756

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

    • 484 BC – Dedication of the Temple of Castor and Pollux in ancient Rome
    • AD 70 – Titus and his armies breach the walls of Jerusalem. (17th of Tammuz in the Hebrew calendar).
    • 756 – An Lushan Rebellion: Emperor Xuanzong of Tang is ordered by his Imperial Guards to execute chancellor Yang Guozhong by forcing him to commit suicide or face a mutiny. General An Lushan has other members of the emperor’s family killed.
    • 1099 – First Crusade: Christian soldiers take the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem after the final assault of a difficult siege.
    • 1149 – The reconstructed Church of the Holy Sepulchre is consecrated in Jerusalem.
    • 1207 – King John of England expels Canterbury monks for supporting Archbishop Stephen Langton.
    • 1240 – Swedish–Novgorodian Wars: A Novgorodian army led by Alexander Nevsky defeats the Swedes in the Battle of the Neva.
    • 1381 – John Ball, a leader in the Peasants’ Revolt, is hanged, drawn, and quartered in the presence of King Richard II of England.
    • 1410 – Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War: Battle of Grunwald: The allied forces of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeat the army of the Teutonic Order.
    • 1482 – Muhammad XII is crowned the twenty-second and last Nasrid king of Granada.
    • 1738 – Baruch Laibov and Alexander Voznitzin are burned alive in St. Petersburg, Russia. Vonitzin had converted to Judaism with Laibov’s help, with the consent of Empress Anna Ivanovna.
    • 1741 – Aleksei Chirikov sights land in Southeast Alaska. He sends men ashore in a longboat, making them the first Europeans to visit Alaska.
    • 1789 – Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, is named by acclamation Colonel General of the new National Guard of Paris.
    • 1799 – The Rosetta Stone is found in the Egyptian village of Rosetta by French Captain Pierre-François Bouchard during Napoleon’s Egyptian Campaign.
    • 1806 – Pike Expedition: United States Army Lieutenant Zebulon Pike begins an expedition from Fort Bellefontaine near St. Louis, Missouri, to explore the west.
    • 1815 – Napoleonic Wars: Napoleon Bonaparte surrenders aboard HMS Bellerophon.
    • 1823 – A fire destroys the ancient Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls in Rome, Italy.
    • 1834 – The Spanish Inquisition is officially disbanded after nearly 356 years.
    • 1838 – Ralph Waldo Emerson delivers the Divinity School Address at Harvard Divinity School, discounting Biblical miracles and declaring Jesus a great man, but not God. The Protestant community reacts with outrage.
    • 1862 – The CSS Arkansas, the most effective ironclad on the Mississippi River, battles with Union ships commanded by Admiral David Farragut, severely damaging three ships and sustaining heavy damage herself. The encounter changed the complexion of warfare on the Mississippi and helped to reverse Rebel fortunes on the river in the summer of 1862.
    • 1870 – Reconstruction Era of the United States: Georgia becomes the last of the former Confederate states to be readmitted to the Union.
    • 1870 – Rupert’s Land and the North-Western Territory are transferred to Canada from the Hudson’s Bay Company, and the province of Manitoba and the Northwest Territories are established from these vast territories.
    • 1888 – The stratovolcano Mount Bandai erupts killing approximately 500 people, in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan.
    • 1910 – In his book Clinical Psychiatry, Emil Kraepelin gives a name to Alzheimer’s disease, naming it after his colleague Alois Alzheimer.
    • 1916 – In Seattle, Washington, William Boeing and George Conrad Westervelt incorporate Pacific Aero Products (later renamed Boeing).
    • 1918 – World War I: The Second Battle of the Marne begins near the River Marne with a German attack.
    • 1920 – The Polish Parliament establishes Silesian Voivodeship before the Polish-German plebiscite.
    • 1922 – Japanese Communist Party is established in Japan.
    • 1927 – Massacre of July 15, 1927: Eighty-nine protesters are killed by the Austrian police in Vienna.
    • 1946 – State of North Borneo, today in Sabah, Malaysia, annexed by the United Kingdom.
    • 1954 – First flight of the Boeing 367-80, prototype for both the Boeing 707 and C-135 series.
    • 1955 – Eighteen Nobel laureates sign the Mainau Declaration against nuclear weapons, later co-signed by thirty-four others.
    • 1959 – The steel strike of 1959 begins, leading to significant importation of foreign steel for the first time in United States history.
    • 1966 – Vietnam War: The United States and South Vietnam begin Operation Hastings to push the North Vietnamese out of the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone.
    • 1971 – The United Red Army is founded in Japan.
    • 1974 – In Nicosia, Cyprus, Greek junta-sponsored nationalists launch a coup d’état, deposing President Makarios and installing Nikos Sampson as Cypriot president.
    • 1975 – Space Race: Apollo–Soyuz Test Project features the dual launch of an Apollo spacecraft and a Soyuz spacecraft on the first joint Soviet-United States human-crewed flight. It was both the last launch of an Apollo spacecraft, and the Saturn family of rockets.
    • 1979 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter gives his “malaise speech”.
    • 1983 – An attack at Orly Airport in Paris is launched by Armenian militant organisation ASALA, leaving eight people dead and 55 injured.
    • 1996 – A Belgian Air Force C-130 Hercules carrying the Royal Netherlands Army marching band crashes on landing at Eindhoven Airport.
    • 1998 – Sri Lankan Civil War: Sri Lankan Tamil MP S. Shanmuganathan is killed by a claymore mine.
    • 2002 – “American Taliban” John Walker Lindh pleads guilty to supplying aid to the enemy and to possession of explosives during the commission of a felony.
    • 2002 – Anti-Terrorism Court of Pakistan hands down the death sentence to British born Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and life terms to three others suspected of murdering The Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.
    • 2003 – AOL Time Warner disbands Netscape. The Mozilla Foundation is established on the same day.
    • 2006 – Twitter, later one of the largest social media platforms in the world, is launched.
    • 2014 – A train derails on the Moscow Metro, killing at least 24 and injuring more than 160 others.
    • 2016 – Factions of the Turkish Armed Forces attempt a coup.

    Births on July 15

    • 980 – Ichijō, Japanese emperor (d. 1011)
    • 1273 – Ewostatewos, Ethiopian monk and saint (d. 1352)
    • 1353 – Vladimir the Bold, Russian prince (d. 1410)
    • 1359 – Antonio Correr, Italian cardinal (d. 1445)
    • 1442 – Boček IV of Poděbrady, Bohemian nobleman (d. 1496)
    • 1455 – Queen Yun, Korean queen (d. 1482)
    • 1471 – Eskender, Ethiopian emperor (d. 1494)
    • 1478 – Barbara Jagiellon, duchess consort of Saxony and Margravine consort of Meissen (d. 1534)
    • 1573 – Inigo Jones, English architect, designed the Queen’s House (d. 1652)
    • 1600 – Jan Cossiers, Flemish painter (d. 1671)
    • 1606 – Rembrandt, Dutch painter and etcher (d. 1669)
    • 1611 – Jai Singh I, maharaja of Jaipur (d. 1667)
    • 1613 – Gu Yanwu, Chinese philologist and geographer (d. 1682)
    • 1631 – Jens Juel, Danish politician and diplomat, Governor-general of Norway (d. 1700)
    • 1631 – Richard Cumberland, English philosopher (d. 1718)
    • 1638 – Giovanni Buonaventura Viviani, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1693)
    • 1704 – August Gottlieb Spangenberg, German bishop and theologian (d. 1792)
    • 1779 – Clement Clarke Moore, American author, poet, and educator (d. 1863)
    • 1793 – Almira Hart Lincoln Phelps, American educator, author, editor (d. 1884)
    • 1796 – Thomas Bulfinch, American mythologist (d. 1867)
    • 1799 – Reuben Chapman, American lawyer and politician, 13th Governor of Alabama (d. 1882)
    • 1800 – Sidney Breese, American jurist and politician (d. 1878)
    • 1808 – Henry Edward Manning, English cardinal (d. 1892)
    • 1812 – James Hope-Scott, English lawyer and academic (d. 1873)
    • 1817 – Sir John Fowler, 1st Baronet, English engineer, designed the Forth Bridge (d. 1898)
    • 1827 – W. W. Thayer American lawyer and politician, 6th Governor of Oregon (d. 1899)
    • 1848 – Vilfredo Pareto, Italian economist and sociologist (d. 1923)
    • 1850 – Frances Xavier Cabrini, Italian-American nun and saint (d. 1917)
    • 1852 – Josef Josephi, Polish-born singer and actor (d. 1920)
    • 1858 – Emmeline Pankhurst, English political activist and suffragist (d. 1928)
    • 1864 – Marie Tempest, English actress and singer (d. 1942)
    • 1865 – Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe, Anglo-Irish businessman and publisher, founded the Amalgamated Press (d. 1922)
    • 1865 – Wilhelm Wirtinger, Austrian-German mathematician and theorist (d. 1945)
    • 1867 – Jean-Baptiste Charcot, French physician and explorer (d. 1936)
    • 1871 – Doppo Kunikida, Japanese journalist, author, and poet (d. 1908)
    • 1880 – Enrique Mosca, Argentinian lawyer and politician (d. 1950)
    • 1887 – Wharton Esherick, American sculptor (d. 1970)
    • 1892 – Walter Benjamin, German philosopher and critic (d. 1940)
    • 1893 – Enid Bennett, Australian-American actress (d. 1969)
    • 1893 – Dick Rauch, American football player and coach (d. 1970)
    • 1894 – Tadeusz Sendzimir, Polish-American engineer (d. 1989)
    • 1899 – Seán Lemass, Irish soldier and politician, 4th Taoiseach of Ireland (d. 1971)
    • 1902 – Jean Rey, Belgian lawyer and politician, 2nd President of the European Commission (d. 1983)
    • 1903 – Walter D. Edmonds, American journalist and author (d. 1998)
    • 1903 – K. Kamaraj, Indian journalist and politician (d. 1975)
    • 1904 – Rudolf Arnheim, German-American psychologist and author (d. 2007)
    • 1905 – Dorothy Fields, American songwriter (d. 1974)
    • 1905 – Anita Farra, Italian actress (d. 2008)
    • 1906 – R. S. Mugali, Indian poet and academic (d. 1993)
    • 1906 – Rudolf Uhlenhaut, English-German engineer (d. 1989)
    • 1909 – Jean Hamburger, French physician and surgeon (d. 1992)
    • 1911 – Edward Shackleton, Baron Shackleton, English geographer and politician, Secretary of State for Air (d. 1994)
    • 1913 – Cowboy Copas, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1963)
    • 1913 – Hammond Innes, English journalist and author (d. 1998)
    • 1913 – Abraham Sutzkever, Russian poet and author (d. 2010)
    • 1914 – Akhtar Hameed Khan, Pakistani economist, scholar, and activist (d. 1999)
    • 1914 – Howard Vernon, Swiss-French actor (d. 1996)
    • 1915 – Albert Ghiorso, American chemist and academic (d. 2010)
    • 1915 – Kashmir Singh Katoch, Indian army officer (d. 2007)
    • 1916 – Sumner Gerard, American politician and diplomat (d. 2004)
    • 1917 – Robert Conquest, English-American historian, poet, and academic (d. 2015)
    • 1917 – Joan Roberts, American actress and singer (d. 2012)
    • 1917 – Nur Muhammad Taraki, Afghan journalist and politician (d. 1979)
    • 1918 – Bertram Brockhouse, Canadian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2003)
    • 1918 – Brenda Milner, English-Canadian neuropsychologist and academic
    • 1919 – Fritz Langanke, German lieutenant (d. 2012)
    • 1919 – Iris Murdoch, Anglo-Irish British novelist and philosopher (d. 1999)
    • 1921 – Jack Beeson, American pianist and composer (d. 2010)
    • 1921 – Henri Colpi, Swiss-French director and screenwriter (d. 2006)
    • 1921 – Robert Bruce Merrifield, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2006)
    • 1921 – Jean Heywood, British actress (d. 2019)
    • 1922 – Leon M. Lederman, American physicist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2018)
    • 1922 – Jean-Pierre Richard, French writer (d. 2019)
    • 1923 – Francisco de Andrade, Portuguese sailor
    • 1924 – Jeremiah Denton, American admiral and politician (d. 2014)
    • 1924 – Marianne Bernadotte, Swedish actress and philanthropist
    • 1925 – Philip Carey, American actor (d. 2009)
    • 1925 – Taylor Hardwick, American architect, designed Haydon Burns Library and Friendship Fountain Park (d. 2014)
    • 1925 – D. A. Pennebaker, American documentary filmmaker (d. 2019)
    • 1925 – Evan Hultman, American politician
    • 1925 – Antony Carbone, American actor
    • 1925 – Pandel Savic, American football player (d. 2018)
    • 1926 – Driss Chraïbi, Moroccan-French journalist and author (d. 2007)
    • 1926 – Leopoldo Galtieri, Argentinian general and politician, 44th President of Argentina (d. 2003)
    • 1926 – Raymond Gosling, English physicist and academic (d. 2015)
    • 1926 – Sir John Graham, 4th Baronet, English diplomat (d. 2019)
    • 1927 – Nan Martin, American actress (d. 2010)
    • 1927 – Carmen Zapata, American actress (d. 2014)
    • 1927 – Håkon Brusveen, Norwegian cross-country skier
    • 1928 – Carl Woese, American microbiologist and biophysicist (d. 2012)
    • 1928 – Viramachaneni Vimla Devi, Indian parliamentarian (d. 1967)
    • 1929 – Charles Anthony, American tenor and actor (d. 2012)
    • 1929 – Francis Bebey, Cameroonian-French guitarist (d. 2001)
    • 1929 – Ian Stewart, Scottish race car driver (d. 2017)
    • 1930 – Jacques Derrida, Algerian-French philosopher and academic (d. 2004)
    • 1930 – Richard Garneau, Canadian journalist and sportscaster (d. 2013)
    • 1930 – Stephen Smale, American mathematician and computer scientist
    • 1930 – Einosuke Akiya, Japanese Buddhist leader
    • 1931 – Clive Cussler, American archaeologist and author (d. 2020)
    • 1931 – Joanna Merlin, American actress and casting director
    • 1931 – Jacques-Yvan Morin, Canadian lawyer and politician, Deputy Premier of Quebec
    • 1932 – Ed Litzenberger, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2010)
    • 1933 – Guido Crepax, Italian author and illustrator (d. 2003)
    • 1933 – M. T. Vasudevan Nair, Indian author and screenwriter
    • 1934 – Harrison Birtwistle, English composer and academic
    • 1934 – Eva Krížiková, Czech actress (d. 2020)
    • 1934 – Risto Jarva, Finnish director and producer (d. 1977)
    • 1935 – Donn Clendenon, American baseball player and lawyer (d. 2005)
    • 1935 – Alex Karras, American football player, wrestler, and actor (d. 2012)
    • 1935 – Ken Kercheval, American actor and director (d. 2019)
    • 1936 – George Voinovich, American lawyer and politician, 65th Governor of Ohio (d. 2016)
    • 1937 – Prabhash Joshi, Indian journalist (d. 2009)
    • 1938 – Ernie Barnes, American football player, actor, and painter (d. 2009)
    • 1938 – Carmen Callil, Australian publisher, founded Virago Press
    • 1938 – Barry Goldwater, Jr., American lawyer and politician
    • 1939 – Aníbal Cavaco Silva, Portuguese economist and politician, 19th President of the Portuguese Republic
    • 1940 – Denis Héroux, Canadian director and producer (d. 2015)
    • 1940 – Ronald Gene Simmons, American sergeant and convicted murderer (d. 1990)
    • 1940 – Robert Winston, English surgeon, academic, and politician
    • 1942 – Vivian Malone Jones, American civil rights activist (d. 2005)
    • 1943 – Jocelyn Bell Burnell, Northern Irish astrophysicist, astronomer, and academic
    • 1944 – Millie Jackson, American singer-songwriter
    • 1945 – Jan-Michael Vincent, American actor (d. 2019)
    • 1945 – David Arthur Granger, Guyanese politician, 9th President of Guyana
    • 1945 – Peter Lewis (musician), American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1945 – Jürgen Möllemann, German soldier and politician, Vice-Chancellor of Germany (d. 2003)
    • 1946 – Linda Ronstadt, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
    • 1946 – Hassanal Bolkiah, Sultan of Brunei
    • 1947 – Peter Banks, English guitarist and songwriter (d. 2013)
    • 1947 – Lydia Davis, American short story writer, novelist, and essayist
    • 1947 – Pridiyathorn Devakula, Thai economist and politician, Thai Minister of Finance
    • 1947 – Roky Erickson, American singer-songwriter and musician (d. 2019)
    • 1948 – Twinkle, English singer-songwriter (d. 2015)
    • 1948 – Dimosthenis Kourtovik, Greek anthropologist and critic
    • 1948 – Artimus Pyle, American rock drummer and songwriter (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
    • 1949 – Carl Bildt, Swedish politician and diplomat, Prime Minister of Sweden
    • 1949 – Trevor Horn, English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
    • 1949 – Richard Russo, American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter
    • 1950 – Colin Barnett, Australian economist and politician, 29th Premier of Western Australia
    • 1950 – Arianna Huffington, Greek-American journalist and publisher (The Huffington Post)
    • 1951 – Gregory Isaacs, Jamaican-English singer-songwriter (d. 2010)
    • 1951 – Jesse Ventura, American wrestler, actor, and politician, 38th Governor of Minnesota
    • 1952 – David Pack, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1952 – Celia Imrie, English actress
    • 1952 – Terry O’Quinn, American actor
    • 1952 – Marky Ramone, American drummer and songwriter
    • 1952 – Johnny Thunders, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1991)
    • 1953 – Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Haitian priest and politician, 49th President of Haiti
    • 1953 – Sultanah Haminah, Malaysian royal consort
    • 1953 – Mohamad Shahrum Osman, Malaysian politician
    • 1953 – Alicia Bridges, American singer-songwriter
    • 1954 – John Ferguson, Australian rugby league player
    • 1954 – Jeff Jarvis, American journalist and blogger
    • 1954 – Giorgos Kaminis, American-Greek lawyer and politician, 78th Mayor of Athens
    • 1954 – Mario Kempes, Argentinian footballer and manager
    • 1956 – Ashoke Sen, Indian theoretical physicist and string theorist
    • 1956 – Ian Curtis, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Joy Division) (d. 1980)
    • 1956 – Nicholas Harberd, British botanist, educator and academician
    • 1956 – Barry Melrose, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and sportscaster
    • 1956 – Steve Mortimer, Australian rugby league player, coach, and administrator
    • 1956 – Joe Satriani, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1956 – Wayne Taylor, South African race car driver
    • 1958 – Gary Heale, English footballer and coach
    • 1958 – Mac Thornberry, American lawyer and politician
    • 1959 – Vincent Lindon, French actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1960 – Kim Alexis, American fashion model
    • 1961 – Lolita Davidovich, Canadian actress
    • 1961 – Jean-Christophe Grangé, French journalist and screenwriter
    • 1961 – Scott Ritter, American soldier and international weapons inspector
    • 1961 – Forest Whitaker, American actor
    • 1962 – Nikos Filippou, Greek basketball player and manager
    • 1962 – Michelle Ford, Australian swimmer
    • 1963 – Brigitte Nielsen, Danish-Italian actress
    • 1963 – Steve Thomas, English-Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1965 – Alistair Carmichael, Scottish lawyer and politician, Secretary of State for Scotland
    • 1965 – Gero Miesenböck, Austrian neuroscientist and educator
    • 1965 – David Miliband, English politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
    • 1966 – Jason Bonham, English singer-songwriter and drummer
    • 1966 – Irène Jacob, French-Swiss actress
    • 1967 – Adam Savage, American actor and special effects designer
    • 1967 – Elbert West, American singer-songwriter (d. 2015)
    • 1968 – Eddie Griffin, American comedian, actor, and producer
    • 1969 – Ain Tammus, Estonian footballer and coach
    • 1970 – Tarkan Gözübüyük, Turkish bass player and producer
    • 1972 – Scott Foley, American actor
    • 1973 – Brian Austin Green, American actor
    • 1975 – Cherry, American wrestler and manager
    • 1975 – Danny Law, English cricketer
    • 1975 – Ben Pepper, Australian basketball player
    • 1976 – Steve Cunningham, American boxer
    • 1976 – Marco Di Vaio, Italian footballer
    • 1976 – Diane Kruger, German actress and model
    • 1976 – Gabriel Iglesias, Mexican-American comedian and voice actor
    • 1977 – André Nel, South African cricketer
    • 1977 – Lana Parrilla, American actress
    • 1977 – John St. Clair, American football player
    • 1977 – Ray Toro, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1978 – Miguel Olivo, Dominican baseball player
    • 1979 – Laura Benanti, American actress and singer
    • 1979 – Alexander Frei, Swiss footballer
    • 1979 – Edda Garðarsdóttir, Icelandic footballer
    • 1979 – Renata Kučerová, Czech tennis player
    • 1980 – Reggie Abercrombie, American baseball player
    • 1980 – BxB Hulk, Japanese professional wrestler
    • 1980 – Jonathan Cheechoo, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1980 – Julia Perez, Indonesian singer and actress (d. 2017)
    • 1981 – Alou Diarra, French footballer
    • 1981 – Petros Klampanis, Greek bassist and composer
    • 1981 – Marius Stankevičius, Lithuanian footballer
    • 1982 – Alan Pérez, Spanish cyclist
    • 1982 – Neemia Tialata, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1982 – Aída Yéspica, Venezuelan model and actress
    • 1983 – Nelson Merlo, Brazilian race car driver
    • 1983 – Will Rudge, English cricketer
    • 1983 – Heath Slater, American wrestler
    • 1984 – Angelo Siniscalchi, Italian footballer
    • 1984 – Veronika Velez-Zuzulová, Slovak skier
    • 1985 – Sanjeev, Tamil actor
    • 1985 – Tomer Kapon, Israeli actor
    • 1986 – Tyler Kennedy, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1988 – Riki Christodoulou, English race car driver
    • 1989 – Steven Jahn, German footballer
    • 1989 – Alisa Kleybanova, Russian tennis player
    • 1989 – Anthony Randolph, American basketball player
    • 1990 – Zach Bogosian, American ice hockey player
    • 1990 – Damian Lillard, American basketball player
    • 1991 – Danilo, Brazilian footballer
    • 1991 – Derrick Favors, American basketball player
    • 1991 – Evgeny Tishchenko, Russian boxer
    • 1992 – Tobias Harris, American basketball player
    • 1992 – Hokutōfuji Daiki, Japanese sumo wrestler
    • 1992 – Wayde van Niekerk, South African sprinter
    • 1993 – Håvard Nielsen, Norwegian footballer

    Deaths on July 15

    • 756 – Yang Guifei, consort of Xuan Zong (b. 719)
    • 998 – Abū al-Wafā’ Būzjānī, Persian mathematician and astronomer (b. 940)
    • 1015 – Vladimir the Great, Grand prince of Kievan Rus’ (b. c. 958)
    • 1274 – Bonaventure, Italian bishop and saint (b. 1221)
    • 1291 – Rudolf I of Germany (b. 1218)
    • 1299 – King Eric II of Norway (b. c. 1268)
    • 1381 – John Ball, English Lollard priest
    • 1388 – Agnes of Durazzo, titular Latin empress consort of Constantinople (d. 1313)
    • 1397 – Catherine of Henneberg, German ruler (b. c. 1334)
    • 1406 – William, Duke of Austria
    • 1410 – Ulrich von Jungingen, German Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights (b. 1360)
    • 1445 – Joan Beaufort, Queen of Scotland
    • 1542 – Lisa del Giocondo, subject of Leonardo da Vinci’s painting Mona Lisa (b. 1479)
    • 1544 – René of Châlon (b. 1519)
    • 1571 – Shimazu Takahisa, Japanese daimyō (b. 1514)
    • 1609 – Annibale Carracci, Italian painter and illustrator (b. 1560)
    • 1614 – Pierre de Bourdeille, seigneur de Brantôme, French soldier, historian, and author (b. 1540)
    • 1655 – Girolamo Rainaldi, Italian architect (b. 1570)
    • 1685 – James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, Dutch-English general and politician, Governor of Kingston-upon-Hull (b. 1649)
    • 1750 – Vasily Tatishchev, Russian ethnographer and politician (b. 1686)
    • 1765 – Charles-André van Loo, French painter (b. 1705)
    • 1767 – Michael Bruce, Scottish poet and composer (b. 1746)
    • 1789 – Jacques Duphly, French harpsichord player and composer (b. 1715)
    • 1828 – Jean-Antoine Houdon, French sculptor (b. 1741)
    • 1839 – Winthrop Mackworth Praed, English poet and politician (b. 1802)
    • 1844 – Claude Charles Fauriel, French philologist and historian (b. 1772)
    • 1851 – Juan Felipe Ibarra, Argentinian general and politician (b. 1787)
    • 1857 – Carl Czerny, Austrian pianist and composer (b. 1791)
    • 1858 – Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov, Russian painter (b. 1806)
    • 1883 – General Tom Thumb, American circus performer (b. 1838)
    • 1885 – Rosalía de Castro, Spanish author and poet (b. 1837)
    • 1890 – Gottfried Keller, Swiss author, poet, and playwright (b. 1819)
    • 1898 – Jean-Baptiste Salpointe, French-American archbishop (d. 1825)
    • 1904 – Anton Chekhov, Russian playwright and short story writer (b. 1860)
    • 1919 – Hermann Emil Fischer, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1852)
    • 1929 – Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Austrian author, poet, and playwright (b. 1874)
    • 1930 – Leopold Auer, Hungarian violinist, composer, and conductor (b. 1845)
    • 1931 – Ladislaus Bortkiewicz, Russian-German economist and mathematician (b. 1868)
    • 1932 – Bahíyyih Khánum, Iranian writer and leader in the Baha’i faith (b. 1846)
    • 1932 – Cornelis Jacobus Langenhoven, South African poet and politician (b. 1873)
    • 1933 – Irving Babbitt, American scholar, critic, and academic (b. 1865)
    • 1933 – Freddie Keppard, American cornet player (b. 1890)
    • 1940 – Eugen Bleuler, Swiss psychiatrist and physician (b. 1857)
    • 1940 – Robert Wadlow, American giant, 8″11′ 271 cm (b.1918)
    • 1942 – Wenceslao Vinzons, Filipino lawyer and politician (b. 1910)
    • 1944 – Marie-Victorin Kirouac, Canadian botanist and academic (b. 1885)
    • 1946 – Razor Smith, English cricketer and coach (b. 1877)
    • 1947 – Walter Donaldson, American soldier and songwriter (b. 1893)
    • 1948 – John J. Pershing, American general (b. 1860)
    • 1953 – Geevarghese Mar Ivanios, Indian archbishop, founded the Order of the Imitation of Christ (b. 1882)
    • 1957 – James M. Cox, American publisher and politician, 46th Governor of Ohio (b. 1870)
    • 1957 – Vasily Maklakov, Russian lawyer and politician (b. 1869)
    • 1959 – Ernest Bloch, Swiss-American composer and academic (b. 1880)
    • 1959 – Vance Palmer, Australian author and critic (b. 1885)
    • 1960 – Set Persson, Swedish politician (b. 1897)
    • 1960 – Lawrence Tibbett, American singer and actor (b. 1896)
    • 1961 – John Edward Brownlee, Canadian lawyer and politician, 5th Premier of Alberta (b. 1884)
    • 1961. – Nina Bari, Russian mathematician (b. 1901)
    • 1965 – Francis Cherry, American lawyer and politician, 35th Governor of Arkansas (b. 1908)
    • 1966 – Seyfi Arkan, Turkish architect (b. 1903)
    • 1974 – Christine Chubbuck, American journalist (b. 1944)
    • 1976 – Paul Gallico, American journalist and author (b. 1897)
    • 1977 – Donald Mackay, Australian businessman and activist (b. 1933)
    • 1979 – Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, Mexican academic and politician, 29th President of Mexico, 1964-1970 (b. 1911)
    • 1981 – Frédéric Dorion, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1898)
    • 1982 – Bill Justis, American saxophonist, songwriter, and producer (b. 1926)
    • 1986 – Billy Haughton, American harness racer and trainer (b. 1923)
    • 1988 – Eleanor Estes, American librarian, author, and illustrator (b. 1906)
    • 1989 – Laurie Cunningham, English footballer (b. 1956)
    • 1990 – Zaim Topčić, Yugoslav and Bosnian writer (b. 1920)
    • 1990 – Margaret Lockwood, English actress (b. 1916)
    • 1990 – Omar Abu Risha, Syrian poet and diplomat, 4th Syrian Ambassador to the United States (b. 1910)
    • 1991 – Bert Convy, American actor, singer, and game show host (b. 1933)
    • 1992 – Hammer DeRoburt, Nauruan educator and politician, 1st President of Nauru (b. 1922)
    • 1992 – Chingiz Mustafayev, Azerbaijani journalist and author (b. 1960)
    • 1997 – Justinas Lagunavičius, Lithuanian basketball player (b. 1924)
    • 1997 – Gianni Versace, Italian fashion designer, founded Versace (b. 1946)
    • 1998 – S. Shanmuganathan, Sri Lankan politician (b. 1960)
    • 2000 – Louis Quilico, Canadian opera singer and educator (b. 1925)
    • 2001 – C. Balasingham, Sri Lankan lawyer and civil servant (b. 1917)
    • 2003 – Roberto Bolaño, Chilean novelist, short-story writer, poet, and essayist (b. 1953)
    • 2003 – Elisabeth Welch, American actress and singer (b. 1904)
    • 2006 – Robert H. Brooks, American businessman, founder of Hooters and Naturally Fresh, Inc. (b. 1937)
    • 2006 – Alireza Shapour Shahbazi, Iranian archaeologist and academic (b. 1942)
    • 2008 – György Kolonics, Hungarian canoe racer (b. 1972)
    • 2010 – James E. Akins, American politician and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Saudi Arabia (b. 1926)
    • 2011 – Friedrich Wilhelm Schnitzler, German landowner and politician (b. 1928)
    • 2011 – Googie Withers, British-Australian actress (b. 1917)
    • 2012 – Boris Cebotari, Moldovan footballer (b. 1975)
    • 2012 – Tsilla Chelton, Israeli-French actress (b. 1919)
    • 2012 – Grant Feasel, American football player (b. 1960)
    • 2012 – David Fraser, English general (b. 1920)
    • 2012 – Celeste Holm, American actress and singer (b. 1917)
    • 2012 – Yoichi Takabayashi, Japanese director and screenwriter (b. 1931)
    • 2013 – Ninos Aho, Syrian-American poet and activist (b. 1945)
    • 2013 – Henry Braden, American lawyer and politician (b. 1944)
    • 2013 – Tom Greenwell, American lawyer and judge (b. 1956)
    • 2013 – Earl Gros, American football player (b. 1940)
    • 2013 – Noël Lee, Chinese-American pianist and composer (b. 1924)
    • 2013 – Meskerem Legesse, Ethiopian runner (b. 1986)
    • 2013 – John T. Riedl, American computer scientist and academic (b. 1962)
    • 2014 – Óscar Acosta, Honduran author, poet, and diplomat (b. 1933)
    • 2014 – James MacGregor Burns, American historian, political scientist, and author (b. 1918)
    • 2014 – Saúl Lara, Spanish footballer (b. 1982)
    • 2014 – Edward Perl, American neuroscientist and academic (b. 1926)
    • 2014 – Robert A. Roe, American soldier and politician (b. 1924)
    • 2015 – Masahiko Aoki, Japanese-American economist and academic (b. 1938)
    • 2015 – Wan Li, Chinese politician, 4th Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China (b. 1916)
    • 2015 – Aubrey Morris, British actor (b. 1926)
    • 2015 – Dave Somerville, Canadian singer (b. 1933)
    • 2017 – Martin Landau, American film and television actor (b. 1928)

    Holidays and observances on July 15

    • Christian feast day:
      • Abhai (Syriac Orthodox Church)
      • Anne-Marie Javouhey
      • Bernhard II, Margrave of Baden-Baden
      • Bonaventure
      • Dispersion of the Apostles (No longer officially celebrated by the Catholic Church)
      • Donald of Ogilvy
      • Edith of Polesworth
      • Edith of Wilton
      • Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor
      • Plechelm
      • Quriaqos and Julietta
      • Swithun
      • Vladimir the Great (Eastern Orthodox; Catholic Church)
      • July 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which Birthday of Don Luis Muñoz Rivera can fall, while July 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Monday of July. (Puerto Rico)
    • Earliest day on which Galla Bayramy can fall, while July 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Sunday of July. (Turkmenistan)
    • Earliest day on which Marine Day can fall, while July 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Monday of July. (Japan)
    • Earliest day on which President’s Day (Botswana) can fall, while July 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Monday of July.
    • Elderly Men Day (Kiribati)
    • Festival of Santa Rosalia (Palermo, Sicily)
    • Sultan’s Birthday (Brunei Darussalam)

  • July 14 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    July 14 in History

    • 756 – An Lushan Rebellion: Emperor Xuanzong flees the capital Chang’an as An Lushan’s forces advance toward the city.
    • 1223 – Louis VIII becomes King of France upon the death of his father, Philip II.
    • 1420 – Battle of Vítkov Hill, decisive victory of Czech Hussite forces commanded by Jan Žižka against Crusade army led by Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor.
    • 1769 – An expedition led by Gaspar de Portolá leaves its base in California and sets out to find the Port of Monterey (now Monterey, California).
    • 1771 – Foundation of the Mission San Antonio de Padua in modern California by the Franciscan friar Junípero Serra.
    • 1789 – French Revolution: Citizens of Paris storm the Bastille.
    • 1789 – Alexander Mackenzie finally completes his journey to the mouth of the great river he hoped would take him to the Pacific, but which turns out to flow into the Arctic Ocean. Later named after him, the Mackenzie is the second-longest river system in North America.
    • 1790 – French Revolution: Citizens of Paris celebrate the unity of the French people and the national reconciliation in the Fête de la Fédération.
    • 1791 – The Priestley Riots drive Joseph Priestley, a supporter of the French Revolution, out of Birmingham, England.
    • 1798 – The Sedition Act becomes law in the United States making it a federal crime to write, publish, or utter false or malicious statements about the United States government.
    • 1853 – Opening of the first major US world’s fair, the Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations in New York City.
    • 1865 – The first ascent of the Matterhorn by Edward Whymper and party, four of whom die on the descent.
    • 1874 – The Chicago Fire of 1874 burns down 47 acres of the city, destroying 812 buildings, killing 20, and resulting in the fire insurance industry demanding municipal reforms from Chicago’s city council.
    • 1877 – The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 began in Martinsburg, West Virginia when wages of Baltimore and Ohio Railroad workers were cut for the third time in a year. The strike was ended on Sept 4 by local and state militias and federal troops.
    • 1881 – Billy the Kid is shot and killed by Pat Garrett outside Fort Sumner.
    • 1900 – Armies of the Eight-Nation Alliance capture Tientsin during the Boxer Rebellion.
    • 1902 – The Campanile in St Mark’s Square, Venice collapses, also demolishing the loggetta.
    • 1911 – Harry Atwood, an exhibition pilot for the Wright brothers, lands his airplane at the South Lawn of the White House. He is later awarded a Gold medal from U.S. President William Howard Taft for this feat.
    • 1915 – World War I: The McMahon–Hussein Correspondence between Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca and the British official Henry McMahon concerning the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire begins.
    • 1916 – World War I: Start of the Battle of Delville Wood as an action within the Battle of the Somme, which was to last until 3 September 1916.
    • 1928 – New Vietnam Revolutionary Party is founded in Huế, providing some of the communist party’s most important leaders in its early years.
    • 1933 – Gleichschaltung: In Germany, all political parties are outlawed except the Nazi Party.
    • 1933 – The Nazi eugenics begins with the proclamation of the Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring that calls for the compulsory sterilization of any citizen who suffers from alleged genetic disorders.
    • 1938 – Howard Hughes sets a new record by completing a 91-hour airplane flight around the world.
    • 1940 – People’s Seimas held parliamentary elections, and the Union of Labor Lithuania (ULL) won, paving the way for Lithuania to become Lithuanian SSR; Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic, consolidating into the Soviet Union on July 21, 1940.
    • 1943 – In Diamond, Missouri, the George Washington Carver National Monument becomes the first United States National Monument in honor of an African American.
    • 1948 – Palmiro Togliatti, leader of the Italian Communist Party, is shot and wounded near the Italian Parliament.
    • 1950 – Korean War: North Korean troops initiate the Battle of Taejon.
    • 1957 – Rawya Ateya takes her seat in the National Assembly of Egypt, thereby becoming the first female parliamentarian in the Arab world.
    • 1958 – Iraqi Revolution: In Iraq the monarchy is overthrown by popular forces led by Abd al-Karim Qasim, who becomes the nation’s new leader.
    • 1960 – Jane Goodall arrives at the Gombe Stream Reserve in present-day Tanzania to begin her famous study of chimpanzees in the wild.
    • 1965 – The Mariner 4 flyby of Mars takes the first close-up photos of another planet.
    • 1969 – Football War: After Honduras loses a soccer match against El Salvador, riots break out in Honduras against Salvadoran migrant workers.
    • 1969 – The Federal Reserve Banks begins removing large denominations of United States currency from circulation.
    • 1976 – Capital punishment is abolished in Canada.
    • 1992 – 386BSD is released by Lynne Jolitz and William Jolitz beginning the Open Source operating system revolution. Linus Torvalds releases his Linux soon afterwards.
    • 2002 – French President Jacques Chirac escapes an assassination attempt unscathed during Bastille Day celebrations.
    • 2003 – Hurricane Claudette gathers strength over the Gulf of Mexico and heads for the Texas coast, killing two people.
    • 2013 – The dedication of statue of Rachel Carson, a sculpture named for the environmentalist, in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
    • 2015 – NASA’s New Horizons probe performs the first flyby of Pluto, and thus completes the initial survey of the Solar System.
    • 2016 – A terrorist vehicular attack in Nice, France kills 86 civilians and injures over 400 others.

    Births on July 14

    • 926 – Murakami, emperor of Japan (d. 967)
    • 1410 – Arnold, Duke of Guelders, (d. 1473)
    • 1448 – Philip, Elector Palatine (d. 1508)
    • 1454 – Poliziano, Italian poet and scholar (d. 1494)
    • 1515 – Philip I, Duke of Pomerania (d. 1560)
    • 1602 – Cardinal Mazarin, Italian-French cardinal and politician, 2nd Chief Minister of the French Monarch (d. 1661)
    • 1608 – George Goring, Lord Goring, English general (d. 1657)
    • 1610 – Ferdinando II de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1670)
    • 1634 – Pasquier Quesnel, French priest and theologian (d. 1719)
    • 1671 – Jacques d’Allonville, French astronomer and mathematician (d. 1732)
    • 1675 – Claude Alexandre de Bonneval, French general (d. 1747)
    • 1676 – Caspar Abel, German historian, poet, and theologian (d. 1763)
    • 1696 – William Oldys, English historian and author (d. 17610
    • 1721 – John Douglas, Scottish bishop and scholar (d. 1807)
    • 1743 – Gavrila Derzhavin, Russian poet and politician (d. 1816)
    • 1755 – Michel de Beaupuy, French general (d. 1796)
    • 1785 – Mordecai Manuel Noah, American journalist, playwright, and diplomat (d. 1851)
    • 1795 – Eleanor Anne Porden, British Romantic poet; wife of the explorer, John Franklin (d. 1825)
    • 1801 – Johannes Peter Müller, German physiologist and anatomist (d. 1858)
    • 1816 – Arthur de Gobineau, French author and diplomat (d. 1882)
    • 1829 – Edward Benson, English archbishop (d. 1896)
    • 1859 – Willy Hess, German violinist and educator (d. 1928)
    • 1861 – Kate M. Gordon, American activist (d. 1931)
    • 1862 – Florence Bascom, American geologist and educator (d. 1945)
    • 1862 – Gustav Klimt, Austrian painter and illustrator (d. 1918)
    • 1863 – Arthur Coningham, Australian cricketer (d. 1939)
    • 1865 – Arthur Capper, American journalist and politician, 20th Governor of Kansas (d. 1951)
    • 1866 – Juliette Wytsman, Belgian painter (d. 1925)
    • 1868 – Gertrude Bell, English archaeologist and spy (d. 1926)
    • 1872 – Albert Marque, French sculptor and doll maker (d. 1939)
    • 1874 – Abbas II of Egypt (d. 1944)
    • 1874 – Crawford Vaughan, Australian politician, 27th Premier of South Australia (d. 1947)
    • 1878 – Donald Meek, Scottish actor (d. 1946)
    • 1885 – Sisavang Vong, Laotian king (d. 1959)
    • 1888 – Scipio Slataper, Italian author and critic (d. 1915)
    • 1889 – Marco de Gastyne, French painter and illustrator (d. 1982)
    • 1889 – Ante Pavelić, Croatian fascist dictator during World War II (d. 1959)
    • 1893 – Clarence J. Brown, American publisher and politician, 36th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio (d. 1965)
    • 1893 – Garimella Satyanarayana, Indian poet and author (d. 1952)
    • 1894 – Dave Fleischer, American animator, director, and producer (d. 1979)
    • 1896 – Buenaventura Durruti, Spanish soldier and anarchist (d. 1936)
    • 1898 – Happy Chandler, American lawyer and politician, 49th Governor of Kentucky, second Commissioner of Baseball (d. 1991)
    • 1901 – Gerald Finzi, English composer and academic (d. 1956)
    • 1901 – George Tobias, American actor (d. 1980)
    • 1903 – Irving Stone, American author and educator (d. 1989)
    • 1906 – Tom Carvel, Greek-American businessman, founded Carvel (d. 1990)
    • 1906 – William H. Tunner, American general (d. 1983)
    • 1907 – Chico Landi, Brazilian race car driver (d. 1989)
    • 1910 – William Hanna, American animator, director, producer, and actor, co-founded Hanna-Barbera (d. 2001)
    • 1911 – Pavel Prudnikau, Belarusian poet and author (d. 2000)
    • 1912 – Woody Guthrie, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1967)
    • 1912 – Buddy Moreno, American musician (d. 2015)
    • 1913 – Gerald Ford, American commander, lawyer, and politician, 38th President of the United States (d. 2006)
    • 1914 – Fred Fox, French musician (d. 2019)
    • 1918 – Ingmar Bergman, Swedish director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2007)
    • 1918 – Arthur Laurents, American director, screenwriter, and playwright (d. 20110
    • 1918 – Jay Wright Forrester, American computer engineer and systems scientist (d. 2016)
    • 1920 – Shankarrao Chavan, Indian lawyer and politician, Indian Minister of Finance (d. 2004)
    • 1920 – Marijohn Wilkin, American country and gospel songwriter (d. 2006)
    • 1921 – Sixto Durán Ballén, American-Ecuadorian architect and politician, 48th President of Ecuador (d. 2016)
    • 1921 – Leon Garfield, English author (d. 1996)
    • 1921 – Armand Gaudreault, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2013)
    • 1921 – Geoffrey Wilkinson, English chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1996)
    • 1922 – Robin Olds, American general and pilot (d. 2007)
    • 1922 – Elfriede Rinkel, German SS officer (d. 2018)
    • 1922 – Käbi Laretei, Estonian-Swedish concert pianist (d. 2014)
    • 1923 – René Favaloro, Argentine surgeon and cardiologist (d. 2000)
    • 1923 – Dale Robertson, American actor (d. 2013)
    • 1923 – Robert Zildjian, American businessman, founded Sabian (d. 2013)
    • 1924 – Warren Giese, American football player, coach, and politician (d. 2013)
    • 1925 – Bruce L. Douglas, American politician
    • 1926 – Wallace Jones, American basketball player and coach (d. 2014)
    • 1926 – Harry Dean Stanton, American actor, musician, and singer (d. 2017)
    • 1926 – Himayat Ali Shair, Urdu poet (d. 2019)
    • 1927 – John Chancellor, American journalist (d. 1996)
    • 1927 – Mike Esposito, American author and illustrator (d. 2010)
    • 1928 – Nancy Olson, American actress
    • 1928 – William Rees-Mogg, English journalist and public servant (d. 2012)
    • 1930 – Polly Bergen, American actress and singer (d. 2014)
    • 1930 – Benoît Sinzogan, Beninese military officer and politician
    • 1931 – Jacqueline de Ribes, French fashion designer and philanthropist
    • 1931 – E. V. Thompson, English police officer and author (d. 2012)
    • 1932 – Rosey Grier, American football player and actor
    • 1932 – Del Reeves, American country singer-songwriter (d. 2007)
    • 1933 – Robert Bourassa, Canadian lawyer and politician, 22nd Premier of Quebec (d. 1996)
    • 1933 – Dumaagiin Sodnom, Mongolian politician; 13th Prime Minister of Mongolia
    • 1933 – Franz, Duke of Bavaria, head of the House of Wittelsbach
    • 1936 – Robert F. Overmyer, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1996)
    • 1937 – Yoshirō Mori, Japanese journalist and politician, 55th Prime Minister of Japan
    • 1938 – Jerry Rubin, American activist, author, and businessman (d. 1994)
    • 1938 – Tommy Vig, Hungarian vibraphone player, drummer, and composer
    • 1939 – Karel Gott, Czech singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2019)
    • 1939 – George Edgar Slusser, American scholar and author (d. 2014)
    • 1940 – Susan Howatch, English author and academic
    • 1941 – Maulana Karenga, American philosopher, author, and activist, created Kwanzaa
    • 1941 – Andreas Khol, German-Austrian lawyer and politician
    • 1942 – Javier Solana, Spanish physicist and politician, Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs
    • 1945 – Jim Gordon, American drummer and songwriter
    • 1946 – Sue Lawley, English journalist
    • 1946 – John Wood, Australian actor and screenwriter
    • 1947 – John Blackman, Australian radio and television presenter
    • 1947 – Claudia J. Kennedy, American general
    • 1947 – Salih Neftçi, Turkish economist and author (d. 2009)
    • 1947 – Navin Ramgoolam, Mauritius physician and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Mauritius
    • 1948 – Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu, Zulu king
    • 1948 – Tom Latham, American politician
    • 1948 – Earl Williams, American baseball player (d. 2013)
    • 1949 – Tommy Mottola, American businessman and music publisher
    • 1950 – Bruce Oldfield, English fashion designer
    • 1952 – Bob Casale, American guitarist, keyboard player, and producer (d. 2014)
    • 1952 – Franklin Graham, American evangelist and missionary
    • 1952 – George Lewis, American musician and composer
    • 1952 – Joel Silver, American actor and producer, co-founded Dark Castle Entertainment
    • 1953 – Martha Coakley, American lawyer and politician, 58th Attorney General of Massachusetts
    • 1955 – L. Brent Bozell III, American journalist and activist, founded the Media Research Center
    • 1958 – Mircea Geoană, Romanian politician and diplomat, 97th Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs
    • 1959 – Aubrey McClendon, American businessman (d. 2016)
    • 1960 – Anna Bligh, Australian politician, 37th Premier of Queensland
    • 1960 – Kyle Gass, American singer-songwriter, musician, and actor
    • 1960 – Angélique Kidjo, Beninese singer-songwriter, activist, and actor
    • 1960 – Jane Lynch, American actress and game show host
    • 1960 – Mike McPhee, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1961 – Jackie Earle Haley, American actor
    • 1962 – Vanessa Lawrence, English geographer and civil servant
    • 1963 – Jacques Lacombe, Canadian organist and conductor
    • 1964 – Brett Ogle, Australian golfer
    • 1964 – Igor Shpilband, Russian-American ice dancer and coach
    • 1965 – Urmas Kruuse, Estonian lawyer and politician, 41st Mayor of Tartu
    • 1965 – Collins Nweke, Belgian politician of Nigerian origin, 1st foreign born person elected to political office in West Flanders
    • 1966 – Matthew Fox, American actor
    • 1966 – Matt Hume, American mixed martial artist and trainer
    • 1966 – Brian Selznick, American author and illustrator
    • 1967 – Marios Constantinou, Cypriot footballer and manager
    • 1967 – Jeff Jarrett, American wrestler and promoter, co-founder of Impact Wrestling
    • 1967 – Patrick J. Kennedy, American politician
    • 1967 – Hashan Tillakaratne, Sri Lankan cricketer
    • 1967 – Robin Ventura, American baseball player and manager
    • 1968 – Michael Palmer, Singaporean lawyer and politician, 8th Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore
    • 1969 – José Hernández, Puerto Rican-American baseball player and coach
    • 1969 – Sven Sester, Estonian politician
    • 1970 – Jacob Young, Norwegian guitarist
    • 1971 – Howard Webb, English footballer and referee
    • 1973 – Tani Fuga, Samoan rugby player
    • 1973 – Paul Methric, American rapper and producer
    • 1974 – Erick Dampier, American basketball player
    • 1974 – David Mitchell, British comedian
    • 1975 – Derlei, Brazilian footballer
    • 1975 – Tim Hudson, American baseball player
    • 1975 – Jamey Johnson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1977 – Gordon Cree, Scottish singer-songwriter and pianist
    • 1977 – Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden
    • 1978 – Mattias Ekström, Swedish race car driver
    • 1979 – Bernie Castro, Dominican baseball player
    • 1979 – Axel Teichmann, German skier
    • 1980 – George Smith, Australian rugby player
    • 1981 – Matti Hautamäki, Finnish ski jumper
    • 1981 – Robbie Maddison, Australian motorcycle racer
    • 1982 – Dmitry Chaplin, Russian-American dancer and choreographer
    • 1982 – Achille Coser, Italian footballer
    • 1983 – Igor Andreev, Russian tennis player
    • 1983 – Thomas Howard, American football player (d. 2013)
    • 1983 – Tito Muñoz, American conductor and academic
    • 1984 – Renaldo Balkman, American basketball player
    • 1984 – Erica Blasberg, American golfer (d. 2010)
    • 1984 – Lenka Dlhopolcová, Slovak tennis player
    • 1984 – Mounir El Hamdaoui, Moroccan footballer
    • 1984 – Samir Handanović, Slovenian footballer
    • 1984 – Nilmar, Brazilian footballer
    • 1985 – Billy Celeski, Australian footballer
    • 1985 – Darrelle Revis, American football player
    • 1985 – Chris Wright, English cricketer
    • 1986 – Alexander Gerndt, Swedish footballer
    • 1986 – Nikolay Kulemin, Russian ice hockey player
    • 1986 – Dan Smith, English singer-songwriter
    • 1987 – Aqeel Ahmed, English director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1987 – Margus Hunt, Estonian-American football player, discus thrower, and shot putter
    • 1987 – Adam Johnson, English footballer
    • 1987 – Dan Reynolds, American singer-songwriter
    • 1987 – Sean Smith, American football player
    • 1987 – Ryan Sweeting, Bahamian-American tennis player
    • 1988 – Conor McGregor, Irish mixed martial artist
    • 1988 – Jérémy Stravius, French swimmer
    • 1988 – James Vaughan, English footballer
    • 1989 – Sakari Mattila, Finnish footballer
    • 1989 – Rolando McClain, American football player
    • 1989 – Cyril Rioli, Australian rules footballer
    • 1991 – Shabazz Napier, American basketball player
    • 1993 – Sayaka Yamamoto, Japanese singer
    • 1995 – Megan Cunningham, Scottish footballer
    • 1995 – Serge Gnabry, German footballer
    • 1995 – Kim Hyo-joo, South Korean golfer
    • 1995 – Federico Mattiello, Italian footballer
    • 1997 – Cengiz Ünder, Turkish footballer

    Deaths on July 14

    • 664 – Eorcenberht, king of Kent
    • 809 – Ōtomo no Otomaro, Japanese general and Shōgun (b. 731)
    • 850 – Wei Fu, chancellor of the Tang Dynasty
    • 937 – Arnulf I, duke of Bavaria
    • 1223 – Philip II, king of France (b. 1165)
    • 1242 – Hōjō Yasutoki, regent of Japan (b. 1183)
    • 1262 – Richard de Clare, 6th Earl of Gloucester, English soldier (b. 1222)
    • 1486 – Margaret of Denmark, daughter of Christian I of Denmark (b. 1456)
    • 1526 – John de Vere, 14th Earl of Oxford, English peer, landowner, and Lord Great Chamberlain of England (b. 1499)
    • 1575 – Richard Taverner, English translator (b. 1505)
    • 1614 – Camillus de Lellis, Italian priest and saint (b. 1550)
    • 1723 – Claude Fleury, French historian and author (b. 1640)
    • 1742 – Richard Bentley, English scholar and theologian (b. 1662)
    • 1766 – František Maxmilián Kaňka, Czech architect (b. 1674)
    • 1774 – James O’Hara, 2nd Baron Tyrawley, Irish field marshal (b. 1682)
    • 1780 – Charles Batteux, French philosopher and academic (b. 1713)
    • 1789 – Jacques de Flesselles, French politician (b. 1721)
    • 1789 – Bernard-René de Launay, French politician (b. 1740)
    • 1790 – Ernst Gideon von Laudon, Austrian field marshal (b. 1717)
    • 1809 – Nicodemus the Hagiorite, Greek monk and saint (b. 1749)
    • 1816 – Francisco de Miranda, Venezuelan general (b. 1750)
    • 1817 – Germaine de Staël, French philosopher and author (b. 1766)
    • 1827 – Augustin-Jean Fresnel, French physicist and engineer, reviver of a wave theory of light, inventor of catadioptric lighthouse lens (b. 1788)
    • 1834 – Edmond-Charles Genêt, French-American diplomat (b. 1763)
    • 1850 – August Neander, German historian and theologian (b. 1789)
    • 1856 – Edward Vernon Utterson, English lawyer and historian (b. 1775)
    • 1876 – John Buckley, English soldier, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1813)
    • 1881 – Billy the Kid, American criminal (b. 1859)
    • 1904 – Paul Kruger, South African politician, 5th President of the South African Republic (b. 1824)
    • 1907 – William Henry Perkin, English chemist and academic (b. 1838)
    • 1910 – Marius Petipa, French dancer and choreographer (b. 1818)
    • 1917 – Octave Lapize, French cyclist (b. 1887)
    • 1918 – Quentin Roosevelt, American lieutenant and pilot (b. 1897)
    • 1936 – Dhan Gopal Mukerji, Indian-American author and scholar (b. 1890)
    • 1937 – Julius Meier, American businessman and politician, 20th Governor of Oregon (b. 1874)
    • 1939 – Alphonse Mucha, Czech painter and illustrator (b. 1860)
    • 1954 – Jacinto Benavente, Spanish author and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1866)
    • 1965 – Adlai Stevenson II, American soldier and politician, 5th United States Ambassador to the United Nations (b. 1900)
    • 1966 – Julie Manet, French painter and art collector (b. 1878)
    • 1967 – Tudor Arghezi, Romanian author and poet (b. 1880)
    • 1968 – Konstantin Paustovsky, Russian author and poet (b. 1892)
    • 1970 – Preston Foster, American actor (b. 1900)
    • 1973 – Ali Kılıç, Turkish captain and politician (b. 1890)
    • 1974 – Carl Andrew Spaatz, American general (b. 1891)
    • 1975 – Madan Mohan, Iraqi-Indian composer and conductor (b. 1924)
    • 1979 – Walter Keppel, 9th Earl of Albemarle, English nobleman and soldier (b. 1882)
    • 1984 – Ernest Tidyman, American author and screenwriter (b. 1928)
    • 1986 – Raymond Loewy, French-American industrial designer (b. 1893)
    • 1989 – Frank Bell, English linguist and academic (b. 1916)
    • 1991 – Constance Stokes, Australian painter (b. 1906)
    • 1993 – Léo Ferré, Monacan singer-songwriter, pianist, and poet (b. 1916)
    • 1994 – César Tovar, Venezuelan baseball player (b. 1940)
    • 1996 – Jeff Krosnoff, American race car driver (b. 1964)
    • 1998 – Richard McDonald, American businessman, co-founded McDonald’s (b. 1909)
    • 2000 – Pepo, Chilean cartoonist (b. 1911)
    • 2000 – William Roscoe Estep, American historian and academic (b. 1920)
    • 2000 – Meredith MacRae, American actress (b. 1944)
    • 2001 – Guy de Lussigny, French painter (b. 1929)
    • 2002 – Joaquín Balaguer, Dominican lawyer and politician, 41st President of the Dominican Republic (b. 1906)
    • 2002 – Fritz Glatz, Austrian race car driver (b. 1943)
    • 2003 – François-Albert Angers, Canadian economist and academic (b. 1909)
    • 2005 – Joe Harnell, American pianist and composer (b. 1924)
    • 2005 – Cicely Saunders, English hospice founder (b. 1918)
    • 2007 – John Ferguson Sr., Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager (b. 1938)
    • 2012 – John Arbuthnott, 16th Viscount of Arbuthnott, Scottish businessman and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Kincardineshire (b. 1924)
    • 2012 – Don Brinkley, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1921)
    • 2012 – Frank R. Burns, American football player and coach (b. 1928)
    • 2012 – King Hill, American football player (b. 1936)
    • 2012 – Sixten Jernberg, Swedish skier (b. 1929)
    • 2012 – Roy Shaw, English businessman and boxer (b. 1936)
    • 2013 – Herbert M. Allison, American lieutenant and businessman (b. 1943)
    • 2013 – Matt Batts, American baseball player and coach (b. 1921)
    • 2013 – Dennis Burkley, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1945)
    • 2013 – Bill Warner, American motorcycle racer (b. 1969)
    • 2013 – Vladimir Mikhailovich Zakharov, Russian dancer and choreographer (b. 1946)
    • 2014 – Alice Coachman, American high jumper (b. 1923)
    • 2014 – Vange Leonel, Brazilian singer-songwriter and activist (b. 1963)
    • 2014 – John Victor Parker, American soldier, lawyer, and judge (b. 1928)
    • 2015 – Willer Bordon, Italian businessman, academic, and politician, Italian Minister of the Environment (b. 1949)
    • 2015 – Wolf Gremm, German director and producer (b. 1942)
    • 2015 – Masao Horiba, Japanese businessman, founded Horiba (b. 1924)
    • 2016 – Helena Benitez, Filipino politician, educator and environmentalist (b. 1914)
    • 2017 – Maryam Mirzakhani, Iranian mathematician (b. 1977)

    Holidays and observances on July 14

    • Christian feast day:
      • Boniface of Savoy
      • Camillus de Lellis (Roman Catholic Church, except in the United States)
      • Deusdedit of Canterbury
      • Francis Solanus
      • Gaspar de Bono
      • Idus of Leinster
      • Kateri Tekakwitha (United States)
      • Samson Occom (Episcopal Church (United States))
      • John Keble (Church of England)
      • Libert of Saint-Trond
      • Ulrich of Zell
      • July 14 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Bastille Day (France and French dependencies)
    • Birthday of Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, an official flag day. (Sweden)
    • Republic Day (Iraq)
    • Hondurans’ Day (Honduras)
    • Black Country Day, (United Kingdom)

  • June 4 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 1411 – King Charles VI granted a monopoly for the ripening of Roquefort cheese to the people of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon as they had been doing for centuries.
    • 1561 – The steeple of St Paul’s, the medieval cathedral of London, is destroyed in a fire caused by lightning and is never rebuilt.
    • 1615 – Siege of Osaka: Forces under Tokugawa Ieyasu take Osaka Castle in Japan.
    • 1745 – Battle of Hohenfriedberg: Frederick the Great’s Prussian army decisively defeated an Austrian army under Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine during the War of the Austrian Succession.
    • 1760 – Great Upheaval: New England planters arrive to claim land in Nova Scotia, Canada, taken from the Acadians.
    • 1783 – The Montgolfier brothers publicly demonstrate their montgolfière (hot air balloon).
    • 1784 – Élisabeth Thible becomes the first woman to fly in an untethered hot air balloon. Her flight covers four kilometres in 45 minutes, and reached 1,500 metres altitude (estimated).
    • 1792 – Captain George Vancouver claims Puget Sound for the Kingdom of Great Britain.
    • 1802 – King Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia abdicates his throne in favor of his brother, Victor Emmanuel.
    • 1812 – Following Louisiana’s admittance as a U.S. state, the Louisiana Territory is renamed the Missouri Territory.
    • 1825 – General Lafayette, a French officer in the American Revolutionary War, speaks at what would become Lafayette Square, Buffalo, during his visit to the United States.
    • 1855 – Major Henry C. Wayne departs New York aboard the USS Supply to procure camels to establish the U.S. Camel Corps.
    • 1859 – Italian Independence wars: In the Battle of Magenta, the French army, under Louis-Napoleon, defeat the Austrian army.
    • 1862 – American Civil War: Confederate troops evacuate Fort Pillow on the Mississippi River, leaving the way clear for Union troops to take Memphis, Tennessee.
    • 1876 – An express train called the Transcontinental Express arrives in San Francisco, via the First Transcontinental Railroad only 83 hours and 39 minutes after leaving New York City.
    • 1878 – Cyprus Convention: The Ottoman Empire cedes Cyprus to the United Kingdom but retains nominal title.
    • 1896 – Henry Ford completes the Ford Quadricycle, his first gasoline-powered automobile, and gives it a successful test run.
    • 1912 – Massachusetts becomes the first state of the United States to set a minimum wage.
    • 1913 – Emily Davison, a suffragette, runs out in front of King George V’s horse at The Derby. She is trampled, never regains consciousness, and dies four days later.
    • 1916 – World War I: Russia opens the Brusilov Offensive with an artillery barrage of Austro-Hungarian lines in Galicia.
    • 1917 – The first Pulitzer Prizes are awarded: Laura E. Richards, Maude H. Elliott, and Florence Hall receive the first Pulitzer for biography (for Julia Ward Howe). Jean Jules Jusserand receives the first Pulitzer for history for his work With Americans of Past and Present Days. Herbert B. Swope receives the first Pulitzer for journalism for his work for the New York World.
    • 1919 – Women’s rights: The U.S. Congress approves the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which guarantees suffrage to women, and sends it to the U.S. states for ratification.
    • 1920 – Hungary loses 71% of its territory and 63% of its population when the Treaty of Trianon is signed in Paris.
    • 1928 – The President of the Republic of China, Zhang Zuolin, is assassinated by Japanese agents.
    • 1932 – Marmaduke Grove and other Chilean military officers lead a coup d’état establishing the short-lived Socialist Republic of Chile.
    • 1939 – The Holocaust: The MS St. Louis, a ship carrying 963 Jewish refugees, is denied permission to land in Florida, in the United States, after already being turned away from Cuba. Forced to return to Europe, more than 200 of its passengers later die in Nazi concentration camps.
    • 1940 – World War II: The Dunkirk evacuation ends: British forces complete evacuation of 338,000 troops from Dunkirk in France. To rally the morale of the country, Winston Churchill delivers, only to the House of Commons, his famous “We shall fight on the beaches” speech.
    • 1942 – World War II: The Battle of Midway begins. The Japanese Admiral Chūichi Nagumo orders a strike on Midway Island by much of the Imperial Japanese Navy.
    • 1943 – A military coup in Argentina ousts Ramón Castillo.
    • 1944 – World War II: A hunter-killer group of the United States Navy captures the German submarine U-505: The first time a U.S. Navy vessel had captured an enemy vessel at sea since the 19th century.
    • 1944 – World War II: The United States Fifth Army captures Rome, although much of the German Fourteenth Army is able to withdraw to the north.
    • 1961 – Cold War: In the Vienna summit, the Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev sparks the Berlin Crisis by threatening to sign a separate peace treaty with East Germany and ending American, British and French access to East Berlin.
    • 1967 – Seventy-two people are killed when a Canadair C-4 Argonaut crashes at Stockport in England.
    • 1970 – Tonga gains independence from the United Kingdom.
    • 1975 – The Governor of California Jerry Brown signs the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act into law, the first law in the U.S. giving farmworkers collective bargaining rights.
    • 1979 – Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings takes power in Ghana after a military coup in which General Fred Akuffo is overthrown.
    • 1983 – Gordon Kahl, who killed two US Marshals in Medina, North Dakota on February 13, is killed in a shootout in Smithville, Arkansas, along with a local sheriff, after a four-month manhunt.
    • 1986 – Jonathan Pollard pleads guilty to espionage for selling top secret United States military intelligence to Israel.
    • 1988 – Three cars on a train carrying hexogen to Kazakhstan explode in Arzamas, Gorky Oblast, USSR, killing 91 and injuring about 1,500.
    • 1989 – Ali Khamenei is elected as the new Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran by the Assembly of Experts after the death and funeral of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
    • 1989 – The Tiananmen Square protests are suppressed in Beijing by the People’s Liberation Army, with between 241 and 1,000 dead (an unofficial estimate).
    • 1989 – Solidarity’s victory in the first (somewhat) free parliamentary elections in post-war Poland sparks off a succession of peaceful anti-communist revolutions in Eastern Europe, leads to the creation of the so-called Contract Sejm and begins the Autumn of Nations.
    • 1989 – Ufa train disaster: A natural gas explosion near Ufa, Russia, kills 575 as two trains passing each other throw sparks near a leaky pipeline.
    • 1996 – The first flight of Ariane 5 explodes after roughly 37 seconds. It was a Cluster mission.
    • 1998 – Terry Nichols is sentenced to life in prison for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing.
    • 2010 – Falcon 9 Flight 1 is the maiden flight of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, which launches from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 40.

    Births on June 4

    • 1394 – Philippa of England, Queen of Denmark, Norway and Sweden (d. 1430)
    • 1489 – Antoine, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1544)
    • 1563 – George Heriot, Scottish goldsmith (d. 1624)
    • 1604 – Claudia de’ Medici, Italian daughter of Christina of Lorraine (d. 1648)
    • 1665 – Zacharie Robutel de La Noue, Canadian captain (d. 1733)
    • 1694 – François Quesnay, French economist and physician (d. 1774)
    • 1704 – Benjamin Huntsman, English inventor and businessman (d. 1776)
    • 1738 – George III of the United Kingdom (d. 1820)
    • 1744 – Patrick Ferguson, Scottish soldier, designed the Ferguson rifle (d. 1780)
    • 1754 – Miguel de Azcuénaga, Argentinian soldier (d. 1833)
    • 1754 – Franz Xaver von Zach, Slovak astronomer and academic (d. 1832)
    • 1787 – Constant Prévost, French geologist and academic (d. 1856)
    • 1801 – James Pennethorne, English architect, designed Victoria Park (d. 1871)
    • 1821 – Apollon Maykov, Russian poet and playwright (d. 1897)
    • 1829 – Jinmaku Kyūgorō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 12th Yokozuna (d. 1903)
    • 1854 – Solko van den Bergh, Dutch target shooter (d. 1916)
    • 1860 – Alexis Lapointe, Canadian runner (d. 1924)
    • 1861 – William Propsting, Australian politician, 20th Premier of Tasmania (d. 1937)
    • 1866 – Miina Sillanpää, Finnish journalist and politician (d. 1952)
    • 1867 – Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, Finnish general and politician, 6th President of Finland (d. 1951)
    • 1873 – Nictzin Dyalhis, American author (d.1942)
    • 1877 – Heinrich Otto Wieland, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1957)
    • 1879 – Mabel Lucie Attwell, English author and illustrator (d. 1964)
    • 1880 – Clara Blandick, American actress (d. 1962)
    • 1885 – Arturo Rawson, Argentinian general and politician, 26th President of Argentina (d. 1952)
    • 1887 – Tom Longboat, Canadian runner and soldier (d. 1949)
    • 1889 – Beno Gutenberg, German-American seismologist (d. 1960)
    • 1903 – Yevgeny Mravinsky, Russian conductor (d. 1988)
    • 1904 – Bhagat Puran Singh, Indian publisher, environmentalist, and philanthropist (d. 1992)
    • 1907 – Jacques Roumain, Haitian journalist and politician (d. 1944)
    • 1907 – Rosalind Russell, American actress (d. 1976)
    • 1907 – Patience Strong, English poet and journalist (d. 1990)
    • 1910 – Christopher Cockerell, English engineer, invented the hovercraft (d. 1999)
    • 1912 – Robert Jacobsen, Danish sculptor and painter (d. 1993)
    • 1915 – Walter Hadlee, New Zealand cricketer (d. 2006)
    • 1915 – Modibo Keïta, Malian educator and politician, 1st President of Mali (d. 1977)
    • 1915 – Nils Kihlberg, Swedish actor, singer, and director (d. 1965)
    • 1916 – Robert F. Furchgott, American biochemist and pharmacologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2009)
    • 1916 – Fernand Leduc, Canadian painter (d. 2014)
    • 1917 – Robert Merrill, American actor and singer (d. 2004)
    • 1921 – Milan Komar, Slovenian-Argentinian philosopher and academic (d. 2006)
    • 1921 – Bobby Wanzer, American basketball player and coach (d. 2016)
    • 1923 – Elizabeth Jolley, English-Australian author and academic (d. 2007)
    • 1923 – Masutatsu Ōyama, Japanese karateka (d. 1994)
    • 1924 – Tofilau Eti Alesana, Samoan politician, 5th Prime Minister of Samoa (d. 1999)
    • 1924 – Dennis Weaver, American actor and director (d. 2006)
    • 1925 – Antonio Puchades, Spanish footballer (d. 2013)
    • 1926 – Robert Earl Hughes, American who was the heaviest human being recorded in the history of the world during his lifetime (d. 1958)
    • 1926 – Ain Kaalep, Estonian poet, playwright, and critic (d. 2020)
    • 1926 – Judith Malina, German-American actress and director, co-founded The Living Theatre (d. 2015)
    • 1927 – Henning Carlsen, Danish director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
    • 1927 – Geoffrey Palmer, English actor
    • 1928 – Ruth Westheimer, German-American therapist and author
    • 1929 – Karolos Papoulias, Greek lawyer and politician, 5th President of Greece
    • 1930 – George Chesworth, English air marshal and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Moray (d. 2017)
    • 1930 – Morgana King, American singer and actress (d. 2018)
    • 1930 – Viktor Tikhonov, Russian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2014)
    • 1931 – Gustav Nossal, Austrian-Australian biologist and academic
    • 1932 – John Drew Barrymore, American actor (d. 2004)
    • 1932 – Oliver Nelson, American saxophonist and composer (d. 1975)
    • 1932 – Maurice Shadbolt, New Zealand author and playwright (d. 2004)
    • 1934 – Monica Dacon, Vincentian educator and politician, 6th Governor-General of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
    • 1934 – Daphne Sheldrick, Kenyan-British conservationist and author (d. 2018)
    • 1935 – Colette Boky, Canadian soprano and actress
    • 1935 – Berhanu Dinka, Ethiopian economist and diplomat (d. 2013)
    • 1936 – Vince Camuto, American fashion designer and businessman, co-founded Nine West (d. 2015)
    • 1936 – Bruce Dern, American actor
    • 1937 – Freddy Fender, American singer and guitarist (d. 2006)
    • 1937 – Mortimer Zuckerman, Canadian-American businessman and publisher, founded Boston Properties
    • 1938 – John Harvard, Canadian journalist and politician, 23rd Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba (d. 2016)
    • 1938 – Art Mahaffey, American baseball player
    • 1939 – Jeremy Browne, 11th Marquess of Sligo, Anglo-Irish peer (d. 2014)
    • 1939 – Denis de Belleval, Canadian civil servant and politician
    • 1939 – Henri Pachard, American director and producer (d. 2008)
    • 1939 – George Reid, Scottish journalist and politician, 2nd Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament
    • 1940 – Ludwig Schwarz, Slovak-Austrian bishop
    • 1941 – Kenneth G. Ross, Australian playwright and screenwriter
    • 1942 – Louis Reichardt, American mountaineer
    • 1942 – Bill Rowe, Canadian lawyer and politician
    • 1943 – John Burgess, Australian radio and television host
    • 1943 – Sandra Haynie, American golfer
    • 1943 – Tom Jaine, English author
    • 1944 – Roger Ball, Scottish saxophonist and songwriter
    • 1944 – Michelle Phillips, American singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1945 – Anthony Braxton, American saxophonist, clarinet player, and composer
    • 1945 – Daniel Topolski, English rower and coach (d. 2015)
    • 1945 – Gordon Waller, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2009)
    • 1947 – Viktor Klima, Austrian businessman and politician, 25th Chancellor of Austria
    • 1948 – Bob Champion, English jockey
    • 1948 – Sandra Post, Canadian golfer and sportscaster
    • 1948 – Jürgen Sparwasser, German footballer and manager
    • 1949 – Gabriel Arcand, Canadian actor
    • 1949 – Mark B. Cohen, American lawyer and politician
    • 1950 – Raymond Dumais, Canadian bishop (d. 2012)
    • 1951 – Leigh Kennedy, American author
    • 1951 – Bronisław Malinowski, Polish runner (d. 1981)
    • 1951 – Melanie Phillips, English journalist and author
    • 1951 – Wendy Pini, American author and illustrator
    • 1951 – David Yip, English actor and playwright
    • 1952 – Bronisław Komorowski, Polish historian and politician, 5th President of Poland
    • 1952 – Dambudzo Marechera, Zimbabwean author and poet (d. 1987)
    • 1953 – Linda Lingle, American journalist and politician, 6th Governor of Hawaii
    • 1953 – Jimmy McCulloch, Scottish musician and songwriter (d. 1979)
    • 1953 – Susumu Ojima, Japanese businessman, founded Huser
    • 1953 – Paul Samson, English guitarist and producer (d. 2002)
    • 1954 – Raphael Ravenscroft, English saxophonist and composer (d. 2014)
    • 1954 – Kazuhiro Yamaji, Japanese actor and voice actor
    • 1955 – Val McDermid, Scottish author
    • 1955 – Mary Testa, American singer and actress
    • 1956 – Keith David, American actor
    • 1956 – John Hockenberry, American journalist and author
    • 1956 – Terry Kennedy, American baseball player and manager
    • 1956 – Joyce Sidman, American author and poet
    • 1957 – Neil McNab, Scottish footballer
    • 1959 – Juan Camacho, Bolivian runner
    • 1959 – Georgios Voulgarakis, Greek politician, 21st Greek Minister for Culture
    • 1960 – Miloš Đelmaš, Serbian footballer and manager
    • 1960 – Kristine Kathryn Rusch, American author
    • 1960 – Paul Taylor, American guitarist and keyboard player
    • 1960 – Bradley Walsh, English television presenter, comedian, singer and former footballer
    • 1961 – El DeBarge, American singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1961 – Ferenc Gyurcsány, Hungarian businessman and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Hungary
    • 1962 – Krzysztof Hołowczyc, Polish race car driver
    • 1962 – Zenon Jaskuła, Polish cyclist
    • 1962 – John P. Kee, American singer-songwriter and pastor
    • 1962 – Junius Ho, Hong Kong solicitor and politician
    • 1963 – Sean Fitzpatrick, New Zealand rugby union player
    • 1963 – Jim Lachey, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1963 – Xavier McDaniel, American basketball player and coach
    • 1964 – Sean Pertwee, English actor
    • 1964 – Kōji Yamamura, Japanese animator, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1965 – Mick Doohan, Australian motorcycle racer
    • 1965 – Andrea Jaeger, American tennis player and preacher
    • 1966 – Cecilia Bartoli, Italian soprano and actress
    • 1966 – Vladimir Voevodsky, Russian mathematician and academic (d. 2017)
    • 1966 – Bill Wiggin, English politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Wales
    • 1967 – Robert S. Kimbrough, American colonel and astronaut
    • 1968 – Roger Lim, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1968 – Niurka Montalvo, Cuban-Spanish long jumper
    • 1968 – Al B. Sure!, American R&B singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
    • 1968 – Scott Wolf, American actor
    • 1969 – Horatio Sanz, Chilean-American actor and comedian
    • 1970 – Deborah Compagnoni, Italian skier
    • 1970 – Richie Hawtin, English-Canadian DJ and producer
    • 1970 – Dave Pybus, English bass player and songwriter
    • 1970 – Izabella Scorupco, Polish-Swedish actress and model
    • 1971 – Joseph Kabila, Congolese soldier and politician, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
    • 1971 – Mike Lee, American lawyer and politician
    • 1971 – Shoji Meguro, Japanese director and composer
    • 1971 – Karl Martin Sinijärv, Estonian journalist and poet
    • 1971 – Noah Wyle, American actor and producer
    • 1972 – Derian Hatcher, American ice hockey defenseman
    • 1972 – Rob Huebel, American comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1973 – Mikey Whipwreck, American wrestler and trainer
    • 1974 – Jacob Sahaya Kumar Aruni, Indian chef (d. 2012)
    • 1974 – Darin Erstad, American baseball player and coach
    • 1974 – Andrew Gwynne, English lawyer and politician
    • 1974 – Janette Husárová, Slovak tennis player
    • 1974 – Buddy Wakefield, American poet and author
    • 1975 – Russell Brand, English comedian and actor
    • 1975 – Henry Burris, American football player
    • 1975 – Angelina Jolie, American actress, filmmaker, humanitarian, and activist
    • 1975 – Dinanath Ramnarine, Trinidadian cricketer
    • 1975 – Alex Wharf, English cricketer
    • 1976 – Kasey Chambers, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1976 – Alexei Navalny, Russian lawyer and politician
    • 1976 – Nenad Zimonjić, Serbian tennis player
    • 1977 – Dionisis Chiotis, Greek footballer
    • 1977 – Alex Manninger, Austrian footballer
    • 1977 – Roman Miroshnichenko, Ukrainian guitarist and composer
    • 1977 – Roland G. Fryer Jr., American economist and professor
    • 1978 – Robin Lord Taylor, American actor
    • 1979 – Naohiro Takahara, Japanese footballer
    • 1979 – Daniel Vickerman, South African-Australian rugby player (d. 2017)
    • 1980 – François Beauchemin, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1981 – Jennifer Carroll, Canadian swimmer
    • 1981 – Giourkas Seitaridis, Greek footballer
    • 1981 – Natalia Vodopyanova, Russian basketball player
    • 1982 – Abel Kirui, Kenyan runner
    • 1982 – Ronnie Prude, American-Canadian football player
    • 1983 – Romaric, Ivorian footballer
    • 1983 – Emmanuel Eboué, Ivorian footballer
    • 1983 – Olha Saladuha, Ukrainian triple jumper
    • 1984 – Enrico Rossi Chauvenet, Italian footballer
    • 1984 – Rainie Yang, Taiwanese actress
    • 1984 – Ian White, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1985 – Leon Botha, South African painter and DJ (d. 2011)
    • 1985 – Anna-Lena Grönefeld, German tennis player
    • 1985 – Evan Lysacek, American figure skater
    • 1985 – Lukas Podolski, German footballer
    • 1985 – Oddvar Reiakvam, Norwegian politician
    • 1987 – Luisa Zissman, English businesswoman
    • 1987 – Mollie King, English singer-songwriter and model
    • 1988 – Matt Bartkowski, American ice hockey defenseman
    • 1988 – Kimberley Busteed, Australian model
    • 1989 – Federico Erba, Italian footballer
    • 1989 – Paweł Fajdek, Polish hammer thrower
    • 1990 – Zac Farro, American singer and drummer
    • 1990 – Evan Spiegel, American Internet entrepreneur
    • 1991 – Lorenzo Insigne, Italian footballer
    • 1991 – Matt McIlwrick, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1991 – Ben Stokes, New Zealand-English cricketer
    • 1993 – Jonathan Huberdeau, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1995 – Shiori Tamai, Japanese singer
    • 1999 – Kim So-hyun, South Korean actress
    • 2004 – Mackenzie Ziegler, American dancer, singer, actress and model

    Deaths on June 4

    • 756 – Shōmu, Japanese emperor (b. 701)
    • 863 – Charles, archbishop of Mainz
    • 895 – Li Xi, chancellor of the Tang Dynasty
    • 946 – Guaimar II (Gybbosus), Lombard prince
    • 956 – Muhammad III of Shirvan, Muslim ruler
    • 1039 – Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 990)
    • 1102 – Władysław I Herman, Polish nobleman (b. c. 1044)
    • 1134 – Magnus I of Sweden (b. 1106)
    • 1135 – Emperor Huizong of Song (b. 1082)
    • 1206 – Adela of Champagne (b. 1140)
    • 1246 – Isabella of Angoulême (b. 1188)
    • 1257 – Przemysł I of Greater Poland (b. 1221)
    • 1394 – Mary de Bohun, wife of Henry IV of England (b.c. 1368)
    • 1453 – Andronikos Palaiologos Kantakouzenos, Byzantine commander
    • 1463 – Flavio Biondo, Italian historian and author (b. 1392)
    • 1472 – Nezahualcoyotl, Aztec poet (b. 1402)
    • 1585 – Muretus, French philosopher and author (b. 1526)
    • 1608 – Francis Caracciolo, Italian Catholic priest (b. 1563)
    • 1622 – Péter Révay, Hungarian soldier and historian (b. 1568)
    • 1647 – Canonicus, Grand Chief Sachem of the Narragansett (b. 1565)
    • 1663 – William Juxon, English archbishop and academic (b. 1582)
    • 1798 – Giacomo Casanova, Italian adventurer and author (b. 1725)
    • 1801 – Frederick Muhlenberg, American minister and politician, 1st Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1750)
    • 1809 – Nicolai Abildgaard, Danish neoclassical and history painter, sculptor and architect (b. 1743)
    • 1830 – Antonio José de Sucre, Venezuelan general and politician, 2nd President of Bolivia (b. 1795)
    • 1872 – Johan Rudolph Thorbecke, Dutch historian, jurist, and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (b. 1798)
    • 1875 – Eduard Mörike, German pastor and poet (b. 1804)
    • 1876 – Abdülaziz of the Ottoman Empire, 32nd Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1830)
    • 1922 – W. H. R. Rivers, English anthropologist, neurologist, ethnologist, and psychiatrist (b. 1864)
    • 1925 – Margaret Murray Washington, American Academic (b. 1865)
    • 1926 – Fred Spofforth, Australian-English cricketer and coach (b. 1853)
    • 1928 – Zhang Zuolin, Chinese warlord (b. 1873)
    • 1929 – Harry Frazee, American director, producer, and agent (b. 1881)
    • 1931 – Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca, Sharif and Emir of Mecca, King of the Hejaz (b. 1853/54)
    • 1933 – Ahmet Haşim, Turkish poet and author (b. 1884)
    • 1939 – Tommy Ladnier, American trumpet player (b. 1900)
    • 1941 – Wilhelm II, German Emperor (b. 1859)
    • 1942 – Reinhard Heydrich, German SS officer and politician (b. 1904)
    • 1951 – Serge Koussevitzky, Russian-American bassist, composer, and conductor (b. 1874)
    • 1956 – Katherine MacDonald, American actress and producer (b. 1881)
    • 1962 – Clem McCarthy, American sportscaster (b. 1882)
    • 1967 – Linda Eenpalu, Estonian lawyer and politician (b. 1890)
    • 1968 – Dorothy Gish, American actress (b. 1898)
    • 1970 – Sonny Tufts, American actor (b. 1911)
    • 1971 – György Lukács, Hungarian historian and philosopher (b. 1885)
    • 1973 – Maurice René Fréchet, French mathematician and academic (b. 1878)
    • 1973 – Murry Wilson, American songwriter, producer, and manager (b. 1917)
    • 1981 – Leslie Averill, New Zealand doctor and soldier (b. 1897)
    • 1989 – Dik Browne, American cartoonist (b. 1917)
    • 1990 – Stiv Bators, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1949)
    • 1992 – Carl Stotz, American businessman, founded Little League Baseball (b. 1910)
    • 1993 – Bernard Evslin, American writer (b. 1922)
    • 1994 – Derek Leckenby, English musician (b. 1943)
    • 1997 – Ronnie Lane, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1946)
    • 1998 – Josephine Hutchinson, American actress (b. 1903)
    • 2002 – Fernando Belaúnde Terry, Peruvian architect and politician, 42nd President of Peru (b. 1912)
    • 2004 – Steve Lacy, American saxophonist and composer (b. 1934)
    • 2004 – Nino Manfredi, Italian actor (b. 1921)
    • 2007 – Clete Boyer, American baseball player and manager (b. 1937)
    • 2007 – Bill France, Jr., American businessman (b. 1933)
    • 2007 – Craig L. Thomas, American captain and politician (b. 1933)
    • 2010 – John Wooden, American basketball player and coach (b. 1910)
    • 2011 – Juan Francisco Luis, Virgin Islander sergeant and politician, 23rd Governor of the United States Virgin Islands (b. 1940)
    • 2011 – Andreas P. Nielsen, Danish author and composer (b. 1953)
    • 2012 – Peter Beaven, New Zealand architect, designed the Lyttelton Road Tunnel Administration Building (b. 1925)
    • 2012 – Pedro Borbón, Dominican-American baseball player (b. 1946)
    • 2012 – Rodolfo Quezada Toruño, Guatemalan cardinal (b. 1932)
    • 2012 – Herb Reed, American violinist (b. 1929)
    • 2013 – Walt Arfons, American race car driver (b. 1916)
    • 2013 – Joey Covington, American drummer (b. 1945)
    • 2013 – Hermann Gunnarsson, Icelandic footballer, handball player, and sportscaster (b. 1946)
    • 2013 – Will Wynn, American football player (b. 1949)
    • 2014 – George Ho, American-Hong Kong businessman (b. 1919)
    • 2014 – Nathan Shamuyarira, Zimbabwean journalist and politician, Zimbabwean Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1928)
    • 2014 – Sydney Templeman, Baron Templeman, English lawyer and judge (b. 1920)
    • 2014 – Don Zimmer, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1931)
    • 2015 – Marguerite Patten, English economist and author (b. 1915)
    • 2015 – Leonid Plyushch, Ukrainian mathematician and academic (b. 1938)
    • 2015 – Jabe Thomas, American race car driver (b. 1930)
    • 2015 – Anne Warburton, British academic and diplomat, British Ambassador to Denmark (b. 1927)
    • 2016 – Carmen Pereira, Bissau-Guinean politician (b. 1937)
    • 2017 – Juan Goytisolo, Spanish essayist, poet and novelist (b. 1931)

    Holidays and observances on June 4

    • Birthday of Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim & Flag Day celebration of the Finnish Defence Forces (Finland)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Filippo Smaldone
      • Francis Caracciolo
      • Optatus
      • Petroc of Cornwall
      • Quirinus of Sescia
      • Saturnina
      • June 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Emancipation Day or Independence Day, commemorates the abolition of serfdom in Tonga by King George Tupou in 1862, and the independence of Tonga from the British protectorate in 1970. (Tonga)
    • Flag Day (Estonia)
    • International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression (International)
    • National Unity Day (Hungary)
    • Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989 Memorial Day (International)

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

    • AD 62 – Earthquake in Pompeii, Italy.
    • 756 – An Lushan, leader of a revolt against the Tang Dynasty, declares himself emperor and establishes the state of Yan.
    • 789 – Idris I reaches Volubilis and founds the Idrisid dynasty, ceding Morocco from the Abbasid caliphate and founding the first Moroccan state.
    • 1576 – Henry of Navarre abjures Catholicism at Tours and rejoins the Protestant forces in the French Wars of Religion.
    • 1597 – A group of early Japanese Christians are killed by the new government of Japan for being seen as a threat to Japanese society.
    • 1649 – Charles Stuart, the son of King Charles I, is declared King Charles II of England and Scotland by the Scottish Parliament.
    • 1778 – South Carolina becomes the second state to ratify the Articles of Confederation.
    • 1782 – Spanish defeat British forces and capture Menorca.
    • 1783 – In Calabria, a sequence of strong earthquakes begins.
    • 1807 – HMS Blenheim and HMS Java disappear off the coast of Rodrigues.
    • 1810 – Peninsular War: Siege of Cádiz begins.
    • 1818 – Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte ascends to the thrones of Sweden and Norway.
    • 1849 – University of Wisconsin–Madison’s first class meets at Madison Female Academy.
    • 1852 – The New Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia, one of the largest and oldest museums in the world, opens to the public.
    • 1859 – Alexandru Ioan Cuza, Prince of Moldavia, is also elected as the prince of Wallachia, joining the two principalities as a personal union called the United Principalities, an autonomous region within the Ottoman Empire, which ushered the birth of the modern Romanian state.
    • 1862 – Moldavia and Wallachia formally unite to create the Romanian United Principalities.
    • 1869 – The largest alluvial gold nugget in history, called the “Welcome Stranger”, is found in Moliagul, Victoria, Australia.
    • 1885 – King Leopold II of Belgium establishes the Congo as a personal possession.
    • 1905 – In Mexico, the General Hospital of Mexico is inaugurated, started with four basic specialties.
    • 1907 – Belgian chemist Leo Baekeland announces the creation of Bakelite, the world’s first synthetic plastic.
    • 1913 – Greek military aviators, Michael Moutoussis and Aristeidis Moraitinis perform the first naval air mission in history, with a Farman MF.7 hydroplane.
    • 1917 – The current constitution of Mexico is adopted, establishing a federal republic with powers separated into independent executive, legislative, and judicial branches.
    • 1917 – The Congress of the United States passes the Immigration Act of 1917 over President Woodrow Wilson’s veto.
    • 1918 – Stephen W. Thompson shoots down a German airplane; this is the first aerial victory by the U.S. military.
    • 1918 – SS Tuscania is torpedoed off the coast of Ireland; it is the first ship carrying American troops to Europe to be torpedoed and sunk.
    • 1919 – Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and D. W. Griffith launch United Artists.
    • 1924 – The Royal Greenwich Observatory begins broadcasting the hourly time signals known as the Greenwich Time Signal.
    • 1933 – Mutiny on Royal Netherlands Navy warship HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën off the coast of Sumatra, Dutch East Indies.
    • 1939 – Generalísimo Francisco Franco becomes the 68th “Caudillo de España“, or Leader of Spain.
    • 1941 – World War II: Allied forces begin the Battle of Keren to capture Keren, Eritrea.
    • 1945 – World War II: General Douglas MacArthur returns to Manila.
    • 1958 – Gamal Abdel Nasser is nominated to be the first president of the United Arab Republic.
    • 1958 – A hydrogen bomb known as the Tybee Bomb is lost by the US Air Force off the coast of Savannah, Georgia, never to be recovered.
    • 1962 – French President Charles de Gaulle calls for Algeria to be granted independence.
    • 1963 – The European Court of Justice’s ruling in Van Gend en Loos v Nederlandse Administratie der Belastingen establishes the principle of direct effect, one of the most important, if not the most important, decisions in the development of European Union law.
    • 1971 – Astronauts land on the moon in the Apollo 14 mission.
    • 1975 – Riots break in Lima, Peru after the police forces go on strike the day before. The uprising (locally known as the Limazo) is bloodily suppressed by the military dictatorship.
    • 1985 – Ugo Vetere, then the mayor of Rome, and Chedli Klibi, then the mayor of Carthage meet in Tunis to sign a treaty of friendship officially ending the Third Punic War which lasted 2,131 years.
    • 1988 – Manuel Noriega is indicted on drug smuggling and money laundering charges.
    • 1994 – Byron De La Beckwith is convicted of the 1963 murder of civil rights leader Medgar Evers.
    • 1994 – Markale massacres, more than 60 people are killed and some 200 wounded as a mortar shell explodes in a downtown marketplace in Sarajevo.
    • 1997 – The so-called Big Three banks in Switzerland announce the creation of a $71 million fund to aid Holocaust survivors and their families.
    • 2000 – Russian forces massacre at least 60 civilians in the Novye Aldi suburb of Grozny, Chechnya.
    • 2004 – Rebels from the Revolutionary Artibonite Resistance Front capture the city of Gonaïves, starting the 2004 Haiti rebellion.
    • 2008 – A major tornado outbreak across the Southern United States kills 57.
    • 2020 – United States President Donald Trump is acquitted by the United States Senate in his impeachment trial.

    Births on February 5

    • 976 – Sanjō, emperor of Japan (d. 1017)
    • 1321 – John II, marquess of Montferrat (d. 1372)
    • 1438 – Philip II, duke of Savoy (d. 1497)
    • 1505 – Aegidius Tschudi, Swiss statesman and historian (d. 1572)
    • 1519 – René of Châlon, prince of Orange (d. 1544)
    • 1525 – Juraj Drašković, Croatian Catholic cardinal (d. 1587)
    • 1533 – Andreas Dudith, Croatian-Hungarian nobleman and diplomat (d. 1589)
    • 1534 – Giovanni de’ Bardi, Italian soldier, composer, and critic (d. 1612)
    • 1589 – Esteban Manuel de Villegas, Spanish poet and educator (d. 1669)
    • 1594 – Biagio Marini, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1663)
    • 1605 – Bernard of Corleone, Italian saint (d. 1667)
    • 1608 – Gaspar Schott, German mathematician and physicist (d. 1666)
    • 1626 – Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sévigné, French author (d. 1696)
    • 1650 – Anne Jules de Noailles, French general (d. 1708)
    • 1703 – Gilbert Tennent, Irish-American minister (d. 1764)
    • 1723 – John Witherspoon, Scottish-American minister and academic (d. 1794)
    • 1725 – James Otis, Jr., American lawyer and politician (d. 1783)
    • 1748 – Christian Gottlob Neefe, German composer and conductor (d. 1798)
    • 1788 – Robert Peel, English lieutenant and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1850)
    • 1795 – Wilhelm Karl Ritter von Haidinger, Austrian mineralogist, geologist, and physicist (d. 1871)
    • 1804 – Johan Ludvig Runeberg, Finnish poet and hymn-writer (d. 1877)
    • 1808 – Carl Spitzweg, German painter and poet (d. 1885)
    • 1810 – Ole Bull, Norwegian violinist and composer (d. 1880)
    • 1827 – Peter Lalor, Irish-Australian activist and politician (d. 1889)
    • 1837 – Dwight L. Moody, American evangelist and publisher, founded Moody Church, Moody Bible Institute, and Moody Publishers (d. 1899)
    • 1840 – John Boyd Dunlop, Scottish businessman, co-founded Dunlop Rubber (d. 1921)
    • 1840 – Hiram Maxim, American engineer, invented the Maxim gun (d. 1916)
    • 1847 – Eduard Magnus Jakobson, Estonian missionary and engraver (d. 1903)
    • 1848 – Joris-Karl Huysmans, French author and critic (d. 1907)
    • 1848 – Ignacio Carrera Pinto, Chilean lieutenant (d. 1882)
    • 1852 – Terauchi Masatake, Japanese field marshal and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1919)
    • 1866 – Domhnall Ua Buachalla, Irish politician, 3rd and last Governor-General of the Irish Free State (d. 1963)
    • 1870 – Charles Edmund Brock, British painter and book illustrator (d. 1938)
    • 1876 – Ernie McLea, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1931)
    • 1878 – André Citroën, French engineer and businessman, founded Citroën (d. 1935)
    • 1880 – Gabriel Voisin, French pilot and engineer (d. 1973)
    • 1889 – Patsy Hendren, English cricketer and footballer (d. 1962)
    • 1889 – Ernest Tyldesley, English cricketer (d. 1962)
    • 1889 – Recep Peker, Turkish officer and politician (d. 1950)
    • 1891 – Renato Petronio, Italian rower (d. 1976)
    • 1892 – Elizabeth Ryan, American tennis player (d. 1979)
    • 1897 – Dirk Stikker, Dutch businessman and politician, 3rd Secretary General of NATO (d. 1979)
    • 1900 – Adlai Stevenson II, American soldier, politician, and diplomat, 5th United States Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 1965)
    • 1903 – Koto Matsudaira, Japanese diplomat, ambassador to the United Nations (d. 1994)
    • 1903 – Joan Whitney Payson, American businesswoman and philanthropist (d. 1975)
    • 1906 – John Carradine, American actor (d. 1988)
    • 1907 – Birgit Dalland, Norwegian politician (d. 2007)
    • 1907 – Pierre Pflimlin, French politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 2000)
    • 1908 – Marie Baron, Dutch swimmer and diver (d. 1948)
    • 1908 – Peg Entwistle, Welsh-American actress (d. 1932)
    • 1908 – Daisy and Violet Hilton, English conjoined twins (d. 1969)
    • 1908 – Eugen Weidmann, German criminal (d. 1939)
    • 1909 – Grażyna Bacewicz, Polish violinist and composer (d. 1969)
    • 1910 – Charles Philippe Leblond, French-Canadian biologist and academic (d. 2007)
    • 1910 – Francisco Varallo, Argentinian footballer (d. 2010)
    • 1911 – Jussi Björling, Swedish tenor (d. 1960)
    • 1914 – William S. Burroughs, American novelist, short story writer, and essayist (d. 1997)
    • 1914 – Alan Lloyd Hodgkin, English physiologist, biophysicist, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998)
    • 1915 – Robert Hofstadter, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1990)
    • 1917 – Edward J. Mortola, American academic and president of Pace University (d. 2002)
    • 1917 – Isuzu Yamada, Japanese actress (d. 2012)
    • 1919 – Red Buttons, American actor (d. 2006)
    • 1919 – Tim Holt, American actor (d. 1973)
    • 1919 – Andreas Papandreou, Greek economist and politician, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1996)
    • 1921 – Ken Adam, German-born English production designer and art director (d. 2016)
    • 1923 – Claude King, American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013)
    • 1923 – James E. Bowman, American physician and academic (d. 2011)
    • 1924 – Duraisamy Simon Lourdusamy, Indian cardinal (d. 2014)
    • 1927 – Robert Allen, American pianist and composer (d. 2000)
    • 1927 – Jacob Veldhuyzen van Zanten, Dutch captain and pilot (d. 1977)
    • 1928 – Tage Danielsson, Swedish author, actor, and director (d. 1985)
    • 1928 – Andrew Greeley, American priest, sociologist, and author (d. 2013)
    • 1928 – P. J. Vatikiotis, Israeli-American historian and political scientist (d. 1997)
    • 1929 – Hal Blaine, American session drummer (d. 2019)
    • 1929 – Luc Ferrari, French pianist and composer (d. 2005)
    • 1929 – Fred Sinowatz, Austrian politician, 19th Chancellor of Austria (d. 2008)
    • 1932 – Cesare Maldini, Italian footballer and manager (d. 2016)
    • 1933 – Jörn Donner, Finnish director and screenwriter (d. 2020)
    • 1933 – B. S. Johnson, English author, poet, and critic (d. 1973)
    • 1934 – Hank Aaron, American baseball player
    • 1934 – Don Cherry, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and sportscaster
    • 1935 – Alex Harvey, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1982)
    • 1935 – Johannes Geldenhuys, South African military commander (d. 2018)
    • 1936 – K. S. Nissar Ahmed, Indian poet and academic
    • 1937 – Stuart Damon, American actor and singer
    • 1937 – Larry Hillman, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1937 – Gaston Roelants, Belgian runner
    • 1937 – Alar Toomre, Estonian-American astronomer and mathematician
    • 1937 – Wang Xuan, Chinese computer scientist and academic (d. 2006)
    • 1938 – Rafael Nieto Navia, Colombian lawyer, jurist, and diplomat
    • 1939 – Brian Luckhurst, English cricketer (d. 2005)
    • 1940 – H. R. Giger, Swiss painter, sculptor, and set designer (d. 2014)
    • 1940 – Luke Graham, American wrestler (d. 2006)
    • 1941 – Stephen J. Cannell, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2010)
    • 1941 – Henson Cargill, American country music singer (d. 2007)
    • 1941 – David Selby, American actor and playwright
    • 1941 – Barrett Strong, American soul singer-songwriter and pianist
    • 1941 – Kaspar Villiger, Swiss engineer and politician, 85th President of the Swiss Confederation
    • 1941 – Cory Wells, American pop-rock singer (d. 2015)
    • 1942 – Roger Staubach, American football player, sportscaster, and businessman
    • 1943 – Nolan Bushnell, American engineer and businessman, founded Atari, Inc.
    • 1943 – Michael Mann, American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1943 – Craig Morton, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1943 – Dušan Uhrin, Czech and Slovak footballer and manager
    • 1944 – J. R. Cobb, American guitarist and songwriter
    • 1944 – Henfil, Brazilian journalist, author, and illustrator (d. 1988)
    • 1944 – Al Kooper, American singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1944 – Tamanoumi Masahiro, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 51st Yokozuna (d. 1971)
    • 1945 – Douglas Hogg, English lawyer and politician, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
    • 1946 – Amnon Dankner, Israeli journalist and author (d. 2013)
    • 1946 – Charlotte Rampling, English actress
    • 1947 – Mary L. Cleave, American engineer and astronaut
    • 1947 – Clemente Mastella, Italian politician, Italian Minister of Justice
    • 1947 – Darrell Waltrip, American race car driver and sportscaster
    • 1948 – Sven-Göran Eriksson, Swedish footballer and manager
    • 1948 – Christopher Guest, American actor and director
    • 1948 – Barbara Hershey, American actress
    • 1948 – Errol Morris, American director and producer
    • 1948 – Tom Wilkinson, English actor
    • 1949 – Kurt Beck, German politician
    • 1949 – Yvon Vallières, Canadian educator and politician
    • 1950 – Jonathan Freeman, American actor and singer
    • 1950 – Rafael Puente, Mexican footballer
    • 1951 – Nikolay Merkushkin, Mordovian engineer and politician, 1st Head of the Republic of Mordovia
    • 1952 – Daniel Balavoine, French singer-songwriter and producer (d. 1986)
    • 1952 – Vladimir Moskovkin, Ukrainian-Russian geographer, economist, and academic
    • 1953 – Freddie Aguilar, Filipino singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1953 – John Beilein, American basketball player and coach
    • 1953 – Gustavo Benítez, Paraguayan footballer and manager
    • 1954 – Cliff Martinez, American drummer and songwriter
    • 1954 – Frank Walker, Australian journalist and author
    • 1955 – Mike Heath, American baseball player and manager
    • 1956 – Vinnie Colaiuta, American drummer
    • 1956 – Héctor Rebaque, Mexican race car driver
    • 1956 – David Wiesner, American author and illustrator
    • 1956 – Mao Daichi, Japanese actress
    • 1957 – Jüri Tamm, Estonian hammer thrower and politician
    • 1959 – Jennifer Granholm, Canadian-American lawyer and politician, 47th Governor of Michigan
    • 1960 – Aris Christofellis, Greek soprano and musicologist
    • 1960 – Bonnie Crombie, Canadian businesswoman and politician, 6th Mayor of Mississauga
    • 1960 – Micky Hazard, English footballer, central midfielder
    • 1961 – Savvas Kofidis, Greek footballer and manager
    • 1961 – Tim Meadows, American actor and screenwriter
    • 1962 – Jennifer Jason Leigh, American actress, screenwriter, producer and director
    • 1963 – Steven Shainberg, American film director and producer
    • 1964 – Laura Linney, American actress
    • 1964 – Ha Seungmoo, Korean Poet, Pastor, Historical theologian
    • 1964 – Duff McKagan, American singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer
    • 1965 – Tarik Benhabiles, Algerian-French tennis player and coach
    • 1965 – Gheorghe Hagi, Romanian footballer and manager
    • 1965 – Keith Moseley, American bass player and songwriter
    • 1965 – Quique Sánchez Flores, Spanish footballer and manager
    • 1966 – José María Olazábal, Spanish golfer
    • 1966 – Rok Petrovič, Slovenian skier (d. 1993)
    • 1967 – Chris Parnell, American actor and comedian
    • 1968 – Roberto Alomar, Puerto Rican-American baseball player and coach
    • 1968 – Marcus Grönholm, Finnish race car driver
    • 1969 – Bobby Brown, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor
    • 1969 – Michael Sheen, Welsh actor and director
    • 1969 – Derek Stephen Prince, American voice actor
    • 1970 – Jean-Marc Jaumin, Belgian basketball player and coach
    • 1970 – Darren Lehmann, Australian cricketer and coach
    • 1971 – Michel Breistroff, French ice hockey player (d. 1996)
    • 1971 – Sara Evans, American country singer
    • 1972 – Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark
    • 1972 – Brad Fittler, Australian rugby league player, coach, and sportscaster
    • 1973 – Richard Matvichuk, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1973 – Trijntje Oosterhuis, Dutch singer-songwriter
    • 1973 – Luke Ricketson, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
    • 1974 – Michael Maguire, Australian rugby league player and coach
    • 1975 – Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Dutch footballer and manager
    • 1976 – John Aloisi, Australian footballer and manager
    • 1976 – Abhishek Bachchan, Indian actor
    • 1977 – Ben Ainslie, English sailor
    • 1977 – Adam Dykes, Australian rugby league player
    • 1977 – Adam Everett, American baseball player and coach
    • 1978 – Brian Russell, American football player
    • 1978 – Samuel Sánchez, Spanish cyclist
    • 1979 – Nate Holzapfel, American entrepreneur and television personality
    • 1980 – Brad Fitzpatrick, American programmer, created LiveJournal
    • 1980 – Jo Swinson, Scottish politician
    • 1981 – Mia Hansen-Løve, French director and screenwriter
    • 1981 – Loukas Vyntra, Czech-Greek footballer
    • 1982 – Laura del Rio, Spanish footballer
    • 1982 – Kevin Everett, American football player
    • 1982 – Tomáš Kopecký, Slovak ice hockey player
    • 1982 – Rodrigo Palacio, Argentinian footballer
    • 1983 – Anja Hammerseng-Edin, Norwegian handball player
    • 1984 – Carlos Tevez, Argentinian footballer
    • 1985 – Lloyd Johansson, Australian rugby player
    • 1985 – Laurence Maroney, American football player
    • 1985 – Paul Vandervort, American actor, film producer, and former model
    • 1985 – Cristiano Ronaldo, Portuguese footballer
    • 1986 – Vedran Ćorluka, Croatian footballer, centre back
    • 1986 – Marcos Díaz, Argentinian footballer
    • 1986 – Kevin Gates, American rapper, singer, and entrepreneur
    • 1986 – Sekope Kepu, Australian rugby player
    • 1986 – Billy Sharp, English footballer
    • 1986 – Reed Sorenson, American race car driver
    • 1986 – Carlos Villanueva, Chilean footballer
    • 1987 – Darren Criss, American actor, singer, and entrepreneur
    • 1987 – Curtis Jerrells, American basketball player
    • 1987 – Alex Kuznetsov, Ukrainian-American tennis player
    • 1987 – Linus Omark, Swedish ice hockey player
    • 1987 – Donald Sanford, American-Israeli sprinter
    • 1988 – Karin Ontiveros, Mexican model
    • 1989 – Marina Melnikova, Russian tennis player
    • 1990 – Dmitry Andreikin, Russian chess player
    • 1990 – Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Indian cricketer
    • 1990 – Jordan Rhodes, Scottish footballer
    • 1991 – Nabil Bahoui, Swedish footballer
    • 1991 – Gerald Tusha, Albanian footballer
    • 1992 – Stefan de Vrij, Dutch footballer
    • 1992 – Neymar, Brazilian footballer
    • 1993 – Leilani Latu, Australian rugby league player
    • 1993 – Ty Rattie, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1995 – Adnan Januzaj, Belgian-Albanian footballer
    • 1996 – Stina Blackstenius, Swedish footballer
    • 1997 – Patrick Roberts, English footballer
    • 2016 – Jigme Namgyel Wangchuck, Bhutanese prince

    Deaths on February 5

    • 523 – Avitus of Vienne, Gallo-Roman bishop
    • 806 – Kanmu, emperor of Japan (b. 736)
    • 994 – William IV, duke of Aquitaine (b. 937)
    • 1015 – Adelaide, German abbess and saint
    • 1036 – Alfred Aetheling, Anglo-Saxon prince
    • 1146 – Zafadola, Arab emir of Zaragoza
    • 1578 – Giovanni Battista Moroni, Italian painter (b. 1520)
    • 1661 – Shunzhi, Chinese emperor of the Qing Dynasty (b. 1638)
    • 1705 – Philipp Spener, German theologian and author (b. 1635)
    • 1751 – Henri François d’Aguesseau, French jurist and politician, Chancellor of France (b. 1668)
    • 1754 – Nicolaas Kruik, Dutch astronomer and cartographer (b. 1678)
    • 1766 – Count Leopold Joseph von Daun, Austrian field marshal (b. 1705)
    • 1775 – Eusebius Amort, German theologian and academic (b. 1692)
    • 1790 – William Cullen, Scottish physician and chemist (b. 1710)
    • 1807 – Pasquale Paoli, Corsican commander and politician (b. 1725)
    • 1818 – Charles XIII, king of Sweden (b. 1748)
    • 1881 – Thomas Carlyle, Scottish philosopher, historian, and academic (b. 1795)
    • 1882 – Adolfo Rivadeneyra, Spanish orientalist and diplomat (b. 1841)
    • 1892 – Emilie Flygare-Carlén, Swedish author (b. 1807)
    • 1915 – Ross Barnes, American baseball player and manager (b. 1850)
    • 1917 – Jaber II Al-Sabah, Kuwaiti ruler (b. 1860)
    • 1922 – Christiaan de Wet, South African general and politician, State President of the Orange Free State (b. 1854)
    • 1922 – Slavoljub Eduard Penkala, Croatian engineer, invented the mechanical pencil (b. 1871)
    • 1927 – Inayat Khan, Indian mystic and educator (b. 1882)
    • 1931 – Athanasios Eftaxias, Greek politician, 118th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1849)
    • 1933 – Josiah Thomas, English-Australian miner and politician (b. 1863)
    • 1937 – Lou Andreas-Salomé, Russian-German psychoanalyst and author (b. 1861)
    • 1938 – Hans Litten, German lawyer and jurist (b. 1903)
    • 1941 – Banjo Paterson, Australian journalist, author, and poet (b. 1864)
    • 1941 – Otto Strandman, Estonian lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Estonia (b. 1875)
    • 1946 – George Arliss, English actor and playwright (b. 1868)
    • 1948 – Johannes Blaskowitz, German general (b. 1883)
    • 1952 – Adela Verne, English pianist and composer (b. 1877)
    • 1954 – Hossein Sami’i, Iranian politician, diplomat, writer and poet (b. 1876)
    • 1955 – Victor Houteff, Bulgarian religious reformer and author (b. 1885)
    • 1957 – Sami Ibrahim Haddad, Lebanese surgeon and author (b. 1890)
    • 1962 – Jacques Ibert, French-Swiss composer (b. 1890)
    • 1967 – Leon Leonwood Bean, American businessman, founded L.L.Bean (b. 1872)
    • 1969 – Thelma Ritter, American actress (b. 1902)
    • 1970 – Rudy York, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1913)
    • 1971 – Lew “Sneaky Pete” Robinson, drag racer (b. 1933)
    • 1972 – Marianne Moore, American poet, author, critic, and translator (b. 1887)
    • 1976 – Rudy Pompilli, American saxophonist (Bill Haley & His Comets) (b. 1926)
    • 1977 – Oskar Klein, Swedish physicist and academic (b. 1894)
    • 1981 – Ella T. Grasso, American politician, 83rd Governor of Connecticut (b. 1919)
    • 1982 – Neil Aggett, Kenyan-South African physician and union leader (b. 1953)
    • 1983 – Margaret Oakley Dayhoff, American chemist and academic (b. 1925)
    • 1987 – William Collier, Jr., American actor and producer (b. 1902)
    • 1989 – Joe Raposo, American pianist and composer (b. 1937)
    • 1991 – Dean Jagger, American actor (b. 1903)
    • 1992 – Miguel Rolando Covian, Argentinian-Brazilian physiologist and academic (b. 1913)
    • 1993 – Seán Flanagan, Irish footballer and politician, 7th Irish Minister for Health (b. 1922)
    • 1993 – Joseph L. Mankiewicz, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1909)
    • 1993 – William Pène du Bois, American author and illustrator (b. 1916)
    • 1995 – Doug McClure, American actor (b. 1935)
    • 1997 – Pamela Harriman, English-American diplomat, 58th United States Ambassador to France (b. 1920)
    • 1997 – René Huyghe, French historian and author (b. 1906)
    • 1998 – Tim Kelly, American guitarist (b. 1963)
    • 1999 – Wassily Leontief, Russian-American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1906)
    • 2000 – Claude Autant-Lara, French director and screenwriter (b. 1901)
    • 2004 – John Hench, American animator (b. 1908)
    • 2005 – Gnassingbé Eyadéma, Togolese general and politician, President of Togo (b. 1937)
    • 2005 – Michalina Wisłocka, Polish gynecologist and sexologist (b. 1921)
    • 2006 – Norma Candal, Puerto Rican-American actress (b. 1927)
    • 2007 – Leo T. McCarthy, New Zealand-American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 43rd Lieutenant Governor of California (b. 1930)
    • 2007 – Alfred Worm, Austrian journalist, author, and academic (b. 1945)
    • 2008 – Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Indian guru, founded Transcendental Meditation (b. 1918)
    • 2010 – Brendan Burke, Canadian ice hockey player and activist (b. 1988)
    • 2010 – Harry Schwarz, South African lawyer, anti-apartheid leader, and diplomat, 13th South Africa Ambassador to United States (b. 1924)
    • 2011 – Brian Jacques, English author and radio host (b. 1939)
    • 2011 – Peggy Rea, American actress and casting director (b. 1921)
    • 2012 – Sam Coppola, American actor (b. 1932)
    • 2012 – Al De Lory, American keyboard player, conductor, and producer (b. 1930)
    • 2012 – John Turner Sargent, Sr., American publisher (b. 1924)
    • 2012 – Jo Zwaan, Dutch sprinter (b. 1922)
    • 2013 – Reinaldo Gargano, Uruguayan journalist and politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs for Uruguay (b. 1934)
    • 2013 – Egil Hovland, Norwegian composer and conductor (b. 1924)
    • 2013 – Tom McGuigan, New Zealand soldier and politician, 23rd New Zealand Minister of Health (b. 1921)
    • 2014 – Robert A. Dahl, American political scientist and academic (b. 1915)
    • 2015 – K. N. Choksy, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician, Minister of Finance of Sri Lanka (b. 1933)
    • 2015 – Marisa Del Frate, Italian actress and singer (b. 1931)
    • 2015 – Val Logsdon Fitch, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1923)
    • 2015 – Herman Rosenblat, Polish-American author (b. 1929)
    • 2016 – Ciriaco Cañete, Filipino martial artist (b. 1919)
    • 2020 – Kirk Douglas, American actor (b. 1916)

    Holidays and observances on February 5

    • Christian feast day:
      • Adelaide of Vilich
      • Agatha of Sicily
      • Avitus of Vienne
      • Bertulf (Bertoul) of Renty
      • Ingenuinus (Jenewein)
      • Roger Williams, Anne Hutchinson (Episcopal Church (USA))
      • Twenty-six Martyrs of Japan (in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Anglican Church in Japan)
      • February 5 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Constitution Day (Mexico)
    • Crown Princess Mary’s birthday (Denmark)
    • Kashmir Solidarity Day (Pakistan)
    • Liberation Day (San Marino)
    • Runeberg’s Birthday (Finland)
    • Unity Day (Burundi)

  • January 6 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 1066 – Following the death of Edward the Confessor on the previous day, the Witan meets to confirm Harold Godwinson as the new King of England; Harold is crowned the same day, sparking a succession crisis that will eventually lead to the Norman conquest of England.
    • 1205 – Philip of Swabia undergoes a second coronation as King of the Romans.
    • 1322 – Stephen Uroš III is crowned King of Serbia, having defeated his half-brother Stefan Konstantin in battle. His son is crowned “young king” in the same ceremony.
    • 1355 – Charles IV of Bohemia is crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy as King of Italy in Milan.
    • 1449 – Constantine XI is crowned Byzantine Emperor at Mystras.
    • 1492 – The Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella enter Granada at the conclusion of the Granada War.
    • 1536 – The first European school of higher learning in the Americas, Colegio de Santa Cruz de Tlatelolco, is founded by Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza and Bishop Juan de Zumárraga in Mexico City.
    • 1540 – King Henry VIII of England marries Anne of Cleves.
    • 1579 – The Union of Arras unites the southern Netherlands under the Duke of Parma (Ottavio Farnese), governor in the name of King Philip II of Spain.
    • 1641 – Arauco War: The first Parliament of Quillín is celebrated, putting a temporary hold on hostilities between Mapuches and Spanish in Chile.
    • 1661 – English Restoration: The Fifth Monarchists unsuccessfully attempt to seize control of London, England. The revolt is suppressed after a few days.
    • 1721 – The Committee of Inquiry on the South Sea Bubble publishes its findings, revealing details of fraud among company directors and corrupt politicians.
    • 1781 – In the Battle of Jersey, the British defeat the last attempt by France to invade Jersey in the Channel Islands.
    • 1809 – Combined British, Portuguese and colonial Brazilian forces begin the Invasion of Cayenne during the Napoleonic Wars.
    • 1838 – Alfred Vail and colleagues demonstrate a telegraph system using dots and dashes (this is the forerunner of Morse code).
    • 1839 – The Night of the Big Wind, the most damaging storm in 300 years, sweeps across Ireland, damaging or destroying more than 20% of the houses in Dublin.
    • 1847 – Samuel Colt obtains his first contract for the sale of revolver pistols to the United States government.
    • 1870 – The inauguration of the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria.
    • 1893 – The Washington National Cathedral is chartered by Congress. The charter is signed by President Benjamin Harrison.
    • 1900 – Second Boer War: Having already besieged the fortress at Ladysmith, Boer forces attack it, but are driven back by British defenders.
    • 1907 – Maria Montessori opens her first school and daycare center for working-class children in Rome, Italy.
    • 1912 – New Mexico is admitted to the Union as the 47th U.S. state.
    • 1912 – German geophysicist Alfred Wegener first presents his theory of continental drift.
    • 1929 – King Alexander of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes suspends his country’s constitution (the January 6th Dictatorship).
    • 1929 – Mother Teresa arrives by sea in Calcutta, India, to begin her work among India’s poorest and sick people.
    • 1930 – The first diesel-powered automobile trip is completed, from Indianapolis, Indiana, to New York, New York.
    • 1941 – United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivers his Four Freedoms speech in the State of the Union address.
    • 1946 – The first general election ever in Vietnam is held.
    • 1947 – Pan American Airlines becomes the first commercial airline to offer a round-the-world ticket.
    • 1950 – The United Kingdom recognizes the People’s Republic of China. The Republic of China severs diplomatic relations with the UK in response.
    • 1951 – Korean War: Beginning of the Ganghwa massacre, in the course of which an estimated 200–1,300 South Korean communist sympathizers are slaughtered.
    • 1960 – National Airlines Flight 2511 is destroyed in mid-air by a bomb, while en route from New York City to Miami.
    • 1960 – The Associations Law comes into force in Iraq, allowing registration of political parties
    • 1967 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and ARVN troops launch “Operation Deckhouse Five” in the Mekong River delta.
    • 1974 – In response to the 1973 oil crisis, daylight saving time commences nearly four months early in the United States.
    • 1989 – Satwant Singh and Kehar Singh are sentenced to death for conspiracy in the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi; the two men are executed the same day.
    • 1992 – President of Georgia Zviad Gamsakhurdia flees the country as a result of the military coup.
    • 1993 – Indian Border Security Force units kill 55 Kashmiri civilians in Sopore, Jammu and Kashmir, in revenge after militants ambushed a BSF patrol.
    • 1994 – American figure skater Nancy Kerrigan is attacked and injured by an assailant hired by her rival Tonya Harding’s ex-husband during the U.S. Figure Skating Championships that they were both taking part in.
    • 1995 – A chemical fire in an apartment complex in Manila, Philippines, leads to the discovery of plans for Project Bojinka, a mass-terrorist attack.
    • 2005 – American Civil Rights Movement: Edgar Ray Killen is indicted for the 1964 murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner.
    • 2005 – A train collision in Graniteville, South Carolina, United States, releases about 60 tons of chlorine gas.
    • 2012 – Twenty-six people are killed and 63 wounded when a suicide bomber blows himself up at a police station in Damascus.
    • 2017 – Five people are killed and six others injured in a mass shooting at Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport in Broward County, Florida.
    • 2019 – Forty people are killed in a gold mine collapse in northern Afghanistan.

    Births on January 6

    • 1256 – Gertrude the Great, German mystic (d. 1302)
    • 1367 – Richard II of England (d. 1400)
    • 1384 – Edmund Holland, 4th Earl of Kent (d. 1408)
    • 1412 – Joan of Arc, French martyr and saint (d. 1431)
    • 1486 – Martin Agricola, German composer and theorist (d. 1556)
    • 1488 – Helius Eobanus Hessus, German poet (d. 1540)
    • 1493 – Olaus Petri, Swedish clergyman (d. 1552)
    • 1500 – John of Ávila, Spanish mystic and saint (d. 1569)
    • 1525 – Caspar Peucer, German physician and scholar (d. 1602)
    • 1538 – Jane Dormer, Duchess of Feria (d. 1612)
    • 1561 – Thomas Fincke, Danish mathematician and physicist (d. 1656)
    • 1587 – Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares (d. 1645)
    • 1595 – Claude Favre de Vaugelas, French educator and courtier (d. 1650)
    • 1617 – Christoffer Gabel, Danish politician (d. 1673)
    • 1632 – Anne Hamilton, 3rd Duchess of Hamilton, Scottish peeress (d. 1716)
    • 1655 – Eleonor Magdalene of Neuburg (d. 1720)
    • 1673 – James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos, English academic and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Radnorshire (d. 1744)
    • 1695 – Giuseppe Sammartini, Italian oboe player and composer (d. 1750)
    • 1702 – José de Nebra, Spanish composer (d. 1768)
    • 1714 – Percivall Pott, English surgeon (d. 1788)
    • 1745 – Jacques-Etienne Montgolfier, French co-inventor of the hot air balloon (d. 1799)
    • 1766 – José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia, Paraguayan lawyer and politician, first dictator of Paraguay (d. 1840)
    • 1785 – Andreas Moustoxydis, Greek historian and philologist (d. 1860)
    • 1793 – James Madison Porter, American lawyer and politician, 18th United States Secretary of War (d. 1862)
    • 1795 – Anselme Payen, French chemist and academic (d. 1871)
    • 1799 – Jedediah Smith, American hunter, explorer, and author (d. 1831)
    • 1803 – Henri Herz, Austrian pianist and composer (d. 1888)
    • 1807 – Joseph Petzval, German-Hungarian mathematician and physicist (d. 1891)
    • 1808 – Joseph Pitty Couthouy, American conchologist and paleontologist (d. 1864)
    • 1811 – Charles Sumner, American lawyer and politician (d. 1874)
    • 1822 – Heinrich Schliemann, German archaeologist and businessman (d. 1890)
    • 1832 – Gustave Doré, French painter and sculptor (d. 1883)
    • 1838 – Max Bruch, German composer and conductor (d. 1920)
    • 1842 – Clarence King, American geologist, mountaineer, and critic (d. 1901)
    • 1856 – Giuseppe Martucci, Italian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1909)
    • 1857 – Hugh Mahon, Irish-Australian publisher and politician, 10th Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs (d. 1931)
    • 1857 – William Russell, American lawyer and politician, 37th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1896)
    • 1859 – Samuel Alexander, Australian-English philosopher and academic (d. 1938)
    • 1861 – Victor Horta, Belgian architect, designed Hôtel van Eetvelde (d. 1947)
    • 1861 – George Lloyd, English-Canadian bishop and theologian (d. 1940)
    • 1870 – Gustav Bauer, German journalist and politician, 11th Chancellor of Germany (d. 1944)
    • 1872 – Alexander Scriabin, Russian pianist and composer (d. 1915)
    • 1874 – Fred Niblo, American actor, director, and producer (d. 1948)
    • 1878 – Adeline Genée, Danish-born British ballerina (d. 1970)
    • 1878 – Carl Sandburg, American poet and historian (d. 1967)
    • 1880 – Tom Mix, American cowboy and actor (d. 1940)
    • 1881 – Ion Minulescu, Romanian author, poet, and critic (d. 1944)
    • 1882 – Fan S. Noli, Albanian-American bishop and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Albania (d. 1965)
    • 1882 – Sam Rayburn, American lawyer and politician, 48th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 1961)
    • 1883 – Kahlil Gibran, Lebanese-American poet, painter, and philosopher (d. 1931)
    • 1898 – James Fitzmaurice, Irish soldier and pilot (d. 1965)
    • 1899 – Heinrich Nordhoff, German engineer (d. 1968)
    • 1900 – Maria of Yugoslavia, Queen of Yugoslavia from 1922 to 1934 (d. 1961)
    • 1903 – Maurice Abravanel, Greek-American pianist and conductor (d. 1993)
    • 1910 – Wright Morris, American author and photographer (d. 1998)
    • 1910 – Yiannis Papaioannou, Greek composer and educator (d. 1989)
    • 1912 – Jacques Ellul, French philosopher and critic (d. 1994)
    • 1912 – Danny Thomas, American actor, comedian, producer and humanitarian (d. 1991)
    • 1913 – Edward Gierek, Polish lawyer and politician (d. 2001)
    • 1913 – Loretta Young, American actress (d. 2000)
    • 1914 – Godfrey Edward Arnold, Austrian-American physician and academic (d. 1989)
    • 1915 – Don Edwards, American soldier, lawyer, and politician (d. 2015)
    • 1915 – John C. Lilly, American psychoanalyst, physician, and philosopher (d. 2001)
    • 1915 – Alan Watts, English-American philosopher and author (d. 1973)
    • 1916 – Park Mok-wol, influential Korean poet and academic (d. 1978)
    • 1917 – Koo Chen-fu, Taiwanese businessman and diplomat (d. 2005)
    • 1920 – John Maynard Smith, English biologist and geneticist (d. 2004)
    • 1920 – Sun Myung Moon, Korean religious leader; founder of the Unification Church (d. 2012)
    • 1920 – Early Wynn, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster (d. 1999)
    • 1921 – Marianne Grunberg-Manago, Russian-French biochemist and academic (d. 2013)
    • 1921 – Cary Middlecoff, American golfer and sportscaster (d. 1998)
    • 1923 – Vladimir Kazantsev, Russian runner (d. 2007)
    • 1923 – Norman Kirk, New Zealand engineer and politician, 29th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1974)
    • 1923 – Jacobo Timerman, Argentinian journalist and author (d. 1999)
    • 1924 – Kim Dae-jung, South Korean soldier and politician, 8th President of South Korea, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2009)
    • 1924 – Earl Scruggs, American banjo player (d. 2012)
    • 1925 – John DeLorean, American engineer and businessman, founded the DeLorean Motor Company (d. 2005)
    • 1926 – Ralph Branca, American baseball player (d. 2016)
    • 1926 – Mickey Hargitay, Hungarian-American actor and bodybuilder (d. 2006)
    • 1927 – Jesse Leonard Steinfeld, American physician and academic, 11th Surgeon General of the United States (d. 2014)
    • 1928 – Capucine, French actress and model (d. 1990)
    • 1931 – E. L. Doctorow, American novelist, playwright, and short story writer (d. 2015)
    • 1931 – Graeme Hole, Australian cricketer (d. 1990)
    • 1931 – Dickie Moore, Canadian ice hockey player and businessman (d. 2015)
    • 1932 – Stuart A. Rice, American chemist and academic
    • 1933 – Oleg Grigoryevich Makarov, Russian engineer and astronaut (d. 2003)
    • 1934 – Sylvia Syms, English actress
    • 1935 – Nino Tempo, American musician, singer, and actor
    • 1936 – Darlene Hard, American tennis player
    • 1936 – Julio María Sanguinetti, Uruguayan journalist, lawyer and politician, 29th President of Uruguay
    • 1937 – Ludvík Daněk, Czech discus thrower (d. 1998)
    • 1937 – Lou Holtz, American football player, coach, and sportscaster
    • 1937 – Doris Troy, American singer-songwriter (d. 2004)
    • 1938 – Adriano Celentano, Italian singer-songwriter, actor, and director
    • 1938 – Adrienne Clarke, Australian botanist and academic
    • 1938 – Larisa Shepitko, Soviet film director, screenwriter, and actress (d. 1979)
    • 1939 – Valeriy Lobanovskyi, Ukrainian footballer and manager (d. 2002)
    • 1939 – Murray Rose, English-Australian swimmer and sportscaster (d. 2012)
    • 1940 – Van McCoy, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 1979)
    • 1943 – Terry Venables, English footballer and manager
    • 1944 – Bonnie Franklin, American actress and singer (d. 2013)
    • 1944 – Alan Stivell, French singer-songwriter and harp player
    • 1944 – Rolf M. Zinkernagel, Swiss immunologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1945 – Barry John, Welsh rugby player
    • 1946 – Syd Barrett, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2006)
    • 1947 – Sandy Denny, English folk-rock singer-songwriter (d 1978)
    • 1948 – Guy Gardner, American colonel and astronaut
    • 1948 – Dayle Hadlee, New Zealand cricketer
    • 1949 – Mike Boit, Kenyan runner and academic (estimated date)
    • 1949 – Carolyn D. Wright, American poet and academic (d. 2016)
    • 1950 – Louis Freeh, American lawyer and jurist, 10th Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
    • 1951 – Don Gullett, American baseball player and coach
    • 1951 – Kim Wilson, American singer-songwriter and harmonica player
    • 1953 – Malcolm Young, Scottish-Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2017)
    • 1954 – Anthony Minghella, English director and screenwriter (d. 2008)
    • 1955 – Rowan Atkinson, English actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1956 – Elizabeth Strout, American novelist and short story writer
    • 1956 – Justin Welby, English archbishop
    • 1956 – Clive Woodward, English rugby player and coach
    • 1957 – Michael Foale, British-American astrophysicist and astronaut
    • 1957 – Nancy Lopez, American golfer and sportscaster
    • 1959 – Kapil Dev, Indian cricketer
    • 1960 – Paul Azinger, American golfer and sportscaster
    • 1960 – Kari Jalonen, Finnish ice hockey player and coach
    • 1960 – Nigella Lawson, English chef and author
    • 1960 – Howie Long, American football player and sports commentator
    • 1961 – Georges Jobé, Belgian motocross racer (d. 2012)
    • 1961 – Peter Whittle, British politician, author, journalist and broadcaster
    • 1963 – Norm Charlton, American baseball player and coach
    • 1963 – Paul Kipkoech, Kenyan runner (d. 1995)
    • 1964 – Jacqueline Moore, American wrestler and manager
    • 1965 – Bjørn Lomborg, Danish author and academic
    • 1966 – Sharon Cuneta, Filipino singer and actress
    • 1966 – Attilio Lombardo, Italian footballer and manager
    • 1967 – A. R. Rahman, Indian composer, singer-songwriter, music producer, musician and philanthropist
    • 1968 – John Singleton, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2019)
    • 1969 – Norman Reedus, American actor and model
    • 1970 – Julie Chen, American television journalist, presenter, and producer
    • 1970 – Radoslav Látal, Czech footballer and manager
    • 1973 – Vasso Karantasiou, Greek beach volleyball player
    • 1976 – Richard Zedník, Slovak ice hockey player
    • 1981 – Asante Samuel, American football player
    • 1982 – Eddie Redmayne, English actor and model
    • 1984 – Kate McKinnon, American actress and comedian
    • 1986 – Paul McShane, Irish footballer
    • 1986 – Petter Northug, Norwegian skier
    • 1989 – Andy Carroll, English footballer
    • 1991 – Will Barton, American basketball player
    • 1994 – Lim Jae-beom, South Korean singer and actor (Got7)

    Deaths on January 6

    • 786 – Abo of Tiflis, Iraqi martyr and saint (b. 756)
    • 1088 – Berengar of Tours, French scholar and theologian (b. 999)
    • 1148 – Gilbert de Clare, 1st Earl of Pembroke (b. 1100)
    • 1233 – Matilda of Chester, Countess of Huntingdon, Anglo-Norman noblewoman (b. 1171)
    • 1275 – Raymond of Penyafort, Catalan archbishop and saint (b. 1175)
    • 1350 – Giovanni I di Murta, second doge of the Republic of Genoa
    • 1358 – Gertrude van der Oosten, Beguine mystic
    • 1406 – Roger Walden, English bishop
    • 1448 – Christopher of Bavaria, King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden (b. 1418)
    • 1477 – Jean VIII, Count of Vendôme
    • 1481 – Ahmed Khan bin Küchük, Mongolian ruler
    • 1537 – Alessandro de’ Medici, Duke of Florence (b. 1510)
    • 1537 – Baldassare Peruzzi, Italian architect and painter, designed the Palazzo Massimo alle Colonne (b. 1481)
    • 1616 – Philip Henslowe, English impresario (b. 1550)
    • 1646 – Elias Holl, German architect, designed the Augsburg Town Hall (b. 1573)
    • 1689 – Seth Ward, English bishop, mathematician, and astronomer (b. 1617)
    • 1693 – Mehmed IV, Ottoman sultan (b. 1642)
    • 1711 – Philips van Almonde, Dutch admiral (b. 1646)
    • 1718 – Giovanni Vincenzo Gravina, Italian lawyer and jurist (b. 1664)
    • 1725 – Chikamatsu Monzaemon, Japanese actor and playwright (b. 1653)
    • 1731 – Étienne François Geoffroy, French physician and chemist (b. 1672)
    • 1734 – John Dennis, English playwright and critic (b. 1657)
    • 1813 – Louis Baraguey d’Hilliers, French general (b. 1764)
    • 1829 – Josef Dobrovský, Czech philologist and historian (b. 1753)
    • 1831 – Rodolphe Kreutzer, French violinist, composer, and conductor (b. 1766)
    • 1840 – Frances Burney, English author and playwright (b. 1752)
    • 1852 – Louis Braille, French educator, invented Braille (b. 1809)
    • 1855 – Giacomo Beltrami, Italian jurist, explorer, and author (b. 1779)
    • 1882 – Richard Henry Dana, Jr., American lawyer and politician (b. 1815)
    • 1884 – Gregor Mendel, Czech geneticist and botanist (b. 1822)
    • 1885 – Bharatendu Harishchandra, Indian author, poet, and playwright (b. 1850)
    • 1896 – Thomas W. Knox, American journalist and author (b. 1835)
    • 1902 – Lars Hertervig, Norwegian painter (b. 1830)
    • 1913 – Frederick Hitch, English soldier, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1856)
    • 1917 – Hendrick Peter Godfried Quack, Dutch economist and historian (b. 1834)
    • 1918 – Georg Cantor, German mathematician and philosopher (b. 1845)
    • 1919 – Theodore Roosevelt, American colonel and politician, 26th President of the United States (b. 1858)
    • 1921 – Devil Anse Hatfield, American guerrilla leader (b. 1839)
    • 1922 – Jakob Rosanes, Ukrainian-German mathematician and chess player (b. 1842)
    • 1928 – Alvin Kraenzlein, American hurdler and long jumper (b. 1876)
    • 1933 – Vladimir de Pachmann, Ukrainian-German pianist (b. 1848)
    • 1934 – Herbert Chapman, English footballer and manager (b. 1878)
    • 1937 – André Bessette, Canadian saint (b. 1845)
    • 1939 – Gustavs Zemgals, Latvian journalist and politician, 2nd President of Latvia (b. 1871)
    • 1941 – Charley O’Leary, American baseball player and coach (b. 1882)
    • 1942 – Emma Calvé, French soprano and actress (b. 1858)
    • 1942 – Henri de Baillet-Latour, Belgian businessman, 3rd President of the International Olympic Committee (b. 1876)
    • 1944 – Jacques Rosenbaum, Estonian-German architect (b. 1878)
    • 1944 – Ida Tarbell, American journalist, reformer, and educator (b. 1857)
    • 1945 – Vladimir Vernadsky, Russian mineralogist and chemist (b. 1863)
    • 1949 – Victor Fleming, American director, producer, and cinematographer (b. 1883)
    • 1966 – Jean Lurçat, French painter (b. 1892)
    • 1972 – Chen Yi, Chinese general and politician, 2nd Foreign Minister of the People’s Republic of China (b. 1901)
    • 1974 – David Alfaro Siqueiros, Mexican painter (b. 1896)
    • 1978 – Burt Munro, New Zealand motorcycle racer (b. 1899)
    • 1981 – A. J. Cronin, Scottish physician and author (b. 1896)
    • 1984 – Ernest Laszlo, Hungarian-American cinematographer (b. 1898)
    • 1990 – Ian Charleson, Scottish-English actor (b. 1949)
    • 1990 – Pavel Cherenkov, Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
    • 1993 – Dizzy Gillespie, American singer-songwriter and trumpet player (b. 1917)
    • 1993 – Rudolf Nureyev, Russian-French dancer and choreographer (b. 1938)
    • 1995 – Joe Slovo, Lithuanian-South African lawyer and politician (b. 1926)
    • 1999 – Michel Petrucciani, French-American pianist (b. 1962)2000 – Don Martin, American cartoonist (b. 1931)
    • 2004 – Pierre Charles, Dominican educator and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Dominica (b. 1954)
    • 2004 – Francesco Scavullo, American photographer (b. 1921)
    • 2005 – Eileen Desmond, Irish civil servant and politician, 12th Irish Minister for Health (b. 1932)
    • 2005 – Lois Hole, Canadian academic and politician, 15th Lieutenant Governor of Alberta (b. 1929)
    • 2005 – Tarquinio Provini, Italian motorcycle racer (b. 1933)
    • 2005 – Louis Robichaud, Canadian lawyer and politician, 25th Premier of New Brunswick (b. 1925)
    • 2006 – Lou Rawls, American singer-songwriter (b. 1933)
    • 2007 – Roberta Wohlstetter, American political scientist, historian, and academic (b. 1912)
    • 2008 – Shmuel Berenbaum, Rabbi of Mir Yeshiva (Brooklyn)
    • 2009 – Ron Asheton, American guitarist, songwriter, and actor (probable; b. 1948)
    • 2011 – Uche Okafor, Nigerian footballer, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1967)
    • 2012 – Bob Holness, South African-English radio and television host (b. 1928)
    • 2012 – Spike Pola, Australian footballer and soldier (b. 1914)
    • 2013 – Qazi Hussain Ahmad, Pakistani scholar and politician (b. 1938)
    • 2013 – Ruth Carter Stevenson, American art collector, founded the Amon Carter Museum of American Art (b. 1923)
    • 2013 – Gerard Helders, Dutch jurist and politician (b. 1905)
    • 2013 – Cho Sung-min, South Korean baseball player (b. 1973)
    • 2014 – Marina Ginestà, French Resistance soldier and photographer (b. 1919)
    • 2014 – Nelson Ned, Brazilian singer-songwriter (b. 1947)
    • 2014 – Julian Rotter, American psychologist and academic (b. 1916)
    • 2015 – Arthur Jackson, American lieutenant and target shooter (b. 1918)
    • 2015 – Basil John Mason, English meteorologist and academic (b. 1923)
    • 2016 – Pat Harrington, Jr., American actor and screenwriter (b. 1929)
    • 2016 – Florence King, American journalist and author (b. 1936)
    • 2016 – Christy O’Connor Jnr, Irish golfer and architect (b. 1948)
    • 2016 – Silvana Pampanini, Italian model, actress, and director, Miss Italy 1946 (b. 1925)
    • 2017 – Octavio Lepage, Venezuelan politician, President of Venezuela (b. 1923)
    • 2017 – Om Puri, Indian actor (b. 1950)
    • 2019 – José Ramón Fernández, Cuban revolution leader (b. 1923)
    • 2019 – Lamin Sanneh, Gambian-born American professor (b. 1942)
    • 2019 – W. Morgan Sheppard, British actor (b. 1932)
    • 2019 – Paul Streeten, Austrian-born British economics professor (b. 1917)

    Holidays and observances on January 6

    • Armed Forces Day (Iraq)
    • Christian Feast day:
      • André Bessette (Roman Catholic Church)
      • January 6 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Epiphany or Three Kings’ Day (Western Christianity) or Theophany (Eastern Christianity), and its related observances:
      • Befana Day (Italy)
      • Christmas (Armenian Apostolic Church)
      • Christmas Eve (Russia)
      • Christmas Eve (Ukraine)
      • Christmas Eve (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
      • Christmas Eve (North Macedonia)
      • Little Christmas (Ireland)
      • Þrettándinn (Iceland)
      • Three Wise Men Day
    • Pathet Lao Day (Laos)
  • |

    Constituents and Structure Solved MCQs (Set-II) | General Science & Ability

    Click HERE for Q. No.1-50.

    51) Planets are always small compared with stars because otherwise ______.
    ( a) the rotation of the planets would cause them to disintegrate
    (b) the great mass of the planets would cause them to be pulled into their parent star
    (c) the great mass of the planets would prevent them from being held in orbit and they would escape
    (d) the planets would be stars themselves
    Answer: (d)

    52) The least likely reason why planetary systems have not been directly observed around stars other than the sun is that __
    (a) Planets are small
    (b) Planets shine by reflected light
    (c) Planetary systems are rare
    (d) Other stars are far away
    Answer: (c)

    53) Which of the following is the correct ordering of the inner planets according to their proximity to the sun? (CSS 2012)
    (a) Jupiter, Saturn , Uranus , Neptune
    (b) Phobos, Deimes , Europe , Tias
    (c) Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars
    (d) None of these
    Answer: (c)

    54) The term ‘Blue Shift’ is used to indicate: (CSS 2009)
    (a) Doppler effect in which an object appears bluer when it is moving towards the observer or observer is moving towards the object.

    (b) Turning a star from white to blue
    (c) In future sun would become blue
    (d) Black hole was blue at its start
    (e) None of these
    Answer: (a)

    55) Which planet of our solar system is called as Morning star? (CSS 2008)
    Answer: Venus

    56) What is the diameter of the earth?
    Answer: 12 756.2 kilometers

    57) The number of natural satellites orbiting around the Mars is: (CSS 2002/2003)
    (a) 1
    (b) 2
    (c) 5
    (d) 14
    Answer: (b)
    Mars has two natural satellites, discovered by Asaph Hall in 1877. The innermost of these, Phobos, is about 7 mi (11 km) in diameter and orbits the planet with a period far less than Mars’s period of rotation (7 hr 39 min), causing it to rise in the west and set in the east. The outer satellite, Deimos, is about 4 mi (6 km) in diameter.

    58) All stars are of the same color
    (False)

    59) Our galaxy milky way is shaped like a large thick concave lens with a large central bulge (CSS 2002)
    (True)

    60) The coldest planet of the solar system is: (CSS 2000)
    (a) Earth
    (b) Venus
    (c) Neptune d) Pluto
    (e) None of these
    Answer: (c)
    In the past, the title for “most frigid body” went to Pluto, as it was the farthest then-designated planet from the Sun. However, due to the IAU’s decision in 2006 to reclassify Pluto as a “dwarf planet”, the title has since passed to Neptune. As the eight planet from our Sun, it is now the outermost planet in the Solar System, and hence the coldest.

    61) Venus is the smallest planet of the solar system. (CSS 1999)
    (False)

    62) Black hole is a hypothetical region of space having a gravitational pull so great that no matter or radiation can escape from it. (CSS 1998)

    63) Our solar system has about — satellites. (CSS 1996)
    (a) 35
    (b) 179
    (c) 96
    (d) None of these
    Answer: (b)
    In the Solar System, there are 179 satellites. A majority of those moons belong to the planet of Jupiter, the second most belonging to Saturn. The largest of these moons is Ganymede, which is one of the Galilean Moons.

    64) ——- cannot be nominated for the Nobel Prize. (CSS 1996)
    (a) Physicists
    (b) Economists
    (c) Astronomers
    (d) None of these
    Answer: (c)

    65) The largest planet of the solar system is Jupiter. (CSS 1995)

    66) Planet Mars has (CSS 1995)
    (a) 1 Moon
    (b) 2 Moons
    (c) 4 Moons
    (d) None of these
    Answer: (b)
    The moons of Mars are Phobos and Deimos. Both moons were discovered in 1877 by Asaph Hall Asaph Hall was about to give up his frustrating search for a Martian moon one August night in 1877, but his wife Angelina urged him on. He discovered Deimos the next night, and Phobos six nights after that. Ninety-four years later, NASA’s Mariner 9 spacecraft got a much better look at the two moons from its orbit around Mars. The dominant feature on Phobos, it found, was a crater 10 km (6 miles) wide — nearly half the width of the moon itself. It was given Angelina’s maiden name: Stickney.

    67) Where do most of Asteroids lie? (CSS 2007)
    (a) In asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter
    (b) In asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Venus
    (c) In asteroid belt between the orbits of Jupiter and Venus
    (d) Everywhere in the sky
    (e) None of these
    Answer: (a)

    68) This is the measure of moisture in the air.
    (a) Temperature
    (b) Humidity
    (c) Altitude
    (d) None of these
    Answer: (b)

    69) This is the greatest amount of water vapor the air could hold at a certain temperature
    (a) Absolute humidity
    (b) Relative humidity
    (c) Variable humidity
    (d) None of these
    Answer: (a)
    Absolute humidity is the measure of water vapor (moisture) in the air, regardless of temperature. It is expressed as grams of moisture per cubic meter of air (g/m3).
    The maximum absolute humidity of warm air at 30°C/86°F is approximately 30g of water vapor – 30g/m3. The maximum absolute humidity of cold air at 0°C/32°F is approximately 5g of water vapor – 5g/m3.

    70) This is how much actual water vapor is in the air at a certain temperature.
    (a)Absolute humidity
    (b) Relative humidity
    (c) Variable
    (d) None of these
    Answer: (b)
    Relative humidity also measures water vapor but RELATIVE to the temperature of the air. It is expressed as the amount of water vapor in the air as a percentage of the total amount that could be held at its current temperature.

    71) Humidity is measured with a
    (a) Barometer
    (b) Thermometer
    (c) Hygrometer
    (d) None of these
    Answer: (c)

    72) Founder of modern astronomy was: (CSS-2009)
    (a) Archimedes
    (b) William Gilbert
    (c) Nicolas Copernicus
    (d) Michael Faraday
    (e) None of these
    Answer: (c)

    73) The most splendid and the most magnificent constellation on the sky is: (CSS-2009)
    (a) Orion
    (b) Columbia
    (c) Canis Major
    (d) Taurus
    (e) None of these
    Answer: (a)
    (Canis Major is a constellation in the southern sky. Its name means “the greater dog” in Latin.) Orion, which is located on the celestial equator, is one of the most prominent and recognizable constellations in the sky and can be seen throughout the world.

    74) Which of the following explains the reason why there is no total eclipse of the sun? (CSS-2009)
    (a) Size of the earth in relation to that of moon
    (b) Orbit of moon around earth
    (c) Direction of rotation of earth around sun
    (d) Area of the sun covered by the moon
    (e) None of these
    Answer: (b)

    75) Where do most of Asteroids lie? (CSS-2009)
    (a) In asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter
    (b) In asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Venus
    (c) In asteroid belt between the orbits of Jupiter and Venus
    (d) Everywhere in the sky
    (e) None of these
    Answer: (a)
    Most asteroids lie in a vast ring between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. This main asteroid belt holds more than 200 asteroids larger than 60 miles (100 kilometers) in diameter. Scientists estimate the asteroid belt also contains more than 750,000 asteroids larger than three-fifths of a mile (1 km) in diameter and millions of smaller ones. Not everything in the main belt is an asteroid — for instance, comets have recently been discovered there, and Ceres, once thought of only as an asteroid, is now also considered a dwarf planet.

    76) The largest circular storm in our solar system is on the surface of which of the following planets?
    (a) Jupiter
    (b) Venus
    (c) Uranus
    (d) Earth
    Answer: (a)
    Jupiter boasts the largest storm in the Solar System . It is called the Great Red Spot and has been observed for hundreds of years that kind of storm is dwarfed by the Great Red Spot, a gigantic storm in Jupiter. There, gigantic means twice as wide as Earth. Today, scientists know the Great Red Spot is there and it’s been there for a while, but they still struggle to learn what causes its swirl of reddish hues.

    77) The biggest asteroid known is:
    (a) Vesta
    (b) Icarus
    (c) Ceres
    (d) Eros
    Answer: (c)
    Ceres, a dwarf planet and the largest asteroid in the solar system yet known. Discovered in 1801 and first thought to be a planet and then an asteroid, we now call Ceres a dwarf planet. Gravitational forces from Jupiter billions of years ago prevented it from becoming a full-fledged planet. But Ceres has more in common with Earth and Mars than its rocky neighbors in the main asteroid belt. There may even be water ice buried under Ceres’ crust.

    78) Rounded to the nearest day, the Mercurian year is equal to:
    (a) 111 days
    (b) 87.97 days
    (c) 50 days
    (d) 25 days
    Answer: (b)
    Mercurian Year: A year on Mercury takes 87.97 Earth days; it takes 87.97 Earth days for Mercury to orbit the sun once

    79) One of the largest volcanoes in our solar system-if not the largest-is named Olympus Mons. This volcano is located on:
    (a) Jupiter’s moon Callisto
    (b) Venus
    (c) Saturn’s moon Titan
    (d) Mars
    Answer: (d)
    Olympus Mons is the largest volcano in the solar system. The massive Martian mountain towers high above the surrounding plains of the red planet, and may be biding its time until the next eruption. Olympus Mons rises three times higher than Earth’s highest mountain, Mount Everest, whose peak is 5.5 miles above sea level.

    80) One Jupiter day is equal to which of the following?
    (a) 30 hrs 40 min
    (b) 9 hrs 50 min
    (c) 3 hrs 20 min
    (d) 52 hrs 10 min
    Answer: (b)

    81) The time interval between two successive occurrences of a specific type of alignment of a planet (or the moon) with the sun and the earth is referred to as:
    (a) a conjunction
    (b) an opposition
    (c) a sidereal period
    (d) a synodic period.
    Answer: (d)
    Synodic period , in astronomy, length of time during which a body in the solar system makes one orbit of the sun relative to the earth, i.e. The synodic period of the moon, which is called the lunar month, or lunation, is 291/2 days long; it is longer than the sidereal month.

    82) Of the following four times, which one best represents the time it takes energy generated in the core of the sun to reach the surface of the sun and be radiated?
    (a) Three minutes
    (b) Thirty days
    (c) One thousand years
    (d) One million years
    Answer: (d)

    83) The sunspot cycle is:
    (a) 3 years
    (b) 11 years
    (c) 26 years
    (d) 49 years
    Answer: (b)

    The amount of magnetic flux that rises up to the Sun’s surface varies with time in a cycle called the solar cycle. This cycle lasts 11 years on average. This cycle is sometimes referred to as the sunspot cycle.

    84) The Hertzsprung-Russel Diagram of stars DIRECTLY compares what TWO of the following properties of stars?
    (a) size
    (b) temperature
    (c) luminosity
    (d) Both b & c
    Answer: (d)
    One of the most useful and powerful plots in astrophysics is the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram (hereafter called the H-R diagram). It originated in 1911 when the Danish astronomer, Ejnar Hertzsprung, plotted the absolute magnitude of stars against their color (hence effective temperature). Independently in 1913 the American astronomer Henry Norris Russell used spectral class against absolute magnitude. Their resultant plots showed that the relationship between temperature and luminosity of a star was not random but instead appeared to fall into distinct groups.

    The majority of stars, including our Sun, are found along a region called the Main Sequence. Main Sequence stars vary widely in effective temperature but the hotter they are, the more luminous they are, hence the main sequence tends to follow a band going from the bottom right of the diagram to the top left. These stars are fusing hydrogen to helium in their cores. Stars spend the bulk of their existence as main sequence stars. Other major groups of stars found on the H-R diagram are the giants and supergiants; luminous stars that have evolved off the main sequence, and the white dwarfs. Whilst each of these types is discussed in detail in later pages we can use their positions on the H-R diagram to infer some of their properties.

    85) The Andromeda Galaxy is which of the following types of galaxies?
    (a) elliptical
    (b) spiral
    (c) barred-spiral
    (d) irregular
    Answer: (b)
    The Andromeda Galaxy also known as Messier 31, M31, or NGC 224, is a spiral galaxy approximately 780 kilo parsecs (2.5 million light-years) from Earth

    86) About how many light years across is the Milky Way? Is it:
    (a) 1,000
    (b) 10,000
    (c) 100,000
    (d) 1,000,000
    Answer: (c)
    100 000 light years across
    A light-year is precisely equal to a whole number of meters, namely 9460730472580800 m or approximately 9.46073 1015 m. That’s the distance traveled by light in a vacuum, at a speed of 299792458 m/s, during a “scientific year” of 31557600 s. All these numbers are exact… In particular, “Einstein’s Constant” is exactly c = 299792458 m/s, because of the latest definition of the meter, officially adopted in 1983.

    87) Who was the first man to classify stars according to their brightness. Was it:
    (a) Aristarchus
    (b) Pythagoras
    (c) Copernicus
    (d) Hipparchus
    Answer: (d)
    The first person to classify stars by their apparent magnitude (brightness) was Hipparchus in about 130 BC. He divided the stars into classes based on how bright they appeared in the night sky. The brightest stars were classified as magnitude 1, those that were just visible to the naked eye as magnitude 6. In practice the intensity of a magnitude 1 star is 100 times that of a magnitude 6 star, so the 5 magnitude steps correspond to a multiple of 100. For a geometric series of magnitudes each magnitude must be a times the intensity of the previous one with a5 – 100. This means that going up one magnitude increases the intensity by a factor of a = 2.51. So magnitude 3 is 2.51 times as intense as magnitude 4 and so on.

    88) For what reason was the Schmidt telescope specially built? Was it to serve as:
    (a) a sky camera
    (b) a radio telescope
    (c) an optical telescope
    (d) a solar telescope
    Answer: (a)

    A Schmidt camera, also referred to as the Schmidt telescope, is a catadioptric astrophotographic telescope designed to provide wide fields of view with limited aberrations. The design was invented by Bernhard Schmidt in 1930.

    89) The greatest distance of a planet from the sun is called what? Is it the planet’s:
    (a) aphelion
    (b) perihelion
    (c) helix
    (d) eccentricity
    Answer: (a)
    The closest point to the Sun in a planet’s orbit is called perihelion. The furthest point is called aphelion

    90) How is the atmospheric pressure of Mars as compared to the atmospheric pressure of the earth? Is it:
    (a) about the same as the earth’s
    (b) about 100 times as great as the earth’s
    (c) about 1/200th that of the earth’s
    (d) half as much as that of the earth’s
    Answer: (c)
    The atmosphere and (probably) the interior of Mars differ substantially from that of the Earth. The atmosphere is much less dense and of different composition, and it is unlikely that the core is molten.
    The atmosphere has a pressure at the surface that is only 1/200 that of Earth. The primary component of the atmosphere is carbon dioxide (95%), with the remainder mostly nitrogen. Seasonal heating drives strong winds that can reach 100 mph or more, stirring up large dust storms. Clouds form in the atmosphere, but liquid water cannot exist at the ambient pressure and temperature of the Martian surface: water goes directly between solid and vapor phases without becoming liquid.

    91) A typical galaxy, such as our Milky Way galaxy, contains how many billion stars? Is it approximately:
    (a) 10 billion
    (b) 40 billion
    (c) 400 billion
    (d) 800 billion
    Answer: (c)
    According to astronomers, our Milky Way is an average-sized barred spiral galaxy measuring up to 120,000 light-years across. Our Sun is located about 27,000 light-years from the galactic core in the Orion arm. Astronomers estimate that the Milky Way contains up to 400 billion stars of various sizes and brightness.
    According to astronomers, there are probably more than 170 billion galaxies in the observable Universe, stretching out into a region of space 13.8 billion light-years away from us in all directions.

    92) A comet’s tail points in which direction?
    (a) toward the sun
    (b) toward the earth
    (c) behind the comet in its orbit
    (d) away from the sun
    Answer: (d)
    Comet tails are expansions of the coma. Comet tails point away from the Sun, regardless of the direction in which the comet is traveling. Comets have two tails because escaping gas and dust are influenced by the Sun in slightly different ways, and the tails point in slightly different directions.

    93) Spectral line splitting due to the influence of magnetic fields is called:
    (a) Boltzmann Effect
    (b) Zeeman Effect
    (c) Planck Effect
    (d) Zanstra’s Effect
    Answer: (b)
    The Zeeman effect is the splitting of a spectral line by a magnetic field. That is, if an atomic spectral line of 400 nm was considered under normal conditions, in a strong magnetic field, because of the Zeeman effect, the spectral line would be split to yield a more energetic line and a less energetic line, in addition to the original line at 400 nm.

    94) Which of the following is true for ORION? Orion is:
    (a) the brightest star in the sky
    (b) a constellation
    (c) the name given to a NASA spacecraft
    (d) an asteroid
    Answer: (b)

    95) Which of the following men wrote the book “On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres”?
    (a) Kepler
    (b) Euclid
    (c) Copernicus
    (d) Newton
    Answer: (c)

    De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres) is the seminal work on the heliocentric theory of the Renaissance astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543).

    96) The most distant planet in the solar system is (CSS 1995)
    (a) Mars
    (b) Pluto
    (c) Jupiter
    (d) None of these
    Answer: (d)
    New Dwarf Planet In Our Solar System May Be The Farthest One Yet. Object V774104 was discovered in late October, 2015, and is one of the most distant objects ever detected in the solar system. It appears to be about half the size of Pluto, but with an orbit two to three times larger than Pluto’s. (Nov 12, 2015)

    97) The 2.7 Kelvin cosmic background radiation is concentrated in the:
    (a) radio wavelengths
    (b) infrared
    (c) visible
    (d) ultraviolet
    Answer: (a)

    98) If you were watching a star collapsing to form a black hole, the light would disappear because it:
    (a) is strongly red shifted
    (b) is strongly blue shifted
    (c) its color suddenly becomes black
    (d) none of the above
    Answer: (a)

    99) The Magellanic Clouds are
    (a) irregular galaxies
    (b) spiral galaxies
    (c) elliptical galaxies
    (d) large clouds of gas and dust
    Answer: (a)
    The Magellanic Clouds are comprised of two irregular galaxies, the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), which orbit the Milky Way once every 1,500 million years and each other once every 900 million years. Lying only about 200,000 light years away, they were the closest known galaxies to the Milky Way until recently, when the Sagittarius and Canis Major dwarf galaxies were discovered and found to be even closer.

    100) According to Kepler’s Laws, the cube of the mean distance of a planet from the sun is proportional to the:
    (a) area that is swept out
    (b) cube of the period
    (c) square of the period
    (d) fourth power of the mean distance
    Answer: (c)