Events
★
37 -
Roman Emperor Caligula accepts the titles of the
Principate, entitled to him by the
Senate.
★
193 -
Roman Emperor Pertinax is
assassinated by
Praetorian Guards, who then sell the throne in an
auction to
Didius Julianus.
★
364 -
Roman Emperor Valentinian I appoints his brother
Flavius Valens co-
emperor.
★
845 -
Paris is sacked by
Viking raiders, probably under
Ragnar Lodbrok, who collects a huge ransom in exchange for leaving.
★
1776 -
Juan Bautista de Anza finds the site for the
Presidio of San Francisco.
★
1794 - Allies under the
prince of
Coburg defeated
French forces at
Le Cateau.
★
1795 -
Partitions of Poland: The
Duchy of
Courland, a northern
fief of the
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, ceases to exist and becomes part of
Imperial Russia.
★
1802 -
Heinrich Wilhelm Matthäus Olbers discovers
2 Pallas, the second
asteroid known to man.
★
1809 -
Peninsular War: In the
Battle of Medelin France defeats Spain.
★
1834 - The
United States Senate censures
President Andrew Jackson for his actions in defunding the
Second Bank of the United States.
★
1854 -
Crimean War:
France and
Britain declare war on
Russia.
★
1860 -
First Taranaki War: The
Battle of Waireka begins.
★
1862 -
American Civil War:
Battle of Glorieta Pass - In
New Mexico,
Union forces succeed in stopping the
Confederate invasion of
New Mexico territory. The battle began on
March 26.
★
1871 - The
Paris Commune is formally established in
Paris.
★
1910 -
Henri Fabre becomes the first person to fly a
seaplane after taking off from a water runway near
Martigues,
France.
★
1913 -
Guatemala becomes a signatory to the
Buenos Aires copyright treaty.
★
1920 -
Palm Sunday tornado outbreak of 1920 affects the
Great Lakes region and
Deep South states.
★
1930 -
Constantinople and
Angora change their names to
Istanbul and
Ankara.
★
1939 -
Spanish Civil War:
Generalissimo Francisco Franco conquers
Madrid.
★
1940 - The exhibition center to host the
Thessaloniki International Trade Fair starts being built.
★
1941 -
World War II:
Battle of Cape Matapan - In the
Mediterranean Sea,
British Admiral Andrew Browne Cunningham leads the
Royal Navy in the destruction of three major
Italian battleships and two destroyers.
★
1942 -
World War II: In occupied
France,
British naval forces raid the
German-occupied port of
St. Nazaire.
★
1946 -
Cold War: The
United States State Department releases the
Acheson-Lilienthal Report, outlining a plan for the international control of
nuclear power.
★
1969 - Greek poet and
Nobel Prize laureate
Giorgos Seferis makes a famous statement on the
BBC World Service opposing the junta in
Greece.
★
1978 -
US Supreme Court hands down 5-3 decision in ''
Stump v. Sparkman'', 435 U.S. 349, a controversial case involving involuntary
sterilization and judicial
immunity.
★
1979 - In
Pennsylvania, a pump in the reactor cooling system fails in the
Three Mile Island accident, resulting in the evaporation of some contaminated water causing a
nuclear meltdown.
★ 1979 -
British Prime Minister James Callaghan, is defeated by one vote in a
Motion of No Confidence. This results in
Parliament being dissolved in order to make way for a forthcoming
General Election.
★
1980 -
Jesus family tomb is found at
Talpiot Tomb in
Jerusalem.
★
1990 -
President George H. W. Bush posthumously awards
Jesse Owens the
Congressional Gold Medal.
★
1994 - In
South Africa,
Zulus and
African National Congress supporters battle in central
Johannesburg, resulting in 18 deaths.
★
2000 - A
Murray County, Georgia, school bus gets hit by a
CSX freight train (3 children die from this accident).
★
2003 - In a "
friendly fire" incident, two
A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft from the
United States Idaho Air National Guard's
190th Fighter Squadron attacked
British tanks participating in the
2003 invasion of Iraq, killing British soldier
Matty Hull.
★
2005 - The
2005 Sumatran earthquake rocks
Indonesia, and at magnitude 8.7 is the second strongest earthquake since
1960.
★
2006 - At least 1 million union members, students and unemployed take to the streets in
France in protest at the government's proposed
First Employment Contract law.
Births
★
1472 -
Fra Bartolommeo, Italian artist (d.
1517)
★
1496 -
Mary Tudor, consort of
Louis XII of France (d.
1533)
★
1515 - Saint
Teresa of Avila, Spanish
Carmelite nun (d.
1582)
★
1522 -
Albert the Warlike, Prince of
Bayreuth (d.
1557)
★
1569 -
Ranuccio I Farnese, Duke of Parma (d.
1622)
★
1592 -
Comenius, Czech bishop (d.
1670)
★
1599 -
Witte Corneliszoon de With, Dutch naval officer (d.
1658)
★
1609 - King
Frederick III of Denmark (d.
1670)
★
1613 -
Xiaozhuangwen Grand Empress Dowager, Empress of
Manchu (d.
1688)
★
1652 -
Samuel Sewall, American magistrate (d.
1730)
★
1725 -
Andrew Kippis, English clergyman and biographer (d.
1795)
★
1750 -
Francisco de Miranda, Venezuelan revolutionary (d.
1816)
★
1760 -
Thomas Clarkson, British abolitionist (d.
1846)
★
1773 -
Henri Gratien, Comte Bertrand, French general (d.
1844)
★
1793 -
Henry Schoolcraft, American geographer and geologist (d.
1864)
★
1795 -
Georg Heinrich Pertz, German historian (d.
1876)
★
1806 -
Thomas Hare, English barrister (d.
1891)
★
1815 -
Arsène Houssaye, French novelist (d.
1896)
★
1818 -
Wade Hampton III, American soldier and politician (d.
1902)
★
1819 - Sir
Joseph Bazalgette, English civil engineer (d.
1891)
★
1836 -
Frederick Pabst, American brewer (d.
1904)
★
1840 -
Emin Pasha,
Equatorian politician (d.
1892)
★
1842 -
William Harvey Carney, American Civil War officier (d.
1908)
★
1849 -
James Darmesteter, French author and antiquarian (d.
1894)
★
1851 -
Bernardino Machado, Portuguese politician (d.
1944)
★
1862 -
Aristide Briand, French politician, recipient of the
Nobel Peace Prize (d.
1932)
★
1866 -
Jimmy Ross, Scottish footballer (d.
1902)
★
1868 -
Maxim Gorky, Russian author (d.
1936)
★
1871 -
Willem Mengelberg, Dutch conductor (d.
1951)
★
1890 -
Paul Whiteman, American bandleader (d.
1967)
★
1892 -
Corneille Heymans, Belgian physiologist,
Nobel Prize laureate (d.
1968)
★ 1892 -
Tom Maguire, Irish republican (d.
1993)
★
1893 -
Spyros Skouras, Greek-born American movie executive (d.
1971)
★
1895 -
Spencer W. Kimball, American religious leader (d.
1985)
★
1897 -
Sepp Herberger, German football coach (d.
1977)
★
1899 -
Harold B. Lee, American religious leader (d.
1973)
★ 1899 -
Gussie Busch, American baseball executive (d.
1989)
★ 1899 -
Ernst Lindemann, German naval officer (d.
1941)
★ 1899 -
Buck Shaw, American football coach (d.
1977)
★
1900 -
Edward Wagenknecht, American literary critic (d.
2004)
★
1902 - Dame
Flora Robson, English actress (d.
1984)
★ 1902 -
Jaromír Vejvoda, Czech composer (d.
1988)
★
1903 -
Rudolf Serkin, Austrian pianist (d.
1991)
★ 1903 -
Charles Starrett, American actor (d.
1986)
★
1905 -
Marlin Perkins, American naturalist and television host (d.
1986)
★ 1905 -
Pandro S. Berman, American film producer (d.
1996)
★
1907 -
"Swifty" Lazar, American talent agent (d.
1993)
★
1909 -
Nelson Algren, American writer (d.
1981)
★
1910 -
Frederick Baldwin Adams, Jr., American Librarian (d.
2001)
★ 1910 -
Jimmie Dodd, American actor (d.
1964)
★ 1910 -
Queen Ingrid of Denmark (d.
2000)
★
1911 -
J. L. Austin, British philosopher of language (d.
1960)
★
1912 -
A. Bertram Chandler Australian author (d.
1984)
★ 1912 -
Marina Raskova, Russian navigator (d.
1943)
★
1914 -
Edward Anhalt, American screenwriter (d.
2000)
★ 1914 -
Bohumil Hrabal, Czech writer (d.
1997)
★ 1914 -
Edmund Muskie, American politician (d.
1996)
★ 1914 -
Kenneth Richard Norris, Australian entymologist (d.
2003)
★
1915 -
Jay Livingston, American composer and songwriter (d.
2001)
★
1919 -
Vic Raschi, American baseball player (d.
1988)
★
1921 -
Dirk Bogarde, English actor (d.
1999)
★ 1921 -
Herschel Grynszpan, German political assassin (d. between
1943 and
1945)
★
1922 -
Neville Bonner, Australian politician
★ 1922 -
Felice Chiusano, Italian singer (
Quartetto Cetra)
★ 1922 -
Joey Maxim, American boxer (d.
2001)
★
1924 -
Freddie Bartholomew, Irish actor (d.
1992)
★
1925 -
Dorothy DeBorba, American child actress
★
1926 -
Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, 18th Duchess of Alba
★
1927 -
Marianne Fredriksson, Swedish author (d.
2007)
★
1928 -
Zbigniew Brzezinski, U.S. National Security Advisor
★ 1928 -
Alexander Grothendieck, German mathematician
★
1929 -
Paul England, Australian racing driver
★
1930 -
Jerome Isaac Friedman, American physicist,
Nobel laureate
★ 1930 -
Elizabeth Bainbridge, English opera singer
★ 1930 -
Robert Ashley, American composer
★
1933 -
Tete Montoliu, Spanish jazz pianist (d.
1997)
★ 1933 -
Frank Murkowski, American politician
★
1935 -
Michael Parkinson, English broadcaster
★
1936 -
Mario Vargas Llosa, Peruvian author and politician
★
1940 -
Tony Barber, Australian television personality
★
1941 -
Jim Turner, American football player
★ 1941 -
Alf Clausen, orchestra conductor (''
The Simpsons'')
★
1942 -
Daniel Dennett, American philosopher
★ 1942 -
Neil Kinnock, British statesman
★ 1942 -
Mike Newell, English film director
★ 1942 -
Samuel Ramey, American opera singer
★ 1942 -
Conrad Schumann, East German border guard (d.
1998)
★ 1942 -
Jerry Sloan, American basketball player and coach
★
1943 -
Conchata Ferrell, American actress
★
1944 -
Rick Barry, American basketball player
★ 1944 -
Ken Howard, American actor
★
1945 - Count
Björn Hamilton, Swedish politician
★
1946 -
Alejandro Toledo,
President of Peru
★ 1946 -
Wubbo Ockels, Dutch physicist and astronaut
★
1947 -
John Landecker, American disk jockey
★
1948 -
Dianne Wiest, American actress
★
1948 -
Gerry House, American radio personality
★ 1948 -
John Evan, British musician (
Jethro Tull)
★ 1948 -
Milan Williams, American musician
The Commodores (d.
2006)
★
1951 -
Karen Kain, Canadian ballerina
★ 1951 -
Matti Pellonpää, Finnish actor and musician (d.
1995)
★
1952 -
Tony Brise, racing driver (d.
1975)
★
1953 -
Melchior Ndadaye,
Burundian politician (d.
1993)
★
1954 -
Morris Mason, American convicted rapist and murderer (d.
1985)
★
1955 -
John Alderdice, Northern Irish politician
★ 1955 -
Reba McEntire, American singer and actress
★
1956 -
April Margera,
Bam Margera's mother
★
1958 -
Curt Hennig, American professional wrestler (d.
2003)
★ 1958 -
Elisabeth Andreassen, Scandinavian singer
★
1959 -
Chris Myers, American sportscaster
★
1960 -
Chris Barrie, British actor
★ 1960 -
José Maria Neves,
Cape Verdeian politician
★
1961 -
Byron Scott, American basketball player
★
1962 -
Jure Franko, Slovenian skier
★
1965 -
Steve Bull, English footballer
★
1968 -
Iris Chang, American author (d.
2004)
★ 1968 -
Nasser Hussain, English cricketer
★ 1968 -
Jon Lee, British drummer (d.
2002)
★ 1968 -
Tim Lovejoy, British television presenter
★
1969 -
Brett Ratner, American film director
★
1969 -
Rodney Atkins, American country singer
★
1970 -
Vince Vaughn, American actor
★ 1970 -
Michelle Gildernew, Irish republican politician
★
1971 -
Mr. Cheeks, American rapper
★
1972 -
Nick Frost, English comedian and actor
★ 1972 -
Keith Tkachuk, American ice hockey player
★
1973 -
Eddie Fatu, Samoan professional wrestler
★ 1973 -
Matt Nathanson, American singer-songwriter
★
1974 -
Mark King, English snooker player
★ 1974 -
Scott Mills, British radio disc jockey
★
1975 -
Shanna Moakler, former beauty queen
★ 1975 -
Iván Helguera, Spanish footballer
★ 1975 -
Matt Reis, American soccer goalkeeper
★ 1975 -
Richard Kelly, American film director
★
1976 -
David Keuning, American guitar player (
The Killers)
★
1977 -
Devon, American porn actress
★ 1977 -
Erik Rasmussen, American ice hockey player
★
1978 -
April Flowers, American adult film actress
★
1979 -
Park Chae-rim, South Korean actress
★
1980 -
Stiliani Pilatou, Greek long jumper
★ 1980 -
Luke Walton, American basketball player
★
1981 -
Julia Stiles, American actress
★ 1981 -
Edwar Ramirez, American baseball player
★
1982 -
Sonia Agarwal, Indian actress
★ 1982 -
Mikel Arteta, Spanish footballer
★
1983 -
Ryan Ashington, English footballer
★
1984 -
Christopher Samba, French-born footballer
★ 1984 -
Nikki Sanderson, British actress and model
★ 1984 -
Yordanos Abay, Ethiopian footballer
★
1986 -
J-Kwon, American rapper
★ 1986 -
Barbora Strýcová, Czech tennis player
★
1988 -
Lacey Turner, British soap actress
★
1989 -
Lukas Jutkiewicz, English footballer
★ 1989 -
Mira Leung, Canadian figure skater
★
1991 -
Amy Bruckner, American actress
★ 1991 -
Sophie Mullen, English actress
Deaths
★
193 -
Pertinax,
Roman Emperor (assassinated) (b.
126)
★
1072 -
Ordulf, Duke of Saxony
★
1239 -
Emperor Go-Toba of Japan (b.
1180)
★
1285 -
Pope Martin IV
★
1563 -
Heinrich Glarean, Swiss music theorist (b.
1488)
★
1566 -
Sigismund von Herberstein, Austrian diplomat and historian (b.
1486)
★
1677 -
Václav Hollar, Czech-born actor (b.
1607)
★
1687 -
Constantijn Huygens, Dutch poet and composer (b.
1596)
★
1794 -
Marquis de Condorcet, French mathematician, philosopher, and political scientist (b.
1743)
★
1866 -
Solomon Foot, American politician (b.
1802)
★
1868 -
James Thomas Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan, British military leader (b.
1797)
★
1870 -
George Henry Thomas, American general (b.
1816)
★
1874 -
Peter Andreas Hansen, Danish astronomer (b.
1795)
★
1881 -
Modest Mussorgsky, Russian composer (b.
1839)
★
1910 -
David Josiah Brewer, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (b.
1837)
★ 1910 -
Edouard Judas Colonne, French violinist (b.
1838)
★
1929 -
Lomer Gouin, Quebec politician (b.
1861)
★
1939 -
Francis Matthew John Baker, Australian politician (b.
1903)
★
1941 -
Virginia Woolf, English feminist writer (b.
1882)
★
1942 -
Miguel Hernández, Spanish poet, death in prison (b.
1910)
★
1943 -
Sergei Rachmaninoff, Russian composer and pianist (b.
1873)
★
1944 -
Stephen Leacock, Canadian humorist (b.
1869)
★
1946 -
Chick Fullis, baseball player (b.
1904)
★
1947 -
Karol Świerczewski, Polish general (b.
1897)
★
1949 -
Grigoraş Dinicu, Romanian composer and violinist (b.
1889)
★
1953 -
Jim Thorpe, American athlete (b.
1887)
★
1958 -
W.C. Handy, American composer (b.
1873)
★
1965 -
Jack Hoxie, American actor, rodeo performer (b.
1885)
★
1969 -
Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th
President of the United States (b.
1890)
★
1974 -
Dorothy Fields, American librettist and lyricist (b.
1905)
★
1976 -
Arthur Crudup, American blues singer and guitarist (b.
1905)
★ 1976 -
Richard Arlen, American actor (b.
1898)
★
1978 -
Dino Ciani, Italian pianist (d.
1941)
★
1979 -
Emmett Kelly, American clown (b.
1898)
★
1980 -
Dick Haymes, Argentine-born singer and actor (b.
1918)
★
1982 -
William Giauque, Canadian chemist,
Nobel laureate (b.
1895)
★
1985 -
Marc Chagall, Russian-born painter (b.
1887)
★
1987 -
Maria von Trapp, Austrian-born singer (b.
1905)
★ 1987 -
Patrick Troughton, British actor (b.
1920)
★
1995 -
Hugh O'Connor, American actor (b.
1962)
★
1999 -
Freaky Tah, American rapper (
Lost Boyz) (b.
1971)
★
2000 -
Anthony Powell, British novelist (b.
1905)
★
2001 -
Moe Koffman, Canadian musician (b.
1928)
★
2004 -
Art James, American game show host (b.
1929)
★ 2004 -
Peter Ustinov, British actor (b.
1921)
★
2005 - Dame
Moura Lympany, British pianist (b.
1916)
★
2006 -
Caspar Weinberger,
United States Secretary of Defense (b.
1917)
★ 2006 -
Charles Schepens, American ophthalmologist and member of the
French Resistance (b.
1912)
Holidays and observances
★
Slovakia,
Czech Republic -
Teachers' Day.
Liturgical feasts
★
Saint Castor
★
Saint Gontram (died 592)
★
Saint Malchus
★
Saint Priscus
★
Saint Sixtus III
External links
★
BBC: On This Day
★
★
On This Day in Canada
----