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Contents

Events

Births

Deaths

Holidays and observances

Liturgical observances

References

External links

Events

★ 642 - Battle of Maserfeld - Penda of Mercia defeats and kills Oswald of Bernicia.

★ 1100 - Henry I crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey.

★ 1305 - William Wallace, who led Scottish resistance to England, is captured by the English near Glasgow and transported to London for trial and execution.

★ 1388 - Battle of Otterburn, border skirmish between the Scottish and the English in Northern England.

★ 1583 - Sir Humphrey Gilbert establishes first English colony in North America, at what is now St John's, Newfoundland.

★ 1620 - The ''Mayflower'' departs Southampton, England.

★ 1689 - 1,500 Iroquois attack village of Lachine, in New France.

★ 1716 - Battle of Petrovaradin

★ 1735 - Freedom of the press: New York Weekly Journal writer John Peter Zenger is acquitted of seditious libel against the royal governor of New York, on the basis that what he published was true.

★ 1763 - Pontiac's War: Battle of Bushy Run - British forces led by Henry Bouquet defeat Chief Pontiac's Indians at Bushy Run.

★ 1772 - First Partition of Poland begins.

★ 1812 - War of 1812: Tecumseh's Indian force ambushes Thomas Van Horne's 200 Americans at Brownstone Creek, causing them to flee and retreat.

★ 1858 - Cyrus West Field and others complete the first transatlantic telegraph cable after several unsuccessful attempts. It operated for less than a month.

★ 1860 - Carl IV of Sweden-Norway is crowned king of Norway, in Trondheim.

★ 1861 - American Civil War: In order to help pay for the war effort, the United States government issues the first income tax as part of the Revenue Act of 1861 (3% of all incomes over US $800; rescinded in 1872).

★ 1861 - The United States Army abolished flogging.

★ 1862 - American Civil War: Battle of Baton Rouge - Along the Mississippi River near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Confederate troops drive Union forces back into the city.

★ 1864 - American Civil War: Battle of Mobile Bay begins - At Mobile Bay near Mobile, Alabama, Admiral David Farragut leads a Union flotilla through Confederate defenses and seals one of the last major Southern ports.

★ 1870 - Franco-Prussian War: The Battle of Spicheren is fought, resulting in a Prussian victory.

★ 1874 - Japan launches its postal savings system, modeled after a similar system in England.

★ 1882 - Standard Oil of New Jersey is established.

★ 1882 - Martial law is enacted in Japan.

★ 1884 - The cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty is laid on Bedloe's Island in New York Harbor.

★ 1888 - Bertha Benz drives from Mannheim to Pforzheim in the first long distance automobile trip.

★ 1901 - Peter O'Connor sets the first IAAF recognised long jump world record of 24ft 11¾ins. The record will stand for 20 years.

★ 1912 - Japan's first taxicab service begins in Ginza, Tokyo.

★ 1914 - In Cleveland, Ohio, the first electric traffic light is installed.

★ 1925 - Plaid Cymru is formed with the aim of disseminating knowledge of the Welsh language, which is in danger of dying out.

★ 1940 - World War II : Latvia is annexed by the Soviet Union.

★ 1943 - World War II: During the Battle of Troina, at around 11 A.M, Mount Etna erupted sending much ash and lava miles into the sky.

★ 1944 - World War II: Possibly the biggest prison breakout in history occurs as 545 Japanese POWs attempt to escape outside the town of Cowra, NSW, Australia.

★ 1944 - Holocaust: Polish insurgents liberate a German labor camp in Warsaw, freeing 348 Jewish prisoners.

★ 1949 - In Ecuador an earthquake destroys 50 towns and kills more than 6000.

★ 1957 - ''American Bandstand'', a show dedicated to the teenage "baby-boomers" by playing the songs and showing popular dances of the time, debuts on the ABC television network.

★ 1960 - Burkina Faso, then known as "Upper Volta", becomes independent from France.

★ 1962 - Nelson Mandela is jailed. He would not be released until 1990.

★ 1963 - United States, United Kingdom, and Soviet Union sign a nuclear test ban treaty.

★ 1964 - Vietnam War: Operation Pierce Arrow - American aircraft from carriers USS ''Ticonderoga'' and USS ''Constellation'' bomb North Vietnam in retaliation for strikes attacked US destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin.

★ 1969 - Mariner program: Mariner 7 makes its closest fly-by of Mars (3,524 kilometers).

★ 1974 - Vietnam War: The U.S. Congress places a $1 billion dollar limit on military aid to South Vietnam.

★ 1979 - In Afghanistan, Maoists undertake an attempted military uprising.

★ 1981 - Ronald Reagan fires 11,359 striking air-traffic controllers who ignored his order for them to return to work.

★ 1995 - The city of Knin, a significant Serb stronghold, is captured by Croatian forces during Operation Storm. The date is celebrated as the day of victory (Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day) in Croatia.

★ 2001 - The Cleveland Indians defeat the Seattle Mariners 15-14 in a record-setting game known as the Impossible Return.

★ 2003 - A car bomb explodes in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta outside the Marriott Hotel killing 12 and injuring 150.

★ 2007 - Tom Glavine of the New York Mets wins his 300th career game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.

Births

★ 1301 - Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent, English politician (d. 1330)

★ 1397? - Guillaume Dufay, Franco-Flemish composer and theorist (d. 1474)

★ 1623 - Antonio Cesti, Italian composer (d. 1669)

★ 1641 - John Hathorne, American magistrate (d. 1717)

★ 1662 - James Anderson, Scottish historian (d. 1728)

★ 1694 - Leonardo Leo, Italian composer (d. 1744)

★ 1802 - Niels Henrik Abel, Norwegian mathematician (d. 1829)

★ 1811 - Ambroise Thomas, French opera composer (d. 1896)

★ 1813 - Ivar Aasen, Norwegian poet and language reformer (d. 1896)

★ 1815 - Edward John Eyre, English explorer (d. 1901)

★ 1827 - Deodoro da Fonseca, first Brazilian president (d.1892)

★ 1850 - Guy de Maupassant, French author (d. 1893)

★ 1862 - Joseph Merrick, The Elephant Man (d. 1890)

★ 1866 - Carl Harries, German chemist (d. 1923)

★ 1866 - Harry Trott, Australian cricketer (d. 1917)

★ 1872 - Oswaldo Cruz, Brazilian physician (d. 1917)

★ 1877 - Tom Thomson, Canadian painter (d. 1917)

★ 1888 - Victor Francen, Belgian-born actor (d. 1977)

★ 1889 - Conrad Aiken, American writer (d. 1973)

★ 1890 - Erich Kleiber, Austrian-born conductor (d. 1956)

★ 1890 - Naum Gabo (born Naum Pevsner), sculptor (d. 1977)

★ 1897 - Aksel Larsen, Danish politician (d. 1972)

★ 1901 - Claude Autant-Lara, French film director (d. 2000)

★ 1906 - John Huston, American director (d. 1987)

★ 1906 - Wassily Leontief, Russian economist, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1999)

★ 1906 - Joan Hickson, British actress (d. 1998)

★ 1908 - Harold Holt, 17th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1967)

★ 1910 - Bruno Coquatrix, French songwriter and music impresario (d. 1979)

★ 1911 - Robert Taylor, American actor (d. 1969)

★ 1912 - Abbé Pierre, French catholic priest

★ 1914 - David Brian, American actor (d. 1993)

★ 1918 - Betty Oliphant, Canadian ballerina (d. 2004)

★ 1918 - Tom Drake, American actor (d. 1982)

★ 1923 - Devan Nair, President of Singapore

★ 1930 - Neil Armstrong, astronaut

★ 1934 - Wendell Berry, American poet, writer and farmer

★ 1935 - John Saxon, American actor

★ 1937 - Herb Brooks, American ice hockey coach (d. 2003)

★ 1939 - Princess Irene of the Netherlands

★ 1941 - Bob Clark, American film director (d. 2007)

★ 1943 - Nelson Briles, American baseball player (d. 2005)

★ 1943 - Sammi Smith, American country singer and songwriter (d. 2005)

★ 1946 - Loni Anderson, American actress

★ 1946 - Ron Silliman, American poet

★ 1946 - Erika Slezak, American actress

★ 1947 - Rick Derringer, American musician

★ 1947 - Angry Anderson, Australian entertainer

★ 1947 - Bernie Carbo, American baseball player

★ 1948 - Carole Laure, Quebec actress

★ 1951 - John Jarratt, Australian actor

★ 1953 - Rick Mahler, American baseball player (d. 2005)

★ 1953 - Samantha Sang, Australian singer

★ 1956 - Jerry Ciccoritti, Canadian film director

★ 1956 - Maureen McCormick, American actress

★ 1957 - Faith Prince, American actress

★ 1959 - Pete Burns, British singer

★ 1960 - Seth Swirsky, American songwriter

★ 1961 - Tawny Kitaen, American actress

★ 1961 - Clayton Rohner, American actor

★ 1961 - Mark O'Connor, American violinist

★ 1962 - Patrick Ewing, American basketball player

★ 1964 - Adam Yauch, American musician

★ 1965 - Motoi Sakuraba, Japanese composer

★ 1966 - Jonathan Silverman, American actor

★ 1968 - John Olerud, American baseball player

★ 1968 - Oleg Luzhny, Ukrainian footballer

★ 1968 - Tokimitsu Ishizawa, Japanese professional wrestler

★ 1968 - Terri Clark, Canadian country singer

★ 1970 - James Gunn, American filmmaker

★ 1971 - Evil Jared Hasselhoff, American bassist (The Bloodhound Gang)

★ 1972 - Christian Olde Wolbers, Belgian bassist (Fear Factory)

★ 1974 - Antoine Sibierski, French footballer

★ 1974 - Alvin Ceccoli, Australian footballer

★ 1975 - Antony Cotton, English actor

★ 1975 - Ami Foster, American actress

★ 1975 - Kajol Mukherjee, Indian actress

★ 1976 - Jeff Friesen, Canadian ice hockey player

★ 1976 - Kwon Sang-woo, South Korean actor

★ 1977 - Mark Mulder, American baseball player

★ 1977 - Eric Hinske, American baseball player

★ 1978 - Nektaria Karantzi, Greek singer

★ 1978 - Kim Gevaert, Belgian sprint athlete

★ 1979 - David Healy, Northern Irish footballer

★ 1980 - Wayne Bridge, English footballer

★ 1980 - Jason Čulina, Australian footballer

★ 1981 - Carl Crawford, American baseball player

★ 1981 - Rachel Scott, American murder victim (d. 1999)

★ 1981 - Kō Shibasaki, Japanese singer

★ 1981 - Erik Guay, Quebec alpine skier

★ 1982 - LoLo Jones, American track and field athlete

★ 1982 - Ryu Seung Min, Korean table tennis player

★ 1982 - Tobias Regner, German singer

★ 1983 - Dawn Richard, American singer (Danity Kane)

★ 1985 - Salomon Kalou, Ivory Coast footballer

★ 1987 - Genelia D'Souza , Indian actress

★ 1987 - Xenia Tchoumitcheva

★ 1993 - Corey J. Smith, English television actor

★ 1993 - Suzuka Ohgo, Japanese actress

★ 2000 - Maya Bond, Japanese-born American singer and musician

Deaths

★ 882 - King Louis III of France (b. 863)

★ 1063 - Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, King of Gwynedd

★ 1364 - Emperor Kogon of Japan (b. 1313)

★ 1572 - Isaac Luria, Palestinian-born Kabbalist (b. 1534)

★ 1579 - Stanislaus Hosius, Polish Catholic cardinal (b. 1504)

★ 1610 - Alonso García de Ramón, Spanish soldier and twice Royal Governor of Chile

★ 1633 - Archbishop George Abbot, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1562)

★ 1678 - Juan García de Zéspedes, Mexican musician and composer (b. 1619)

★ 1743 - John Hervey, Lord Hervey, English statesman and writer (b. 1696)

★ 1778 - Charles Clémencet, French historian (b. 1703)

★ 1792 - Frederick North, Lord North, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1732)

★ 1799 - Richard Howe, British admiral (b. 1726)

★ 1868 - Jacques Boucher de Crèvecœur de Perthes, French archaeologist (b. 1788)

★ 1880 - Ferdinand Ritter von Hebra, Austrian physician (b. 1816)

★ 1895 - Friedrich Engels, German philosopher (b. 1820)

★ 1911 - Bob Caruthers, baseball player (b. 1864)

★ 1923 - Vatroslav Jagić, Croatian slavist (b. 1835)

★ 1929 - Millicent Fawcett, British suffragist and feminist (b. 1847)

★ 1946 - Wilhelm Marx, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1863)

★ 1952 - Sameera Moussa, Egyptian nuclear scientist (b. 1917)

★ 1955 - Carmen Miranda, Portuguese actress and singer (b. 1909)

★ 1957 - Heinrich Otto Wieland, German chemist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1877)

★ 1959 - Edgar Guest, English poet (b. 1881)

★ 1960 - Arthur Meighen, 9th Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1874)

★ 1962 - Marilyn Monroe, American actress (b. 1926)

★ 1963 - Salvador Bacarisse, Spanish composer (b. 1898)

★ 1964 - Art Ross, professional ice hockey player and executive (b. 1886) (Art Ross Trophy)

★ 1978 - Jesse Haines, baseball player (b. 1893)

★ 1984 - Richard Burton, British actor (b. 1925)

★ 1991 - Paul Brown, American football coach (b. 1908)

★ 1991 - Soichiro Honda, founder of the Honda Motor Company (b. 1906)

★ 1992 - Jeff Porcaro, American drummer (b. 1954)

★ 1994 - Alain de Changy, Belgian racing driver (b. 1922)

★ 1998 - Todor Zhivkov, Bulgarian Communist dictator from 1956 to 1989 (b. 1911)

★ 2000 - Sir Alec Guinness, British actor (b. 1914)

★ 2000 - Otto Buchsbaum, writer and ecological activist (b. 1920)

★ 2002 - Josh Ryan Evans, American actor (b. 1982)

★ 2002 - Chick Hearn, American basketball announcer (b. 1916)

★ 2002 - Franco Lucentini, Italian writer (b. 1920)

★ 2005 - Polina Astakhova, Russian gymnast (b. 1936)

★ 2005 - Jim O'Hora, American football coach (b. 1915)

★ 2005 - Raul Roco, Philippine senator (b. 1941)

★ 2006 - Susan Butcher, American Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race champion (b. 1954)

★ 2007 - Florian Pittiş, Romanian artist (b. 1943)

Holidays and observances

★ Burkina Faso - Independence Day.

★ Croatia - Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day.

★ Chile - Children's Day

Liturgical observances

★ Abel of Reims (died 750) ^[1]

★ Addai

★ Saint Afra, martyr [Augsburg (rare)]

★ Saint Afra and companions, virgins, martyrs [France]

★ Saint Cassianus, bishop of Autun, confessor [France]

★ Saint Dominic, confessor [medieval date, in Paris; nowadays August 4]

★ Saint Emygdius, martyr, bishop of Ascoli Piceno

★ Saint Fredulph, confessor [Saintes]

★ Saint Jonius, priest, martyr [Paris]

★ Feast of Mary "ad nives"; Dedication of Santa Maria Maggiore bin Rome [common]

★ Saint Memmius, bishop of Châlons-sur-Marne, confessor [Metz, France; Paris, as Menge]

★ Saint Ormisdas, pope, confessor [Bamberg]

★ Saint Oswald of Northumbria, king, martyr [common; England] (died 642)

★ Saint Sixtus II, pope [Paris]

★ Saint Venantius, bishop of Viviers [Viviers]

★ Saint Nonna of Nianza

References

1. Holweck, F. G. ''A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints''. St. Louis, MO: B. Herder Book Co. 1924.

External links

★ BBC: On This Day

★

★ On This Day in Canada
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