Events
★
763 BC -
Assyrians record a
solar eclipse that will be used to fix the
chronology of
Mesopotamian history.
★
923 -
Battle of Soissons: King
Robert I of France is killed and King
Charles the Simple is arrested by the supporters of Duke
Rudolph of Burgundy.
★
1184 - King
Magnus V of Norway is killed at the battle of
Fimreite.
★
1215 -
King John of England puts his
seal to the
Magna Carta.
★
1219 - Dannebrog - oldest national flag in the world - and
flag of Denmark. According to legend, fell from the sky during the
Battle of Lyndanisse (now
Tallinn) in
Estonia, and turned the Danes' luck.
★
1246 - With the death of Duke
Frederick II, the
Babenberg dynasty ends in
Austria.
★
1389 -
Battle of Kosovo: The
Ottoman Empire defeats
Serbs and
Bosnians.
★
1520 -
Pope Leo X threatens to excommunicate
Martin Luther.
★
1580 -
Phillip II of Spain declares
William the Silent to be an outlaw.
★
1667 - The first human
blood transfusion is administered by Dr.
Jean-Baptiste Denys.
★
1752 -
Benjamin Franklin proves that
lightning is
electricity.
★
1775 -
American Revolutionary War:
George Washington is appointed commander-in-chief of the
Continental Army.
★
1776 - Delaware Separation Day -
Delaware votes to suspend government under the British Crown and separate officially from
Pennsylvania.
★
1785 -
Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier, co-pilot of the first-ever manned flight (
1783), and his companion,
Pierre Romain, become the first-ever
casualties of an air crash when their
hot air balloon explodes during their attempt to cross the
English Channel.
★
1804 -
New Hampshire approves the
Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratifying the document.
★
1808 -
Joseph Bonaparte becomes King of Spain.
★
1836 -
Arkansas is admitted as the 25th
U.S. state.
★
1844 -
Charles Goodyear receives a
patent for
vulcanization, a process to strengthen
rubber.
★
1846 - The
Oregon Treaty establishes the
49th parallel as the border between the
United States and
Canada, from the
Rocky Mountains to the
Strait of Juan de Fuca.
★
1859 -
Pig War: Ambiguity in the
Oregon Treaty leads to the "Northwestern Boundary Dispute" between
U.S. and
British/
Canadian settlers.
★
1864 -
American Civil War:
Siege of Petersburg begins.
★ 1864 -
Arlington National Cemetery is established when 200 acres (0.8 km²) around Arlington Mansion are officially set aside as a military
cemetery by U.S. Secretary of War
Edwin M. Stanton.
★
1877 -
Henry Ossian Flipper becomes the first
African American cadet to graduate from the
United States Military Academy.
★
1888 - Crown Prince
Wilhelm becomes Kaiser Wilhelm II and is the last emperor of the
German Empire
★
1904 - A fire aboard the steamboat ''
General Slocum'' in
New York City's
East River kills 1000.
★
1905 -
Princess Margaret of Connaught marries
Gustav, Crown Prince of Sweden.
★
1909 - Representatives from
England,
Australia and
South Africa meet at
Lord's and form the
Imperial Cricket Conference.
★
1911 -
Tabulating Computing Recording Corporation (
IBM) is incorporated.
★
1913 - The
Battle of Bud Bagsak in the Philippine concludes.
★
1916 - U.S. President
Woodrow Wilson signs a bill incorporating the
Boy Scouts of America, making them the only American youth organization with a federal charter.
★
1919 -
John Alcock and
Arthur Brown complete first nonstop
transatlantic flight at
Clifden,
County Galway,
Ireland.
★
1920 -
Duluth lynchings in
Minnesota
★
1934 - The U.S.'s
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is founded.
★
1944 -
World War II:
Battle of Saipan: The
United States invades
Saipan.
★ 1944 - In the
Saskatchewan general election, 1944, the
CCF, led by
Tommy Douglas, is elected and forms the first
socialist government of
North America.
★
1945 - The
General Dutch Youth League (ANJV) is founded in
Amsterdam,
Netherlands.
★
1954 -
UEFA (the Union des Associations Européennes de Football) is formed in
Basle,
Switzerland.
★
1955 - The
Eisenhower administration stages the first annual "Operation Alert" (OPAL) exercise, an attempt to assess the USA's preparations for a nuclear attack.
★
1962 -
Students for a Democratic Society complete the
Port Huron Statement.
★
1978 -
King Hussein of
Jordan weds American Lisa Halaby, who takes the name
Queen Noor.
★
1991 - Birth of the first federal
political party in
Canada that supports
Quebec nationalism, the
Bloc Québécois.
★
1992 - The
United States Supreme Court rules in
US vs. Alvarez-Machain that it is permissible for the
USA to suspects in foreign countries and bring them to the USA for trial, without approval from those other countries.
★
1994 -
Israel and
Vatican City establish full
diplomatic relations.
★
1996 - In
Manchester,
UK, a
terrorist bomb injures over 200 people and devastates a large part of the city centre.
★
2002 - Near earth asteroid
2002 MN misses our planet by 75,000 miles (120,000 km) about one third the distance to the moon
★
2007 -
Bob Barker's final episode as host of
The Price is Right airs.
Births
★
1330 -
Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales (d.
1376)
★
1594 -
Nicolas Poussin, French painter (d.
1665)
★
1623 -
Cornelis de Witt, Dutch politician (d.
1672)
★
1624 -
Hiob Ludolf, German orientalist (d.
1704)
★
1640 -
Bernard Lamy, French mathematician (d.
1715)
★
1755 -
Antoine François, comte de Fourcroy, French chemist (d.
1809)
★
1765 -
Johann Gottlieb Friedrich von Bohnenberger, German mathematician (d.
1831)
★
1767 -
Rachel Donelson Jackson,
First Lady of the United States (d.
1828)
★
1789 -
Josiah Henson, American slave and settlement founder (d.
1883)
★
1801 -
Benjamin Raymond, Mayor of Chicago (d.
1883)
★
1805 -
William Butler Ogden, first Mayor of Chicago (d.
1877)
★
1809 -
François-Xavier Garneau, French Canadian poet and historian (d.
1866)
★
1843 -
Edvard Grieg, Norwegian composer (d.
1907)
★
1875 -
Herman Smith-Johannsen, cross-country skier (d.
1987)
★
1882 -
Ion Antonescu,
Prime Minister of Romania (d.
1946)
★
1884 -
Harry Langdon, American actor (d.
1944)
★
1888 -
Ramón López Velarde, Mexican poet (d.
1921)
★
1894 -
Nikolai Chebotaryov, Ukrainian mathematician (d.
1947)
★ 1894 -
Robert Russell Bennett, American composer and arranger (d.
1981)
★
1900 -
Gotthard Günther, German philosopher (d.
1984)
★ 1900 -
Otto Luening, German-American composer (d.
1996)
★
1902 -
Erik Erikson, psychoanalyst (d.
1994)
★
1906 -
Léon Degrelle, Belgian SS officer (d.
1994)
★
1908 -
Sam Giancana, American mafioso (d.
1975)
★
1910 -
David Rose, American songwriter, composer and orchestra leader (d.
1990)
★
1911 -
W.V. Awdry, British children's writer (d.
1997)
★
1914 -
Yuri Andropov, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (d.
1984)
★ 1914 -
Saul Steinberg, Romanian-American cartoonist (d.
1999)
★
1915 -
Thomas Huckle Weller, American virologist, recipient of the
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
★
1916 -
Herbert Simon, American economist,
Nobel Prize laureate (d.
2001)
★
1917 -
John Fenn, American chemist,
Nobel Prize laureate
★ 1917 -
Lash La Rue, American actor (d.
1996)
★ 1917 -
Michalis Genitsaris, Greek singer and composer (d.
2005)
★
1920 -
Alberto Sordi, Italian actor and director (d.
2003)
★
1921 -
Errol Garner, American musician (d.
1977)
★
1922 -
John Veale, English composer (d.
2006)
★
1924 -
Ezer Weizman, 7th President of Israel (d.
2005)
★
1926 -
Shigeru Kayano,
Japanese
Ainu activist (d.
2006)
★
1927 -
Ibn-e-Insha, Pakistani humourist and
Urdu poet (d.
1978)
★
1930 -
Marcel Pronovost, professional ice hockey player
★
1932 -
Mario Cuomo, Governor of New York
★
1933 -
Sergio Endrigo, Italian singer (d.
2005)
★
1936 -
William Joseph Levada, American Catholic prelate
★
1937 -
Waylon Jennings, American singer (d.
2002)
★
1938 -
Billy Williams, baseball player
★
1939 -
Ward Connerly, American political figure
★ 1939 -
Brian Jacques, British author
★
1941 -
Harry Nilsson, American singer and composer (d.
1994)
★
1942 -
John E. McLaughlin, former Deputy Director of the
Central Intelligence Agency
★
1943 -
Xaviera Hollander, Dutch author
★ 1943 -
Poul Nyrup Rasmussen,
Prime Minister of Denmark
★ 1943 -
Johnny Hallyday, French singer and actor
★ 1943 -
Muff Winwood, British songwriter, producer and bassist (
Spencer Davis Group)
★
1945 -
Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Philippine senator
★ 1945 -
Nicola Pagett, British actress
★
1946 -
Noddy Holder, British singer (
Slade)
★ 1946 -
Demis Roussos, Greek singer
★
1947 -
John Hoagland, American photographer
★ 1947 -
Lee Purcell, American actress
★
1948 -
Mike Holmgren, American football coach
★
1949 -
Dusty Baker, baseball player and manager
★ 1949 -
Simon Callow, British actor
★ 1949 -
Russell Hitchcock, Member of
Air Supply
★ 1949 -
Jim Varney, American actor (d.
2000)
★
1950 -
Lakshmi Mittal, Indian industrialist
★
1951 -
Steve Walsh, American singer (
Kansas)
★
1952 -
Sandra Cassel, American actress
★
1953 -
Rita Lee,
Playboy Playmate
★
1954 -
James Belushi, American actor
★ 1954 -
Paul Rusesabagina, Manager of Hôtel des Mille Collines during the
Rwandan genocide
★ 1954 -
Beverley Whitfield, Australian swimmer (d.
1996)
★
1955 -
Julie Hagerty, American actress
★
1956 -
Ava Cadell, American actress/sex therapist
★ 1956 -
Robin Curtis, American actress
★ 1956 -
Polly Draper, American actress
★
1957 -
Seppo Pääkkönen, Finnish actor
★
1958 -
Wade Boggs, baseball player
★ 1958 -
Riccardo Paletti, Italian racing driver (d.
1982)
★
1959 -
Eileen Davidson, American actress
★
1960 -
Michèle Laroque, French actress
★ 1960 -
Marieke van Doorn, Dutch field hockey player
★
1961 -
Kai Eckhardt, German musician (
Garaj Mahal)
★ 1961 -
Dave McAuley, Northern Irish boxer
★ 1961 -
Yoshimi Iwasaki, Japanese singer/actress
★
1962 -
Andrea Rost, Hungarian soprano
★
1963 -
Helen Hunt, American actress
★ 1963 -
Nigel Walker, Welsh athlete and rugby union player
★
1964 -
Courteney Cox, American actress
★ 1964 -
Michael Laudrup, Danish footballer
★
1965 -
Adam Smith, American politician
★
1966 -
Idalis DeLeon, American actress/singer
★
1967 -
Yuji Ueda, Japanese voice actor
★
1968 -
Oh Dal-su, South Korean actor
★
1969 -
Ice Cube, American rapper
★ 1969 -
Oliver Kahn, German footballer
★ 1969 -
Cédric Pioline, French tennis player
★ 1969 -
Maurice Odumbe, Kenyan Cricket Player
★
1970 -
Leah Remini, American actress
★ 1970 -
Gaëlle Méchaly, French soprano
★
1971 -
Edwin Brienen, Dutch director
★ 1971 -
Bif Naked, Canadian musician
★ 1971 -
Nathan Astle, New Zealand Cricket Player
★
1972 -
Justin Leonard, American golfer
★ 1972 -
Andy Pettitte, American baseball player
★ 1972 -
Marcus Hahnemann, American footballer
★ 1972 -
Hank Von Helvete, Turbonegro Frontman
★
1973 -
Neil Patrick Harris, American actor
★ 1973 -
Tore André Flo, Norwegian footballer
★ 1973 -
Pia Miranda, Australian actress
★ 1973 -
Greg Vaughan, American actor
★
1975 -
Elizabeth Reaser, American actress
★ 1975 -
Rachel Wacholder, American beach volleyballer
★
1976 -
Gary Lightbody, Irish musician (
Snow Patrol)
★
1977 -
Nina Liu, Australian actress
★
1978 -
Wilfred Bouma, Dutch footballer
★ 1978 -
Zach Day, American baseball player
★
1979 -
Yulia Nestsiarenka, Belarusian athlete
★ 1979 -
Julia Schultz, American model
★
1980 -
Mary Carey, American pornographic actress
★ 1980 -
Christopher Castile, American actor
★ 1980 -
Almudena Cid, Spanish gymnast
★ 1980 -
Cara Zavaleta, American model
★
1981 -
Jeremy Reed, American baseball player
★ 1981 -
Billy Dean Martin, American musician (
Good Charlotte)
★
1984 -
Tim Lincecum, American baseball player
★
1985 -
Nadine Coyle, Northern Irish singer (
Girls Aloud)
★
1988 -
Miku Ishida, Japanese teen idol
Deaths
★
923 -
Robert I of France (b. c.
865)
★
991 - Empress
Theophanu
★
1073 -
Emperor Go-Sanjō of Japan (b.
1034)
★
1246 - Duke
Frederick II of Austria (b.
1219)
★
1341 -
Andronicus III Palaeologus,
Eastern Roman Emperor (b.
1297)
★
1381 -
John Cavendish, Lord Chief Justice of England
★ 1381 -
Wat Tyler, English rebel
★
1383 -
John VI Cantacuzenus,
Byzantine Emperor
★
1389 -
Prince Lazar, Serbian Orthodox saint (b.
1329)
★
1467 -
Philip III, Duke of Burgundy (b.
1396)
★
1521 -
Tamás Bakócz. Hungarian Catholic cardinal and statesman (b.
1442)
★
1614 -
Henry Howard, 1st Earl of Northampton, English politician (b.
1540)
★
1679 -
Guillaume Courtois, French painter (b.
1628)
★
1724 -
Henry Sacheverell, English churchman and politician (b.
1674)
★
1750 -
Marguerite De Launay, Baronne Staal, French writer (b.
1684)
★
1768 -
James Short, Scottish mathematician and optician (b.
1710)
★
1772 -
Louis-Claude Daquin, French composer (b.
1694)
★
1849 -
James Knox Polk, 11th
President of the United States (b.
1795)
★
1858 -
Ary Scheffer, Dutch-French painter (b.
1795)
★
1888 - Emperor
Friedrich III of Germany (b.
1831)
★
1889 -
Mihai Eminescu, Romanian poet (b.
1850)
★
1917 -
Kristian Birkeland, Norwegian physicist (b.
1867)
★
1934 -
Alfred Bruneau, French composer (b.
1857)
★
1941 -
Evelyn Underhill, British writer (b.
1875)
★ 1941 -
Otfrid Foerster, German neurologist (b.
1873)
★
1962 -
Alfred Cortot, Swiss pianist (b.
1877)
★
1965 -
E. A. Speiser, American Bible scholar (b.
1902)
★ 1965 -
Steve Cochran, American actor (b.
1917)
★
1968 -
Sam Crawford, baseball player (b.
1880)
★ 1968 -
Wes Montgomery, American jazz guitarist (b.
1925)
★
1971 -
Wendell Meredith Stanley, American chemist,
Nobel Prize laureate (b.
1904)
★
1976 -
Jimmy Dykes, baseball player and manager (b.
1896)
★
1983 -
Srirangam Srinivasarao, also known as Sri Sri,
Telugu poet (b.
1910)
★
1984 -
Meredith Willson, American composer (b.
1902)
★
1985 -
Andy Stanfield, American athlete (b.
1927)
★
1989 -
Victor French, American actor (b.
1934)
★ 1989 -
Maurice Bellemare, French Canadian politician (b.
1912)
★
1991 -
Arthur Lewis, British economist,
Nobel laureate (b.
1915)
★
1991 -
Happy Chandler, American politician and Commissioner of Baseball (b.
1898)
★
1993 -
John Connally, American politician (b.
1917)
★ 1993 -
James Hunt, English race car driver (b.
1947)
★
1994 -
Manos Hadjidakis, Greek composer (b.
1925)
★
1995 -
John Vincent Atanasoff, American computer pioneer (b.
1903)
★
1996 -
Ella Fitzgerald, American singer (b.
1917)
★ 1996 -
Dick Murdoch, professional wrestler (b.
1946)
★
2002 -
Choi Hong Hi, founder of Taekwon-Do (b.
1918)
★
2003 -
Hume Cronyn, Canadian actor (b.
1911)
★
2006 -
Raymond Devos, French humourist (b.
1922)
★ 2006 -
Herb Pearson, New Zealand cricketer (b.
1910)
★
2007 -
Claudia Cohen, American gossip columnist and socialite (b.
1950)
★ 2007 -
Sherri Martel, American professional wrestler and valet (b.
1958)
Holidays and observances
★ Commemoration of
Evelyn Underhill (
Anglican mystic and
poet)
★
Roman Empire – ninth and final day of the
Vestalia in honor of
Vesta
★
Flag Day in
Denmark
★
Malawi Freedom Day
Liturgical feasts
★
Augustine of Hippo's feast in many
Eastern Orthodox Churches
★
Saint Vitus (observed with Sts. Modestus and Crescentia), patron of actors and epileptics
★
Saint Landelin (7th century)
★
Saint Edburga of Winchester (d. 960)
★
Saint Germaine Cousin, (d. 1601), patron of shepherdesses and of victims of child abuse
External links
★
BBC: On This Day
★
★
On This Day in Canada
----