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

130

March 11- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

  • 222 – Alexander Severus becomes emperor of Rome, replacing his cousin, 18-year-old Elagabalus. The bodies of the assassinated emperor and his mother, Julia Soaemias, are dragged through the streets of the city and thrown into the Tiber.
  • 1387 – Battle of Castagnaro: English condottiero Sir John Hawkwood leads Padova to victory in a factional clash with Verona.
  • 1641 – Guaraní forces living in the Jesuit reductions defeat bandeirantes loyal to the Portuguese Empire at the Battle of Mbororé in present-day Panambí, Argentina.
  • 1649 – The Frondeurs and the French sign the Peace of Rueil.
  • 1702 – The Daily Courant, England’s first national daily newspaper, is published for the first time.
  • 1708 – Queen Anne withholds Royal Assent from the Scottish Militia Bill, the last time a British monarch vetoes legislation.
  • 1784 – The signing of the Treaty of Mangalore brings the Second Anglo-Mysore War to an end.
  • 1811 – During André Masséna’s retreat from the Lines of Torres Vedras, a division led by French Marshal Michel Ney fights off a combined Anglo-Portuguese force to give Masséna time to escape.
  • 1824 – The United States Department of War creates the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
  • 1845 – Flagstaff War: Unhappy with translational differences regarding the Treaty of Waitangi, chiefs Hone Heke, Kawiti and Māori tribe members chop down the British flagpole for a fourth time and drive settlers out of Kororareka, New Zealand.
  • 1848 – Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine and Robert Baldwin become the first Prime Ministers of the Province of Canada to be democratically elected under a system of responsible government.
  • 1851 – The first performance of Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi takes place in Venice.
  • 1861 – American Civil War: The Constitution of the Confederate States of America is adopted.
  • 1864 – The Great Sheffield Flood kills 238 people in Sheffield, England.
  • 1872 – Construction of the Seven Sisters Colliery, South Wales, begins; located on one of the richest coal sources in Britain.
  • 1879 – Shō Tai formally abdicated his position of King of Ryūkyū, under orders from Tokyo, ending the Ryukyu Kingdom.
  • 1888 – The Great Blizzard of 1888 begins along the eastern seaboard of the United States, shutting down commerce and killing more than 400.
  • 1917 – World War I: Mesopotamian campaign: Baghdad falls to Anglo-Indian forces commanded by General Stanley Maude.
  • 1927 – In New York City, Samuel Roxy Rothafel opens the Roxy Theatre.
  • 1931 – Ready for Labour and Defence of the USSR, abbreviated as GTO, is introduced in the Soviet Union.
  • 1941 – World War II: United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Lend-Lease Act into law, allowing American-built war supplies to be shipped to the Allies on loan.
  • 1945 – World War II: The Imperial Japanese Navy attempts a large-scale kamikaze attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet anchored at Ulithi atoll in Operation Tan No. 2.
  • 1945 – World War II: The Empire of Vietnam, a short-lived Japanese puppet state, is established with Bảo Đại as its ruler.
  • 1946 – Rudolf Höss, the first commandant of Auschwitz concentration camp, is captured by British troops.
  • 1975 – Vietnam War: North Vietnamese and Viet Cong guerrilla forces establish control over Buôn Ma Thuột commune from the South Vietnamese army.
  • 1977 – The 1977 Hanafi Siege: More than 130 hostages held in Washington, D.C., by Hanafi Muslims are set free after ambassadors from three Islamic nations join negotiations.
  • 1978 – Coastal Road massacre: At least 37 are killed and more than 70 are wounded when Fatah hijack an Israeli bus, prompting Israel’s Operation Litani.
  • 1981 – Hundreds of students protest in the University of Pristina in Kosovo, then part of Yugoslavia, to give their province more political rights. The protests then became a nationwide movement.
  • 1983 – Pakistan successfully conducts a cold test of a nuclear weapon.
  • 1983 – Bob Hawke is appointed Prime Minister of Australia.
  • 1985 – Mikhail Gorbachev is elected to the position of General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union making Gorbachev the USSR’s de facto, and last, head of state.
  • 1990 – Lithuania declares itself independent from the Soviet Union.
  • 1990 – Patricio Aylwin is sworn in as the first democratically elected President of Chile since 1970.
  • 1993 – Janet Reno is confirmed by the United States Senate and sworn in the next day, becoming the first female Attorney General of the United States.
  • 1999 – Infosys becomes the first Indian company listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange.
  • 2004 – Madrid train bombings: Simultaneous explosions on rush-hour trains in Madrid, Spain, killing 192 people.
  • 2006 – Michelle Bachelet is inaugurated as first female president of Chile.
  • 2007 – Georgia claims Russian helicopters attacked the Kodori Valley in Abkhazia, an accusation that Russia categorically denies later.
  • 2009 – Winnenden school shooting: Sixteen are killed and 11 are injured before recent-graduate Tim Kretschmer shoots and kills himself, leading to tightened weapons restrictions in Germany.
  • 2010 – Economist and businessman Sebastián Piñera is sworn in as President of Chile, while three earthquakes, the strongest measuring magnitude 6.9 and all centered next to Pichilemu, capital of Cardenal Caro province, hit central Chile during the ceremony.
  • 2011 – An earthquake measuring 9.0 in magnitude strikes 130 km (81 mi) east of Sendai, Japan, triggering a tsunami killing thousands of people. This event also triggered the second largest nuclear accident in history, and one of only two events to be classified as a Level 7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale.
  • 2012 – A U.S. soldier kills 16 civilians in the Panjwayi District of Afghanistan near Kandahar.
  • 2016 – At least 21 people are killed by flooding and mudslides in and around São Paulo, Brazil, following heavy rain.
  • 2020 – The World Health Organization (WHO) declares a pandemic due to the COVID-19 virus.

Births on March 11

  • 1279 – Mary of Woodstock, daughter of Edward I of England (d. c.1332)
  • 1503 – George Harper, English politician (d. 1558)
  • 1530 – Johann Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Weimar (d. 1573)
  • 1544 – Torquato Tasso, Italian poet and educator (d. 1595)
  • 1634 – Nicholas Gassaway, English colonial military and political leader (d. 1691)
  • 1738 – Benjamin Tupper, American general (d. 1792)
  • 1745 – Bodawpaya, Burmese king (d. 1819)
  • 1785 – John McLean, American jurist and politician, 6th United States Postmaster General (d. 1861)
  • 1787 – Ivan Nabokov, Russian general (d. 1852)
  • 1806 – Louis Boulanger, French Romantic painter, lithographer and illustrator (d. 1867)
  • 1811 – Urbain Le Verrier, French mathematician and astronomer (d. 1877)
  • 1815 – Anna Bochkoltz, German operatic soprano, voice teacher and composer (d. 1879)
  • 1818 – Marius Petipa, French-Russian dancer and choreographer (d. 1910)
  • 1819 – Henry Tate, English businessman and philanthropist, founded Tate & Lyle (d. 1899)
  • 1822 – Joseph Louis François Bertrand, French mathematician, economist, and academic (d. 1900)
  • 1854 – Jane Meade Welch, American journalist and lecturer (d. 1931)
  • 1863 – Andrew Stoddart, English cricketer and rugby player (d. 1915)
  • 1870 – Louis Bachelier, French mathematician and theorist (d. 1946)
  • 1872 – Kathleen Clarice Groom, Australian-English author and screenwriter (d. 1954)
  • 1873 – David Horsley, English-American film producer, co-founded Universal Studios (d. 1933)
  • 1876 – Carl Ruggles, American pianist and composer (d. 1971)
  • 1878 – Umegatani Tōtarō II, Japanese sumo wrestler (d. 1927)
  • 1880 – Harry H. Laughlin, American eugenicist and sociologist (d. 1943)
  • 1884 – Lewi Pethrus, Swedish minister and hymn-writer (d. 1974)
  • 1884 – Ömer Seyfettin, Turkish soldier, author, and educator (d. 1920)
  • 1885 – Malcolm Campbell, English race car driver and journalist (d. 1948)
  • 1887 – Raoul Walsh, American actor and director (d. 1980)
  • 1887 – Kâzım Orbay, Turkish general and politician (d. 1964)
  • 1890 – Vannevar Bush, American engineer and academic (d. 1974)
  • 1893 – Wanda Gág, American author and illustrator (d. 1946)
  • 1895 – Shemp Howard, American actor (d. 1955)
  • 1896 – Olivério Pinto, Brazilian zoologist and physician (d. 1981)
  • 1897 – Henry Cowell, American pianist and composer (d. 1965)
  • 1898 – Dorothy Gish, American actress (d. 1968)
  • 1899 – James H. Douglas, Jr., American colonel, lawyer, and politician, 9th United States Deputy Secretary of Defense (d. 1988)
  • 1899 – Frederick IX of Denmark (d. 1972)
  • 1900 – Hanna Bergas, German teacher who contributed to the rescue of Jewish children during WWII (d. 1987)
  • 1903 – Ronald Syme, New Zealand historian and scholar (d. 1989)
  • 1903 – Lawrence Welk, American accordion player and bandleader (d. 1992)
  • 1907 – Jessie Matthews, English actress, singer, and dancer (d. 1981)
  • 1908 – Matti Sippala, Finnish javelin thrower (d. 1997)
  • 1910 – Robert Havemann, German chemist and academic (d. 1982)
  • 1911 – Sir Fitzroy Maclean, 1st Baronet, Egyptian-Scottish general and politician (d. 1996)
  • 1913 – Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke, German colonel and pilot (d. 1944)
  • 1915 – Vijay Hazare, Indian cricketer (d. 2004)
  • 1915 – J. C. R. Licklider, American computer scientist and psychologist (d. 1990)
  • 1916 – Ezra Jack Keats, American author and illustrator (d. 1983)
  • 1916 – Harold Wilson, English academic and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1995)
  • 1920 – Nicolaas Bloembergen, Dutch-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2017)
  • 1921 – Frank Harary, American mathematician and academic (d. 2005)
  • 1921 – Jeff Stollmeyer, Trinidadian cricketer (d. 1989)
  • 1921 – Astor Piazzolla, Argentine tango composer and bandoneon player (d. 1992)
  • 1922 – Cornelius Castoriadis, Greek economist and philosopher (d. 1997)
  • 1922 – José Luis López Vázquez, Spanish actor and director (d. 2009)
  • 1922 – Abdul Razak Hussein, Malaysian lawyer and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Malaysia (d. 1976)
  • 1923 – Louise Brough, American tennis player (d. 2014)
  • 1925 – Margaret Oakley Dayhoff, American biochemist and academic (d. 1983)
  • 1925 – İlhan Selçuk, Turkish lawyer, journalist, and author (d. 2010)
  • 1926 – Ralph Abernathy, American minister and activist (d. 1990)
  • 1927 – Joachim Fuchsberger, German actor and television host (d. 2014)
  • 1927 – Col Geelan, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 1996)
  • 1927 – Freda Meissner-Blau, Austrian activist and politician (d. 2015)
  • 1927 – Robert Mosbacher, American sailor, businessman, and politician, 25th United States Secretary of Commerce (d. 2010)
  • 1927 – Josep Maria Subirachs, Spanish sculptor and painter (d. 2014)
  • 1928 – Albert Salmi, American actor (d. 1990)
  • 1929 – Timothy Carey, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1994)
  • 1929 – Jackie McGlew, South African cricketer (d. 1998)
  • 1930 – David Gentleman, English illustrator and engraver
  • 1930 – Claude Jutra, Canadian actor, director and screenwriter (d. 1986)
  • 1931 – Janosch, Polish-German author and illustrator
  • 1931 – Marisa Del Frate, Italian actress and singer (d. 2015)
  • 1931 – Rupert Murdoch, Australian-American businessman and media magnate
  • 1932 – Leroy Jenkins, American violinist and composer (Revolutionary Ensemble) (d. 2007)
  • 1932 – Nigel Lawson, English journalist and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer
  • 1934 – Sam Donaldson, American journalist
  • 1936 – Hollis Frampton, American director, screenwriter, and photographer (d. 1984)
  • 1936 – Antonin Scalia, American lawyer and jurist, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (d. 2016)
  • 1938 – Joseph Brooks, American director, producer, screenwriter, and composer (d. 2011)
  • 1939 – Lorraine Hunt, American lawyer and politician, 32nd Lieutenant Governor of Nevada
  • 1939 – Orlando Quevedo, Filipino cardinal
  • 1940 – Alberto Cortez, Argentinian-Spanish singer-songwriter (d. 2019)
  • 1942 – Marcus Borg, American scholar, theologian and author (d. 2015)
  • 1942 – Joel Steiger, American director, producer and screenwriter
  • 1943 – Arturo Merzario, Italian race car driver
  • 1945 – Dock Ellis, American baseball player and coach (d. 2008)
  • 1945 – Harvey Mandel, American guitarist
  • 1946 – Mark Metcalf, American actor and producer
  • 1947 – Geoff Hunt, Australian squash player
  • 1947 – Tristan Murail, French composer and educator
  • 1948 – Roy Barnes, American lawyer and politician, 80th Governor of Georgia
  • 1949 – Griselda Pollock, South African-English historian and academic
  • 1950 – Sam Kekovich, Australian footballer and sportscaster
  • 1950 – Bobby McFerrin, American singer-songwriter, producer, and conductor
  • 1950 – Jerry Zucker, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1951 – Andres Metspalu, Estonian geneticist and academic
  • 1951 – Dominique Sanda, French model and actress
  • 1952 – Douglas Adams, English author and playwright (d. 2001)
  • 1953 – László Bölöni, Romanian-Hungarian footballer and manager
  • 1953 – Derek Daly, Irish-American race car driver and sportscaster
  • 1953 – Jimmy Iovine, American record producer and businessman, co-founded Interscope Records and Beats Electronics
  • 1953 – Bernie LaBarge, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1954 – David Newman, American composer and conductor
  • 1954 – Gale Norton, American lawyer and politician, 48th United States Secretary of the Interior
  • 1955 – Leslie Cliff, Canadian swimmer
  • 1955 – Nina Hagen, German singer and actress
  • 1955 – D. J. MacHale, American author, director, and screenwriter
  • 1956 – Willie Banks, American triple jumper
  • 1956 – Curtis Brown, American colonel, pilot and astronaut
  • 1956 – Helen Rollason, English journalist and sportscaster (d. 1999)
  • 1957 – The Lady Chablis, American drag queen performer (d. 2016)
  • 1958 – Ian Horrocks, English computer scientist and academic
  • 1958 – Tetsurō Oda, Japanese singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1958 – James Pinkerton, American journalist and author
  • 1958 – Anissa Jones, American child actress (d. 1976)
  • 1958 – Flemming Rose, Danish journalist and author
  • 1959 – Manuel Negrete Arias, Mexican footballer and coach
  • 1959 – Nina Hartley, American pornographic actress/director, sex educator, sex-positive feminist, and author
  • 1959 – Margus Oopkaup, Estonian actor
  • 1959 – Dejan Stojanović, Serbian-American journalist and poet
  • 1960 – Christophe Gans, French director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1960 – Junichi Sato, Japanese animator and director
  • 1960 – Warwick Taylor, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1961 – Elias Koteas, Canadian actor
  • 1961 – Bruce Watson, Canadian-Scottish guitarist
  • 1962 – Mary Gauthier, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1962 – Matt Mead, American lawyer and politician, 32nd Governor of Wyoming
  • 1963 – Gary Barnett, English footballer and manager
  • 1963 – Alex Kingston, English actress
  • 1963 – David LaChapelle, American photographer and director
  • 1964 – Peter Berg, American actor, director, producer and screenwriter
  • 1964 – Vinnie Paul, American drummer, songwriter and producer (d. 2018)
  • 1964 – Shane Richie, English actor and singer
  • 1965 – Nigel Adkins, English footballer and manager
  • 1965 – Jesse Jackson, Jr., American lawyer and politician
  • 1965 – Wallace Langham, American actor
  • 1965 – Jenny Packham, English fashion designer
  • 1965 – Allan Vainola, Estonian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1966 – Robbie Brookside, English wrestler and trainer
  • 1966 – John Thompson III, American basketball player and coach
  • 1966 – Ilias Zouros, Greek basketball player and coach
  • 1967 – John Barrowman, Scottish-American actor and singer
  • 1967 – Brad Carson, American lawyer and politician, United States Under Secretary of the Army
  • 1967 – Renzo Gracie, Brazilian-American mixed martial artist and trainer
  • 1967 – Cynthia Klitbo, Mexican actress
  • 1968 – Stéphane Bédard, Canadian lawyer and politician
  • 1968 – Simone Buchanan, Australian actress
  • 1968 – Lisa Loeb, American singer-songwriter, guitarist and actress
  • 1969 – Terrence Howard, American actor and producer
  • 1969 – Soraya, Colombian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2006)
  • 1970 – Andre Nickatina, American rapper and producer
  • 1971 – Johnny Knoxville, American actor, stuntman, and producer
  • 1971 – Martin Ručinský, Czech ice hockey player
  • 1972 – Paolo Ponzo, Italian footballer (d. 2013)
  • 1973 – Martin Hiden, Austrian footballer and coach
  • 1974 – Bobby Abreu, Venezuelan baseball player
  • 1975 – João Barbosa, Portuguese racing driver
  • 1975 – Shawn Springs, American football player
  • 1976 – Thomas Gravesen, Danish footballer
  • 1976 – Kotomitsuki Keiji, Japanese sumo wrestler
  • 1977 – Becky Hammon, American-Russian basketball player and coach
  • 1978 – Scott Calderwood, English-Scottish footballer and manager
  • 1978 – Didier Drogba, Ivorian footballer
  • 1978 – Albert Luque, Spanish footballer
  • 1979 – Elton Brand, American basketball player
  • 1979 – Fred Jones, American basketball player
  • 1979 – Benji Madden, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1979 – Joel Madden, American singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1979 – Keren Peles, Israeli singer-songwriter and pianist
  • 1979 – Kirk Reynoldson, Australian rugby league player
  • 1980 – Paul Scharner, Austrian footballer
  • 1980 – Dan Uggla, American baseball player
  • 1981 – Heidi Cortez, American businesswoman and author
  • 1981 – Luke Johnson, English drummer and songwriter
  • 1981 – LeToya Luckett, American singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1982 – Brian Anderson, American baseball player
  • 1982 – Thora Birch, American actress
  • 1982 – Hasan Raza, Pakistani cricketer
  • 1983 – Lucy DeVito, American actress
  • 1985 – Paul Bissonnette, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1985 – Daniel Vázquez Evuy, Equatoguinean footballer
  • 1985 – Cassandra Fairbanks, American journalist and activist
  • 1985 – Luis Hernández, Mexican figure skater
  • 1985 – Stelios Malezas, Greek footballer
  • 1985 – Ajantha Mendis, Sri Lankan cricketer
  • 1985 – Derek Schouman, American football player
  • 1985 – Nikolai Topor-Stanley, Australian footballer
  • 1985 – Hakuhō Shō, Mongolian sumo wrestler, the 69th Yokozuna
  • 1986 – Dario Cologna, Swiss skier
  • 1986 – Mariko Shinoda, Japanese singer and actress
  • 1987 – Marc-André Gragnani, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1987 – Tanel Kangert, Estonian cyclist
  • 1987 – Ngonidzashe Makusha, Zimbabwean sprinter and long jumper
  • 1987 – Colin Munro, South African-New Zealand cricketer
  • 1988 – Fábio Coentrão, Portuguese footballer
  • 1988 – Cecil Lolo, South African footballer (d. 2015)
  • 1988 – Katsuhiko Nakajima, Japanese wrestler
  • 1989 – Anton Yelchin, Russian-born American actor (d. 2016)
  • 1990 – Ayumi Morita, Japanese tennis player
  • 1991 – Kamohelo Mokotjo, South African footballer
  • 1992 – Austin Swift, American actor
  • 1992 – KZ Tandingan, Filipina singer and rapper
  • 1993 – Jodie Comer, British actress
  • 1993 – Anthony Davis, American basketball player
  • 1994 – Andrew Robertson, Scottish footballer

Deaths on March 11

  • 222 – Elagabalus, Roman emperor (b. 203)
  • 452 – Tai Wu Di, emperor of Northern Wei (b. 408)
  • 638 – Sophronius of Jerusalem (b. 560)
  • 857 – Eulogius of Córdoba, Spanish martyr and saint (b. 819)
  • 1198 – Marie of France, Countess of Champagne (b. 1145)
  • 1296 – John le Romeyn, Archbishop of York
  • 1353 – Theognostus, metropolitan of Kiev and Moscow
  • 1486 – Albrecht III Achilles, Elector of Brandenburg (b. 1414)
  • 1514 – Donato Bramante, Italian architect, designed the San Pietro in Montorio (b. 1444)
  • 1575 – Matthias Flacius, Croatian theologian and reformer (b. 1520)
  • 1602 – Emilio de’ Cavalieri, Italian organist and composer (b. 1550)
  • 1607 – Giovanni Maria Nanino, Italian composer and educator (b. 1543)
  • 1646 – Stanisław Koniecpolski, Polish soldier and statesman (b. c. 1592)
  • 1665 – Clemente Tabone, Maltese landowner and militia member (b. c. 1575)
  • 1722 – John Toland, Irish philosopher and theorist (b. 1670)
  • 1759 – John Forbes, Scottish general (b. 1710)
  • 1820 – Benjamin West, American-English painter and academic (b. 1738)
  • 1851 – Marie Louise Coidavid, Queen of Haiti (b. 1778)
  • 1851 – George McDuffie, American lawyer and politician, 55th Governor of South Carolina (b. 1790)
  • 1854 – Willard Richards, American journalist and religious leader (b. 1804)
  • 1863 – Sir James Outram, 1st Baronet, English general (b. 1803)
  • 1869 – Vladimir Odoyevsky, Russian philosopher and critic (b. 1803)
  • 1870 – Moshoeshoe I of Lesotho (b. 1786)
  • 1874 – Charles Sumner, American lawyer and politician (b. 1811)
  • 1898 – William Rosecrans, American general and politician (b. 1819)
  • 1898 – Tigran Chukhajian, Armenian composer and conductor (b. 1837)
  • 1907 – Jean Casimir-Perier, French lawyer and politician, 6th President of France (b. 1847)
  • 1908 – Edmondo De Amicis, Italian journalist and author (b. 1846)
  • 1908 – Benjamin Waugh, American minister and activist (b. 1839)
  • 1915 – Thomas Alexander Browne, English-Australian author (b. 1826)
  • 1920 – Julio Garavito Armero, Colombian astronomer, mathematician, and engineer (b. 1865)
  • 1927 – Xenophon Stratigos, Greek general and politician, Greek Minister of Transport (b. 1869)
  • 1931 – F. W. Murnau, German-American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1888)
  • 1937 – Joseph S. Cullinan, American businessman, co-founded Texaco (b. 1860)
  • 1944 – Hendrik Willem van Loon, Dutch-American journalist and historian (b. 1882)
  • 1944 – Edgar Zilsel, Austrian historian and philosopher of science, linked to the Vienna Circle (b. 1891)
  • 1949 – Anastasios Charalambis, Greek general and politician, 109th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1862)
  • 1949 – Henri Giraud, French general and politician (b. 1879)
  • 1952 – Pierre Renoir, French actor and director (b. 1885)
  • 1955 – Alexander Fleming, Scottish biologist, pharmacologist, and botanist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1881)
  • 1955 – Oscar F. Mayer, German-American businessman, founded Oscar Mayer (b. 1859)
  • 1957 – Richard E. Byrd, American admiral and explorer (b. 1888)
  • 1958 – Ole Kirk Christiansen, Danish businessman, founded The Lego Group (b. 1891)
  • 1959 – Lester Dent, American author (b. 1904)
  • 1960 – Roy Chapman Andrews, American paleontologist and explorer (b. 1884)
  • 1965 – Harry Altham, English cricketer, historian and coach (b. 1888)
  • 1967 – Geraldine Farrar, American soprano and actress (b. 1882)
  • 1968 – Haşim İşcan, Turkish educator and politician, 18th Mayor of İstanbul (b. 1898)
  • 1969 – John Daly, Irish runner (b. 1880)
  • 1969 – John Wyndham, English soldier and author (b. 1903)
  • 1970 – Erle Stanley Gardner, American lawyer and author (b. 1889)
  • 1971 – Philo Farnsworth, American inventor (b. 1906)
  • 1971 – Whitney Young, American activist (b. 1921)
  • 1977 – Ulysses S. Grant IV, American geologist and paleontologist (b. 1893)
  • 1978 – Claude François, Egyptian-French singer-songwriter and dancer (b. 1939)
  • 1980 – Chandra Bhanu Gupta, Indian politician, 4th Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh (b. 1902)
  • 1982 – Edmund Cooper, English poet and author (b. 1926)
  • 1982 – Horace Gregory, American poet, translator, and academic (b. 1898)
  • 1983 – Will Glickman, American playwright (b. 1910)
  • 1984 – Kostas Roukounas, Greek singer-songwriter (b. 1903)
  • 1986 – Sonny Terry, American singer and harmonica player (b. 1911)
  • 1989 – James Kee, American lawyer and politician (b. 1917)
  • 1989 – John J. McCloy, American lawyer and banker (b. 1895)
  • 1992 – Richard Brooks, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1912)
  • 1995 – Myfanwy Talog, Welsh actress and singer (b. 1945)
  • 1996 – Vince Edwards, American actor and director (b. 1928)
  • 1999 – Herbert Jasper, Canadian psychologist, anatomist, and neurologist (b. 1906)
  • 1999 – Camille Laurin, Canadian psychiatrist and politician (b. 1922)
  • 2002 – James Tobin, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918)
  • 2006 – Bernie Geoffrion, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1931)
  • 2006 – Slobodan Milošević, Serbian lawyer and politician, 3rd President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (b. 1941)
  • 2007 – Betty Hutton, American actress and singer (b. 1921)
  • 2008 – Nils Taube, Estonian-English businessman (b. 1928)
  • 2009 – Charles Lewis, Jr., American businessman, co-founded Tapout Clothing (b. 1963)
  • 2010 – John Hill, Canadian-American wrestler (b. 1941)
  • 2010 – Merlin Olsen, American football player and actor (b. 1940)
  • 2010 – T. Somasekaram, Sri Lankan geographer and politician, 37th Surveyor General of Sri Lanka (b. 1934)
  • 2010 – Hans van Mierlo, Dutch journalist and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands (b. 1931)
  • 2011 – Gary Wichard, American football player and agent (b. 1950)
  • 2012 – Henry Adefope, Nigerian physician and politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs for Nigeria (b. 1926)
  • 2012 – Sid Couchey, American author and illustrator (b. 1919)
  • 2012 – James B. Morehead, American colonel and pilot (b. 1916)
  • 2012 – Gösta Schwarck, German-Danish pianist and composer (b. 1915)
  • 2013 – Erica Andrews, Mexican-American drag queen performer (b. 1969)
  • 2013 – Martin Adolf Bormann, German priest and theologian (b. 1930)
  • 2013 – Doug Christie, Canadian lawyer and activist (b. 1946)
  • 2013 – Simón Alberto Consalvi, Venezuelan journalist and politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs for Venezuela (b. 1927)
  • 2013 – Florian Siwicki, Polish general and politician (b. 1925)
  • 2014 – Dean Bailey, Australian footballer and coach (b. 1967)
  • 2014 – Joel Brinkley, American journalist and academic (b. 1952)
  • 2015 – Walter Burkert, German philologist and scholar (b. 1931)
  • 2015 – Jimmy Greenspoon, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player (b. 1948)
  • 2015 – Gerald Hurst, American chemist and academic (b. 1937)
  • 2016 – Iolanda Balaș, Romanian high jumper and educator (b. 1936)
  • 2016 – Keith Emerson, English musician and composer. (b. 1944)
  • 2016 – Doreen Massey, English geographer and academic (b. 1944)
  • 2018 – Mary Rosenblum, American science fiction and mystery author (b. 1952)

Holidays and observances on March 11

  • Christian feast day:
    • Alberta of Agen
    • Áurea of San Millán
    • Benedict of Milan
    • Constantine
    • Eulogius of Córdoba
    • Blessed John Righi
    • Óengus of Tallaght
    • Sophronius of Jerusalem
    • Vindicianus
  • Day of Restoration of Independence from the Soviet Union in 1990 (Lithuania)
  • Johnny Appleseed Day (United States)
  • Moshoeshoe Day (Lesotho)

March 11- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

  • 1339 – The Milanese army and the St. George’s (San Giorgio) Mercenaries of Lodrisio Visconti clash in the Battle of Parabiago; Visconti is defeated.
  • 1472 – Orkney and Shetland are pawned by Norway to Scotland in lieu of a dowry for Margaret of Denmark.
  • 1547 – Edward VI of England is crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey.
  • 1685 – René-Robert Cavelier establishes Fort St. Louis at Matagorda Bay thus forming the basis for France’s claim to Texas.
  • 1792 – The Postal Service Act, establishing the United States Post Office Department, is signed by United States President George Washington.
  • 1798 – Louis-Alexandre Berthier removes Pope Pius VI from power.
  • 1813 – Manuel Belgrano defeats the royalist army of Pío de Tristán during the Battle of Salta.
  • 1816 – Rossini’s opera The Barber of Seville premieres at the Teatro Argentina in Rome.
  • 1835 – The 1835 Concepción earthquake destroys Concepción, Chile.
  • 1846 – Polish insurgents lead an uprising in Kraków to incite a fight for national independence.
  • 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Olustee: The largest battle fought in Florida during the war.
  • 1865 – End of the Uruguayan War, with a peace agreement between President Tomás Villalba and rebel leader Venancio Flores, setting the scene for the destructive War of the Triple Alliance.
  • 1872 – The Metropolitan Museum of Art opens in New York City.
  • 1877 – Tchaikovsky’s ballet Swan Lake receives its premiere at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.
  • 1901 – The legislature of Hawaii Territory convenes for the first time.
  • 1909 – Publication of the Futurist Manifesto in the French journal Le Figaro.
  • 1913 – King O’Malley drives in the first survey peg to mark commencement of work on the construction of Canberra.
  • 1920 – An earthquake kills between 114 and 130 in Georgia and heavily damages the town of Gori.
  • 1931 – The U.S. Congress approves the construction of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge by the state of California.
  • 1933 – The U.S. Congress approves the Blaine Act to repeal federal Prohibition in the United States, sending the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution to state ratifying conventions for approval.
  • 1933 – Adolf Hitler secretly meets with German industrialists to arrange for financing of the Nazi Party’s upcoming election campaign.
  • 1935 – Caroline Mikkelsen becomes the first woman to set foot in Antarctica.
  • 1942 – Lieutenant Edward O’Hare becomes America’s first World War II flying ace.
  • 1943 – American movie studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor movies.
  • 1943 – The Saturday Evening Post publishes the first of Norman Rockwell’s Four Freedoms in support of United States President Franklin Roosevelt’s 1941 State of the Union address theme of Four Freedoms.
  • 1944 – World War II: The “Big Week” began with American bomber raids on German aircraft manufacturing centers.
  • 1944 – World War II: The United States takes Eniwetok Island.
  • 1952 – Emmett Ashford becomes the first African-American umpire in organized baseball by being authorized to be a substitute umpire in the Southwestern International League.
  • 1956 – The United States Merchant Marine Academy becomes a permanent Service Academy.
  • 1959 – The Avro Arrow program to design and manufacture supersonic jet fighters in Canada is cancelled by the Diefenbaker government amid much political debate.
  • 1962 – Mercury program: While aboard Friendship 7, John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the earth, making three orbits in four hours, 55 minutes.
  • 1965 – Ranger 8 crashes into the Moon after a successful mission of photographing possible landing sites for the Apollo program astronauts.
  • 1971 – The United States Emergency Broadcast System is accidentally activated in an erroneous national alert.
  • 1979 – An earthquake cracks open the Sinila volcanic crater on the Dieng Plateau, releasing poisonous H2S gas and killing 149 villagers in the Indonesian province of Central Java.
  • 1986 – The Soviet Union launches its Mir spacecraft. Remaining in orbit for 15 years, it is occupied for ten of those years.
  • 1988 – The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast votes to secede from Azerbaijan and join Armenia, triggering the Nagorno-Karabakh War.
  • 1991 – In the Albanian capital Tirana, a gigantic statue of Albania’s long-time leader, Enver Hoxha, is brought down by mobs of angry protesters.
  • 1998 – American figure skater Tara Lipinski, at the age of 15, becomes the youngest Olympic figure skating gold-medalist at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.
  • 2003 – During a Great White concert in West Warwick, Rhode Island, a pyrotechnics display sets the Station nightclub ablaze, killing 100 and injuring over 200 others.
  • 2005 – Spain becomes the first country to vote in a referendum on ratification of the proposed Constitution of the European Union, passing it by a substantial margin, but on a low turnout.
  • 2009 – Two Tamil Tigers aircraft packed with C4 explosives en route to the national airforce headquarters are shot down by the Sri Lankan military before reaching their target, in a kamikaze style attack.
  • 2010 – In Madeira Island, Portugal, heavy rain causes floods and mudslides, resulting in at least 43 deaths, in the worst disaster in the history of the archipelago.
  • 2014 – Dozens of Euromaidan anti-government protesters died in Ukraine’s capital Kiev, many reportedly killed by snipers.
  • 2015 – Two trains collide in the Swiss town of Rafz resulting in as many as 49 people injured and Swiss Federal Railways cancelling some services.
  • 2016 – Six people are killed and two injured in multiple shooting incidents in Kalamazoo County, Michigan.

Births on February 20

  • 1358 – Eleanor of Aragon, queen of John I of Castile (d. 1382)
  • 1469 – Thomas Cajetan, Italian philosopher (d. 1534)
  • 1523 – Jan Blahoslav, Czech writer (d. 1571)
  • 1549 – Francesco Maria II della Rovere, Duke of Urbino, last Duke of Urbino (d. 1631)
  • 1552 – Sengoku Hidehisa, Daimyō (d. 1614)
  • 1608 – Arthur Capell, 1st Baron Capell of Hadham (d. 1649)
  • 1631 – Thomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds, English politician, Treasurer of the Navy (d. 1712)
  • 1633 – Jan de Baen, Dutch painter (d. 1702)
  • 1705 – Nicolas Chédeville, French musette player and composer (d. 1782)
  • 1726 – William Prescott, American colonel (d. 1795)
  • 1745 – Henry James Pye, English poet and politician (d. 1813)
  • 1751 – Johann Heinrich Voss, German poet, translator, and academic (d. 1826)
  • 1753 – Louis-Alexandre Berthier, French general and politician, French Minister of Defence (d. 1815)
  • 1759 – Johann Christian Reil, German physician, physiologist, and anatomist (d. 1813)
  • 1774 – Vicente Sebastián Pintado, Spanish cartographer, engineer, military officer and land surveyor of Spanish Louisiana and Spanish West Florida (d. 1829)
  • 1784 – Judith Montefiore, British linguist, travel writer, philanthropist (d. 1862)
  • 1792 – Eliza Courtney, French daughter of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire (d. 1859)
  • 1794 – William Carleton, Irish author (d. 1869)
  • 1802 – Charles Auguste de Bériot, Belgian violinist and composer (d. 1870)
  • 1819 – Alfred Escher, Swiss businessman and politician (d. 1882)
  • 1839 – Benjamin Waugh, English activist, founded the NSPCC (d. 1908)
  • 1844 – Ludwig Boltzmann, Austrian physicist and philosopher (d. 1906)
  • 1844 – Joshua Slocum, Canadian sailor and adventurer (d. 1909)
  • 1848 – E. H. Harriman, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1909)
  • 1857 – A. P. Lucas, English cricketer (d. 1923)
  • 1866 – Carl Westman, Swedish architect, designed the Stockholm Court House and Röhsska Museum (d. 1936)
  • 1867 – Louise, Princess Royal of England (d. 1931)
  • 1870 – Jay Johnson Morrow, American engineer and politician, 3rd Governor of the Panama Canal Zone (d. 1937)
  • 1874 – Mary Garden, Scottish-American soprano and actress (d. 1967)
  • 1879 – Hod Stuart, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1907)
  • 1880 – Jacques d’Adelswärd-Fersen, French author and poet (d. 1923)
  • 1882 – Elie Nadelman, Polish-American sculptor (d. 1946)
  • 1887 – Vincent Massey, Canadian lawyer and politician, 18th Governor General of Canada (d. 1967)
  • 1888 – Georges Bernanos, French soldier and author (d. 1948)
  • 1889 – Hulusi Behçet, Turkish dermatologist and physician (d. 1948)
  • 1893 – Elizabeth Holloway Marston, American psychologist and author (d. 1993)
  • 1895 – Louis Zborowski, English race car driver and engineer (d. 1924)
  • 1897 – Ivan Albright, American painter (d. 1983)
  • 1898 – Ante Ciliga, Croatian politician, writer and publisher (d. 1992)
  • 1899 – Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1992)
  • 1901 – René Dubos, French-American biologist and author (d. 1982)
  • 1901 – Louis Kahn, American architect, designed the Salk Institute, the Kimbell Art Museum and the Bangladesh Parliament Building (d. 1974)
  • 1901 – Muhammad Naguib, Egyptian general and politician, 1st President of Egypt (d. 1984)
  • 1901 – Ramakrishna Ranga Rao of Bobbili, Indian lawyer and politician, 6th Chief Minister of Madras Presidency (d. 1978)
  • 1902 – Ansel Adams, American photographer and environmentalist (d. 1984)
  • 1904 – Alexei Kosygin, Russian soldier and politician, 8th Premier of the Soviet Union (d. 1980)
  • 1906 – Gale Gordon, American actor (d. 1995)
  • 1912 – Pierre Boulle, French soldier and author (d. 1994)
  • 1912 – Johnny Checketts, New Zealand flying ace of the Second World War (d. 2006)
  • 1913 – Tommy Henrich, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2009)
  • 1914 – John Charles Daly, South African–American journalist and game show host (d. 1991)
  • 1916 – Jean Erdman, American dancer and choreographer
  • 1918 – Leonore Annenberg, American businesswoman and diplomat (d. 2009)
  • 1919 – James O’Meara, English soldier and pilot (d. 1974)
  • 1920 – Karl Albrecht, German businessman, co-founded Aldi (d. 2014)
  • 1921 – Buddy Rogers, American wrestler (d. 1992)
  • 1923 – Victor G. Atiyeh, American businessman and politician, 32nd Governor of Oregon (d. 2014)
  • 1923 – Forbes Burnham, Guyanese lawyer and politician, 2nd President of Guyana (d. 1985)
  • 1923 – Rena Vlahopoulou, Greek actress (d. 2004)
  • 1924 – Gloria Vanderbilt, American actress, fashion designer, and socialite (d. 2019)
  • 1925 – Robert Altman, American director and screenwriter (d. 2006)
  • 1925 – Tochinishiki Kiyotaka, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 44th Yokozuna (d. 1990)
  • 1926 – Matthew Bucksbaum, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded General Growth Properties (d. 2013)
  • 1926 – Gillian Lynne, English ballerina, choreographer, and director (d. 2018)
  • 1926 – Richard Matheson, American author and screenwriter (d. 2013)
  • 1926 – Bob Richards, American Olympic track and field athlete
  • 1926 – María de la Purísima Salvat Romero, Spanish Roman Catholic nun; later canonized (d. 1998)
  • 1927 – Roy Cohn, American lawyer and political activist (d. 1986)
  • 1927 – Ibrahim Ferrer, Cuban singer and musician (d. 2005)
  • 1927 – Sidney Poitier, Bahamian-American actor, director, and diplomat
  • 1928 – Roy Face, American baseball player and carpenter
  • 1928 – Jean Kennedy Smith, American diplomat, 25th United States Ambassador to Ireland
  • 1929 – Amanda Blake, American actress (d. 1989)
  • 1931 – John Milnor, American mathematician and academic
  • 1932 – Adrian Cristobal, Filipino journalist and author (d. 2007)
  • 1934 – Bobby Unser, American race car driver
  • 1935 – Ellen Gilchrist, American novelist, short story writer, and poet
  • 1936 – Marj Dusay, American actress (d. 2020)
  • 1936 – Larry Hovis, American actor and singer (d. 2003)
  • 1936 – Shigeo Nagashima, Japanese baseball player and coach
  • 1937 – David Ackles, American singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1999)
  • 1937 – Robert Huber, German biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1937 – Roger Penske, American race car driver and businessman
  • 1937 – Robert Evans, Australian minister and amateur astronomer
  • 1937 – Nancy Wilson, American singer and actress (d. 2018)
  • 1938 – Richard Beymer, American actor, director, and cinematographer
  • 1940 – Jimmy Greaves, English international footballer, forward and TV pundit
  • 1941 – Lim Kit Siang, Malaysian lawyer and politician
  • 1941 – Buffy Sainte-Marie, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1942 – Phil Esposito, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager
  • 1942 – Mitch McConnell, American lawyer, and politician
  • 1942 – Claude Miller, French director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
  • 1943 – Antonio Inoki, Japanese wrestler, mixed martial artist, and politician
  • 1943 – Mike Leigh, English director and screenwriter
  • 1944 – Robert de Cotret, Canadian economist and politician, 56th Secretary of State for Canada (d. 1999)
  • 1944 – Lew Soloff, American trumpet player, composer, and actor (d. 2015)
  • 1944 – Willem van Hanegem, Dutch footballer and coach
  • 1945 – Alan Hull, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1995)
  • 1946 – Brenda Blethyn, English actress
  • 1946 – Sandy Duncan, American actress, singer, and dancer
  • 1946 – J. Geils, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2017)
  • 1947 – Peter Osgood, English footballer (d. 2006)
  • 1947 – Peter Strauss, American actor and producer
  • 1948 – Pierre Bouchard, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
  • 1948 – Jennifer O’Neill, American model and actress
  • 1949 – Eddie Hemmings, English cricketer
  • 1949 – Ivana Trump, Czech-American socialite and model
  • 1950 – Walter Becker, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2017)
  • 1950 – Peter Marinello, Scottish footballer, forward
  • 1950 – Tony Wilson, English journalist and businessman (d. 2007)
  • 1951 – Edward Albert, American actor (d. 2006)
  • 1951 – Gordon Brown, Scottish historian and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
  • 1951 – Randy California, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1997)
  • 1951 – Phil Neal, English footballer and manager
  • 1953 – Poison Ivy, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1954 – Jon Brant, American bass player
  • 1954 – Anthony Head, English actor
  • 1954 – Patty Hearst, American actress and author
  • 1957 – Glen Hanlon, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1959 – Scott Brayton, American race car driver (d. 1996)
  • 1959 – David Corn, American journalist and author
  • 1959 – Bill Gullickson, American baseball player
  • 1960 – Joel Hodgson, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter
  • 1960 – Cándido Muatetema Rivas, Equatoguinean politician and diplomat, Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea (d. 2014)
  • 1961 – Steve Lundquist, American swimmer
  • 1962 – Dwayne McDuffie, American author, screenwriter, and producer, co-founded Milestone Media (d. 2011)
  • 1963 – Charles Barkley, American basketball player and sportscaster
  • 1963 – Ian Brown, English singer-songwriter and musician
  • 1963 – Joakim Nystrom, Swedish tennis player
  • 1963 – Mariliza Xenogiannakopoulou, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister of Health
  • 1963 – Cui Yongyuan, Chinese former anchor
  • 1964 – Willie Garson, American actor and director
  • 1964 – Tom Harris, Scottish journalist and politician
  • 1964 – Jeff Maggert, American golfer
  • 1964 – French Stewart, American actor
  • 1966 – Cindy Crawford, American model and businesswoman
  • 1967 – Paul Accola, Swiss alpine skier
  • 1967 – Kurt Cobain, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1994)
  • 1967 – David Herman, American comedian and actor
  • 1967 – Andrew Shue, American actor and activist, founded Do Something
  • 1967 – Lili Taylor, American actress
  • 1967 – Tom Waddle, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1969 – Kjell Ove Hauge, Norwegian school principal and track and field athlete
  • 1969 – Siniša Mihajlović, Serbian footballer and manager
  • 1969 – Danis Tanović, Bosnian director and screenwriter
  • 1971 – Calpernia Addams, American actress, author, and activist
  • 1971 – Jari Litmanen, Finnish footballer
  • 1971 – Joost van der Westhuizen, South African rugby player (d. 2017)
  • 1972 – Neil Primrose, Scottish drummer
  • 1974 – Karim Bagheri, Iranian footballer and manager
  • 1975 – Liván Hernández, Cuban baseball player
  • 1975 – Brian Littrell, American singer-songwriter and actor
  • 1975 – Niclas Wallin, Swedish ice hockey player
  • 1977 – Stephon Marbury, American basketball player
  • 1977 – Gail Kim, Canadian professional wrestler
  • 1978 – Lauren Ambrose, American actress and producer
  • 1980 – Imanol Harinordoquy, French rugby player
  • 1980 – Luis Gabriel Rey, Colombian footballer
  • 1981 – Tony Hibbert, English footballer
  • 1981 – Fred Jackson, American football player
  • 1982 – Jason Hirsh, American baseball player
  • 1983 – Jose Morales, Puerto Rican-American baseball player
  • 1983 – Justin Verlander, American baseball player
  • 1984 – Brian McCann, American baseball player
  • 1984 – Trevor Noah, South African comedian, actor, and television host
  • 1984 – Ramzee Robinson, American football player
  • 1985 – Ryan Sweeney, American baseball player
  • 1985 – Julia Volkova, Russian singer and actress
  • 1985 – TJ Kirk, American YouTube personality and podcast host
  • 1987 – Luke Burgess, English rugby league player
  • 1987 – Miles Teller, American actor
  • 1988 – Kealoha Pilares, American football player
  • 1988 – Ki Bo-bae, South Korean archer
  • 1988 – Rihanna, Barbadian-American singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1988 – Jiah Khan, Indian singer and actress (d. 2013)
  • 1989 – Daly Cherry-Evans, Australian rugby league player
  • 1990 – Ciro Immobile, Italian footballer
  • 1991 – Hidilyn Diaz, Filipino weightlifter
  • 1991 – Giovanni Kyeremateng, Italian footballer
  • 1991 – Angelique van der Meet, Dutch tennis player
  • 1991 – Antonio Pedroza, English-Mexican footballer
  • 1991 – Jocelyn Rae, English-Scottish tennis player
  • 1992 – Kyle Turner, Australian rugby league player
  • 1994 – Elseid Hysaj, Albanian footballer

Deaths on February 20

  • 789 – Leo of Catania, saint and bishop of Catania (b. 709)
  • 922 – Theodora, Byzantine empress
  • 1054 – Yaroslav the Wise, grand prince of Veliky Novgorod and Kiev (b. 978)
  • 1154 – Saint Wulfric of Haselbury (b. c. 1080)
  • 1171 – Conan IV, Duke of Brittany (b. 1138)
  • 1194 – Tancred, King of Sicily (b. 1138)
  • 1258 – Al-Musta’sim, Iraqi caliph (b. 1213)
  • 1408 – Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, English politician, Earl Marshal of the United Kingdom (b. 1342)
  • 1431 – Pope Martin V (b. 1368)
  • 1458 – Lazar Branković, Despot of Serbia
  • 1513 – King John of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden (b. 1455)
  • 1524 – Tecun Uman, Mayan ruler (b. 1500)
  • 1579 – Nicholas Bacon, English politician (b. 1509)
  • 1618 – Philip William, Prince of Orange (b. 1554)
  • 1626 – John Dowland, English lute player and composer (b. 1563)
  • 1762 – Tobias Mayer, German astronomer and academic (b. 1723)
  • 1771 – Jean-Jacques d’Ortous de Mairan, French geophysicist and astronomer (b. 1678)
  • 1773 – Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia (b. 1701)
  • 1778 – Laura Bassi, Italian physicist and scholar (b. 1711)
  • 1790 – Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1741)
  • 1806 – Lachlan McIntosh, Scottish-American general and politician (b. 1725)
  • 1810 – Andreas Hofer, Tyrolean rebel leader (b. 1767)
  • 1850 – Valentín Canalizo, Mexican general and politician. 14th President (1843–1844) (b. 1794)
  • 1862 – William Wallace Lincoln, American son of Abraham Lincoln (b. 1850)
  • 1871 – Paul Kane, Irish-Canadian painter (b. 1810)
  • 1893 – P. G. T. Beauregard, American general (b. 1818)
  • 1895 – Frederick Douglass, American author and activist (b. 1818)
  • 1900 – Washakie, American tribal leader (b. 1798)
  • 1907 – Henri Moissan, French chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1852)
  • 1910 – Boutros Ghali, Egyptian educator and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Egypt (b. 1846)
  • 1916 – Klas Pontus Arnoldson, Swedish journalist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1844)
  • 1920 – Jacinta Marto, Portuguese saint (b. 1910)
  • 1920 – Robert Peary, American admiral and explorer (b. 1856)
  • 1933 – Takiji Kobayashi, Japanese writer (b. 1903)
  • 1936 – Max Schreck, German actor (b. 1879)
  • 1957 – Sadri Maksudi Arsal, Turkish scholar and politician (b. 1878)
  • 1961 – Percy Grainger, Australian-American pianist and composer (b. 1882)
  • 1963 – Jacob Gade, Danish violinist and composer(b. 1879)
  • 1966 – Chester W. Nimitz, American admiral (b. 1885)
  • 1968 – Anthony Asquith, English director and screenwriter (b. 1902)
  • 1969 – Ernest Ansermet, Swiss conductor (b. 1883)
  • 1972 – Maria Goeppert-Mayer, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1906)
  • 1972 – Walter Winchell, American journalist and actor (b. 1897)
  • 1976 – René Cassin, French lawyer and judge, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1887)
  • 1976 – Kathryn Kuhlman, healing evangelist, known for belief in Holy Spirit (b. 1907)
  • 1981 – Nicolas de Gunzburg, French-American banker and publisher (b. 1904)
  • 1987 – Wayne Boring, American illustrator (b. 1905)
  • 1992 – A. J. Casson, Canadian painter (b. 1898)
  • 1992 – Dick York, American actor (b. 1928)
  • 1993 – Ferruccio Lamborghini, Italian businessman, founded Lamborghini (b. 1916)
  • 1993 – Ernest L. Massad, American general (b. 1908)
  • 1996 – Solomon Asch, American psychologist and academic (b. 1907)
  • 1996 – Audrey Munson, American model (b. 1891)
  • 1996 – Toru Takemitsu, Japanese pianist, guitarist, and composer (b. 1930)
  • 1999 – Sarah Kane, English playwright (b. 1971)
  • 1999 – Gene Siskel, American journalist and critic (b. 1946)
  • 2000 – Anatoly Sobchak, Russian lawyer and politician, 1st Governor of Saint Petersburg (b. 1937)
  • 2001 – Rosemary DeCamp, American actress (b. 1910)
  • 2001 – Donella Meadows, American environmentalist, author, and academic (b. 1941)
  • 2003 – Mushaf Ali Mir, Pakistani air marshal (b. 1947)
  • 2003 – Maurice Blanchot, French philosopher and author (b. 1907)
  • 2003 – Orville Freeman, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 29th Governor of Minnesota (b. 1918)
  • 2005 – Sandra Dee, American actress (b. 1942)
  • 2005 – Josef Holeček, Czechoslovakian canoeist (b. 1921)2005 – John Raitt, American actor and singer (b. 1917)
  • 2005 – Hunter S. Thompson, American journalist and author (b. 1937)
  • 2006 – Curt Gowdy, American sportscaster (b. 1919)
  • 2006 – Lucjan Wolanowski, Polish journalist and author (b. 1920)
  • 2008 – Emily Perry, English actress and dancer (b. 1907)
  • 2009 – Larry H. Miller, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1944)
  • 2010 – Alexander Haig, American general and politician, 59th United States Secretary of State (b. 1924)
  • 2012 – Knut Torbjørn Eggen, Norwegian footballer and manager (b. 1960)
  • 2012 – Katie Hall, American educator and politician (b. 1938)
  • 2013 – Kenji Eno, Japanese game designer and composer (b. 1970)
  • 2013 – David S. McKay, American biochemist and geologist (b. 1936)
  • 2013 – Antonio Roma, Argentinian footballer (b. 1932)
  • 2014 – Rafael Addiego Bruno, Uruguayan jurist and politician, President of Uruguay (b. 1923)
  • 2014 – Walter D. Ehlers, American lieutenant, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1921)
  • 2014 – Garrick Utley, American journalist (b. 1939)
  • 2015 – Govind Pansare, Indian author and activist (b. 1933)
  • 2015 – Henry Segerstrom, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1923)
  • 2015 – John C. Willke, American physician, author, and activist (b. 1925)
  • 2016 – Fernando Cardenal, Nicaraguan priest and politician (b. 1934)
  • 2017 – Vitaly Churkin, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the United Nations (b. 1952)
  • 2017 – Mildred Dresselhaus, American physicist (b. 1930)
  • 2017 – Steve Hewlett, British journalist (b. 1958)
  • 2020 – Joaquim Pina Moura, Portuguese Minister of Economy and Treasury and MP

Holidays and observances on February 20

  • Christian feast day:
    • Eleutherius of Tournai
    • Eucherius of Orléans
    • Francisco Marto and Jacinta Marto
    • Frederick Douglass (Episcopal Church (USA))
    • Wulfric of Haselbury
    • February 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Day of Heavenly Hundred Heroes (Ukraine)
  • World Day of Social Justice

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

On This Day

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

  • 197 – Emperor Septimius Severus defeats usurper Clodius Albinus in the Battle of Lugdunum, the bloodiest battle between Roman armies.
  • 356 – Emperor Constantius II issues a decree closing all pagan temples in the Roman Empire.
  • 1594 – Having already been elected to the throne of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1587, Sigismund III of the House of Vasa is crowned King of Sweden, having succeeded his father John III of Sweden in 1592.
  • 1600 – The Peruvian stratovolcano Huaynaputina explodes in the most violent eruption in the recorded history of South America.
  • 1649 – The Second Battle of Guararapes takes place, effectively ending Dutch colonization efforts in Brazil.
  • 1674 – England and the Netherlands sign the Treaty of Westminster, ending the Third Anglo-Dutch War. A provision of the agreement transfers the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam to England, and it is renamed New York.
  • 1726 – The Supreme Privy Council is established in Russia.
  • 1807 – Former Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr is arrested for treason in Wakefield, Alabama and confined to Fort Stoddert.
  • 1819 – British explorer William Smith discovers the South Shetland Islands and claims them in the name of King George III.
  • 1836 – King William IV signs Letters Patent establishing the Province of South Australia.
  • 1846 – In Austin, Texas the newly formed Texas state government is officially installed. The Republic of Texas government officially transfers power to the State of Texas government following the annexation of Texas by the United States.
  • 1847 – The first group of rescuers reaches the Donner Party.
  • 1859 – Daniel E. Sickles, a New York Congressman, is acquitted of murder on grounds of temporary insanity.
  • 1878 – Thomas Edison patents the phonograph.
  • 1884 – More than sixty tornadoes strike the Southern United States, one of the largest tornado outbreaks in U.S. history.
  • 1913 – Pedro Lascuráin becomes President of Mexico for 45 minutes; this is the shortest term to date of any person as president of any country.
  • 1915 – World War I: The first naval attack on the Dardanelles begins when a strong Anglo-French task force bombards Ottoman artillery along the coast of Gallipoli.
  • 1937 – Yekatit 12: During a public ceremony at the Viceregal Palace (the former Imperial residence) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, two Ethiopian nationalists of Eritrean origin attempt to kill viceroy Rodolfo Graziani with a number of grenades.
  • 1942 – World War II: Nearly 250 Japanese warplanes attack the northern Australian city of Darwin, killing 243 people.
  • 1942 – World War II: United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs executive order 9066, allowing the United States military to relocate Japanese Americans to internment camps.
  • 1943 – World War II: Battle of Kasserine Pass in Tunisia begins.
  • 1945 – World War II: Battle of Iwo Jima: About 30,000 United States Marines land on the island of Iwo Jima.
  • 1948 – The Conference of Youth and Students of Southeast Asia Fighting for Freedom and Independence convenes in Calcutta.
  • 1949 – Ezra Pound is awarded the first Bollingen Prize in poetry by the Bollingen Foundation and Yale University.
  • 1953 – Book censorship in the United States: The Georgia Literature Commission is established.
  • 1954 – Transfer of Crimea: The Soviet Politburo of the Soviet Union orders the transfer of the Crimean Oblast from the Russian SFSR to the Ukrainian SSR.
  • 1959 – The United Kingdom grants Cyprus independence, which is formally proclaimed on August 16, 1960.
  • 1960 – China successfully launches the T-7, its first sounding rocket.
  • 1963 – The publication of Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique reawakens the feminist movement in the United States as women’s organizations and consciousness raising groups spread.
  • 1965 – Colonel Phạm Ngọc Thảo of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, and a communist spy of the North Vietnamese Viet Minh, along with Generals Lâm Văn Phát and Trần Thiện Khiêm, all Catholics, attempt a coup against the military junta of the Buddhist Nguyễn Khánh.
  • 1976 – Executive Order 9066, which led to the relocation of Japanese Americans to internment camps, is rescinded by President Gerald Ford’s Proclamation 4417.
  • 1978 – Egyptian forces raid Larnaca International Airport in an attempt to intervene in a hijacking, without authorisation from the Republic of Cyprus authorities. The Cypriot National Guard and Police forces kill 15 Egyptian commandos and destroy the Egyptian C-130 transport plane in open combat.
  • 1985 – William J. Schroeder becomes the first recipient of an artificial heart to leave the hospital.
  • 1985 – Iberia Airlines Boeing 727 crashes into Mount Oiz in Spain, killing 148.
  • 1986 – Akkaraipattu massacre: the Sri Lankan Army massacres 80 Tamil farm workers in eastern Sri Lanka.
  • 1989 – Flying Tiger Line flight 66 crashes into a hill near Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Malaysia, killing four.
  • 2002 – NASA’s Mars Odyssey space probe begins to map the surface of Mars using its thermal emission imaging system.
  • 2003 – An Ilyushin Il-76 military aircraft crashes near Kerman, Iran, killing 275.
  • 2006 – A methane explosion in a coal mine near Nueva Rosita, Mexico, kills 65 miners.
  • 2011 – The debut exhibition of the Belitung shipwreck, containing the largest collection of Tang dynasty artifacts found in one location, begins in Singapore.
  • 2012 – Forty-four people are killed in a prison brawl in Apodaca, Nuevo León, Mexico.

Births on February 19

  • 1461 – Domenico Grimani, Italian cardinal (d. 1523)
  • 1473 – Nicolaus Copernicus, Polish mathematician and astronomer (d. 1543)
  • 1497 – Matthäus Schwarz, German fashion writer (d. 1574)
  • 1519 – Froben Christoph of Zimmern, German author of the Zimmern Chronicle (d. 1566)
  • 1526 – Carolus Clusius, Flemish botanist and academic (d. 1609)
  • 1532 – Jean-Antoine de Baïf, French poet (d. 1589)
  • 1552 – Melchior Klesl, Austrian cardinal (d. 1630)
  • 1594 – Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales (d. 1612)
  • 1611 – Andries de Graeff, Dutch politician (d. 1678)
  • 1630 – Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Indian warrior king and the founder of Maratha Empire
  • 1660 – Friedrich Hoffmann, German physician and chemist (d. 1742)
  • 1717 – David Garrick, English actor, playwright, and producer (d. 1779)
  • 1743 – Luigi Boccherini, Italian cellist and composer (d. 1805)
  • 1798 – Allan MacNab, Canadian soldier, lawyer, and politician, Premier of Canada West (d. 1862)
  • 1800 – Émilie Gamelin, Canadian nun and social worker, founded the Sisters of Providence (d. 1851)
  • 1804 – Carl von Rokitansky, German physician, pathologist, and philosopher (d. 1878)
  • 1821 – August Schleicher, German linguist and academic (d. 1868)
  • 1833 – Élie Ducommun, Swiss journalist and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1906)
  • 1838 – Lydia Thompson, British burlesque performer (d. 1908)
  • 1841 – Elfrida Andrée, Swedish organist, composer, and conductor (d. 1929)
  • 1855 – Nishinoumi Kajirō I, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 16th Yokozuna (d. 1908)
  • 1859 – Svante Arrhenius, Swedish physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1927)
  • 1865 – Sven Hedin, Swedish geographer and explorer (d. 1952)
  • 1869 – Hovhannes Tumanyan, Armenian-Russian poet and author (d. 1923)
  • 1872 – Johan Pitka, Estonian admiral (d. 1944)
  • 1876 – Constantin Brâncuși, Romanian-French sculptor, painter, and photographer (d. 1957)
  • 1877 – Gabriele Münter, German painter (d. 1962)
  • 1878 – Harriet Bosse, Swedish–Norwegian actress (d. 1961)
  • 1880 – Álvaro Obregón, Mexican general and politician, 39th President of Mexico (d. 1928)
  • 1886 – José Abad Santos, Filipino lawyer and jurist, 5th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines (d. 1942)
  • 1888 – José Eustasio Rivera, Colombian lawyer and poet (d. 1928)
  • 1893 – Cedric Hardwicke, English actor and director (d. 1964)
  • 1895 – Louis Calhern, American actor (d. 1956)
  • 1896 – André Breton, French poet and author (d. 1966)
  • 1897 – Alma Rubens, American actress (d. 1931)
  • 1899 – Lucio Fontana, Argentinian-Italian painter and sculptor (d. 1968)
  • 1902 – Kay Boyle, American novelist, short story writer, and educator (d. 1992)
  • 1904 – Havank, Dutch journalist and author (d. 1964)
  • 1904 – Elisabeth Welch, American-English singer and actress (d. 2003)
  • 1911 – Merle Oberon, Indian-American actress (d. 1979)
  • 1912 – Dorothy Janis, American actress (d. 2010)
  • 1912 – Saul Chaplin, American composer (d. 1997)
  • 1913 – Prince Pedro Gastão of Orléans-Braganza (d. 2007)
  • 1913 – Frank Tashlin, American animator and screenwriter (d. 1972)
  • 1914 – Thelma Kench, New Zealand Olympic sprinter (d. 1985)
  • 1915 – John Freeman, English lawyer, politician, and diplomat, British Ambassador to the United States (d. 2014)
  • 1916 – Eddie Arcaro, American jockey and sportscaster (d. 1997)
  • 1917 – Carson McCullers, American novelist, short story writer, playwright, and essayist (d. 1967)
  • 1918 – Fay McKenzie, American actress (d. 2019)
  • 1920 – C. Z. Guest, American actress, fashion designer, and author (d. 2003)
  • 1920 – Jaan Kross, Estonian author and poet (d. 2007)
  • 1920 – George Rose, English actor and singer (d. 1988)
  • 1922 – Władysław Bartoszewski, Polish journalist and politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2015)
  • 1924 – David Bronstein, Ukrainian chess player and theoretician (d. 2006)
  • 1924 – Lee Marvin, American actor (d. 1987)
  • 1926 – György Kurtág, Hungarian composer and academic
  • 1927 – Philippe Boiry, French journalist (d. 2014)
  • 1929 – Jacques Deray, French director and screenwriter (d. 2003)
  • 1930 – John Frankenheimer, American director and producer (d. 2002)
  • 1930 – Kasinathuni Viswanath, Indian actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1932 – Joseph P. Kerwin, American captain, physician, and astronaut
  • 1935 – Dave Niehaus, American sportscaster (d. 2010)
  • 1935 – Russ Nixon, American MLB catcher and coach (d. 2016)
  • 1936 – Sam Myers, American singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
  • 1936 – Frederick Seidel, American poet
  • 1937 – Terry Carr, American author and educator (d. 1987)
  • 1937 – Norm O’Neill, Australian cricketer and sportscaster (d. 2008)
  • 1938 – Choekyi Gyaltsen, 10th Panchen Lama (d. 1989)
  • 1939 – Erin Pizzey, English activist and author, founded Refuge
  • 1940 – Saparmurat Niyazov, Turkmen engineer and politician, 1st President of Turkmenistan (d. 2006)
  • 1940 – Smokey Robinson, American singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1940 – Bobby Rogers, American singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
  • 1941 – David Gross, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1941 – Jenny Tonge, Baroness Tonge, English politician
  • 1942 – Cyrus Chothia, English biochemist and emeritus scientist at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology (d. 2019)
  • 1942 – Paul Krause, American football player and politician
  • 1942 – Howard Stringer, Welsh businessman
  • 1942 – Will Provine, American biologist, historian, and academic (d. 2015)
  • 1943 – Lou Christie, American singer-songwriter
  • 1943 – Homer Hickam, American author and engineer
  • 1943 – Tim Hunt, English biochemist and academic, Nobel laureate
  • 1944 – Les Hinton, English-American journalist and businessman
  • 1945 – Yuri Antonov, Uzbek-Russian singer-songwriter
  • 1946 – Paul Dean, Canadian guitarist
  • 1946 – Peter Hudson, Australian footballer and coach
  • 1946 – Karen Silkwood, American technician and activist (d. 1974)
  • 1947 – Jackie Curtis, American actress and playwright (d. 1985)
  • 1947 – Tim Shadbolt, New Zealand businessman and politician, 42nd Mayor of Invercargill
  • 1948 – Mark Andes, American singer-songwriter and bass player
  • 1948 – Pim Fortuyn, Dutch sociologist, academic, and politician (d. 2002)
  • 1948 – Tony Iommi, English guitarist and songwriter
  • 1949 – Danielle Bunten Berry, American game designer and programmer (d. 1998)
  • 1949 – Eddie Hardin, English singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2015)
  • 1949 – Barry Lloyd, English footballer, midfielder and manager
  • 1949 – William Messner-Loebs, American author and illustrator
  • 1950 – Juice Leskinen, Finnish singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
  • 1950 – Andy Powell, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1951 – Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, Pakistani scholar and politician, founder of Minhaj-ul-Quran
  • 1952 – Ryū Murakami, Japanese novelist and filmmaker
  • 1952 – Rodolfo Neri Vela, Mexican engineer and astronaut
  • 1952 – Gary Seear, New Zealand rugby player (d. 2018)
  • 1952 – Dave Cheadle, American baseball player (d. 2012)
  • 1952 – Amy Tan, American novelist, essayist, and short story writer
  • 1952 – Danilo Türk, Slovene academic and politician, 3rd President of Slovenia
  • 1953 – Corrado Barazzutti, Italian tennis player
  • 1953 – Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Argentine lawyer and politician, former President of Argentina and current Vice President of Argentina
  • 1953 – Massimo Troisi, Italian actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1994)
  • 1954 – Sócrates, Brazilian footballer and manager (d. 2011)
  • 1954 – Francis Buchholz, German bass player
  • 1954 – Michael Gira, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1955 – Jeff Daniels, American actor and playwright
  • 1956 – Kathleen Beller, American actress
  • 1956 – Peter Holsapple, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1956 – Roderick MacKinnon, American biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1956 – Dave Wakeling, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1957 – Falco, Austrian singer-songwriter, rapper, and musician (d. 1998)
  • 1957 – Dave Stewart, American baseball player and coach
  • 1957 – Ray Winstone, English actor
  • 1958 – Tommy Cairo, American wrestler
  • 1958 – Helen Fielding, English author and screenwriter
  • 1958 – Steve Nieve, English keyboard player and composer
  • 1959 – Roger Goodell, American businessman
  • 1960 – Prince Andrew, Duke of York
  • 1960 – John Paul Jr., American race car driver
  • 1961 – Justin Fashanu, English footballer (d. 1998)
  • 1961 – Ernie Gonzalez, American golfer
  • 1962 – Hana Mandlíková, Czech-Australian tennis player and coach
  • 1963 – Seal, English singer-songwriter
  • 1963 – Jessica Tuck, American actress
  • 1964 – Doug Aldrich, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1964 – Jonathan Lethem, American novelist, essayist, and short story writer
  • 1965 – Jon Fishman, American drummer
  • 1965 – Clark Hunt, American businessman
  • 1965 – Leroy, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1966 – Justine Bateman, American actress and producer
  • 1966 – Paul Haarhuis, Dutch tennis player and coach
  • 1966 – Eduardo Xol, American designer and author
  • 1967 – Benicio del Toro, Puerto Rican-American actor, director, and producer
  • 1968 – Frank Watkins, American bass player (d. 2015)
  • 1968 – Prince Markie Dee, American rapper and actor
  • 1969 – Burton C. Bell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1969 – Helena Guergis, Canadian businesswoman and politician
  • 1970 – Joacim Cans, Swedish singer-songwriter
  • 1971 – Miguel Batista, Dominican baseball player and poet
  • 1971 – Richard Green, Australian golfer
  • 1971 – Jeff Kinney, American author and illustrator
  • 1972 – Francine Fournier, American wrestler and manager
  • 1972 – Sunset Thomas, American pornographic actress
  • 1975 – Daniel Adair, Canadian drummer and producer
  • 1975 – Daewon Song, South Korean-American skateboarder, co-founded Almost Skateboards
  • 1977 – Ola Salo, Swedish singer-songwriter and keyboard player
  • 1977 – Andrew Ross Sorkin, American journalist and author
  • 1977 – Gianluca Zambrotta, Italian footballer and manager
  • 1978 – Ben Gummer, English scholar and politician
  • 1978 – Immortal Technique, Peruvian-American rapper
  • 1979 – Steve Cherundolo, American soccer player and manager
  • 1980 – Dwight Freeney, American football player
  • 1980 – Ma Lin, Chinese table tennis player
  • 1980 – Mike Miller, American basketball player
  • 1981 – Beth Ditto, American singer
  • 1983 – Kotoōshū Katsunori, Bulgarian sumo wrestler
  • 1983 – Mika Nakashima, Japanese singer and actress
  • 1983 – Ryan Whitney, American ice hockey player
  • 1984 – Chris Richardson, American singer-songwriter
  • 1985 – Haylie Duff, American actress and singer
  • 1986 – Kyle Chipchura, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1986 – Marta, Brazilian footballer
  • 1986 – Maria Mena, Norwegian singer-songwriter
  • 1986 – Michael Schwimer, American baseball player
  • 1987 – Anna Cappellini, Italian ice dancer
  • 1988 – Shawn Matthias, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1988 – Seth Morrison, American guitarist
  • 1989 – Sone Aluko, Anglo-Nigerian international footballer, forward/winger
  • 1991 – Christoph Kramer, German national footballer
  • 1991 – Trevor Bayne, American race car driver
  • 1992 – Camille Kostek, American model
  • 1993 – Mauro Icardi, Argentinian footballer
  • 1993 – Victoria Justice, American actress and singer
  • 1994 – Sam Lisone, New Zealand-Samoan rugby league player
  • 1994 – Tiina Trutsi, Estonian footballer
  • 1995 – Nikola Jokić, Serbian basketball player
  • 1998 – Katharina Gerlach, German tennis player
  • 2001 – David Mazouz, American actor
  • 2004 – Millie Bobby Brown, English actress

Deaths on February 19

  • 197 – Clodius Albinus, Roman usurper (b. 150)
  • 446 – Leontius of Trier, Bishop of Trier
  • 1133 – Irene Doukaina, Byzantine wife of Alexios I Komnenos (b. 1066)
  • 1275 – Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, Sufi philosopher and poet (b. 1177)
  • 1300 – Munio of Zamora, General of the Dominican Order
  • 1408 – Thomas Bardolf, 5th Baron Bardolf, English rebel
  • 1414 – Thomas Arundel, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1353)
  • 1445 – Leonor of Aragon, queen of Portugal (b. 1402)
  • 1491 – Enno I, Count of East Frisia, German noble (b. 1460)
  • 1553 – Erasmus Reinhold, German astronomer and mathematician (b. 1511)
  • 1602 – Philippe Emmanuel, Duke of Mercœur (b. 1558)
  • 1605 – Orazio Vecchi, Italian composer (b. 1550)
  • 1622 – Henry Savile, English scholar and politician (b. 1549)
  • 1672 – Charles Chauncy, English-American minister, theologian, and academic (b. 1592)
  • 1709 – Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, Japanese shōgun (b. 1646)
  • 1716 – Dorothe Engelbretsdatter, Norwegian author and poet (b. 1634)
  • 1785 – Mary, Countess of Harold, English aristocrat and philanthropist (b. 1701)
  • 1789 – Nicholas Van Dyke, American lawyer and politician, 7th Governor of Delaware (b. 1738)
  • 1799 – Jean-Charles de Borda, French mathematician, physicist, and sailor (b. 1733)
  • 1806 – Elizabeth Carter, English poet and translator (b. 1717)
  • 1837 – Georg Büchner, German-Swiss poet and playwright (b. 1813)
  • 1837 – Thomas Burgess, English bishop and philosopher (b. 1756)
  • 1887 – Multatuli, Dutch-German author and civil servant (b. 1820)
  • 1897 – Karl Weierstrass, German mathematician and academic (b. 1815)
  • 1915 – Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Indian philosopher and politician (b. 1866)
  • 1916 – Ernst Mach, Austrian-Czech physicist and philosopher (b. 1838)
  • 1927 – Robert Fuchs, Austrian composer and educator (b. 1847)
  • 1928 – George Howard Earle Jr., American lawyer and businessman (b. 1856)
  • 1936 – Billy Mitchell, American general and pilot (b. 1879)
  • 1945 – John Basilone, American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1916)
  • 1951 – André Gide, French novelist, essayist, and dramatist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1869)
  • 1952 – Knut Hamsun, Norwegian novelist, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1859)
  • 1953 – Richard Rushall, British businessman (b. 1864)
  • 1957 – Maurice Garin, Italian-French cyclist (b. 1871)
  • 1959 – Willard Miller, American sailor, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1877)
  • 1962 – Georgios Papanikolaou, Greek-American pathologist, invented the Pap smear (b. 1883)
  • 1969 – Madge Blake, American actress (b. 1899)
  • 1970 – Ralph Edward Flanders, (b. 1890) US Senator from Vermont.
  • 1972 – John Grierson, Scottish director and producer (b. 1898)
  • 1972 – Lee Morgan, American trumpet player and composer (b. 1938)
  • 1973 – Joseph Szigeti, Hungarian violinist (b. 1892)
  • 1977 – Anthony Crosland, English captain and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (b. 1918)
  • 1977 – Mike González, Cuban baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1890)
  • 1980 – Bon Scott, Scottish-Australian singer-songwriter (b. 1946)
  • 1983 – Alice White, American actress (b. 1904)
  • 1988 – André Frédéric Cournand, French-American physician and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1895)
  • 1992 – Tojo Yamamoto, American wrestler and manager (b. 1927)
  • 1994 – Derek Jarman, English director and set designer (b. 1942)
  • 1996 – Charlie Finley, American businessman (b. 1918)
  • 1997 – Leo Rosten, Polish-American author and academic (b. 1908)
  • 1997 – Deng Xiaoping, Chinese politician, 1st Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China (b. 1904)
  • 1998 – Grandpa Jones, American singer-songwriter and banjo player (b. 1913)
  • 1999 – Mohammad Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr, Iraqi cleric (b. 1943)
  • 2000 – Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Austrian-New Zealand painter and illustrator (b. 1928)
  • 2001 – Stanley Kramer, American director and producer (b. 1913)
  • 2001 – Charles Trenet, French singer-songwriter (b. 1913)
  • 2002 – Sylvia Rivera, American transgender LGBT activist (b. 1951)
  • 2003 – Johnny Paycheck, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1938)
  • 2007 – Janet Blair, American actress and singer (b. 1921)
  • 2007 – Celia Franca, English-Canadian dancer and director, founded the National Ballet of Canada (b. 1921)
  • 2008 – Yegor Letov, Russian singer-songwriter (b. 1964)
  • 2008 – Lydia Shum, Chinese-Hong Kong actress and singer (b. 1945)
  • 2009 – Kelly Groucutt, English singer and bass player (b. 1945)
  • 2011 – Ollie Matson, American sprinter and football player (b. 1930)
  • 2012 – Ruth Barcan Marcus, American philosopher and logician (b. 1921)
  • 2012 – Jaroslav Velinský, Czech author and songwriter (b. 1932)
  • 2012 – Vitaly Vorotnikov, Russian politician, 27th Prime Minister of Russia (b. 1926)
  • 2013 – Armen Alchian, American economist and academic (b. 1914)
  • 2013 – Park Chul-soo, South Korean director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1948)
  • 2013 – Robert Coleman Richardson, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1937)
  • 2013 – Donald Richie, American-Japanese author and critic (b. 1924)
  • 2013 – Eugene Whelan, Canadian farmer and politician, 22nd Canadian Minister of Agriculture (b. 1924)
  • 2014 – Kresten Bjerre, Danish footballer and manager (b. 1946)
  • 2014 – Dale Gardner, American captain and astronaut (b. 1948)
  • 2014 – Valeri Kubasov, Russian engineer and astronaut (b. 1935)
  • 2015 – Harold Johnson, American boxer (b. 1928)
  • 2015 – Nirad Mohapatra, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1947)
  • 2015 – Harris Wittels, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1984)
  • 2016 – Umberto Eco, Italian novelist, literary critic, and philosopher (b. 1932)
  • 2016 – Harper Lee, American author (b. 1926)
  • 2016 – Chiaki Morosawa, Japanese anime screenwriter (b. 1959)
  • 2016 – Samuel Willenberg, Polish-Israeli sculptor and painter (b. 1923)
  • 2017 – Larry Coryell, American jazz guitarist (b. 1943)
  • 2019 – Clark Dimond, American musician and author (b. 1941)
  • 2019 – Karl Lagerfeld, German fashion designer (b. 1933)
  • 2020 – José Mojica Marins, Brazilian filmmaker, actor, composer, screenwriter, and television horror host Coffin Joe. (b. 1936)
  • 2020 – Pop Smoke, American rapper (b. 1999)

Holidays and observances on February 19

  • Armed Forces Day (Mexico)
  • Brâncuși Day (Romania)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Barbatus of Benevento
    • Boniface of Brussels
    • Conrad of Piacenza
    • Lucy Yi Zhenmei (one of Martyrs of Guizhou)
    • February 19 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Commemoration of Vasil Levski (Bulgaria)
  • Flag Day (Turkmenistan)
  • Shivaji Jayanti (Maharashtra, India)9

February 19 – 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

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 (AVCAlgemene 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 22 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

  • 613 – Eight-month-old Constantine is crowned as co-emperor (Caesar) by his father Heraclius at Constantinople.
  • 871 – Battle of Basing: The West Saxons led by King Æthelred I are defeated by the Danelaw Vikings at Basing.
  • 1506 – The first contingent of 150 Swiss Guards arrives at the Vatican.
  • 1517 – The Ottoman Empire under Selim I defeats the Mamluk Sultanate and captures present-day Egypt at the Battle of Ridaniya.
  • 1555 – The Ava Kingdom falls to the Taungoo Dynasty in what is now Myanmar.
  • 1689 – The Convention Parliament convenes to determine whether James II and VII, the last Roman Catholic monarch of England, Ireland and Scotland, had vacated the thrones of England and Ireland when he fled to France in 1688.
  • 1808 – The Portuguese royal family arrives in Brazil after fleeing the French army’s invasion of Portugal two months earlier.
  • 1824 – The Ashantis defeat British forces in the Gold Coast.
  • 1849 – Second Anglo-Sikh War: The Siege of Multan ends after nine months when the last Sikh defenders of Multan, Punjab, surrender.
  • 1863 – The January Uprising breaks out in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. The aim of the national movement is to regain Polish–Lithuanian–Ruthenian Commonwealth from occupation by Russia.
  • 1879 – The Battle of Isandlwana during the Anglo-Zulu War results in a British defeat.
  • 1879 – The Battle of Rorke’s Drift, also during the Anglo-Zulu War and just some 15 km away from Isandlwana, results in a British victory.
  • 1889 – Columbia Phonograph is formed in Washington, D.C.
  • 1890 – The United Mine Workers of America is founded in Columbus, Ohio.
  • 1901 – Edward VII is proclaimed King after the death of his mother, Queen Victoria.
  • 1905 – Bloody Sunday in Saint Petersburg, beginning of the 1905 revolution.
  • 1906 – SS Valencia runs aground on rocks on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, killing more than 130.
  • 1915 – Over 600 people are killed in Guadalajara, Mexico, when a train plunges off the tracks into a deep canyon.
  • 1917 – World War I: President Woodrow Wilson of the still-neutral United States calls for “peace without victory” in Europe.
  • 1919 – Act Zluky is signed, unifying the Ukrainian People’s Republic and the West Ukrainian National Republic.
  • 1924 – Ramsay MacDonald becomes the first Labour Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
  • 1927 – Teddy Wakelam gives the first live radio commentary of a football match, between Arsenal F.C. and Sheffield United at Highbury.
  • 1941 – World War II: British and Commonwealth troops capture Tobruk from Italian forces during Operation Compass.
  • 1943 – World War II: Australian and American forces defeat Japanese army and navy units in the bitterly fought Battle of Buna–Gona.
  • 1944 – World War II: The Allies commence Operation Shingle, an assault on Anzio and Nettuno, Italy.
  • 1946 – In Iran, Qazi Muhammad declares the independent people’s Republic of Mahabad at Chahar Cheragh Square in the Kurdish city of Mahabad; he becomes the new president and Haji Baba Sheikh becomes the prime minister.
  • 1946 – Creation of the Central Intelligence Group, forerunner of the Central Intelligence Agency.
  • 1947 – KTLA, the first commercial television station west of the Mississippi River, begins operation in Hollywood.
  • 1957 – Israel withdraws from the Sinai Peninsula.
  • 1957 – The New York City “Mad Bomber”, George P. Metesky, is arrested in Waterbury, Connecticut and charged with planting more than 30 bombs.
  • 1963 – The Élysée Treaty of cooperation between France and Germany is signed by Charles de Gaulle and Konrad Adenauer.
  • 1968 – Apollo 5 lifts off carrying the first Lunar module into space.
  • 1968 – Operation Igloo White, a US electronic surveillance system to stop communist infiltration into South Vietnam begins installation.
  • 1970 – The Boeing 747, the world’s first “jumbo jet”, enters commercial service for launch customer Pan American Airways with its maiden voyage from John F. Kennedy International Airport to London Heathrow Airport.
  • 1971 – The Singapore Declaration, one of the two most important documents to the uncodified constitution of the Commonwealth of Nations, is issued.
  • 1973 – The Supreme Court of the United States delivers its decisions in Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, legalizing elective abortion in all fifty states.
  • 1973 – The crew of Apollo 17 addresses a joint session of Congress after the completion of the final Apollo moon landing mission.
  • 1973 – A chartered Boeing 707 explodes in flames upon landing at Kano Airport, Nigeria, killing 176.
  • 1973 – In a bout for the world heavyweight boxing championship in Kingston, Jamaica, challenger George Foreman knocks down champion Joe Frazier six times in the first two rounds before the fight is stopped by referee Arthur Mercante.
  • 1984 – The Apple Macintosh, the first consumer computer to popularize the computer mouse and the graphical user interface, is introduced during a Super Bowl XVIII television commercial.
  • 1987 – Philippine security forces open fire on a crowd of 10,000–15,000 demonstrators at Malacañang Palace, Manila, killing 13.
  • 1992 – Rebel forces occupy Zaire’s national radio station in Kinshasa and broadcast a demand for the government’s resignation.
  • 1992 – Space Shuttle program: the space shuttle Discovery launches on STS-42 carrying Dr. Roberta Bondar, who becomes the first Canadian woman and the first neurologist in space.
  • 1995 – Israeli–Palestinian conflict: Beit Lid massacre: In central Israel, near Netanya, two Gazans blow themselves up at a military transit point, killing 19 Israelis.
  • 1998 – Space Shuttle program: space shuttle Endeavor launches on STS-89 to dock with the Russian space station Mir.
  • 1999 – Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons are burned alive by radical Hindus while sleeping in their car in Eastern India.
  • 2002 – Kmart becomes the largest retailer in United States history to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
  • 2006 – Evo Morales is inaugurated as President of Bolivia, becoming the country’s first indigenous president.
  • 2007 – At least 88 people are killed when two car bombs explode in the Bab Al-Sharqi market in central Baghdad, Iraq.
  • 2015 – An explosion near a civilian trolley-bus in Donetsk kills at least thirteen people.

Births on January 22

  • 826 – Emperor Montoku of Japan (d. 858)
  • 1263 – Ibn Taymiyyah, Syrian scholar and theologian (d. 1328)
  • 1440 – Ivan III of Russia (d. 1505)
  • 1522 – Charles II de Valois, Duke of Orléans, (d. 1545)
  • 1552 – Walter Raleigh, English poet, soldier, courtier, and explorer (d. 1618)
  • 1561 – Francis Bacon, English philosopher and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales (d. 1626)
  • 1570 – Sir Robert Cotton, 1st Baronet, of Connington, English historian and politician, founded the Cotton library (d. 1631)
  • 1573 – John Donne, English poet and cleric in the Church of England, wrote the Holy Sonnets (d. 1631)
  • 1592 – Pierre Gassendi, French mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher (d. 1655)
  • 1645 – William Kidd, Scottish sailor and pirate hunter (probable; d. 1701)
  • 1654 – Richard Blackmore, English physician and poet (d. 1729)
  • 1690 – Nicolas Lancret, French painter (d. 1743)
  • 1729 – Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, German philosopher and author (d. 1781)
  • 1733 – Philip Carteret, English admiral and explorer (d. 1796)
  • 1740 – Noah Phelps, American soldier, lawyer, and judge (d. 1809)
  • 1781 – François Habeneck, French violinist and conductor (d. 1849)
  • 1788 – Lord Byron, English poet and playwright (d. 1824)
  • 1792 – Lady Lucy Whitmore, English noblewoman, hymn writer (d. 1840)
  • 1796 – Karl Ernst Claus, Estonian-Russian chemist, botanist, and academic (d. 1864)
  • 1797 – Maria Leopoldina of Austria (d. 1826)
  • 1799 – Ludger Duvernay, Canadian journalist, publisher, and politician (d. 1852)
  • 1802 – Richard Upjohn, English-American architect (d. 1878)
  • 1828 – Dayrolles Eveleigh-de-Moleyns, 4th Baron Ventry, Irish hereditary peer (d. 1914)
  • 1831 – Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein (d. 1917)
  • 1840 – Ernest Wilberforce, English bishop (d. 1907)
  • 1849 – August Strindberg, Swedish novelist, poet, and playwright (d. 1912)
  • 1858 – Beatrice Webb, English sociologist and economist (d. 1943)
  • 1861 – George Fuller, Australian politician, 22nd Premier of New South Wales (d. 1940)
  • 1865 – Wilbur Scoville, American chemist and pharmacist (d. 1942)
  • 1867 – Gisela Januszewska, Jewish-Austrian physician (d. 1943)
  • 1869 – José Vicente de Freitas, Portuguese colonel and politician, 97th Prime Minister of Portugal (d. 1952)
  • 1874 – Edward Harkness, American philanthropist (d. 1940)
  • 1874 – Jay Hughes, American baseball player and coach (d. 1924)
  • 1875 – D. W. Griffith, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1948)
  • 1877 – Tom Jones, American baseball player and manager (d. 1923)
  • 1879 – Francis Picabia, French painter and poet (d. 1953)
  • 1880 – Bill O’Neill, Canadian-American baseball player (d. 1920)
  • 1880 – Frigyes Riesz, Hungarian mathematician and academic (d. 1956)
  • 1881 – Ira Thomas, American baseball player and manager (d. 1958)
  • 1886 – John J. Becker, American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1961)
  • 1887 – Helen Hoyt, American poet and author (d. 1972)
  • 1889 – Henri Pélissier, French cyclist (d. 1935)
  • 1889 – Amos Strunk, American baseball player and manager (d. 1979)
  • 1890 – Fred M. Vinson, American judge and politician, 13th Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1953)
  • 1891 – Antonio Gramsci, Italian philosopher and politician (d. 1937)
  • 1892 – Marcel Dassault, French businessman, founded Dassault Aviation (d. 1986)
  • 1893 – Conrad Veidt, German-American actor, director, and producer (d. 1943)
  • 1897 – Rosa Ponselle, American operatic soprano (d. 1981)
  • 1897 – Dilipkumar Roy, a Bengali Indian musician, musicologist, novelist, poet and essayist. (d. 1980)
  • 1898 – Ross Barnett, American lawyer and politician, 52nd Governor of Mississippi (d. 1987)
  • 1898 – Sergei Eisenstein, Russian director and screenwriter (d. 1948)
  • 1898 – Denise Legeay, French actress (d. 1968)
  • 1899 – Martti Haavio, Finnish poet and mythologist (d. 1973)
  • 1900 – Ernst Busch, German actor and singer (d. 1980)
  • 1902 – Daniel Kinsey, American hurdler, coach, and academic (d. 1970)
  • 1903 – Fritz Houtermans, Polish-German physicist and academic (d. 1966)
  • 1904 – George Balanchine, Georgian-American dancer, choreographer, and director, co-founded the New York City Ballet (d. 1983)
  • 1904 – Arkady Gaidar, Russian journalist and author (d. 1941)
  • 1905 – Willy Hartner, German physicist, historian, and academic (d. 1981)
  • 1906 – Robert E. Howard, American author and poet (d. 1936)
  • 1907 – Douglas Corrigan, American pilot and engineer (d. 1995)
  • 1907 – Dixie Dean, English footballer (d. 1980)
  • 1908 – Lev Landau, Azerbaijani-Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1968)
  • 1908 – Prince Oana, American baseball player and manager (d. 1976)
  • 1909 – Martha Norelius, Swedish-born American swimmer (d. 1955)
  • 1909 – Porfirio Rubirosa, Dominican racing driver, polo player, and diplomat (d. 1965)
  • 1909 – Ann Sothern, American actress and singer (d. 2001)
  • 1909 – U Thant, Burmese educator and diplomat, 3rd United Nations Secretary-General (d. 1974)
  • 1911 – Bruno Kreisky, Austrian lawyer and politician, 22nd Chancellor of Austria (d. 1990)
  • 1913 – Henry Bauchau, Belgian psychoanalyst and author (d. 2012)
  • 1913 – William Conway, Irish cardinal (d. 1977)
  • 1913 – Carl F. H. Henry, American theologian and publisher (d. 2003)
  • 1914 – Dimitris Dragatakis, Greek violinist and composer (d. 2001)
  • 1915 – Heinrich Albertz, German theologian and politician, Mayor of Berlin (d. 1993)
  • 1916 – Bill Durnan, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1972)
  • 1916 – Henri Dutilleux, French pianist, composer, and educator (d. 2013)
  • 1916 – Harilal Upadhyay, Indian author, poet, and astrologist (d. 1994)
  • 1918 – Elmer Lach, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2015)
  • 1919 – Diomedes Olivo, Dominican baseball player and scout (d. 1977)
  • 1920 – Irving Kristol, American journalist, author, and academic, founded The National Interest (d. 2009)
  • 1920 – Alf Ramsey, English footballer and coach (d. 1999)
  • 1922 – Howard Moss, American poet, playwright and critic (d. 1987)
  • 1923 – Diana Douglas, British-American actress (d. 2015)
  • 1924 – J. J. Johnson, American trombonist and composer (d. 2001)
  • 1924 – Ján Chryzostom Korec, Slovak cardinal (d. 2015)
  • 1924 – Charles Lisanby, American production designer and art director (d. 2013)
  • 1925 – Johnny Bucha, American baseball player (d. 1996)
  • 1925 – Bobby Young, American baseball player (d. 1985)
  • 1927 – Lou Creekmur, American football player and sportscaster (d. 2009)
  • 1927 – Joe Perry, American footballer (d. 2011)
  • 1928 – Yoshihiko Amino, Japanese historian, author, and academic (d. 2004)
  • 1929 – Petr Eben, Czech composer, organist and choirmaster (d. 2007)
  • 1930 – Mariví Bilbao, Spanish actress (d. 2013)
  • 1930 – Éamon de Buitléar, Irish accordion player and director (d. 2013)
  • 1931 – Sam Cooke, American singer-songwriter (d. 1964)
  • 1931 – Galina Zybina, Russian shot putter and javelin thrower
  • 1932 – Berthold Grünfeld, Norwegian psychiatrist and academic (d. 2007)
  • 1932 – Piper Laurie, American actress
  • 1932 – Tom Fisher Railsback, American politician, member of the Illinois and U.S. House of Representatives
  • 1933 – Yuri Chesnokov, Russian volleyball player and coach (d. 2010)
  • 1934 – Vijay Anand, Indian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2004)
  • 1934 – Bill Bixby, American actor and director (d. 1993)
  • 1934 – Graham Kerr, English chef and author
  • 1935 – Alexander Men, Russian priest and scholar (d. 1990)
  • 1936 – Ong Teng Cheong, Singaporean architect and politician, 5th President of Singapore (d. 2002)
  • 1936 – Alan J. Heeger, American physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1937 – Edén Pastora, Nicaraguan politician
  • 1937 – Joseph Wambaugh, American police officer and author
  • 1938 – Peter Beard, Australian photographer and author (d. 2020)
  • 1938 – Joe Esposito, American author (d. 2016)
  • 1938 – Altair Gomes de Figueiredo, Brazilian footballer
  • 1939 – Jørgen Garde, Danish admiral (d. 1996)
  • 1939 – Alfredo Palacio, Ecuadoran physician and politician, President of Ecuador
  • 1939 – Luigi Simoni, Italian footballer and manager
  • 1939 – J. C. Tremblay, Canadian ice hockey player and scout (d. 1994)
  • 1940 – John Hurt, English actor (d. 2017)
  • 1940 – George Seifert, American football player and coach
  • 1940 – Gillian Shephard, English educator and politician, Secretary of State for Education
  • 1941 – Jaan Kaplinski, Estonian poet, philosopher, and critic
  • 1942 – Mimis Domazos, Greek footballer
  • 1943 – Michael Spicer, English journalist and politician (d. 2019)
  • 1944 – Khosrow Golsorkhi, Iranian journalist, poet, and activist (d. 1974)
  • 1944 – Uto Ughi, Italian violinist and conductor
  • 1945 – Jophery Brown, American baseball player, actor, and stuntman (d. 2014)
  • 1945 – Jean-Pierre Nicolas, French racing driver and manager
  • 1945 – Christoph Schönborn, Austrian cardinal
  • 1945 – Alojz Uran, Slovenian archbishop
  • 1946 – Malcolm McLaren, English singer-songwriter and manager (d. 2010)
  • 1946 – Serge Savard, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
  • 1947 – Vladimir Oravsky, Czech-Swedish author and director
  • 1948 – Gilbert Levine, American conductor and academic
  • 1949 – Mike Caldwell, American baseball player and coach
  • 1949 – J.P. Pennington, American country-rock singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1949 – Steve Perry, American singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1950 – Paul Bew, Northern Irish historian and academic
  • 1950 – Frank Schade, American basketball player and coach
  • 1951 – Ondrej Nepela, Slovak figure skater and coach (d. 1989)
  • 1951 – Leon Roberts, American baseball player and manager
  • 1952 – Ramón Avilés, Puerto Rican-American baseball player
  • 1953 – Winfried Berkemeier, German footballer and manager
  • 1953 – Myung-whun Chung, South Korean pianist and conductor
  • 1953 – Jim Jarmusch, American director and screenwriter
  • 1955 – Thomas David Jones, American captain, pilot, and astronaut
  • 1955 – Timothy R. Ferguson, American politician
  • 1956 – Steve Riley, American drummer
  • 1957 – Mike Bossy, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
  • 1957 – Brian Dayett, American baseball player and manager
  • 1957 – Godfrey Thoma, Nauruan politician
  • 1957 – Francis Wheen, English journalist and author
  • 1958 – Nikos Anastopoulos, Greek footballer and manager
  • 1958 – Filiz Koçali, Turkish journalist and politician
  • 1959 – Linda Blair, American actress
  • 1960 – Michael Hutchence, Australian singer-songwriter (d. 1997)
  • 1961 – Quintin Dailey, American basketball player (d. 2010)
  • 1961 – Daniel Johnston, American musician
  • 1962 – Jimmy Herring, American guitarist
  • 1962 – Huw Irranca-Davies, Welsh lawyer and politician
  • 1962 – Mizan Zainal Abidin of Terengganu, Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia
  • 1964 – Nigel Benn, English-Australian boxer
  • 1964 – Stojko Vranković, Croatian basketball player
  • 1965 – Steven Adler, American rock drummer
  • 1965 – DJ Jazzy Jeff, American DJ and producer
  • 1965 – Diane Lane, American actress
  • 1965 – Andrew Roachford, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player
  • 1966 – Craig Salvatori, Australian rugby league player and coach
  • 1967 – Nick Gillingham, English swimmer
  • 1968 – Guy Fieri, American chef, author, and television host
  • 1968 – Heath, Japanese singer-songwriter and bass player
  • 1968 – Frank Leboeuf, French footballer, sportscaster, and actor
  • 1968 – Mauricio Serna, Colombian footballer
  • 1969 – Olivia d’Abo, English-American singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1969 – Keith Gordon, American baseball player and coach
  • 1970 – Jason Lowrie, New Zealand rugby league player and coach
  • 1970 – Abraham Olano, Spanish cyclist
  • 1971 – Stan Collymore, English footballer and sportscaster
  • 1972 – Terry Hill, Australian rugby league player and coach
  • 1973 – Rogério Ceni, Brazilian footballer
  • 1974 – Cameron McConville, Australian racing driver and sportscaster
  • 1974 – Joseph Muscat, Maltese journalist and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Malta
  • 1976 – Jimmy Anderson, American baseball player and coach
  • 1976 – James Dearth, American football player
  • 1977 – Mario Domm, Mexican singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
  • 1977 – Anna Linkova, Russian tennis player
  • 1977 – Hidetoshi Nakata, Japanese footballer
  • 1977 – Luciano Andrade Rissutt, Brazilian footballer
  • 1978 – Chone Figgins, American baseball player
  • 1979 – Aidan Burley, New Zealand-English politician
  • 1979 – Carlos Ruiz, Panamanian baseball player
  • 1979 – Chor Boogie, American artist
  • 1980 – Jonathan Woodgate, English footballer
  • 1981 – Willa Ford, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
  • 1981 – Beverley Mitchell, American actress
  • 1981 – Ben Moody, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor
  • 1981 – Ibrahima Sonko, French footballer
  • 1981 – Guy Wilks, English racing driver
  • 1982 – Fabricio Coloccini, Argentinian footballer
  • 1983 – Shaun Cody, American football player
  • 1984 – Ben Eager, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1984 – Ubaldo Jiménez, Dominican baseball player
  • 1984 – Leon Powe, American basketball player
  • 1984 – Maceo Rigters, Dutch footballer
  • 1985 – Fotios Papoulis, Greek footballer
  • 1985 – Yan Xu, Singaporean table tennis player
  • 1986 – Maher Magri, Tunisian footballer
  • 1986 – Matt Simon, Australian footballer
  • 1987 – Astrid Jacobsen, Norwegian skier
  • 1987 – Shane Long, Irish footballer
  • 1988 – Asher Allen, American football player
  • 1988 – Greg Oden, American basketball player
  • 1988 – Marcel Schmelzer, German footballer
  • 1989 – Theo Robinson, English-Jamaican footballer
  • 1990 – Alizé Cornet, French tennis player
  • 1990 – Dean Whare, New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1990 – Logic, American rapper
  • 1990 – Phil Wang, British-Malaysian comedian
  • 1991 – Stefan Kolb, German footballer
  • 1996 – Joshua Ho-Sang, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1998 – Silento, American rapper, singer and songwriter

Deaths on January 22

  • 239 – Cao Rui, Chinese emperor (b. 205)
  • 628 – Anastasius of Persia, monk
  • 906 – He, empress of the Tang Dynasty
  • 935 – Ma, empress of Southern Han
  • 1051 – Ælfric Puttoc, archbishop of York
  • 1170 – Wang Chongyang, Chinese Daoist and co-founder of the Quanzhen School (b. 1113)
  • 1188 – Ferdinand II of León (b. 1137)
  • 1341 – Louis I, Duke of Bourbon (b. 1279)
  • 1517 – Hadım Sinan Pasha, Ottoman politician, 32nd Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (b. ?)
  • 1536 – Bernhard Knipperdolling, German religious leader (b. 1495)
  • 1536 – John of Leiden, Anabaptist leader from the Dutch city of Leiden (b. 1509)
  • 1552 – Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, English general and politician, Lord High Treasurer of England (b. 1500)
  • 1560 – Wang Zhi, Chinese pirate
  • 1575 – James Hamilton, Duke of Châtellerault (b. 1516)
  • 1599 – Cristofano Malvezzi, Italian organist and composer (b. 1547)
  • 1666 – Shah Jahan, Mughal emperor (b. 1592)
  • 1750 – Franz Xaver Josef von Unertl, Bavarian politician (b. 1675)
  • 1763 – John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1690)
  • 1767 – Johann Gottlob Lehmann, German meteorologist and geologist (b. 1719)
  • 1779 – Jeremiah Dixon, English surveyor and astronomer (b. 1733)
  • 1779 – Claudius Smith, American guerrilla leader (b. 1736)
  • 1798 – Lewis Morris, American judge and politician (b. 1726)
  • 1840 – Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, German physician, physiologist, and anthropologist (b. 1752)
  • 1850 – Vincent Pallotti, Italian missionary and saint (b. 1795)
  • 1879 – Anthony Durnford, Irish colonel (b. 1830)
  • 1879 – Henry Pulleine, English colonel (b. 1838)
  • 1892 – Joseph P. Bradley, American lawyer and jurist (b. 1813)
  • 1900 – David Edward Hughes, Welsh-American physicist, co-invented the microphone (b. 1831)
  • 1901 – Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom (b. 1819)
  • 1901 – Emil Erlenmeyer, German chemist and academic (b. 1825)
  • 1921 – George Streeter, American captain and businessman (b. 1837)
  • 1922 – Fredrik Bajer, Danish educator and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1837)
  • 1922 – Pope Benedict XV (b. 1854)
  • 1922 – Camille Jordan, French mathematician and academic (b. 1838)
  • 1925 – Fanny Bullock Workman, American geographer and mountain climber (b. 1859)
  • 1927 – James Ford Rhodes, American historian and author (b. 1848)
  • 1929 – R. C. Lehmann, English journalist, author, and politician (b. 1856)
  • 1930 – Stephen Mather, American businessman and conservationist, co-founded the Thorkildsen-Mather Borax Company (b. 1867)
  • 1931 – László Batthyány-Strattmann, Hungarian physician and ophthalmologist (b. 1870)
  • 1945 – Else Lasker-Schüler, German poet and playwright (b. 1869)
  • 1949 – William Thomas Walsh, American author, poet, and playwright (b. 1891)
  • 1950 – Alan Hale, Sr., American actor and director (b. 1892)
  • 1951 – Lawson Robertson, Scottish-American sprinter and high jumper (b. 1883)
  • 1955 – Jonni Myyrä, Finnish-American athlete (b. 1892)
  • 1957 – Ralph Barton Perry, American philosopher and academic (b. 1876)
  • 1959 – Mike Hawthorn, English race car driver (b. 1929)
  • 1964 – Marc Blitzstein, American pianist and composer (b. 1905)
  • 1966 – Herbert Marshall, English actor (b. 1890)
  • 1968 – Duke Kahanamoku, American swimmer and water polo player (b. 1890)
  • 1971 – Harry Frank Guggenheim, American businessman and publisher, co-founded Newsday (b. 1890)
  • 1973 – Lyndon B. Johnson, American lieutenant and politician, 36th President of the United States (b. 1908)
  • 1975 – Andrew George Burry, Swiss-American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1873)
  • 1977 – Ibrahim bin Abdullah Al Suwaiyel, Saudi Arabian diplomat (b. 1916)
  • 1978 – Oliver Leese, English general (b. 1894)
  • 1978 – Herbert Sutcliffe, English cricketer and soldier (b. 1894)
  • 1979 – Ali Hassan Salameh, Palestinian rebel leader (b. 1940)
  • 1980 – Yitzhak Baer, German-Israeli historian and academic (b. 1888)
  • 1981 – Ishtiaq Hussain Qureshi, Pakistani historian and academic (b. 1903)
  • 1982 – Eduardo Frei Montalva, Chilean lawyer and politician, 28th President of Chile (b. 1911)
  • 1985 – Arthur Bryant, English historian and journalist (b. 1899)
  • 1987 – R. Budd Dwyer, American educator and politician, 30th Treasurer of Pennsylvania (b. 1939)
  • 1989 – S. Vithiananthan, Sri Lankan author and academic (b. 1924)
  • 1991 – Robert Choquette, Canadian author, poet and diplomat (b. 1905)
  • 1993 – Kōbō Abe, Japanese playwright and photographer (b. 1924)
  • 1994 – Jean-Louis Barrault, French actor and director (b. 1910)
  • 1994 – Telly Savalas, American actor (b. 1924)
  • 1996 – Israel Eldad, Polish-Israeli philosopher and author (b. 1910)
  • 1997 – Billy Mackenzie, Scottish singer-songwriter (b. 1957)
  • 1999 – Graham Staines, Australian-Indian missionary and translator (b. 1941)
  • 2000 – Craig Claiborne, American journalist, author, and critic (b. 1920)
  • 2000 – Anne Hébert, Canadian author and poet (b. 1916)
  • 2001 – Tommie Agee, American baseball player (b. 1942)
  • 2001 – Roy Brown, American clown and puppeteer (b. 1932)
  • 2003 – Bill Mauldin, American soldier and cartoonist (b. 1921)
  • 2004 – Billy May, American trumpet player and composer (b. 1916)
  • 2004 – Tom Mead, Australian journalist and politician (b. 1918)
  • 2004 – Ann Miller, American actress, singer, and dancer (b. 1923)
  • 2005 – César Gutiérrez, Venezuelan baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1943)
  • 2005 – Carlo Orelli, Italian soldier (b. 1894)
  • 2005 – Consuelo Velázquez, Mexican pianist and songwriter (b. 1924)
  • 2006 – Aydın Güven Gürkan, Turkish academic and politician, Turkish Minister of Labor and Social Security (b. 1941)
  • 2007 – Ngô Quang Trưởng, Vietnamese general (b. 1929)
  • 2007 – Abbé Pierre, French priest and activist (b. 1912)
  • 2007 – Liz Renay, American actress, author and performer (b. 1926)
  • 2008 – Heath Ledger, Australian actor and director (b. 1979)
  • 2008 – Miles Lerman, Polish Holocaust survivor and activist (b. 1920)
  • 2009 – Billy Werber, American baseball player (b. 1908)
  • 2010 – Louis R. Harlan, American historian and author (b. 1922)
  • 2010 – Jean Simmons, English-American actress (b. 1929)
  • 2012 – Simon Marsden, English photographer and author (b. 1948)
  • 2012 – Joe Paterno, American football player and coach (b. 1926)
  • 2012 – Clarence Tillenius, Canadian painter and environmentalist (b. 1913)
  • 2012 – Dick Tufeld, American actor, announcer, narrator and voice actor (b. 1926)
  • 2013 – Robert Bonnaud, French historian and academic (b. 1929)
  • 2013 – Hinton Mitchem, American businessman and politician (b. 1938)
  • 2014 – Maziar Partow, Iranian cinematographer (b. 1933)
  • 2015 – Fabrizio de Miranda, Italian engineer and academic, co-designed the Rande Bridge (b. 1926)
  • 2015 – Wendell H. Ford, American lieutenant and politician, 53rd Governor of Kentucky (b. 1924)
  • 2015 – Margaret Bloy Graham, Canadian author and illustrator (b. 1920)
  • 2016 – Homayoun Behzadi, Iranian footballer and coach (b. 1942)
  • 2016 – Cecil Parkinson, English politician (b. 1931)
  • 2016 – Lois Ramsey, Australian actress (b. 1922)
  • 2016 – Kamer Genç, Turkish politician (b. 1940)
  • 2017 – Masaya Nakamura, Japanese businessman (b. 1925)
  • 2017 – Yordano Ventura, Dominican baseball player (b. 1991)
  • 2018 – Ursula K. Le Guin, American sci-fi and fantasy novelist (b. 1929)

Holidays and observances on January 22

  • Christian feast day:
    • Anastasius of Persia
    • Gaudentius of Novara
    • László Batthyány-Strattmann
    • Laura Vicuna
    • Vincent Pallotti
    • Vincent of Saragossa
    • Vincent, Orontius, and Victor
    • Blessed William Joseph Chaminade
    • January 22 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Day of Unity of Ukraine (Ukraine)
  • Grandfather’s Day (Poland)

January 22 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

January 3 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

  • 250 – Emperor Decius orders everyone in the Roman Empire (except Jews) to make sacrifices to the Roman gods.
  • 1521 – Pope Leo X excommunicates Martin Luther in the papal bull Decet Romanum Pontificem.
  • 1653 – By the Coonan Cross Oath, the Eastern Church in India cuts itself off from colonial Portuguese tutelage.
  • 1749 – Benning Wentworth issues the first of the New Hampshire Grants, leading to the establishment of Vermont.
  • 1749 – The first issue of Berlingske, Denmark’s oldest continually operating newspaper, is published.
  • 1777 – American General George Washington defeats British General Lord Cornwallis at the Battle of Princeton.
  • 1815 – Austria, the United Kingdom, and France form a secret defensive alliance against Prussia and Russia.
  • 1833 – The United Kingdom claims sovereignty over the Falkland Islands.
  • 1848 – Joseph Jenkins Roberts is sworn in as the first president of Liberia.
  • 1861 – American Civil War: Delaware votes not to secede from the United States.
  • 1868 – Meiji Restoration in Japan: The Tokugawa shogunate is abolished; agents of Satsuma and Chōshū seize power.
  • 1870 – Construction work begins on the Brooklyn Bridge in New York, United States.
  • 1871 – In the Battle of Bapaume, an engagement in the Franco-Prussian War, General Louis Faidherbe’s forces bring about a Prussian retreat.
  • 1885 – Sino-French War: Beginning of the Battle of Núi Bop
  • 1911 – A magnitude 7.7 earthquake destroys the city of Almaty in Russian Turkestan.
  • 1911 – A gun battle in the East End of London left two dead and sparked a political row over the involvement of then-Home Secretary Winston Churchill.
  • 1913 – An Atlantic coast storm sets the lowest confirmed barometric pressure reading for a non-tropical system in the continental United States.
  • 1925 – Benito Mussolini announces he is taking dictatorial powers over Italy.
  • 1933 – Minnie D. Craig becomes the first woman elected as Speaker of the North Dakota House of Representatives, the first woman to hold a Speaker position anywhere in the United States.
  • 1938 – The March of Dimes is established as a foundation to combat infant polio by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
  • 1944 – World War II: Top Ace Major Greg “Pappy” Boyington is shot down in his Vought F4U Corsair by Captain Masajiro Kawato flying a Mitsubishi A6M Zero.
  • 1945 – World War II: Admiral Chester W. Nimitz is placed in command of all U.S. Naval forces in preparation for planned assaults against Iwo Jima and Okinawa in Japan.
  • 1946 – Popular Canadian American jockey George Woolf dies in a freak accident during a race; the annual George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award is created to honor him.
  • 1947 – Proceedings of the U.S. Congress are televised for the first time.
  • 1949 – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the central bank of the Philippines, is established.
  • 1953 – Frances P. Bolton and her son, Oliver from Ohio, become the first mother and son to serve simultaneously in the U.S. Congress.
  • 1956 – A fire damages the top part of the Eiffel Tower.
  • 1957 – The Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch.
  • 1958 – The West Indies Federation is formed.
  • 1959 – Alaska is admitted as the 49th U.S. state.
  • 1961 – Cold War: The United States severs diplomatic relations with Cuba over the latter’s nationalization of American assets.
  • 1961 – The SL-1 nuclear reactor is destroyed by a steam explosion in the only reactor incident in the United States to cause immediate fatalities.
  • 1961 – A protest by agricultural workers in Baixa de Cassanje, Portuguese Angola, turns into a revolt, opening the Angolan War of Independence, the first of the Portuguese Colonial Wars.
  • 1962 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro.
  • 1976 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, comes into force.
  • 1977 – Apple Computer is incorporated.
  • 1990 – United States invasion of Panama: Manuel Noriega, former leader of Panama, surrenders to American forces.
  • 1993 – In Moscow, Russia, George H. W. Bush and Boris Yeltsin sign the second Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START).
  • 1994 – More than seven million people from the former apartheid Homelands receive South African citizenship.
  • 1994 – Baikal Airlines Flight 130 crashes near Irkutsk, Russia, resulting in 125 deaths.
  • 1999 – The Mars Polar Lander is launched by NASA.
  • 2000 – Final daily edition of the Peanuts comic strip.
  • 2002 – Israeli–Palestinian conflict: Israeli forces seize the Palestinian freighter Karine A in the Red Sea, finding 50 tons of weapons.
  • 2004 – Flash Airlines Flight 604 crashes into the Red Sea, resulting in 148 deaths, making it one of the deadliest aviation accidents in Egyptian history.
  • 2009 – The first block of the blockchain of the decentralized payment system Bitcoin, called the Genesis block, was established by the creator of the system, Satoshi Nakamoto.
  • 2015 – Boko Haram militants raze the entire town of Baga in north-east Nigeria, starting the Baga massacre and killing as many as 2,000 people.
  • 2016 – Following the fallout caused by the execution of Nimr al-Nimr, Iran ends its diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia.
  • 2019 – Chang’e 4 makes the first soft landing on the far side of the Moon, deploying the Yutu-2 lunar rover.
  • 2020 – Iranian General Qasem Soleimani is killed by an American airstrike near Baghdad International Airport.

Births on January 3

  • 106 BC – Cicero, Roman philosopher, lawyer, and politician (d. 43 BC)
  • 169 – Lü Bu, Chinese general and warlord (d. 199)
  • 1196 – Emperor Tsuchimikado of Japan (d. 1231)
  • 1509 – Gian Girolamo Albani, Italian cardinal (d. 1591)
  • 1611 – James Harrington, English political theorist (d. 1677)
  • 1698 – Pietro Metastasio, Italian poet and songwriter (d. 1782)
  • 1710 – Richard Gridley, American soldier and engineer (d. 1796)
  • 1722 – Fredrik Hasselqvist, Swedish biologist and explorer (d. 1752)
  • 1731 – Angelo Emo, Venetian admiral and statesman (d. 1792)
  • 1760 – Veerapandiya Kattabomman, Indian ruler (d. 1799)
  • 1775 – Francis Caulfeild, 2nd Earl of Charlemont (d. 1863)
  • 1778 – Antoni Melchior Fijałkowski, Polish archbishop (d. 1861)
  • 1793 – Lucretia Mott, American activist (d. 1880)
  • 1802 – Charles Pelham Villiers, English lawyer and politician (d. 1898)
  • 1803 – Douglas William Jerrold, English journalist and playwright (d. 1857)
  • 1806 – Henriette Sontag, German soprano and actress (d. 1854)
  • 1810 – Antoine Thomson d’Abbadie, French geographer, ethnologist, linguist, and astronomer (d. 1897)
  • 1816 – Samuel C. Pomeroy, American businessman and politician (d. 1891)
  • 1819 – Charles Piazzi Smyth, Italian-Scottish astronomer and academic (d. 1900)
  • 1821 – Karel Dežman, Slovenian archaeologist, botanist, and politician, Mayor of Ljubljana (d. 1889)
  • 1831 – Savitribai Phule, Indian poet, educator, and activist (d. 1897)
  • 1836 – Sakamoto Ryōma, Japanese samurai and rebel leader (d. 1867)
  • 1840 – Father Damien, Flemish priest and missionary (d. 1889)
  • 1847 – Ettore Marchiafava, Italian physician (d. 1935)
  • 1853 – Sophie Elkan, Swedish writer (d. 1921)
  • 1855 – Hubert Bland, English businessman (d. 1914)
  • 1861 – Ernest Renshaw, English tennis player (d. 1899)
  • 1861 – William Renshaw, English tennis player (d. 1904)
  • 1862 – Matthew Nathan, English soldier and politician, 13th Governor of Queensland (d. 1939)
  • 1865 – Henry Lytton, English actor (d. 1936)
  • 1870 – Henry Handel Richardson, Australian-English author (d. 1946)
  • 1873 – Ichizō Kobayashi, Japanese businessman and art collector, founded the Hankyu Hanshin Holdings (d. 1957)
  • 1875 – Alexandros Diomidis, Greek banker and politician, 145th Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1950)
  • 1876 – Wilhelm Pieck, German carpenter and politician, 1st President of the German Democratic Republic (d. 1960)
  • 1877 – Josephine Hull, American actress (d. 1957)
  • 1880 – Francis Browne, Irish Jesuit priest and photographer (d. 1960)
  • 1883 – Clement Attlee, English soldier, lawyer, and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1967)
  • 1883 – Duncan Gillis, Canadian discus thrower and hammer thrower (d. 1963)
  • 1884 – Raoul Koczalski, Polish pianist and composer (d. 1948)
  • 1885 – Harry Elkins Widener, American businessman (d. 1912)
  • 1886 – John Gould Fletcher, American poet and author (d. 1950)
  • 1886 – Arthur Mailey, Australian cricketer (d. 1967)
  • 1887 – August Macke, German-French painter (d. 1914)
  • 1892 – J.R.R. Tolkien, English writer, poet, and philologist (d. 1973)
  • 1894 – ZaSu Pitts, American actress (d. 1963)
  • 1897 – Marion Davies, American actress and comedian (d. 1961)
  • 1898 – Carolyn Haywood, American author and illustrator (d. 1990)
  • 1898 – Carlos Keller, Chilean historian, academic, and politician (d. 1974)
  • 1900 – Donald J. Russell, American businessman (d. 1985)
  • 1901 – Ngô Đình Diệm, Vietnamese lawyer and politician, 1st President of the Republic of Vietnam (d. 1963)
  • 1905 – Dante Giacosa, Italian engineer (d. 1996)
  • 1905 – Anna May Wong, American actress (d. 1961)
  • 1907 – Ray Milland, Welsh-American actor and director (d. 1986)
  • 1909 – Victor Borge, Danish-American pianist and conductor (d. 2000)
  • 1910 – Frenchy Bordagaray, American baseball player and manager (d. 2000)
  • 1911 – John Sturges, American director and producer (d. 1992)
  • 1912 – Federico Borrell García, Spanish soldier (d. 1936)
  • 1912 – Renaude Lapointe, Canadian journalist and politician (d. 2002)
  • 1912 – Armand Lohikoski, American-Finnish actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2005)
  • 1915 – Jack Levine, American painter and soldier (d. 2010)
  • 1916 – Betty Furness, American actress and television journalist (d. 1994)
  • 1916 – Fred Haas, American golfer (d. 2004)
  • 1917 – Albert Mol, Dutch author and actor (d. 2002)
  • 1917 – Vernon A. Walters, American general and diplomat, 17th United States Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 2002)
  • 1917 – Roger Williams Straus, Jr., American journalist and publisher, co-founded Farrar, Straus and Giroux (d. 2004)
  • 1919 – Herbie Nichols, American pianist and composer (d. 1963)
  • 1920 – Siegfried Buback, German lawyer and politician, Attorney General of Germany (d. 1977)
  • 1920 – Renato Carosone, Italian singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2001)
  • 1921 – Chetan Anand, Indian director and screenwriter (d. 1997)
  • 1921 – Isabella Bashmakova, Russian historian of mathematics (d. 2005)
  • 1922 – Bill Travers, English actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1994)
  • 1923 – Hank Stram, American football coach and sportscaster (d. 2005)
  • 1924 – Otto Beisheim, German businessman and philanthropist, founded Metro AG (d. 2013)
  • 1924 – André Franquin, Belgian author and illustrator (d. 1997)
  • 1924 – Nell Rankin, American soprano and educator (d. 2005)
  • 1925 – Jill Balcon, English actress (d. 2009)
  • 1926 – W. Michael Blumenthal, American economist and politician, 64th United States Secretary of the Treasury
  • 1926 – George Martin, English composer, conductor, and producer (d. 2016)
  • 1928 – Abdul Rahman Ya’kub, Malaysian lawyer and politician, 3rd Chief Minister of Sarawak (d. 2015)
  • 1929 – Sergio Leone, Italian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1989)
  • 1929 – Ernst Mahle, German-Brazilian composer and conductor
  • 1929 – Gordon Moore, American businessman, co-founder of Intel Corporation
  • 1930 – Robert Loggia, American actor and director (d. 2015)
  • 1932 – Dabney Coleman, American actor
  • 1932 – Eeles Landström, Finnish pole vaulter and politician
  • 1933 – Geoffrey Bindman, English lawyer
  • 1933 – Anne Stevenson, American-English poet and author
  • 1934 – Marpessa Dawn, American-French actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2008)
  • 1934 – Carla Anderson Hills, American lawyer and politician, 5th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
  • 1935 – Raymond Garneau, Canadian businessman and politician
  • 1937 – Glen A. Larson, American director, producer, and screenwriter, created Battlestar Galactica (d. 2014)
  • 1938 – Robin Butler, Baron Butler of Brockwell, English academic and politician
  • 1938 – K. Ganeshalingam, Sri Lankan accountant and politician, Mayor of Colombo (d. 2006)
  • 1939 – Arik Einstein, Israeli singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2013)
  • 1939 – Bobby Hull, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1940 – Leo de Berardinis, Italian actor and director (d. 2008)
  • 1940 – Bernard Blaut, Polish footballer and coach (d. 2007)
  • 1941 – Malcolm Dick, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1942 – John Marsden, Australian lawyer and activist (d. 2006)
  • 1942 – John Thaw, English actor and producer, played Inspector Morse (d. 2002)
  • 1943 – Van Dyke Parks, American singer-songwriter, musician, composer, author, and actor
  • 1944 – Blanche d’Alpuget, Australian author
  • 1945 – Stephen Stills, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1946 – John Paul Jones, English bass player, songwriter, and producer
  • 1946 – Michalis Kritikopoulos, Greek footballer (d. 2002)
  • 1947 – Fran Cotton, English rugby player
  • 1947 – Zulema, American singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
  • 1948 – Ian Nankervis, Australian footballer
  • 1950 – Victoria Principal, American actress and businesswoman
  • 1950 – Linda Steiner, American journalist and academic
  • 1950 – Vesna Vulović, Serbian plane crash survivor and Guinness World Record holder
  • 1951 – Linda Dobbs, English lawyer and judge
  • 1951 – Gary Nairn, Australian surveyor and politician, 14th Special Minister of State
  • 1952 – Esperanza Aguirre, Spanish civil servant and politician, 3rd President of the Community of Madrid
  • 1952 – Gianfranco Fini, Italian journalist and politician, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • 1952 – Jim Ross, American professional wrestling commentator
  • 1953 – Justin Fleming, Australian playwright and author
  • 1953 – Mohammed Waheed Hassan, Maldivian educator and politician, 5th President of the Maldives
  • 1953 – Peter Taylor, English football winger and manager
  • 1956 – Mel Gibson, American-Australian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1958 – Shim Hyung-rae, South Korean actor, director, and producer
  • 1960 – Russell Spence, English racing driver
  • 1962 – Darren Daulton, American baseball player (d. 2017)
  • 1962 – Gavin Hastings, Scottish rugby player
  • 1963 – Stewart Hosie, Scottish businessman and politician
  • 1963 – Aamer Malik, Pakistani cricketer
  • 1963 – Alex Wheatle, English author and playwright
  • 1964 – Bruce LaBruce, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1964 – Cheryl Miller, American basketball player and coach
  • 1966 – Chetan Sharma, Indian cricketer
  • 1969 – Michael Caines, English chef
  • 1969 – Lorenzo Fertitta, American entrepreneur, casino executive and sports promoter
  • 1969 – Jarmo Lehtinen, Finnish racing driver
  • 1969 – Michael Schumacher, German racing driver
  • 1969 – Gerda Weissensteiner, Italian luger and bobsledder
  • 1971 – Cory Cross, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1971 – Lee Il-hwa, South Korean actress
  • 1973 – Dan Harmon, American screenwriter and producer
  • 1974 – Robert-Jan Derksen, Dutch golfer
  • 1974 – Alessandro Petacchi, Italian cyclist
  • 1975 – Jason Marsden, American actor
  • 1975 – Thomas Bangalter, French DJ, musician (Daft Punk), and producer
  • 1975 – Danica McKellar, American actress, writer, and mathematician
  • 1976 – Angelos Basinas, Greek footballer
  • 1976 – Nicholas Gonzalez, American actor and producer
  • 1977 – Lee Bowyer, English footballer and coach
  • 1977 – A. J. Burnett, American baseball player
  • 1977 – Mayumi Iizuka, Japanese voice actress and singer
  • 1978 – Dimitra Kalentzou, Greek basketball player
  • 1978 – Dominic Wood, English comedian and former magician
  • 1980 – Bryan Clay, American decathlete
  • 1980 – Angela Ruggiero, American ice hockey player
  • 1980 – David Tyree, American football player
  • 1980 – Kurt Vile, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1980 – Mary Wineberg, American sprinter
  • 1981 – Eli Manning, American football playe
  • 1982 – Peter Clarke, English footballer
  • 1982 – Lasse Nilsson, Swedish footballer
  • 1982 – Park Ji-yoon, South Korean singer and actress
  • 1984 – Billy Mehmet, English-Irish footballer
  • 1985 – Linas Kleiza, Lithuanian basketball player
  • 1985 – Evan Moore, American football player
  • 1986 – Dana Hussain, Iraqi sprinter
  • 1986 – Greg Nwokolo, Indonesian footballer
  • 1986 – Dmitry Starodubtsev, Russian pole vaulter
  • 1987 – Reto Berra, Swiss professional ice hockey goaltender
  • 1987 – Kim Ok-bin, South Korean actress and singer
  • 1988 – Ikechi Anya, Scottish-Nigerian footballer
  • 1988 – Matt Frattin, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1988 – J. R. Hildebrand, American racing driver
  • 1989 – Ben Matulino, New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1989 – Kōhei Uchimura, Japanese artistic gymnast
  • 1990 – Yoichiro Kakitani, Japanese footballer
  • 1991 – Jerson Cabral, Dutch footballer
  • 1991 – Özgür Çek, Turkish footballer
  • 1991 – Sébastien Faure, French footballer
  • 1991 – Dane Gagai, Australian rugby league player
  • 1994 – Isaquias Queiroz, Brazilian sprint canoeist
  • 1997 – Kyron McMaster, British Virgin Islands hurdler
  • 2003 – Greta Thunberg, Swedish environmental activist

Deaths on January 3

  • 236 – Anterus, the pope of the Catholic Church
  • 323 – Yuan of Yin, Chinese emperor (b. 276)
  • 1027 – Fujiwara no Yukinari, Japanese calligrapher (b. 972)
  • 1028 – Fujiwara no Michinaga, Japanese nobleman (b. 966)
  • 1098 – Walkelin, Norman bishop of Winchester
  • 1322 – Philip V, king of France (b. 1292)
  • 1437 – Catherine of Valois, queen consort of Henry V (b. 1401)
  • 1501 – Ali-Shir Nava’i, Turkic poet, linguist, and mystic (b. 1441)
  • 1543 – Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, Portuguese explorer and navigator (b. 1499)
  • 1571 – Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg (b. 1505)
  • 1641 – Jeremiah Horrocks, English astronomer and mathematician (b. 1618)
  • 1656 – Mathieu Molé, French politician (b. 1584)
  • 1670 – George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1608)
  • 1701 – Louis I, prince of Monaco (b. 1642)
  • 1705 – Luca Giordano, Italian painter and illustrator (b. 1634)
  • 1743 – Ferdinando Galli-Bibiena, Italian painter and architect (b. 1657)
  • 1777 – William Leslie, Scottish captain (b. 1751)
  • 1779 – Claude Bourgelat, French surgeon and lawyer (b. 1712)
  • 1785 – Baldassare Galuppi, Italian composer (b. 1706)
  • 1795 – Josiah Wedgwood, English potter, founded the Wedgwood Company (b. 1730)
  • 1826 – Louis-Gabriel Suchet, French general (b. 1770)
  • 1871 – Kuriakose Elias Chavara, Indian priest and saint (b. 1805)
  • 1875 – Pierre Larousse, French lexicographer and publisher (b. 1817)
  • 1882 – William Harrison Ainsworth, English author (b. 1805)
  • 1895 – James Merritt Ives, American lithographer and businessman, co-founded Currier and Ives (b. 1824)
  • 1903 – Alois Hitler, Austrian civil servant (b. 1837)
  • 1911 – Alexandros Papadiamantis, Greek author and poet (b. 1851)
  • 1915 – James Elroy Flecker, English poet, author, and playwright (b. 1884)
  • 1916 – Grenville M. Dodge, American general and politician (b. 1831)
  • 1922 – Wilhelm Voigt, German criminal (b. 1849)
  • 1923 – Jaroslav Hašek, Czech journalist and author (b. 1883)
  • 1927 – Carl David Tolmé Runge, German physicist and mathematician (b. 1856)
  • 1931 – Joseph Joffre, French general (b. 1852)
  • 1933 – Wilhelm Cuno, German lawyer and politician, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1876)
  • 1933 – Jack Pickford, Canadian-American actor, director, and producer (b. 1896)
  • 1943 – Walter James, Australian lawyer and politician, 5th Premier of Western Australia (b. 1863)
  • 1944 – Jurgis Baltrušaitis, Lithuanian poet, critic, and translator (b. 1873)
  • 1945 – Edgar Cayce, American psychic and author (b. 1877)
  • 1945 – Ferdynand Antoni Ossendowski, Polish journalist and explorer (b. 1879)
  • 1946 – William Joyce, American-British pro-Axis propaganda broadcaster (b. 1906)
  • 1956 – Alexander Gretchaninov, Russian-American pianist and composer (b. 1864)
  • 1956 – Dimitrios Vergos, Greek wrestler, weightlifter, and shot putter (b. 1886)
  • 1956 – Joseph Wirth, German educator and politician, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1876)
  • 1958 – Cafer Tayyar Eğilmez, Turkish general (b. 1877)
  • 1959 – Edwin Muir, Scottish poet, author, and translator (b. 1887)
  • 1960 – Eric P. Kelly, American journalist, author, and academic (b. 1884)
  • 1962 – Hermann Lux, German footballer and manager (b. 1893)
  • 1965 – Milton Avery, American painter (b. 1885)
  • 1966 – Sammy Younge Jr., American civil rights activist (b. 1944)
  • 1967 – Mary Garden, Scottish-American soprano and actress (b. 1874)
  • 1967 – Reginald Punnett, British scientist (b. 1875)
  • 1967 – Jack Ruby, American businessman and murderer (b. 1911)
  • 1969 – Jean Focas, Greek-French astronomer (b. 1909)
  • 1969 – Tzavalas Karousos, Greek-French actor (b. 1904)
  • 1970 – Gladys Aylward, English missionary and humanitarian (b. 1902)
  • 1972 – Mohan Rakesh, Indian author and playwright (b. 1925)
  • 1975 – Victor Kraft, Austrian philosopher from the Vienna Circle (b. 1880)
  • 1975 – James McCormack, American general (b. 1910)
  • 1977 – William Gropper, American lithographer, cartoonist, and painter (b. 1897)
  • 1979 – Conrad Hilton, American businessman, founded the Hilton Hotels & Resorts (b. 1887)
  • 1980 – Joy Adamson, Austrian-Kenyan author (b. 1910)
  • 1980 – George Sutherland Fraser, Scottish poet and academic (b. 1915)
  • 1981 – Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone (b. 1883)
  • 1988 – Rose Ausländer, Ukrainian-German poet and author (b. 1901)
  • 1989 – Sergei Sobolev, Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1909)
  • 1992 – Judith Anderson, British actress (b. 1897)
  • 2002 – Satish Dhawan, Indian engineer (b. 1920)
  • 2003 – Jimmy Stewart, Scottish racing driver (b. 1931)
  • 2005 – Koo Chen-fu, Taiwanese businessman and diplomat (b. 1917)
  • 2005 – Egidio Galea, Maltese Roman Catholic priest, missionary, and educator (b. 1918)
  • 2005 – Jyotindra Nath Dixit, Indian diplomat, 2nd Indian National Security Adviser (b. 1936)
  • 2006 – Steve Rogers, Australian rugby player and coach (b. 1954)
  • 2006 – Bill Skate, Papua New Guinean politician, 5th Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea (b. 1954)
  • 2007 – János Fürst, Hungarian violinist and conductor (b. 1935)
  • 2007 – William Verity, Jr., American businessman and politician, 27th United States Secretary of Commerce (b. 1917)
  • 2008 – Choi Yo-sam, South Korean boxer (b. 1972)
  • 2009 – Betty Freeman, American philanthropist and photographer (b. 1921)
  • 2009 – Pat Hingle, American actor (b. 1923)
  • 2009 – Hisayasu Nagata, Japanese politician (b. 1969)
  • 2010 – Gustavo Becerra-Schmidt, Chilean-German composer and academic (b. 1925)
  • 2010 – Mary Daly, American theologian and scholar (b. 1928)
  • 2012 – Vicar, Chilean cartoonist (b. 1934)
  • 2012 – Robert L. Carter, American lawyer and judge (b. 1917)
  • 2012 – Winifred Milius Lubell, American author and illustrator (b. 1914)
  • 2012 – Josef Škvorecký, Czech-Canadian author and publisher (b. 1924)
  • 2012 – Bob Weston, English guitarist and songwriter (b. 1947)
  • 2013 – Alfie Fripp, English soldier and pilot (b. 1913)
  • 2013 – Ivan Mackerle, Czech cryptozoologist, explorer, and author (b. 1942)
  • 2013 – William Maxson, American general (b. 1930)
  • 2013 – Sergiu Nicolaescu, Romanian actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1930)
  • 2014 – Phil Everly, American singer and guitarist (b. 1939)
  • 2014 – George Goodman, American economist and author (b. 1930)
  • 2014 – Saul Zaentz, American film producer (b. 1921)
  • 2015 – Martin Anderson, American economist and academic (b. 1936)
  • 2015 – Edward Brooke, American captain and politician, 47th Massachusetts Attorney General (b. 1919)
  • 2016 – Paul Bley, Canadian-American pianist and composer (b. 1932)
  • 2016 – Peter Naur, Danish computer scientist, astronomer, and academic (b. 1928)
  • 2016 – Bill Plager, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1945)
  • 2016 – Igor Sergun, Russian general and diplomat (b. 1957)
  • 2017 – H. S. Mahadeva Prasad, Indian politician (b. 1958)
  • 2018 – Colin Brumby, Australian composer (b. 1933)
  • 2019 – Herb Kelleher, American businessman, co-founder of Southwest Airlines (b. 1931)
  • 2020 – Qasem Soleimani, Iranian major general, commander of the Iranian Quds Force (b. 1957)

Holidays and observances on January 3

  • Anniversary of the 1966 Coup d’état (Burkina Faso)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Daniel of Padua
    • Genevieve
    • Holy Name of Jesus
    • Kuriakose Elias Chavara (Syro-Malabar Catholic Church)
    • Pope Anterus
    • William Passavant (Episcopal Church)
    • January 3 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Ministry of Religious Affairs Day (Indonesia)
  • Tamaseseri Festival (Hakozaki Shrine, Fukuoka, Japan)
  • The first day of Nakhatsenendyan toner, celebrated until January 5 (Armenia).
  • The tenth of the Twelve Days of Christmas (Western Christianity)

January 3 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

A History of Civilian Plane Crashes in Pakistan

May 20, 1965:
A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Boeing 707 crashes on its inaugural flight while attempting to land at Cairo airport, killing 124 people.

August 6, 1970:
A PIA Fokker F27 turboprop aircraft crashes while attempting to take off from Islamabad in a thunderstorm, killing all 30 people on board.

December 8, 1972:
A PIA Fokker F27 crashes in Rawalpindi, near Islamabad.
All 26 people on board are killed.

November 26, 1979:
A PIA Boeing 707 bringing home Pakistani Hajj pilgrims from Saudi Arabia crashes shortly after take-off from Jeddah airport, killing 156 people.

October 23, 1986:
A PIA Fokker F27 crashes while coming in to land in the northwestern city of Peshawar, killing 13 of the 54 people on board.

August 17, 1988:
A US-made Hercules C-130 military aircraft crashes near Pakistan’s eastern city of Bahawalpur, killing military ruler General Mohammad Zia ul Haq and 30 others including Pakistani generals and the US ambassador.

August 25, 1989:
A PIA Fokker carrying 54 people disappears after leaving Gilgit in northern Pakistan. The wreckage is never found.

September 28, 1992:
A PIA Airbus A300 crashes into a cloud-covered hillside on approach to the Nepalese capital Kathmandu after the plane descended too early, killing 167 people.

February 19, 2003:
An air force Fokker F27 crashes in fog-shrouded mountains near the northwestern city of Kohat, killing air force chief Air Chief Marshal Mushaf Ali, his wife and 15 others.

February 24, 2003:
A chartered Cessna 402-B carrying Afghan Mines and Industries Minister Juma Mohammad Mohammadi, four Afghan officials, a Chinese mining executive and two Pakistani crew crashes into the Arabian Sea near the southern city of Karachi.

July 10, 2006:
A PIA Fokker F27 bound for Lahore crashes into a field and bursts into flames shortly after takeoff from the central city of Multan, killing 41 passengers and four crew.

July 28, 2010:
An Airblue Airbus 321 operated by the private airline Airblue flying from Karachi crashes into hills outside Islamabad while preparing to land, killing all 152 people on board.

November 5, 2010:
A twin-engine plane operated by Pakistani charter JS Air carrying staff from an Italian oil company crashes shortly after take-off in Karachi, killing all 21 people on board.

November 28, 2010:
At least 12 people are killed when a Russian-made Ilyushin IL-76 cargo plane operated by Georgian airline Sunway crashes in a fireball seconds after taking off from Karachi.

April 20, 2012:
A Bhoja Air Airbus 737 from Karachi comes down in bad weather near Islamabad, killing 121 passengers and 6 crew members.

May 8, 2015
A Pakistani military helicopter crashes, killing eight people including the Norwegian, Philippine and Indonesian envoys and the wives of Malaysian and Indonesian envoys, and setting a school building ablaze in a remote northern valley of near Gilgit.

December 7, 2016
A PIA ATR-42 aircraft crashes enroute from Chitral to Islamabad. The crash claims lives of all 48 passengers and crew, including singer-cum-evangelist Junaid Jamshed.

May 22, 2020
A PIA A-320 commercial airliner crashes near the Karachi Airport while completing a journey from Lahore. A total of 90 people including 8 crew members were on board the aircraft.

A History of Civilian Plane Crashes in Pakistan Read More »

General Knowledge, History, Uncategorized

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

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

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

آئین پاکستان 1973 میں اب تک کی گئی 25 ترامیم آسان اردو زبان میں اختصار کے ساتھ

آئین پاکستان 1973 میں اب تک کی گئی 25 ترامیم آسان اردو زبان میں اختصار کے ساتھ ملاحظہ فرمائیں۔

پہلی ترمیم 1974
آئین پاکستان 1973 کی پہلی ترمیم میں پاکستان کے حدود اربعہ کا دوبارہ تعین کیا گیا.

دوسری ترمیم 1974
قادیانیوں کو غیر مسلم اقلیت قرار دیا گیا.

تیسری ترمیم 1975
اس ترمیم میں Preventive Detention کی مدت کو بڑھایا گیا۔Preventive Detention کا مطلب ہے کسی ایسے شخص کو نامعلوم مقام پر رکھنا جو ریاست پاکستان کے خلاف سرگرمیوں میں ملوث ہو۔

چوتھی ترمیم 1975
اقلیتوں کو پارلیمنٹ میں اضافی سیٹیں دی گئیں۔

پانچویں ترمیم 1976
ہائی کورٹ کا اختیار_سماعت وسیع کیا گیا

چھٹی ترمیم 1976
ہائی کورٹ اور سپریم کورٹ کے ججز کی ریٹائرمنٹ کی مدت بالترتیب 62 اور 65 سال کی گئ۔

ساتویں ترمیم 1977
وزیر اعظم کو یہ پاور دی گئ کہ وہ کسی بھی وقت پاکستان کی عوام سے اعتماد کا ووٹ حاصل کر سکتا ہے۔

آٹھویں ترمیم 1985
پارلیمانی نظام سے نیم صدارتی نظام متعارف کروایا گیا اور صدر کو اضافی پاورز دی گئیں۔

نویں ترمیم 1985
شریعہ لاء کو لاء آف دی لینڈ کا درجہ دیا گیا۔

دسویں ترمیم 1987
پارلیمنٹ کے اجلاس کا دورانیہ مقرر کیا گیا کہ دو اجلاس کا درمیانی وقفہ 130 دن سے نہیں بڑھے گا

گیارھویں ترمیم 1989
دونوں اسمبلیوں میں سیٹوں کی Revision کی گئ۔

بارھویں ترمیم 1991
سنگین جرائم کے تیز ترین ٹرائل کے لئے خصوصی عدالتیں عرصہ 3 سال کے لئے قائم کی گئیں

تیرھویں ترمیم 1997
صدر کی نیشنل اسمبلی تحلیل کرنے اور وزیر اعظم ہٹانے کی پاورز کو ختم کیا گیا۔

چودھویں ترمیم 1997
ممبران پارلیمنٹ میں Defect پائے جانے کی صورت میں ان کو عہدوں سے ہٹانے کا قانون وضح کیا گیا۔

پندرھویں ترمیم 1998
شریعہ لاء کو لاگو کرنے کے بل کو پاس نا کیا گیا۔

سولہویں ترمیم 1999
کوٹہ سسٹم کی مدت 20 سے بڑھا کر 40 سال کی گئ

سترھویں ترمیم 2003
صدر کی پاورز میں اضافہ کیا گیا

اٹھارویں ترمیم 2010
اس ترمیم میں NWFP کا نام تبدیل کیا گیا اور آرٹیکل 6 متعارف کروایا گیا،اور اس کے علاوہ صدر کی نیشنل اسمبلی تحلیل کرنے کی پاور کو ختم کیا گیا۔

انیسویں ترمیم 2010
اسلام آباد ہائی کورٹ قائم کی گئ،اور سپریم کورٹ کے ججز کی تعیناتی کے حوالے سے قانون وضح کیا گیا۔

بیسویں ترمیم 2012
صاف شفاف انتخابات کے لئے چیف الیکشن کمشنر کو الیکشن کمیشن آف پاکستان میں تبدیل کیا گیا۔

اکیسویں ترمیم 2015
سانحہ APSکے بعد ملٹری کورٹس متعارف کروائی گئیں۔

بائیسویں ترمیم 2016
چیف الیکشن کمیشن آف پاکستان کی اہلیت کا دائرہ کار تبدیل کیا گیا کہ بیورو کریٹس اور ٹیکنو کریٹس بھی ممبر الیکشن کمیشن آف پاکستان بن سکیں گے۔

تئیسویں ترمیم 2017
سال 2015 میں قومی اسمبلی نے اکیسویں ترمیم میں 2 سال کے لئے ملٹری کورٹس قائم کیں۔ یہ دوسال کا دورانیہ 6 جنوری 2017 کو ختم ہو گیا،اس تئیسویں ترمیم میں ملٹری کورٹس کے دورانیے کو مزید 2 سال کے لئے 6 جنوری 2019 تک بڑھایا گیا۔

چوبیسویں ترمیم 2017
مردم شماری کے نتائج کی بنیاد پر حلقہ بندیوں کو دوبارہ تشکیل دیا گیا۔

پچیسویں ترمیم 2018
فاٹا کو خیبر پختونخواہ میں ملانے کے لئے صدر نے 31 مئ 2018 کو دستخط کیئے.

آئین پاکستان 1973 میں اب تک کی گئی 25 ترامیم آسان اردو زبان میں اختصار کے ساتھ Read More »

Political Science