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1747

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

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)

March 16- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

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

Births on March 3

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

Deaths on March 3

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

Holidays and observances on March 3

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

March 3- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

On This Day /

March 1 in History

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

Births on March 1

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

Deaths on March 1

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

Holidays and observances on March 1

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

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

On This Day

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

On This Day /
  • 1112 – Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona, and Douce I, Countess of Provence, marry, uniting the fortunes of those two states.
  • 1451 – Sultan Mehmed II inherits the throne of the Ottoman Empire.
  • 1488 – Bartolomeu Dias of Portugal lands in Mossel Bay after rounding the Cape of Good Hope, becoming the first known European to travel so far south.
  • 1509 – The Portuguese navy defeats a joint fleet of the Ottoman Empire, the Republic of Venice, the Sultan of Gujarat, the Mamlûk Burji Sultanate of Egypt, the Zamorin of Calicut, and the Republic of Ragusa at the Battle of Diu in Diu, India.
  • 1661 – Maratha forces under Chattrapati Shivaji defeat the Mughals in the Battle of Umberkhind.
  • 1690 – The colony of Massachusetts issues the first paper money in the Americas.
  • 1706 – During the Battle of Fraustadt Swedish forces defeat a superior Saxon-Polish-Russian force by deploying a double envelopment.
  • 1781 – American Revolutionary War: British forces seize the Dutch-owned Caribbean island Sint Eustatius.
  • 1783 – Spain–United States relations are first established.
  • 1787 – Militia led by General Benjamin Lincoln crush the remnants of Shays’ Rebellion in Petersham, Massachusetts.
  • 1807 – A British military force, under Brigadier-General Sir Samuel Auchmuty captures the Spanish Empire city of Montevideo, now the capital of Uruguay.
  • 1809 – The Territory of Illinois is created by the 10th United States Congress.
  • 1813 – José de San Martín defeats a Spanish royalist army at the Battle of San Lorenzo, part of the Argentine War of Independence.
  • 1830 – The London Protocol of 1830 establishes the full independence and sovereignty of Greece from the Ottoman Empire as the final result of the Greek War of Independence.
  • 1834 – Wake Forest University is established (as Wake Forest Institute) in North Carolina, United States.
  • 1870 – The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, guaranteeing voting rights to male citizens regardless of race.
  • 1913 – The Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, authorizing the Federal government to impose and collect an income tax.
  • 1916 – The Centre Block of the Parliament buildings in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada burns down with the loss of 7 lives.
  • 1917 – First World War: The American entry into World War I begins when diplomatic relations with Germany are severed due to its unrestricted submarine warfare.
  • 1918 – The Twin Peaks Tunnel in San Francisco, California begins service as the longest streetcar tunnel in the world at 11,920 feet (3,633 meters) long.
  • 1930 – Communist Party of Vietnam is founded at a “Unification Conference” held in Kowloon, British Hong Kong.
  • 1931 – The Hawke’s Bay earthquake, New Zealand’s worst natural disaster, kills 258.
  • 1933 – Adolf Hitler announces that the expansion of Lebensraum into Eastern Europe, and its ruthless Germanisation, are the ultimate geopolitical objectives of Third Reich foreign policy.
  • 1943 – The SS Dorchester is sunk by a German U-boat. Only 230 of 902 men aboard survive.
  • 1944 – World War II: During the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign, U.S. Army and Marine forces seize Kwajalein Atoll from the defending Japanese garrison.
  • 1945 – World War II: As part of Operation Thunderclap, 1,000 B-17s of the Eighth Air Force bomb Berlin, a raid which kills between 2,500 and 3,000 and dehouses another 120,000.
  • 1945 – World War II: The United States and the Philippine Commonwealth begin a month-long battle to retake Manila from Japan.
  • 1953 – The Batepá massacre occurred in São Tomé when the colonial administration and Portuguese landowners unleashed a wave of violence against the native creoles known as forros.
  • 1958 – Founding of the Benelux Economic Union, creating a testing ground for a later European Economic Community.
  • 1959 – Rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson are killed in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa.
  • 1960 – British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan speaks of “a wind of change”, signalling that his Government was likely to support decolonisation.
  • 1961 – The United States Air Forces begins Operation Looking Glass, and over the next 30 years, a “Doomsday Plane” is always in the air, with the capability of taking direct control of the United States’ bombers and missiles in the event of the destruction of the SAC’s command post.
  • 1966 – The Soviet Union’s Luna 9 becomes the first spacecraft to make a soft landing on the Moon, and the first spacecraft to take pictures from the surface of the Moon.
  • 1971 – New York Police Officer Frank Serpico is shot during a drug bust in Brooklyn and survives to later testify against police corruption.
  • 1972 – The first day of the seven-day 1972 Iran blizzard, which would kill at least 4,000 people, making it the deadliest snowstorm in history.
  • 1984 – John Buster and the research team at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center announce history’s first embryo transfer, from one woman to another resulting in a live birth.
  • 1984 – Space Shuttle program: STS-41-B is launched using Space Shuttle Challenger.
  • 1989 – After a stroke two weeks previously, South African President P. W. Botha resigns as leader of the National Party, but stays on as president for six more months.
  • 1989 – A military coup overthrows Alfredo Stroessner, dictator of Paraguay since 1954.
  • 1994 – Space Shuttle program: STS-60 is launched, carrying Sergei Krikalev, the first Russian cosmonaut to fly aboard the Shuttle.
  • 1995 – Astronaut Eileen Collins becomes the first woman to pilot the Space Shuttle as mission STS-63 gets underway from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
  • 1998 – Cavalese cable car disaster: a United States military pilot causes the death of 20 people when his low-flying plane cuts the cable of a cable-car near Trento, Italy.
  • 2007 – A Baghdad market bombing kills at least 135 people and injures a further 339.
  • 2014 – Two people are shot and killed and 29 students are taken hostage at a high school in Moscow, Russia.

Births on February 3

  • 1338 – Joanna of Bourbon (d. 1378)
  • 1392 – Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland, English nobleman and military commander (d. 1455)
  • 1428 – Helena Palaiologina, Queen of Cyprus (d. 1458)
  • 1478 – Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham (d. 1521)
  • 1504 – Scipione Rebiba, Italian cardinal (d. 1577)
  • 1677 – Jan Santini Aichel, Czech architect, designed the Karlova Koruna Chateau (d. 1723)
  • 1689 – Blas de Lezo, Spanish admiral (d. 1741)
  • 1690 – Richard Rawlinson, English minister and historian (d. 1755)
  • 1721 – Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz, Prussian general (d. 1773)
  • 1736 – Johann Georg Albrechtsberger, Austrian composer and theorist (d. 1809)
  • 1747 – Samuel Osgood, American soldier and politician, 1st United States Postmaster General (d. 1813)
  • 1757 – Joseph Forlenze, Italian ophthalmologist and surgeon (d. 1833)
  • 1763 – Caroline von Wolzogen, German author (d. 1847)
  • 1777 – John Cheyne, Scottish physician and author (d. 1836)
  • 1790 – Gideon Mantell, English scientist (d. 1852)
  • 1795 – Antonio José de Sucre, Venezuelan general and politician, 2nd President of Bolivia (d. 1830)
  • 1807 – Joseph E. Johnston, American general and politician (d. 1891)
  • 1809 – Felix Mendelssohn, German pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1847)
  • 1811 – Horace Greeley, American journalist and politician (d. 1872)
  • 1816 – Ram Singh Kuka, Indian credited with starting the Non-cooperation movement
  • 1817 – Achille Ernest Oscar Joseph Delesse, French geologist and mineralogist (d. 1881)
  • 1817 – Émile Prudent, French pianist and composer (d. 1863)
  • 1821 – Elizabeth Blackwell, American physician and educator (d. 1910)
  • 1824 – Ranald MacDonald, American explorer and educator (d. 1894)
  • 1826 – Walter Bagehot, English journalist and businessman (d. 1877)
  • 1830 – Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1903)
  • 1842 – Sidney Lanier, American composer and poet (d. 1881)
  • 1843 – William Cornelius Van Horne, American-Canadian businessman (d. 1915)
  • 1857 – Giuseppe Moretti, Italian sculptor, designed the Vulcan statue (d. 1935)
  • 1859 – Hugo Junkers, German engineer, designed the Junkers J 1 (d. 1935)
  • 1862 – James Clark McReynolds, American lawyer and judge (d. 1946)
  • 1867 – Charles Henry Turner, American biologist, educator and zoologist (d. 1923)
  • 1872 – Lou Criger, American baseball player and manager (d. 1934)
  • 1874 – Gertrude Stein, American novelist, poet, playwright, (d. 1946)
  • 1878 – Gordon Coates, New Zealand soldier and politician, 21st Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1943)
  • 1887 – Georg Trakl, Austrian pharmacist and poet (d. 1914)
  • 1889 – Artur Adson, Estonian poet, playwright, and critic (d. 1977)
  • 1889 – Carl Theodor Dreyer, Danish director and screenwriter (d. 1968)
  • 1892 – Juan Negrín, Spanish physician and politician, 67th Prime Minister of Spain (d. 1956)
  • 1893 – Gaston Julia, Algerian-French mathematician and academic (d. 1978)
  • 1894 – Norman Rockwell, American painter and illustrator (d. 1978)
  • 1898 – Alvar Aalto, Finnish architect, designed the Finlandia Hall and Aalto Theatre (d. 1976)
  • 1899 – Café Filho, Brazilian journalist, lawyer, and politician, 18th President of Brazil (d. 1970)
  • 1900 – Mabel Mercer, English-American singer (d. 1984)
  • 1903 – Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton, Scottish soldier, pilot, and politician (d. 1973)
  • 1904 – Pretty Boy Floyd, American gangster (d. 1934)
  • 1905 – Paul Ariste, Estonian linguist and academic (d. 1990)
  • 1905 – Arne Beurling, Swedish-American mathematician and academic (d. 1986)
  • 1906 – George Adamson, Indian-English author and activist (d. 1989)
  • 1907 – James A. Michener, American author and philanthropist (d. 1997)
  • 1909 – André Cayatte, French lawyer and director (d. 1989)
  • 1909 – Simone Weil, French mystic and philosopher (d. 1943)
  • 1911 – Jehan Alain, French organist and composer (d. 1940)
  • 1912 – Jacques Soustelle, French anthropologist and politician (d. 1990)
  • 1914 – Mary Carlisle, American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2018)
  • 1915 – Johannes Kotkas, Estonian wrestler and hammer thrower (d. 1998)
  • 1917 – Shlomo Goren, Polish-Israeli rabbi and general (d. 1994)
  • 1918 – Joey Bishop, American actor and producer (d. 2007)
  • 1918 – Helen Stephens, American runner, baseball player, and manager (d. 1994)
  • 1920 – Russell Arms, American actor and singer (d. 2012)
  • 1920 – Tony Gaze, Australian race car driver and pilot (d. 2013)
  • 1920 – Henry Heimlich, American physician and author (d. 2016)
  • 1924 – E. P. Thompson, English historian and author (d. 1993)
  • 1924 – Martial Asselin, Canadian lawyer and politician, 25th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (d. 2013)
  • 1925 – Shelley Berman, American actor and comedian (d. 2017)
  • 1925 – John Fiedler, American actor (d. 2005)
  • 1926 – Hans-Jochen Vogel, German soldier and politician, 8th Mayor of Berlin
  • 1927 – Kenneth Anger, American actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1927 – Blas Ople, Filipino journalist and politician, 21st President of the Senate of the Philippines (d. 2003)
  • 1933 – Paul Sarbanes, American lawyer and politician
  • 1934 – Juan Carlos Calabró, Argentinian actor and screenwriter (d. 2013)
  • 1935 – Johnny “Guitar” Watson, American blues, soul, and funk singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1996)
  • 1936 – Elizabeth Peer, American journalist (d. 1984)
  • 1936 – Bob Simpson, Australian cricketer and coach
  • 1937 – Billy Meier, Swiss author and photographer
  • 1938 – Victor Buono, American actor (d. 1982)
  • 1938 – Emile Griffith, American boxer and trainer (d. 2013)
  • 1939 – Michael Cimino, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2016)
  • 1940 – Fran Tarkenton, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1941 – Dory Funk, Jr., American wrestler and trainer
  • 1941 – Howard Phillips, American lawyer and politician (d. 2013)
  • 1943 – Blythe Danner, American actress
  • 1943 – Dennis Edwards, American soul/R&B singer (d. 2018)
  • 1943 – Eric Haydock, English bass player (d. 2019)
  • 1943 – Shawn Phillips, American-South African singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1945 – Johnny Cymbal, Scottish-American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 1993)
  • 1945 – Bob Griese, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1947 – Paul Auster, American novelist, essayist, and poet
  • 1947 – Stephen McHattie, Canadian actor and director
  • 1948 – Henning Mankell, Swedish author and playwright (d. 2015)
  • 1949 – Jim Thorpe, American golfer
  • 1950 – Morgan Fairchild, American actress
  • 1950 – Grant Goldman, Australian radio and television host (d. 2020)
  • 1951 – Eugenijus Riabovas, Lithuanian footballer and manager
  • 1951 – Michael Ruppert, American journalist and author (d. 2014)
  • 1952 – Fred Lynn, American baseball player and sportscaster
  • 1954 – Tiger Williams, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1956 – John Jefferson, American football player and coach
  • 1956 – Nathan Lane, American actor and comedian
  • 1957 – Eric Lander, American mathematician, geneticist, and academic
  • 1958 – Joe F. Edwards, Jr., American commander, pilot, and astronaut
  • 1958 – Douglas Holtz-Eakin, American economist
  • 1958 – Greg Mankiw, American economist and academic
  • 1959 – Óscar Iván Zuluaga, Colombian economist and politician, 67th Colombian Minister of Finance
  • 1960 – Tim Chandler, American bass player (d. 2018)
  • 1960 – Marty Jannetty, American wrestler and trainer
  • 1960 – Joachim Löw, German footballer and manager
  • 1960 – Kerry Von Erich, American wrestler (d. 1993)
  • 1961 – Linda Eder, American singer and actress
  • 1963 – Raghuram Rajan, Indian economist and academic
  • 1964 – Indrek Tarand, Estonian historian, journalist, and politician
  • 1965 – Maura Tierney, American actress and producer
  • 1966 – Frank Coraci, American director and screenwriter
  • 1966 – Danny Morrison, New Zealand cricketer and sportscaster
  • 1967 – Tim Flowers, English footballer and coach
  • 1967 – Mixu Paatelainen, Finnish footballer and coach
  • 1968 – Vlade Divac, Serbian-American basketball player and sportscaster
  • 1968 – Marwan Khoury, Lebanese singer, songwriter, and composer
  • 1969 – Beau Biden, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 44th Attorney General of Delaware (d. 2015)
  • 1969 – Retief Goosen, South African golfer
  • 1970 – Óscar Córdoba, Colombian footballer
  • 1970 – Warwick Davis, English actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1971 – Hong Seok-cheon, South Korean actor
  • 1972 – Jesper Kyd, Danish pianist and composer
  • 1973 – Ilana Sod, Mexican journalist and producer
  • 1976 – Isla Fisher, Omani-Australian actress
  • 1977 – Daddy Yankee, American-Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, rapper, actor and record producer
  • 1977 – Marek Židlický, Czech ice hockey player
  • 1978 – Joan Capdevila, Spanish footballer
  • 1979 – Paul Franks, English cricketer and coach
  • 1982 – Becky Bayless, American wrestler
  • 1982 – Marie-Ève Drolet, Canadian speed skater
  • 1984 – Elizabeth Holmes, American fraudster, founder of Theranos
  • 1985 – Angela Fong, Canadian wrestler and actress
  • 1985 – Andrei Kostitsyn, Belarusian ice hockey player
  • 1986 – Lucas Duda, American baseball player
  • 1986 – Mathieu Giroux, Canadian speed skater
  • 1986 – Kanako Yanagihara, Japanese actress
  • 1988 – Cho Kyuhyun, South Korean singer
  • 1989 – Slobodan Rajković, Serbian footballer
  • 1990 – Sean Kingston, American-Jamaican singer-songwriter
  • 1990 – Martin Taupau, New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1991 – Corey Norman, Australian rugby league player
  • 1992 – Olli Aitola, Finnish ice hockey player

Deaths on February 3

  • AD 6 – Ping, emperor of the Han Dynasty (b. 9 BC)
  • 456 – Sihyaj Chan K’awiil II, ruler of Tikal
  • 639 – K’inich Yo’nal Ahk I, ruler of Piedras Negras
  • 699 – Werburgh, English nun and saint
  • 865 – Ansgar, Frankish archbishop (b. 801)
  • 929 – Guy, margrave of Tuscany
  • 938 – Zhou Ben, Chinese general (b. 862)
  • 994 – William IV, duke of Aquitaine (b. 937)
  • 1014 – Sweyn Forkbeard, king of Denmark and England (b. 960)
  • 1116 – Coloman, king of Hungary
  • 1161 – Inge I, king of Norway (b. 1135)
  • 1252 – Sviatoslav III, Russian Grand Prince (b. 1196)
  • 1399 – John of Gaunt, Belgian-English politician, Lord High Steward (b. 1340)
  • 1428 – Ashikaga Yoshimochi, Japanese shōgun (b. 1386)
  • 1451 – Murad II, Ottoman sultan (b. 1404)
  • 1468 – Johannes Gutenberg, German publisher, invented the Printing press (b. 1398)
  • 1537 – Thomas FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Kildare (b. 1513)
  • 1566 – George Cassander, Flemish theologian and author (b. 1513)
  • 1618 – Philip II, duke of Pomerania (b. 1573)
  • 1619 – Henry Brooke, 11th Baron Cobham, English politician, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (b. 1564)
  • 1737 – Tommaso Ceva, Italian mathematician and academic (b. 1648)
  • 1802 – Pedro Rodríguez, Spanish statesman and economist (b. 1723)
  • 1813 – Juan Bautista Cabral, Argentinian sergeant (b. 1789)
  • 1820 – Gia Long, Vietnamese emperor (b. 1762)
  • 1832 – George Crabbe, English surgeon and poet (b. 1754)
  • 1862 – Jean-Baptiste Biot, French physicist, astronomer, and mathematician (b. 1774)
  • 1866 – François-Xavier Garneau, Canadian poet, author, and historian (b. 1809)
  • 1873 – Isaac Baker Brown, English gynecologist and surgeon (b. 1811)
  • 1922 – John Butler Yeats, Irish painter and illustrator (b. 1839)
  • 1924 – Woodrow Wilson, American historian, academic, and politician, 28th President of the United States, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1856)
  • 1929 – Agner Krarup Erlang, Danish mathematician and engineer (b. 1878)
  • 1935 – Hugo Junkers, German engineer, designed the Junkers J 1 (b. 1859)
  • 1944 – Yvette Guilbert, French singer and actress (b. 1865)
  • 1945 – Roland Freisler, German lawyer and judge (b. 1893)
  • 1947 – Marc Mitscher, American admiral and pilot (b. 1887)
  • 1952 – Harold L. Ickes, American journalist and politician, 32nd United States Secretary of the Interior (b. 1874)
  • 1955 – Vasily Blokhin, Russian general (b. 1895)
  • 1956 – Émile Borel, French mathematician and academic (b. 1871)
  • 1956 – Johnny Claes, English-Belgian race car driver and trumpet player (b. 1916)
  • 1959 – The Day the Music Died
    • The Big Bopper, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1930)
    • Buddy Holly, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1936)
    • Ritchie Valens, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1941)
  • 1960 – Fred Buscaglione, Italian singer and actor (b. 1921)
  • 1961 – William Morrison, 1st Viscount Dunrossil, Scottish-Australian captain and politician, 14th Governor-General of Australia (b. 1893)
  • 1961 – Anna May Wong, American actress (b. 1905)
  • 1963 – Benjamin R. Jacobs (b. 1879)
  • 1967 – Joe Meek, English songwriter and producer (b. 1929)
  • 1969 – C. N. Annadurai, Indian journalist and politician, 7th Chief Minister of Madras State (b. 1909)
  • 1969 – Eduardo Mondlane, Mozambican activist and academic (b. 1920)
  • 1975 – William D. Coolidge, American physicist and engineer (b. 1873)
  • 1975 – Umm Kulthum, Egyptian singer-songwriter and actress (b. 1904)
  • 1985 – Frank Oppenheimer, American physicist and academic (b. 1912)
  • 1989 – John Cassavetes, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1929)
  • 1989 – Lionel Newman, American pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1916)
  • 1991 – Nancy Kulp, American actress (b. 1921)
  • 1993 – Françoys Bernier, Canadian pianist and conductor (b. 1927)
  • 1996 – Audrey Meadows, American actress and banker (b. 1922)
  • 1999 – Gwen Guthrie, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1950)
  • 2005 – Zurab Zhvania, Georgian biologist and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Georgia (b. 1963)
  • 2005 – Ernst Mayr, German-American biologist and ornithologist (b. 1904)
  • 2006 – Al Lewis, American actor and activist (b. 1923)
  • 2009 – Sheng-yen, Chinese monk and scholar, founded the Dharma Drum Mountain (b. 1930)
  • 2010 – Dick McGuire, American basketball player and coach (b. 1926)
  • 2010 – Frances Reid, American actress (b. 1914)
  • 2011 – Maria Schneider, French actress (b. 1952)
  • 2012 – Toh Chin Chye, Singaporean academic and politician, 1st Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore (b. 1921)
  • 2012 – Ben Gazzara, American actor and director (b. 1930)
  • 2012 – Terence Hildner, American general (b. 1962)
  • 2012 – Raj Kanwar, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1961)
  • 2012 – Zalman King, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1942)
  • 2012 – Andrzej Szczeklik, Polish physician and academic (b. 1938)
  • 2013 – Cardiss Collins, American politician (b. 1931)
  • 2013 – Oscar Feltsman, Ukrainian-Russian composer and producer (b. 1921)
  • 2013 – James Muri, American soldier and pilot (b. 1918)
  • 2013 – Jam Mohammad Yousaf, Pakistani politician, Chief Minister of Balochistan (b. 1954)
  • 2015 – Martin Gilbert, English historian, author, and academic (b. 1936)
  • 2015 – Mary Healy, American actress and singer (b. 1918)
  • 2015 – Charlie Sifford, American golfer (b. 1922)
  • 2015 – Nasim Hasan Shah, Pakistani lawyer and judge, 12th Chief Justice of Pakistan (b. 1929)
  • 2016 – Balram Jakhar, Indian lawyer and politician, 23rd Governor of Madhya Pradesh (b. 1923)
  • 2016 – József Kasza, Serbian politician and economist (b. 1945)
  • 2016 – Saulius Sondeckis, Lithuanian violinist and conductor (b. 1928)
  • 2017 – Dritëro Agolli, Albanian poet, writer and politician (b. 1931)
  • 2019 – Julie Adams, American actress (b. 1926)
  • 2019 – Kristoff St. John, American actor (b. 1966)
  • 2020 – George Steiner, French-American philosopher, author, and critic (b. 1929)

Holidays and observances on February 3

  • Christian feast day:
    • Aaron the Illustrious (Syriac Orthodox Church)
    • Ansgar
    • Berlinda of Meerbeke
    • Blaise
    • Celsa and Nona
    • Claudine Thévenet
    • Dom Justo Takayama (Philippines and Japan)
    • Hadelin
    • Margaret of England
    • Werburgh
    • February 3 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Day of the Virgin of Suyapa (Honduras)
  • Earliest day on which Shrove Tuesday can fall, while March 9 is the latest; celebrated on Tuesday before Ash Wednesday (Christianity)
  • Four Chaplains Day (United States, also considered a Feast Day by the Episcopal Church)
  • Communist Party of Vietnam Foundation Anniversary (Vietnam)
  • Heroes’ Day (Mozambique)
  • Martyrs’ Day (São Tomé and Príncipe)
  • Setsubun (Japan)
  • Veterans’ Day (Thailand)

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

On This Day

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

On This Day /
  • 314 – Pope Sylvester I is consecrated, as a successor to the late Pope Miltiades.
  • 1208 – The Battle of Lena takes place between King Sverker II of Sweden and his rival, Prince Eric, whose victory puts him on the throne as King Eric X of Sweden.
  • 1504 – The Treaty of Lyon ends the Italian War, confirming French domination of northern Italy, while Spain receives the Kingdom of Naples.
  • 1578 – Eighty Years’ War and Anglo-Spanish War: The Battle of Gembloux is a victory for Spanish forces led by Don John of Austria over a rebel army of Dutch, Flemish, English, Scottish, German, French and Walloons.
  • 1606 – Gunpowder Plot: Four of the conspirators, including Guy Fawkes, are executed for treason by hanging, drawing and quartering, for plotting against Parliament and King James.
  • 1747 – The first venereal diseases clinic opens at London Lock Hospital.
  • 1814 – Gervasio Antonio de Posadas becomes Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (present-day Argentina).
  • 1846 – After the Milwaukee Bridge War, the United States towns of Juneautown and Kilbourntown unify to create the City of Milwaukee.
  • 1848 – John C. Frémont is court-martialed for mutiny and disobeying orders.
  • 1862 – Alvan Graham Clark discovers the white dwarf star Sirius B, a companion of Sirius, through an 18.5-inch (47 cm) telescope now located at Northwestern University.
  • 1865 – American Civil War: The United States Congress passes the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, abolishing slavery and submits it to the states for ratification.
  • 1865 – American Civil War: Confederate General Robert E. Lee becomes general-in-chief.
  • 1891 – History of Portugal: The first attempt at a Portuguese republican revolution breaks out in the northern city of Porto.
  • 1897 – Czechoslav Trade Union Association is founded in Prague.
  • 1900 – Datu Muhammad Salleh is killed in Kampung Teboh, Tambunan, ending the Mat Salleh Rebellion.
  • 1915 – World War I: Germany is the first to make large-scale use of poison gas in warfare in the Battle of Bolimów against Russia.
  • 1917 – World War I: Germany announces that its U-boats will resume unrestricted submarine warfare after a two-year hiatus.
  • 1918 – A series of accidental collisions on a misty Scottish night leads to the loss of two Royal Navy submarines with over a hundred lives, and damage to another five British warships.
  • 1919 – The Battle of George Square takes place in Glasgow, Scotland, during a campaign for shorter working hours.
  • 1928 – Leon Trotsky is exiled to Alma-Ata.
  • 1930 – 3M begins marketing Scotch Tape.
  • 1942 – World War II: Allied forces are defeated by the Japanese at the Battle of Malaya and retreat to Singapore.
  • 1943 – World War II: German Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus surrenders to the Soviets at Stalingrad, followed 2 days later by the remainder of his Sixth Army, ending one of the war’s fiercest battles.
  • 1944 – World War II: American forces land on Kwajalein Atoll and other islands in the Japanese-held Marshall Islands.
  • 1944 – World War II: During the Anzio campaign, the 1st Ranger Battalion (Darby’s Rangers) is destroyed behind enemy lines in a heavily outnumbered encounter at Battle of Cisterna, Italy.
  • 1945 – US Army private Eddie Slovik is executed for desertion, the first such execution of an American soldier since the Civil War.
  • 1945 – World War II: About 3,000 inmates from the Stutthof concentration camp are forcibly marched into the Baltic Sea at Palmnicken (now Yantarny, Russia) and executed.
  • 1945 – World War II: The end of fighting in the Battle of Hill 170 during the Burma Campaign, in which the British 3 Commando Brigade repulsed a Japanese counterattack on their positions and precipitated a general retirement from the Arakan Peninsula.
  • 1946 – Cold War: Yugoslavia’s new constitution, modeling that of the Soviet Union, establishes six constituent republics (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia).
  • 1946 – The Democratic Republic of Vietnam introduces the đồng to replace the French Indochinese piastre at par.
  • 1949 – These Are My Children, the first television daytime soap opera, is broadcast by the NBC station in Chicago.
  • 1950 – Cold War: U.S. President Harry S. Truman announces a program to develop the hydrogen bomb.
  • 1951 – United Nations Security Council Resolution 90 relating to Korean War is adopted.
  • 1953 – A North Sea flood causes over 1,800 deaths in the Netherlands and over 300 in the United Kingdom.
  • 1957 – Eight people (5 total crew from 2 aircraft and 3 on the ground) in Pacoima, California are killed following the mid-air collision between a Douglas DC-7 airliner and a Northrop F-89 Scorpion fighter jet.
  • 1958 – Cold War: Space Race: The first successful American satellite detects the Van Allen radiation belt.
  • 1961 – Project Mercury: Mercury-Redstone 2: Ham the Chimp travels into outer space.
  • 1966 – The Soviet Union launches the unmanned Luna 9 spacecraft as part of the Luna program.
  • 1968 – Vietnam War: Viet Cong guerrillas attack the United States embassy in Saigon, and other attacks, in the early morning hours, later grouped together as the Tet Offensive.
  • 1968 – Nauru gains independence from Australia.
  • 1971 – Apollo program: Apollo 14: Astronauts Alan Shepard, Stuart Roosa, and Edgar Mitchell, aboard a Saturn V, lift off for a mission to the Fra Mauro Highlands on the Moon.
  • 1971 – The Winter Soldier Investigation, organized by the Vietnam Veterans Against the War to publicize war crimes and atrocities by Americans and allies in Vietnam, begins in Detroit.
  • 1978 – The Crown of St. Stephen (also known as the Holy Crown of Hungary) goes on public display after being returned to Hungary from the United States, where it was held after World War II.
  • 1996 – An explosives-filled truck rams into the gates of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka in Colombo, killing at least 86 people and injuring 1,400.
  • 2000 – Alaska Airlines Flight 261 crash: An MD-83, experiencing horizontal stabilizer problems, crashes in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Point Mugu, California, killing all 88 aboard.
  • 2001 – In the Netherlands, a Scottish court convicts Libyan Abdelbaset al-Megrahi and acquits another Libyan citizen for their part in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988.
  • 2009 – In Kenya, at least 113 people are killed and over 200 injured following an oil spillage ignition in Molo, days after a massive fire at a Nakumatt supermarket in Nairobi killed at least 25 people.
  • 2018 – Both a blue moon and a total lunar eclipse occur.
  • 2019 – Abdullah of Pahang is sworn in as the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia.
  • 2020 – The United Kingdom’s membership within the European Union ceases in accordance with Article 50, after 47 years of being a member state.

Births on January 31

  • 1512 – Henry, King of Portugal (d. 1580)
  • 1543 – Tokugawa Ieyasu, Japanese shōgun (d. 1616)
  • 1583 – Peter Bulkley, English and later American Puritan (d. 1659)
  • 1597 – John Francis Regis, French priest and saint (d. 1640)
  • 1607 – James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby (d. 1651)
  • 1624 – Arnold Geulincx, Flemish philosopher and academic (d. 1669)
  • 1673 – Louis de Montfort, French priest and saint (d. 1716)
  • 1686 – Hans Egede, Norwegian missionary and explorer (d. 1758)
  • 1752 – Gouverneur Morris, American lawyer, politician, and diplomat, United States Ambassador to France (d. 1816)
  • 1759 – François Devienne, French flute player and composer (d. 1803)
  • 1769 – André-Jacques Garnerin, French balloonist and the inventor of the frameless parachute (d. 1823)
  • 1785 – Magdalena Dobromila Rettigová, Czech cook book author (d. 1845)
  • 1797 – Franz Schubert, Austrian pianist and composer (d. 1828)
  • 1799 – Rodolphe Töpffer, Swiss teacher, author, painter, cartoonist, and caricaturist (d. 1846)
  • 1820 – William B. Washburn, American politician, 28th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1887)
  • 1835 – Lunalilo of Hawaii (d. 1874)
  • 1854 – David Emmanuel, Romanian mathematician and academic (d. 1941)
  • 1865 – Henri Desgrange, French cyclist and journalist (d. 1940)
  • 1865 – Shastriji Maharaj, Indian spiritual leader, founded BAPS (d. 1951)
  • 1868 – Theodore William Richards, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1928)
  • 1872 – Zane Grey, American author (d. 1939)
  • 1881 – Irving Langmuir, American chemist and physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1957)
  • 1884 – Theodor Heuss, German journalist and politician, 1st President of the Federal Republic of Germany (d. 1963)
  • 1884 – Mammad Amin Rasulzade, Azerbaijani scholar and politician, 1st President of The Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan (d. 1955)
  • 1889 – Frank Foster, English cricketer (d. 1958)
  • 1892 – Eddie Cantor, American singer-songwriter, actor, and dancer (d. 1964)
  • 1894 – Isham Jones, American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader (d. 1956)
  • 1896 – Sofya Yanovskaya, Russian mathematician and historian (d. 1966)
  • 1900 – Betty Parsons, American artist, art dealer and collector (d. 1982)
  • 1902 – Nat Bailey, Canadian businessman, founded White Spot (d. 1978)
  • 1902 – Tallulah Bankhead, American actress (d. 1968)
  • 1902 – Alva Myrdal, Swedish sociologist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1986)
  • 1902 – Julian Steward, American anthropologist (d. 1972)
  • 1905 – John O’Hara, American author, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 1970)
  • 1909 – Miron Grindea, Romanian-English journalist (d. 1995)
  • 1913 – Don Hutson, American football player and coach (d. 1997)
  • 1914 – Jersey Joe Walcott, American boxer and police officer (d. 1994)
  • 1915 – Bobby Hackett, American trumpet player and cornet player (d. 1976)
  • 1915 – Alan Lomax, American historian, author, and scholar (d. 2002)
  • 1915 – Thomas Merton, American monk and author (d. 1968)
  • 1915 – Garry Moore, American comedian and game show host (d. 1993)
  • 1916 – Frank Parker, American tennis player (d. 1997)
  • 1917 – Fred Bassetti, American architect and academic, founded Bassetti Architects (d. 2013)
  • 1919 – Jackie Robinson, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 1972)
  • 1920 – Stewart Udall, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 37th United States Secretary of the Interior (d. 2010)
  • 1920 – Bert Williams, English footballer (d. 2004)
  • 1921 – John Agar, American actor (d. 2002)
  • 1921 – Carol Channing, American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2019)
  • 1921 – E. Fay Jones, American architect, designed the Thorncrown Chapel (d. 2004)
  • 1921 – Mario Lanza, American tenor and actor (d. 1959)
  • 1922 – Joanne Dru, American actress (d. 1996)
  • 1923 – Norman Mailer, American journalist and author (d. 2007)
  • 1925 – Benjamin Hooks, American minister, lawyer, and activist (d. 2010)
  • 1926 – Tom Alston, American baseball player (d. 1993)
  • 1926 – Chuck Willis, American singer-songwriter (d. 1958)
  • 1927 – Norm Prescott, American animator, producer, and composer, co-founded Filmation Studios (d. 2005)
  • 1928 – Irma Wyman, American computer scientist and engineer (d. 2015)
  • 1929 – Rudolf Mössbauer, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2011)
  • 1929 – Jean Simmons, English-American actress (d. 2010)
  • 1930 – Joakim Bonnier, Swedish race car driver (d. 1972)
  • 1930 – Al De Lory, American composer, conductor, and producer (d. 2012)
  • 1931 – Ernie Banks, American baseball player and coach (d. 2015)
  • 1931 – Christopher Chataway, English runner, journalist, and politician (d. 2014)
  • 1932 – Miron Babiak, Polish sea captain (d. 2013)
  • 1933 – Camille Henry, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1997)
  • 1933 – Morton Mower, American cardiologist and inventor
  • 1934 – Ernesto Brambilla, Italian motorcycle racer and race car driver
  • 1934 – Gene DeWeese, American author (d. 2012)
  • 1934 – James Franciscus, American actor and producer (d. 1991)
  • 1934 – Bob Turner, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2005)
  • 1935 – Kenzaburō Ōe, Japanese author and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1936 – Can Bartu, Turkish former basketball and football player
  • 1937 – Regimantas Adomaitis, Lithuanian actor
  • 1937 – Andrée Boucher, Canadian educator and politician, 39th Mayor of Quebec City (d. 2007)
  • 1937 – Philip Glass, American composer
  • 1937 – Suzanne Pleshette, American actress (d. 2008)
  • 1938 – Beatrix of the Netherlands
  • 1938 – Lynn Carlin, American actress
  • 1938 – James G. Watt, American lawyer and politician, 43rd United States Secretary of the Interior
  • 1940 – Kitch Christie, South African rugby player and coach (d. 1998)
  • 1940 – Stuart Margolin, American actor and director
  • 1941 – Dick Gephardt, American lawyer and politician
  • 1941 – Gerald McDermott, American author and illustrator (d. 2012)
  • 1941 – Jessica Walter, American actress
  • 1942 – Daniela Bianchi, Italian actress
  • 1942 – Derek Jarman, English director, stage designer, and author (d. 1994)
  • 1944 – John Inverarity, Australian cricketer and coach
  • 1945 – Rynn Berry, American historian and author (d. 2014)
  • 1945 – Brenda Hale, Baroness Hale of Richmond, English lawyer, judge, and academic
  • 1945 – Joseph Kosuth, American sculptor and theorist
  • 1946 – Terry Kath, American guitarist and singer-songwriter (Chicago) (d. 1978)
  • 1946 – Medin Zhega, Albanian footballer and manager (d. 2012)
  • 1947 – Nolan Ryan, American baseball player
  • 1947 – Matt Minglewood, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1947 – Glynn Turman, American actor
  • 1948 – Volkmar Groß, German footballer (d. 2014)
  • 1948 – Muneo Suzuki, Japanese politician
  • 1949 – Johan Derksen, Dutch footballer and journalist
  • 1949 – Norris Church Mailer, American model and educator (d. 2010)
  • 1949 – Ken Wilber, American sociologist, philosopher, and author
  • 1950 – Denise Fleming, American author and illustrator
  • 1950 – Alexander Korzhakov, Russian general and bodyguard
  • 1950 – Janice Rebibo, American-Israeli author and poet (d. 2015)
  • 1951 – Harry Wayne Casey, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
  • 1954 – Faoud Bacchus, Guyanese cricketer
  • 1954 – Adrian Vandenberg, Dutch guitarist and songwriter
  • 1955 – Virginia Ruzici, Romanian tennis player and manager
  • 1956 – Guido van Rossum, Dutch programmer, creator of the Python programming language
  • 1956 – John Lydon, English singer-songwriter
  • 1957 – Shirley Babashoff, American swimmer
  • 1958 – Armin Reichel, German footballer and manager
  • 1959 – Anthony LaPaglia, Australian actor and producer
  • 1959 – Kelly Lynch, American model and actress
  • 1960 – Akbar Ganji, Iranian journalist and author
  • 1960 – Grant Morrison, Scottish author and screenwriter
  • 1960 – Željko Šturanović, Montenegrin politician, 31st Prime Minister of Montenegro (d. 2014)
  • 1961 – Elizabeth Barker, Baroness Barker, English politician
  • 1961 – Fatou Bensouda, Gambian lawyer and judge
  • 1961 – Lloyd Cole, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1963 – Craig Coleman, Australian rugby league player and coach
  • 1963 – Gwen Graham, American lawyer and politician
  • 1964 – Martha MacCallum, American journalist
  • 1964 – Dawn Prince-Hughes, American scientist
  • 1965 – Giorgos Gasparis, Greek basketball player and coach
  • 1965 – Ofra Harnoy, Israeli-Canadian cellist
  • 1965 – Peter Sagal, American author and radio host
  • 1966 – Umar Alisha, Indian journalist and philanthropist
  • 1966 – Thant Myint-U, Myanmar historian, diplomat, conservationist, and former presidential advisor.
  • 1966 – Dexter Fletcher, English actor and director
  • 1967 – Fat Mike, American singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer
  • 1968 – John Collins, Scottish footballer, midfielder and manager
  • 1968 – Matt King, English actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1968 – Ulrica Messing, Swedish politician, 2nd Swedish Minister for Infrastructure
  • 1968 – Patrick Stevens, Belgian sprinter
  • 1969 – Dov Charney, Canadian-American fashion designer and businessman, founded American Apparel
  • 1969 – Daniel Moder, American cinematographer
  • 1970 – Minnie Driver, English singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1970 – Danny Michel, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1971 – Patricia Velásquez, Venezuelan model and actress
  • 1973 – Portia de Rossi, Australian-American actress
  • 1974 – Othella Harrington, American basketball player and coach
  • 1974 – Ariel Pestano, Cuban baseball player
  • 1975 – Fred Coleman, American football player and coach
  • 1975 – Preity Zinta, Indian actress, producer, and television host
  • 1976 – Traianos Dellas, Greek footballer and manager
  • 1976 – Buddy Rice, American race car driver
  • 1976 – Paul Scheer, American comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1977 – Suchitra Singh, Indian cricketer
  • 1977 – Kerry Washington, American actress
  • 1978 – Fabián Caballero, Argentinian footballer and manager
  • 1979 – Daniel Tammet, English author and educator
  • 1980 – James Adomian, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter
  • 1980 – Gary Doherty, Irish footballer, centre forward
  • 1980 – Shim Yi-young, South Korean actress
  • 1981 – Julio Arca, Argentinian footballer
  • 1981 – Mark Cameron, Australian cricketer
  • 1981 – Justin Timberlake, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor
  • 1982 – Maret Ani, Estonian tennis player
  • 1982 – Yuniesky Betancourt, Cuban baseball player
  • 1982 – Andreas Görlitz, German footballer
  • 1982 – Salvatore Masiello, Italian footballer
  • 1982 – Allan McGregor, Scottish footballer
  • 1982 – Jānis Sprukts, Latvian ice hockey player
  • 1982 – Yukimi Nagano, Swedish singer-songwriter
  • 1982 – Brad Thompson, American baseball player
  • 1983 – James Sutton, English actor
  • 1983 – Fabio Quagliarella, Italian footballer
  • 1984 – Vernon Davis, American football player
  • 1984 – Josh Johnson, Canadian-American baseball player
  • 1984 – Jeremy Wariner, American runner
  • 1984 – Alessandro Zanni, Italian rugby player
  • 1985 – Adam Federici, Australian footballer
  • 1985 – Mario Williams, American football player
  • 1986 – Walter Dix, American sprinter
  • 1986 – Megan Ellison, American film producer, founded Annapurna Pictures
  • 1986 – George Elokobi, Cameroonian footballer
  • 1986 – Yves Ma-Kalambay, Belgian footballer
  • 1986 – Pauline Parmentier, French tennis player
  • 1987 – Marcus Mumford, American-English singer-songwriter
  • 1988 – Brett Pitman, English footballer
  • 1988 – Taijo Teniste, Estonian footballer
  • 1990 – Jacopo Fortunato, Italian footballer
  • 1990 – Jacob Markström, Swedish ice hockey player
  • 1990 – Kota Yabu, Japanese idol, singer-songwriter, model, actor

Deaths on January 31

  • 632 – Máedóc of Ferns, Irish bishop and saint (b. 550)
  • 876 – Hemma of Altdorf, Frankish queen
  • 985 – Ryōgen, Japanese monk and abbot (b. 912)
  • 1030 – William V, duke of Aquitaine (b. 969)
  • 1216 – Theodore II, patriarch of Constantinople
  • 1398 – Sukō, emperor of Japan (b. 1334)
  • 1418 – Mircea I, prince of Wallachia (b. 1355)
  • 1435 – Xuande, emperor of China (b. 1398)
  • 1561 – Bairam Khan, Mughalan general (b. 1501)
  • 1561 – Menno Simons, Dutch minister and theologian (b. 1496)
  • 1580 – Henry, king of Portugal (b. 1512)
  • 1606 – Guy Fawkes, English conspirator, leader of the Gunpowder Plot (b. 1570)
  • 1606 – Ambrose Rookwood, English Gunpowder Plot conspirator (b. 1578)
  • 1606 – Thomas Wintour, English Gunpowder Plot conspirator (b. 1571)
  • 1615 – Claudio Acquaviva, Italian priest, 5th Superior General of the Society of Jesus (b. 1543)
  • 1632 – Jost Bürgi, Swiss clockmaker and mathematician (b. 1552)
  • 1665 – Johannes Clauberg, German philosopher and theologian (b. 1622)
  • 1686 – Jean Mairet, French playwright (b. 1604)
  • 1720 – Thomas Grey, 2nd Earl of Stamford, English politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (b. 1654)
  • 1729 – Jacob Roggeveen, Dutch explorer (b. 1659)
  • 1736 – Filippo Juvarra, Italian architect and set designer, designed the Basilica of Superga (b. 1678)
  • 1790 – Thomas Lewis, Irish-born American lawyer and surveyor (b. 1718)
  • 1794 – Mariot Arbuthnot, English admiral and politician, 12th Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia (b. 1711)
  • 1811 – Manuel Alberti, Argentinian priest and journalist (b. 1763)
  • 1815 – José Félix Ribas, Venezuelan soldier (b. 1775)
  • 1828 – Alexander Ypsilantis, Greek general (b. 1792)
  • 1836 – John Cheyne, English physician and author (b. 1777)
  • 1844 – Henri Gatien Bertrand, French general (b. 1773)
  • 1856 – 11th Dalai Lama (b. 1838)
  • 1870 – Cilibi Moise, Moldavian-Romanian journalist and author (b. 1812)
  • 1888 – John Bosco, Italian priest and educator, founded the Salesian Society (b. 1815)
  • 1892 – Charles Spurgeon, English pastor and author (b. 1834)
  • 1900 – John Douglas, 9th Marquess of Queensberry, Scottish nobleman (b. 1844)
  • 1907 – Timothy Eaton, Canadian businessman, founded Eaton’s (b. 1834)
  • 1923 – Eligiusz Niewiadomski, Polish painter and critic (b. 1869)
  • 1933 – John Galsworthy, English novelist and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1867)
  • 1942 – Henry Larkin, American baseball player and manager (b. 1860)
  • 1944 – Jean Giraudoux, French author and playwright (b. 1882)
  • 1954 – Edwin Howard Armstrong, American engineer, invented FM radio (b. 1890)
  • 1954 – Vivian Woodward, English captain and footballer (b. 1879)
  • 1955 – John Mott, American activist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1865)
  • 1956 – A. A. Milne, English author, poet, and playwright, created Winnie-the-Pooh (b. 1882)
  • 1958 – Karl Selter, Estonian politician, 14th Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1898)
  • 1960 – Auguste Herbin, French painter (b. 1882)
  • 1961 – Krishna Singh, Indian politician, 1st Chief Minister of Bihar (b. 1887)
  • 1966 – Arthur Percival, English general (b. 1887)
  • 1967 – Eddie Tolan, American sprinter and educator (b. 1908)
  • 1969 – Meher Baba, Indian spiritual master (b. 1894)
  • 1971 – Viktor Zhirmunsky, Russian historian and linguist (b. 1891)
  • 1973 – Ragnar Frisch, Norwegian economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1895)
  • 1974 – Samuel Goldwyn, Polish-American film producer, co-founded Goldwyn Pictures (b. 1882)
  • 1976 – Ernesto Miranda, American criminal (b. 1941)
  • 1976 – Evert Taube, Swedish author and composer (b. 1890)
  • 1985 – Reginald Baker, English-Australian film producer (b. 1896)
  • 1985 – Tatsuzō Ishikawa, Japanese author (b. 1905)
  • 1987 – Yves Allégret, French director and screenwriter (b. 1907)
  • 1989 – William Stephenson, Canadian captain and spy (b. 1896)
  • 1990 – Eveline Du Bois-Reymond Marcus, German zoologist and academic (b. 1901)
  • 1990 – Rashad Khalifa, Egyptian-American biochemist and academic (b. 1935)
  • 1995 – George Abbott, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1887)
  • 1997 – John Joseph Scanlan, Irish-American bishop (b. 1930)
  • 1999 – Giant Baba, Japanese wrestler and trainer, co-founded All Japan Pro Wrestling (b. 1938)
  • 1999 – Norm Zauchin, American baseball player (b. 1929)
  • 2000 – Gil Kane, Latvian-American author and illustrator (b. 1926)
  • 2001 – Gordon R. Dickson, Canadian-American author (b. 1923)
  • 2002 – Gabby Gabreski, American colonel and pilot (b. 1919)
  • 2004 – Eleanor Holm, American swimmer and actress (b. 1913)
  • 2004 – Suraiya, Indian actress and playback singer (b. 1929)
  • 2006 – Moira Shearer, Scottish actress and ballerina (b. 1926)
  • 2007 – Molly Ivins, American journalist and author (b. 1944)
  • 2007 – Adelaide Tambo, South African activist and politician (b. 1929)
  • 2008 – František Čapek, Czechoslovakian canoeist (b. 1914)
  • 2011 – Bartolomeu Anania, Romanian bishop and poet (b. 1921)
  • 2011 – Mark Ryan, English guitarist and playwright (b. 1959)
  • 2012 – Mani Ram Bagri, Indian lawyer and politician (b. 1920)
  • 2012 – Anthony Bevilacqua, American cardinal (b. 1923)
  • 2012 – Tristram Potter Coffin, American author, scholar, and academic (b. 1922)
  • 2012 – Dorothea Tanning, American painter and sculptor (b. 1910)
  • 2013 – Rubén Bonifaz Nuño, Mexican poet and scholar (b. 1923)
  • 2013 – Hassan Habibi, Iranian lawyer and politician, 1st Vice President of Iran (b. 1937)
  • 2014 – Francis M. Fesmire, American cardiologist and physician (b. 1959)
  • 2014 – Anna Gordy Gaye, American songwriter and producer, co-founded Anna Records (b. 1922)
  • 2014 – Abdirizak Haji Hussein, Somalian politician, 4th Prime Minister of Somalia (b. 1924)
  • 2014 – Miklós Jancsó, Hungarian director and screenwriter (b. 1921)
  • 2014 – Joseph Willcox Jenkins, American composer, conductor, and educator (b. 1928)
  • 2014 – Christopher Jones, American actor (b. 1941)
  • 2015 – Vic Howe, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1929)
  • 2015 – Udo Lattek, German footballer, coach, and journalist (b. 1935)
  • 2015 – Lizabeth Scott, American actress (b. 1922)
  • 2015 – Richard von Weizsäcker, German captain and politician, 6th President of Germany (b. 1920)
  • 2016 – Gil Carmichael, American businessman and politician (b. 1927)
  • 2016 – Terry Wogan, Irish-British radio and television host (b. 1938)
  • 2017 – Rob Stewart, Canadian filmmaker (b. 1979)
  • 2018 – Rasual Butler, American professional basketball player (b. 1979)
  • 2018 – Leah LaBelle, American singer (b. 1986)

Holidays and observances on January 31

  • Christian feast day:
    • Domitius (Domice) of Amiens
    • Francis Xavier Bianchi
    • Geminianus
    • John Bosco
    • Julius of Novara
    • Blessed Ludovica
    • Máedóc (Mogue, Aiden)
    • Marcella
    • Samuel Shoemaker (Episcopal Church (USA))
    • Tysul
    • Ulphia
    • Wilgils
    • January 31 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Amartithi (Meherabad, India, followers of Meher Baba)
  • Independence Day (Nauru), celebrates independence from Australia in 1968.
  • Street Children’s Day (Austria)

January 31 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

January 16 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 27 BCE – Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus is granted the title Augustus by the Roman Senate, marking the beginning of the Roman Empire.
  • 378 – General Siyaj K’ak’ conquers Tikal, enlarging the domain of King Spearthrower Owl of Teotihuacán.
  • 550 – Gothic War: The Ostrogoths, under King Totila, conquer Rome after a long siege, by bribing the Isaurian garrison.
  • 929 – Emir Abd-ar-Rahman III established the Caliphate of Córdoba.
  • 1120 – The Council of Nablus is held, establishing the earliest surviving written laws of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem.
  • 1362 – Saint Marcellus’s flood kills at least 25,000 people on the shores of the North Sea.
  • 1412 – The Medici family is appointed official banker of the Papacy.
  • 1492 – The first grammar of the Spanish language (Gramática de la lengua castellana) is presented to Queen Isabella I.
  • 1547 – Grand Duke Ivan IV of Muscovy becomes the first Tsar of Russia, replacing the 264-year-old Grand Duchy of Moscow with the Tsardom of Russia.
  • 1556 – Philip II becomes King of Spain.
  • 1572 – Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk is tried for treason for his part in the Ridolfi plot to restore Catholicism in England.
  • 1605 – The first edition of El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha (Book One of Don Quixote) by Miguel de Cervantes is published in Madrid, Spain.
  • 1707 – The Scottish Parliament ratifies the Act of Union, paving the way for the creation of Great Britain.
  • 1757 – Forces of the Maratha Empire defeat a 5,000-strong army of the Durrani Empire in the Battle of Narela.
  • 1780 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of Cape St. Vincent.
  • 1786 – Virginia enacts the Statute for Religious Freedom authored by Thomas Jefferson.
  • 1809 – Peninsular War: The British defeat the French at the Battle of La Coruña.
  • 1847 – John C. Frémont is appointed Governor of the new California Territory.
  • 1862 – Hartley Colliery disaster: Two hundred and four men and boys killed in a mining disaster, prompting a change in UK law which henceforth required all collieries to have at least two independent means of escape.
  • 1878 – Russo-Turkish War (1877–78): Battle of Philippopolis: Captain Aleksandr Burago with a squadron of Russian Imperial army dragoons liberates Plovdiv from Ottoman rule.
  • 1883 – The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, establishing the United States Civil Service, is enacted by Congress.
  • 1900 – The United States Senate accepts the Anglo-German treaty of 1899 in which the United Kingdom renounces its claims to the Samoan islands.
  • 1909 – Ernest Shackleton’s expedition finds the magnetic South Pole.
  • 1919 – Nebraska becomes the 36th state to approve the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. With the necessary three-quarters of the states approving the amendment, Prohibition is constitutionally mandated in the United States one year later.
  • 1920 – Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Incorporated was founded on the campus of Howard University.
  • 1920 – The League of Nations holds its first council meeting in Paris, France.
  • 1921 – The Marxist Left in Slovakia and the Transcarpathian Ukraine holds its founding congress in Ľubochňa.
  • 1942 – Crash of TWA Flight 3, killing all 22 aboard, including film star Carole Lombard.
  • 1945 – Adolf Hitler moves into his underground bunker, the so-called Führerbunker.
  • 1964 – Hello, Dolly! opened on Broadway, beginning a run of 2,844 performances.
  • 1969 – Czech student Jan Palach commits suicide by self-immolation in Prague, Czechoslovakia, in protest against the Soviets’ crushing of the Prague Spring the year before.
  • 1969 – Soviet spacecraft Soyuz 4 and Soyuz 5 perform the first-ever docking of manned spacecraft in orbit, the first-ever transfer of crew from one space vehicle to another, and the only time such a transfer was accomplished with a space walk.
  • 1979 – The last Iranian Shah flees Iran with his family for good and relocates to Egypt.
  • 1991 – Coalition Forces go to war with Iraq, beginning the Gulf War.
  • 1992 – El Salvador officials and rebel leaders sign the Chapultepec Peace Accords in Mexico City, Mexico ending the 12-year Salvadoran Civil War that claimed at least 75,000 lives.
  • 2001 – Congolese President Laurent-Désiré Kabila is assassinated by one of his own bodyguards.
  • 2001 – US President Bill Clinton awards former President Theodore Roosevelt a posthumous Medal of Honor for his service in the Spanish–American War.
  • 2002 – The UN Security Council unanimously establishes an arms embargo and the freezing of assets of Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda, and the remaining members of the Taliban.
  • 2003 – The Space Shuttle Columbia takes off for mission STS-107 which would be its final one. Columbia disintegrated 16 days later on re-entry.
  • 2006 – Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is sworn in as Liberia’s new president. She becomes Africa’s first female elected head of state.
  • 2016 – Thirty-three out of 126 freed hostages are injured and 23 killed in terrorist attacks in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso on a hotel and a nearby restaurant.
  • 2018 – Myanmar police open fire on a group of ethnic Rakhine protesters, killing seven and wounding twelve.
  • 2020 – The impeachment of Donald John Trump formally moves into its trial phase in the United States Senate.

Births on January 16

  • 972 – Sheng Zong, emperor of the Liao Dynasty (d. 1031)
  • 1093 – Isaac Komnenos, son of Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos (d. 1152)
  • 1245 – Edmund Crouchback, English politician, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (d. 1296)
  • 1362 – Robert de Vere, duke of Ireland (d. 1392)
  • 1409 – René of Anjou, king of Naples (d. 1480)
  • 1477 – Johannes Schöner, German astronomer and cartographer (d. 1547)
  • 1501 – Anthony Denny, confidant of Henry VIII of England (d. 1559)
  • 1516 – Bayinnaung, king of Burma (d. 1581)
  • 1558 – Jakobea of Baden, Margravine of Baden by birth, Duchess of Jülich-Cleves-Berg by marriage (d. 1597)
  • 1616 – François de Vendôme, duke of Beaufort (d. 1669)
  • 1626 – Lucas Achtschellinck, Belgian painter and educator (d. 1699)
  • 1630 – Guru Har Rai, Sikh Guru (d. 1661)
  • 1634 – Dorothe Engelbretsdatter, Norwegian author and poet (d. 1716)
  • 1675 – Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon, French soldier and diplomat (d. 1755)
  • 1691 – Peter Scheemakers, Belgian sculptor and educator (d. 1781)
  • 1728 – Niccolò Piccinni, Italian composer and educator (d. 1800)
  • 1749 – Vittorio Alfieri, Italian poet and playwright (d. 1803)
  • 1757 – Richard Goodwin Keats, English admiral and politician, 3rd Commodore-Governor of Newfoundland (d. 1834)
  • 1807 – Charles Henry Davis, American admiral (d. 1877)
  • 1815 – Henry Halleck, American lawyer, general, and scholar (d. 1872)
  • 1821 – John C. Breckinridge, American general and politician, 14th Vice President of the United States (d. 1875)
  • 1834 – Robert R. Hitt, American lawyer and politician, 13th United States Assistant Secretary of State (d. 1906)
  • 1836 – Francis II of the Two Sicilies (d. 1894)
  • 1838 – Franz Brentano, German philosopher and psychologist (d. 1917)
  • 1851 – William Hall-Jones, English-New Zealand politician, 16th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1936)
  • 1853 – Johnston Forbes-Robertson, English actor and manager (d. 1937)
  • 1853 – Ian Standish Monteith Hamilton, Greek-English general (d. 1947)
  • 1853 – André Michelin, French businessman, co-founded the Michelin Tyre Company (d. 1931)
  • 1870 – Jüri Jaakson, Estonian businessman and politician, State Elder of Estonia (d. 1942)
  • 1872 – Henri Büsser, French organist, composer, and conductor (d. 1973)
  • 1874 – Robert W. Service, English-Canadian poet and author (d. 1958)
  • 1875 – Leonor Michaelis, German biochemist and physician (d. 1949)
  • 1876 – Claude Buckenham, English cricketer and footballer (d. 1937)
  • 1878 – Harry Carey, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1947)
  • 1880 – Samuel Jones, American high jumper (d. 1954)
  • 1882 – Margaret Wilson, American author (d. 1973)
  • 1885 – Zhou Zuoren, Chinese author and translator (d. 1967)
  • 1888 – Osip Brik, Russian avant garde writer and literary critic (d. 1945)
  • 1892 – Homer Burton Adkins, American chemist (d. 1949)
  • 1893 – Daisy Kennedy, Australian-English violinist (d. 1981)
  • 1894 – Irving Mills, American publisher (d. 1985)
  • 1895 – Evripidis Bakirtzis, Greek soldier and politician (d. 1947)
  • 1895 – T. M. Sabaratnam, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (d. 1966)
  • 1895 – Nat Schachner, American lawyer, chemist, and author (d. 1955)
  • 1897 – Carlos Pellicer, Mexican poet and academic (d. 1977)
  • 1898 – Margaret Booth, American producer and editor (d. 2002)
  • 1898 – Irving Rapper, American film director and producer (d. 1999)
  • 1900 – Kiku Amino, Japanese author and translator (d. 1978)
  • 1900 – Edith Frank, German-Dutch mother of Anne Frank (d. 1945)
  • 1901 – Fulgencio Batista, Cuban colonel and politician, 9th President of Cuba (d. 1973)
  • 1902 – Eric Liddell, Scottish runner, rugby player, and missionary (d. 1945)
  • 1903 – William Grover-Williams, English-French race car driver (d. 1945)
  • 1905 – Ernesto Halffter, Spanish composer and conductor (d. 1989)
  • 1906 – Johannes Brenner, Estonian footballer and pilot (d. 1975)
  • 1906 – Diana Wynyard, English actress (d. 1964)
  • 1907 – Alexander Knox, Canadian-English actor and screenwriter (d. 1995)
  • 1907 – Paul Nitze, American banker and politician, 10th United States Secretary of the Navy (d. 2004)
  • 1908 – Sammy Crooks, English footballer (d. 1981)
  • 1908 – Ethel Merman, American actress and singer (d. 1984)
  • 1908 – Günther Prien, German captain (d. 1941)
  • 1909 – Clement Greenberg, American art critic (d. 1994)
  • 1910 – Dizzy Dean, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 1974)
  • 1911 – Ivan Barrow, Jamaican cricketer (d. 1979)
  • 1911 – Eduardo Frei Montalva, Chilean lawyer and politician, 28th President of Chile (d. 1982)
  • 1911 – Roger Lapébie, French cyclist (d. 1996)
  • 1914 – Roger Wagner, French-American conductor and educator (d. 1992)
  • 1915 – Leslie H. Martinson, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2016)
  • 1916 – Eddie Burns, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 2004)
  • 1916 – Philip Lucock, English-Australian minister and politician (d. 1996)
  • 1917 – Carl Karcher, American businessman, founded Carl’s Jr. (d. 2008)
  • 1918 – Nel Benschop, Dutch poet and educator (d. 2005)
  • 1918 – Allan Ekelund, Swedish director, producer, and production manager (d. 2009)
  • 1918 – Clem Jones, Australian surveyor and politician, 8th Lord Mayor of Brisbane (d. 2007)
  • 1918 – Stirling Silliphant, American screenwriter and producer (d. 1996)
  • 1919 – Jerome Horwitz, American chemist and academic (d. 2012)
  • 1920 – Alberto Crespo, Argentinian race car driver (d. 1991)
  • 1920 – Elliott Reid, American actor and screenwriter (d. 2013)
  • 1921 – Francesco Scavullo, American photographer (d. 2004)
  • 1923 – Gene Feist, American director and playwright, co-founded the Roundabout Theatre Company (d. 2014)
  • 1923 – Anthony Hecht, American poet (d. 2004)
  • 1924 – Katy Jurado, Mexican actress (d. 2002)
  • 1925 – Peter Hirsch, German-English metallurgist and academic
  • 1925 – James Robinson Risner, American general and pilot (d. 2013)
  • 1928 – William Kennedy, American novelist and journalist
  • 1928 – Pilar Lorengar, Spanish soprano and actress (d. 1996)
  • 1929 – Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah, Sri Lankan anthropologist and academic (d. 2014)
  • 1930 – Mary Ann McMorrow, American lawyer and judge (d. 2013)
  • 1930 – Norman Podhoretz, American journalist and author
  • 1931 – John Enderby, English physicist and academic
  • 1931 – Robert L. Park, American physicist and academic
  • 1931 – Johannes Rau, German journalist and politician, 8th Federal President of Germany (d. 2006)
  • 1932 – Victor Ciocâltea, Romanian chess player (d. 1983)
  • 1932 – Dian Fossey, American zoologist and anthropologist (d. 1985)
  • 1933 – Susan Sontag, American novelist, essayist, and critic (d. 2004)
  • 1934 – Bob Bogle, American rock guitarist and bass player (d. 2009)
  • 1934 – Marilyn Horne, American soprano and actress
  • 1935 – A. J. Foyt, American race car driver
  • 1935 – Udo Lattek, German footballer, manager, and sportscaster (d. 2015)
  • 1936 – Michael White, Scottish actor and producer (d. 2016)
  • 1937 – Luiz Bueno, Brazilian race car driver (d. 2011)
  • 1937 – Francis George, American cardinal (d. 2015)
  • 1938 – Marina Vaizey, American journalist and critic
  • 1939 – Ralph Gibson, American photographer
  • 1941 – Christine Truman, English tennis player and sportscaster
  • 1942 – René Angélil, Canadian singer and manager (d. 2016)
  • 1942 – Barbara Lynn, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1943 – Gavin Bryars, English bassist and composer
  • 1943 – Ronnie Milsap, American singer and pianist
  • 1944 – Dieter Moebius, Swiss-German keyboard player and producer (d. 2015)
  • 1944 – Jim Stafford, American singer-songwriter and actor
  • 1944 – Jill Tarter, American astronomer and biologist
  • 1944 – Judy Baar Topinka, American journalist and politician (d. 2014)
  • 1945 – Wim Suurbier, Dutch footballer and manager
  • 1946 – Kabir Bedi, Indian actor
  • 1946 – Katia Ricciarelli, Italian soprano and actress
  • 1947 – Elaine Murphy, Baroness Murphy, English academic and politician
  • 1947 – Harvey Proctor, English politician
  • 1947 – Laura Schlessinger, American physiologist, talk show host, and author
  • 1948 – John Carpenter, American director, producer, screenwriter, and composer
  • 1948 – Ants Laaneots, Estonian general
  • 1948 – Cliff Thorburn, Canadian snooker player
  • 1948 – Ruth Reichl, American journalist and critic
  • 1949 – Anne F. Beiler, American businesswoman, founded Auntie Anne’s
  • 1949 – R. F. Foster, Irish historian and academic
  • 1949 – Andrew Refshauge, Australian physician and politician, 13th Deputy Premier of New South Wales
  • 1950 – Debbie Allen, American actress, dancer, and choreographer
  • 1950 – Robert Schimmel, American comedian, actor, and producer (d. 2010)
  • 1952 – Fuad II, King of Egypt
  • 1952 – Piercarlo Ghinzani, Italian race car driver and manager
  • 1952 – L. Blaine Hammond, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut
  • 1952 – Julie Anne Peters, American engineer and author
  • 1953 – Robert Jay Mathews, American militant, founded The Order (d. 1984)
  • 1954 – Wolfgang Schmidt, German discus thrower
  • 1954 – Vasili Zhupikov, Russian footballer and coach (d. 2015)
  • 1955 – Jerry M. Linenger, American captain, physician, and astronaut
  • 1956 – Wayne Daniel, Barbadian cricketer
  • 1956 – Martin Jol, Dutch footballer and manager
  • 1956 – Greedy Smith, Australian singer-songwriter and keyboardist (d. 2019)
  • 1957 – Jurijs Andrejevs, Latvian footballer and manager
  • 1957 – Ricardo Darín, Argentinian actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1957 – Mark Pawsey, English businessman and politician
  • 1958 – Anatoli Boukreev, Russian mountaineer and explorer (d. 1997)
  • 1958 – Lena Ek, Swedish lawyer and politician, 9th Swedish Minister for the Environment
  • 1958 – Andris Šķēle, Latvian businessman and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Latvia
  • 1959 – Lisa Milroy, Canadian painter and educator
  • 1959 – Sade, Nigerian-English singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1961 – Kenneth Sivertsen, Norwegian guitarist and composer (d. 2006)
  • 1962 – Joel Fitzgibbon, Australian electrician and politician, 51st Australian Minister of Defence
  • 1962 – Maxine Jones, American R&B singer–songwriter and actress
  • 1963 – James May, British journalist/co-host of Top Gear
  • 1964 – Gail Graham, Canadian golfer
  • 1966 – Jack McDowell, American baseball player
  • 1968 – Rebecca Stead, American author
  • 1969 – Neil Back, English rugby player and coach
  • 1969 – Marinus Bester, German footballer
  • 1969 – Stevie Jackson, Scottish guitarist and songwriter
  • 1969 – Roy Jones Jr., American boxer
  • 1970 – Ron Villone, American baseball player and coach
  • 1971 – Sergi Bruguera, Spanish tennis player and coach
  • 1971 – Josh Evans, American film producer, screenwriter and actor
  • 1971 – Jonathan Mangum, American actor
  • 1972 – Ruben Bagger, Danish footballer
  • 1972 – Ang Christou, Australian footballer
  • 1972 – Yuri Alekseevich Drozdov, Russian footballer and manager
  • 1972 – Ezra Hendrickson, Vincentian footballer and manager
  • 1972 – Joe Horn, American football player and coach
  • 1974 – Marlon Anderson, American baseball player and sportscaster
  • 1974 – John Hopoate, Tongan-Australian rugby league player and boxer
  • 1974 – Kate Moss, English model and fashion designer
  • 1976 – Viktor Maslov, Russian race car driver
  • 1976 – Martina Moravcová, Slovak swimmer
  • 1977 – Jeff Foster, American basketball player
  • 1978 – Alfredo Amézaga, Mexican baseball player
  • 1979 – Aaliyah, American singer and actress (d. 2001)
  • 1979 – Brenden Morrow, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1979 – Jason Ward, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1980 – Lin-Manuel Miranda, American actor, playwright, and composer
  • 1980 – Albert Pujols, Dominican-American baseball player
  • 1981 – Jamie Lundmark, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1981 – Paul Rofe, Australian cricketer
  • 1981 – Bobby Zamora, English footballer, striker
  • 1982 – Preston, English singer-songwriter
  • 1982 – Tuncay, Turkish footballer
  • 1983 – Emanuel Pogatetz, Austrian footballer
  • 1983 – Andriy Rusol, Ukrainian footballer
  • 1984 – Stephan Lichtsteiner, Swiss footballer
  • 1984 – Miroslav Radović, Serbian footballer
  • 1985 – Joe Flacco, American football player
  • 1985 – Jayde Herrick, Australian cricketer
  • 1985 – Gintaras Januševičius, Russian-Lithuanian pianist
  • 1985 – Twins Jonathan and Simon Richter, Danish-Gambian footballers
  • 1985 – Sidharth Malhotra, Indian actor
  • 1986 – Johannes Rahn, German footballer
  • 1986 – Mark Trumbo, American baseball player
  • 1986 – Reto Ziegler, Swiss footballer, left back
  • 1987 – Jake Epstein, Canadian actor
  • 1987 – Charlotte Henshaw, English swimmer
  • 1988 – Nicklas Bendtner, Danish footballer
  • 1988 – Jorge Torres Nilo, Mexican footballer
  • 1991 – Matt Duchene, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1993 – Hannes Anier, Estonian footballer
  • 1993 – Amandine Hesse, French tennis player
  • 1994 – Chris Smith, Australian rugby league player
  • 1995 – Mikaela Turik, Australian-Canadian cricketer
  • 1998 – Cameron Murray, Australian rugby league player
  • 2003 – Adriana Hernández, Mexican rhythmic gymnast

Deaths on January 16

  • 654 – Gao Jifu, Chinese politician and chancellor (b. 596)
  • 957 – Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ali al-Madhara’i, Tulunid vizier (b. 871)
  • 970 – Polyeuctus of Constantinople, Byzantine patriarch (b. 956)
  • 1263 – Shinran Shonin, Japanese founder of the Jodo Shinshu branch of Pure Land Buddhism
  • 1289 – Buqa, Mongol minister
  • 1327 – Nikephoros Choumnos, Byzantine monk, scholar, and politician (b. 1250)
  • 1354 – Joanna of Châtillon, duchess of Athens (b. c.1285)
  • 1373 – Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford (b. 1342)
  • 1391 – Muhammed V of Granada, Nasrid emir (b. 1338)
  • 1400 – John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter, English politician, Lord Great Chamberlain (b. 1352)
  • 1443 – Erasmo of Narni, Italian mercenary (b. 1370)
  • 1545 – George Spalatin, German priest and reformer (b. 1484)
  • 1547 – Johannes Schöner, German astronomer and cartographer (b. 1477)
  • 1554 – Christiern Pedersen, Danish publisher and scholar (b. 1480)
  • 1585 – Edward Clinton, 1st Earl of Lincoln, English admiral and politician (b. 1512)
  • 1595 – Murad III, Ottoman sultan (b. 1546)
  • 1659 – Charles Annibal Fabrot, French lawyer (b. 1580)
  • 1710 – Higashiyama, Japanese emperor (b. 1675)
  • 1711 – Joseph Vaz, Indian-Sri Lankan priest and saint (b. 1651)
  • 1747 – Barthold Heinrich Brockes, German poet and playwright (b. 1680)
  • 1748 – Arnold Drakenborch, Dutch lawyer and scholar (b. 1684)
  • 1750 – Ivan Trubetskoy, Russian field marshal and politician (b. 1667)
  • 1752 – Francis Blomefield, English historian and author (b. 1705)
  • 1794 – Edward Gibbon, English historian and politician (b. 1737)
  • 1809 – John Moore, Scottish general and politician (b. 1761)
  • 1817 – Alexander J. Dallas, Jamaican-American lawyer and politician, 6th United States Secretary of the Treasury (b. 1759)
  • 1834 – Jean Nicolas Pierre Hachette, French mathematician and academic (b. 1769)
  • 1856 – Thaddeus William Harris, American entomologist and botanist (b. 1795)
  • 1864 – Anton Schindler, Austrian secretary and author (b. 1795)
  • 1865 – Edmond François Valentin About, French journalist and author (b. 1828)
  • 1879 – Octave Crémazie, Canadian-French poet and bookseller (b. 1827)
  • 1886 – Amilcare Ponchielli, Italian composer and academic (b. 1834)
  • 1891 – Léo Delibes, French pianist and composer (b. 1836)
  • 1898 – Charles Pelham Villiers, English lawyer and politician (b. 1802)
  • 1901 – Jules Barbier, French poet and playwright (b. 1825)
  • 1901 – Arnold Böcklin, Swiss painter and academic (b. 1827)
  • 1901 – Hiram Rhodes Revels, American soldier, minister, and politician (b. 1822)
  • 1906 – Marshall Field, American businessman and philanthropist, founded Marshall Field’s (b. 1834)
  • 1917 – George Dewey, American admiral (b. 1837)
  • 1919 – Francisco de Paula Rodrigues Alves, Brazilian lawyer and politician, 5th President of Brazil (b. 1848)
  • 1933 – Bekir Sami Kunduh, Turkish politician (b. 1867)
  • 1936 – Albert Fish, American serial killer, rapist and cannibal (b. 1870)
  • 1938 – Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay Indian author and playwright (b. 1876)
  • 1942 – Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn (b. 1850)
  • 1942 – Villem Grünthal-Ridala, Estonian poet and linguist (b. 1885)
  • 1942 – Carole Lombard, American actress and comedian (b. 1908)
  • 1942 – Ernst Scheller, German lawyer and politician, Mayor of Marburg (b. 1899)
  • 1957 – Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone, English general and politician, 16th Governor General of Canada (b. 1874)
  • 1957 – Arturo Toscanini, Italian cellist and conductor (b. 1867)
  • 1959 – Phan Khôi, Vietnamese journalist and author (b. 1887)
  • 1960 – Arthur Darby, English rugby player (b. 1876)
  • 1961 – Max Schöne, German swimmer (b. 1880)
  • 1962 – Frank Hurley, Australian photographer, director, producer, and cinematographer (b. 1885)
  • 1962 – Ivan Meštrović, Croatian sculptor and architect, designed the Monument to the Unknown Hero (b. 1883)
  • 1967 – Robert J. Van de Graaff, American physicist and academic (b. 1901)
  • 1968 – Bob Jones Sr., American evangelist, founded Bob Jones University (b. 1883)
  • 1968 – Panagiotis Poulitsas, Greek archaeologist and judge (b. 1881)
  • 1969 – Vernon Duke, Russian-American composer and songwriter (b. 1903)
  • 1971 – Philippe Thys, Belgian cyclist (b. 1890)
  • 1972 – Teller Ammons, American soldier and politician, 28th Governor of Colorado (b. 1895)
  • 1972 – Ross Bagdasarian, Sr., American singer-songwriter, pianist, producer, and actor, created Alvin and the Chipmunks (b. 1919)
  • 1973 – Edgar Sampson, American musician and composer (b. 1907)
  • 1975 – Israel Abramofsky, Russian-American painter (b. 1888)
  • 1978 – A. V. Kulasingham, Sri Lankan journalist, lawyer, and politician (b. 1890)
  • 1981 – Bernard Lee, English actor (b. 1908)
  • 1983 – Virginia Mauret, American musician and dancer
  • 1986 – Herbert W. Armstrong, American evangelist, author, and publisher (b. 1892)
  • 1987 – Bertram Wainer, Australian physician and activist (b. 1928)
  • 1988 – Andrija Artuković, Croatian politician, war criminal, and Porajmos perpetrator, 1st Minister of Interior of the Independent State of Croatia (b. 1899)
  • 1995 – Eric Mottram, English poet and critic (b. 1924)
  • 1996 – Marcia Davenport, American author and critic (b. 1903)
  • 1996 – Kaye Webb, English journalist and publisher (b. 1914)
  • 1999 – Jim McClelland, Australian lawyer, jurist, and politician, 12th Minister for Industry and Science (b. 1915)
  • 2000 – Robert R. Wilson, American physicist and academic (b. 1914)
  • 2001 – Auberon Waugh, English author and journalist (b. 1939)
  • 2002 – Robert Hanbury Brown, English astronomer and physicist (b. 1916)
  • 2003 – Richard Wainwright, English politician (b. 1918)
  • 2004 – Kalevi Sorsa, Finnish politician 34th Prime Minister of Finland (b. 1930)
  • 2005 – Marjorie Williams, American journalist and author (b. 1958)
  • 2006 – Stanley Biber, American soldier and physician (b. 1923)
  • 2007 – Benny Parsons, American race car driver and sportscaster (b. 1941)
  • 2009 – Joe Erskine, American boxer and runner (b. 1930)
  • 2009 – John Mortimer, English lawyer and author (b. 1923)
  • 2009 – Andrew Wyeth, American painter (b. 1917)
  • 2010 – Glen Bell, American businessman, founded Taco Bell (b. 1923)
  • 2010 – Jyoti Basu, Indian lawyer and politician, 9th Chief Minister of West Bengal (b. 1914)
  • 2010 – Takumi Shibano, Japanese author and translator (b. 1926)
  • 2012 – Joe Bygraves, Jamaican-English boxer (b. 1931)
  • 2012 – Jimmy Castor, American singer-songwriter and saxophonist (b. 1940)
  • 2012 – Sigursteinn Gíslason, Icelandic footballer and manager (b. 1968)
  • 2012 – Lorna Kesterson, American journalist and politician (b. 1925)
  • 2012 – Gustav Leonhardt, Dutch pianist, conductor, and musicologist (b. 1928)
  • 2013 – Wayne D. Anderson, American baseball player and coach (b. 1930)
  • 2013 – André Cassagnes, French technician and toy maker, created the Etch A Sketch (b. 1926)
  • 2013 – Gussie Moran, American tennis player and sportscaster (b. 1923)
  • 2013 – Pauline Phillips, American journalist and radio host, created Dear Abby (b. 1918)
  • 2013 – Glen P. Robinson, American businessman, founded Scientific Atlanta (b. 1923)
  • 2014 – Gary Arlington, American author and illustrator (b. 1938)
  • 2014 – Ruth Duccini, American actress (b. 1918)
  • 2014 – Dave Madden, Canadian-American actor (b. 1931)
  • 2014 – Hiroo Onoda, Japanese lieutenant (b. 1922)
  • 2015 – Miriam Akavia, Polish-Israeli author and translator (b. 1927)
  • 2015 – Yao Beina, Chinese singer (b. 1981)
  • 2016 – Joannis Avramidis, Greek sculptor (b. 1922)
  • 2016 – Ted Marchibroda, American football player and coach (b. 1931)
  • 2017 – Eugene Cernan, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1934)
  • 2018 – Ed Doolan, British radio presenter (b. 1941)
  • 2018 – Oliver Ivanović, Kosovo Serb politician (b. 1953)
  • 2019 – John C. Bogle, American businessman, investor, and philanthropist (b. 1929)
  • 2019 – Lorna Doom, American musician (b. 1958)
  • 2019 – Chris Wilson, Australian musician (b. 1956)
  • 2020 – Christopher Tolkien, British academic and editor (died 2020)

Holidays and observances on January 16

  • Christian feast day:
    • Pope Benjamin (Coptic)
    • Berard of Carbio
    • Blaise (Armenian Apostolic)
    • Fursey
    • Joseph Vaz
    • Honoratus of Arles
    • Pope Marcellus I
    • Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God (Coptic Church)
    • Titian of Oderzo
    • Eve of Saint Anthony observed with ritual bonfires in San Bartolomé de Pinares
    • January 16 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • National Religious Freedom Day (United States)
  • Teacher’s Day (Myanmar)
  • Teachers’ Day (Thailand)

January 16 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

On This Day /
  • 69 – Otho seizes power in Rome, proclaiming himself Emperor of Rome, beginning a reign of only three months.
  • 1541 – King Francis I of France gives Jean-François Roberval a commission to settle the province of New France (Canada) and provide for the spread of the “Holy Catholic faith”.
  • 1559 – Elizabeth I is crowned Queen of England in Westminster Abbey, London.
  • 1582 – Truce of Yam-Zapolsky: Russia cedes Livonia to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
  • 1759 – The British Museum opens to the public.
  • 1777 – American Revolutionary War: New Connecticut (present day Vermont) declares its independence.
  • 1782 – Superintendent of Finance Robert Morris addresses the U.S. Congress to recommend establishment of a national mint and decimal coinage.
  • 1815 – War of 1812: American frigate USS President, commanded by Commodore Stephen Decatur, is captured by a squadron of four British frigates.
  • 1818 – A paper by David Brewster is read to the Royal Society, belatedly announcing his discovery of what we now call the biaxial class of doubly-refracting crystals. On the same day, Augustin-Jean Fresnel signs a “supplement” (submitted four days later) on reflection of polarized light.
  • 1822 – Greek War of Independence: Demetrios Ypsilantis is elected president of the legislative assembly.
  • 1865 – American Civil War: Fort Fisher in North Carolina falls to the Union, thus cutting off the last major seaport of the Confederacy.
  • 1867 – Forty people die when ice covering the boating lake at Regent’s Park, London, collapses.
  • 1870 – A political cartoon for the first time symbolizes the Democratic Party with a donkey (“A Live Jackass Kicking a Dead Lion” by Thomas Nast for Harper’s Weekly).
  • 1876 – The first newspaper in Afrikaans, Die Afrikaanse Patriot, is published in Paarl.
  • 1889 – The Coca-Cola Company, then known as the Pemberton Medicine Company, is incorporated in Atlanta.
  • 1892 – James Naismith publishes the rules of basketball.
  • 1908 – The Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority becomes the first Greek-letter organization founded and established by African American college women.
  • 1910 – Construction ends on the Buffalo Bill Dam in Wyoming, United States, which was the highest dam in the world at the time, at 325 ft (99 m).
  • 1911 – Palestinian Arabic-language Falastin newspaper founded.
  • 1919 – Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, two of the most prominent socialists in Germany, are tortured and murdered by the Freikorps at the end of the Spartacist uprising.
  • 1919 – Great Molasses Flood: A wave of molasses released from an exploding storage tank sweeps through Boston, Massachusetts, killing 21 and injuring 150.
  • 1934 – The 8.0 Mw  Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killing an estimated 6,000–10,700 people.
  • 1936 – The first building to be completely covered in glass, built for the Owens-Illinois Glass Company, is completed in Toledo, Ohio.
  • 1937 – Spanish Civil War: Nationalists and Republican both withdraw after suffering heavy losses, ending the Second Battle of the Corunna Road.
  • 1943 – World War II: The Soviet counter-offensive at Voronezh begins.
  • 1943 – The Pentagon is dedicated in Arlington, Virginia.
  • 1947 – The Black Dahlia murder: the dismembered corpse of Elizabeth Short was found in Los Angeles.
  • 1949 – Chinese Civil War: The Communist forces take over Tianjin from the Nationalist Government.
  • 1962 – The Derveni papyrus, Europe’s oldest surviving manuscript dating to 340 BC, is found in northern Greece.
  • 1962 – Netherlands New Guinea Conflict: Indonesian Navy fast patrol boat RI Macan Tutul commanded by Commodore Yos Sudarso sunk in Arafura Sea by the Dutch Navy.
  • 1966 – The First Nigerian Republic, led by Abubakar Tafawa Balewa is overthrown in a military coup d’état.
  • 1967 – The first Super Bowl is played in Los Angeles. The Green Bay Packers defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 35–10.
  • 1969 – The Soviet Union launches Soyuz 5.
  • 1970 – Nigerian Civil War: Biafran rebels surrender following an unsuccessful 32-month fight for independence from Nigeria.
  • 1970 – Muammar Gaddafi is proclaimed premier of Libya.
  • 1973 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, President Richard Nixon announces the suspension of offensive action in North Vietnam.
  • 1975 – The Alvor Agreement is signed, ending the Angolan War of Independence and giving Angola independence from Portugal.
  • 1976 – Gerald Ford’s would-be assassin, Sara Jane Moore, is sentenced to life in prison.
  • 1981 – Pope John Paul II receives a delegation from Solidarity (Polish trade union) at the Vatican led by Lech Wałęsa.
  • 1991 – The United Nations deadline for the withdrawal of Iraqi forces from occupied Kuwait expires, preparing the way for the start of Operation Desert Storm.
  • 1991 – Elizabeth II, in her capacity as Queen of Australia, signs letters patent allowing Australia to become the first Commonwealth realm to institute its own Victoria Cross in its honours system.
  • 2001 – Wikipedia, a free wiki content encyclopedia, goes online.
  • 2005 – ESA’s SMART-1 lunar orbiter discovers elements such as calcium, aluminum, silicon, iron, and other surface elements on the Moon.
  • 2007 – Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, former Iraqi intelligence chief and half-brother of Saddam Hussein, and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, former chief judge of the Revolutionary Court, are executed by hanging in Iraq.
  • 2009 – US Airways Flight 1549 ditches safely in the Hudson River after the plane collides with birds less than two minutes after take-off.
  • 2013 – A train carrying Egyptian Army recruits derails near Giza, Greater Cairo, killing 19 and injuring 120 others.
  • 2015 – The Swiss National Bank abandons the cap on the franc’s value relative to the euro, causing turmoil in international financial markets
  • 2016 – The Kenyan Army suffers its worst defeat ever in a battle with Al-Shabaab Islamic insurgents in El-Adde, Somalia. An estimated 150 Kenyan soldiers are killed in the battle.
  • 2019 – Somali militants attack the DusitD2 hotel in Nairobi, Kenya killing at least 21 people and injuring 19.
  • 2019 – Theresa May’s UK government suffers the biggest government defeat in modern times, when 432 MPs voting against the proposed European Union withdrawal agreement, giving her opponents a majority of 230.

Births on January 15

  • 961 – Seongjong of Goryeo, Korean ruler (d. 997)
  • 1432 – Afonso V of Portugal (d. 1481)
  • 1462 – Edzard I, Count of East Frisia, German noble (d. 1528)
  • 1481 – Ashikaga Yoshizumi, Japanese shōgun (d. 1511)
  • 1538 – Maeda Toshiie, Japanese general (d. 1599)
  • 1595 – Henry Carey, 2nd Earl of Monmouth, English politician (d. 1661)
  • 1622 – Molière, French actor and playwright (d. 1673)
  • 1623 – Algernon Sidney, British philosopher (d. 1683)
  • 1671 – Abraham de la Pryme, English archaeologist and historian (d. 1704)
  • 1674 – Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon, French poet and playwright (d. 1762)
  • 1716 – Philip Livingston, American merchant and politician (d. 1778)
  • 1747 – John Aikin, English surgeon and author (d. 1822)
  • 1754 – Richard Martin, Irish activist and politician, co-founded the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (d. 1834)
  • 1791 – Franz Grillparzer, Austrian author, poet, and playwright (d. 1872)
  • 1795 – Alexander Griboyedov, Russian playwright, composer, and poet (d. 1829)
  • 1803 – Marjorie Fleming, Scottish poet and author (d. 1811)
  • 1809 – Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, French economist and politician (d. 1865)
  • 1812 – Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, Norwegian author and scholar (d. 1885)
  • 1815 – William Bickerton, English-American religious leader, 3rd President of the Church of Jesus Christ (d. 1905)
  • 1834 – Samuel Arza Davenport, American lawyer and politician (d. 1911)
  • 1841 – Frederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby, English captain and politician, 6th Governor General of Canada (d. 1908)
  • 1842 – Josef Breuer, Austrian physician and psychiatrist (d. 1925)
  • 1842 – Mary MacKillop, Australian nun and saint, co-founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart (d. 1909)
  • 1850 – Leonard Darwin, English soldier, eugenicist, and politician (d. 1943)
  • 1850 – Mihai Eminescu, Romanian journalist, author, and poet (d. 1889)
  • 1850 – Sofia Kovalevskaya, Russian-Swedish mathematician and physicist (d. 1891)
  • 1855 – Jacques Damala, Greek-French soldier and actor (d. 1889)
  • 1858 – Giovanni Segantini, Italian painter (d. 1899)
  • 1859 – Archibald Peake, English-Australian politician, 25th Premier of South Australia (d. 1920)
  • 1863 – Wilhelm Marx, German lawyer and politician, 17th Chancellor of Germany (d. 1946)
  • 1866 – Nathan Söderblom, Swedish archbishop, historian, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1931)
  • 1869 – Ruby Laffoon, American lawyer and politician, 43rd Governor of Kentucky (d. 1941)
  • 1869 – Stanisław Wyspiański, Polish poet, playwright, and painter (d. 1907)
  • 1870 – Pierre S. du Pont, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1954)
  • 1872 – Arsen Kotsoyev, Russian author and translator (d. 1944)
  • 1875 – Thomas Burke, American sprinter, coach, and journalist (d. 1929)
  • 1877 – Lewis Terman, American psychologist, eugenicist, and academic (d. 1956)
  • 1878 – Johanna Müller-Hermann, Austrian composer (d. 1941)
  • 1879 – Mazo de la Roche, Canadian author and playwright (d. 1961)
  • 1882 – Henry Burr, Canadian singer, radio performer, and producer (d. 1941)
  • 1885 – Lorenz Böhler, Austrian physician and author (d. 1973)
  • 1885 – Grover Lowdermilk, American baseball player (d. 1968)
  • 1890 – Michiaki Kamada, Japanese admiral (d. 1947)
  • 1891 – Ray Chapman, American baseball player (d. 1920)
  • 1891 – Osip Mandelstam, Russian poet and translator (d. 1938)
  • 1893 – Ivor Novello, Welsh singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1951)
  • 1895 – Artturi Ilmari Virtanen, Finnish chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1973)
  • 1896 – Marjorie Bennett, Australian-American actress (d. 1982)
  • 1902 – Nâzım Hikmet, Greek-Turkish author, poet, and playwright (d. 1963)
  • 1902 – Saud of Saudi Arabia (d. 1969)
  • 1903 – Paul A. Dever, American lieutenant and politician, 58th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1958)
  • 1907 – Janusz Kusociński, Polish runner and soldier (d. 1940)
  • 1908 – Edward Teller, Hungarian-American physicist and academic (d. 2003)
  • 1909 – Jean Bugatti, German-French engineer (d. 1939)
  • 1909 – Gene Krupa, American drummer, composer, and actor (d. 1973)
  • 1912 – Michel Debré, French lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1996)
  • 1913 – Eugène Brands, Dutch painter (d. 2002)
  • 1913 – Lloyd Bridges, American actor (d. 1998)
  • 1913 – Miriam Hyde, Australian pianist and composer (d. 2005)
  • 1913 – Alexander Marinesko, Ukrainian-Russian lieutenant (d. 1963)
  • 1914 – Stefan Bałuk, Polish general (d. 2014)
  • 1914 – Hugh Trevor-Roper, English historian and academic (d. 2003)
  • 1917 – K. A. Thangavelu, Indian film actor and comedian (d. 1994)
  • 1918 – João Figueiredo, Brazilian general and politician, 30th President of Brazil (d. 1999)
  • 1918 – Édouard Gagnon, Canadian cardinal (d. 2007)
  • 1918 – Gamal Abdel Nasser, Egyptian colonel and politician, 2nd President of Egypt (d. 1970)
  • 1919 – Maurice Herzog, French mountaineer and politician, French Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports (d. 2012)
  • 1919 – George Cadle Price, Belizean politician, 1st Prime Minister of Belize (d. 2011)
  • 1920 – Bob Davies, American basketball player and coach (d. 1990)
  • 1920 – Steve Gromek, American baseball player (d. 2002)
  • 1920 – John O’Connor, American cardinal (d. 2000)
  • 1921 – Babasaheb Bhosale, Indian lawyer and politician, 8th Chief Minister of Maharashtra (d. 2007)
  • 1921 – Frank Thornton, English actor (d. 2013)
  • 1922 – Sylvia Lawler, English geneticist (d. 1996)
  • 1922 – Eric Willis, Australian sergeant and politician, 34th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1999)
  • 1923 – Ivor Cutler, Scottish pianist, songwriter, and poet (d. 2006)
  • 1923 – Lee Teng-hui, Taiwanese-Chinese economist and politician, 4th President of the Republic of China
  • 1924 – George Lowe, New Zealand-English mountaineer and explorer (d. 2013)
  • 1925 – Ruth Slenczynska, American pianist and composer
  • 1925 – Ignacio López Tarso, Mexican actor
  • 1926 – Maria Schell, Austrian-Swiss actress (d. 2005)
  • 1927 – Phyllis Coates, American actress
  • 1928 – W. R. Mitchell, English journalist and author (d. 2015)
  • 1929 – Earl Hooker, American guitarist (d. 1970)
  • 1929 – Martin Luther King, Jr., American minister and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (assassinated in 1968)
  • 1930 – Eddie Graham, American wrestler and promoter (d. 1985)
  • 1931 – Lee Bontecou, American painter and sculptor
  • 1932 – Lou Jones, American sprinter (d. 2006)
  • 1933 – Frank Bough, English journalist and radio host
  • 1933 – Ernest J. Gaines, American author and academic (d. 2019)
  • 1933 – Peter Maitlis, English chemist and academic
  • 1934 – V. S. Ramadevi, Indian civil servant and politician, 13th Governor of Karnataka (d. 2013)
  • 1937 – Margaret O’Brien, American actress and singer
  • 1938 – Ashraf Aman, Pakistani engineer and mountaineer
  • 1938 – Estrella Blanca, Mexican wrestler
  • 1938 – Chuni Goswami, Indian footballer and cricketer
  • 1939 – Per Ahlmark, Swedish journalist and politician, 1st Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden (d. 2018)
  • 1939 – Tony Bullimore, British sailor
  • 1941 – Captain Beefheart, American singer-songwriter, musician, and artist (d. 2010)
  • 1942 – Frank Joseph Polozola, American academic and judge (d. 2013)
  • 1943 – George Ambrum, Australian rugby league player (d. 1986)
  • 1943 – Margaret Beckett, English metallurgist and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
  • 1943 – Stuart E. Eizenstat, American lawyer and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the European Union
  • 1943 – Mike Marshall, American baseball player
  • 1944 – Jenny Nimmo, English author
  • 1945 – Ko Chun-hsiung, Taiwanese actor, director, and politician (d. 2015)
  • 1945 – Vince Foster, American lawyer and political figure (d. 1993)
  • 1945 – William R. Higgins, American colonel (d. 1990)
  • 1945 – Princess Michael of Kent
  • 1945 – David Pleat, English footballer, manager, and sportscaster
  • 1946 – Charles Brown, American actor (d. 2004)
  • 1947 – Mary Hogg, English lawyer and judge
  • 1947 – Andrea Martin, American-Canadian actress, singer, and screenwriter
  • 1948 – Ronnie Van Zant, American singer-songwriter (d. 1977)
  • 1949 – Luis Alvarado, Puerto Rican-American baseball player (d. 2001)
  • 1949 – Alasdair Liddell, English businessman (d. 2012)
  • 1949 – Ian Stewart, Scottish runner
  • 1949 – Howard Twitty, American golfer
  • 1950 – Marius Trésor, French footballer and coach
  • 1952 – Boris Blank, Swiss singer-songwriter
  • 1952 – Andrzej Fischer, Polish footballer
  • 1953 – Randy White, American football player
  • 1954 – Jose Dalisay, Jr., Filipino poet, author, and screenwriter
  • 1955 – Nigel Benson, English author and illustrator
  • 1955 – Andreas Gursky, German photographer
  • 1955 – Khalid Islambouli, Egyptian lieutenant (d. 1982)
  • 1956 – Vitaly Kaloyev, Russian architect
  • 1956 – Mayawati, Indian educator and politician, 23rd Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh
  • 1956 – Marc Trestman, American football player and coach
  • 1957 – David Ige, American politician
  • 1957 – Marty Lyons, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1957 – Andrew Tyrie, English journalist and politician
  • 1957 – Mario Van Peebles, American actor and director
  • 1958 – Ken Judge, Australian footballer and coach (d. 2016)
  • 1958 – Boris Tadić, Serbian psychologist and politician, 16th President of Serbia
  • 1959 – Greg Dowling, Australian rugby league player
  • 1959 – Pavle Kozjek, Slovenian mountaineer and photographer (d. 2008)
  • 1959 – Pete Trewavas, English bass player and songwriter
  • 1961 – Serhiy N. Morozov, Ukrainian footballer and coach
  • 1961 – Yves Pelletier, Canadian actor and director
  • 1963 – Conrad Lant, English singer-songwriter and bass player
  • 1963 – Bruce Schneier, American cryptographer and author
  • 1964 – Osmo Tapio Räihälä, Finnish composer
  • 1965 – Maurizio Fondriest, Italian cyclist
  • 1965 – Bernard Hopkins, American boxer and coach
  • 1965 – James Nesbitt, Northern Irish actor
  • 1966 – Lisa Lisa, American R&B singer
  • 1967 – Ted Tryba, American golfer
  • 1968 – Chad Lowe, American actor, director, and producer
  • 1969 – Delino DeShields, American baseball player and manager
  • 1970 – Shane McMahon, American wrestler and businessman
  • 1971 – Regina King, American actress
  • 1972 – Shelia Burrell, American heptathlete
  • 1972 – Christos Kostis, Greek footballer
  • 1972 – Claudia Winkleman, English journalist and critic
  • 1973 – Essam El Hadary, Egyptian footballer
  • 1973 – Suparno Satpathy, Indian socio-political leader
  • 1974 – Séverine Deneulin, international development academic
  • 1974 – Ray King, American baseball player
  • 1975 – Mary Pierce, Canadian-American tennis player and coach
  • 1976 – Doug Gottlieb, American basketball player and sportscaster
  • 1976 – Iryna Lishchynska, Ukrainian runner
  • 1976 – Scott Murray, Scottish rugby player
  • 1976 – Florentin Petre, Romanian footballer and manager
  • 1978 – Eddie Cahill, American actor
  • 1978 – Franco Pellizotti, Italian cyclist
  • 1978 – Ryan Sidebottom, English cricketer
  • 1979 – Drew Brees, American football player
  • 1979 – Michalis Morfis, Cypriot footballer
  • 1979 – Martin Petrov, Bulgarian footballer
  • 1980 – Matt Holliday, American baseball player
  • 1981 – El Hadji Diouf, Senegalese football player
  • 1981 – Pitbull, American rapper and producer
  • 1981 – Dylan Armstrong, Canadian shot putter and hammer thrower
  • 1981 – Vanessa Henke, German tennis player
  • 1981 – Sean Lamont, Scottish rugby player
  • 1982 – Benjamin Agosto, American skater
  • 1982 – Armando Galarraga, Venezuelan baseball player
  • 1982 – Brett Lebda, American ice hockey player
  • 1982 – Ari Pulkkinen, Finnish pianist and composer
  • 1982 – Francis Zé, Cameroonian footballer
  • 1983 – Jermaine Pennant, English footballer
  • 1983 – Hugo Viana, Portuguese footballer
  • 1984 – Ben Shapiro, American author and commentator
  • 1985 – René Adler, German footballer
  • 1985 – Enrico Patrizio, Italian rugby player
  • 1985 – Kenneth Emil Petersen, Danish footballer
  • 1986 – Fred Davis, American football player
  • 1987 – Greg Inglis, Australian rugby league player
  • 1987 – Tsegaye Kebede, Ethiopian runner
  • 1987 – David Knight, English footballer
  • 1987 – Kelleigh Ryan, Canadian fencer
  • 1987 – Michael Seater, Canadian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1988 – Daniel Caligiuri, German footballer
  • 1988 – Skrillex, American DJ and producer
  • 1989 – Alexei Cherepanov, Russian ice hockey player (d. 2008)
  • 1990 – Paul Blake, English sprinter
  • 1990 – Fernando Forestieri, Italian footballer
  • 1990 – Robert Trznadel, Polish footballer
  • 1991 – Marc Bartra, Spanish footballer
  • 1991 – Nicolai Jørgensen, Danish footballer
  • 1991 – Darya Klishina, Russian long jumper
  • 1991 – James Mitchell, Australian basketball player
  • 1992 – Joël Veltman, Dutch footballer
  • 1994 – Eric Dier, English footballer
  • 1998 – Alexandra Eade, Australian artistic gymnast
  • 2004 – Grace VanderWaal, American singer-songwriter

Deaths on January 15

  • AD 69 – Galba, Roman emperor (b. 3 BC)
  • 378 – Chak Tok Ich’aak I, Mayan ruler
  • 570 – Íte of Killeedy, Irish nun and saint (b. 475)
  • 849 – Theophylact, Byzantine emperor (b. 793)
  • 936 – Rudolph of France (b. 880)
  • 950 – Wang Jingchong, Chinese general
  • 1149 – Berengaria of Barcelona, queen consort of Castile (b. 1116)
  • 1568 – Nicolaus Olahus, Romanian archbishop (b. 1493)
  • 1569 – Catherine Carey, lady-in-waiting to Elizabeth I of England (b. 1524)
  • 1584 – Martha Leijonhufvud, Swedish noblewoman (b. 1520)
  • 1595 – Murad III, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1546)
  • 1623 – Paolo Sarpi, Italian lawyer, historian, and scholar (b. 1552)
  • 1672 – John Cosin, English bishop and academic (b. 1594)
  • 1683 – Philip Warwick, English politician (b. 1609)
  • 1775 – Giovanni Battista Sammartini, Italian organist and composer (b. 1700)
  • 1790 – John Landen, English mathematician and theorist (b. 1719)
  • 1804 – Dru Drury, English entomologist and author (b. 1725)
  • 1813 – Anton Bernolák, Slovak linguist and priest (b. 1762)
  • 1815 – Emma, Lady Hamilton, English-French mistress of Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson (b. 1761)
  • 1855 – Henri Braconnot, French chemist and pharmacist (b. 1780)
  • 1864 – Isaac Nathan, English-Australian composer and journalist (b. 1792)
  • 1866 – Massimo d’Azeglio, Piedmontese-Italian statesman, novelist and painter (b. 1798)
  • 1876 – Eliza McCardle Johnson, American wife of Andrew Johnson, 18th First Lady of the United States (b. 1810)
  • 1885 – Leopold Damrosch, German-American composer and conductor (b. 1832)
  • 1893 – Fanny Kemble, English actress (b. 1809)
  • 1896 – Mathew Brady, American photographer and journalist (b. 1822)
  • 1905 – George Thorn, Australian politician, 6th Premier of Queensland (b. 1838)
  • 1909 – Arnold Janssen, German priest and missionary (b. 1837)
  • 1916 – Modest Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Russian playwright and translator (b. 1850)
  • 1919 – Karl Liebknecht, German politician (b. 1871)
  • 1919 – Rosa Luxemburg, German economist, theorist, and philosopher (b. 1871)
  • 1926 – Enrico Toselli, Italian pianist and composer (b. 1883)
  • 1929 – George Cope, American painter (b. 1855)
  • 1936 – Henry Forster, 1st Baron Forster, English cricketer and politician, 7th Governor-General of Australia (b. 1866)
  • 1937 – Anton Holban, Romanian author, theoretician, and educator (b. 1902)
  • 1945 – Wilhelm Wirtinger, Austrian-German mathematician and theorist (b. 1865)
  • 1948 – Josephus Daniels, American publisher and diplomat, 41st United States Secretary of the Navy (b. 1862)
  • 1950 – Henry H. Arnold, American general (b. 1886)
  • 1951 – Ernest Swinton, British Army officer (b. 1868)
  • 1951 – Nikolai Vekšin, Estonian-Russian captain and sailor (b. 1887)
  • 1952 – Ned Hanlon, Australian sergeant and politician, 26th Premier of Queensland (b. 1887)
  • 1955 – Yves Tanguy, French-American painter (b. 1900)
  • 1959 – Regina Margareten, Hungarian businesswoman (b. 1863)
  • 1964 – Jack Teagarden, American singer-songwriter and trombonist (b. 1905)
  • 1967 – David Burliuk, Ukrainian author and illustrator (b. 1882)
  • 1968 – Bill Masterton, Canadian-American ice hockey player (b. 1938)
  • 1970 – Frank Clement, English race car driver (b. 1886)
  • 1970 – William T. Piper, American engineer and businessman, founded Piper Aircraft (b. 1881)
  • 1972 – Daisy Ashford, English author (b. 1881)
  • 1973 – Coleman Francis, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1919)
  • 1973 – Ivan Petrovsky, Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1901)
  • 1974 – Harold D. Cooley, American lawyer and politician (b. 1897)
  • 1981 – Graham Whitehead, English race car driver (b. 1922)
  • 1982 – Red Smith, American journalist (b. 1905)
  • 1983 – Armin Öpik, Estonian-Australian paleontologist and geologist (b. 1898)
  • 1983 – Shepperd Strudwick, American actor (b. 1907)
  • 1984 – Fazıl Küçük, Cypriot journalist and politician (b. 1906)
  • 1987 – Ray Bolger, American actor, singer, and dancer (b. 1904)
  • 1988 – Seán MacBride, Irish republican activist and politician, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
  • 1990 – Gordon Jackson, Scottish-English actor (b. 1923)
  • 1990 – Peggy van Praagh, English ballerina, choreographer, and director (b. 1910)
  • 1993 – Sammy Cahn, American songwriter (b. 1913)
  • 1994 – Georges Cziffra, Hungarian-French pianist and composer (b. 1921)
  • 1994 – Harry Nilsson, American singer-songwriter (b. 1941)
  • 1994 – Harilal Upadhyay, Indian author, poet, and astrologist (b. 1916)
  • 1996 – Les Baxter, American pianist and composer (b. 1922)
  • 1996 – Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho (b. 1938)
  • 1998 – Gulzarilal Nanda, Indian economist and politician, Prime Minister of India (b. 1898)
  • 1998 – Junior Wells, American singer-songwriter and harmonica player (b. 1934)
  • 1999 – Betty Box, English composer and producer (b. 1915)
  • 2000 – Georges-Henri Lévesque, Canadian-Dominican priest and sociologist (b. 1903)
  • 2001 – Leo Marks, English cryptographer, playwright, and screenwriter (b. 1920)
  • 2002 – Michael Anthony Bilandic, American politician, 49th Mayor of Chicago (b. 1923)
  • 2002 – Eugène Brands, Dutch painter (b. 1913)
  • 2003 – Doris Fisher, American singer-songwriter (b. 1915)
  • 2004 – Olivia Goldsmith, American author (b. 1949)
  • 2005 – Victoria de los Ángeles, Spanish soprano and actress (b. 1923)
  • 2005 – Walter Ernsting, German author (b. 1920)
  • 2005 – Elizabeth Janeway, American author and critic (b. 1913)
  • 2005 – Ruth Warrick, American actress (b. 1916)
  • 2006 – Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Kuwaiti ruler (b. 1926)
  • 2007 – Awad Hamed al-Bandar, Iraqi lawyer and judge (b. 1945)
  • 2007 – Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, Iraqi intelligence officer (b. 1951)
  • 2007 – James Hillier, Canadian-American computer scientist and academic, co-invented the electron microscope (b. 1915)
  • 2007 – Pura Santillan-Castrence, Filipino educator and diplomat (b. 1905)
  • 2007 – Bo Yibo, Chinese commander and politician, Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China (b. 1908)
  • 2008 – Robert V. Bruce, American historian, author, and academic (b. 1923)
  • 2008 – Brad Renfro, American actor (b. 1982)
  • 2009 – Lincoln Verduga Loor, Ecuadorian journalist and politician (b. 1917)
  • 2011 – Nat Lofthouse, English footballer and manager (b. 1925)
  • 2011 – Pierre Louis-Dreyfus, French soldier, race car driver, and businessman (b. 1908)
  • 2011 – Susannah York, English actress and activist (b. 1939)
  • 2012 – Ed Derwinski, American soldier and politician, 1st United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs (b. 1926)
  • 2012 – Manuel Fraga Iribarne, Spanish lawyer and politician, 3rd President of the Xunta of Galicia (b. 1922)
  • 2012 – Carlo Fruttero, Italian journalist and author (b. 1926)
  • 2012 – Samuel Jaskilka, American general (b. 1919)
  • 2012 – Ib Spang Olsen, Danish author and illustrator (b. 1921)
  • 2012 – Hulett C. Smith, American lieutenant and politician, 27th Governor of West Virginia (b. 1918)
  • 2013 – Nagisa Oshima, Japanese director and screenwriter (b. 1932)
  • 2013 – John Thomas, American high jumper (b. 1941)
  • 2014 – Curtis Bray, American football player and coach (b. 1970)
  • 2014 – John Dobson, Chinese-American astronomer and author (b. 1915)
  • 2014 – Roger Lloyd-Pack, English actor (b. 1944)
  • 2015 – Ervin Drake, American songwriter and composer (b. 1919)
  • 2015 – Kim Fowley, American singer-songwriter, producer, and manager (b. 1939)
  • 2015 – Ray Nagel, American football player and coach (b. 1927)
  • 2016 – Francisco X. Alarcón, American poet and educator (b. 1954)
  • 2016 – Ken Judge, Australian footballer and coach (b. 1958)
  • 2016 – Manuel Velázquez, Spanish footballer (b. 1943)
  • 2017 – Jimmy Snuka, Fijian professional wrestler (b. 1943)
  • 2018 – Dolores O’Riordan, Irish pop singer (b. 1971)
  • 2019 – Carol Channing, American actress (b. 1921)
  • 2019 – Ida Kleijnen, Dutch chef (b. 1936)

Holidays and observances on January 15

  • Arbor Day (Egypt)
  • Armed Forces Day (Nigeria)
  • Army Day (India)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Abeluzius (Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church)
    • Arnold Janssen
    • Francis Ferdinand de Capillas (one of Martyr Saints of China)
    • Ita
    • Our Lady of the Poor
    • Macarius of Egypt (Western Christianity)
    • Maurus and Placidus (Order of Saint Benedict)
    • Paul the Hermit
    • January 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Earliest day on which Martin Luther King Jr. Day can fall (the 15th being his birthday), while January 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Monday in January. (United States)
  • Earliest day on which Sinulog Festival can fall, while January 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Sunday in January. (Philippines)
  • John Chilembwe Day (Malawi)
  • Korean Alphabet Day (North Korea)
  • Ocean Duty Day (Indonesia)
  • Sagichō at Tsurugaoka Hachimangū. (Kamakura, Japan)
  • Teacher’s Day (Venezuela)
  • The second day of the sidereal winter solstice festivals in India (see January 14):
    • Thai Pongal, Tamil harvest festival

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