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  • March 24 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    March 24th is the 365th and last day of the year in many European implementations of the Julian calendar.

    March 24 in History

    • 1199 – King Richard I of England is wounded by a crossbow bolt while fighting in France, leading to his death on April 6.
    • 1387 – English victory over a Franco-Castilian-Flemish fleet in the Battle of Margate off the coast of Margate.
    • 1401 – Turco-Mongol emperor Timur sacks Damascus.
    • 1603 – James VI of Scotland is proclaimed King James I of England and Ireland, upon the death of Elizabeth I.
    • 1603 – Tokugawa Ieyasu is granted the title of shōgun from Emperor Go-Yōzei, and establishes the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo, Japan.
    • 1663 – The Province of Carolina is granted by charter to eight Lords Proprietor in reward for their assistance in restoring Charles II of England to the throne.
    • 1720 – Count Frederick of Hesse-Kassel is elected King of Sweden by the Riksdag of the Estates, after his consort Ulrika Eleonora abdicated the throne on 29 February
    • 1721 – Johann Sebastian Bach dedicated six concertos to Margrave Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg-Schwedt, now commonly called the Brandenburg Concertos, BWV 1046–1051.
    • 1731 – Naturalization of Hieronimus de Salis Parliamentary Act is passed.
    • 1765 – Great Britain passes the Quartering Act, which requires the Thirteen Colonies to house British troops.
    • 1794 – In Kraków, Tadeusz Kościuszko announces a general uprising against Imperial Russia and the Kingdom of Prussia, and assumes the powers of the Commander in Chief of all of the Polish forces.
    • 1829 – The Parliament of the United Kingdom passes the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829, allowing Catholics to serve in Parliament.
    • 1832 – In Hiram, Ohio, a group of men beat and tar and feather Mormon leader Joseph Smith.
    • 1854 – President José Gregorio Monagas abolishes slavery in Venezuela.
    • 1860 – Sakuradamon Incident: Assassination of Japanese Chief Minister (Tairō) Ii Naosuke.
    • 1869 – The last of Titokowaru’s forces surrendered to the New Zealand government, ending his uprising.
    • 1878 – The British frigate HMS Eurydice sinks, killing more than 300.
    • 1882 – Robert Koch announces the discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium responsible for tuberculosis.
    • 1885 – Sino-French War: Chinese victory in the Battle of Bang Bo on the Tonkin–Guangxi border.
    • 1900 – Mayor of New York City Robert Anderson Van Wyck breaks ground for a new underground “Rapid Transit Railroad” that would link Manhattan and Brooklyn.
    • 1907 – The first issue of the Georgian Bolshevik newspaper Dro is published.
    • 1921 – The 1921 Women’s Olympiad begins in Monte Carlo, first international women’s sports event.
    • 1927 – Nanking Incident: Foreign warships bombard Nanjing, China, in defense of the foreign citizens within the city.
    • 1934 – United States Congress passes the Tydings–McDuffie Act, allowing the Philippines to become a self-governing commonwealth.
    • 1944 – Ardeatine massacre: German troops murder 335 Italian civilians in Rome.
    • 1944 – World War II: In an event later dramatized in the movie The Great Escape, 76 Allied prisoners of war begin breaking out of the German camp Stalag Luft III.
    • 1946 – A British Cabinet Mission arrives in India to discuss and plan for the transfer of power from the British Raj to Indian leadership.
    • 1958 – Rock ‘n’ roll teen idol Elvis Presley is drafted in the U.S. Army.
    • 1961 – Quebec Board of the French Language is established.
    • 1965 – Images from the Ranger 9 lunar probe are broadcast live on network television.
    • 1973 – Kenyan athlete Kip Keino defeats Jim Ryun at the first-ever professional track meet in Los Angeles.
    • 1976 – In Argentina, the armed forces overthrow the constitutional government of President Isabel Perón and start a 7-year dictatorial period self-styled the National Reorganization Process.
    • 1977 – Morarji Desai became the Prime Minister of India, the first Prime Minister not to belong to Indian National Congress.
    • 1980 – El Salvadorian Archbishop Óscar Romero is assassinated while celebrating Mass in San Salvador.
    • 1986 – The Loscoe gas explosion leads to new UK laws on landfill gas migration and gas protection on landfill sites.
    • 1989 – In Prince William Sound in Alaska, the Exxon Valdez spills 240,000 barrels (38,000 m3) of crude oil after running aground.
    • 1993 – Discovery of Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9.
    • 1998 – Mitchell Johnson and Andrew Golden, aged 11 and 13 respectively, fire upon teachers and students at Westside Middle School in Jonesboro, Arkansas; five people are killed and ten are wounded.
    • 1998 – A tornado sweeps through Dantan in India, killing 250 people and injuring 3,000 others.
    • 1998 – First computer-assisted Bone Segment Navigation, performed at the University of Regensburg, Germany
    • 1999 – Kosovo war: NATO began attacks on Yugoslavia without United Nations Security Council (UNSC) approval, marking the first time NATO has attacked a sovereign country.
    • 1999 – A lorry carrying margarine and flour catches fire inside the Mont Blanc Tunnel. The resulting inferno kills 38 people.
    • 2003 – The Arab League votes 21–1 in favor of a resolution demanding the immediate and unconditional removal of U.S. and British soldiers from Iraq.
    • 2008 – Bhutan officially becomes a democracy, with its first ever general election.
    • 2015 – Germanwings Flight 9525 crashes in the French Alps in an apparent pilot mass murder-suicide, killing all 150 people on board.

    Births on March 24

    • 1103 – Yue Fei, Chinese military general (d. 1142)
    • 1441 – Ernest, Elector of Saxony, German ruler of Saxony (d. 1486)
    • 1494 – Georgius Agricola, German mineralogist and scholar (d. 1555)
    • 1577 – Francis, Duke of Pomerania-Stettin, Bishop of Cammin (d. 1620)
    • 1607 – Michiel de Ruyter, Dutch admiral (d. 1667)
    • 1628 – Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg (d. 1685)
    • 1657 – Arai Hakuseki, Japanese academic and politician (d. 1725)
    • 1693 – John Harrison, English carpenter and clock-maker, invented the Marine chronometer (d. 1776)
    • 1725 – Samuel Ashe, American lawyer and politician, 9th Governor of North Carolina (d. 1813)
    • 1725 – Thomas Cushing, American lawyer and politician, 1st Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1788)
    • 1755 – Rufus King, American lawyer and politician, United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom (d. 1827)
    • 1762 – Marcos Portugal, Portuguese organist and composer (d. 1830)
    • 1775 – Muthuswami Dikshitar, Indian poet and composer (d. 1835)
    • 1782 – Orest Kiprensky, Russian-Italian painter (d. 1836)
    • 1796 – Zulma Carraud, French author (d. 1889)
    • 1796 – John Corry Wilson Daly, Canadian businessman and politician (d. 1878)
    • 1803 – Egerton Ryerson, Canadian minister, educator, and politician (d. 1882)
    • 1808 – Maria Malibran, Spanish-French soprano (d. 1836)
    • 1809 – Mariano José de Larra, Spanish journalist and author (d. 1837)
    • 1809 – Joseph Liouville, French mathematician and academic (d. 1882)
    • 1816 – Pelagio Antonio de Labastida y Dávalos, Roman Catholic archbishop and Mexican politician who served as regent during the Second Mexican Empire (1863-1864) (d. 1891)
    • 1820 – Edmond Becquerel, French physicist and academic (d. 1891)
    • 1820 – Fanny Crosby, American poet and composer (d. 1915)
    • 1823 – Thomas Spencer Baynes, English philosopher and critic (d. 1887)
    • 1826 – Matilda Joslyn Gage, American activist and author (d. 1898)
    • 1828 – Horace Gray, American lawyer and jurist (d. 1902)
    • 1829 – George Francis Train, American businessman (d. 1904)
    • 1829 – Ignacio Zaragoza, Mexican general (d. 1862)
    • 1830 – Robert Hamerling, Austrian poet and playwright (d. 1889)
    • 1834 – William Morris, English textile designer, poet, and author (d. 1896)
    • 1834 – John Wesley Powell, American soldier, geologist, and explorer (d. 1902)
    • 1835 – Joseph Stefan, Austrian physicist, mathematician, and poet (d. 1893)
    • 1848 – Honoré Beaugrand, Canadian journalist and politician, 18th Mayor of Montreal (d. 1906)
    • 1850 – Silas Hocking, English minister and author (d. 1935)
    • 1854 – Henry Lefroy, Australian politician, 11th Premier of Western Australia (d. 1930)
    • 1855 – Andrew W. Mellon, American banker, financier, and diplomat, 49th United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1937)
    • 1855 – Olive Schreiner, South African author and activist (d. 1920)
    • 1862 – Frank Weston Benson, American painter and educator (d. 1951)
    • 1869 – Émile Fabre, French author and playwright (d. 1955)
    • 1871 – Alec Hurley, English music hall singer (d. 1913)
    • 1874 – Luigi Einaudi, Italian economist and politician, 2nd President of the Italian Republic (d. 1961)
    • 1874 – Harry Houdini, Hungarian-Jewish American magician and actor (d. 1926)
    • 1875 – William Burns, Canadian lacrosse player (d. 1953)
    • 1879 – Neyzen Tevfik, Turkish philosopher, poet, and composer (d. 1953)
    • 1882 – Marcel Lalu, French gymnast (d. 1951)
    • 1882 – George Monckton-Arundell, 8th Viscount Galway, English politician, 5th Governor-General of New Zealand (d. 1943)
    • 1883 – Dorothy Campbell, Scottish-American golfer (d. 1945)
    • 1884 – Peter Debye, Dutch-American physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1966)
    • 1884 – Chika Kuroda, Japanese chemist (d. 1968)
    • 1884 – Eugène Tisserant, French cardinal (d. 1972)
    • 1885 – Charles Daniels, American swimmer (d. 1973)
    • 1885 – Dimitrie Cuclin, Romanian violinist and composer (d. 1978)
    • 1886 – Edward Weston, American photographer (d. 1958)
    • 1886 – Robert Mallet-Stevens, French architect and designer (d. 1945)
    • 1887 – Roscoe Arbuckle, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1933)
    • 1888 – Viktor Kingissepp, Estonian politician (d. 1922)
    • 1889 – Albert Hill, English-Canadian runner (d. 1969)
    • 1890 – Agnes Macphail, Canadian educator and politician (d. 1954)
    • 1891 – Sergey Ivanovich Vavilov, Russian physicist and academic (d. 1951)
    • 1892 – Marston Morse, American mathematician and academic (d. 1977)
    • 1893 – Walter Baade, German astronomer and author (d. 1960)
    • 1893 – George Sisler, American baseball player and scout (d. 1973)
    • 1897 – Wilhelm Reich, Austrian-American psychotherapist and academic (d. 1957)
    • 1901 – Ub Iwerks, American animator, director, and producer, co-created Mickey Mouse (d. 1971)
    • 1902 – Thomas E. Dewey, American lawyer and politician, 47th Governor of New York (d. 1971)
    • 1903 – Adolf Butenandt, German biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1995)
    • 1903 – Malcolm Muggeridge, English journalist, author, and scholar (d. 1990)
    • 1905 – Pura Santillan-Castrence, Filipino author and diplomat (d. 2007)
    • 1907 – Paul Sauvé, Canadian lawyer and politician, 17th Premier of Quebec (d. 1960)
    • 1909 – Clyde Barrow, American criminal (d. 1934)
    • 1909 – Richard Wurmbrand, Romanian Pastor and Evangelist (d. 2001)
    • 1910 – Richard Conte, American actor, singer, and director (d. 1975)
    • 1911 – Joseph Barbera, American animator, director, and producer, co-founded Hanna-Barbera (d. 2006)
    • 1912 – Dorothy Height, African-American educator and activist (d. 2010)
    • 1915 – Eugène Martin, French racing driver (d. 2006)
    • 1916 – Donald Hamilton, Swedish-American soldier and author (d. 2006)
    • 1916 – Harry B. Whittington, English palaeontologist and academic (d. 2010)
    • 1917 – John Kendrew, English biochemist and crystallographer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1997)
    • 1919 – Lawrence Ferlinghetti, American poet and publisher, co-founded City Lights Bookstore
    • 1919 – Robert Heilbroner, American economist and historian (d. 2005)
    • 1920 – Gene Nelson, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1996)
    • 1920 – Mary Stolz, American author (d. 2006)
    • 1921 – Vasily Smyslov, Russian chess player (d. 2010)
    • 1922 – Onna White, Canadian dancer and choreographer (d. 2005)
    • 1923 – Murray Hamilton, American actor (d. 1986)
    • 1923 – Michael Legat, English author and publisher (d. 2011)
    • 1924 – Norman Fell, American actor (d. 1998)
    • 1925 – Puig Aubert, German-French rugby league player and coach (d. 1994)
    • 1926 – Desmond Connell, Irish cardinal (d. 2017)
    • 1926 – Dario Fo, Italian playwright, actor, director, and composer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2016)
    • 1926 – William Porter, American hurdler (d. 2000)
    • 1927 – John Woodland Hastings, American biochemist and academic (d. 2014)
    • 1927 – Martin Walser, German author and playwright
    • 1928 – Byron Janis, American pianist and composer
    • 1929 – Pat Renella, Italian-American actor (d. 2012)
    • 1930 – David Dacko, Central African politician, 1st President of the Central African Republic (d. 2003)
    • 1930 – Steve McQueen, American actor and producer (d. 1980)
    • 1931 – Hanno Drechsler, German educator and politician, Mayor of Marburg (d. 2003)
    • 1933 – Stephen De Staebler, American sculptor and educator (d. 2011)
    • 1933 – Lee Mendelson, American television producer (d. 2019)
    • 1936 – Don Covay, American singer-songwriter (d. 2015)
    • 1936 – Alex Olmedo, Peruvian-American tennis player
    • 1937 – Billy Stewart, American singer and pianist (d. 1970)
    • 1938 – David Irving, English historian and author
    • 1940 – Bob Mackie, American fashion designer
    • 1941 – Michael Masser, American songwriter, composer and producer (d. 2015)
    • 1944 – R. Lee Ermey, American sergeant and actor (d. 2018)
    • 1944 – Vojislav Koštunica, Serbian academic and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Serbia
    • 1945 – Robert T. Bakker, American paleontologist and academic
    • 1945 – Curtis Hanson, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2016)
    • 1945 – Patrick Malahide, English actor and screenwriter
    • 1946 – Klaus Dinger, German guitarist and songwriter (d. 2008)
    • 1946 – Kitty O’Neil, American stuntwoman (d. 2018)
    • 1947 – Dennis Erickson, American football player and coach
    • 1947 – Christine Gregoire, American lawyer and politician, 22nd Governor of Washington
    • 1947 – Mick Jones, English footballer and coach
    • 1947 – Alan Sugar, English businessman
    • 1948 – Javier Diez Canseco, Peruvian sociologist and politician (d. 2013)
    • 1948 – Jerzy Kukuczka, Polish mountaineer (d. 1989)
    • 1948 – Lee Oskar, Jewish-Danish musician
    • 1949 – Tabitha King, American author and poet
    • 1949 – Ruud Krol, Dutch footballer and coach
    • 1949 – Steve Lang, Canadian bass player (April Wine) (d. 2017)
    • 1949 – Nick Lowe, English singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer
    • 1949 – Ali Akbar Salehi, Iranian academic and politician, 36th Foreign Affairs Minister of Iran
    • 1949 – Ranil Wickremesinghe, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Sri Lanka
    • 1950 – Gary Wichard, American football player and agent (d. 2011)
    • 1951 – Peter Boyle, Scottish-Australian footballer and manager (d. 2013)
    • 1951 – Pat Bradley, American golfer
    • 1951 – Tommy Hilfiger, American fashion designer, founded the Tommy Hilfiger Corporation
    • 1951 – Dougie Thomson, Scottish bass player
    • 1951 – Anna Włodarczyk, Polish long jumper and coach
    • 1952 – Greg McCrary, American football player (d. 2013)
    • 1953 – Anita L. Allen, African-American lawyer, philosopher, and academic
    • 1953 – Louie Anderson, American actor and comedian
    • 1955 – Doug Jarvis, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1955 – Pat Price, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1956 – Steve Ballmer, American businessman
    • 1956 – Bill Wray, American cartoonist and painter
    • 1957 – Pierre Harvey, Canadian cyclist and skier
    • 1957 – Pat Jarvis, Australian rugby league player
    • 1958 – Mike Woodson, American basketball player and coach
    • 1959 – Emmit King, American sprinter
    • 1959 – Renaldo Nehemiah, American hurdler and football player
    • 1959 – Derek Statham, English footballer
    • 1960 – Jan Berglin, Swedish cartoonist
    • 1960 – Barry Horowitz, American wrestler
    • 1960 – Kelly Le Brock, English-American actress and model
    • 1960 – Nena, German singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1960 – Scott Pruett, American race car driver
    • 1960 – Annabella Sciorra, American actress
    • 1961 – Dean Jones, Australian cricketer and coach
    • 1961 – Yanis Varoufakis, Greek economist and politician, Greek Minister of Finance
    • 1962 – Angèle Dubeau, Canadian violinist
    • 1962 – Star Jones, African-American lawyer, journalist, and talk show host
    • 1962 – Irina Meszynski, German discus thrower
    • 1963 – Raimond van der Gouw, Dutch footballer and coach
    • 1963 – Vadym Tyshchenko, Ukrainian footballer and manager (d. 2015)
    • 1963 – Torsten Voss, German decathlete and bobsledder
    • 1965 – The Undertaker, American wrestler and actor
    • 1966 – Floyd Heard, American sprinter and coach
    • 1967 – Diann Roffe, American skier
    • 1968 – Minarti Timur, Indonesian badminton player
    • 1969 – Stephan Eberharter, Austrian skier
    • 1970 – Lara Flynn Boyle, American actress
    • 1970 – Sharon Corr, Irish singer-songwriter and violinist
    • 1970 – Judith Draxler, Austrian swimmer
    • 1970 – Erica Kennedy, African-American journalist and author (d. 2012)
    • 1970 – Mike Vanderjagt, Canadian-American football player
    • 1971 – Tig Notaro, American comedian and actor
    • 1972 – Christophe Dugarry, French footballer
    • 1972 – Steve Karsay, American baseball player and coach
    • 1973 – Jacek Bąk, Polish footballer
    • 1973 – Philippe Boucher, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
    • 1973 – Steve Corica, Australian footballer and coach
    • 1973 – Jure Ivanušič, Slovenian actor, concert pianist and chansonnier
    • 1973 – Mette Jacobsen, Danish swimmer
    • 1973 – Glen Jakovich, Australian footballer
    • 1973 – Jim Parsons, American actor
    • 1974 – Alyson Hannigan, American actress
    • 1974 – Sergey Klyugin, Russian high jumper
    • 1974 – Tado, Filipino comedian and activist (d. 2014)
    • 1975 – Thomas Johansson, Swedish-Monacan tennis player
    • 1976 – Aaron Brooks, American football player
    • 1976 – Aliou Cissé, Senegalese footballer and coach
    • 1976 – Athanasios Kostoulas, Greek footballer
    • 1976 – Peyton Manning, American football player and entrepreneur
    • 1977 – Jessica Chastain, American actress
    • 1977 – Maxim Kuznetsov, Russian ice hockey player
    • 1977 – Darren Lockyer, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
    • 1978 – Michael Braun, Australian footballer and coach
    • 1978 – Tomáš Ujfaluši, Czech footballer and manager
    • 1978 – José Valverde, Dominican baseball player
    • 1979 – Lake Bell, Jewish-American actress, director, and screenwriter
    • 1979 – Norris Hopper, American baseball player
    • 1979 – Periklis Iakovakis, Greek hurdler
    • 1979 – Graeme Swann, English cricketer
    • 1980 – Tassos Venetis, Greek footballer
    • 1981 – Mike Adams, American football player
    • 1981 – Ron Hainsey, American ice hockey player
    • 1981 – Dirk Hayhurst, American baseball player
    • 1981 – Mark Looms, Dutch footballer
    • 1981 – Gary Paffett, English racing driver
    • 1982 – Corey Hart, American baseball player
    • 1982 – Jack Swagger, American mixed martial artist and professional wrestler
    • 1982 – Epico Colon, Puerto Rican professional wrestler
    • 1982 – Jimmy Hempte, Belgian footballer
    • 1982 – Dustin McGowan, American baseball player
    • 1983 – Luca Ceccarelli, Italian footballer
    • 1983 – Riccardo Musetti, Italian footballer
    • 1983 – Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1983 – T.J. Ford, American basketball player
    • 1984 – Benoît Assou-Ekotto, French born Cameroonian international footballer, left-back
    • 1984 – Chris Bosh, American basketball player
    • 1984 – Adrian D’Souza, Indian field hockey player
    • 1984 – Lucy Wangui Kabuu, Kenyan runner
    • 1984 – Park Bom, South Korean singer
    • 1984 – Philipp Petzschner, German tennis player
    • 1985 – Lana, American wrestler and manager
    • 1985 – Haruka Ayase, Japanese actress and singer
    • 1987 – Ramires, Brazilian footballer
    • 1987 – Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladeshi cricketer
    • 1987 – Billy Jones, English footballer
    • 1987 – Yuma Asami, Japanese actress and singer
    • 1988 – Aiga Grabuste, Latvian heptathlete
    • 1988 – Ryan Higgins, Zimbabwean cricketer
    • 1988 – Matías Martínez, Argentinian footballer
    • 1988 – Kardo Ploomipuu, Estonian swimmer
    • 1988 – Matt Todd, New Zealand rugby union player
    • 1990 – Starlin Castro, American baseball player
    • 1990 – Aljur Abrenica, Filipino actor
    • 1990 – Keisha Castle-Hughes, Australian-New Zealand actress
    • 1990 – Lacey Evans, American wrestler
    • 1991 – Nick Browne, English cricketer
    • 1991 – Dalila Jakupovic, Slovenian tennis player
    • 1995 – Enzo Fernandez, French-Spanish footballer

    Deaths on March 24

    • 809 – Harun al-Rashid, Arab caliph (b. 763)
    • 832 – Wulfred, archbishop of Canterbury
    • 1284 – Hugh III of Cyprus (b. 1235)
    • 1296 – Odon de Pins, Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller
    • 1381 – Catherine of Vadstena, Swedish saint (b. 1332)
    • 1394 – Constance of Castile, claimant to the throne of Castile
    • 1396 – Walter Hilton, English mystic and saint (b. 1340)
    • 1399 – Margaret, Duchess of Norfolk (b.c. 1320)
    • 1443 – James Douglas, 7th Earl of Douglas (b. 1371)
    • 1455 – Pope Nicholas V (b. 1397)
    • 1499 – Edward Stafford, 2nd Earl of Wiltshire, English nobleman (b. 1470)
    • 1563 – Hosokawa Harumoto, Japanese daimyō (b. 1514)
    • 1575 – Joseph ben Ephraim Karo, Spanish-Portuguese rabbi and author (b. 1488)
    • 1603 – Elizabeth I of England (b. 1533)
    • 1653 – Samuel Scheidt, German organist and composer (b. 1587)
    • 1684 – Pieter de Hooch, Dutch painter (b. 1629)
    • 1684 – Elizabeth Ridgeway, English woman convicted of poisoning her husband
    • 1773 – Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, English politician, Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard (b. 1694)
    • 1776 – John Harrison, English carpenter and clockmaker, invented the Marine chronometer (b. 1693)
    • 1824 – Louis Marie de La Révellière-Lépeaux, French lawyer (b. 1753)
    • 1838 – Abraham Hume, English floriculturist and Tory politician (b. 1748/49)
    • 1869 – Antoine-Henri Jomini, French-Russian general (b. 1779)
    • 1881 – Achille Ernest Oscar Joseph Delesse, French geologist and mineralogist (b. 1817)
    • 1882 – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, American poet and educator (b. 1807)
    • 1887 – Ivan Kramskoi, Russian painter and critic (b. 1837)
    • 1888 – Vsevolod Garshin, Russian author (b. 1855)
    • 1905 – Jules Verne, French novelist, poet, and playwright (b. 1828)
    • 1909 – John Millington Synge, Irish playwright and poet (b. 1871)
    • 1915 – Margaret Lindsay Huggins, Anglo-Irish astronomer (b. 1848)
    • 1915 – Karol Olszewski, Polish chemist, mathematician, and physicist (b. 1846)
    • 1916 – Enrique Granados, Spanish pianist and composer (b. 1867)
    • 1926 – Phan Châu Trinh, Vietnamese activist (b. 1872)
    • 1940 – Édouard Branly, French physicist and academic (b. 1844)
    • 1944 – Orde Wingate, Indian-English general (b. 1903)
    • 1946 – Alexander Alekhine, Russian chess player (b. 1892)
    • 1946 – Carl Schuhmann, German gymnast, shot putter, and jumper (b. 1869)
    • 1948 – Sigrid Hjertén, Swedish painter and illustrator (b. 1885)
    • 1950 – James Rudolph Garfield, American lawyer and politician, 23rd United States Secretary of the Interior (b. 1865)
    • 1951 – Lorna Hodgkinson, Australian educator and educational psychologist (b. 1887)
    • 1953 – Mary of Teck (b. 1867)
    • 1962 – Jean Goldkette, French-American pianist and bandleader (b. 1899)
    • 1962 – Auguste Piccard, Swiss physicist and explorer (b. 1884)
    • 1968 – Alice Guy-Blaché, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1873)
    • 1971 – Arne Jacobsen, Danish architect, designed the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel and Aarhus City Hall (b. 1902)
    • 1971 – Arthur Metcalfe, Australian public servant (b. 1895)
    • 1976 – Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, English field marshal (b. 1887)
    • 1978 – Park Mok-wol, influential Korean poet and academic (b. 1916)
    • 1980 – Óscar Romero, Salvadoran archbishop (b. 1917)
    • 1984 – Sam Jaffe, American actor (b. 1891)
    • 1985 – Raoul Ubac, French painter, sculptor, photographer and engraver (b. 1910)
    • 1988 – Turhan Feyzioğlu, Turkish academic and politician, 27th Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1922)
    • 1990 – Ray Goulding, American comedian and radio host (b. 1922)
    • 1991 – John Kerr, Australian lawyer and politician, 18th Governor-General of Australia (b. 1914)
    • 1993 – Albert Arlen, Australian pianist, composer, actor, and playwright (b. 1905)
    • 1993 – John Hersey, American journalist and author (b. 1914)
    • 1995 – Joseph Needham, English historian and academic (b. 1900)
    • 1999 – Gertrud Scholtz-Klink, German politician (b. 1902)
    • 1999 – Birdie Tebbetts, American baseball player and manager (b. 1912)
    • 2001 – Muriel Young, English television host and producer (b. 1928)
    • 2002 – César Milstein, Argentinian-English biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1927)
    • 2002 – Bob Said, American race car driver and bobsledder (b. 1932)
    • 2003 – Hans Hermann Groër, Austrian cardinal (b. 1919)
    • 2006 – Rudra Rajasingham, Sri Lankan police officer and diplomat (b. 1926)
    • 2007 – Shripad Narayan Pendse, Indian Marathi novelist (b. 1913)
    • 2008 – Chalmers Alford, American guitarist (b. 1955)
    • 2008 – Neil Aspinall, Welsh-English record producer and manager (b. 1941)
    • 2008 – Rafael Azcona, Spanish author and screenwriter (b. 1926)
    • 2008 – Richard Widmark, American actor (b. 1914)
    • 2009 – George Kell, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1922)
    • 2009 – Hans Klenk, German racing driver (b. 1919)
    • 2009 – Gábor Ocskay, Hungarian ice hockey player (b. 1975)
    • 2010 – Robert Culp, American actor (b. 1930)
    • 2010 – Jim Marshall, American photographer (b. 1936)
    • 2012 – Paul Callaghan, New Zealand physicist and academic (b. 1947)
    • 2012 – Nick Noble, American singer-songwriter (b. 1926)
    • 2013 – Barbara Anderson, New Zealand author (b. 1926)
    • 2013 – Inge Lønning, Norwegian theologian, academic, and politician (b. 1938)
    • 2013 – Gury Marchuk, Russian physicist, mathematician, and academic (b. 1925)
    • 2013 – Paolo Ponzo, Italian footballer (b. 1972)
    • 2013 – Mohamed Yousri Salama, Egyptian dentist and politician (b. 1974)
    • 2013 – Francis Hovell-Thurlow-Cumming-Bruce, 8th Baron Thurlow, English diplomat (b. 1912)
    • 2014 – Oleksandr Muzychko, Ukrainian activist (b. 1962)
    • 2014 – John Rowe Townsend, English author and scholar (b. 1922)
    • 2014 – David A. Trampier, American illustrator (b. 1954)
    • 2015 – Yehuda Avner, English-Israeli diplomat (b. 1928)
    • 2015 – notable deaths of the Germanwings Flight 9525 crash:
      • Oleg Bryjak, Kazakhstani-German opera singer (b. 1960)
      • Maria Radner, German opera singer (b. 1981)
    • 2016 – Johan Cruyff, Dutch footballer (b. 1947)
    • 2016 – Garry Shandling, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter (b. 1949)
    • 2018 – Lys Assia, Swiss singer and First Winner of the Eurovision Song Contest (b. 1924)
    • 2019 – Joseph Pilato, American film and voice actor (b.1949)
    • 2020 – Albert Uderzo, French comic book artist (b. 1927)

    Holidays and observances on March 24

    • Christian feast day:
      • Catherine of Vadstena
      • Hildelith of Barking
      • Mac Cairthinn of Clogher
      • Óscar Romero (Catholic Church, Anglican Communion, Lutheranism)
      • Paul Couturier (Church of England)
      • Walter Hilton (Church of England)
      • March 24 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Day of Remembrance for Truth and Justice (Argentina)
    • National Tree Planting Day (Uganda)
    • Student Day (Scientology)
    • World Tuberculosis Day (International)

  • March 3- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 473 – Gundobad (nephew of Ricimer) nominates Glycerius as emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
    • 724 – Empress Genshō abdicates the throne in favor of her nephew Shōmu who becomes emperor of Japan.
    • 1575 – Mughal Emperor Akbar defeats Sultan of Bengal Daud Khan Karrani’s army at the Battle of Tukaroi.
    • 1585 – The Olympic Theatre, designed by Andrea Palladio, is inaugurated in Vicenza.
    • 1776 – American Revolutionary War: The first amphibious landing of the United States Marine Corps begins the Battle of Nassau.
    • 1779 – American Revolutionary War: The Continental Army is routed at the Battle of Brier Creek near Savannah, Georgia.
    • 1799 – The Russo-Ottoman siege of Corfu ends with the surrender of the French garrison.
    • 1820 – The U.S. Congress passes the Missouri Compromise.
    • 1845 – Florida is admitted as the 27th U.S. state.
    • 1849 – The Territory of Minnesota is created.
    • 1857 – Second Opium War: France and the United Kingdom declare war on China.
    • 1859 – The two-day Great Slave Auction, the largest such auction in United States history, concludes.
    • 1861 – Alexander II of Russia signs the Emancipation Manifesto, freeing serfs.
    • 1865 – Opening of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, the founding member of the HSBC Group.
    • 1873 – Censorship in the United States: The U.S. Congress enacts the Comstock Law, making it illegal to send any “obscene literature and articles of immoral use” through the mail.
    • 1875 – Georges Bizet’s opera Carmen receives its première at the Opéra-Comique in Paris.
    • 1875 – The first ever organized indoor game of ice hockey is played in Montreal, Quebec, Canada as recorded in the Montreal Gazette.
    • 1878 – The Russo-Turkish War ends with Bulgaria regaining its independence from the Ottoman Empire according to the Treaty of San Stefano.
    • 1885 – The American Telephone & Telegraph Company is incorporated in New York.
    • 1891 – Shoshone National Forest is established as the first national forest in the US and world.
    • 1910 – Rockefeller Foundation: John D. Rockefeller Jr. announces his retirement from managing his businesses so that he can devote all his time to philanthropy.
    • 1913 – Thousands of women march in the Woman Suffrage Procession in Washington, D.C.
    • 1918 – Russia signs the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, agreeing to withdraw from World War I, and conceding German control of the Baltic States, Belarus and Ukraine. It also conceded Turkish control of Ardahan, Kars and Batumi.
    • 1923 – TIME magazine is published for the first time.
    • 1924 – The 407-year-old Islamic caliphate is abolished, when Caliph Abdülmecid II of the Ottoman Caliphate is deposed. The last remnant of the old regime gives way to the reformed Turkey of Kemal Atatürk.
    • 1924 – The Free State of Fiume is annexed by the Kingdom of Italy.
    • 1931 – The United States adopts The Star-Spangled Banner as its national anthem.
    • 1938 – Oil is discovered in Saudi Arabia.
    • 1939 – In Bombay, Mohandas Gandhi begins a hunger strike in protest at the autocratic rule in British India.
    • 1940 – Five people are killed in an arson attack on the offices of the communist newspaper Flamman in Luleå, Sweden.
    • 1942 – World War II: Ten Japanese warplanes raid Broome, Western Australia, killing more than 100 people.
    • 1943 – World War II: In London, 173 people are killed in a crush while trying to enter an air-raid shelter at Bethnal Green tube station.
    • 1944 – The Order of Nakhimov and Order of Ushakov are instituted in USSR as the highest naval awards.
    • 1945 – World War II: American and Filipino troops recapture Manila.
    • 1945 – World War II: The RAF accidentally bombs the Bezuidenhout area of The Hague, Netherlands, killing 511 people.
    • 1951 – Jackie Brenston, with Ike Turner and his band, records “Rocket 88”, often cited as “the first rock and roll record”, at Sam Phillips’s recording studios in Memphis, Tennessee.
    • 1953 – A De Havilland Comet (Canadian Pacific Air Lines) crashes in Karachi, Pakistan, killing 11.
    • 1958 – Nuri al-Said becomes Prime Minister of Iraq for the eighth time.
    • 1969 – Apollo program: NASA launches Apollo 9 to test the lunar module.
    • 1972 – Mohawk Airlines Flight 405 crashes as a result of a control malfunction and insufficient training in emergency procedures.
    • 1974 – Turkish Airlines Flight 981 crashes at Ermenonville near Paris, France killing all 346 aboard.
    • 1980 – The USS Nautilus is decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register.
    • 1985 – Arthur Scargill declares that the National Union of Mineworkers’ national executive voted to end the longest-running industrial dispute in Great Britain without any peace deal over pit closures.
    • 1985 – A magnitude 8.3 earthquake strikes the Valparaíso Region of Chile, killing 177 and leaving nearly a million people homeless.
    • 1986 – The Australia Act 1986 commences, causing Australia to become fully independent from the United Kingdom.
    • 1991 – An amateur video captures the beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers.
    • 2005 – James Roszko murders four Royal Canadian Mounted Police constables during a drug bust at his property in Rochfort Bridge, Alberta, then commits suicide. This is the deadliest peace-time incident for the RCMP since 1885 and the North-West Rebellion.
    • 2005 – Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly an airplane non-stop around the world solo without refueling.
    • 2005 – Margaret Wilson is elected as Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives, beginning a period lasting until August 23, 2006 where all the highest political offices (including Elizabeth II as Head of State), were occupied by women, making New Zealand the first country for this to occur.
    • 2013 – A bomb blast in Karachi, Pakistan, kills at least 45 people and injured 180 others in a predominately Shia Muslim area.

    Births on March 3

    • 1455 – John II of Portugal (d. 1495)
    • 1455 – Ascanio Sforza, Catholic cardinal (d. 1505)
    • 1506 – Luís of Portugal, Duke of Beja (d. 1555)
    • 1520 – Matthias Flacius, Croatian theologian and reformer (d. 1575)
    • 1583 – Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury, English-Welsh soldier, historian, and diplomat (d. 1648)
    • 1589 – Gisbertus Voetius, Dutch minister, theologian, and academic (d. 1676)
    • 1606 – Edmund Waller, English poet and politician (d. 1687)
    • 1652 – Thomas Otway, English playwright and author (d. 1685)
    • 1678 – Madeleine de Verchères, Canadian rebel leader (d. 1747)
    • 1756 – William Godwin, English journalist and author (d. 1836)
    • 1778 – Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (d. 1841)
    • 1793 – William Macready, English actor and manager (d. 1873)
    • 1800 – Heinrich Georg Bronn, German geologist and paleontologist (d. 1862)
    • 1803 – Thomas Field Gibson, English manufacturer who aided the welfare of the Spitalfields silk weavers (d. 1889)
    • 1805 – Jonas Furrer, Swiss politician (d. 1861)
    • 1816 – William James Blacklock, English-Scottish painter (d. 1858)
    • 1819 – Gustave de Molinari, Dutch-Belgian economist and theorist (d. 1912)
    • 1825 – Shiranui Kōemon, Japanese sumo wrestler (d. 1879)
    • 1831 – George Pullman, American engineer and businessman, founded the Pullman Company (d. 1897)
    • 1839 – Jamsetji Tata, Indian businessman, founded Tata Group (d. 1904)
    • 1841 – John Murray, Canadian-Scottish oceanographer and biologist (d. 1914)
    • 1845 – Georg Cantor, Russian-German mathematician and philosopher (d. 1918)
    • 1847 – Alexander Graham Bell, Scottish-American engineer and academic, invented the telephone (d. 1922)
    • 1860 – John Montgomery Ward, American baseball player and manager (d. 1925)
    • 1866 – Fred A. Busse, American lawyer and politician, 39th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1914)
    • 1868 – Émile Chartier, French philosopher and journalist (d. 1951)
    • 1869 – Henry Wood, English conductor (d. 1944)
    • 1871 – Maurice Garin, Italian-French cyclist (d. 1957)
    • 1873 – William Green, American union leader and politician (d. 1952)
    • 1880 – Florence Auer, American actress and screenwriter (d. 1962)
    • 1880 – Yōsuke Matsuoka, Japanese politician, Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1946)
    • 1882 – Elisabeth Abegg, German anti-Nazi resistance fighter (d. 1974)
    • 1882 – Charles Ponzi, Italian businessman (d. 1949)
    • 1883 – Cyril Burt, English psychologist and geneticist (d. 1971)
    • 1883 – Paul Marais de Beauchamp, French zoologist (d. 1977)
    • 1887 – Lincoln J. Beachey, American pilot (d. 1915)
    • 1891 – Damaskinos of Athens, Greek archbishop (d. 1949)
    • 1893 – Beatrice Wood, American illustrator and potter (d. 1998)
    • 1895 – Ragnar Frisch, Norwegian economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1973)
    • 1895 – Matthew Ridgway, American general (d. 1993)
    • 1898 – Emil Artin, Austrian-German mathematician and academic (d. 1962)
    • 1900 – Edna Best, British stage and film actress, appeared on early television in 1938 (d. 1974)
    • 1902 – Ruby Dandridge, African-American film and radio actress (d. 1987)
    • 1901 – Claude Choules, English-Australian soldier (d. 2011)
    • 1903 – Vasily Kozlov, Belarusian general and politician (d. 1967)
    • 1906 – Artur Lundkvist, Swedish poet and critic (d. 1991)
    • 1911 – Jean Harlow, American actress (d. 1937)
    • 1911 – Hugues Lapointe, Canadian lawyer and politician, 22nd Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (d. 1982)
    • 1913 – Margaret Bonds, American pianist and composer (d. 1972)
    • 1913 – Harold J. Stone, American actor (d. 2005)
    • 1914 – Asger Jorn, Danish painter and sculptor (d. 1973)
    • 1916 – Paul Halmos, Hungarian-American mathematician (d. 2006)
    • 1917 – Sameera Moussa, Egyptian physicist and academic (d. 1952)
    • 1918 – Arthur Kornberg, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2007)
    • 1920 – Julius Boros, American golfer and accountant (d. 1994)
    • 1920 – James Doohan, Canadian-American actor and soldier (d. 2005)
    • 1920 – Ronald Searle, English-French soldier and illustrator (d. 2011)
    • 1921 – Diana Barrymore, American actress (d. 1960)
    • 1922 – Nándor Hidegkuti, Hungarian footballer and manager (d. 2002)
    • 1923 – Barney Martin, American police officer and actor (d. 2005)
    • 1923 – Doc Watson, American bluegrass singer-songwriter and musician (d. 2012)
    • 1924 – Tomiichi Murayama, Japanese soldier and politician, 52nd Prime Minister of Japan
    • 1926 – James Merrill, American poet and playwright (d. 1995)
    • 1927 – Pierre Aubert, Swiss lawyer and politician (d. 2016)
    • 1930 – Ion Iliescu, Romanian engineer and politician, 2nd President of Romania
    • 1934 – Peter Brooke, Baron Brooke of Sutton Mandeville, English politician, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
    • 1934 – Jimmy Garrison, American bassist and educator (d. 1976)
    • 1935 – Mal Anderson, Australian tennis player
    • 1935 – Michael Walzer, American philosopher and academic
    • 1935 – Zhelyu Zhelev, Bulgarian philosopher and politician, 2nd President of Bulgaria (d. 2015)
    • 1939 – Larry Burkett, American author and radio host (d. 2003)
    • 1939 – M. L. Jaisimha, Indian cricketer (d. 1999)
    • 1940 – Germán Castro Caycedo, Colombian author and journalist
    • 1940 – Perry Ellis, American fashion designer, founded Perry Ellis (d. 1986)
    • 1940 – Jean-Paul Proust, French-Monacan police officer and politician, 21st Minister of State of Monaco (d. 2010)
    • 1941 – Mike Pender, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1945 – George Miller, Australian director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1945 – Hattie Winston, American actress
    • 1947 – Clifton Snider, American author, poet, and critic
    • 1947 – Jennifer Warnes, American singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1948 – Snowy White, English guitarist
    • 1949 – Ron Chernow, American historian, journalist, and author
    • 1949 – Bonnie J. Dunbar, American engineer, academic, and astronaut
    • 1949 – Jesse Jefferson, American baseball player (d. 2011)
    • 1950 – Kamal Ahmed Majumder, Bangladeshi politician
    • 1951 – Andy Murray, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1951 – Heizō Takenaka, Japanese economist and politician
    • 1952 – Rudy Fernandez, Filipino actor and producer (d. 2008)
    • 1953 – Robyn Hitchcock, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1953 – Zico, Brazilian footballer and coach
    • 1954 – Keith Fergus, American golfer
    • 1954 – John Lilley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1954 – Édouard Lock, Moroccan-Canadian dancer and choreographer
    • 1955 – Darnell Williams, English-American actor and director
    • 1956 – Zbigniew Boniek, Polish footballer and manager
    • 1956 – John Fulton Reid, New Zealand cricketer
    • 1957 – Stephen Budiansky, American historian, journalist, and author
    • 1957 – Thom Hoffman, Dutch actor and photographer
    • 1958 – Miranda Richardson, English actress
    • 1959 – Ira Glass, American radio host and producer
    • 1959 – Duško Vujošević, Montenegrin basketball player and coach
    • 1960 – Neal Heaton, American baseball player and coach
    • 1961 – Mary Page Keller, American actress and producer
    • 1961 – John Matteson, American biographer
    • 1961 – Perry McCarthy, English race car driver
    • 1961 – Fatima Whitbread, English javelin thrower
    • 1962 – Glen E. Friedman, American photographer
    • 1962 – Jackie Joyner-Kersee, American heptathlete and long jumper
    • 1962 – Herschel Walker, American football player and mixed martial artist
    • 1963 – Martín Fiz, Spanish runner
    • 1963 – Khaltmaagiin Battulga, 5th President of Mongolia
    • 1964 – Raúl Alcalá, Mexican cyclist
    • 1964 – Laura Harring, Mexican-American model and actress, Miss USA 1985
    • 1964 – Glenn Kulka, Canadian ice hockey player and wrestler
    • 1965 – Dragan Stojković, Serbian footballer and manager
    • 1966 – Tone Lōc, American rapper, producer, and actor
    • 1966 – Timo Tolkki, Finnish guitarist, songwriter, and producer
    • 1968 – Brian Cox, English keyboard player and physicist
    • 1968 – Brian Leetch, American ice hockey player
    • 1970 – Julie Bowen, American actress
    • 1970 – Inzamam-ul-Haq, Pakistani cricketer and coach
    • 1971 – Charlie Brooker, English journalist, producer, and author
    • 1971 – Tyler Florence, American chef and author
    • 1972 – Darren Anderton, English international footballer, midfielder and sportscaster
    • 1973 – Xavier Bettel, Luxembourger lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Luxembourg
    • 1973 – Matthew Marsden, English actor and martial artist
    • 1974 – David Faustino, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1976 – Fraser Gehrig, Australian footballer
    • 1976 – Isabel Granada, Filipino-Spanish actress (d. 2017)
    • 1976 – Keit Pentus-Rosimannus, Estonian politician, 28th Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs
    • 1976 – Kampamba Mulenga Chilumba, Zambian politician
    • 1977 – Ronan Keating, Irish singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1977 – Stéphane Robidas, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1977 – Buddy Valastro, American chef and television host
    • 1978 – Matt Diaz, American baseball player
    • 1979 – Albert Jorquera, Spanish footballer
    • 1980 – Mason Unck, American football player
    • 1981 – David Bailey, American basketball player
    • 1981 – Julius Malema, South African politician
    • 1981 – Emmanuel Pappoe, Ghanaian footballer
    • 1982 – Jessica Biel, American actress, singer, and producer
    • 1982 – Colton Orr, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1982 – Tolu Ogunlesi, Nigerian journalist and writer
    • 1982 – Brent Tate, Australian rugby league player
    • 1983 – Ashley Hansen, Australian footballer
    • 1983 – Sarah Poewe, South African swimmer
    • 1984 – Valerio Bernabò, Italian rugby player
    • 1984 – Santonio Holmes, American football player
    • 1984 – Alexander Semin, Russian ice hockey player
    • 1986 – Jed Collins, American football player
    • 1986 – Stacie Orrico, American singer-songwriter
    • 1986 – Mehmet Topal, Turkish footballer
    • 1987 – Jesús Padilla, Mexican footballer
    • 1987 – Shraddha Kapoor, Indian actress, singer, and designer
    • 1988 – Teodora Mirčić, Serbian tennis player
    • 1988 – Michael Morrison, English footballer
    • 1988 – Jan-Arie van der Heijden, Dutch footballer
    • 1988 – Max Waller, English cricketer
    • 1989 – Erwin Mulder, Dutch footballer
    • 1990 – Vladimir Janković, Greek-Serbian basketball player
    • 1991 – Anri Sakaguchi, Japanese actress
    • 1991 – Cho-rong, South Korean singer
    • 1993 – Gabriela Cé, Brazilian tennis player
    • 1993 – Josef Dostál, Czech kayaker
    • 1993 – James Roberts, Australian rugby league player
    • 1994 – Umika Kawashima, Japanese singer and actress
    • 1996 – Cameron Johnson, American basketball player
    • 1997 – Camila Cabello, Cuban-American singer
    • 1998 – Jayson Tatum, American basketball player

    Deaths on March 3

    • 532 – Winwaloe, founder of Landévennec Abbey (b. c. 460)
    • 1009 – Abd al-Rahman Sanchuelo, Umayyad chief minister (b. 983)
    • 1111 – Bohemond I, Italo-Norman nobleman (b. 1058)
    • 1195 – Hugh de Puiset, bishop of Durham (b. c. 1125)
    • 1239 – Vladimir IV Rurikovich, Grand Prince of Kiev (b. 1187)
    • 1311 – Antony Bek, bishop of Durham
    • 1323 – Andrew Harclay, 1st Earl of Carlisle, English military leader
    • 1383 – Hugh III, Italian nobleman
    • 1459 – Ausiàs March, Catalan knight and poet (b. 1397)
    • 1542 – Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle, illegitimate son of Edward IV
    • 1554 – John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony (b. 1503)
    • 1578 – Sebastiano Venier, doge of Venice (b. 1496)
    • 1578 – Michael Kantakouzenos Şeytanoğlu, Ottoman Greek magnate
    • 1588 – Henry XI, duke of Legnica (b. 1539)
    • 1592 – Michael Coxcie, Flemish painter (b. 1499)
    • 1605 – Clement VIII, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 1536)
    • 1611 – William Douglas, 10th Earl of Angus, Scottish nobleman (b. 1552)
    • 1616 – Matthias de l’Obel, Flemish physician and botanist (b. 1538)
    • 1700 – Chhatrapati Rajaram, 3rd Chhatrapati of Maratha Empire (b. 1670)
    • 1703 – Robert Hooke, English architect and philosopher (b. 1635)
    • 1706 – Johann Pachelbel, German organist and composer (b. 1653)
    • 1744 – Jean Barbeyrac, French scholar and jurist (b. 1674)
    • 1765 – William Stukeley, English archaeologist and historian (b. 1687)
    • 1768 – Nicola Porpora, Italian composer and educator (b. 1686)
    • 1792 – Robert Adam, Scottish-English architect and politician, designed the Culzean Castle (b. 1728)
    • 1850 – Oliver Cowdery, American religious leader (b. 1806)
    • 1894 – Ned Williamson, American baseball player (b. 1857)
    • 1901 – George Gilman, American businessman, founded The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (b. 1826)
    • 1905 – Antonio Annetto Caruana, Maltese archaeologist and author (b. 1830)
    • 1927 – Mikhail Artsybashev, Ukrainian author and playwright (b. 1878)
    • 1927 – J. G. Parry-Thomas, Welsh race car driver and engineer (b. 1884)
    • 1929 – Katharine Wright, American educator (b. 1874)
    • 1932 – Eugen d’Albert, Scottish-German pianist and composer (b. 1864)
    • 1943 – George Thompson, English cricketer and umpire (b. 1877)
    • 1959 – Lou Costello, American actor and comedian (b. 1906)
    • 1961 – Paul Wittgenstein, Austrian-American pianist (b. 1887)
    • 1966 – Joseph Fields, American playwright, director, and producer (b. 1895)
    • 1966 – William Frawley, American actor and vaudevillian (b. 1887)
    • 1966 – Alice Pearce, American actress (b. 1917)
    • 1981 – Rebecca Lancefield, American microbiologist and researcher (b. 1895)
    • 1982 – Firaq Gorakhpuri, Indian poet and critic (b. 1896)
    • 1982 – Georges Perec, French author and screenwriter (b. 1936)
    • 1983 – Hergé, Belgian author and illustrator (b. 1907)
    • 1987 – Danny Kaye, American actor, singer, and dancer (b. 1911)
    • 1988 – Henryk Szeryng, Polish-Mexican violinist and composer (b. 1918)
    • 1988 – Sewall Wright, American biologist and geneticist (b. 1889)
    • 1990 – Charlotte Moore Sitterly, American astronomer (b. 1898)
    • 1991 – Arthur Murray, American dancer and educator (b. 1895)
    • 1991 – William Penney, Baron Penney, Gibraltar-born English mathematician, physicist, and academic (b. 1909)
    • 1993 – Mel Bradford, American author and critic (b. 1934)
    • 1993 – Carlos Marcello, Tunisian-American mob boss (b. 1910)
    • 1993 – Carlos Montoya, Spanish guitarist and composer (b. 1903)
    • 1993 – Albert Sabin, Polish-American physician and virologist (b. 1906)
    • 1994 – John Edward Williams, American author and academic (b. 1922)
    • 1995 – Howard W. Hunter, American religious leader, 14th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1907)
    • 1996 – Marguerite Duras, French author and director (b. 1914)
    • 1996 – John Krol, American cardinal (b. 1910)
    • 1998 – Fred W. Friendly, American journalist and broadcaster (b. 1915)
    • 1999 – Gerhard Herzberg, German-Canadian chemist and astronomer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
    • 1999 – Lee Philips, American actor and director (b. 1927)
    • 2000 – Toni Ortelli, Italian composer and conductor (b. 1904)
    • 2001 – Louis Edmonds, American actor (b. 1923)
    • 2001 – Eugene Sledge, American soldier, author, and academic (b. 1923)
    • 2002 – G. M. C. Balayogi, Indian lawyer and politician, 12th Speaker of the Lok Sabha (b. 1951)
    • 2003 – Horst Buchholz, German actor (b. 1933)
    • 2003 – Luis Marden, American linguist, photographer, and explorer (b. 1913)
    • 2003 – Goffredo Petrassi, Italian composer and conductor (b. 1904)
    • 2005 – Max Fisher, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1928)
    • 2006 – Ivor Cutler, Scottish poet and songwriter (b. 1923)
    • 2006 – Else Fisher, Australian-Swedish dancer, choreographer, and director (b. 1918)
    • 2006 – William Herskovic, Hungarian-American humanitarian (b. 1914)
    • 2007 – Osvaldo Cavandoli, Italian cartoonist (b. 1920)
    • 2008 – Giuseppe Di Stefano, Italian tenor and actor (b. 1921)
    • 2008 – Norman Smith, English drummer and producer (b. 1923)
    • 2009 – Gilbert Parent, Canadian educator and politician, 33rd Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada (b. 1935)
    • 2010 – Keith Alexander, English footballer and manager (b. 1956)
    • 2010 – Michael Foot, English journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Employment (b. 1913)
    • 2011 – May Cutler, Canadian journalist, author, and politician (b. 1923)
    • 2012 – Ralph McQuarrie, American conceptual designer and illustrator (b. 1929)
    • 2012 – Ronnie Montrose, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer (b. 1947)
    • 2012 – Alex Webster, American football player and coach (b. 1931)
    • 2013 – Luis Cubilla, Uruguayan footballer and manager (b. 1940)
    • 2013 – Bobby Rogers, American singer-songwriter (b. 1940)
    • 2013 – James Strong, Qantas CEO from 1993 to 2001 (b. 1944)
    • 2014 – Robert Ashley, American soldier and composer (b. 1930)
    • 2014 – Sherwin B. Nuland, American surgeon, author, and educator (b. 1930)
    • 2014 – William R. Pogue, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1930)
    • 2015 – Ernest Braun, Austrian-English physicist and academic (b. 1925)
    • 2015 – M. Stanton Evans, American journalist and author (b. 1934)
    • 2016 – Hayabusa, Japanese wrestler (b. 1968)
    • 2016 – Berta Cáceres, Honduran environmentalist (b. 1973)
    • 2016 – Martin Crowe, New Zealand cricketer and sportscaster (b. 1962)
    • 2016 – Thanat Khoman, Thai politician and diplomat, Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand (b. 1914)
    • 2016 – Sarah Tait, Australian Olympic rower (b. 1983)
    • 2017 – René Préval, Haitian politician (b. 1943)
    • 2018 – Roger Bannister, English middle-distance athlete, first man to run a four-minute mile (b. 1929)
    • 2018 – Mal Bryce, Australian politician (b. 1943)
    • 2018 – Vanessa Goodwin, Australian politician (b. 1969)
    • 2018 – David Ogden Stiers, American actor, voice actor and musician (b. 1942)
    • 2019 – Peter Hurford OBE, British organist and composer (b. 1930)
    • 2020 – Charles J. Urstadt, American real estate executive and investor (b. 1928)

    Holidays and observances on March 3

    • Christian feast day:
      • Anselm, Duke of Friuli
      • Arthelais
      • Cunigunde of Luxembourg
      • Katharine Drexel
      • John and Charles Wesley (Episcopal Church (USA))
      • Marinus and Asterius of Caesarea
      • Winwaloe
      • March 3 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Hinamatsuri or “Girl’s Day” (Japan)
    • Liberation and Freedom Day (Charlottesville, Virginia, USA)
    • Liberation Day (Bulgaria)
    • Martyrs’ Day (Malawi)
    • Mother’s Day (Georgia)
    • Sportsmen’s Day (Egypt)
    • Teacher’s Day (Lebanon)
    • World Hearing Day
    • World Wildlife Day

  • February 21 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 1245 – Thomas, the first known Bishop of Finland, is granted resignation after confessing to torture and forgery.
    • 1440 – The Prussian Confederation is formed.
    • 1613 – Mikhail I is unanimously elected Tsar by a national assembly, beginning the Romanov dynasty of Imperial Russia.
    • 1797 – A force of 1,400 French soldiers invaded Britain at Fishguard in support of the Society of United Irishmen. They were defeated by 500 British reservists.
    • 1804 – The first self-propelling steam locomotive makes its outing at the Pen-y-Darren Ironworks in Wales.
    • 1808 – Without a previous declaration of war, Russian troops cross the border to Sweden at Abborfors in eastern Finland, thus beginning the Finnish War, in which Sweden will lose the eastern half of the country (i.e. Finland) to Russia.
    • 1828 – Initial issue of the Cherokee Phoenix is the first periodical to use the Cherokee syllabary invented by Sequoyah.
    • 1842 – John Greenough is granted the first U.S. patent for the sewing machine.
    • 1848 – Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels publish The Communist Manifesto.
    • 1862 – American Civil War: Battle of Valverde is fought near Fort Craig in New Mexico Territory.
    • 1866 – Lucy Hobbs Taylor becomes the first American woman to graduate from dental school.
    • 1874 – The Oakland Daily Tribune publishes its first edition.
    • 1878 – The first telephone directory is issued in New Haven, Connecticut.
    • 1885 – The newly completed Washington Monument is dedicated.
    • 1896 – An Englishman raised in Australia, Bob Fitzsimmons, fought an Irishman, Peter Maher, in an American promoted event which technically took place in Mexico, winning the 1896 World Heavyweight Championship in boxing.
    • 1913 – Ioannina is incorporated into the Greek state after the Balkan Wars.
    • 1916 – World War I: In France, the Battle of Verdun begins.
    • 1918 – The last Carolina parakeet dies in captivity at the Cincinnati Zoo.
    • 1919 – German socialist Kurt Eisner is assassinated. His death results in the establishment of the Bavarian Soviet Republic and parliament and government fleeing Munich, Germany.
    • 1921 – Constituent Assembly of the Democratic Republic of Georgia adopts the country’s first constitution.
    • 1921 – Rezā Shāh takes control of Tehran during a successful coup.
    • 1925 – The New Yorker publishes its first issue.
    • 1929 – In the first battle of the Warlord Rebellion in northeastern Shandong against the Nationalist government of China, a 24,000-strong rebel force led by Zhang Zongchang was defeated at Zhifu by 7,000 NRA troops.1934 – Augusto Sandino is executed.
    • 1937 – The League of Nations bans foreign national “volunteers” in the Spanish Civil War.
    • 1945 – World War II: During the Battle of Iwo Jima, Japanese kamikaze planes sink the escort carrier USS Bismarck Sea and damage the USS Saratoga.
    • 1945 – World War II: the Brazilian Expeditionary Force defeat the German forces in the Battle of Monte Castello on the Italian front.
    • 1947 – In New York City, Edwin Land demonstrates the first “instant camera”, the Polaroid Land Camera, to a meeting of the Optical Society of America.
    • 1948 – NASCAR is incorporated.
    • 1952 – The British government, under Winston Churchill, abolishes identity cards in the UK to “set the people free”.
    • 1952 – The Bengali Language Movement protests occur at the University of Dhaka in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).
    • 1958 – The CND symbol, aka peace symbol, commissioned by the Direct Action Committee in protest against the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment, is designed and completed by Gerald Holtom.
    • 1965 – Malcolm X is assassinated while giving a talk at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem.
    • 1971 – The Convention on Psychotropic Substances is signed at Vienna.
    • 1972 – United States President Richard Nixon visits the People’s Republic of China to normalize Sino-American relations.
    • 1972 – The Soviet unmanned spaceship Luna 20 lands on the Moon.
    • 1973 – Over the Sinai Desert, Israeli fighter aircraft shoot down Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114 jet killing 108 people.
    • 1974 – The last Israeli soldiers leave the west bank of the Suez Canal pursuant to a truce with Egypt.
    • 1975 – Watergate scandal: Former United States Attorney General John N. Mitchell and former White House aides H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman are sentenced to prison.
    • 1995 – Steve Fossett lands in Leader, Saskatchewan, Canada becoming the first person to make a solo flight across the Pacific Ocean in a balloon.
    • 2013 – At least 17 people are killed and 119 injured following several bombings in the Indian city of Hyderabad.

    Births on February 21

    • 921 – Abe no Seimei, Japanese astrologer (d. 1005)
    • 1397 – Isabella of Portugal (d. 1471)
    • 1462 – Joanna la Beltraneja, princess of Castile (d. 1530)
    • 1484 – Joachim I Nestor, Elector of Brandenburg (d. 1535)
    • 1498 – Ralph Neville, 4th Earl of Westmorland, English Earl (d. 1549)
    • 1541 – Philipp V, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg (d. 1599)
    • 1556 – Sethus Calvisius, German astronomer, composer, and theorist (d. 1615)
    • 1559 – Nurhaci, Manchu emperor (d. 1626)
    • 1609 – Raimondo Montecuccoli, Italian military commander (d. 1680)
    • 1621 – Rebecca Nurse, Massachusetts colonist, executed as a witch (d. 1692)
    • 1705 – Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke, English admiral and politician (d. 1781)
    • 1728 – Peter III of Russia (d. 1762)
    • 1783 – Catharina of Württemberg (d. 1835)
    • 1788 – Francis Ronalds, British scientist, inventor and engineer who was knighted for developing the first working electric telegraph (d. 1873)
    • 1791 – Carl Czerny, Austrian pianist and composer (d. 1857)
    • 1794 – Antonio López de Santa Anna, Mexican general and politician, 8th President of Mexico (d. 1876)
    • 1801 – John Henry Newman, English cardinal (d. 1890)
    • 1817 – José Zorrilla, Spanish poet and playwright (d. 1893)
    • 1821 – Charles Scribner I, American publisher, founded Charles Scribner’s Sons (d. 1871)
    • 1836 – Léo Delibes, French pianist and composer (d. 1891)
    • 1844 – Charles-Marie Widor, French organist and composer (d. 1937)
    • 1860 – Goscombe John, Welsh-English sculptor and academic (d. 1952)
    • 1865 – John Haden Badley, English author and educator, founded the Bedales School (d. 1967)
    • 1867 – Otto Hermann Kahn, German banker and philanthropist (d. 1934)
    • 1875 – Jeanne Calment, French super-centenarian, oldest verified person ever (d. 1997)
    • 1878 – Mirra Alfassa, French-Indian spiritual leader (d. 1973)
    • 1881 – Kenneth J. Alford, English soldier, bandmaster, and composer (d. 1945)
    • 1885 – Sacha Guitry, Russian-French actor, director, and playwright (d. 1957)
    • 1887 – Korechika Anami, Japanese general and politician, 54th Japanese Minister of War (d. 1945)
    • 1888 – Clemence Dane, English author and playwright (d. 1965)
    • 1892 – Harry Stack Sullivan, American psychiatrist and psychoanalyst (d. 1949)
    • 1893 – Celia Lovsky, Austrian-American actress (d. 1979)
    • 1893 – Andrés Segovia, Spanish guitarist (d. 1987)
    • 1894 – Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar, Indian chemist and academic (d. 1955)
    • 1895 – Henrik Dam, Danish biochemist and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1976)
    • 1896 – Nirala, Indian poet and author (d. 1961)
    • 1900 – Jeanne Aubert, French singer and actress (d. 1988)
    • 1902 – Arthur Nock, English theologian and academic (d. 1963)
    • 1903 – Anaïs Nin, French-American essayist and memoirist (d. 1977)
    • 1903 – Raymond Queneau, French poet and author (d. 1976)
    • 1907 – W. H. Auden, English-American poet, playwright, and composer (d. 1973)
    • 1909 – Hans Erni, Swiss painter, sculptor, and illustrator (d. 2015)
    • 1910 – Douglas Bader, English captain and pilot (d. 1982)
    • 1912 – Arline Judge, American actress and singer (d. 1974)
    • 1914 – Ilmari Juutilainen, Finnish soldier and pilot (d. 1999)
    • 1914 – Zachary Scott, American actor (d. 1965)
    • 1914 – Jean Tatlock, American psychiatrist and physician (d. 1944)
    • 1915 – Claudia Jones, Trinidad-British journalist and activist (d. 1964)
    • 1915 – Ann Sheridan, American actress and singer (d. 1967)
    • 1915 – Anton Vratuša, Prime Minister of Slovenia (1978–1980) (d. 2017)
    • 1917 – Lucille Bremer, American actress and dancer (d. 1996)
    • 1917 – Tadd Dameron, American pianist and composer (d. 1965)
    • 1921 – John Rawls, American philosopher and academic (d. 2002)
    • 1921 – Richard T. Whitcomb, American aeronautical engineer (d. 2009)
    • 1924 – Thelma Estrin, American computer scientist and engineer (d. 2014)
    • 1924 – Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwean educator and politician, 2nd President of Zimbabwe (d. 2019)
    • 1924 – Dorothy Blum, American computer scientist and cryptanalyst (d. 1980)
    • 1925 – Sam Peckinpah, American director and screenwriter (d. 1984)
    • 1925 – Jack Ramsay, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster (d. 2014)
    • 1927 – Erma Bombeck, American journalist and author (d. 1996)
    • 1929 – Chespirito, Mexican actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
    • 1933 – Nina Simone, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2003)
    • 1934 – Rue McClanahan, American actress (d. 2010)
    • 1935 – Richard A. Lupoff, American author
    • 1936 – Barbara Jordan, American lawyer and politician (d. 1996)
    • 1937 – Ron Clarke, Australian runner and politician, Mayor of the Gold Coast (d. 2015)
    • 1937 – Harald V of Norway
    • 1938 – Bobby Charles, American singer-songwriter (d. 2010)
    • 1938 – Kel Tremain, New Zealand rugby player (d. 1992)
    • 1940 – Peter Gethin, English race car driver (d. 2011)
    • 1940 – John Lewis, American activist and politician
    • 1942 – Tony Martin, Trinidadian-American historian and academic (d. 2013)
    • 1942 – Margarethe von Trotta, German actress, director, and screenwriter
    • 1943 – David Geffen, American businessman, co-founded DreamWorks and Geffen Records
    • 1945 – Maurice Bembridge, English golfer
    • 1946 – Tyne Daly, American actress and singer
    • 1946 – Anthony Daniels, English actor and producer
    • 1946 – Alan Rickman, English actor and director (d. 2016)
    • 1946 – Bob Ryan, American journalist and author
    • 1947 – Johnny Echols, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1947 – Olympia Snowe, American politician
    • 1948 – Bill Slayback, American baseball player and singer (d. 2015)
    • 1949 – Frank Brunner, American illustrator
    • 1949 – Jerry Harrison, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1949 – Ronnie Hellström, Swedish footballer
    • 1950 – Larry Drake, American actor (d. 2016)
    • 1951 – Vince Welnick, American keyboard player (d. 2006)
    • 1952 – Jean-Jacques Burnel, English bass player, songwriter, and producer
    • 1952 – Vitaly Churkin, Russian diplomat, former Ambassador of Russia to the United Nations (d. 2017)
    • 1953 – Christine Ebersole, American actress and singer
    • 1953 – William Petersen, American actor and producer
    • 1954 – Christina Rees, British politician
    • 1955 – Kelsey Grammer, American actor, singer, and producer
    • 1958 – Jake Burns, Northern Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1958 – Mary Chapin Carpenter, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1958 – Kim Coates, Canadian actor
    • 1958 – Alan Trammell, American baseball player, coach, and manager
    • 1959 – José María Cano, Spanish singer-songwriter and painter
    • 1960 – Plamen Oresharski, Bulgarian economist and politician, 52nd Prime Minister of Bulgaria
    • 1960 – Steve Wynn, American singer-songwriter
    • 1961 – Christopher Atkins, American actor and businessman
    • 1962 – Chuck Palahniuk, American novelist and journalist
    • 1962 – David Foster Wallace, American novelist, short story writer, and essayist (d. 2008)
    • 1963 – William Baldwin, American actor
    • 1963 – Ranking Roger, English singer-songwriter and musician (d. 2019)
    • 1963 – Greg Turner, New Zealand golfer
    • 1964 – Mark Kelly, American captain, pilot, and astronaut
    • 1964 – Scott Kelly, American captain, pilot, and astronaut
    • 1965 – Mark Ferguson, Australian journalist
    • 1967 – Leroy Burrell, American runner and coach
    • 1967 – Sari Essayah, Finnish athlete and politician
    • 1969 – James Dean Bradfield, Welsh singer-songwriter and guitarist (Manic Street Preachers)
    • 1969 – Aunjanue Ellis, American actress and producer
    • 1969 – Petra Kronberger, Austrian skier
    • 1969 – Tony Meola, American soccer player and manager
    • 1969 – Cathy Richardson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1970 – Michael Slater, Australian cricketer and sportscaster
    • 1970 – Eric Wilson, American bass player and drummer
    • 1971 – Pierre Fulke, Swedish golfer
    • 1972 – Seo Taiji, South Korean singer-songwriter
    • 1973 – Heri Joensen, Faroese singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1973 – Brian Rolston, American ice hockey player and coach
    • 1974 – Iván Campo, Spanish footballer
    • 1975 – Scott Miller, Australian swimmer
    • 1976 – Ryan Smyth, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1976 – Michael McIntyre, English comedian, actor and television presenter
    • 1977 – Jonathan Safran Foer, American novelist
    • 1977 – Steve Francis, American basketball player
    • 1977 – Owen King, American author
    • 1977 – Kevin Rose, American businessman and television host, founded Digg
    • 1978 – Kumail Nanjiani, Pakistani-American stand-up comedian, actor, writer and podcast host
    • 1979 – Pascal Chimbonda, Guadeloupean-French footballer, defender
    • 1979 – Shane Gibson, American guitarist (stOrk and Jonathan Davis and the SFA) (d. 2014)
    • 1979 – Jennifer Love Hewitt, American actress and producer
    • 1979 – Carly Colón, Puerto Rican professional wrestler
    • 1979 – Jordan Peele, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1980 – Brad Fast, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1980 – Tiziano Ferro, Italian singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1980 – Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, 5th King of Bhutan
    • 1980 – Justin Roiland, American animator, writer and voice actor
    • 1981 – Floor Jansen, Dutch singer, songwriter, and vocal coach
    • 1982 – Andre Barrett, American basketball player
    • 1982 – Chantal Claret, American singer-songwriter
    • 1982 – Tebogo Jacko Magubane, South African DJ and producer
    • 1983 – Braylon Edwards, American football player
    • 1983 – Franklin Gutiérrez, Venezuelan baseball player
    • 1983 – Mélanie Laurent, French actress
    • 1984 – Andrew Ellis, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1984 – David Odonkor, German footballer
    • 1984 – Marco Paoloni, Italian footballer
    • 1984 – James Wisniewski, American ice hockey player
    • 1985 – Georgios Samaras, Greek footballer
    • 1985 – Jamaal Westerman, American football player
    • 1986 – Charlotte Church, Welsh singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1987 – Ellen Page, Canadian actress
    • 1989 – Corbin Bleu, American actor, model, dancer, film producer and singer-songwriter
    • 1990 – Mattias Tedenby, Swedish ice hockey player
    • 1991 – Joe Alwyn, English actor
    • 1991 – Riyad Mahrez, Algerian footballer
    • 1991 – Ji So-yun, South Korean footballer
    • 1991 – Devon Travis, American baseball player
    • 1991 – Suppasit Jongcheveevat, Thai actor
    • 1993 – Steve Leo Beleck, Cameroonian footballer
    • 1993 – Davy Klaassen, Dutch footballer
    • 1993 – Masaki Suda, Japanese actor
    • 1994 – Tang Haochen, Chinese tennis player
    • 1994 – Charalampos Mavrias, Greek footballer
    • 1996 – Sophie Turner, English actress

    Deaths on February 21

    • 4 AD – Gaius Caesar, Roman consul and grandson of Augustus (b. 20 BC)
    • 675 – Randoald of Grandval, prior of the Benedictine monastery of Grandval
    • 1184 – Minamoto no Yoshinaka, Japanese shōgun (b. 1154)
    • 1267 – Baldwin of Ibelin, Seneschal of Cyprus
    • 1437 – James I of Scotland (b. 1394; assassinated)
    • 1471 – Jan Rokycana, Czech bishop and theologian (b. 1396)
    • 1513 – Pope Julius II (b. 1443)
    • 1543 – Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi, Somalian general (b. 1507)
    • 1554 – Hieronymus Bock, German botanist and physician (b. 1498)
    • 1572 – Cho Shik, Korean poet and scholar (d. 1501)
    • 1590 – Ambrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of Warwick, English nobleman and general (b. 1528)
    • 1595 – Robert Southwell, English priest and poet (b. 1561)
    • 1677 – Baruch Spinoza, Dutch philosopher and scholar (b. 1632)
    • 1715 – Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore, English politician (b. 1637)
    • 1730 – Pope Benedict XIII (b. 1649)
    • 1821 – Georg Friedrich von Martens, German jurist and diplomat (b. 1756)
    • 1824 – Eugène de Beauharnais, French general (b. 1781)
    • 1829 – Kittur Chennamma, Indian queen and freedom fighter (b. 1778)
    • 1846 – Emperor Ninkō of Japan (b. 1800)
    • 1862 – Justinus Kerner, German poet and physician (b. 1786)
    • 1888 – William Weston, English-Australian politician, 3rd Premier of Tasmania (b. 1804)
    • 1891 – James Timberlake, American lieutenant and police officer (b. 1846)
    • 1919 – Kurt Eisner, German journalist and politician, Minister-President of Bavaria (b. 1867)
    • 1926 – Heike Kamerlingh Onnes, Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1853)
    • 1934 – Augusto César Sandino, Nicaraguan rebel leader (b. 1895)
    • 1938 – George Ellery Hale, American astronomer and academic (b. 1868)
    • 1941 – Frederick Banting, Canadian physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1891)
    • 1944 – Ferenc Szisz, Hungarian-French race car driver (b. 1873)
    • 1945 – Eric Liddell, Scottish rugby player and runner (b. 1902)
    • 1946 – José Streel, Belgian journalist (b. 1911)
    • 1958 – Duncan Edwards, English footballer (b. 1936)
    • 1965 – Malcolm X, American minister and activist (b. 1925; assassinated)
    • 1967 – Charles Beaumont, American author and screenwriter (b. 1929)
    • 1968 – Howard Florey, Australian pathologist and pharmacologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1898)
    • 1972 – Zhang Guohua, Chinese general and politician (b. 1914)
    • 1972 – Bronislava Nijinska, Russian-American dancer and choreographer (b. 1891)
    • 1972 – Eugène Tisserant, French cardinal (b. 1884)
    • 1974 – Tim Horton, Canadian ice hockey player and businessman, co-founded Tim Hortons (b. 1930)
    • 1980 – Alfred Andersch, German-Swiss author (b. 1914)
    • 1982 – Gershom Scholem, German-Israeli historian and philosopher (b. 1897)
    • 1984 – Mikhail Sholokhov, Russian novelist and short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1905)
    • 1985 – Louis Hayward, South African-American actor (b. 1909)
    • 1986 – Helen Hooven Santmyer, American novelist (b. 1895)
    • 1991 – Dorothy Auchterlonie Green, Australian poet, critic, and academic (b. 1915)
    • 1993 – Inge Lehmann, Danish seismologist and geophysicist (b. 1888)
    • 1994 – Johannes Steinhoff, German general and pilot (b. 1913)
    • 1996 – Morton Gould, American pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1913)
    • 1999 – Gertrude B. Elion, American biochemist and pharmacologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918)
    • 1999 – Ilmari Juutilainen, Finnish soldier and pilot (b. 1914)
    • 1999 – Wilmer Mizell, American baseball player and politician (b. 1930)
    • 2002 – John Thaw, English actor and producer (b. 1942)
    • 2004 – John Charles, Welsh footballer and manager (b. 1931)
    • 2005 – Guillermo Cabrera Infante, Cuban author, screenwriter, and critic (b. 1929)
    • 2005 – Zdzisław Beksiński, Polish painter, photographer, and sculptor (b. 1929)
    • 2008 – Ben Chapman, American actor (b. 1928)
    • 2011 – Dwayne McDuffie, American author and screenwriter, co-founded Milestone Media (b. 1962)
    • 2011 – Bernard Nathanson, American physician and activist (b. 1926)
    • 2012 – H. M. Darmstandler, American general (b. 1922)
    • 2013 – Hasse Jeppson, Swedish footballer (b. 1925)
    • 2014 – Héctor Maestri, Cuban-American baseball player (b. 1935)
    • 2014 – Matthew Robinson, Australian snowboarder (b. 1985)
    • 2014 – Cornelius Schnauber, German–American historian, playwright, and academic (b. 1939)
    • 2015 – Aleksei Gubarev, Russian general, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1931)
    • 2015 – Sadeq Tabatabaei, Iranian journalist and politician (b. 1943)
    • 2015 – Clark Terry, American trumpet player, composer, and educator (b. 1920)
    • 2016 – Eric Brown, Scottish-English captain and pilot (b. 1919)
    • 2017 – Jeanne Martin Cissé, Guinean teacher and politician (b. 1926)
    • 2018 – Billy Graham, American evangelist (b. 1918)
    • 2019 – Stanley Donen, American film director (b. 1924)
    • 2019 – Peter Tork, American musician and actor (b. 1942)

    Holidays and observances on February 21

    • Armed Forces Day (South Africa)
    • Birthday of King Harald V (Norway)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Felix of Hadrumetum
      • Pepin of Landen
      • Peter Damian
      • Randoald of Grandval
      • February 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Father Lini Day (Vanuatu)
    • Language Movement Day (Bangladesh)
      • International Mother Language Day (UNESCO)
    • The first day of the Birth Anniversary of Fifth Druk Gyalpo, celebrated until February 23. (Bhutan)
    • The first day of the Musikahan Festival, celebrated until February 27. (Tagum City, Philippines)
    • Feralia (Ancient Rome)

  • February 18 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 1229 – The Sixth Crusade: Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, signs a ten-year truce with al-Kamil, regaining Jerusalem, Nazareth, and Bethlehem with neither military engagements nor support from the papacy.
    • 1268 – The Battle of Wesenberg is fought between the Livonian Order and Dovmont of Pskov.
    • 1332 – Amda Seyon I, Emperor of Ethiopia begins his campaigns in the southern Muslim provinces.
    • 1478 – George, Duke of Clarence, convicted of treason against his older brother Edward IV of England, is executed in private at the Tower of London.
    • 1637 – Eighty Years’ War: Off the coast of Cornwall, England, a Spanish fleet intercepts an important Anglo-Dutch merchant convoy of 44 vessels escorted by six warships, destroying or capturing 20 of them.
    • 1781 – Fourth Anglo-Dutch War: Captain Thomas Shirley opens his expedition against Dutch colonial outposts on the Gold Coast of Africa (present-day Ghana).
    • 1791 – Congress passes a law admitting the state of Vermont to the Union, effective 4 March, after that state had existed for 14 years as a de facto independent largely unrecognized state.
    • 1797 – French Revolutionary Wars: Sir Ralph Abercromby and a fleet of 18 British warships invade Trinidad.
    • 1814 – Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Montereau.
    • 1861 – In Montgomery, Alabama, Jefferson Davis is inaugurated as the provisional President of the Confederate States of America.
    • 1861 – With Italian unification almost complete, Victor Emmanuel II of Piedmont, Savoy and Sardinia assumes the title of King of Italy.
    • 1873 – Bulgarian revolutionary leader Vasil Levski is executed by hanging in Sofia by the Ottoman authorities.
    • 1878 – John Tunstall is murdered by outlaw Jesse Evans, sparking the Lincoln County War in Lincoln County, New Mexico.
    • 1885 – Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is published in the United States.
    • 1900 – Second Boer War: Imperial forces suffer their worst single-day loss of life on Bloody Sunday, the first day of the Battle of Paardeberg.
    • 1906 – Édouard de Laveleye forms the Belgian Olympic Committee in Brussels.
    • 1911 – The first official flight with airmail takes place from Allahabad, United Provinces, British India (now India), when Henri Pequet, a 23-year-old pilot, delivers 6,500 letters to Naini, about 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) away.
    • 1930 – While studying photographs taken in January, Clyde Tombaugh discovers Pluto.
    • 1930 – Elm Farm Ollie becomes the first cow to fly in a fixed-wing aircraft and also the first cow to be milked in an aircraft.
    • 1932 – The Empire of Japan creates the independent state of Manzhouguo (the obsolete Chinese name for Manchuria) free from the Republic of China and installed former Chinese Emperor Aisin Gioro Puyi as Chief Executive of the State.
    • 1938 – Second Sino-Japanese War: During the Nanking Massacre, the Nanking Safety Zone International Committee is renamed “Nanking International Rescue Committee”, and the safety zone in place for refugees falls apart.
    • 1942 – World War II: The Imperial Japanese Army begins the systematic extermination of perceived hostile elements among the Chinese in Singapore.
    • 1943 – World War II: The Nazis arrest the members of the White Rose movement.
    • 1943 – World War II: Joseph Goebbels delivers his Sportpalast speech.
    • 1946 – Sailors of the Royal Indian Navy mutiny in Bombay harbour, from where the action spreads throughout the Provinces of British India, involving 78 ships, twenty shore establishments and 20,000 sailors
    • 1947 – First Indochina War: The French gain complete control of Hanoi after forcing the Viet Minh to withdraw to mountains.
    • 1954 – The first Church of Scientology is established in Los Angeles.
    • 1955 – Operation Teapot: Teapot test shot “Wasp” is successfully detonated at the Nevada Test Site with a yield of 1.2 kilotons. Wasp is the first of fourteen shots in the Teapot series.
    • 1957 – Kenyan rebel leader Dedan Kimathi is executed by the British colonial government.
    • 1957 – Walter James Bolton becomes the last person legally executed in New Zealand.
    • 1965 – The Gambia becomes independent from the United Kingdom.
    • 1970 – The Chicago Seven are found not guilty of conspiring to incite riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
    • 1972 – The California Supreme Court in the case of People v. Anderson, (6 Cal.3d 628) invalidates the state’s death penalty and commutes the sentences of all death row inmates to life imprisonment.
    • 1977 – The Space Shuttle Enterprise test vehicle is carried on its maiden “flight” on top of a Boeing 747.
    • 1979 – Richard Petty wins a then-record sixth Daytona 500 after leaders Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough crash on the final lap of the first NASCAR race televised live flag-to-flag.
    • 1983 – Thirteen people die and one is seriously injured in the Wah Mee massacre in Seattle. It is said to be the largest robbery-motivated mass-murder in U.S. history.
    • 1991 – The IRA explodes bombs in the early morning at Paddington station and Victoria station in London.
    • 2001 – FBI agent Robert Hanssen is arrested for spying for the Soviet Union. He is ultimately convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.
    • 2001 – Sampit conflict: Inter-ethnic violence between Dayaks and Madurese breaks out in Sampit, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, ultimately resulting in more than 500 deaths and 100,000 Madurese displaced from their homes.
    • 2003 – Nearly 200 people die in the Daegu subway fire in South Korea.
    • 2004 – Up to 295 people, including nearly 200 rescue workers, die near Nishapur, Iran, when a runaway freight train carrying sulfur, petrol and fertilizer catches fire and explodes.
    • 2007 – Samjhauta Express bombings occurred around midnight in Diwana near the Indian city of Panipat, 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of New Delhi, India.
    • 2010 – WikiLeaks publishes the first of hundreds of thousands of classified documents disclosed by the soldier now known as Chelsea Manning.
    • 2013 – Armed robbers steal a haul of diamonds worth $50 million during a raid at Brussels Airport in Belgium.
    • 2014 – At least 76 people are killed and hundreds are injured in clashes between riot police and demonstrators in Kiev, Ukraine.

    Births on February 18

    • 1201 – Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, Persian scientist and writer (d. 1274)
    • 1372 – Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Egyptian jurist and scholar (d. 1448)
    • 1486 – Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Indian monk and saint (d. 1534)
    • 1516 – Mary I of England (d. 1558)
    • 1530 – Uesugi Kenshin, Japanese daimyō (d. 1578)
    • 1543 – Charles III, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1608)
    • 1547 – Bahāʾ al-dīn al-ʿĀmilī, founder of Isfahan School of Islamic Philosophy (d. 1621)
    • 1559 – Isaac Casaubon, Swiss philologist and scholar (d. 1614)
    • 1589 – Henry Vane the Elder, English politician (d. 1655)
    • 1589 – Maarten Gerritsz Vries, Dutch explorer (d. 1646)
    • 1602 – Per Brahe the Younger, Swedish soldier and politician, Governor-General of Finland (d. 1680)
    • 1609 – Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, English historian and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (d. 1674)
    • 1626 – Francesco Redi, Italian physician (d. 1697)
    • 1632 – Giovanni Battista Vitali, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1692)
    • 1642 – Marie Champmeslé, French actress (d. 1698)
    • 1658 – Charles-Irénée Castel de Saint-Pierre, French philosopher and author (d. 1743)
    • 1732 – Johann Christian Kittel, German organist and composer (d. 1809)
    • 1745 – Alessandro Volta, Italian physicist, invented the battery (d. 1827)
    • 1814 – Samuel Fenton Cary, American lawyer and politician (d. 1900)
    • 1817 – Lewis Armistead, American general (d. 1863)
    • 1836 – Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Indian mystic and yogi (d. 1886)
    • 1838 – Ernst Mach, Austrian physicist and philosopher (d. 1916)
    • 1846 – Wilson Barrett, English actor, playwright, and manager (d. 1904)
    • 1848 – Louis Comfort Tiffany, American stained glass artist (d. 1933)
    • 1849 – Alexander Kielland, Norwegian author, playwright, and politician (d. 1906)
    • 1850 – George Henschel, German-English singer-songwriter, pianist, and conductor (d. 1934)
    • 1855 – Jean Jules Jusserand, French historian, author, and diplomat, French Ambassador to the United States (d. 1932)
    • 1860 – Anders Zorn, Swedish artist (d. 1920)
    • 1862 – Charles M. Schwab, American businessman, co-founded Bethlehem Steel (d. 1939)
    • 1867 – Hedwig Courths-Mahler, German writer (d. 1950)
    • 1870 – William Laurel Harris, American painter and author (d. 1924)
    • 1871 – Harry Brearley, English inventor (d. 1948)
    • 1883 – Nikos Kazantzakis, Greek philosopher, author, and playwright (d. 1957)
    • 1885 – Henri Laurens, French sculptor and illustrator (d. 1954)
    • 1893 – Maksim Haretski, Belarusian prose writer, journalist and activist (d. 1938)
    • 1890 – Edward Arnold, American actor (d. 1956)
    • 1890 – Adolphe Menjou, American actor (d. 1963)
    • 1892 – Wendell Willkie, American captain, lawyer, and politician (d. 1944)
    • 1896 – Li Linsi, Chinese educator and diplomat (d. 1970)
    • 1898 – Enzo Ferrari, Italian race car driver and businessman, founded Ferrari (d. 1988)
    • 1898 – Luis Muñoz Marín, Puerto Rican poet and politician, 1st Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (d. 1980)
    • 1899 – Arthur Bryant, English historian and journalist (d. 1985)
    • 1903 – Nikolai Podgorny, Ukrainian engineer and politician (d. 1983)
    • 1905 – Queenie Leonard, English actress (d. 2002)
    • 1906 – Hans Asperger, Austrian pediatrician and academic (d. 1980)
    • 1909 – Wallace Stegner, American novelist, short story writer, and essayist (d. 1993)
    • 1914 – Pee Wee King, American singer-songwriter and fiddler (d. 2000)
    • 1915 – Phyllis Calvert, English actress (d. 2002)
    • 1916 – Jean Drapeau, Canadian lawyer and politician, 37th Mayor of Montreal (d. 1999)
    • 1919 – Jack Palance, American boxer and actor (d. 2006)
    • 1920 – Bill Cullen, American game show panelist and host (d. 1990)
    • 1920 – Rolande Falcinelli, French organist, pianist, composer, and pedagogue (d. 2006)
    • 1921 – Mary Amdur, American toxicologist and public health researcher (d. 1998)
    • 1921 – Oscar Feltsman, Ukrainian-Russian pianist and composer (d. 2013)
    • 1922 – Eric Gairy, Grenadan politician, 1st Prime Minister of Grenada (d. 1997)
    • 1922 – Helen Gurley Brown, American journalist and author (d. 2012)
    • 1922 – Allan Melvin, American actor (d. 2008)
    • 1925 – George Kennedy, American actor (d. 2016)
    • 1925 – Halit Kıvanç, Turkish journalist and sportscaster
    • 1925 – Ghafar Baba, Malaysian politician (d. 2006)
    • 1926 – Wallace Berman, American painter and illustrator (d. 1976)
    • 1927 – Luis Arroyo, Puerto Rican-American baseball player, manager, and scout (d. 2016)
    • 1927 – Fazal Mahmood, Pakistani cricketer (d. 2005)
    • 1927 – John Warner, American captain, lawyer, and politician, 61st United States Secretary of the Navy
    • 1928 – Rex Mossop, Australian rugby player and sportscaster (d. 2011)
    • 1929 – Len Deighton, English historian and author
    • 1929 – André Mathieu, Canadian pianist and composer (d. 1968)
    • 1931 – Johnny Hart, American cartoonist, co-created The Wizard of Id (d. 2007)
    • 1931 – Toni Morrison, American novelist and editor, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2019).
    • 1931 – Swraj Paul, Baron Paul, Indian-English businessman and philanthropist
    • 1931 – John Ryden, Scottish footballer, centre half (d. 2013)
    • 1931 – Bob St. Clair, American football player (d. 2015)
    • 1932 – Miloš Forman, Czech-American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2018)
    • 1933 – Yoko Ono, Japanese-American multimedia artist and musician
    • 1933 – Bobby Robson, English international footballer, inside forward and international manager (d. 2009)
    • 1933 – Mary Ure, Scottish-English actress (d. 1975)
    • 1934 – Skip Battin, American singer-songwriter and bass player (d. 2003)
    • 1934 – Dave Dunmore, English footballer, centre forward
    • 1934 – Audre Lorde, American poet, essayist, memoirist, and activist (d. 1992)
    • 1934 – Paco Rabanne, Spanish-French fashion designer
    • 1936 – Jean M. Auel, American author
    • 1938 – Manny Mota, Dominican baseball player, coach, and sportscaster
    • 1938 – Sadanoyama Shinmatsu, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 50th Yokozuna (d. 2017)
    • 1938 – István Szabó, Hungarian director and screenwriter
    • 1939 – Claude Ake, Nigerian political scientist and academic (d. 1996)
    • 1939 – Bobby Hart, American singer-songwriter
    • 1939 – Marlos Nobre, Brazilian composer
    • 1940 – Fabrizio De André, Italian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1999)
    • 1940 – Prue Leith, English restaurateur and journalist
    • 1941 – Herman Santiago, Puerto Rican-American singer-songwriter
    • 1941 – Irma Thomas, American singer
    • 1943 – Graeme Garden, Scottish comedian, actor, and author
    • 1944 – Pat Bowlen, American businessman (d. 2019)
    • 1945 – Judy Rankin, American golfer and sportscaster
    • 1946 – Michael Buerk, English journalist
    • 1947 – Dennis DeYoung, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player
    • 1947 – Eliot Engel, American educator and politician
    • 1948 – Sinéad Cusack, Irish actress
    • 1948 – Bruce Francis, Australian cricketer
    • 1948 – Keith Knudsen, American singer-songwriter and drummer (d. 2005)
    • 1949 – Gary Ridgway, American criminal, Green River Killer
    • 1950 – Nana Amba Eyiaba I, Ghanaian queen mother and advocate
    • 1950 – Cristina Ferrare, American model, actress, author, and television host
    • 1950 – John Hughes, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2009)
    • 1950 – Cybill Shepherd, American actress and singer
    • 1951 – Queen Komal of Nepal
    • 1951 – Isabel Preysler, Filipino-Spanish journalist
    • 1952 – Randy Crawford, American jazz and R&B singer
    • 1952 – Maurice Lucas, American basketball player and coach (d. 2010)
    • 1952 – Juice Newton, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1952 – Bernard Valcourt, Canadian lawyer and politician
    • 1953 – Robbie Bachman, Canadian rock drummer
    • 1953 – Derek Pellicci, English-Australian drummer
    • 1954 – Charlie Fowler, American mountaineer, author, and photographer (d. 2006)
    • 1954 – Paul Rendall, English rugby player
    • 1954 – John Travolta, American actor and producer
    • 1955 – Cheetah Chrome, American musician
    • 1955 – Miles Tredinnick, English singer-songwriter and playwright
    • 1955 – Lisa See, American writer and novelist
    • 1956 – Ted Gärdestad, Swedish singer-songwriter (d. 1997)
    • 1956 – Bidzina Ivanishvili, Georgian businessman and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Georgia
    • 1957 – Marita Koch, German sprinter
    • 1957 – Vanna White, American model and game show host
    • 1959 – Jayne Atkinson, English-American actress
    • 1959 – James Metzger, American businessman and philanthropist
    • 1960 – Andy Moog, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1960 – Greta Scacchi, Italian-Australian actress
    • 1963 – Rob Andrew, English rugby player and cricketer
    • 1964 – Matt Dillon, American actor and director
    • 1964 – Paul Hanley, English drummer and songwriter
    • 1965 – Dr. Dre, American rapper, producer, and actor
    • 1966 – Phillip DeFreitas, Dominican-English cricketer
    • 1967 – Roberto Baggio, Italian footballer
    • 1967 – Colin Jackson, Welsh sprinter and hurdler
    • 1968 – Molly Ringwald, American actress
    • 1969 – Tomaž Humar, Slovenian mountaineer (d. 2009)
    • 1969 – Alexander Mogilny, Russian-American ice hockey player
    • 1970 – Susan Egan, American actress and singer
    • 1970 – James H. Fowler, American political scientist and author
    • 1970 – Raine Maida, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1970 – Massimo Taibi, Italian footballer
    • 1971 – Thomas Bjorn, Danish golfer
    • 1971 – Merritt Gant, American guitarist
    • 1972 – Fabian Picardo, Gibraltarian lawyer and politician, 7th Chief Minister of Gibraltar
    • 1973 – Shawn Estes, American baseball player and sportscaster
    • 1973 – Claude Makélélé, French footballer and manager
    • 1974 – Carrie Ann Baade, American painter and academic
    • 1974 – Jamey Carroll, American baseball player
    • 1974 – Radek Černý, Czech international footballer, goalkeeper
    • 1974 – Ruby Dhalla, Canadian chiropractor and politician
    • 1974 – Julia Butterfly Hill, American environmentalist and author
    • 1974 – Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Russian tennis player
    • 1974 – Jillian Michaels, American fitness trainer and author
    • 1975 – Gary Neville, English footballer and coach
    • 1976 – Leilani Munter, American race car driver and environmentalist
    • 1976 – Chanda Rubin, American tennis player
    • 1976 – Bernadette Sembrano, Filipino journalist
    • 1978 – Josip Šimunić, Croatian footballer
    • 1979 – Tinu Yohannan, Indian cricketer
    • 1980 – Aivar Anniste, Estonian footballer
    • 1980 – Nik Antropov, Kazakhstani-Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1980 – Regina Spektor, Russian-American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
    • 1981 – Andrei Kirilenko, Russian basketball player
    • 1981 – Alex Ríos, American baseball player
    • 1981 – Ivan Sproule, Northern Irish footballer
    • 1981 – Larry Sweeney, American wrestler and manager (d. 2011)
    • 1982 – Juelz Santana, American rapper and actor
    • 1982 – Christian Tiffert, German footballer
    • 1983 – Jermaine Jenas, English international footballer, midfielder, pundit
    • 1984 – Carlos Kameni, Cameroonian footballer
    • 1985 – Anton Ferdinand, English footballer
    • 1985 – Lee Boyd Malvo, Jamaican-American murderer
    • 1985 – Jos van Emden, Dutch cyclist
    • 1986 – Robert DeLong, American singer-songwriter
    • 1986 – Marc Torrejón, Spanish footballer
    • 1987 – Cristian Tănase, Romanian footballer
    • 1988 – Changmin, South Korean singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor
    • 1990 – Didi Gregorius, Dutch baseball player
    • 1990 – Cody Hodgson, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1991 – Sebastian Neumann, German footballer
    • 1991 – Henry Surtees, English race car driver (d. 2009)
    • 1994 – Jake Trbojevic, Australian rugby league player
    • 1994 – J-Hope, South Korean rapper, dancer, singer-songwriter

    Deaths on February 18

    • 675 – Colmán, bishop of Lindisfarne
    • 814 – Angilbert, Frankish monk and diplomat (b. 760)
    • 901 – Thābit ibn Qurra, Arab astronomer and physician (b. 826)
    • 999 – Gregory V, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 972)
    • 1139 – Yaropolk II, Grand Prince of Kiev (b. 1082)
    • 1218 – Berthold V, duke of Zähringen (b. 1160)
    • 1225 – Hugh Bigod, 3rd Earl of Norfolk, Norman nobleman
    • 1294 – Kublai Khan, Mongol emperor (b. 1215)
    • 1379 – Albert II, duke of Mecklenburg (b. 1318)
    • 1397 – Enguerrand VII, French nobleman (b. 1340)
    • 1405 – Timur, Turco-Mongol ruler (b. 1336)
    • 1455 – Fra Angelico, Italian priest and painter (b. 1395)
    • 1478 – George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence, English nobleman (b. 1449)
    • 1502 – Hedwig Jagiellon, duchess of Bavaria (b. 1457)
    • 1535 – Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, German magician, astrologer, and theologian (b. 1486)
    • 1546 – Martin Luther, German priest and theologian, leader of the Protestant Reformation (b. 1483)
    • 1564 – Michelangelo, Italian sculptor and painter (b. 1475)
    • 1654 – Jean-Louis Guez de Balzac, French author (b. 1594)
    • 1658 – John Villiers, 1st Viscount Purbeck, English courtier (b. c. 1591)
    • 1683 – Nicolaes Pieterszoon Berchem, Dutch painter (b. 1620)
    • 1695 – William Phips, governor of Massachusetts (b. 1650)
    • 1712 – Louis, Dauphin of France, (b. 1682)
    • 1743 – Anna Maria Luisa de’ Medici, Italian noble (b. 1667)
    • 1748 – Otto Ferdinand von Abensberg und Traun, Austrian field marshal (b. 1677)
    • 1772 – Count Johann Hartwig Ernst von Bernstorff, Danish politician (b. 1712)
    • 1778 – Joseph Marie Terray, French economist and politician, Controller-General of Finances (b. 1715)
    • 1780 – Kristijonas Donelaitis, Lithuanian pastor and poet (b. 1714)
    • 1788 – John Whitehurst, English geologist and clockmaker (b. 1713)
    • 1803 – Johann Wilhelm Ludwig Gleim, German poet and educator (b. 1719)
    • 1851 – Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi, German mathematician and academic (b. 1804)
    • 1873 – Vasil Levski, Bulgarian activist, founded the Internal Revolutionary Organization (b. 1837)
    • 1880 – Nikolay Zinin, Russian organic chemist (b. 1812)
    • 1893 – Serranus Clinton Hastings, American lawyer and politician, 1st Chief Justice of California (b. 1814)
    • 1902 – Charles Lewis Tiffany, American businessman, founded Tiffany & Co. (b. 1812)
    • 1906 – John Batterson Stetson, American businessman, founded the John B. Stetson Company (b. 1830)
    • 1910 – Lucy Stanton, American activist (b. 1831)
    • 1911 – Billy Murdoch, Australian cricketer (b. 1854)
    • 1915 – Frank James, American soldier and criminal (b. 1843)
    • 1923 – Alois Rašín, Czech economist and politician (b. 1867)
    • 1931 – Milan Šufflay, Croatian historian, author, and politician (b. 1879)
    • 1931 – Louis Wolheim, American actor and screenwriter (b. 1880)
    • 1933 – James J. Corbett, American boxer and actor (b. 1866)
    • 1938 – David King Udall, American missionary and politician (b. 1851)
    • 1942 – Albert Payson Terhune, American journalist and author (b. 1872)
    • 1945 – Ivan Chernyakhovsky, Russian general (b. 1906)
    • 1956 – Gustave Charpentier, French composer (b. 1860)
    • 1957 – Dedan Kimathi, Kenyan rebel leader (b. 1920)
    • 1957 – Henry Norris Russell, American astronomer, astrophysicist, and academic (b. 1877)
    • 1960 – Gertrude Vanderbilt, American stage actress (b. c. 1885)
    • 1964 – Joseph-Armand Bombardier, Canadian inventor and businessman, founded Bombardier Inc. (b. 1907)
    • 1966 – Robert Rossen, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1908)
    • 1967 – J. Robert Oppenheimer, American physicist and academic (b. 1904)
    • 1969 – Dragiša Cvetković, Serbian lawyer and politician, 17th Prime Minister of Yugoslavia (b. 1893)
    • 1973 – Frank Costello, Italian-American gangster (b. 1891)
    • 1976 – Wallace Berman, American painter and illustrator (b. 1926)
    • 1977 – Andy Devine, American actor (b. 1905)
    • 1978 – Maggie McNamara, American actress (b. 1928)
    • 1981 – Jack Northrop, American engineer and businessman, founded the Northrop Corporation (b. 1895)
    • 1982 – Ngaio Marsh, New Zealand author (b. 1895)
    • 1989 – Mildred Burke, American wrestler and trainer (b. 1915)
    • 1990 – Richard de Zoysa, Sri Lankan journalist (b. 1958)
    • 1993 – Jacqueline Hill, English actress (b. 1929)
    • 1995 – Eddie Gilbert, American wrestler (b. 1961)
    • 1995 – Bob Stinson, American guitarist (b. 1959)
    • 1997 – Emily Hahn, American journalist and author (b. 1905)
    • 1998 – Harry Caray, American sportscaster (b. 1914)
    • 2001 – Balthus, Polish-Swiss painter and illustrator (b. 1908)
    • 2001 – Dale Earnhardt, American stock car racer and team owner (b. 1951)
    • 2001 – Eddie Mathews, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1931)
    • 2003 – Isser Harel, Belarusian-Israeli intelligence officer (b. 1912)
    • 2006 – Bill Cowsill, American singer and guitarist (b. 1948)
    • 2008 – Alain Robbe-Grillet, French director, screenwriter, and novelist (b. 1922)
    • 2009 – Tayeb Salih, Sudanese journalist and author (b. 1929)
    • 2009 – Miika Tenkula, Finnish singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1974)
    • 2010 – John Babcock, Canadian soldier (b. 1900)
    • 2012 – George Brizan, Grenadian politician, 9th Prime Minister of Grenada (b. 1942)
    • 2012 – Elizabeth Connell, South African-English soprano (b. 1946)
    • 2013 – Kevin Ayers, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1944)
    • 2013 – Jerry Buss, American chemist and businessman (b. 1933)
    • 2014 – Mavis Gallant, Canadian-French author and playwright (b. 1922)
    • 2014 – Kristof Goddaert, Belgian cyclist (b. 1986)
    • 2014 – Nikhil Baran Sengupta, Indian art director and production designer (b. 1943)
    • 2014 – Maria Franziska von Trapp, Austrian-American singer (b. 1914)
    • 2015 – Cass Ballenger, American lawyer and politician (b. 1926)
    • 2015 – Jerome Kersey, American basketball player and coach (b. 1962)
    • 2016 – Abdul Rashid Khan, Indian singer-songwriter (b. 1908)
    • 2016 – Pantelis Pantelidis, Greek singer (b. 1983)
    • 2017 – Ivan Koloff, Canadian wrestler (b. 1942)
    • 2017 – Norma McCorvey, American abortion rights activist; Plaintiff, Roe v. Wade (b. 1947)
    • 2017 – Clyde Stubblefield, American drummer (b. 1943)
    • 2019 – Alessandro Mendini, Italian designer and architect (b.1931)

    Holidays and observances on February 18

    • Christian feast day:
      • Bernadette Soubirous (France)
      • Colmán of Lindisfarne
      • Flavian of Constantinople
      • Geltrude Comensoli
      • Simeon of Jerusalem (Western Christianity)
      • February 18 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Dialect Day (Amami Islands, Japan)
    • Independence Day, celebrates the independence of the Gambia from the United Kingdom in 1965.
    • Kurdish Students Union Day (Iraqi Kurdistan)
    • National Democracy Day, celebrates the 1951 overthrow of the Rana dynasty (Nepal)
    • Wife’s Day (Konudagur) (Iceland)

  • January 11 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 532 – Nika riots in Constantinople: A quarrel between supporters of different chariot teams—the Blues and the Greens—in the Hippodrome escalates into violence.
    • 630 – Conquest of Mecca: The prophet Muhammad and his followers conquer the city, Quraysh surrender.
    • 947 – Emperor Tai Zong of the Khitan-led Liao Dynasty invades the Later Jin, resulting in the destruction of the Later Jin.
    • 1055 – Theodora is crowned empress of the Byzantine Empire.
    • 1158 – Vladislaus II, Duke of Bohemia becomes King of Bohemia.
    • 1569 – First recorded lottery in England.
    • 1571 – Austrian nobility is granted freedom of religion.
    • 1654 – Arauco War: A Spanish army is defeated by local Mapuche-Huilliches as it tries to cross Bueno River in Southern Chile.
    • 1693 – A powerful earthquake destroys parts of Sicily and Malta.
    • 1759 – The first American life insurance company, the Corporation for Relief of Poor and Distressed Presbyterian Ministers and of the Poor and Distressed Widows and Children of the Presbyterian Ministers (now part of Unum Group), is incorporated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
    • 1779 – Ching-Thang Khomba is crowned King of Manipur.
    • 1787 – William Herschel discovers Titania and Oberon, two moons of Uranus.
    • 1805 – The Michigan Territory is created.
    • 1861 – American Civil War: Alabama secedes from the United States.
    • 1863 – American Civil War: Battle of Arkansas Post: General John McClernand and Admiral David Dixon Porter capture the Arkansas River for the Union.
    • 1863 – American Civil War: CSS Alabama encounters and sinks the USS Hatteras off Galveston Lighthouse in Texas.
    • 1879 – The Anglo-Zulu War begins.
    • 1908 – Grand Canyon National Monument is created.
    • 1912 – Immigrant textile workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts, go on strike when wages are reduced in response to a mandated shortening of the work week.
    • 1917 – The Kingsland munitions factory explosion occurs as a result of sabotage.
    • 1922 – First use of insulin to treat diabetes in a human patient.
    • 1923 – Occupation of the Ruhr: Troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area to force Germany to make its World War I reparation payments.
    • 1927 – Louis B. Mayer, head of film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), announces the creation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, at a banquet in Los Angeles, California.
    • 1935 – Amelia Earhart becomes the first person to fly solo from Hawaii to California.
    • 1942 – World War II: Japanese forces capture Kuala Lumpur, the capital of the Federated Malay States.
    • 1942 – World War II: Japanese forces attack Tarakan in Borneo, Netherlands Indies (Battle of Tarakan)
    • 1943 – The Republic of China agrees to the Sino-British New Equal Treaty and the Sino-American New Equal Treaty.
    • 1943 – Italian-American anarchist Carlo Tresca is assassinated in New York City.
    • 1946 – Enver Hoxha, Secretary General of the Communist Party of Albania, declares the People’s Republic of Albania with himself as head of state.
    • 1949 – The first “networked” television broadcasts took place as KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania goes on the air connecting the east coast and mid-west programming.
    • 1957 – The African Convention is founded in Dakar, Senegal.
    • 1961 – Throgs Neck Bridge over the East River, linking New York City’s boroughs of The Bronx and Queens, opens to road traffic.
    • 1962 – Cold War: While tied to its pier in Polyarny, the Soviet submarine B-37 is destroyed when fire breaks out in its torpedo compartment.
    • 1962 – An avalanche on Huascarán in Peru causes around 4,000 deaths.
    • 1964 – Surgeon General of the United States Dr. Luther Terry, M.D., publishes the landmark report Smoking and Health: Report of the Advisory Committee to the Surgeon General of the United States saying that smoking may be hazardous to health, sparking national and worldwide anti-smoking efforts.
    • 1972 – East Pakistan renames itself Bangladesh.
    • 1973 – Major League Baseball owners vote in approval of the American League adopting the designated hitter position.
    • 1986 – The Gateway Bridge, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia is officially opened.
    • 1994 – The Irish Government announces the end of a 15-year broadcasting ban on the IRA and its political arm Sinn Féin.
    • 1996 – Space Shuttle program: STS-72 launches from the Kennedy Space Center marking the start of the 74th Space Shuttle mission and the 10th flight of Endeavour.
    • 1998 – Over 100 people are killed in the Sidi-Hamed massacre in Algeria.
    • 2003 – Illinois Governor George Ryan commutes the death sentences of 167 prisoners on Illinois’s death row based on the Jon Burge scandal.
    • 2013 – One French soldier and 17 militants are killed in a failed attempt to free a French hostage in Bulo Marer, Somalia.

    Births on January 11

    • 347 – Theodosius I, Roman emperor (d. 395)
    • 889 – Abd-ar-Rahman III, first Caliph of Córdoba (d. 961)
    • 1113 – Wang Chongyang, Chinese religious leader and poet (d. 1170)
    • 1209 – Möngke Khan, Mongolian emperor (d. 1259)
    • 1322 – Emperor Kōmyō of Japan (d. 1380)
    • 1359 – Emperor Go-En’yū of Japan (d. 1393)
    • 1395 – Michele of Valois, daughter of Charles VI of France (d. 1422)
    • 1503 – Parmigianino, Italian artist (d. 1540)
    • 1589 – William Strode, English politician (d. 1666)
    • 1591 – Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire (d. 1646)
    • 1624 – Bastiaan Govertsz van der Leeuw, Dutch painter (d. 1680)
    • 1630 – John Rogers, English-American minister, physician, and academic (d. 1684)
    • 1638 – Nicolas Steno, Danish bishop and anatomist (d. 1686)
    • 1642 – Johann Friedrich Alberti, German organist and composer (d. 1710)
    • 1650 – Diana Glauber, Dutch-German painter (d. 1721)
    • 1671 – François-Marie, 1st duc de Broglie, French general and diplomat (d. 1745)
    • 1755 – Alexander Hamilton, Nevisian-American general, economist and politician, 1st United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1804)
    • 1757 – Samuel Bentham, English engineer and architect (d. 1831)
    • 1760 – Oliver Wolcott Jr., American lawyer and politician, 2nd United States Secretary of the Treasury, 24th Governor of Connecticut (d. 1833)
    • 1777 – Vincenzo Borg, Maltese merchant and rebel leader (d. 1837)
    • 1786 – Joseph Jackson Lister, English physicist (d. 1869)
    • 1788 – William Thomas Brande, English chemist and academic (d. 1866)
    • 1800 – Ányos Jedlik, Hungarian physicist and engineer (d. 1895)
    • 1807 – Ezra Cornell, American businessman and philanthropist, founded Western Union and Cornell University (d. 1874)
    • 1814 – James Paget, English surgeon and pathologist (d. 1899)
    • 1815 – John A. Macdonald, Scottish-Canadian lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1891)
    • 1825 – Bayard Taylor, American poet, author, and critic (d. 1878)
    • 1839 – Eugenio María de Hostos, Puerto Rican lawyer, philosopher, and sociologist (d. 1903)
    • 1842 – William James, American psychologist and philosopher (d. 1910)
    • 1843 – Adolf Eberle, German painter (d. 1914)
    • 1845 – Albert Victor Bäcklund, Swedish mathematician and physicist (d. 1912)
    • 1850 – Joseph Charles Arthur, American pathologist and mycologist (d. 1942)
    • 1852 – Constantin Fehrenbach, German lawyer and politician, 4th Chancellor of Weimar Germany (d. 1926)
    • 1853 – Georgios Jakobides, Greek painter and sculptor (d. 1932)
    • 1856 – Christian Sinding, Norwegian pianist and composer (d. 1941)
    • 1857 – Fred Archer, English jockey (d. 1886)
    • 1858 – Harry Gordon Selfridge, American-English businessman, founded Selfridges (d. 1947)
    • 1859 – George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, English politician, 35th Governor-General of India (d. 1925)
    • 1864 – Thomas Dixon, Jr., American minister, lawyer, and politician (d. 1946)
    • 1867 – Edward B. Titchener, English psychologist and academic (d. 1927)
    • 1868 – Cai Yuanpei, Chinese philosopher, academic, and politician (d. 1940)
    • 1870 – Alexander Stirling Calder, American sculptor and educator (d. 1945)
    • 1872 – G. W. Pierce, American physicist and academic (d. 1956)
    • 1873 – John Callan O’Laughlin, American soldier and journalist (d. 1949)
    • 1875 – Reinhold Glière, Russian composer and academic (d. 1956)
    • 1876 – Elmer Flick, American baseball player (d. 1971)
    • 1876 – Thomas Hicks, American runner (d. 1952)
    • 1878 – Theodoros Pangalos, Greek general and politician, President of Greece (d. 1952)
    • 1885 – Alice Paul, American activist and suffragist (d. 1977)
    • 1887 – Aldo Leopold, American ecologist and author (d. 1948)
    • 1888 – Joseph B. Keenan, American jurist and politician (d. 1954)
    • 1889 – Calvin Bridges, American geneticist and academic (d. 1938)
    • 1890 – Max Carey, American baseball player and manager (d. 1976)
    • 1890 – Oswald de Andrade, Brazilian poet and critic (d. 1954)
    • 1891 – Andrew Sockalexis, American runner (d. 1919)
    • 1893 – Ellinor Aiki, Estonian painter (d. 1969)
    • 1893 – Charles Fraser, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 1981)
    • 1893 – Anthony M. Rud, American journalist and author (d. 1942)
    • 1895 – Laurens Hammond, American engineer and businessman, founded the Hammond Clock Company (d. 1973)
    • 1897 – Bernard DeVoto, American historian and author (d. 1955)
    • 1897 – August Heissmeyer, German SS officer (d. 1979)
    • 1899 – Eva Le Gallienne, English-American actress, director, and producer (d. 1991)
    • 1901 – Kwon Ki-ok, Korean pilot (d. 1988)
    • 1902 – Maurice Duruflé, French organist and composer (d. 1986)
    • 1903 – Alan Paton, South African author and activist (d. 1988)
    • 1905 – Clyde Kluckhohn, American anthropologist and theorist (d. 1960)
    • 1906 – Albert Hofmann, Swiss chemist and academic, discoverer of LSD (d. 2008)
    • 1907 – Pierre Mendès France, French lawyer and politician, 142nd Prime Minister of France (d. 1982)
    • 1907 – Abraham Joshua Heschel, Polish-American rabbi, theologian, and philosopher (d. 1972)
    • 1908 – Lionel Stander, American actor and activist (d. 1994)
    • 1910 – Arthur Lambourn, New Zealand rugby player (d. 1999)
    • 1910 – Shane Paltridge, Australian soldier and politician (d. 1966)
    • 1911 – Tommy Duncan, American singer-songwriter (d. 1967)
    • 1911 – Nora Heysen, Australian painter (d. 2003)
    • 1911 – Zenkō Suzuki, Japanese politician, 70th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 2004)
    • 1912 – Don “Red” Barry, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1980)
    • 1913 – Karl Stegger, Danish actor (d. 1980)
    • 1915 – Luise Krüger, German javelin thrower (d. 2001)
    • 1915 – Paddy Mayne, British colonel and lawyer (d. 1955)
    • 1916 – Bernard Blier, Argentinian-French actor (d. 1989)
    • 1917 – John Robarts, Canadian lawyer and politician, 17th Premier of Ontario (d. 1982)
    • 1918 – Robert C. O’Brien, American author and journalist (d. 1973)
    • 1920 – Mick McManus, English wrestler (d. 2013)
    • 1921 – Gory Guerrero, American wrestler and trainer (d. 1990)
    • 1921 – Juanita M. Kreps, American economist and politician, 24th United States Secretary of Commerce (d. 2010)
    • 1923 – Jerome Bixby, American author and screenwriter (d. 1998)
    • 1923 – Ernst Nolte, German historian and philosopher (d. 2016)
    • 1923 – Carroll Shelby, American race car driver, engineer, and businessman, founded Carroll Shelby International (d. 2012)
    • 1924 – Roger Guillemin, French-American physician and endocrinologist, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1924 – Sam B. Hall, Jr., American lawyer, judge, and politician (d. 1994)
    • 1924 – Slim Harpo, American blues singer-songwriter and musician (d. 1970)
    • 1925 – Grant Tinker, American television producer, co-founded MTM Enterprises (d. 2016)
    • 1926 – Lev Dyomin, Russian colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1998)
    • 1928 – David L. Wolper, American director and producer (d. 2010)
    • 1929 – Dmitri Bruns, Estonian architect and theorist (d. 2020)
    • 1930 – Ron Mulock, Australian lawyer and politician, 10th Deputy Premier of New South Wales (d. 2014)
    • 1930 – Rod Taylor, Australian-American actor and screenwriter (d. 2015)
    • 1931 – Betty Churcher, Australian painter, historian, and curator (d. 2015)
    • 1931 – Mary Rodgers, American composer and author (d. 2014)
    • 1932 – Alfonso Arau, Mexican actor and director
    • 1933 – Goldie Hill, American country singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2005)
    • 1934 – Jean Chrétien, Canadian lawyer and politician, 20th Prime Minister of Canada
    • 1936 – Eva Hesse, German-American sculptor and educator (d. 1970)
    • 1938 – Arthur Scargill, English miner, activist, and politician
    • 1939 – Anne Heggtveit, Canadian alpine skier
    • 1940 – Andres Tarand, Estonian geographer and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Estonia
    • 1941 – Gérson, Brazilian footballer
    • 1942 – Bud Acton, American basketball player
    • 1942 – Clarence Clemons, American saxophonist and actor (d. 2011)
    • 1944 – Mohammed Abdul-Hayy, Sudanese poet and academic (d. 1989)
    • 1944 – Shibu Soren, Indian politician, 3rd Chief Minister of Jharkhand
    • 1945 – Christine Kaufmann, German actress, author, and businesswoman (d. 2017)
    • 1946 – Naomi Judd, American singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1946 – Tony Kaye, English progressive rock keyboard player and songwriter (Yes)
    • 1946 – John Piper, American theologian and author
    • 1947 – Hamish Macdonald, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1948 – Fritz Bohla, German footballer and manager
    • 1948 – Joe Harper, Scottish footballer and manager
    • 1948 – Madeline Manning, American runner and coach
    • 1948 – Wajima Hiroshi, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 54th Yokozuna
    • 1948 – Terry Williams, Welsh drummer
    • 1949 – Daryl Braithwaite, Australian singer-songwriter
    • 1949 – Mohammad Reza Rahimi, Iranian lawyer and politician, 2nd Vice President of Iran
    • 1951 – Charlie Huhn, American rock singer and guitarist
    • 1951 – Willie Maddren, English footballer and manager (d. 2000)
    • 1951 – Philip Tartaglia, Scottish archbishop
    • 1952 – Bille Brown, Australian actor and playwright (d. 2013)
    • 1952 – Ben Crenshaw, American golfer and architect
    • 1952 – Michael Forshaw, Australian lawyer and politician
    • 1952 – Diana Gabaldon, American author
    • 1952 – Lee Ritenour, American guitarist, composer, and producer
    • 1953 – Graham Allen, English politician, Vice-Chamberlain of the Household
    • 1953 – Kostas Skandalidis, Greek engineer and politician, Greek Minister of Agricultural Development and Food
    • 1954 – Jaak Aaviksoo, Estonian physicist and politician, 26th Estonian Minister of Defence
    • 1954 – Kailash Satyarthi, Indian engineer, academic, and activist, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1956 – Big Bank Hank, American rapper (d. 2014)
    • 1957 – Darryl Dawkins, American basketball player and coach (d. 2015)
    • 1957 – Peter Moore, Australian rules footballer and coach
    • 1957 – Bryan Robson, English footballer and manager
    • 1958 – Vicki Peterson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1959 – Brett Bodine, American NASCAR driver
    • 1959 – Rob Ramage, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1961 – Lars-Erik Torph, Swedish racing driver (d. 1989)
    • 1962 – Chris Bryant, Welsh politician, Minister of State for Europe
    • 1962 – Susan Lindauer, American journalist and activist
    • 1962 – Brian Moore, English rugby player
    • 1963 – Tracy Caulkins, American-Australian swimmer
    • 1963 – Petra Schneider, German swimmer
    • 1964 – Ralph Recto, Filipino lawyer and politician
    • 1964 – Albert Dupontel, French actor and director
    • 1965 – Mascarita Sagrada, Mexican wrestler
    • 1965 – Aleksey Zhukov, Russian footballer and coach
    • 1966 – Marc Acito, American author and screenwriter
    • 1967 – Michael Healy-Rae, Irish politician
    • 1968 – Anders Borg, Swedish economist and politician, Swedish Minister for Finance
    • 1968 – Tom Dumont, American guitarist and producer
    • 1969 – Manny Acta, Dominican-American baseball player, coach, manager, and sportscaster
    • 1970 – Manfredi Beninati, Italian painter and sculptor
    • 1970 – Chris Jent, American basketball player and coach
    • 1970 – Malcolm D. Lee, American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor
    • 1970 – Ken Ueno, American composer
    • 1971 – Mary J. Blige, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
    • 1971 – Jeff Orford, Australian rugby league player
    • 1971 – Chris Willsher, English singer-songwriter, drummer, and actor
    • 1972 – Christian Jacobs, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
    • 1972 – Anthony Lledo, Danish composer
    • 1972 – Amanda Peet, American actress and playwright
    • 1973 – Rockmond Dunbar, American actor
    • 1973 – Rahul Dravid, Indian cricketer and captain
    • 1974 – Roman Görtz, German footballer
    • 1974 – Cody McKay, Canadian baseball player
    • 1974 – Jens Nowotny, German footballer
    • 1975 – Rory Fitzpatrick, American ice hockey player
    • 1975 – Dan Luger, English rugby player and coach
    • 1975 – Matteo Renzi, Italian politician, 56th Prime Minister of Italy
    • 1976 – Efthimios Rentzias, Greek basketball player
    • 1977 – Shamari Buchanan, American football player
    • 1977 – Anni Friesinger-Postma, German speed skater
    • 1977 – Olexiy Lukashevych, Ukrainian long jumper
    • 1978 – Vallo Allingu, Estonian basketball player
    • 1978 – Holly Brisley, Australian actress
    • 1978 – Michael Duff, Irish footballer
    • 1978 – Emile Heskey, English footballer
    • 1979 – Darren Lynn Bousman, American director and screenwriter
    • 1979 – Michael Lorenz, German footballer
    • 1979 – Henry Shefflin, Irish hurler
    • 1980 – Josh Hannay, Australian rugby league player
    • 1980 – Mike Williams, American football player
    • 1982 – Tony Allen, American basketball player
    • 1982 – Blake Heron, American actor (d. 2017)
    • 1982 – Son Ye-jin, South Korean actress
    • 1983 – Turner Battle, American basketball player
    • 1983 – André Myhrer, Swedish skier
    • 1983 – Ted Richards, Australian rules footballer
    • 1983 – Adrian Sutil, German racing driver
    • 1984 – Kevin Boss, American football player
    • 1984 – Dario Krešić, Croatian footballer
    • 1984 – Matt Mullenweg, American web developer and businessman, co-created WordPress
    • 1984 – Stijn Schaars, Dutch footballer
    • 1985 – Newton Faulkner, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1985 – Lucy Knisley, American author and illustrator
    • 1987 – Scotty Cranmer, American Professional BMX rider
    • 1987 – Danuta Kozák, Hungarian sprint canoer
    • 1987 – Daniel Semenzato, Italian footballer
    • 1987 – Jamie Vardy, English footballer
    • 1987 – Kim Young-kwang, South Korean actor and model
    • 1988 – Rodrigo José Pereira, Brazilian footballer
    • 1989 – Kane Linnett, Australian rugby league player
    • 1990 – Ryan Griffin, American football player
    • 1991 – Andrea Bertolacci, Italian footballer
    • 1992 – Dani Carvajal, Spanish footballer
    • 1992 – Lee Seung-hoon, South Korean rapper and dancer
    • 1993 – Michael Keane, English footballer
    • 1993 – Will Keane, English footballer
    • 1996 – Leroy Sané, German footballer
    • 1997 – Cody Simpson, Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor

    Deaths on January 11

    • 140 – Pope Hyginus, Bishop of Rome (b. 74)
    • 705 – Pope John VI (b. 655)
    • 782 – Emperor Kōnin of Japan (b. 709)
    • 812 – Staurakios, Byzantine emperor
    • 844 – Michael I Rangabe, Byzantine emperor (b. 770)
    • 887 – Boso of Provence, Frankish nobleman
    • 937 – Cao, empress of Later Tang
    • 937 – Li Chongmei, prince of Later Tang
    • 937 – Li Congke, emperor of Later Tang (b. 885)
    • 937 – Liu, empress of Later Tang
    • 1055 – Constantine IX Monomachos, Byzantine emperor (b. 1000)
    • 1068 – Egbert I, Margrave of Meissen
    • 1083 – Otto of Nordheim (b. 1020)
    • 1266 – Swietopelk II, Duke of Pomerania
    • 1344 – Thomas Charlton, Bishop of Hereford and Lord Chancellor of Ireland
    • 1372 – Eleanor of Lancaster, English noblewoman (b. 1318)
    • 1396 – Isidore Glabas, Metropolitan bishop of Thessalonica (b.c. 1341)
    • 1397 – Skirgaila, Grand Duke of Lithuania
    • 1494 – Domenico Ghirlandaio, Italian painter (b. 1449)
    • 1495 – Pedro González de Mendoza, Spanish cardinal (b. 1428)
    • 1546 – Gaudenzio Ferrari, Italian painter and sculptor (b. c. 1471)
    • 1547 – Pietro Bembo, Italian poet, scholar, and theorist (b. 1470)
    • 1554 – Min Bin, king of Arakan (b. 1493)
    • 1641 – Juan Martínez de Jáuregui y Aguilar, Spanish poet and painter (b. 1583)
    • 1696 – Charles Albanel, French priest, missionary, and explorer (b. 1616)
    • 1703 – Johann Georg Graevius, German scholar and critic (b. 1632)
    • 1713 – Pierre Jurieu, French priest and theologian (b. 1637)
    • 1735 – Danilo I, Metropolitan of Cetinje (b. 1670)
    • 1753 – Hans Sloane, Irish-English physician and academic (b. 1660)
    • 1757 – Louis Bertrand Castel, French mathematician and philosopher (b. 1688)
    • 1762 – Louis-François Roubiliac, French-English sculptor (b. 1695)
    • 1763 – Caspar Abel, German poet, historian, and theologian (b. 1676)
    • 1771 – Jean-Baptiste de Boyer, Marquis d’Argens, French philosopher and author (b. 1704)
    • 1788 – François Joseph Paul de Grasse, French admiral (b. 1722)
    • 1791 – William Williams Pantycelyn, Welsh composer and poet (b. 1717)
    • 1798 – Heraclius II of Georgia (b. 1720)
    • 1801 – Domenico Cimarosa, Italian composer and educator (b. 1749)
    • 1824 – Thomas Mullins, 1st Baron Ventry, Anglo-Irish politician and peer (b. 1736)
    • 1836 – John Molson, Canadian businessman, founded the Molson Brewing Company (b. 1763)
    • 1843 – Francis Scott Key, American lawyer, author, and songwriter (b. 1779)
    • 1866 – Gustavus Vaughan Brooke, Irish actor (b. 1818)
    • 1866 – John Woolley, English minister and academic (b. 1816)
    • 1867 – Stuart Donaldson, English-Australian businessman and politician, 1st Premier of New South Wales (b. 1812)
    • 1882 – Theodor Schwann, German physiologist and biologist (b. 1810)
    • 1891 – Georges-Eugène Haussmann, French urban planner (b. 1809)
    • 1902 – Johnny Briggs, English cricketer and rugby player (b. 1862)
    • 1904 – William Sawyer, Canadian merchant and politician (b. 1815)
    • 1914 – Carl Jacobsen, Danish brewer and philanthropist (b. 1842)
    • 1920 – Steinar Schjøtt, Norwegian philologist and lexicographer (b. 1844)
    • 1923 – Constantine I of Greece (b. 1868)
    • 1928 – Thomas Hardy, English novelist and poet (b. 1840)
    • 1931 – James Milton Carroll, American pastor, historian, and author (b. 1852)
    • 1937 – Nuri Conker, Turkish colonel and politician (b. 1882)
    • 1941 – Emanuel Lasker, German mathematician, philosopher, and chess player (b. 1868)
    • 1944 – Galeazzo Ciano, Italian politician, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1903)
    • 1947 – Eva Tanguay, Canadian singer (b. 1879)
    • 1952 – Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, French general (b. 1889)
    • 1952 – Aureliano Pertile, Italian tenor and educator (b. 1885)
    • 1953 – Noe Zhordania, Georgian journalist and politician, Prime Minister of Georgia (b. 1868)
    • 1954 – Oscar Straus, Austrian composer (b. 1870)
    • 1957 – Robert Garran, Australian lawyer and politician, Solicitor-General of Australia (b. 1867)
    • 1958 – Alec Rowley, English organist and composer (b. 1892)
    • 1958 – Edna Purviance, American actress (b. 1895)
    • 1961 – Elena Gerhardt, German soprano and actress (b. 1883)
    • 1963 – Arthur Nock, English-American scholar, theologian, and academic (b. 1902)
    • 1965 – Wally Pipp, American baseball player (b. 1893)
    • 1966 – Alberto Giacometti, Swiss sculptor and painter (b. 1901)
    • 1966 – Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indian academic and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of India (b. 1904)
    • 1968 – Moshe Zvi Segal, Israeli linguist and scholar (b. 1876)
    • 1969 – Richmal Crompton, English author and educator (b. 1890)
    • 1972 – Padraic Colum, Irish poet and playwright (b. 1881)
    • 1975 – Max Lorenz, German tenor and actor (b. 1901)
    • 1980 – Barbara Pym, English author (b. 1913)
    • 1981 – Beulah Bondi, American actress (b. 1889)
    • 1982 – Paul Lynde, American Actor and comedian (b. 1926)
    • 1985 – Edward Buzzell, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1895)
    • 1985 – William McKell, Australian lawyer and politician, 12th Governor-General of Australia (b. 1891)
    • 1986 – Sid Chaplin, English author and screenwriter (b. 1916)
    • 1986 – Andrzej Czok, Polish mountaineer (b. 1948)
    • 1987 – Albert Ferber, Swiss-English pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1911)
    • 1988 – Pappy Boyington, American colonel and pilot, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1912)
    • 1988 – Isidor Isaac Rabi, Polish-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1898)
    • 1989 – Ray Moore, English radio host (b. 1942)
    • 1990 – Carolyn Haywood, American author and illustrator (b. 1898)
    • 1991 – Carl David Anderson, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1905)
    • 1994 – Helmut Poppendick, German physician (b. 1902)
    • 1995 – Josef Gingold, Belarusian-American violinist and educator (b. 1909)
    • 1995 – Onat Kutlar, Turkish author and poet (b. 1936)
    • 1995 – Lewis Nixon, U.S. Army captain (b. 1918)
    • 1995 – Theodor Wisch, German general (b. 1907)
    • 1996 – Roger Crozier, Canadian-American ice hockey player, coach, and manager (b. 1942)
    • 1999 – Fabrizio De André, Italian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1940)
    • 1999 – Naomi Mitchison, Scottish author and poet (b. 1897)
    • 1999 – Brian Moore, Irish-Canadian author and screenwriter (b. 1921)
    • 2000 – Ivan Combe, American businessman, invented Clearasil (b. 1911)
    • 2000 – Bob Lemon, American baseball player and manager (b. 1920)
    • 2001 – Denys Lasdun, English architect, co-designed the Royal National Theatre (b. 1914)
    • 2002 – Henri Verneuil, French-Armenian director and playwright (b. 1920)
    • 2003 – Jože Pučnik, Slovenian sociologist and politician (b. 1932)
    • 2007 – Solveig Dommartin, French-German actress (b. 1961)
    • 2007 – Robert Anton Wilson, American psychologist, author, poet, and playwright (b. 1932)
    • 2008 – Edmund Hillary, New Zealand mountaineer and explorer (b. 1919)
    • 2008 – Carl Karcher, American businessman, co-founded Carl’s Jr. (b. 1917)
    • 2010 – Miep Gies, Austrian-Dutch humanitarian (b. 1909)
    • 2010 – Éric Rohmer, French director, screenwriter, and critic (b. 1920)
    • 2011 – David Nelson, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1936)
    • 2012 – Mostafa Ahmadi-Roshan, Iranian physicist and academic (b. 1980)
    • 2012 – Gilles Jacquier, French journalist and photographer (b. 1968)
    • 2012 – Edgar Kaiser, Jr, American-Canadian businessman and philanthropist (b. 1942)
    • 2012 – Wally Osterkorn, American basketball player (b. 1928)
    • 2012 – Steven Rawlings, English astrophysicist, astronomer, and academic (b. 1961)
    • 2012 – David Whitaker, English composer and conductor (b. 1931)
    • 2013 – Aaron Swartz, American programmer (b. 1986)
    • 2013 – Guido Forti, Italian businessman, founded the Forti Racing Team (b. 1940)
    • 2013 – Nguyễn Khánh, Vietnamese general and politician, 3rd President of South Vietnam (b. 1927)
    • 2013 – Mariangela Melato, Italian actress (b. 1941)
    • 2013 – Tom Parry Jones, Welsh chemist, invented the breathalyzer (b. 1935)
    • 2013 – Alemayehu Shumye, Ethiopian runner (b. 1988)
    • 2014 – Keiko Awaji, Japanese actress (b. 1933)
    • 2014 – Muhammad Habibur Rahman, Indian-Bangladeshi jurist and politician, Prime Minister of Bangladesh (b. 1928)
    • 2014 – Chai Trong-rong, Taiwanese educator and politician (b. 1935)
    • 2014 – Ariel Sharon, Israeli general and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Israel (b. 1928)
    • 2015 – Jenő Buzánszky, Hungarian footballer and coach (b. 1925)
    • 2015 – Anita Ekberg, Swedish-Italian model and actress (b. 1931)
    • 2015 – Chashi Nazrul Islam, Bangladeshi director and producer (b. 1941)
    • 2015 – Vernon Benjamin Mountcastle, American neuroscientist and academic (b. 1918)
    • 2016 – Monte Irvin, American baseball player (b. 1919)
    • 2016 – David Margulies, American actor (b. 1937)
    • 2017 – Adenan Satem, Malaysian politician and Chief Minister of Sarawak, Malaysia (b. 1944)
    • 2018 – Edgar Ray Killen, American murderer (b.1925)
    • 2019 – Michael Atiyah, British-Lebanese mathematician (b.1929)

    Holidays and observances on January 11

    • Children’s Day (Tunisia)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Anastasius of Suppentonia (Roman Catholic)
      • Leucius of Brindisi (Roman Catholic)
      • Mary Slessor (Church of England)
      • Paulinus II of Aquileia
      • Pope Hyginus
      • Theodosius the Cenobiarch
      • Thomas of Cori
      • Vitalis of Gaza (Roman Catholic)
      • January 11 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which Triodion can fall, while February 14 is the latest; celebrated 70 days before Easter. (Eastern Orthodox)
    • Eugenio María de Hostos Day (Puerto Rico)
    • Independence Resistance Day (Morocco)
    • Kagami biraki (Japan)
    • National Human Trafficking Awareness Day (United States)
    • Republic Day (Albania)
    • Carmentalia (January 11th and January 15th), (Rome)

  • January 7 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 1325 – Alfonso IV becomes King of Portugal.
    • 1558 – French troops, led by Francis, Duke of Guise, take Calais, the last continental possession of England.
    • 1608 – Fire destroys Jamestown, Virginia.
    • 1610 – Galileo Galilei makes his first observation of the four Galilean moons: Ganymede, Callisto, Io and Europa, although he is not able to distinguish the last two until the following day.
    • 1738 – A peace treaty is signed between Peshwa Bajirao and Jai Singh II following Maratha victory in the Battle of Bhopal.
    • 1782 – The first American commercial bank, the Bank of North America, opens.
    • 1785 – Frenchman Jean-Pierre Blanchard and American John Jeffries travel from Dover, England, to Calais, France, in a gas balloon.
    • 1835 – HMS Beagle, with Charles Darwin on board, drops anchor off the Chonos Archipelago.
    • 1894 – Thomas Edison makes a kinetoscopic film of someone sneezing. On the same day, his employee, William Kennedy Dickson, receives a patent for motion picture film.
    • 1904 – The distress signal “CQD” is established only to be replaced two years later by “SOS”.
    • 1919 – Montenegrin guerrilla fighters rebel against the planned annexation of Montenegro by Serbia, but fail.
    • 1920 – The New York State Assembly refuses to seat five duly elected Socialist assemblymen.
    • 1922 – Dáil Éireann ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by a 64–57 vote.
    • 1927 – The first transatlantic telephone service is established from New York City to London.
    • 1928 – A disastrous flood of the River Thames kills 14 people and causes extensive damage to much of riverside London.
    • 1931 – Guy Menzies flies the first solo non-stop trans-Tasman flight (from Australia to New Zealand) in 11 hours and 45 minutes, crash-landing on New Zealand’s west coast.
    • 1935 – Benito Mussolini and French Foreign minister Pierre Laval sign the Franco-Italian Agreement.
    • 1940 – Winter War: Battle of Raate Road – The Finnish 9th Division finally defeat the numerically superior Soviet forces on the Raate-Suomussalmi road.
    • 1948 – Kentucky Air National Guard pilot Thomas Mantell crashes while in pursuit of a supposed UFO.
    • 1954 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York at the head office of IBM.
    • 1955 – Contralto Marian Anderson becomes the first person of color to perform at the Metropolitan Opera in Giuseppe Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera.
    • 1959 – The United States recognizes the new Cuban government of Fidel Castro.
    • 1968 – Surveyor Program: Surveyor 7, the last spacecraft in the Surveyor series, lifts off from launch complex 36A, Cape Canaveral.
    • 1973 – In his second shooting spree of the week, Mark Essex fatally shoots seven people and wounds five others at Howard Johnson’s Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana, before being shot to death by police officers.
    • 1979 – Third Indochina War: Cambodian–Vietnamese War: Phnom Penh falls to the advancing Vietnamese troops, driving out Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge.
    • 1980 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter authorizes legislation giving $1.5 billion in loans to bail out the Chrysler Corporation.
    • 1984 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
    • 1985 – Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency launches Sakigake, Japan’s first interplanetary spacecraft and the first deep space probe to be launched by any country other than the United States or the Soviet Union.
    • 1991 – Roger Lafontant, former leader of the Tonton Macoute in Haiti under François Duvalier, attempts a coup d’état, which ends in his arrest.
    • 1993 – The Fourth Republic of Ghana is inaugurated with Jerry Rawlings as President.
    • 1993 – Bosnian War: The Bosnian Army executes a surprise attack at the village of Kravica in Srebrenica.
    • 1999 – The Senate trial in the impeachment of U.S. President Bill Clinton begins.
    • 2012 – A hot air balloon crashes near Carterton, New Zealand, killing all 11 people on board.
    • 2015 – Two gunmen commit mass murder at the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris, shooting twelve people execution style, and wounding eleven others.
    • 2015 – A car bomb explodes outside a police college in the Yemeni capital Sana’a with at least 38 people reported dead and more than 63 injured.
    • 2020 – The 6.4Mw  2019–20 Puerto Rico earthquakes kill four and injure nine in southern Puerto Rico.

    Births on January 7

    • 889 – Li Bian, emperor of Southern Tang (d. 943)
    • 1355 – Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester, English politician, Lord High Constable of England (d. 1397)
    • 1502 – Pope Gregory XIII (d. 1585)
    • 1634 – Adam Krieger, German organist and composer (d. 1666)
    • 1647 – William Louis, Duke of Württemberg (d. 1677)
    • 1685 – Jonas Alströmer, Swedish agronomist and businessman (d. 1761)
    • 1706 – Johann Heinrich Zedler, German publisher (d. 1751)
    • 1713 – Giovanni Battista Locatelli, Italian director and manager (d. 1785)
    • 1718 – Israel Putnam, American general (d. 1790)
    • 1746 – George Elphinstone, 1st Viscount Keith, Scottish admiral and politician (d. 1823)
    • 1768 – Joseph Bonaparte, Italian king (d. 1844)
    • 1797 – Mariano Paredes, Mexican general and 16th president (1845-1846) (d. 1849)
    • 1800 – Millard Fillmore, American politician, 13th President of the United States (d. 1874)
    • 1814 – Robert Nicoll, Scottish poet (d.1837)
    • 1815 – Elizabeth Louisa Foster Mather, American writer (d.1882)
    • 1827 – Sandford Fleming, Scottish-Canadian engineer, created Universal Standard Time (d. 1915)
    • 1830 – Albert Bierstadt, American painter (d. 1902)
    • 1831 – Heinrich von Stephan, German postman, founded the Universal Postal Union (d. 1897)
    • 1832 – James Munro, Scottish-Australian publisher and politician, 15th Premier of Victoria (d. 1908)
    • 1834 – Johann Philipp Reis, German physicist and academic, invented the Reis telephone (d. 1874)
    • 1837 – Thomas Henry Ismay, English businessman, founded the White Star Line Shipping Company (d. 1899)
    • 1844 – Bernadette Soubirous, French nun and saint (d. 1879)
    • 1858 – Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, Belarusian lexicographer and journalist (d. 1922)
    • 1863 – Anna Murray Vail, American botanist and first librarian of the New York Botanical Garden (d. 1955)
    • 1871 – Émile Borel, French mathematician and politician (d. 1956)
    • 1873 – Charles Péguy, French poet and journalist (d. 1914)
    • 1873 – Adolph Zukor, Hungarian-American film producer, co-founded Paramount Pictures (d. 1976)
    • 1875 – Gustav Flatow, German gymnast (d. 1945)
    • 1876 – William Hurlstone, English pianist and composer (d. 1906)
    • 1877 – William Clarence Matthews, American baseball player, coach, and lawyer (d. 1928)
    • 1889 – Vera de Bosset, Russian-American ballerina (d. 1982)
    • 1891 – Zora Neale Hurston, American novelist, short story writer, and folklorist (d. 1960)
    • 1895 – Hudson Fysh, Australian pilot and businessman, co-founded Qantas Airways Limited (d. 1974)
    • 1899 – Al Bowlly, Mozambican-English singer-songwriter (disputed; d. 1941)
    • 1899 – Francis Poulenc, French pianist and composer (d. 1963)
    • 1900 – John Brownlee, Australian actor and singer (d. 1969)
    • 1906 – Red Allen, American trumpet player (d. 1967)
    • 1910 – Orval Faubus, American soldier and politician, 36th Governor of Arkansas (d. 1994)
    • 1912 – Charles Addams, American cartoonist, created The Addams Family (d. 1988)
    • 1913 – Johnny Mize, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster (d. 1993)
    • 1916 – W. L. Jeyasingham, Sri Lankan geographer and academic (d. 1989)
    • 1916 – Babe Pratt, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1988)
    • 1920 – Vincent Gardenia, Italian-American actor (d. 1992)
    • 1921 – Esmeralda Arboleda Cadavid, Colombian politician (d. 1997)
    • 1921 – Chester Kallman, American poet and translator (d. 1975)
    • 1922 – Alvin Dark, American baseball player and manager (d. 2014)
    • 1922 – Jean-Pierre Rampal, French flute player (d. 2000)
    • 1923 – Hugh Kenner, Canadian scholar and critic (d. 2003)
    • 1925 – Gerald Durrell, Indian-English zookeeper, conservationist and author, founded Durrell Wildlife Park (d. 1995)
    • 1926 – Kim Jong-pil, South Korean lieutenant and politician, 11th Prime Minister of South Korea (d. 2018)
    • 1928 – William Peter Blatty, American author and screenwriter (d. 2017)
    • 1929 – Robert Juniper, Australian painter and sculptor (d. 2012)
    • 1929 – Terry Moore, American actress
    • 1931 – Mirja Hietamies, Finnish skier (d. 2013)
    • 1933 – Elliott Kastner, American-English film producer (d. 2010)
    • 1934 – Jean Corbeil, Canadian lawyer and politician, 29th Canadian Minister of Labour (d. 2002)
    • 1934 – Tassos Papadopoulos, Cypriot lawyer and politician, 5th President of Cyprus (d. 2008)
    • 1935 – Li Shengjiao, Chinese diplomat and international jurist (d. 2017)
    • 1935 – Kenny Davern, American clarinet player and saxophonist (d. 2006)
    • 1935 – Valeri Kubasov, Russian engineer and astronaut (d. 2014)
    • 1941 – Iona Brown, English violinist and conductor (d. 2004)
    • 1941 – John E. Walker, English chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1942 – Vasily Alekseyev, Russian-German weightlifter and coach (d. 2011)
    • 1943 – Sadako Sasaki, Japanese survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, known for one thousand origami cranes (d. 1955)
    • 1944 – Mike McGear, British performing artist and rock photographer
    • 1944 – Kotaro Suzumura, Japanese economist and academic (d. 2020)
    • 1945 – Raila Odinga, Kenyan engineer and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Kenya
    • 1946 – Jann Wenner, American publisher, co-founded Rolling Stone
    • 1947 – Tony Elliott, English publisher, founded Time Out
    • 1948 – Kenny Loggins, American singer-songwriter
    • 1948 – Ichirou Mizuki, Japanese singer-songwriter
    • 1950 – Juan Gabriel, Mexican singer-songwriter (d. 2016)
    • 1952 – Sammo Hung, Hong Kong actor, director, producer, and martial artist
    • 1953 – Robert Longo, American painter and sculptor
    • 1954 – Alan Butcher, English cricketer and coach
    • 1955 – Mamata Shankar, Indian-Bengali actress
    • 1956 – David Caruso, American actor
    • 1957 – Katie Couric, American television journalist, anchor, and author
    • 1959 – Angela Smith, Baroness Smith of Basildon, English accountant and politician
    • 1959 – Kathy Valentine, American bass player and songwriter
    • 1960 – Loretta Sanchez, American politician
    • 1961 – John Thune, American lawyer and politician
    • 1962 – Aleksandr Dugin, Russian political analyst and strategist known for his fascist views
    • 1962 – Ron Rivera, American football player and coach
    • 1964 – Nicolas Cage, American actor
    • 1965 – Alessandro Lambruschini, Italian runner
    • 1967 – Nick Clegg, English academic and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
    • 1969 – Marco Simone, Italian footballer and manager
    • 1970 – Andy Burnham, English politician
    • 1971 – Jeremy Renner, American actor
    • 1972 – Donald Brashear, American-Canadian ice hockey player and mixed martial artist
    • 1974 – Alenka Bikar, Slovenian sprinter and politician
    • 1976 – Vic Darchinyan, Armenian-Australian boxer
    • 1976 – Alfonso Soriano, Dominican baseball player
    • 1977 – Sofi Oksanen, Finnish author and playwright
    • 1979 – Aloe Blacc, American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, businessman and philanthropist.
    • 1982 – Francisco Rodríguez, Venezuelan baseball player
    • 1982 – Hannah Stockbauer, German swimmer
    • 1983 – Edwin Encarnación, Dominican baseball player
    • 1985 – Lewis Hamilton, English racing driver
    • 1986 – Wayne Routledge, English footballer winger
    • 1987 – Stefan Babović, Serbian footballer
    • 1987 – Lyndsy Fonseca, American actress
    • 1987 – Davide Astori, Italian footballer (d. 2018)
    • 1990 – Gregor Schlierenzauer, Austrian ski jumper
    • 1991 – Eden Hazard, Belgian footballer
    • 1991 – Caster Semenya, South African sprinter

    Deaths on January 7

    • 312 – Lucian of Antioch, Christian martyr, saint, and theologian (b. 240)
    • 838 – Babak Khorramdin, Iranian leader of the Khurramite uprising against the Abbasid Caliphate
    • 856 – Aldric, bishop of Le Mans
    • 1131 – Canute Lavard, Danish prince and saint (b. 1096)
    • 1285 – Charles I of Naples (b. 1226)
    • 1325 – Denis of Portugal (b. 1261)
    • 1355 – Inês de Castro, Castilian noblewoman (b. 1325)
    • 1400 – John Montagu, 3rd Earl of Salisbury, English Earl (b. 1350)
    • 1451 – Amadeus VIII of Savoy a.k.a. Antipope Felix V (b. 1383)
    • 1529 – Peter Vischer the Elder, German sculptor (b. 1455)
    • 1536 – Catherine of Aragon (b. 1485)
    • 1566 – Louis de Blois, Flemish monk and author (b. 1506)
    • 1619 – Nicholas Hilliard, English painter and goldsmith (b. 1547)
    • 1625 – Ruggiero Giovannelli, Italian composer and author (b. 1560)
    • 1655 – Pope Innocent X (b. 1574)
    • 1658 – Theophilus Eaton, American farmer and politician, 1st Governor of the New Haven Colony (b. 1590)
    • 1694 – Charles Gerard, 1st Earl of Macclesfield, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire (b. 1618)
    • 1700 – Raffaello Fabretti, Italian scholar and author (b. 1618)
    • 1715 – François Fénelon, French archbishop, theologian, and poet (b. 1651)
    • 1758 – Allan Ramsay, Scottish poet and playwright (b. 1686)
    • 1767 – Thomas Clap, American minister and academic (b. 1703)
    • 1770 – Carl Gustaf Tessin, Swedish politician and diplomat (b. 1695)
    • 1812 – Joseph Dennie, American journalist and author (b. 1768)
    • 1830 – John Thomas Campbell, Irish-Australian public servant and politician (b. 1770)
    • 1830 – Thomas Lawrence, English painter and educator (b. 1769)
    • 1858 – Mustafa Reşid Pasha, Ottoman politician, Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1800)
    • 1864 – Caleb Blood Smith, American journalist and politician, 6th U.S. Secretary of the Interior (b. 1808)
    • 1892 – Tewfik Pasha, Egyptian ruler (b. 1852)
    • 1893 – Josef Stefan, Slovenian physicist and mathematician (b. 1835)
    • 1919 – Henry Ware Eliot, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Washington University in St. Louis (b. 1843)
    • 1920 – Edmund Barton, Australian judge and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1849)
    • 1927 – Nikolaos Kalogeropoulos, Greek politician, 99th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1851)
    • 1931 – Edward Channing, American historian and author (b. 1856)
    • 1932 – André Maginot, French sergeant and politician (b. 1877)
    • 1936 – Guy d’Hardelot, French pianist and composer (b. 1858)
    • 1941 – Charles Finger, English journalist and author (b. 1869)
    • 1943 – Nikola Tesla, Serbian-American physicist and engineer (b. 1856)
    • 1951 – René Guénon, French-Egyptian philosopher and author (b. 1886)
    • 1960 – Dorothea Douglass Lambert Chambers, English tennis player and coach (b. 1878)
    • 1963 – Arthur Edward Moore, New Zealand-Australian farmer and politician, 23rd Premier of Queensland (b. 1876)
    • 1964 – Reg Parnell, English racing driver and manager (b. 1911)
    • 1967 – David Goodis, American author and screenwriter (b. 1917)
    • 1967 – Carl Schuricht, German-Swiss conductor (b. 1880)
    • 1968 – J. L. B. Smith, South African chemist and academic (b. 1897)
    • 1972 – John Berryman, American poet and scholar (b. 1914)
    • 1981 – Alvar Lidell, English journalist and radio announcer(b. 1908)
    • 1981 – Eric Robinson, Australian businessman and politician, 2nd Australian Minister for Finance (b. 1926)
    • 1984 – Alfred Kastler, German-French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
    • 1986 – Juan Rulfo, Mexican author, screenwriter, and photographer (b. 1917)
    • 1988 – Zara Cisco Brough, American Nipmuc Indian chief and fashion designer (b.1919)
    • 1988 – Trevor Howard, English actor (b. 1913)
    • 1989 – Hirohito, Japanese emperor (b. 1901)
    • 1990 – Bronko Nagurski, Canadian-American football player and wrestler (b. 1908)
    • 1992 – Richard Hunt, American puppeteer and voice actor (b. 1951)
    • 1995 – Murray Rothbard, American economist, historian, and theorist (b. 1926)
    • 1996 – Károly Grósz, Hungarian politician, 51st Prime Minister of Hungary (b. 1930)
    • 1998 – Owen Bradley, American record producer (b. 1915)
    • 1998 – Vladimir Prelog, Croatian-Swiss chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1906)
    • 2000 – Gary Albright, American wrestler (b. 1963)
    • 2001 – James Carr, American singer (b. 1942)
    • 2002 – Avery Schreiber, American comedian and actor (b. 1935)
    • 2004 – Ingrid Thulin, Swedish actress (b. 1926)
    • 2005 – Pierre Daninos, French author (b. 1913)
    • 2006 – Heinrich Harrer, Austrian mountaineer, geographer, and author (b. 1912)
    • 2007 – Bobby Hamilton, American race car driver and businessman (b. 1957)
    • 2007 – Magnus Magnusson, Icelandic journalist, author, and academic (b. 1929)
    • 2008 – Alwyn Schlebusch, South African academic and politician, Vice State President of South Africa (b. 1917)
    • 2012 – Tony Blankley, British-born American child actor, journalist and pundit (b. 1948)
    • 2014 – Run Run Shaw, Chinese-Hong Kong businessman and philanthropist, founded Shaw Brothers Studio and TVB (b. 1907)
    • 2015 – Mompati Merafhe, Botswana general and politician, Vice-President of Botswana (b. 1936)
    • 2015 – Rod Taylor, Australian-American actor and screenwriter (b. 1930)
    • 2015 – Georges Wolinski, Tunisian-French cartoonist (b. 1934)
    • 2016 – Bill Foster, American basketball player and coach (b. 1929)
    • 2016 – John Johnson, American basketball player (b. 1947)
    • 2016 – Kitty Kallen, American singer (b. 1921)
    • 2016 – Judith Kaye, American lawyer and jurist (b. 1938)
    • 2016 – Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, Indian lawyer and politician, Indian Minister of Home Affairs (b. 1936)
    • 2017 – Mário Soares, Portuguese politician; 16th President of Portugal (b. 1924)
    • 2018 – Jim Anderton, Former New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister (b. 1938)
    • 2018 – France Gall, French singer (b. 1947)

    Holidays and observances on January 7

    • Christian Feast Day:
      • André Bessette (Canada)
      • Canute Lavard
      • Charles of Sezze
      • Felix and Januarius
      • Lucian of Antioch
      • Raymond of Penyafort
      • Synaxis of John the Forerunner & Baptist (Julian Calendar)
      • January 7 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Christmas (Eastern Orthodox Churches and Oriental Orthodox Churches using the Julian Calendar, Rastafari)
      • Christmas in Russia
      • Christmas in Ukraine
      • Remembrance Day of the Dead (Armenia)
    • Distaff Day (medieval Europe)
    • Earliest day on which Plough Monday can fall, while January 13 is the latest; celebrated on Monday after Epiphany (Europe).
    • Nanakusa no sekku (Japan)
    • Pioneer’s Day (Liberia)
    • Tricolour day or Festa del Tricolore (Italy)
    • Victory from Genocide Day (Cambodia)