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Contents

Events

Births

Deaths

Holidays and observances

Liturgical feasts

External links

Events

★ 48 BC - Battle of Dyrrhachium, Caesar barely avoids a catastrophic defeat to Pompey in Macedonia.

★ 988 - The City of Dublin is founded on the banks of the river Liffey.

★ 1212 - The most severe of several early fires of London burns most of the city to the ground.

★ 1553 - Lady Jane Grey takes the throne of England.

★ 1584 - William I of Orange was assassinated in his home in Delft, Holland by Balthasar Gérard.

★ 1645 - English Civil War: Battle of Langport.

★ 1778 - American Revolution: Louis XVI of France declares war on the Kingdom of Great Britain.

★ 1789 - Alexander Mackenzie reaches Mackenzie River Delta.

★ 1796 - Carl Friedrich Gauss discovered that every positive integer is representable as a sum of at most three triangular numbers.

★ 1800 - British Indian Government established Fort William College to promote Urdu, Hindi and other vernaculars of sub continent.

★ 1806 - The Vellore Mutiny was the first instance of a mutiny by Indian sepoys against the British East India Company

★ 1821 - The United States takes possession of its newly-bought territory of Florida from Spain.

★ 1832 - President Andrew Jackson vetoes a bill that would re-charter the Second Bank of the United States.

★ 1850 - Millard Fillmore is inaugurated as the 13th President of the United States.

★ 1877 - The then villa of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico formally receives its city charter from the Royal Crown of Spain.

★ 1890 - Wyoming is admitted as the 44th U.S. state.

★ 1913 - Death Valley, California hits 134 °F (~56.7 °C), which is the highest temperature recorded in the United States.

★ 1925 - The Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union (TASS), the official news agency of the Soviet Union , is established.

★ 1925 - Meher Baba begins his silence of 44 years. His followers still observe Silence Day on this date in commemoration.

★ 1925 - Scopes Trial: In Dayton, Tennessee, the so-called "Monkey Trial" begins with John T. Scopes, a young high school science teacher, accused of teaching evolution in violation of a Tennessee state law.

★ 1938 - Howard Hughes sets a new record by completing a 91 hour airplane flight around the world.

★ 1940 - World War II: Vichy France government established.

★ 1940 - World War II: Battle of Britain - The German Luftwaffe begin to hit British convoys in the English Channel thus starting the battle (this start date is contested, though).

★ 1941 - Jedwabne Pogrom was a massacre of Jewish people living in and near the village of Jedwabne in Poland.

★ 1943 - World War II: The launching of Operation Husky begins the Italian Campaign.

★ 1947 - Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah is recommended as the first Governor General of Pakistan by then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Clement Attlee.

★ 1951 - Korean War: At Kaesong, armistice negotiations begin.

★ 1951 - Randy Turpin becomes the middleweight boxing champion after defeating Sugar Ray Robinson.

★ 1962 - Telstar, the world's first communications satellite, is launched into orbit.

★ 1967 - Uruguay becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty.

★ 1967 - New Zealand adopts decimal currency.

★ 1968 - Maurice Couve de Murville becomes Prime Minister of France

★ 1973 - The Bahamas gain full independence within the Commonwealth of Nations.

★ 1973 - National Assembly of Pakistan passes a resolution on Bangladesh recognition.

★ 1976 - The Seveso Disaster occurs in Italy.

★ 1976 - One US and three UK mercenaries executed in Angola following the Luanda Trial.

★ 1978 - ''World News Tonight'' premieres on ABC

★ 1978 - Mauritania, President Moktar Ould Daddah is ousted in a bloodless coup.

★ 1985 - Greenpeace vessel ''Rainbow Warrior'' is bombed and sunk in Auckland, New Zealand Harbor by French DGSE agents.

★ 1991 - Boris Yeltsin begins his 5-year term as the first elected President of Russia.

★ 1991 - South African cricket team readmitted into the International Cricket Council (ICC) following the end of Apartheid.

★ 1992 - In Miami, Florida, former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega is sentenced to 40 years in prison for drug and racketeering violations.

★ 1997 - London, scientists report their DNA analysis findings from a Neandertal skeleton which support the out of Africa theory of human evolution placing an "African Eve" at 100,000 to 200,000 years ago.

★ 1997 - Spain, Partido Popular member Miguel Ángel Blanco is kidnapped in the Basque city of Ermua by ETA members, sparking widespread protests.

★ 1998 - Roman Catholic sex abuse cases: The Diocese of Dallas agrees to pay $23.4 million to nine former altar boys who claimed they were sexually abused by former priest Rudolph Kos.

★ 2000 - A leaking southern Nigerian petroleum pipeline explodes, killing about 250 villagers scavenging gasoline.

★ 2000 - EADS, the world's second largest aerospace group is formed by the merger of Aérospatiale-Matra, DASA, and CASA.

★ 2002 - At a Sotheby's auction, Peter Paul Rubens' painting ''The Massacre of the Innocents'' is sold for £49.5million (US$76.2 million) to Lord Kenneth Thomson.

★ 2003 - A Neoplan bus, owned by Kowloon Motor Bus, collides with a truck, falls off a bridge on Tuen Mun Road, Hong Kong, and plunges into the underlying valley, killing 21 people. This is the deadliest traffic accident to date in Hong Kong.

★ 2005 - Hurricane Dennis slams into the Florida Panhandle causing billions of dollars in damage.

★ 2006 - Pakistan International Flight PK-688 crashes in Multan, Pakistan shortly after takeoff, killing all 45 people on board.

Births

★ 1419 - Emperor Go-Hanazono of Japan (d. 1471)

★ 1452 - King James III of Scotland (d. 1488)

★ 1509 - John Calvin, French religious reformer (d. 1564)

★ 1517 - Odet de Coligny, French cardinal and Protestant (d. 1571)

★ 1592 - Pierre d'Hozier, French historian (d. 1660)

★ 1614 - Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Anglesey, English royalist statesman (d. 1686)

★ 1625 - Jean Herauld Gourville, French adventurer (d. 1703)

★ 1638 - David Teniers III, Flemish painter (d. 1685)

★ 1666 - John Ernest Grabe, German-born Anglican theologian (d. 1711)

★ 1682 - Bartholomaeus Ziegenbalg, German Lutheran missionary to India (d. 1719)

★ 1682 - Roger Cotes, English mathematician (d. 1716)

★ 1723 - William Blackstone, English jurist (d. 1780)

★ 1792 - George Mifflin Dallas, U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania and the 11th Vice President of the United States (d. 1864)

★ 1804 - Emma Smith Inaugural President of the Women's Relief Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

★ 1809 - Friedrich August von Quenstedt, German geologist (d. 1889)

★ 1830 - Camille Pissarro, French painter (d. 1903)

★ 1832 - Alvan Graham Clark, American telescope maker and astronomer (d. 1897)

★ 1834 - James McNeil Whistler, American painter (d. 1903)

★ 1835 - Henryk Wieniawski, Polish composer (d. 1880)

★ 1839 - Adolphus Busch, German-born brewer (d. 1913)

★ 1856 - Nikola Tesla, Serb-American inventor (d. 1943)

★ 1867 - Prince Maximilian of Baden, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1929)

★ 1871 - Marcel Proust, French writer (d. 1922)

★ 1874 - Sergey Konenkov, Russian painter (d. 1971)

★ 1875 - Mary McLeod Bethune, American educator (d. 1955)

★ 1883 - Johannes Blaskowitz, German general (d. 1948)

★ 1888 - Giorgio de Chirico, Italian painter (d. 1978)

★ 1895 - Carl Orff, German composer (d. 1982)

★ 1896 - Thérèse Casgrain, French Canadian politician and senator (d. 1981)

★ 1897 - Karl Plagge, German officer (d. 1957)

★ 1899 - John Gilbert, American actor (d. 1936)

★ 1899 - Heiri Suter, Swiss cyclist (d. 1978)

★ 1900 - Sampson Sievers, Russian Orthodox Christian monk, priest and wonder-worker (d. 1979)

★ 1900 - Mitchell Parish, American lyricist (d. 1993)

★ 1902 - Kurt Alder, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1958)

★ 1903 - John Wyndham, British author (d. 1969)

★ 1903 - Werner Best, German jurist and nazi leader (d. 1989)

★ 1905 - Thomas Gomez, American actor (d. 1971)

★ 1905 - Wolfram Sievers, Nazi physician (d. 1948)

★ 1913 - Salvador Espriu, Spanish poet (d. 1985)

★ 1914 - Joe Shuster, Canadian-born cartoonist (d. 1992)

★ 1917 - Don Herbert aka "Mr. Wizard", American television host (d. 2007)

★ 1920 - David Brinkley, American television reporter (d. 2003)

★ 1920 - Owen Chamberlain, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate

★ 1921 - Harvey Ball, American inventor (d. 2001)

★ 1921 - Jake LaMotta, American boxer

★ 1921 - Eunice Kennedy Shriver, American activist

★ 1923 - Earl Hamner Jr., American author and television producer

★ 1923 - Jean Kerr, American author (d. 2003)

★ 1924 - Bobo Brazil, professional wrestler (d. 1998)

★ 1925 - Mahathir bin Mohamad, fourth Malaysian Prime Minister

★ 1926 - Fred Gwynne, American actor (d. 1993)

★ 1927 - Grigory Barenblatt, Russian mathematician

★ 1927 - Suzanne Cloutier, Canadian film actor (d. 2003)

★ 1928 - Moshe Greenberg, American-Israeli Bible scholar

★ 1928 - Alejandro de Tomaso, Argentine-Italian racing driver and car manufacturer (d. 2003)

★ 1928 - Bernard Buffet, French painter (d. 1999)

★ 1929 - Winnie Ewing, Scottish politician

★ 1931 - Nick Adams, American actor (d. 1968)

★ 1931 - Alice Munro, Canadian writer

★ 1932 - Carlo Mario Abate, Italian racing driver

★ 1934 - Jerry Nelson, American puppeteer

★ 1935 - Tura Satana, American actress

★ 1938 - Paul Andreu, French architect

★ 1939 - Ahmet Taner Kışlalı, Turkish politician, journalist, and educator (d. 1999)

★ 1940 - Tom Farmer, Scottish entrepreneur

★ 1940 - Helen Donath, American soprano

★ 1941 - David G. Hartwell, American editor and anthologist

★ 1941 - Ian Whitcomb, English songwriter, entertainer and producer

★ 1942 - Ronnie James Dio, American musician

★ 1942 - Pyotr Klimuk, cosmonaut

★ 1943 - Arthur Ashe, American tennis player (d. 1993)

★ 1945 - John Motson, British sports (football) commentator

★ 1945 - Jean-Marie Poiré, French film director

★ 1945 - Virginia Wade, British tennis player

★ 1945 - Ron Glass, American actor

★ 1946 - Sue Lyon, American actress

★ 1947 - Arlo Guthrie, American musician

★ 1949 - Sunil Gavaskar, Indian cricketer

★ 1950 - Greg Kihn, American musician

★ 1951 - Cheryl Wheeler, American singer and songwriter

★ 1952 - Ludmilla Tourischeva, Russian gymnast

★ 1952 - Kim Mitchell, Canadian guitarist/singer

★ 1952 - Peter van Heemst, Dutch politician

★ 1953 - Zoogz Rift, singer/songwriter and wrestling booker

★ 1953 - Rik Emmett, Canadian musician (Triumph)

★ 1954 - Neil Tennant, British musician (Pet Shop Boys)

★ 1954 - Andre Dawson, American baseball player

★ 1956 - Tom McClintock, American politician

★ 1957 - Cindy Sheehan, American anti-war/political activist

★ 1958 - Béla Fleck, American musician

★ 1961 - Jacky Cheung, Hong Kong singer and actor

★ 1964 - Urban Meyer, American football coach

★ 1965 - Alec Mapa, Filipino-American actor and comedian

★ 1965 - Ken Mellons, American singer

★ 1965 - Princess Alexia of Greece and Denmark

★ 1966 - Johnny Grunge, wrestler (d. 2006)

★ 1968 - Hassiba Boulmerka, Algerian athlete

★ 1969 - Gale Harold, American actor

★ 1969 - Alexandra Hedison, American actress

★ 1970 - Helen Sjöholm, Swedish singer and actress

★ 1970 - Gary LeVox, American singer (Rascal Flatts)

★ 1970 - Jason Orange, UK pop singer and dancer (Take That)

★ 1970 - John Simm, British actor

★ 1972 - Sofia Vergara, Colombian actress

★ 1974 - Chiwetel Ejiofor, English actor

★ 1975 - Alain Nasreddine, Canadian ice hockey player

★ 1975 - Stefán Karl Stefánsson, Icelandic actor

★ 1976 - Elijah Blue Allman, American musician (Deadsy)

★ 1976 - Adrian Grenier, American actor

★ 1976 - Ludovic Giuly, French footballer

★ 1976 - Brendon Lade, Australian rules footballer

★ 1976 - Edmílson Gomes, Brazilian footballer.

★ 1978 - Jesse Lacey, American musician (Brand New)

★ 1979 - Mvondo Atangana, Cameroon footballer

★ 1980 - Thomas Ian Nicholas, American actor

★ 1980 - Adam Petty, American race car driver (d. 2000)

★ 1980 - Jessica Simpson, American singer

★ 1980 - Orlando Jordan, American wrestler

★ 1981 - Mariano R. Esparza, Mexican-American Boxer

★ 1982 - Alex Arrowsmith, American musician

★ 1982 - Sebastian Mila, Polish footballer

★ 1983 - Kim Hee Chul, Korean musician (Super Junior)

★ 1984 - Mark González, Chilean football player

Deaths

★ 138 - Hadrian, Roman Emperor (b. 76)

★ 649 - Li Shimin, Emperor of China {b.599}

★ 1099 - El Cid, of Castile (b. 1044)

★ 1103 - King Eric I of Denmark

★ 1290 - King Ladislaus IV of Hungary (b. 1262)

★ 1460 - Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham, English military leader (b. 1402)

★ 1480 - King René I of Naples (b. 1410)

★ 1559 - King Henry II of France (b. 1519)

★ 1584 - William I of Orange (b. 1533)

★ 1590 - Archduke Charles II of Austria (b. 1540)

★ 1594 - Paolo Bellasio, Italian composer (b. 1554)

★ 1621 - Karel Bonaventura Buquoy, French soldier (b. 1571)

★ 1653 - Gabriel Naudé, French librarian and scholar (b. 1600)

★ 1680 - Louis Moréri, French encyclopedist (b. 1643)

★ 1683 - François-Eudes de Mézeray, French historian (b. 1610)

★ 1686 - John Fell, English churchman (b. 1625)

★ 1776 - Richard Peters, English-born clergyman (b. 1704)

★ 1806 - George Stubbs, British painter (b. 1724)

★ 1851 - Louis-Jacques Daguerre, French inventor and photographer (b. 1787)

★ 1881 - Georg Hermann Nicolai, German architect (b. 1812)

★ 1884 - Paul Morphy, American chess player (b. 1837)

★ 1908 - Phoebe Knapp, American hymn writer (b. 1839)

★ 1920 - Jackie Fisher, British admiral (b. 1841)

★ 1941 - Jelly Roll Morton, American musician (b. 1890)

★ 1954 - Calogero Vizzini, Sicilian mafioso (b. 1877)

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

★ 1972 - Lovie Austin, American jazz pianist (b. 1887)

★ 1978 - John D Rockefeller III, American businessman (b. 1906)

★ 1978 - Joe Davis, English snooker player (b. 1901)

★ 1979 - Arthur Fiedler, American conductor (b. 1894)

★ 1981 - Ken Rex McElroy, American hog rustler (b. 1936)

★ 1987 - John H. Hammond, American record producer (b. 1910)

★ 1989 - Mel Blanc, American voice actor (b. 1908)

★ 2000 - Vakkom Majeed, Indian Freedom fighter, Travancore-Cochin Legislative member (b. 1909)

★ 2000 - Justin Pierce, English-American actor and skateboarder (b. 1975)

★ 2002 - Jean-Pierre Côté, French Canadian politician and Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (b. 1926)

★ 2003 - Winston Graham, English writer (b. 1908)

★ 2003 - Hartley Shawcross, British prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials (b. 1902)

★ 2003 - Bishnu Maden, Nepalese politician

★ 2005 - A.J. Quinnell, English writer (b. 1940)

★ 2005 - Freda Wright-Sorce, American radio performer (b. 1955)

★ 2005 - Freddy Soto, American comedian and actor (b. 1970)

★ 2006 - Shamil Basayev, Chechen rebel (b. 1965)

★ 2007 - Abdul Rashid Ghazi, radical Pakistani cleric (b. 1951)

★ 2007 - Doug Marlette, American cartoonist (b. 1949)

Holidays and observances

★ Bahamas - Independence Day.

★ Silence Day - celebrated by followers of Meher Baba.

★ Mauritania - Armed Forces Day.

★ Ancient Latvia - Septinu Bralu Diena observed.

Liturgical feasts

★ Saint Etto, bishop, confessor [Mons]

★ Saint Kanute IV, King of Denmark, martyr [Sleswig, Scandinavia]

★ Translation of Saint Maclovius, bishop of Saint-Malo, confessor [St. Malo]

★ The Seven Brothers (Januarius, Felix, Philip, Silvanus, Alexander, Vitalis, and Martialis), martyrs [common; Halberstadt, Hildesheim]

★ Saint Witger of Hamme

★ Saint Amalberga, virgin (died 690) [Brandenburg, Flanders]

★ Saint Felicitas of Rome, martyr [Halberstadt, Hildesheim, Augsburg]

★ Saint Maria Amandina of Schakkebroek and Companions (died 1900)

★ Saints Rufina and Secunda, martyrs [common; Albi]

External links

★ BBC: On This Day

★

★ On This Day in Canada
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