Our website is made possible by displaying online advertisements to our visitors. Please consider supporting us by whitelisting our website.

111

July 19 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • AD 64 – The Great Fire of Rome causes widespread devastation and rages on for six days, destroying half of the city.
  • 484 – Leontius, Roman usurper, is crowned Eastern emperor at Tarsus (modern Turkey). He is recognized in Antioch and makes it his capital.
  • 711 – Umayyad conquest of Hispania: Battle of Guadalete: Umayyad forces under Tariq ibn Ziyad defeat the Visigoths led by King Roderic.
  • 939 – Battle of Simancas: King Ramiro II of León defeats the Moorish army under Caliph Abd-al-Rahman III near the city of Simancas.
  • 998 – Arab–Byzantine wars: Battle of Apamea: Fatimids defeat a Byzantine army near Apamea.
  • 1333 – Wars of Scottish Independence: Battle of Halidon Hill: The English win a decisive victory over the Scots.
  • 1544 – Italian War of 1542–46: The first Siege of Boulogne begins.
  • 1545 – The Tudor warship Mary Rose sinks off Portsmouth; in 1982 the wreck is salvaged in one of the most complex and expensive projects in the history of maritime archaeology.
  • 1553 – Lady Jane Grey is replaced by Mary I of England as Queen of England after only nine days on the throne.
  • 1588 – Anglo-Spanish War: Battle of Gravelines: The Spanish Armada is sighted in the English Channel.
  • 1701 – Representatives of the Iroquois Confederacy sign the Nanfan Treaty, ceding a large territory north of the Ohio River to England.
  • 1702 – Great Northern War: A numerically superior Polish-Saxon army of Augustus II the Strong, operating from an advantageous defensive position, is defeated by a Swedish army half its size under the command of King Charles XII in the Battle of Klissow.
  • 1817 – Unsuccessful in his attempt to conquer the Kingdom of Hawaii for the Russian-American Company, Georg Anton Schäffer is forced to admit defeat and leave Kauai.
  • 1821 – Coronation of George IV of the United Kingdom.
  • 1832 – The British Medical Association is founded as the Provincial Medical and Surgical Association by Sir Charles Hastings at a meeting in the Board Room of the Worcester Infirmary.
  • 1843 – Brunel’s steamship the SS Great Britain is launched, becoming the first ocean-going craft with an iron hull and screw propeller, becoming the largest vessel afloat in the world.
  • 1845 – Great New York City Fire of 1845: The last great fire to affect Manhattan began early in the morning and was subdued that afternoon. The fire killed four firefighters, 26 civilians, and destroyed 345 buildings.
  • 1848 – Women’s rights: A two-day Women’s Rights Convention opens in Seneca Falls, New York.
  • 1863 – American Civil War: Morgan’s Raid: At Buffington Island in Ohio, Confederate General John Hunt Morgan’s raid into the north is mostly thwarted when a large group of his men are captured while trying to escape across the Ohio River.
  • 1864 – Taiping Rebellion: Third Battle of Nanking: The Qing dynasty finally defeats the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
  • 1870 – Franco-Prussian War: France declares war on Prussia.
  • 1900 – The first line of the Paris Métro opens for operation.
  • 1903 – Maurice Garin wins the first Tour de France.
  • 1916 – World War I: Battle of Fromelles: British and Australian troops attack German trenches as part of the Battle of the Somme.
  • 1936 – Spanish Civil War: The CNT and UGT call a general strike in Spain – mobilizing workers’ militias against the Nationalist forces.
  • 1940 – World War II: Battle of Cape Spada: The Royal Navy and the Regia Marina clash; the Italian light cruiser Bartolomeo Colleoni sinks, with 121 casualties.
  • 1940 – Field Marshal Ceremony: First occasion in World War II, that Hitler appointed field marshals due to military achievements.
  • 1940 – World War II: Army order 112 forms the Intelligence Corps of the British Army.
  • 1942 – World War II: The Second Happy Time of Hitler’s submarines comes to an end, as the increasingly effective American convoy system compels them to return to the central Atlantic.
  • 1943 – World War II: Rome is heavily bombed by more than 500 Allied aircraft, inflicting thousands of casualties.
  • 1947 – Prime Minister of the shadow Burmese government, Bogyoke Aung San and eight others are assassinated.
  • 1947 – Korean politician Lyuh Woon-hyung is assassinated.
  • 1952 – Opening of the Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland.
  • 1961 – Tunisia imposes a blockade on the French naval base at Bizerte; the French would capture the entire town four days later.
  • 1963 – Joe Walker flies a North American X-15 to a record altitude of 106,010 meters (347,800 feet) on X-15 Flight 90. Exceeding an altitude of 100 km, this flight qualifies as a human spaceflight under international convention.
  • 1964 – Vietnam War: At a rally in Saigon, South Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyễn Khánh calls for expanding the war into North Vietnam.
  • 1969 – Chappaquiddick incident: U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy crashes his car into a tidal pond at Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts, killing his passenger Mary Jo Kopechne.
  • 1972 – Dhofar Rebellion: British SAS units help the Omani government against Popular Front for the Liberation of Oman rebels in the Battle of Mirbat.
  • 1976 – Sagarmatha National Park in Nepal is created.
  • 1977 – The world’s first Global Positioning System (GPS) signal was transmitted from Navigation Technology Satellite 2 (NTS-2) and received at Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, at 12:41 a.m. Eastern time (ET).
  • 1979 – The Sandinista rebels overthrow the government of the Somoza family in Nicaragua.
  • 1979 – The oil tanker SS Atlantic Empress collides with another oil tanker, causing the largest ever ship-borne oil spill.
  • 1980 – Opening of the Summer Olympics in Moscow.
  • 1981 – In a private meeting with U.S. President Ronald Reagan, French President François Mitterrand reveals the existence of the Farewell Dossier, a collection of documents showing the Soviet Union had been stealing American technological research and development.
  • 1982 – In one of the first militant attacks by Hezbollah, David S. Dodge, president of the American University of Beirut, is kidnapped.
  • 1983 – The first three-dimensional reconstruction of a human head in a CT is published.
  • 1985 – The Val di Stava dam collapses killing 268 people in Val di Stava, Italy.
  • 1989 – United Airlines Flight 232 crashes in Sioux City, Iowa killing 111.
  • 1992 – A car bomb kills Judge Paolo Borsellino and five members of his escort.
  • 1997 – The Troubles: The Provisional Irish Republican Army resumes a ceasefire to end their 25-year paramilitary campaign to end British rule in Northern Ireland.
  • 2014 – Gunmen in Egypt’s western desert province of New Valley Governorate attack a military checkpoint, killing at least 21 soldiers. Egypt reportedly declares a state of emergency on its border with Sudan.

Births on July 19

  • 810 – Muhammad al-Bukhari, Persian scholar (d. 870)
  • 1223 – Baibars, sultan of Egypt (d. 1277)
  • 1420 – William VIII, Marquess of Montferrat (d. 1483)
  • 1569 – Conrad Vorstius, Dutch theologian (d. 1622)
  • 1670 – Richard Leveridge, English singer-songwriter (d. 1758)
  • 1688 – Giuseppe Castiglione, Italian missionary and painter (d. 1766)
  • 1744 – Heinrich Christian Boie, German author and poet (d. 1806)
  • 1759 – Marianna Auenbrugger, Austrian pianist and composer (d. 1782)
  • 1759 – Seraphim of Sarov, Russian monk and saint (d. 1833)
  • 1771 – Thomas Talbot, Irish-Canadian colonel and politician (d. 1853)
  • 1794 – José Justo Corro, Mexican politician and president, (1836-1837) (d. 1864)
  • 1789 – John Martin, English painter, engraver, and illustrator (d. 1854)
  • 1800 – Juan José Flores, Venezuelan general and politician, 1st President of Ecuador (d. 1864)
  • 1814 – Samuel Colt, American businessman, founded the Colt’s Manufacturing Company (d. 1862)
  • 1819 – Gottfried Keller, Swiss author, poet, and playwright (d. 1890)
  • 1822 – Princess Augusta of Cambridge (d. 1916)
  • 1827 – Mangal Pandey, Indian soldier (d. 1857)
  • 1834 – Edgar Degas, French painter, sculptor, and illustrator (d. 1917)
  • 1835 – Justo Rufino Barrios, Guatemalan president (d. 1885)
  • 1842 – Frederic T. Greenhalge, English-American lawyer and politician, 38th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1896)
  • 1846 – Edward Charles Pickering, American astronomer and physicist (d. 1919)
  • 1849 – Ferdinand Brunetière, French scholar and critic (d. 1906)
  • 1865 – Georges Friedel, French mineralogist and crystallographer (d. 1933)
  • 1865 – Charles Horace Mayo, American surgeon, founded the Mayo Clinic (d. 1939)
  • 1860 – Lizzie Borden, American woman, tried and acquitted for the murders of her parents in 1892 (d. 1927)
  • 1868 – Florence Foster Jenkins, American soprano and educator (d. 1944)
  • 1869 – Xenophon Stratigos, Greek general and politician, Greek Minister of Transport (d. 1927)
  • 1875 – Alice Dunbar Nelson, African-American poet and activist (d. 1935)
  • 1876 – Joseph Fielding Smith, American religious leader, 10th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (d. 1972)
  • 1877 – Arthur Fielder, English cricketer (d. 1949)
  • 1881 – Friedrich Dessauer, German physicist and philosopher (d. 1963)
  • 1883 – Max Fleischer, Austrian-American animator and producer (d. 1972)
  • 1886 – Michael Fekete, Hungarian-Israeli mathematician and academic (d. 1957)
  • 1888 – Enno Lolling, German physician (d. 1945)
  • 1890 – George II of Greece (d. 1947)
  • 1892 – Dick Irvin, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1957)
  • 1893 – Vladimir Mayakovsky, Russian actor, playwright, and poet (d. 1930)
  • 1894 – Aleksandr Khinchin, Russian mathematician and academic (d. 1959)
  • 1894 – Khawaja Nazimuddin, Bangladeshi-Pakistani politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Pakistan (d. 1965)
  • 1894 – Percy Spencer, American physicist and inventor of the microwave oven (d. 1969)
  • 1895 – Xu Beihong, Chinese painter and academic (d. 1953)
  • 1896 – Reginald Baker, English film producer (d. 1985)
  • 1896 – A. J. Cronin, Scottish physician and novelist (d. 1981)
  • 1896 – Bob Meusel, American baseball player and sailor (d. 1977)
  • 1898 – Herbert Marcuse, German-American sociologist and philosopher (d. 1979)
  • 1899 – Balai Chand Mukhopadhyay, Indian physician, author, poet, and playwright (d. 1979)
  • 1902 – Samudrala Raghavacharya, Indian singer, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1968)
  • 1904 – Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith, American lawyer and farmer (d. 1985)
  • 1907 – Isabel Jewell, American actress (d. 1972)
  • 1908 – Daniel Fry, American contactee (d. 1992)
  • 1909 – Balamani Amma, Indian poet and author (d. 2004)
  • 1912 – Peter Leo Gerety, American prelate (d. 2016)
  • 1914 – Marius Russo, American baseball player (d. 2005)
  • 1915 – Åke Hellman, Finnish painter (d. 2017)
  • 1916 – Phil Cavarretta, American baseball player and manager (d. 2010)
  • 1917 – William Scranton, American captain and politician, 13th United States Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 2013)
  • 1919 – Patricia Medina, English-American actress (d. 2012)
  • 1919 – Miltos Sachtouris, Greek poet and author (d. 2005)
  • 1919 – Ron Searle, English-Canadian soldier, publisher, and politician, 4th Mayor of Mississauga (d. 2015)
  • 1920 – Robert Mann, American violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 2018)
  • 1920 – Richard Oriani, Salvadoran-American metallurgist and engineer (d. 2015)
  • 1921 – Harold Camping, American evangelist, author, radio host (d. 2013)
  • 1921 – André Moynet, French soldier, race car driver, and politician (d. 1993)
  • 1921 – Elizabeth Spencer, American novelist, short story writer, and playwright (d. 2019)
  • 1921 – Rosalyn Sussman Yalow, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2011)
  • 1922 – George McGovern, American lieutenant, historian, and politician (d. 2012)
  • 1922 – Rachel Robinson, American professor, registered nurse, and the widow of baseball player Jackie Robinson
  • 1923 – Theo Barker, English historian (d. 2001)
  • 1923 – Alex Hannum, American basketball player and coach (d. 2002)
  • 1923 – Joseph Hansen, American author and poet (d. 2004)
  • 1923 – William A. Rusher, American lawyer and journalist (d. 2011)
  • 1923 – Lon Simmons, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2015)
  • 1924 – Stanley K. Hathaway, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 40th United States Secretary of the Interior (d. 2005)
  • 1924 – Pat Hingle, American actor and producer (d. 2009)
  • 1924 – Arthur Rankin Jr., American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
  • 1925 – Sue Thompson, American singer
  • 1926 – Helen Gallagher, American actress, singer, and dancer
  • 1928 – Samuel John Hazo, American author
  • 1928 – Choi Yun-chil, South Korean long-distance runner and a two-time national champion in the marathon.
  • 1929 – Gaston Glock, Austrian engineer and businessman, co-founded Glock Ges.m.b.H.
  • 1929 – Orville Turnquest, Bahamian politician
  • 1932 – Buster Benton, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1996)
  • 1932 – Jan Lindblad, Swedish biologist and photographer (d. 1987)
  • 1934 – Francisco de Sá Carneiro, Portuguese lawyer and politician, 111th Prime Minister of Portugal (d. 1980)
  • 1935 – Nick Koback, American baseball player and golfer (d. 2015)
  • 1936 – David Colquhoun, English pharmacologist and academic
  • 1937 – George Hamilton IV, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2014)
  • 1938 – Richard Jordan, American actor (d. 1993)
  • 1938 – Jayant Narlikar, Indian astrophysicist and astronomer
  • 1938 – Tom Raworth, English poet and academic (d. 2017)
  • 1941 – Vikki Carr, American singer and actress
  • 1941 – Neelie Kroes, Dutch politician and diplomat, European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society
  • 1943 – Han Sai Por, Singaporean sculptor and academic
  • 1944 – Tim McIntire, American actor and singer (d. 1986)
  • 1944 – Andres Vooremaa, Estonian chess player
  • 1945 – Paule Baillargeon, Canadian actress, director, and screenwriter
  • 1946 – Alan Gorrie, Scottish singer-songwriter and musician (Average White Band)
  • 1946 – Ilie Năstase, Romanian tennis player and politician
  • 1947 – André Forcier, Canadian director and screenwriter
  • 1947 – Hans-Jürgen Kreische, German footballer and manager
  • 1947 – Bernie Leadon, American guitarist and songwriter
  • 1947 – Brian May, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and astrophysicist
  • 1948 – Keith Godchaux, American keyboard player and songwriter (d. 1980)
  • 1949 – Kgalema Motlanthe, South African politician, 3rd President of South Africa
  • 1950 – Per-Kristian Foss, Norwegian politician, Norwegian Minister of Finance
  • 1950 – Freddy Moore, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1950 – Adrian Noble, English director and screenwriter
  • 1951 – Abel Ferrara, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1952 – Allen Collins, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 1990)
  • 1952 – Jayne Anne Phillips American novelist and short story writer
  • 1954 – Mark O’Donnell, American playwright (d. 2012)
  • 1954 – Steve O’Donnell, American screenwriter and producer
  • 1954 – Srđa Trifković, Serbian-American journalist and historian
  • 1955 – Roger Binny, Indian cricketer and sportscaster
  • 1955 – Dalton McGuinty, Canadian lawyer and politician, 24th Premier of Ontario
  • 1956 – Mark Crispin, American computer scientist, designed the IMAP (d. 2012)
  • 1958 – Brad Drewett, Australian tennis player and sportscaster (d. 2013)
  • 1958 – Robert Gibson, American wrestler
  • 1958 – David Robertson, American conductor
  • 1959 – Juan J. Campanella, Argentinian director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1960 – Atom Egoyan, Egyptian-Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1960 – Kevin Haskins, English drummer and songwriter
  • 1961 – Harsha Bhogle, Indian journalist and author
  • 1961 – Maria Filatova, Russian gymnast
  • 1961 – Lisa Lampanelli, American comedian, actress, and author
  • 1961 – Benoît Mariage, Belgian director and screenwriter
  • 1961 – Hideo Nakata, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1961 – Campbell Scott, American actor, director, and producer
  • 1962 – Anthony Edwards, American actor and director
  • 1963 – Thomas Gabriel Fischer, Swiss musician
  • 1963 – Garth Nix, Australian author
  • 1964 – Teresa Edwards, American basketball player
  • 1964 – Masahiko Kondō, Japanese singer-songwriter and race car driver
  • 1965 – Evelyn Glennie, Scottish musician
  • 1965 – Claus-Dieter Wollitz, German footballer and manager
  • 1967 – Yael Abecassis, Israeli model and actress
  • 1967 – Jean-François Mercier, Canadian comedian, screenwriter, and television host
  • 1968 – Robb Flynn, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1968 – Pavel Kuka, Czech footballer and manager
  • 1968 – Jim Norton, American comedian, actor, and author
  • 1969 – Matthew Libatique, American cinematographer
  • 1970 – Bill Chen, American poker player and software designer
  • 1970 – Nicola Sturgeon, Scottish lawyer and politician, First Minister of Scotland
  • 1971 – Rene Busch, Estonian tennis player and coach
  • 1971 – Vitali Klitschko, Ukrainian boxer and politician, Mayor of Kiev
  • 1971 – Michael Modest, American wrestler
  • 1971 – Catriona Rowntree, Australian television host
  • 1971 – Lesroy Weekes, Montserratian cricketer
  • 1972 – Ebbe Sand, Danish footballer and manager
  • 1973 – Martin Powell, English keyboard player and songwriter
  • 1973 – Scott Walker, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1974 – Rey Bucanero, Mexican wrestler
  • 1974 – Francisco Copado, German footballer and manager
  • 1974 – Josée Piché, Canadian ice dancer
  • 1974 – Vince Spadea, American tennis player
  • 1974 – Preston Wilson, American baseball player and sportscaster
  • 1975 – Luca Castellazzi, Italian footballer
  • 1976 – Benedict Cumberbatch, English actor
  • 1976 – Gonzalo de los Santos, Uruguayan footballer and manager
  • 1977 – Jean-Sébastien Aubin, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1977 – Tony Mamaluke, American wrestler and manager
  • 1977 – Ed Smith, English cricketer and journalist
  • 1979 – Rick Ankiel, American baseball player
  • 1979 – Josué Anunciado de Oliveira, Brazilian footballer
  • 1979 – Dilhara Fernando, Sri Lankan cricketer
  • 1979 – Luke Young, English footballer
  • 1980 – Xavier Malisse, Belgian tennis player
  • 1980 – Giorgio Mondini, Italian race car driver
  • 1981 – Nenê, Brazilian footballer
  • 1981 – David Bernard, Jamaican cricketer
  • 1981 – Mark Gasnier, Australian rugby player and sportscaster
  • 1981 – Jimmy Gobble, American baseball player
  • 1981 – Grégory Vignal, French footballer
  • 1982 – Christopher Bear, American drummer
  • 1982 – Phil Coke, American baseball player
  • 1982 – Jared Padalecki, American actor
  • 1982 – Jess Vanstrattan, Australian footballer
  • 1983 – Helen Skelton, English television host and actress
  • 1983 – Fedor Tyutin, Russian ice hockey player
  • 1984 – Andrea Libman, Canadian voice actress
  • 1984 – Adam Morrison, American basketball player
  • 1984 – Ryan O’Byrne, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1984 – Lewis Price, Welsh footballer
  • 1985 – LaMarcus Aldridge, American basketball player
  • 1985 – Zhou Haibin, Chinese footballer
  • 1985 – Marina Kuzina, Russian basketball player
  • 1985 – Hadi Norouzi, Iranian footballer (d. 2015)
  • 1986 – Leandro Greco, Italian footballer
  • 1987 – Jon Jones, American mixed martial artist
  • 1987 – Marc Murphy, Australian footballer
  • 1988 – Shane Dawson, American comedian and actor
  • 1988 – Kevin Großkreutz, German footballer
  • 1988 – Jakub Kovář, Czech ice hockey player
  • 1989 – Sam McKendry, Australian-New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1991 – Eray İşcan, Turkish footballer
  • 1992 – Jake Nicholson, English footballer
  • 1994 – Christian Welch, Australian rugby league player
  • 1998 – Erin Cuthbert, footballer
  • 1998 – Ronaldo Vieira, Bissau-Guinean footballer

Deaths on July 19

  • 514 – Symmachus, pope of the Catholic Church
  • 806 – Li Shigu, Chinese general (b. 778)
  • 973 – Kyunyeo, Korean monk and poet (b. 917)
  • 998 – Damian Dalassenos, Byzantine general (b. 940)
  • 1030 – Adalberon, French bishop
  • 1234 – Floris IV, Dutch nobleman (b. 1210)
  • 1249 – Jacopo Tiepolo, doge of Venice
  • 1333 – John Campbell, Scottish nobleman
  • 1333 – Alexander Bruce, Scottish nobleman
  • 1333 – Sir Archibald Douglas, Scottish nobleman
  • 1333 – Maol Choluim II, Scottish nobleman
  • 1333 – Kenneth de Moravia, 4th Earl of Sutherland
  • 1374 – Petrarch, Italian poet and scholar (b. 1304)
  • 1415 – Philippa of Lancaster, Portuguese queen (b. 1360)
  • 1543 – Mary Boleyn, English daughter of Elizabeth Boleyn, Countess of Wiltshire (b. 1499)
  • 1631 – Cesare Cremonini, Italian philosopher and academic (b. 1550)
  • 1742 – William Somervile, English poet and author (b. 1675)
  • 1810 – Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Prussian queen (b. 1776)
  • 1814 – Matthew Flinders, English navigator and cartographer (b. 1774)
  • 1824 – Agustín de Iturbide, Mexican general and emperor (b. 1783)
  • 1838 – Pierre Louis Dulong, French physicist and chemist (b. 1785)
  • 1850 – Margaret Fuller, American journalist and critic (b. 1810)
  • 1855 – Konstantin Batyushkov, Russian poet and translator (b. 1787)
  • 1857 – Stefano Franscini, Swiss statistician and politician (b. 1796)
  • 1878 – Yegor Ivanovich Zolotarev, Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1847)
  • 1896 – Abraham H. Cannon, American publisher and religious leader (b. 1859)
  • 1913 – Clímaco Calderón, Colombian lawyer and politician, 15th President of Colombia (b. 1852)
  • 1925 – John Indermaur, British lawyer (b. 1851)
  • 1930 – Robert Stout, Scottish-New Zealand politician, 13th Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1844)
  • 1933 – Kaarle Krohn, Finnish historian and academic (b. 1863)
  • 1939 – Rose Hartwick Thorpe, American poet and author (b. 1850)
  • 1943 – Yekaterina Budanova, Russian captain and pilot (b. 1916)
  • 1947 – U Razak, Burmese educator and politician (b. 1898)
  • 1947 – Aung San, Burmese general and politician (b. 1915)
  • 1947 – Lyuh Woon-hyung, South Korean politician (b. 1886)
  • 1963 – William Andrew, English priest (b. 1884)
  • 1965 – Syngman Rhee, South Korean journalist and politician, 1st President of South Korea (b. 1875)
  • 1967 – Odell Shepard, American poet and politician, 66th Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut (b. 1884)
  • 1969 – Stratis Myrivilis, Greek soldier and author (b. 1890)
  • 1974 – Ernő Schwarz, Hungarian-American soccer player and coach (b. 1904)
  • 1975 – Lefty Frizzell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1928)
  • 1977 – Karl Ristikivi, Estonian geographer, author, and poet (b. 1912)
  • 1980 – Margaret Craven, American journalist and author (b. 1901)
  • 1980 – Nihat Erim, Turkish jurist and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1912)
  • 1980 – Hans Morgenthau, German-American political scientist, philosopher, and academic (b. 1904)
  • 1981 – Roger Doucet, Canadian tenor (b. 1919)
  • 1982 – Hugh Everett III, American physicist and mathematician (b. 1930)
  • 1984 – Faina Ranevskaya, Russian actress (b. 1896)
  • 1984 – Aziz Sami, Iraqi writer and translator (b. 1895)
  • 1985 – Janusz Zajdel, Polish author (b. 1938)
  • 1989 – Kazimierz Sabbat, Polish businessman and politician, President of the Republic of Poland (b. 1913)
  • 1990 – Eddie Quillan, American actor (b. 1907)
  • 1992 – Paolo Borsellino, Italian lawyer and judge (b. 1940)
  • 1994 – Victor Barbeau, Canadian author and academic (b. 1896)
  • 1998 – Elmer Valo, Polish-American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1921)
  • 2002 – Dave Carter, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1952)
  • 2002 – Alan Lomax, American historian, scholar, and activist (b. 1915)
  • 2003 – Bill Bright, American evangelist and author, founded the Campus Crusade for Christ (b. 1921)
  • 2003 – Pierre Graber, Swiss politician, President of the Swiss National Council (b. 1908)
  • 2004 – Sylvia Daoust, Canadian sculptor (b. 1902)
  • 2004 – J. Gordon Edwards, American entomologist, mountaineer, and DDT advocate (b. 1919)
  • 2004 – Francis A. Marzen, American priest, and journalist (b. 1924)
  • 2004 – Zenkō Suzuki, Japanese politician, 70th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1911)
  • 2005 – Edward Bunker, American author and screenwriter (b. 1933)
  • 2006 – Jack Warden, American actor (b. 1920)
  • 2007 – A. K. Faezul Huq, Bangladeshi journalist, lawyer, and politician (b. 1945)
  • 2007 – Roberto Fontanarrosa, Argentinian cartoonist (b. 1944)
  • 2008 – Dercy Gonçalves, Brazilian comedian and actress (b. 1907)
  • 2009 – Frank McCourt, American author and educator (b. 1930)
  • 2009 – Henry Surtees, English race car driver (b. 1991)
  • 2010 – Cécile Aubry, French actress, author, television screenwriter and director (b. 1928)
  • 2010 – Jon Cleary, Australian author and playwright (b. 1917)
  • 2012 – Humayun Ahmed, Bangladeshi director and playwright (b. 1948)
  • 2012 – Tom Davis, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter (b. 1952)
  • 2012 – Mohammad Hassan Ganji, Iranian meteorologist and academic (b. 1912)
  • 2012 – Omar Suleiman, Egyptian general, and politician, 16th Vice President of Egypt (b. 1935)
  • 2012 – Sylvia Woods, American businesswoman, co-founded Sylvia’s Restaurant of Harlem (b. 1926)
  • 2012 – Valiulla Yakupov, Islamic cleric (b. 1963)
  • 2013 – Mikhail Gorsheniov, Russian singer-songwriter (b. 1973)
  • 2013 – Geeto Mongol, Canadian-American wrestler and trainer (b. 1931)
  • 2013 – Mel Smith, English actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1952)
  • 2013 – Bert Trautmann, German footballer and manager (b. 1923)
  • 2013 – Phil Woosnam, Welsh-American soccer player and manager (b. 1932)
  • 2013 – Peter Ziegler, Swiss geologist and academic (b. 1928)
  • 2013 – Leyla Erbil, Turkish author (b. 1931)
  • 2014 – Rubem Alves, Brazilian theologian (b. 1933)
  • 2014 – David Easton, Canadian-American political scientist and academic (b. 1917)
  • 2014 – Paul M. Fleiss, American pediatrician and author (b. 1933)
  • 2014 – James Garner, American actor (b. 1928)
  • 2014 – Jerzy Jurka, Polish biologist (b. 1950)
  • 2014 – Ray King, English footballer and manager (b. 1924)
  • 2014 – Ingemar Odlander, Swedish journalist (b. 1936)
  • 2014 – Harry Pougher, English cricketer (b. 1941)
  • 2014 – Leen Vleggeert, Dutch politician (b. 1931)
  • 2014 – John Winkin, American baseball player, coach, and journalist (b. 1919)
  • 2015 – Van Alexander, American composer and conductor (b. 1915)
  • 2015 – Galina Prozumenshchikova, Ukrainian-Russian swimmer and journalist (b. 1948)
  • 2015 – Carmino Ravosa, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (b. 1930)
  • 2015 – Gennadiy Seleznyov, Russian journalist and politician, 2nd Speaker of the Duma (b. 1947)
  • 2016 – Garry Marshall, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1934)
  • 2018 – Jon Schnepp, American producer, director, voice actor, editor, writer, cartoonist, animator, and cinematographer (b. 1967)
  • 2018 – Denis Ten, Kazakhstani figure skater (b. 1993)
  • 2019 – Rutger Hauer, Dutch actor, director, and producer (b. 1944)

Holidays and observances on July 19

  • Christian feast day:
    • Arsenius (Catholic Church)
    • Bernold, Bishop of Utrecht
    • Justa and Rufina
    • Kirdjun (or Abakerazum)
    • Macrina the Younger, Sister of St. Basil the Great
    • Symmachus
    • July 19 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Martyrs’ Day (Myanmar)
  • Sandinista Day or Liberation Day (Nicaragua)

July 19 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

March 25 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 708 – Pope Constantine succeeds Pope Sisinnius as the 88th pope.
  • 717 – Theodosius III resigns the throne to the Byzantine Empire to enter the clergy.
  • 919 – Romanos Lekapenos seizes the Boukoleon Palace in Constantinople and becomes regent of the Byzantine emperor Constantine VII.
  • 1000 – Fatimid caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah assassinates the eunuch chief minister Barjawan and assumes control of the government.
  • 1306 – Robert the Bruce becomes King of Scots (Scotland).
  • 1409 – The Council of Pisa opens.
  • 1555 – The city of Valencia is founded in present-day Venezuela.
  • 1576 – Jerome Savage takes out a sub-lease to start the Newington Butts Theatre outside London.
  • 1584 – Sir Walter Raleigh is granted a patent to colonize Virginia.
  • 1655 – Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, is discovered by Christiaan Huygens.
  • 1802 – The Treaty of Amiens is signed as a “Definitive Treaty of Peace” between France and the United Kingdom.
  • 1807 – The Slave Trade Act becomes law, abolishing the slave trade in the British Empire.
  • 1807 – The Swansea and Mumbles Railway, then known as the Oystermouth Railway, becomes the first passenger-carrying railway in the world.
  • 1811 – Percy Bysshe Shelley is expelled from the University of Oxford for publishing the pamphlet The Necessity of Atheism.
  • 1821 – Traditional date of the start of the Greek War of Independence. The war had actually begun on 23 February 1821 (Julian calendar).
  • 1845 – New Zealand Legislative Council pass the first Militia Act constituting the New Zealand Army.
  • 1865 – American Civil War: In Virginia, Confederate forces temporarily capture Fort Stedman from the Union.
  • 1894 – Coxey’s Army, the first significant American protest march, departs Massillon, Ohio for Washington, D.C.
  • 1911 – In New York City, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire kills 146 garment workers.
  • 1917 – The Georgian Orthodox Church restores its autocephaly abolished by Imperial Russia in 1811.
  • 1918 – The Belarusian People’s Republic is established.
  • 1924 – On the anniversary of Greek Independence, Alexandros Papanastasiou proclaims the Second Hellenic Republic.
  • 1931 – The Scottsboro Boys are arrested in Alabama and charged with rape.
  • 1941 – The Kingdom of Yugoslavia joins the Axis powers with the signing of the Tripartite Pact.
  • 1947 – An explosion in a coal mine in Centralia, Illinois kills 111.
  • 1948 – The first successful tornado forecast predicts that a tornado will strike Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma.
  • 1949 – More than 92,000 kulaks are suddenly deported from the Baltic states to Siberia.
  • 1957 – United States Customs seizes copies of Allen Ginsberg’s poem “Howl” on obscenity grounds.
  • 1957 – The European Economic Community is established with West Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg as the first members.
  • 1965 – Civil rights activists led by Martin Luther King Jr. successfully complete their 4-day 50-mile march from Selma to the capitol in Montgomery, Alabama.
  • 1969 – During their honeymoon, John Lennon and Yoko Ono hold their first Bed-In for Peace at the Amsterdam Hilton Hotel (until March 31).
  • 1971 – The Army of the Republic of Vietnam abandon an attempt to cut off the Ho Chi Minh trail in Laos.
  • 1975 – Faisal of Saudi Arabia is shot and killed by a mentally ill nephew.
  • 1979 – The first fully functional Space Shuttle orbiter, Columbia, is delivered to the John F. Kennedy Space Center to be prepared for its first launch.
  • 1988 – The Candle demonstration in Bratislava is the first mass demonstration of the 1980s against the communist regime in Czechoslovakia.
  • 1995 – WikiWikiWeb, the world’s first wiki, and part of the Portland Pattern Repository, is made public by Ward Cunningham.
  • 1996 – The European Union’s Veterinarian Committee bans the export of British beef and its by-products as a result of mad cow disease (Bovine spongiform encephalopathy).
  • 2006 – Capitol Hill massacre: A gunman kills six people before taking his own life at a party in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood.
  • 2006 – Protesters demanding a new election in Belarus, following the rigged 2006 Belarusian presidential election, clash with riot police. Opposition leader Aleksander Kozulin is among several protesters arrested.

Births on March 25

  • 1252 – Conradin, Duke of Swabia (d. 1268)
  • 1259 – Andronikos II Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor (d. 1332)
  • 1297 – Andronikos III Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor (d. 1341)
  • 1297 – Arnošt of Pardubice, Polish archbishop (d. 1364)
  • 1345 – Blanche of Lancaster (d. 1369)
  • 1347 – Catherine of Siena, Italian philosopher, theologian, and saint (d. 1380)
  • 1404 – John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset, English military leader (d. 1444)
  • 1414 – Thomas Clifford, 8th Baron de Clifford, English noble (d. 1455)
  • 1434 – Eustochia Smeralda Calafato, Italian saint (d. 1485)
  • 1453 – Giuliano de’ Medici (d. 1478)
  • 1479 – Vasili III of Russia (d. 1533)
  • 1491 – Marie d’Albret, Countess of Rethel (d. 1549)
  • 1510 – Guillaume Postel, French linguist (d. 1581)
  • 1538 – Christopher Clavius, German mathematician and astronomer (d. 1612)
  • 1541 – Francesco I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1587)
  • 1545 – John II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg (d. 1622)
  • 1546 – Giacomo Castelvetro, Italian writer (d. 1616)
  • 1593 – Jean de Brébeuf, French-Canadian missionary and saint (d. 1649)
  • 1611 – Evliya Çelebi, Ottoman Turk traveller and writer (d. 1682)
  • 1636 – Henric Piccardt, Dutch lawyer (d. 1712)
  • 1643 – Louis Moréri, French priest and scholar (d. 1680)
  • 1661 – Paul de Rapin, French soldier and historian (d. 1725)
  • 1699 – Johann Adolph Hasse, German singer and composer (d. 1783)
  • 1741 – Jean-Antoine Houdon, French sculptor and educator (d. 1828)
  • 1745 – John Barry, American naval officer and father of the American navy (d. 1803)
  • 1767 – Joachim Murat, French general (d. 1815)
  • 1782 – Caroline Bonaparte, French daughter of Carlo Buonaparte (d. 1839)
  • 1800 – Ernst Heinrich Karl von Dechen, German geologist and academic (d. 1889)
  • 1808 – José de Espronceda, Spanish poet and author (d. 1842)
  • 1824 – Clinton L. Merriam, American banker and politician (d. 1900)
  • 1840 – Myles Keogh, Irish-American colonel (d. 1876)
  • 1863 – Simon Flexner, American physician and academic (d. 1946)
  • 1867 – Gutzon Borglum, American sculptor, designed Mount Rushmore (d. 1941)
  • 1867 – Arturo Toscanini, Italian-American cellist and conductor (d. 1957)
  • 1868 – Bill Lockwood, English cricketer (d. 1932)
  • 1871 – Louis Perrée, French fencer (d. 1924)
  • 1872 – Horatio Nelson Jackson, American race car driver and physician (d. 1955)
  • 1873 – Rudolf Rocker, German-American author and activist (d. 1958)
  • 1874 – Selim Sırrı Tarcan, Turkish educator and politician (d. 1957)
  • 1876 – Irving Baxter, American jumper and pole vaulter (d. 1957)
  • 1877 – Walter Little, Canadian politician (d. 1961)
  • 1878 – František Janda-Suk, Czech discus thrower and shot putter (d. 1955)
  • 1879 – Amedee Reyburn, American swimmer and water polo player (d. 1920)
  • 1881 – Béla Bartók, Hungarian pianist and composer (d. 1945)
  • 1881 – Patrick Henry Bruce, American painter and educator (d. 1936)
  • 1881 – Mary Webb, English author and poet (d. 1927)
  • 1893 – Johannes Villemson, Estonian runner (d. 1971)
  • 1895 – Siegfried Handloser, German general and physician (d. 1954)
  • 1885 – Jimmy Seed, English international footballer, inside forward and manager (d. 1966)
  • 1897 – Leslie Averill, New Zealand doctor and soldier (d. 1981)
  • 1899 – François Rozet, French-Canadian actor (d. 1994)
  • 1901 – Ed Begley, American actor (d. 1970)
  • 1903 – Binnie Barnes, English-American actress (d. 1998)
  • 1903 – Frankie Carle, American pianist and bandleader (d. 2001)
  • 1903 – Nahum Norbert Glatzer, Ukrainian-American theologian and scholar (d. 1990)
  • 1904 – Pete Johnson, American boogie-woogie and jazz pianist (d. 1967)
  • 1905 – Albrecht Mertz von Quirnheim, German colonel (d. 1944)
  • 1906 – Jean Sablon, French singer and actor (d. 1994)
  • 1906 – A. J. P. Taylor, English historian and academic (d. 1990)
  • 1908 – David Lean, English director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1991)
  • 1910 – Magda Olivero, Italian soprano (d. 2014)
  • 1910 – Benzion Netanyahu, Polish-Israeli historian and academic (d. 2012)
  • 1912 – Melita Norwood, English civil servant and spy (d. 2005)
  • 1912 – Jean Vilar, French actor and director (d. 1971)
  • 1913 – Reo Stakis, Cypriot-Scottish businessman, founded Stakis Hotels (d. 2001)
  • 1914 – Norman Borlaug, American agronomist and humanitarian, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2009)
  • 1915 – Dorothy Squires, Welsh singer (d. 1998)
  • 1916 – S. M. Pandit, Indian painter and educator (d. 1993)
  • 1918 – Howard Cosell, American soldier, journalist, and author (d. 1995)
  • 1920 – Paul Scott, English author, poet, and playwright (d. 1978)
  • 1920 – Patrick Troughton, English actor (d. 1987)
  • 1920 – Usha Mehta, Gandhian and freedom fighter of India (d. 2000)
  • 1921 – Nancy Kelly, American actress (d. 1995)
  • 1921 – Simone Signoret, French actress (d. 1985)
  • 1922 – Eileen Ford, American businesswoman, co-founded Ford Models (d. 2014)
  • 1923 – Bonnie Guitar, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2019)
  • 1923 – Wim van Est, Dutch cyclist (d. 2003)
  • 1924 – Roberts Blossom, American actor (d. 2011)
  • 1924 – Machiko Kyō, Japanese actress (d. 2019)
  • 1925 – Flannery O’Connor, American short story writer and novelist (d. 1964)
  • 1925 – Anthony Quinton, Baron Quinton, English physician and philosopher (d. 2010)
  • 1925 – Kishori Sinha, Indian politician, social activist and advocate (d. 2016)
  • 1926 – Riz Ortolani, Italian composer and conductor (d. 2014)
  • 1926 – László Papp, Hungarian boxer (d. 2003)
  • 1926 – Jaime Sabines, Mexican poet and politician (d. 1999)
  • 1926 – Gene Shalit, American journalist and critic
  • 1927 – P. Shanmugam, Indian politician, 13th Chief Minister of Puducherry (d. 2013)
  • 1928 – Jim Lovell, American captain, pilot, and astronaut
  • 1928 – Gunnar Nielsen, Danish runner and typographer (d. 1985)
  • 1928 – Hans Steinbrenner, German sculptor (d. 2008)
  • 1929 – Cecil Taylor, American pianist and composer (d. 2018)
  • 1930 – David Burge, American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2013)
  • 1930 – Carlo Mauri, Italian mountaineer and explorer (d. 1982)
  • 1930 – Rudy Minarcin, American baseball player and coach (d. 2013)
  • 1931 – Humphrey Burton, English radio and television host
  • 1932 – Penelope Gilliatt, English novelist, short story writer, and critic (d. 1993)
  • 1932 – Wes Santee, American runner (d. 2010)
  • 1934 – Johnny Burnette, American singer-songwriter (d. 1964)
  • 1934 – Bernard King, Australian actor and chef (d. 2002)
  • 1934 – Karlheinz Schreiber, German-Canadian businessman
  • 1934 – Gloria Steinem, American feminist activist, co-founded the Women’s Media Center
  • 1935 – Gabriel Elorde, Filipino boxer (d. 1985)
  • 1936 – Carl Kaufmann, American-German sprinter (d. 2008)
  • 1937 – Tom Monaghan, American businessman, founded Domino’s Pizza
  • 1938 – Hoyt Axton, American singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1999)
  • 1938 – Daniel Buren, French sculptor and painter
  • 1938 – Fritz d’Orey, Brazilian race car driver
  • 1939 – Toni Cade Bambara, American author, academic, and activist (d. 1995)
  • 1939 – D. C. Fontana, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2019)
  • 1941 – Gudmund Hernes, Norwegian sociologist and politician, Norwegian Minister of Education and Research
  • 1942 – Aretha Franklin, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2018)
  • 1942 – Richard O’Brien, English actor and screenwriter
  • 1942 – Kim Woodburn, English television host
  • 1943 – Paul Michael Glaser, American actor and director
  • 1945 – Leila Diniz, Brazilian actress (d. 1972)
  • 1946 – Cliff Balsom, English footballer
  • 1946 – Daniel Bensaïd, French philosopher and author (d. 2010)
  • 1946 – Stephen Hunter, American author and critic
  • 1946 – Maurice Krafft, French volcanologist (d. 1991)
  • 1947 – Richard Cork, English historian and critic
  • 1947 – Elton John, English singer-songwriter, pianist, producer, and actor
  • 1948 – Bonnie Bedelia, American actress
  • 1948 – Michael Stanley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1949 – Ronnie Flanagan, Northern Irish Chief Constable (Royal Irish Constabulary, Police Service of Northern Ireland)
  • 1949 – Sue Klebold, American activist
  • 1950 – Chuck Greenberg, American saxophonist, songwriter, and producer (d. 1995)
  • 1950 – Ronnie McDowell, American singer-songwriter
  • 1950 – David Paquette, American-New Zealander pianist
  • 1951 – Jumbo Tsuruta, Japanese wrestler (d. 2000)
  • 1952 – Stephen Dorrell, English soldier and politician, Secretary of State for Health
  • 1952 – Antanas Mockus, Colombian mathematician, philosopher, and politician, Mayor of Bogotá
  • 1953 – Robert Fox, English producer and manager
  • 1953 – Vesna Pusić, Croatian sociologist and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Croatia
  • 1953 – Haroon Rasheed, Pakistani cricketer and coach
  • 1954 – Thom Loverro, American journalist and author
  • 1955 – Daniel Boulud, French chef and author
  • 1955 – Lee Mazzilli, American baseball player, coach, and manager
  • 1957 – Christina Boxer, English runner and journalist
  • 1957 – Jonathan Michie, English economist and academic
  • 1957 – Aleksandr Puchkov, Russian hurdler
  • 1957 – Jim Uhls, American screenwriter and producer
  • 1958 – Lorna Brown, Canadian artist, curator, and writer
  • 1958 – Susie Bright, American journalist, author, and critic
  • 1958 – Sisy Chen, Taiwanese journalist and politician
  • 1958 – María Caridad Colón, Cuban javelin thrower and shot putter
  • 1958 – John Ensign, American physician and politician
  • 1958 – Ray Tanner, American baseball player and coach
  • 1958 – Åsa Torstensson, Swedish politician, 3rd Swedish Minister for Infrastructure
  • 1960 – Steve Norman, English saxophonist, songwriter, and producer
  • 1960 – Peter O’Brien, Australian actor
  • 1960 – Brenda Strong, American actress
  • 1961 – Mark Brooks, American golfer
  • 1962 – Marcia Cross, American actress
  • 1962 – David Nuttall, English lawyer and politician
  • 1963 – Karen Bruce, English dancer and choreographer
  • 1963 – Velle Kadalipp, Estonian architect
  • 1963 – Andrew O’Connor, British actor, comedian, magician, television presenter and executive producer
  • 1964 – René Meulensteen, Dutch footballer and coach
  • 1964 – Ken Wregget, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1964 – Norm Duke, American bowler
  • 1965 – Avery Johnson, American basketball player and coach
  • 1965 – Stefka Kostadinova, Bulgarian high jumper
  • 1965 – Sarah Jessica Parker, American actress, producer, and designer
  • 1966 – Tom Glavine, American baseball player and sportscaster
  • 1966 – Humberto Gonzalez, Mexican boxer
  • 1966 – Jeff Healey, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2008)
  • 1966 – Anton Rogan, Northern Irish footballer
  • 1967 – Matthew Barney, American sculptor and photographer
  • 1967 – Doug Stanhope, American comedian and actor
  • 1967 – Debi Thomas, American figure skater and physician
  • 1969 – George Chlitsios, Greek conductor and composer
  • 1969 – Dale Davis, American basketball player
  • 1969 – Cathy Dennis, English singer-songwriter, record producer and actress
  • 1969 – Jeffrey Walker, English singer-songwriter and bass player
  • 1970 – Magnus Larsson, Swedish golfer
  • 1971 – Stacy Dragila, American pole vaulter and coach
  • 1971 – Cammi Granato, American ice hockey player and sportscaster
  • 1971 – Sheryl Swoopes, American basketball player and coach
  • 1972 – Giniel de Villiers, South African race car driver
  • 1972 – Phil O’Donnell, Scottish footballer (d. 2007)
  • 1973 – Michaela Dorfmeister, Austrian skier
  • 1973 – Anders Fridén, Swedish singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1973 – Bob Sura, American basketball player
  • 1974 – Serge Betsen, Cameroonian-French rugby player
  • 1974 – Lark Voorhies, American actress and singer
  • 1975 – Ladislav Benýšek, Czech ice hockey player
  • 1975 – Melanie Blatt, English singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1975 – Erika Heynatz, Papua New Guinean-Australian model and actress
  • 1976 – Francie Bellew, Irish footballer
  • 1976 – Lars Figura, German sprinter
  • 1976 – Wladimir Klitschko, Ukrainian boxer
  • 1976 – Rima Wakarua, New Zealand-Italian rugby player
  • 1977 – Natalie Clein, English cellist and educator
  • 1977 – Andrew Lindsay, Scottish rower
  • 1978 – Gennaro Delvecchio, Italian footballer
  • 1979 – Muriel Hurtis-Houairi, French sprinter
  • 1980 – Kathrine Sørland, Norwegian fashion model and television presenter
  • 1982 – Danica Patrick, American race car driver
  • 1982 – Álvaro Saborío, Costa Rican footballer
  • 1982 – Jenny Slate, American comedian, actress and author
  • 1983 – Mickaël Hanany, French high jumper
  • 1984 – Katharine McPhee, American singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1984 – Liam Messam, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1985 – Carmen Rasmusen, Canadian-American singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1985 – Diana Rennik, Estonian figure skater
  • 1986 – Marco Belinelli, Italian basketball player
  • 1986 – Megan Gibson, American softball player
  • 1986 – Kyle Lowry, American basketball player
  • 1986 – Mickey Paea, Australian rugby league player
  • 1987 – Jacob Bagersted, Danish handball player
  • 1987 – Victor Obinna, Nigerian footballer
  • 1987 – Nobunari Oda, Japanese figure skater
  • 1988 – Big Sean, American rapper, singer and songwriter
  • 1988 – Mitchell Watt, Australian long jumper
  • 1988 – Arthur Zeiler, German rugby player
  • 1989 – Aly Michalka, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1989 – Scott Sinclair, English footballer
  • 1990 – Mehmet Ekici, Turkish footballer
  • 1990 – Alexander Esswein, German footballer
  • 1991 – Scott Malone, English footballer, left-back
  • 1993 – Jacob Gagan, Australian rugby league player
  • 1993 – Sam Johnstone, English footballer
  • 1994 – Justine Dufour-Lapointe, Canadian skier

Deaths on March 25

  • 908 – Li Kening, Chinese general
  • 940 – Taira no Masakado, Japanese samurai
  • 990 – Nicodemus of Mammola, Italian monk and saint
  • 1005 – Kenneth III, king of Scotland
  • 1051 – Hugh IV, French nobleman
  • 1189 – Frederick, duke of Bohemia
  • 1223 – Alfonso II, king of Portugal (b. 1185)
  • 1351 – Kō no Moronao, Japanese samurai
  • 1351 – Kō no Moroyasu, Japanese samurai
  • 1392 – Hosokawa Yoriyuki, Japanese samurai
  • 1458 – Íñigo López de Mendoza, 1st Marquis of Santillana, Spanish poet and politician (b. 1398)
  • 1558 – Marcos de Niza, French friar and explorer (b. 1495)
  • 1603 – Ikoma Chikamasa, Japanese daimyō (b. 1526)
  • 1609 – Olaus Martini, Swedish archbishop (b. 1557)
  • 1609 – Isabelle de Limeuil, French noble (b. 1535)
  • 1620 – Johannes Nucius, German composer and theorist (b. 1556)
  • 1625 – Giambattista Marino, Italian poet and author (b. 1569)
  • 1658 – Herman IV, Landgrave of Hesse-Rotenburg, German nobleman (b. 1607)
  • 1677 – Wenceslaus Hollar, Czech-English painter and etcher (b. 1607)
  • 1701 – Jean Regnault de Segrais, French poet and novelist (b. 1624)
  • 1712 – Nehemiah Grew, English anatomist and physiologist (b. 1641)
  • 1732 – Lucy Filippini, Italian teacher and saint (b. 1672)
  • 1736 – Nicholas Hawksmoor, English architect, designed Easton Neston and Christ Church (b. 1661)
  • 1738 – Turlough O’Carolan, Irish harp player and composer (b. 1670)
  • 1801 – Novalis, German poet and author (b. 1772)
  • 1818 – Caspar Wessel, Norwegian-Danish mathematician and cartographer (b. 1745)
  • 1857 – William Colgate, English-American businessman and philanthropist, founded Colgate-Palmolive (b. 1783)
  • 1860 – James Braid, Scottish-English surgeon (b. 1795)
  • 1869 – Edward Bates, American politician and lawyer (b. 1793)
  • 1873 – Wilhelm Marstrand, Danish painter and illustrator (b. 1810)
  • 1907 – Ernst von Bergmann, Latvian-German surgeon and academic (b. 1836)
  • 1908 – Durham Stevens, American diplomat (b. 1851)
  • 1914 – Frédéric Mistral, French lexicographer and poet, 1904 Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1830)
  • 1917 – Elizabeth Storrs Mead, American academic (b. 1832)
  • 1918 – Claude Debussy, French composer (b. 1862)
  • 1918 – Peter Martin, Australian footballer and soldier (b. 1875)
  • 1927 – Marie-Alphonsine Danil Ghattas, Palestinian Roman Catholic nun; later canonized (b. 1843)
  • 1931 – Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi, Indian journalist and politician (b. 1890)
  • 1931 – Ida B. Wells, American journalist and activist (b. 1862)
  • 1932 – Harriet Backer, Norwegian painter (b.1845)
  • 1942 – William Carr, American rower (b. 1876)
  • 1951 – Eddie Collins, American baseball player and manager (b. 1887)
  • 1956 – Lou Moore, American race car driver (b. 1904)
  • 1956 – Robert Newton, English actor (b. 1905)
  • 1957 – Max Ophüls, German-American director and screenwriter (b. 1902)
  • 1958 – Tom Brown, American trombonist (b. 1888)
  • 1964 – Charles Benjamin Howard, Canadian businessman and politician (b. 1885)
  • 1965 – Viola Liuzzo, American civil rights activist (b. 1925)
  • 1969 – Billy Cotton, English singer, drummer, and bandleader (b. 1899)
  • 1969 – Max Eastman, American poet and activist (b. 1883)
  • 1973 – Jakob Sildnik, Estonian photographer and director (b. 1883)
  • 1973 – Edward Steichen, Luxembourgian-American photographer, painter, and curator (b. 1879)
  • 1975 – Juan Gaudino, Argentinian race car driver (b. 1893)
  • 1975 – Faisal of Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabian king (b. 1906)
  • 1975 – Deiva Zivarattinam, Indian lawyer and politician (b. 1894)
  • 1976 – Josef Albers, German-American painter and educator (b. 1888)
  • 1976 – Benjamin Miessner, American radio engineer and inventor (b. 1890)
  • 1979 – Robert Madgwick, Australian colonel and academic (b. 1905)
  • 1979 – Akinoumi Setsuo, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 37th Yokozuna (b. 1914)
  • 1980 – Milton H. Erickson, American psychiatrist and psychologist (b. 1901)
  • 1980 – Walter Susskind, Czech-English conductor and educator (b. 1913)
  • 1982 – Goodman Ace, American comedian and writer (b. 1899)
  • 1983 – Bob Waterfield, American football player and coach (b. 1920)
  • 1986 – Gloria Blondell, American actress (b. 1910)
  • 1987 – A. W. Mailvaganam, Sri Lankan physicist and academic (b. 1906)
  • 1988 – Robert Joffrey, American dancer, choreographer, and director, co-founded the Joffrey Ballet (b. 1930)
  • 1991 – Marcel Lefebvre, French-Swiss archbishop (b. 1905)
  • 1992 – Nancy Walker, American actress, singer, and director (b. 1922)
  • 1994 – Angelines Fernández, Spanish-Mexican actress (b. 1922)
  • 1994 – Bernard Kangro, Estonian poet and journalist (b. 1910)
  • 1994 – Max Petitpierre, Swiss jurist and politician (b. 1899)
  • 1995 – James Samuel Coleman, American sociologist and academic (b. 1926)
  • 1995 – John Hugenholtz, Dutch engineer (b. 1914)
  • 1996 – John Snagge, English journalist (b. 1904)
  • 1998 – Max Green, Australian lawyer (b. 1952)
  • 1998 – Steven Schiff, American lawyer and politician (b. 1947)
  • 1999 – Cal Ripken, Sr., American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1936)
  • 2000 – Helen Martin, American actress (b. 1909)
  • 2001 – Brian Trubshaw, English cricketer and pilot (b. 1924)
  • 2002 – Kenneth Wolstenholme, English journalist and sportscaster (b. 1920)
  • 2005 – Paul Henning, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1911)
  • 2006 – Bob Carlos Clarke, Irish photographer (b. 1950)
  • 2006 – Rocío Dúrcal, Spanish singer and actress (b. 1944)
  • 2006 – Richard Fleischer, American film director (b. 1916)
  • 2006 – Buck Owens, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1929)
  • 2007 – Andranik Margaryan, Armenian engineer and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Armenia (b. 1951)
  • 2008 – Ben Carnevale, American basketball player and coach (b. 1915)
  • 2008 – Thierry Gilardi, French journalist and sportscaster (b. 1958)
  • 2008 – Abby Mann, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1927)
  • 2008 – Herb Peterson, American businessman, created the McMuffin (b. 1919)
  • 2009 – Johnny Blanchard, American baseball player (b. 1933)
  • 2009 – Kosuke Koyama, Japanese-American theologian and academic (b. 1929)
  • 2009 – Dan Seals, American musician (b. 1948)
  • 2009 – Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu, Turkish politician and member of the Parliament of Turkey (b. 1954)
  • 2012 – Priscilla Buckley, American journalist and author (b. 1921)
  • 2012 – Hal E. Chester, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1921)
  • 2012 – John Crosfield, English businessman, founded Crosfield Electronics (b. 1915)
  • 2012 – Edd Gould, English animator and voice actor, founded Eddsworld (b. 1988)
  • 2012 – Antonio Tabucchi, Italian author and academic (b. 1943)
  • 2013 – Léonce Bernard, Canadian politician, 26th Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island (b. 1943)
  • 2013 – Ben Goldfaden, American basketball player and educator (b. 1913)
  • 2013 – Anthony Lewis, American journalist and academic (b. 1927)
  • 2013 – Jean Pickering, English runner and long jumper (b. 1929)
  • 2013 – Jean-Marc Roberts, French author and screenwriter (b. 1954)
  • 2013 – John F. Wiley, American lieutenant, football player, and coach (b. 1920)
  • 2014 – Lorna Arnold, English historian and author (b. 1915)
  • 2014 – Hank Lauricella, American football player and politician (b. 1930)
  • 2014 – Jon Lord, Canadian businessman and politician (b. 1956)
  • 2014 – Sonny Ruberto, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1946)
  • 2014 – Jonathan Schell, American journalist and author (b. 1943)
  • 2014 – Ralph Wilson, American businessman, founded the Buffalo Bills (b. 1918)
  • 2015 – George Fischbeck, American journalist and educator (b. 1922)
  • 2016 – Shannon Bolin, American actress and singer (b. 1917)
  • 2017 – Cuthbert Sebastian, St. Kitts and Nevis politician (b. 1921)
  • 2018 – Zell Miller, American author and politician (b. 1932)
  • 2019 – Scott Walker, American-born British singer-songwriter (b. 1943)[9]

Holidays and observances on March 25

  • Anniversary of the Arengo and the Feast of the Militants (San Marino)
  • Christian feast days:
    • Ælfwold II of Sherborne
    • Barontius and Desiderius
    • Blessed Marie-Alphonsine Danil Ghattas
    • Omelyan Kovch (Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church)
    • Dismas, the “Good Thief”
    • Humbert of Maroilles
    • Quirinus of Tegernsee
    • March 25 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Cultural Workers Day (Russia)
  • Earliest day on which Seward’s Day can fall, while March 31 is the latest; celebrated on the last Monday in March. (Alaska)
  • Empress Menen’s Birthday (Rastafari)
  • EU Talent Day (European Union)
  • Feast of the Annunciation (Christianity), and its related observances (if March 25 falls in Holy Week or Easter Week the feast is moved to the Monday after the 2nd Sunday of Easter):
    • Historic start of the new year (Lady Day) in England, Wales, Ireland, and the future United States until the adoption of the Gregorian calendar in 1752. (The year 1751 began on 25 March; the year 1752 began on 1 January.) It is one of the four Quarter days in Ireland and England.
    • International Day of the Unborn Child (international)
    • Mother’s Day (Slovenia)
    • Vårfrudagen or Våffeldagen, “Waffle Day” (Sweden, Norway & Denmark)
  • Freedom Day (Belarus)
  • International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade (international)
  • International Day of Solidarity with Detained and Missing Staff Members (United Nations General Assembly)
  • Maryland Day (Maryland, United States)
  • Medal of Honor Day (United States)
  • Independence Day, celebrates the start of Greek War of Independence from the Ottoman Empire, in 1821. (Greece)
  • NZ Army Day
  • Struggle for Human Rights Day (Slovakia)
  • Tolkien Reading Day

March 25 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

March 4- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • AD 51 – Nero, later to become Roman emperor, is given the title princeps iuventutis (head of the youth).
  • 306 – Martyrdom of Saint Adrian of Nicomedia.
  • 852 – Croatian Knez Trpimir I issues a statute, a document with the first known written mention of the Croats name in Croatian sources.
  • 938 – Translation of the relics of martyr Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia, Prince of the Czechs.
  • 1152 – Frederick I Barbarossa is elected King of Germany.
  • 1238 – The Battle of the Sit River is fought in the northern part of the present-day Yaroslavl Oblast of Russia between the Mongol hordes of Batu Khan and the Russians under Yuri II of Vladimir-Suzdal during the Mongol invasion of Rus’.
  • 1351 – Ramathibodi becomes King of Siam.
  • 1386 – Władysław II Jagiełło (Jogaila) is crowned King of Poland.
  • 1461 – Wars of the Roses in England: Lancastrian King Henry VI is deposed by his House of York cousin, who then becomes King Edward IV.
  • 1493 – Explorer Christopher Columbus arrives back in Lisbon, Portugal, aboard his ship Niña from his voyage to what are now The Bahamas and other islands in the Caribbean.
  • 1519 – Hernán Cortés arrives in Mexico in search of the Aztec civilization and its wealth.
  • 1628 – The Massachusetts Bay Colony is granted a Royal charter.
  • 1665 – English King Charles II declares war on the Netherlands marking the start of the Second Anglo-Dutch War.
  • 1675 – John Flamsteed is appointed the first Astronomer Royal of England.
  • 1681 – Charles II grants a land charter to William Penn for the area that will later become Pennsylvania.
  • 1776 – American Revolutionary War: The Continental Army fortifies Dorchester Heights with cannon, leading the British troops to abandon the Siege of Boston.
  • 1789 – In New York City, the first Congress of the United States meets, putting the United States Constitution into effect. The United States Bill of Rights is written and proposed to Congress.
  • 1790 – France is divided into 83 départements, cutting across the former provinces in an attempt to dislodge regional loyalties based on ownership of land by the nobility.
  • 1791 – The Constitutional Act of 1791 is introduced by the British House of Commons in London which envisages the separation of Canada into Lower Canada (Quebec) and Upper Canada (Ontario).
  • 1791 – Vermont is admitted to the United States as the fourteenth state.
  • 1794 – The 11th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is passed by the U.S. Congress.
  • 1797 – John Adams is inaugurated as the 2nd President of the United States of America, becoming the first President to begin his presidency on March 4.
  • 1804 – Castle Hill Rebellion: Irish convicts rebel against British colonial authority in the Colony of New South Wales.
  • 1813 – Cyril VI of Constantinople is elected Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.
  • 1814 – Americans defeat British forces at the Battle of Longwoods between London, Ontario and Thamesville, near present-day Wardsville, Ontario.
  • 1837 – The city of Chicago is incorporated.
  • 1848 – Carlo Alberto di Savoia signs the Statuto Albertino that will later represent the first constitution of the Regno d’Italia.
  • 1849 – President-Elect Zachary Taylor and Vice President-Elect Millard Fillmore did not take their respective oaths of office (they did so the following day), leading to the erroneous theory that outgoing President pro tempore of the United States Senate David Rice Atchison had assumed the role of acting president for one day.
  • 1861 – The first national flag of the Confederate States of America (the “Stars and Bars”) is adopted.
  • 1865 – The third and final national flag of the Confederate States of America is adopted by the Confederate Congress.
  • 1882 – Britain’s first electric trams run in east London.
  • 1890 – The longest bridge in Great Britain, the Forth Bridge in Scotland, measuring 1,710 feet (520 m) long, is opened by the Duke of Rothesay, later King Edward VII.
  • 1899 – Cyclone Mahina sweeps in north of Cooktown, Queensland, with a 12 metres (39 ft) wave that reaches up to 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) inland, killing over 300.
  • 1908 – The Collinwood school fire, Collinwood near Cleveland, Ohio, kills 174 people.
  • 1909 – U.S. President William Taft used what became known as a Saxbe fix, a mechanism to avoid the restriction of the U.S. Constitution’s Ineligibility Clause, to appoint Philander C. Knox as U.S. Secretary of State.
  • 1913 – First Balkan War: The Greek army engages the Turks at Bizani, resulting in victory two days later.
  • 1913 – The United States Department of Labor is formed.
  • 1917 – Jeannette Rankin of Montana becomes the first female member of the United States House of Representatives.
  • 1933 – Franklin D. Roosevelt becomes the 32nd President of the United States.
  • 1933 – Frances Perkins becomes United States Secretary of Labor, the first female member of the United States Cabinet.
  • 1933 – The Parliament of Austria is suspended because of a quibble over procedure – Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss initiates an authoritarian rule by decree.
  • 1941 – World War II: The United Kingdom launches Operation Claymore on the Lofoten Islands; the first large scale British Commando raid.
  • 1943 – World War II: The Battle of the Bismarck Sea in the south-west Pacific comes to an end.
  • 1943 – World War II: The Battle of Fardykambos, one of the first major battles between the Greek Resistance and the occupying Royal Italian Army, begins. It ends on 6 March with the surrender of an entire Italian battalion and the liberation of the town of Grevena.
  • 1944 – World War II: After the success of Big Week, the USAAF begins a daylight bombing campaign of Berlin.
  • 1957 – The S&P 500 stock market index is introduced, replacing the S&P 90.
  • 1960 – The French freighter La Coubre explodes in Havana, Cuba, killing 100.
  • 1962 – A Caledonian Airways Douglas DC-7 crashes shortly after takeoff from Cameroon, killing 111 – the worst crash of a DC-7.
  • 1966 – A Canadian Pacific Air Lines DC-8-43 explodes on landing at Tokyo International Airport, killing 64 people.
  • 1966 – In an interview in the London Evening Standard, The Beatles’ John Lennon declares that the band is “more popular than Jesus now”.
  • 1970 – French submarine Eurydice explodes underwater, resulting in the loss of the entire 57-man crew.
  • 1974 – People magazine is published for the first time in the United States as People Weekly.
  • 1976 – The Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention is formally dissolved in Northern Ireland resulting in direct rule of Northern Ireland from London by the British parliament.
  • 1977 – The 1977 Vrancea earthquake in eastern and southern Europe kills more than 1,500, mostly in Bucharest, Romania.
  • 1980 – Nationalist leader Robert Mugabe wins a sweeping election victory to become Zimbabwe’s first black prime minister.
  • 1985 – The Food and Drug Administration approves a blood test for AIDS infection, used since then for screening all blood donations in the United States.
  • 1986 – The Soviet Vega 1 begins returning images of Halley’s Comet and the first images of its nucleus.
  • 1990 – American basketball player Hank Gathers dies after collapsing during the semifinals of a West Coast Conference Tournament game.
  • 1996 – A derailed train in Weyauwega, Wisconsin (USA) causes the emergency evacuation of 2,300 people for 16 days.
  • 1998 – Gay rights: Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc.: The Supreme Court of the United States rules that federal laws banning on-the-job sexual harassment also apply when both parties are the same sex.
  • 2001 – BBC bombing: A massive car bomb explodes in front of the BBC Television Centre in London, seriously injuring one person; the attack was attributed to the Real IRA.
  • 2002 – Afghanistan: Seven American Special Operations Forces soldiers and 200 Al-Qaeda Fighters are killed as American forces attempt to infiltrate the Shah-i-Kot Valley on a low-flying helicopter reconnaissance mission.
  • 2009 – The International Criminal Court (ICC) issues an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. Al-Bashir is the first sitting head of state to be indicted by the ICC since its establishment in 2002.
  • 2012 – A series of explosions is reported at a munitions dump in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of the Congo, killing at least 250 people.
  • 2015 – At least 34 miners die in a suspected gas explosion at the Zasyadko coal mine in the rebel-held Donetsk region of Ukraine.
  • 2018 – Former MI6 spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter are poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent in Salisbury, England, causing a diplomatic uproar that results in mass-expulsions of diplomats from all countries involved.
  • 2019 – The Indian Attack submarine was spotted by the Pakistan Navy.
  • 2020 – Former Daredevil Nik Wallenda is the first person to walk over the Masaya Volcano in Nicaragua.

Births on March 4

  • 895 – Liu Zhiyuan, founder of the Later Han Dynasty (d. 948)
  • 977 – Al-Musabbihi, Fatimid historian and official (d. 1030)
  • 1188 – Blanche of Castile, French queen consort (d. 1252)
  • 1394 – Henry the Navigator, Portuguese explorer (d. 1460)
  • 1484 – George, margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (d. 1543)
  • 1492 – Francesco de Layolle, Italian organist and composer (d. 1540)
  • 1502 – Elisabeth of Hesse, princess of Saxony (d. 1557)
  • 1519 – Hindal Mirza, Mughal emperor (d. 1551)
  • 1526 – Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon (d. 1596)
  • 1602 – Kanō Tan’yū, Japanese painter (d. 1674)
  • 1634 – Kazimierz Łyszczyński, Polish philosopher (d. 1689)
  • 1651 – John Somers, 1st Baron Somers, English lawyer, jurist, and politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain (d. 1716)
  • 1655 – Fra Galgario, Italian painter (d. 1743)
  • 1665 – Philip Christoph von Königsmarck, Swedish soldier (d. 1694)
  • 1678 – Antonio Vivaldi, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1741)
  • 1702 – Jack Sheppard, English criminal (d. 1724)
  • 1706 – Lauritz de Thurah, Danish architect, designed the Hermitage Hunting Lodge and Gammel Holtegård (d. 1759)
  • 1715 – James Waldegrave, 2nd Earl Waldegrave, English historian and politician (d. 1763)
  • 1719 – George Pigot, 1st Baron Pigot, English politician (d. 1777)
  • 1729 – Anne d’Arpajon, French wife of Philippe de Noailles (d. 1794)
  • 1745 – Charles Dibdin, English actor, playwright, and composer (d. 1814)
  • 1745 – Casimir Pulaski, Polish-American general (d. 1779)
  • 1756 – Henry Raeburn, Scottish painter and educator (d. 1823)
  • 1760 – William Payne, English painter (d. 1830)
  • 1760 – Hugh Ronalds, British nurseryman who cultivated and documented 300 varieties of apples (d. 1833)
  • 1769 – Muhammad Ali, Ottoman military leader and pasha (d. 1849)
  • 1770 – Joseph Jacotot, French philosopher and academic (d. 1840)
  • 1778 – Robert Emmet, Irish commander (d. 1803)
  • 1781 – Rebecca Gratz, American educator and philanthropist (d. 1869)
  • 1782 – Johann Rudolf Wyss, Swiss philosopher, author, and academic (d. 1830)
  • 1792 – Isaac Lea, American conchologist, geologist, and publisher (d. 1886)
  • 1793 – Karl Lachmann, German philologist and critic (d. 1851)
  • 1814 – Napoleon Collins, Rear Admiral of the United States Navy during the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War (d. 1875)
  • 1817 – Edwards Pierrepont, American lawyer and politician, 34th United States Attorney General (d. 1892)
  • 1820 – Francesco Bentivegna, Italian rebel leader (d. 1856)
  • 1822 – Jules Antoine Lissajous, French mathematician and academic (d. 1880)
  • 1823 – George Caron, Canadian businessman and politician (d. 1902)
  • 1826 – August Johann Gottfried Bielenstein, German linguist, ethnographer, and theologian (d. 1907)
  • 1826 – John Buford, American general (d. 1863)
  • 1826 – Elme Marie Caro, French philosopher and academic (d. 1887)
  • 1826 – Theodore Judah, American engineer, founded the Central Pacific Railroad (d. 1863)
  • 1828 – Owen Wynne Jones, Welsh clergyman and poet (d. 1870)
  • 1838 – Paul Lacôme, French pianist, cellist, and composer (d. 1920)
  • 1847 – Carl Josef Bayer, Austrian chemist and academic (d. 1904)
  • 1851 – Alexandros Papadiamantis, Greek author and poet (d. 1911)
  • 1854 – Napier Shaw, English meteorologist and academic (d. 1945)
  • 1856 – Alfred William Rich, English painter, author, and educator (d. 1921)
  • 1861 – Arthur Cushman McGiffert, American theologian and author (d. 1933)
  • 1862 – Jacob Robert Emden, Swiss astrophysicist and meteorologist (d. 1940)
  • 1863 – R. I. Pocock, English zoologist and archaeologist (d. 1947)
  • 1863 – John Henry Wigmore, American academic and jurist (d. 1943)
  • 1864 – David W. Taylor, American admiral, architect, and engineer (d. 1940)
  • 1866 – Eugène Cosserat, French mathematician and astronomer (d. 1931)
  • 1867 – Jacob L. Beilhart, American activist, founded the Spirit Fruit Society (d. 1908)
  • 1867 – Charles Pelot Summerall, senior United States Army officer (d. 1955)
  • 1870 – Thomas Sturge Moore, English author and poet (d. 1944)
  • 1871 – Boris Galerkin, Russian mathematician and engineer (d. 1945)
  • 1873 – Guy Wetmore Carryl, American journalist and poet (d. 1904)
  • 1873 – John H. Trumbull, American colonel and politician, 70th Governor of Connecticut (d. 1961)
  • 1875 – Mihály Károlyi, Hungarian politician, President of the Hungary (d. 1955)
  • 1875 – Enrique Larreta, Argentinian historian and author (d. 1961)
  • 1876 – Léon-Paul Fargue, French poet and author (d. 1947)
  • 1876 – Theodore Hardeen, Hungarian-American magician (d. 1945)
  • 1877 – Alexander Goedicke, Russian pianist and composer (d. 1957)
  • 1877 – Fritz Graebner, German geographer and ethnologist (d. 1934)
  • 1877 – Garrett Morgan, African-American inventor (d. 1963)
  • 1878 – Takeo Arishima, Japanese author and critic (d. 1923)
  • 1878 – Egbert Van Alstyne, American pianist and songwriter (d. 1951)
  • 1879 – Bernhard Kellermann, German author and poet (d. 1951)
  • 1880 – Channing Pollock, American playwright and critic (d. 1946)
  • 1881 – Todor Aleksandrov, Bulgarian educator and activist (d. 1924)
  • 1881 – Thomas Sigismund Stribling, American lawyer and author (d. 1965)
  • 1881 – Richard C. Tolman, American physicist and chemist (d. 1948)
  • 1882 – Nicolae Titulescu, Romanian academic and politician, 61st Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1941)
  • 1883 – Maude Fealy, American actress and screenwriter (d. 1971)
  • 1883 – Robert Emmett Keane, American actor (d. 1981)
  • 1883 – Sam Langford, Canadian-American boxer (d. 1956)
  • 1884 – Red Murray, American baseball player (d. 1958)
  • 1884 – Lee Shumway, American actor (d. 1959)
  • 1886 – Paul Bazelaire, French cellist and composer (d. 1958)
  • 1888 – Rafaela Ottiano, Italian-American actress (d. 1942)
  • 1888 – Jeff Pfeffer, American baseball player (d. 1972)
  • 1888 – Emma Richter, German paleontologist (d. 1956)
  • 1888 – Knute Rockne, American football player and coach (d. 1931)
  • 1889 – Oscar Chisini, Italian mathematician and statistician (d. 1967)
  • 1889 – Oren E. Long, American soldier and politician, 10th Territorial Governor of Hawaii (d. 1965)
  • 1889 – Pearl White, American actress (d. 1938)
  • 1889 – Robert William Wood, English-American painter (d. 1979)
  • 1890 – Norman Bethune, Canadian soldier and physician (d. 1939)
  • 1891 – Dazzy Vance, American baseball player (d. 1961)
  • 1893 – Charles Herbert Colvin, American engineer, co-founded the Pioneer Instrument Company (d. 1985)
  • 1893 – Adolph Lowe, German sociologist and economist (d. 1995)
  • 1894 – Charles Corm, Lebanese businessman and philanthropist (d. 1963)
  • 1895 – Milt Gross, American animator, director, and screenwriter (d. 1953)
  • 1896 – Kai Holm, Danish actor and director (d. 1985)
  • 1897 – Lefty O’Doul, American baseball player and manager (d. 1969)
  • 1898 – Georges Dumézil, French philologist and academic (d. 1986)
  • 1898 – Hans Krebs, German general (d. 1945)
  • 1899 – Peter Illing, Austrian born, British film and television actor (d. 1966)
  • 1899 – Emilio Prados, Spanish poet and author (d. 1962)
  • 1900 – Herbert Biberman, American director and screenwriter (d. 1971)
  • 1901 – Wilbur R. Franks, Canadian scientist, invented the g-suit (d. 1986)
  • 1901 – Charles Goren, American bridge player and author (d. 1991)
  • 1901 – Jean-Joseph Rabearivelo, Malagasy-French author, poet, and playwright (d. 1937)
  • 1902 – Rachel Messerer, Lithuanian-Russian actress (d. 1993)
  • 1902 – Russell Reeder, American soldier and author (d. 1998)
  • 1903 – William C. Boyd, American immunologist and chemist (d. 1983)
  • 1903 – Malcolm Dole, American chemist and academic (d. 1990)
  • 1903 – Dorothy Mackaill, English-American actress and singer (d. 1990)
  • 1903 – John Scarne, American magician and author (d. 1985)
  • 1904 – Luis Carrero Blanco, Spanish admiral and politician, 69th President of the Government of Spain (d. 1973)
  • 1904 – George Gamow, Ukrainian-American physicist and cosmologist (d. 1968)
  • 1904 – Joseph Schmidt, Austrian-Hungarian tenor and actor (d. 1942)
  • 1906 – Meindert DeJong, Dutch-American soldier and author (d. 1991)
  • 1906 – Avery Fisher, American violinist and engineer, founded Fisher Electronics (d. 1994)
  • 1906 – Georges Ronsse, Belgian cyclist and manager (d. 1969)
  • 1907 – Edgar Barrier, American actor (d. 1964)
  • 1908 – T. R. M. Howard, American surgeon and activist (d. 1976)
  • 1908 – Thomas Shaw, American singer and guitarist (d. 1977)
  • 1909 – Harry Helmsley, American businessman (d. 1997)
  • 1909 – George Edward Holbrook, American chemist and engineer (d. 1987)
  • 1910 – Tancredo Neves, Brazilian lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Brazil (d. 1985)
  • 1911 – Charles Greville, 7th Earl of Warwick, English actor (d. 1984)
  • 1912 – Afro Basaldella, Italian painter and academic (d. 1976)
  • 1912 – Ferdinand Leitner, German conductor and composer (d. 1996)
  • 1912 – Carl Marzani, Italian-American activist and publisher (d. 1994)
  • 1913 – Taos Amrouche, Algerian singer and author (d. 1976)
  • 1913 – John Garfield, American actor and singer (d. 1952)
  • 1914 – Barbara Newhall Follett, American author (d. 1939)
  • 1914 – Ward Kimball, American animator, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2002)
  • 1914 – Robert R. Wilson, American physicist, sculptor, and architect (d. 2000)
  • 1915 – László Csatáry, Hungarian art dealer (d. 2013)
  • 1915 – Frank Sleeman, Australian lieutenant and politician, Lord Mayor of Brisbane (d. 2000)
  • 1915 – Carlos Surinach, Spanish-Catalan composer and conductor (d. 1997)
  • 1916 – William Alland, American actor, director, and producer (d. 1997)
  • 1916 – Giorgio Bassani, Italian author and poet (d. 2000)
  • 1916 – Hans Eysenck, German-English psychologist and theorist (d. 1997)
  • 1917 – Clyde McCullough, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1982)
  • 1918 – Kurt Dahlmann, German pilot, lawyer, and journalist (d. 2017)
  • 1918 – Margaret Osborne duPont, American tennis player (d. 2012)
  • 1919 – Buck Baker, American race car driver (d. 2002)
  • 1919 – Tan Chee Khoon, Malaysian physician and politician (d. 1996)
  • 1920 – Jean Lecanuet, French politician, French Minister of Justice (d. 1993)
  • 1920 – Alan MacNaughtan, Scottish-English actor (d. 2002)
  • 1921 – Halim El-Dabh, Egyptian-American composer and educator (d. 2017)
  • 1921 – Joan Greenwood, English actress (d. 1987)
  • 1921 – Dinny Pails, English-Australian tennis player (d. 1986)
  • 1922 – Richard E. Cunha, American director and cinematographer (d. 2005)
  • 1922 – Dina Pathak, Indian actor and director (d. 2002)
  • 1923 – Russell Freeburg, American journalist and author
  • 1923 – Francis King, English author and poet (d. 2011)
  • 1923 – Patrick Moore, English astronomer and television host (d. 2012)
  • 1924 – Kenneth O’Donnell, American soldier and politician (d. 1977)
  • 1925 – Alan R. Battersby, English chemist and academic (d. 2018)
  • 1925 – Paul Mauriat, French conductor and composer (d. 2006)
  • 1926 – Henri de Contenson, French archaeologist and academic (d. 2019)
  • 1926 – Prince Michel of Bourbon-Parma, French businessman, soldier and race car driver (d. 2018)
  • 1926 – Richard DeVos, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Amway (d. 2018)
  • 1926 – Pascual Pérez, Argentinian boxer (d. 1977)
  • 1926 – Don Rendell, English saxophonist and flute player (d. 2015)
  • 1927 – Phil Batt, American soldier and politician, 29th Governor of Idaho
  • 1927 – Thayer David, American actor (d. 1978)
  • 1927 – Jacques Dupin, French poet and critic (d. 2012)
  • 1927 – Robert Orben, American magician and author
  • 1927 – Dick Savitt, American tennis player and businessman
  • 1928 – Samuel Adler, German-American composer and conductor
  • 1928 – Alan Sillitoe, English novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet (d. 2010)
  • 1929 – Bernard Haitink, Dutch violinist and conductor
  • 1929 – Peter Swerling, American theoretician and engineer (d. 2000)
  • 1931 – Wally Bruner, American journalist and television host (d. 1997)
  • 1931 – Bob Johnson, American ice hockey player and coach (d. 1991)
  • 1931 – William Henry Keeler, American cardinal (d. 2017)
  • 1931 – Alice Rivlin, American economist and politician (d. 2019)
  • 1932 – Sigurd Jansen, Norwegian pianist, composer, and conductor
  • 1932 – Ryszard Kapuściński, Polish journalist, photographer, and poet (d. 2007)
  • 1932 – Miriam Makeba, South African singer-songwriter and actress (d. 2008)
  • 1932 – Ed Roth, American illustrator (d. 2001)
  • 1932 – Frank Wells, American businessman (d. 1994)
  • 1933 – Nino Vaccarella, Italian race car driver
  • 1934 – Mario Davidovsky, Argentinian-American composer and academic (d. 2019)
  • 1934 – John Duffey, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1996)
  • 1934 – Anne Haney, American actress (d. 2001)
  • 1934 – Barbara McNair, American singer and actress (d. 2007)
  • 1934 – Sandra Reynolds, South African tennis player
  • 1934 – Janez Strnad, Slovenian physicist and academic (d. 2015)
  • 1935 – Edward Dębicki, Ukrainian-Polish poet and composer
  • 1935 – Bent Larsen, Danish chess player and author (d. 2010)
  • 1936 – Eric Allandale, Dominican trombonist and songwriter (d. 2001)
  • 1936 – Jim Clark, Scottish race car driver (d. 1968)
  • 1936 – Aribert Reimann, German pianist and composer
  • 1937 – José Araquistáin, Spanish footballer
  • 1937 – William Deverell, Canadian lawyer, author, and activist
  • 1937 – Graham Dowling, New Zealand cricketer
  • 1937 – Leslie H. Gelb, American journalist and author (d. 2019)
  • 1937 – Yuri Senkevich, Russian physician and explorer (d. 2003)
  • 1937 – Barney Wilen, French saxophonist and composer (d. 1996)
  • 1937 – Richard B. Wright, Canadian journalist and author (d. 2017)
  • 1938 – Anton Balasingham, Sri Lankan-English negotiator (d. 2006)
  • 1938 – Alpha Condé, Guinean politician, President of Guinea
  • 1938 – Allan Kornblum, American police officer and judge (d. 2010)
  • 1938 – Angus MacLise, American drummer and composer (d. 1979)
  • 1938 – Don Perkins, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1938 – Paula Prentiss, American actress
  • 1938 – Adam Daniel Rotfeld, Polish academic and politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • 1939 – Jack Fisher, American baseball player
  • 1939 – Robert Shaye, American film producer
  • 1940 – Wolfgang Hoffmann-Riem, German scholar and judge
  • 1940 – David Plante, American novelist
  • 1941 – John Hancock, American film and television actor (d. 1992)
  • 1941 – Adrian Lyne, English director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1941 – James Zagel, American lawyer and judge
  • 1942 – Gloria Gaither, American singer-songwriter
  • 1942 – Charles C. Krulak, American general
  • 1942 – David Matthews, American keyboard player and composer
  • 1942 – Lynn Sherr, American journalist and author
  • 1942 – James Gustave Speth, American lawyer and politician
  • 1942 – Zorán Sztevanovity, Serbian-Hungarian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1943 – Lucio Dalla, Italian singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2012)
  • 1943 – Aldo Rico, Argentinian commander and politician
  • 1944 – Harvey Postlethwaite, English engineer (d. 1999)
  • 1944 – Anthony Ichiro Sanda, Japanese-American physicist and academic
  • 1944 – Len Walker, English footballer and manager
  • 1944 – Bobby Womack, American singer-songwriter (d. 2014)
  • 1945 – Tommy Svensson, Swedish footballer and manager
  • 1945 – Gary Williams, American basketball player and coach
  • 1946 – Michael Ashcroft, English businessman and politician
  • 1946 – Danny Frisella, American baseball player (d. 1977)
  • 1946 – Haile Gerima, Ethiopian born US filmmaker
  • 1946 – Patricia Kennealy-Morrison, American journalist and author
  • 1947 – David Franzoni, American screenwriter and film producer
  • 1947 – Jan Garbarek, Norwegian saxophonist and composer
  • 1947 – Bob Lewis, American guitarist
  • 1947 – Pēteris Plakidis, Latvian pianist and composer (d. 2017)
  • 1948 – Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton, New Zealand-Australian author
  • 1948 – James Ellroy, American writer
  • 1948 – Tom Grieve, American baseball player, manager, and sportscaster
  • 1948 – Mike Moran, English musician, songwriter and record producer
  • 1948 – Jean O’Leary, American nun and activist (d. 2005)
  • 1948 – Chris Squire, English singer-songwriter and bass guitarist (d. 2015)
  • 1948 – Shakin’ Stevens, British singer-songwriter
  • 1949 – Sergei Bagapsh, Abkhazian politician, 2nd President of Abkhazia (d. 2011)
  • 1949 – Carroll Baker, Canadian singer-songwriter
  • 1950 – Ofelia Medina, Mexican actress and screenwriter
  • 1950 – Rick Perry, American captain and politician, 47th Governor of Texas
  • 1950 – Safet Plakalo, Bosnian author and playwright (d. 2015)
  • 1951 – Edelgard Bulmahn, German educator and politician, German Federal Minister of Education and Research
  • 1951 – Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, South Korean-American author, director, and producer (d. 1982)
  • 1951 – Kenny Dalglish, Scottish footballer and manager
  • 1951 – Pete Haycock, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013)
  • 1951 – Peter O’Sullivan, Welsh international footballer, winger
  • 1951 – Sam Perlozzo, American baseball player and manager
  • 1951 – Chris Rea, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1951 – Glenis Willmott, English scientist and politician
  • 1951 – Zoran Žižić, Montenegrin politician, 4th Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (d. 2013)
  • 1952 – Peter Kuhfeld, English painter
  • 1952 – Ronn Moss, American singer-songwriter and actor
  • 1952 – Svend Robinson, American-Canadian lawyer and politician
  • 1952 – Umberto Tozzi, Italian singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1953 – John Edwards, Australian director and producer
  • 1953 – Emilio Estefan, Cuban-American drummer and producer
  • 1953 – Paweł Janas, Polish footballer and manager
  • 1953 – Ray Price, Australian rugby player and sportscaster
  • 1953 – Reinhold Roth, German motorcycle racer
  • 1953 – Chris Smith, American lawyer and politician
  • 1953 – Agustí Villaronga, Spanish actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1953 – Daniel Woodrell, American novelist and short story writer
  • 1954 – Timur Apakidze, Russian general and pilot (d. 2001)
  • 1954 – Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, Korean American author (d. 1982)
  • 1954 – François Fillon, French lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of France
  • 1954 – Peter Jacobsen, American golfer and sportscaster
  • 1954 – Catherine O’Hara, Canadian-American actress and comedian
  • 1954 – Irina Ratushinskaya, Russian poet and author (d. 2017)
  • 1955 – Tim Costello, Australian minister and politician
  • 1955 – Joey Jones, Welsh footballer and manager
  • 1957 – Nicholas Coleridge, English journalist and businessman
  • 1957 – Ron Fassler, American film and television actor and author
  • 1957 – Mykelti Williamson, American actor and director
  • 1958 – Patricia Heaton, American actress
  • 1958 – Massimo Mascioletti, Italian rugby player and coach
  • 1958 – Tina Smith, American politician, junior senator of Minnesota
  • 1959 – Rick Ardon, Australian journalist
  • 1959 – Plamen Getov, Bulgarian footballer
  • 1960 – Chonda Pierce, American comedian
  • 1961 – Ray Mancini, American boxer
  • 1961 – Steven Weber, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1961 – Roger Wessels, South African golfer and educator
  • 1962 – Simon Bisley, English author and illustrator
  • 1962 – Paul Canoville, English footballer
  • 1962 – Stephan Reimertz, German historian and author
  • 1963 – Jason Newsted, American heavy metal singer-songwriter and bass player
  • 1964 – Dave Colclough, Welsh computer programmer and poker player (d. 2016)
  • 1964 – Brian Crowley, Irish lawyer and politician
  • 1964 – Tom Lampkin, American baseball player and sportscaster
  • 1964 – Paolo Virzì, Italian director and screenwriter
  • 1965 – Greg Alexander, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
  • 1965 – Paul W. S. Anderson, English director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1965 – Andrew Collins, English journalist and screenwriter
  • 1965 – Khaled Hosseini, Afghan-born American novelist
  • 1965 – Yury Lonchakov, Russian colonel, pilot, and astronaut
  • 1965 – John Murphy British film composer
  • 1966 – Emese Hunyady, Hungarian speed skater
  • 1966 – Kevin Johnson, American basketball player and politician, 55th Mayor of Sacramento
  • 1966 – Fiona Ma, American accountant and politician
  • 1966 – Helmut Mayer, Austrian skier
  • 1966 – Glen Nissen, Australian rugby league player
  • 1966 – Dav Pilkey, American author and illustrator
  • 1966 – Grand Puba, American rapper
  • 1966 – Mike Small, American golfer and coach
  • 1967 – Daryll Cullinan, South African cricketer and coach
  • 1967 – Evan Dando, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1967 – Ivan Lewis, English lawyer and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
  • 1967 – Terry Matterson, Australian rugby league player and coach
  • 1967 – Dave Rayner, English cyclist (d. 1994)
  • 1967 – Sam Taylor-Johnson, English filmmaker and photographer
  • 1967 – Kubilay Türkyilmaz, Swiss footballer
  • 1967 – Tim Vine, English comedian, actor, and author
  • 1968 – Giovanni Carrara, Venezuelan baseball player
  • 1968 – Jorge Celedón, Colombian singer
  • 1968 – Patsy Kensit, English model and actress
  • 1968 – Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Greek banker and politician, Prime Minister of Greece
  • 1968 – Graham Westley, English footballer and manager
  • 1969 – Pierluigi Casiraghi, Italian footballer and manager
  • 1969 – Wayne Collins, English footballer, midfielder
  • 1969 – Annie Yi, Taiwanese singer, actress, and writer
  • 1970 – Àlex Crivillé, Spanish motorcycle racer
  • 1970 – Will Keen, English actor
  • 1970 – Caroline Vis, Dutch tennis player
  • 1971 – Iain Baird, Canadian soccer player and manager
  • 1971 – Claire Baker, Scottish politician
  • 1971 – Emily Bazelon, American journalist
  • 1971 – Jason Croot, English actor and director
  • 1971 – Anders Kjølholm, Danish bass player
  • 1971 – Satoshi Motoyama, Japanese race car driver
  • 1971 – Geraldine O’Rawe, Northern Irish actress
  • 1972 – Katherine Center, American journalist and author
  • 1972 – Nocturno Culto, Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1972 – Robert Smith, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1972 – Ivy Queen, Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, rapper, actress and record producer
  • 1972 – Jos Verstappen, Dutch race car driver
  • 1972 – Alison Wheeler, English singer-songwriter
  • 1973 – Massimo Brambilla, Italian footballer and coach
  • 1973 – Phillip Daniels, American football player and coach
  • 1973 – Valery Kobelev, Russian ski jumper
  • 1973 – Penny Mordaunt, English lieutenant and politician, Minister of State for the Armed Forces
  • 1973 – Linus of Hollywood, American singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1973 – Len Wiseman, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1973 – Chandra Sekhar Yeleti, Indian director and screenwriter
  • 1974 – Crowbar, American wrestler
  • 1974 – Mladen Krstajić, Serbian footballer and manager
  • 1974 – Karol Kučera, Slovak tennis player
  • 1974 – Ariel Ortega, Argentinian footballer
  • 1974 – Tommy Phelps, South Korean-American baseball player and coach
  • 1974 – ICS Vortex, Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1974 – David Wagner, American tennis player and educator
  • 1974 – Bill Young, Australian rugby player
  • 1975 – Mats Eilertsen, Norwegian bassist and composer
  • 1975 – Patrick Femerling, German basketball player
  • 1975 – Antti Aalto, Finnish ice hockey player
  • 1975 – Kristi Harrower, Australian basketball player
  • 1975 – Hawksley Workman, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1976 – Robbie Blake, English footballer
  • 1976 – Tommy Jönsson, Swedish footballer
  • 1977 – Nacho Figueras, Argentinian polo player and model
  • 1977 – Traver Rains, American fashion designer and photographer
  • 1978 – Pierre Dagenais, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1978 – Denis Dallan, Italian rugby player and singer
  • 1978 – Jean-Marc Pelletier, American ice hockey player
  • 1979 – Sarah Stock, Canadian wrestler and trainer
  • 1980 – Rohan Bopanna, Indian tennis player
  • 1980 – Omar Bravo, Mexican footballer
  • 1980 – Suzanna Choffel, American singer-songwriter
  • 1980 – Giedrius Gustas, Lithuanian basketball player
  • 1980 – Scott Hamilton, New Zealand rugby player and coach
  • 1980 – Jack Hannahan, American baseball player
  • 1980 – Michael Henrich, American ice hockey player
  • 1980 – Phil McGuire, Scottish footballer and manager
  • 1980 – Aja Volkman, American singer-songwriter
  • 1981 – Ariza Makukula, Portuguese footballer
  • 1981 – Helen Wyman, English cyclist
  • 1982 – Landon Donovan, American soccer player and coach
  • 1982 – Cate Edwards, American lawyer and author
  • 1982 – Ludmila Ezhova, Russian gymnast
  • 1982 – Yasemin Mori, Turkish singer
  • 1983 – Samuel Contesti, French-Italian figure skater
  • 1983 – Adam Deacon, English film actor, rapper, writer and director
  • 1983 – Jaque Fourie, South African rugby player
  • 1983 – Drew Houston, American billionaire and Internet entrepreneur
  • 1984 – Josh Bowman, English actor
  • 1984 – Tamir Cohen, Israeli footballer
  • 1984 – Anders Grøndal, Norwegian race car driver
  • 1984 – Spencer Larsen, American football player
  • 1984 – Jeremy Loops, South African singer-songwriter and record producer
  • 1984 – Raven Quinn, American singer-songwriter
  • 1984 – Zak Whitbread, American-English footballer
  • 1985 – Jake Buxton, English footballer
  • 1985 – Chinedum Ndukwe, American football player
  • 1985 – Whitney Port, American fashion designer and author
  • 1986 – Steven Burke, English road and track cyclist
  • 1986 – Tom De Mul, Belgian footballer
  • 1986 – Mike Krieger, Brazilian-American computer programmer and businessman, co-founded Instagram
  • 1986 – Siim Roops, Estonian footballer
  • 1986 – Bohdan Shust, Ukrainian footballer
  • 1986 – Manu Vatuvei, New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1986 – Margo Harshman, American actress
  • 1987 – Ben McKinley, Australian footballer
  • 1987 – Cameron Wood, Australian footballer
  • 1987 – Tamzin Merchant, English actress
  • 1988 – Gal Mekel, Israeli basketball player
  • 1988 – Laura Siegemund, German tennis player
  • 1988 – Adam Watts, English footballer
  • 1989 – Benjamin Kiplagat, Ugandan long-distance runner
  • 1990 – Andrea Bowen, American actress
  • 1990 – Draymond Green, American basketball player
  • 1990 – Paddy Madden, Irish footballer
  • 1990 – Fran Mérida, Spanish footballer
  • 1992 – Nick Castellanos, American baseball player
  • 1992 – Erik Lamela, Argentinian international footballer, midfielder
  • 1992 – Bernd Leno, German footballer
  • 1992 – Karl Mööl, Estonian footballer
  • 1993 – Bobbi Kristina Brown, American singer and actress (d. 2015)
  • 1993 – Richard Peniket, English footballer
  • 1994 – Callum Harriott, English footballer
  • 1994 – AJ Tracey, British hip-hop artist and record producer
  • 1995 – Chlöe Howl, British singer-songwriter
  • 1995 – Bill Milner, English actor
  • 1996 – Lukas Webb, Australian rules footballer
  • 2002 – Jacob Hopkins, American actor

Deaths on March 4

  • 306 – Adrian and Natalia of Nicomedia, Christian martyrs
  • 480 – Landry of Sées, French bishop and saint
  • 561 – Pelagius I, pope of the Catholic Church
  • 934 – Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah, Fatimid caliph (b. 873)
  • 1172 – Stephen III, king of Hungary (b. 1147)
  • 1193 – Saladin, founder of the Ayyubid Sultanate (b. 1137)
  • 1238 – Joan of England, queen of Scotland (b. 1210)
  • 1238 – Yuri II, Russian Grand Prince (b. 1189)
  • 1303 – Daniel of Moscow, Russian Grand Duke (b. 1261)
  • 1314 – Jakub Świnka, Polish priest and archbishop
  • 1371 – Jeanne d’Évreux, queen consort of France (b. 1310)
  • 1388 – Thomas Usk, English author
  • 1484 – Saint Casimir, Polish prince (b. 1458)
  • 1496 – Sigismund, archduke of Austria (b. 1427)
  • 1583 – Bernard Gilpin, English priest and theologian (b. 1517)
  • 1604 – Fausto Sozzini, Italian theologian and educator (b. 1539)
  • 1615 – Hans von Aachen, German painter and educator (b. 1552)
  • 1710 – Louis III, duke of Bourbon (b. 1668)
  • 1733 – Claude de Forbin, French admiral and politician (b. 1656)
  • 1744 – John Anstis, English historian and politician (b. 1669)
  • 1762 – Johannes Zick, German painter (b. 1702)
  • 1793 – Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon, Duke of Penthièvre (b. 1725)
  • 1795 – John Collins, American politician, 3rd Governor of Rhode Island (b. 1717)
  • 1805 – Jean-Baptiste Greuze, French painter (b. 1725)
  • 1807 – Abraham Baldwin, American minister, lawyer, and politician (b. 1754)
  • 1811 – Mariano Moreno, Argentinian journalist, lawyer, and politician (b. 1778)
  • 1832 – Jean-François Champollion, French philologist and scholar (b. 1790)
  • 1851 – James Richardson, English explorer (b. 1809)
  • 1852 – Nikolai Gogol, Ukrainian-Russian short story writer, novelist, and playwright (b. 1809)
  • 1853 – Thomas Bladen Capel, English admiral (b. 1776)
  • 1853 – Christian Leopold von Buch, German geologist and paleontologist (b. 1774)
  • 1858 – Matthew C. Perry, American naval commander (b. 1794)
  • 1864 – Thomas Starr King, American minister and politician (b. 1824)
  • 1866 – Alexander Campbell, Irish-American minister and theologian (b. 1788)
  • 1872 – Carsten Hauch, Danish poet and playwright (b. 1790)
  • 1883 – Alexander H. Stephens, American lawyer and politician, Vice President of the Confederate States of America (b. 1812)
  • 1888 – Amos Bronson Alcott, American philosopher and educator (b. 1799)
  • 1903 – Joseph Henry Shorthouse, English author (b. 1834)
  • 1906 – John Schofield, American general and politician, 28th United States Secretary of War (b. 1831)
  • 1915 – William Willett, English inventor, founded British Summer Time (b. 1856)
  • 1916 – Franz Marc, German painter (b. 1880)
  • 1925 – Moritz Moszkowski, Polish-German pianist and composer (b. 1854)
  • 1925 – James Ward, English psychologist and philosopher (b. 1843)
  • 1925 – John Montgomery Ward, American baseball player and manager (b. 1860)
  • 1927 – Ira Remsen, American chemist and academic (b. 1846)
  • 1938 – George Foster Peabody, American banker and philanthropist (b. 1852)
  • 1938 – Jack Taylor, American baseball player (b. 1874)
  • 1940 – Hamlin Garland, American novelist, poet, essayist, and short story writer (b. 1860)
  • 1941 – Ludwig Quidde, German activist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1858)
  • 1944 – Fannie Barrier Williams, American educator and activist (b. 1855)
  • 1944 – Louis Buchalter, American mob boss (b. 1897)
  • 1944 – Louis Capone, Italian-American gangster (b. 1896)
  • 1944 – René Lefebvre, French businessman (b. 1879)
  • 1945 – Lucille La Verne, American actress (b. 1872)
  • 1945 – Mark Sandrich, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1900)
  • 1948 – Antonin Artaud, French actor and director (b. 1896)
  • 1949 – Clarence Kingsbury, English cyclist (b. 1882)
  • 1952 – Charles Scott Sherrington, English neurophysiologist and pathologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1857)
  • 1954 – Noel Gay, English composer and songwriter (b. 1898)
  • 1960 – Herbert O’Conor, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 51st Governor of Maryland (b. 1896)
  • 1963 – William Carlos Williams, American poet, short story writer, and essayist (b. 1883)
  • 1969 – Nicholas Schenck, Russian-American businessman (b. 1881)
  • 1972 – Harold Barrowclough, New Zealand general, lawyer, and politician, 8th Chief Justice of New Zealand (b. 1894)
  • 1972 – Charles Biro, American author and illustrator (b. 1911)
  • 1974 – Adolph Gottlieb, American painter and sculptor (b. 1903)
  • 1976 – John Marvin Jones, American judge and politician (b. 1882)
  • 1976 – Walter H. Schottky, Swiss-German physicist and engineer (b. 1886)
  • 1977 – Anatol E. Baconsky, Romanian poet, author, and critic (b. 1925)
  • 1977 – Nancy Tyson Burbidge, Australian botanist and curator (b. 1912)
  • 1977 – Andrés Caicedo, Colombian author, poet, and playwright (b. 1951)
  • 1977 – William Paul, American lawyer and politician (b. 1885)
  • 1977 – Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk, German jurist and politician, German Minister for Foreign Affairs (b. 1887)
  • 1978 – Wesley Bolin, American businessman and politician, 15th Governor of Arizona (b. 1909)
  • 1978 – Joe Marsala, American clarinet player and songwriter (b. 1907)
  • 1979 – Willi Unsoeld, American mountaineer and educator (b. 1926)
  • 1980 – Alan Hardaker, English lieutenant and businessman (b. 1912)
  • 1981 – Torin Thatcher, American actor (b. 1905)
  • 1981 – Karl-Jesko von Puttkamer, German admiral (b. 1900)
  • 1986 – Albert L. Lehninger, American biochemist and academic (b. 1917)
  • 1986 – Richard Manuel, Canadian singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1943)
  • 1986 – Elizabeth Smart, Canadian poet and author (b. 1913)
  • 1987 – Seibo Kitamura, Japanese sculptor (b. 1884)
  • 1988 – Beatriz Guido, Argentine author and screenwriter (b. 1924)
  • 1989 – Tiny Grimes, American guitarist (b. 1916)
  • 1990 – Hank Gathers, American basketball player (b. 1967)
  • 1991 – Godfrey Bryan, English cricketer (b. 1902)
  • 1992 – Art Babbitt, American animator and director (b. 1907)
  • 1992 – Pare Lorentz, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1905)
  • 1993 – Art Hodes, Ukrainian-American pianist and composer (b. 1904)
  • 1993 – Tomislav Ivčić, Croatian singer-songwriter and politician (b. 1953)
  • 1993 – Izaak Kolthoff, Dutch chemist and academic (b. 1894)
  • 1993 – Nicholas Ridley, Baron Ridley of Liddesdale, English lieutenant and politician, Secretary of State for the Environment (b. 1929)
  • 1994 – John Candy, Canadian comedian and actor (b. 1950)
  • 1994 – George Edward Hughes, Irish-Scottish philosopher and author (b. 1918)
  • 1995 – Matt Urban, American colonel, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1919)
  • 1996 – Minnie Pearl, American entertainer (b. 1912)
  • 1996 – John Sauer, American football player, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1925)
  • 1997 – Joe Baker-Cresswell, English captain (b. 1901)
  • 1997 – Robert H. Dicke, American physicist and astronomer (b. 1916)
  • 1998 – Ivan Dougherty, Australian general (b. 1907)
  • 1999 – Harry Blackmun, American lawyer and judge (b. 1908)
  • 1999 – Del Close, American actor and educator (b. 1934)
  • 1999 – Miłosz Magin, Polish pianist and composer (b. 1929)
  • 2000 – Hermann Brück, German-Scottish physicist and astronomer (b. 1905)
  • 2000 – Michael Noonan, New Zealand-Australian author and screenwriter (b. 1921)
  • 2000 – Ta-You Wu, Chinese physicist and academic (b. 1907)
  • 2001 – Gerardo Barbero, Argentinian chess player (b. 1961)
  • 2001 – Jean René Bazaine, French painter and author (b. 1904)
  • 2001 – Fred Lasswell, American cartoonist (b. 1916)
  • 2001 – Jim Rhodes, American businessman and politician, 61st Governor of Ohio (b. 1909)
  • 2001 – Harold Stassen, American educator and politician, 25th Governor of Minnesota (b. 1907)
  • 2002 – Ugnė Karvelis, Lithuanian author and translator (b. 1935)
  • 2002 – Elyne Mitchell, Australian skier and author (b. 1913)
  • 2002 – Velibor Vasović, Serbian footballer and manager (b. 1939)
  • 2003 – Jaba Ioseliani, Georgian playwright, academic, and politician (b. 1926)
  • 2003 – Sébastien Japrisot, French author, screenwriter, and director (b. 1931)
  • 2004 – Claude Nougaro, French singer-songwriter (b. 1929)
  • 2005 – Nicola Calipari, Italian general (b. 1953)
  • 2005 – Yuriy Kravchenko, Ukrainian police officer and politician (b. 1951)
  • 2005 – Carlos Sherman, Uruguayan-Belarusian author and activist (b. 1934)
  • 2006 – John Reynolds Gardiner, American author and engineer (b. 1944)
  • 2006 – Edgar Valter, Estonian author and illustrator (b. 1929)
  • 2007 – Thomas Eagleton, American lawyer and politician, 38th Lieutenant Governor of Missouri (b. 1929)
  • 2007 – Tadeusz Nalepa, Polish singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1934)
  • 2007 – Ian Wooldridge, English journalist (b. 1932)
  • 2008 – Gary Gygax, American game designer, co-created Dungeons & Dragons (b. 1938)
  • 2008 – Leonard Rosenman, American composer and conductor (b. 1924)
  • 2009 – Yvon Cormier, Canadian wrestler (b. 1938)
  • 2009 – Horton Foote, American playwright and screenwriter (b. 1916)
  • 2009 – George McAfee, American football player (b. 1918)
  • 2010 – Raimund Abraham, Austrian architect and educator, designed the Austrian Cultural Forum New York (b. 1933)
  • 2010 – Johnny Alf, Brazilian pianist and composer (b. 1929)
  • 2010 – Vladislav Ardzinba, Abkhazian historian and politician, 1st President of Abkhazia (b. 1945)
  • 2010 – Fred Wedlock, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1942)
  • 2011 – Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, Nepalese journalist and politician, 29th Prime Minister of Nepal (b. 1924)
  • 2011 – Vivienne Harris, English journalist and publisher, co-founded the Jewish Telegraph (b. 1921)
  • 2011 – Ed Manning, American basketball player and coach (b. 1943)
  • 2011 – Arjun Singh, Indian politician (b. 1930)
  • 2011 – Alenush Terian, Iranian astronomer and physicist (b. 1920)
  • 2011 – Simon van der Meer, Dutch-Swiss physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1925)
  • 2012 – Paul McBride, Scottish lawyer and politician (b. 1965)
  • 2012 – Don Mincher, American baseball player (b. 1938)
  • 2013 – Lillian Cahn, Hungarian-American businesswoman, co-founded Coach, Inc. (b. 1923)
  • 2013 – Mickey Moore, Canadian-American actor and director (b. 1914)
  • 2013 – Toren Smith, Canadian businessman, founded Studio Proteus (b. 1960)
  • 2014 – Mark Freidkin, Russian author and poet (b. 1953)
  • 2014 – Elaine Kellett-Bowman, English lawyer and politician (b. 1923)
  • 2014 – Jack Kinzler, American engineer (b. 1920)
  • 2014 – Wu Tianming, Chinese director and producer (b. 1939)
  • 2015 – Dušan Bilandžić, Croatian historian and politician (b. 1924)
  • 2015 – Ray Hatton, English-American runner, author, and academic (b. 1932)
  • 2016 – Bud Collins, American journalist and sportscaster (b. 1929)
  • 2016 – Pat Conroy, American author (b. 1945)
  • 2016 – P. A. Sangma, Indian lawyer and politician, Speaker of the Lok Sabha (b. 1947)
  • 2016 – Zhou Xiaoyan, Chinese soprano and educator (b. 1917)
  • 2017 – Clayton Yeutter, American politician (b. 1930)
  • 2018 – Davide Astori, Italian soccer player (b. 1987)
  • 2019 – Keith Flint, English singer (The Prodigy) (b. 1969)
  • 2019 – Luke Perry, American actor (b. 1966)
  • 2020 – Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, Peruvian politician and diplomat

Holidays and observances on March 4

  • Christian feast day:
    • Adrian of Nicomedia
    • Casimir
    • Felix of Rhuys
    • Giovanni Antonio Farina (Catholic Church)
    • Blessed Humbert III, Count of Savoy (Roman Catholic Church)
    • Paul Cuffee (Episcopal Church)
    • Peter of Pappacarbone
    • Blessed Zoltán Meszlényi
    • March 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • St Casimir’s Day (Poland and Lithuania)

March 4- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

February 8 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /

February 8 in History

  • 421 – Constantius III becomes co-Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
  • 1238 – The Mongols burn the Russian city of Vladimir.
  • 1250 – Seventh Crusade: Crusaders engage Ayyubid forces in the Battle of Al Mansurah.
  • 1347 – The Byzantine civil war of 1341–47 ends with a power-sharing agreement between John VI Kantakouzenos and John V Palaiologos.
  • 1575 – Leiden University is founded, and given the motto Praesidium Libertatis.
  • 1587 – Mary, Queen of Scots, is executed on suspicion of having been involved in the Babington Plot to murder her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I.
  • 1590 – Luis de Carvajal y de la Cueva is tortured by the Inquisition in Mexico, charged with concealing the practice Judaism of his sister and her children.
  • 1601 – Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, rebels against Queen Elizabeth I and the revolt is quickly crushed.
  • 1693 – The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, is granted a charter by King William III and Queen Mary II.
  • 1807 – After two days of bitter fighting, the Russians under Bennigsen and the Prussians under L’Estocq concede the Battle of Eylau to Napoleon.
  • 1817 – Las Heras crosses the Andes with an army to join San Martín and liberate Chile from Spain.
  • 1837 – Richard Johnson becomes the first Vice President of the United States chosen by the United States Senate.
  • 1865 – Delaware refuses to ratify the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Slavery was outlawed in the United States, including Delaware, when the Amendment was ratified by the requisite number of states on December 6, 1865. Delaware ratified the Thirteenth Amendment on February 12, 1901, which was the ninety-second anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln.
  • 1879 – Sandford Fleming first proposes adoption of Universal Standard Time at a meeting of the Royal Canadian Institute.
  • 1879 – The England cricket team led by Lord Harris is attacked in a riot during a match in Sydney.
  • 1885 – The first government-approved Japanese immigrants arrived in Hawaii.
  • 1887 – The Dawes Act authorizes the President of the United States to survey Native American tribal land and divide it into individual allotments.
  • 1904 – Battle of Port Arthur: A surprise torpedo attack by the Japanese at Port Arthur, China starts the Russo-Japanese War.
  • 1904 – Aceh War: Dutch Colonial Army’s Marechaussee regiment led by General G.C.E. van Daalen launch military campaign to capture Gayo Highland, Alas Highland, and Batak Highland in Dutch East Indies’ Northern Sumatra region, which ends with genocide to Acehnese and Bataks people.
  • 1910 – The Boy Scouts of America is incorporated by William D. Boyce.
  • 1915 – D. W. Griffith’s controversial film The Birth of a Nation premieres in Los Angeles.
  • 1922 – United States President Warren G. Harding introduces the first radio set in the White House.
  • 1924 – Capital punishment: The first state execution in the United States by gas chamber takes place in Nevada.
  • 1942 – World War II: Japan invades Singapore.
  • 1942 – World War II: Dutch Colonial Army General Destruction Unit (AVC, Algemene Vernielings Corps) burns Banjarmasin, South Borneo to avoid Japanese capture.
  • 1945 – World War II: The United Kingdom and Canada commence Operation Veritable to occupy the west bank of the Rhine.
  • 1945 – World War II: Mikhail Devyataev escapes with nine other Soviet inmates from a Nazi concentration camp in Peenemünde on the island of Usedom by hijacking the camp commandant’s Heinkel He 111.
  • 1946 – The first portion of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, the first serious challenge to the popularity of the Authorized King James Version, is published.
  • 1946 – The People’s Republic of Korea is dissolved in the North, establishing the communist-controlled Provisional People’s Committee of North Korea.
  • 1950 – Cold War: The Stasi, the secret police of East Germany, is established.
  • 1955 – The Government of Sindh, Pakistan, abolishes the Jagirdari system in the province. One million acres (4000 km2) of land thus acquired is to be distributed among the landless peasants.
  • 1960 – Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom issues an Order-in-Council, stating that she and her family would be known as the House of Windsor, and that her descendants will take the name Mountbatten-Windsor.
  • 1962 – Charonne massacre. Nine trade unionists are killed by French police at the instigation of Nazi collaborator Maurice Papon, then chief of the Paris Prefecture of Police.
  • 1963 – Travel, financial and commercial transactions by United States citizens to Cuba are made illegal by the John F. Kennedy administration.
  • 1963 – The regime of Prime Minister of Iraq, Brigadier General Abd al-Karim Qasim is overthrown by the Ba’ath Party.
  • 1965 – Eastern Air Lines Flight 663 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean and explodes, killing everyone aboard.
  • 1968 – American civil rights movement: The Orangeburg massacre: An attack on black students from South Carolina State University who are protesting racial segregation at the town’s only bowling alley, leaves three or four dead in Orangeburg, South Carolina.
  • 1971 – The NASDAQ stock market index opens for the first time.
  • 1971 – South Vietnamese ground troops launch an incursion into Laos to try to cut off the Ho Chi Minh trail and stop communist infiltration.
  • 1974 – After 84 days in space, the crew of Skylab 4, the last crew to visit American space station Skylab, returns to Earth.
  • 1978 – Proceedings of the United States Senate are broadcast on radio for the first time.
  • 1981 – Twenty-one association football spectators are trampled to death at Karaiskakis Stadium in Neo Faliro, Greece, after a football match between Olympiacos F.C. and AEK Athens F.C.
  • 1983 – The Melbourne dust storm hits Australia’s second largest city. The result of the worst drought on record and a day of severe weather conditions, a 320 metres (1,050 ft) deep dust cloud envelops the city, turning day to night.
  • 1986 – Hinton train collision: Twenty-three people are killed when a VIA Rail passenger train collides with a 118-car Canadian National freight train near the town of Hinton, Alberta, west of Edmonton. It is the worst rail accident in Canada until the Lac-Mégantic, Quebec derailment in 2013 which killed forty-seven people.
  • 1989 – Independent Air Flight 1851 strikes Pico Alto mountain while on approach to Santa Maria Airport (Azores) killing all 144 passengers on board.
  • 1993 – General Motors sues NBC after Dateline NBC allegedly rigs two crashes intended to demonstrate that some GM pickups can easily catch fire if hit in certain places. NBC settles the lawsuit the next day.
  • 1993 – An Iran Air Tours Tupolev Tu-154 and an Iranian Air Force Sukhoi Su-24 collide in mid-air near Qods, Iran, killing all 133 people on board both aircraft.
  • 1996 – The U.S. Congress passes the Communications Decency Act.
  • 2005 – Sri Lankan Civil War: Sri Lankan Tamil politician and former MP A. Chandranehru dies of injuries sustained in an ambush the previous day.
  • 2010 – A freak storm in the Hindu Kush mountains of Afghanistan triggers a series of at least 36 avalanches, burying over two miles of road, killing at least 172 people and trapping over 2,000 travelers.
  • 2013 – A blizzard disrupts transportation and leaves hundreds of thousands of people without electricity in the Northeastern United States and parts of Canada.
  • 2014 – A hotel fire in Medina, Saudi Arabia kills 15 Egyptian pilgrims with 130 others injured.

Births on February 8

  • 120 – Vettius Valens, Greek astronomer, mathematician, and astrologer (probable; d. 175)
  • 412 – Proclus, Greek mathematician and philosopher (probable; d. 485)
  • 882 – Muhammad ibn Tughj al-Ikhshid, Egyptian commander and politician, Abbasid Governor of Egypt (d. 946)
  • 1191 – Yaroslav II of Vladimir (d. 1246)
  • 1291 – Afonso IV of Portugal (d. 1357)
  • 1405 – Constantine XI Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor (d. 1453)
  • 1487 – Ulrich, Duke of Württemberg (d. 1550)
  • 1514 – Daniele Barbaro, Venetian churchman, diplomat and scholar (d. 1570)
  • 1552 – Agrippa d’Aubigné, French poet and soldier (d. 1630)
  • 1577 – Robert Burton, English priest, physician, and scholar (d. 1640)
  • 1591 – Guercino, Italian painter (d. 1666)
  • 1685 – Charles-Jean-François Hénault, French historian and author (d. 1770)
  • 1700 – Daniel Bernoulli, Dutch-Swiss mathematician and physicist (d. 1782)
  • 1720 – Emperor Sakuramachi of Japan (d. 1750)
  • 1741 – André Grétry, Belgian-French organist and composer (d. 1813)
  • 1762 – Gia Long, Vietnamese emperor (d. 1820)
  • 1764 – Joseph Leopold Eybler, Austrian composer and conductor (d. 1846)
  • 1792 – Caroline Augusta of Bavaria (d. 1873)
  • 1798 – Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich of Russia (d. 1849)
  • 1807 – Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, English sculptor and zoologist (d. 1889)
  • 1817 – Richard S. Ewell, American general (d. 1872)
  • 1819 – John Ruskin, English author, critic, and academic (d. 1900)
  • 1820 – William Tecumseh Sherman, American general (d. 1891)
  • 1822 – Maxime Du Camp, French photographer and journalist (d. 1894)
  • 1825 – Henry Walter Bates, English geographer, biologist, and explorer (d. 1892)
  • 1828 – Jules Verne, French author, poet, and playwright (d. 1905)
  • 1829 – Vital-Justin Grandin, French-Canadian bishop and missionary (d. 1902)
  • 1830 – Abdülaziz of the Ottoman Empire (d. 1876)
  • 1834 – Dmitri Mendeleev, Russian chemist and academic (d. 1907)
  • 1850 – Kate Chopin, American author (d. 1904)
  • 1860 – Adella Brown Bailey, American politician and suffragist (d. 1937)
  • 1866 – Moses Gomberg, Ukrainian-American chemist and academic (d. 1947)
  • 1876 – Paula Modersohn-Becker, German painter (d. 1907)
  • 1878 – Martin Buber, Austrian-Israeli philosopher and academic (d. 1965)
  • 1880 – Franz Marc, German soldier and painter (d. 1916)
  • 1880 – Viktor Schwanneke, German actor and director (d. 1931)
  • 1882 – Thomas Selfridge, American lieutenant and pilot (d. 1908)
  • 1883 – Joseph Schumpeter, Czech-American economist and political scientist (d. 1950)
  • 1884 – Snowy Baker, Australian boxer, rugby player, and actor (d. 1953)
  • 1886 – Charlie Ruggles, American actor (d. 1970)
  • 1888 – Edith Evans, English actress (d. 1976)
  • 1888 – Giuseppe Ungaretti, Egyptian-Italian soldier, journalist, and poet (d. 1970)
  • 1890 – Claro M. Recto, Filipino lawyer, jurist, and politician (d. 1960)
  • 1893 – Ba Maw, Burmese lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Burma (d. 1977)
  • 1894 – King Vidor, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1982)
  • 1897 – Zakir Hussain, Indian academic and politician, 3rd president of India (d. 1969)
  • 1899 – Lonnie Johnson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1970)
  • 1903 – Greta Keller, Austrian-American singer and actress (d. 1977)
  • 1903 – Tunku Abdul Rahman, 1st Prime Minister of Malaysia (d. 1990)
  • 1906 – Chester Carlson, American physicist and lawyer, invented Xerography (d. 1968)
  • 1909 – Elisabeth Murdoch, Australian philanthropist (d. 2012)
  • 1911 – Elizabeth Bishop, American poet and author (d. 1979)
  • 1913 – Betty Field, American actress (d. 1973)
  • 1913 – Danai Stratigopoulou, Greek singer-songwriter (d. 2009)
  • 1914 – Bill Finger, American author and screenwriter, co-created Batman (d. 1974)
  • 1915 – Georges Guétary, Egyptian-French singer, dancer, and actor (d. 1997)
  • 1918 – Freddie Blassie, American wrestler and manager (d. 2003)
  • 1921 – Barney Danson, Canadian colonel and politician, 21st Canadian Minister of National Defence (d. 2011)
  • 1921 – Nexhmije Hoxha, Albanian politician (d. 2020)
  • 1921 – Lana Turner, American actress (d. 1995)
  • 1922 – Audrey Meadows, American actress and banker (d. 1996)
  • 1925 – Jack Lemmon, American actor (d. 2001)
  • 1926 – Neal Cassady, American author and poet (d. 1968)
  • 1926 – Birgitte Reimer, Danish film actress
  • 1930 – Alejandro Rey, Argentinian-American actor and director (d. 1987)
  • 1931 – James Dean, American actor (d. 1955)
  • 1932 – Cliff Allison, English racing driver and businessman (d. 2005)
  • 1932 – John Williams, American pianist, composer, and conductor
  • 1933 – Elly Ameling, Dutch soprano
  • 1937 – Joe Raposo, American pianist and composer (d. 1989)
  • 1937 – Harry Wu, Chinese human rights activist (d. 2016)
  • 1939 – Jose Maria Sison, Filipino activist and theorist
  • 1940 – Sophie Lihau-Kanza, Congolese politician (d. 1999)
  • 1940 – Ted Koppel, English-American journalist
  • 1941 – Nick Nolte, American actor and producer
  • 1941 – Tom Rush, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1941 – Jagjit Singh, Indian singer-songwriter (d. 2011)
  • 1942 – Robert Klein, American comedian, actor, and singer
  • 1942 – Terry Melcher, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2004)
  • 1944 – Roger Lloyd-Pack, English actor (d. 2014)
  • 1944 – Sebastião Salgado, Brazilian photographer and journalist
  • 1947 – J. Richard Gott, American astronomer and academic
  • 1948 – Dan Seals, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2009)
  • 1949 – Brooke Adams, American actress, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1949 – Niels Arestrup, French actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1952 – Marinho Chagas, Brazilian footballer and coach (d. 2014)
  • 1953 – Mary Steenburgen, American actress
  • 1954 – Joe Maddon, American baseball coach and manager
  • 1955 – John Grisham, American lawyer and author
  • 1955 – Jim Neidhart, American wrestler (d. 2018)
  • 1956 – Marques Johnson, American basketball player and sportscaster
  • 1957 – Karine Chemla, French historian of mathematics and sinologist
  • 1958 – Sherri Martel, American wrestler and manager (d. 2007)
  • 1958 – Marina Silva, Brazilian environmentalist and politician
  • 1959 – Heinz Gunthardt, Swiss tennis player
  • 1959 – Andrew Hoy, Australian equestrian rider
  • 1959 – Mauricio Macri, Argentinian businessman and politician, President of Argentina
  • 1960 – Benigno Aquino III, Filipino politician, 15th President of the Philippines
  • 1960 – Dino Ciccarelli, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1961 – Vince Neil, American singer-songwriter and actor
  • 1963 – Mohammad Azharuddin, Indian cricketer and politician
  • 1964 – Arlie Petters, Belizean-American mathematical physicist and academic
  • 1964 – Santosh Sivan, Indian director, cinematographer, producer, and actor
  • 1964 – Trinny Woodall, English fashion designer and author
  • 1966 – Kirk Muller, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1966 – Hristo Stoichkov, Bulgarian footballer and manager
  • 1968 – Gary Coleman, American actor (d. 2010)
  • 1969 – Pauly Fuemana, New Zealand-Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2010)
  • 1969 – Mary Robinette Kowal, American puppeteer and author
  • 1969 – Mary McCormack, American actress and producer
  • 1970 – Stephanie Courtney, American actress and comedian
  • 1970 – John Filan, Australian footballer and coach
  • 1970 – Alonzo Mourning, American basketball player and executive
  • 1971 – Aidy Boothroyd, English footballer and manager
  • 1971 – Mika Karppinen, Swedish-Finnish drummer and songwriter
  • 1972 – Big Show, American wrestler and actor
  • 1974 – Seth Green, American actor, voice artist, comedian, producer, writer, and director
  • 1976 – Khaled Mashud, Bangladeshi cricketer
  • 1976 – Nicolas Vouilloz, French rally driver and mountain biker
  • 1977 – Roman Kostomarov, Russian ice dancer
  • 1978 – Mick de Brenni, Australian politician
  • 1979 – Aaron Cook, American baseball player
  • 1980 – William Jackson Harper, American actor
  • 1981 – Steve Gohouri, Ivorian footballer (d. 2015)
  • 1981 – Myriam Montemayor Cruz, Mexican singer
  • 1983 – Jermaine Anderson, Canadian basketball player
  • 1983 – Cory Jane, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1983 – Jim Verraros, American singer and actor
  • 1984 – Manuel Osborne-Paradis, Canadian skier
  • 1984 – Cecily Strong, American actress
  • 1984 – Panagiotis Vasilopoulos, Greek basketball player
  • 1985 – Petra Cetkovská, Czech tennis player
  • 1985 – Jeremy Davis, American bass player and songwriter
  • 1987 – Javi García, Spanish footballer
  • 1987 – Carolina Kostner, Italian figure skater
  • 1988 – Keegan Meth, Zimbabwean cricketer
  • 1989 – Zac Guildford, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1989 – Julio Jones, American football player
  • 1989 – Courtney Vandersloot, American basketball player
  • 1990 – Emily Scarratt, English rugby union player
  • 1990 – Klay Thompson, American professional basketball player
  • 1991 – Aristidis Soiledis, Greek footballer
  • 1991 – Roberto Soriano, Italian footballer
  • 1991 – Nam Woo-hyun, South Korean singer and actor with the boy band Infinite.
  • 1992 – Bruno Martins Indi, Portuguese-Dutch footballer
  • 1992 – Carl Jenkinson, English-Finnish footballer
  • 1994 – Hakan Çalhanoğlu, Turkish footballer
  • 1994 – Nikki Yanofsky, Canadian singer-songwriter
  • 1995 – Joshua Kimmich, German footballer
  • 1996 – Kenedy, Brazilian footballer

Deaths on February 8

  • 538 – Severus of Antioch, patriarch of Antioch
  • 1135 – Elvira of Castile, Queen of Sicily (b.c. 1100)
  • 1204 – Alexios IV Angelos, Byzantine emperor (b. 1182)
  • 1229 – Ali ibn Hanzala, sixth Dāʿī al-Muṭlaq of Tayyibi Isma’ilism
  • 1250 – Robert I, Count of Artois (b. 1216)
  • 1250 – William II Longespée, English martyr (b. 1212)
  • 1265 – Hulagu Khan, Mongol ruler (b. 1217)
  • 1285 – Theodoric of Landsberg (b. 1242)
  • 1296 – Przemysł II of Poland (b. 1257)
  • 1314 – Helen of Anjou, queen of Serbia (b. 1236)
  • 1382 – Blanche of France, Duchess of Orléans (b. 1328)
  • 1537 – Saint Gerolamo Emiliani, Italian humanitarian (b. 1481)
  • 1587 – Mary, Queen of Scots (b. 1542)
  • 1599 – Robert Rollock, Scottish theologian and academic (b. 1555)
  • 1623 – Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Northamptonshire (b. 1546)
  • 1676 – Alexis of Russia (b. 1629)
  • 1696 – Ivan V of Russia (b. 1666)
  • 1709 – Giuseppe Torelli, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1658)
  • 1725 – Peter the Great, Russian emperor (b. 1672)
  • 1749 – Jan van Huysum, Dutch painter (b. 1682)
  • 1750 – Aaron Hill, English playwright and poet (b. 1685)
  • 1768 – George Dance the Elder, English architect, designed St Leonard’s and St Botolph’s Aldgate (b. 1695)
  • 1772 – Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha (b. 1719)
  • 1849 – François Habeneck, French violinist and conductor (b. 1781)
  • 1849 – France Prešeren, Slovenian poet and lawyer (b. 1800)
  • 1856 – Agostino Bassi, Italian entomologist and academic (b. 1773)
  • 1907 – Hendrik Willem Bakhuis Roozeboom, Dutch chemist and academic (b. 1854)
  • 1910 – Hans Jæger, Norwegian philosopher and activist (b. 1854)
  • 1914 – Dayrolles Eveleigh-de-Moleyns, 4th Baron Ventry, Irish hereditary peer (b. 1828)
  • 1915 – François Langelier, Canadian journalist, lawyer, and politician, 10th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (b. 1838)
  • 1921 – George Formby Sr, English actor and singer (b. 1876)
  • 1921 – Peter Kropotkin, Russian zoologist, geographer, and philologist (b. 1842)
  • 1928 – Theodor Curtius, German chemist (b. 1857)
  • 1932 – Yordan Milanov, Bulgarian architect, designed the Sveti Sedmochislenitsi Church (b. 1867)
  • 1935 – Eemil Nestor Setälä, Finnish linguist and politician, Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs (b. 1864)
  • 1936 – Charles Curtis, American lawyer and politician, 31st Vice President of the United States (b. 1860)
  • 1945 – Italo Santelli, Italian fencer and coach (b. 1866)
  • 1956 – Connie Mack, American baseball player and manager (b. 1862)
  • 1957 – Walther Bothe, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1891)
  • 1957 – John von Neumann, Hungarian-American mathematician and physicist (b. 1903)
  • 1959 – William J. Donovan, American head of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) (b. 1883)
  • 1960 – J. L. Austin, English philosopher and academic (b. 1911)
  • 1960 – Giles Gilbert Scott, English architect and engineer, designed the Red telephone box and Liverpool Cathedral (b. 1880)
  • 1963 – George Dolenz, Italian-American actor (b. 1908)
  • 1964 – Ernst Kretschmer, German psychiatrist and author (b. 1888)
  • 1968 – Maurice Maillot, French actor (b. 1906)
  • 1972 – Markos Vamvakaris, Greek singer-songwriter and bouzouki player (b. 1905)
  • 1975 – Robert Robinson, English chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1886)
  • 1977 – Eivind Groven, Norwegian composer and theorist (b. 1901)
  • 1979 – Dennis Gabor, Hungarian-English physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1900)
  • 1980 – Nikos Xilouris, Greek singer-songwriter (b. 1936)
  • 1982 – John Hay Whitney, American financier and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom (b. 1904)
  • 1985 – William Lyons, English businessman, co-founded Swallow Sidecar Company (b. 1901)
  • 1987 – Harriet E. MacGibbon, American actress (b. 1905)
  • 1990 – Del Shannon, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1934)
  • 1992 – Stanley Armour Dunham, American sergeant (b. 1918)
  • 1992 – Denny Wright, British guitarist (b. 1924)
  • 1994 – Raymond Scott, American pianist and composer (b. 1908)
  • 1996 – Del Ennis, American baseball player (b. 1925)
  • 1997 – Corey Scott, American motorcycle stunt rider (b. 1968)
  • 1998 – Halldór Laxness, Icelandic author, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
  • 1998 – Enoch Powell, English soldier and politician, Secretary of State for Health (b. 1912)
  • 1998 – Julian Simon, American economist and author (b. 1932)
  • 1999 – Iris Murdoch, Irish-born British novelist and philosopher (b. 1919)
  • 2000 – Sid Abel, Canadian-American ice hockey player, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1918)
  • 2000 – Derrick Thomas, American football player (b. 1967)
  • 2001 – Ivo Caprino, Norwegian director and screenwriter (b. 1920)
  • 2002 – Ong Teng Cheong, Singaporean architect and politician, 5th President of Singapore (b. 1936)
  • 2004 – Julius Schwartz, American journalist and author (b. 1915)
  • 2005 – A. Chandranehru, Sri Lankan sailor and politician (b. 1944)
  • 2006 – Elton Dean, English saxophonist, songwriter, and producer (b. 1945)
  • 2006 – Thierry Fortineau, French actor (b. 1953)
  • 2006 – Akira Ifukube, Japanese composer (b. 1914)
  • 2007 – Anna Nicole Smith, American model and actress (b. 1967)
  • 2007 – Ian Stevenson, Canadian-American psychiatrist and academic (b. 1918)
  • 2008 – Ruby Garrard Woodson, American educator and cultural historian (b. 1931)
  • 2010 – John Murtha, American colonel and politician (b. 1932)
  • 2011 – Tony Malinosky, American baseball player and soldier (b. 1909)
  • 2012 – Wando, Brazilian singer-songwriter (b. 1945)
  • 2012 – Gunther Plaut, German-Canadian rabbi and author (b. 1912)
  • 2012 – Luis Alberto Spinetta, Argentinian singer-songwriter (b. 1950)
  • 2013 – Giovanni Cheli, Italian cardinal (b. 1918)
  • 2013 – James DePreist, American conductor and educator (b. 1936)
  • 2013 – Maureen Dragone, American journalist and author (b. 1920)
  • 2013 – Nevin Scrimshaw, American scientist (b. 1918)
  • 2014 – Els Borst, Dutch physician and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands (b. 1932)
  • 2014 – Maicon Pereira de Oliveira, Brazilian footballer (b. 1988)
  • 2014 – Nancy Holt, American sculptor and painter (b. 1938)
  • 2015 – Rauni-Leena Luukanen-Kilde, Finnish physician and parapsychologist (b. 1939)
  • 2016 – Amelia Bence, Argentine actress (b. 1914)
  • 2016 – Nida Fazli, Indian poet and songwriter (b. 1938)
  • 2016 – Margaret Forster, English historian, author, and critic (b. 1938)
  • 2016 – Violette Verdy, French ballerina (b. 1933)
  • 2017 – Peter Mansfield, English physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1933)
  • 2017 – Rina Matsuno, Japanese idol singer (Shiritsu Ebisu Chugaku) (b. 1998)
  • 2017 – Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, English socialite, television presenter, model, and charity patron (b. 1971)
  • 2017 – Alan Simpson, English scriptwriter (b. 1929)

Holidays and observances on February 8

  • Christian feast day:
    • Cuthmann of Steyning
    • Elffled of Whitby
    • Gerolamo Emiliani
    • Josephine Bakhita
    • Juventius of Pavia
    • Meingold of Huy
    • Stephen of Muret
    • February 8 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Earliest day on which Feast of Orthodoxy can fall, while March 14 is the latest; celebrated 42 days before Easter. (Orthodoxy)
  • Parinirvana Day (some Mahayana Buddhism traditions, most celebrate on February 15)
  • Prešeren Day (Slovenia)
  • Propose Day

February 8 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

January 20 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 250 – Pope Fabian is martyred during the Decian persecution.
  • 649 – King Chindasuinth, at the urging of bishop Braulio of Zaragoza, crowns his son Recceswinth as co-ruler of the Visigothic Kingdom.
  • 1265 – The first English parliament to include not only Lords but also representatives of the major towns holds its first meeting in the Palace of Westminster, now commonly known as the “Houses of Parliament”.
  • 1320 – Duke Wladyslaw Lokietek becomes king of Poland.
  • 1356 – Edward Balliol surrenders his claim to the Scottish throne to Edward III in exchange for an English pension.
  • 1523 – Christian II is forced to abdicate as King of Denmark and Norway.
  • 1567 – Battle of Rio de Janeiro: Portuguese forces under the command of Estácio de Sá definitively drive the French out of Rio de Janeiro.
  • 1576 – The Mexican city of León is founded by order of the viceroy Don Martín Enríquez de Almanza.
  • 1649 – The High Court of Justice for the trial of Charles I begins its proceedings.
  • 1783 – The Kingdom of Great Britain signed preliminary articles of peace with France, setting the stage to the official end of hostilities in the American Revolutionary War later that year.
  • 1785 – Invading Siamese forces attempt to exploit the political chaos in Vietnam, but are ambushed and annihilated at the Mekong river by the Tây Sơn in the Battle of Rạch Gầm-Xoài Mút.
  • 1788 – The third and main part of First Fleet arrives at Botany Bay. Arthur Phillip decides that Port Jackson is a more suitable location for a colony.
  • 1839 – In the Battle of Yungay, Chile defeats an alliance between Peru and Bolivia.
  • 1841 – Hong Kong Island is occupied by the British.
  • 1877 – The last day of the Constantinople Conference results in agreement for political reforms in the Balkans.
  • 1887 – The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Harbor as a naval base.
  • 1921 – The British K-class submarine HMS K5 sinks in the English Channel; all 56 on board die.
  • 1921 – The first Constitution of Turkey is adopted, making fundamental changes in the source and exercise of sovereignty by consecrating the principle of national sovereignty.
  • 1929 – The first full-length talking motion picture filmed outdoors, In Old Arizona, is released.
  • 1936 – King George V of the United Kingdom dies. His eldest son succeeds to the throne, becoming Edward VIII. The title Prince of Wales is not used for another 22 years.
  • 1937 – Franklin D. Roosevelt and John Nance Garner are sworn in for their second terms as U.S. President and U.S. Vice President; it is the first time a Presidential Inauguration takes place on January 20 since the 20th Amendment changed the dates of presidential terms.
  • 1941 – A German officer is killed in Bucharest, Romania, sparking a rebellion and pogrom by the Iron Guard, killing 125 Jews and 30 soldiers.
  • 1942 – World War II: At the Wannsee Conference held in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee, senior Nazi German officials discuss the implementation of the “Final Solution to the Jewish question”.
  • 1945 – World War II: The provisional government of Béla Miklós in Hungary agrees to an armistice with the Allies.
  • 1945 – World War II: Germany begins the evacuation of 1.8 million people from East Prussia, a task which will take nearly two months.
  • 1949 – Point Four Program a program for economic aid to poor countries announced by United States President Harry S. Truman in his inaugural address for a full term as President.
  • 1953 – Dwight D. Eisenhower is inaugurated as the 34th President of the United States of America.
  • 1954 – In the United States, the National Negro Network is established with 40 charter member radio stations.
  • 1961 – John F. Kennedy is inaugurated the 35th President of the United States of America, becoming the second youngest man to take the office, and the first Catholic.
  • 1969 – Richard Nixon is inaugurated the 37th President of the United States of America.
  • 1972 – Pakistan launched its nuclear weapons program, a few weeks after its defeat in the Bangladesh Liberation War, as well as the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
  • 1977 – Jimmy Carter is inaugurated the 39th President of the United States of America.
  • 1981 – Ronald Reagan is inaugurated the 40th President of the United States of America. Twenty minutes later, Iran releases 52 American hostages.
  • 1986 – In the United States, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is celebrated as a federal holiday for the first time.
  • 1989 – George H. W. Bush is inaugurated the 41st President of the United States of America.
  • 1990 – Protests in Azerbaijan, part of the Dissolution of the Soviet Union.
  • 1991 – Sudan’s government imposes Islamic law nationwide, worsening the civil war between the country’s Muslim north and Christian south.
  • 1992 – Air Inter Flight 148, an Airbus A320-111, crashes into a mountain near Strasbourg, France killing 87 of the 96 people on board.
  • 1993 – Bill Clinton is inaugurated the 42nd President of the United States of America.
  • 2001 – George W. Bush is inaugurated the 43rd President of the United States of America.
  • 2001 – President of the Philippines Joseph Estrada is ousted in a nonviolent 4-day revolution, and is succeeded by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
  • 2009 – Barack Obama is inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States of America, becoming the first African-American President of the United States.
  • 2009 – A protest movement in Iceland culminates as the 2009 Icelandic financial crisis protests start.
  • 2017 – Donald Trump is inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States of America, becoming the oldest person to assume the office.
  • 2018 – A group of four or five gunmen attack The Inter-Continental Hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan, sparking a 12-hour battle. The attack kills 40 people and injures many others.

Births on January 20

  • 225 – Gordian III, Roman emperor (d. 244)
  • 1029 – Alp Arslan, Seljuk sultan (probable; d. 1072)
  • 1292 – Elizabeth of Bohemia, queen consort of Bohemia (d. 1330)
  • 1436 – Ashikaga Yoshimasa, Japanese shōgun (d. 1490)
  • 1488 – John George, Marquess of Montferrat, Italian noble (d. 1533)
  • 1488 – Sebastian Münster, German scholar, cartographer, and cosmographer (d. 1552)
  • 1499 – Sebastian Franck, German humanist (probable; d. 1543)
  • 1502 – Sebastian de Aparicio, Spanish-Mexican rancher and missionary (d. 1600)
  • 1526 – Rafael Bombelli, Italian mathematician (d. 1572)
  • 1554 – Sebastian of Portugal (d. 1578)
  • 1569 – Heribert Rosweyde, Jesuit hagiographer (d. 1629)
  • 1573 – Simon Marius, German astronomer and academic (d. 1624)
  • 1586 – Johann Hermann Schein, German composer (d. 1630)
  • 1664 – Giovanni Vincenzo Gravina, Italian lawyer and jurist (d. 1718)
  • 1703 – Joseph-Hector Fiocco, Flemish violinist and composer (d. 1741)
  • 1716 – Jean-Jacques Barthélemy, French archaeologist and numismatist (d. 1795)
  • 1716 – Charles III of Spain (d. 1788)
  • 1732 – Richard Henry Lee, American lawyer and politician, President of the Continental Congress (d. 1794)
  • 1741 – Carl Linnaeus the Younger, Swedish botanist and author (d. 1783)
  • 1755 – Sir Albemarle Bertie, 1st Baronet, English admiral (d. 1824)
  • 1762 – Jérôme-Joseph de Momigny, Belgian-French composer and theorist (d. 1842)
  • 1775 – André-Marie Ampère, French physicist and mathematician (d. 1836)
  • 1781 – Joseph Hormayr, Baron zu Hortenburg, Austrian-German historian and politician (d. 1848)
  • 1783 – Friedrich Dotzauer, German cellist and composer (d. 1860)
  • 1799 – Anson Jones, American physician and politician, 5th President of the Republic of Texas (d. 1858)
  • 1804 – Eugène Sue, French author and politician (d. 1857)
  • 1812 – Thomas Meik, Scottish engineer (d. 1896)
  • 1814 – David Wilmot, American politician, sponsor of Wilmot Proviso (d. 1868)
  • 1834 – George D. Robinson, American lawyer and politician, 34th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1896)
  • 1855 – Ernest Chausson, French composer (d. 1899)
  • 1856 – Harriot Stanton Blatch, U.S. suffragist and organizer (d. 1940)
  • 1865 – Yvette Guilbert, French singer and actress (d. 1944)
  • 1870 – Guillaume Lekeu, Belgian pianist and composer (d. 1894)
  • 1873 – Johannes V. Jensen, Danish author, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1950)
  • 1874 – Steve Bloomer, English footballer and coach (d. 1938)
  • 1876 – Josef Hofmann, Polish-American pianist and composer (d. 1957)
  • 1878 – Finlay Currie, Scottish-English actor (d. 1968)
  • 1879 – Ruth St. Denis, American dancer and educator (d. 1968)
  • 1880 – Walter W. Bacon, American accountant and politician, 60th Governor of Delaware (d. 1962)
  • 1882 – Johnny Torrio, Italian-American mob boss (d. 1957)
  • 1883 – Enoch L. Johnson, American mob boss (d. 1968)
  • 1883 – Forrest Wilson, American journalist and author (d. 1942)
  • 1888 – Lead Belly, American folk/blues musician and songwriter (d. 1949)
  • 1889 – Allan Haines Loughead, American engineer and businessman, founded the Alco Hydro-Aeroplane Company (d. 1969)
  • 1891 – Mischa Elman, Ukrainian-American violinist (d. 1967)
  • 1893 – Georg Åberg, Swedish triple jumper (d. 1946)
  • 1894 – Harold Gray, American cartoonist, created Little Orphan Annie (d. 1968)
  • 1894 – Walter Piston, American composer, theorist, and academic (d. 1976)
  • 1895 – Gábor Szegő, Hungarian mathematician and academic (d. 1985)
  • 1896 – George Burns, American actor, comedian, and producer (d. 1996)
  • 1898 – U Razak, Burmese educator and politician (d. 1947)
  • 1899 – Clarice Cliff, English potter (d. 1972)
  • 1899 – Kenjiro Takayanagi, Japanese engineer (d. 1990)
  • 1900 – Dorothy Annan, English painter, potter, and muralist (d. 1983)
  • 1900 – Colin Clive, English actor (d. 1937)
  • 1902 – Leon Ames, American actor (d. 1993)
  • 1902 – Kevin Barry, Irish Republican Army volunteer (d. 1920)
  • 1906 – Aristotle Onassis, Greek shipping magnate (d. 1975)
  • 1907 – Paula Wessely, Austrian actress and producer (d. 2000)
  • 1908 – Fleur Cowles, American author and illustrator (d. 2009)
  • 1909 – Gōgen Yamaguchi, Japanese martial artist (d. 1989)
  • 1910 – Joy Adamson, Austria-born Kenyan painter and author (d. 1980)
  • 1913 – W. Cleon Skousen, American author and academic (d. 2006)
  • 1915 – Ghulam Ishaq Khan, Pakistani businessman and politician, 7th President of Pakistan (d. 2006)
  • 1918 – Juan García Esquivel, Mexican pianist, composer, and bandleader (d. 2002)
  • 1918 – Nevin Scrimshaw, American scientist (d. 2013)
  • 1920 – Federico Fellini, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 1993)
  • 1920 – DeForest Kelley, American actor (d. 1999)
  • 1920 – Thorleif Schjelderup, Norwegian ski jumper and author (d. 2006)
  • 1921 – Telmo Zarra, Spanish footballer (d. 2006)
  • 1922 – Ray Anthony, American trumpet player, composer, bandleader, and actor
  • 1922 – Don Mankiewicz, American author and screenwriter (d. 2015)
  • 1923 – Slim Whitman, American country and western singer-songwriter and musician (d. 2013)
  • 1924 – Yvonne Loriod, French pianist and composer (d. 2010)
  • 1925 – Jamiluddin Aali, Pakistani poet, playwright, and critic (d. 2015)
  • 1925 – Ernesto Cardenal, Nicaraguan priest, poet, and politician (d. 2020)
  • 1926 – Patricia Neal, American actress (d. 2010)
  • 1926 – David Tudor, American pianist and composer (d. 1996)
  • 1927 – Qurratulain Hyder, Indian-Pakistani journalist and academic (d. 2007)
  • 1928 – Antonio de Almeida, French conductor and musicologist (d. 1997)
  • 1929 – Arte Johnson, American actor and comedian (d. 2019)
  • 1929 – Masaharu Kawakatsu, Japanese biologist
  • 1929 – Fireball Roberts, American race car driver (d. 1964)
  • 1930 – Buzz Aldrin, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut
  • 1931 – David Lee, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1931 – Hachidai Nakamura, Japanese pianist and composer (d. 1992)
  • 1932 – Lou Fontinato, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2016)
  • 1934 – Hennie Aucamp, South African poet, author, and academic (d. 2014)
  • 1934 – Tom Baker, English actor
  • 1935 – Dorothy Provine, American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2010)
  • 1937 – Bailey Howell, American basketball player
  • 1938 – Derek Dougan, Irish-English footballer and journalist (d. 2007)
  • 1939 – Paul Coverdell, American captain and politician (d. 2000)
  • 1939 – Chandra Wickramasinghe, Sri Lankan-English mathematician, astronomer, and biologist
  • 1940 – Carol Heiss, American figure skater and actress
  • 1940 – Krishnam Raju, Indian actor and politician
  • 1940 – Mandé Sidibé, Malian economist and politician, Prime Minister of Mali (d. 2009)
  • 1942 – Linda Moulton Howe, American journalist and producer
  • 1944 – José Luis Garci, Spanish director and producer
  • 1944 – Farhad Mehrad, Iranian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2002)
  • 1944 – Pat Parker, African American poet
  • 1945 – Christopher Martin-Jenkins, English journalist and sportscaster (d. 2013)
  • 1945 – Eric Stewart, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1946 – David Lynch, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1946 – Vladimír Merta, Czech singer-songwriter, guitarist, and journalist
  • 1947 – Cyrille Guimard, French cyclist and sportscaster
  • 1948 – Nancy Kress, American author and academic
  • 1948 – Natan Sharansky, Ukrainian-Israeli physicist and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Israel
  • 1949 – Göran Persson, Swedish lawyer and politician, 31st Prime Minister of Sweden
  • 1950 – Daniel Benzali, Brazilian-American actor
  • 1950 – William Mgimwa, Tanzanian banker and politician, 13th Tanzanian Minister of Finance (d. 2014)
  • 1950 – Mahamane Ousmane, Nigerien politician, President of Niger
  • 1951 – Iván Fischer, Hungarian conductor and composer
  • 1952 – Nikos Sideris, Greek psychiatrist and poet
  • 1952 – Paul Stanley, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1952 – John Witherow, South African-English journalist and author
  • 1953 – Jeffrey Epstein, American financier and convicted sex offender (d. 2019)
  • 1954 – Alison Seabeck, English lawyer and politician
  • 1955 – McKeeva Bush, Caymanian politician, Premier of the Cayman Islands
  • 1956 – Maria Larsson, Swedish educator and politician, Swedish Minister of Health and Social Affairs
  • 1956 – Bill Maher, American comedian, political commentator, media critic, television host, and producer
  • 1956 – John Naber, American swimmer
  • 1957 – Andy Sheppard, English saxophonist and composer
  • 1958 – Lorenzo Lamas, American actor, director, and producer
  • 1959 – Tami Hoag, American author
  • 1959 – R. A. Salvatore, American author
  • 1960 – Apa Sherpa, Nepalese-American mountaineer
  • 1960 – Scott Thunes, American bass player
  • 1960 – Will Wright, American video game designer, co-founded Maxis
  • 1963 – James Denton, American actor
  • 1963 – Mark Ryden, American painter and illustrator
  • 1964 – Ozzie Guillén, Venezuelan-American baseball player and manager
  • 1964 – Ron Harper, American basketball player and coach
  • 1964 – Jack Lewis, American soldier and author
  • 1964 – Kazushige Nojima, Japanese screenwriter and songwriter
  • 1964 – Aquilino Pimentel III, Filipino lawyer and politician
  • 1964 – Fareed Zakaria, Indian-American journalist and author
  • 1965 – Colin Calderwood, Scottish footballer defender and manager
  • 1965 – Sophie, Countess of Wessex
  • 1965 – Warren Joyce, English footballer and manager
  • 1965 – John Michael Montgomery, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1965 – Anton Weissenbacher, Romanian footballer
  • 1966 – Rainn Wilson, American actor
  • 1967 – Stacey Dash, American actress and television journalist
  • 1967 – Kellyanne Conway, American political strategist and pundit
  • 1968 – Nick Anderson, American basketball player and sportscaster
  • 1968 – Junior Murray, Grenadian cricketer
  • 1969 – Patrick K. Kroupa, American computer hacker and activist, co-founded MindVox
  • 1969 – Nicky Wire, Welsh singer-songwriter and bass player
  • 1970 – Edwin McCain, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1970 – Skeet Ulrich, American actor
  • 1971 – Derrick Green, American singer
  • 1971 – Gary Barlow, English singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
  • 1971 – Ger McDonnell, Irish mountaineer and engineer (d. 2008)
  • 1971 – Jung Woong-in, South Korean actor
  • 1971 – Questlove, American drummer, DJ, and producer
  • 1971 – Wakanohana Masaru, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 66th Yokozuna
  • 1972 – Nikki Haley, American accountant and politician, 116th Governor of South Carolina
  • 1973 – Stephen Crabb, Scottish-Welsh politician, Secretary of State for Wales
  • 1973 – Queen Mathilde of Belgium
  • 1974 – David Dei, Italian footballer and coach
  • 1975 – Norberto Fontana, Argentinian racing driver
  • 1975 – Zac Goldsmith, English journalist and politician
  • 1976 – Kirsty Gallacher, Scottish journalist and sportscaster
  • 1976 – Michael Myers, American football player
  • 1976 – Gretha Smit, Dutch speed skater
  • 1977 – Paul Adams, South African cricketer and coach
  • 1978 – Salvatore Aronica, Italian footballer
  • 1978 – Sonja Kesselschläger, German heptathlete
  • 1978 – Allan Søgaard, Danish footballer
  • 1979 – Choo Ja-hyun, South Korean actress
  • 1979 – Will Young, English singer-songwriter and actor
  • 1980 – Karl Anderson, American wrestler
  • 1980 – Philippe Cousteau, Jr., American-French oceanographer and journalist
  • 1980 – Philippe Gagnon, Canadian swimmer
  • 1980 – Kim Jeong-hoon, South Korean singer and actor
  • 1980 – Petra Rampre, Slovenian tennis player
  • 1980 – Matthew Tuck, Welsh singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1981 – Freddy Guzmán, Dominican baseball player
  • 1981 – Owen Hargreaves, English footballer
  • 1981 – Jason Richardson, American basketball player
  • 1982 – Ruchi Sanghvi, Indian computer engineer
  • 1982 – Fredrik Strømstad, Norwegian footballer
  • 1983 – Geovany Soto, Puerto Rican-American baseball player
  • 1983 – Mari Yaguchi, Japanese singer and actress
  • 1984 – Malek Jaziri, Tunisian tennis player
  • 1985 – Marina Inoue, Japanese voice actress and singer
  • 1985 – Tanel Sokk, Estonian basketball player
  • 1987 – Janin Lindenberg, German sprinter
  • 1987 – Marco Simoncelli, Italian motorcycle racer (d. 2011)
  • 1988 – Uwa Elderson Echiéjilé, Nigerian footballer
  • 1988 – Jeffrén Suárez, Spanish footballer
  • 1989 – Nick Foles, American football player
  • 1989 – Washington Santana da Silva, Brazilian footballer
  • 1989 – Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1990 – Ray Thompson, Australian rugby league player
  • 1991 – Ciara Hanna, American actress and model
  • 1991 – Tom Cairney, Scottish footballer, midfielder
  • 1991 – Polona Hercog, Slovenian tennis player
  • 1991 – Jolyon Palmer, English racing driver
  • 1992 – Jorge Zárate, Mexican footballer
  • 1993 – Lorenzo Crisetig, Italian footballer
  • 1994 – Seán Kavanagh, Irish footballer, defender
  • 1994 – Lucas Piazon, Brazilian footballer
  • 1995 – Joey Badass, American rapper and actor
  • 1995 – Calum Chambers, English footballer, defender

Deaths on January 20

  • 820 – Al-Shafi‘i, Arab scholar and jurist (b. 767)
  • 842 – Theophilos, Byzantine emperor (b. 813)
  • 882 – Louis the Younger, king of the East Frankish Kingdom
  • 924 – Li Jitao, Chinese general of Later Tang
  • 928 – Zhao Guangfeng, Chinese official and chancellor
  • 1029 – Heonae, Korean queen and regent (b. 964)
  • 1095 – Wulfstan, bishop of Worcester
  • 1156 – Henry, English bishop and saint
  • 1189 – Shi Zong, Chinese emperor of Jin (b. 1123)
  • 1191 – Frederick VI, duke of Swabia (b. 1167)
  • 1191 – Theobald V, count of Blois (b. 1130)
  • 1265 – John Maunsell, English Lord Chancellor
  • 1336 – John de Bohun, 5th Earl of Hereford (b. 1306)
  • 1343 – Robert, king of Naples (b. 1275)
  • 1479 – John II, king of Sicily (b. 1398)
  • 1568 – Myles Coverdale, English bishop and translator (b. 1488)
  • 1612 – Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1552)
  • 1663 – Isaac Ambrose, English minister and author (b. 1604)
  • 1666 – Anne of Austria, Queen and regent of France (b. 1601)
  • 1707 – Humphrey Hody, English scholar and theologian (b. 1659)
  • 1709 – François de la Chaise, French priest (b. 1624)
  • 1751 – John Hervey, 1st Earl of Bristol, English politician (b. 1665)
  • 1770 – Charles Yorke, English lawyer and politician, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1722)
  • 1779 – David Garrick, English actor, producer, playwright, and manager (b. 1717)
  • 1810 – Benjamin Chew, American lawyer and judge (b. 1721)
  • 1819 – Charles IV, Spanish king (b. 1748)
  • 1837 – John Soane, English architect, designed the Bank of England (b. 1753)
  • 1841 – Jørgen Jørgensen, Danish explorer (b. 1780)
  • 1841 – Minh Mạng, Vietnamese emperor (b. 1791)
  • 1848 – Christian VIII, Danish king (b. 1786)
  • 1850 – Adam Oehlenschläger, Danish poet and playwright (b. 1779)
  • 1852 – Ōnomatsu Midorinosuke, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 6th Yokozuna (b. 1794)
  • 1873 – Basil Moreau, French priest, founded the Congregation of Holy Cross (b. 1799)
  • 1875 – Jean-François Millet, French painter and educator (b. 1814)
  • 1891 – Kalākaua, king of Hawaii (b. 1836)
  • 1900 – John Ruskin, English painter and critic (b. 1819)
  • 1901 – Zénobe Gramme, Belgian engineer, invented the Gramme machine (b. 1826)
  • 1907 – Agnes Mary Clerke, Irish astronomer and author (b. 1842)
  • 1908 – John Ordronaux, American surgeon and academic (b. 1830)
  • 1913 – José Guadalupe Posada, Mexican engraver and illustrator (b. 1852)
  • 1915 – Arthur Guinness, 1st Baron Ardilaun, Irish businessman, philanthropist, and politician (b. 1840)
  • 1920 – Georg Lurich, Estonian-Russian wrestler and strongman (b. 1876)
  • 1921 – Mary Watson Whitney, American astronomer and academic (b. 1847)
  • 1924 – Henry “Ivo” Crapp, Australian footballer and umpire (b. 1872)
  • 1936 – George V of the United Kingdom (b. 1865)
  • 1940 – Omar Bundy, American general (b. 1861)
  • 1944 – James McKeen Cattell, American psychologist and academic (b. 1860)
  • 1947 – Josh Gibson, American baseball player (b. 1911)
  • 1947 – Andrew Volstead, American member of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1860)
  • 1954 – Warren Bardsley, Australian cricketer (b. 1882)
  • 1954 – Fred Root, English cricketer and umpire (b. 1890)
  • 1955 – Robert P. T. Coffin, American author and poet (b. 1892)
  • 1962 – Robinson Jeffers, American poet and philosopher (b. 1887)
  • 1965 – Alan Freed, American radio host (b. 1922)
  • 1971 – Broncho Billy Anderson, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1880)
  • 1971 – Minanogawa Tōzō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 34th Yokozuna (b. 1903)
  • 1973 – Lorenz Böhler, Austrian physician and surgeon (b. 1885)
  • 1973 – Amílcar Cabral, Guinea Bissauan-Cape Verdian engineer and politician (b. 1924)
  • 1977 – Dimitrios Kiousopoulos, Greek jurist and politician, 151st Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1892)
  • 1980 – William Roberts, English soldier and painter (b. 1895)
  • 1983 – Garrincha, Brazilian footballer (b. 1933)
  • 1984 – Johnny Weissmuller, American swimmer and actor (b. 1904)
  • 1988 – Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Pakistani activist and politician (b. 1890)
  • 1988 – Dora Stratou, Greek dancer and choreographer (b. 1903)
  • 1989 – Alamgir Kabir, Bangladeshi director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1938)
  • 1990 – Barbara Stanwyck, American actress (b. 1907)
  • 1993 – Audrey Hepburn, British actress and humanitarian activist (b. 1929)
  • 1994 – Matt Busby, Scottish footballer and coach (b. 1909)
  • 1994 – Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, first Kenyan Vice-President (b. 1911)
  • 1996 – Gerry Mulligan, American saxophonist and composer (b. 1927)
  • 2002 – Carrie Hamilton, American actress and singer (b. 1963)
  • 2003 – Al Hirschfeld, American painter and illustrator (b. 1903)
  • 2003 – Nedra Volz, American actress (b. 1908)
  • 2004 – Alan Brown, English racing driver (b. 1919)
  • 2004 – T. Nadaraja, Sri Lankan lawyer and academic (b. 1917)
  • 2005 – Per Borten, Norwegian lawyer and politician, 18th Prime Minister of Norway (b. 1913)
  • 2005 – Jan Nowak-Jeziorański, Polish journalist and politician (b. 1913)
  • 2005 – Miriam Rothschild, English zoologist, entomologist, and author (b. 1908)
  • 2009 – Stéphanos II Ghattas, Egyptian patriarch (b. 1920)
  • 2012 – Etta James, American singer-songwriter (b. 1938)
  • 2012 – John Levy, American bassist and manager (b. 1912)
  • 2012 – Ioannis Kefalogiannis, Greek politician, Greek Minister of the Interior (b. 1933)
  • 2012 – Alejandro Rodriguez, Venezuelan-American pediatrician and psychiatrist (b. 1918)
  • 2013 – Pavlos Matesis, Greek author and playwright (b. 1933)
  • 2013 – Toyo Shibata, Japanese poet and author (b. 1911)
  • 2014 – Claudio Abbado, Italian conductor (b. 1933)
  • 2014 – Otis G. Pike, American judge and politician (b. 1921)
  • 2014 – Jonas Trinkūnas, Lithuanian ethnologist and academic (b. 1939)
  • 2015 – Edgar Froese, Russian-German keyboard player and songwriter (b. 1944)
  • 2016 – Mykolas Burokevičius, Lithuanian carpenter and politician (b. 1927)
  • 2016 – Edmonde Charles-Roux, French journalist and author (b. 1920)
  • 2018 – Paul Bocuse, French chef (b. 1926)
  • 2018 – Naomi Parker Fraley, American naval machiner (b. 1921)
  • 2020 – Jaroslav Kubera, Czech politician (b. 1947)
  • 2020 – Tom Fisher Railsback, American politician, member of the Illinois and U.S. House of Representatives

Holidays and observances on January 20

  • Armed Forces Day (Mali)
  • Army Day (Laos)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Abadios
    • Blessed Basil Moreau
    • Eustochia Smeralda Calafato
    • Euthymius the Great
    • Fabian
    • Manchán of Lemanaghan
    • Maria Cristina of the Immaculate Conception Brando
    • Richard Rolle (Church of England)
    • Sebastian
    • Stephen Min Kuk-ka (one of The Korean Martyrs)
    • January 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Heroes’ Day (Cape Verde)
  • Inauguration Day, held every four years in odd-numbered years immediately following years divisible by 4, except for the public ceremony when January 20 falls on Sunday (the public ceremony is held the following day; however, the terms of offices still begin on the 20th) (United States of America, not a federal holiday for all government employees but only for those working in the Capital region)
  • Martyrs’ Day (Azerbaijan)

January 20 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

Some Interesting Facts

English, General Knowledge, History, World /

1. Hot water will turn into ice faster than cold water.

2. The Mona Lisa has no eyebrows.

3. The sentence, “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” uses every letter in the English language (all 26 letters).

4. The strongest muscle in the body is the tongue.

5. Ant’s take rest for around 8 Minutes in 12 hour period.

6. “I Am” is the shortest complete sentence in the English language.

7. Coca-Cola was originally green.

8. The most common name in the world is Mohammed.

9. When the moon is directly overhead, you will weigh slightly less.

10. Camels have three eyelids to protect themselves from the blowing desert sand.

11. There are only two words in the English language that have all five vowels in order: “abstemious” and “facetious.”

12. The name of all the continents end with the same letter that they start with.

13. There are two credit cards for every person in the United States.

14. TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row of the keyboard.

15. Minus 40 degrees Celsius is exactly the same as minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

16. Chocolate can kill dogs, as it contains theobromine, which affects their heart and nervous system.

17. Women blink nearly twice as much as men!

18. You can’t kill yourself by holding your breath.

19. It is impossible to lick your elbow.

20. The Guinness Book of Records holds the record for being the book most often stolen from Public Libraries.

21. People say “Bless you” when you sneeze because when you sneeze, your heart stops for a millisecond.

22. It is physically impossible for pigs to look up into the sky.

23. The “sixth sick sheik’s sixth sheep’s sick” is said to be the toughest tongue twister in the English language.

24. “Rhythm” is the longest English word without a vowel.

25. If you sneeze too hard, you can fracture a rib. If you try to suppress a sneeze, you can rupture a blood vessel in your head or neck and die.

26. Each king in a deck of playing cards represents great king from history.
Spades – King David
Clubs – Alexander the Great,
Hearts – Charlemagne
Diamonds – Julius Caesar.

27. It is impossible to lick your elbow.

28. 111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321

29. If a statue of a person in the park on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle.
If the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died as a result of wounds received in battle.
If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.

30. What do bullet proof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers and laser printers all have in common?
Ans. – All invented by women.

31. Question – This is the only food that doesn’t spoil. What is this?
Ans. – Honey

32. A crocodile cannot stick its tongue out.

33. A snail can sleep for three years.

34. All polar bears are left handed.

35. American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating one olive from each salad served in first-class.

36. Butterflies taste with their feet.

37. Elephants are the only animals that can’t jump.

38. In the last 4000 years, no new animals have been domesticated.

39. On average, people fear spiders more than they do death.

40. Stewardesses is the longest word typed with only the left hand.

41. The ant always falls over on its right side when intoxicated.

42. The electric chair was invented by a dentist.

43. The human heart creates enough pressure when it pumps out to the body to squirt blood 30 feet.

44. Rats multiply so quickly that in 18 months, two rats could have over million descendants.

45. Wearing headphones for just an hour will increase the bacteria in your ear by 700 times.

46. The cigarette lighter was invented before the match.

47. Most lipstick contains fish scales.

48. Like fingerprints, everyone’s tongue print is different.

Some Interesting Facts Read More »

English, General Knowledge, History, World

General Science & Ability | Constituents and Structure Solved MCQs (Set-III)

General Knowledge, MCQs / Q&A /

Click HERE for Q.No.1-50
Click HERE for Q.No.51-100

101) Which type of star is maintained by the pressure of an electron gas?
(a) Main Sequence Star
(b) White Dwarf
(c) Neutron Star
(d) Black Hole
Answer: (b)
White dwarfs are stars supported by pressure of degenerate electron gas. i.e. in their interiors thermal energy kT is much smaller then Fermi energy Ep. We shall derive the equations of structure of white dwarfs, sometimes called degenerate dwarfs, in the limiting case when their thermal pressure may be neglected, but the degenerate electron gas may be either non-relativistic. somewhat relativistic. or ultra-relativistic.

102) Which of the following first hypothesized that the Earth orbited the sun?
(a) Alexander the Great
(b) Copernicus
(c) Socrates
(d) Tycho Brahe
Answer: (b)
Nicolaus Copernicus was a Renaissance mathematician and astronomer who formulated a model of the universe that placed the Sun rather than the Earth at the center of the universe.

103) The LAST manned moon flight was made in what year?
(a) 1971 (b) 1972
(c) 1973 (d) 1974
Answer: (b)
The last manned landing Apollo 17 on the Moon to date, which took place on December 11, 1972, was made by Commander Eugene Cernan and lunar module pilot Harrison Schmitt who was also the first scientist on the Moon.

104) A planet is said to be at aphelion when it is:
(a) closest to the sun
(b) farthest from the sun
(c) at it’s highest point above the ecliptic
(d) at it’s lowest point below the ecliptic
Answer: (b)

105) The word Albedo refers to which of the following?
(a) The wobbling motion of a planet
(b) The amount of light a planet reflects
(c) The phase changes of a planet
(d) The brightness of a star
Answer: (b)
Albedo is a measure of the reflectivity of a surface. The albedo effect when applied to the Earth is a measure of how much of the Sun’s energy is reflected back into space. Overall, the Earth’s albedo has a cooling effect. (The term ‘albedo’ is derived from the Latin for ‘whiteness’).

106) A pulsar is actually a:
(a) black hole
(b) white dwarf
(c) red giant
(d) neutron star
Answer: (d)

107) Astronomers use Cepheid’s principally as measures of what? Is it:
(a) size
(b) speed
(c) chemical composition
(d) distance
Answer: (d)

108) Where are most asteroids located? Is it between:
(a) Jupiter and Saturn
(b) Mars and Venus
(c) Earth and Mars
(d) Mars and Jupiter
Answer: (d)

109) The precession of the Earth refers to the:
(a) change from night to day.
(b) Earth’s motion around the sun.
(c) change in orientation of the Earth’s axis.
(d) effect of the moon on the Earth’s orbit.
Answer: (c)
Precession is the change in orientation of the Earth’s rotational axis. The precession cycle takes about 19,000 – 23,000 years. Precession is caused by two factors: a wobble of the Earth’s axis and a turning around of the elliptical orbit of the Earth itself (Thomas, 2002). Obliquity affected the tilt of the Earth’s axis, precession affects the direction of the Earth’s axis. The change in the axis location changes the dates of perihelion (closest distance from sun) and aphelion (farthest distance from sun), and this increases the seasonal contrast in one hemisphere while decreasing it in the other hemisphere ( Kaufman, 2002). currently, the Earth is closest to the sun in the northern hemisphere winter, which makes the winters there less severe (Thomas, 2002). Another consequence of precession is a shift in the celestial poles. 5000 years ago the North Star was Thuban in the constellation Draco. Currently the North Star is Polaris in the constellation Ursa Minor.

110) The Magellanic cloud is a:
(a) nebula
(b) galaxy
(c) super nova remnant
(d) star cluster
Answer: (b)

111) The comet known as Halley’s Comet has an average period of:
(a) 56 years
(b) 66 years
(c) 76 years
(d) 86 years
Answer: (c)
Halley’s Comet orbits the Sun every 76.0 years and has an orbital eccentricity of 0.97. Comet Halley was visible in 1910 and again in 1986. Its next perihelion passage will be in early 2062.

112) Which one of the following planets has no moons?
(a) Mars
(b) Neptune
(c) Venus
(d) Jupiter
Answer: (c)

113) The rocks that enter the earth’s atmosphere and blaze a trail all the way to the ground and do not burn up completely are known as:
(a) meteorites
(b) meteors
(c) asteroids
(d) none of these
Answer: (a)
A meteorite is a solid piece of debris from an object, such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, that originates in outer space and survives its passage through the Earth’s atmosphere and impact with the Earth’s surface

114) 95% of the Martian atmosphere is composed of what substance?
(a) Carbon dioxide
(b) Nitrogen
(c) Argon
(d) Carbon monoxide
Answer: (a)
The atmosphere of Mars is about 100 times thinner than Earth’s, and it is 95 percent carbon dioxide.

115) What is the motion called when a planet seems to be moving westward in the sky?
(a) Retrograde
(b) Parallax
(c) Opcentric
(d) Reverse parallax
Answer: (a)
Retrograde motion, in astronomy, describes the orbit of a celestial body that runs counter to the direction of the spin of that body which it orbits. Apparent retrograde motion, in astronomy, is the apparent motion of planets as observed from a particular vantage point.

116) In what year did Galileo first use an optical telescope to study the moon?
(a) 1492 (b) 1611
(c) 1212 (d) 1743
Answer: (b)

117) Geocentric means around:
(a) Jupiter (b) the Earth
(c) the Moon (d) the Sun
Answer: (b)

118) The Pythagoreans appear to have been the first to have taught that the Earth is:
(a) at the center of the Universe.
(b) spherical in shape.
(c) orbits around the sun.
(d) flat with sharp edges.
Answer: (b)

119) A device which would not work on the Moon is:
(a) thermometer
(b) siphon
(c) spectrometer
(d) spring balance
Answer: (b)
Siphons will not work in the International Space Station where there is air but no gravity, but neither will they work on the Moon where there is gravity but no air

120) Of the following colors, which is bent least in passing through aprism?
(a) orange (b) violet
(c) green (d) red
Answer: (d)

121) In a reflecting telescope where in the tube is the objective mirror placed?
(a) the top to the tube
(b) the middle of the tube
(c) the bottom of the tube
(d) the side of the tube
Answer: (c)

122) What does it mean when someone says that comets have eccentric orbits? Does it mean
(a) they have open orbits
(b) they have nearly circular orbits
(c) their orbits are unpredictable
(d) the sun is far from the foci of their orbits
Answer: (d)

123) What causes the gas tail of a comet to always point away from the sun?
(a) solar wind
(b) air pressure
(c) centrifugal force
(d) gravity
Answer: (a)

124) What are Saturn’s rings composed of?
(a) completely connected solid masses
(b) billions of tiny solid particles
(c) mixtures of gases
(d) highly reflective cosmic clouds
Answer: (b)

125) Of the following, which is the only planet which CANNOT be seen with the unaided eye?
(a) Jupiter
(b) Mars
(c) Neptune
(d) Saturn
Answer: (c)
The ice giant Neptune was the first planet located through mathematical predictions rather than through regular observations of the sky. Nearly 4.5 billion kilometers (2.8 billion miles) from the Sun, Neptune orbits the Sun once every 165 years. It is invisible to the naked eye because of its extreme distance from Earth. In 2011 Neptune completed its first orbit since its discovery in 1846.

126) Accretion is:
(a) the gradual accumulation of matter in one location usually due to gravity.
(b) the process of moon formation for planets.
(c) the process of matter accumulation due to centripetal force.
(d) the disintegration of matter.
Answer: (b)

127) A blue shift means a Doppler shift of light from a(an)
(a) receding star.
(b) blue star.
(c) approaching star.
(d) fixed star.
Answer: (c)
In the Doppler effect for visible light, the frequency is shifted toward the blue end of the spectrum when the light source (such as a star) is approaching.

128) The first and largest asteroid discovered was:
(a) Pallas.
(b) Juno.
(c) Ceres.
(d) Trojan.
Answer: (c)

129) The Crab Nebula consists of the remnants of a supernova which was observed by:
(a) Brahe in 1572.
(b) Kepler and Galileo in 1604.
(c) the Chinese in 1054 A.D.
(d) several ancient civilizations in 236 B.C.
Answer: (c)
The Crab Nebula, the result of a supernova noted by Earth-bound chroniclers in 1054 A.D., is filled with mysterious filaments that are are not only tremendously complex, but appear to have less mass than expelled in the original supernova and a higher speed than expected from a free explosion. The Crab Nebula spans about 10 light-years. In the nebula’s very center lies a pulsar: a neutron star as massive as the Sun but with only the size of a small town. The Crab Pulsar rotates about 30 times each second.

130) The atmosphere of Venus contains mostly
(a) oxygen
(b) carbon dioxide
(c) nitrogen
(d) water
Answer: (b)
The atmosphere of Venus is composed of about 96% carbon dioxide, with most … various other corrosive compounds, and the atmosphere contains little water.

131) On the celestial sphere, the annual path of the Sun is called
(a) the eclipse path.
(b) ecliptic.
(c) diurnal.
(d) solstice.
Answer: (b)
The ecliptic is an imaginary line on the sky that marks the annual path of the sun. It is the projection of Earth’s orbit onto the celestial sphere.

132) The angular distance between a planet and the Sun, as viewed from the Earth, is called
(a) angle of inclination.
(b) elongation.
(c) latitude.
(d) opposition.
Answer: (b)
Elongation is the angular distance between the sun, and another object such a moon or a planet as seen from earth. There are several special names for these angular distances. The different names of these angles depend on the status, inferior or superior, of the planet. The planets closer to the sun than the earth are called inferior planets. The planets farther away from the sun than earth are called superior planets.
Elongation is measured from earth as the angle between the sun and the planet. Sometimes the apparent relative position of a planet in relation to the sun is called the aspect, or configuration, of a planet.

133) Which of the following has the highest density?
(a) Earth
(b) Venus
(c) Mars
(d) Jupiter
Answer: (a)
Earth has the highest density of any planet in the Solar System, at 5.514 g/cm3. This is considered the standard by which other planet’s densities are measured. In addition, the combination of Earth’s size, mass and density also results in a surface gravity of 9.8 m/s². This is also used as a the standard (one g) when measuring the surface gravity of other planets.

134) Which of the following planets is NOT a terrestrial planet?
(a) Earth
(b) Jupiter
(c) Mars
(d) Mercury
Answer: (b)
The term terrestrial planet is derived from the Latin “Terra” (i.e. Earth). Terrestrial planets are therefore those that are “Earth-like”, meaning they are similar in structure and composition to planet Earth. All those planets found within the Inner Solar System – Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars – are examples of terrestrial planets. Each are composed primarily of silicate rock and metal, which is differentiated between a dense, metallic core and a silicate mantle.

135) Why do we see lunar eclipses much more often than solar eclipses?
(a) Lunar eclipses occur more often than solar eclipses.
(b) Lunar eclipses last longer than solar eclipses.
(c) The lunar eclipse is visible to much more of the Earth than a solar eclipse.
(d) The moon is closer to the Earth than the sun.
Answer: (c)
Lunar and solar eclipses occur with about equal frequency. Lunar eclipses are more widely visible because Earth casts a much larger shadow on the Moon during a lunar eclipse than the Moon casts on Earth during a solar eclipse. As a result, we are more likely to see a lunar eclipse than a solar eclipse.

136) A star like object with a very large red shift is a
(a) Neutron star.
(b) Nova.
(c) Quasar.
(d) Supernova.
Answer: (c)
Quasars: In the 1930’s, Edwin Hubble discovered that all galaxies have a positive redshift. In other words, all galaxies were receding from the Milky Way.

137) The apparent magnitude of an object in the sky describes its
(a) Size
(b) Magnification
(c) Brightness
(d) Distance
Answer: (c)

138) The Van Allen belts are:
(a) caused by the refraction of sunlight like rainbows.
(b) charged particles trapped in the Earth’s magnetic field.
(c) caused by the reflection of polar snow.
(d) caused by precession.
Answer: (b)
The Van Allen belts are a collection of charged particles, gathered in place by Earth’s magnetic field. They can wax and wane in response to incoming energy from the sun, sometimes swelling up enough to expose satellites in low-Earth orbit to damaging radiation.

139) A coordinate system based on the ecliptic system is especially useful for the studies of
(a) Planets
(b) Stars
(c) The Milky Way
(d) Galaxies
Answer: (a)

140) The mean distance of the earth from the sun in astronomical units is:
(a) 3.7 (b) 10
(c) 1 (d) 101
Answer: (c)
In astronomy, an astronomical unit is defined as the average distance from the Sun to the Earth, or about 150 million kilometers (93 million miles). You can abbreviate astronomical unit as AU.
Since the distances in astronomy are so vast, astronomers use this measurement to bring the size of numbers down.
For example, Earth is 1 au from the Sun, and Mars is 1.523 AU. That’s much easier than saying that Mars is 227,939,000 km away from the Sun.

141) What process produces a star’s energy?
(a) hydrogen and oxygen combustion
(b) nuclear fusion
(c) neutron beta decay
(d) nuclear fission
Answer: (b)
The enormous luminous energy of the stars comes from nuclear fusion processes in their centers. Depending upon the age and mass of a star, the energy may come from proton-proton fusion, helium fusion, or the carbon cycle.

142) What is the most distant object in the sky that the human eye can see without optical instruments?
(a) The Horsehead Nebula
(b) The Andromeda Galaxy
(c) The Sagittarius Constellation
(d) The Aurora Borealis
Answer: (b)
The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) is the closest large galaxy to the Milky Way and is one of a few galaxies that can be seen unaided from the Earth. In approximately 4.5 billion years the Andromeda Galaxy and the Milky Way are expected to collide and the result will be a giant elliptical galaxy. Andromeda is accompanied by 14 dwarf galaxies, including M32, M110, and possibly M33 (The Triangulum Galaxy).

143) Which civilization developed and implemented the first solar calendar?
(a) Babylonian
(b) Greek
(c) Egyptian
(d) Aztec
Answer: (c)
A solar calendar is a calendar whose dates indicate the position of the earth on its revolution around the sun and is based on the seasonal year of approximately 365 1/4 days, the time it takes the Earth to revolve once around the Sun. The Egyptians appear to have been the first to develop a solar calendar, using as a fixed point the annual sunrise reappearance of the Dog Star — Sirius, or Sothis — in the eastern sky, which coincided with the annual flooding of the Nile River. They constructed a calendar of 365 days, consisting of 12 months of 30 days each, with 5 days added at the year’s end. The Egyptians’ failure to account for the extra fraction of a day, however, caused their calendar to drift gradually into error.

144) What is the HOTTEST region of the sun?
(a) The core
(b) The photosphere
(c) The chromospheres
(d) The corona
Answer: (d)
The corona is the outermost layer of the Sun, starting at about 1300 miles (2100 km) above the solar surface (the photosphere) The temperature in the corona is 500,000 K (900,000 degrees F, 500,000 degrees C) or more, up to a few million K. The corona cannot be seen with the naked eye except during a total solar eclipse, or with the use of a coronagraph. The corona does not have an upper limit.
A study published in 2012 in Nature Communications by researchers at Northumbria University found a possible mechanism that causes some stars to have a corona that is almost 200 times hotter than their photosphere (the star’s surface).

145) The same side of the moon always faces the Earth because:
(a) the moon is not rotating about its axis.
(b) the moon’s motion was fixed at its creation by the laws of inertia.
(c) tidal forces keep the moon’s rotation and orbiting motion in sync with each other.
(d) the moon’s magnetic poles keep aligned with the Earth’s magnetic field.
Answer: (b)

146) The resolving power of a telescope depends on the:
(a) focal ratio
(b) diameter of the objective
(c) magnification
(d) focal length
Answer: (b)
The resolving power of a telescope depends on the diameter of the telescope’s light-gathering apparatus, or objective. In a refracting telescope, the objective lens is the first lens the light passes through. In a reflecting telescope, the objective is the telescope’s primary mirror. In a Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, the objective is also the primary mirror. As the diameter of the telescope’s objective increases, the resolving power increases.

147) On a clear, dark, moonless night, approximately how many stars can be seen with the naked eye?
(a) 300 (b) 1,000
(c) 3,000 (d) 10,000
Answer: (c)
On any clear dark moonless night a person can see about 3000 stars of our galaxy without the aid of a telescope

148) The study of the origin and evolution of the universe is known as:
(a) Tomography
(b) cystoscopy
(c) cryology
(d) cosmology
Answer: (d)
Cosmology is the branch of astronomy involving the origin and evolution of the universe, from the Big Bang to today and on into the future. According to NASA, the definition of cosmology is “the scientific study of the large scale properties of the universe as a whole.”

149) According to Kepler’s Laws, all orbits of the planets are:
(a) ellipses
(b) parabolas
(c) hyperbolas
(d) square
Answer: (a)
Johannes Kepler, working with data painstakingly collected by Tycho Brahe without the aid of a telescope, developed three laws which described the motion of the planets across the sky.
1. The Law of Orbits: All planets move in elliptical orbits, with the sun at one focus.
2. The Law of Areas: A line that connects a planet to the sun sweeps out equal areas in equal times.
3. The Law of Periods: The square of the period of any planet is proportional to the cube of the semimajor axis of its orbit.
Kepler’s laws were derived for orbits around the sun, but they apply to satellite orbits as well.

General Science & Ability | Constituents and Structure Solved MCQs (Set-III) Read More »

General Knowledge, MCQs / Q&A

Constituents and Structure Solved MCQs (Set-II) | General Science & Ability

General Knowledge, MCQs / Q&A /

Click HERE for Q. No.1-50.

51) Planets are always small compared with stars because otherwise ______.
( a) the rotation of the planets would cause them to disintegrate
(b) the great mass of the planets would cause them to be pulled into their parent star
(c) the great mass of the planets would prevent them from being held in orbit and they would escape
(d) the planets would be stars themselves
Answer: (d)

52) The least likely reason why planetary systems have not been directly observed around stars other than the sun is that __
(a) Planets are small
(b) Planets shine by reflected light
(c) Planetary systems are rare
(d) Other stars are far away
Answer: (c)

53) Which of the following is the correct ordering of the inner planets according to their proximity to the sun? (CSS 2012)
(a) Jupiter, Saturn , Uranus , Neptune
(b) Phobos, Deimes , Europe , Tias
(c) Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars
(d) None of these
Answer: (c)

54) The term ‘Blue Shift’ is used to indicate: (CSS 2009)
(a) Doppler effect in which an object appears bluer when it is moving towards the observer or observer is moving towards the object.

(b) Turning a star from white to blue
(c) In future sun would become blue
(d) Black hole was blue at its start
(e) None of these
Answer: (a)

55) Which planet of our solar system is called as Morning star? (CSS 2008)
Answer: Venus

56) What is the diameter of the earth?
Answer: 12 756.2 kilometers

57) The number of natural satellites orbiting around the Mars is: (CSS 2002/2003)
(a) 1
(b) 2
(c) 5
(d) 14
Answer: (b)
Mars has two natural satellites, discovered by Asaph Hall in 1877. The innermost of these, Phobos, is about 7 mi (11 km) in diameter and orbits the planet with a period far less than Mars’s period of rotation (7 hr 39 min), causing it to rise in the west and set in the east. The outer satellite, Deimos, is about 4 mi (6 km) in diameter.

58) All stars are of the same color
(False)

59) Our galaxy milky way is shaped like a large thick concave lens with a large central bulge (CSS 2002)
(True)

60) The coldest planet of the solar system is: (CSS 2000)
(a) Earth
(b) Venus
(c) Neptune d) Pluto
(e) None of these
Answer: (c)
In the past, the title for “most frigid body” went to Pluto, as it was the farthest then-designated planet from the Sun. However, due to the IAU’s decision in 2006 to reclassify Pluto as a “dwarf planet”, the title has since passed to Neptune. As the eight planet from our Sun, it is now the outermost planet in the Solar System, and hence the coldest.

61) Venus is the smallest planet of the solar system. (CSS 1999)
(False)

62) Black hole is a hypothetical region of space having a gravitational pull so great that no matter or radiation can escape from it. (CSS 1998)

63) Our solar system has about — satellites. (CSS 1996)
(a) 35
(b) 179
(c) 96
(d) None of these
Answer: (b)
In the Solar System, there are 179 satellites. A majority of those moons belong to the planet of Jupiter, the second most belonging to Saturn. The largest of these moons is Ganymede, which is one of the Galilean Moons.

64) ——- cannot be nominated for the Nobel Prize. (CSS 1996)
(a) Physicists
(b) Economists
(c) Astronomers
(d) None of these
Answer: (c)

65) The largest planet of the solar system is Jupiter. (CSS 1995)

66) Planet Mars has (CSS 1995)
(a) 1 Moon
(b) 2 Moons
(c) 4 Moons
(d) None of these
Answer: (b)
The moons of Mars are Phobos and Deimos. Both moons were discovered in 1877 by Asaph Hall Asaph Hall was about to give up his frustrating search for a Martian moon one August night in 1877, but his wife Angelina urged him on. He discovered Deimos the next night, and Phobos six nights after that. Ninety-four years later, NASA’s Mariner 9 spacecraft got a much better look at the two moons from its orbit around Mars. The dominant feature on Phobos, it found, was a crater 10 km (6 miles) wide — nearly half the width of the moon itself. It was given Angelina’s maiden name: Stickney.

67) Where do most of Asteroids lie? (CSS 2007)
(a) In asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter
(b) In asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Venus
(c) In asteroid belt between the orbits of Jupiter and Venus
(d) Everywhere in the sky
(e) None of these
Answer: (a)

68) This is the measure of moisture in the air.
(a) Temperature
(b) Humidity
(c) Altitude
(d) None of these
Answer: (b)

69) This is the greatest amount of water vapor the air could hold at a certain temperature
(a) Absolute humidity
(b) Relative humidity
(c) Variable humidity
(d) None of these
Answer: (a)
Absolute humidity is the measure of water vapor (moisture) in the air, regardless of temperature. It is expressed as grams of moisture per cubic meter of air (g/m3).
The maximum absolute humidity of warm air at 30°C/86°F is approximately 30g of water vapor – 30g/m3. The maximum absolute humidity of cold air at 0°C/32°F is approximately 5g of water vapor – 5g/m3.

70) This is how much actual water vapor is in the air at a certain temperature.
(a)Absolute humidity
(b) Relative humidity
(c) Variable
(d) None of these
Answer: (b)
Relative humidity also measures water vapor but RELATIVE to the temperature of the air. It is expressed as the amount of water vapor in the air as a percentage of the total amount that could be held at its current temperature.

71) Humidity is measured with a
(a) Barometer
(b) Thermometer
(c) Hygrometer
(d) None of these
Answer: (c)

72) Founder of modern astronomy was: (CSS-2009)
(a) Archimedes
(b) William Gilbert
(c) Nicolas Copernicus
(d) Michael Faraday
(e) None of these
Answer: (c)

73) The most splendid and the most magnificent constellation on the sky is: (CSS-2009)
(a) Orion
(b) Columbia
(c) Canis Major
(d) Taurus
(e) None of these
Answer: (a)
(Canis Major is a constellation in the southern sky. Its name means “the greater dog” in Latin.) Orion, which is located on the celestial equator, is one of the most prominent and recognizable constellations in the sky and can be seen throughout the world.

74) Which of the following explains the reason why there is no total eclipse of the sun? (CSS-2009)
(a) Size of the earth in relation to that of moon
(b) Orbit of moon around earth
(c) Direction of rotation of earth around sun
(d) Area of the sun covered by the moon
(e) None of these
Answer: (b)

75) Where do most of Asteroids lie? (CSS-2009)
(a) In asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter
(b) In asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Venus
(c) In asteroid belt between the orbits of Jupiter and Venus
(d) Everywhere in the sky
(e) None of these
Answer: (a)
Most asteroids lie in a vast ring between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. This main asteroid belt holds more than 200 asteroids larger than 60 miles (100 kilometers) in diameter. Scientists estimate the asteroid belt also contains more than 750,000 asteroids larger than three-fifths of a mile (1 km) in diameter and millions of smaller ones. Not everything in the main belt is an asteroid — for instance, comets have recently been discovered there, and Ceres, once thought of only as an asteroid, is now also considered a dwarf planet.

76) The largest circular storm in our solar system is on the surface of which of the following planets?
(a) Jupiter
(b) Venus
(c) Uranus
(d) Earth
Answer: (a)
Jupiter boasts the largest storm in the Solar System . It is called the Great Red Spot and has been observed for hundreds of years that kind of storm is dwarfed by the Great Red Spot, a gigantic storm in Jupiter. There, gigantic means twice as wide as Earth. Today, scientists know the Great Red Spot is there and it’s been there for a while, but they still struggle to learn what causes its swirl of reddish hues.

77) The biggest asteroid known is:
(a) Vesta
(b) Icarus
(c) Ceres
(d) Eros
Answer: (c)
Ceres, a dwarf planet and the largest asteroid in the solar system yet known. Discovered in 1801 and first thought to be a planet and then an asteroid, we now call Ceres a dwarf planet. Gravitational forces from Jupiter billions of years ago prevented it from becoming a full-fledged planet. But Ceres has more in common with Earth and Mars than its rocky neighbors in the main asteroid belt. There may even be water ice buried under Ceres’ crust.

78) Rounded to the nearest day, the Mercurian year is equal to:
(a) 111 days
(b) 87.97 days
(c) 50 days
(d) 25 days
Answer: (b)
Mercurian Year: A year on Mercury takes 87.97 Earth days; it takes 87.97 Earth days for Mercury to orbit the sun once

79) One of the largest volcanoes in our solar system-if not the largest-is named Olympus Mons. This volcano is located on:
(a) Jupiter’s moon Callisto
(b) Venus
(c) Saturn’s moon Titan
(d) Mars
Answer: (d)
Olympus Mons is the largest volcano in the solar system. The massive Martian mountain towers high above the surrounding plains of the red planet, and may be biding its time until the next eruption. Olympus Mons rises three times higher than Earth’s highest mountain, Mount Everest, whose peak is 5.5 miles above sea level.

80) One Jupiter day is equal to which of the following?
(a) 30 hrs 40 min
(b) 9 hrs 50 min
(c) 3 hrs 20 min
(d) 52 hrs 10 min
Answer: (b)

81) The time interval between two successive occurrences of a specific type of alignment of a planet (or the moon) with the sun and the earth is referred to as:
(a) a conjunction
(b) an opposition
(c) a sidereal period
(d) a synodic period.
Answer: (d)
Synodic period , in astronomy, length of time during which a body in the solar system makes one orbit of the sun relative to the earth, i.e. The synodic period of the moon, which is called the lunar month, or lunation, is 291/2 days long; it is longer than the sidereal month.

82) Of the following four times, which one best represents the time it takes energy generated in the core of the sun to reach the surface of the sun and be radiated?
(a) Three minutes
(b) Thirty days
(c) One thousand years
(d) One million years
Answer: (d)

83) The sunspot cycle is:
(a) 3 years
(b) 11 years
(c) 26 years
(d) 49 years
Answer: (b)

The amount of magnetic flux that rises up to the Sun’s surface varies with time in a cycle called the solar cycle. This cycle lasts 11 years on average. This cycle is sometimes referred to as the sunspot cycle.

84) The Hertzsprung-Russel Diagram of stars DIRECTLY compares what TWO of the following properties of stars?
(a) size
(b) temperature
(c) luminosity
(d) Both b & c
Answer: (d)
One of the most useful and powerful plots in astrophysics is the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram (hereafter called the H-R diagram). It originated in 1911 when the Danish astronomer, Ejnar Hertzsprung, plotted the absolute magnitude of stars against their color (hence effective temperature). Independently in 1913 the American astronomer Henry Norris Russell used spectral class against absolute magnitude. Their resultant plots showed that the relationship between temperature and luminosity of a star was not random but instead appeared to fall into distinct groups.

The majority of stars, including our Sun, are found along a region called the Main Sequence. Main Sequence stars vary widely in effective temperature but the hotter they are, the more luminous they are, hence the main sequence tends to follow a band going from the bottom right of the diagram to the top left. These stars are fusing hydrogen to helium in their cores. Stars spend the bulk of their existence as main sequence stars. Other major groups of stars found on the H-R diagram are the giants and supergiants; luminous stars that have evolved off the main sequence, and the white dwarfs. Whilst each of these types is discussed in detail in later pages we can use their positions on the H-R diagram to infer some of their properties.

85) The Andromeda Galaxy is which of the following types of galaxies?
(a) elliptical
(b) spiral
(c) barred-spiral
(d) irregular
Answer: (b)
The Andromeda Galaxy also known as Messier 31, M31, or NGC 224, is a spiral galaxy approximately 780 kilo parsecs (2.5 million light-years) from Earth

86) About how many light years across is the Milky Way? Is it:
(a) 1,000
(b) 10,000
(c) 100,000
(d) 1,000,000
Answer: (c)
100 000 light years across
A light-year is precisely equal to a whole number of meters, namely 9460730472580800 m or approximately 9.46073 1015 m. That’s the distance traveled by light in a vacuum, at a speed of 299792458 m/s, during a “scientific year” of 31557600 s. All these numbers are exact… In particular, “Einstein’s Constant” is exactly c = 299792458 m/s, because of the latest definition of the meter, officially adopted in 1983.

87) Who was the first man to classify stars according to their brightness. Was it:
(a) Aristarchus
(b) Pythagoras
(c) Copernicus
(d) Hipparchus
Answer: (d)
The first person to classify stars by their apparent magnitude (brightness) was Hipparchus in about 130 BC. He divided the stars into classes based on how bright they appeared in the night sky. The brightest stars were classified as magnitude 1, those that were just visible to the naked eye as magnitude 6. In practice the intensity of a magnitude 1 star is 100 times that of a magnitude 6 star, so the 5 magnitude steps correspond to a multiple of 100. For a geometric series of magnitudes each magnitude must be a times the intensity of the previous one with a5 – 100. This means that going up one magnitude increases the intensity by a factor of a = 2.51. So magnitude 3 is 2.51 times as intense as magnitude 4 and so on.

88) For what reason was the Schmidt telescope specially built? Was it to serve as:
(a) a sky camera
(b) a radio telescope
(c) an optical telescope
(d) a solar telescope
Answer: (a)

A Schmidt camera, also referred to as the Schmidt telescope, is a catadioptric astrophotographic telescope designed to provide wide fields of view with limited aberrations. The design was invented by Bernhard Schmidt in 1930.

89) The greatest distance of a planet from the sun is called what? Is it the planet’s:
(a) aphelion
(b) perihelion
(c) helix
(d) eccentricity
Answer: (a)
The closest point to the Sun in a planet’s orbit is called perihelion. The furthest point is called aphelion

90) How is the atmospheric pressure of Mars as compared to the atmospheric pressure of the earth? Is it:
(a) about the same as the earth’s
(b) about 100 times as great as the earth’s
(c) about 1/200th that of the earth’s
(d) half as much as that of the earth’s
Answer: (c)
The atmosphere and (probably) the interior of Mars differ substantially from that of the Earth. The atmosphere is much less dense and of different composition, and it is unlikely that the core is molten.
The atmosphere has a pressure at the surface that is only 1/200 that of Earth. The primary component of the atmosphere is carbon dioxide (95%), with the remainder mostly nitrogen. Seasonal heating drives strong winds that can reach 100 mph or more, stirring up large dust storms. Clouds form in the atmosphere, but liquid water cannot exist at the ambient pressure and temperature of the Martian surface: water goes directly between solid and vapor phases without becoming liquid.

91) A typical galaxy, such as our Milky Way galaxy, contains how many billion stars? Is it approximately:
(a) 10 billion
(b) 40 billion
(c) 400 billion
(d) 800 billion
Answer: (c)
According to astronomers, our Milky Way is an average-sized barred spiral galaxy measuring up to 120,000 light-years across. Our Sun is located about 27,000 light-years from the galactic core in the Orion arm. Astronomers estimate that the Milky Way contains up to 400 billion stars of various sizes and brightness.
According to astronomers, there are probably more than 170 billion galaxies in the observable Universe, stretching out into a region of space 13.8 billion light-years away from us in all directions.

92) A comet’s tail points in which direction?
(a) toward the sun
(b) toward the earth
(c) behind the comet in its orbit
(d) away from the sun
Answer: (d)
Comet tails are expansions of the coma. Comet tails point away from the Sun, regardless of the direction in which the comet is traveling. Comets have two tails because escaping gas and dust are influenced by the Sun in slightly different ways, and the tails point in slightly different directions.

93) Spectral line splitting due to the influence of magnetic fields is called:
(a) Boltzmann Effect
(b) Zeeman Effect
(c) Planck Effect
(d) Zanstra’s Effect
Answer: (b)
The Zeeman effect is the splitting of a spectral line by a magnetic field. That is, if an atomic spectral line of 400 nm was considered under normal conditions, in a strong magnetic field, because of the Zeeman effect, the spectral line would be split to yield a more energetic line and a less energetic line, in addition to the original line at 400 nm.

94) Which of the following is true for ORION? Orion is:
(a) the brightest star in the sky
(b) a constellation
(c) the name given to a NASA spacecraft
(d) an asteroid
Answer: (b)

95) Which of the following men wrote the book “On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres”?
(a) Kepler
(b) Euclid
(c) Copernicus
(d) Newton
Answer: (c)

De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres) is the seminal work on the heliocentric theory of the Renaissance astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543).

96) The most distant planet in the solar system is (CSS 1995)
(a) Mars
(b) Pluto
(c) Jupiter
(d) None of these
Answer: (d)
New Dwarf Planet In Our Solar System May Be The Farthest One Yet. Object V774104 was discovered in late October, 2015, and is one of the most distant objects ever detected in the solar system. It appears to be about half the size of Pluto, but with an orbit two to three times larger than Pluto’s. (Nov 12, 2015)

97) The 2.7 Kelvin cosmic background radiation is concentrated in the:
(a) radio wavelengths
(b) infrared
(c) visible
(d) ultraviolet
Answer: (a)

98) If you were watching a star collapsing to form a black hole, the light would disappear because it:
(a) is strongly red shifted
(b) is strongly blue shifted
(c) its color suddenly becomes black
(d) none of the above
Answer: (a)

99) The Magellanic Clouds are
(a) irregular galaxies
(b) spiral galaxies
(c) elliptical galaxies
(d) large clouds of gas and dust
Answer: (a)
The Magellanic Clouds are comprised of two irregular galaxies, the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), which orbit the Milky Way once every 1,500 million years and each other once every 900 million years. Lying only about 200,000 light years away, they were the closest known galaxies to the Milky Way until recently, when the Sagittarius and Canis Major dwarf galaxies were discovered and found to be even closer.

100) According to Kepler’s Laws, the cube of the mean distance of a planet from the sun is proportional to the:
(a) area that is swept out
(b) cube of the period
(c) square of the period
(d) fourth power of the mean distance
Answer: (c)

Constituents and Structure Solved MCQs (Set-II) | General Science & Ability Read More »

General Knowledge, MCQs / Q&A

NTS Pak Current Affairs MCQs With Answers

Current Affairs, History, Islam, MCQs / Q&A, Past Papers, Test, World /

1. Due to which militant group, Iran threatened Pakistan that they would hit bases of Militants inside Pakistan?
A. ISIS
B. Lashkar-e-Taiba
C. Jaish-al-Adl
D. Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan

Answer: Option C

2. How many members joint investigation team (JIT) formed by Sup¬reme Court?
A. 4 members (JIT) team
B. 6 members (JIT) team
C. 7 members (JIT) team
D. None of these

Answer: Option B

3. Name the Head of Joint investigation team (JIT) to probe Panama case?
A. Wajid Zia (FIA)
B. Brigadier Muhammad Nauman Saeed (ISI)
C. Brigadier Kamran Khurshid (MI).
D. Irfan Naeem Mangi (NAB).

Answer: Option A

4. Who is the current IG of Islamabad Police?
A. Ahmed Khan
B. Muhammad Khalid Khattak
C. Tahir Masood Yasin
D. Sikandar Hayat

Answer: Option B

5. Who is the current IG of Balochistan Police?
A. Mr. Tariq Umar Khittab
B. Mr. Mushtaq Ahmed Sukhera
C. Rao Amin Hashim
D. Mr. Ahsan Mehboob

Answer: Option D

6. Who is the Current IG of Punjab Police?
A. Mushtaq Sukhera
B. Usman Khattak
C. Arif Nawaz
D. Ameen Venus

Answer: Option B

7. Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. Special Forces during raid in Abbottabad on____________?
A. 2nd May 2010
B. 3rd May 2010
C. 2nd May 2011
D. 3rd May 2011

Answer: Option C

8. Name the Pakistani Cricket player who announced his retirement from Test cricket in April-2017?
A. Younas Khan
B. Shahid Khan Afridi
C. Misbah Ul Haq
D. Mohammed Yousaf

Answer: Option C

9. Name the Imam-i-Kaaba who was invited by Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) for Centenary celebrations on 6th April 2017?
A. Hassan Al Bukhari
B. Ahmad Mohammad Al al-Abbas
C. Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais
D. Sheikh Saleh bin Muhammad Bin Talib

Answer: Option D

10. Who is the current IG of Sindh police?
A. Allah Dino Khowaja
B. Ghulam Hyder Jamali
C. Nasir Khan Durrani
D. Shahid Nadeem Baloch

Answer: Option A

11. Who is the current IG of KPK police?
A. Ihsan Ghani
B. Salahuddin Mehsud
C. Nasir Khan Durrani
D. Ali Ahmed

Answer: Option B

12. State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) will issue a Coin in Recognition of Edhi’s services on March 31 2017, will worth Rs___________?
A. RS 30
B. RS 40
C. RS 50
D. RS 60

Answer: Option C

13. Name the First Woman Chief Executive Officer and President of of a Major Pakistani Bank?
A. JEHAN ARA
B. SALAINA HAROON
C. SABEEN MAHMOOD
D. SIMA KAMIL

Answer: Option D

14. Who is the current Chief Justice of Sindh High Court?
A. Justice Ahmed Ali M. Sheikh
B. Justice Sajjad Ali Shah
C. Justice Faisal Arab
D. Justice Maqbool Baqar

Answer: Option A

15. Sixth population census Started on 15th March 2017, which is being carried out after___________years?
A. 17 Years
B. 18 Years
C. 19 Years
D. 20 Years

Answer: Option C

16. Who won Pakistan Super League 2017?
A. Peshawar Zalmi
B. Quetta Gladiators
C. Karachi Kings
D. Islamabad United

Answer: Option A

17. Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad means ______________?
A. Path to Salvation
B. Elimination of discord
C. Sharp and cutting strike
D. None of these

Answer: Option B

18. Pakistan Army on launched ‘Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad’ across the country on ______________?
A. 13th Jan 2017
B. 2nd Feb 2017
C. 15th Feb 2017
D. 22nd Feb 2017

Answer: Option D

19. Which country boycotts South Asian Speakers’ summit-2017 ?
A. Pakistan
B. Nepal
C. Maldives
D. Sri Lanka

Answer: Option A

20. South Asian Speakers’ Summit-2017 19-20 Feb 2017 will be held in___________?
A. Colombo, Sri Lanka
B. Kathmandu, Nepa
C. Indore, India
D. Male, Maldives

Answer: Option C

21. Who is Newly appointed Ambassador of Pakistan to USA?
A. Jalil Abbas Jilani
B. Tahmina Janjua
C. Aizaz Chaudhary
D. Nafees Zakria

Answer: Option C

22. Who is currently appointed as adviser to the prime minister on aviation PIA?
A. Zafar Iqbal Jahgra
B. Azam Shigal
C. Tariq Fatmi
D. Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan

Answer: Option D

23. The 13th Meeting of the ECO Heads of State/Government on 1st March 2017 will be hosted by__________?
A. Pakistan
B. Turkey
C. Iran
D. China

Answer: Option A

24. Which team has won blind cricket T-20 world cup-on 12 february 2017 in India?
A. Pakistan
B. Australia
C. India
D. West Indies

Answer: Option C

25. How many countries had participated in conducting international naval exercise ‘Aman-17’ in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Karachi on 10 to 14 February-2017?
A. 21
B. 38
C. 27
D. 17

Answer: Option B

26. Bhikki Power Plant, district Sheikhupura has installed capacity of__________?
A. 1180 MW
B. 1320 MW
C. 480 MW
D. 1480 MW

Answer: Option A

27. Which Renowned Pakistani novelist passes away on 4th February -2017 at the age of 88 years?
A. Fatima Surayya Bajia
B. Razia Butt
C. Bano Qudsia
D. Parveen Shakir

Answer: Option C

28. Ex PM Nawaz Shairf has inaugurated 75-km long section of Karachi-Hyderabad motorway(total length would be 136 KM) on 3rd February-2017 it is?
A. M8 Motorway
B. M9 Motorway
C. M12 Motorway
D. M4 Motorway

Answer: Option B

29. Current Deputy Chairman Senate is____________?
A. Mufti Muneeb ur Rehman
B. Marvi Memon
C. Moulana Abdul Gafoor Haidri
D. Faisal Kareem Kundi

Answer: Option C

30. Current Chairman Senate is___________?
A. Ayaz Sadiq
B. Khrsheed Shah
C. Aitzaz Ehsan
D. Raza Rabbani

Answer: Option D

31. Who became the first Pakistani Women bowler from the country in Women ODIs to take 100 wickets in One-day International?
A. Sana Mir
B. Anam Amin
C. Asmavia Iqbal
D. Bismah Maroof

Answer: Option A

32. Current Governor Sindh is _______________?
A. Murad Ali Shah
B. Dr. Ishratul Ebad
C. Justice(R) Saeed U zaman Saddiqi
D. Muhammad Zubair
updated on 31 jan 2017

Answer: Option D

33. Name the Pakistan’s surface-to-surface ballistic missile, which is capable of delivering multiple warheads using Multiple Independent Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV) technology?
A. Shaheen-II
B. Ababeel
C. Nasr
D. Ghauri

Answer: Option B

34. Multan Metro Bus Project Inaugurated by ex-PM Nawaz Sharif on 24th January-2017 completed with cost of 28.88 Billions Rs. its route length is?
A. 22.5 KM
B. 27 KM
C. 33.5 KM
D. 18.5 KM

Answer: Option D

35. Pakistan conducted a successful test of the “Ababeel” surface-to-surface ballistic missile on 24 January 2017, its range is___________?
A. 450 KM
B. 750 KM
C. 2200 KM
D. 1400 KM

Answer: Option C

36. After how many Years Pakistan’s win first ODI on Australian soil in jan 2017?
A. 12 Years
B. 10 Years
C. 15 years
D. None of these

Answer: Option A

37. The late Justice(R) Saeed U zaman Saddiqi Governor Sindh had served as the _________Chief Justice of Pakistan?
A. 13th Chief Justice of Pakistan
B. 14th Chief Justice of Pakistan
C. 15th Chief Justice of Pakistan
D. 16th Chief Justice of Pakistan

Answer: Option C

38. The Shortest-Serving Governor in Sindh’s History is?
A. Murad Ali Shah
B. Dr. Ishratul Ebad
C. Justice(R) Saeed U zaman Saddiqi
D. Khursheed Shah

Answer: Option C

39. Pakistan test fired its first submarine launched cruise missile Babur-III on 9 January 2017, has the range of___________ kilometres?
A. 450 kilometres
B. 550 kilometres
C. 650 kilometres
D. 700 kilometres

Answer: Option A

40.
Islamic military coalition formed to combat terrorism is the alliance of ___________ Nations
A. 34 nations
B. 38 Nations
C. 39 Nations
D. 40 Nations

Answer: Option C

41. joint operations center to coordinate and support military operations of Saudi-led Islamic military alliance of 39 Nations against terrorism is located in?
A. Riyadh
B. Jeddah
C. Medina
D. Damma

Answer: Option A

42. Who has been appointed as a Chief of Saudi-led Islamic anti-terror alliance of 39 Nations in January 2017?
A. General (retd) Raheel Sharif
B. General (retd) Ashfaq Parvez Kayani
C. General (retd) Pervez Musharraf
D. General Qamar Javed Bajwa

Answer: Option A

43. Who becomes most experienced international umpire in cricket history in January 2017?
A. Aleem Dar
B. Rod Tucker
C. Sundaram Ravi
D. Marais Erasmus

Answer: Option A

44. Justice Mian Saqib Nisar took oath as Chief justice of Pakistan on __________?
A. 25 December 2016
B. 31 December 2016
C. 1 January 2017
D. 15 January 2017

Answer: Option B

45. Who is Current Chief justice of Pakistan?
A. Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali
B. Justice Mian Saqib Nisar
C. Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk
D. Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry

Answer: Option B

46. The current Chief Justice of Peshawar High Court is?
A. Justice Mazhar ALam Khan Miankhel
B. Justice Mian Fasih-ul-Mulk
C. Justice Dost Muhammad Khan
D. Justice Yahya Afridi

Answer: Option D

47. Recently inaugurated Chashma- III nuclear power plant can generate___________ megawatts of electricity?
A. 340 megawatts
B. 360 megawatts
C. 400 megawatts
D. 150 megawatt

Answer: Option A

48. Pak-Jordan joint military exercise held in December-2016 near Attock, called?
A. Raadul Baraq
B. Ataturk-IX
C. Friendship-2016
D. Fajr-ul-Sharq 1

Answer: Option D

49. Ex PM Nawaz has inaugurated 340 MW Chashma Nuclear Project-III in Mianwali on 28 December-2016 with the help of?
A. China
B. Turkey
C. Russia
D. Canada

Answer: Option A

50. How many regulatory bodies placed under the administrative control of the respective ministries concerned in December 2016?
A. 3
B. 4
C. 5
D. 7

Answer: Option C

51. Who becomes first Pakistani to win ICC Spirit of Cricket Award in December 2016?
A. Shahid Khan Afridi
B. Misbah-ul-Haq
C. Younas khan
D. Azhar Ali

Answer: Option B

52. China Pakistan Economics Corridor (CPEC) total length?
A.2896 KM
B. 7200 KM
C. 2442 KM
C. 4400 KM

Answer: Option C

53. Who is Current DG Rangers Sindh?
A. Major Nadeem
B. Gen Muhammad Saeed
C. Gen Rizwan Akhtar
D. Gen Asim Bajwa

Answer: Option B

54. The 10-rupee coin, recently issued by SBP, contains the picture of _____________?
A. Derawar Fort
B. Gwadar Port
C. Badshahi Mosque
D. Faisal Mosque

Answer: Option D

55. What is the name of the “chaiwala” Who got famous from social media in 2016?
A. Kamal Khan
B. Irshad Khan
C. Rasheed Khan
D. Arshad Khan

Answer: Option D

56. Pakistan will conduct its ____________ Population cencus in 2017?
A. 4th population census
B. 5th population census
C. 6th population census
D. 7th population census

Answer: Option C

57. Pakistan’s sixth population census will be carried out in _____________?
A. February 2017
B. March 2017
C. April 2017
D. May 2017

Answer: Option B

58. Who is newly Appointed DG ISPR of Pakistan Army?
A. Lt General Asim Saleem Bajwa
B. Major General Asif Ghafoor
C. Major General Athar Abbas
D. Major General Waheed Arshad

Answer: Option B

59. USA have signed an agreement to provide Rs 8.5 billion to the WAPDA for the construction of?
A. Dia Mir Bahasha Dam Project
B. Kala Bagh Dam Project
C. Kurram Tangi Dam Project
D. Mirani Dam Project

Answer: Option C

60. Name the special task force, which is established in December 2016 by Pakistan Navy to safeguard and protect the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor as well as Gwadar port?
A. Task Force 21
B. Task Force 44
C. Task Force 88
D. Task Force 2

Answer: Option C

61. Who is the First Pakistani female member of bomb disposal squad (BDU)?
A. Shazadi Gillani
B. Maryyam
C. Rafia Qaseem Baig
D. None of these

Answer: Option C

62. According to a notification by the Ministry of Law and Justice, Who will be the next Chief Justice of Pakistan in 2017?
A. Justice Mian Saqib Nisar
B. Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali
C. Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa
D. Justice Amir Hani Muslim

Answer: Option A

63. Name the University which Department to be rename as “Abdus Salam Center for Physics” Approved by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in December 2016?
A. Punjab University (Lahore)
B. Quaid-e-Azam University (Islamabad)
C. Gomal University (DI Khan)
D. All of Above

Answer: Option B

64. Name the International University which started Benazir Bhutto Leadership Program (BBLP) / international leadership course in December 2016?
A. University of Oxford
B. Harvard University
C. University of Cambridge
D. None of these

Answer: Option B

65. The 2017 Heart of Asia – Istanbul Ministerial Process will be hosted by which country?
A. Pakistan
B. India
C. Bhutan
D. Azerbaijan

Answer: Option D

66. Heart of Asia – Istanbul Ministerial Process on December 3 to December 4, 2016 was hosted by which country?
A. Pakistan
B. India (Amritsar city)
C. Bhutan
D. Iran

Answer: Option B

67. How many Participating Countries are there in Heart of Asia Conference?
A. 12 Participating Countries
B. 14 Participating Countries
C. 16 Participating Countries
D. None of these

Answer: Option B

68. Number of Supporting Countries in Heart of Asia – Istanbul Ministerial Process are?
A. 15 Supporting Countries
B. 17 Supporting Countries
C. 19 Supporting Countries
D. None of these

Answer: Option B

69. Pakistan has started direct train and freight service in December 2016 with which Country?
A. Iran
B. India
C. Afghanistan
D. China

Answer: Option D

70. Till now, How many Chief of Army Staff (COAS), of Pakistan are selected from Baloch Regiment?
A. Two
B. Three
C. Four
D. None of these

Answer: Option C

71. General Qamar Javed Bajwa took oath as Army Chief on __________?
A. 23 November 2016
B. 25 November 2016
C. 27 November 2016
D. 29 November 2016

Answer: Option D

72. General Zubair Hayat is the ___________ Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) of Pakistan?
A. 13th
B. 15th
C. 16th
D. 17th

Answer: Option D

73. Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa is___________ Chief of Amy Staff of Pakistan?
A. 13th
B. 15th
C. 16th
D. None of these

Answer: Option C

74. Newly selected Army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa belongs to Regiment___________?
A. 6th FF
B. 16th Baloch Ragiment
C. 5th Punjab
D. 13th Lancers

Answer: Option B

75. Who is the Current Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), Pakistan?
A. General Rashad Mahmood
B. General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani
C. General Zubair Hayat
D. General Raheel Sharif

Answer: Option C

76. Who is the Current Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Pakistan?
A. Gen Raheel Sharif
B. Gen Ashfaq Parvaz kayani
C. Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa
D. Gen Zubair Hayat

Answer: Option C

77. Name the cricket Stadium which is located in Khyber Agency and inaugurated by Gen Raheel Sharif in November 2016?
A. Younas Khan cricket stadium
B. Shahid Afridi cricket stadium
C. Gaddafi Stadium
D. Arbab Niaz Stadium

Answer: Option B

78. Pakistan Army shoots down Indian Quad Copter drone at LOC in November 2016 at which sector?
A) Bhimber Sector
B) Rakhchakri Sector
C) Shahkot sector
D) Jura sector.

Answer: Option B

79. PAKISTAN 9th International Defense Exhibition and Seminar to be held on 22-25 November-2016 in Karachi Expo Center, its name?
A. Defense Production Workshop-2016
B. Army Arms Ideas-2016
C. IDEAS-2016
D. Combat-2016

Answer: Option C

80. Who was the only Pakistani to have climbed six of the world’s tallest mountains of 8000 m passed away on 21-Nov-2016 due to blood Cancer?
A. Ashraf Amman
B. Nazeer Sabar
C. Numera Saleem
D. Hassan Sadpara

Answer: Option D

81. Current Minister of Planning and Development of Pakistan?
A. Nawaz Sharief
B. Khwaja Saad Rafique
C. Ahsan Iqbal
D. Zafar ul Haq

Answer: Option C

82. Ishratul Ebad has longest tenure as a Governor of any province of Pakistan?
A. 12 years (2001-2012)
B. 16 Years ( 2001-2016)
C. 14 Years ( 2002-2016)
D. 10 Years ( 2006-2016)

Answer: Option C

83. First caretaker female chief election commissioner of Pakistan who took oath on 7 November-2016?
A. Justice Majida Rizvi
B. Asima Jhangir
C. Maryam Orangzaib
D. Justice (Retd) Irshad Qaiser

Answer: Option D

84. Current National Assembly of Pakistan is_________?
A. 12th National Assembly
B. 13th National Assembly
C. 14th National Assembly
D. 16th National Assembly

Answer: Option C

85. 22nd Amendment in 1973 Constitution of Pakistan is related to____________?
A. Pak Army Trail Courts
B. Powers of Election Commission Members
C. Related to NRO
D. Not made yet

Answer: Option B

86. Woman Seats in Senat?
A. 12
B. 17
C. 4
D. 10

Answer: Option B

87. Renowned former producer and director of PTV died at the age of 73 years due to lung complications in Lahore on 4-11-2016, name?
A. Sohail Azeem
B. Bushra Adil
C. Yawar Hayat
D. Azeem Bombywalay

Answer: Option C

88. Who received the ‘most resilient journalist award’ by the International Free Press in Hague, Holland on 2nd November-2016
A. Javed Chauhdary
B. Hamid Mir
C. Talat Huusain
D. Kamran Khan

Answer: Option B

89. Terrorists attacked on Police Training Center on 25 October-2016 night which result 61 martyred and 124 injured in?
A. Peshawar
B. Quetta
C. Karachi
D. Rawalpindi

Answer: Option B

90. Pakistan Army won the gold medal at an annual international military patrolling exercise, ‘Exercise Cambrian Patrol’ held in?
A. New South Wales, Australia
B. Moscow, Russia
C. Wales, United Kingdom
D. Istanbul, Turkey

Answer: Option C

91. Which Pakistani footballer died in a road accident in Karachi on October 13, 2016?
A. Shahlyla Baloch
B. Samreen Marvi
C. Iffat Saeed
D. None of Above

Answer: Option A

92. Who have made first century,double century and also triple century in day and night Test Match with pink ball in Oct-2016?
A. Veerat Kohli (IndiA.
B. Brandom Macalum (NuzilanD.
C. Azhar Ali (Pakistan)
D. Hashim Amlaa (South AfricA.

Answer: Option C

93. Pakistan issued $1 billion five-year Sukuk bonds on October 6, 2016 @ the rate of__________?
A. 9.3%
B. 7.5%
C. 5.5%
D. 4.75%

Answer: Option C

94. Which Bank has installed world highest ATM at Pakistan-China border in Khunjerab Pass in October-2016?
A. National Bank of Pakistan (NBP)
B. Muslim Commercial Bank (MCB)
C. United Bank Limited (UBL)
D. Allied Bank Limited. (ABL)
(more…)

Answer: Option A

95. 19th SAARC conference-2016 which was going to held in Islamabad, Pakistan has postponed due to opposite of 3 SAARC Countries?
A. Nepal, India, Bangladesh
B. India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh
C. Bangladesh, Afghanistan, India
D. None of Above

Answer: Option C

96. Which country declared as the third largest host for refugees by Amnesty International in October-2016?
A. Jordan
B. Turkey
C. Germany
D. Pakistan

Answer: Option D

97. Joint Military Exercises Started between Pakistan & Russia in September-2016, called_________?
A. Inspired Gambit
B. North Thunder
C. Operation Rajjgal
D. Druzhba 2016 OR (Friendship 2016)

Answer: Option D

98. Seven Years old British Pakistani who became world’s youngest computer programmer in September-2016?
A. Muhammad Usaman
B. Hamza Shahzad
C. Ali Raza
D. Imran Abbas

Answer: Option B

99. Military Exercises held in September-2016 between Pak & USA in South Carolina,called?
A. Thunder Bolt
B. Joint C-2016
C. Inspired Gambit
D. none of Above

Answer: Option C

100. Current Hijri Year is ?
A. 1435 AH
B. 1437 AH
C. 1438 AH
D. 1434 AH

Answer: Option C

101. Which country got first position in Test Ranking in Cricket in its History on 22 Aug-2016?
A. Pakistan
B. India
C. South Africa
D. Sri Lanka

Answer: Option A

102. Member of Sindh Assembly and MQM resigned on 22 Aug-2016 ?
A. Farooq Sattar
B. Kashmala Tariq
C. Waseem Akhtar
D. Iram Farooqi

Answer: Option D

103. Which country won first position by wining 121 medals in Olympics-2016?
A. UK
B. China
C. USA
D. Russia

Answer: Option C

104. Tallest Building of Pakistan?
A. Burj Khalifa
B. Habib Bank Plaza, Karachi
C. Minar-e-Pakistan Lahore
D. Icon Tower, Karachi

Answer: Option D

105. Pakistan Army conducting an operation along the Pak-Afghan border in Khyber Agency, called?
A. Operation Zarb-e- Azab
B. Operation Rah-e-Nijaat
C. Operation Rajjgal
D. Operation Zarb-e-Ahaan

Answer: Option C

106. Pakistan has launched its biggest Navy’s Warship Fleet Tanker with the help of ?
A. Turkey
B. China
C. Canada
D. USA

Answer: Option A

107. Who is Chairman NADRA ?
A. Syed Muzzafar
B. Uzma Adil
C. Abid Sher Ali
D. Usman Yousaf Mobeen

Answer: Option D

108. Pakistan has became 6th time world champion on 17 Aug-2016 in?
A. Cricket
B. Junior Squash
C. Hockey
D. Kabadi

Answer: Option B

109. Recently in which country Amnesty International has closed its offices?
A. Afghanistan
B. Pakistan
C. India
D. Syria

Answer: Option C

110. Current President of Azad Kashmir is?
A. Ch. Abdul Majeed
B. Sardar Masood Khan
C. Raja Farooq
D. Sardar Yaqoob

Answer: Option B

111. “Combing operation” Means________________?
A. A searching operation by Forces to find out hidden terrorists.
B. Kidney Operation by qualified Surgeons
C. A bill passed by Pakistani Parliament.
D. None of Above

Answer: Option A

112. Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Plant based in Muzzafarabad will produce electricity?
A. 969 Mwt
B. 4500 Mwt
C. 425 Mgw
D. 3200 Mwt

Answer: Option A

113. Ex Pakistani Cricket Captain Hanif Muhammad died on 11 Aug-2016 at the age of 81 years, got the title?
A. Flying Shaheen
B. Little Master
C. Asian Legend
D. None of Above

Answer: Option B

114. Russia will invest__________ in the construction of North-South gas pipeline.
A. $1 billion
B. $2 billion
C. $3 billion
D. $4 billion

Answer: Option B

115. The North-South gas pipeline will transport LNG from____________?
A. Karachi to Lahore
B. Lahore to Karachi
C. Gwadar to Karachi
D. Gwadar to Sukkur

Answer: Option A

116. The total length of North-South gas pipeline is_____________?
A. 1,000 km
B. 1,100 km
C. 1,200 km
D. 1,300 km

Answer: Option B

117. Around _______billion m3 of gas would be transported from Karachi to Lahore per annum through North-South gas pipeline.
A. 11.0
B. 11.4
C. 12.0
D. 12.4

Answer: Option D

118. The total length of Karachi-Lahore Motorway is___________?
A. 1,000 km
B. 1,100 km
C. 1,200 km
D. 1,300 km

Answer: Option B

119. Pakistan issued 10-year Eurobonds of _____ in the international Eurobond market on 25 September 2015.
A. $5 million
B. $50 million
C. $500 million
D. $5000 million

Answer: Option C

120. The coupon rate of Eurobonds issued on 25 September 2015 is___________%?
A. 7.75%
B. 8.0%
C. 8.25%
D. 8.50%

Answer: Option C

NTS Pak Current Affairs MCQs With Answers Read More »

Current Affairs, History, Islam, MCQs / Q&A, Past Papers, Test, World