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1450

April 15 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 769 – The Lateran Council condemned the Council of Hieria and anathematized its iconoclastic rulings.
  • 1071 – Bari, the last Byzantine possession in southern Italy, is surrendered to Robert Guiscard.
  • 1395 – Timur defeats Tokhtamysh of the Golden Horde at the Battle of the Terek River. The Golden Horde capital city, Sarai, is razed to the ground and Timur installs a puppet ruler on the throne.
  • 1450 – Battle of Formigny: Toward the end of the Hundred Years’ War, the French attack and nearly annihilate English forces, ending English domination in Northern France.
  • 1632 – Battle of Rain: Swedes under Gustavus Adolphus defeat the Holy Roman Empire during the Thirty Years’ War.
  • 1642 – Irish Confederate Wars: A Confederate Irish militia is routed in the Battle of Kilrush when it attempts to halt the progress of a Royalist Army.
  • 1715 – The Pocotaligo Massacre triggers the start of the Yamasee War in colonial South Carolina.
  • 1736 – Foundation of the Kingdom of Corsica.
  • 1738 – Serse, an Italian opera by George Frideric Handel receives its premiere performance in London, England.
  • 1755 – Samuel Johnson’s A Dictionary of the English Language is published in London.
  • 1783 – Preliminary articles of peace ending the American Revolutionary War (or American War of Independence) are ratified.
  • 1817 – Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc founded the American School for the Deaf, the first American school for deaf students, in Hartford, Connecticut.
  • 1861 – President Abraham Lincoln calls for 75,000 Volunteers to quell the insurrection that soon became the American Civil War.
  • 1865 – President Abraham Lincoln dies after being shot the previous evening by actor John Wilkes Booth. Vice President Andrew Johnson becomes President upon Lincoln’s death.
  • 1892 – The General Electric Company is formed.
  • 1896 – Closing ceremony of the Games of the I Olympiad in Athens, Greece.
  • 1900 – Philippine–American War: Filipino guerrillas launch a surprise attack on U.S. infantry and begin a four-day siege of Catubig, Philippines.
  • 1907 – Triangle Fraternity is founded at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.
  • 1912 – The British passenger liner RMS Titanic sinks in the North Atlantic at 2:20 a.m., two hours and forty minutes after hitting an iceberg. Only 710 of 2,227 passengers and crew on board survive.
  • 1920 – Two security guards are murdered during a robbery in South Braintree, Massachusetts. Anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti would be convicted of and executed for the crime, amid much controversy.
  • 1922 – U.S. Senator John B. Kendrick of Wyoming introduces a resolution calling for an investigation of a secret land deal, which leads to the discovery of the Teapot Dome scandal.
  • 1923 – Insulin becomes generally available for use by people with diabetes.
  • 1924 – Rand McNally publishes its first road atlas.
  • 1936 – First day of the Arab revolt in Mandatory Palestine.
  • 1941 – In the Belfast Blitz, two-hundred bombers of the German Luftwaffe attack Belfast, killing around one thousand people.
  • 1942 – The George Cross is awarded “to the island fortress of Malta” by King George VI.
  • 1945 – Bergen-Belsen concentration camp is liberated.
  • 1947 – Jackie Robinson debuts for the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking baseball’s color line.
  • 1952 – First flight of the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress.
  • 1955 – McDonald’s restaurant dates its founding to the opening of a franchised restaurant by Ray Kroc, in Des Plaines, Illinois.
  • 1960 – At Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, Ella Baker leads a conference that results in the creation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, one of the principal organizations of the civil rights movement in the 1960s.
  • 1969 – The EC-121 shootdown incident: North Korea shoots down a United States Navy aircraft over the Sea of Japan, killing all 31 onboard.
  • 1970 – During the Cambodian Civil War, massacre of the Vietnamese minority results in 800 bodies flowing down the Mekong river into South Vietnam.
  • 1986 – The United States launches Operation El Dorado Canyon, its bombing raids against Libyan targets in response to a discotheque bombing in West Germany that killed two U.S. servicemen.
  • 1989 – Hillsborough disaster: A human crush occurs at Hillsborough Stadium, home of Sheffield Wednesday, in the FA Cup Semi-final, resulting in the deaths of 96 Liverpool fans.
  • 1989 – Upon Hu Yaobang’s death, the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 begin in China.
  • 1994 – Marrakesh Agreement relating to foundation of World Trade Organization is adopted.
  • 2013 – Two bombs explode near the finish line at the Boston Marathon in Boston, Massachusetts, killing three people and injuring 264 others.
  • 2013 – A wave of bombings across Iraq kills at least 75 people.
  • 2014 – In the worst massacre of the South Sudanese Civil War, at least 200 civilians were gunned down after seeking refuge in houses of worship as well as hospitals.
  • 2019 – The cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris in France is seriously damaged by a large fire.

Births on April 15

  • 68 BC – Gaius Maecenas, Roman politician (d. 8 BC)
  • 1282 – Frederick IV, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1329)
  • 1367 – Henry IV of England (d. 1413)
  • 1442 – John Paston, English noble (d. 1479)
  • 1452 – Leonardo da Vinci, Italian painter, sculptor, and architect (d. 1519)
  • 1469 – Guru Nanak, the first Sikh guru (d. 1539)
  • 1552 – Pietro Cataldi, Italian mathematician and astronomer (d. 1626)
  • 1563 – Guru Arjan Dev, fifth Sikh leader (d. 1606)
  • 1588 – Claudius Salmasius, French author and scholar (d. 1653)
  • 1592 – Francesco Maria Brancaccio, Catholic cardinal (d. 1675)
  • 1641 – Robert Sibbald, Scottish physician and geographer (d. 1722)
  • 1642 – Suleiman II, Ottoman sultan (d. 1691)
  • 1646 – Christian V of Denmark (d. 1699)
  • 1684 – Catherine I of Russia (d. 1727)
  • 1688 – Johann Friedrich Fasch, German violinist and composer (d. 1758)
  • 1707 – Leonhard Euler, Swiss mathematician and physicist (d. 1783)
  • 1710 – William Cullen, Scottish physician and chemist (d. 1790)
  • 1741 – Charles Willson Peale, American painter and soldier (d. 1827)
  • 1771 – Nicolas Chopin, French-Polish educator (d. 1844)
  • 1772 – Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, French biologist and zoologist (d. 1844)
  • 1793 – Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve, German astronomer and academic (d. 1864)
  • 1795 – Maria Schicklgruber, mother of Alois Hitler and the paternal grandmother of Adolf Hitler (d.1847)
  • 1800 – James Clark Ross, English captain and explorer (d. 1862)
  • 1808 – William Champ, English-Australian politician, 1st Premier of Tasmania (d. 1892)
  • 1809 – Hermann Grassmann, German linguist and mathematician (d. 1877)
  • 1817 – William Crowther, Dutch-Australian politician, 14th Premier of Tasmania (d. 1885)
  • 1828 – Jean Danjou, French captain (d. 1863)
  • 1832 – Wilhelm Busch, German poet, painter, and illustrator (d. 1908)
  • 1841 – Mary Grant Roberts, Australian zoo owner (d. 1921)
  • 1841 – Joseph E. Seagram, Canadian businessman and politician, founded the Seagram Company Ltd (d. 1919)
  • 1843 – Henry James, American novelist, short story writer, and critic (d. 1916)
  • 1856 – Jean Moréas, Greek poet and critic (d. 1910)
  • 1858 – Émile Durkheim, French sociologist, psychologist, and philosopher (d. 1917)
  • 1861 – Bliss Carman, Canadian-British poet and playwright (d. 1929)
  • 1863 – Ida Freund, Austrian-born chemist and educator (d. 1914)
  • 1874 – George Harrison Shull, American botanist and geneticist (d. 1954)
  • 1874 – Johannes Stark, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1957)
  • 1875 – James J. Jeffries, American boxer and promoter (d. 1953)
  • 1877 – Georg Kolbe, German sculptor (d. 1947)
  • 1878 – Robert Walser, Swiss author and playwright (d. 1956)
  • 1879 – Melville Henry Cane, American lawyer and poet (d. 1980)
  • 1883 – Stanley Bruce, Australian captain and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1967)
  • 1885 – Tadeusz Kutrzeba, Polish general (d. 1947)
  • 1886 – Nikolay Gumilyov, Russian poet and critic (d. 1921)
  • 1887 – William Forgan Smith, Scottish-Australian politician, 24th Premier of Queensland (d. 1953)
  • 1888 – Maximilian Kronberger, German poet and author (d. 1904)
  • 1889 – Thomas Hart Benton, American painter and educator (d. 1975)
  • 1889 – A. Philip Randolph, American activist (d. 1979)
  • 1890 – Percy Shaw, English businessman, invented the cat’s eye (d. 1976)
  • 1892 – Theo Osterkamp, German general and pilot (d. 1975)
  • 1892 – Corrie ten Boom, Dutch-American clocksmith, Nazi resister, and author (d. 1983)
  • 1894 – Nikita Khrushchev, Russian general and politician, 7th Premier of the Soviet Union (d. 1971)
  • 1894 – Bessie Smith, African-American singer and actress (d. 1937)
  • 1895 – Clark McConachy, New Zealand snooker player (d. 1980)
  • 1895 – Abigail Mejia, Dominican feminist activist, nationalist, literary critic and educator (d. 1941)
  • 1896 – Nikolay Semyonov, Russian physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1986)
  • 1898 – Harry Edward, Guyanese-English sprinter (d. 1973)
  • 1901 – Joe Davis, English snooker player (d. 1978)
  • 1901 – Ajoy Mukherjee, Indian politician, Chief Minister of West Bengal (d. 1986)
  • 1901 – René Pleven, French businessman and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1993)
  • 1902 – Fernando Pessa, Portuguese journalist (d. 2002)
  • 1903 – John Williams, English-American actor (d. 1983)
  • 1904 – Arshile Gorky, Armenian-American painter and illustrator (d. 1948)
  • 1907 – Nikolaas Tinbergen, Dutch-English ethologist and ornithologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1988)
  • 1908 – eden ahbez, Scottish-American songwriter and recording artist (d. 1995)
  • 1908 – Lita Grey, American actress (d. 1995)
  • 1910 – Sulo Bärlund, Finnish shot putter (d. 1986)
  • 1910 – Miguel Najdorf, Polish-Argentinian chess player and theoretician (d. 1997)
  • 1912 – William Congdon, American-Italian painter and sculptor (d. 1998)
  • 1912 – Kim Il-sung, North Korean general and politician, 1st Supreme Leader of North Korea (d. 1994)
  • 1915 – Elizabeth Catlett, African-American sculptor and illustrator (d. 2012)
  • 1916 – Alfred S. Bloomingdale, American businessman (d. 1982)
  • 1916 – Helene Hanff, American author and screenwriter (d. 1997)
  • 1917 – Hans Conried, American actor (d. 1982)
  • 1917 – Elmer Gedeon, American baseball player and bomber pilot (d. 1944)
  • 1917 – James Kee, American lawyer and politician (d. 1989)
  • 1918 – Hans Billian, German film director, screenwriter, and actor (d. 2007)
  • 1919 – Alberto Breccia, Uruguayan-Argentinian author and illustrator (d. 1993)
  • 1920 – Godfrey Stafford, English-South African physicist and academic (d. 2013)
  • 1920 – Thomas Szasz, Hungarian-American psychiatrist and academic (d. 2012)
  • 1920 – Richard von Weizsäcker, German soldier and politician, 6th President of Germany (d. 2015)
  • 1921 – Georgy Beregovoy, Ukrainian-Russian general, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1995)
  • 1921 – Angelo DiGeorge, American physician and endocrinologist (d. 2009)
  • 1922 – Michael Ansara, Syrian-American actor (d. 2013)
  • 1922 – Hasrat Jaipuri, Indian poet and songwriter (d. 1999)
  • 1922 – Harold Washington, American lawyer and politician, 51st Mayor of Chicago (d. 1987)
  • 1922 – Graham Whitehead, English racing driver (d. 1981)
  • 1923 – Artur Alliksaar, Estonian poet and author (d. 1966)
  • 1923 – Robert DePugh, American activist, founded the Minutemen (an anti-Communist organization) (d. 2009)
  • 1924 – M. Canagaratnam, Sri Lankan politician (d. 1980)
  • 1924 – Rikki Fulton, Scottish comedian (d. 2004)
  • 1924 – Neville Marriner, English violinist and conductor (d. 2016)
  • 1927 – Robert Mills, American physicist and academic (d. 1999)
  • 1929 – Gérald Beaudoin, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 2008)
  • 1929 – Adrian Cadbury, English rower and businessman (d. 2015)
  • 1930 – Georges Descrières, French actor (d. 2013)
  • 1930 – Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, Icelandic educator and politician, 4th President of Iceland
  • 1931 – Kenneth Bloomfield, Northern Irish civil servant
  • 1931 – Tomas Tranströmer, Swedish poet, translator, and psychologist Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2015)
  • 1933 – Roy Clark, American musician and television personality (d. 2018)
  • 1933 – David Hamilton, English-French photographer and director (d. 2016)
  • 1933 – Elizabeth Montgomery, American actress and producer (d. 1995)
  • 1935 – Stavros Paravas, Greek actor and producer (d. 2008)
  • 1936 – Raymond Poulidor, French cyclist
  • 1937 – Bob Luman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1978)
  • 1938 – Claudia Cardinale, Italian actress
  • 1938 – Hso Khan Pha, Burmese-Canadian geologist and politician (d. 2016)
  • 1939 – Marty Wilde, English singer-songwriter and actor
  • 1939 – Desiré Ecaré, Ivorian filmmaker (d. 2009)
  • 1940 – Jeffrey Archer, English author, playwright, and politician
  • 1940 – Penelope Coelen, South African actress, model, beauty queen and 1958 Miss World
  • 1940 – Willie Davis, American baseball player and actor (d. 2010)
  • 1940 – Robert Lacroix, Canadian economist and academic
  • 1941 – Howard Berman, American lawyer and politician
  • 1942 – Francis X. DiLorenzo, American bishop (d. 2017)
  • 1942 – Walt Hazzard, American basketball player and coach (d. 2011)
  • 1942 – Kenneth Lay, American businessman (d. 2006)
  • 1942 – Tim Lankester, English economist and academic
  • 1943 – Pınar Kür, Turkish author, playwright, and academic
  • 1943 – Robert Lefkowitz, American physician and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1943 – Veronica Linklater, Baroness Linklater, English politician
  • 1943 – Hugh Thompson, Jr., American soldier and pilot (d. 2006)
  • 1944 – Dzhokhar Dudayev, Russian-Chechen general and politician, 1st President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (d. 1996)
  • 1944 – Dave Edmunds, Welsh singer, guitarist, and producer
  • 1946 – John Lloyd, Scottish journalist and author
  • 1946 – Pete Rouse, American politician, White House Chief of Staff
  • 1947 – Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, American screenwriter and producer
  • 1947 – Martin Broughton, English businessman
  • 1947 – Lois Chiles, American model and actress
  • 1947 – David Omand, English civil servant and academic
  • 1947 – Cristina Husmark Pehrsson, Swedish nurse and politician, Swedish Minister for Social Security
  • 1947 – Woolly Wolstenholme, English singer and keyboard player (d. 2010)
  • 1948 – Christopher Brown, English historian, curator, and academic
  • 1948 – Michael Kamen, American composer and conductor (d. 2003)
  • 1948 – Phil Mogg, English singer-songwriter and musician
  • 1949 – Alla Pugacheva, Russian singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1949 – Craig Zadan, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2018)
  • 1950 – Josiane Balasko, French actress, director, and screenwriter
  • 1950 – Amy Wright, American actress
  • 1950 – Karel Kroupa, Czech football player
  • 1951 – Heloise, American journalist and author
  • 1951 – John L. Phillips, American captain and astronaut
  • 1951 – Stuart Prebble, English journalist and producer
  • 1951 – Marsha Ivins, American engineer and astronaut
  • 1952 – Kym Gyngell, Australian actor, comedian, and screenwriter
  • 1952 – Brian Muir, English sculptor and set designer
  • 1952 – Avital Ronell, Czech-American philosopher and academic
  • 1955 – Dodi Fayed, Egyptian film producer (d. 1997)
  • 1955 – Joice Mujuru, Zimbabwean politician
  • 1956 – Michael Cooper, American basketball player and coach
  • 1957 – Evelyn Ashford, American runner and coach
  • 1958 – Keith Acton, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1958 – John Bracewell, New Zealand cricketer
  • 1958 – Memos Ioannou, Greek basketball player and coach
  • 1958 – Benjamin Zephaniah, English actor, author, poet, and playwright
  • 1959 – Fruit Chan, Chinese director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1959 – Kevin Lowe, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager
  • 1959 – Emma Thompson, English actress, comedian, author, activist and screenwriter
  • 1960 – Pierre Aubry, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1960 – Susanne Bier, Danish director and screenwriter
  • 1960 – Pedro Delgado, Spanish cyclist and sportscaster
  • 1960 – Tony Jones, English snooker player
  • 1961 – Neil Carmichael, English academic and politician
  • 1961 – Carol W. Greider, American molecular biologist
  • 1961 – Dawn Wright, American geographer and oceanographer
  • 1962 – Nawal El Moutawakel, Moroccan athlete and politician
  • 1962 – Tom Kane, American voice actor
  • 1963 – Alex Crawford, Nigerian-South African journalist
  • 1963 – Manzoor Elahi, Pakistani cricketer
  • 1963 – Manoj Prabhakar, Indian cricketer and sportscaster
  • 1964 – Andre Joubert, South African rugby player
  • 1964 – Lee Kernaghan, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1965 – Linda Perry, American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer
  • 1965 – Kevin Stevens, American ice hockey player
  • 1966 – Samantha Fox, English singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1966 – Mott Green, American businessman (d. 2013)
  • 1967 – Frankie Poullain, Scottish bass player and songwriter
  • 1967 – Dara Torres, American swimmer and journalist
  • 1968 – Ben Clarke, English rugby player and coach
  • 1968 – Brahim Lahlafi, Moroccan-French runner
  • 1968 – Ed O’Brien, English guitarist
  • 1969 – Jeromy Burnitz, American baseball player
  • 1969 – Kaisa Roose, Estonian pianist and conductor
  • 1969 – Jimmy Waite, Canadian-German ice hockey player and coach
  • 1970 – Chris Huffins, American decathlete and coach
  • 1971 – Philippe Carbonneau, French rugby player
  • 1971 – Finidi George, Nigerian footballer
  • 1971 – Jason Sehorn, American football player
  • 1971 – Josia Thugwane, South African runner
  • 1971 – Karl Turner, English lawyer and politician
  • 1972 – Arturo Gatti, Italian-Canadian boxer (d. 2009)
  • 1972 – Lou Romano, American animator and voice actor
  • 1974 – Kim Min-kyo, South Korean actor and director
  • 1974 – Danny Pino, American actor and screenwriter
  • 1974 – Mike Quinn, American football player
  • 1974 – Douglas Spain, American actor, director, and producer
  • 1974 – Tim Thomas, American ice hockey player
  • 1975 – Sarah Teichmann, German-American biophysicist and immunologist
  • 1976 – Jason Bonsignore, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1976 – Darius Regelskis, Lithuanian footballer
  • 1976 – Kęstutis Šeštokas, Lithuanian basketball player
  • 1976 – Steve Williams, English rower
  • 1977 – Sudarsan Pattnaik, Indian sculptor
  • 1977 – Brian Pothier, American ice hockey player
  • 1978 – Milton Bradley, American baseball player
  • 1978 – Tim Corcoran, American baseball player
  • 1978 – Luis Fonsi, Puerto Rican-American singer-songwriter and dancer
  • 1978 – Chris Stapleton, American country singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1980 – Patrick Carney, American drummer, musician, and producer
  • 1980 – James Foster, English cricketer
  • 1980 – Raül López, Spanish basketball player
  • 1980 – Willie Mason, New Zealand-Australian rugby league player
  • 1980 – Aida Mollenkamp, American chef and author
  • 1980 – Billy Yates, American football player
  • 1981 – Andrés D’Alessandro, Argentinian footballer
  • 1982 – Michael Aubrey, American baseball player
  • 1982 – Anthony Green, American singer-songwriter
  • 1982 – Seth Rogen, Canadian-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1983 – Alice Braga, Brazilian actress
  • 1983 – Matt Cardle, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1983 – Dudu Cearense, Brazilian footballer
  • 1983 – Andreas Fransson, Swedish skier (d. 2014)
  • 1983 – Ilya Kovalchuk, Russian ice hockey player
  • 1983 – Martin Pedersen, Danish cyclist
  • 1984 – Antonio Cromartie, American football player
  • 1984 – Cam Janssen, American ice hockey player
  • 1984 – Daniel Paille, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1985 – Ryan Hamilton, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1986 – Tom Heaton, English footballer
  • 1986 – Sylvain Marveaux, French footballer
  • 1988 – Blake Ayshford, Australian rugby league player
  • 1988 – Steven Defour, Belgian footballer
  • 1988 – Chris Tillman, American baseball pitcher
  • 1989 – Darren Nicholls, Australian rugby league player
  • 1990 – Emma Watson, English actress
  • 1991 – Daiki Arioka, Japanese idol, singer, and actor
  • 1991 – Javier Fernández López, Spanish figure skater
  • 1992 – Jeremy McGovern, Australian rules football player
  • 1994 – Brodie Grundy, Australian rules football player
  • 1994 – Shaunae Miller-Uibo, Bahamian sprinter
  • 1995 – Leander Dendoncker, Belgian footballer
  • 1999 – Denis Shapovalov, Canadian tennis player
  • 2001 – Shanti Dope, Filipino rapper

Deaths on April 15

  • 628 – Suiko, emperor of Japan (b. 554)
  • 943 – Liu Bin, emperor of Southern Han (b. 920)
  • 956 – Lin Yanyu, Chinese court official and eunuch
  • 1053 – Godwin, Earl of Wessex (b. 1001)
  • 1136 – Richard Fitz Gilbert de Clare (b. 1094)
  • 1220 – Adolf of Altena, German archbishop (b. 1157)
  • 1237 – Richard Poore, English ecclesiastic
  • 1415 – Manuel Chrysoloras, Greek philosopher and translator (b. 1355)
  • 1446 – Filippo Brunelleschi, Italian sculptor and architect (b. 1377)
  • 1502 – John IV of Chalon-Arlay, Prince of Orange (b. 1443)
  • 1558 – Roxelana, wife of Suleiman the Magnificent (b. c. 1500)
  • 1610 – Robert Persons, English Jesuit priest, insurrectionist, and author (b. 1546)
  • 1632 – George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, English politician, English Secretary of State (b. 1580)
  • 1652 – Patriarch Joseph of Moscow, Russian patriarch
  • 1659 – Simon Dach, German poet and hymnwriter (b. 1605)
  • 1719 – Françoise d’Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon, French wife of Louis XIV of France (b. 1635)
  • 1754 – Jacopo Riccati, Italian mathematician and academic (b. 1676)
  • 1761 – Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke of Argyll, Scottish lawyer and politician, Lord President of the Court of Session (b. 1682)
  • 1761 – William Oldys, English historian and author (b. 1696)
  • 1764 – Peder Horrebow, Danish astronomer and mathematician (b. 1679)
  • 1765 – Mikhail Lomonosov, Russian chemist and physicist (b. 1711)
  • 1788 – Giuseppe Bonno, Austrian composer (b. 1711)
  • 1793 – Ignacije Szentmartony, Croatian priest, mathematician, and astronomer (b. 1718)
  • 1854 – Arthur Aikin, English chemist and mineralogist (b. 1773)
  • 1861 – Sylvester Jordan, Austrian-German lawyer and politician (b. 1792)
  • 1865 – Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States (b. 1809)
  • 1888 – Matthew Arnold, English poet and critic (b. 1822)
  • 1889 – Father Damien, Belgian priest and saint (b. 1840)
  • 1898 – Te Keepa Te Rangihiwinui, New Zealand commander and politician
  • 1912 – Victims of the Titanic disaster:
    • Thomas Andrews, Irish shipbuilder (b. 1873)
    • John Jacob Astor IV, American colonel, businessman, and author (b. 1864)
    • Archibald Butt, American general and journalist (b. 1865)
    • Jacques Futrelle, American journalist and author (b. 1875)
    • Benjamin Guggenheim, American businessman (b. 1865)
    • Henry B. Harris, American producer and manager (b. 1866)
    • Wallace Hartley, English violinist and bandleader (b. 1878)
    • James Paul Moody, English Sixth Officer (b. 1887)
    • William McMaster Murdoch, Scottish First Officer (b. 1873)
    • Jack Phillips, English telegraphist (b. 1887)
    • Edward Smith, English Captain (b. 1850)
    • William Thomas Stead, English journalist (b. 1849)
    • Ida Straus, German-American businesswoman (b. 1849)
    • Isidor Straus, German-American businessman and politician (b. 1845)
    • John B. Thayer, American business and sportsman (b. 1862)
    • Henry Tingle Wilde, English chief officer (b. 1872)
  • 1917 – János Murkovics, Slovene author, poet, and educator (b. 1839)
  • 1927 – Gaston Leroux, French journalist and author (b. 1868)
  • 1938 – César Vallejo, Peruvian journalist, poet, and playwright (b. 1892)
  • 1942 – Robert Musil, Austrian-Swiss author and playwright (b. 1880)
  • 1943 – Aristarkh Lentulov, Russian painter and set designer (b. 1882)
  • 1944 – Nikolai Fyodorovich Vatutin, Russian general (b. 1901)
  • 1945 – Hermann Florstedt, German SS officer (b. 1895)
  • 1948 – Radola Gajda, Montenegrin-Czech general and politician (b. 1892)
  • 1949 – Wallace Beery, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1885)
  • 1962 – Clara Blandick, American actress (b. 1880)
  • 1962 – Arsenio Lacson, Filipino journalist and politician, Mayor of Manila (b. 1912)
  • 1963 – Edward Greeves, Jr., Australian footballer (b. 1903)
  • 1966 – Habibullah Bahar Chowdhury, Bengali politician, writer, journalist, first health minister of East Pakistan
  • 1967 – Totò, Italian comedian (b. 1898)
  • 1971 – Gurgen Boryan, Armenian poet and playwright (b. 1915)
  • 1971 – Friedebert Tuglas, Estonian author and critic (b. 1886)
  • 1979 – David Brand, Australian politician, 19th Premier of Western Australia (b. 1912)
  • 1980 – Raymond Bailey, American actor and soldier (b. 1904)
  • 1980 – Jean-Paul Sartre, French philosopher and author, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1905)
  • 1982 – Arthur Lowe, English actor (b. 1915)
  • 1984 – Tommy Cooper, Welsh comedian and magician (b. 1921)
  • 1986 – Jean Genet, French novelist, poet, and playwright (b. 1910)
  • 1988 – Kenneth Williams, English actor and screenwriter (b. 1926)
  • 1989 – Hu Yaobang, Chinese soldier and politician, former General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (b. 1915)
  • 1990 – Greta Garbo, Swedish-American actress (b. 1905)
  • 1993 – Leslie Charteris, English author and screenwriter (b. 1907)
  • 1993 – John Tuzo Wilson, Canadian geophysicist and geologist (b. 1908)
  • 1998 – William Congdon, American-Italian painter and sculptor (b. 1912)
  • 1998 – Pol Pot, Cambodian general and politician, 29th Prime Minister of Cambodia (b. 1925)
  • 1999 – Harvey Postlethwaite, English engineer (b. 1944)
  • 2000 – Edward Gorey, American poet and illustrator (b. 1925)
  • 2001 – Joey Ramone, American singer-songwriter (b. 1951)
  • 2002 – Damon Knight, American author and critic (b. 1922)
  • 2002 – Byron White, American football player, lawyer, and jurist, 4th United States Deputy Attorney General (b. 1917)
  • 2004 – Mitsuteru Yokoyama, Japanese illustrator (b. 1934)
  • 2007 – Brant Parker, American illustrator (b. 1920)
  • 2008 – Krister Stendahl, Swedish bishop, theologian, and scholar (b. 1921)
  • 2009 – Clement Freud, German-English journalist, academic, and politician (b. 1924)
  • 2009 – László Tisza, Hungarian-American physicist and academic (b. 1907)
  • 2009 – Salih Neftçi, Turkish economist and author (b. 1947)
  • 2010 – Jack Herer, American author and activist (b. 1939)
  • 2010 – Michael Pataki, American actor and director (b. 1938)
  • 2011 – Vittorio Arrigoni, Italian journalist, author, and activist (b. 1975)
  • 2012 – Paul Bogart, American director and producer (b. 1919)
  • 2012 – Dwayne Schintzius, American basketball player (b. 1968)
  • 2013 – Benjamin Fain, Ukrainian-Israeli physicist and academic (b. 1930)
  • 2013 – Richard LeParmentier, American-English actor and screenwriter (b. 1946)
  • 2013 – Jean-François Paillard, French conductor (b. 1928)
  • 2014 – John Houbolt, American engineer and academic (b. 1919)
  • 2014 – Eliseo Verón, Argentinian sociologist and academic (b. 1935)
  • 2015 – Jonathan Crombie, Canadian-American actor and screenwriter (b. 1966)
  • 2015 – Surya Bahadur Thapa, Nepalese politician, 24th Prime Minister of Nepal (b. 1928)
  • 2017 – Clifton James, American actor (b. 1920)
  • 2017 – Emma Morano, Italian supercentenarian, last person verified born in the 1800s (b. 1899)
  • 2018 – R. Lee Ermey, American actor (b. 1944)
  • 2018 – Vittorio Taviani, Italian film director and screenwriter (b. 1929)

Holidays and observances on April 15

  • Christian feast day:
    • Abbo II of Metz
    • Father Damien (The Episcopal Church)
    • Hunna
    • Paternus of Avranches
    • April 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Day of the Sun (North Korea)
  • Earliest day on which Sechseläuten can fall, while April 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Monday in April. (Zürich)
  • Father Damien Day (Hawaii)
  • Hillsborough Disaster Memorial (Liverpool, England)
  • Jackie Robinson Day (United States)
  • National American Sign Language Day (United States)
  • One Boston Day (United States)
  • Poila Boishakh (Bengali New Year)
  • Tax Day, the official deadline for filing an individual tax return (or requesting an extension). (United States, Philippines)
  • Universal Day of Culture
  • World Art Day

April 15 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

On This Day /
  • 217 – Roman Emperor Caracalla is assassinated. He is succeeded by his Praetorian Guard prefect, Marcus Opellius Macrinus.
  • 632 – King Charibert II is assassinated at Blaye (Gironde), along with his infant son Chilperic.
  • 876 – The Battle of Dayr al-‘Aqul saves Baghdad from the Saffarids.
  • 1093 – The new Winchester Cathedral is dedicated by Walkelin.
  • 1139 – Roger II of Sicily is excommunicated.
  • 1149 – Pope Eugene III takes refuge in the castle of Ptolemy II of Tusculum.
  • 1232 – Mongol–Jin War: The Mongols begin their siege on Kaifeng, the capital of the Jin dynasty.
  • 1271 – In Syria, sultan Baibars conquers the Krak des Chevaliers.
  • 1665 – English colonial patents are granted for the establishment of the Monmouth Tract, for what would eventually become Monmouth County in northeastern New Jersey.
  • 1730 – Shearith Israel, the first synagogue in New York City, is dedicated.
  • 1740 – War of Jenkins’ Ear: Three British ships capture the Spanish third-rate Princesa, taken into service as HMS Princess.
  • 1808 – The Roman Catholic Diocese of Baltimore is promoted to an archdiocese, with the founding of the dioceses of New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Bardstown (now Louisville) by Pope Pius VII.
  • 1820 – The Venus de Milo is discovered on the Aegean island of Milos.
  • 1832 – Black Hawk War: Around three-hundred United States 6th Infantry troops leave St. Louis, Missouri to fight the Sauk Native Americans.
  • 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Mansfield: Union forces are thwarted by the Confederate army at Mansfield, Louisiana.
  • 1866 – Italy and Prussia ally against the Austrian Empire.
  • 1886 – William Ewart Gladstone introduces the first Irish Home Rule Bill into the British House of Commons.
  • 1895 – In Pollock v. Farmers’ Loan & Trust Co. the Supreme Court of the United States declares unapportioned income tax to be unconstitutional.
  • 1904 – The French Third Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland sign the Entente cordiale.
  • 1904 – Longacre Square in Midtown Manhattan is renamed Times Square after The New York Times.
  • 1906 – Auguste Deter, the first person to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, dies.
  • 1908 – H. H. Asquith of the Liberal Party takes office as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, succeeding Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman.
  • 1908 – Harvard University votes to establish the Harvard Business School.
  • 1911 – Dutch physicist Heike Kamerlingh Onnes discovers superconductivity.
  • 1913 – The 17th Amendment to the United States Constitution, requiring direct election of Senators, becomes law.
  • 1916 – In Corona, California, race car driver Bob Burman crashes, killing three (including himself), and badly injuring five spectators.
  • 1918 – World War I: Actors Douglas Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin sell war bonds on the streets of New York City’s financial district.
  • 1924 – Sharia courts are abolished in Turkey, as part of Atatürk’s Reforms.
  • 1929 – Indian independence movement: At the Delhi Central Assembly, Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt throw handouts and bombs to court arrest.
  • 1935 – The Works Progress Administration is formed when the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935 becomes law.
  • 1942 – World War II: Siege of Leningrad: Soviet forces open a much-needed railway link to Leningrad.
  • 1942 – World War II: The Japanese take Bataan in the Philippines.
  • 1943 – U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in an attempt to check inflation, freezes wages and prices, prohibits workers from changing jobs unless the war effort would be aided thereby, and bars rate increases by common carriers and public utilities.
  • 1943 – Otto and Elise Hampel are executed in Berlin for their anti-Nazi activities.
  • 1945 – World War II: After an air raid accidentally destroys a train carrying about 4,000 Nazi concentration camp internees in Prussian Hanover, the survivors are massacred by Nazis.
  • 1946 – Électricité de France, the world’s largest utility company, is formed as a result of the nationalisation of a number of electricity producers, transporters and distributors.
  • 1950 – India and Pakistan sign the Liaquat–Nehru Pact.
  • 1952 – U.S. President Harry Truman calls for the seizure of all domestic steel mills in an attempt to prevent the 1952 steel strike.
  • 1953 – Mau Mau leader Jomo Kenyatta is convicted by British Kenya’s rulers.
  • 1954 – A Royal Canadian Air Force Canadair Harvard collides with a Trans-Canada Airlines Canadair North Star over Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, killing 37 people.
  • 1954 – South African Airways Flight 201 A de Havilland DH.106 Comet 1 crashes into the sea during night killing 21 people.
  • 1959 – A team of computer manufacturers, users, and university people led by Grace Hopper meets to discuss the creation of a new programming language that would be called COBOL.
  • 1959 – The Organization of American States drafts an agreement to create the Inter-American Development Bank.
  • 1960 – The Netherlands and West Germany sign an agreement to negotiate the return of German land annexed by the Dutch in return for 280 million German marks as Wiedergutmachung.
  • 1961 – A large explosion on board the MV Dara in the Persian Gulf kills 238.
  • 1964 – The Gemini 1 test flight is conducted.
  • 1968 – BOAC Flight 712 catches fire shortly after takeoff. As a result of her actions in the accident, Barbara Jane Harrison is awarded a posthumous George Cross, the only GC awarded to a woman in peacetime.
  • 1970 – Bahr El-Baqar primary school bombing: Israeli bombers strike an Egyptian school. Forty-six children are killed.
  • 1974 – At Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, Hank Aaron hits his 715th career home run to surpass Babe Ruth’s 39-year-old record.
  • 1975 – Frank Robinson manages the Cleveland Indians in his first game as major league baseball’s first African American manager.
  • 1987 – Los Angeles Dodgers executive Al Campanis resigns amid controversy over racially charged remarks he had made while on Nightline.
  • 1992 – Retired tennis great Arthur Ashe announces that he has AIDS, acquired from blood transfusions during one of his two heart surgeries.
  • 1993 – The Republic of North Macedonia joins the United Nations.
  • 1999 – Haryana Gana Parishad, a political party in the Indian state of Haryana, merges with the Indian National Congress.
  • 2004 – War in Darfur: The Humanitarian Ceasefire Agreement is signed by the Sudanese government and two rebel groups.
  • 2006 – Shedden massacre: The bodies of eight men, all shot to death, are found in a field in Shedden, Elgin County, Ontario. The murders are soon linked to the Bandidos Motorcycle Club.
  • 2008 – The construction of the world’s first skyscraper to integrate wind turbines is completed in Bahrain.
  • 2013 – The Islamic State of Iraq enters the Syrian Civil War and begins by declaring a merger with the Al-Nusra Front under the name Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham.

Births on April 8

  • 1320 – Peter I of Portugal (d. 1367)
  • 1408 – Jadwiga of Lithuania, Polish princess (d. 1431)
  • 1435 – John Clifford, 9th Baron de Clifford, English noble (d. 1461)
  • 1533 – Claudio Merulo, Italian organist and composer (d. 1604)
  • 1536 – Barbara of Hesse (d. 1597)
  • 1541 – Michele Mercati, Italian physician and archaeologist (d. 1593)
  • 1580 – William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke, English noble, courtier and patron of the arts (d. 1630)
  • 1596 – Juan van der Hamen, Spanish artist (d. 1631)
  • 1605 – Philip IV of Spain (d. 1665)
  • 1605 – Mary Stuart, English-Scottish princess (d. 1607)
  • 1641 – Henry Sydney, 1st Earl of Romney, English general and politician, Secretary of State for the Northern Department (d. 1704)
  • 1692 – Giuseppe Tartini, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1770)
  • 1726 – Lewis Morris, American judge and politician (d. 1798)
  • 1732 – David Rittenhouse, American astronomer and mathematician (d. 1796)
  • 1761 – William Joseph Chaminade, French priest, founded the Society of Mary (d. 1850)
  • 1770 – John Thomas Campbell, Irish-Australian banker and politician (d. 1830)
  • 1798 – Dionysios Solomos, Greek poet and author (d. 1857)
  • 1818 – Christian IX of Denmark (d. 1906)
  • 1818 – August Wilhelm von Hofmann, German chemist and academic (d. 1892)
  • 1826 – Pancha Carrasco, Costa Rican soldier (d. 1890)
  • 1827 – Ramón Emeterio Betances, Puerto Rican ophthalmologist, journalist, and politician (d. 1898)
  • 1842 – Elizabeth Bacon Custer, American author and educator (d. 1933)
  • 1859 – Edmund Husserl, German Jewish-Austrian mathematician and philosopher (d. 1938)
  • 1864 – Carlos Deltour, French rower and rugby player (d. 1920)
  • 1867 – Allen Butler Talcott, American painter and educator (d. 1908)
  • 1869 – Harvey Cushing, American surgeon and academic (d. 1939)
  • 1871 – Clarence Hudson White, American photographer and educator (d. 1925)
  • 1874 – Manuel Díaz, Cuban fencer (d. 1929)
  • 1874 – Stanisław Taczak, Polish general (d. 1960)
  • 1875 – Albert I of Belgium (d. 1934)
  • 1882 (O.S. 27 March) – Dmytro Doroshenko, Lithuanian-Ukrainian historian and politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and Prime Minister of Ukraine (d. 1951)
  • 1883 – R. P. Keigwin, English cricketer and academic (d. 1972)
  • 1883 – Julius Seljamaa, Estonian journalist and politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia (d. 1936)
  • 1885 – Dimitrios Levidis, Greek-French soldier, composer, and educator (d. 1951)
  • 1886 – Margaret Ayer Barnes, American author and playwright (d. 1967)
  • 1888 – Dennis Chávez, American journalist and politician (d. 1962)
  • 1889 – Adrian Boult, English conductor (d. 1983)
  • 1892 – Richard Neutra, Austrian-American architect, designed the Los Angeles County Hall of Records (d. 1970)
  • 1892 – Mary Pickford, Canadian-American actress, producer, and screenwriter, co-founded United Artists (d. 1979)
  • 1896 – Yip Harburg, American composer (d. 1981)
  • 1900 – Marie Byles, Australian solicitor (d. 1979)
  • 1902 – Andrew Irvine, English mountaineer and explorer (d. 1924)
  • 1902 – Maria Maksakova Sr., Russian soprano (d. 1974)
  • 1904 – John Hicks, English economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1989)
  • 1904 – Hirsch Jacobs, American horse trainer (d. 1970)
  • 1905 – Joachim Büchner, German sprinter and graphic designer (d. 1978)
  • 1905 – Helen Joseph, English-South African activist (d. 1992)
  • 1905 – Erwin Keller, German field hockey player (d. 1971)
  • 1906 – Raoul Jobin, Canadian tenor and educator (d. 1974)
  • 1908 – Hugo Fregonese, Argentinian director and screenwriter (d. 1987)
  • 1909 – John Fante, American author and screenwriter (d. 1983)
  • 1910 – George Musso, American football player and police officer (d. 2000)
  • 1911 – Melvin Calvin, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1997)
  • 1911 – Emil Cioran, Romanian-French philosopher and academic (d. 1995)
  • 1912 – Alois Brunner, Austrian-German SS officer (d. 2001 or 2010)
  • 1912 – Sonja Henie, Norwegian-American figure skater and actress (d. 1969)
  • 1914 – María Félix, Yaqui/Basque-Mexican actress (d. 2002)
  • 1915 – Ivan Supek, Croatian physicist, philosopher and writer (d. 2007)
  • 1917 – Winifred Asprey, American mathematician and computer scientist (d. 2007)
  • 1917 – Lloyd Bott, Australian public servant (d. 2004)
  • 1917 – Hubertus Ernst, Dutch bishop (d. 2017)
  • 1917 – Grigori Kuzmin, Russian-Estonian astronomer (d. 1988)
  • 1918 – Betty Ford, American wife of Gerald Ford, 40th First Lady of the United States (d. 2011)
  • 1918 – Glendon Swarthout, American author and academic (d. 1992)
  • 1919 – Ian Smith, Zimbabwean lieutenant and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Rhodesia (d. 2007)
  • 1921 – Franco Corelli, Italian tenor and actor (d. 2003)
  • 1921 – Jan Novák, Czech composer (d. 1984)
  • 1921 – Herman van Raalte, Dutch footballer (d. 2013)
  • 1922 – Carmen McRae, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actress (d. 1994)
  • 1923 – George Fisher, American cartoonist (d. 2003)
  • 1923 – Edward Mulhare, Irish-American actor (d. 1997)
  • 1924 – Frédéric Back, German-Canadian animator, director, and screenwriter (d. 2013)
  • 1924 – Anthony Farrar-Hockley, English general and historian (d. 2006)
  • 1924 – Kumar Gandharva, Hindustani classical singer (d. 1992)
  • 1924 – Sara Northrup Hollister, American occultist (d. 1997)
  • 1926 – Henry N. Cobb, American architect and academic, co-founded Pei Cobb Freed & Partners (d. 2020)
  • 1926 – Shecky Greene, American actor
  • 1926 – Jürgen Moltmann, German theologian and academic
  • 1927 – Tilly Armstrong, English author (d. 2010)
  • 1927 – Ollie Mitchell, American trumpet player and bandleader (d. 2013)
  • 1928 – Fred Ebb, American lyricist (d. 2004)
  • 1929 – Jacques Brel, Belgian singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1978)
  • 1929 – Renzo De Felice, Italian historian and author (d. 1996)
  • 1930 – Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma (d. 2010)
  • 1931 – John Gavin, American actor and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Mexico (d. 2018)
  • 1932 – Iskandar of Johor (d. 2010)
  • 1933 – James Lockhart, American scholar of colonial Latin America, especially Nahua peoples (d. 2014)
  • 1934 – Kisho Kurokawa, Japanese architect, designed the Nakagin Capsule Tower and Singapore Flyer (d. 2007)
  • 1935 – Oscar Zeta Acosta, American lawyer and politician (d. 1974)
  • 1935 – Albert Bustamante, American soldier, educator, and politician
  • 1937 – Tony Barton, English footballer, outside right and manager (d. 1993)
  • 1937 – Seymour Hersh, American journalist and author
  • 1937 – Momo Kapor, Serbian author and painter (d. 2010)
  • 1938 – Kofi Annan, Ghanaian economist and diplomat, 7th Secretary-General of the United Nations (d. 2018)
  • 1938 – John Hamm, Canadian physician and politician, 25th Premier of Nova Scotia
  • 1938 – Mary W. Gray, American mathematician, statistician, and lawyer
  • 1939 – John Arbuthnott, Scottish microbiologist and academic
  • 1939 – Trina Schart Hyman, American author and illustrator (d. 2004)
  • 1940 – John Havlicek, American basketball player (d. 2019)
  • 1941 – J. J. Jackson, American soul/R&B singer, songwriter, and arranger
  • 1941 – Vivienne Westwood, English fashion designer
  • 1942 – Tony Banks, Baron Stratford, Northern Irish politician, Minister for Sport and the Olympics (d. 2006)
  • 1942 – Roger Chapman, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1942 – Douglas Trumbull, American director, producer, and special effects artist
  • 1943 – Michael Bennett, American dancer, choreographer, and director (d. 1987)
  • 1943 – Miller Farr, American football player
  • 1943 – James Herbert, English author and illustrator (d. 2013)
  • 1943 – Chris Orr, English painter and illustrator
  • 1944 – Hywel Bennett, Welsh actor (d. 2017)
  • 1944 – Odd Nerdrum, Swedish-Norwegian painter and illustrator
  • 1945 – Derrick Walker, Scottish businessman
  • 1945 – Jang Yong, South Korean actor
  • 1946 – Catfish Hunter, American baseball player (d. 1999)
  • 1946 – Tim Thomerson, American actor and producer
  • 1947 – Tom DeLay, American lawyer and politician
  • 1947 – Steve Howe, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer
  • 1947 – Robert Kiyosaki, American businessman, co-founded Cashflow Technologies
  • 1947 – Pascal Lamy, French businessman and politician, European Commissioner for Trade
  • 1947 – Larry Norman, American singer-songwriter, and producer (d. 2008)
  • 1948 – Barbara Young, Baroness Young of Old Scone, Scottish academic and politician
  • 1949 – K. C. Kamalasabayson, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician, 39th Attorney General of Sri Lanka (d. 2007)
  • 1949 – John Madden, English director and producer
  • 1949 – Brenda Russell, African-American-Canadian singer-songwriter and keyboard player
  • 1949 – John Scott, English sociologist and academic
  • 1950 – Grzegorz Lato, Polish footballer and coach
  • 1951 – Gerd Andres, German politician
  • 1951 – Geir Haarde, Icelandic economist, journalist, and politician, 23rd Prime Minister of Iceland
  • 1951 – Mel Schacher, American bass player
  • 1951 – Joan Sebastian, Mexican singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2015)
  • 1952 – Ahmet Piriştina, Turkish politician (d. 2004)
  • 1954 – Gary Carter, American baseball player and coach (d. 2012)
  • 1954 – Princess Lalla Amina of Morocco (d. 2012)
  • 1954 – G.V. Loganathan, Indian-American engineer and academic (d. 2007)
  • 1955 – Ricky Bell, American football player (d. 1984)
  • 1955 – Gerrie Coetzee, South African boxer
  • 1955 – Ron Johnson, American businessman and politician
  • 1955 – Barbara Kingsolver, American novelist, essayist and poet
  • 1955 – David Wu, Taiwanese-American lawyer and politician
  • 1956 – Michael Benton, Scottish-English paleontologist and academic
  • 1956 – Christine Boisson, French actress
  • 1956 – Roman Dragoun, Czech singer-songwriter and keyboard player
  • 1956 – Jim Piddock, English actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1957 – Fred Smerlas, American football player and radio host
  • 1958 – Detlef Bruckhoff, German footballer
  • 1958 – Tom Petranoff, American javelin thrower and coach
  • 1959 – Alain Bondue, French cyclist
  • 1960 – John Schneider, American actor and country singer
  • 1961 – Richard Hatch, American reality contestant
  • 1961 – Brian McDermott, English footballer and manager
  • 1962 – Paddy Lowe, English engineer
  • 1962 – Izzy Stradlin, American guitarist and songwriter
  • 1963 – Tine Asmundsen, Norwegian bassist
  • 1963 – Julian Lennon, English singer-songwriter
  • 1963 – Terry Porter, American basketball player and coach
  • 1963 – Donita Sparks, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1963 – Alec Stewart, English cricketer
  • 1963 – Seth Tobias, American businessman (d. 2007)
  • 1964 – Biz Markie, American rapper, producer, and actor
  • 1964 – John McGinlay, Scottish footballer and manager
  • 1965 – Steven Blaney, Canadian businessman and politician, 5th Canadian Minister of Public Safety
  • 1965 – Michael Jones, New Zealand rugby player and coach
  • 1966 – Iveta Bartošová, Czech singer and actress (d. 2014)
  • 1966 – Mark Blundell, English race car driver
  • 1966 – Andy Currier, English rugby league player
  • 1966 – Charlotte Dawson, New Zealand-Australian television host (d. 2014)
  • 1966 – Dalton Grant, English high jumper
  • 1966 – Mazinho, Brazilian footballer, coach, and manager
  • 1966 – Harri Rovanperä, Finnish race car driver
  • 1966 – Evripidis Stylianidis, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister for the Interior
  • 1966 – Robin Wright, American actress, director, producer
  • 1967 – Kenny Benjamin, Antiguan cricketer
  • 1968 – Patricia Arquette, French-Canadian Russian/Polish Jewish-American actress and director
  • 1968 – Patricia Girard, French runner and hurdler
  • 1968 – Tracy Grammer, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1971 – Darren Jessee, American singer-songwriter and drummer
  • 1972 – Paul Gray, American bass player and songwriter (d. 2010)
  • 1972 – Sergei Magnitsky, Russian lawyer and accountant (d. 2009)
  • 1973 – Khaled Badra, Tunisian footballer
  • 1973 – Emma Caulfield, American actress
  • 1974 – Toutai Kefu, Tongan-Australian rugby player
  • 1974 – Nnedi Okorafor, Nigerian-American author and educator
  • 1975 – Anouk, Dutch singer
  • 1975 – Francesco Flachi, Italian footballer
  • 1975 – Timo Pérez, Dominican-American baseball player
  • 1975 – Funda Arar, Turkish singer
  • 1977 – Ana de la Reguera, Mexican actress
  • 1977 – Mehran Ghassemi, Iranian journalist and author (d. 2008)
  • 1977 – Mark Spencer, American computer programmer and engineer
  • 1978 – Daigo, Japanese singer-songwriter, actor, and voice actor
  • 1978 – Bernt Haas, Austrian-Swiss footballer
  • 1978 – Rachel Roberts, Canadian model and actress
  • 1978 – Jocelyn Robichaud, Canadian tennis player and coach
  • 1978 – Evans Rutto, Kenyan runner
  • 1979 – Alexi Laiho, Finnish singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1979 – Amit Trivedi, Indian singer-songwriter
  • 1980 – Manuel Ortega, Austrian singer
  • 1980 – Katee Sackhoff, American actress
  • 1980 – Mariko Seyama, Japanese announcer, photographer, and model
  • 1981 – Frédérick Bousquet, French swimmer
  • 1981 – Ofer Shechter, Israeli model, actor, and screenwriter
  • 1982 – Gennady Golovkin, Kazakhstani boxer
  • 1982 – Brett White, Australian rugby league player
  • 1983 – Tatyana Petrova Arkhipova, Russian runner
  • 1984 – Michelle Donelan, British politician
  • 1984 – Ezra Koenig, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1984 – Pablo Portillo, Mexican singer and actor
  • 1984 – Taran Noah Smith, American actor
  • 1985 – Patrick Schliwa, German rugby player
  • 1985 – Yemane Tsegay, Ethiopian runner
  • 1986 – Igor Akinfeev, Russian footballer
  • 1986 – Félix Hernández, Venezuelan-American baseball player
  • 1987 – Royston Drenthe, Dutch footballer
  • 1987 – Jeremy Hellickson, American baseball player
  • 1987 – Sam Rapira, New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1988 – Jenni Asserholt, Swedish ice hockey player
  • 1988 – Kim Myung-sung, South Korean baseball player
  • 1990 – Kim Jong-hyun, South Korean singer (d. 2017)
  • 1993 – Viktor Arvidsson, Swedish ice hockey player
  • 1993 – Zac Santo, Australian rugby league player
  • 1994 – Josh Chudleigh, Australian rugby league player
  • 1995 – Cedi Osman, Turkish professional basketball player
  • 1997 – Saygrace, Australian singer and songwriter
  • 1997 – Arno Verschueren, Belgian professional football player

Deaths on April 8

  • 217 – Caracalla, Roman emperor (b. 188)
  • 622 – Shōtoku, Japanese prince (b. 572)
  • 632 – Charibert II, Frankish king (b. 607)
  • 894 – Adalelm, Frankish nobleman
  • 944 – Wang Yanxi, Chinese emperor
  • 956 – Gilbert, Frankish nobleman
  • 967 – Mu’izz al-Dawla, Buyid emir (b. 915)
  • 1143 – John II Komnenos, Byzantine emperor (b. 1087)
  • 1150 – Gertrude of Babenberg , duchess of Bohemia (b. 1118)
  • 1321 – Thomas of Tolentino, Italian-Franciscan missionary (b. c. 1255)
  • 1338 – Stephen Gravesend, bishop of London
  • 1364 – John II, French king (b. 1319)
  • 1450 – Sejong the Great, Korean king (b. 1397)
  • 1461 – Georg von Peuerbach, German mathematician and astronomer (b. 1423)
  • 1492 – Lorenzo de’ Medici, Italian ruler (b. 1449)
  • 1551 – Oda Nobuhide, Japanese warlord (b. 1510)
  • 1586 – Martin Chemnitz, Lutheran theologian and reformer (b. 1522)
  • 1608 – Magdalen Dacre, English noble (b. 1538)
  • 1612 – Anne Catherine of Brandenburg (b. 1575)
  • 1691 – Carlo Rainaldi, Italian architect, designed the Santa Maria dei Miracoli and Santa Maria in Montesanto (b. 1611)
  • 1697 – Niels Juel, Norwegian-Danish admiral (b. 1629)
  • 1704 – Hiob Ludolf, German orientalist and philologist (b. 1624)
  • 1704 – Henry Sydney, 1st Earl of Romney, English colonel and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1641)
  • 1709 – Wolfgang Dietrich of Castell-Remlingen, German nobleman (b. 1641)
  • 1725 – John Wise, American minister (b. 1652)
  • 1735 – Francis II Rákóczi, Hungarian prince (b. 1676)
  • 1848 – Gaetano Donizetti, Italian composer (b. 1797)
  • 1860 – István Széchenyi, Hungarian statesman and reformer (b.1791)
  • 1861 – Elisha Otis, American businessman, founded the Otis Elevator Company (b. 1811)
  • 1870 – Charles Auguste de Bériot, Belgian violinist and composer (b. 1802)
  • 1894 – Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Indian journalist, author, and poet (b. 1838)
  • 1906 – Auguste Deter, German woman, first person diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease (b. 1850)
  • 1919 – Loránd Eötvös, Hungarian physicist, academic, and politician, Hungarian Minister of Education (b. 1848)
  • 1920 – Charles Griffes, American pianist and composer (b. 1884)
  • 1931 – Erik Axel Karlfeldt, Swedish poet Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1864)
  • 1936 – Róbert Bárány, Austrian physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1876)
  • 1936 – Božena Benešová, Czech poet and novelist (b. 1873)
  • 1941 – Marcel Prévost, French novelist and playwright (b. 1862)
  • 1942 – Kostas Skarvelis, Greek guitarist and composer (b. 1880)
  • 1947 – Olaf Frydenlund, Norwegian target shooter (b. 1862)
  • 1950 – Vaslav Nijinsky, Polish dancer and choreographer (b. 1890)
  • 1959 – Marios Makrionitis, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Athens (b. 1913)
  • 1961 – Joseph Carrodus, Australian public servant (b. 1885)
  • 1962 – Juan Belmonte, Spanish bullfighter (b. 1892)
  • 1965 – Lars Hanson, Swedish actor (b. 1886)
  • 1969 – Zinaida Aksentyeva, Ukrainian astronomer (b. 1900)
  • 1973 – Pablo Picasso, Spanish painter and sculptor (b. 1881)
  • 1974 – James Charles McGuigan, Canadian cardinal (b. 1894)
  • 1979 – Breece D’J Pancake, American short story writer (b. 1952)
  • 1981 – Omar Bradley, American general (b. 1893)
  • 1983 – Isamu Kosugi, Japanese actor and director (b. 1904)
  • 1984 – Pyotr Kapitsa, Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1894)
  • 1985 – John Frederick Coots, American pianist and composer (b. 1897)
  • 1990 – Ryan White, American activist, inspired the Ryan White Care Act (b. 1971)
  • 1991 – Per Ohlin, Swedish musician (b. 1969)
  • 1992 – Daniel Bovet, Swiss-Italian pharmacologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1907)
  • 1993 – Marian Anderson, American operatic singer (b. 1897)
  • 1994 – François Rozet, French-Canadian actor (b. 1899)
  • 1996 – Ben Johnson, American actor and stuntman (b. 1918)
  • 1996 – León Klimovsky, Argentinian-Spanish actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1906)
  • 1996 – Mick Young, Australian politician (b. 1936)
  • 1997 – Laura Nyro, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1947)
  • 2000 – František Šťastný, Czech motorcycle racer (b. 1927)
  • 2000 – Claire Trevor, American actress (b. 1910)
  • 2002 – María Félix, Mexican actress (b. 1914)
  • 2002 – Harvey Quaytman, American painter (b. 1937)
  • 2004 – Werner Schumacher, German actor (b. 1921)
  • 2005 – Onna White, Canadian choreographer and dancer (b. 1922)
  • 2006 – Gerard Reve, Dutch author and poet (b. 1923)
  • 2007 – Sol LeWitt, American painter and sculptor (b. 1928)
  • 2008 – Kazuo Shiraga, Japanese painter (b. 1924)
  • 2009 – Richard de Mille, American Scientologist, author, investigative journalist, and psychologist (b. 1922)
  • 2009 – Piotr Morawski, Polish mountaineer (b. 1976)
  • 2010 – Malcolm McLaren, English singer-songwriter (b. 1946)
  • 2010 – Teddy Scholten, Dutch singer (b. 1926)
  • 2011 – Hedda Sterne, Romanian-American painter and photographer (b. 1910)
  • 2012 – Blair Kiel, American football player and coach (b. 1961)
  • 2012 – Jack Tramiel, Polish-American businessman, founded Commodore International (b. 1928)
  • 2012 – Janusz K. Zawodny, Polish-American soldier, historian, and political scientist (b. 1921)
  • 2013 – Mikhail Beketov, Russian journalist (b. 1958)
  • 2013 – Annette Funicello, American actress and singer (b. 1942)
  • 2013 – Sara Montiel, Spanish-Mexican actress and singer (b. 1928)
  • 2013 – José Luis Sampedro, Spanish economist and author (b. 1917)
  • 2013 – Margaret Thatcher, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1925)
  • 2014 – Emmanuel III Delly, Iraqi patriarch (b. 1927)
  • 2014 – Karlheinz Deschner, German author and activist (b. 1924)
  • 2014 – Ivan Mercep, New Zealand architect, designed the Te Papa Tongarewa Museum (b. 1930)
  • 2015 – Jayakanthan, Indian journalist and author (b. 1934)
  • 2015 – Rayson Huang, Hong Kong chemist and academic (b. 1920)
  • 2015 – Sergei Lashchenko, Ukrainian kick-boxer (b. 1987)
  • 2015 – David Laventhol, American journalist and publisher (b. 1933)
  • 2015 – Jean-Claude Turcotte, Canadian cardinal (b. 1936)

Holidays and observances on April 8

  • Buddha’s Birthday, also known as Hana Matsuri, “Flower Festival” (Japan)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Anne Ayres (Episcopal Church (USA))
    • Constantina
    • Julie Billiart of Namur
    • Perpetuus
    • Walter of Pontoise
    • William Augustus Muhlenberg (Episcopal Church (USA))
    • April 8 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Earliest day on which Fast and Prayer Day can fall, while April 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Friday in April (Liberia)
  • International Romani Day

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

On This Day

March 26 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 590 – Emperor Maurice proclaims his son Theodosius as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
  • 1027 – Pope John XIX crowns Conrad II as Holy Roman Emperor.
  • 1169 – Saladin becomes the emir of Egypt.
  • 1344 – The Siege of Algeciras, one of the first European military engagements where gunpowder was used, comes to an end.
  • 1351 – Combat of the Thirty: Thirty Breton knights call out and defeat thirty English knights.
  • 1484 – William Caxton prints his translation of Aesop’s Fables.
  • 1552 – Guru Amar Das becomes the Third Sikh guru.
  • 1636 – Utrecht University is founded in the Netherlands.
  • 1697 – Safavid government troops take control of Basra
  • 1812 – An earthquake devastates Caracas, Venezuela.
  • 1812 – A political cartoon in the Boston Gazette coins the term “gerrymander” to describe oddly shaped electoral districts designed to help incumbents win reelection.
  • 1830 – The Book of Mormon is published in Palmyra, New York.
  • 1839 – The first Henley Royal Regatta is held.
  • 1871 – The elections of Commune council of the Paris Commune are held.
  • 1885 – The Métis people of the District of Saskatchewan under Louis Riel begin the North-West Rebellion against Canada.
  • 1913 – First Balkan War: Bulgarian forces capture Adrianople.
  • 1915 – The Vancouver Millionaires win the 1915 Stanley Cup Finals, the first championship played between the Pacific Coast Hockey Association and the National Hockey Association.
  • 1917 – World War I: First Battle of Gaza: British troops are halted after 17,000 Turks block their advance.
  • 1922 – The German Social Democratic Party is founded in Poland.
  • 1931 – Swissair is founded as the national airline of Switzerland.
  • 1931 – Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union is founded in Vietnam.
  • 1934 – The United Kingdom driving test is introduced.
  • 1939 – Spanish Civil War: Nationalists begin their final offensive of the war.
  • 1942 – World War II: The first female prisoners arrive at Auschwitz concentration camp in German-occupied Poland.
  • 1945 – World War II: The Battle of Iwo Jima ends as the island is officially secured by American forces.
  • 1954 – Nuclear weapons testing: The Romeo shot of Operation Castle is detonated at Bikini Atoll. Yield: 11 megatons.
  • 1958 – The United States Army launches Explorer 3.
  • 1958 – The African Regroupment Party is launched at a meeting in Paris.
  • 1967 – Ten thousand people gather for one of many Central Park be-ins in New York City.
  • 1970 – South Vietnamese President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu implements a land reform program to solve the problem of land tenancy.
  • 1971 – East Pakistan declares its independence from Pakistan to form Bangladesh and the Bangladesh Liberation War begins.
  • 1975 – The Biological Weapons Convention comes into force.
  • 1979 – Anwar al-Sadat, Menachem Begin and Jimmy Carter sign the Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty in Washington, D.C.
  • 1981 – Social Democratic Party (UK) is founded as a party.
  • 1982 – A groundbreaking ceremony for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is held in Washington, D.C.
  • 1991 – Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay sign the Treaty of Asunción, establishing Mercosur, the South Common Market.
  • 1997 – Thirty-nine bodies are found in the Heaven’s Gate mass suicides.
  • 1998 – During the Algerian Civil War, the Oued Bouaicha massacre sees fifty-two people, mostly infants, killed with axes and knives.
  • 2005 – Around 200,000 to 300,000 Taiwanese demonstrate in Taipei in opposition to the Anti-Secession Law of China.
  • 2010 – The South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan is torpedoed, killing 46 sailors. After an international investigation, the President of the United Nations Security Council blames North Korea.
  • 2017 – Russia-wide anti-corruption protests in 99 cities. The Levada Center survey showed that 38% of surveyed Russians supported protests and that 67 percent held Putin personally responsible for high-level corruption.

Births on March 26

  • 1031 – Malcolm III, king of Scotland (d. 1093)
  • 1516 – Conrad Gessner, Swiss botanist and zoologist (d. 1565)
  • 1554 – Charles of Lorraine, duke of Mayenne (d. 1611)
  • 1584 – John II, duke of Zweibrücken (d. 1635)
  • 1633 – Mary Beale, British artist (d. 1699)
  • 1634 – Domenico Freschi, Italian priest and composer (d. 1710)
  • 1656 – Nicolaas Hartsoeker, Dutch mathematician and physicist (d. 1725)
  • 1687 – Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, queen consort of Prussia (d. 1757)
  • 1698 – Prokop Diviš, Czech priest, scientist and inventor (d. 1765)
  • 1749 – William Blount, American politician (d. 1800)
  • 1753 – Benjamin Thompson, American-French physicist and politician, Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies (d. 1814)
  • 1773 – Nathaniel Bowditch, American mathematician and navigator (d. 1838)
  • 1794 – Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, German painter (d. 1872)
  • 1804 – David Humphreys Storer, American physician and academic (d. 1891)
  • 1824 – Julie-Victoire Daubié, French journalist (d. 1874)
  • 1829 – Théodore Aubanel, French poet (d. 1886)
  • 1842 – Alexandre Saint-Yves d’Alveydre, French occultist (d. 1909)
  • 1850 – Edward Bellamy, American author, socialist, and utopian visionary (d. 1898)
  • 1852 – Élémir Bourges, French author (d. 1925)
  • 1854 – Maurice Lecoq, French target shooter (d. 1925)
  • 1856 – William Massey, Irish-New Zealand farmer and politician, 19th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1925)
  • 1857 – Théodore Tuffier, French surgeon (d. 1929)
  • 1859 – A. E. Housman, English poet and scholar (d. 1936)
  • 1859 – Adolf Hurwitz, Jewish German-Swiss mathematician and academic (d. 1919)
  • 1860 – André Prévost, French tennis player (d. 1919)
  • 1866 – Fred Karno, English producer and manager (d. 1941)
  • 1868 – King Fuad I of Egypt (d. 1936)
  • 1873 – Dorothea Bleek, South African-German anthropologist and philologist (d. 1948)
  • 1874 – Robert Frost, American poet and playwright (d. 1963)
  • 1875 – Max Abraham, Polish-German physicist and academic (d. 1922)
  • 1875 – Syngman Rhee, South Korean journalist and politician, 1st President of South Korea (d. 1965)
  • 1876 – William of Wied, prince of Albania (d. 1945)
  • 1876 – Kate Richards O’Hare, American Socialist Party activist and editor (d. 1948)
  • 1879 – Othmar Ammann, Swiss-American engineer, designed the George Washington Bridge and Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge (d. 1965)
  • 1879 – Waldemar Tietgens, German rower (d. 1917)
  • 1881 – Guccio Gucci, Italian fashion designer, founded Gucci (d. 1953)
  • 1882 – Hermann Obrecht, Swiss politician (d. 1940)
  • 1884 – Wilhelm Backhaus, German pianist and educator (d. 1969)
  • 1884 – Georges Imbert, French chemical engineer and inventor (d. 1950)
  • 1886 – Hugh Mulzac, Vincentian-American soldier and politician (d. 1971)
  • 1888 – Elsa Brändström, Swedish nurse and philanthropist (d. 1948)
  • 1893 – James Bryant Conant, American chemist, academic, and diplomat, 1st United States Ambassador to West Germany (d. 1978)
  • 1893 – Palmiro Togliatti, Italian journalist and politician, Italian Minister of Justice (d. 1964)
  • 1894 – Viorica Ursuleac, Ukrainian-Romanian soprano and actress (d. 1985)
  • 1895 – Vilho Tuulos, Finnish triple jumper (d. 1967)
  • 1898 – Rudolf Dassler, German businessman, founded Puma SE (d. 1974)
  • 1898 – Charles Shadwell, English conductor and bandleader (d. 1979)
  • 1900 – Angela Maria Autsch, German nun, died in Auschwitz helping Jewish prisoners (d. 1941)
  • 1904 – Joseph Campbell, American mythologist and author (d. 1987)
  • 1904 – Emilio Fernández, Mexican actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1986)
  • 1904 – Attilio Ferraris, Italian footballer (d. 1947)
  • 1905 – Monty Berman, English cinematographer and producer (d. 2006)
  • 1905 – André Cluytens, Belgian-French conductor and director (d. 1967)
  • 1905 – Viktor Frankl, Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist (d. 1997)
  • 1906 – Rafael Méndez, Mexican trumpet player and composer (d. 1981)
  • 1907 – Azellus Denis, Canadian lawyer and politician, Postmaster General of Canada (d. 1991)
  • 1907 – Mahadevi Varma, Indian poet and activist (d. 1987)
  • 1908 – Franz Stangl, Austrian-German SS officer (d. 1971)
  • 1909 – Chips Rafferty, Australian actor (d. 1971)
  • 1910 – K. W. Devanayagam, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician, 10th Sri Lankan Minister of Justice (d. 2002)
  • 1911 – Lennart Atterwall, Swedish javelin thrower (d. 2001)
  • 1911 – J. L. Austin, English philosopher and academic (d. 1960)
  • 1911 – Bernard Katz, German-English biophysicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2003)
  • 1911 – Tennessee Williams, American playwright, and poet (d. 1983)
  • 1913 – Jacqueline de Romilly, Jewish Franco-Greek philologist, author, and scholar (d. 2010)
  • 1913 – Paul Erdős, Hungarian-Polish mathematician and academic (d. 1996)
  • 1914 – Toru Kumon, Japanese mathematician and academic (d. 1995)
  • 1914 – William Westmoreland, American general (d. 2005)
  • 1915 – Lennart Strandberg, Swedish sprinter (d. 1989)
  • 1915 – Hwang Sun-won, North Korean author and poet (d. 2000)
  • 1916 – Christian B. Anfinsen, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1995)
  • 1916 – Bill Edrich, English cricketer and footballer (d. 1986)
  • 1916 – Sterling Hayden, American actor and author (d. 1986)
  • 1917 – Rufus Thomas, American R&B singer-songwriter (d. 2001)
  • 1919 – Strother Martin, American actor (d. 1980)
  • 1919 – Roger Leger, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1965)
  • 1920 – Sergio Livingstone, Chilean footballer and journalist (d. 2012)
  • 1922 – William Milliken, American politician, 44th Governor of Michigan (d. 2019)
  • 1922 – Oscar Sala, Italian-Brazilian physicist and academic (d. 2010)
  • 1922 – Guido Stampacchia, Italian mathematician and academic (d. 1978)
  • 1923 – Gert Bastian, German general and politician (d. 1992)
  • 1923 – Bob Elliott, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter (d. 2016)
  • 1925 – Maqsood Ahmed, Pakistani cricketer (d. 1999)
  • 1925 – Pierre Boulez, French pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2016)
  • 1925 – Vesta Roy, American politician, Governor of New Hampshire (d. 2002)
  • 1925 – Edward Graham, Baron Graham of Edmonton, English soldier and politician (d. 2020)
  • 1925 – Ben Mondor, Canadian-American businessman (d. 2010)
  • 1925 – James Moody, American saxophonist and composer (d. 2010)
  • 1927 – Harold Chapman, English photographer
  • 1929 – Edward Sorel, American illustrator and caricaturist
  • 1929 – Edwin Turney, American businessman, co-founded Advanced Micro Devices (d. 2008)
  • 1930 – Sandra Day O’Connor, American lawyer and jurist
  • 1930 – Gregory Corso, American poet (d. 2001)
  • 1931 – Leonard Nimoy, American actor (d. 2015)
  • 1932 – Leroy Griffith, American businessman
  • 1932 – James Andrew Harris, American chemist and academic (d. 2000)
  • 1933 – Tinto Brass, Italian director and screenwriter
  • 1934 – Alan Arkin, American actor
  • 1934 – Edvaldo Alves de Santa Rosa, Brazilian footballer (d. 2002)
  • 1937 – Wayne Embry, American basketball player and manager
  • 1937 – Barbara Jones, American sprinter
  • 1937 – James Lee, Canadian businessman and politician, 26th Premier of Prince Edward Island
  • 1938 – Norman Ackroyd, English painter and illustrator
  • 1938 – Anthony James Leggett, English-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1940 – James Caan, American actor and singer
  • 1940 – Nancy Pelosi, American lawyer and politician, 60th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
  • 1941 – Richard Dawkins, Kenyan-English ethologist, biologist, and academic
  • 1941 – Lella Lombardi, Italian racing driver (d. 1992)
  • 1942 – Erica Jong, American novelist and poet
  • 1943 – Mustafa Kalemli, Turkish physician and politician, Turkish Minister of the Interior
  • 1943 – Bob Woodward, American journalist and author
  • 1944 – Diana Ross, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
  • 1945 – Paul Bérenger, Mauritian politician, Prime Minister of Mauritius
  • 1945 – Mikhail Voronin, Russian gymnast and coach (d. 2004)
  • 1946 – Johnny Crawford, American actor and singer
  • 1946 – Alain Madelin, French politician, French Minister of Finance
  • 1947 – Subhash Kak, Indian-American professor and author
  • 1947 – John Rowles, New Zealand-Australian singer-songwriter
  • 1948 – Kyung-wha Chung, South Korean violinist and educator
  • 1948 – Richard Tandy, English pianist and keyboard player (Electric Light Orchestra)
  • 1948 – Steven Tyler, American singer-songwriter and actor
  • 1949 – Jon English, English-Australian singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2016)
  • 1949 – Rudi Koertzen, South African cricketer and umpire
  • 1949 – Vicki Lawrence, American actress, comedian, talk show host, and singer
  • 1949 – Fran Sheehan, American bass player
  • 1949 – Patrick Süskind, German author and screenwriter
  • 1949 – Ernest Lee Thomas, American actor
  • 1950 – Teddy Pendergrass, American singer-songwriter (d. 2010)
  • 1950 – Graham Barlow, English cricketer
  • 1950 – Martin Short, Canadian-American actor, screenwriter, and producer
  • 1950 – Alan Silvestri, American composer and conductor
  • 1951 – Željko Pavličević, Croatian professional basketball coach and former professional player
  • 1951 – Carl Wieman, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1952 – Didier Pironi, French racing driver (d. 1987)
  • 1953 – Lincoln Chafee, American academic and politician, 74th Governor of Rhode Island
  • 1953 – Elaine Chao, Taiwanese-American banker and politician, 24th United States Secretary of Labor
  • 1953 – Tatyana Providokhina, Russian runner
  • 1954 – Clive Palmer, Australian businessman and politician
  • 1954 – Curtis Sliwa, American talk show host and activist, founded Guardian Angels
  • 1954 – Dorothy Porter, Australian poet and playwright (d. 2008)
  • 1956 – Charly McClain, American country singer
  • 1956 – Park Won-soon, South Korean lawyer and politician, 35th Mayor of Seoul
  • 1957 – Fiona Bruce, Scottish lawyer and politician
  • 1957 – Leeza Gibbons, American talk show host and television personality
  • 1957 – Paul Morley, English journalist, producer, and author
  • 1957 – Shirin Neshat, Iranian visual artist
  • 1958 – Elio de Angelis, Italian racing driver (d. 1986)
  • 1960 – Marcus Allen, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1960 – Jennifer Grey, American actress and dancer
  • 1960 – Graeme Rutjes, Australian-Dutch footballer
  • 1961 – William Hague, English historian and politician, First Secretary of State
  • 1962 – Richard Coles, English pianist, saxophonist, and priest
  • 1962 – Kevin Seitzer, American baseball player and coach
  • 1962 – Yuri Gidzenko, Russian pilot and cosmonaut
  • 1962 – John Stockton, American basketball player and coach
  • 1962 – Eric Allan Kramer, American-Canadian actor
  • 1963 – Natsuhiko Kyogoku, Japanese author
  • 1964 – Martin Bella, Australian rugby league player
  • 1964 – Martin Donnelly, Irish racing driver
  • 1964 – Maria Miller, English businessman and politician, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
  • 1964 – Ulf Samuelsson, Swedish-American ice hockey player and coach
  • 1965 – Trey Azagthoth, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
  • 1965 – Violeta Szekely, Romanian runner
  • 1966 – Michael Imperioli, American actor and screenwriter
  • 1967 – Jason Chaffetz, American politician
  • 1968 – Laurent Brochard, French cyclist
  • 1968 – Kenny Chesney, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1968 – James Iha, American guitarist and songwriter
  • 1969 – Alessandro Moscardi, Italian rugby player
  • 1970 – Paul Bosvelt, Dutch footballer
  • 1970 – Jelle Goes, Dutch footballer and coach
  • 1970 – Thomas Kyparissis, Greek footballer
  • 1970 – Martin McDonagh, English-born Irish playwright, screenwriter, and director
  • 1971 – Behzad Ghorbani, Iranian zoologist
  • 1971 – Martyn Day, Scottish politician
  • 1971 – Erick Morillo, Colombian-American DJ and producer
  • 1971 – Rennae Stubbs, Australian tennis player and sportscaster
  • 1971 – Paul Williams, English footballer and manager
  • 1972 – Leslie Mann, American actress
  • 1972 – Jason Maxwell, American baseball player
  • 1973 – Larry Page, American computer scientist and businessman, co-founder of Google
  • 1973 – T. R. Knight, American actor
  • 1973 – Matt Burke, Australian rugby player and sportscaster
  • 1974 – Irina Spîrlea, Romanian tennis player
  • 1974 – Vadimas Petrenko, Lithuanian footballer
  • 1974 – Michael Peca, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1976 – Amy Smart, American actress and former model
  • 1976 – Alex Varas, Chilean footballer
  • 1976 – Eirik Verås Larsen, Norwegian sprint kayaker
  • 1977 – Kevin Davies, English footballer
  • 1977 – Bianca Kajlich, American actress
  • 1977 – Sylvain Grenier, Canadian wrestler
  • 1978 – Anastasia Kostaki, Greek basketball player
  • 1979 – Nacho Novo, Spanish footballer
  • 1979 – Ben Blair, New Zealand rugby union footballer
  • 1979 – Hiromi Uehara, Japanese pianist and composer
  • 1979 – Pierre Womé, Cameroonian footballer
  • 1979 – Juliana Paes, Brazilian actress
  • 1980 – Margaret Brennan, American journalist
  • 1980 – Son Ho-young, South Korean singer
  • 1980 – Richie Wellens, English footballer
  • 1981 – Sébastien Centomo, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1981 – Baruch Dego, Ethiopian-Israeli footballer
  • 1981 – Massimo Donati, Italian footballer
  • 1981 – Josh Wilson, American baseball player
  • 1982 – Mikel Arteta, Spanish footballer
  • 1982 – Brendan Ryan, American baseball player
  • 1982 – Nate Kaeding, American football player
  • 1983 – Andreas Hinkel, German footballer
  • 1983 – Floriana Lima, American actress
  • 1983 – Roman Bednář, Czech footballer
  • 1983 – Mike Mondo, American wrestler
  • 1984 – Jimmy Howard, American ice hockey player
  • 1984 – Drew Mitchell, Australian rugby player
  • 1984 – Felix Neureuther, German skier
  • 1984 – Marco Stier, German footballer
  • 1984 – Gregory Strydom, Zimbabwean cricketer
  • 1984 – Sara Jean Underwood, American model, television host, and actress
  • 1985 – Keira Knightley, English actress
  • 1985 – Matt Grevers, American swimmer
  • 1985 – Jonathan Groff, American actor and singer
  • 1985 – Prosper Utseya, Zimbabwean cricketer
  • 1986 – Maxime Biset, Belgian footballer
  • 1986 – Rob Kearney, Irish rugby player
  • 1986 – Emma Laine, Finnish tennis player
  • 1987 – Kim Dong-suk, South Korean footballer
  • 1987 – Jermichael Finley, American football player
  • 1987 – Steven Fletcher, Scottish footballer
  • 1989 – Simon Kjær, Danish footballer
  • 1990 – Choi Woo-shik, South Korean actor
  • 1990 – Patrick Ekeng, Cameroonian footballer (d. 2016)
  • 1990 – Yuya Takaki, Japanese idol, singer, dancer, model and actor
  • 1990 – Xiumin, South Korean singer and actor, member of South Korean boy band EXO
  • 1991 – Matt Davidson, American baseball player
  • 1992 – Nina Agdal, Danish model
  • 1992 – Stoffel Vandoorne, Belgian racing driver
  • 1994 – Jed Wallace, English footballer
  • 1996 – Zane Musgrove, New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1996 – Kathryn Bernardo, Filipino actress
  • 1998 – Satoko Miyahara, Japanese figure skater
  • 2003 – Bhad Bhabie, American rapper and social media personality

Deaths on March 26

  • 752 – Pope-elect Stephen
  • 809 – Ludger, Frisian missionary
  • 903 – Sugawara no Michizane, Japanese poet
  • 908 – Ai, emperor of the Tang Dynasty (b. 892)
  • 922 – Mansur Al-Hallaj, Persian mystic and poet (b. 858)
  • 929 – Wang Du, Chinese warlord and governor (jiedushi)
  • 973 – Guntram (“the Rich”), Frankish nobleman
  • 983 – ‘Adud al-Dawla, Iranian ruler (b. 936)
  • 1091 – Wallada bint al-Mustakfi, Andalusian poet
  • 1130 – Sigurd the Crusader, Norwegian king (b. 1090)
  • 1132 – Geoffrey of Vendôme, French cardinal and theologian (b. 1065)
  • 1212 – Sancho I of Portugal (b. 1154)
  • 1242 – William de Forz, 3rd Earl of Albemarle
  • 1324 – Marie de Luxembourg, Queen of France (b. 1304)
  • 1326 – Alessandra Giliani, anatomist (b. c. 1307)
  • 1402 – David Stewart, Duke of Rothesay, heir to the throne of Scotland (b. 1378)
  • 1437 – Walter Stewart, Earl of Atholl, Scottish nobleman and regicide
  • 1517 – Heinrich Isaac, Flemish composer (b. 1450)
  • 1535 – Georg Tannstetter, Austrian mathematician, astronomer, and cartographer (b. 1482)
  • 1546 – Thomas Elyot, English scholar and diplomat (b. 1490)
  • 1566 – Antonio de Cabezón, Spanish organist and composer (b. 1510)
  • 1625 – Giambattista Marini, Italian poet (b. 1569)
  • 1649 – John Winthrop, English lawyer and politician, 2nd Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony
  • 1679 – Johannes Schefferus, Swedish historian and author (b. 1621)
  • 1697 – Godfrey McCulloch, Scottish politician (b. 1640)
  • 1726 – John Vanbrugh, English playwright and architect, designed Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard (b. 1664)
  • 1772 – Charles Pinot Duclos, French author and politician (b. 1704)
  • 1776 – Samuel Ward, American jurist and politician, 31st Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island (b. 1725)
  • 1780 – Charles I, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (b. 1713)
  • 1793 – John Mudge, English physician and engineer (b. 1721)
  • 1797 – James Hutton, Scottish geologist and physician (b. 1726)
  • 1814 – Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, French physician and politician (b. 1738)
  • 1827 – Ludwig van Beethoven, German pianist and composer (b. 1770)
  • 1858 – John Addison Thomas, American lieutenant, engineer, and politician, 3rd United States Assistant Secretary of State (b. 1811)
  • 1862 – Uriah P. Levy, American commander (b. 1792)
  • 1881 – Roman Sanguszko, Polish general and activist (b. 1800)
  • 1885 – Anson Stager, American general and businessman, co-founded Western Union (b. 1825)
  • 1888 – Barghash bin Said of Zanzibar (b. 1837)
  • 1892 – Walt Whitman, American poet, essayist, and journalist (b. 1819)
  • 1902 – Cecil Rhodes, English-South African colonialist, businessman and politician, 6th Prime Minister of the Cape Colony (b. 1853)
  • 1905 – Maurice Barrymore, American actor (b. 1849)
  • 1910 – Auguste Charlois, French astronomer (b. 1864)
  • 1920 – William Chester Minor, American surgeon and lexicographer (b. 1834)
  • 1923 – Sarah Bernhardt, French actress and screenwriter (b. 1844)
  • 1926 – Constantin Fehrenbach, German lawyer and politician, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1852)
  • 1932 – Henry M. Leland, American machinist, inventor, engineer, automotive entrepreneur and founded of Cadillac and Lincoln (b. 1843)
  • 1934 – John Biller, American jumper and discus thrower (b. 1877)
  • 1940 – Wilhelm Anderson, German-Estonian astrophysicist (b. 1880)
  • 1940 – Spyridon Louis, Greek runner (b. 1873)
  • 1942 – Jimmy Burke, American baseball player and manager (b. 1874)
  • 1942 – Carolyn Wells, American novelist and poet (b. 1862)
  • 1945 – David Lloyd George, English-Welsh lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1863)
  • 1951 – James F. Hinkle, American banker and politician, 6th Governor of New Mexico (b. 1864)
  • 1954 – Charles Perrin, French rower (b. 1875)
  • 1957 – Édouard Herriot, French politician, Prime Minister of France (b. 1872)
  • 1958 – Phil Mead, English cricketer and footballer (b. 1887)
  • 1959 – Raymond Chandler, American crime novelist and screenwriter (b. 1888)
  • 1966 – Victor Hochepied, French swimmer (b. 1883)
  • 1969 – John Kennedy Toole, American novelist (b. 1937)
  • 1973 – Noël Coward, English playwright, actor, and composer (b. 1899)
  • 1973 – Johnny Drake, American football player (b. 1916)
  • 1979 – Beauford Delaney, American-French painter (b. 1901)
  • 1979 – Jean Stafford, American author and academic (b. 1915)
  • 1980 – Roland Barthes, French linguist and critic (b. 1915)
  • 1983 – Anthony Blunt, English historian and spy (b. 1907)
  • 1984 – Ahmed Sékou Touré, Guinean politician, 1st President of Guinea (b. 1922)
  • 1987 – Eugen Jochum, German conductor (b. 1902)
  • 1987 – Walter Abel, American actor (b. 1898)
  • 1990 – Halston, American fashion designer (b. 1932)
  • 1992 – Barbara Frum, American-Canadian journalist and radio host (b. 1937)
  • 1993 – Louis Falco, American dancer and choreographer (b. 1942)
  • 1995 – Eazy-E, American rapper and producer (b. 1964)
  • 1996 – Edmund Muskie, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician, 58th United States Secretary of State (b. 1914)
  • 1996 – David Packard, American engineer and businessman, co-founded Hewlett-Packard (b. 1912)
  • 2000 – Alex Comfort, English physician and author (b. 1920)
  • 2002 – Randy Castillo, American drummer and songwriter (b. 1950)
  • 2003 – Daniel Patrick Moynihan, American sociologist and politician, 12th United States Ambassador to the United Nations (b. 1927)
  • 2004 – Jan Sterling, American actress (b. 1921)
  • 2005 – James Callaghan, English lieutenant and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1912)
  • 2005 – Frederick Rotimi Williams, Nigerian lawyer and politician (b. 1920)
  • 2006 – Anil Biswas, Indian journalist and politician (b. 1944)
  • 2006 – Paul Dana, American racing driver (b. 1975)
  • 2006 – Nikki Sudden, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1956)
  • 2008 – Robert Fagles, American poet and academic (b. 1933)
  • 2008 – Manuel Marulanda, Colombian rebel leader (b. 1930)
  • 2009 – Shane McConkey, Canadian skier and BASE jumper (b. 1969)
  • 2009 – Arne Bendiksen, Norwegian singer and composer (b. 1926)
  • 2010 – Charles Ryskamp, American art collector and curator (b. 1928)
  • 2011 – Roger Abbott, English-Canadian actor, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1946)
  • 2011 – Geraldine Ferraro, American lawyer and politician (b. 1935)
  • 2011 – Diana Wynne Jones, English author (b. 1934)
  • 2012 – Sisto Averno, American football player (b. 1925)
  • 2012 – Michael Begley, Irish carpenter and politician (b. 1932)
  • 2012 – Thomas M. Cover, American theorist and academic (b. 1938)
  • 2012 – David Craighead, American organist and educator (b. 1924)
  • 2012 – Manik Godghate, Indian poet and educator (b. 1937)
  • 2012 – Helmer Ringgren, Swedish theologian and academic (b. 1917)
  • 2013 – Tom Boerwinkle, American basketball player and sportscaster (b. 1945)
  • 2013 – Krzysztof Kozłowski, Polish journalist and politician, Polish Minister of Interior (b. 1931)
  • 2013 – Dave Leggett, American baseball player (b. 1933)
  • 2013 – Don Payne, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1964)
  • 2014 – Roger Birkman, American psychologist and author (b. 1919)
  • 2014 – Dick Guidry, American businessman and politician (b. 1929)
  • 2014 – Marcus Kimball, Baron Kimball, English politician (b. 1928)
  • 2015 – Dinkha IV, Iraqi patriarch (b. 1935)
  • 2015 – Friedrich L. Bauer, German mathematician, computer scientist, and academic (b. 1924)
  • 2015 – Tomas Tranströmer, Swedish poet, translator, and psychologist Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1931)
  • 2016 – Jim Harrison, American novelist, essayist, and poet (b. 1937)
  • 2018 – Fabrizio Frizzi, Italian television presenter (b. 1958)

Holidays and observances on March 26

  • Christian feast days:
    • Castulus
    • Emmanuel and companions
    • Felicitas
    • Harriet Monsell (Church of England)
    • Larissa
    • Ludger
    • Richard Allen (Episcopal Church (USA))
    • March 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Independence Day and National Day (Bangladesh), celebrates the declaration of independence from Pakistan in 1971.
  • Martyr’s Day or Day of Democracy (Mali)
  • Prince Kūhiō Day (Hawaii, United States)
  • Purple Day (Canada and United States)
  • Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel (Eastern Christianity)

March 26 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

March 1 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /

March 1 in History

  • 509 BC – Publius Valerius Publicola celebrates the first triumph of the Roman Republic after his victory over the deposed king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus at the Battle of Silva Arsia.
  • 86 BC – Lucius Cornelius Sulla, at the head of a Roman Republic army, enters Athens, removing the tyrant Aristion who was supported by troops of Mithridates VI of Pontus ending the Siege of Athens and Piraeus.
  • 293 – Emperor Diocletian and Maximian appoint Constantius Chlorus and Galerius as Caesars. This is considered the beginning of the Tetrarchy, known as the Quattuor Principes Mundi (“Four Rulers of the World”).
  • 317 – Crispus and Constantine II, sons of Roman Emperor Constantine I, and Licinius Iunior, son of Emperor Licinius, are made Caesares.
  • 350 – Vetranio is asked by Constantina, sister of Constantius II, to proclaim himself Caesar.
  • 834 – Emperor Louis the Pious is restored as sole ruler of the Frankish Empire. After his re-accession to the throne, his eldest son Lothair I flees to Burgundy.
  • 1457 – The Unitas Fratrum is established in the village of Kunvald, on the Bohemian-Moravian borderland. It is to date the second oldest Protestant denomination.
  • 1476 – Forces of the Catholic Monarchs engage the combined Portuguese-Castilian armies of Afonso V and Prince John at the Battle of Toro.
  • 1562 – Sixty-three Huguenots are massacred in Wassy, France, marking the start of the French Wars of Religion.
  • 1565 – The city of Rio de Janeiro is founded.
  • 1628 – Writs issued in February by Charles I of England mandate that every county in England (not just seaport towns) pay ship tax by this date.
  • 1633 – Samuel de Champlain reclaims his role as commander of New France on behalf of Cardinal Richelieu.
  • 1642 – Georgeana, Massachusetts (now known as York, Maine), becomes the first incorporated city in the United States.
  • 1692 – Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne and Tituba are brought before local magistrates in Salem Village, Massachusetts, beginning what would become known as the Salem witch trials.
  • 1700 – Sweden introduces its own Swedish calendar, in an attempt to gradually merge into the Gregorian calendar, reverts to the Julian calendar on this date in 1712, and introduces the Gregorian calendar on this date in 1753.
  • 1713 – The siege and destruction of Fort Neoheroka begins during the Tuscarora War in North Carolina, effectively opening up the colony’s interior to European colonization.
  • 1781 – The Articles of Confederation goes into effect in the United States.
  • 1790 – The first United States census is authorized.
  • 1793 – French Revolutionary War: Battle of Aldenhoven during the Flanders Campaign.
  • 1796 – The Dutch East India Company is nationalized by the Batavian Republic.
  • 1803 – Ohio becomes the 17th state of The United States.
  • 1805 – Justice Samuel Chase is acquitted at the end of his impeachment trial by the U.S. Senate.
  • 1811 – Leaders of the Mamluk dynasty are killed by Egyptian ruler Muhammad Ali.
  • 1815 – Napoleon returns to France from his banishment on Elba.
  • 1815 – Georgetown University’s congressional charter is signed into law by President James Madison.
  • 1836 – A convention of delegates from 57 Texas communities convenes in Washington-on-the-Brazos, Texas, to deliberate independence from Mexico.
  • 1845 – United States President John Tyler signs a bill authorizing the United States to annex the Republic of Texas.
  • 1852 – Archibald Montgomerie, 13th Earl of Eglinton, is appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.
  • 1854 – German psychologist Friedrich Eduard Beneke disappears; two years later his remains are found in a canal near Charlottenburg.
  • 1867 – Nebraska becomes the 37th U.S. state; Lancaster, Nebraska is renamed Lincoln and becomes the state capital.
  • 1868 – The Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity is founded at the University of Virginia.
  • 1870 – Marshal F. S. López dies during the Battle of Cerro Corá thus marking the end of the Paraguayan War.
  • 1872 – Yellowstone National Park is established as the world’s first national park.
  • 1873 – E. Remington and Sons in Ilion, New York begins production of the first practical typewriter.
  • 1881 – The first Minnesota State Capitol burns down.
  • 1886 – The Anglo-Chinese School, Singapore is founded by Bishop William Oldham.
  • 1893 – Electrical engineer Nikola Tesla gives the first public demonstration of radio in St. Louis, Missouri.
  • 1896 – Battle of Adwa: An Ethiopian army defeats an outnumbered Italian force, ending the First Italo-Ethiopian War.
  • 1896 – Henri Becquerel discovers radioactive decay.
  • 1901 – The Australian Army is formed.
  • 1910 – The deadliest avalanche in United States history buries a Great Northern Railway train in northeastern King County, Washington, killing 96 people.
  • 1914 – The Republic of China joins the Universal Postal Union.
  • 1917 – The Zimmermann Telegram is reprinted in newspapers across the United States after the U.S. government releases its unencrypted text.
  • 1919 – March 1st Movement begins in Korea under Japanese rule.
  • 1921 – The Australian cricket team captained by Warwick Armstrong becomes the first team to complete a whitewash of The Ashes, something that would not be repeated for 86 years.
  • 1921 – Following mass protests in Petrograd demanding greater freedom in the RSFSR, the Kronstadt rebellion began, with sailors and citizens taking up arms against the Bolsheviks.
  • 1932 – Charles Lindbergh’s son is kidnapped.
  • 1936 – The Hoover Dam is completed.
  • 1939 – An Imperial Japanese Army ammunition dump explodes at Hirakata, Osaka, Japan, killing 94.
  • 1941 – World War II: Bulgaria signs the Tripartite Pact, allying itself with the Axis powers.
  • 1942 – World War II: Japanese forces land on Java, the main island of the Dutch East Indies, at Merak and Banten Bay (Banten), Eretan Wetan (Indramayu) and Kragan (Rembang).
  • 1946 – The Bank of England is nationalised.
  • 1947 – The International Monetary Fund begins financial operations.
  • 1949 – Indonesian Army recaptures and occupies for six hours its capital city Yogyakarta from the Dutch.
  • 1950 – Cold War: Klaus Fuchs is convicted of spying for the Soviet Union by disclosing top secret atomic bomb data.
  • 1953 – Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin suffers a stroke and collapses; he dies four days later.
  • 1954 – Nuclear weapons testing: The Castle Bravo, a 15-megaton hydrogen bomb, is detonated on Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, resulting in the worst radioactive contamination ever caused by the United States.
  • 1954 – Armed Puerto Rican nationalists attack the United States Capitol building, injuring five Representatives.
  • 1956 – The International Air Transport Association finalizes a draft of the Radiotelephony spelling alphabet for the International Civil Aviation Organization.
  • 1956 – Formation of the East German Nationale Volksarmee.
  • 1958 – Samuel Alphonsus Stritch is appointed Pro-Prefect of the Propagation of Faith and thus becomes the first U.S. member of the Roman Curia.
  • 1961 – United States President John F. Kennedy establishes the Peace Corps.
  • 1961 – Uganda becomes self-governing and holds its first elections.
  • 1964 – Villarrica Volcano begins a strombolian eruption causing lahars that destroy half of the town of Coñaripe.
  • 1966 – Venera 3 Soviet space probe crashes on Venus becoming the first spacecraft to land on another planet’s surface.
  • 1966 – The Ba’ath Party takes power in Syria.
  • 1971 – President of Pakistan Yahya Khan indefinitely postpones the pending national assembly session, precipitating massive civil disobedience in East Pakistan.
  • 1972 – The Thai province of Yasothon is created after being split off from the Ubon Ratchathani Province.
  • 1973 – Black September storms the Saudi embassy in Khartoum, Sudan, resulting in the assassination of three Western hostages.
  • 1974 – Watergate scandal: Seven are indicted for their role in the Watergate break-in and charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice.
  • 1981 – Provisional Irish Republican Army member Bobby Sands begins his hunger strike in HM Prison Maze.
  • 1983 – First collection of twelve Swatch models was introduced in Zürich, Switzerland.
  • 1990 – Steve Jackson Games is raided by the United States Secret Service, prompting the later formation of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
  • 1991 – Uprisings against Saddam Hussein begin in Iraq, leading to the death of more than 25,000 people mostly civilian.
  • 1992 – Bosnia and Herzegovina declares its independence from Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
  • 1998 – Titanic became the first film to gross over $1 billion worldwide.
  • 2002 – U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda begins in eastern Afghanistan.
  • 2002 – The Envisat environmental satellite successfully launches aboard an Ariane 5 rocket to reach an orbit of 800 km (500 mi) above the Earth, which was the then-largest payload at 10.5 m long and with a diameter of 4.57 m.
  • 2003 – Management of the United States Customs Service and the United States Secret Service move to the United States Department of Homeland Security.
  • 2003 – The International Criminal Court holds its inaugural session in The Hague.
  • 2005 – In Roper v. Simmons, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that the execution of juveniles found guilty of murder is unconstitutional.
  • 2006 – English-language Wikipedia reaches its one millionth article, Jordanhill railway station.
  • 2007 – Tornadoes break out across the southern United States, killing at least 20 people, including eight at Enterprise High School.
  • 2008 – The Armenian police clash with peaceful opposition rally protesting against allegedly fraudulent presidential elections, as a result ten people are killed.
  • 2014 – Thirty-five people are killed and 143 injured in a mass stabbing at Kunming Railway Station in China.

Births on March 1

  • 1105 – Alfonso VII, king of León and Castile (d. 1157)
  • 1261 – Hugh le Despenser, 1st Earl of Winchester (d. 1326)
  • 1389 – Antoninus of Florence, Italian archbishop and saint (d. 1459)
  • 1432 – Isabella of Coimbra (d. 1455)
  • 1456 – Vladislaus II of Hungary (d. 1516)
  • 1547 – Rudolph Goclenius, German philosopher and lexicographer (d. 1628)
  • 1554 – William Stafford, English courtier and conspirator (d. 1612)
  • 1577 – Richard Weston, 1st Earl of Portland (d. 1635)
  • 1597 – Jean-Charles della Faille, Flemish priest and mathematician (d. 1652)
  • 1611 – John Pell, English mathematician and linguist (d. 1685)
  • 1629 – Abraham Teniers, Flemish painter (d. 1670)
  • 1647 – John de Brito, Portuguese Jesuit missionary and martyr (d. 1693)
  • 1657 – Samuel Werenfels, Swiss theologian and author (d. 1740)
  • 1683 – Tsangyang Gyatso, sixth Dalai Lama (d. 1706)
  • 1683 – Caroline of Ansbach, British queen and regent (d. 1737)
  • 1732 – William Cushing, American lawyer and judge (d. 1810)
  • 1760 – François Buzot, French lawyer and politician (d. 1794)
  • 1769 – François Séverin Marceau-Desgraviers, French general (d. 1796)
  • 1807 – Wilford Woodruff, American religious leader, 4th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (d. 1898)
  • 1810 – Frédéric Chopin, Polish pianist and composer (d. 1849)
  • 1812 – Augustus Pugin, English architect, co-designed the Palace of Westminster (d. 1852)
  • 1817 – Giovanni Duprè, Italian sculptor and educator (d. 1882)
  • 1821 – Joseph Hubert Reinkens, German bishop and academic (d. 1896)
  • 1835 – Philip Fysh, English-Australian politician, 12th Premier of Tasmania (d. 1919)
  • 1837 – William Dean Howells, American novelist, playwright, and critic (d. 1920)
  • 1842 – Nikolaos Gyzis, Greek painter and academic (d. 1901)
  • 1848 – Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Irish-American sculptor and academic (d. 1907)
  • 1852 – Théophile Delcassé, French politician, French Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1923)
  • 1863 – Alexander Golovin, Russian painter and set designer (d. 1930)
  • 1870 – E. M. Antoniadi, Greek-French astronomer and academic (d. 1944)
  • 1876 – Henri de Baillet-Latour, Belgian businessman (d. 1942)
  • 1880 – Lytton Strachey, British writer and critic (d. 1932)
  • 1886 – Oskar Kokoschka, Austrian-Swiss painter, poet, and playwright (d. 1980)
  • 1888 – Ewart Astill, English cricketer and billiards player (d. 1948)
  • 1888 – Fanny Walden, English cricketer and umpire, international footballer, outside right (d. 1949)
  • 1889 – Tetsuro Watsuji, Japanese historian and philosopher (d. 1960)
  • 1890 – Theresa Bernstein, Polish-American painter and author (d. 2002)
  • 1891 – Ralph Hitz, Austrian-American hotelier (d. 1940)
  • 1892 – Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, Japanese author and educator (d. 1927)
  • 1893 – Mercedes de Acosta, American author, poet, and playwright (d. 1968)
  • 1896 – Dimitri Mitropoulos, Greek pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1960)
  • 1896 – Moriz Seeler, German playwright and producer (d. 1942)
  • 1899 – Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski, German SS officer (d. 1972)
  • 1904 – Paul Hartman, American actor, singer, and dancer (d. 1973)
  • 1904 – Glenn Miller, American trombonist, composer, and bandleader (d. 1944)
  • 1905 – Doris Hare, Welsh-English actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2000)
  • 1906 – Phạm Văn Đồng, Vietnamese lieutenant and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Vietnam (d. 2000)
  • 1909 – Eugene Esmonde, English lieutenant and pilot (d. 1942)
  • 1909 – Winston Sharples, American pianist and composer (d. 1978)
  • 1910 – Archer John Porter Martin, English chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2002)
  • 1910 – David Niven, English soldier and actor (d. 1983)
  • 1912 – Gerald Emmett Carter, Canadian cardinal (d. 2003)
  • 1912 – Boris Chertok, Polish-Russian engineer and academic (d. 2011)
  • 1914 – Harry Caray, American sportscaster (d. 1998)
  • 1914 – Ralph Ellison, American novelist and literary critic (d. 1994)
  • 1917 – Robert Lowell, American poet (d. 1977)
  • 1918 – João Goulart, Brazilian lawyer and politician, 24th President of Brazil (d. 1976)
  • 1918 – Gladys Spellman, American educator and politician (d. 1988)
  • 1920 – Max Bentley, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1984)
  • 1921 – Cameron Argetsinger, American race car driver and lawyer (d. 2008)
  • 1921 – Terence Cooke, American cardinal (d. 1983)
  • 1921 – Richard Wilbur, American poet, translator, and essayist (d. 2017)
  • 1922 – William Gaines, American publisher (d. 1992)
  • 1922 – Yitzhak Rabin, Israeli general and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Israel, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1995)
  • 1924 – Arnold Drake, American author and screenwriter (d. 2007)
  • 1924 – Deke Slayton, American soldier, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1993)
  • 1926 – Robert Clary, French-American actor and author
  • 1926 – Cesare Danova, Italian-American actor (d. 1992)
  • 1926 – Pete Rozelle, American businessman and commissioner of the National Football League (d. 1996)
  • 1926 – Allan Stanley, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2013)
  • 1927 – George O. Abell, American astronomer, professor at UCLA, science popularizer, and skeptic (d. 1983)
  • 1927 – Harry Belafonte, American singer-songwriter and actor
  • 1927 – Robert Bork, American lawyer and scholar, United States Attorney General (d. 2012)
  • 1928 – Jacques Rivette, French director, screenwriter, and critic (d. 2016)
  • 1929 – Georgi Markov, Bulgarian journalist and author (d. 1978)
  • 1930 – Gastone Nencini, Italian cyclist (d. 1980)
  • 1934 – Jean-Michel Folon, Belgian painter and sculptor (d. 2005)
  • 1934 – Joan Hackett, American actress (d. 1983)
  • 1935 – Robert Conrad, American actor, radio host and stuntman (d. 2020)
  • 1936 – Jean-Edern Hallier, French author (d. 1997)
  • 1939 – Leo Brouwer, Cuban guitarist, composer, and conductor
  • 1939 – Mustansar Hussain Tarar, Pakistani author
  • 1940 – Robin Gray, Australian politician, 37th Premier of Tasmania
  • 1940 – Robert Grossman, American painter, sculptor, and author (d. 2018)
  • 1941 – Robert Hass, American poet
  • 1942 – Richard Myers, American general
  • 1943 – Gil Amelio, American businessman
  • 1943 – José Ángel Iribar, Spanish footballer and manager
  • 1943 – Rashid Sunyaev, Russian-German astronomer and physicist
  • 1944 – Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, Indian politician, 7th Chief Minister of West Bengal
  • 1944 – John Breaux, American lawyer and politician
  • 1944 – Roger Daltrey, English singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
  • 1944 – Mike d’Abo, English singer
  • 1945 – Dirk Benedict, American actor and director
  • 1946 – Gerry Boulet, Canadian singer-songwriter (d. 1990)
  • 1946 – Jim Crace, English author and academic
  • 1947 – Alan Thicke, Canadian-American actor and composer (d. 2016)
  • 1951 – Sergei Kourdakov, Russian-American KGB agent (d. 1973)
  • 1952 – Dave Barr, Canadian golfer
  • 1952 – Nevada Barr, American actress and author
  • 1952 – Leigh Matthews, Australian footballer, coach, and sportscaster
  • 1952 – Jerri Nielsen, American physician and explorer (d. 2009)
  • 1952 – Martin O’Neill, Northern Irish footballer and manager
  • 1953 – Sinan Çetin, Turkish actor, director, and producer
  • 1953 – Carlos Queiroz, Portuguese footballer and manager
  • 1954 – Catherine Bach, American actress
  • 1954 – Ron Howard, American actor, director, and producer
  • 1954 – Rod Reddy, Australian rugby league player and coach
  • 1956 – Tim Daly, American actor, director, and producer
  • 1956 – Dalia Grybauskaitė, Lithuanian politician, 6th President of Lithuania
  • 1958 – Nik Kershaw, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1958 – Wayne B. Phillips, Australian cricketer and coach
  • 1959 – Nick Griffin, English politician
  • 1961 – Mike Rozier, American football player
  • 1962 – Russell Coutts, New Zealand sailor
  • 1962 – Mark Gardner, American baseball player
  • 1962 – Bill Leen, American bass player and producer
  • 1963 – Bryan Batt, American actor and singer
  • 1963 – Maurice Benard, American actor
  • 1963 – Ron Francis, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
  • 1964 – Clinton Gregory, American singer-songwriter and fiddler
  • 1964 – Paul Le Guen, French footballer and manager
  • 1965 – Booker T, American wrestler and sportscaster
  • 1965 – Stewart Elliott, Canadian jockey
  • 1966 – Paul Hollywood, English chef
  • 1966 – Zack Snyder, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1967 – George Eads, American actor
  • 1967 – Aron Winter, Suriname-Dutch footballer and manager
  • 1969 – Javier Bardem, Spanish actor and producer
  • 1970 – Jason V Brock, American author, filmmaker, artist, scholar and musician
  • 1971 – Thomas Adès, English pianist, composer, and conductor
  • 1971 – Ivan Cleary, Australian rugby league player and coach
  • 1973 – Jack Davenport, English actor
  • 1973 – Anton Gunn, American academic and politician
  • 1973 – Chris Webber, American basketball player and sportscaster
  • 1974 – Mark-Paul Gosselaar, American actor
  • 1976 – Travis Kvapil, American race car driver
  • 1977 – Rens Blom, Dutch pole vaulter
  • 1977 – Esther Cañadas, Spanish actress and model
  • 1978 – Jensen Ackles, American actor and director
  • 1979 – Mikkel Kessler, Danish boxer
  • 1979 – Bruno Langlois, Canadian cyclist
  • 1980 – Shahid Afridi, Pakistani cricketer
  • 1980 – Abhay K, Indian poet and diplomat
  • 1980 – Sercan Güvenışık, German-Turkish footballer
  • 1980 – Djimi Traoré, Malian footballer
  • 1981 – Will Power, Australian race car driver
  • 1982 – Juan Manuel Ortiz, Spanish footballer
  • 1983 – Daniel Carvalho, Brazilian footballer
  • 1983 – Lupita Nyong’o, Mexican-Kenyan actress
  • 1983 – Davey Richards, American wrestler
  • 1983 – Anthony Tupou, Australian rugby league player
  • 1984 – Naima Mora, American model and actress
  • 1984 – Alexander Steen, Canadian-Swedish ice hockey player
  • 1985 – Andreas Ottl, German footballer
  • 1986 – Big E, American wrestler
  • 1987 – Kesha, American singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1988 – Yang Hyeon-jong, South Korean baseball player
  • 1989 – Tenille Tayla, Australian professional wrestler
  • 1989 – Carlos Vela, Mexican footballer
  • 1992 – Tom Walsh, New Zealand athlete
  • 1993 – Nathan Brown, Australian rugby league player
  • 1993 – Michael Conforto, American baseball player
  • 1993 – Kurt Mann, Australian rugby league player
  • 1993 – Josh McEachran, English footballer
  • 1994 – Justin Bieber, Canadian singer-songwriter
  • 1994 – Tyreek Hill, American football player
  • 1996 – Lizzie Arnot, Scottish footballer
  • 1999 – Brogan Hay, Scottish footballer

Deaths on March 1

  • 492 – Felix III, pope of the Catholic Church
  • 589 – David, Welsh bishop and saint
  • 965 – Leo VIII, pope of the Catholic Church
  • 977 – Rudesind, Galician bishop (b. 907)
  • 991 – En’yū, Japanese emperor (b. 959)
  • 1058 – Ermesinde of Carcassonne, countess and regent of Barcelona (b. 972)
  • 1131 – Stephen II, king of Hungary and Croatia (b. 1101)
  • 1233 – Thomas, count of Savoy (b. 1178)
  • 1244 – Gruffydd ap Llywelyn Fawr, Welsh noble, son of Llywelyn the Great (b. 1200)
  • 1320 – Ayurbarwada Buyantu Khan, Chinese emperor (b. 1286)
  • 1383 – Amadeus VI, count of Savoy (b. 1334)
  • 1510 – Francisco de Almeida, Portuguese soldier and explorer (b. 1450)
  • 1546 – George Wishart, Scottish minister and martyr (b. 1513)
  • 1620 – Thomas Campion, English poet and composer (b. 1567)
  • 1633 – George Herbert, English poet and orator (b. 1593)
  • 1643 – Girolamo Frescobaldi, Italian pianist and composer (b. 1583)
  • 1661 – Richard Zouch, English judge and politician (b. 1590)
  • 1666 – Ecaterina Cercheza, princess consort of Moldavia (b. 1620)
  • 1697 – Francesco Redi, Italian physician and poet (b. 1626)
  • 1734 – Roger North, English lawyer and author (b. 1653)
  • 1768 – Hermann Samuel Reimarus, German philosopher and author (b. 1694)
  • 1773 – Luigi Vanvitelli, Italian architect, designed the Palace of Caserta (b. 1700)
  • 1792 – Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1747)
  • 1792 – Angelo Emo, Venetian admiral and statesman (b. 1731)1841 – Claude Victor-Perrin, Duc de Belluno, French general and politician, French Minister of Defence (b. 1764)
  • 1862 – Peter Barlow, English mathematician and physicist (b. 1776)
  • 1875 – Tristan Corbière, French poet and educator (b. 1845)
  • 1882 – Theodor Kullak, German pianist, composer, and educator (b. 1818)
  • 1884 – Isaac Todhunter, English mathematician and academic (b. 1820)
  • 1906 – José María de Pereda, Spanish author (b. 1833)
  • 1911 – Jacobus Henricus van ‘t Hoff, Dutch-German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1852)
  • 1914 – Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 4th Earl of Minto, English soldier and politician, 8th Governor General of Canada (b. 1845)
  • 1920 – John H. Bankhead, American lawyer and politician (b. 1842)
  • 1922 – Pichichi, Spanish footballer (b. 1892)
  • 1932 – Frank Teschemacher, American Jazz musician (b. 1906)
  • 1936 – Mikhail Kuzmin, Russian author and poet (b. 1871)
  • 1938 – Gabriele D’Annunzio, Italian journalist and politician (b. 1863)
  • 1940 – Anton Hansen Tammsaare, Estonian author (b. 1878)
  • 1942 – George S. Rentz, American commander (b. 1882)
  • 1943 – Alexandre Yersin, Swiss-French physician and bacteriologist (b. 1863)
  • 1952 – Mariano Azuela, Mexican physician and author (b. 1873)
  • 1966 – Fritz Houtermans, Polish-German physicist and academic (b. 1903)
  • 1974 – Bobby Timmons, American pianist and composer (b. 1935)
  • 1976 – Jean Martinon, French conductor and composer (b. 1910)
  • 1978 – Paul Scott, English author, poet, and playwright (b. 1920)
  • 1979 – Mustafa Barzani, Iraqi-Kurdistan politician (b. 1903)
  • 1980 – Wilhelmina Cooper, Dutch-American model and businesswoman, founded Wilhelmina Models (b. 1940)
  • 1980 – Dixie Dean, English footballer (b. 1907)
  • 1983 – Arthur Koestler, Hungarian-English journalist and author (b. 1905)
  • 1984 – Jackie Coogan, American actor (b. 1914)
  • 1988 – Joe Besser, American comedian and actor (b. 1907)
  • 1989 – Vasantdada Patil, Indian politician, 5th Chief Minister of Maharashtra (b. 1917)
  • 1991 – Edwin H. Land, American scientist and businessman, co-founded the Polaroid Corporation (b. 1909)
  • 1995 – César Rodríguez Álvarez, Spanish footballer and manager (b. 1920)
  • 1995 – Georges J. F. Köhler, German biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1946)
  • 1998 – Archie Goodwin, American author and illustrator (b. 1937)
  • 2004 – Mian Ghulam Jilani, Pakistani general (b. 1914)
  • 2006 – Peter Osgood, English footballer (b. 1947)
  • 2006 – Jack Wild, English actor (b.1952)
  • 2010 – Kristian Digby, English television host and director (b. 1977)
  • 2012 – Andrew Breitbart, American journalist and publisher (b. 1969)
  • 2012 – Germano Mosconi, Italian journalist (b. 1932)
  • 2013 – Bonnie Franklin, American actress, dancer, and singer (b. 1944)
  • 2014 – Alain Resnais, French director, cinematographer, and screenwriter (b. 1922)
  • 2015 – Minnie Miñoso, Cuban-American baseball player and coach (b. 1922)
  • 2018 – María Rubio, Mexican television, film and stage actress (b. 1934)
  • 2019 – Mike Willesee, Australian journalist and producer (b. 1942)

Holidays and observances on March 1

  • Beer Day, marked the end of beer prohibition in 1989 (Iceland)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Agnes Tsao Kou Ying (one of the Martyr Saints of China)
    • Albin
    • David
    • Eudokia of Heliopolis
    • Pope Felix III
    • Leoluca
    • Luperculus
    • Monan
    • Rudesind
    • Suitbert
    • March 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Commemoration of Mustafa Barzani’s Death (Iraqi Kurdistan)
  • Earliest day on which Casimir Pulaski Day can fall, while March 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday in March. (Illinois)
  • Earliest day on which Children’s Day can fall, while March 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday in March. (New Zealand)
  • Earliest day on which Grandmother’s Day can fall, while March 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday in March. (France)
  • Earliest day on which Laetare Sunday can fall, while April 4 is the latest; celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent. (Western Christianity), and its related observances:
    • Carnaval de la Laetare (Stavelot)
    • Mothering Sunday (United Kingdom)
  • Heroes’ Day (Paraguay)
  • Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina from Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1992.
  • National “Cursed Soldiers” Remembrance Day (Poland)
  • National Pig Day (United States)
  • Remembrance Day (Marshall Islands)
  • Saint David’s Day or Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Sant (Wales and Welsh communities)
  • Samiljeol (South Korea)
  • Self-injury Awareness Day
  • Southeastern Europe celebration of the beginning of spring:
    • Baba Marta Day (Bulgaria)
    • Mărțișor (Romania and Moldova)
  • The final day (fourth or fifth) of Ayyám-i-Há (Bahá’í Faith)
  • World Civil Defence Day
  • Yap Day (Yap State)
  • Zero Discrimination Day

March 1 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

February 28 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 202 BC – Liu Bang is enthroned as the Emperor of China, beginning four centuries of rule by the Han dynasty.
  • 870 – The Fourth Council of Constantinople closes.
  • 1246 – The siege of Jaén ends in the context of the Spanish Reconquista resulting in the Castilian takeover of the city from the Taifa of Jaen.
  • 1525 – Aztec king Cuauhtémoc is executed on the order of conquistador Hernán Cortés.
  • 1638 – The Scottish National Covenant is signed in Edinburgh.
  • 1700 – Today is followed by March 1 in Sweden, thus creating the Swedish calendar.
  • 1710 – Battle of Helsingborg: 14,000 Danish invaders under Jørgen Rantzau are decisively defeated by an equally sized Swedish force under Magnus Stenbock. This is the last time Swedish and Danish troops meet on Swedish soil.
  • 1728 – Peshwa Bajirao I of the Maratha Empire defeats Asaf Jah I in the Battle of Palkhed.
  • 1827 – The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad is incorporated, becoming the first railroad in America offering commercial transportation of both people and freight.
  • 1838 – Robert Nelson, leader of the Patriotes, proclaims the independence of Lower Canada (today Quebec).
  • 1844 – A gun on USS Princeton explodes while the boat is on a Potomac River cruise, killing six people, including two United States Cabinet members.
  • 1847 – The Battle of the Sacramento River during the Mexican–American War is a decisive victory for the United States leading to the capture of Chihuahua.
  • 1849 – Regular steamship service from the east to the west coast of the United States begins with the arrival of the SS California in San Francisco Bay, four months 22 days after leaving New York Harbor.
  • 1867 – Seventy years of Holy See–United States relations are ended by a Congressional ban on federal funding of diplomatic envoys to the Vatican and are not restored until January 10, 1984.
  • 1870 – The Bulgarian Exarchate is established by decree of Sultan Abdülaziz of the Ottoman Empire.
  • 1874 – One of the longest cases ever heard in an English court ends when the defendant is convicted of perjury for attempting to assume the identity of the heir to the Tichborne baronetcy.
  • 1893 – The USS Indiana, the lead ship of her class and the first battleship in the United States Navy comparable to foreign battleships of the time, is launched.
  • 1897 – Queen Ranavalona III, the last monarch of Madagascar, is deposed by a French military force.
  • 1900 – The Second Boer War: The 118-day “Siege of Ladysmith” is lifted.
  • 1904 – S.L. Benfica is founded in Portugal.
  • 1922 – The United Kingdom ends its protectorate over Egypt through a Unilateral Declaration of Independence.
  • 1925 – The Charlevoix-Kamouraska earthquake strikes northeastern North America.
  • 1933 – Gleichschaltung: The Reichstag Fire Decree is passed in Germany a day after the Reichstag fire.
  • 1935 – DuPont scientist Wallace Carothers invents nylon.
  • 1939 – The erroneous word “dord” is discovered in the Webster’s New International Dictionary, Second Edition, prompting an investigation.
  • 1940 – Basketball is televised for the first time (Fordham University vs. the University of Pittsburgh in Madison Square Garden).
  • 1942 – The heavy cruiser USS Houston is sunk in the Battle of Sunda Strait with 693 crew members killed, along with HMAS Perth which lost 375 men.
  • 1947 – February 28 Incident: In Taiwan, civil disorder is put down with the loss of an estimated 30,000 civilians.
  • 1948 – Christiansborg Cross-Roads shooting in the Gold Coast, when a British police officer opens fire on a march of ex-servicemen, killing three of them and sparking major riots and looting in Accra.
  • 1953 – James Watson and Francis Crick announce to friends that they have determined the chemical structure of DNA; the formal announcement takes place on April 25 following publication in April’s Nature (pub. April 2).
  • 1954 – The first color television sets using the NTSC standard are offered for sale to the general public.
  • 1958 – A school bus in Floyd County, Kentucky hits a wrecker truck and plunges down an embankment into the rain-swollen Levisa Fork river. The driver and 26 children die in what remains one of the worst school bus accidents in U.S. history.
  • 1959 – Discoverer 1, an American spy satellite that is the first object intended to achieve a polar orbit, is launched but fails to achieve orbit.
  • 1966 – A NASA T-38 Talon crashes into the McDonnell Aircraft factory while attempting a poor-visibility landing at Lambert Field, St. Louis, killing astronauts Elliot See and Charles Bassett.
  • 1972 – China–United States relations: The United States and China sign the Shanghai Communiqué.
  • 1975 – In London, an underground train fails to stop at Moorgate terminus station and crashes into the end of the tunnel, killing 43 people.
  • 1980 – Andalusia approves its statute of autonomy through a referendum.
  • 1983 – The final episode of M*A*S*H airs, with almost 106 million viewers. It still holds the record for the highest viewership of a season finale.
  • 1985 – The Provisional Irish Republican Army carries out a mortar attack on the Royal Ulster Constabulary police station at Newry, killing nine officers in the highest loss of life for the RUC on a single day.
  • 1986 – Olof Palme, 26th Prime Minister of Sweden, is assassinated in Stockholm.
  • 1991 – The first Gulf War ends.
  • 1993 – The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents raid the Branch Davidian church in Waco, Texas with a warrant to arrest the group’s leader David Koresh. Four ATF agents and six Davidians die in the initial raid, starting a 51-day standoff.
  • 1995 – Former Australian Liberal party leader John Hewson resigns from the Australian parliament almost two years after losing the 1993 Australian federal election.
  • 1997 – An earthquake in northern Iran is responsible for about 3,000 deaths.
  • 1997 – GRB 970228, a highly luminous flash of gamma rays, strikes the Earth for 80 seconds, providing early evidence that gamma-ray bursts occur well beyond the Milky Way.
  • 1998 – First flight of RQ-4 Global Hawk, the first unmanned aerial vehicle certified to file its own flight plans and fly regularly in U.S. civilian airspace.
  • 1998 – Kosovo War: Serbian police begin the offensive against the Kosovo Liberation Army in Kosovo.
  • 2002 – During the religious violence in Gujarat, the 97 people killed in the Naroda Patiya massacre and 69 in Gulbarg Society massacre.
  • 2004 – Over one million Taiwanese participate in the 228 Hand-in-Hand rally form a 500-kilometre (310 mi) long human chain to commemorate the February 28 Incident in 1947.
  • 2005 – A suicide bombing at a police recruiting centre in Al Hillah, Iraq kills 127.
  • 2013 – Pope Benedict XVI resigns as the pope of the Catholic Church, becoming the first pope to do so since Pope Gregory XII, in 1415.

Births on February 28

  • 1119 – Emperor Xizong of Jin (d. 1150)
  • 1155 – Henry the Young King, son and heir of Henry II of England (d. 1183)
  • 1261 – Margaret of Scotland, Queen of Norway (d. 1283)
  • 1518 – Francis III, Duke of Brittany, Duke of Brittany (d. 1536)
  • 1533 – Michel de Montaigne, French philosopher and author (d. 1592)
  • 1535 – Cornelius Gemma, Dutch astronomer and astrologer (d. 1578)
  • 1552 – Jost Bürgi, Swiss mathematician and clockmaker (d. 1632)
  • 1612 – John Pearson, English bishop, theologian, and scholar (d. 1686)
  • 1627 – Aubrey de Vere, 20th Earl of Oxford, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Essex (d. 1703)
  • 1675 – Guillaume Delisle, French cartographer (d. 1726)
  • 1683 – René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur, French entomologist and academic (d. 1757)
  • 1704 – Louis Godin, French astronomer and academic (d. 1760)
  • 1712 – Louis-Joseph de Montcalm, French general (d. 1759)
  • 1724 – George Townshend, 1st Marquess Townshend, English field marshal and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (d. 1807)
  • 1792 – Karl Ernst von Baer, German biologist, meteorologist, and geographer (d. 1876)
  • 1812 – Berthold Auerbach, German poet and author (d. 1882)
  • 1820 – John Tenniel, English illustrator (d. 1914)
  • 1833 – Alfred von Schlieffen, German field marshal (d. 1913)
  • 1840 – Henri Duveyrier, French explorer (d. 1892)
  • 1848 – Arthur Giry, French historian and academic (d. 1899)
  • 1851 – Samuel W. McCall, American journalist and politician, 47th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1923)
  • 1858 – Tore Svennberg, Swedish actor and director (d. 1941)
  • 1865 – Wilfred Grenfell, English physician and missionary (d. 1940)
  • 1866 – Vyacheslav Ivanov, Russian poet and playwright (d. 1949)
  • 1873 – William McMaster Murdoch, Scottish sailor (d. 1912)
  • 1878 – Pierre Fatou, French mathematician and astronomer (d. 1929)
  • 1882 – Geraldine Farrar, American soprano and actress (d. 1967)
  • 1882 – José Vasconcelos, Mexican philosopher, lawyer, and politician, Mexican Secretary of Public Education (d. 1959)
  • 1883 – Seán Mac Diarmada, Irish rebel leader (d. 1916)
  • 1884 – Ants Piip, Estonian lawyer and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Estonia (d. 1942)
  • 1887 – William Zorach, Lithuanian-American sculptor and painter (d. 1966)
  • 1894 – Ben Hecht, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1964)
  • 1895 – Marcel Pagnol, French author, playwright and director (d. 1974)
  • 1896 – Philip Showalter Hench, American physician and endocrinologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1965)
  • 1898 – Zeki Rıza Sporel, Turkish footballer (d. 1969)
  • 1900 – Wolf Hirth, German pilot and engineer, co-founded Schempp-Hirth (d. 1959)
  • 1901 – Linus Pauling, American chemist and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1994)
  • 1903 – Vincente Minnelli, American director and screenwriter (d. 1986)
  • 1906 – Bugsy Siegel, American gangster (d. 1947)
  • 1907 – Milton Caniff, American cartoonist (d. 1988)
  • 1908 – Billie Bird, American actress (d. 2002)
  • 1909 – Stephen Spender, English author and poet (d. 1995)
  • 1911 – Otakar Vávra, Czech director and screenwriter (d. 2011)
  • 1915 – Ketti Frings, American author, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 1981)
  • 1915 – Peter Medawar, Brazilian-English biologist and immunologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1987)
  • 1915 – Zero Mostel, American actor and comedian (d. 1977)
  • 1916 – Cesar Climaco, Filipino lawyer and politician, 10th Mayor of Zamboanga City (d. 1984)
  • 1917 – Ernesto Alonso, Mexican actor, director, and producer (d. 2007)
  • 1919 – Alfred Marshall, American businessman, founded Marshalls (d. 2013)
  • 1919 – Brian Urquhart, English soldier and diplomat, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations
  • 1920 – Jadwiga Piłsudska, Polish soldier, pilot, and architect (d. 2014)
  • 1921 – Pierre Clostermann, French pilot, engineer, and author (d. 2006)
  • 1922 – Yuri Lotman, Russian-Estonian historian and scholar (d. 1993)
  • 1923 – Charles Durning, American soldier and actor (d. 2012)
  • 1924 – Uno Prii, Estonian-Canadian architect (d. 2000)
  • 1924 – Robert A. Roe, American soldier and politician (d. 2014)
  • 1925 – Harry H. Corbett, Burmese-English actor (d. 1982)
  • 1926 – Svetlana Alliluyeva, Russian-American author and educator (d. 2011)
  • 1928 – Stanley Baker, Welsh actor and producer (d. 1976)
  • 1928 – Tom Aldredge, American actor (d. 2011)
  • 1928 – Sylvia del Villard, actress, dancer, choreographer and Afro-Puerto Rican activist (d. 1990)
  • 1929 – Hayden Fry, American football player and coach (d. 2019)
  • 1929 – Frank Gehry, Canadian-American architect, designed 8 Spruce Street and Walt Disney Concert Hall
  • 1929 – John Montague, American-Irish poet and academic (d. 2016)
  • 1929 – Rangaswamy Srinivasan, Indian-American physical chemist and inventor
  • 1930 – Leon Cooper, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1931 – Iajuddin Ahmed, Bangladeshi academic and politician, 14th President of Bangladesh (d. 2012)
  • 1931 – Peter Alliss, English golfer and sportscaster
  • 1931 – Gavin MacLeod, American actor
  • 1931 – Len Newcombe, Welsh footballer, outside forward and scout (d. 1996)
  • 1931 – Dean Smith, American basketball player and coach (d. 2015)
  • 1932 – Don Francks, Canadian actor, singer, and jazz musician (d. 2016)
  • 1933 – Rein Taagepera, Estonian political scientist and politician
  • 1934 – Willie Bobo, American Latin Jazz/Afro-Cuban jazz percussionist (d. 1983)
  • 1937 – Jeff Farrell, American swimmer
  • 1938 – Foge Fazio, American football player and coach (d. 2009)
  • 1939 – John Fahey, American guitarist (d. 2001)
  • 1939 – Chögyam Trungpa, Tibetan philosopher and scholar (d. 1987)
  • 1939 – Daniel C. Tsui, Chinese-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1939 – Tommy Tune, American actor, singer, dancer, and director
  • 1940 – Aldo Andretti, Italian-American race car driver
  • 1940 – Mario Andretti, Italian-American race car driver
  • 1940 – Joe South, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer (d. 2012)
  • 1942 – Brian Jones, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer (d. 1969)
  • 1942 – Dino Zoff, Italian footballer and manager
  • 1943 – Barbara Acklin, American singer-songwriter (d. 1998)
  • 1943 – Hans Dijkstal, Egyptian-Dutch educator and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 2010)
  • 1943 – Donnie Iris, American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1944 – Kelly Bishop, American actress and dancer
  • 1944 – Edward Greenspan, Canadian lawyer and author (d. 2014)
  • 1944 – Sepp Maier, German footballer and manager
  • 1944 – Storm Thorgerson, English graphic designer (d. 2013)
  • 1945 – Mimsy Farmer, American-French actress and sculptor
  • 1945 – Bubba Smith, American football player and actor (d. 2011)
  • 1945 – Linda Preiss Rothschild, American mathematician and academic
  • 1946 – Philip Bailhache, English lawyer and politician
  • 1946 – Robin Cook, Scottish educator and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (d. 2005)
  • 1946 – Syreeta Wright, African-American singer songwriter (d. 2004)
  • 1947 – Stephanie Beacham, English actress
  • 1948 – Steven Chu, American physicist and politician, 12th United States Secretary of Energy, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1948 – Mike Figgis, English director, screenwriter, and composer
  • 1948 – Bernadette Peters, American actress, singer, and author
  • 1948 – Mercedes Ruehl, American actress
  • 1948 – Alfred Sant, Maltese politician, 11th Prime Minister of Malta
  • 1951 – Bill Cratty, American dancer and choreographer (d. 1998)
  • 1951 – Debora Green, American physician convicted of murder
  • 1953 – Ingo Hoffmann, Brazilian race car driver
  • 1953 – Paul Krugman, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1953 – Ricky Steamboat, American wrestler, referee, and trainer
  • 1954 – Brian Billick, American football player, coach, and sportscaster
  • 1955 – Adrian Dantley, American basketball player and coach
  • 1955 – Gilbert Gottfried, American comedian, actor, and singer
  • 1956 – Terry Leahy, English businessman
  • 1956 – Guy Maddin, Canadian director, screenwriter, and cinematographer
  • 1957 – Paul Delph, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer (d. 1996)
  • 1957 – Ainsley Harriott, English chef and author
  • 1957 – Ian Smith, New Zealand cricketer and sportscaster
  • 1957 – John Turturro, American actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1957 – Cindy Wilson, American singer-songwriter
  • 1958 – Manuel Torres Félix, Mexican criminal and narcotics trafficker (d. 2012)
  • 1958 – Natalya Estemirova, Russian journalist and activist (d. 2009)
  • 1958 – Jeanne Mas, Spanish-French singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1958 – David R. Ross, Scottish historian and author (d. 2010)
  • 1959 – Jack Abramoff, American businessman and lobbyist
  • 1959 – Megan McDonald, American librarian and author
  • 1961 – Rae Dawn Chong, Canadian-American actress
  • 1961 – Mark Latham, Australian politician
  • 1961 – Barry McGuigan, Irish-British boxer
  • 1962 – Gary Belcher, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
  • 1963 – Claudio Chiappucci, Italian cyclist
  • 1964 – Djamolidine Abdoujaparov, Uzbekistan sprinter and cyclist
  • 1965 – Colum McCann, Irish-American author and academic
  • 1965 – Norman Smiley, English-American wrestler and trainer
  • 1966 – Vincent Askew, American basketball player and coach
  • 1966 – Paulo Futre, Portuguese footballer
  • 1966 – Archbishop Jovan VI of Ohrid
  • 1967 – Colin Cooper, English footballer and manager
  • 1967 – Martin Tielli, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1969 – Sean Farrel, English footballer, forward
  • 1969 – Butch Leitzinger, American race car driver
  • 1969 – Robert Sean Leonard, American actor
  • 1969 – Patrick Monahan, American singer-songwriter and actor
  • 1970 – Daniel Handler, American journalist, author, and accordion player
  • 1970 – Noureddine Morceli, Algerian runner
  • 1971 – Junya Nakano, Japanese pianist and composer
  • 1971 – Peter Stebbings, Canadian actor and director
  • 1972 – Rory Cochrane, American actor
  • 1972 – Ville Haapasalo, Finnish actor and screenwriter
  • 1973 – Eric Lindros, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1973 – Scott McLeod, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1973 – Nicolas Minassian, French race car driver
  • 1973 – Masato Tanaka, Japanese wrestler
  • 1974 – Lee Carsley, English-Irish footballer and manager
  • 1974 – Alexander Zickler, German footballer and manager
  • 1975 – Mike Rucker, American football player
  • 1976 – Ali Larter, American actress
  • 1977 – Jason Aldean, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1977 – Lance Hoyt, American football player and wrestler
  • 1978 – Jeanne Cherhal, French singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1978 – Benjamin Raich, Austrian skier
  • 1978 – Jamaal Tinsley, American basketball player
  • 1978 – Mariano Zabaleta, Argentinian tennis player
  • 1979 – Sébastien Bourdais, French race car driver
  • 1979 – Ivo Karlović, Croatian tennis player
  • 1979 – Primož Peterka, Slovenian ski jumper
  • 1980 – Pascal Bosschaart, Dutch footballer
  • 1980 – Lucian Bute, Romanian-Canadian boxer
  • 1980 – Christian Poulsen, Danish footballer
  • 1980 – Tayshaun Prince, American basketball player
  • 1981 – Brian Bannister, American baseball player and scout
  • 1982 – Natalia Vodianova, Russian-French model and actress
  • 1984 – Noureen DeWulf, American actress
  • 1984 – Karolína Kurková, Czech model and actress
  • 1985 – Tim Bresnan, English cricketer
  • 1985 – Jelena Janković, Serbian tennis player
  • 1985 – Diego Ribas da Cunha, Brazilian footballer
  • 1986 – Travis Stevens, American judoka
  • 1987 – Antonio Candreva, Italian footballer
  • 1988 – Aroldis Chapman, Cuban baseball player
  • 1988 – Markéta Irglová, Czech singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress
  • 1989 – Carlos Dunlap, American football player
  • 1989 – Charles Jenkins, American basketball player
  • 1989 – Kevin Proctor, New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1989 – Angelababy, Chinese actress
  • 1990 – Takayasu Akira, Japanese sumo wrestler
  • 1994 – Jake Bugg, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1994 – Arkadiusz Milik, Polish footballer
  • 1999 – Luka Dončić, Slovenian basketball player

Deaths on February 28

  • 628 – Khosrow II, Shah of Iran – Sasanian Empire (b. c. 570)
  • 911 – Abu Abdallah al-Shi’i, Muslim Shia imam
  • 1105 – Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse (b. c. 1042)
  • 1261 – Henry III, Duke of Brabant (b. 1230)
  • 1326 – Leopold I, Duke of Austria (b. 1290)
  • 1453 – Isabella, Duchess of Lorraine (b. 1400)
  • 1510 – Juan de la Cosa, Spanish cartographer and explorer (b. 1450)
  • 1551 – Martin Bucer, German Protestant reformer (b. 1491)
  • 1572 – Aegidius Tschudi, Swiss historian and author (b. 1505)
  • 1621 – Cosimo II de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1590)
  • 1648 – Christian IV of Denmark (b. 1577)
  • 1786 – John Gwynn, English architect and engineer (b. 1713)
  • 1788 – Thomas Cushing, American lawyer and politician, 1st Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1725)
  • 1857 – André Dumont, Belgian geologist and academic (b. 1809)
  • 1869 – Alphonse de Lamartine, French author and poet (b. 1790)
  • 1879 – Hortense Allart, Italian-French author (b. 1801)
  • 1891 – George Hearst, American businessman and politician (b. 1820)
  • 1916 – Henry James, American novelist, short writer, and critic (b. 1843)
  • 1925 – Friedrich Ebert, German politician, 1st President of Germany (b. 1871)
  • 1929 – Clemens von Pirquet, Austrian physician and immunologist (b. 1874)
  • 1932 – Guillaume Bigourdan, French astronomer and academic (b. 1851)
  • 1935 – Chiquinha Gonzaga, Brazilian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1847)
  • 1936 – Charles Nicolle, French biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1866)
  • 1941 – Alfonso XIII of Spain (b. 1886)
  • 1942 – Karel Doorman, Dutch admiral (b. 1889)
  • 1959 – Maxwell Anderson, American journalist, author, and playwright (b. 1888)
  • 1963 – Rajendra Prasad, Indian lawyer and politician, 1st President of India (b. 1884)
  • 1966 – Charles Bassett, American captain, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1931)
  • 1966 – Elliot See, American commander, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1927)
  • 1967 – Henry Luce, American publisher, co-founded Time Magazine (b. 1898)
  • 1977 – Eddie “Rochester” Anderson, American actor and comedian (b. 1905)
  • 1978 – Zara Cully, American actress (b. 1892)
  • 1978 – Eric Frank Russell, English author (b. 1905)
  • 1983 – Winifred Atwell, Trinidadian pianist (b. 1910 or 1914)
  • 1987 – Stephen Tennant, English author (b. 1906)
  • 1991 – Wassily Hoeffding, Finnish-American statistician and theorist (b. 1914)
  • 1993 – Ishirō Honda, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1911)
  • 1993 – Ruby Keeler, Canadian-American actress and dancer (b. 1909)
  • 1998 – Dermot Morgan, Irish comedian and actor (b. 1952)
  • 1998 – Arkady Shevchenko, Ukrainian diplomat (b. 1930)
  • 2002 – Mary Stuart, American actress and singer (b. 1926)
  • 2002 – Helmut Zacharias, German violinist and composer (b. 1920)
  • 2003 – Chris Brasher, Guyanese-English runner and journalist, co-founded the London Marathon (b. 1928)
  • 2003 – Fidel Sánchez Hernández, Salvadorian general and politician, President of El Salvador (b. 1917)
  • 2004 – Daniel J. Boorstin, American historian and librarian (b. 1914)
  • 2004 – Carmen Laforet, Spanish author (b. 1921)
  • 2004 – Andres Nuiamäe, Estonian sergeant (b. 1982)
  • 2005 – Chris Curtis, English singer and drummer (b. 1941)
  • 2006 – Owen Chamberlain, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1920)
  • 2007 – Charles Forte, Baron Forte, Italian-English businessman, founded the Forte Group (b. 1908)
  • 2007 – Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. American historian and critic (b. 1917)
  • 2007 – Billy Thorpe, English-Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1946)
  • 2008 – Joseph M. Juran, Romanian-American engineer and businessman (b. 1904)
  • 2009 – Paul Harvey, American radio host (b. 1918)
  • 2011 – Annie Girardot, French actress (b. 1931)
  • 2011 – Jane Russell, American actress and singer (b. 1921)
  • 2012 – Frisner Augustin, Haitian drummer and composer (b. 1948)
  • 2012 – Jim Green, American-Canadian educator and politician (b. 1943)
  • 2012 – Hal Roach, Irish comedian and author (b. 1927)
  • 2013 – Donald A. Glaser, American physicist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1926)
  • 2013 – Neil McCorkell, English cricketer and coach (b. 1912)
  • 2014 – Hugo Brandt Corstius, Dutch linguist and author (b. 1935)
  • 2014 – Lee Lorch, American mathematician and activist (b. 1915)
  • 2015 – Alex Johnson, American baseball player (b. 1942)
  • 2015 – Yaşar Kemal, Turkish journalist and author (b. 1923)
  • 2016 – George Kennedy, American actor (b. 1925)
  • 2017 – Pierre Pascau, Mauritian-Canadian journalist (b. 1938)
  • 2019 – André Previn, German-American pianist, conductor, and composer. (b. 1929)
  • 2020 – Joe Coulombe, founder of Trader Joe’s (b. 1930)
  • 2020 – Freeman Dyson, British-born American physicist and mathematician (b. 1923)
  • 2020 – Sir Lenox Hewitt, Australian public servant (b. 1917)

Holidays and observances on February 28

  • Christian feast day:
    • Abercius (martyr)
    • Anna Julia Cooper and Elizabeth Evelyn Wright (Episcopal Church (USA))
    • Hilarius
    • Mar Abba
    • Oswald of Worcester
    • Romanus of Condat
    • Rufinus
    • February 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Earliest day on which Rare Disease Day can fall, while February 29 is the latest; observed on the last day of February (international)
  • The third day of Ayyám-i-Há (Bahá’í Faith) (Please note that this observance is only locked into this date the Gregorian calendar on this date if Bahá’í Naw-Rúz takes place on March 21, which it doesn’t in all years)
  • Día de Andalucía (Andalusia, Spain)
  • Kalevala Day, the day of Finnish culture. (Finland)
  • National Science Day (India)
  • Peace Memorial Day (Taiwan)
  • Teachers’ Day (Arab states)

February 28 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

February 9 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /

February 9 in History

  • 474 – Zeno is crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
  • 1003 – Boleslaus III is restored to authority with armed support from Bolesław I the Brave of Poland.
  • 1555 – Bishop of Gloucester John Hooper is burned at the stake.
  • 1621 – Gregory XV becomes Pope, the last Pope elected by acclamation.
  • 1654 – The Capture of Fort Rocher takes place during the Anglo-Spanish War.
  • 1775 – American Revolutionary War: The British Parliament declares Massachusetts in rebellion.
  • 1778 – Rhode Island becomes the fourth US state to ratify the Articles of Confederation.
  • 1788 – The Habsburg Empire joins the Russo-Turkish War in the Russian camp.
  • 1825 – After no candidate receives a majority of electoral votes in the US presidential election of 1824, the United States House of Representatives elects John Quincy Adams as President of the United States.
  • 1849 – The new Roman Republic is declared.
  • 1861 – American Civil War: Jefferson Davis is elected the Provisional President of the Confederate States of America by the Confederate convention at Montgomery, Alabama.
  • 1870 – US president Ulysses S. Grant signs a joint resolution of Congress establishing the U.S. Weather Bureau.
  • 1889 – US president Grover Cleveland signs a bill elevating the United States Department of Agriculture to a Cabinet-level agency.
  • 1895 – William G. Morgan creates a game called Mintonette, which soon comes to be referred to as volleyball.
  • 1900 – The Davis Cup competition is established.
  • 1904 – Russo-Japanese War: Battle of Port Arthur concludes.
  • 1907 – The Mud March is the first large procession organised by the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS).
  • 1913 – A group of meteors is visible across much of the eastern seaboard of North and South America, leading astronomers to conclude the source had been a small, short-lived natural satellite of the Earth.
  • 1920 – Under the terms of the Svalbard Treaty, international diplomacy recognizes Norwegian sovereignty over Arctic archipelago Svalbard, and designates it as demilitarized.
  • 1922 – Brazil becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty.
  • 1934 – The Balkan Entente is formed.
  • 1941 – World War II: The Cathedral of San Lorenzo in Genoa, Italy, is struck by a bomb which fails to detonate.
  • 1942 – World War II: Top United States military leaders hold their first formal meeting to discuss American military strategy in the war.
  • 1942 – Year-round Daylight saving time (aka War Time) is re-instated in the United States as a wartime measure to help conserve energy resources.
  • 1943 – World War II: Allied authorities declare Guadalcanal secure after Imperial Japan evacuates its remaining forces from the island, ending the Battle of Guadalcanal.
  • 1945 – World War II: Battle of the Atlantic: HMS Venturer sinks U-864 off the coast of Fedje, Norway, in a rare instance of submarine-to-submarine combat.
  • 1945 – World War II: A force of Allied aircraft unsuccessfully attacked a German destroyer in Førdefjorden, Norway.
  • 1950 – Second Red Scare: US Senator Joseph McCarthy accuses the United States Department of State of being filled with Communists.
  • 1951 – Korean War: The two-day Geochang massacre begins as a battalion of the 11th Division of the South Korean Army kills 719 unarmed citizens in Geochang, in the South Gyeongsang district of South Korea
  • 1959 – The R-7 Semyorka, the first intercontinental ballistic missile, becomes operational at Plesetsk, USSR.
  • 1964 – The Beatles make their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, performing before a “record-busting” audience of 73 million viewers across the USA.
  • 1965 – The United States Marine Corps sends a MIM-23 Hawk missile battalion to South Vietnam, the first American troops in-country without an official advisory or training mission.
  • 1971 – The 6.5–6.7 Mw  Sylmar earthquake hits the Greater Los Angeles Area with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killing 64 and injuring 2,000.
  • 1971 – Satchel Paige becomes the first Negro League player to be voted into the USA’s Baseball Hall of Fame.
  • 1971 – Apollo program: Apollo 14 returns to Earth after the third manned Moon landing.
  • 1975 – The Soyuz 17 Soviet spacecraft returns to Earth.
  • 1976 – Aeroflot Flight 3739, a Tupolev Tu-104, crashes during takeoff from Irkutsk Airport, killing 24.
  • 1978 – The Budd Company unveils its first SPV-2000 self-propelled railcar in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
  • 1986 – Halley’s Comet last appeared in the inner Solar System.
  • 1991 – Voters in Lithuania vote for independence.
  • 1996 – The Provisional Irish Republican Army declares the end to its 18-month ceasefire and explodes a large bomb in London’s Canary Wharf, killing two people.
  • 1996 – Copernicium is discovered, by Sigurd Hofmann, Victor Ninov et al.
  • 2016 – Two passenger trains collided in the German town of Bad Aibling in the state of Bavaria. Twelve people died, and 85 others were injured.
  • 2018 – Winter Olympics: Opening ceremony is performed in Pyeongchang County in South Korea.

Births on February 9

  • 1060 – Honorius II, pope of the Catholic Church (d. 1130)
  • 1274 – Louis of Toulouse, French bishop (d. 1297)
  • 1313 – Maria of Portugal, Queen of Castile, Portuguese infanta (d. 1357)
  • 1344 – Meinhard III, count of Tyrol (d. 1363)
  • 1441 – Ali-Shir Nava’i, Turkic poet, linguist, and painter (d. 1501)
  • 1533 – Shimazu Yoshihisa, Japanese daimyō (d. 1611)
  • 1579 – Johannes Meursius, Dutch classical scholar (d. 1639)
  • 1651 – Procopio Cutò, French entrepreneur (d. 1727)
  • 1666 – George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney, Scottish field marshal (d. 1737)
  • 1711 – Luis Vicente de Velasco e Isla, Spanish sailor and commander (d. 1762)
  • 1737 – Thomas Paine, English-American philosopher, author, and activist (d. 1809)
  • 1741 – Henri-Joseph Rigel, German-French composer (d. 1799)
  • 1748 – Sir John Duckworth, 1st Baronet, English admiral and politician, Commodore Governor of Newfoundland (d. 1817)
  • 1763 – Louis I, Grand Duke of Baden (d. 1830)
  • 1769 – George W. Campbell, Scottish-American lawyer and politician, 5th United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1848)
  • 1773 – William Henry Harrison, American general and politician, 9th President of the United States (d. 1841)
  • 1775 – Farkas Bolyai, Hungarian mathematician and academic (d. 1856)
  • 1781 – Johann Baptist von Spix, German biologist and explorer (d. 1826)
  • 1783 – Vasily Zhukovsky, Russian poet and translator (d. 1852)
  • 1789 – Franz Xaver Gabelsberger, German engineer, invented Gabelsberger shorthand (d. 1849)
  • 1800 – Hyrum Smith, American religious leader (d. 1844)
  • 1814 – Samuel J. Tilden, American lawyer and politician, 28th Governor of New York (d. 1886)
  • 1815 – Federico de Madrazo, Spanish painter (d.1894)
  • 1834 – Felix Dahn, German lawyer, historian, and author (d. 1912)
  • 1826 – Keʻelikōlani, Hawaiian royal and governor (d. 1883)
  • 1837 – José Burgos, Filipino priest and revolutionary (d. 1872)
  • 1839 – Silas Adams, American colonel, lawyer, and politician (d. 1896)
  • 1846 – Wilhelm Maybach, German engineer and businessman, founded Maybach (d. 1929)
  • 1846 – Whitaker Wright, English businessman and financier (d. 1904)
  • 1847 – Hugh Price Hughes, Welsh-English clergyman and theologian (d. 1902)
  • 1854 – Aletta Jacobs, Dutch physician and suffrage activist (d. 1929)
  • 1856 – Hara Takashi, Japanese politician, 10th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1921)
  • 1859 – Akiyama Yoshifuru, Japanese general (d. 1930)
  • 1863 – Anthony Hope, English author and playwright (d. 1933)
  • 1864 – Miina Härma, Estonian organist, composer, and conductor (d. 1941)
  • 1865 – Mrs. Patrick Campbell, English-French actress (d. 1940)
  • 1865 – Erich von Drygalski, German geographer and geophysicist (d. 1949)
  • 1867 – Natsume Sōseki, Japanese author and poet (d. 1916)
  • 1871 – Howard Taylor Ricketts, American pathologist and physician (d. 1910)
  • 1874 – Amy Lowell, American poet, critic, and educator (d. 1925)
  • 1876 – Arthur Edward Moore, New Zealand-Australian politician, 23rd Premier of Queensland (d. 1963)
  • 1878 – Jack Kirwan, Irish international footballer (d. 1959)
  • 1880 – Lipót Fejér, Hungarian mathematician and academic (d. 1959)
  • 1883 – Jules Berry, French actor and director (d. 1951)
  • 1885 – Alban Berg, Austrian composer and educator (d. 1935)
  • 1885 – Clarence H. Haring, American historian and author (d. 1960)
  • 1889 – Larry Semon, American actor, producer, director and screenwriter (d. 1928)
  • 1891 – Ronald Colman, English-American actor (d. 1958)
  • 1892 – Peggy Wood, American actress (d. 1978)
  • 1893 – Georgios Athanasiadis-Novas, Greek lawyer and politician, 163rd Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1987)
  • 1895 – Hermann Brill, German lawyer and politician, 8th Minister-President of Thuringia (d. 1959)
  • 1896 – Alberto Vargas, Peruvian-American painter and illustrator (d. 1982)
  • 1897 – Charles Kingsford Smith, Australian captain and pilot (d. 1935)
  • 1898 – Jūkichi Yagi, Japanese poet and educator (d. 1927)
  • 1901 – Brian Donlevy, American actor (d. 1972)
  • 1901 – James Murray, American actor (d. 1936)
  • 1905 – David Cecil, 6th Marquess of Exeter, English hurdler and politician (d. 1981)
  • 1906 – André Kostolany, Hungarian-French economist and journalist (d. 1999)
  • 1907 – Trường Chinh, Vietnamese politician, 4th President of Vietnam (d. 1988)
  • 1907 – Harold Scott MacDonald Coxeter, English-Canadian mathematician and academic (d. 2003)
  • 1909 – Heather Angel, English-American actress (d. 1986)
  • 1909 – Carmen Miranda, Portuguese-Brazilian actress, singer, and dancer (d. 1955)
  • 1909 – Dean Rusk, American colonel and politician, 54th United States Secretary of State (d. 1994)
  • 1910 – Jacques Monod, French biochemist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1976)
  • 1911 – William Orlando Darby, American general (d. 1945)
  • 1912 – Futabayama Sadaji, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 35th Yokozuna (d. 1968)
  • 1912 – Ginette Leclerc, French actress (d. 1992)
  • 1914 – Ernest Tubb, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1984)
  • 1916 – Tex Hughson, American baseball player (d. 1993)
  • 1918 – Lloyd Noel Ferguson, African American chemist (d. 2011)
  • 1920 – Fred Allen, New Zealand rugby player and coach (d. 2012)
  • 1922 – Kathryn Grayson, American actress and soprano (d. 2010)
  • 1922 – Jim Laker, English cricketer and sportscaster (d. 1986)
  • 1922 – C. P. Krishnan Nair, Indian businessman, founded The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts (d. 2014)
  • 1922 – Robert E. Ogren, American zoologist (d. 2005)
  • 1923 – Brendan Behan, Irish rebel, poet, and playwright (d. 1964)
  • 1923 – Tonie Nathan, American radio host, producer, and politician (d. 2014)
  • 1925 – John B. Cobb, American philosopher and theologian
  • 1925 – Burkhard Heim, German physicist and academic (d. 2001)
  • 1926 – Garret FitzGerald, Irish lawyer and politician, 7th Taoiseach of Ireland (d. 2011)
  • 1927 – Richard A. Long, American historian and author (d. 2013)
  • 1928 – Frank Frazetta, American painter and illustrator (d. 2010)
  • 1928 – Rinus Michels, Dutch footballer and coach (d. 2005)
  • 1928 – Roger Mudd, American journalist
  • 1929 – A. R. Antulay, Indian social worker and politician, 8th Chief Minister of Maharashtra (d. 2014)
  • 1929 – Clement Meadmore, Australian-American sculptor (d. 2005)
  • 1930 – Garner Ted Armstrong, American evangelist and author (d. 2003)
  • 1931 – Thomas Bernhard, Austrian author, poet, and playwright (d. 1989)
  • 1931 – Josef Masopust, Czech footballer and coach (d. 2015)
  • 1931 – Robert Morris, American sculptor and painter (d. 2018)
  • 1932 – Tatsuro Hirooka, Japanese baseball player and manager
  • 1932 – Gerhard Richter, German painter and photographer
  • 1935 – Lionel Fanthorpe, English-Welsh priest, journalist, and author
  • 1936 – Clive Swift, English actor and singer-songwriter (d. 2019)
  • 1937 – Clete Boyer, American baseball player and manager (d. 2007)
  • 1938 – Ron Logan, Disney theatrical producer and professor
  • 1939 – Mahala Andrews, British vertebrae palaeontologist (d. 1997)
  • 1939 – Barry Mann, American pianist, songwriter, and producer
  • 1939 – Janet Suzman, South African-British actress and director
  • 1940 – Brian Bennett, English drummer and songwriter
  • 1940 – J. M. Coetzee, South African-Australian novelist, essayist, and linguist, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1941 – Kermit Gosnell, American abortionist and serial killer
  • 1941 – Sheila Kuehl, American actress, lawyer, gay rights activist, and politician
  • 1942 – Carole King, American singer-songwriter and pianist
  • 1943 – Barbara Lewis, American soul/R&B singer-songwriter
  • 1943 – Joe Pesci, American actor
  • 1943 – Joseph Stiglitz, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1944 – Derryn Hinch, New Zealand-Australian radio and television host and politician
  • 1944 – Alice Walker, American novelist, short story writer, and poet
  • 1945 – Mia Farrow, American actress, activist, and former fashion model
  • 1945 – Yoshinori Ohsumi, Japanese cell biologist, 2016 Nobel Prize Laureate in Physiology or Medicine
  • 1945 – Carol Wood, American mathematician and academic
  • 1946 – Bob Eastwood, American golfer
  • 1946 – Vince Papale, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1946 – Jim Webb, American captain and politician, 18th United States Secretary of the Navy
  • 1947 – Carla Del Ponte, Swiss lawyer and diplomat
  • 1947 – Joe Ely, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1947 – Major Harris, American R&B singer (d. 2012)
  • 1947 – Alexis Smirnoff, Canadian-American wrestler and actor (d. 2019)
  • 1948 – Guy Standing, English economist and academic
  • 1949 – Bernard Gallacher, Scottish golfer and journalist
  • 1949 – Judith Light, American actress
  • 1950 – Richard F. Colburn, American sergeant and politician
  • 1951 – David Pomeranz, American singer, musician, and composer
  • 1952 – Danny White, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1953 – Ciarán Hinds, Irish actor
  • 1953 – Ezechiele Ramin, Italian missionary, priest, and martyr (d. 1985)
  • 1953 – Gabriel Rotello, American journalist and author, founded OutWeek
  • 1954 – Jo Duffy, American author
  • 1954 – Chris Gardner, American businessman and philanthropist
  • 1954 – Kevin Warwick, English cybernetics scientist
  • 1955 – Jerry Beck, American historian and author
  • 1955 – Jimmy Pursey, English singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1955 – Charles Shaughnessy, English actor
  • 1956 – Mookie Wilson, American baseball player and coach
  • 1957 – Terry McAuliffe, American businessman and politician, 72nd Governor of Virginia
  • 1957 – Gordon Strachan, Scottish footballer and manager
  • 1958 – Sandy Lyle, Scottish golfer
  • 1958 – Chris Nilan, American ice hockey player, coach, and radio host
  • 1960 – Holly Johnson, English singer-songwriter and bass player
  • 1960 – David Simon, American journalist, author, screenwriter, and television producer
  • 1960 – Peggy Whitson, American biochemist and astronaut
  • 1961 – John Kruk, American baseball player and sportscaster
  • 1962 – Anik Bissonnette, Canadian ballerina
  • 1963 – Brian Greene, American physicist
  • 1963 – Peter Rowsthorn, Australian comedian and actor
  • 1963 – Travis Tritt, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
  • 1964 – Debrah Miceli, Italian-American wrestler and manager
  • 1964 – Dewi Morris, English rugby player
  • 1964 – Ernesto Valverde, Spanish footballer and manager
  • 1964 – Alejandro Ávila, Mexican telenovela actor
  • 1964 – Ernesto Valverde, Spanish footballer and manager
  • 1965 – Dieter Baumann, German runner
  • 1966 – Harald Eia, Norwegian comedian, actor, and screenwriter
  • 1967 – Todd Pratt, American baseball player and coach
  • 1967 – Dan Shulman, Canadian sportscaster
  • 1967 – Gaston Browne, Antiguan and Barbudan Prime Minister
  • 1968 – Alejandra Guzmán, Mexican singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1968 – Derek Strong, American basketball player and race car driver
  • 1968 – Gloria Trevi, Mexican singer and actress
  • 1969 – Jimmy Smith, American football player
  • 1970 – Glenn McGrath, Australian cricketer and sportscaster
  • 1971 – Matt Gogel, American golfer
  • 1971 – Johan Mjällby, Swedish footballer and manager
  • 1972 – Darren Ferguson, Scottish footballer and manager
  • 1973 – Svetlana Boginskaya, Belarusian gymnast
  • 1973 – Colin Egglesfield, American actor
  • 1973 – Makoto Shinkai, Japanese animator, director, and screenwriter
  • 1974 – Jordi Cruyff, Dutch footballer and manager
  • 1974 – Brad Maynard, American football player
  • 1974 – Amber Valletta, American model
  • 1974 – John Wallace, American basketball player and coach
  • 1975 – Kurt Asle Arvesen, Norwegian cyclist and coach
  • 1975 – Clinton Grybas, Australian journalist and sportscaster (d. 2008)
  • 1975 – Vladimir Guerrero, Dominican-American baseball player
  • 1976 – Charlie Day, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1978 – A. J. Buckley, Irish-Canadian actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1979 – Akinori Iwamura, Japanese baseball player
  • 1979 – Irina Slutskaya, Russian figure skater
  • 1980 – Angelos Charisteas, Greek footballer
  • 1980 – Margarita Levieva, Russian-American actress
  • 1980 – Manu Raju, American journalist
  • 1981 – Tom Hiddleston, English actor, producer, and musical performer
  • 1981 – Daisuke Sekimoto, Japanese wrestler
  • 1982 – Domingo Cisma, Spanish footballer
  • 1982 – Jameer Nelson, American basketball player
  • 1982 – Ami Suzuki, Japanese singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1982 – Chris Weale, English footballer and manager
  • 1983 – Mikel Arruabarrena, Spanish footballer
  • 1984 – Maurice Ager, American basketball player, singer, and producer
  • 1984 – Shōhōzan Yūya, Japanese sumo wrestler
  • 1985 – David Gallagher, American actor
  • 1987 – Sam Coulson, English guitarist
  • 1987 – Michael B. Jordan, American actor
  • 1987 – Davide Lanzafame, Italian footballer
  • 1987 – Magdalena Neuner, German biathlete
  • 1988 – Lotte Friis, Danish swimmer
  • 1989 – Maxime Dufour-Lapointe, Canadian skier
  • 1990 – Tariq Sims, Australian-Fijian rugby league player
  • 1991 – Logan Ryan, American football player
  • 1992 – Kyle Feldt, Australian rugby league player
  • 1992 – Mitchell Frei, Australian rugby league player
  • 1992 – Avan Jogia, Canadian actor
  • 1993 – Niclas Füllkrug, German footballer
  • 1995 – André Burakovsky, Swedish ice hockey player
  • 1995 – Mario Pašalić, Croatian footballer
  • 1997 – Saquon Barkley, American football player

Deaths on February 9

  • 966 – Ono no Michikaze, Japanese calligrapher (b. 894)
  • 967 – Sayf al-Dawla, emir of Aleppo (b. 916)
  • 978 – Luitgarde, duchess consort of Normandy
  • 1011 – Bernard I, Duke of Saxony
  • 1014 – Yang Yanzhao, Chinese general
  • 1135 – Tai Zong, Chinese emperor (b. 1075)
  • 1199 – Minamoto no Yoritomo, Japanese shōgun (b. 1147)
  • 1251 – Matthias II, duke of Lorraine
  • 1407 – William I, margrave of Meissen (b. 1343)
  • 1450 – Agnès Sorel, French mistress of Charles VII of France (b. 1421)
  • 1555 – John Hooper, English bishop and martyr (b. 1495)
  • 1555 – Rowland Taylor, English priest and martyr (b. 1510)
  • 1588 – Álvaro de Bazán, 1st Marquis of Santa Cruz, Spanish admiral (b. 1526)
  • 1600 – John Frederick, Duke of Pomerania (b. 1542)
  • 1619 – Lucilio Vanini, Italian physician and philosopher (b. 1585)
  • 1640 – Murad IV, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1612)
  • 1670 – Frederick III of Denmark (b. 1609)
  • 1675 – Gerrit Dou, Dutch painter (b. 1613)
  • 1709 – François Louis, Prince of Conti (b. 1664)
  • 1777 – Seth Pomeroy, American general and gunsmith (b. 1706)
  • 1803 – Jean François de Saint-Lambert, French soldier, poet, and philosopher (b. 1716)
  • 1857 – Dionysios Solomos, Greek poet and translator (b. 1798)
  • 1874 – Jules Michelet, French historian, philosopher, and academic (b. 1798)
  • 1881 – Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist, and philosopher (b. 1821)
  • 1891 – Johan Jongkind, Dutch painter (b. 1819)
  • 1903 – Charles Gavan Duffy, Irish-Australian politician, 8th Premier of Victoria (b. 1816)
  • 1906 – Paul Laurence Dunbar, American author, poet, and playwright (b. 1872)
  • 1928 – William Gillies, Australian politician, 21st Premier of Queensland (b. 1868)
  • 1930 – Richard With, Norwegian captain and businessman, founded Hurtigruten (b. 1846)
  • 1932 – Junnosuke Inoue, Japanese businessman and banker (b. 1869)
  • 1932 – A.K. Golam Jilani, Bangladeshi soldier and activist (b. 1904)
  • 1945 – Ella D. Barrier, American educator (b. 1852)
  • 1950 – Ted Theodore, Australian politician, 20th Premier of Queensland (b. 1884)
  • 1951 – Eddy Duchin, American pianist, bandleader, and actor (b. 1910)
  • 1957 – Miklós Horthy, Hungarian admiral and politician, Regent of Hungary (b. 1868)
  • 1960 – Alexandre Benois, Russian painter and critic (b. 1870)
  • 1960 – Ernő Dohnányi, Hungarian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1877)
  • 1965 – Khan Bahadur Ahsanullah, Bangladeshi theologian and educator (b. 1874)
  • 1966 – Sophie Tucker, Russian-born American singer (b. 1884)
  • 1969 – George “Gabby” Hayes, American actor and singer (b. 1885)
  • 1976 – Percy Faith, Canadian composer and conductor (b. 1908)
  • 1977 – Sergey Ilyushin, Russian engineer and businessman, founded the Ilyushin Design Company (b. 1894)
  • 1978 – Costante Girardengo, Italian cyclist and coach (b. 1893)
  • 1979 – Allen Tate, American poet and academic (b. 1899)
  • 1980 – Tom Macdonald, Welsh journalist and author (b. 1900)
  • 1981 – M. C. Chagla, Indian jurist and politician, Indian Minister of External Affairs (b. 1900)
  • 1981 – Bill Haley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1925)
  • 1984 – Yuri Andropov, Russian lawyer and politician (b. 1914)
  • 1989 – Osamu Tezuka, Japanese illustrator, animator, and producer (b. 1928)
  • 1994 – Howard Martin Temin, American geneticist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1934)
  • 1995 – J. William Fulbright, American lawyer and politician (b. 1905)
  • 1995 – David Wayne, American actor (b. 1914)
  • 1998 – Maurice Schumann, French journalist and politician, French Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1911)
  • 2001 – Herbert A. Simon, American political scientist, economist, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1916)
  • 2002 – Isabelle Holland, Swiss-American author (b. 1920)
  • 2002 – Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (b. 1930)
  • 2003 – Masatoshi Gündüz Ikeda, Japanese-Turkish mathematician and academic (b. 1926)
  • 2004 – Claude Ryan, Canadian journalist and politician (b. 1925)
  • 2005 – Robert Kearns, American engineer, invented the windscreen wiper (b. 1927)
  • 2006 – Freddie Laker, English pilot and businessman, founded Laker Airways (b. 1922)
  • 2007 – Hank Bauer, American baseball player and manager (b. 1922)
  • 2007 – Ian Richardson, Scottish actor (b. 1934)
  • 2008 – Christopher Hyatt, American occultist and author (b. 1943)
  • 2008 – Jazeh Tabatabai, Iranian painter, poet, and sculptor (b. 1931)
  • 2009 – Orlando “Cachaíto” López, Cuban bassist and composer (b. 1933)
  • 2010 – Walter Frederick Morrison, American businessman, invented the Frisbee (b. 1920)
  • 2011 – Miltiadis Evert, Greek lawyer and politician, 69th Mayor of Athens (b. 1939)
  • 2012 – O. P. Dutta, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1922)
  • 2012 – John Hick, English philosopher and academic (b. 1922)
  • 2012 – Joe Moretti, Scottish-South African guitarist and songwriter (b. 1938)
  • 2013 – Richard Artschwager, American painter, illustrator, and sculptor (b. 1923)
  • 2013 – Keiko Fukuda, Japanese-American martial artist and trainer (b. 1913)
  • 2013 – Jimmy Smyth, Irish hurler (b. 1931)
  • 2014 – Gabriel Axel, Danish actor, director, and producer (b. 1918)
  • 2014 – Hal Herring, American football player and coach (b. 1924)
  • 2014 – Logan Scott-Bowden, English general (b. 1920)
  • 2015 – Liu Han, Chinese businessman and philanthropist (b. 1965)
  • 2015 – Ed Sabol, American film producer, co-founded NFL Films (b. 1916)
  • 2016 – Sushil Koirala, Nepalese politician, 37th Prime Minister of Nepal (b. 1939)
  • 2016 – Zdravko Tolimir, Bosnian Serb military commander (b. 1948)
  • 2017 – André Salvat, French Army colonel (b. 1920)
  • 2018 – Reg E. Cathey, American actor of stage, film, and television (b. 1958)
  • 2018 – Nebojša Glogovac, Serbian actor (b. 1969)
  • 2018 – Jóhann Jóhannsson, Icelandic composer (b. 1969)
  • 2018 – John Gavin, American actor and United States ambassador to Mexico (b. 1931)
  • 2020 – Sergiy Vilkomir, Ukrainian-born computer scientist (b. 1956)

Holidays and observances on February 9

  • Christian feast day:
    • Alto of Altomünster
    • Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich
    • Ansbert of Rouen
    • Apollonia
    • Bracchio
    • Blessed Leopold of Alpandeire
    • Maron (Maronite Church)
    • Miguel Febres Cordero
    • Nebridius
    • Sabinus of Canosa
    • Teilo (Wales)
    • February 9 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Earliest day on which Clean Monday can fall, while March 15 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of Great Lent. (Eastern Christianity)
  • Earliest day on which People’s Sunday can fall, while March 15 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday of Lent. (Malta)
  • St. Maroun’s Day (public holiday in Lebanon)

February 9 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

January 9 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /

January 9 in History

  • 475 – Byzantine Emperor Zeno is forced to flee his capital at Constantinople, and his general, Basiliscus gains control of the empire.
  • 681 – Twelfth Council of Toledo: King Erwig of the Visigoths initiates a council in which he implements diverse measures against the Jews in Spain.
  • 1127 – Jin–Song Wars: Invading Jurchen soldiers from the Jin dynasty besiege and sack Bianjing (Kaifeng), the capital of the Song dynasty of China, and abduct Emperor Qinzong of Song and others, ending the Northern Song dynasty.
  • 1349 – The Jewish population of Basel, believed by the residents to be the cause of the ongoing Black Death, is rounded up and incinerated.
  • 1431 – The trial of Joan of Arc begins in Rouen.
  • 1760 – Ahmad Shah Durrani defeats the Marathas in the Battle of Barari Ghat.<refFrançois Xavier Wendel (1991). Wendel’s memoirs on the origin, growth and present state of Jat power in Hindustan (1768). Institut français de Pondichéry. p. 61.</ref>
  • 1788 – Connecticut becomes the fifth state to ratify the Constitution.
  • 1792 – Treaty of Jassy between Russian and Ottoman Empire is signed.
  • 1793 – Jean-Pierre Blanchard becomes the first person to fly in a balloon in the United States.
  • 1799 – British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger introduces an income tax of two shillings to the pound to raise funds for Great Britain’s war effort in the Napoleonic Wars.
  • 1806 – Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson receives a state funeral and is interred in St Paul’s Cathedral.
  • 1816 – Humphry Davy tests his safety lamp for miners at Hebburn Colliery.
  • 1822 – The Portuguese prince Pedro I of Brazil decides to stay in Brazil against the orders of the Portuguese King João VI, beginning the Brazilian independence process.
  • 1839 – The French Academy of Sciences announces the Daguerreotype photography process.
  • 1857 – The 7.9 Mw  Fort Tejon earthquake shakes Central and Southern California with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent).
  • 1858 – Anson Jones, the last President of the Republic of Texas, commits suicide.
  • 1861 – American Civil War: “Star of the West” incident occurs near Charleston, South Carolina.
  • 1861 – Mississippi becomes the second state to secede from the Union before the outbreak of the American Civil War.
  • 1878 – Umberto I becomes King of Italy.
  • 1894 – New England Telephone and Telegraph installs the first battery-operated telephone switchboard in Lexington, Massachusetts.
  • 1903 – Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson, son of the poet Alfred Tennyson, becomes the second Governor-General of Australia.
  • 1909 – Ernest Shackleton, leading the Nimrod Expedition to the South Pole, plants the British flag 97 nautical miles (180 km; 112 mi) from the South Pole, the farthest anyone had ever reached at that time.
  • 1914 – The Phi Beta Sigma fraternity is founded by African-American students at Howard University in Washington D.C., United States.
  • 1916 – World War I: The Battle of Gallipoli concludes with an Ottoman Empire victory when the last Allied forces are evacuated from the peninsula.
  • 1917 – World War I: The Battle of Rafa is fought near the Egyptian border with Palestine.
  • 1918 – Battle of Bear Valley: The last battle of the American Indian Wars.
  • 1921 – Greco-Turkish War: The First Battle of İnönü, the first battle of the war, begins near Eskişehir in Anatolia.
  • 1923 – Juan de la Cierva makes the first autogyro flight.
  • 1923 – Lithuanian residents of the Memel Territory rebel against the League of Nations’ decision to leave the area as a mandated region under French control.
  • 1927 – A fire at the Laurier Palace movie theatre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, kills 78 children.
  • 1941 – World War II: First flight of the Avro Lancaster.
  • 1945 – World War II: The Sixth United States Army begins the invasion of Lingayen Gulf.
  • 1957 – British Prime Minister Sir Anthony Eden resigns from office following his failure to retake the Suez Canal from Egyptian sovereignty.
  • 1960 – President of Egypt Gamal Abdel Nasser opens construction on the Aswan Dam by detonating ten tons of dynamite to demolish twenty tons of granite on the east bank of the Nile.
  • 1961 – British authorities announce they have uncovered the Soviet Portland Spy Ring in London.
  • 1964 – Martyrs’ Day: Several Panamanian youths try to raise the Panamanian flag in the U.S.-controlled Panama Canal Zone, leading to fighting between U.S. military and Panamanian civilians.
  • 1965 – The Mirzapur Cadet College formally opens for academic activities in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).
  • 1991 – Representatives from the United States and Iraq meet at the Geneva Peace Conference to try to find a peaceful resolution to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.
  • 1992 – The Assembly of the Serb People in Bosnia and Herzegovina proclaims the creation of Republika Srpska, a new state within Yugoslavia.
  • 1992 – The first discoveries of extrasolar planets are announced by astronomers Aleksander Wolszczan and Dale Frail. They discovered two planets orbiting the pulsar PSR 1257+12.
  • 1996 – First Chechen War: Chechen separatists launch a raid against the helicopter airfield and later a civilian hospital in the city of Kizlyar in the neighboring Dagestan, which turns into a massive hostage crisis involving thousands of civilians.
  • 2004 – An inflatable boat carrying illegal Albanian emigrants stalls near the Karaburun Peninsula en route to Brindisi, Italy; exposure to the elements kills 28. This is the second deadliest marine disaster in Albanian history.
  • 2005 – Mahmoud Abbas wins the election to succeed Yasser Arafat as President of the Palestinian National Authority, replacing interim president Rawhi Fattouh.
  • 2005 – The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement and the Government of Sudan sign the Comprehensive Peace Agreement to end the Second Sudanese Civil War.
  • 2007 – Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduces the original iPhone at a Macworld keynote in San Francisco.
  • 2011 – Iran Air Flight 277 crashes near Urmia in the northwest of the country, killing 77 people.
  • 2014 – An explosion at a Mitsubishi Materials chemical plant in Yokkaichi, Japan, kills at least five people and injures 17 others.
  • 2015 – The perpetrators of the Charlie Hebdo shooting in Paris two days earlier are both killed after a hostage situation; a second hostage situation, related to the Charlie Hebdo shooting, occurs at a Jewish market in Vincennes.
  • 2015 – A mass poisoning at a funeral in Mozambique involving beer that was contaminated with Burkholderia gladioli leaves 75 dead and over 230 people ill.

Births on January 9

  • 727 – Emperor Daizong of Tang (d. 779)
  • 1418 – Juan Ramón Folch III de Cardona, Aragonese admiral (d. 1485)
  • 1475 – Crinitus, Italian scholar and author (d. 1507)
  • 1554 – Pope Gregory XV (d. 1623)
  • 1571 – Charles Bonaventure de Longueval, Count of Bucquoy, French commander (d. 1621)
  • 1590 – Simon Vouet, French painter (d. 1649)
  • 1606 – William Dugard, English printer (d. 1662)
  • 1624 – Empress Meishō of Japan (d. 1696)
  • 1645 – Sir William Villiers, 3rd Baronet, English noble and politician (d. 1712)
  • 1674 – Reinhard Keiser, German composer (d. 1739)
  • 1685 – Tiberius Hemsterhuis, Dutch philologist and critic (d. 1766)
  • 1728 – Thomas Warton, English poet, historian, and critic (d. 1790)
  • 1735 – John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent, English admiral and politician (d. 1823)
  • 1745 – Caleb Strong, American lawyer and politician, 6th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1819)
  • 1753 – Luísa Todi, Portuguese soprano and actress (d. 1833)
  • 1773 – Cassandra Austen, English painter and illustrator (d. 1845)
  • 1778 – Hammamizade İsmail Dede Efendi, Turkish Ney player and composer (d. 1846)
  • 1811 – Gilbert Abbott à Beckett, English journalist and author (d. 1856)
  • 1818 – Antoine Samuel Adam-Salomon, French sculptor and photographer (d. 1881)
  • 1819 – James Francis, English-Australian businessman and politician, 9th Premier of Victoria (d. 1884)
  • 1822 – Carol Benesch, Czech-Romanian architect, designed the Peleș Castle (d. 1896)
  • 1823 – Friedrich von Esmarch, German surgeon and academic (d. 1908)
  • 1829 – Thomas William Robertson, English director and playwright (d. 1871)
  • 1829 – Adolf Schlagintweit, German botanist and explorer (d. 1857)
  • 1832 – Félix-Gabriel Marchand, Canadian journalist and politician, 11th Premier of Quebec (d. 1900)
  • 1839 – John Knowles Paine, American composer and academic (d. 1906)
  • 1848 – Princess Frederica of Hanover (d. 1926)
  • 1849 – John Hartley, English tennis player (d. 1935)
  • 1854 – Lady Randolph Churchill, American-born wife of Lord Randolph Churchill, mother of Sir Winston Churchill (d. 1921)
  • 1856 – Anton Aškerc, Slovenian priest and poet (d. 1912)
  • 1859 – Carrie Chapman Catt, American activist, founded the League of Women Voters and International Alliance of Women (d. 1947)
  • 1864 – Vladimir Steklov, Russian mathematician and physicist (d. 1926)
  • 1868 – S. P. L. Sørensen, Danish chemist and academic (d. 1939)
  • 1870 – Joseph Strauss, American engineer, co-designed the Golden Gate Bridge (d. 1938)
  • 1873 – Hayim Nahman Bialik, Ukrainian-Austrian journalist, author, and poet (d. 1934)
  • 1873 – Thomas Curtis, American sprinter and hurdler (d. 1944)
  • 1873 – John Flanagan, Irish-American hammer thrower (d. 1938)
  • 1875 – Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, American sculptor and art collector, founded the Whitney Museum of American Art (d. 1942)
  • 1879 – John B. Watson, American psychologist and academic (d. 1958)
  • 1881 – Lascelles Abercrombie, English poet and critic (d. 1938)
  • 1881 – Giovanni Papini, Italian journalist, author, and poet (d. 1956)
  • 1885 – Charles Bacon, American runner and hurdler (d. 1968)
  • 1886 – Lloyd Loar, American sound engineer and instrument designer (d. 1943)
  • 1889 – Vrindavan Lal Verma, Indian author and playwright (d. 1969)
  • 1890 – Karel Čapek, Czech author and playwright (d. 1938)
  • 1890 – Kurt Tucholsky, German-Swedish journalist and author (d. 1935)
  • 1891 – August Gailit, Estonian journalist and author (d. 1960)
  • 1892 – Eva Bowring, American lawyer and politician (d. 1985)
  • 1893 – Edwin Baker, Canadian soldier and educator, co-founded the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (d. 1968)
  • 1896 – Warwick Braithwaite, New Zealand-English conductor and director (d. 1971)
  • 1897 – Karl Löwith, German philosopher, author, and academic (d. 1973)
  • 1898 – Gracie Fields, English actress and singer (d. 1979)
  • 1899 – Harald Tammer, Estonian journalist and weightlifter (d. 1942)
  • 1900 – Richard Halliburton, American journalist and author (d. 1939)
  • 1901 – Vilma Bánky, Hungarian-American actress (d. 1991)
  • 1901 – Chic Young, American cartoonist (d. 1973)
  • 1902 – Rudolf Bing, American impresario and businessman (d. 1997)
  • 1902 – Josemaría Escrivá, Spanish priest and saint, founded Opus Dei (d. 1975)
  • 1907 – Eldred G. Smith, American patriarch (d. 2013)
  • 1907 – Earl W. Renfroe, African American orthodontist, educator, and activist (d. 2000)
  • 1908 – Simone de Beauvoir, French philosopher and author (d. 1986)
  • 1909 – Anthony Mamo, Maltese lawyer and politician, 1st President of Malta (d. 2008)
  • 1909 – Patrick Peyton, Irish-American priest, television personality, and activist (d. 1992)
  • 1910 – Tom Evenson, English runner (d. 1997)
  • 1912 – Ralph Tubbs, English architect, designed the Dome of Discovery (d. 1996)
  • 1913 – Richard Nixon, American commander, lawyer, and politician, 37th President of the United States (d. 1994)
  • 1914 – Kenny Clarke, American jazz drummer and bandleader (d. 1985)
  • 1915 – Anita Louise, American actress (d. 1970)
  • 1916 – Fernando Lamas, Argentinian-American actor, singer, and director (d. 1982)
  • 1916 – Vic Mizzy, American soldier, pianist, and composer (d. 2009)
  • 1918 – Alma Ziegler, American baseball player and golfer (d. 2005)
  • 1919 – William Morris Meredith, Jr., American poet and academic (d. 2007)
  • 1920 – Clive Dunn, English actor (d. 2012)
  • 1920 – Hakim Said, Pakistani scholar and politician, 20th Governor of Sindh (d. 1998)
  • 1921 – Ágnes Keleti, Hungarian Olympic gymnast
  • 1921 – Lister Sinclair, Indian-Canadian broadcaster and playwright (d. 2006)
  • 1922 – Har Gobind Khorana, Indian-American biochemist and academic, Nobel laureate (d. 2011)
  • 1922 – Ahmed Sékou Touré, Guinean politician, 1st President of Guinea (d. 1984)
  • 1924 – Sergei Parajanov, Georgian-Armenian director and screenwriter (d. 1990)
  • 1925 – Len Quested, English footballer defender and manager (d. 2012)
  • 1925 – Lee Van Cleef, American actor (d. 1989)
  • 1926 – Jean-Pierre Côté, Canadian lawyer and politician, 23rd Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (d. 2002)
  • 1928 – Judith Krantz, American novelist (d. 2019)
  • 1928 – Domenico Modugno, Italian singer-songwriter, actor, and politician (d. 1994)
  • 1929 – Brian Friel, Irish author, playwright, and director (d. 2015)
  • 1929 – Heiner Müller, German poet, playwright, and director (d. 1995)
  • 1931 – Algis Budrys, Lithuanian-American author and critic (d. 2008)
  • 1933 – Robert García, American soldier and politician (d. 2017)
  • 1933 – Roy Dwight, English footballer, outside forward
  • 1933 – Wilbur Smith, Zambian-English journalist and author
  • 1934 – Bart Starr, American football player and coach (d. 2019)
  • 1935 – Bob Denver, American actor (d. 2005)
  • 1935 – Dick Enberg, American sportscaster (d. 2017)
  • 1935 – John Graham, New Zealand rugby player and educator (d. 2017)
  • 1935 – Brian Harradine, Australian politician (d. 2014)
  • 1936 – Anne Rivers Siddons, American author
  • 1936 – Marko Veselica, Croatian academic and politician (d. 2017)
  • 1938 – Claudette Boyer, Canadian educator and politician (d. 2013)
  • 1939 – Susannah York, English actress and activist (d. 2011)
  • 1940 – Barbara Buczek, Polish composer (d. 1993)
  • 1940 – Ruth Dreifuss, Swiss journalist and politician, 86th President of the Swiss Confederation
  • 1941 – Joan Baez, American singer-songwriter, guitarist and activist
  • 1941 – Gilles Vaillancourt, Canadian politician
  • 1942 – John Dunning, American author
  • 1942 – Judy Malloy, American poet and author
  • 1943 – Robert Drewe, Australian author and playwright
  • 1943 – Elmer MacFadyen, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 2007)
  • 1943 – Scott Walker, American singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer (d. 2019)
  • 1944 – Harun Farocki, German filmmaker (d. 2014)
  • 1944 – Jimmy Page, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer
  • 1944 – Mihalis Violaris, Cypriot singer-songwriter and actor
  • 1945 – Levon Ter-Petrosyan, Syrian-Armenian scholar and politician, 1st President of Armenia
  • 1946 – Mohammad Ishaq Khan, Indian historian and academic (d. 2013)
  • 1946 – Mogens Lykketoft, Danish politician, 45th Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • 1947 – Ronnie Landfield, American painter and educator
  • 1948 – Bill Cowsill, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2006)
  • 1948 – Jan Tomaszewski, Polish footballer, manager, and politician
  • 1950 – Alec Jeffreys, English geneticist and academic
  • 1950 – David Johansen, American musician and actor
  • 1950 – Sandy Martin, American actress
  • 1951 – Crystal Gayle, American singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1952 – Kaushik Basu, Indian economist and academic
  • 1952 – Hugh Bayley, English politician
  • 1952 – Mike Capuano, American lawyer and politician
  • 1953 – Javad Alizadeh, Iranian cartoonist and painter
  • 1954 – Philippa Gregory, Kenyan-English author and academic
  • 1955 – Michiko Kakutani, American journalist and critic
  • 1955 – J.K. Simmons, American actor
  • 1956 – Waltraud Meier, German soprano and actress
  • 1956 – Imelda Staunton, English actress and singer
  • 1958 – Stephen Neale, English philosopher and academic
  • 1959 – Mark Martin, American race car driver and coach
  • 1959 – Rigoberta Menchú, Guatemalan activist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1959 – Otis Nixon, American baseball player
  • 1960 – Lisa Walters, Canadian golfer
  • 1961 – Didier Camberabero, French rugby player
  • 1961 – Oliver Goldstick, American screenwriter and producer
  • 1961 – Henry Omaga-Diaz, Filipino journalist
  • 1962 – Ray Houghton, Scottish-born footballer
  • 1963 – Irwin McLean, Northern Irish biologist and academic
  • 1964 – Stan Javier, Dominican baseball player and manager
  • 1965 – Iain Dowie, English-Northern Irish footballer and coach
  • 1965 – Eric Erlandson, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
  • 1965 – Haddaway, Trinidadian-German singer and musician
  • 1965 – Andrei Nazarov, Estonian decathlete and coach
  • 1965 – Joely Richardson, English actress
  • 1966 – Stephen Metcalfe, English politician
  • 1967 – Matt Bevin, American politician, 62nd governor of Kentucky
  • 1967 – Claudio Caniggia, Argentinian footballer
  • 1967 – Dave Matthews, South African-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
  • 1967 – Gary Teichmann, South African rugby player
  • 1968 – Jimmy Adams, Jamaican cricketer and coach
  • 1968 – Joey Lauren Adams, American actress
  • 1968 – Mardi Lunn, Australian golfer
  • 1968 – Giorgos Theofanous, Greek-Cypriot composer and producer
  • 1970 – Lara Fabian, Belgian-Italian singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1971 – Angie Martinez, American rapper, actress, and radio host
  • 1971 – Hal Niedzviecki, Canadian author and critic
  • 1971 – Scott Thornton, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1972 – Jay Powell, American baseball player
  • 1972 – Rawson Stovall, American video game producer and author
  • 1973 – Sean Paul, Jamaican rapper, singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, and actor
  • 1975 – James Beckford, Jamaican long jumper
  • 1976 – Radek Bonk, Czech ice hockey player
  • 1978 – Mathieu Garon, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1978 – Gennaro Gattuso, Italian footballer and manager
  • 1978 – Chad Johnson, American football player and actor
  • 1978 – AJ McLean, American singer
  • 1980 – Édgar Álvarez, Honduran footballer
  • 1980 – Sergio García, Spanish golfer
  • 1980 – Luke Patten, Australian rugby league player and referee
  • 1980 – Francisco Pavón, Spanish footballer
  • 1980 – Wang Zulan, Hong Kong singer
  • 1981 – Euzebiusz Smolarek, Polish footballer and manager
  • 1982 – Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge
  • 1984 – Drew Brown, American musician and songwriter
  • 1984 – Benjamin Danso, German rugby player
  • 1985 – Juan Francisco Torres, Spanish footballer
  • 1986 – Jéferson Gomes, Brazilian footballer
  • 1986 – Uwe Hünemeier, German footballer
  • 1986 – Amanda Mynhardt, South African netball player
  • 1987 – Sam Bird, English race car driver
  • 1987 – Lucas Leiva, Brazilian footballer
  • 1987 – Paolo Nutini, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1987 – Jami Puustinen, Finnish footballer
  • 1988 – Katherine Copely, American ice dancer
  • 1988 – Marc Crosas, Spanish footballer
  • 1988 – Lee Yeon-hee, South Korean actress
  • 1989 – Michael Beasley, American basketball player
  • 1989 – Nina Dobrev, Bulgarian-Canadian actress
  • 1989 – Michaëlla Krajicek, Dutch tennis player
  • 1989 – Yana Maksimava, Belarusian heptathlete
  • 1989 – Chris Sandow, Australian rugby league player
  • 1989 – Jordan Turner, English rugby league player
  • 1990 – Justin Blackmon, American football player
  • 1991 – Edon Hasani, Albanian football player
  • 1991 – Alvaro Soler, Spanish singer-songwriter
  • 1993 – Katarina Johnson-Thompson, English long jumper and heptathlete
  • 1993 – Marcus Peters, American football player
  • 1993 – Kevin Korjus, Estonian race car driver
  • 1995 – Braden Uele, New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1999 – Shannon Tavarez, American actress (d. 2010)

Deaths on January 9

  • 710 – Adrian of Canterbury, abbot and scholar
  • 1150 – Emperor Xizong of Jin (b. 1119)
  • 1202 – Birger Brosa, Jarl of Sweden
  • 1282 – Abû ‘Uthmân Sa’îd ibn Hakam al Qurashi, Minorcan ruler (b. 1204)
  • 1283 – Wen Tianxiang, Chinese general and scholar (b. 1236)
  • 1367 – Giulia della Rena, Italian saint (b. 1319)
  • 1450 – Adam Moleyns, Bishop of Chichester
  • 1463 – William Neville, 1st Earl of Kent, English soldier (b. 1405)
  • 1499 – John Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg (b. 1455)
  • 1511 – Demetrios Chalkokondyles, Greek scholar and academic (b. 1423)
  • 1514 – Anne of Brittany, queen of Charles VIII of France and Louis XII of France (b. 1477)
  • 1529 – Wang Yangming, Chinese Neo-Confucian scholar (b. 1472)
  • 1534 – Johannes Aventinus, Bavarian historian and philologist (b. 1477)
  • 1543 – Guillaume du Bellay, French general and diplomat (b. 1491)
  • 1561 – Amago Haruhisa, Japanese warlord (b. 1514)
  • 1571 – Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon, French admiral (b. 1510)
  • 1598 – Jasper Heywood, English poet and scholar (b. 1553)
  • 1612 – Leonard Holliday, Lord Mayor of London (b. 1550)
  • 1622 – Alix Le Clerc, French Canoness Regular and foundress (b. 1576)
  • 1757 – Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle, French author, poet, and playwright (b. 1657)
  • 1762 – Antonio de Benavides, colonial governor of Florida (b. 1678)
  • 1766 – Thomas Birch, English historian and author (b. 1705)
  • 1799 – Maria Gaetana Agnesi, Italian mathematician and philosopher (b. 1718)
  • 1800 – Jean Étienne Championnet, French general (b. 1762)
  • 1805 – Noble Wimberly Jones, American physician and politician (b. 1723)
  • 1843 – William Hedley, English engineer (b. 1773)
  • 1848 – Caroline Herschel, German-English astronomer (b. 1750)
  • 1856 – Neophytos Vamvas, Greek cleric and educator (b. 1770)
  • 1858 – Anson Jones, American physician and politician; 4th President of the Republic of Texas (b. 1798)
  • 1873 – Napoleon III, French politician, 1st President of France (b. 1808)
  • 1876 – Samuel Gridley Howe, American physician and activist (b. 1801)
  • 1878 – Victor Emmanuel II of Italy (b. 1820)
  • 1895 – Aaron Lufkin Dennison, American-English businessman (b. 1812)
  • 1901 – Richard Copley Christie, English lawyer and academic (b. 1830)
  • 1908 – Wilhelm Busch, German poet, illustrator, and painter (b. 1832)
  • 1908 – Abraham Goldfaden, Russian actor, playwright, and author (b. 1840)
  • 1911 – Edwin Arthur Jones, American violinist and composer (b. 1853)
  • 1911 – Edvard Rusjan, Italian-Slovene pilot and engineer (b. 1886)
  • 1917 – Luther D. Bradley, American cartoonist (b. 1853)
  • 1918 – Charles-Émile Reynaud, French scientist and educator, invented the Praxinoscope (b. 1844)
  • 1923 – Katherine Mansfield, New Zealand novelist, short story writer, and essayist (b. 1888)
  • 1924 – Ponnambalam Arunachalam, Sri Lankan civil servant and politician (b. 1853)
  • 1927 – Houston Stewart Chamberlain, English-German philosopher and author (b. 1855)
  • 1930 – Edward Bok, Dutch-American journalist and author (b. 1863)
  • 1931 – Wayne Munn, American football player and wrestler (b. 1896)
  • 1936 – John Gilbert, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1899)
  • 1939 – Johann Strauss III, Austrian violinist, composer, and conductor (b. 1866)
  • 1941 – Dimitrios Golemis, Greek runner (b. 1874)
  • 1945 – Shigekazu Shimazaki, Japanese admiral and pilot (b. 1908)
  • 1945 – Jüri Uluots, Estonian journalist and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Estonia (b. 1890)
  • 1945 – Osman Cemal Kaygılı, Turkish journalist, author, and playwright (b. 1890)
  • 1946 – Countee Cullen, American poet and playwright (b. 1903)
  • 1947 – Karl Mannheim, Hungarian-English sociologist and academic (b. 1893)
  • 1960 – Elsie J. Oxenham, English author and educator (b. 1880)
  • 1961 – Emily Greene Balch, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1867)
  • 1964 – Halide Edib Adıvar, Turkish author and academic (b. 1884)
  • 1971 – Elmer Flick, American baseball player and scout (b. 1876)
  • 1972 – Ted Shawn, American dancer and choreographer (b. 1891)
  • 1975 – Pierre Fresnay, French actor and screenwriter (b. 1897)
  • 1975 – Pyotr Novikov, Russian mathematician and theorist (b. 1901)
  • 1979 – Pier Luigi Nervi, Italian engineer and architect, designed the Tour de la Bourse and Pirelli Tower (b. 1891)
  • 1981 – Kazimierz Serocki, Polish pianist and composer (b. 1922)
  • 1984 – Bob Dyer, American-Australian radio and television host (b. 1909)
  • 1985 – Robert Mayer, German-English businessman and philanthropist (b. 1879)
  • 1987 – Arthur Lake, American actor (b. 1905)
  • 1988 – Peter L. Rypdal, Norwegian fiddler and composer (b. 1909)
  • 1989 – Bill Terry, American baseball player and manager (b. 1898)
  • 1990 – Spud Chandler, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1907)
  • 1990 – Cemal Süreya, Turkish poet and journalist (b. 1931)
  • 1992 – Steve Brodie, American actor (b. 1919)
  • 1992 – Bill Naughton, English playwright and screenwriter (b. 1910)
  • 1993 – Paul Hasluck, Australian historian and politician, 17th Governor-General of Australia (b. 1905)
  • 1994 – Johnny Temple, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1927)
  • 1995 – Souphanouvong, Laotian politician, 1st President of Laos (b. 1909)
  • 1995 – Peter Cook, English actor and screenwriter (b. 1937)
  • 1996 – Walter M. Miller, Jr., American soldier and author (b. 1923)
  • 1996 – Abdullah al-Qasemi, Saudi atheist, writer, and intellectual (b. 1907)
  • 1997 – Edward Osóbka-Morawski, Polish politician, Prime Minister of Poland (b. 1909)
  • 1997 – Jesse White, American actor (b. 1917)
  • 1998 – Kenichi Fukui, Japanese chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918)
  • 1998 – Imi Lichtenfeld, Slovakian-Israeli martial artist, founded Krav Maga (b. 1910)
  • 2000 – Arnold Alexander Hall, English engineer and academic (b. 1915)
  • 2000 – Nigel Tranter, Scottish historian and author (b. 1909)
  • 2001 – Maurice Prather, American photographer and director (b. 1926)
  • 2003 – Will McDonough, American journalist (b. 1935)
  • 2004 – Norberto Bobbio, Italian philosopher and academic (b. 1909)
  • 2006 – Andy Caldecott, Australian motorcycle racer (b. 1964)
  • 2006 – W. Cleon Skousen, American author and academic (b. 1913)
  • 2007 – Elmer Symons, South African motorcycle racer (b. 1977)
  • 2007 – Jean-Pierre Vernant, French anthropologist and historian (b. 1914)
  • 2008 – Johnny Grant, American radio host and producer (b. 1923)
  • 2008 – John Harvey-Jones, English businessman and television host (b. 1924)
  • 2009 – Rob Gauntlett, English mountaineer and explorer (b. 1987)
  • 2009 – T. Llew Jones, Welsh author and poet (b. 1914)
  • 2011 – Makinti Napanangka, Australian painter (b. 1930)
  • 2012 – Brian Curvis, Welsh boxer (b. 1937)
  • 2012 – Augusto Gansser-Biaggi, Swiss geologist and academic (b. 1910)
  • 2012 – William G. Roll, German-American psychologist and parapsychologist (b. 1926)
  • 2012 – Malam Bacai Sanhá, Guinea-Bissau politician, President of Guinea-Bissau (b. 1947)
  • 2012 – László Szekeres, Hungarian physician and academic (b. 1921)
  • 2013 – Brigitte Askonas, Austrian-English immunologist and academic (b. 1923)
  • 2013 – James M. Buchanan, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1919)
  • 2013 – Robert L. Rock, American businessman and politician, 42nd Lieutenant Governor of Indiana (b. 1927)
  • 2013 – John Wise, Canadian farmer and politician, 23rd Canadian Minister of Agriculture (b. 1935)
  • 2014 – Amiri Baraka, American poet, playwright, and academic (b. 1934)
  • 2014 – Josep Maria Castellet, Spanish poet and critic (b. 1926)
  • 2014 – Paul du Toit, South African painter and sculptor (b. 1965)
  • 2014 – Dale T. Mortensen, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1939)
  • 2015 – Michel Jeury, French author (b. 1934)
  • 2015 – Robert V. Keeley, Lebanese-American soldier and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Greece (b. 1929)
  • 2015 – Józef Oleksy, Polish economist and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Poland (b. 1946)
  • 2015 – Bud Paxson, American broadcaster and businessman, founded the Home Shopping Network and Pax TV (b. 1935)
  • 2015 – Abdul Rahman Ya’kub, Malaysian politician, 3rd Chief Minister of Sarawak (b. 1928)
  • 2015 – Roy Tarpley, American basketball player (b. 1964)
  • 2016 – John Harvard, Canadian journalist and politician, 23rd Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba (b. 1938)
  • 2016 – Angus Scrimm, American actor and author (b. 1926)
  • 2017 – Zygmunt Bauman, Polish sociologist (b. 1925)
  • 2018 – Kato Ottio, Papua New Guinean rugby league player (b. 1994)
  • 2019 – Verna Bloom, American actress (b. 1938)
  • 2019 – Paul Koslo, German-Canadian actor (b. 1944)

Holidays and observances on January 9

  • Christian feast day:
    • Adrian of Canterbury
    • Berhtwald
    • Translation of the Black Nazarene (Manila, Philippines)
    • Philip II, Metropolitan of Moscow
    • Julia Chester Emery (Episcopal Church (USA))
    • Stephen (old calendar Eastern Orthodox)
    • January 9 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Start of Hōonkō (Nishi Honganji) January 9–16 (Jōdo Shinshū Buddhism)
  • Martyrs’ Day (Panama)
  • Non-Resident Indian Day (India)

January 9 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

January 5 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 1477 – Battle of Nancy: Charles the Bold is defeated and killed in a conflict with René II, Duke of Lorraine; the Burgundy subsequently becomes part of France.
  • 1675 – Battle of Colmar: The French army beats Brandenburg.
  • 1757 – Louis XV of France survives an assassination attempt by Robert-François Damiens, the last person to be executed in France by drawing and quartering, the traditional and gruesome form of capital punishment used for regicides.
  • 1781 – American Revolutionary War: Richmond, Virginia, is burned by British naval forces led by Benedict Arnold.
  • 1875 – The Palais Garnier, one of the most famous opera houses in the world, is inaugurated in Paris.
  • 1895 – Dreyfus affair: French army officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his rank and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil’s Island.
  • 1911 – Kappa Alpha Psi, the world’s third oldest and largest black fraternity, is founded at Indiana University.
  • 1912 – The 6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (Prague Party Conference) opens. In the course of the conference, Vladimir Lenin and his supporters break from the rest of the party to form the Bolshevik movement.
  • 1913 – First Balkan War: The Battle of Lemnos begins; Greek admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis forces the Turkish fleet to retreat to its base within the Dardanelles, from which it did not venture for the rest of the war.
  • 1914 – The Ford Motor Company announces an eight-hour workday and minimum daily wage of $5 in salary plus bonuses.
  • 1919 – The German Workers’ Party, which would become the Nazi Party, is founded in Munich.
  • 1925 – Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming becomes the first female governor in the United States.
  • 1933 – Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge begins in San Francisco Bay.
  • 1941 – 37-year-old pilot Amy Johnson, the first woman to fly solo from London to Australia, disappears after bailing out of her plane over the River Thames, and is presumed dead.
  • 1944 – The Daily Mail becomes the first major London newspaper to be published on both sides of the Atlantic.
  • 1945 – The Soviet Union recognizes the new pro-Soviet Provisional Government of the Republic of Poland.
  • 1949 – In his “State of the Union” address, United States President Harry S. Truman unveils his Fair Deal program.
  • 1950 – In the Sverdlovsk air disaster, all 19 of those on board are killed, including almost the entire national ice hockey team (VVS Moscow) of the Soviet Air Force – 11 players, as well as a team doctor and a masseur.
  • 1953 – The play Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett receives its première in Paris.
  • 1957 – In a speech given to the United States Congress, United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces the establishment of what will later be called the Eisenhower Doctrine
  • 1968 – Alexander Dubček comes to power in Czechoslovakia, effectively beginning the “Prague Spring”
  • 1969 – The Venera 5 space probe is launched at 06:28:08 UTCfrom Baikonur.
  • 1970 – The 7.1 Mw  Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme). Between 10,000 and 15,000 people are known to have been killed and about another 26,000 are injured.
  • 1974 – The warmest reliably measured temperature within the Antarctic Circle, of +59 °F (+15 °C), is recorded at Vanda Station.
  • 1975 – The Tasman Bridge in Tasmania, Australia, is struck by the bulk ore carrier Lake Illawarra, killing twelve people.
  • 1976 – The Khmer Rouge proclaim the Constitution of Democratic Kampuchea.
  • 1976 – The Troubles: Gunmen shoot dead ten Protestant civilians after stopping their minibus at Kingsmill in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, UK, allegedly as retaliation for a string of attacks on Catholic civilians in the area by Loyalists, particularly the killing of six Catholics the night before.
  • 1991 – Georgian forces enter Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, Georgia, opening the 1991–92 South Ossetia War.
  • 1991 – Somali Civil War: The United States Embassy to Somalia in Mogadishu is evacuated by helicopter airlift days after the outbreak of violence in Mogadishu.
  • 1993 – The oil tanker MV Braer runs aground on the coast of the Shetland Islands, spilling 84,700 tons of crude oil.
  • 2014 – A launch of the communication satellite GSAT-14 aboard the GSLV MK.II D5 marks the first successful flight of an Indian cryogenic engine.

Births on January 5

  • 1209 – Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall, English prince, nominal King of Germany (d. 1272)
  • 1530 – Gaspar de Bono, monk of the Order of the Minims (d. 1571)
  • 1548 – Francisco Suárez, Spanish priest, philosopher, and theologian (d. 1617)
  • 1587 – Xu Xiake, Chinese geographer and explorer (d. 1641)
  • 1592 – Shah Jahan, Mughal emperor (d. 1666)
  • 1620 – Miklós Zrínyi, Croatian military commander (d. 1664)
  • 1640 – Paolo Lorenzani, Italian composer (d. 1713)
  • 1735 – Claude Martin, French-English general and explorer (d. 1800)
  • 1767 – Jean-Baptiste Say, French economist and academic (d. 1832)
  • 1779 – Stephen Decatur, American commander (d. 1820)
  • 1779 – Zebulon Pike, American general and explorer (d. 1813)
  • 1781 – Gaspar Flores de Abrego, three terms mayor of San Antonio, in Spanish Texas (d. 1836)
  • 1793 – Harvey Putnam, American lawyer and politician (d. 1855)
  • 1808 – Anton Füster, Austrian priest and activist (d. 1881)
  • 1834 – William John Wills, English surgeon and explorer (d. 1861)
  • 1838 – Camille Jordan, French mathematician and academic (d. 1922)
  • 1846 – Rudolf Christoph Eucken, German philosopher and author, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1926)
  • 1846 – Mariam Baouardy, Syrian Roman Catholic nun; later canonized (d. 1878)
  • 1855 – King Camp Gillette, American businessman, founded the Gillette Company (d. 1932)
  • 1864 – Bob Caruthers, American baseball player and manager (d. 1911)
  • 1867 – Dimitrios Gounaris, Greek lawyer and politician, 94th Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1922)
  • 1871 – Frederick Converse, American composer and academic (d. 1940)
  • 1874 – Joseph Erlanger, American physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1965)
  • 1876 – Konrad Adenauer, German lawyer and politician, Chancellor of West Germany (d. 1967)
  • 1879 – Hans Eppinger, Austrian physician and academic (d. 1946)
  • 1880 – Nikolai Medtner, Russian pianist and composer (d. 1951)
  • 1881 – Pablo Gargallo, Spanish sculptor and painter (d. 1934)
  • 1882 – Herbert Bayard Swope, American journalist (d. 1958)
  • 1885 – Humbert Wolfe, Italian-English poet and civil servant (d. 1940)
  • 1886 – Markus Reiner, Israeli physicist and engineer (d. 1976)
  • 1892 – Agnes von Kurowsky, American nurse (d. 1984)
  • 1893 – Paramahansa Yogananda, Indian-American guru and philosopher (d. 1952)
  • 1897 – Kiyoshi Miki, Japanese philosopher and author (d. 1945)
  • 1900 – Yves Tanguy, French-American painter (d. 1955)
  • 1902 – Hubert Beuve-Méry, French journalist (d. 1989)
  • 1902 – Stella Gibbons, English journalist and author (d. 1989)
  • 1903 – Harold Gatty, Australian pilot and navigator (d. 1957)
  • 1904 – Jeane Dixon, American astrologer and psychic (d. 1997)
  • 1904 – Erika Morini, Austrian violinist (d. 1995)
  • 1906 – Kathleen Kenyon, English archaeologist and academic (d. 1978)
  • 1907 – Volmari Iso-Hollo, Finnish athlete (d. 1969)
  • 1908 – George Dolenz, Italian-American actor (d. 1963)
  • 1909 – Lucienne Bloch, Swiss-American sculptor, painter, and photographer (d. 1995)
  • 1909 – Stephen Cole Kleene, American mathematician and computer scientist (d. 1994)
  • 1910 – Jack Lovelock, New Zealand runner and journalist (d. 1949)
  • 1911 – Jean-Pierre Aumont, French actor and screenwriter (d. 2001)
  • 1914 – Nicolas de Staël, Russian-French painter and illustrator (d. 1955)
  • 1914 – George Reeves, American actor and director (d. 1959)
  • 1915 – Arthur H. Robinson, Canadian geographer and cartographer (d. 2004)
  • 1917 – Francis L. Kellogg, American businessman and diplomat (d. 2006)
  • 1917 – Wieland Wagner, German director and producer (d. 1966)
  • 1917 – Jane Wyman, American actress (d. 2007)
  • 1919 – Hector Abhayavardhana, Sri Lankan theorist and politician (d. 2012)
  • 1919 – Severino Gazzelloni, Italian flute player (d. 1992)
  • 1920 – Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Italian pianist and educator (d. 1995)
  • 1921 – Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Swiss author and playwright (d. 1990)
  • 1921 – Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Luxembourgish soldier and aristocrat (d. 2019)
  • 1921 – John H. Reed, American politician and diplomat, 67th Governor of Maine (d. 2012)
  • 1922 – Anthony Synnot, Australian admiral (d. 2001)
  • 1923 – Sam Phillips, American radio host and producer, founded Sun Records (d. 2003)
  • 1926 – Veikko Karvonen, Finnish runner (d. 2007)
  • 1926 – W. D. Snodgrass, American poet (d. 2009)
  • 1926 – Hosea Williams, American businessman and activist (d. 2000)
  • 1927 – Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, American guru and author, founded Iraivan Temple (d. 2001)
  • 1928 – Imtiaz Ahmed, Pakistani cricketer (d. 2016)
  • 1928 – Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Pakistani lawyer and politician, 4th President of Pakistan (d. 1979)
  • 1928 – Walter Mondale, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 42nd Vice President of the United States
  • 1929 – Aulis Rytkönen, Finnish footballer and manager (d. 2014)
  • 1931 – Alvin Ailey, American dancer and choreographer, founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (d. 1989)
  • 1931 – Alfred Brendel, Austrian pianist, poet, and author
  • 1931 – Robert Duvall, American actor and director
  • 1932 – Umberto Eco, Italian novelist, literary critic, and philosopher (d. 2016)
  • 1932 – Chuck Noll, American football player and coach (d. 2014)
  • 1934 – Phil Ramone, South African-American songwriter and producer, co-founded A & R Recording (d. 2013)
  • 1934 – Murli Manohar Joshi, Indian politician
  • 1936 – Florence King, American journalist and memoirist (d. 2016)
  • 1938 – Juan Carlos I of Spain
  • 1938 – Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, Kenyan author and playwright
  • 1939 – M. E. H. Maharoof, Sri Lankan politician (d. 1997)
  • 1940 – Athol Guy, Australian singer-songwriter and bassist
  • 1941 – Bob Cunis, New Zealand cricketer (d. 2008)
  • 1941 – Chuck McKinley, American tennis player (d. 1986)
  • 1941 – Hayao Miyazaki, Japanese animator, director, and screenwriter
  • 1941 – Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, Indian cricketer and coach (d. 2011)
  • 1942 – Maurizio Pollini, Italian pianist and conductor
  • 1942 – Charlie Rose, American journalist and talk show host
  • 1943 – Mary Gaudron, Australian lawyer and judge
  • 1943 – Murtaz Khurtsilava, Georgian footballer and manager
  • 1944 – Ed Rendell, American politician, 45th Governor of Pennsylvania
  • 1946 – Diane Keaton, American actress, director, and businesswoman
  • 1947 – Mike DeWine, American lawyer and politician, 70th Governor of Ohio
  • 1950 – Ioan P. Culianu, Romanian historian, philosopher, and author (d. 1991)
  • 1950 – Peter Goldsmith, Baron Goldsmith, English lawyer and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales
  • 1950 – John Manley, Canadian lawyer and politician, 8th Deputy Prime Minister of Canada
  • 1950 – Chris Stein, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
  • 1952 – Uli Hoeneß, German footballer and manager
  • 1953 – Pamela Sue Martin, American actress
  • 1953 – Mike Rann, English-Australian journalist and politician, 44th Premier of South Australia
  • 1953 – George Tenet, American civil servant and academic, 18th Director of Central Intelligence
  • 1954 – Alex English, American basketball player and coach
  • 1954 – László Krasznahorkai, Hungarian author and screenwriter
  • 1955 – Mamata Banerjee, Indian lawyer and politician, Chief Minister of West Bengal
  • 1956 – Frank-Walter Steinmeier, German academic and politician, 14th Vice-Chancellor of Germany
  • 1958 – Ron Kittle, American baseball player and manager
  • 1959 – Nancy Delahunt, Canadian curler
  • 1960 – Glenn Strömberg, Swedish footballer and sportscaster
  • 1961 – Iris DeMent, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1962 – Suzy Amis, American actress and model
  • 1962 – Danny Jackson, American baseball player and manager
  • 1963 – Jeff Fassero, American baseball player and coach
  • 1965 – Vinnie Jones, English/Welsh footballer and actor
  • 1965 – Patrik Sjöberg, Swedish high jumper
  • 1968 – Carrie Ann Inaba, American actress, dancer, and choreographer
  • 1968 – Joé Juneau, Canadian ice hockey player and engineer
  • 1969 – Marilyn Manson, American singer-songwriter, actor, and director
  • 1969 – Shaun Micheel, American golfer
  • 1971 – Stian Carstensen, Norwegian multi-instrumentalist and composer
  • 1972 – Sakis Rouvas, Greek singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
  • 1973 – Uday Chopra, Bollywood actor and filmmaker
  • 1974 – Iwan Thomas, Welsh sprinter and coach
  • 1975 – Bradley Cooper, American actor and producer
  • 1975 – Warrick Dunn, American football player
  • 1975 – Mike Grier, American ice hockey player and scout
  • 1976 – Diego Tristán, Spanish footballer
  • 1978 – January Jones, American actress
  • 1979 – Kyle Calder, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1979 – Giuseppe Gibilisco, Italian pole vaulter
  • 1981 – Deadmau5 (Joel Thomas Zimmerman), Canadian musician
  • 1982 – Janica Kostelić, Croatian skier
  • 1984 – Derrick Atkins, Bahamian sprinter
  • 1985 – Diego Vera, Uruguayan footballer
  • 1986 – Deepika Padukone, Indian actress
  • 1988 – Azizulhasni Awang, Malaysian track cyclist
  • 1988 – Luke Daniels, English footballer
  • 1989 – Krisztián Németh, Hungarian footballer
  • 1990 – Mark Nicholls, Australian rugby league player

Deaths on January 5

  • 842 – Al-Mu’tasim, Abbasid caliph (b. 796)
  • 941 – Zhang Yanhan, Chinese chancellor (b. 884)
  • 1066 – Edward the Confessor, English king (b. 1004)
  • 1173 – Bolesław IV the Curly, High Duke of Poland (b. 1120)
  • 1382 – Philippa Plantagenet, Countess of Ulster (b. 1355)
  • 1400 – John Montacute, 3rd Earl of Salisbury, English politician (b. 1350)
  • 1430 – Philippa of England, Queen of Denmark, Norway and Sweden (b. 1394)
  • 1477 – Charles, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1433)
  • 1524 – Marko Marulić, Croatian poet (b. 1450)
  • 1527 – Felix Manz, Swiss martyr (b. 1498)
  • 1578 – Giulio Clovio, Dalmatian painter (b. 1498)
  • 1580 – Anna Sibylle of Hanau-Lichtenberg, German noblewoman (b. 1542)
  • 1589 – Catherine de’ Medici, queen of Henry II of France (b. 1519)
  • 1713 – Jean Chardin, French explorer and author (b. 1643)
  • 1740 – Antonio Lotti, Italian composer and educator (b. 1667)
  • 1762 – Empress Elizabeth of Russia (b. 1709)
  • 1771 – John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford, English politician, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (b. 1710)
  • 1796 – Samuel Huntington, American jurist and politician, 18th Governor of Connecticut (b. 1731)
  • 1823 – George Johnston, Scottish-Australian colonel and politician, Lieutenant Governor of New South Wales (b. 1764)
  • 1845 – Robert Smirke, English painter and illustrator (b. 1753)
  • 1846 – Alfred Thomas Agate, American painter and illustrator (b. 1812)
  • 1858 – Joseph Radetzky von Radetz, Austrian field marshal (b. 1766)
  • 1860 – John Neumann, Czech-American bishop and saint (b. 1811)
  • 1883 – Charles Tompson, Australian poet and public servant (b. 1806)
  • 1885 – Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, Norwegian author and scholar (b. 1812)
  • 1888 – Henri Herz, Austrian pianist and composer (b. 1803)
  • 1899 – Ezra Otis Kendall, American professor, astronomer and mathematician (b. 1818)
  • 1904 – Karl Alfred von Zittel, German paleontologist and geologist (b. 1839)
  • 1910 – Léon Walras, French-Swiss economist and academic (b. 1834)
  • 1917 – Isobel Lilian Gloag, English painter (b. 1865)
  • 1922 – Ernest Shackleton, Anglo-Irish sailor and explorer (b. 1874)
  • 1933 – Calvin Coolidge, American lawyer and politician, 30th President of the United States (b. 1872)
  • 1942 – Tina Modotti, Italian photographer, model, actress, and activist (b. 1896)
  • 1943 – George Washington Carver, American botanist, educator, and inventor (b. 1864)
  • 1951 – Soh Jaipil, South Korean-American journalist and activist (b. 1864)
  • 1951 – Andrei Platonov, Russian journalist and author (b. 1899)
  • 1952 – Victor Hope, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow, Scottish colonel and politician, 46th Governor-General of India (b. 1887)
  • 1952 – Hristo Tatarchev, Bulgarian-Italian physician and activist (b. 1869)
  • 1954 – Rabbit Maranville, American baseball player and manager (b. 1891)
  • 1956 – Mistinguett, French actress and singer (b. 1875)
  • 1963 – Rogers Hornsby, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1896)
  • 1970 – Max Born, German physicist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1882)
  • 1970 – Roberto Gerhard, Catalan composer and scholar (b. 1896)
  • 1971 – Douglas Shearer, Canadian-American sound designer and engineer (b. 1899)
  • 1972 – Tevfik Rüştü Aras, Turkish physician and politician, 6th Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1883)
  • 1974 – Lev Oborin, Russian pianist and educator (b. 1907)
  • 1976 – John A. Costello, Irish lawyer and politician, 3rd Taoiseach of Ireland (b. 1891)
  • 1978 – Wyatt Emory Cooper, American author and screenwriter (b. 1927)
  • 1979 – Billy Bletcher, American actor, singer, and screenwriter (b. 1894
  • 1979 – Charles Mingus, American bassist, composer, bandleader (b. 1922)
  • 1981 – Harold Urey, American chemist and astronomer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1893)
  • 1981 – Lanza del Vasto, Italian poet and philosopher (b. 1901)
  • 1982 – Hans Conried, American actor (b. 1917)
  • 1982 – Edmund Herring, Australian general and politician, 7th Chief Justice of Victoria (b. 1892)1985 – Robert L. Surtees, American cinematographer (b. 1906)1987 – Margaret Laurence, Canadian author and academic (b. 1926)
  • 1987 – Herman Smith-Johannsen, Norwegian-Canadian skier (b. 1875)
  • 1990 – Arthur Kennedy, American actor (b. 1914)
  • 1991 – Vasko Popa, Serbian poet and academic (b. 1922)
  • 1994 – Tip O’Neill, American lawyer and politician, 55th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1912)
  • 1997 – André Franquin, Belgian author and illustrator (b. 1924)
  • 1997 – Burton Lane, American composer and songwriter (b. 1912)
  • 1998 – Sonny Bono, American singer-songwriter, producer, actor, and politician (b. 1935)
  • 2000 – Kumar Ponnambalam, Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer and politician (b. 1938)
  • 2003 – Roy Jenkins, Welsh politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1920)
  • 2004 – Norman Heatley, English biologist and chemist, co-developed penicillin (b. 1911)
  • 2006 – Merlyn Rees, Welsh educator and politician, Home Secretary (b. 1920)
  • 2007 – Momofuku Ando, Taiwanese-Japanese businessman, founded Nissin Foods (b. 1910)
  • 2009 – Griffin Bell, American lawyer and politician, 72nd United States Attorney General (b. 1918)
  • 2010 – Willie Mitchell, American singer-songwriter, trumpet player, and producer (b. 1928)
  • 2010 – Kenneth Noland, American painter (b. 1924)
  • 2012 – Isaac Díaz Pardo, Spanish painter and sculptor (b. 1920)
  • 2012 – Frederica Sagor Maas, American author, playwright, and screenwriter (b. 1900)
  • 2014 – Eusébio, Mozambican-Portuguese footballer and manager (b. 1942)
  • 2014 – Carmen Zapata, American actress (b. 1927)
  • 2015 – Jean-Pierre Beltoise, French racing driver and motorcycle racer (b. 1937)
  • 2015 – Bernard Joseph McLaughlin, American bishop (b. 1912)
  • 2016 – Pierre Boulez, French pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1925)
  • 2017 – Jill Saward, English rape victim and activist (b. 1965)
  • 2018 – Asghar Khan, Pakistani three star general and politician (b. 1921)
  • 2018 – Thomas Bopp, American astronomer best known as the co-discoverer of comet Hale–Bopp (b. 1949)
  • 2018 – Karin von Aroldingen, German ballerina (b. 1941)
  • 2019 – Bernice Sandler, American women’s rights activist (b. 1928)
  • 2019 – Dragoslav Šekularac, Serbian footballer and manager (b. 1937)

Holidays and observances on January 5

  • Christian Feast day:
    • Charles of Mount Argus
    • John Neumann (Catholic Church)
    • Pope Telesphorus
    • Simeon Stylites (Latin Church)
    • January 5 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival (Harbin, China
  • Joma Shinji (Japan)
  • National Bird Day (United States)
  • The Twelfth day of Christmas and the Twelfth Night of Christmas. (Western Christianity)

January 5 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

Inventions and Inventors

General Knowledge, Test, World /

Inventions and Inventors

A

Air Brake : 
George Westinghouse, U.S.A. 1911.
Air Conditioning : 
Willis Carrier, U.S.A. 1911.
Airplane : 
engine-powered, Wilbur and Orville Wright, U.S.A., 1903.
Airship :
Henri Giffard, France, 1852; Ferdin von Zeppelin, Germany, 1900.
Antibiotics :
Louis Pasteur, Jules-Francois Joubert, France, 1887; (discovery of penicillin) Alexander Fleming, Scotland, 1928.
Antiseptic : 
(surgery) Joseph Lister, England, 1867.
Aspirin : 
Dr. Felix Hoffman, Germany, 1899.
Atom :
(nuclear model of) Ernest Rutherford, England, 1911.
Atomic Structure :
Ernest Rutherford, England, 1911; Niels Bohr, Denmark, 1913.
Automated Teller Machine (ATM) :
Don Wetzel, U.S.A., 1968.
Automobile :
(first with internal combustion engine, 250 rmp) Karl Benz, Germany, 1885; (first with practical highspeed internal combustion engine, 900 rpm) Gottlieb Daimler, Germany, 1885; (first true automobile, not carriage with motor) Rene Panhard, Emile Lavassor, France, 1891; (carburetor, spray) Charles E. Duryea, U.S.A., 1892.
Autopilot : 
(for aircraft) Elmer A. Sperry, U.S.A., c.1910, first successful test, 1912, in a Curtiss flying boat.

B

Bacteria : 
Anton van Leeuwenhoek, The Netherlands, 1683.
Bakelite :
Leo Hendrik Baekeland, U.S.A., 1907.
Ball Bearing :
Philip Vaughan, England, 1794.
Ballon, Hot-air : 
Joseph and Jacques Montgolfier, France, 1783.
Bar Codes :
Monarch Marking, U.S.A. 1970.
Barometer :
Evangelista Torricelli, Italy, 1643.
Bicycle :
Karl D. von Sauebronn, Germany, 1816; (first modern model) James Starley, England, 1884.
Big Bang Theory :
(the universe originated with a huge explosion) George LeMaitre, Belgium, 1927; (modified LeMaitre theory labeled �Big Bang�) George A. Gamov, U.S.A., 1948; (cosmic microwave background radiation discovered) Arno A. Penzias and Robert W. Wilson, U.S.A. 1965.
Blood, Circulation of :
William Harvey, England, 1628.
Bomb, Atomic : 
J. Robert Oppenheimer et al., U.S.A., 1945.
Bomb, Thermonuclear (hydrogen) :
Edward Teller et al., U.S.A., 1952.
Boyle�s Law :
(relation between pressure and volume in gases) Robert Boyle, Ireland, 1662.
Braille :
Louis Braille, France, 1829.
Bridges :
(suspension, iron chains) James Finley, Pa., 1800; (wire suspension) Marc Seguin, Lyons, 1825; (truss) Ithiel Town, U.S.A., 1820.
Bullet :
(conical) Claude Minie, France, 1849.

C

Calculating Machine :
(logarithms) John Napierm Scotland, 1614; (digital calculator) Blaise Pascal, 1642; (multiplication machine) Gottfried Leibniz, Germany, 1671; (�analytical engine� design, included concepts of programming, taping) Charles Babbage, England, 1835.
Camera :
George Eastman, U.S.A., 1888; (Polaroid) Edwin Land, U.S.A., 1948
Car Radio : 
William Lear, Elmer Wavering, U.S.A. 1929.
Cells :
Robert Hooke, England, 1665.
Chewing Gum : 
John Curtis, U.S.A., 1848; (chicle-based) Thomas Adams, U.S.A., 1870.
Cholera Bacterium :
Robert Koch, Germany, 1883.
Circuit, Integrated :
(theoretical) G.W.A. Dummer, England, 1952; Jack S. Kilby, Texas Instruments, U.S.A., 1959.
Clock, Pendulum :
Christian Huygens, The Netherlands, 1656.
Clock, Quartz :
Warren A. Marrison, Canada/U.S.A., 1927.
Cloning, Animal :
John B. Gurdon, U.K., 1970.
Coca-Cola :
John Pemberton, U.S.A., 1886.
Combustion :
Antoine Lavoisier, France, 1777.
Compact Disk : 
RCA, U.S.A., 1972.
Compact Disk (CD) :
Philips Electronics, The Netherlands; Sony Corp., Japan, 1980.
Computed Tomography 
(CT scan, CAT scan) :
Godfrey Hounsfield, Allan Cormack, U.K. U.S.A., 1972
Computers :
(analytical engine) Charles Babbage, 1830s; (ENIAC, Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator, first all-electronic, completed) John Presper Eckert, Jr., John Mauchly, U.S.A., 1945; (UNIVAC, Universal Automatic Computer) 1951; (personal computer) Steve Wozniak, U.S.A., 1976.
Computer Laptop :
Radio Shack Corp., U.S.A., 1983.
Concrete :
Joseph Monier, France, 1877.

D

DDT :
Othmar Zeidler, Germany, 1874.
Detector, Metal :
Gerhard Fisher, Germany/U.S.A., late 1920s.
Deuterium :
(heavy hydrogen) Harold Urey, U.S.A., 1931.
DNA :
(deoxyribonucleic acid) Friedrich Meischer, Germany, 1869; (determination of double-helical structure) F. H. Crick, England and James D. Watson, U.S.A., 1953.
Dye :
William H. Perkin, England, 1856.
Dynamite :
Alfred Nobel, Sweden, 1867.

E

Electric Generator (dynamo) :
(laboratory model) Michael Faraday, England, 1832; Joseph Henry, U.S.A., c.1832; (hand-driven model) Hippolyte Pixii, France, 1833; (alternating-current generator) Nikola Tesla, U.S.A., 1892.
Electron :
Sir Joseph J. Thompson, U.S.A., 1897.
Electronic Mail :
Ray Tomlinson, U.S.A., 1972.
Elevator, Passenger :
Elisha G. Otis, U.S.A., 1852.
E=mc2 
equivalence of mass and energy) Albert Einstein, Switzerland, 1907.
Engine, Internal Combustion :
No single inventor. Fundamental theory established by Sadi Carnot, France, 1824; (two-stroke) Etienne Lenoir, France, 1860; (ideal operating cycle for four-stroke) Alphonse Beau de Roche, France, 1862; (operating four-stroke) Nikolaus Otto, Germany, 1876; (diesel) Rudolf Diesel, Germany, 1892; (rotary) Felix Wanket, Germany, 1956.
Evolution :
: (organic) Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, France, 1809; (by natural selection) Charles Darwin, England, 1859.

F

Facsimile (fax) :
Alexander Bain, Scotland, 1842.
Fiber Optics : 
Narinder Kapany, England, 1955.
Film Photographic :
George Eastman, U.S.A., 1884.
Flashlight, Battery-operated Portable :
Conrad Hubert, Russia/U.S.A., 1899
Flask, Vacuum (Thermos) :
Sir James Dewar, Scotland, 1892.
Fuel Cell :
William R. Grove, U.K., 1839

G

Genetic Engineering :
Stanley N. Cohen, Herbert W. Boyer, U.S.A., 1973.
Gravitation, Law of :
Sir Issac Newton, England, c.1665 (published 1687).
Gunpowder :
China, c.700.
Gyrocompass :
Elmer A. Sperry, U.S.A., 1905.
Gyroscope :
Jean Leon Foucault, France, 1852.

H

Helicopter :
(double rotor) Heinrich Focke, Germany, 1936; (single rotor) Igor Silorsky, U.S.A., 1939.
Helium First Observed on Sun:
Sir Joseph Lockyer, England, 1868.
Home Videotape Systems 
(VCR) :
(Betamax) Sony, Japan, (1975); (VHS) Matsushita, Japan, 1975.

I

Ice Age Theory :
Louis Agassiz, Swiss-American, 1840.
Insulin :
(first isolated) Sir Frederick G. Banting and Charles H. Best, Canada, 1921; (discovery first published) Banting and Best, 1922; (Nobel Prize awarded for purification for use in humans) John Macleod and Banting, 1923; (first synthesized), China, 1966.
Internet :
Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) at the Dept. of Defense, U.S.A., 1969.
Iron, Electric : 
Henry W. Seely, U.S.A., 1882.
Isotopes : 
Frederick Soddy, England, 1912.

J

Jet Propulsion :
(engine) Sir Frank Whittle, England, Hans von Ohain, Germany, 1936; (aircraft) Heinkel He 178, 1939.

L

Laser :
(theoretical work on) Charles H. Townes, Arthur L. Schawlow, U.S.A. Basov, A. Prokhorov, U.S.S.R., 1958; (first working model) T. H. Maiman, U.S.A., 1960.
LCD (liquid crystal display) :
Hoffmann-La Roche, Switzerland, 1970.
Lens, Bifocal :
Benjamin Franklin, U.S.A., c.1760.
Light-Emitting Diode (LED) :
Nick Holonyak, Jr., U.S.A., 1962.
Light, Speed of :
(theory that light has finite velocity) Olaus Roemer, Denmark, 1675.
Locomotive :
(steam powered) Richard Trevithick, England, 1804; (first practical, due to multiple-fire-tube boiler) George Stephenson, England, 1829; (largest steam-powered) Union Pacific�s �Big Boy�, U.S.A., 1941.
Loud Speaker :
Chester W. Rice, Edward W. Kellogg, U.S.A., 1924.

M

Machine Gun :
(multibarrel) Richard J. Gatling, U.S.A., 1862; (single barrel, belt-fed) Hiram S. Maxim, Anglo-American, 1884.
Magnet, Earth is : 
William Gilbert, England, 1600.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) : 
Raymond Damadian, Paul Lauterbur, U.S.A., early 1970s.
Matchstick/box : 
(phosphorus) Francois Derosne, France, 1816; (friction) Charles Sauria, France, 1831; (safety) J. E. Lundstrom, Sweden, 1855.
Metric System : 
Revolutionary government of France, 1790-1801.
Microphone : 
Charles Wheatstone, England, 1827.
Microscope : 
(compound) Zacharias Janssen, The Netherlands, 1590; (electron) Vladimir Zworykin et al., U.S.A., Canada, Germany, 1932-1939.
Microwave Oven : 
Percy Spencer, U.S.A., 1947.
Missile, Guided : 
Wernher von Braun, Germany, 1942.
Motion, Laws of : 
Isaac Newton, England, 1687.
Motion Pictures : 
Thomas A. Edison, U.S.A., 1893.
Motion Pictures, Sound : 

Motor, Electric : 

Motorcycle : 
(motor tricycle) Edward Butler, England, 1884; (gasoline-engine motorcycle) Gottlieb Daimler, Germany, 1885.
Moving Assembly Line : 
Product of various inventions. First picture with synchronized musical score : Don Juan, 1926; with spoken diologue : The Jazz Singer, 1927; both Warner Bros.

Michael Faraday, England, 1822; (alternating-current) Nikola Tesla, U.S.A., 1892.

O

Ozone : 
Christian Schonbein, Germany, 1839.

N

Neutron : 
James Chadwick, England, 1932.
Nuclear Fission : 
Otto Hahn, Fritz Strassmann, Germany, 1938.
Nuclear Reactor : 
Enrico Fermi, Italy, et al., 1942.
Nylon : 
Wallace H. Carothers, U.S.A., 1937.

P

Pacemaker : 
Clarence W. Lillehie, Earl Bakk, U.S.A., 1957.
Paper : 
China, c.100 A.D.
Parachute : 
Louis S. Lenormand, France, 1783.
Pen : 
(fountain) Lewis E. Waterman, U.S.A., 1884; (ball-point) John H. Loud, U.S.A., 1888; Lazlo Biro, Argentina, 1944.
Phonograph : 
Thomas A. Edison, U.S.A., 1877.
Photography : 
(first paper negative, first photograph, on metal) Joseph Nicephore Niepce, France, 1816-1827; (discovery of fixative powers of hyposulfite of soda) Sir John Herschel, England, 1819; (first direct positive image on silver plate) Louis Dagauerre, based on work with Niepce, France, 1839; (first paper negative from which a number of positive prints could be made) William Talbot, England, 1841. Work of these four men, taken together, forms basis for all modern photography. (First color images) Alexandre Becquerel, Claude Niepce de Saint-Victor, France, 1848-1860; (commercial color film with three emulsion layers, Kodachrome) U.S.A. 1935.
Photovoltaic Effect :
(light falling on certain materials can produce electricity) Edmund Becquerel, France, 1839.
Planetary Motion, Laws of : 
Johannes Kepler, Germany, 1609, 1619.
Plastics : 
(first material nitrocellulose softened by vegetable oil, camphor, precursor to Celluloid) Alexander Parkes, England, 1855; (Celluloid, involving recognition of vital effect of camphor) John W. Hyatt, U.S.A., 1869; (Bakelite, first completely synthetic plastic) Leo H. Baekeland, U.S.A., 1910; (theoretical background of macromolecules and process of polymerization on which modern plastics industry rests) Hermann Staudinger, Germany, 1922; (polypropylene and low-pressure method for producing high-density polyethylene) Robert Banks, Paul Hogan, U.S.A., 1958.
Polio, Vaccine : 
(experimentally safe dead-virus vaccine) Jonas E. Salk, U.S.A., 1952; (effective large-scale field trials) 1954; (officially approved) 1955; (safe oral live-virus vaccine developed) Albert B. Sabin, U.S.A. 1954; (available in the U.S.A.) 1960.
Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) : 
Eugen Baumann, Germany, 1872.
Printing : 
(block) Japan, c.700; (movable type) Korea, c.1400, Johann Gutenberg, Germany, c.1450; (lithography, offset) Aloys Senefelder, Germany, 1796; (rotary press) Richard Hoe, U.S.A. 1844; (linotype) Ottmar Mergenthaler, U.S.A., 1884.
Printing Press, Movable Type : 
Johannes Gutenburg, Germany, c.1450.
Proton : 
Ernest Rutherford, England, 1919.
Pulsars : 
Antony Hewish and Jocelyn Bell Burnel, England, 1967.

Q

Quantum Theory : 
(general) Max Planck, Germany, 1900; (sub-atomic) Niels Bohr, Denmark, 1913; (quantum mechanics) Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Schrodinger, Germany, 1925.

R

Rabies Immunization : 
Louis Pasteur, France, 1885.
Radar : 
(limited range) Christian Hulsmeyer, Germany, 1904; (pulse modulation, used for measuring height of ionosphere) Gregory Breit, Merle Tuve, U.S.A., 1925; (first practical radar-radio detection and ranging) Sir Robert Watson-Watt, England, 1934-1935.
Radio : 
(electromagnetism theory of) James Clerk Maxwell, England, 1873; (spark coil, generator of electromagnetic waves) Heinrich Hertz, Germany, 1886; (first practical system of wireless telegraphy) Guglielmo Marconi, Italy, 1895; (first long-distance telegraphic radio signal sent across the Atlantic) Macroni, 1901; (vacuum electron tube, basis for radio telephony) Sir John Fleming, England, 1904; (regenerative circuit, allowing long-distance sound reception) Edwin H. Armstrong, U.S.A., 1912; (frequency modulation-FM) Edwin H. Armstrong, U.S.A., 1933.
Radiocarbon Dating, Carbon-14 Method : 
(discovered) Willard F. Libby, U.S.A., 1947; (first demonstrated) U.S.A., 1950.
Razor : 
(safety) King Gillette, U.S.A., 1901; (electric) Jacob Schick, U.S.A., 1928, 1931.
Refrigerator : 
Alexander Twining, U.S.A., James Harrison, Australia, 1850; (first with a compressor) the Domelse, Chicago, U.S.A., 1913.
Remote Control, Television : 
Robert Adler, U.S.A., 1950.
Richter Scale : 
Charles F. Richter, U.S.A., 1935.
Rifle : 
(muzzle-loaded) Italy, Germany, c.1475; (breech-loaded) England, France, Germany, U.S.A., c.1866; (bolt-action) Paul von Mauser, Germany, 1889; (automatic) John Browning, U.S.A., 1918.
Rocket : 
(liquid-fueled) Robert Goddard, U.S.A., 1926.
Rotation of Earth : 
Jean Bernard Foucault, France, 1851.
Rubber : 
(vulcanization process) Charles Goodyear, U.S.A., 1839.

S

Saccharin : 
Constantine Fuhlberg, Ira Remsen, U.S.A., 1879.
Safety Pin : 
Walter Hunt, U.S.A., 1849.
Saturn, Ring Around : 
Christian Huygens, The Netherlands, 1659.
Seismograph : 
(first accurate) John Bohlin, Sweden, 1962.
Sewing Machine : 
Elias Howe, U.S.A., 1846; (continuous stitch) Isaac Singer, U.S.A., 1851.
Spectrum : 
Sir Isaac Newton, England, 1665-1666.
Steam Engine : 
Thomas Savery, England, 1639; (atmospheric steam engine) Thomas Newcomen, England, 1705; (steam engine for pumping water from collieries) Savery, Newcomen, 1725; (modern condensing, double acting) James Watt, England, 1782; (high-pressure) Oliver Evans, U.S.A., 1804.
Steel, Stainless : 
Harry Brearley, U.K., 1914.
Stethoscope : 
Rene Laennec, France, 1819.
Submarine : 
Cornelis Drebbel, The Netherlands, 1620.

T

Tank, Military : 
Sir Ernest Swinton, England, 1914.
Tape Recorder : 
Valdemar Poulsen, Denmark, 1899.
Teflon : 
DuPont, U.S.A., 1943.
Telegraph : 
Samuel F. B. Morse, U.S.A., 1837.
Telephone : 
Alexander Graham Bell, U.S.A., 1837.
Telephoe, Mobile : 
Bell Laboratories, U.S.A., 1946.
Telescope : 
Hans Lippershey, The Netherlands, 1608; (astronomical) Galileo Galilei, Italy, 1609; (reflecting) Isaac Newton, England, 1668.
Television : 
Vladimir Zworykin, U.S.A., 1923, and also kinescope (cathode ray tube) 1928; (mechanical disk-scanning method) successfully demaonstrated by J. L. Baird, Scotland, C. F. Jenkins, U.S.A., 1926; (first all-electric television image) Philo T. Famsworth, U.S.A., 1927; (color, mechanical disk) Baird, 1928; (color, compatible with black and white) George Valensi, France, 1938; (color, sequential rotating filter) Peter Goldmark, U.S.A., first introduced, 1951; (color, compatible with black and white) commercially introduced in U.S.A., National Television Systems committee, 1953.
Thermodynamics : 
(first law : energy cannot be created or destroyed, only converted from one from to another) Julius Von Mayer, Germany, 1842; James Joule, England, 1843; (second law : heat cannot itself pass from a colder to a warmer body) Rudolph Clausius, Germany, 1850; (third law : the entropy of ordered solids reaches zero at the absolute zero of temperature) Walter Nernstm Germany, 1918.
Thermometer : 
(open-column) Galileo Galilei, c.1593; (clinical) Santorio Santorio, Padua, c.1615; (mercury, also Fahrenheit scale) Gabriel D. Fahrenheit, Germany, 1714; (centigrade scale) Anders Celsius, Sweden, 1742; (absolute-temperature, or Kelvin, scale) William Thompson, Lord Kelvin, England, 1848.
Tire, Pneumatic : 
Robert W. Thompson, England, 1845; (bicycle tire) John B. Dunlop, Northern Ireland, 1888.
Transformer, Electric : 
William Stanely, U.S.A., 1885.
Transistor : 
John Bardeen, Walter H. Brattain, William B. Shockley, U.S.A., 1947.
Typewriter : 
Christopher Sholes, Carlos Glidden, U.S.A., 1867.

V

Velcro : 
George de Mestral, Switzerland, 1948.
Video Disk : 
Philips Co., The Netherlands, 1972.
Vitamins : 
(hypothesis of disease deficiency) Sir F. G. Hopkins, Casimir Funk, England, 1912; (vitamin A) Elmer V. McCollum, M. Davis, U.S.A., 1912-1914; (vitamin B) McCollum, U.S.A., 1915-1916; (thiamin B1) Casimir Funk, England, 1912; ( riboflavin, B2) D. T. Smith, E. G. Hendrick, U.S.A., 1926; (niacin) Conrad Elvehjem, U.S.A., 1937; (B6) Paul Gyorgy, U.S.A., 1934; (vitamin C) C. A. Hoist, T. Froelich, Norway, 1912; (vitamin D) McCollum, U.S.A., 1922; (folic acid) Lucy Wills, England, 1933.

W

Wheel : 
(cart, solid wood) Mesopotamia, c.3800-3600 B.C.
Windmill : 
Persia, c.600.
World Wide Web : 
(developed while working at CERN) Tim Berners-Lee, England, 1989; (development of Mosaic browser makes WWW available for general use) Marc Andreeson, U.S.A., 1993.

X

X-ray Imaging : 
Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen, Germany, 1895.
Xerography : 
Chester Carlson, U.S.A., 1900.

Z

Zero : 
India, c.600; (absolute zero temperature, cessation of all molecular energy) William Thompson, Lord Kelvin, England, 1848.

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General Knowledge, Test, World