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July 29 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day

  • 587 BC – The Neo-Babylonian Empire sacks Jerusalem and destroys the First Temple.
  • 238 – The Praetorian Guard storm the palace and capture Pupienus and Balbinus. They are dragged through the streets of Rome and executed. On the same day, Gordian III, age 13, is proclaimed emperor.
  • 615 – Pakal ascends the throne of Palenque at the age of 12.
  • 904 – Sack of Thessalonica: Saracen raiders under Leo of Tripoli sack Thessaloniki, the Byzantine Empire’s second-largest city, after a short siege, and plunder it for a week.
  • 923 – Battle of Firenzuola: Lombard forces under King Rudolph II and Adalbert I, margrave of Ivrea, defeat the dethroned Emperor Berengar I of Italy at Firenzuola (Tuscany).
  • 1014 – Byzantine–Bulgarian wars: Battle of Kleidion: Byzantine emperor Basil II inflicts a decisive defeat on the Bulgarian army, and his subsequent treatment of 15,000 prisoners reportedly causes Tsar Samuil of Bulgaria to die of a heart attack less than three months later, on October 6.
  • 1018 – Count Dirk III defeats an army sent by Emperor Henry II in the Battle of Vlaardingen.
  • 1030 – Ladejarl-Fairhair succession wars: Battle of Stiklestad: King Olaf II fights and dies trying to regain his Norwegian throne from the Danes.
  • 1148 – The Siege of Damascus ends in a decisive crusader defeat and leads to the disintegration of the Second Crusade.
  • 1565 – The widowed Mary, Queen of Scots marries Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, Duke of Albany, at Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh, Scotland.
  • 1567 – James VI is crowned King of Scotland at Stirling.
  • 1588 – Anglo-Spanish War: Battle of Gravelines: English naval forces under the command of Lord Charles Howard and Sir Francis Drake defeat the Spanish Armada off the coast of Gravelines, France.
  • 1693 – War of the Grand Alliance: Battle of Landen: France wins a Pyrrhic victory over Allied forces in the Netherlands.
  • 1775 – Founding of the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps: General George Washington appoints William Tudor as Judge Advocate of the Continental Army.
  • 1818 – French physicist Augustin Fresnel submits his prizewinning “Memoir on the Diffraction of Light”, precisely accounting for the limited extent to which light spreads into shadows, and thereby demolishing the oldest objection to the wave theory of light.
  • 1836 – Inauguration of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France.
  • 1848 – Irish Potato Famine: Tipperary Revolt: In County Tipperary, Ireland, then in the United Kingdom, an unsuccessful nationalist revolt against British rule is put down by police.
  • 1851 – Annibale de Gasparis discovers asteroid 15 Eunomia.
  • 1858 – United States and Japan sign the Harris Treaty.
  • 1864 – American Civil War: Confederate spy Belle Boyd is arrested by Union troops and detained at the Old Capitol Prison in Washington, D.C.
  • 1871 – The Connecticut Valley Railroad opens between Old Saybrook, Connecticut and Hartford, Connecticut in the United States.
  • 1899 – The First Hague Convention is signed.
  • 1900 – In Italy, King Umberto I of Italy is assassinated by the anarchist Gaetano Bresci.
  • 1907 – Sir Robert Baden-Powell sets up the Brownsea Island Scout camp in Poole Harbour on the south coast of England. The camp runs from August 1 to August 9, 1907, and is regarded as the foundation of the Scouting movement.
  • 1914 – The Cape Cod Canal opened.
  • 1920 – Construction of the Link River Dam begins as part of the Klamath Reclamation Project.
  • 1921 – Adolf Hitler becomes leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party.
  • 1932 – Great Depression: In Washington, D.C., troops disperse the last of the “Bonus Army” of World War I veterans.
  • 1937 – Tōngzhōu Incident: In Tōngzhōu, China, the East Hopei Army attacks Japanese troops and civilians.
  • 1945 – The BBC Light Programme radio station is launched for mainstream light entertainment and music.
  • 1948 – Olympic Games: The Games of the XIV Olympiad: After a hiatus of 12 years caused by World War II, the first Summer Olympics to be held since the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, open in London.
  • 1950 – Korean War: After four days, the No Gun Ri Massacre ends when the US Army 7th Cavalry Regiment is withdrawn.
  • 1957 – The International Atomic Energy Agency is established.
  • 1958 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs into law the National Aeronautics and Space Act, which creates the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
  • 1959 – First United States Congress elections in Hawaii as a state of the Union.
  • 1965 – Vietnam War: The first 4,000 101st Airborne Division paratroopers arrive in Vietnam, landing at Cam Ranh Bay.
  • 1967 – Vietnam War: Off the coast of North Vietnam the USS Forrestal catches on fire in the worst U.S. naval disaster since World War II, killing 134.
  • 1967 – During the fourth day of celebrating its 400th anniversary, the city of Caracas, Venezuela is shaken by an earthquake, leaving approximately 500 dead.
  • 1973 – Greeks vote to abolish the monarchy, beginning the first period of the Metapolitefsi.
  • 1973 – During the Dutch Grand Prix driver Roger Williamson was killed in the race, after a suspected tire failure caused the car to pitch into the barriers at high speed.
  • 1976 – In New York City, David Berkowitz (a.k.a. the “Son of Sam”) kills one person and seriously wounds another in the first of a series of attacks.
  • 1980 – Iran adopts a new “holy” flag after the Islamic Revolution.
  • 1981 – A worldwide television audience of over 700 million people watch the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul’s Cathedral in London.
  • 1981 – After impeachment on June 21, Abolhassan Banisadr flees with Massoud Rajavi to Paris, in an Iranian Air Force Boeing 707, piloted by Colonel Behzad Moezzi, to form the National Council of Resistance of Iran.
  • 1987 – British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and President of France François Mitterrand sign the agreement to build a tunnel under the English Channel (Eurotunnel).
  • 1987 – Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi and President of Sri Lanka J. R. Jayewardene sign the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord on ethnic issues.
  • 1993 – The Supreme Court of Israel acquits alleged Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk of all charges and he is set free.
  • 1996 – The child protection portion of the Communications Decency Act is struck down by a U.S. federal court as too broad.
  • 2005 – Astronomers announce their discovery of the dwarf planet Eris.
  • 2010 – An overloaded passenger ferry capsizes on the Kasai River in Bandundu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, resulting in at least 80 deaths.
  • 2013 – Two passenger trains collide in the Swiss municipality of Granges-près-Marnand near Lausanne injuring 25 people.
  • 2019 – Prison riot between rival gangs broke out in Brazil, at least 57 people have been killed.

Births on July 29 

  • 869 – Muhammad al-Mahdi, Iraqi 12th Imam (d. 941)
  • 996 – Fujiwara no Norimichi, Japanese nobleman (d. 1075)
  • 1166 – Henry II, French nobleman and king of Jerusalem (d. 1197)
  • 1356 – Martin the Elder, king of Aragon, Valencia and Majorca (d. 1410)
  • 1537 – Pedro Téllez-Girón, Spanish nobleman (d. 1590)
  • 1573 – Philip II, duke of Pomerania-Stettin (d. 1618)
  • 1580 – Francesco Mochi, Italian sculptor (d. 1654)
  • 1605 – Simon Dach, German poet and hymn-writer (d. 1659)
  • 1646 – Johann Theile, German organist and composer (d. 1724)
  • 1744 – Giulio Maria della Somaglia, Italian cardinal (d. 1830)
  • 1763 – Philip Charles Durham, Scottish admiral and politician (d. 1845)
  • 1797 – Daniel Drew, American businessman and financier (d. 1879)
  • 1801 – George Bradshaw, English cartographer and publisher (d. 1853)
  • 1805 – Alexis de Tocqueville, French historian and philosopher (d. 1859)
  • 1806 – Horace Abbott, American businessman and banker (d. 1887)
  • 1817 – Ivan Aivazovsky, Armenian-Russian painter and illustrator (d. 1900)
  • 1817 – Martin Körber, Baltic German pastor, composer, and conductor (d. 1893)
  • 1841 – Gerhard Armauer Hansen, Norwegian physician (d. 1912)
  • 1843 – Johannes Schmidt, German linguist and academic (d. 1901)
  • 1846 – Sophie Menter, German pianist and composer (d. 1918)
  • 1846 – Isabel, Brazilian princess (d. 1921)
  • 1849 – Max Nordau, Hungarian physician, author, and critic, co-founded the World Zionist Organization (d. 1923)
  • 1860 – Charles Cochrane-Baillie, 2nd Baron Lamington, English politician, 8th Governor of Queensland (d. 1940)
  • 1867 – Berthold Oppenheim, Moravian rabbi (d. 1942)
  • 1869 – Booth Tarkington, American novelist and dramatist (d. 1946)
  • 1871 – Jakob Mändmets, Estonian writer and journalist (d. 1930)
  • 1872 – Eric Alfred Knudsen, American author, lawyer, and politician (d. 1957)
  • 1874 – J. S. Woodsworth, Canadian minister and politician (d. 1942)
  • 1876 – Maria Ouspenskaya, Russian-American actress and acting teacher (d. 1949)
  • 1878 – Don Marquis, American author, poet, and playwright (d. 1937)
  • 1883 – Porfirio Barba-Jacob, Colombian poet and author (d. 1942)
  • 1883 – Benito Mussolini, Italian fascist revolutionary and politician, 27th Prime Minister of Italy (d. 1945)
  • 1884 – Ralph Austin Bard, American financier and politician, 2nd Under Secretary of the Navy (d. 1975)
  • 1885 – Theda Bara, American actress (d. 1955)
  • 1887 – Sigmund Romberg, Hungarian-American pianist and composer (d. 1951)
  • 1888 – Vladimir K. Zworykin, Russian-American engineer, invented the Iconoscope (d. 1982)
  • 1891 – Bernhard Zondek, German-Israeli gynecologist and academic (d. 1966)
  • 1892 – William Powell, American actor and singer (d. 1984)
  • 1896 – Maria L. de Hernández, Mexican-American rights activist (d. 1986)
  • 1897 – Neil Ritchie, Guyanese-English general (d. 1983)
  • 1898 – Isidor Isaac Rabi, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1988)
  • 1899 – Walter Beall, American baseball player (d. 1959)
  • 1900 – Mary V. Austin, Australian community worker and political activist (d. 1986)
  • 1900 – Eyvind Johnson, Swedish novelist and short story writer, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1976)
  • 1900 – Teresa Noce, Italian labor leader, activist, and journalist (d. 1980)
  • 1900 – Don Redman, American composer, and bandleader (d. 1964)
  • 1904 – Mahasi Sayadaw, Burmese monk and philosopher (d. 1982)
  • 1904 – J. R. D. Tata, French-Indian pilot and businessman, founded Tata Motors and Tata Global Beverages (d. 1993)
  • 1905 – Clara Bow, American actress (d. 1965)
  • 1905 – Dag Hammarskjöld, Swedish economist and diplomat, 2nd Secretary-General of the United Nations, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1961)
  • 1905 – Stanley Kunitz, American poet and translator (d. 2006)
  • 1906 – Thelma Todd, American actress and singer (d. 1935)
  • 1907 – Melvin Belli, American lawyer (d. 1996)
  • 1909 – Samm Sinclair Baker, American author (d. 1997)
  • 1909 – Chester Himes, American-Spanish author (d. 1984)
  • 1910 – Gale Page, American actress (d. 1983)
  • 1911 – Foster Furcolo, American lawyer and politician, 60th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1995)
  • 1911 – Archbishop Iakovos of America (d. 2005)
  • 1913 – Erich Priebke, German war criminal, leader of the 1944 Ardeatine massacre (d. 2013)
  • 1914 – Irwin Corey, American actor and activist (d. 2017)
  • 1915 – Bruce R. McConkie, American colonel and religious leader (d. 1985)
  • 1915 – Francis W. Sargent, American soldier and politician, 64th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1998)
  • 1916 – Budd Boetticher, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2001)
  • 1916 – Charlie Christian, American guitarist (d. 1942)
  • 1916 – Rupert Hamer, Australian politician, 39th Premier of Victoria (d. 2004)
  • 1917 – Rochus Misch, German SS officer (d. 2013)
  • 1918 – Don Ingalls, American writer and producer (d. 2014)
  • 1918 – Edwin O’Connor, American journalist and author (d. 1968)
  • 1918 – Mary Lee Settle, American novelist, essayist, and memoirist (d. 2005)
  • 1920 – Neville Jeffress, Australian businessman (d. 2007)
  • 1921 – Richard Egan, American actor (d. 1987)
  • 1921 – Chris Marker, French photographer and journalist (d. 2012)
  • 1923 – George Burditt, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2013)
  • 1923 – Edgar Cortright, American scientist and engineer (d. 2014)
  • 1923 – Jim Marshall, English businessman, founded Marshall Amplification (d. 2012)
  • 1923 – Gordon Mitchell, American bodybuilder and actor (d. 2003)
  • 1924 – Lloyd Bochner, Canadian-American actor (d. 2005)
  • 1924 – Robert Horton, American actor (d. 2016)
  • 1925 – Harold W. Kuhn, American mathematician and academic (d. 2014)
  • 1925 – Ted Lindsay, Canadian ice hockey player, manager, and sportscaster (d. 2019)
  • 1925 – Mikis Theodorakis, Greek composer
  • 1926 – Robert Kilpatrick, Baron Kilpatrick of Kincraig, Scottish physician, academic, and politician (d. 2015)
  • 1927 – Harry Mulisch, Dutch author, poet, and playwright (d. 2010)
  • 1930 – Paul Taylor, American dancer and choreographer (d. 2018)
  • 1931 – Kjell Karlsen, Norwegian pianist, composer, and bandleader (d. 2020)
  • 1932 – Leslie Fielding, English diplomat
  • 1932 – Nancy Kassebaum, American businesswoman and politician
  • 1933 – Lou Albano, Italian-American wrestler, manager, and actor (d. 2009)
  • 1933 – Colin Davis, English race car driver (d. 2012)
  • 1933 – Robert Fuller, American actor and rancher
  • 1933 – Randy Sparks, American folk singer-songwriter and musician (The New Christy Minstrels)
  • 1935 – Peter Schreier, German tenor and conductor (d. 2019)
  • 1936 – Elizabeth Dole, American lawyer and politician, 20th United States Secretary of Labor
  • 1937 – Daniel McFadden, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize Laureate
  • 1938 – Peter Jennings, Canadian-American journalist and author (d. 2005)
  • 1938 – Jean Rochon, Canadian physician and politician
  • 1940 – Betty Harris, American chemist
  • 1940 – Winnie Monsod, Filipina economist and political commentator
  • 1941 – Jennifer Dunn, American engineer and politician (d. 2007)
  • 1941 – Goenawan Mohamad, Indonesian poet and playwright
  • 1941 – David Warner, English actor
  • 1942 – Doug Ashdown, Australian singer-songwriter
  • 1943 – David Taylor, English snooker player and sportscaster
  • 1944 – Jim Bridwell, American rock climber and mountaineer
  • 1945 – Sharon Creech, American author and educator
  • 1945 – Mircea Lucescu, Romanian footballer, coach, and manager
  • 1946 – Ximena Armas, Chilean painter
  • 1946 – Stig Blomqvist, Swedish race car driver
  • 1946 – Neal Doughty, American keyboard player, songwriter, and producer
  • 1946 – Alessandro Gogna, Italian mountaineer and adventurer
  • 1946 – Diane Keen, English actress
  • 1946 – Aleksei Tammiste, Estonian basketball player
  • 1947 – Dick Harmon, American golfer and coach (d. 2006)
  • 1948 – John Clarke, New Zealand-Australian comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2017)
  • 1949 – Leslie Easterbrook, American actress
  • 1949 – Jamil Mahuad, Ecuadorian lawyer and politician, 51st President of Ecuador
  • 1950 – Jenny Holzer, American painter, author, and dancer
  • 1951 – Susan Blackmore, English psychologist and theorist
  • 1951 – Dan Driessen, American baseball player and coach
  • 1951 – Dean Pitchford, American actor, director, screenwriter, and composer
  • 1952 – Norman Blackwell, Baron Blackwell, English businessman and politician
  • 1952 – Joe Johnson, English snooker player and sportscaster
  • 1952 – Marie Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou, Greek politician
  • 1953 – Ken Burns, American director and producer
  • 1953 – Geddy Lee, Canadian musician
  • 1953 – Frank McGuinness, Irish poet and playwright
  • 1953 – Tim Gunn, American television host and actor
  • 1954 – Patti Scialfa, American musician
  • 1955 – Jean-Hugues Anglade, French actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1955 – Dave Stevens, American illustrator (d. 2008)
  • 1955 – Stephen Timms, English politician, Minister of State for Competitiveness
  • 1956 – Teddy Atlas, American boxer, trainer, and sportscaster
  • 1956 – Ronnie Musgrove, American lawyer and politician, 62nd Governor of Mississippi
  • 1956 – Faustino Rupérez, Spanish cyclist
  • 1957 – Liam Davison, Australian author and educator (d. 2014)
  • 1957 – Viktor Gavrikov, Lithuanian-Swiss chess player (d. 2016)
  • 1957 – Nellie Kim, Russian gymnast and coach
  • 1958 – Gail Dines, English-American author, activist, and academic
  • 1958 – Simon Nye, English screenwriter and producer
  • 1958 – Cynthia Rowley, American fashion designer
  • 1959 – Sanjay Dutt, Indian actor, singer, and producer
  • 1959 – Ruud Janssen, Dutch blogger and illustrator
  • 1959 – Dave LaPoint, American baseball player and manager
  • 1959 – John Sykes, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1960 – Didier Van Cauwelaert, French author
  • 1962 – Carl Cox, English DJ and producer
  • 1962 – Frank Neubarth, German footballer and manager
  • 1962 – Scott Steiner, American wrestler
  • 1962 – Vincent Rousseau, Belgian runner
  • 1963 – Hans-Holger Albrecht, Belgian-German businessman
  • 1963 – Jim Beglin, Irish footballer and sportscaster
  • 1963 – Julie Elliott, English politician
  • 1963 – Azeem Hafeez, Pakistani cricketer
  • 1963 – Alexandra Paul, American actress and producer
  • 1963 – Graham Poll, English footballer, referee, and journalist
  • 1964 – Jaanus Veensalu, Estonian footballer
  • 1965 – Luis Alicea, Puerto Rican-American baseball player and coach
  • 1965 – Dean Haglund, Canadian actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1965 – Adam Holloway, English captain and politician
  • 1965 – Stan Koziol, American soccer player (d. 2014)
  • 1965 – Chang-Rae Lee, South Korean-American author and academic
  • 1965 – Xavier Waterkeyn, Australian author
  • 1965 – Woody Weatherman, American guitarist and songwriter
  • 1966 – Sally Gunnell, English hurdler and sportscaster
  • 1966 – Stuart Lampitt, English cricketer
  • 1966 – Martina McBride, American singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1968 – Gideon Henderson, English geologist and academic
  • 1968 – Paavo Lötjönen, Finnish cellist and educator
  • 1970 – Adele Griffin, American author
  • 1970 – Andi Peters, English journalist, actor, and producer
  • 1970 – John Rennie, Zimbabwean cricketer
  • 1971 – Andrea Philipp, German sprinter
  • 1972 – Wil Wheaton, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1973 – Stephen Dorff, American actor and producer
  • 1973 – Denis Urubko, Kazakh mountaineer
  • 1975 – Yoshihiro Akiyama, Japanese mixed martial artist
  • 1975 – Lanka de Silva, Sri Lankan cricketer
  • 1975 – Corrado Grabbi, Italian footballer
  • 1975 – Jaanus Sirel, Estonian footballer
  • 1978 – Mike Adams, American baseball player
  • 1978 – Marina Lazarovska, Macedonian tennis player
  • 1979 – Karim Essediri, Tunisian footballer
  • 1979 – Ronald Murray, American basketball player
  • 1979 – Juris Umbraško, Latvian basketball player
  • 1980 – Ryan Braun, Canadian-American baseball player
  • 1980 – Fernando González, Chilean tennis player
  • 1980 – Ben Koller, American drummer
  • 1980 – John Morris, Australian rugby league player
  • 1981 – Fernando Alonso, Spanish race car driver
  • 1981 – Andrés Madrid, Argentinian footballer
  • 1981 – Troy Perkins, American soccer player
  • 1982 – Janez Aljančič, Slovenian footballer
  • 1982 – Jônatas Domingos, Brazilian footballer
  • 1982 – Allison Mack, American actress and criminal
  • 1983 – Jason Belmonte, Australian bowler
  • 1983 – Inés Gómez Mont, Mexican journalist and actress
  • 1983 – Alexei Kaigorodov, Russian ice hockey player
  • 1983 – Jerious Norwood, American football player
  • 1983 – Elise Testone, American singer-songwriter
  • 1984 – Oh Beom-seok, South Korean footballer
  • 1984 – Chad Billingsley, American baseball player
  • 1984 – Wilson Palacios, Honduran footballer
  • 1985 – Besart Berisha, Albanian footballer
  • 1985 – Okinoumi Ayumi, Japanese sumo wrestler
  • 1985 – Simon Santoso, Indonesian badminton player
  • 1988 – Tarjei Bø, Norwegian biathlete
  • 1989 – Grit Šadeiko, Estonian heptathlete
  • 1991 – Dale Copley, Australian rugby league player
  • 1991 – Irakli Logua, Russian footballer
  • 1992 – Karen Torrez, Bolivian swimmer
  • 1993 – Nicole Melichar, American tennis player
  • 1994 – Liam O’Brien, Canadian ice hockey player

Deaths on July 29

  • 238 – Balbinus, Roman emperor (b. 165)
  • 238 – Pupienus, Roman emperor (b. 178)
  • 451 – Tuoba Huang, prince of Northern Wei (b. 428)
  • 796 – Offa of Mercia (b. 730)
  • 846 – Li Shen, chancellor of the Tang Dynasty
  • 1030 – Olaf II of Norway (b. 995)
  • 1095 – Ladislaus I of Hungary (b. 1040)
  • 1099 – Pope Urban II (b. 1042)
  • 1108 – Philip I of France (b. 1052)
  • 1236 – Ingeborg of Denmark, Queen of France (b. 1175)
  • 1326 – Richard Óg de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster (b. 1259)
  • 1504 – Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby (b. 1435)
  • 1507 – Martin Behaim, German-Bohemian geographer and astronomer (b. 1459)
  • 1573 – John Caius, English physician and academic (b. 1510)
  • 1612 – Jacques Bongars, French scholar and diplomat (b. 1554)
  • 1644 – Pope Urban VIII (b. 1568)
  • 1752 – Peter Warren, Irish admiral and politician (b. 1703)
  • 1781 – Johann Kies, German astronomer and mathematician (b. 1713)
  • 1792 – René Nicolas Charles Augustin de Maupeou, French lawyer and politician, Chancellor of France (b. 1714)
  • 1813 – Jean-Andoche Junot, French general (b. 1771)
  • 1833 – William Wilberforce, English philanthropist and politician (b. 1759)
  • 1839 – Gaspard de Prony, French mathematician and engineer (b. 1755)
  • 1844 – Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart, Austrian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1791)
  • 1856 – Robert Schumann, German composer and critic (b. 1810)
  • 1857 – Thomas Dick, Scottish minister, astronomer, and author (b. 1774)
  • 1887 – Agostino Depretis, Italian politician, 9th Prime Minister of Italy (d. 1813)
  • 1890 – Vincent van Gogh, Dutch painter and illustrator (b. 1853)
  • 1895 – Floriano Peixoto, Brazilian general and politician, 2nd President of Brazil (b. 1839)
  • 1900 – Umberto I of Italy (b. 1844)
  • 1908 – Marie Adam-Doerrer (b. 1838)
  • 1913 – Tobias Asser, Dutch lawyer and jurist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1838)
  • 1918 – Ernest William Christmas, Australian-American painter (b. 1863)
  • 1924 – Sotirios Krokidas, Greek educator and politician, 110th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1852)
  • 1934 – Didier Pitre, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1883)
  • 1938 – Nikolai Krylenko, Russian lawyer, jurist, and politician, Prosecutor General of the Russian SFSR (b. 1885)
  • 1950 – Joe Fry, English race car driver (b. 1915)
  • 1951 – Ali Sami Yen, Turkish footballer and manager, founded Galatasaray S.K. (b. 1886)
  • 1954 – Coen de Koning, Dutch speed skater (b. 1879)
  • 1960 – Hasan Saka, Turkish politician, 7th Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1885)
  • 1962 – Ronald Fisher, English biologist and statistician (b. 1890)
  • 1962 – Leonardo De Lorenzo, Italian-American flute player and educator (b. 1875)
  • 1964 – Vean Gregg, American baseball player (b. 1885)
  • 1966 – Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, Nigerian general and politician, 2nd Head of State of Nigeria (b. 1924)
  • 1966 – Adekunle Fajuyi, Nigerian colonel (b. 1926)
  • 1970 – John Barbirolli, English cellist and conductor (b. 1899)
  • 1973 – Norm Smith, Australian footballer and coach (b. 1915)
  • 1973 – Roger Williamson, English race car driver (b. 1948)
  • 1974 – Cass Elliot, American singer (b. 1941)
  • 1974 – Erich Kästner, German author and poet (b. 1899)
  • 1976 – Mickey Cohen, American gangster (b. 1913)
  • 1978 – Andrzej Bogucki, Polish actor, operetta singer, and songwriter (b. 1904)
  • 1979 – Herbert Marcuse, German sociologist and philosopher (b. 1898)
  • 1979 – Bill Todman, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1916)
  • 1981 – Robert Moses, American urban planner, designed the Northern State Parkway and Southern State Parkway (b. 1888)
  • 1982 – Harold Sakata, American wrestler and actor (b. 1920)
  • 1982 – Vladimir K. Zworykin, Russian-American engineer, invented the Iconoscope (b. 1889)
  • 1983 – Luis Buñuel, Spanish actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1900)
  • 1983 – Raymond Massey, Canadian-American actor and screenwriter (b. 1896)
  • 1983 – David Niven, English military officer and actor (b. 1910)
  • 1984 – Fred Waring, American television host and bandleader (b. 1900)
  • 1987 – Bibhutibhushan Mukhopadhyay, Indian author, poet, and playwright (b. 1894)
  • 1990 – Bruno Kreisky, Austrian academic and politician, 22nd Chancellor of Austria (b. 1911)
  • 1992 – Michel Larocque, Canadian ice hockey player and manager (b. 1952)
  • 1994 – John Britton, American physician (b. 1925)
  • 1994 – Dorothy Hodgkin, Egyptian-English biochemist and biophysicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1910)
  • 1995 – Les Elgart, American trumpet player and bandleader (b. 1917)
  • 1996 – Ric Nordman, Canadian businessman and politician (b. 1919)
  • 1996 – Marcel-Paul Schützenberger, French mathematician and theorist (b. 1920)
  • 1996 – Jason Thirsk, American singer and bass player (b. 1967)
  • 1998 – Jerome Robbins, American director, producer, and choreographer (b. 1918)
  • 2001 – Edward Gierek, Polish soldier and politician (b. 1913)
  • 2001 – Wau Holland, German computer scientist, co-founded Chaos Computer Club (b. 1951)
  • 2003 – Foday Sankoh, Sierra Leonean soldier, founded the Revolutionary United Front (b. 1937)
  • 2004 – Rena Vlahopoulou, Greek actress and singer (b. 1923)
  • 2007 – Mike Reid, English comedian, actor, and author (b. 1940)
  • 2007 – Michel Serrault, French actor (b. 1928)
  • 2007 – Tom Snyder, American journalist and talk show host (b. 1936)
  • 2007 – Marvin Zindler, American journalist (b. 1921)
  • 2008 – Bruce Edward Ivins, American scientist and bio-defense researcher (b. 1946)
  • 2010 – Charles E. Wicks, American chemist and academic (b. 1925)
  • 2012 – Tatiana Egorova, Russian footballer and manager (b. 1970)
  • 2012 – August Kowalczyk, Polish actor and director (b. 1921)
  • 2012 – Chris Marker, French photographer and journalist (b. 1921)
  • 2012 – James Mellaart, English archaeologist and author (b. 1925)
  • 2012 – John Stampe, Danish footballer and coach (b. 1957)
  • 2013 – Christian Benítez, Ecuadorian footballer (b. 1986)
  • 2013 – Peter Flanigan, American banker and civil servant (b. 1923)
  • 2013 – Tony Gaze, Australian soldier, pilot, and race car driver (b. 1920)
  • 2013 – Munir Hussain, Indian cricketer and sportscaster (b. 1929)
  • 2014 – M. Caldwell Butler, American soldier, lawyer, and politician (b. 1925)
  • 2014 – Jon R. Cavaiani, English-American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1943)
  • 2014 – Giorgio Gaslini, Italian pianist and composer (b. 1929)
  • 2014 – María Antonia Iglesias, Spanish journalist and author (b. 1945)
  • 2014 – Péter Kiss, Hungarian engineer and politician (b. 1959)
  • 2014 – Idris Muhammad, American drummer and composer (b. 1939)
  • 2014 – Thomas R. St. George, American soldier and author (b. 1919)
  • 2015 – Antony Holland, English-Canadian actor, director, and playwright (b. 1920)
  • 2015 – Peter O’Sullevan, Anglo-Irish sportscaster (b. 1918)
  • 2015 – Mike Pyle, American football player and sportscaster (b. 1939)
  • 2015 – Franklin H. Westervelt, American computer scientist, engineer, and academic (b. 1930)
  • 2018 – Oliver Dragojević, a Croatian recording artist (b. 1947)
  • 2018 – Josip Peruzovic, Yugoslav-born American professional wrestler (b. 1947)

Holidays and observances on July 29

  • Christian feast day:
    • Lupus of Troyes
    • Martha of Bethany (Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran Church)
    • Mary of Bethany
    • Olaf II of Norway
    • Simplicius, Faustinus and Beatrix
    • July 29 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Earliest day on which Somer’s Day can fall, while August 4 is the latest; celebrated on Friday before the first Monday in August. (Bermuda)
  • International Tiger Day
  • Mohun Bagan Day (India)
  • National Anthem Day (Romania)
  • National Thai Language Day (Thailand)
  • Ólavsøka or Olsok, opening of the Løgting session. (Faroe Islands and the Nordic countries)

July 29 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

April 10 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

  • 428 – Nestorius becomes the Patriarch of Constantinople.
  • 837 – Halley’s Comet makes its closest approach to Earth at a distance equal to 0.0342 AU (5.1 million kilometres/3.2 million miles).
  • 1407 – Deshin Shekpa, 5th Karmapa Lama visits the Ming dynasty capital at Nanjing. He is awarded the title “Great Treasure Prince of Dharma”.
  • 1500 – Ludovico Sforza is captured by Swiss troops at Novara and is handed over to the French.
  • 1606 – The Virginia Company of London is established by royal charter by James I of England with the purpose of establishing colonial settlements in North America.
  • 1710 – The Statute of Anne, the first law regulating copyright, comes into force in Great Britain.
  • 1741 – War of the Austrian Succession: Prussia gains control of Silesia at the Battle of Mollwitz.
  • 1809 – Napoleonic Wars: The War of the Fifth Coalition begins when forces of the Austrian Empire invade Bavaria.
  • 1815 – The Mount Tambora volcano begins a three-month-long eruption, lasting until July 15. The eruption ultimately kills 71,000 people and affects Earth’s climate for the next two years.
  • 1816 – The Federal government of the United States approves the creation of the Second Bank of the United States.
  • 1821 – Patriarch Gregory V of Constantinople is hanged by the Ottoman government from the main gate of the Patriarchate and his body is thrown into the Bosphorus.
  • 1826 – The 10,500 inhabitants of the Greek town of Missolonghi begin leaving the town after a year’s siege by Turkish forces. Very few of them survive.
  • 1858 – After the original Big Ben, a 14.5 tonnes (32,000 lb) bell for the Palace of Westminster, had cracked during testing, it is recast into the current 13.76 tonnes (30,300 lb) bell by Whitechapel Bell Foundry.
  • 1864 – Archduke Maximilian of Habsburg is proclaimed emperor of Mexico during the French intervention in Mexico.
  • 1865 – American Civil War: A day after his surrender to Union forces, Confederate General Robert E. Lee addresses his troops for the last time.
  • 1866 – The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is founded in New York City by Henry Bergh.
  • 1868 – At Arogee in Abyssinia, British and Indian forces defeat an army of Emperor Tewodros II. While 700 Ethiopians are killed and many more injured, only two British/Indian troops die.
  • 1872 – The first Arbor Day is celebrated in Nebraska.
  • 1875 – India: Arya Samaj is founded in Mumbai by Swami Dayananda Saraswati to propagate his goal of social reform.
  • 1887 – On Easter Sunday, Pope Leo XIII authorizes the establishment of the Catholic University of America.
  • 1912 – RMS Titanic sets sail from Southampton, England on her maiden and only voyage.
  • 1916 – The Professional Golfers’ Association of America (PGA) is created in New York City.
  • 1919 – Mexican Revolution leader Emiliano Zapata is ambushed and shot dead by government forces in Morelos.
  • 1925 – The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is first published in New York City, by Charles Scribner’s Sons.
  • 1938 – The 1938 German parliamentary election and referendum seeks approval for a single list of Nazi candidates and the recent annexation of Austria.
  • 1939 – Alcoholics Anonymous, A.A.’s “Big Book”, is first published.
  • 1941 – World War II: The Axis powers establish the Independent State of Croatia.
  • 1944 – Rudolf Vrba and Alfréd Wetzler escape from Birkenau death camp.
  • 1957 – The Suez Canal is reopened for all shipping after being closed for three months.
  • 1963 – One hundred twenty-nine American sailors die when the submarine USS Thresher sinks at sea.
  • 1968 – The TEV Wahine, a New Zealand ferry sinks in Wellington harbour due to a fierce storm – the strongest winds ever in Wellington. Out of the 734 people on board, fifty-three died.
  • 1970 – Paul McCartney announces that he is leaving The Beatles for personal and professional reasons.
  • 1971 – Ping-pong diplomacy: In an attempt to thaw relations with the United States, China hosts the U.S. table tennis team for a week-long visit.
  • 1972 – Tombs containing bamboo slips, among them Sun Tzu’s Art of War and Sun Bin’s lost military treatise, are accidentally discovered by construction workers in Shandong.
  • 1972 – Vietnam War: For the first time since November 1967, American B-52 bombers reportedly begin bombing North Vietnam.
  • 1973 – Invicta International Airlines Flight 435 crashes in a snowstorm on approach to Basel, Switzerland, killing 108 people.
  • 1979 – Red River Valley tornado outbreak: A tornado lands in Wichita Falls, Texas killing 42 people.
  • 1988 – The Ojhri Camp explosion kills or injures more than 1,000 people in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Pakistan.
  • 1991 – Italian ferry MS Moby Prince collides with an oil tanker in dense fog off Livorno, Italy, killing 140.
  • 1991 – A rare tropical storm develops in the South Atlantic Ocean near Angola; the first to be documented by satellites.
  • 1998 – The Good Friday Agreement is signed in Northern Ireland.
  • 2009 – President of Fiji Ratu Josefa Iloilo announces the abrogation of the constitution and assumes all governance in the country, creating a constitutional crisis.
  • 2010 – Polish Air Force Tu-154M crashes near Smolensk, Russia, killing 96 people, including Polish President Lech Kaczyński, his wife, and dozens of other senior officials and dignitaries.
  • 2016 – The Paravur temple accident in which a devastating fire caused by the explosion of firecrackers stored for Vishu, kills more than one hundred people out of the thousands gathered for seventh day of Bhadrakali worship.
  • 2016 – An earthquake of 6.6 magnitude strikes 39 km west-southwest of Ashkasham, shakes up India, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Srinagar and Pakistan.
  • 2019 – Scientists from the Event Horizon Telescope project announce the first ever image of a black hole, located in the centre of the M87 galaxy.

Births on April 10

  • 401 – Theodosius II, Roman emperor (d. 450)
  • 1018 – Nizam al-Mulk, Persian scholar and vizier (d. 1092)
  • 1472 – Margaret of York, English princess (d. 1472)
  • 1480 – Philibert II, duke of Savoy (d. 1504)
  • 1487 – William I, count of Nassau-Dillenburg (d. 1559)
  • 1512 – James V, king of Scotland (d. 1542)
  • 1579 – Augustus II, duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (d. 1666)
  • 1583 – Hugo Grotius, Dutch philosopher and jurist (d. 1645)
  • 1603 – Christian, Prince-Elect of Denmark (d. 1647)
  • 1651 – Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus, German mathematician, physicist, and physician (d. 1708)
  • 1656 – René Lepage de Sainte-Claire, French-Canadian settler, founded Rimouski (d. 1718)
  • 1704 – Benjamin Heath, English scholar and author (d. 1766)
  • 1707 – Michel Corrette, French organist, composer, and author (d. 1795)
  • 1713 – John Whitehurst, English geologist and clockmaker (d. 1788)
  • 1755 – Samuel Hahnemann, German-French physician and academic (d. 1843)
  • 1762 – Giovanni Aldini, Italian physicist and academic (d. 1834)
  • 1769 – Jean Lannes, French marshal (d. 1809)
  • 1778 – William Hazlitt, English essayist and critic (d. 1830)
  • 1794 – Matthew C. Perry, English-Scottish American commander (d. 1858)
  • 1806 – Juliette Drouet, French actress (d. 1883)
  • 1806 – Leonidas Polk, Scottish-American general and bishop (d. 1884)
  • 1827 – Lew Wallace, American general, lawyer, and politician, 11th Governor of New Mexico Territory (d. 1905)
  • 1829 – William Booth, English minister, founded The Salvation Army (d. 1912)
  • 1847 – Joseph Pulitzer, Hungarian-American journalist, publisher, and politician, founded Pulitzer, Inc. (d. 1911)
  • 1864 – Eugen d’Albert, Scottish-German pianist and composer (d. 1932)
  • 1865 – Jack Miner, American-Canadian farmer, hunter, and environmentalist (d. 1944)
  • 1867 – George William Russell, Irish author, poet, and painter (d. 1935)
  • 1868 – George Arliss, English actor and playwright (d. 1946)
  • 1868 – Asriel Günzig, Moravian rabbi (d. 1931)
  • 1873 – Kyösti Kallio, Finnish farmer, banker, and politician, 4th President of Finland (d. 1940)
  • 1875 – George Clawley, English footballer (d. 1920)
  • 1877 – Alfred Kubin, Austrian author and illustrator (d. 1959)
  • 1879 – Bernhard Gregory, Estonian-German chess player (d. 1939)
  • 1879 – Coenraad Hiebendaal, Dutch rower and physician (d. 1921)
  • 1880 – Frances Perkins, American sociologist, academic, and politician, 4th United States Secretary of Labor (d. 1965)
  • 1880 – Montague Summers, English clergyman and author (d. 1948)
  • 1886 – Johnny Hayes, American runner and trainer (d. 1965)
  • 1887 – Bernardo Houssay, Argentinian physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1971)
  • 1889 – Louis Rougier, French philosopher from the Vienna Circle (d. 1982)
  • 1891 – Frank Barson, English footballer and coach (d. 1968)
  • 1893 – Otto Steinböck, Austrian zoologist (d. 1969)
  • 1894 – Ben Nicholson, British painter (d. 1982)
  • 1897 – Prafulla Chandra Sen, Indian accountant and politician, 3rd Chief Minister of West Bengal (d. 1990)
  • 1900 – Arnold Orville Beckman, American chemist, inventor, and philanthropist (d. 2004)
  • 1901 – Dhananjay Ramchandra Gadgil, Indian economist (d. 1971)
  • 1903 – Clare Turlay Newberry, American author and illustrator (d. 1970)
  • 1906 – Steve Anderson, American hurdler (d. 1988)
  • 1910 – Margaret Clapp, American scholar and academic (d. 1974)
  • 1910 – Helenio Herrera, Argentinian footballer and manager (d. 1997)
  • 1910 – Paul Sweezy, American economist and publisher, founded the Monthly Review (d. 2004)
  • 1911 – Martin Denny, American pianist and composer (d. 2005)
  • 1911 – Maurice Schumann, French journalist and politician, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs for France (d. 1998)
  • 1912 – Boris Kidrič, Austrian-Slovenian politician, 1st Prime Minister of Slovenia (d. 1953)
  • 1913 – Stefan Heym, German-American soldier and author (d. 2001)
  • 1914 – Jack Badcock, Australian cricketer (d. 1982)
  • 1915 – Harry Morgan, American actor and director (d. 2011)
  • 1915 – Leo Vroman, Dutch-American hematologist, poet, and illustrator (d. 2014)
  • 1916 – Lee Jung-seob, Korean painter (d. 1956)
  • 1917 – Jagjit Singh Lyallpuri, Indian politician (d. 2013)
  • 1917 – Robert Burns Woodward, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1979)
  • 1919 – John Houbolt, American engineer and academic (d. 2014)
  • 1921 – Chuck Connors, American baseball player and actor (d. 1992)
  • 1921 – Jake Warren, Canadian soldier and diplomat, Canadian Ambassador to the United States (d. 2008)
  • 1921 – Sheb Wooley, American singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2003)
  • 1923 – Roger Gaillard, Haitian historian and author (d. 2000)
  • 1923 – Jane Kean, American actress and singer (d. 2013)
  • 1923 – Floyd Simmons, American decathlete and actor (d. 2008)
  • 1923 – Sid Tickridge, English footballer (d. 1997)
  • 1923 – John Watkins, South African cricketer
  • 1924 – Kenneth Noland, American soldier and painter (d. 2010)
  • 1925 – Linda Goodman, American astrologer and author (d. 1995)
  • 1925 – Angelo Poffo, American wrestler and promoter (d. 2010)
  • 1926 – Jacques Castérède, French pianist and composer (d. 2014)
  • 1926 – Junior Samples, American comedian (d. 1983)
  • 1927 – Norma Candal, Puerto Rican-American actress (d. 2006)
  • 1927 – Marshall Warren Nirenberg, American biochemist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2010)
  • 1929 – Mike Hawthorn, English race car driver (d. 1959)
  • 1929 – Liz Sheridan, American actress
  • 1929 – Max von Sydow, Swedish-French actor (d. 2020)
  • 1930 – Claude Bolling, French pianist, composer, and actor
  • 1930 – Dolores Huerta, American activist, co-founded the United Farm Workers
  • 1931 – Kishori Amonkar, Indian classical vocalist (d. 2017)
  • 1932 – Delphine Seyrig, Swiss/Alsatian French actress (d. 1990)
  • 1932 – Omar Sharif, Egyptian actor and screenwriter (d. 2015)
  • 1933 – Rokusuke Ei, Japanese composer and author (d. 2016)
  • 1933 – Helen McElhone, Scottish politician (d. 2013)
  • 1934 – David Halberstam, American journalist and author (d. 2007)
  • 1935 – John A. Bennett, American soldier (d. 1961)
  • 1935 – Patrick Garland, English actor and director (d. 2013)
  • 1935 – Peter Hollingworth, Australian bishop, 23rd Governor General of Australia
  • 1936 – John Howell, English long jumper
  • 1936 – John Madden, American football player, coach, and sportscaster
  • 1936 – Bobby Smith, American singer (d. 2013)
  • 1937 – Bella Akhmadulina, Soviet and Russian poet, short story writer, and translator (d. 2010)
  • 1938 – Don Meredith, American football player and sportscaster (d. 2010)
  • 1939 – Claudio Magris, Italian scholar, author, and translator
  • 1940 – Gloria Hunniford, British radio and television host
  • 1941 – Harold Long, Canadian politician (d. 2013)
  • 1941 – Paul Theroux, American novelist, short story writer, and travel writer
  • 1942 – Nick Auf der Maur, Canadian journalist and politician (d. 1998)
  • 1942 – Ian Callaghan, English footballer
  • 1942 – Stuart Dybek, American novelist, short story writer, and poet
  • 1943 – Andrzej Badeński, Polish-German sprinter (d. 2008)
  • 1943 – Margaret Pemberton, English author
  • 1945 – Kevin Berry, Australian swimmer (d. 2006)
  • 1946 – David Angell, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2001)
  • 1946 – Bob Watson, American baseball player and manager
  • 1946 – Adolf Winkelmann, German director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1947 – David A. Adler, American author and educator
  • 1947 – Bunny Wailer, Jamaican singer-songwriter and drummer
  • 1948 – Mel Blount, American football player
  • 1949 – Daniel Mangeas, French banker and sportscaster
  • 1949 – Eric Troyer, American singer-songwriter, keyboardist and guitarist
  • 1950 – Ken Griffey, Sr., American baseball player and manager
  • 1950 – Eddie Hazel, American guitarist (d. 1992)
  • 1951 – David Helvarg, American journalist and activist
  • 1952 – Narayan Rane, Indian politician, 16th Chief Minister of Maharashtra
  • 1952 – Masashi Sada, Japanese singer, lyricist, composer, novelist, actor, and producer
  • 1952 – Steven Seagal, American actor, producer, and martial artist
  • 1953 – David Moorcroft, English runner and businessman
  • 1953 – Pamela Wallin, Swedish-Canadian journalist, academic, and politician
  • 1954 – Paul Bearer, American wrestler and manager (d. 2013)
  • 1954 – Anne Lamott, American author and educator
  • 1954 – Peter MacNicol, American actor
  • 1954 – Juan Williams, Panamanian-American journalist and author
  • 1955 – Lesley Garrett, English soprano and actress
  • 1956 – Carol V. Robinson, English chemist and academic
  • 1957 – Aliko Dangote, Nigerian businessman, founded Dangote Group
  • 1957 – John M. Ford, American author and poet (d. 2006)
  • 1957 – Steve Gustafson, Spanish-American bass player
  • 1957 – Rosemary Hill, English historian and author
  • 1958 – Bob Bell, Northern Irish engineer
  • 1958 – Yefim Bronfman, Uzbek-American pianist
  • 1958 – Brigitte Holzapfel, German high jumper
  • 1959 – Babyface, American singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1959 – Yvan Loubier, Canadian economist and politician
  • 1959 – Brian Setzer, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1960 – Steve Bisciotti, American businessman, co-founded Allegis Group
  • 1960 – Katrina Leskanich, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1960 – Terry Teagle, American basketball player
  • 1961 – Nicky Campbell, Scottish broadcaster and journalist
  • 1961 – Joe Cole, American roadie and author (d. 1991)
  • 1961 – Carole Goble, English computer scientist and academic
  • 1961 – Mark Jones, American basketball player
  • 1962 – Steve Tasker, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1963 – Warren DeMartini, American guitarist and songwriter
  • 1963 – Jeff Gray, American baseball player and coach
  • 1963 – Doris Leuthard, Swiss lawyer and politician, 162nd President of the Swiss Confederation
  • 1965 – Tim Alexander, American drummer and songwriter
  • 1966 – Steve Claridge, English footballer, manager, and sportscaster
  • 1967 – Donald Dufresne, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1967 – David Rovics, American singer-songwriter
  • 1968 – Metin Göktepe, Turkish photographer and journalist (d. 1996)
  • 1968 – Orlando Jones, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1969 – Steve Glasson, Australian lawn bowler
  • 1969 – Ekaterini Koffa, Greek sprinter
  • 1970 – Enrico Ciccone, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1970 – Leonard Doroftei, Romanian-Canadian boxer
  • 1970 – Kenny Lattimore, American singer-songwriter
  • 1970 – Q-Tip, American rapper, producer, and actor
  • 1971 – Brad William Henke, American football player and actor
  • 1971 – Indro Olumets, Estonian footballer and coach
  • 1971 – Al Reyes, Dominican-American baseball player
  • 1972 – Ian Harvey, Australian cricketer
  • 1972 – Priit Kasesalu, Estonian computer programmer, co-created Skype
  • 1972 – Gordon Buchanan, Scottish film maker
  • 1973 – Guillaume Canet, French actor and director
  • 1973 – Roberto Carlos, Brazilian footballer and manager
  • 1973 – Aidan Moffat, Scottish singer-songwriter
  • 1973 – Christopher Simmons, Canadian-American graphic designer, author, and academic
  • 1974 – Eric Greitens, American soldier, author and politician
  • 1974 – Petros Passalis, Greek footballer
  • 1975 – Chris Carrabba, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1975 – Terrence Lewis, Indian dancer and choreographer
  • 1975 – David Harbour, American actor
  • 1976 – Clare Buckfield, English actress
  • 1976 – Yoshino Kimura, Japanese actress and singer
  • 1976 – Sara Renner, Canadian skier
  • 1977 – Stephanie Sheh, Taiwanese-American voice actress, director, and producer
  • 1978 – Sir Christus, Finnish guitarist
  • 1979 – Iván Alonso, Uruguayan footballer
  • 1979 – Kenyon Coleman, American football player
  • 1979 – Rachel Corrie, American author and activist (d. 2003)
  • 1979 – Tsuyoshi Domoto, Japanese singer-songwriter and actor
  • 1979 – Sophie Ellis-Bextor, English singer-songwriter
  • 1979 – Peter Kopteff, Finnish footballer
  • 1980 – Sean Avery, Canadian ice hockey player and model
  • 1980 – Charlie Hunnam, English actor
  • 1980 – Shao Jiayi, Chinese footballer
  • 1980 – Kasey Kahne, American race car driver
  • 1980 – Bryce Soderberg, American singer-songwriter and bass player
  • 1981 – Laura Bell Bundy, American actress and singer
  • 1981 – Liz McClarnon, English singer and dancer
  • 1981 – Michael Pitt, American actor, model and musician
  • 1981 – Alexei Semenov, Russian ice hockey player
  • 1982 – Andre Ethier, American baseball player
  • 1982 – Chyler Leigh, American actress and singer
  • 1983 – Jamie Chung, American actress
  • 1983 – Andrew Dost, American guitarist and songwriter
  • 1983 – Ryan Merriman, American actor
  • 1983 – Hannes Sigurðsson, Icelandic footballer
  • 1984 – Faustina Agolley, Australian television host
  • 1984 – Jeremy Barrett, American figure skater
  • 1984 – Mandy Moore, American singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1984 – David Obua, Ugandan footballer
  • 1984 – Damien Perquis, French-Polish footballer
  • 1984 – Gonzalo Javier Rodríguez, Argentinian footballer
  • 1985 – Barkhad Abdi, Somali-American actor and director
  • 1985 – Willo Flood, Irish footballer
  • 1985 – Jesús Gámez, Spanish footballer
  • 1985 – Dion Phaneuf, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1986 – Olivia Borlée, Belgian sprinter
  • 1986 – Fernando Gago, Argentine footballer
  • 1986 – Corey Kluber, American baseball pitcher
  • 1986 – Vincent Kompany, Belgian footballer
  • 1986 – Tore Reginiussen, Norwegian footballer
  • 1987 – Shay Mitchell, Canadian actress and model
  • 1987 – Hayley Westenra, New Zealand soprano
  • 1988 – Chris Heston, American baseball pitcher
  • 1988 – Kareem Jackson, American football player
  • 1988 – Haley Joel Osment, American actor
  • 1990 – Ben Amos, English footballer
  • 1990 – Andile Jali, South African footballer
  • 1990 – Ricky Leutele, Australian-Samoan rugby league player
  • 1990 – Maren Morris, American singer
  • 1990 – Alex Pettyfer, English actor
  • 1991 – AJ Michalka, American actress and singer
  • 1992 – Jack Buchanan, Australian rugby league player
  • 1992 – Sadio Mané, Senegalese footballer
  • 1992 – Daisy Ridley, English actress
  • 1993 – Sofia Carson, American singer and actress
  • 1994 – Siobhan Hunter, Scottish footballer
  • 1995 – Ian Nelson, American actor
  • 1996 – Thanasi Kokkinakis, Australian tennis player
  • 1996 – Audrey Whitby, American actress
  • 1998 – Anna Pogorilaya, Russian figure skater
  • 2001 – Ky Baldwin, Australian singer and actor
  • 2001 – Noa Kirel, Israeli singer

Deaths on April 10

  • 879 – Louis the Stammerer, king of West Francia (b. 846)
  • 943 – Landulf I, prince of Benevento and Capua
  • 948 – Hugh of Arles, king of Italy
  • 1008 – Notker of Liège, French bishop (b. 940)
  • 1216 – Eric X, king of Sweden (b. 1180)
  • 1282 – Ahmad Fanakati, chief minister under Kublai Khan
  • 1309 – Elisabeth von Rapperswil, Swiss countess (b. 1261)
  • 1362 – Maud, English noblewoman (b. 1339)
  • 1500 – Michael Tarchaniota Marullus, Greek scholar and poet
  • 1533 – Frederick I, king of Denmark and Norway (b. 1471)
  • 1545 – Costanzo Festa, Italian composer
  • 1585 – Gregory XIII, Pope of the Catholic Church (b. 1502)
  • 1598 – Jacopo Mazzoni, Italian philosopher (b. 1548)
  • 1599 – Gabrielle d’Estrées, French mistress of Henry IV of France (b. 1571)
  • 1601 – Mark Alexander Boyd, Scottish soldier and poet (b. 1562)
  • 1619 – Thomas Jones, English-Irish archbishop and politician, Lord Chancellor of Ireland (b. 1550)
  • 1640 – Agostino Agazzari, Italian composer and theorist (b. 1578)
  • 1644 – William Brewster, English official and pilgrim leader (b. 1566)
  • 1646 – Santino Solari, Swiss architect and sculptor (b. 1576)
  • 1667 – Jan Marek Marci, Czech physician and author (b. 1595)
  • 1704 – William Egon of Fürstenberg, German cardinal (b. 1629)
  • 1756 – Giacomo Antonio Perti, Italian composer (b. 1661)
  • 1760 – Jean Lebeuf, French historian and author (b. 1687)
  • 1786 – John Byron, English admiral and politician, 24th Commodore Governor of Newfoundland (b. 1723)
  • 1806 – Horatio Gates, English-American general (b. 1727)
  • 1813 – Joseph-Louis Lagrange, Italian mathematician and astronomer (b. 1736)
  • 1823 – Karl Leonhard Reinhold, Austrian philosopher and academic (b. 1757)
  • 1871 – Lucio Norberto Mansilla, Argentinian general and politician (b. 1789)
  • 1904 – Isabella II, Spanish queen (b. 1830)
  • 1909 – Algernon Charles Swinburne, English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic (b. 1837)
  • 1919 – Emiliano Zapata, Mexican general (b. 1879)
  • 1920 – Moritz Cantor, German mathematician and historian (b. 1829)
  • 1931 – Kahlil Gibran, Lebanese-American poet, painter, and philosopher (b. 1883)
  • 1935 – Rosa Campbell Praed, Australian novelist (b. 1851)
  • 1938 – King Oliver, American cornet player and bandleader (b. 1885)
  • 1942 – Carl Schenstrøm, Danish actor and director (b. 1881)
  • 1943 – Andreas Faehlmann, Estonian-German sailor and engineer (b. 1898)
  • 1945 – Hendrik Nicolaas Werkman, Dutch printer and typographer (b. 1882)
  • 1947 – Charles Nordhoff, English-American lieutenant and author (b. 1887)
  • 1950 – Fevzi Çakmak, Turkish field marshal and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1876)
  • 1954 – Auguste Lumière, French director and producer (b. 1862)
  • 1954 – Oscar Mathisen, Norwegian speed skater (b. 1888)
  • 1955 – Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, French priest, theologian, and philosopher (b. 1881)
  • 1958 – Chuck Willis, American singer-songwriter (b. 1928)
  • 1960 – André Berthomieu, French director and screenwriter (b. 1903)
  • 1962 – Michael Curtiz, Hungarian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1886)
  • 1962 – Stuart Sutcliffe, Scottish artist and musician (b. 1940)
  • 1965 – Lloyd Casner, American race car driver, founded Casner Motor Racing Division (b. 1928)
  • 1965 – Linda Darnell, American actress (b. 1923)
  • 1966 – Evelyn Waugh, English soldier, novelist, journalist and critic (b. 1903)
  • 1968 – Gustavs Celmiņš, Latvian lieutenant and politician (b. 1899)
  • 1969 – Harley Earl, American businessman (b. 1893)
  • 1975 – Walker Evans, American photographer (b. 1903)
  • 1975 – Marjorie Main, American actress (b. 1890)
  • 1978 – Hjalmar Mäe, Estonian politician (b. 1901)
  • 1979 – Nino Rota, Italian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1911)
  • 1980 – Kay Medford, American actress and singer (b. 1919)
  • 1981 – Howard Thurman, American author, philosopher and civil rights activist (b. 1899)
  • 1983 – Issam Sartawi, Palestinian activist (b. 1935)
  • 1985 – Zisis Verros, Greek chieftain of the Macedonian Struggle (b. 1880)
  • 1986 – Linda Creed, American singer-songwriter (b. 1948)
  • 1991 – Kevin Peter Hall, American actor (b. 1955)
  • 1991 – Martin Hannett, English guitarist and producer (b. 1948)
  • 1991 – Natalie Schafer, American actress (b. 1900)
  • 1992 – Sam Kinison, American comedian and actor (b. 1953)
  • 1993 – Chris Hani, South African activist and politician (b. 1942)
  • 1994 – Sam B. Hall, Jr., American lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1924)
  • 1995 – Morarji Desai, Indian politician, 4th Prime Minister of India (b. 1896)
  • 1997 – Michael Dorris, American author and academic (b. 1945)
  • 1998 – Seraphim of Athens, Greek archbishop (b. 1913)
  • 1999 – Heinz Fraenkel-Conrat, German-American biochemist and physician (b. 1910)
  • 1999 – Jean Vander Pyl, American actress and voice artist (b. 1919)
  • 2000 – Peter Jones, English actor and screenwriter (b. 1920)
  • 2000 – Larry Linville, American actor (b. 1939)
  • 2003 – Little Eva, American singer (b. 1943)
  • 2004 – Jacek Kaczmarski, Polish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and poet (b. 1957)
  • 2004 – Sakıp Sabancı, Turkish businessman and philanthropist, founded Sabancı Holding (b. 1933)
  • 2005 – Norbert Brainin, Austrian violinist (b. 1923)
  • 2005 – Scott Gottlieb, American drummer (b. 1970)
  • 2005 – Archbishop Iakovos of America (b. 1911)
  • 2005 – Al Lucas, American football player (b. 1978)
  • 2005 – Wally Tax, Dutch singer-songwriter (b. 1948)
  • 2007 – Charles Philippe Leblond, French-Canadian biologist and academic (b. 1910)
  • 2007 – Dakota Staton, American singer (b. 1930)
  • 2009 – Deborah Digges, American poet and educator (b. 1950)
  • 2010 – Casualties in the 2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash included:
    • Ryszard Kaczorowski, Polish soldier and politician, 6th President of the Republic of Poland (b. 1919)
    • Maria Kaczyńska, Polish economist, First Lady of Poland (b. 1942)
    • Lech Kaczyński, Polish lawyer and politician, 4th President of Poland (b. 1949)
    • Anna Walentynowicz, Ukrainian-Polish journalist and activist (b. 1929)
  • 2010 – Dixie Carter, American actress and singer (b. 1939)
  • 2012 – Raymond Aubrac, French engineer and activist (b. 1914)
  • 2012 – Barbara Buchholz, German theremin player and composer (b. 1959)
  • 2012 – Lili Chookasian, Armenian-American operatic singer (b. 1921)
  • 2012 – Luis Aponte Martínez, Puerto Rican cardinal (b. 1922)
  • 2012 – Akin Omoboriowo, Nigerian lawyer and politician (b. 1932)
  • 2013 – Lorenzo Antonetti, Italian cardinal (b. 1922)
  • 2013 – Raymond Boudon, French sociologist and academic (b. 1934)
  • 2013 – Binod Bihari Chowdhury, Bangladeshi activist (b. 1911)
  • 2013 – Robert Edwards, English physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1925)
  • 2013 – Olive Lewin, Jamaican anthropologist, musicologist, and author (b. 1927)
  • 2013 – Gordon Thomas, English cyclist (b. 1921)
  • 2013 – Angela Voigt, German long jumper (b. 1951)
  • 2014 – Dominique Baudis, French journalist and politician (b. 1947)
  • 2014 – Jim Flaherty, Canadian lawyer and politician, 37th Canadian Minister of Finance (b. 1949)
  • 2014 – Richard Hoggart, English author and academic (b. 1918)
  • 2014 – Sue Townsend, English author and playwright (b. 1946)
  • 2015 – Richie Benaud, Australian cricketer and sportscaster (b. 1930)
  • 2015 – Raúl Héctor Castro, Mexican-American politician and diplomat, 14th Governor of Arizona (b. 1916)
  • 2015 – Judith Malina, German-American actress and director, co-founded The Living Theatre (b. 1926)
  • 2015 – Rose Francine Rogombé, Gabonese lawyer and politician, President of Gabon (b. 1942)
  • 2015 – Peter Walsh, Australian farmer and politician, 6th Australian Minister for Finance (b. 1935)
  • 2016 – Howard Marks, Welsh cannabis smuggler, writer, and legalisation campaigner (b. 1945)

Holidays and observances on April 10

  • Christian feast day:
    • Fulbert of Chartres
    • James, Azadanus and Abdicius
    • Mikael Agricola (Lutheran)
    • Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (Episcopal Church)
    • William of Ockham (Anglicanism)
    • William Law (Anglicanism)
    • April 10 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Day of the Builder (Azerbaijan)
  • Feast of the Third Day of the Writing of the Book of the Law (Thelema)
  • Siblings Day (International observance)
  • World Homeopathy Day

April 10 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

January 13 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

  • 532 – The Nika riots break out, during the racing season at the Hippodrome in Constantinople, as a result of discontent with the rule of the Emperor Justinian I.
  • 1435 – Sicut Dudum, forbidding the enslavement of the Guanche natives in Canary Islands by the Spanish, is promulgated by Pope Eugene IV.
  • 1547 – Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, is sentenced to death for treason, on the grounds of having quartered his arms to make them similar to those of the King, Henry VIII of England.
  • 1793 – Nicolas Jean Hugon de Bassville, representative of Revolutionary France, lynched by a mob in Rome
  • 1797 – French Revolutionary Wars: A naval battle between a French ship of the line and two British frigates off the coast of Brittany ends with the French vessel running aground, resulting in over 900 deaths.
  • 1815 – War of 1812: British troops capture Fort Peter in St. Marys, Georgia, the only battle of the war to take place in the state.
  • 1822 – The design of the Greek flag is adopted by the First National Assembly at Epidaurus.
  • 1833 – United States President Andrew Jackson writes to Vice President Martin Van Buren expressing his opposition to South Carolina’s defiance of federal authority in the Nullification Crisis.
  • 1840 – The steamship Lexington burns and sinks four miles off the coast of Long Island with the loss of 139 lives.
  • 1842 – Dr. William Brydon, an assistant surgeon in the British East India Company Army during the First Anglo-Afghan War, becomes famous for being the sole survivor of an army of 4,500 men and 12,000 camp followers when he reaches the safety of a garrison in Jalalabad, Afghanistan.
  • 1847 – The Treaty of Cahuenga ends the Mexican–American War in California.
  • 1849 – Establishment of the Colony of Vancouver Island.
  • 1849 – Second Anglo-Sikh War – Battle of Chillianwala: British forces retreat from the Sikhs.
  • 1879 – In Mozart Gardens Brooklyn Ada Anderson completed a great feat of pedestrianism – 2700 quarter miles in 2700 quarter hours, earning her $8000.
  • 1888 – The National Geographic Society is founded in Washington, D.C.
  • 1893 – The Independent Labour Party of the United Kingdom holds its first meeting.
  • 1893 – U.S. Marines land in Honolulu, Hawaii from the USS Boston to prevent the queen from abrogating the Bayonet Constitution.
  • 1895 – First Italo-Ethiopian War: the war’s opening battle, the Battle of Coatit, occurs; it is an Italian victory.
  • 1898 – Émile Zola’s J’accuse…! exposes the Dreyfus affair.
  • 1908 – The Rhoads Opera House fire in Boyertown, Pennsylvania kills 171 people.
  • 1910 – The first public radio broadcast takes place; a live performance of the operas Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci are sent out over the airwaves from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York.
  • 1915 – The 6.7 Mw  Avezzano earthquake shakes the Province of L’Aquila in Italy with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killing between 29,978–32,610.
  • 1920 – The Reichstag Bloodbath of January 13, 1920, the bloodiest demonstration in German history.
  • 1935 – A plebiscite in Saarland shows that 90.3% of those voting wish to join Nazi Germany.
  • 1939 – The Black Friday bushfires burn 20,000 square kilometers of land in Australia, claiming the lives of 71 people.
  • 1942 – Henry Ford patents a plastic automobile, which is 30% lighter than a regular car.
  • 1942 – World War II: First use of an aircraft ejection seat by a German test pilot in a Heinkel He 280 jet fighter.
  • 1950 – British submarine HMS Truculent collides with an oil tanker in the Thames Estuary, killing 64 men.
  • 1950 – Finland forms diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China.
  • 1951 – First Indochina War: The Battle of Vĩnh Yên begins.
  • 1953 – An article appears in Pravda accusing some of the most prestigious and prominent doctors, mostly Jews, in the Soviet Union of taking part in a vast plot to poison members of the top Soviet political and military leadership.
  • 1958 – The Moroccan Army of Liberation ambushes a Spanish patrol in the Battle of Edchera.
  • 1963 – Coup d’état in Togo results in the assassination of president Sylvanus Olympio.
  • 1964 – Anti-Muslim riots break out in Calcutta, resulting in 100 deaths.
  • 1964 – In Manchester, New Hampshire, fourteen-year-old Pamela Mason is murdered. Edward Coolidge is tried and convicted of the crime, but the conviction is set aside by the landmark Fourth Amendment case Coolidge v. New Hampshire (1971).
  • 1966 – Robert C. Weaver becomes the first African American Cabinet member when he is appointed United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
  • 1968 – Johnny Cash performs live at Folsom State Prison.
  • 1972 – Prime Minister Kofi Abrefa Busia and President Edward Akufo-Addo of Ghana are ousted in a bloodless military coup by Colonel Ignatius Kutu Acheampong.
  • 1978 – United States Food and Drug Administration requires all blood donations to be labeled “paid” or “volunteer” donors.
  • 1982 – Shortly after takeoff, Air Florida Flight 90, a Boeing 737 jet, crashes into Washington, D.C.’s 14th Street Bridge and falls into the Potomac River, killing 78 including four motorists.
  • 1985 – A passenger train plunges into a ravine in Ethiopia, killing 428 in the worst railroad disaster in Africa.
  • 1986 – A month-long violent struggle begins in Aden, South Yemen between supporters of Ali Nasir Muhammad and Abdul Fattah Ismail, resulting in thousands of casualties.
  • 1988 – Lee Teng-hui becomes the first native Taiwanese President of the Republic of China.
  • 1990 – Douglas Wilder becomes the first elected African American governor as he takes office as Governor of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia.
  • 1991 – Soviet Union troops attack Lithuanian independence supporters in Vilnius, killing 14 people and wounding around 1000 others.
  • 1993 – Space Shuttle program: Endeavour heads for space for the third time as STS-54 launches from the Kennedy Space Center.
  • 1993 – The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) is signed.
  • 1998 – Alfredo Ormando sets himself on fire in St. Peter’s Square, protesting against homophobia.
  • 2001 – An earthquake hits El Salvador, killing more than 800.
  • 2012 – The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia sinks off the coast of Italy due to the captain Francesco Schettino’s negligence and irresponsibility. There are 32 confirmed deaths.
  • 2018 – A false emergency alert warning of an impending missile strike in Hawaii caused widespread panic in the state.
  • 2020 – Taal Volcano in the Philippines spews lava fountains while erupting in the crater.

Births on January 13

  • 5 BC – Guangwu of Han, Chinese emperor (d. 57)
  • 101 – Lucius Aelius, Roman adopted son of Hadrian (d. 138)
  • 915 – Al-Hakam II, Umayyad caliph (d. 976)
  • 1334 – Henry II, king of Castile and León (d. 1379)
  • 1338 – Jeong Mong-ju, Korean civil minister, diplomat and scholar (d. 1392)
  • 1400 – Infante John, Constable of Portugal (d. 1442)
  • 1477 – Henry Percy, 5th Earl of Northumberland (d. 1527)
  • 1505 – Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg (d. 1571)
  • 1562 – Mark Alexander Boyd, Scottish poet and soldier (d. 1601)
  • 1596 – Jan van Goyen, Dutch painter and illustrator (d. 1656)
  • 1610 – Maria Anna of Bavaria, archduchess of Austria (d. 1665)
  • 1616 – Antoinette Bourignon, French-Flemish mystic and author (d. 1680)
  • 1651 – Henry Booth, 1st Earl of Warrington, English soldier and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (d. 1694)
  • 1683 – Christoph Graupner, German harpsichord player and composer (d. 1760)
  • 1720 – Richard Hurd, English bishop (d. 1808)
  • 1749 – Maler Müller, German poet, painter, and playwright (d. 1825)
  • 1787 – John Davis, American lawyer and politician, 14th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1854)
  • 1804 – Paul Gavarni, French illustrator (d. 1866)
  • 1805 – Thomas Dyer, American lawyer and politician, 18th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1862)
  • 1808 – Salmon P. Chase, American jurist and politician, 6th Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1873)
  • 1810 – Ernestine Rose, American suffragist, abolitionist, and freethinker (d. 1892)
  • 1812 – Victor de Laprade, French poet and critic (d. 1883)
  • 1832 – Horatio Alger, Jr., American novelist and journalist (d. 1899)
  • 1845 – Félix Tisserand, French astronomer and academic (d. 1896)
  • 1858 – Oskar Minkowski, Lithuanian-German biologist and academic (d. 1931)
  • 1859 – Kostis Palamas, Greek poet and playwright (d. 1943)
  • 1861 – Max Nonne, German neurologist and academic (d. 1959)
  • 1864 – Wilhelm Wien, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1928)
  • 1865 – Princess Marie of Orléans (d. 1908)
  • 1866 – Vasily Kalinnikov, Russian bassoon player and composer (d. 1901)
  • 1866 – George Gurdjieff, Russian-French mystic and philosopher (d. 1949)
  • 1869 – Prince Emanuele Filiberto, Duke of Aosta (d. 1931)
  • 1870 – Ross Granville Harrison, American biologist and anatomist (d. 1959)
  • 1878 – Lionel Groulx, Canadian priest and historian (d. 1967)
  • 1881 – Essington Lewis, Australian engineer and businessman (d. 1961)
  • 1883 – Nathaniel Cartmell, American runner and coach (d. 1967)
  • 1885 – Alfred Fuller, Canadian-American businessman, founded the Fuller Brush Company (d. 1973)
  • 1886 – Art Ross, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (d. 1964)
  • 1887 – Sophie Tucker, Russian-born American singer and actress (d. 1966)
  • 1890 – Jüri Uluots, Estonian journalist, lawyer, and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Estonia (d. 1945)
  • 1892 – Ermanno Aebi, Italian-Swiss footballer (d. 1976)
  • 1893 – Charles Arnison, English lieutenant and pilot (d. 1974)
  • 1893 – Roy Cazaly, Australian footballer and coach (d. 1963)
  • 1893 – Clark Ashton Smith, American poet, sculptor, painter, and author (d. 1961)
  • 1893 – Chaim Soutine, Belarusian-French painter (d. 1943)
  • 1900 – Shimizugawa Motokichi, Japanese sumo wrestler (d. 1967)
  • 1900 – Gertrude Mary Cox, American mathematician (d. 1978)
  • 1901 – A. B. Guthrie, Jr., American novelist, screenwriter, historian (d. 1991)
  • 1901 – Mieczysław Żywczyński, Polish priest and historian (d. 1978)
  • 1902 – Karl Menger, Austrian-American mathematician from the Vienna Circle (d. 1985)
  • 1904 – Richard Addinsell, English composer (d. 1977)
  • 1904 – Nathan Milstein, Ukrainian-American violinist and composer (d. 1992)
  • 1904 – Dick Rowley, Irish footballer, centre forward (d. 1984)
  • 1905 – Kay Francis, American actress (d. 1968)
  • 1905 – Jack London, English sprinter and pianist (d. 1966)
  • 1906 – Zhou Youguang, Chinese linguist, sinologist, and academic (d. 2017)
  • 1909 – Helm Glöckler, German race car driver (d. 1993)
  • 1910 – Yannis Tsarouchis, Greek painter and illustrator (d. 1989)
  • 1911 – Joh Bjelke-Petersen, New Zealand-Australian farmer and politician, 31st Premier of Queensland (d. 2005)
  • 1914 – Osa Massen, Danish-American actress (d. 2006)
  • 1914 – Ted Willis, Baron Willis, English author, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 1992)
  • 1919 – Robert Stack, American actor (d. 2003)
  • 1921 – Necati Cumalı, Greek-Turkish author and poet (d. 2001)
  • 1921 – Dachine Rainer, American-English author and poet (d. 2000)
  • 1921 – Arthur Stevens, English footballer, outside right (d. 2007}
  • 1922 – Albert Lamorisse, French director and producer (d. 1970)
  • 1923 – Daniil Shafran, Russian cellist (d. 1997)
  • 1923 – Willem Slijkhuis, Dutch runner (d. 2003)
  • 1924 – Paul Feyerabend, Austrian-Swiss philosopher and academic (d. 1994)
  • 1924 – Roland Petit, French dancer and choreographer (d. 2011)
  • 1925 – Rosemary Murphy, American actress (d. 2014)
  • 1925 – Vanita Smythe, American singer and actress (d. 1994)
  • 1925 – Ron Tauranac, Australian engineer and businessman
  • 1925 – Gwen Verdon, American actress and dancer (d. 2000)
  • 1926 – Michael Bond, English soldier and author, created Paddington Bear (d. 2017)
  • 1926 – Carolyn Gold Heilbrun, American author and academic (d. 2003)
  • 1926 – Melba Liston, American trombonist and composer (d. 1999)
  • 1927 – Brock Adams, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 5th United States Secretary of Transportation (d. 2004)
  • 1927 – Liz Anderson, American singer-songwriter (d. 2011)
  • 1927 – Sydney Brenner, South African biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2019)
  • 1929 – Joe Pass, American guitarist and composer (d. 1994)
  • 1930 – Frances Sternhagen, American actress
  • 1931 – Ian Hendry, English actor (d. 1984)
  • 1931 – Charles Nelson Reilly, American actor, comedian, director, game show panelist, and television personality (d. 2007)
  • 1932 – Barry Bishop, American mountaineer, photographer, and scholar (d. 1994)
  • 1933 – Tom Gola, American basketball player, coach, and politician (d. 2014)
  • 1935 – Rip Taylor, American actor and comedian (d. 2019)
  • 1936 – Renato Bruson, Italian opera singer
  • 1937 – Guy Dodson, New Zealand-English biochemist and academic (d. 2012)
  • 1938 – Cabu, French cartoonist (d. 2015)
  • 1938 – Daevid Allen, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2015)
  • 1938 – Richard Anthony, Egyptian-French singer-songwriter (d. 2015)
  • 1938 – Dave Edwards, American captain and politician (d. 2013)
  • 1938 – Tord Grip, Swedish footballer and manager
  • 1938 – Anna Home, English screenwriter and producer
  • 1939 – Edgardo Cozarinsky, Argentinian author, screenwriter, and director
  • 1939 – Jacek Gmoch, Polish footballer and coach
  • 1939 – Cesare Maniago, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1940 – Edmund White, American novelist, memoirist, and essayist
  • 1941 – Pasqual Maragall, Spanish academic and politician, 127th President of the Generalitat de Catalunya
  • 1941 – Meinhard Nehmer, German bobsledder
  • 1943 – William Duckworth, American composer and author (d. 2012)
  • 1943 – Richard Moll, American actor
  • 1945 – Gordon McVie, English oncologist and author
  • 1945 – Peter Simpson, English footballer
  • 1946 – Ordal Demokan, Turkish physicist and academic (d. 2004)
  • 1946 – Eero Koivistoinen, Finnish saxophonist, composer, and conductor
  • 1947 – John Lees, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1947 – Jacek Majchrowski, Polish historian, lawyer, and politician
  • 1947 – Carles Rexach, Spanish footballer and coach
  • 1948 – Gaj Singh, Indian lawyer and politician
  • 1949 – Rakesh Sharma, Indian commander, pilot, and astronaut
  • 1949 – Brandon Tartikoff, American screenwriter and producer (d. 1997)
  • 1950 – Clive Betts, English economist and politician
  • 1950 – Bob Forsch, American baseball player (d. 2011)
  • 1950 – Gholam Hossein Mazloumi, Iranian footballer and manager (d. 2014)
  • 1952 – Stephen Glover, English journalist, co-founded The Independent
  • 1953 – Silvana Gallardo, American actress and producer (d. 2012)
  • 1954 – Richard Blackford, English composer
  • 1954 – Trevor Rabin, South African-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1955 – Paul Kelly, Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1955 – Jay McInerney, American novelist and critic
  • 1955 – Anne Pringle, English diplomat, British Ambassador to Russia
  • 1957 – Claudia Emerson, American poet and academic (d. 2014)
  • 1957 – Mary Glindon, English lawyer and politician
  • 1957 – Mark O’Meara, American golfer
  • 1957 – Lorrie Moore, American short story writer
  • 1958 – Francisco Buyo, Spanish footballer and manager
  • 1958 – Juan Pedro de Miguel, Spanish handball player (d. 2016)
  • 1959 – Winnie Byanyima, Ugandan engineer, politician, and diplomat
  • 1960 – Eric Betzig, American physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1960 – Matthew Bourne, English choreographer and director
  • 1961 – Wayne Coyne, American singer-songwriter and musician
  • 1961 – Kelly Hrudey, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
  • 1961 – Julia Louis-Dreyfus, American actress, comedian, and producer
  • 1962 – Trace Adkins, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1962 – Paul Higgins, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1964 – Penelope Ann Miller, American actress
  • 1966 – Patrick Dempsey, American actor and race car driver
  • 1966 – Leo Visser, Dutch speed skater and pilot
  • 1968 – Mike Whitlow, English footballer and coach
  • 1969 – Stefania Belmondo, Italian skier
  • 1969 – Stephen Hendry, Scottish snooker player and journalist
  • 1970 – Frank Kooiman, Dutch footballer
  • 1970 – Marco Pantani, Italian cyclist (d. 2004)
  • 1970 – Shonda Rhimes, American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1972 – Mark Bosnich, Australian footballer and sportscaster
  • 1972 – Nicole Eggert, American actress
  • 1972 – Vitaly Scherbo, Belarusian gymnast
  • 1973 – Nikolai Khabibulin, Russian ice hockey player
  • 1973 – Gigi Galli, Italian race driver
  • 1974 – Sergei Brylin, Russian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1975 – Rune Eriksen, Norwegian guitarist and composer
  • 1975 – Mailis Reps, Estonian academic and politician, 31st Estonian Minister of Education and Research
  • 1975 – Andrew Yang, American entrepreneur, founder of Venture for America, and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate
  • 1976 – Mario Yepes, Colombian footballer
  • 1977 – Orlando Bloom, English actor and producer
  • 1977 – Mi-Hyun Kim, South Korean golfer
  • 1977 – Elliot Mason, English trombonist and keyboard player
  • 1977 – James Posey, American basketball player and coach
  • 1978 – Nate Silver, American journalist and statistician, developed PECOTA
  • 1979 – Katy Brand, English actress and screenwriter
  • 1980 – Krzysztof Czerwiński, Polish organist and conductor
  • 1980 – Nils-Eric Johansson, Swedish footballer
  • 1980 – Akira Kaji, Japanese footballer
  • 1980 – Wolfgang Loitzl, Austrian ski jumper
  • 1980 – Mirko Soltau, German footballer
  • 1981 – Reggie Brown, American football player
  • 1981 – Darrell Rasner, American baseball player
  • 1981 – Yujiro Takahashi, Japanese wrestler
  • 1982 – Kamran Akmal, Pakistan cricketer
  • 1982 – Guillermo Coria, Argentinian tennis player
  • 1982 – Constantinos Makrides, Cypriot footballer
  • 1982 – Ruth Wilson, English actress
  • 1983 – Ender Arslan, Turkish basketball player
  • 1983 – Sebastian Kneißl, German footballer
  • 1983 – Mauricio Martín Romero, Argentinian footballer
  • 1984 – Matteo Cavagna, Italian footballer
  • 1984 – Kamghe Gaba, German sprinter
  • 1984 – Nick Mangold, American football player
  • 1985 – Luke Robinson, American wrestler
  • 1986 – Joannie Rochette, Canadian figure skater
  • 1987 – Stefano Del Sante, Italian footballer
  • 1987 – Jack Johnson, American ice hockey player
  • 1987 – Florica Leonida, Romanian gymnast
  • 1987 – Steven Michaels, Australian rugby league player
  • 1987 – Daniel Oss, Italian cyclist
  • 1987 – Marc Staal, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1987 – Sven Wetzel, German rugby player
  • 1988 – Josh Freeman, American football player
  • 1989 – Morgan Burnett, American football player
  • 1989 – Doug Martin, American football player
  • 1990 – Vincenzo Fiorillo, Italian footballer
  • 1990 – Liam Hemsworth, Australian actor
  • 1991 – Rob Kiernan, English-Irish footballer
  • 1992 – Adam Matthews, Welsh footballer
  • 1992 – Dinah Pfizenmaier, German tennis player
  • 1993 – Max Whitlock, English artistic gymnast
  • 1997 – Micah Hart, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1997 – Connor McDavid, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1997 – Ivan Provorov, Russian ice hockey player

Deaths on January 13

  • 86 BC – Gaius Marius, Roman general and politician (b. 157 BC)
  • 533 – Remigius, French bishop and saint (b. 437)
  • 614 – Mungo, English-Scottish bishop and saint
  • 703 – Jitō, Japanese emperor (b. 645)
  • 858 – Æthelwulf, king of Wessex
  • 888 – Charles the Fat, Frankish king and emperor (b. 839)
  • 927 – Berno of Cluny, Frankish monk and abbot
  • 1001 – Fujiwara no Teishi, Japanese empress (b. 977)
  • 1147 – Robert de Craon, Grand Master of the Knights Templar
  • 1151 – Suger, French historian and politician (b. 1081)
  • 1177 – Henry II, count palatine and duke of Austria (b. 1107)
  • 1321 – Bonacossa Borri, Italian noblewoman (b. 1254)
  • 1330 – Frederick I, duke and king of Germany
  • 1363 – Meinhard III, German nobleman (b. 1344)
  • 1400 – Thomas le Despenser, 1st Earl of Gloucester, English politician (b. 1373)
  • 1599 – Edmund Spenser, English poet, Chief Secretary for Ireland (b. 1552)
  • 1612 – Jane Dormer, English lady-in-waiting (b. 1538)
  • 1625 – Jan Brueghel the Elder, Flemish painter (b. 1568)
  • 1684 – Henry Howard, 6th Duke of Norfolk, English nobleman (b. 1628)
  • 1691 – George Fox, English religious leader, founded the Religious Society of Friends (b. 1624)
  • 1717 – Maria Sibylla Merian, German entomologist and illustrator (b. 1647)
  • 1775 – Johann Georg Walch, German theologian and author (b. 1693)
  • 1790 – Luc Urbain de Bouëxic, French admiral (b. 1712)
  • 1796 – John Anderson, Scottish philosopher and educator (b. 1726)
  • 1832 – Thomas Lord, English cricketer, founded Lord’s Cricket Ground (b. 1755)
  • 1838 – Ferdinand Ries, German pianist and composer (b. 1784)
  • 1860 – William Mason, American surgeon and politician (b. 1786)
  • 1864 – Stephen Foster, American composer and songwriter (b. 1826)
  • 1872 – William Scamp, English architect and engineer (b. 1801)
  • 1882 – Wilhelm Mauser, German engineer and businessman, co-founded the Mauser Company (b. 1834)
  • 1885 – Schuyler Colfax, American journalist and politician, 17th Vice President of the United States (b. 1823)
  • 1889 – Solomon Bundy, American lawyer and politician (b. 1823)
  • 1905 – George Thorn, Australian farmer and politician, 6th Premier of Queensland (b. 1838)
  • 1906 – Alexander Stepanovich Popov, Russian physicist and academic (b. 1859)
  • 1907 – Jakob Hurt, Estonian theologist and linguist (b. 1839)
  • 1915 – Mary Slessor, Scottish-Nigerian missionary (b. 1848)
  • 1916 – Victoriano Huerta, Mexican military officer and president, 1913–1914 (b. 1850)
  • 1923 – Alexandre Ribot, French academic and politician, Prime Minister of France (b. 1842)
  • 1924 – Georg Hermann Quincke, German physicist and academic (b. 1834)
  • 1929 – Wyatt Earp, American police officer (b. 1848)
  • 1929 – H. B. Higgins, Irish-Australian judge and politician, 3rd Attorney-General for Australia (b. 1851)
  • 1934 – Paul Ulrich Villard, French physicist and chemist (b. 1860)
  • 1941 – James Joyce, Irish novelist, short story writer, and poet (b. 1882)
  • 1943 – Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Swiss painter and sculptor (b. 1889)
  • 1956 – Lyonel Feininger, German-American painter and illustrator (b. 1871)
  • 1957 – A. E. Coppard English poet and short story writer (b. 1878)
  • 1958 – Jesse L. Lasky, American film producer, co-founded Paramount Pictures (b. 1880)
  • 1962 – Ernie Kovacs, American actor and game show host (b. 1919)
  • 1963 – Sylvanus Olympio, Togolese businessman and politician, President of Togo (b. 1902)
  • 1967 – Anatole de Grunwald, Russian-English screenwriter and producer (b. 1910)
  • 1971 – Robert Still, English composer and educator (b. 1910)
  • 1973 – Sabahattin Eyüboğlu, Turkish screenwriter and producer (b. 1908)
  • 1974 – Raoul Jobin, Canadian tenor and educator (b. 1906)
  • 1974 – Salvador Novo, Mexican playwright and poet (b. 1904)
  • 1976 – Margaret Leighton, English actress (b. 1922)
  • 1977 – Henri Langlois, Turkish-French historian, co-founded the Cinémathèque Française (b. 1914)
  • 1978 – Hubert Humphrey, American pharmacist, academic, and politician, 38th Vice President of the United States (b. 1911)
  • 1978 – Joe McCarthy, American baseball player and manager (b. 1887)
  • 1979 – Donny Hathaway, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (b. 1945)
  • 1979 – Marjorie Lawrence, Australian-American soprano (b. 1907)
  • 1980 – Andre Kostelanetz, Russian-American conductor (b. 1901)
  • 1982 – Marcel Camus, French director and screenwriter (b. 1912)
  • 1983 – René Bonnet, French race car driver and engineer (b. 1904)
  • 1986 – Abdul Fattah Ismail, Yemeni educator and politician, 4th President of South Yemen (b. 1939)
  • 1986 – Kevin Longbottom, Australian rugby league player (b. 1940)
  • 1988 – Chiang Ching-kuo, Chinese politician, President of the Republic of China (b. 1910)
  • 1993 – Camargo Guarnieri, Brazilian composer and conductor (b. 1907)
  • 1995 – Max Harris, Australian journalist, poet, and author (b. 1921)
  • 2002 – Frank Shuster, Canadian actor, comedian, and screenwriter (b. 1916)
  • 2003 – Norman Panama, American director and screenwriter (b. 1914)
  • 2004 – Arne Næss, Jr., Norwegian businessman and mountaineer (b. 1937)
  • 2005 – Earl Cameron, Canadian journalist (b. 1915)
  • 2005 – Nell Rankin, American soprano and actress (b. 1924)
  • 2006 – Frank Fixaris, American journalist and sportscaster (b. 1934)
  • 2006 – Marc Potvin, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (b. 1967)
  • 2007 – Michael Brecker, American saxophonist and composer (b. 1949)
  • 2007 – Danny Oakes, American race car driver (b. 1911)
  • 2008 – Johnny Podres, American baseball player and coach (b. 1932)
  • 2009 – Dai Llewellyn, Welsh humanitarian activist and politician (b. 1946)
  • 2009 – Patrick McGoohan, Irish-American actor, director, and producer (b. 1928)
  • 2009 – Mansour Rahbani, Lebanese poet, composer, and producer (b. 1925)
  • 2009 – W. D. Snodgrass, American poet (b. 1926)
  • 2009 – Nancy Bird Walton, Australian pilot (b. 1915)
  • 2010 – Teddy Pendergrass, American singer-songwriter (b. 1950)
  • 2011 – Albert Heijn, Dutch businessman (b. 1927)
  • 2012 – Rauf Denktaş, Turkish-Cypriot lawyer and politician, 1st President of Northern Cyprus (b. 1924)
  • 2012 – Guido Dessauer, German physicist and engineer (b. 1915)
  • 2012 – Miljan Miljanić, Serbian footballer and manager (b. 1930)
  • 2013 – Diogenes Allen, American philosopher and theologian (b. 1932)
  • 2013 – Rodney Mims Cook, Sr., American lieutenant and politician (b. 1924)
  • 2013 – Chia-Chiao Lin, Chinese-American mathematician and academic (b. 1916)
  • 2014 – Bobby Collins, Scottish footballer and manager (b. 1931)
  • 2014 – Randal Tye Thomas, American journalist and politician (b. 1978)
  • 2014 – Waldemar von Gazen, German general and lawyer (b. 1917)
  • 2015 – Mark Juddery, Australian journalist and author (b. 1971)
  • 2015 – Robert White, American soldier and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Paraguay (b. 1926)
  • 2016 – Brian Bedford, English-American actor and director (b. 1935)
  • 2016 – Giorgio Gomelsky, Georgian-American director, producer, songwriter, and manager (b. 1934)
  • 2016 – Lawrence Phillips, American football player (b. 1975)
  • 2017 – Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, English photographer and sometime member of the British royal family (b. 1930)
  • 2017 – Dick Gautier, American actor (b. 1931)
  • 2017 – Magic Alex, Greek electronics engineer (b. 1942)
  • 2019 – Phil Masinga, South African footballer (b. 1969)

Holidays and observances on January 13

  • Christian feast day:
    • Blessed Veronica of Milan
    • Elian
    • Hilary of Poitiers
    • Mungo
    • St. Knut’s Day or Tjugondag Knut, the last day of Christmas. (Sweden and Finland)
    • January 13 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Constitution Day (Mongolia)
  • Democracy Day (Cape Verde)
  • Korean-American Day (Korean-American community, United States)
  • Liberation Day (Togo)
  • Old New Year’s Eve (Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Serbia, Montenegro, Republic of Srpska, North Macedonia), and its related observances:
    • Malanka (Ukraine, Russia, Belarus)
  • Sidereal winter solstice’s eve celebrations in South and Southeast Asian cultures; the last day of the six-month Dakshinayana period (see January 14):
    • Bhogi (Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu)
    • Lohri (Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh)
    • Uruka (Assam)
  • Stephen Foster Memorial Day (United States)
  • Yennayer (Berbers)

January 13 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

USA Presidential Election 2008 MCQs

1) Who was the Democratic Party’s candidate for President for USA Presidential Election 2008?
a) Barak Obama
b) Hillary Clinton
c) John Edwards
d) John Kerry

2) Who was the Republican Party’s candidate for President for USA Presidential Election 2008?
a) John McCain
b) Milton Romney
c) Michael Huckabee
d) Rudolf Giuliani

3) Who was the Democratic Party’s candidate for Vice President for USA Presidential Election 2008?
a) William Richardson
b) Geraldine Ferraro
c) Joseph Biden
d) Lloyd Bentsen

4) Who was the Republican Party’s candidate for Vice President for USA Presidential Election 2008?
a) Frederick Thompson
b) Sarah Palin
c) Michael Bloomberg
d) Rudolf Giuliani

5) When was the voting day for USA Presidential Election 2008?
a) 31 October 2008
b) 1 November 2008
c) 2 November 2008
d) 4 November 2008

6) Who won the USA Presidential Election 2008?
a) Barak Obama
b) Ronald Paul
c) John McCain
d) Ralph Nader

7) What is the number of electors who form Electoral College for USA Presidential Election 2008?
a) 100
b) 336
c) 428
d) 538

8) What is minimum number of electors a state of USA has in Electoral College for USA Presidential Election 2008?
a) One
b) Two
c) Three
d) Four

9) What is number of electors California has in Electoral College for USA Presidential Election 2008?
a) 12
b) 22
c) 40
d) 55

10) Alaska is the largest state in USA. How many electors it has in Electoral College for USA Presidential Election 2008?
a) Six
b) Five
c) Three
d) Ten

Answers

1) Who was the Democratic Party’s candidate for President for USA Presidential Election 2008?
a) Barak Obama

2) Who was the Republican Party’s candidate for President for USA Presidential Election 2008?
a) John McCain

3) Who was the Democratic Party’s candidate for Vice President for USA Presidential Election 2008?
c) Joseph Biden

4) Who was the Republican Party’s candidate for Vice President for USA Presidential Election 2008?
b) Sarah Palin

5) When was the voting day for USA Presidential Election 2008?
d) 4 November 2008

6) Who won USA Presidential Election 2008?
a) Barak Obama

7) What is number of electors who form Electoral College for USA Presidential Election 2008?
d) 538

8) What is minimum number of electors a state of USA has in Electoral College for USA Presidential Election 2008?
c) Three

9) What is number of electors California has in Electoral College for USA Presidential Election 2008?
d) 55

10) Alaska is the largest state in USA. How many electors it has in Electoral College for USA Presidential Election 2008?
c) Three

USA Presidential Election 2008 MCQs Read More »

History, MCQs / Q&A, Political Science, US History