994 - Richard Scarry, American author (b. 1919)

★ 1995 - Maung Maung Kha, Prime minister of Burma (b. 1920)

★ 1996 - David Opatoshu, American actor (b. 1918)

★ 1998 - Nizar Qabbani, Syrian poet (b. 1926)

★ 2002 - Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, founder of the Gründerzeit Museum in Berlin-Mahlsdorf. (b. 1928)

★ 2003 - Peter 'Possum' Bourne, New Zealand race car driver (b. 1956)

★ 2003 - Wim van Est, Dutch cyclist (b. 1923)

★ 2003 - Mark Berger, University of Kentucky professor (b. 1955)

★ 2005 - Ron Todd, TGWU General Secretary (1985 - 1992) (b. 1927)

★ 2007 - Grégory Lemarchal, French singer (b. 1983)

★ 2007 - Kevin Mitchell, American football player (b. 1971)

★ 2007 - Tom Poston, American actor (b. 1921)

★ 2007 - Gordon Scott, American actor (b. 1927)

Holidays and observances

★ Walpurgis Night - Celebrated in Germany, central, and western Europe

★ Scandinavia - The arrival of spring.

★ Sweden - Birthday of King Carl XVI Gustav, an official flag day.

★ The Netherlands - Queen's Day, the largest one-day holiday in the Netherlands.

★ Roman Empire - third day of the Floralia in honor of Flora.

★ Bealtaine Eve (From either Irish Bealtaine or Scottish Gaelic). Originally a Celtic Druid holiday.

★ Vietnam - Liberation Day.

★ Mexico - Children's Day.

★ Czech Republic - Carodejnice - witches' night

Liturgical Feast days

in the Roman Catholic Church:

★ Saint Adjutor

★ Saint Eutropius

★ Saint Maximus, 3rd century martyr

★ Saints Marianus and James, martyrs in Numidia in 259

★ Saint Suitbert the Younger (d. 807)

★ Saint Joseph Benedict Cottolengo

★ Saint Pope Pius V

★ Blessed Hildegard

★ Blessed Radolf of Affligem

★ Blessed Rosemonde

External links

★ BBC: On This Day

★

★ On This Day in Canada
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