1631

  • April 8 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances 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

  • March 31 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    It is the last day of the first quarter of the year.

    March 31 in History

    • 307 – After divorcing his wife Minervina, Constantine marries Fausta, daughter of the retired Roman Emperor Maximian.
    • 1146 – Bernard of Clairvaux preaches his famous sermon in a field at Vézelay, urging the necessity of a Second Crusade. Louis VII is present, and joins the Crusade.
    • 1492 – Queen Isabella of Castile issues the Alhambra Decree, ordering her 150,000 Jewish and Muslim subjects to convert to Christianity or face expulsion.
    • 1561 – The city of San Cristóbal, Táchira is founded.
    • 1717 – A sermon on “The Nature of the Kingdom of Christ” by Benjamin Hoadly, the Bishop of Bangor, preached in the presence of King George I of Great Britain, provokes the Bangorian Controversy.
    • 1774 – American Revolutionary War: The Kingdom of Great Britain orders the port of Boston, Massachusetts closed pursuant to the Boston Port Act.
    • 1854 – Commodore Matthew Perry signs the Convention of Kanagawa with the Tokugawa Shogunate, opening the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate to American trade.
    • 1885 – The United Kingdom establishes the Bechuanaland Protectorate.
    • 1889 – The Eiffel Tower is officially opened.
    • 1899 – Malolos, capital of the First Philippine Republic, is captured by American forces.
    • 1906 – The Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States (later the National Collegiate Athletic Association) is established to set rules for college sports in the United States.
    • 1909 – Serbia formally withdraws its opposition to Austro-Hungarian actions in the Bosnian Crisis.
    • 1913 – The Vienna Concert Society rioted during a performance of modernist music by Arnold Schoenberg, Alban Berg, Alexander von Zemlinsky, and Anton von Webern, causing a premature end to the concert due to violence; this concert became known as the Skandalkonzert.
    • 1917 – According to the terms of the Treaty of the Danish West Indies, the islands become American possessions.
    • 1918 – Massacre of ethnic Azerbaijanis is committed by allied armed groups of Armenian Revolutionary Federation and Bolsheviks. Nearly 12,000 Azerbaijani Muslims are killed.
    • 1918 – Daylight saving time goes into effect in the United States for the first time.
    • 1921 – The Royal Australian Air Force is formed.
    • 1930 – The Motion Picture Production Code is instituted, imposing strict guidelines on the treatment of sex, crime, religion and violence in film, in the U.S., for the next thirty-eight years.
    • 1931 – An earthquake in Nicaragua destroys Managua; killing 2,000.
    • 1931 – A Transcontinental & Western Air airliner crashes near Bazaar, Kansas, killing eight, including University of Notre Dame head football coach Knute Rockne.
    • 1933 – The Civilian Conservation Corps is established with the mission of relieving rampant unemployment in the United States.
    • 1942 – World War II: Japanese forces invade Christmas Island, then a British possession.
    • 1945 – World War II: A defecting German pilot delivers a Messerschmitt Me 262A-1, the world’s first operational jet-powered fighter aircraft, to the Americans, the first to fall into Allied hands.
    • 1949 – The Dominion of Newfoundland joins the Canadian Confederation and becomes the 10th Province of Canada.
    • 1951 – Remington Rand delivers the first UNIVAC I computer to the United States Census Bureau.
    • 1957 – Elections to the Territorial Assembly of the French colony Upper Volta are held. After the elections PDU and MDV form a government.
    • 1958 – In the Canadian federal election, the Progressive Conservatives, led by John Diefenbaker, win the largest percentage of seats in Canadian history, with 208 seats of 265.
    • 1959 – The 14th Dalai Lama, crosses the border into India and is granted political asylum.
    • 1964 – Brazilian General Olímpio Mourão Filho orders his troops to move towards Rio de Janeiro, beginning the coup d’état.
    • 1966 – The Soviet Union launches Luna 10 which later becomes the first space probe to enter orbit around the Moon.
    • 1968 – American President Lyndon B. Johnson speaks to the nation of “Steps to Limit the War in Vietnam” in a television address. At the conclusion of his speech, he announces: “I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your President.”
    • 1970 – Explorer 1 re-enters the Earth’s atmosphere after 12 years in orbit.
    • 1980 – The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad operates its final train after being ordered to liquidate its assets because of bankruptcy and debts owed to creditors.
    • 1985 – The first WrestleMania, the biggest wrestling event from the WWE (then the WWF), takes place in Madison Square Garden in New York City.
    • 1990 – Approximately 200,000 protesters take to the streets of London to protest against the newly introduced Poll Tax.
    • 1991 – Georgian independence referendum: Nearly 99 percent of the voters support the country’s independence from the Soviet Union.
    • 1992 – The USS Missouri, the last active United States Navy battleship, is decommissioned in Long Beach, California.
    • 1992 – The Treaty of Federation is signed in Moscow.
    • 1995 – TAROM Flight 371, an Airbus A310-300, crashes near Balotesti, Romania, killing all 60 people on board.
    • 1995 – Selena is murdered by her fan club’s president Yolanda Saldívar at a Days Inn in Corpus Christi, Texas after accusations of Saldívar embezzling money from Selena’s fan club.
    • 1998 – Netscape releases Mozilla source code under an open source license.
    • 2004 – Iraq War in Anbar Province: In Fallujah, Iraq, four American private military contractors working for Blackwater USA, are killed after being ambushed.
    • 2018 – Start of the 2018 Armenian revolution.

    Births on March 31

    • 1360 – Philippa of Lancaster (d. 1415)
    • 1499 – Pope Pius IV (d. 1565)
    • 1504 – Guru Angad, Indian religious leader (d. 1552)
    • 1519 – Henry II of France (d. 1559)
    • 1536 – Ashikaga Yoshiteru, Japanese shōgun (d. 1565)
    • 1596 – René Descartes, French mathematician and philosopher (d. 1650)
    • 1601 – Jakov Mikalja, Italian linguist and lexicographer (d. 1654)
    • 1621 – Andrew Marvell, English poet and politician (d. 1678)
    • 1651 – Charles II, Elector Palatine, German husband of Princess Wilhelmine Ernestine of Denmark (d. 1685)
    • 1675 – Pope Benedict XIV (d. 1758)
    • 1718 – Mariana Victoria of Spain (d. 1781)
    • 1723 – Frederick V of Denmark (d. 1766)
    • 1730 – Étienne Bézout, French mathematician and theorist (d. 1783)
    • 1732 – Joseph Haydn, Austrian pianist and composer (d. 1809)
    • 1740 – Panoutsos Notaras, Greek politician (d. 1849)
    • 1747 – Johann Abraham Peter Schulz, German pianist and composer (d. 1800)
    • 1777 – Charles Cagniard de la Tour, French physicist and engineer (d. 1859)
    • 1778 – Coenraad Jacob Temminck, Dutch zoologist and ornithologist (d. 1858)
    • 1794 – Thomas McKean Thompson McKennan, American lawyer and politician, 2nd United States Secretary of the Interior (d. 1852)
    • 1809 – Edward FitzGerald, English poet and translator (d. 1883)
    • 1809 – Nikolai Gogol, Ukrainian-Russian short story writer, novelist, and playwright (d. 1852)
    • 1809 – Otto Lindblad, Swedish composer (d. 1864)
    • 1813 – Félix María Zuloaga, Mexican general and unconstitutional interim president (1858 and 1860–1862) (d. 1898)
    • 1819 – Chlodwig, Prince of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst (d. 1901)
    • 1823 – Mary Boykin Chesnut, American author (d. 1886)
    • 1833 – Mary Abigail Dodge, American writer and essayist (d. 1896)
    • 1835 – John La Farge, American artist (d. 1910)
    • 1847 – Hermann de Pourtalès, Swiss sailor (d. 1904)
    • 1847 – Yegor Ivanovich Zolotarev, Russian mathematician and theorist (d. 1878)
    • 1851 – Francis Bell, Jewish New Zealand lawyer and politician, 20th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1936)
    • 1855 – Alfred E. Hunt, American businessman (d. 1899)
    • 1859 – Emil Fenyvessy, Hungarian actor and screenwriter (d. 1924)
    • 1865 – Anandi Gopal Joshi, Indian physician (d. 1887)
    • 1871 – Arthur Griffith, Irish journalist and politician, 3rd President of Dáil Éireann (d. 1922)
    • 1872 – Sergei Diaghilev, Russian ballet manager and critic, founded the Ballets Russes (d. 1929)
    • 1874 – Benjamín G. Hill, Mexican revolutionary general, governor of Sonora (d. 1920)
    • 1874 – Henri Marteau, French violinist and composer (d. 1934)
    • 1876 – Borisav Stanković, Serbian author (d. 1927)
    • 1878 – Jack Johnson, American boxer (d. 1946)
    • 1884 – Adriaan van Maanen, Dutch-American astronomer and academic (d. 1946)
    • 1885 – Pascin, Sephardi Jewish Bulgarian-American painter and illustrator (d. 1930)
    • 1890 – Ben Adams, American jumper (d. 1961)
    • 1890 – William Lawrence Bragg, Australian-English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1971)
    • 1891 – Victor Varconi, Hungarian-American actor and director (d. 1976)
    • 1893 – Clemens Krauss, Austrian conductor and manager (d. 1954)
    • 1893 – Herbert Meinhard Mühlpfordt, German physician and historian (d. 1982)
    • 1895 – Vardis Fisher, American author and academic (d. 1968)
    • 1900 – Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester (d. 1974)
    • 1905 – Robert Stevenson, English director and screenwriter (d. 1986)
    • 1905 – George Treweek, Australian rugby league player (d. 1991)
    • 1906 – Sin-Itiro Tomonaga, Japanese physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1979)
    • 1908 – Red Norvo, American vibraphone player and composer (d. 1999)
    • 1911 – Freddie Green, American guitarist (d. 1987)
    • 1911 – Elisabeth Grümmer, German soprano (d. 1986)
    • 1912 – William Lederer, American soldier and author (d. 2009)
    • 1913 – Etta Baker, African-American singer and guitarist (d. 2006)
    • 1914 – Octavio Paz, Mexican poet and diplomat, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998)
    • 1914 – Dagmar Lange, Swedish author (d. 1991)
    • 1915 – Albert Hourani, English historian and author (d. 1993)
    • 1915 – Shoichi Yokoi, Japanese sergeant (d. 1997)
    • 1916 – Lucille Bliss, American voice actress (d. 2012)
    • 1916 – Tommy Bolt, American golfer (d. 2008)
    • 1916 – John H. Wood, Jr., American lawyer and judge (d. 1979)
    • 1917 – Dorothy DeLay, American violinist and educator (d. 2002)
    • 1918 – Ted Post, American director (d. 2013)
    • 1919 – Frank Akins, American football player (d. 1993)
    • 1920 – Deborah Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, British aristocrat, socialite and author (d. 2014)
    • 1921 – Lowell Fulson, African-American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1999)
    • 1921 – Peggy Rea, American actress and casting director (d. 2011)
    • 1922 – Richard Kiley, American actor and singer (d. 1999)
    • 1922 – Patrick Magee, Irish actor (d. 1982)
    • 1923 – Don Barksdale, American basketball player (d. 1993)
    • 1923 – François Sermon, Belgian footballer (d. 2013)
    • 1924 – Leo Buscaglia, American author and academic (d. 1998)
    • 1924 – Charles Guggenheim, American director and producer (d. 2002)
    • 1925 – Jean Coutu, Canadian actor and director (d. 1999)
    • 1926 – John Fowles, English novelist (d. 2005)
    • 1926 – Beni Montresor, Italian director, set designer, author, and illustrator (d. 2001)
    • 1926 – Rocco Petrone, American colonel and engineer (d. 2006)
    • 1927 – Cesar Chavez, American labor union leader and activist (d. 1993)
    • 1927 – William Daniels, American actor
    • 1927 – Eduardo Martínez Somalo, Spanish cardinal
    • 1927 – Vladimir Ilyushin, Russian pilot (d. 2010)
    • 1927 – Elmer Diedtrich, American businessman and politician (d. 2013)
    • 1927 – Bud MacPherson, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1988)
    • 1928 – Lefty Frizzell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1975)
    • 1928 – Gordie Howe, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2016)
    • 1929 – Liz Claiborne, Belgian-American fashion designer, founded Liz Claiborne Inc. (d. 2007)
    • 1929 – Bert Fields, American lawyer and author
    • 1930 – Yehuda Nir, Polish Jewish-American psychiatrist (d. 2014)
    • 1930 – Jim Mutscheller, American football player and coach (d. 2015)
    • 1931 – Miller Barber, American golfer (d. 2013)
    • 1931 – Tamara Tyshkevich, Belarusian shot putter (d. 1997)
    • 1932 – John Jakes, American author
    • 1932 – Nagisa Oshima, Japanese director and screenwriter (d. 2013)
    • 1933 – Anita Carter, American singer-songwriter and bassist (d. 1999)
    • 1933 – Nichita Stănescu, Romanian poet (d. 1983)
    • 1934 – Richard Chamberlain, American actor
    • 1934 – Shirley Jones, American actress and singer
    • 1934 – John D. Loudermilk, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2016)
    • 1934 – Carlo Rubbia, Italian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1934 – Kamala Surayya, Indian poet and author (d. 2009)
    • 1935 – Herb Alpert, American singer-songwriter, trumpet player, and producer
    • 1935 – Judith Rossner, Jewish-American author (d. 2005)
    • 1936 – Marge Piercy, American poet and novelist
    • 1936 – Walter E. Williams, American economist and academic
    • 1938 – Patrick Bateson, English biologist and academic (d. 2017)
    • 1938 – Sheila Dikshit, Indian politician, 22nd Governor of Kerala (d. 2019)
    • 1938 – Antje Gleichfeld, German runner
    • 1938 – Bill Hicke, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager (d. 2005)
    • 1938 – Tõnno Lepmets, Estonian basketball player (d. 2005)
    • 1938 – Arthur B. Rubinstein, American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2018)
    • 1938 – David Steel, Scottish academic and politician
    • 1939 – Zviad Gamsakhurdia, Georgian anthropologist and politician, 1st President of Georgia (d. 1993)
    • 1939 – Israel Horovitz, American actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1939 – Walker David Miller, American lawyer and judge (d. 2013)
    • 1939 – Volker Schlöndorff, German director and producer
    • 1939 – Karl-Heinz Schnellinger, German footballer
    • 1940 – Brian Ackland-Snow, English production designer and art director (d. 2013)
    • 1940 – Barney Frank, American lawyer and politician
    • 1940 – Patrick Leahy, American lawyer and politician
    • 1941 – Franco Bonvicini, Italian author and illustrator (d. 1995)
    • 1941 – Faith Leech, Australian swimmer (d. 2013)
    • 1942 – Ulla Hoffmann, Swedish politician
    • 1942 – Hugh McCracken, American guitarist and producer (d. 2013)
    • 1942 – Michael Savage, far-right American radio host and author
    • 1943 – Roy Andersson, Swedish director and screenwriter
    • 1943 – Deirdre Clancy, English costume designer
    • 1943 – Christopher Walken, American actor
    • 1944 – Pascal Danel, French singer-songwriter
    • 1944 – Angus King, American politician
    • 1944 – Mick Ralphs, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1945 – Edwin Catmull, American computer scientist and engineer
    • 1945 – Gabe Kaplan, American actor and comedian
    • 1945 – Myfanwy Talog, Welsh actress (d. 1995)
    • 1946 – Gonzalo Márquez, Venezuelan baseball player (d. 1984)
    • 1946 – Bob Russell, English politician
    • 1947 – Augustin Banyaga, Rwandan-American mathematician and academic
    • 1947 – Wendy Overton, American tennis player
    • 1947 – Kristian Blak, Danish-Faroese pianist, composer, and producer
    • 1947 – Don Foster, English academic and politician
    • 1947 – César Gaviria, Colombian economist and politician, 36th President of Colombia
    • 1947 – Eliyahu M. Goldratt, Israeli physicist and economist (d. 2011)
    • 1948 – Gary Doer, Canadian politician and diplomat, 20th Premier of Manitoba
    • 1948 – Al Gore, American soldier and politician, 45th Vice President of the United States and Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1948 – Rhea Perlman, American actress
    • 1948 – Gustaaf Van Cauter, Belgian cyclist
    • 1949 – Gilles Gilbert, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1950 – András Adorján, Hungarian chess player and author
    • 1950 – Ed Marinaro, American football player and actor
    • 1950 – Sandra Morgen, American anthropologist and academic (d. 2016)
    • 1953 – Dennis Kamakahi, American guitarist and composer (d. 2014)
    • 1955 – Svetozar Marović, President of Serbia and Montenegro
    • 1955 – Angus Young, Scottish-Australian guitarist and songwriter
    • 1957 – Alan Duncan, English businessman and politician, former Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
    • 1959 – Markus Hediger, Swiss poet and translator
    • 1959 – Anita Dillen, Dutch socialite and member of wealthy Dillen family, niece of Cor Dillen, Coen Dillen
    • 1961 – Ron Brown, American sprinter and football player
    • 1961 – Howard Gordon, American screenwriter and producer
    • 1962 – Olli Rehn, Finnish footballer and politician
    • 1963 – Paul Mercurio, Australian actor and dancer
    • 1964 – Mark Hoban, English accountant and politician
    • 1965 – Tom Barrasso, American ice hockey player and coach
    • 1965 – Patty Fendick, American tennis player and coach
    • 1965 – Jean-Christophe Lafaille, French mountaineer (d. 2006)
    • 1965 – William McNamara, American actor and producer
    • 1965 – Steven T. Seagle, American author and screenwriter
    • 1966 – Roger Black, English runner and journalist
    • 1966 – Nick Firestone, American race car driver
    • 1968 – César Sampaio, Brazilian footballer
    • 1969 – Nyamko Sabuni, Burundian-Swedish politician
    • 1969 – Steve Smith, American basketball player and sportscaster
    • 1970 – Alenka Bratušek, Slovenian politician, 7th Prime Minister of Slovenia
    • 1971 – Demetris Assiotis, Cypriot footballer
    • 1971 – Martin Atkinson, English footballer and referee
    • 1971 – Pavel Bure, Russian ice hockey player
    • 1971 – Craig McCracken, American animator, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1971 – Ewan McGregor, Scottish actor
    • 1972 – Alejandro Amenábar, Chilean-Spanish director and screenwriter
    • 1972 – Andrew Bowen, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1972 – Luca Gentili, Italian footballer and coach
    • 1972 – Evan Williams, American businessman, co-founded Twitter and Pyra Labs
    • 1973 – Christopher Hampson, English ballet dancer and choreographer
    • 1974 – Benjamin Eicher, German director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1974 – Natali, Russian singer, composer and songwriter
    • 1974 – Stefan Olsdal, Swedish bass player
    • 1974 – Jani Sievinen, Finnish swimmer
    • 1975 – Adam Green, American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1975 – Nathan Grey, Australian rugby player and coach
    • 1975 – Cameron Murray, Scottish rugby player
    • 1975 – Ryan Rupe, American baseball player
    • 1976 – Howard Frier, American basketball player
    • 1976 – Igors Sļesarčuks, Latvian-Russian footballer
    • 1976 – Graeme Smith, Scottish swimmer
    • 1977 – Toshiya, Japanese bass player, songwriter, and producer
    • 1977 – Garth Tander, Australian race car driver
    • 1978 – Michael Clark, Australian cricketer and footballer
    • 1978 – Stephen Clemence, English footballer, midfeider and manager
    • 1978 – Jarrod Cooper, American football player
    • 1978 – Jérôme Rothen, French footballer
    • 1979 – Omri Afek, Israeli footballer
    • 1979 – Euan Burton, Scottish martial artist and coach
    • 1979 – Alexis Ferrero, Argentinian footballer
    • 1979 – Charlie Manning, American baseball player
    • 1979 – Jonna Mendes, American skier
    • 1979 – Rhys Wesser, Australian rugby league player
    • 1980 – Martin Albrechtsen, Danish footballer
    • 1980 – Karolina Lassbo, Swedish lawyer and blogger
    • 1980 – Matias Concha, Swedish footballer
    • 1980 – Kate Micucci, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress
    • 1980 – Michael Ryder, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1981 – Ryan Bingham, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1981 – Thomas Chatelle, Belgian footballer
    • 1981 – Han Tae-you, South Korean footballer
    • 1981 – Pa Dembo Touray, Gambian footballer
    • 1981 – Maarten van der Weijden, Dutch swimmer
    • 1982 – Tal Ben Haim, Israeli footballer
    • 1982 – Bam Childress, American football player
    • 1982 – Audrey Kawasaki, American painter
    • 1983 – Hashim Amla, South African cricketer
    • 1983 – Ashleigh Ball, Canadian voice actress and musician
    • 1983 – Sophie Hunger, Swiss-German musician
    • 1983 – Vlasios Maras, Greek gymnast
    • 1983 – Nigel Plum, Australian rugby league player
    • 1984 – David Clarkson, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1984 – Eddie Johnson, American soccer player
    • 1984 – James Jones, American football player
    • 1984 – Martins Dukurs, Latvian sled racer
    • 1984 – Kaie Kand, Estonian heptathlete
    • 1984 – Alberto Junior Rodríguez, Peruvian footballer
    • 1984 – Ed Williamson, English rugby player
    • 1985 – Steve Bernier, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1985 – Jo-Lonn Dunbar, American football player
    • 1985 – Jesper Hansen, Danish footballer
    • 1985 – Ivan Mishyn, Ukrainian race car driver
    • 1985 – Kory Sheets, American football player
    • 1985 – Jalmar Sjöberg, Swedish wrestler
    • 1986 – Andreas Dober, Austrian footballer
    • 1986 – James King, Scottish rugby player
    • 1986 – Paulo Machado, Portuguese footballer
    • 1987 – Nordin Amrabat, Dutch footballer
    • 1987 – Hugo Ayala, Mexican footballer
    • 1987 – Amaury Bischoff, Portuguese footballer
    • 1987 – Humpy Koneru, Indian chess player
    • 1987 – Kirill Starkov, Danish ice hockey player
    • 1987 – Nelli Zhiganshina, Russian figure skater
    • 1988 – Thomas De Corte, Belgian footballer
    • 1988 – Conrad Sewell, Australian singer and songwriter
    • 1988 – Dorin Dickerson, American football player
    • 1988 – DeAndre Liggins, American basketball player
    • 1988 – Louis van der Westhuizen, Namibian cricketer
    • 1989 – Alberto Martín Romo García Adámez, Spanish footballer
    • 1989 – Nejc Vidmar, Slovenian footballer
    • 1989 – Liu Zige, Chinese swimmer
    • 1990 – George Iloka, American football player
    • 1990 – Sandra Roma, Swedish tennis player
    • 1990 – Bang Yong-guk, South Korean rapper
    • 1991 – Milan Milanović, Serbian footballer
    • 1991 – Rodney Sneijder, Dutch footballer
    • 1992 – Stijn de Looijer, Dutch footballer
    • 1992 – Adam Zampa, Australian cricketer
    • 1993 – Mikael Ishak, Swedish footballer
    • 1994 – Samira Asghari, Afghan member of the International Olympic Committee
    • 1994 – Tyler Wright, Australian surfer
    • 1994 – Mads Würtz Schmidt, Danish road cyclist
    • 1995 – Fiona Brown, footballer
    • 1998 – Jakob Chychrun, American-born Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1999 – Japhet Tanganga, English footballer

    Deaths on March 31

    • 32 BC – Titus Pomponius Atticus, Roman nobleman of the Equestrian order (b. 109 BC)
    • 528 – Xiaoming, emperor of Northern Wei (b. 510)
    • 963 – Abu Ja’far Ahmad ibn Muhammad, Saffarid emir (b. 906)
    • 1241 – Pousa, voivode of Transylvania
    • 1251 – William of Modena, Italian bishop and diplomat
    • 1340 – Ivan I of Moscow, Russian Grand Duke (b. 1288)
    • 1342 – Dionigi di Borgo San Sepolcro, Italian Augustinian monk
    • 1462 – Isidore II of Constantinople, patriarch of Constantinople
    • 1491 – Bonaventura Tornielli, Italian Roman Catholic priest (b. 1411)
    • 1547 – Francis I, French king (b. 1494)
    • 1567 – Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse (b. 1504)
    • 1621 – Philip III, Spanish king (b. 1578)
    • 1622 – Gonzalo Méndez de Canço, Royal Governor of La Florida (b. 1554)
    • 1631 – John Donne, English lawyer and poet (b. 1572)
    • 1671 – Anne Hyde, wife of James II of England (b. 1637)
    • 1723 – Edward Hyde, 3rd Earl of Clarendon, English soldier and politician, 14th Colonial Governor of New York (b. 1661)
    • 1741 – Pieter Burman the Elder, Dutch scholar and author (b. 1668)
    • 1751 – Frederick, Prince of Wales, Hanoverian-born heir to the British throne (b. 1707)better source needed
    • 1797 – Olaudah Equiano, Nigerian merchant, author, and activist (b.1745)
    • 1837 – John Constable, English painter and educator (b. 1776)
    • 1850 – John C. Calhoun, American lawyer and politician, 7th Vice President of the United States (b. 1782)
    • 1855 – Charlotte Brontë, English novelist and poet (b. 1816)
    • 1877 – Antoine Augustin Cournot, French mathematician and philosopher (b. 1801)
    • 1880 – Henryk Wieniawski, Polish violinist and composer (b. 1835)
    • 1885 – Franz Abt, German composer and conductor (b. 1819)
    • 1907 – Galusha A. Grow, American lawyer and politician, 28th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1823)
    • 1910 – Jean Moréas, Greek poet, essayist and art critic (b. 1856)
    • 1913 – J. P. Morgan, American banker and financier (b. 1837)
    • 1915 – Wyndham Halswelle, English-Scottish runner and captain (b. 1882)
    • 1917 – Emil von Behring, German physiologist and immunologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1854)
    • 1924 – George Charles Haité, English painter and illustrator (b. 1855)
    • 1927 – Kang Youwei, Chinese scholar and political reformer (b. 1858)
    • 1930 – Ludwig Schüler, German politician, Mayor of Marburg (b. 1836)
    • 1931 – Knute Rockne, American football player and coach (b. 1888)
    • 1935 – Georges V. Matchabelli, Georgian-American businessman and diplomat, founded Prince Matchabelli perfume (b. 1885)
    • 1939 – Ioannis Tsangaridis, Greek general (b. 1887)
    • 1944 – Mineichi Koga, Japanese admiral (b. 1885)
    • 1945 – Frank Findlay, New Zealand banker and politician (b. 1884)
    • 1945 – Hans Fischer, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1881)
    • 1950 – Robert Natus, Estonian architect (b. 1890)
    • 1952 – Wallace H. White, Jr., American lawyer and politician (b. 1877)
    • 1956 – Ralph DePalma, Italian-American race car driver and actor (b. 1884)
    • 1968 – Grover Lowdermilk, American baseball player (b. 1885)
    • 1970 – Semyon Timoshenko, Soviet Commander during the Winter War and the Eastern Front of World War II (b. 1894)
    • 1975 – Percy Alliss, English golfer (b. 1897)
    • 1976 – Paul Strand, American photographer and director (b. 1890)
    • 1978 – Astrid Allwyn, American actress (b. 1905)
    • 1978 – Charles Herbert Best, American-Canadian physiologist and biochemist, co-discovered Insulin (b. 1899)
    • 1980 – Vladimír Holan, Czech poet and author (b. 1905)
    • 1980 – Jesse Owens, American sprinter and long jumper (b. 1913)
    • 1981 – Enid Bagnold, English author and playwright (b. 1889)
    • 1983 – Christina Stead, Australian author and academic (b. 1902)
    • 1986 – Jerry Paris, American actor and director (b. 1925)
    • 1988 – William McMahon, Australian lawyer and politician, 20th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1908)
    • 1993 – Brandon Lee, American actor and martial artist (b. 1965)
    • 1993 – Mitchell Parish, Lithuanian-American songwriter (b. 1900)
    • 1995 – Selena, American singer-songwriter (b. 1971)
    • 1996 – Dante Giacosa, Italian automobile designer and engineer (b. 1905)
    • 1996 – Jeffrey Lee Pierce, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1958)
    • 1998 – Bella Abzug, American lawyer, activist, and politician (b. 1920)
    • 1998 – Tim Flock, American race car driver (b. 1924)
    • 1998 – Joel Ryce-Menuhin, American pianist (b. 1933)
    • 1999 – Yuri Knorozov, Russian linguist and ethnographer (b. 1922)
    • 2001 – David Rocastle, English footballer (b. 1967)
    • 2001 – Clifford Shull, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1915)
    • 2002 – Barry Took, English comedian, actor, and screenwriter (b. 1928)
    • 2002 – Moturu Udayam, Indian activist and politician (b. 1924)
    • 2003 – Harold Scott MacDonald Coxeter, English-Canadian mathematician and academic (b. 1907)
    • 2003 – Anne Gwynne, American actress (b. 1918)
    • 2003 – Tommy Seebach, Danish singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (b. 1949)
    • 2004 – Scott Helvenston, American soldier (b. 1965)
    • 2005 – Stanley J. Korsmeyer, American oncologist and academic (b. 1951)
    • 2005 – Justiniano Montano, Filipino lawyer and politician (b. 1905)
    • 2005 – Frank Perdue, American businessman (b. 1920)
    • 2006 – Jackie McLean, American saxophonist and composer (b. 1931)
    • 2007 – Paul Watzlawick, Austrian-American psychologist and philosopher (b. 1921)
    • 2008 – Jules Dassin, American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor (b. 1911)
    • 2008 – Bill Keightley, American equipment manager (b. 1926)
    • 2009 – Raúl Alfonsín, Argentinian lawyer and politician, 46th President of Argentina (b. 1927)
    • 2009 – Choor Singh, Indian-Singaporean lawyer and judge (b. 1911)
    • 2011 – Gil Clancy, American boxer and trainer (b. 1922)
    • 2011 – Alan Fitzgerald, Australian journalist and author (b. 1935)
    • 2011 – Mary Greyeyes, the first First Nations woman to join the Canadian Armed Forces (b. 1920)
    • 2011 – Oddvar Hansen, Norwegian footballer and coach (b. 1921)
    • 2011 – Ishbel MacAskill, Scottish singer and actress (b. 1941)
    • 2011 – Henry Taub, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1927)
    • 2012 – Judith Adams, New Zealand-Australian nurse and politician (b. 1943)
    • 2012 – Dale R. Corson, American physicist and academic (b. 1914)
    • 2012 – Bernard O. Gruenke, American stained glass artist (b. 1914)
    • 2012 – Jerry Lynch, American baseball player (b. 1930)
    • 2012 – Alberto Sughi, Italian painter (b. 1928)
    • 2012 – Halbert White, American economist and academic (b. 1950)
    • 2013 – Charles Amarin Brand, French archbishop (b. 1920)
    • 2013 – Ernie Bridge, Australian singer and politician (b. 1936)
    • 2013 – Bob Clarke, American illustrator (b. 1926)
    • 2013 – Ahmad Sayyed Javadi, Iranian lawyer and politician, Iranian Minister of Interior (b. 1917)
    • 2013 – Dmitri Uchaykin, Russian ice hockey player (b. 1980)
    • 2014 – Gonzalo Anes, Spanish economist, historian, and academic (b. 1931)
    • 2014 – Roger Somville, Belgian painter (b. 1923)
    • 2015 – Betty Churcher, Australian painter, historian, and curator (b. 1931)
    • 2015 – Cocoa Fujiwara, Japanese author and illustrator (b. 1983)
    • 2015 – Carlos Gaviria Díaz, Colombian lawyer and politician (b. 1937)
    • 2015 – Dalibor Vesely, Czech-English historian, author, and academic (b. 1934)
    • 2016 – Ronnie Corbett, Scottish comedian, actor and screenwriter (b. 1930)
    • 2016 – Hans-Dietrich Genscher, German politician (b. 1927)
    • 2016 – Zaha Hadid, Iraqi-born English architect and academic, designed the Bridge Pavilion (b. 1950)
    • 2016 – Imre Kertész, Hungarian author, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1929)
    • 2016 – Denise Robertson, British writer and television broadcaster (b. 1932)
    • 2017 – Gilbert Baker, American artist and LGBT rights activist (b. 1951)
    • 2017 – James Rosenquist, American artist (b. 1933)
    • 2019 – Nipsey Hussle, American rapper (b. 1985)

    Holidays and observances on March 31

    • Cesar Chavez Day (United States)
    • Christian feast day
      • Abdas of Susa
      • Acathius of Melitene (Eastern Orthodox Church)
      • Anesius and companions
      • Benjamin
      • Balbina
      • John Donne (Anglican Communion, Lutheran)
      • March 31 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis (Azerbaijan)
    • Freedom Day (Malta)
    • International Transgender Day of Visibility
    • King Nangklao Memorial Day (Thailand)
    • Thomas Mundy Peterson Day (New Jersey, United States)
    • Transfer Day (US Virgin Islands)
    • World Backup Day

  • March 16- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    March 16 in History

    • 934 – Meng Zhixiang declares himself emperor and establishes Later Shu as a new state independent of Later Tang.
    • 1190 – Massacre of Jews at Clifford’s Tower, York.
    • 1244 – Over 200 Cathars who refuse to recant are burned to death after the Fall of Montségur.
    • 1322 – The Battle of Boroughbridge takes place in the Despenser Wars.
    • 1521 – Ferdinand Magellan reaches the island of Homonhon in the Philippines.
    • 1621 – Samoset, a Mohegan, visited the settlers of Plymouth Colony and greets them, “Welcome, Englishmen! My name is Samoset.”
    • 1660 – The Long Parliament of England is dissolved so as to prepare for the new Convention Parliament.
    • 1689 – The 23rd Regiment of Foot, or Royal Welch Fusiliers, is founded.
    • 1782 – American Revolutionary War: Spanish troops capture the British-held island of Roatán.
    • 1782 – Anglo-Spanish War (1779): Action of 16 March 1782.
    • 1792 – King Gustav III of Sweden is shot; he dies on March 29.
    • 1797 – French Revolutionary Wars: An Austrian column is defeated by the French in the Battle of Valvasone.
    • 1802 – The Army Corps of Engineers is established to found and operate the United States Military Academy at West Point.
    • 1812 – The Siege of Badajoz begins: British and Portuguese forces besiege and defeat the French garrison during the Peninsular War.
    • 1815 – Prince Willem proclaims himself King of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, the first constitutional monarch in the Netherlands.
    • 1818 – In the Second Battle of Cancha Rayada, Spanish forces defeated Chileans under José de San Martín.
    • 1864 – American Civil War: During the Red River Campaign, Union troops reach Alexandria, Louisiana.
    • 1865 – American Civil War: The Battle of Averasborough began as Confederate forces suffer irreplaceable casualties in the final months of the war.
    • 1870 – The first version of the overture fantasy Romeo and Juliet by Tchaikovsky receives its première performance.
    • 1872 – The Wanderers F.C. won the first FA Cup, the oldest football competition in the world, beating Royal Engineers A.F.C. 1–0 at The Oval in Kennington, London.
    • 1894 – Jules Massenet’s opera Thaïs is first performed.
    • 1898 – In Melbourne the representatives of five colonies adopted a constitution, which would become the basis of the Commonwealth of Australia.
    • 1900 – Sir Arthur Evans purchased the land around the ruins of Knossos, the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete.
    • 1916 – The 7th and 10th US cavalry regiments under John J. Pershing cross the US–Mexico border to join the hunt for Pancho Villa.
    • 1917 – World War I: A German auxiliary cruiser is sunk in the Action of 16 March 1917.
    • 1918 – Finnish Civil War: Battle of Länkipohja is infamous for its bloody aftermath as the Whites executed 70–100 capitulated Reds.
    • 1924 – In accordance with the Treaty of Rome, Fiume becomes annexed as part of Italy.
    • 1925 – An earthquake occurs in Yunnan, China.
    • 1926 – History of Rocketry: Robert Goddard launches the first liquid-fueled rocket, at Auburn, Massachusetts.
    • 1935 – Adolf Hitler orders Germany to rearm herself in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Conscription is reintroduced to form the Wehrmacht.
    • 1936 – Warmer-than-normal temperatures rapidly melt snow and ice on the upper Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, leading to a major flood in Pittsburgh.
    • 1939 – From Prague Castle, Hitler proclaims Bohemia and Moravia a German protectorate.
    • 1940 – First person killed (James Isbister) in a German bombing raid on the UK in World War II during a raid on Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands.
    • 1945 – World War II: The Battle of Iwo Jima ended, but small pockets of Japanese resistance persisted.
    • 1945 – Ninety percent of Würzburg, Germany is destroyed in only 20 minutes by British bombers, resulting in around 5,000 deaths.
    • 1958 – The Ford Motor Company produces its 50 millionth automobile, the Thunderbird, averaging almost a million cars a year since the company’s founding.
    • 1962 – A Flying Tiger Line Super Constellation disappears in the western Pacific Ocean, with all 107 aboard missing and presumed dead.
    • 1966 – Launch of Gemini 8, the 12th manned American space flight and first space docking with an Agena Target Vehicle.
    • 1968 – Vietnam War: My Lai Massacre occurs; between 347 and 500 Vietnamese villagers (men, women, and children) are killed by American troops.
    • 1968 – General Motors produces its 100 millionth automobile, the Oldsmobile Toronado.
    • 1969 – A Viasa McDonnell Douglas DC-9 crashes in Maracaibo, Venezuela, killing 155.
    • 1976 – British Prime Minister Harold Wilson resigns, citing personal reasons.
    • 1977 – Assassination of Kamal Jumblatt, the main leader of the anti-government forces in the Lebanese Civil War.
    • 1978 – Former Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro is kidnapped. (He is later murdered by his captors.)
    • 1978 – A Balkan Bulgarian Airlines Tupolev Tu-134 crashes near Gabare, Bulgaria, killing 73.
    • 1978 – Supertanker Amoco Cadiz splits in two after running aground on the Portsall Rocks, three miles off the coast of Brittany, resulting in the largest oil spill in history at that time.
    • 1979 – Sino-Vietnamese War: The People’s Liberation Army crosses the border back into China, ends the war.
    • 1983 – Demolition of the Ismaning radio transmitter, the last wooden radio tower in Germany.
    • 1984 – William Buckley, the CIA station chief in Lebanon, is kidnapped by Hezbollah. (He later dies in captivity.)
    • 1985 – Associated Press newsman Terry Anderson is taken hostage in Beirut. He is released on December 4, 1991.
    • 1988 – Iran–Contra affair: Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North and Vice Admiral John Poindexter are indicted on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States.
    • 1988 – Halabja chemical attack: The Kurdish town of Halabja in Iraq is attacked with a mix of poison gas and nerve agents on the orders of Saddam Hussein, killing 5,000 people and injuring about 10,000 people.
    • 1988 – The Troubles: Ulster loyalist militant Michael Stone attacks a Provisional IRA funeral in Belfast with pistols and grenades. Three persons, one of them a member of PIRA are killed, and more than 60 others are wounded.
    • 1991 – The airplane carrying eight members of Reba McEntire’s touring band crashed on the side of Otay Mountain.
    • 1995 – Mississippi formally ratifies the Thirteenth Amendment, becoming the last state to approve the abolition of slavery. The Thirteenth Amendment was officially ratified in 1865.
    • 2001 – A series of bomb blasts that took place in the city of Shijiazhuang, China killed 108 people and injured 38 others, was the biggest mass murder in China in decades.
    • 2003 – American activist Rachel Corrie is killed in Rafah trying to obstruct the demolition of a home by being run over by a bulldozer.
    • 2005 – Israel officially hands over Jericho to Palestinian control.
    • 2014 – Crimea votes in a controversial referendum to secede from Ukraine to join Russia.
    • 2016 – A bomb detonates in a bus carrying government employees in Peshawar, Pakistan, killing 15 and injuring at least 54.
    • 2016 – Two suicide bombers detonate their explosives at a mosque during morning prayer on the outskirts of Maiduguri, Nigeria, killing 22 and injuring 18.

    Births on March 16

    • 1399 – The Xuande Emperor, ruler of Ming China (d. 1435)
    • 1445 – Johann Geiler von Kaisersberg, Swiss priest and theologian (d. 1510)
    • 1465 – Kunigunde of Austria, Archduchess of Austria (d. 1520)
    • 1473 – Henry IV, Duke of Saxony (d. 1541)
    • 1559 – Amar Singh I, successor of Maharana Pratap of Mewar (d. 1620)
    • 1581 – Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft, Dutch historian and poet (d. 1647)
    • 1585 – Gerbrand Bredero, Dutch poet and playwright (d. 1618)
    • 1590 – Ii Naotaka, Japanese daimyō (d. 1659)
    • 1596 – Ebba Brahe, Swedish countess (d. 1674)
    • 1609 – Michael Franck, German baker, teacher, poet, and composer (d. 1667)
    • 1609 – Agostino Mitelli, Italian painter (d. 1660)
    • 1621 – Georg Neumark, German poet and composer (d. 1681)
    • 1631 – René Le Bossu, French critic (d. 1680)
    • 1638 – François Crépieul, Jesuit missionary (d. 1702)
    • 1654 – Andreas Acoluthus, German scholar (d. 1704)
    • 1670 – François de Franquetot de Coigny, French general (d. 1759)
    • 1673 – Jean Bouhier, French jurist and scholar (d. 1746)
    • 1687 – Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, queen consort of Frederick William I (d. 1757)
    • 1693 – Malhar Rao Holkar, Indian nobleman (d. 1766)
    • 1701 – Daniel Lorenz Salthenius, Swedish theologian (d. 1750)
    • 1729 – Maria Louise Albertine (d. 1818)
    • 1741 – Carlo Amoretti, Italian scientist (d. 1816)
    • 1744 – Nicolas-Germain Léonard, French poet and novelist (d. 1793)
    • 1750 – Caroline Herschel, German-English astronomer (d. 1848)
    • 1751 – James Madison, American academic and politician, 4th President of the United States (d. 1836)
    • 1753 – François Amédée Doppet, French general (d. 1799)
    • 1760 – Johann Heinrich Meyer, Swiss painter and writer (d. 1832)
    • 1766 – Jean-Frédéric Waldeck, French antiquarian, cartographer, artist and explorer (d. 1875)
    • 1771 – Antoine-Jean Gros, French painter (d. 1835)
    • 1773 – Juan Ramón Balcarce, Argentinian general and politician, 6th Governor of Buenos Aires Province (d. 1836)
    • 1774 – Matthew Flinders, English navigator and cartographer (d. 1814)
    • 1789 – Francis Rawdon Chesney, English general and explorer (d. 1872)
    • 1789 – Georg Ohm, German physicist and mathematician (d. 1854)
    • 1794 – Ami Boué, Austrian geologist and ethnographer (d. 1881)
    • 1797 – Alaric Alexander Watts, English poet and journalist (d. 1864)
    • 1799 – Anna Atkins, English botanist and photographer (d. 1871)
    • 1800 – Emperor Ninkō of Japan (d. 1846)
    • 1805 – Peter Ernst von Lasaulx, German philologist and politician (d. 1861)
    • 1806 – Félix De Vigne, Belgian painter (d. 1862)
    • 1808 – Hannah T. King, British-born American writer and pioneer (d. 1886)
    • 1813 – Gaëtan de Rochebouët, French prime minister (d. 1899)
    • 1819 – José Paranhos, Brazilian politician (d. 1880)
    • 1820 – Enrico Tamberlik, Italian tenor (d. 1889)
    • 1821 – Eduard Heine, German mathematician and academic (d. 1881)
    • 1822 – Rosa Bonheur, French painter and sculptor (d. 1899)
    • 1822 – John Pope, American general (d. 1892)
    • 1823 – William Henry Monk, English organist and composer (d. 1889)
    • 1825 – Camilo Castelo Branco, Portuguese writer (d. 1890)
    • 1828 – Émile Deshayes de Marcère, French politician (d. 1918)
    • 1834 – James Hector, Scottish geologist and surgeon (d. 1907)
    • 1836 – Andrew Smith Hallidie, English-American engineer and businessman (d. 1900)
    • 1839 – Sully Prudhomme, French poet and critic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1907)
    • 1839 – John Butler Yeats, Irish painter (d. 1922)
    • 1840 – Shibusawa Eiichi, Japanese businessman (d. 1931)
    • 1840 – Georg von der Gabelentz, German linguist and sinologist (d. 1893)
    • 1845 – Umegatani Tōtarō I, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 15th Yokozuna (d. 1928)
    • 1846 – Gösta Mittag-Leffler, Swedish mathematician and academic (d. 1927)
    • 1846 – Rebecca Cole, American physician and social reformer (d. 1922)
    • 1846 – Jurgis Bielinis, Lithuanian book smuggler (d. 1918)
    • 1848 – Axel Heiberg, Norwegian financier and diplomat (d. 1932)
    • 1851 – Otto Bardenhewer, German patrologist (d. 1935)
    • 1851 – Martinus Beijerinck, Dutch microbiologist and botanist (d. 1931)
    • 1856 – Napoléon, Prince Imperial of France (d. 1879)
    • 1857 – Charles Harding Firth, English historian and academic (d. 1936)
    • 1859 – Alexander Stepanovich Popov, Russian physicist and academic (d. 1906)
    • 1865 – Patsy Donovan, Irish-American baseball player and manager (d. 1953)
    • 1869 – Willy Burmester, German violinist (d. 1933)
    • 1871 – Hans Merensky, South African geologist and philanthropist (d. 1951)
    • 1871 – Frantz Reichel, French rugby player and hurdler (d. 1932)
    • 1874 – Frédéric François-Marsal, French prime minister (d. 1958)
    • 1877 – Léo-Ernest Ouimet, Canadian director and producer (d. 1972)
    • 1878 – Clemens August Graf von Galen, German cardinal (d. 1946)
    • 1878 – Paul Jouve, French painter (d. 1973)
    • 1881 – Fannie Charles Dillon, American composer (d. 1947)
    • 1882 – James Lightbody, American runner (d. 1953)
    • 1883 – Ethel Anderson, Australian poet, author, and painter (d. 1958)
    • 1884 – Eric P. Kelly, American journalist and author (d. 1960)
    • 1885 – Giacomo Benvenuti, Italian composer and musicologist (d. 1943)
    • 1885 – Sydney Chaplin, English actor (d. 1965)
    • 1886 – Herbert Lindström, Swedish tug of war player (d. 1951)
    • 1887 – Emilio Lunghi, Italian runner (d. 1925)
    • 1887 – S. Stillman Berry, American marine zoologist (1984)
    • 1889 – Reggie Walker, South African athlete (d. 1951)
    • 1892 – César Vallejo, Peruvian poet, playwright, and journalist (d. 1938)
    • 1895 – Ernest Labrousse, French historian (d. 1988)
    • 1897 – Antonio Donghi, Italian painter (d. 1963)
    • 1897 – Conrad Nagel, American actor (d. 1970)
    • 1900 – Cyril Hume, American novelist (d. 1966)
    • 1900 – Mencha Karnicheva, Macedonian revolutionary and assassin (d. 1964)
    • 1901 – Alexis Chantraine, Belgian footballer (d. 1987)
    • 1903 – Mike Mansfield, American politician and diplomat, 22nd United States Ambassador to Japan (d. 2001)
    • 1906 – Francisco Ayala, Spanish sociologist, author, and translator (d. 2009)
    • 1906 – Maurice Turnbull, Welsh-English cricketer and rugby player (d. 1944)
    • 1906 – Henny Youngman, English-American violinist and comedian (d. 1998)
    • 1908 – René Daumal, French author and poet (d. 1944)
    • 1908 – Ernest Rogez, French water polo player (d. 1986)
    • 1908 – Robert Rossen, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1966)
    • 1910 – Aladár Gerevich, Hungarian fencer (d. 1991)
    • 1910 – Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi, Indian-English cricketer and politician, 8th Nawab of Pataudi (d. 1952)
    • 1911 – Pierre Harmel, Belgian lawyer and politician, 40th Prime Minister of Belgium (d. 2009)
    • 1911 – Josef Mengele, German physician and captain (d. 1979)
    • 1911 – Philip Pavia, American painter and sculptor (d.2005)
    • 1912 – Pat Nixon, First Lady of the United States (d. 1993)
    • 1913 – Rémy Raffalli, French soldier (d. 1952)
    • 1915 – Kunihiko Kodaira, Japanese mathematician and academic (d. 1997)
    • 1916 – Mercedes McCambridge, American actress (d. 2004)
    • 1916 – Tsutomu Yamaguchi, Japanese engineer and businessman (d. 2010)
    • 1917 – Louis C. Wyman, American lawyer and politician (d. 2002)
    • 1917 – Laure Pillay, Mauritian lawyer and jurist (d. 2017)
    • 1917 – Mehrdad Pahlbod, Iranian politician (d. 2018)
    • 1918 – Aldo van Eyck, Dutch architect (d. 1999)
    • 1918 – Frederick Reines, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998)
    • 1920 – John Addison, English-American soldier and composer (d. 1998)
    • 1920 – Sid Fleischman, American author and screenwriter (d. 2010)
    • 1920 – Traudl Junge, German secretary (d. 2002)
    • 1920 – Leo McKern, Australian-English actor (d. 2002)
    • 1922 – Harding Lemay, American screenwriter and playwright (d. 2018)
    • 1923 – Heinz Wallberg, German conductor (d. 2004)
    • 1925 – Cornell Borchers, Lithuanian-German actress and singer (d. 2014)
    • 1925 – Mary Hinkson, American dancer and choreographer (d. 2014)
    • 1925 – Ervin Kassai, Hungarian basketball player and referee (d. 2012)
    • 1925 – Luis E. Miramontes, Mexican chemist and engineer (d. 2004)
    • 1926 – Charles Goodell, American lawyer and politician (d. 1987)
    • 1926 – Jerry Lewis, American actor and comedian (d. 2017)
    • 1927 – Vladimir Komarov, Russian pilot, engineer, and astronaut (d. 1967)
    • 1927 – Daniel Patrick Moynihan, American sociologist and politician, 12th United States Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 2003)
    • 1927 – Olga San Juan, American actress and dancer (d. 2009)
    • 1928 – Wakanohana Kanji I, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 45th Yokozuna (d. 2010)
    • 1928 – Christa Ludwig, German soprano and actress
    • 1929 – Betty Johnson, American singer
    • 1929 – Tihomir Novakov, Serbian-American physicist and academic (d. 2015)
    • 1929 – Nadja Tiller, Austrian actress
    • 1930 – Tommy Flanagan, American pianist and composer (d. 2001)
    • 1930 – Minoru Miki, Japanese composer (d. 2011)
    • 1931 – Augusto Boal, Brazilian theatre director, writer and politician (d. 2009)
    • 1931 – Alan Heyman, American-South Korean musicologist and composer (d. 2014)
    • 1931 – Anthony Kenny, English philosopher and academic
    • 1931 – John Munro, Canadian lawyer and politician, 22nd Canadian Minister of Labour (d. 2003)
    • 1932 – Don Blasingame, American baseball player and manager (d. 2005)
    • 1932 – Walter Cunningham, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut
    • 1932 – Kurt Diemberger, Austrian mountaineer and author
    • 1932 – Herbert Marx, Canadian politician (d. 2020)
    • 1933 – Keith Critchlow, English architect and academic, co-founded Temenos Academy
    • 1933 – Sanford I. Weill, American banker, financier, and philanthropist
    • 1934 – Jean Cournoyer, Canadian politician
    • 1934 – Ray Hnatyshyn, Canadian lawyer and politician, 24th Governor General of Canada (d. 2002)
    • 1934 – Roger Norrington, English violinist and conductor
    • 1935 – Teresa Berganza, Spanish soprano and actress
    • 1935 – Pepe Cáceres, Colombian bullfighter (d. 1987)
    • 1936 – Raymond Vahan Damadian, Armenian-American inventor, invented the MRI
    • 1936 – Fred Neil, American folk singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2001)
    • 1937 – David Frith, English historian, journalist, and author
    • 1937 – Attilio Nicora, Italian cardinal (d. 2017)
    • 1937 – Amos Tversky, Israeli-American psychologist and academic (d. 1996)
    • 1938 – Carlos Bilardo, Argentinian footballer and manager
    • 1939 – Yvon Côté, Canadian teacher
    • 1940 – Bernardo Bertolucci, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 2018)
    • 1940 – Vagif Mustafazadeh, Azerbaijani pianist and composer (d. 1979)
    • 1940 – Jan Pronk, Dutch academic and politician, Dutch Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment
    • 1940 – Keith Rowe, English guitarist
    • 1941 – Robert Guéï, Ivorian soldier and politician, 3rd President of Côte d’Ivoire (d. 2002)
    • 1941 – Chuck Woolery, American game show host and television personality
    • 1942 – Roger Crozier, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (d. 1996)
    • 1942 – Gijs van Lennep, Dutch race car driver
    • 1942 – Jean-Pierre Schosteck, French politician
    • 1942 – James Soong, Chinese-Taiwanese politician, Governor of Taiwan Province
    • 1942 – Jerry Jeff Walker, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1943 – Ursula Goodenough, American biologist, zoologist, and author
    • 1943 – Hans Heyer, German racing driver
    • 1943 – Álvaro de Soto, Peruvian diplomat
    • 1944 – Andrew S. Tanenbaum, American computer scientist and academic
    • 1946 – Sigmund Groven, Norwegian harmonica player and composer
    • 1946 – Mary Kaldor, English economist and academic
    • 1946 – J. Z. Knight, American New Age teacher and author
    • 1946 – Guesch Patti, French singer
    • 1948 – Michael Owen Bruce, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1948 – Richard Desjardins, Canadian singer-songwriter and director
    • 1948 – Catherine Quéré, French politician
    • 1949 – Erik Estrada, American actor
    • 1949 – Victor Garber, Canadian actor and singer
    • 1949 – Elliott Murphy, American-French singer-songwriter and journalist
    • 1950 – Peter Forster, English bishop
    • 1950 – Kate Nelligan, Canadian actress
    • 1950 – Edhem Šljivo, Bosnian footballer
    • 1951 – Ray Benson, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1951 – Abdelmajid Bourebbou, Algerian footballer
    • 1951 – Oddvar Brå, Norwegian skier
    • 1951 – Joe DeLamielleure, American football player
    • 1951 – Alexandre Gonzalez, French long-distance runner
    • 1953 – Claus Peter Flor, German conductor
    • 1953 – Isabelle Huppert, French actress
    • 1953 – Rainer Knaak, German chess player
    • 1953 – Richard Stallman, American computer scientist and programmer
    • 1954 – David Heath, English politician
    • 1954 – Jimmy Nail, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
    • 1954 – Tim O’Brien, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1954 – Dav Whatmore, Sri Lankan-Australian cricketer and coach
    • 1954 – Nancy Wilson, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actress
    • 1955 – Svetlana Alexeeva, Russian ice dancer and coach
    • 1955 – Rimantas Astrauskas, Lithuanian physicist
    • 1955 – Bruno Barreto, Brazilian director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1955 – Linda Lepomme, Belgian actress and singer
    • 1955 – Bob Ley, American sports anchor and reporter
    • 1955 – Andy Scott, Canadian politician (d. 2013)
    • 1955 – Jiro Watanabe, Japanese boxer
    • 1956 – Ozzie Newsome, American football player and manager
    • 1956 – Clifton Powell, American actor, director, and producer
    • 1956 – Yoriko Shono, Japanese writer
    • 1956 – Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, Swiss lawyer and politician
    • 1958 – Phillip Wilcher, Australian pianist and composer
    • 1958 – Kate Worley, American author (d. 2004)
    • 1958 – Jorge Ramos, Mexican-American journalist and author
    • 1959 – Michael J. Bloomfield, American astronaut
    • 1959 – Sebastian Currier, American composer and educator
    • 1959 – Greg Dyer, Australian cricketer
    • 1959 – Flavor Flav, American rapper and actor
    • 1959 – Charles Hudson, American baseball player
    • 1959 – Steve Marker, American musician
    • 1959 – Jens Stoltenberg, Norwegian economist and politician, 27th Prime Minister of Norway, 13th Secretary General of NATO
    • 1960 – John Hemming, English businessman and politician
    • 1960 – Duane Sutter, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1960 – Jenny Eclair, English comedian, actress and screenwriter
    • 1961 – Brett Kenny, Australian rugby league player and coach
    • 1961 – Todd McFarlane, Canadian author, illustrator, and businessman, founded McFarlane Toys
    • 1962 – Franck Fréon, French race car driver
    • 1962 – Liliane Gaschet, French athlete
    • 1963 – Jerome Flynn, English actor and singer
    • 1963 – Kevin Smith, New Zealand actor and singer (d. 2002)
    • 1964 – Patty Griffin, American singer-songwriter
    • 1964 – Jaclyn Jose, Filipino actress
    • 1964 – Pascal Richard, Swiss racing cyclist
    • 1964 – Gore Verbinski, American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1965 – Steve Armstrong, American wrestler
    • 1965 – Cindy Brown, American basketball player
    • 1965 – Mark Carney, Canadian-English economist and banker
    • 1965 – Cristiana Reali, Italian-Brazilian actress
    • 1966 – Chrissy Redden, Canadian cross-country cyclist
    • 1967 – Tracy Bonham, American singer and violinist
    • 1967 – John Darnielle, American musician and novelist
    • 1967 – Lauren Graham, American actress and producer
    • 1967 – Ronnie McCoury, American bluegrass mandolin player, singer and songwriter
    • 1967 – Heidi Zurbriggen, Swiss alpine skier
    • 1968 – Trevor Wilson, American basketball player and police officer
    • 1969 – Judah Friedlander, American comedian and actor
    • 1969 – Ottis Gibson, Barbadian cricketer and coach
    • 1969 – Alina Ivanova, Russian athlete
    • 1969 – Evangelos Koronios, Greek basketball player and coach
    • 1970 – Joakim Berg, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1971 – Franck Comba, French rugby player
    • 1971 – Alan Tudyk, American actor
    • 1972 – Ismaïl Sghyr, French-Moroccan long-distance runner
    • 1973 – Andrey Mizurov, Kazakhstani road bicycle racer
    • 1973 – Vonda Ward, American boxer
    • 1974 – Georgios Anatolakis, Greek footballer and politician
    • 1974 – Anne Charrier, French actress
    • 1974 – Heath Streak, Zimbabwean cricketer
    • 1975 – Luciano Castro, Argentine actor
    • 1975 – Sienna Guillory, English model and actress
    • 1975 – Lionel Torres, French archer
    • 1976 – Blu Cantrell, American singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1976 – Leila Lejeune, French handballer
    • 1976 – Susanne Ljungskog, Swedish cyclist
    • 1976 – Abraham Núñez, Dominican baseball player
    • 1976 – Zhu Chen, Qatari chess Grandmaster
    • 1977 – Mónica Cruz, Spanish actress and dancer
    • 1977 – Thomas Rupprath, German swimmer
    • 1978 – Brooke Burns, American fashion model and actress
    • 1978 – Annett Renneberg, German actress and singer
    • 1979 – Christina Liebherr, Swiss equestrian
    • 1979 – Rashad Moore, American football player
    • 1979 – Sébastien Ostertag, French handball player
    • 1979 – Leena Peisa, Finnish keyboard player and songwriter
    • 1979 – Andrei Stepanov, Estonian footballer
    • 1980 – Todd Heap, American football player
    • 1980 – Felipe Reyes, Spanish basketball player
    • 1981 – Andrew Bree, Irish swimmer
    • 1981 – Curtis Granderson, American baseball player
    • 1981 – Julien Mazet, French road bicycle racer
    • 1981 – Fabiana Murer, Brazilian pole vaulter
    • 1982 – Miguel Comminges, Guadeloupean footballer
    • 1982 – Riley Cote, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1982 – Tommy Hansen, Czech actor
    • 1982 – Jesús Del Nero, Spanish road bicycle racer
    • 1982 – Brian Wilson, American baseball player
    • 1983 – Stephen Drew, American baseball player
    • 1983 – Brandon League, American baseball player
    • 1983 – Nicolas Rousseau, French road bicycle racer
    • 1983 – Tramon Williams, American football player
    • 1984 – Levi Brown, American football player
    • 1984 – Aisling Bea, Irish comedienne and actress
    • 1984 – Sharon Cherop, Kenyan long-distance runner
    • 1984 – Michael Ennis, Australian rugby player
    • 1984 – Hosea Gear, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1984 – Brandon Prust, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1985 – Teddy Atine-Venel, French athlete
    • 1985 – Eddy Lover, Panamanian singer-songwriter
    • 1985 – Aleksei Sokirskiy, Russian hammer thrower
    • 1986 – Alexandra Daddario, American actress
    • 1986 – Toney Douglas, American basketball player
    • 1986 – Kenny Dykstra, American wrestler
    • 1986 – T. J. Jordan, American basketball player
    • 1986 – Boaz Solossa, Indonesian footballer
    • 1986 – Daisuke Takahashi, Japanese figure skater
    • 1987 – Fabien Lemoine, French football player
    • 1988 – Jessica Gregg, Canadian speed skater
    • 1988 – Patrick Herrmann, German footballer
    • 1989 – Blake Griffin, American basketball player
    • 1989 – Jung So-min, South Korean actress
    • 1989 – Magalie Pottier, French racing cyclist
    • 1989 – Theo Walcott, English footballer
    • 1990 – Andre Young, American basketball player
    • 1991 – Reggie Bullock, American basketball player
    • 1991 – Wolfgang Van Halen, American bassist
    • 1993 – George Ford, English rugby union player
    • 1993 – Marine Lorphelin, Miss France
    • 1994 – Joel Embiid, Cameroonian basketball player
    • 1995 – Inga Janulevičiūtė, Lithuanian figure skater
    • 1997 – Florian Neuhaus, German football player

    Deaths on March 16

    • AD 37 – Tiberius, Roman emperor (b. 42 BC)
    • 455 – Valentinian III, Roman emperor (assassinated; b. 419)
    • 455 – Heraclius, Roman courtier (primicerius sacri cubiculi )
    • 842 – Xiao Mian, chancellor of the Tang Dynasty
    • 933 – Takin al-Khazari, Egyptian commander and politician, Abbasid Governor of Egypt
    • 943 – Pi Guangye, Chinese official and chancellor (b. 877)
    • 1021 – Heribert of Cologne, German archbishop and saint (b. 970)
    • 1072 – Adalbert of Hamburg, German archbishop (b. 1000)
    • 1181 – Henry I, Count of Champagne
    • 1185 – Baldwin IV of Jerusalem (b. 1161)
    • 1279 – Jeanne of Dammartin, Queen consort of Castile and León (b. 1216)
    • 1322 – Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford, English general and politician, Lord High Constable of England (b. 1276)
    • 1405 – Margaret III, Countess of Flanders (b. 1350)
    • 1410 – John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset, French-English admiral and politician, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (b. 1373)
    • 1457 – Ladislaus Hunyadi, Hungarian politician (b. 1433)
    • 1485 – Anne Neville, queen of Richard III of England (b. 1456)
    • 1559 – Anthony St. Leger, English-Irish politician Lord Deputy of Ireland (b. 1496)
    • 1649 – Jean de Brébeuf, French-Canadian missionary and saint (b. 1593)
    • 1679 – John Leverett, English general and politician, 19th Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (b. 1616)
    • 1721 – James Craggs the Elder, English politician, Postmaster General of the United Kingdom (b. 1657)
    • 1736 – Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Italian organist and composer (b. 1710)
    • 1737 – Benjamin Wadsworth, American minister and academic (b. 1670)
    • 1738 – George Bähr, German architect, designed the Dresden Frauenkirche (b. 1666)
    • 1747 – Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst (b. 1690)
    • 1838 – Nathaniel Bowditch, American captain and mathematician (b. 1773)
    • 1841 – Félix Savart, French physicist and psychologist (d. 1791)
    • 1868 – David Wilmot, American politician, sponsor of Wilmot Proviso (b. 1814)
    • 1884 – Art Croft, American baseball player (b. 1855)
    • 1888 – Hippolyte Carnot, French politician (b. 1801)
    • 1892 – Samuel F. Miller, American lawyer and politician (b. 1827)
    • 1898 – Aubrey Beardsley, English author and illustrator (b. 1872)
    • 1899 – Joseph Medill, American journalist and politician, 26th Mayor of Chicago (b. 1823)
    • 1903 – Roy Bean, American lawyer and judge (b. 1825)
    • 1907 – John O’Leary, Irish politician (b. 1830)
    • 1912 – Max Burckhard, Austrian theater director (b. 1854)
    • 1914 – Gaston Calmette, French journalist (b. 1858)
    • 1914 – Charles Albert Gobat, Swiss lawyer and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1843)
    • 1914 – John Murray, Scottish oceanographer, biologist, and limnologist (b. 1841)
    • 1925 – August von Wassermann, German bacteriologist and hygienist (b. 1866)
    • 1930 – Miguel Primo de Rivera, Spanish general and politician, Prime Minister of Spain (b. 1870)
    • 1935 – John James Rickard Macleod, Scottish physician and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1876)
    • 1935 – Aron Nimzowitsch, Latvian-Danish chess player (b. 1886)
    • 1936 – Marguerite Durand, French actress, journalist, and activist (b. 1864)
    • 1937 – Alexander von Staël-Holstein, Estonian orientalist and sinologist (b. 1877)
    • 1940 – Selma Lagerlöf, Swedish author and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1858)
    • 1945 – Börries von Münchhausen, German poet (b. 1874)
    • 1955 – Nicolas de Staël, French-Russian painter and illustrator (b. 1914)
    • 1957 – Constantin Brâncuși, Romanian-French sculptor, painter, and photographer (b. 1876)
    • 1958 – Leon Cadore, American baseball player (b. 1891)
    • 1961 – Chen Geng, Chinese general and politician (b. 1903)
    • 1961 – Václav Talich, Czech violinist and conductor (b. 1883)
    • 1963 – Laura Adams Armer, American author and photographer (b. 1874)
    • 1965 – Alice Herz, German activist (b. 1882)
    • 1967 – Thomas MacGreevy, Irish poet (b. 1893)
    • 1968 – Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Italian-American pianist and composer (b. 1895)
    • 1968 – Gunnar Ekelöf, Swedish poet and translator (b. 1907)
    • 1970 – Tammi Terrell, American singer (b. 1945)
    • 1971 – Bebe Daniels, American actress (b. 1901)
    • 1971 – Thomas E. Dewey, American lawyer and politician, 47th Governor of New York (b. 1902)
    • 1972 – Pie Traynor, American baseball player (b. 1898)
    • 1975 – T-Bone Walker, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1910)
    • 1977 – Kamal Jumblatt, Lebanese lawyer and politician (b. 1917)
    • 1979 – Jean Monnet, French economist and politician (b. 1888)
    • 1980 – Tamara de Lempicka, Polish-American painter (b. 1898)
    • 1983 – Arthur Godfrey, American actor and television host (b. 1903)
    • 1983 – Fred Rose, Polish-Canadian politician (b. 1907)
    • 1985 – Roger Sessions, American composer, critic, and educator (b. 1896)
    • 1985 – Eddie Shore, Canadian-American ice hockey player (b. 1902)
    • 1988 – Jigger Statz, American baseball player (b.1897)
    • 1988 – Mickey Thompson, American race car driver (b. 1928)
    • 1990 – Ernst Bacon, American pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1898)
    • 1991 – Chris Austin, American country singer (b .1964)
    • 1991 – Jean Bellette, Australian artist (b. 1908)
    • 1992 – Yves Rocard, French physicist and engineer (b. 1903)
    • 1994 – Eric Show, American baseball player (b. 1956)
    • 1998 – Derek Barton, English-American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918)
    • 1998 – Esther Bubley, American photographer (b. 1921)
    • 1999 – Gratien Gélinas, Canadian actor, director, and playwright (b. 1909)
    • 2000 – Thomas Ferebee, American colonel and pilot (b. 1918)
    • 2000 – Pavel Prudnikau, Belarusian poet and author (b. 1911)
    • 2000 – Michael Starr, Canadian judge and politician, 16th Canadian Minister of Labour (b. 1910)
    • 2000 – Carlos Velázquez, Puerto Rican pitcher (b. 1948)
    • 2001 – Bob Wollek, French race car driver (b. 1943)
    • 2003 – Rachel Corrie, American activist (b. 1979)
    • 2003 – Ronald Ferguson, English captain, polo player, and manager (b. 1931)
    • 2004 – Vilém Tauský, Czech conductor and composer (b. 1910)
    • 2005 – Todd Bell, American football player (b. 1958)
    • 2005 – Ralph Erskine, English architect, designed The London Ark (b. 1914)
    • 2005 – Dick Radatz, American baseball player (b. 1937)
    • 2007 – Manjural Islam Rana, Bangladeshi cricketer (b. 1984)
    • 2008 – Bill Brown, Australian cricketer and soldier (b. 1912)
    • 2008 – Ivan Dixon, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1931)
    • 2008 – Gary Hart, American wrestler and manager (b. 1942)
    • 2010 – Ksenija Pajčin, Serbian singer, dancer and model (b. 1977)
    • 2011 – Richard Wirthlin, American religious leader (b. 1931)
    • 2012 – Donald E. Hillman, American colonel and pilot (b. 1918)
    • 2012 – Takaaki Yoshimoto, Japanese poet, philosopher, and critic (b. 1924)
    • 2013 – Jamal Nazrul Islam, Bangladeshi physicist and cosmologist (b. 1939)
    • 2013 – José Alfredo Martínez de Hoz, Argentinian economist and politician, Minister of Economy of Argentina (b. 1925)
    • 2013 – Yadier Pedroso, Cuban pitcher (b. 1986)
    • 2013 – Ruchoma Shain, American-born teacher and author (b. 1914)
    • 2013 – Marina Solodkin, Russian-Israeli academic and politician (b. 1952)
    • 2013 – Frank Thornton, English actor (b. 1921)
    • 2014 – Gary Bettenhausen, American race car driver (b. 1941)
    • 2014 – Donald Crothers, American chemist and academic (b. 1937)
    • 2014 – Yulisa Pat Amadu Maddy, Sierra Leonean author, poet, and playwright (b. 1936)
    • 2014 – Steve Moore, English author and illustrator (b. 1949)
    • 2014 – Alexander Pochinok, Russian economist and politician (b. 1958)
    • 2015 – Jack Haley, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1964)
    • 2015 – Don Robertson, American pianist and composer (b. 1922)
    • 2016 – Alexander Esenin-Volpin, Russian-American mathematician and poet (b. 1924)
    • 2016 – Frank Sinatra Jr., American singer and actor (b. 1944)
    • 2017 – Lewis Rowland, American neurologist (b. 1925)
    • 2018 – Louise Slaughter, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York (b. 1929)
    • 2019 – Dick Dale, American surf-rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter (b. 1937)

    Holidays and observances on March 16

    • Christian feast day:
      • Abbán
      • Finian Lobhar (Finian the Leper)
      • Heribert of Cologne
      • Hilarius of Aquileia
      • Julian of Antioch
      • March 16 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Day of the Book Smugglers (Lithuania)
    • Remembrance day of the Latvian legionnaires (Latvia)
    • Saint Urho’s Day (Finnish Americans and Finnish Canadians)
    • Austin 3:16 Day (Not official, but leisure day)

  • February 22 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 705 – Empress Wu Zetian abdicates the throne, restoring the Tang dynasty.
    • 1316 – The Battle of Picotin, between Ferdinand of Majorca and the forces of Matilda of Hainaut, ends in victory for Ferdinand.
    • 1371 – Robert II becomes King of Scotland, beginning the Stuart dynasty.
    • 1495 – King Charles VIII of France enters Naples to claim the city’s throne.
    • 1632 – Ferdinando II de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, the dedicatee, receives the first printed copy of Galileo’s Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems .
    • 1651 – St. Peter’s Flood: A storm surge floods the Frisian coast, drowning 15,000 people.
    • 1744 – War of the Austrian Succession: The Battle of Toulon causes several Royal Navy captains to be court-martialed, and the Articles of War to be amended.
    • 1797 – The last Invasion of Britain begins near Fishguard, Wales.
    • 1819 – By the Adams–Onís Treaty, Spain sells Florida to the United States for five million U.S. dollars.
    • 1821 – Greek War of Independence: Alexander Ypsilantis crosses the Prut river at Sculeni into the Danubian Principalities.
    • 1847 – Mexican–American War: The Battle of Buena Vista: Five thousand American troops defeat 15,000 Mexican troops.
    • 1848 – The French Revolution of 1848, which would lead to the establishment of the French Second Republic, begins.
    • 1853 – Washington University in St. Louis is founded as Eliot Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri.
    • 1855 – The Pennsylvania State University is founded in State College, Pennsylvania (as the Farmers’ High School of Pennsylvania).
    • 1856 – The United States Republican Party opens its first national convention in Pittsburgh.
    • 1862 – Jefferson Davis is officially inaugurated for a six-year term as the President of the Confederate States of America in Richmond, Virginia. He was previously inaugurated as a provisional president on February 18, 1861.
    • 1872 – The Prohibition Party holds its first national convention in Columbus, Ohio, nominating James Black as its presidential nominee.
    • 1878 – In Utica, New York, Frank Woolworth opens the first of many of five-and-dime Woolworth stores.
    • 1889 – President Grover Cleveland signs a bill admitting North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Washington as U.S. states.
    • 1899 – Filipino forces led by General Antonio Luna launch counterattacks for the first time against the American forces during the Philippine–American War. The Filipinos fail to regain Manila from the Americans.
    • 1904 – The United Kingdom sells a meteorological station on the South Orkney Islands to Argentina; the islands are subsequently claimed by the United Kingdom in 1908.
    • 1909 – The sixteen battleships of the Great White Fleet, led by USS Connecticut, return to the United States after a voyage around the world.
    • 1915 – World War I: The Imperial German Navy institutes unrestricted submarine warfare.
    • 1921 – After Russian forces under Baron Roman von Ungern-Sternberg drive the Chinese out, the Bogd Khan is reinstalled as the emperor of Mongolia.
    • 1942 – World War II: President Franklin D. Roosevelt orders General Douglas MacArthur out of the Philippines as the Japanese victory becomes inevitable.
    • 1943 – World War II: Members of the White Rose resistance, Sophie Scholl, Hans Scholl, and Christoph Probst are executed in Nazi Germany.
    • 1944 – World War II: American aircraft mistakenly bomb the Dutch towns of Nijmegen, Arnhem, Enschede and Deventer, resulting in 800 dead in Nijmegen alone.
    • 1944 – World War II: The Soviet Red Army recaptures Krivoi Rog.
    • 1946 – The “Long Telegram”, proposing how the United States should deal with the Soviet Union, arrives from the US embassy in Moscow.
    • 1957 – Ngô Đình Diệm of South Vietnam survives a communist shooting assassination attempt in Buôn Ma Thuột.
    • 1958 – Egypt and Syria join to form the United Arab Republic.
    • 1959 – Lee Petty wins the first Daytona 500.
    • 1972 – The Official Irish Republican Army detonates a car bomb at Aldershot barracks, killing seven and injuring nineteen others.
    • 1973 – Cold War: Following President Richard Nixon’s visit to the People’s Republic of China, the two countries agree to establish liaison offices.
    • 1974 – The Organisation of the Islamic Conference summit begins in Lahore, Pakistan. Thirty-seven countries attend and twenty-two heads of state and government participate. It also recognizes Bangladesh.
    • 1974 – Samuel Byck attempts to hijack an aircraft at Baltimore/Washington International Airport with the intention of crashing it into the White House to assassinate Richard Nixon, but is killed by police.
    • 1980 – Miracle on Ice: In Lake Placid, New York, the United States hockey team defeats the Soviet Union hockey team 4–3.
    • 1983 – The notorious Broadway flop Moose Murders opens and closes on the same night at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre.
    • 1984 – President of Bangladesh, H M Ershad upgraded South Sylhet’s sub-division status to a district and renamed it back to Moulvibazar.
    • 1986 – Start of the People Power Revolution in the Philippines.
    • 1994 – Aldrich Ames and his wife are charged by the United States Department of Justice with spying for the Soviet Union.
    • 1995 – The Corona reconnaissance satellite program, in existence from 1959 to 1972, is declassified.
    • 1997 – In Roslin, Midlothian, British scientists announce that an adult sheep named Dolly has been successfully cloned.
    • 2002 – Angolan political and rebel leader Jonas Savimbi is killed in a military ambush.
    • 2005 – The 6.4 Mw  Zarand earthquake shakes the Kerman Province of Iran with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe), leaving 612 people dead and 1,411 injured.
    • 2006 – At least six men stage Britain’s biggest robbery, stealing £53m (about $92.5 million or €78 million) from a Securitas depot in Tonbridge, Kent.
    • 2011 – New Zealand’s second deadliest earthquake strikes Christchurch, killing 185 people.
    • 2011 – Bahraini uprising: Tens of thousands of people march in protest against the deaths of seven victims killed by police and army forces during previous protests.
    • 2012 – A train crash in Buenos Aires, Argentina, kills 51 people and injures 700 others.
    • 2014 – President Viktor Yanukovych of Ukraine is impeached by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine by a vote of 328–0, fulfilling a major goal of the Euromaidan rebellion.
    • 2015 – A ferry carrying 100 passengers capsizes in the Padma River, killing 70 people.
    • 2018 – A man throws a grenade at the U.S embassy in Podgorica, Montenegro. He dies at the scene from a second explosion, with no one else hurt.

    Births on February 22

    • 1028 – Al-Juwayni, Persian jurist and theologian (died 1085)
    • 1040 – Rashi, French rabbi and author (d. 1105)
    • 1302 – Gegeen Khan, Emperor Yingzong of Yuan (d. 1323)
    • 1403 – Charles VII of France (d. 1461)
    • 1440 – Ladislaus the Posthumous, Hungarian king (d. 1457)
    • 1500 – Rodolfo Pio da Carpi, Italian cardinal (d. 1564)
    • 1514 – Tahmasp I, Iranian shah (d. 1576)
    • 1520 – Moses Isserles, Polish rabbi (d. 1572)
    • 1550 – Charles de Ligne, 2nd Prince of Arenberg (d. 1616)
    • 1592 – Nicholas Ferrar, English scholar (d. 1637)
    • 1631 – Peder Syv, Danish historian (d. 1702)
    • 1649 – Bon Boullogne, French painter (d. 1717)
    • 1715 – Charles-Nicolas Cochin, French artist (d. 1790)
    • 1732 – George Washington, American general and politician, 1st President of the United States (d. 1799)
    • 1749 – Johann Nikolaus Forkel, German musicologist and theorist (d. 1818)
    • 1778 – Rembrandt Peale, American painter and curator (d. 1860)
    • 1788 – Arthur Schopenhauer, German philosopher and author (d. 1860)
    • 1796 – Alexis Bachelot, French priest and missionary (d. 1837)
    • 1796 – Adolphe Quetelet, Belgian mathematician, astronomer, and sociologist (d. 1874)
    • 1805 – Sarah Fuller Flower Adams, English poet and hymnwriter (d. 1848)
    • 1806 – Józef Kremer, Polish historian and philosopher (d. 1875)
    • 1817 – Carl Wilhelm Borchardt, German mathematician and academic (d. 1880)
    • 1819 – James Russell Lowell, American poet and critic (d. 1891)
    • 1824 – Pierre Janssen, French astronomer and mathematician (d. 1907)
    • 1825 – Jean-Baptiste Salpointe, French-American archbishop (d. 1898)
    • 1836 – Mahesh Chandra Nyayratna Bhattacharyya, Indian scholar and academic (d. 1906)
    • 1840 – August Bebel, German theorist and politician (d. 1913)
    • 1849 – Nikolay Yakovlevich Sonin, Russian mathematician and academic (d. 1915)
    • 1857 – Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, English general, co-founded The Scout Association (d. 1941)
    • 1857 – Heinrich Hertz, German physicist, philosopher, and academic (d. 1894)
    • 1860 – Mary W. Bacheler, American physician and Baptist medical missionary (d. 1939)
    • 1863 – Charles McLean Andrews, American historian, author, and academic (d. 1943)
    • 1864 – Jules Renard, French author and playwright (d. 1910)
    • 1876 – Zitkala-Sa, American author and activist (d. 1938)
    • 1874 – Bill Klem, American baseball player and umpire (d. 1951)
    • 1879 – Johannes Nicolaus Brønsted, Danish chemist and academic (d. 1947)
    • 1880 – Eric Lemming, Swedish athlete (d. 1930)
    • 1881 – Joseph B. Ely, American lawyer and politician, 52nd Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1956)
    • 1881 – Albin Prepeluh, Slovenian journalist and politician (d. 1937)
    • 1882 – Eric Gill, English sculptor and illustrator (d. 1940)
    • 1883 – Marguerite Clark, American actress (d. 1940)
    • 1886 – Hugo Ball, German author and poet (d. 1927)
    • 1887 – Savielly Tartakower, Polish journalist, author, and chess player (d. 1956)
    • 1887 – Pat Sullivan, Australian-American animator and producer (d. 1933)
    • 1888 – Owen Brewster, American captain and politician, 54th Governor of Maine (d. 1961)
    • 1889 – Olave Baden-Powell, English scout leader, founded the Girl Guides (d. 1977)
    • 1889 – R. G. Collingwood, English historian and philosopher (d. 1943)
    • 1891 – Vlas Chubar, Russian economist and politician (d. 1939)
    • 1892 – Edna St. Vincent Millay, American poet and playwright (d. 1950)
    • 1895 – Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre, Peruvian politician (d. 1979)
    • 1897 – Karol Świerczewski, Polish general (d. 1947)
    • 1899 – George O’Hara, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1966)
    • 1900 – Luis Buñuel, Spanish-Mexican director and producer (d. 1983)
    • 1903 – Morley Callaghan, Canadian author and playwright (d. 1990)
    • 1903 – Frank P. Ramsey, English economist, mathematician, and philosopher (d. 1930)
    • 1906 – Constance Stokes, Australian painter (d. 1991)
    • 1907 – Sheldon Leonard, American actor, director, and producer (d. 1997)
    • 1907 – Robert Young, American actor (d. 1998)
    • 1908 – Rómulo Betancourt, Venezuelan politician, 56th President of Venezuela (d. 1981)
    • 1908 – John Mills, English soldier and actor (d. 2005)
    • 1910 – George Hunt, English international footballer, forward (d. 1996)
    • 1914 – Renato Dulbecco, Italian-American virologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2012)
    • 1915 – Gus Lesnevich, American boxer (d. 1964)
    • 1917 – Reed Crandall, American illustrator (d. 1982)
    • 1918 – Sid Abel, Canadian-American ice hockey player, coach, and manager (d. 2000)
    • 1918 – Don Pardo, American radio and television announcer (d. 2014)
    • 1918 – Robert Wadlow, American man, the tallest person in recorded history (d. 1940)
    • 1921 – Jean-Bédel Bokassa, Central African general and politician, 2nd President of the Central African Republic (d. 1996)
    • 1921 – Giulietta Masina, Italian actress (d. 1994)
    • 1922 – Marshall Teague, American race car driver (d. 1959)
    • 1922 – Joe Wilder, American trumpet player, composer, and bandleader (d. 2014)
    • 1923 – Bleddyn Williams, Welsh rugby player and sportscaster (d. 2009)
    • 1923 – François Cavanna, French author and editor (d. 2014)
    • 1925 – Edward Gorey, American illustrator and poet (d. 2000)
    • 1925 – Gerald Stern, American poet and academic
    • 1926 – Kenneth Williams, English actor and screenwriter (d. 1988)
    • 1927 – Florencio Campomanes, Filipino political scientist and chess player (d. 2010)
    • 1927 – Guy Mitchell, American singer (d. 1999)
    • 1928 – Clarence 13X, American religious leader, founded the Nation of Gods and Earths (d. 1969)
    • 1928 – Texas Johnny Brown, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013)
    • 1928 – Paul Dooley, American actor
    • 1928 – Bruce Forsyth, English singer and television host (d. 2017)
    • 1929 – James Hong, American actor and director
    • 1929 – Rebecca Schull, American stage, film, and television actress
    • 1930 – Marni Nixon, American soprano and actress (d. 2016)
    • 1932 – Ted Kennedy, American soldier, lawyer, and politician (d. 2009)
    • 1932 – Zenaida Manfugás, Cuban-born American-naturalized pianist (d. 2012)
    • 1933 – Katharine, Duchess of Kent
    • 1933 – Sheila Hancock, English actress and author
    • 1933 – Ernie K-Doe, American R&B singer (d. 2001)
    • 1933 – Bobby Smith, English international footballer, centre forward (d. 2010)
    • 1934 – Sparky Anderson, American baseball player and manager (d. 2010)
    • 1936 – J. Michael Bishop, American microbiologist and immunologist, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1937 – Tommy Aaron, American golfer
    • 1937 – Joanna Russ, American author and activist (d. 2011)
    • 1938 – Steve Barber, American baseball player (d. 2007)
    • 1938 – Tony Macedo, Gibraltarian born English footballer, goalkeeper
    • 1938 – Ishmael Reed, American poet, novelist, essayist
    • 1940 – Judy Cornwell, English actress
    • 1940 – Chet Walker, American basketball player
    • 1941 – Hipólito Mejía, Dominican politician, 52nd President of the Dominican Republic
    • 1942 – Christine Keeler, English model and dancer (d. 2017)
    • 1943 – Terry Eagleton, English philosopher and critic
    • 1943 – Horst Köhler, Polish-German economist and politician, 9th President of Germany
    • 1943 – Dick Van Arsdale, American basketball player
    • 1943 – Tom Van Arsdale, American basketball player
    • 1943 – Otoya Yamaguchi, Japanese assassin of Inejiro Asanuma (d. 1960)
    • 1944 – Jonathan Demme, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2017)
    • 1944 – Mick Green, English rock & roll guitarist (d. 2010)
    • 1944 – Robert Kardashian, American lawyer and businessman (d. 2003)
    • 1944 – Christopher Meyer, English diplomat, British Ambassador to the United States
    • 1944 – Tom Okker, Dutch tennis player and painter
    • 1945 – Oliver, American pop singer (d. 2000)
    • 1946 – Kresten Bjerre, Danish footballer and manager (d. 2014)
    • 1947 – Pirjo Honkasalo, Finnish director, cinematographer, and screenwriter
    • 1947 – Harvey Mason, American drummer
    • 1947 – John Radford, English footballer and manager
    • 1947 – Frank Van Dun, Belgian philosopher and theorist
    • 1949 – John Duncan, Scottish footballer, forward and manager
    • 1949 – Niki Lauda, Austrian racing driver (d. 2019)
    • 1949 – Olga Morozova, Russian tennis player and coach
    • 1950 – Julius Erving, American basketball player and sportscaster
    • 1950 – Lenny Kuhr, Dutch singer-songwriter
    • 1950 – Miou-Miou, French actress
    • 1950 – Genesis P-Orridge, English singer-songwriter (d. 2020)
    • 1950 – Julie Walters, English actress and author
    • 1951 – Ellen Greene, American singer and actress
    • 1952 – Bill Frist, American physician and politician
    • 1952 – Joaquim Pina Moura, Portuguese Minister of Economy and Treasury and MP (d. 2020)
    • 1953 – Nigel Planer, English actor and screenwriter
    • 1955 – David Axelrod, American journalist and political adviser
    • 1955 – Tim Young, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1957 – Willie Smits, Dutch microbiologist and engineer
    • 1958 – Dave Spitz, American bass player and songwriter
    • 1959 – Jiří Čunek, Czech politician
    • 1959 – Kyle MacLachlan, American actor
    • 1959 – Bronwyn Oliver, Australian sculptor (d. 2006)
    • 1960 – Thomas Galbraith, 2nd Baron Strathclyde, Scottish politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
    • 1961 – Akira Takasaki, Japanese guitarist, songwriter, and producer
    • 1962 – Steve Irwin, Australian zoologist and television host (d. 2006)
    • 1963 – Andrew Adonis, Baron Adonis, English journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Transport
    • 1963 – Devon Malcolm, Jamaican-English cricketer
    • 1963 – Vijay Singh, Fijian-American golfer
    • 1964 – Ed Boon, American video game designer, co-created Mortal Kombat
    • 1964 – Diane Charlemagne, English singer-songwriter (d. 2015)
    • 1964 – Andy Gray, English footballer, midfielder and manager
    • 1965 – Chris Dudley, American basketball player and politician
    • 1965 – Kieren Fallon, Irish jockey
    • 1965 – Pat LaFontaine, American ice hockey player
    • 1966 – Rachel Dratch, American actress and comedian
    • 1966 – Thorsten Kaye, German-English actor
    • 1967 – Psicosis II, Mexican wrestler
    • 1968 – Shawn Graham, Canadian politician, 31st Premier of New Brunswick
    • 1968 – Bradley Nowell, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 1996)
    • 1968 – Jeri Ryan, American model and actress
    • 1968 – Jayson Williams, American basketball player and sportscaster
    • 1969 – Thomas Jane, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1969 – Brian Laudrup, Danish footballer and sportscaster
    • 1969 – Marc Wilmots, Belgian footballer and manager
    • 1971 – Super Caló, Mexican wrestler
    • 1971 – Lea Salonga, Filipino actress and singer
    • 1972 – Michael Chang, American tennis player and coach
    • 1972 – Claudia Pechstein, German speed skater
    • 1973 – Philippe Gaumont, French cyclist (d. 2013)
    • 1973 – Juninho Paulista, Brazilian footballer
    • 1973 – Scott Phillips, American drummer and producer
    • 1974 – James Blunt, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1974 – Chris Moyles, English radio and television host
    • 1975 – Drew Barrymore, American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1977 – Timo Rose, German actor, director, and producer
    • 1977 – Hakan Yakin, Swiss footballer
    • 1978 – Jenny Frost, English singer and dancer
    • 1979 – Brett Emerton, Australian footballer
    • 1979 – Lee Na-young, South Korean actress
    • 1980 – Shamari Fears, American singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1980 – Kang Sung-hoon, South Korean singer
    • 1980 – Jeanette Biedermann, German singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1983 – Shaun Tait, Australian cricketer
    • 1984 – Tommy Bowe, Irish rugby player
    • 1984 – Branislav Ivanović, Serbian footballer
    • 1985 – Hameur Bouazza, Algerian international footballer, winger
    • 1985 – Georgios Printezis, Greek basketball player
    • 1986 – Rajon Rondo, American basketball player
    • 1987 – Han Hyo-joo, South Korean actress and model
    • 1987 – Sergio Romero, Argentinian footballer
    • 1988 – Jonathan Borlée, Belgian sprinter
    • 1988 – Efraín Juárez, Mexican footballer
    • 1988 – Sebastian Tyrała, Polish-German footballer
    • 1989 – Franco Vázquez, Argentinian footballer
    • 1990 – Luca Profeta, Italian footballer
    • 1992 – Alexander Merkel, Kazakhstani-German footballer
    • 1999 – Harry Brook, English cricketer

    Deaths on February 22

    • 556 – Maximianus, bishop of Ravenna (b. 499)
    • 606 – Sabinian, pope of the Catholic Church
    • 793 – Sicga, Anglo-Saxon nobleman and regicide
    • 845 – Wang, Chinese empress dowager
    • 954 – Guo Wei, Chinese emperor (b. 904)
    • 965 – Otto, duke of Burgundy (b. 944)
    • 970 – García I, king of Pamplona
    • 978 – Lambert, count of Chalon (b. 930)
    • 1071 – Arnulf III, count of Flanders
    • 1072 – Peter Damian, Italian cardinal
    • 1079 – John of Fécamp, Italian Benedictine abbot
    • 1111 – Roger Borsa, king of Sicily (b. 1078)
    • 1297 – Margaret of Cortona, Italian penitent (b. 1247)
    • 1371 – David II, king of Scotland (b. 1324)
    • 1452 – William Douglas, 8th Earl of Douglas (b. 1425)
    • 1500 – Gerhard VI, German nobleman (b. 1430)
    • 1511 – Henry, duke of Cornwall (b. 1511)
    • 1512 – Amerigo Vespucci, Italian cartographer and explorer (b. 1454)
    • 1627 – Olivier van Noort, Dutch explorer (b. 1558)
    • 1674 – Jean Chapelain, French poet and critic (b. 1595)
    • 1680 – La Voisin, French occultist (b. 1640)
    • 1690 – Charles Le Brun, French painter and theorist (b. 1619)
    • 1731 – Frederik Ruysch, Dutch physician and anatomist (b. 1638)
    • 1732 – Francis Atterbury, English bishop (b. 1663)
    • 1799 – Heshen, Chinese politician (b. 1750)
    • 1816 – Adam Ferguson, Scottish historian and philosopher (b. 1723)
    • 1875 – Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, French painter and illustrator (b. 1796)
    • 1875 – Charles Lyell, Scottish-English geologist and lawyer (b. 1797)
    • 1888 – Anna Kingsford, English physician and activist (b. 1846)
    • 1890 – John Jacob Astor III, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1822)
    • 1890 – Carl Bloch, Danish painter and academic (b. 1834)
    • 1897 – Charles Blondin, French tightrope walker and acrobat (b. 1824)
    • 1898 – Heungseon Daewongun, Korean king (b. 1820)
    • 1903 – Hugo Wolf, Austrian composer (b. 1860)
    • 1904 – Leslie Stephen, English historian, author, and critic (b. 1832)
    • 1913 – Ferdinand de Saussure, Swiss linguist and author (b. 1857)
    • 1913 – Francisco I. Madero, Mexican president and author (b. 1873)
    • 1923 – Théophile Delcassé, French politician, French Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1852)
    • 1939 – Antonio Machado, Spanish-French poet and author (b. 1875)
    • 1942 – Stefan Zweig, Austrian journalist, author, and playwright (b. 1881)
    • 1943 – Christoph Probst, German activist (b. 1919)
    • 1943 – Hans Scholl, German activist (b. 1918)
    • 1943 – Sophie Scholl, German activist (b. 1921)
    • 1944 – Kasturba Gandhi, Indian activist (b. 1869)
    • 1945 – Osip Brik, Russian avant garde writer and literary critic (b. 1888)
    • 1958 – Abul Kalam Azad, Indian scholar and politician, Indian Minister of Education (b. 1888)
    • 1960 – Paul-Émile Borduas, Canadian-French painter and critic (b. 1905)
    • 1961 – Nick LaRocca, American trumpet player and composer (b. 1889)
    • 1965 – Felix Frankfurter, Austrian-American lawyer and jurist (b. 1882)
    • 1971 – Frédéric Mariotti, French actor (b. 1883)
    • 1973 – Jean-Jacques Bertrand, Canadian lawyer and politician, 21st Premier of Quebec (b. 1916)
    • 1973 – Elizabeth Bowen, Anglo-Irish author (b. 1899)
    • 1973 – Katina Paxinou, Greek actress (b. 1900)
    • 1973 – Winthrop Rockefeller, American colonel and politician, 37th Governor of Arkansas (b. 1912)
    • 1976 – Angela Baddeley, English actress (b. 1904)
    • 1976 – Florence Ballard, American singer (b. 1943)
    • 1980 – Oskar Kokoschka, Austrian painter, poet and playwright (b. 1886)
    • 1982 – Josh Malihabadi, Indian-Pakistani poet and author (b. 1898)
    • 1983 – Adrian Boult, English conductor (b. 1889)
    • 1983 – Romain Maes, Belgian cyclist (b. 1913)
    • 1985 – Salvador Espriu, Spanish author, poet, and playwright (b. 1913)
    • 1985 – Efrem Zimbalist, Russian violinist, composer, and conductor (b. 1889)
    • 1986 – John Donnelly, Australian rugby league player (b. 1955)
    • 1987 – David Susskind, American talk show host and producer (b. 1920)
    • 1987 – Andy Warhol, American painter and photographer (b. 1928)
    • 1992 – Markos Vafiadis, Greek general and politician (b. 1906)
    • 1994 – Papa John Creach, American violinist (b. 1917)
    • 1995 – Ed Flanders, American actor (b. 1934)
    • 1997 – Joseph Aiuppa, American gangster (b. 1907)
    • 1998 – Abraham A. Ribicoff, American lawyer and politician, 4th United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (b. 1910)
    • 1999 – William Bronk, American poet and academic (b. 1918)
    • 1999 – Menno Oosting, Dutch tennis player (b. 1964)
    • 2002 – Roden Cutler, Australian lieutenant and politician, 32nd Governor of New South Wales (b. 1916)
    • 2002 – Chuck Jones, American animator, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1912)
    • 2002 – Jonas Savimbi, Angolan general, founded UNITA (b. 1934)
    • 2004 – Andy Seminick, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1920)
    • 2005 – Lee Eun-ju, South Korean actress and singer (b. 1980)
    • 2005 – Simone Simon, French actress (b. 1910)
    • 2007 – George Jellicoe, 2nd Earl Jellicoe, English politician, Leader of the House of Lords (b. 1918)
    • 2007 – Dennis Johnson, American basketball player and coach (b. 1954)
    • 2012 – Sukhbir, Indian author and poet (b. 1925)
    • 2012 – Frank Carson, Irish-English comedian and actor (b. 1926)
    • 2012 – Marie Colvin, American journalist (b. 1956)
    • 2012 – Rémi Ochlik, French photographer and journalist (b. 1983)
    • 2013 – Atje Keulen-Deelstra, Dutch speed skater (b. 1938)
    • 2013 – Jean-Louis Michon, French-Swiss scholar and translator (b. 1924)
    • 2013 – Wolfgang Sawallisch, German pianist and conductor (b. 1923)
    • 2014 – Charlotte Dawson, New Zealand–Australian television host (b. 1966)
    • 2014 – Trebor Jay Tichenor, American pianist and composer (b. 1940)
    • 2014 – Leo Vroman, Dutch-American hematologist, poet, and illustrator (b. 1915)
    • 2015 – Chris Rainbow, Scottish singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1946)
    • 2016 – Yolande Fox, American model and singer, Miss America 1951 (b. 1928)
    • 2016 – Sonny James, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1928)
    • 2018 – Forges, Spanish cartoonist (b. 1942)
    • 2019 – Brody Stevens, American comedian and actor (b. 1970)
    • 2019 – Morgan Woodward, American actor (b. 1925)

    Holidays and observances on February 22

    • Birthday of Scouting and Guiding founder Robert Baden-Powell and Olave Baden-Powell, and its related observance:
      • Founder’s Day or “B.-P. day” (World Organization of the Scout Movement)
      • World Thinking Day (World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Baradates
      • Eric Liddell (Episcopal Church (USA))
      • Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter (Roman Catholic Church)
      • Margaret of Cortona
      • February 22 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Crime Victims Day (Europe)
    • Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Saint Lucia from the United Kingdom in 1979.

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

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

    Births on February 20

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

    Deaths on February 20

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

    Holidays and observances on February 20

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

  • January 22 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

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

    Births on January 22

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

    Deaths on January 22

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

    Holidays and observances on January 22

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

    John Dryden was an influential English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who dominated the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known in literary circles as the Age of Dryden. Walter Scott called him “Glorious John”. He was made Poet Laureate in 1667. Source: Wikipedia

    John Dryden Quiz Questions

    1. When was John Dryden born? (Dates according to Gregorian calendar)
    a) 2 February 1641
    b) 15 May 1636
    c) 19 August 1631 (Correct)
    d) 15 December 1628

    2. Where was John Dryden born?
    a) Aldwinkle  (Correct)
    b) Cardiff
    c) Liverpool
    d) Dorchester

    3. Which school did John Dryden attend?
    a) Shrewsbury School
    b) Westminster School (Correct)
    c) Harrow School
    d) St. Paul’s School

     

    4. Which poem did John Dryden write for the coronation of Charles II?
    a) The Medall
    b) The Hind and the Panther
    c) Religio Laici
    d) To His Sacred Majesty (Correct)

    5. Which play did John Dryden write in 1665?
    a) Secret Love
    b) The Indian Emperour (Correct)
    c) All for Love
    d) The Conquest of Granada

    6. When did John Dryden write Annus Mirabilis?
    a) 1672
    b) 1675
    c) 1667 (Correct)
    d) 1701

    7. Which poem written by John Dryden regarding successor to Charles II angered Whigs?
    a) Absalom and Achitophel (Correct)
    b) Eleonara
    c) Love Triumphant
    d) Cleomenes

     

    8. When was John Dryden poet laureate?
    a) 1640-1648
    b) 1701-1715
    c) 1690-1700
    d) 1668-1688 (Correct)

    9. When did John Dryden die?
    a) 26 January 1715
    b) 12 May 1700 (Correct)
    c) 11 July 1703
    d) 12 November 1699

    10. Where did John Dryden die?
    a) Cambridge
    b) London (Correct)
    c) Oxford
    d) Bristol