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Events
- 1124 - David I becomes King of Scotland.
- 1296 - Battle of Dunbar: The Scots are defeated by Edward I of England.
- 1509 - Pope Julius II places the Italian state of Venice under interdict.
- 1521 - Battle of Mactan: Explorer Ferdinand Magellan is killed by natives in the
Philippines led by chief Lapu-Lapu.
- 1539 - Re-founding of the city of Bogotá, New Granada (nowadays Colombia), by Nikolaus Federmann and Sebastián de Belalcázar.
- 1565 - Cebu is established becoming the first
Spanish settlement in the Philippines.
- 1578 - Duel of the Mignons claims the lives of two
favorites of Henry III of France and two favorites of Henry I, Duke of Guise.
- 1650 - The Battle of Carbisdale: A
Royalist army invades mainland Scotland from Orkney Island but is defeated by a Covenanter army.
- 1667 - The blind, impoverished John Milton sells the
copyright of Paradise Lost for £10.
- 1749 - First performance of Handel's Fireworks Music in Green Park, London.
- 1773 - The Parliament of Great Britain
passes the Tea Act, designed to save the British
East India Company by granting it a monopoly on the North American tea trade.
- 1805 - First Barbary War: United States Marines and Berbers attack the
Tripolitan city of Derna (The "shores of Tripoli" part of the
Marines' hymn).
- 1810 - Beethoven composes his famous piano piece,
Für Elise.
- 1813 - War of 1812: United
States troops capture the capital of Ontario,
York (present day Toronto, Canada).
- 1827 - The Petrel, Australian Coal carrying ship sinks in stormy seas, off Hope Bay,
Tasmania.
- 1840 - Foundation stone for new Palace of
Westminster, London, laid by wife of Sir Charles Barry.
- 1861 - President of the United States
Abraham Lincoln suspends the writ of habeas
corpus.
- 1865 - The New York State Senate creates
Cornell University as the state's land grant institution.
- 1865 - The steamboat Sultana, carrying
2,400 passengers, explodes and sinks in the Mississippi River, killing 1,700, most of
whom were Union survivors of the Andersonville Prison.
- 1904 - The Australian Labor Party becomes the
first such party to gain national government, under Chris Watson.
- 1909 - Sultan of Turkey
Abdul Hamid II is overthrown, and is succeeded by his brother, Mehmed V.
- 1911 - Following the resignation and death of William P.
Frye, a compromise is reached to
rotate the office of President pro tempore of the
United States Senate.
- 1914 - Honduras becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.
- 1933 - Jessop & Son department store in Nottingham, England, acquired by John Lewis Partnership. The
partnership's first shop outside London.
- 1936 - The United Auto Workers (UAW) gains
autonomy from the American Federation of Labor.
- 1941 - World War II: German troops enter Athens.
- 1945 - World War II: Last German troops are expelled from Finnish
Lapland (the last day of World War II going on in Finland). The day is the national war veteran day in Finland.
- 1945 - World War II: The Völkischer
Beobachter, the newspaper of the Nazi Party, ceases publication.
- 1950 - Apartheid: In
South Africa, the Group Areas Act is passed
formally segregating races.
- 1959 - The last Canadian missionary leaves the People's Republic of China.
- 1960 - Togo gains independence from French-administered UN trusteeship.
- 1961 - Sierra Leone is granted its independence from the
United Kingdom, with Milton Margai as the first
Prime Minister.
- 1967 - Expo 67 officially opens in Montreal, Canada with a large opening ceremony broadcast around the
world. It opens to the public the next day.
- 1972 - Constructive Vote of No
Confidence against German Chancellor Willy
Brandt fails under obscure circumstances.
- 1974 - 10,000 march in Washington, D.C., calling for
impeachment of US President Nixon
- 1977 - 28 people are killed in the Guatemala
City air disaster.
- 1978 - Former Nixon aide John D. Ehrlichman is released from an Arizona prison after serving 18 months for Watergate-related crimes.
- 1981 - Xerox PARC introduces the computer mouse.
- 1987 - The U.S. Justice Department
bars the Austrian President Kurt Waldheim from entering
the United States, saying he had aided in the deportation and execution of thousands of
Jews and others as a German Army officer during World War
II.
- 1992 - The Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia, comprising Serbia and Montenegro, is proclaimed.
- 1992 - Betty Boothroyd becomes the first woman to be elected Speaker of the
British House of Commons in its
700-year history.
- 1992 - Russia and 12 other former Soviet
republics win entry into the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
- 1993 - All members of the Zambia national
football team lose their lives in a plane crash off Libreville, Gabon in route to Dakar, Senegal to play a
1994 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Senegal.
- 1994 - South African general election,
1994: The first democratic general election in South Africa, in which black citizens could vote.
- 1996 - The Israeli military operation in Lebanon, Operation Grapes of Wrath, ends after 16 days of
heavy bombing.
- 2002 - The last successful telemetry from NASA space probe Pioneer
10.
- 2005 - The Superjumbo jet aircraft Airbus A380 makes its first flight from Toulouse, France.
- 2006 - Construction begins on the Freedom Tower for the
new World Trade Center in New York City.
- 2007 - Estonian authorities remove the Bronze Soldier, a Soviet Red
Army war memorial in Tallinn, amid political
controversy with Russia.
Births
- 1623 - Johann Adam Reinken, German organist (d.
1722)
- 1701 - King Charles Emmanuel III of
Sardinia (d. 1773)
- 1718 - Thomas Lewis, Irish-born Virginia
settler (d. 1790)
- 1724 - Col. Thomas Gardner, a heroic political figure
and soldier (d. 1775)
- 1737 - Edward Gibbon, English historian (d.
1794)
- 1755 - Marc-Antoine Parseval, French
mathematician (d. 1836)
- 1759 - Mary Wollstonecraft, English author (d.
1797)
- 1791 - Samuel F. B. Morse, American inventor (d.
1872)
- 1806 - Maria Christina of the Two
Sicilies, queen of Spain (d. 1878)
- 1812 - Friedrich von Flotow, German composer (d.
1883)
- 1812 - William W. Snow, American politician (d.
1886)
- 1820 - Herbert Spencer, English philosopher (d.
1903)
- 1822 - Ulysses S. Grant, 18th President of the United States (d. 1885)
- 1840 - Edward Whymper, English mountain climber (d.
1911)
- 1850 - Hans Hartwig von Beseler, German
general (d. 1921)
- 1853 - Jules Lemaître, French critic and dramatist (d.
1914)
- 1878 - Frank Alvin Gotch, American professional wrestler
(d. 1917)
- 1888 - Florence La Badie, Canadian actress (d.
1917)
- 1893 - Dragoljub Mihailović, commandant of the
Yugoslav Royal Army in the Fatherland (d. 1946)
- 1893 - Allen Sothoron, American baseball player (d. 1939)
- 1894 - George Petty, WWII Pin-Up Artist (d.
1975)
- 1894 - Nicolas Slonimsky, Russian-born musicologist and composer (d.
1995)
- 1896 - Rogers Hornsby, American baseball player (d.
1963)
- 1900 - Walter Lantz, American cartoonist (d.
1994)
- 1903 - Horace Stoneham, American Major league baseball
owner (d. 1990)
- 1904 - Cecil Day-Lewis, Irish poet and writer (d.
1972)
- 1906 - Yórgos Theotokás, Greek novelist (d.
1966)
- 1913 - Philip Hauge Abelson, American physicist (d.
2004)
- 1916 - Enos Slaughter, American baseball player (d.
2002)
- 1918 - Sten Rudholm, Swedish jurist, member of the
Swedish Academy
- 1920 - Guido Cantelli, Italian conductor (d.
1956)
- 1920 - Edwin Morgan, Scottish poet
- 1920 - Mark Krasnosel'skii, Russian-Ukrainian mathematician (d. 1997)
- 1922 - Jack Klugman, American actor
- 1927 - Coretta Scott King, American civil rights
activist and wife of Martin Luther King, Jr. (d. 2006)
- 1927 - Joe Moakley, American politician (d. 2001)
- 1927 - Karl Alexander Müller, Swiss physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1927 - Sheila Scott, English aviatrix (d. 1988)
- 1931 - Igor Oistrakh, Ukrainian violinist
- 1932 - Anouk Aimée, French actress
- 1932 - Pik Botha, South African politician
- 1932 - Casey Kasem, American disc jockey
- 1932 - Gian-Carlo Rota, Italian-born mathematician and philosopher (d.
1999)
- 1937 - Sandy Dennis, American actress (d.
1992)
- 1937 - Robin Eames, Northern Irish clergyman
- 1938 - Earl Anthony, American bowler (d. 2001)
- 1939 - Judy Carne, British actress and comedian
- 1939 - Stanislaw Dziwisz, Polish Cardinal
- 1941 - Lee Roy Jordan, American football player
- 1942 - Jim Keltner, American drummer
- 1942 - Jonathan Ferber, American agricultural tycoon
- 1943 - Helmut Marko, Austrian racing driver
- 1944 - Michael Fish, British former weather
forecaster
- 1944 - Cuba Gooding, Sr., American musician (The Main Ingredient)
- 1945 - August Wilson, American playwright (d.
2005)
- 1947 - Ann Peebles, American singer
- 1947 - Peter Ham, Welsh singer and songwriter (Badfinger) (d. 1975)
- 1947 - Keith Magnuson, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2003)
- 1948 - Kate Pierson, American singer (The B-52's)
- 1951 - Ace Frehley, American musician (Kiss)
- 1952 - George Gervin, American basketball player
- 1952 - Ari Vatanen, Finnish rally driver
- 1953 - Arielle Dombasle, French singer and
actress
- 1956 - Douglas P., English musician (Death in June, Crisis)
- 1957 - Eric Bristow, English darts player
- 1957 - Rosanna Scotto, American news anchor
- 1959 - Sheena Easton, Scottish singer
- 1959 - Louis Lortie, French Canadian concert pianist
- 1962 - James LeGros, American actor
- 1963 - Cali Timmins, Canadian actress
- 1963 - Russell T. Davies, Welsh television writer
and executive producer of Doctor Who
- 1964 - Lisa Wilcox, American actress
- 1967 - Prince Willem-Alexander of the
Netherlands
- 1967 - Jason Whitlock, American sportswriter
- 1967 - Aki Avni, Israeli entertainer
- 1967 - Tommy Smith (saxophonist), Scottish jazz musician
- 1969 - Cory Booker, Mayor of Newark, New Jersey
- 1969 - Darcey Bussell, British ballerina
- 1969 - Grahame Cheney, Australian boxer
- 1969 - Mica Paris, British singer and presenter
- 1970 - Kylie Travis, English actress and model
- 1971 - Tess Daly, British television presenter
- 1973 - Sébastien Lareau, French Canadian professional
tennis player
- 1974 - Johnny Devine, Canadian professional
wrestler
- 1975 - Chris Carpenter, American baseball player
- 1976 - Isobel Campbell, Scottish singer and
composer
- 1976 - Walter Pandiani, Uruguayan footballer
- 1977 - Khalid Zoubaa, French runner
- 1979 - Will Boyd, American musician
- 1979 - Natasha Chokljat, Australian netballer
- 1980 - Christian Lara, Ecuadorian footballer
- 1980 - Ananda Mikola, Indonesian racing driver
- 1980 - Sybille Bammer, Austrian tennis player
- 1981 - Fabrizio Faniello, Maltese singer
- 1981 - Patrik Gerrbrand, Swedish footballer
- 1984 - Patrick Stump, American musician
(Fall Out Boy)
- 1984 - Tom Falcone, American Musician
(Cute Is What We Aim For)
- 1984 - Pierre-Marc Bouchard, hockey player (Minnesota Wild)
- 1986 - Elena Risteska, Macedonian singer
- 1987 - William Moseley, British actor
- 1987 - Emma Taylor-Isherwood, Canadian actress
- 1987 - Elliott Shriane, Australian speed skater
Deaths
- 630 - King Ardashir III of Persia
- 1404 - Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (b.
1342)
- 1521 - Ferdinand Magellan, Portuguese explorer (b.
1480)
- 1530 - Jacopo Sannazaro, Italian poet (b.
1458)
- 1599 - Maeda Toshiie, Japanese general (b.
1538)
- 1605 - Pope Leo XI (b. 1535)
- 1613 - Robert Abercromby, Scottish Jesuit (b.
1532)
- 1625 - Mori Terumoto, Japanese warrior (b.
1553)
- 1656 - Jan van Goyen, Dutch painter (b. 1596)
- 1694 - John George IV, Elector of
Saxony (b. 1668)
- 1695 - John Trenchard, English
statesman (b. 1640)
- 1702 - Jean Bart, French admiral (b. 1651)
- 1782 - William Talbot, 1st Earl
Talbot, English politician (b. 1710)
- 1813 - Zebulon Pike, American frontiersman and explorer
(b. 1779)
- 1873 - William Charles Macready, English
actor (b. 1793)
- 1882 - Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist (b.
1803)
- 1896 - Henry Parkes, known as the Father of Federation (b. 1815)
- 1915 - Alexander Scriabin, Russian composer (b.
1872)
- 1921 - Arthur Mold, English cricketer (b. 1863)
- 1932 - Hart Crane, American writer (suicide) (b.
1899)
- 1936 - Karl Pearson, English statistician (b.
1857)
- 1941 - Penelope Delta, Greek author (b.
1874)
- 1952 - Guido Castelnuovo, Italian mathematician (b.
1865)
- 1962 - A. K. Fazlul Huq, Bengali statesman (b.
1873)
- 1965 - Edward R. Murrow, American journalist (b.
1908)
- 1969 - René Barrientos, President of Bolivia (b.
1919)
- 1970 - Arthur Shields, Irish actor (b. 1896)
- 1972 - Kwame Nkrumah, leader of Ghana (b.
1909)
- 1973 - Carlos Menditéguy, Argentine racing driver
(b. 1914)
- 1977 - Stanley Adams, American actor (b.
1915)
- 1988 - David Scarboro, British actor (b.
1968)
- 1989 - Konosuke Matsushita, Japanese industrialist
(b. 1894)
- 1992 - Olivier Messiaen, French composer (b.
1908)
- 1995 - Willem Frederik Hermans, Dutch writer
(b. 1921)
- 1996 - William Colby, American director of the Central
Intelligence Agency (b. 1920)
- 1998 - Carlos Castaneda, Peruvian-born writer (b.
1925)
- 1998 - John Bassett, Canadian publisher and media baron (b. 1915)
- 1998 - Dominique Aury, French novelist (b. 1907)
- 1999 - Al Hirt, American trumpeter (b. 1922)
- 2000 - Vicki Sue Robinson, American singer (b.
1954)
- 2002 - George Alec Effinger, American author (b.
1947)
- 2002 - Ruth Handler, American toy manufacturer (b. 1916)
- 2002 - Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza, Swiss
industrialist and art collector (b. 1921)
- 2006 - Julia Thorne, ex-wife of John Kerry (b. 1944)
- 2007 - Mstislav Rostropovich, Russian cellist
and conductor (b. 1927)
Holidays and observances
Liturgical feasts
External links
