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Contents

Events

Births

Deaths

Holidays and observances

External links

Events

★ 1044 - Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor, invades Hungary and defeats a Magyar army at the Battle of Ménfő.

★ 1253 - Mindaugas is crowned king of Lithuania.

★ 1348 - Papal bull of Pope Clement VI protecting Jews during the Black Death.

★ 1415 - Jan Hus is burned at the stake.

★ 1483 - Richard III is crowned king of England.

★ 1484 - Portuguese sea captain Diogo Cão finds the mouth of Congo River.

★ 1495 - First Italian War: Battle of Fornovo Charles VIII defeats the Holy League, but ultimately ends his attempted conquest of Italy.

★ 1535 - Sir Thomas More, author of Utopia and one time Lord Chancellor of England, is executed for treason by King Henry VIII after refusing to agree to Henry's decision to separate the English church from the Roman Catholic church.

★ 1560 - The Treaty of Edinburgh is signed by Scotland and England.

★ 1573 - Córdoba, Argentina is founded by Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera.

★ 1609 - Bohemia is granted freedom of religion.

★ 1630 - Thirty-Years War: 4,000 Swedish troops under Gustavus Adolphus land in Pomerania, Germany.

★ 1777 - American Revolutionary War: Battle of Ticonderoga: Due to a bombardment by British artillery under General John Burgoyne, American forces retreat from Fort Ticonderoga, New York.

★ 1785 - The dollar is unanimously chosen as the monetary unit for the United States.

★ 1799 - Ranjit Singh's 25,000 men start their march towards Lahore.

★ 1801 - Battle of Algeciras: The French navy are defeated by the British Royal Navy.

★ 1849 - Battle of Fredericia, Denmark, Danish Army under Generals Bülow and Rye beat the Army of Schleswig-Holstein, thereby keeping the Prussians from any victory over Denmark until 1864.

★ 1854 - In Jackson, Michigan, the first convention of the U.S. Republican Party is held.

★ 1885 - Louis Pasteur successfully tests his vaccine against rabies. The patient is Joseph Meister, a boy who was bitten by a rabid dog.

★ 1887 - David Kalakaua, monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii, is forced at gunpoint, at the hands of Americans, to sign the Bayonet Constitution giving Americans more power in Hawaii while stripping Hawaiian citizens of their rights.

★ 1892 - Dadabhai Naoroji elected as first Indian Member of Parliament in Britain.

★ 1892 - 3,800 striking steelworkers engage in a day-long battle with Pinkerton agents during the Homestead Strike, leaving 10 dead and dozens wounded.

★ 1893 - The small town of Pomeroy, Iowa is nearly destroyed by a tornado that kills 71 people and injures 200.

★ 1905 - Alfred Deakin becomes Prime Minister of Australia for the second time.

★ 1908 - Robert Peary sets sail for the Arctic on the expedition on which he later reaches the North Pole.

★ 1917 - World War I: Arabian troops led by Lawrence of Arabia and Auda ibu Tayi capture Aqaba from the Turks during the Arab Revolt.

★ 1919 - The British dirigible R34 lands in New York, completing the first crossing of the Atlantic by an airship.

★ 1928 - The world's ten largest hailstones fall in Potter, Nebraska.

★ 1933 - The first Major League Baseball All-Star Game is played in Chicago's Comiskey Park. The American League defeats the National League, 4 to 2.

★ 1939 - Holocaust: The last remaining Jewish enterprises in Germany are closed.

★ 1942 - Anne Frank and her family went into hiding in the "Secret Annexe" above her father's office in an Amsterdam warehouse.

★ 1944 - The Hartford Circus Fire, one of America's worst fire disasters, kills approximately 168 people and injures over 700 in Hartford, Connecticut.

★ 1947 - The AK-47 goes into production in the Soviet Union.

★ 1957 - Althea Gibson wins the Wimbledon championships, becoming the first black athlete to do so.

★ 1962 - Sedan (nuclear test)

★ 1964 - Malawi declares its independence from the United Kingdom.

★ 1966 - Malawi becomes a republic, with Hastings Banda as the first President.

★ 1967 - Biafran War: Nigerian forces invade Biafra, beginning the war.

★ 1974 - The radio program ''A Prairie Home Companion'' makes its first live broadcast.

★ 1975 - The Comoros declare independence from France.

★ 1978 - Yana Mintoff hurled horse manure onto the floor of the British House of Commons.

★ 1983 - Tony Blair gives his maiden speech in the British Parliament.

★ 1986 - Davis Phinney became the first American cyclist to win a road stage of the Tour de France.

★ 1988 - The Piper Alpha drilling platform in the North Sea is destroyed by explosions and fires. 167 oil workers are killed, making it the world's worst offshore oil disaster.

★ 1989 - The Israeli 405 Bus slaughter in which 14 bus passengers were killed as an Arab assaulted the bus driver as the bus was driving by the edge of a cliff.

★ 1990 Aleksandra Nešić's birthday. Singer/songwriter/guitarist/pianist/poet/writer/artist; she's Serbian of origin.

★ 1999 - US Army private Barry Winchell dies from baseball-bat injuries inflicted in his sleep the previous day by fellow soldiers for his relationship with transgendered showgirl and former Navy combat medic, Calpernia Addams.

★ 2003 - The Corsicans rejected a referendum for increased autonomy from France by a very thin majority: 50.98 percent against, and 49.02 percent for.

★ 2004 - John Kerry names John Edwards as his Vice Presidential running mate on the Democratic Party ticket.

★ 2005 - Bob Geldof and Bono meet with the G8 in Gleneagles to discuss increasing aid to Africa. Afterwards, both make appearances at the Edinburgh 50,000 concert, a last concert in the Live 8 series.

★ 2005 - The International Olympic Committee announced that London will host the 2012 Summer Olympics

★ 2006 - The Nathula Pass between India and China, sealed during the Sino-Indian War, re-opens for trade after 44 years.

★ 2006 - Felipe Calderon is confirmed as President of Mexico after a very close election.

Births

★ 1686 - Antoine de Jussieu, French naturalist (d. 1758)

★ 1747 - John Paul Jones, American naval commander (d. 1792)

★ 1766 - Alexander Wilson, Scottish-born naturalist (d. 1813)

★ 1785 - William Jackson Hooker, English botanist (d. 1865)

★ 1796 - Tsar Nicholas I of Russia (d. 1855)

★ 1817 - Albert von Kölliker, Swiss anatomist (d. 1905)

★ 1818 - Adolf Anderssen, German chess player (d. 1879)

★ 1837 - Ramakrishna Gopal Bhandarkar, Indian scholar (d. 1925)

★ 1838 - Vatroslav Jagic, Croatian scholar (d. 1923)

★ 1859 - Verner von Heidenstam, Nobel laureate (d. 1940)

★ 1865 - Emile Jaques-Dalcroze, Swiss musician (d. 1865)

★ 1878 - Eino Leino, Finnish poet (d. 1926)

★ 1884 - Harold Stirling Vanderbilt, member of the Vanderbilt family (d. 1970)

★ 1885 - Ernst Busch, German field marshal (d. 1945)

★ 1887 - Annette Kellerman, Australian swimmer (d. 1975)

★ 1898 - Hanns Eisler, German composer (d. 1962)

★ 1903 - Hugo Theorell, Nobel laureate (d. 1982)

★ 1904 - Erik Wickberg, Salvation Army general (d. 1996)

★ 1907 - Frida Kahlo, Mexican painter (d. 1954)

★ 1907 - George Stanley, Canadian politician and designer of Canada's Flag (d. 2002)

★ 1912 - Heinrich Harrer, Austrian mountaineer (d. 2006)

★ 1917 - Arthur Lydiard, New Zealand running coach (d. 2004)

★ 1918 - Sebastian Cabot, English actor (d. 1977)

★ 1919 - Ernst Haefliger, Swiss singer (d. 2007)

★ 1921 - Nancy Reagan, First Lady of the United States

★ 1923 - Wojciech Jaruzelski, President of Poland

★ 1925 - Merv Griffin, American television show host (d. 2007)

★ 1925 - Bill Haley, American singer (d. 1981)

★ 1927 - Alan Freeman, British DJ known by his nickname 'Fluff' (d. 2006)

★ 1927 - Jan Hein Donner, Dutch chess player

★ 1927 - Janet Leigh, American actress (d. 2004)

★ 1927 - Pat Paulsen, American comedian (d. 1997)

★ 1931 - Della Reese, American singer

★ 1931 - Jean Campeau, French Canadian businessman and politician

★ 1933 - Frank Austin, English footballer

★ 1935 - Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama

★ 1936 - Dave Allen, Irish comedian (d. 2005)

★ 1937 - Vladimir Ashkenazy, Russian-born pianist and conductor

★ 1937 - Ned Beatty, American actor

★ 1937 - Gene Chandler, American singer

★ 1940 - Jeannie Seely, American singer

★ 1940 - Nursultan Nazarbayev, President of Kazakhstan

★ 1945 - Burt Ward, American actor

★ 1946 - George W. Bush, 43rd President of the United States

★ 1946 - Sylvester Stallone, American actor

★ 1946 - Peter Singer, Australian philosopher

★ 1947 - Lance Clemons, baseball player

★ 1948 - Brad Park, Canadian hockey player

★ 1948 - Jean-Pierre Blackburn, French Canadian politician

★ 1948 - Nathalie Baye, French actress

★ 1949 - Phyllis Hyman, American singer (d. 1995)

★ 1950 - John Byrne, American comic book author & artist

★ 1950 - Hélène Scherrer, Canadian politician

★ 1951 - Geoffrey Rush, Australian actor

★ 1953 - Nanci Griffith, American singer

★ 1954 - Willie Randolph, New York Mets manager

★ 1955 - Frank Sontag, Jr., American radio personality, spiritual teacher

★ 1955 - William Wall, Irish writer

★ 1956 - Casey Sander, American actor

★ 1957 - Ron Duguay, Canadian ice hockey player

★ 1958 - Jennifer Saunders, English actress

★ 1959 - Richard Dacoury, French basketball player

★ 1963 - Todd Burns, baseball player

★ 1963 - Lance Johnson, baseball player

★ 1966 - Brian Posehn, American actor

★ 1967 - Heather Nova, Bermudian singer

★ 1967 - Omar Olivares, baseball player

★ 1969 - Fernando Redondo, Argentine footballer

★ 1970 - Inspectah Deck, American rapper

★ 1970 - Martin Smith, English singer (Delirious?)

★ 1972 - D-Styles, American scratch DJ

★ 1972 - Greg Norton, American baseball player

★ 1972 - Isabelle Boulay, French Canadian singer

★ 1972 - Mark Gasser, British Virtuoso Pianist

★ 1974 - Ze Roberto, Brazilian footballer

★ 1975 - Amir-Abbas Fakhravar, Iranian writer, journalist and student leader

★ 1975 - Sebastián Rulli, Argentine actor

★ 1975 - 50 Cent, American rapper

★ 1977 - Craig Handley, British film director

★ 1978 - Tia Mowry and Tamera Mowry, American actresses

★ 1978 - Kevin Senio, New Zealand rugby player

★ 1979 - Nic Cester, Australian musician (Jet)

★ 1981 - Nnamdi Asomugha, American football player

★ 1982 - Adam Bahner a.k.a. Tay Zonday, American singer, songwriter and keyboardist

★ 1983 - Gregory Smith, Canadian actor

★ 1984 - Lauren Harris, British rock singer

★ 1984 - James Henderson, American model

★ 1986 - Derrick Williams, American football player

★ 1987 - Caroline Trentini, Brazilian model

★ 1987 - Matt O'Leary, American actor

★ 1987 - Kate Nash, English singer/songwriter

★ 1994 - Rebecca Rosso and Camilla Rosso, twin British-born actresses

Deaths

★ 1189 - King Henry II of England (b. 1133)

★ 1218 - Eudes III, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1166)

★ 1249 - King Alexander II of Scotland (b. 1198)

★ 1415 - Jan Hus, Bohemian reformer (b. 1369)

★ 1476 - Regiomantus, German astronomer (b. 1436)

★ 1480 - Antonio Squarcialupi, Italian composer (b. 1416)

★ 1533 - Ludovico Ariosto, Italian poet (b. 1474)

★ 1535 - Sir Thomas More, English philosopher (b. 1478)

★ 1553 - King Edward VI of England (b. 1537)

★ 1583 - Edmund Grindal, Archbishop of Canterbury

★ 1585 - Thomas Aufield, English Catholic martyr (b. 1552)

★ 1684 - Peter Gunning, English royalist churchman (b. 1614)

★ 1758 - George Howe, 3rd Viscount Howe, British general

★ 1762 - Tsar Peter III of Russia (b. 1728)

★ 1768 - Conrad Beissel, German-born religious leader (b. 1690)

★ 1809 - Antoine Charles Louis Lasalle, French cavalry general (b. 1775)

★ 1813 - Granville Sharp, British abolitionist (b. 1735)

★ 1835 - John Marshall, Chief Justice of the United States (b. 1755)

★ 1854 - Georg Ohm, German physicist (b. 1789)

★ 1868 - Sanosuke Harada, Shinsengumi Captain (b. 1840)

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

★ 1901 - Prince Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1819)

★ 1902 - St. Maria Goretti, Italian saint (b. 1890)

★ 1907 - August Johann Gottfried Bielenstein, German Linguist, Theologian (b. 1826)

★ 1916 - Odilon Redon, French painter (b. 1840)

★ 1922 - Maria Theresa Ledochowska, Polish-Austrian Catholic nun (b. 1863)

★ 1932 - Kenneth Grahame, English author (b. 1859)

★ 1952 - Louis-Alexandre Taschereau, French Canadian politician (b. 1867)

★ 1960 - Aneurin Bevan, British politician (b. 1897)

★ 1961 - Scott LaFaro, American musician (b. 1936)

★ 1961 - Woodall Rodgers, American politician (b. 1890)

★ 1962 - William Faulkner, American writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1897)

★ 1962 - Archduke Joseph August of Austria, Austrian field marshal (b. 1872)

★ 1966 - Sad Sam Jones, American baseball player (b. 1892)

★ 1971 - Louis Armstrong, American musician (b. 1901)

★ 1972 - Brandon De Wilde, American actor (b. 1942)

★ 1973 - Otto Klemperer, German conductor (b. 1885)

★ 1975 - Otto Skorzeny, Famous WWII German Operative (b. 1908)

★ 1976 - Fritz Lenz, German geneticist (b. 1887)

★ 1979 - Van McCoy, American music producer, musician, songwriter and orchestra leader (b. 1940)

★ 1982 - Bob Johnson, American baseball player (b. 1905)

★ 1986 - Jagjivan Ram, Indian politician (b. 1908)

★ 1989 - János Kádár, Hungarian politician (b. 1912)

★ 1992 - Buddy Rogers, professional wrestler (b. 1921)

★ 1994 - Cameron Mitchell, American actor (b. 1918)

★ 1995 - Aziz Nesin, Turkish humorist and author (b. 1915)

★ 1996 - Kathy Ahern, American golfer (b. 1949)

★ 1998 - Roy Rogers, American actor (b. 1911)

★ 1999 - Carl Gunter Jr, American politician (b. 1938)

★ 1999 - Joaquin Rodrigo, Spanish composer (b. 1901)

★ 1999 - Barry Winchell, American soldier (b. 1977)

★ 2002 - Dhirubhai Ambani, Indian businessman (b. 1932)

★ 2002 - John Frankenheimer, American film director (b. 1930)

★ 2003 - Buddy Ebsen, American actor (b. 1908)

★ 2004 - Thomas Klestil, President of Austria (b. 1932)

★ 2004 - Syreeta Wright, American singer (b. 1946)

★ 2005 - Bruno Augenstein, German-born mathematician (b. 1923)

★ 2005 - L. Patrick Gray III, American FBI director (b. 1916)

★ 2005 - Evan Hunter, American novelist (b. 1926)

★ 2005 - Claude Simon, French writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1913)

★ 2005 - Richard Verreau, Canadian tenor (b. 1926)

★ 2006 - Kasey Rogers, American actress (b. 1926)

★ 2006 - Tom Weir, Scottish climber, author and broadcaster (b. 1914)

Holidays and observances

★ Comoros - Independence Day (1975).

★ Czech Republic - Jan Hus Day (1415).

★ Feast day of St Maria Goretti.

★ Lithuania - Statehood Day.

★ Malawi - Independence Day (1964).

★ Malawi - Republic Day (1966).

★ Roman festivals: Ludi Apollinares, games in honour of Apollo (since 208 BC) began today.

★ San Fermín, a Spanish Roman Catholic festival centered in Pamplona, begins today.

★ Music festival EXIT begins today in the Serbian town of Novi Sad.

External links

★ BBC: On This Day

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★ On This Day in Canada
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