351 – The Jewish revolt against Constantius Gallus breaks out after his arrival at Antioch.
558 – In Constantinople, the dome of the Hagia Sophia collapses, twenty years after its construction. Justinian I immediately orders that the dome be rebuilt.
1274 – In France, the Second Council of Lyon opens to regulate the election of the Pope.
1487 – The Siege of Málaga commences during the Spanish Reconquista.
1544 – The Burning of Edinburgh by an English army is the first action of the Rough Wooing.
1664 – Louis XIV of France begins construction of the Palace of Versailles.
1685 – Battle of Vrtijeljka between rebels and Ottoman forces.
1697 – Stockholm’s royal castle (dating back to medieval times) is destroyed by fire. It is replaced in the 18th century by the current Royal Palace.
1718 – The city of New Orleans is founded by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville.
1763 – Pontiac’s War begins with Pontiac’s attempt to seize Fort Detroit from the British.
1794 – French Revolution: Robespierre introduces the Cult of the Supreme Being in the National Convention as the new state religion of the French First Republic.
1824 – World premiere of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in Vienna, Austria. The performance is conducted by Michael Umlauf under the composer’s supervision.
1832 – Greece’s independence is recognized by the Treaty of London.
1840 – The Great Natchez Tornado strikes Natchez, Mississippi killing 317 people. It is the second deadliest tornado in United States history.
1846 – The Cambridge Chronicle, America’s oldest surviving weekly newspaper, is published for the first time in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
1864 – American Civil War: The Army of the Potomac, under General Ulysses S. Grant, breaks off from the Battle of the Wilderness and moves southwards.
1864 – The world’s oldest surviving clipper ship, the City of Adelaide is launched by William Pile, Hay and Co. in Sunderland, England, for transporting passengers and goods between Britain and Australia.
1895 – In Saint Petersburg, Russian scientist Alexander Stepanovich Popov demonstrates to the Russian Physical and Chemical Society his invention, the Popov lightning detector—a primitive radio receiver. In some parts of the former Soviet Union the anniversary of this day is celebrated as Radio Day.
1915 – World War I: German submarine U-20 sinks RMS Lusitania, killing 1,198 people, including 128 Americans. Public reaction to the sinking turns many former pro-Germans in the United States against the German Empire.
1915 – The Republic of China accedes to 13 of the 21 Demands, extending the Empire of Japan‘s control over Manchuria and the Chinese economy.
1920 – Kiev Offensive: Polish troops led by Józef Piłsudski and Edward Rydz-Śmigły and assisted by a symbolic Ukrainian force capture Kiev only to be driven out by the Red Army counter-offensive a month later.
1920 – Treaty of Moscow: Soviet Russia recognizes the independence of the Democratic Republic of Georgia only to invade the country six months later.
1920 – Morecambe Football Club was founded during a meeting at the West View Hotel on the town’s promenade.
1930 – The 7.1 Mw Salmas earthquake shakes northwestern Iran and southeastern Turkey with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). Up to three-thousand people were killed.
1931 – The stand-off between criminal Francis Crowley and 300 members of the New York Police Department takes place in his fifth-floor apartment on West 91st Street, New York City.
1937 – Spanish Civil War: The German Condor Legion, equipped with Heinkel He 51 biplanes, arrives in Spain to assist Francisco Franco’s forces.
1940 – World War II: The Norway Debate in the British House of Commons begins, and leads to the replacement of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain with Winston Churchill three days later.
1942 – World War II: During the Battle of the Coral Sea, United States Navy aircraft carrier aircraft attack and sink the Imperial Japanese Navy light aircraft carrier Shōhō; the battle marks the first time in naval history that two enemy fleets fight without visual contact between warring ships.
1945 – World War II: Last German U boat attack of the war, two freighters are sunk off the Firth of Forth, Scotland.
1945 – World War II: General Alfred Jodl signs unconditional surrender terms at Reims, France, ending Germany’s participation in the war. The document takes effect the next day.
1946 – Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering (later renamed Sony) is founded
1948 – The Council of Europe is founded during the Hague Congress.
1952 – The concept of the integrated circuit, the basis for all modern computers, is first published by Geoffrey Dummer.
1954 – Indochina War: The Battle of Dien Bien Phu ends in a French defeat and a Viet Minh victory (the battle began on March 13).
1960 – Cold War: U-2 Crisis of 1960: Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev announces that his nation is holding American U-2 pilot Gary Powers.
1976 – The Honda Accord is officially launched.
1986 – Canadian Patrick Morrow becomes the first person to climb each of the Seven Summits.
1992 – Michigan ratifies a 203-year-old proposed amendment to the United States Constitution making the 27th Amendment law. This amendment bars the U.S. Congress from giving itself a mid-term pay raise.
1992 – Space Shuttle program: The Space Shuttle Endeavour is launched on its first mission, STS-49.
1992 – Three employees at a McDonald’s Restaurant in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada, are brutally murdered and a fourth permanently disabled after a botched robbery. It is the first “fast-food murder” in Canada.
1994 – Edvard Munch’s painting The Scream is recovered undamaged after being stolen from the National Gallery of Norway in February.
1998 – Mercedes-Benz buys Chrysler for US$40 billion and forms DaimlerChrysler in the largest industrial merger in history.
1999 – Pope John Paul II travels to Romania, becoming the first pope to visit a predominantly Eastern Orthodox country since the Great Schism in 1054.
1999 – Kosovo War: Three Chinese citizens are killed and 20 wounded when a NATO aircraft apparently inadvertently bombs the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, Serbia.
1999 – In Guinea-Bissau, President João Bernardo Vieira is ousted in a military coup.
2000 – Vladimir Putin is inaugurated as president of Russia.
2002 – An EgyptAir Boeing 737-500 crashes on approach to Tunis–Carthage International Airport, killing 14 people.
2002 – A China Northern Airlines MD-82 plunges into the Yellow Sea, killing 112 people.
2004 – American businessman Nick Berg is beheaded by Islamic militants. The act is recorded on videotape and released on the Internet.
Births on May 7
Before 160 – Julia Maesa, Roman noblewoman (d. 224)
1488 – John III of the Palatinate, archbishop of Regensburg (d. 1538)
1530 – Louis, Prince of Condé (d. 1569)
1553 – Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia (d. 1618)
1605 – Patriarch Nikon of Moscow (d. 1681)
1643 – Stephanus Van Cortlandt, American politician, 10th Mayor of New York City (d. 1700)
1700 – Gerard van Swieten, Dutch-Austrian physician (d. 1772)
1701 – Carl Heinrich Graun, German tenor and composer (d. 1759)
1711 – David Hume, Scottish economist, historian, and philosopher (d. 1776)
1724 – Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser, French-Austrian field marshal (d. 1797)
1740 – Nikolai Arkharov, Russian police officer and general (d. 1814)
1748 – Olympe de Gouges, French playwright and philosopher (d. 1793)
1763 – Józef Poniatowski, Polish general (d. 1813)
1767 – Princess Frederica Charlotte of Prussia (d. 1820)
1774 – William Bainbridge, American commodore (d. 1833)
1787 – Jacques Viger, Canadian archaeologist and politician, 1st mayor of Montreal (d. 1858)
1812 – Robert Browning, English poet and playwright (d. 1889)
1833 – Johannes Brahms, German pianist and composer (d. 1897)
1836 – Joseph Gurney Cannon, American lawyer and politician, 40th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 1926)
1837 – Karl Mauch, German geographer and explorer (d. 1875)
1840 – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Russian composer and educator (d. 1893)
1845 – Mary Eliza Mahoney, American nurse and activist (d. 1926)
1847 – Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1929)
1857 – William A. MacCorkle, American lawyer and politician, 9th Governor of West Virginia (d. 1930)
1860 – Tom Norman, English businessman (d. 1930)
1861 – Rabindranath Tagore, Indian author and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1941)
1867 – Władysław Reymont, Polish novelist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1925)
1875 – Bill Hoyt, American pole vaulter (d. 1951)
1880 – Pandurang Vaman Kane, Indologist and Sanskrit scholar, Bharat Ratna awardee (d. 1972)
1881 – George E. Wiley, American cyclist (d. 1954)
1882 – Willem Elsschot, Belgian author and poet (d. 1960)
1885 – George “Gabby” Hayes, American actor (d. 1969)
1889 – Viktor Puskar, Estonian colonel (d. 1943)
1891 – Harry McShane, Scottish engineer and activist (d. 1988)
1892 – Archibald MacLeish, American poet, playwright, and lawyer (d. 1982)
1892 – Josip Broz Tito, Yugoslav field marshal and politician, 1st President of Yugoslavia (d. 1980)
1893 – Frank J. Selke, Canadian ice hockey coach and manager (d. 1985)
1896 – Kathleen McKane Godfree, English tennis and badminton player (d. 1992)
1899 – Alfred Gerrard, English sculptor and academic (d. 1998)
1901 – Gary Cooper, American actor (d. 1961)
1903 – Jimmy Ball, Canadian sprinter (d. 1988)
1904 – Kurt Weitzmann, German-American historian and author (d. 1993)
1906 – Eric Krenz, American discus thrower and shot putter (d. 1931)
1909 – Edwin H. Land, American scientist and inventor, co-founded the Polaroid Corporation (d. 1991)
1909 – Dorothy Sunrise Lorentino, Native American teacher (d. 2005)
1911 – Ishirō Honda, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1993)
1911 – Rıfat Ilgaz, Turkish author, poet, and educator (d. 1993)
1912 – Pannalal Patel, Indian author (d. 1989)
1913 – John Spencer Hardy, American general (d. 2012)
1913 – Simon Ramo, American physicist and engineer (d. 2016)
1914 – Arthur Snelling, English civil servant and diplomat. British Ambassador to South Africa (d. 1996)
1916 – Huw Wheldon, Welsh-English broadcaster (d. 1986)
1916 – W. B. Young, Scottish rugby player and physician (d. 2013)
1917 – Domenico Bartolucci, Italian cardinal and composer (d. 2013)
1917 – Lenox Hewitt, Australian public servant (d. 2020)
1917 – David Tomlinson, English actor (d. 2000)
1919 – Eva Perón, Argentinian actress, 25th First Lady of Argentina (d. 1952)
1920 – Rendra Karno, Indonesian actor (d. 1985)
1921 – Asa Briggs, Baron Briggs, English historian and academic (d. 2016)
1921 – Gaston Rébuffat, French mountaineer and author (d. 1985)
1922 – Darren McGavin, American actor and director (d. 2006)
1922 – Joe O’Donnell, American photographer and journalist (d. 2007)
1923 – Anne Baxter, American actress (d. 1985)
1923 – Jim Lowe, American singer-songwriter, disc jockey, and radio host (d. 2016)
1923 – Bülent Ulusu, Turkish admiral and politician, 18th Prime Minister of Turkey (d. 2015)
1924 – Albert Band, French-American director and producer (d. 2002)
1925 – Lauri Vaska, Estonian-American chemist and academic (d. 2015)
1927 – Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, German-American author and screenwriter (d. 2013)
1929 – Dick Williams, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2011)
1930 – Totie Fields, American comedian and author (d. 1978)
1930 – Babe Parilli, American football player and coach (d. 2017)
1930 – John Smith, Baron Kirkhill, English politician
1931 – Teresa Brewer, American singer (d. 2007)
1931 – Gene Wolfe, American author (d. 2019)
1932 – Jordi Bonet, Spanish-Canadian painter and sculptor (d. 1979)
1932 – Alan Cuthbert, English pharmacologist and academic (d. 2016)
1932 – Pete Domenici, American lawyer and politician, 37th Mayor of Albuquerque (d. 2017)
1932 – Derek Taylor, English journalist and author (d. 1997)
1933 – Johnny Unitas, American football player and sportscaster (d. 2002)
1935 – Avraham Heffner, Israeli actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
1935 – Michael Hopkins, English architect
1936 – Robin Hanbury-Tenison, English explorer and author
1936 – Tony O’Reilly, Irish rugby player and businessman
1936 – Jimmy Ruffin, American soul singer (d. 2014)
1937 – Eddie Clayton, English footballer
1937 – Claude Raymond, Canadian baseball player and coach
1939 – Sidney Altman, Canadian-American biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1939 – Ruggero Deodato, Italian actor, director, and screenwriter
1939 – Ruud Lubbers, Dutch economist and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 2018)
1939 – Johnny Maestro, American pop/doo-wop singer (d. 2010)
1939 – Clive Soley, Baron Soley, English politician
1940 – Angela Carter, English novelist and short story writer (d. 1992)
1940 – Dave Chambers, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1941 – Lawrence Collins, Baron Collins of Mapesbury, English lawyer and judge
1943 – Terry Allen, American singer and painter
1943 – Harvey Andrews, English singer-songwriter and poet
1943 – John Bannon, Australian academic and politician, 39th Premier of South Australia (d. 2015)
1943 – Peter Carey, Australian novelist and short story writer
1945 – Christy Moore, Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist
1945 – Robin Strasser, American actress
1946 – Thelma Houston, American R&B/disco singer and actress
1946 – Marv Hubbard, American football player (d. 2015)
1946 – Bill Kreutzmann, American drummer
1946 – Michael Rosen, English author and poet
1946 – Brian Turner, English chef and television host
1949 – Kathy Ahern, American golfer (d. 1996)
1949 – Deborah Butterfield, American sculptor
1950 – John Dowling Coates, Australian lawyer, sports administrator and businessman
1950 – Randall “Tex” Cobb, American boxer and actor
1950 – Tim Russert, American television journalist and lawyer (d. 2008)
1953 – Pat McInally, American football player and coach
1953 – Ian McKay, English sergeant, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1982)
1954 – Philippe Geluck, Belgian cartoonist
1954 – Joanna Haigh, English meteorologist and physicist
1954 – Amy Heckerling, American director, producer, and screenwriter
1955 – Clément Gignac, Canadian politician
1955 – Ben Poquette, American basketball player
1955 – Axel Zwingenberger, German pianist and songwriter
1956 – Jan Peter Balkenende, Dutch jurist and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
1956 – Anne Dudley, English pianist and composer
1956 – Nicholas Hytner, English director and producer
1956 – Jean Lapierre, Canadian talk show host and politician
1956 – Calum MacDonald, Scottish journalist and politician
1957 – Kristina M. Johnson, American business executive, engineer, academic and government official
1958 – Mikhail Biryukov, Russian footballer and manager
1958 – Mark G. Kuzyk, American physicist and academic
1958 – Anne Marie Rafferty, English nurse and academic
1959 – Michael E. Knight, American actor
1959 – Tony Sealy, English footballer, forward and manager
1959 – Heiki Valk, Estonian archeologist and academic
1960 – Adam Bernstein, American director and screenwriter
1960 – Ara Darzi, Baron Darzi of Denham, Iraqi-English surgeon and academic
1960 – Almudena Grandes, Spanish author
1961 – Hans-Peter Bartels, German politician
1961 – Sue Black, Scottish anthropologist and academic
1961 – Ivar Must, Estonian composer and producer
1962 – Tony Campbell, American basketball player and coach
1962 – Judith Donath, American computer scientist and academic
1963 – Johnny Lee Middleton, American bass player and songwriter
1964 – Ronnie Harmon, American football player
1964 – Denis Mandarino, Brazilian guitarist, composer, and painter
1964 – Leslie O’Neal, American football player
1965 – Reuben Davis, American football player
1965 – Owen Hart, Canadian wrestler (d. 1999)
1965 – Norman Whiteside, Northern Irish footballer and manager
1965 – Huang Zhihong, Chinese shot putter
1967 – Martin Bryant, Australian mass murderer
1967 – Adam Price, Danish chef and screenwriter
1967 – Joe Rice, American colonel and politician
1968 – Traci Lords, American actress and singer
1968 – Lisa Raitt, Canadian lawyer and politician, 30th Canadian Minister of Transport
1969 – Eagle-Eye Cherry, Swedish singer-songwriter
1969 – Jun Falkenstein, American director, producer, and screenwriter
1969 – Katerina Maleeva, Bulgarian tennis player
1971 – Reidar Horghagen, Norwegian drummer
1971 – Dave Karpa, Canadian ice hockey player
1971 – Thomas Piketty, French economist
1972 – Peter Dubovský, Czech-Slovak footballer (d. 2000)
1972 – Frank Trigg, American mixed martial artist and wrestler
1973 – Kristian Lundin, Swedish songwriter and producer
1973 – Paolo Savoldelli, Italian cyclist
1974 – Ian Pearce, English footballer and assistant manager
1973 – Lawrence Johnson, American pole vaulter
1975 – Ashley Cowan, English cricketer
1976 – Calvin Booth, American basketball player
1976 – Berke Hatipoğlu, Turkish guitarist and songwriter
1976 – Stacey Jones, New Zealand rugby league player
1976 – Andrea Lo Cicero, Italian rugby player
1976 – Michael P. Murphy, American lieutenant, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2005)
1976 – Ayelet Shaked, Israeli Minister of Justice (2015-2019)
1977 – Elton Flatley, Australian rugby player
1978 – Stian Arnesen, Norwegian guitarist, drummer, and songwriter
1978 – James Carter, American hurdler
1978 – Shawn Marion, American basketball player
1979 – Katie Douglas, American basketball player
1983 – Phionah Atuhebwe, Ugandan vaccinologist and immunization expert
1984 – James Loney, American baseball player
1984 – Alex Smith, American football player
1984 – Kevin Owens, Canadian wrestler
1985 – Jarrad Hickey, Australian rugby league player
1985 – Drew Neitzel, American basketball player
1986 – Matt Helders, English drummer
1987 – Asami Konno, Japanese singer
1987 – Michael Maidens, English footballer (d. 2007)
1987 – Mark Reynolds, Scottish footballer
1987 – David Schlemko, Canadian ice hockey player
1988 – Eino Puri, Estonian footballer
1988 – Sander Puri, Estonian footballer
1989 – Earl Thomas, American football player
1995 – Seko Fofana, French born Ivorian international footballer
1997 – Daria Kasatkina, Russian tennis player
1998 – Jesse Puljujärvi, Finnish ice hockey player
Deaths on May 7
721 – John of Beverley, bishop of York
833 – Ibn Hisham, Egyptian Muslim historian
973 – Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 912)
1014 – Bagrat III, 1st King of Georgia (b. 960)
1092 – Remigius de Fécamp, English monk and bishop
1166 – William I of Sicily
1202 – Hamelin de Warenne, Earl of Surrey
1205 – Ladislaus III of Hungary (b. 1201)
1234 – Otto I, Duke of Merania (b. c. 1180)
1243 – Hugh d’Aubigny, 5th Earl of Arundel
1427 – Thomas la Warr, 5th Baron De La Warr, English priest (b. 1352)
1494 – Eskender, Emperor of Ethiopia (b. 1471)
1523 – Franz von Sickingen, German knight (b. 1481)
1539 – Ottaviano Petrucci, Italian printer (b. 1466)
1617 – David Fabricius, German astronomer and theologian (b. 1564)
1667 – Johann Jakob Froberger, German organist and composer (b. 1616)
1682 – Feodor III of Russia (b. 1661)
1685 – Bajo Pivljanin (b. 1630)
1718 – Mary of Modena (b. 1658)
1793 – Pietro Nardini, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1722)
1800 – Niccolò Piccinni, Italian composer (b. 1728)
1805 – William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne, Irish-English general and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1737)
1815 – Jabez Bowen, American colonel and politician, 45th Deputy Governor of Rhode Island (b. 1739)
1825 – Antonio Salieri, Italian composer and conductor (b. 1750)
1840 – Caspar David Friedrich, German painter and educator (b. 1774)
1868 – Henry Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux, Scottish lawyer and politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1778)
1872 – Alexander Loyd, American carpenter and politician, 4th Mayor of Chicago (b. 1805)
1876 – William Buell Sprague, American clergyman, historian, and author (b. 1795)
1887 – C. F. W. Walther, German-American religious leader and theologian (b. 1811)
1896 – H. H. Holmes, American serial killer (b. 1861)
1902 – Agostino Roscelli, Italian priest and saint (b. 1818)
1917 – Albert Ball, English fighter pilot (b. 1896)
1922 – Max Wagenknecht, German pianist and composer (b. 1857)
1924 – Alluri Sitarama Raju, Indian activist (b. 1897/1898)
1925 – William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme, English businessman and politician (b. 1851)
1937 – Ernst A. Lehmann, German captain and author (b. 1886)
1938 – Octavian Goga, Romanian politician, former Prime Minister (b. 1881)
1940 – George Lansbury, English journalist and politician (b. 1859)
1941 – James George Frazer, Scottish-English anthropologist and academic (b. 1854)
1942 – Felix Weingartner, Croatian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1863)
1943 – Fethi Okyar, Turkish colonel and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1880)
1946 – Herbert Macaulay, Nigerian journalist and politician (b. 1864)
1951 – Warner Baxter, American actor (b. 1889)
1967 – Margaret Larkin, American writer and poet (b. 1899)
1958 – Mihkel Lüdig, Estonian organist, composer, and conductor (b. 1880)
1976 – Alison Uttley, English children’s book writer (b. 1884)
1978 – Mort Weisinger, American journalist and author (b. 1915)
1986 – Haldun Taner, Turkish playwright and author (b. 1915)
1987 – Colin Blakely, Northern Irish actor (b. 1930)
1987 – Paul Popham, American soldier and activist, co-founded Gay Men’s Health Crisis (b. 1941)
1990 – Sam Tambimuttu, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (b. 1932)
1994 – Clement Greenberg, American art critic (b. 1909)
1995 – Ray McKinley, American drummer, singer, and bandleader (Glenn Miller Orchestra) (b. 1910)
1998 – Allan McLeod Cormack, South African-English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1924)
1998 – Eddie Rabbitt, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1941)
2000 – Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., American captain, actor, and producer (b. 1909)
2001 – Jacques de Bourbon-Busset, French author and politician (b. 1912)
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
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 – 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)
1229 – The Sixth Crusade: Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, signs a ten-year truce with al-Kamil, regaining Jerusalem, Nazareth, and Bethlehem with neither military engagements nor support from the papacy.
1268 – The Battle of Wesenberg is fought between the Livonian Order and Dovmont of Pskov.
1332 – Amda Seyon I, Emperor of Ethiopia begins his campaigns in the southern Muslim provinces.
1478 – George, Duke of Clarence, convicted of treason against his older brother Edward IV of England, is executed in private at the Tower of London.
1637 – Eighty Years’ War: Off the coast of Cornwall, England, a Spanish fleet intercepts an important Anglo-Dutch merchant convoy of 44 vessels escorted by six warships, destroying or capturing 20 of them.
1781 – Fourth Anglo-Dutch War: Captain Thomas Shirley opens his expedition against Dutch colonial outposts on the Gold Coast of Africa (present-day Ghana).
1791 – Congress passes a law admitting the state of Vermont to the Union, effective 4 March, after that state had existed for 14 years as a de facto independent largely unrecognized state.
1797 – French Revolutionary Wars: Sir Ralph Abercromby and a fleet of 18 British warships invade Trinidad.
1814 – Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Montereau.
1861 – In Montgomery, Alabama, Jefferson Davis is inaugurated as the provisional President of the Confederate States of America.
1861 – With Italian unification almost complete, Victor Emmanuel II of Piedmont, Savoy and Sardinia assumes the title of King of Italy.
1873 – Bulgarian revolutionary leader Vasil Levski is executed by hanging in Sofia by the Ottoman authorities.
1878 – John Tunstall is murdered by outlaw Jesse Evans, sparking the Lincoln County War in Lincoln County, New Mexico.
1885 – Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is published in the United States.
1900 – Second Boer War: Imperial forces suffer their worst single-day loss of life on Bloody Sunday, the first day of the Battle of Paardeberg.
1906 – Édouard de Laveleye forms the Belgian Olympic Committee in Brussels.
1911 – The first official flight with airmail takes place from Allahabad, United Provinces, British India (now India), when Henri Pequet, a 23-year-old pilot, delivers 6,500 letters to Naini, about 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) away.
1930 – While studying photographs taken in January, Clyde Tombaugh discovers Pluto.
1930 – Elm Farm Ollie becomes the first cow to fly in a fixed-wing aircraft and also the first cow to be milked in an aircraft.
1932 – The Empire of Japan creates the independent state of Manzhouguo (the obsolete Chinese name for Manchuria) free from the Republic of China and installed former Chinese Emperor Aisin Gioro Puyi as Chief Executive of the State.
1938 – Second Sino-Japanese War: During the Nanking Massacre, the Nanking Safety Zone International Committee is renamed “Nanking International Rescue Committee”, and the safety zone in place for refugees falls apart.
1942 – World War II: The Imperial Japanese Army begins the systematic extermination of perceived hostile elements among the Chinese in Singapore.
1943 – World War II: The Nazis arrest the members of the White Rose movement.
1943 – World War II: Joseph Goebbels delivers his Sportpalast speech.
1946 – Sailors of the Royal Indian Navy mutiny in Bombay harbour, from where the action spreads throughout the Provinces of British India, involving 78 ships, twenty shore establishments and 20,000 sailors
1947 – First Indochina War: The French gain complete control of Hanoi after forcing the Viet Minh to withdraw to mountains.
1954 – The first Church of Scientology is established in Los Angeles.
1955 – Operation Teapot: Teapot test shot “Wasp” is successfully detonated at the Nevada Test Site with a yield of 1.2 kilotons. Wasp is the first of fourteen shots in the Teapot series.
1957 – Kenyan rebel leader Dedan Kimathi is executed by the British colonial government.
1957 – Walter James Bolton becomes the last person legally executed in New Zealand.
1965 – The Gambia becomes independent from the United Kingdom.
1970 – The Chicago Seven are found not guilty of conspiring to incite riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
1972 – The California Supreme Court in the case of People v. Anderson, (6 Cal.3d 628) invalidates the state’s death penalty and commutes the sentences of all death row inmates to life imprisonment.
1977 – The Space Shuttle Enterprise test vehicle is carried on its maiden “flight” on top of a Boeing 747.
1979 – Richard Petty wins a then-record sixth Daytona 500 after leaders Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough crash on the final lap of the first NASCAR race televised live flag-to-flag.
1983 – Thirteen people die and one is seriously injured in the Wah Mee massacre in Seattle. It is said to be the largest robbery-motivated mass-murder in U.S. history.
1991 – The IRA explodes bombs in the early morning at Paddington station and Victoria station in London.
2001 – FBI agent Robert Hanssen is arrested for spying for the Soviet Union. He is ultimately convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.
2001 – Sampit conflict: Inter-ethnic violence between Dayaks and Madurese breaks out in Sampit, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, ultimately resulting in more than 500 deaths and 100,000 Madurese displaced from their homes.
2003 – Nearly 200 people die in the Daegu subway fire in South Korea.
2004 – Up to 295 people, including nearly 200 rescue workers, die near Nishapur, Iran, when a runaway freight train carrying sulfur, petrol and fertilizer catches fire and explodes.
2007 – Samjhauta Express bombings occurred around midnight in Diwana near the Indian city of Panipat, 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of New Delhi, India.
2010 – WikiLeaks publishes the first of hundreds of thousands of classified documents disclosed by the soldier now known as Chelsea Manning.
2013 – Armed robbers steal a haul of diamonds worth $50 million during a raid at Brussels Airport in Belgium.
2014 – At least 76 people are killed and hundreds are injured in clashes between riot police and demonstrators in Kiev, Ukraine.
Births on February 18
1201 – Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, Persian scientist and writer (d. 1274)
1372 – Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Egyptian jurist and scholar (d. 1448)
1486 – Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Indian monk and saint (d. 1534)
1516 – Mary I of England (d. 1558)
1530 – Uesugi Kenshin, Japanese daimyō (d. 1578)
1543 – Charles III, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1608)
1547 – Bahāʾ al-dīn al-ʿĀmilī, founder of Isfahan School of Islamic Philosophy (d. 1621)
1559 – Isaac Casaubon, Swiss philologist and scholar (d. 1614)
1589 – Henry Vane the Elder, English politician (d. 1655)
1589 – Maarten Gerritsz Vries, Dutch explorer (d. 1646)
1602 – Per Brahe the Younger, Swedish soldier and politician, Governor-General of Finland (d. 1680)
1609 – Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, English historian and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (d. 1674)
1626 – Francesco Redi, Italian physician (d. 1697)
1632 – Giovanni Battista Vitali, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1692)
1642 – Marie Champmeslé, French actress (d. 1698)
1658 – Charles-Irénée Castel de Saint-Pierre, French philosopher and author (d. 1743)
1732 – Johann Christian Kittel, German organist and composer (d. 1809)
1745 – Alessandro Volta, Italian physicist, invented the battery (d. 1827)
1814 – Samuel Fenton Cary, American lawyer and politician (d. 1900)
1817 – Lewis Armistead, American general (d. 1863)
1836 – Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Indian mystic and yogi (d. 1886)
1838 – Ernst Mach, Austrian physicist and philosopher (d. 1916)
1846 – Wilson Barrett, English actor, playwright, and manager (d. 1904)
1848 – Louis Comfort Tiffany, American stained glass artist (d. 1933)
1849 – Alexander Kielland, Norwegian author, playwright, and politician (d. 1906)
1850 – George Henschel, German-English singer-songwriter, pianist, and conductor (d. 1934)
1855 – Jean Jules Jusserand, French historian, author, and diplomat, French Ambassador to the United States (d. 1932)
1860 – Anders Zorn, Swedish artist (d. 1920)
1862 – Charles M. Schwab, American businessman, co-founded Bethlehem Steel (d. 1939)
1867 – Hedwig Courths-Mahler, German writer (d. 1950)
1870 – William Laurel Harris, American painter and author (d. 1924)
1871 – Harry Brearley, English inventor (d. 1948)
1883 – Nikos Kazantzakis, Greek philosopher, author, and playwright (d. 1957)
1885 – Henri Laurens, French sculptor and illustrator (d. 1954)
1893 – Maksim Haretski, Belarusian prose writer, journalist and activist (d. 1938)
1890 – Edward Arnold, American actor (d. 1956)
1890 – Adolphe Menjou, American actor (d. 1963)
1892 – Wendell Willkie, American captain, lawyer, and politician (d. 1944)
1896 – Li Linsi, Chinese educator and diplomat (d. 1970)
1898 – Enzo Ferrari, Italian race car driver and businessman, founded Ferrari (d. 1988)
1898 – Luis Muñoz Marín, Puerto Rican poet and politician, 1st Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (d. 1980)
1899 – Arthur Bryant, English historian and journalist (d. 1985)
1903 – Nikolai Podgorny, Ukrainian engineer and politician (d. 1983)
1905 – Queenie Leonard, English actress (d. 2002)
1906 – Hans Asperger, Austrian pediatrician and academic (d. 1980)
1909 – Wallace Stegner, American novelist, short story writer, and essayist (d. 1993)
1914 – Pee Wee King, American singer-songwriter and fiddler (d. 2000)
1915 – Phyllis Calvert, English actress (d. 2002)
1916 – Jean Drapeau, Canadian lawyer and politician, 37th Mayor of Montreal (d. 1999)
1919 – Jack Palance, American boxer and actor (d. 2006)
1920 – Bill Cullen, American game show panelist and host (d. 1990)
1920 – Rolande Falcinelli, French organist, pianist, composer, and pedagogue (d. 2006)
1921 – Mary Amdur, American toxicologist and public health researcher (d. 1998)
1921 – Oscar Feltsman, Ukrainian-Russian pianist and composer (d. 2013)
1922 – Eric Gairy, Grenadan politician, 1st Prime Minister of Grenada (d. 1997)
1922 – Helen Gurley Brown, American journalist and author (d. 2012)
1922 – Allan Melvin, American actor (d. 2008)
1925 – George Kennedy, American actor (d. 2016)
1925 – Halit Kıvanç, Turkish journalist and sportscaster
1925 – Ghafar Baba, Malaysian politician (d. 2006)
1926 – Wallace Berman, American painter and illustrator (d. 1976)
1927 – Luis Arroyo, Puerto Rican-American baseball player, manager, and scout (d. 2016)
1927 – Fazal Mahmood, Pakistani cricketer (d. 2005)
1927 – John Warner, American captain, lawyer, and politician, 61st United States Secretary of the Navy
1928 – Rex Mossop, Australian rugby player and sportscaster (d. 2011)
1929 – Len Deighton, English historian and author
1929 – André Mathieu, Canadian pianist and composer (d. 1968)
1931 – Johnny Hart, American cartoonist, co-created The Wizard of Id (d. 2007)
1931 – Toni Morrison, American novelist and editor, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2019).
1931 – Swraj Paul, Baron Paul, Indian-English businessman and philanthropist
1931 – John Ryden, Scottish footballer, centre half (d. 2013)
1931 – Bob St. Clair, American football player (d. 2015)
1932 – Miloš Forman, Czech-American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2018)
1933 – Yoko Ono, Japanese-American multimedia artist and musician
1933 – Bobby Robson, English international footballer, inside forward and international manager (d. 2009)
1933 – Mary Ure, Scottish-English actress (d. 1975)
1934 – Skip Battin, American singer-songwriter and bass player (d. 2003)
1934 – Dave Dunmore, English footballer, centre forward
1934 – Audre Lorde, American poet, essayist, memoirist, and activist (d. 1992)
1370 – Northern Crusades: Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Teutonic Knights meet in the Battle of Rudau.
1411 – Following the successful campaigns during the Ottoman Interregnum, Musa Çelebi, one of the sons of Bayezid I, becomes Sultan of the Ottoman Empire with the support of Mircea I of Wallachia.
1500 – Duke Friedrich and Duke Johann attempt to subdue the peasantry of Dithmarschen, Denmark, in the Battle of Hemmingstedt.
1600 – On his way to be burned at the stake for heresy, at Campo de’ Fiori in Rome, the philosopher Giordano Bruno has a wooden vise put on his tongue to prevent him continuing to speak.
1621 – Myles Standish is appointed as first military commander of the English Plymouth Colony in North America.
1676 – Sixteen men of Pascual de Iriate’s expedition are lost at Evangelistas Islets at the western end of the Strait of Magellan.
1739 – The Battle of Vasai commences as the Marathas move to invade Portuguese-occupied territory.
1753 – In Sweden February 17 is followed by March 1 as the country moves from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar.
1801 – An electoral tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr is resolved when Jefferson is elected President of the United States and Burr, Vice President by the United States House of Representatives.
1814 – War of the Sixth Coalition: The Battle of Mormant.
1819 – The United States House of Representatives passes the Missouri Compromise for the first time.
1838 – Weenen massacre: Hundreds of Voortrekkers along the Blaukraans River, Natal are killed by Zulus.
1854 – The United Kingdom recognizes the independence of the Orange Free State.
1859 – Cochinchina Campaign: The French Navy captured the Citadel of Saigon, a fortress that was manned by 1,000 Nguyễn dynasty soldiers, en route to conquering Saigon and other regions of southern Viet Nam.
1863 – A group of citizens of Geneva founded an International Committee for Relief to the Wounded, which later became known as the International Committee of the Red Cross.
1864 – American Civil War: The H. L. Hunley becomes the first submarine to engage and sink a warship, the USS Housatonic.
1865 – American Civil War: Columbia, South Carolina, is burned as Confederate forces flee from advancing Union forces.
1867 – The first ship passes through the Suez Canal.
1871 – The victorious Prussian Army parades through Paris, France, after the end of the Siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War.
1904 – Madama Butterfly receives its première at La Scala in Milan.
1913 – The Armory Show opens in New York City, displaying works of artists who are to become some of the most influential painters of the early 20th century.
1919 – The Ukrainian People’s Republic asks Entente and the US for help fighting the Bolsheviks.
1933 – Newsweek magazine is first published.
1944 – World War II: The Battle of Eniwetok begins: The battle ends in an American victory on February 22.
1944 – World War II: Operation Hailstone begins: U.S. naval air, surface, and submarine attack against Truk Lagoon, Japan’s main base in the central Pacific, in support of the Eniwetok invasion.
1949 – Chaim Weizmann begins his term as the first President of Israel.
1959 – Project Vanguard: Vanguard 2: The first weather satellite is launched to measure cloud-cover distribution.
1964 – In Wesberry v. Sanders the Supreme Court of the United States rules that congressional districts have to be approximately equal in population.
1964 – Gabonese president Léon M’ba is toppled by a coup and his rival, Jean-Hilaire Aubame, is installed in his place.
1965 – Project Ranger: The Ranger 8 probe launches on its mission to photograph the Mare Tranquillitatis region of the Moon in preparation for the manned Apollo missions. Mare Tranquillitatis or the “Sea of Tranquility” would become the site chosen for the Apollo 11 lunar landing.
1968 – In Springfield, Massachusetts, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame opens.
1972 – Cumulative sales of the Volkswagen Beetle exceed those of the Ford Model T.
1974 – Robert K. Preston, a disgruntled U.S. Army private, buzzes the White House in a stolen helicopter.
1978 – The Troubles: The Provisional IRA detonates an incendiary bomb at the La Mon restaurant, near Belfast, killing 12 and seriously injuring 30 others, all Protestants.
1979 – The Sino-Vietnamese War begins.
1980 – First winter ascent of Mount Everest by Krzysztof Wielicki and Leszek Cichy.
1992 – Nagorno-Karabakh War: Armenian troops massacre more than 20 Azerbaijani civilians during the Capture of Garadaghly.
1995 – The Cenepa War between Peru and Ecuador ends on a ceasefire brokered by the UN.
1996 – In Philadelphia, world champion Garry Kasparov beats the Deep Blue supercomputer in a chess match.
1996 – NASA’s Discovery Program begins as the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft lifts off on the first mission ever to orbit and land on an asteroid, 433 Eros.
1996 – The 8.2 Mw Biak earthquake shakes the Papua province of eastern Indonesia with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). A large tsunami followed, leaving one-hundred sixty-six people dead or missing and 423 injured.
2006 – A massive mudslide occurs in Southern Leyte, Philippines; the official death toll is set at 1,126.
2008 – Kosovo declares independence from Serbia.
2011 – Arab Spring: Libyan protests against Muammar Gaddafi’s regime begin. In Bahrain, security forces launched a deadly pre-dawn raid on protesters in Pearl Roundabout in Manama, the day is locally known as Bloody Thursday.
2015 – Eighteen people are killed and 78 injured in a stampede at a Mardi Gras parade in Haiti.
2016 – Military vehicles explode outside a Turkish Armed Forces barracks in Ankara, Turkey, killing at least 29 people and injuring 61 others.
Births on February 17
624 – Wu Zetian, Chinese empress consort (d. 705)
1028 – Al-Juwayni, Persian scholar and imam (d. 1085)
1490 – Charles III, duke of Bourbon (d. 1527)
1519 – Francis, French Grand Chamberlain (d. 1563)
1524 – Charles de Lorraine, French cardinal (d. 1574)
1646 – Pierre Le Pesant, sieur de Boisguilbert, French economist (d. 1714)
1653 – Arcangelo Corelli, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1713)
1723 – Tobias Mayer, German astronomer and academic (d. 1762)
1740 – Horace-Bénédict de Saussure, Swiss physicist and meteorologist (d. 1799)
1752 – Friedrich Maximilian Klinger, German author and playwright (d. 1831)
1754 – Nicolas Baudin, French cartographer and explorer (d. 1803)
1758 – John Pinkerton, Scottish antiquarian, cartographer, author, numismatist and historian (d. 1826)
1781 – René Laennec, French physician, invented the stethoscope (d. 1826)
1796 – Philipp Franz von Siebold, German physician and botanist (d. 1866)
1817 – Édouard Thilges, Luxembourgian jurist and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Luxembourg (d. 1904)
1820 – Henri Vieuxtemps, Belgian violinist and composer (d. 1881)
1821 – Lola Montez, Irish-American actress and dancer (d. 1861)
1832 – Richard Henry Park, American sculptor (d. 1902)
1836 – Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, Spanish author, poet, and playwright (d. 1870)
1843 – Aaron Montgomery Ward, American businessman, founded Montgomery Ward (d. 1913)
1848 – Louisa Lawson, Australian poet and publisher (d. 1920)
1854 – Friedrich Alfred Krupp, German businessman (d. 1902)
1861 – Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont, duchess of Albany (d. 1922)
1862 – Mori Ōgai, Japanese general, author, and poet (d. 1922)
1864 – Jozef Murgaš, Slovak priest, botanist, and painter (d. 1929)
1864 – Banjo Paterson, Australian journalist, author, and poet (d. 1941)
1874 – Thomas J. Watson, American businessman (d. 1956)
1877 – Isabelle Eberhardt, Swiss explorer and author (d. 1904)
1877 – André Maginot, French sergeant and politician (d. 1932)
1881 – Mary Carson Breckinridge, American nurse midwife, founded Frontier Nursing Service (d. 1965)
1887 – Joseph Bech, Luxembourgian lawyer and politician, 15th Prime Minister of Luxembourg (d. 1975)
1887 – Leevi Madetoja, Finnish composer and critic (d. 1947)
1888 – Otto Stern, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1969)
1890 – Ronald Fisher, English-Australian statistician, biologist, and geneticist (d. 1962)
1891 – Abraham Fraenkel, German-Israeli mathematician and academic (d. 1965)
1893 – Wally Pipp, American baseball player and journalist (d. 1965)
1899 – Jibanananda Das, Bangladeshi-Indian poet and author (d. 1954)
1900 – Ruth Clifford, American actress (d. 1998)
1903 – Sadegh Hedayat, Iranian-French author and translator (d. 1951)
1904 – Hans Morgenthau, German-American political scientist, philosopher, and academic (d. 1980)
1905 – Ruth Baldwin, British socialite (d. 1937)
1905 – Rózsa Politzer, Hungarian mathematician (d. 1977)
1906 – Mary Brian, American actress (d. 2002)
1908 – Red Barber, American sportscaster (d. 1992)
1908 – Bo Yibo, Chinese general and politician, Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China (d. 2007)
1910 – Marc Lawrence, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2005)
1911 – Oskar Seidlin, German-American author, poet, and scholar (d. 1984)
1912 – Andre Norton, American author (d. 2005)
1914 – Arthur Kennedy, American actor (d. 1990)
1914 – Wayne Morris, American actor and producer (d. 1959)
1916 – Alexander Obolensky, Russian rugby player and pilot (d. 1940)
1916 – Don Tallon, Australian cricketer (d. 1984)
1916 – Raf Vallone, Italian footballer and actor (d. 2002)
1918 – William Bronk, American poet and academic (d. 1999)
1918 – Jacqueline Ferrand, French mathematician (d. 2014)
1919 – J. M. S. Careless, Canadian historian and academic (d. 2009)
1919 – Kathleen Freeman, American actress and singer (d. 2001)
1919 – Joe Hunt, American tennis player (d. 1945)
1920 – Ivo Caprino, Norwegian director and screenwriter (d. 2001)
1920 – Annie Castor, American disability and communication disorder advocate (d. 2020)
1920 – Curt Swan, American soldier and illustrator (d. 1996)
1921 – Duane Gish, American biochemist and academic (d. 2013)
1922 – Tommy Edwards, American R&B singer-songwriter (d. 1969)
1923 – John M. Allegro, English archaeologist and scholar (d. 1988)
1923 – Buddy DeFranco, American clarinet player and bandleader (d. 2014)
1924 – Margaret Truman, American singer and author (d. 2008)
1925 – Ron Goodwin, English composer and conductor (d. 2003)
1925 – Hal Holbrook, American actor and director
1928 – Marta Romero, Puerto Rican actress and singer (d. 2013)
1929 – Alejandro Jodorowsky, Chilean-French director and screenwriter
1929 – Chaim Potok, American rabbi and author (d. 2002)
1929 – Nicholas Ridley, Baron Ridley of Liddesdale, English lieutenant and politician, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (d. 1993)
1929 – Patricia Routledge, English actress and singer
1930 – Roger Craig, American baseball player, coach, and manager
1930 – Benjamin Fain, Ukrainian-Israeli physicist and academic (d. 2013)
1930 – Ruth Rendell, English author (d. 2015)
1931 – Jiřina Jirásková, Czech actress and singer (d. 2013)
1931 – Buddy Ryan, American football coach (d. 2016)
1933 – Craig L. Thomas, American captain and politician (d. 2007)
1934 – Alan Bates, English actor (d. 2003)
1934 – Barry Humphries (Dame Edna Everage), Australian comedian, actor, and author
1935 – Christina Pickles, English-American actress
1936 – Jim Brown, American football player and actor
1937 – Mary Ann Mobley, American model and actress, Miss America 1959 (d. 2014)
1940 – Vicente Fernández, Mexican singer-songwriter, actor, and producer
1941 – Julia McKenzie, English actress, singer, and director
1941 – Gene Pitney, American singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
1942 – Huey P. Newton, American activist, co-founded the Black Panther Party (d. 1989)
1944 – Karl Jenkins, Welsh saxophonist, keyboard player, and composer (Soft Machine)
1945 – Zina Bethune, American actress, dancer, and choreographer (d. 2012)
1945 – Brenda Fricker, Irish actress
1946 – Shahrnush Parsipur, Iranian-American author and academic
1948 – José José, Mexican singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (d. 2019)
1948 – Rick Majerus, American basketball player and coach (d. 2012)
1949 – Fred Frith, English guitarist and songwriter
1949 – Dennis Green, American football player and coach (d. 2016)
1951 – Rashid Minhas, Pakistani soldier and pilot (d. 1971)
1952 – Karin Büttner-Janz, German gymnast and physician
1952 – Vladimír Padrůněk, Czech bass player (d. 1991)
1954 – Lou Ann Barton, American blues singer-songwriter
1954 – Miki Berkovich, Israeli basketball player
1954 – Rene Russo, American actress
1955 – Mo Yan, Chinese author and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1956 – Richard Karn, American actor and game show host
1957 – Loreena McKennitt, Canadian singer-songwriter, accordion player, and pianist
1959 – Aryeh Deri, Moroccan-Israeli rabbi and politician, Israeli Minister of Internal Affairs
1959 – Rowdy Gaines, American swimmer and sportscaster
1960 – Lindy Ruff, Canadian hockey player and coach
1961 – Angela Eagle, English politician, Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
1961 – Maria Eagle, English politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
1961 – Andrey Korotayev, Russian anthropologist, historian, and sociologist
1962 – Lou Diamond Phillips, American actor and director
1963 – Larry the Cable Guy, American comedian and voice actor
1963 – Alison Hargreaves, English mountaineer (d. 1995)