Roman calendar

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

    On the Roman calendar, this was known as the day before the nones of April (Latin: Prid. Non. Apr.).

    April 4 in History

    • 503 BC – Roman consul Agrippa Menenius Lanatus celebrates a triumph for a military victory over the Sabines.
    • 1147 – Moscow is mentioned for the first time in the historical record, when it is named as a meeting place for two princes.
    • 1268 – A five-year Byzantine–Venetian peace treaty is concluded between Venetian envoys and Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos.
    • 1460 – Basel University is founded.
    • 1581 – Francis Drake is knighted for completing a circumnavigation of the world.
    • 1609 – Moriscos are expelled from the Kingdom of Valencia.
    • 1660 – Declaration of Breda by King Charles II of Great Britain promises, among other things, a general pardon to all royalists for crimes committed during the English Civil War and the Interregnum.
    • 1721 – Sir Robert Walpole becomes the first British prime minister.
    • 1768 – In London, Philip Astley stages the first modern circus.
    • 1796 – Georges Cuvier delivers the first paleontological lecture.
    • 1814 – Napoleon abdicates for the first time and names his son Napoleon II as Emperor of the French.
    • 1818 – The United States Congress, affirming the Second Continental Congress, adopts the flag of the United States with 13 red and white stripes and one star for each state (20 at that time).
    • 1841 – William Henry Harrison dies of pneumonia, becoming the first President of the United States to die in office, and setting the record for the briefest administration. Vice President John Tyler succeeds Harrison as President.
    • 1850 – A large part of the English village of Cottenham burns to the ground in suspicious circumstances.
    • 1850 – Los Angeles is incorporated as a city.
    • 1859 – Bryant’s Minstrels debut “Dixie” in New York City in the finale of a blackface minstrel show.
    • 1865 – American Civil War: A day after Union forces capture Richmond, Virginia, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln visits the Confederate capital.
    • 1866 – Alexander II of Russia narrowly escapes an assassination attempt by Dmitry Karakozov in the city of Saint Petersburg.
    • 1873 – The Kennel Club is founded, the oldest and first official registry of purebred dogs in the world.
    • 1875 – Vltava, composed by Czech composer Bedřich Smetana and also known by its German name Die Moldau, premiered in Prague.
    • 1887 – Argonia, Kansas elects Susanna M. Salter as the first female mayor in the United States.
    • 1905 – In India, an earthquake hits the Kangra Valley, killing 20,000, and destroying most buildings in Kangra, McLeod Ganj and Dharamshala.
    • 1913 – First Balkan War: Greek aviator Emmanouil Argyropoulos becomes the first pilot to die in the Hellenic Air Force when his plane crashes.
    • 1925 – The Schutzstaffel (SS) is founded under Adolf Hitler’s Nazi party in Germany.
    • 1933 – U.S. Navy airship USS Akron is wrecked off the New Jersey coast due to severe weather.
    • 1939 – Faisal II becomes King of Iraq.
    • 1944 – World War II: First bombardment of oil refineries in Bucharest by Anglo-American forces kills 3000 civilians.
    • 1945 – World War II: American troops liberate Ohrdruf forced labor camp in Germany.
    • 1945 – World War II: American troops capture Kassel.
    • 1945 – World War II: Soviet troops liberate Hungary from German occupation and occupy the country themselves.
    • 1949 – Cold War: Twelve nations sign the North Atlantic Treaty creating the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
    • 1958 – The CND peace symbol is displayed in public for the first time in London.
    • 1960 – France agrees to grant independence to the Mali Federation, a union of Senegal and French Sudan.
    • 1964 – The Beatles occupy the top five positions on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart.
    • 1965 – The first model of the new Saab Viggen fighter aircraft is unveiled.
    • 1967 – Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence” speech in New York City’s Riverside Church.
    • 1968 – Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated by James Earl Ray at a motel in Memphis, Tennessee.
    • 1968 – Apollo program: NASA launches Apollo 6.
    • 1968 – A.E.K. Athens B.C. becomes the first Greek team to win the European Basketball Cup.
    • 1969 – Dr. Denton Cooley implants the first temporary artificial heart.
    • 1973 – The Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City are officially dedicated.
    • 1973 – A Lockheed C-141 Starlifter, dubbed the Hanoi Taxi, makes the last flight of Operation Homecoming.
    • 1975 – Microsoft is founded as a partnership between Bill Gates and Paul Allen in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
    • 1975 – Vietnam War: A United States Air Force Lockheed C-5A Galaxy transporting orphans, crashes near Saigon, South Vietnam shortly after takeoff, killing 172 people.
    • 1979 – Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto of Pakistan is executed.
    • 1981 – Iran–Iraq War: The Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force mounts an attack on H-3 Airbase and destroys about 50 Iraqi aircraft.
    • 1983 – Space Shuttle program: Space Shuttle Challenger makes its maiden voyage into space.
    • 1984 – President Ronald Reagan calls for an international ban on chemical weapons.
    • 1988 – Governor Evan Mecham of Arizona is convicted in his impeachment trial and removed from office.
    • 1990 – The current flag of Hong Kong is adopted for post-colonial Hong Kong during the Third Session of the Seventh National People’s Congress.
    • 1991 – Senator John Heinz of Pennsylvania and six others are killed when a helicopter collides with their airplane over an elementary school in Merion, Pennsylvania.
    • 1994 – Marc Andreessen and Jim Clark found Netscape Communications Corporation under the name Mosaic Communications Corporation.
    • 1996 – Comet Hyakutake is imaged by the USA Asteroid Orbiter Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous.
    • 2002 – The Angolan government and UNITA rebels sign a peace treaty ending the Angolan Civil War.
    • 2009 – France announces its return to full participation of its military forces within NATO.
    • 2013 – More than 70 people are killed in a building collapse in Thane, India.
    • 2020 – China holds a National day of mourning for martyrs who died in the fight against the novel coronavirus disease outbreak.

    Births on April 4

    • 188 – Caracalla, Roman emperor (d. 217)
    • 1436 – Amalia of Saxony, Duchess of Bavaria-Landshut (d. 1501)
    • 1490 – Vojtěch I of Pernstein, Bohemian nobleman (d. 1534)
    • 1492 – Ambrosius Blarer, German-Swiss theologian and reformer (d. 1564)
    • 1572 – William Strachey, English author (d. 1621)
    • 1586 – Richard Saltonstall, English diplomat (d. 1661)
    • 1593 – Edward Nicholas, English soldier and politician, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (d. 1669)
    • 1640 – Gaspar Sanz, Spanish guitarist, composer, and priest (d. 1710)
    • 1646 – Antoine Galland, French orientalist and archaeologist (d. 1715)
    • 1648 – Grinling Gibbons, Dutch-English sculptor (d. 1721)
    • 1676 – Giuseppe Maria Orlandini, Italian composer (d. 1760)
    • 1688 – Joseph-Nicolas Delisle, French astronomer and cartographer (d. 1768)
    • 1718 – Benjamin Kennicott, English theologian and scholar (d. 1783)
    • 1752 – Niccolò Antonio Zingarelli, Italian composer (d. 1837)
    • 1760 – Juan Manuel Olivares, Venezuelan organist and composer (d. 1797)
    • 1762 – Stephen Storace, English actor and composer (d. 1796)
    • 1772 – Nachman of Breslov, Ukrainian founder of the Breslov Hasidic movement (d. 1810)
    • 1780 – Edward Hicks, American minister and painter (d. 1849)
    • 1785 – Bettina von Arnim, German author, illustrator, and composer (d. 1859)
    • 1792 – Thaddeus Stevens, American lawyer and politician (d. 1868)
    • 1802 – Dorothea Dix, American nurse and activist (d. 1887)
    • 1818 – Thomas Mayne Reid, Irish-American author and poet (d. 1883)
    • 1819 – Maria II of Portugal (d. 1853)
    • 1821 – Linus Yale, Jr., American engineer and businessman (d. 1868)
    • 1826 – Zénobe Gramme, Belgian engineer, invented the Gramme machine (d. 1901)
    • 1829 – Owen Suffolk, Australian bushranger, poet, confidence-man and author
    • 1835 – John Hughlings Jackson, English physician and neurologist (d. 1911)
    • 1842 – Édouard Lucas, French mathematician and theorist (d. 1891)
    • 1843 – William Henry Jackson, American painter and photographer (d. 1942)
    • 1846 – Comte de Lautréamont, Uruguayan-French poet and educator (d. 1870)
    • 1851 – James Campbell, 1st Baron Glenavy, Irish lawyer and politician (d. 1931)
    • 1853 – Remy de Gourmont, French poet, novelist, and critic (d. 1915)
    • 1868 – Philippa Fawcett, English mathematician and educator (d. 1948)
    • 1869 – Mary Colter, American architect, designed the Desert View Watchtower (d. 1958)
    • 1875 – Pierre Monteux, Sephardic Jewish French-American viola player and conductor (d. 1964)
    • 1876 – Maurice de Vlaminck, French painter and poet (d. 1958)
    • 1878 – Stylianos Lykoudis, Greek admiral and historian (d. 1958)
    • 1879 – Gustav Goßler, German rower (d. 1940)
    • 1884 – James Alberione, Italian priest, founded the Society of St. Paul (d. 1971)
    • 1884 – Isoroku Yamamoto, Japanese admiral (d. 1943)
    • 1886 – Frank Luther Mott, American historian and journalist (d. 1964)
    • 1888 – Tris Speaker, American baseball player and manager (d. 1958)
    • 1888 – Zdzisław Żygulski, Sr., Polish historian and academic (d. 1975)
    • 1889 – Makhanlal Chaturvedi, Indian journalist, poet, and playwright (d. 1968)
    • 1892 – Italo Mus, Italian painter (d. 1967)
    • 1895 – Arthur Murray, American dancer and educator (d. 1991)
    • 1896 – Robert E. Sherwood, American playwright and screenwriter (d. 1955)
    • 1897 – Pierre Fresnay, French actor and screenwriter (d. 1975)
    • 1898 – Agnes Ayres, American actress (d. 1940)
    • 1899 – Hillel Oppenheimer, German-Israeli botanist and academic (d. 1971)
    • 1902 – Louise Lévêque de Vilmorin, French journalist and author (d. 1969)
    • 1902 – Stanley G. Weinbaum, American author and poet (d. 1935)
    • 1905 – Eugène Bozza, French composer and conductor (d. 1991)
    • 1905 – Erika Nõva, Estonian architect and engineer (d. 1987)
    • 1906 – Bea Benaderet, Turkish-Jewish Irish-American television, radio, and voice actress (d. 1968)
    • 1906 – John Cameron Swayze, American journalist (d. 1995)
    • 1907 – Robert Askin, Australian sergeant and politician, 32nd Premier of New South Wales (d. 1981)
    • 1910 – Đặng Văn Ngữ, Vietnamese physician and academic (d. 1967)
    • 1911 – Max Dupain, Australian photographer (d. 1992)
    • 1913 – Dave Brown, Australian rugby league player (d. 1974)
    • 1913 – Rosemary Lane, American actress and singer (d. 1974)
    • 1913 – Frances Langford, American actress and singer (d. 2005)
    • 1913 – Jules Léger, Canadian lawyer and politician, 21st Governor General of Canada (d. 1980)
    • 1913 – Muddy Waters, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1983)
    • 1914 – Richard Coogan, American actor (d. 2014)
    • 1914 – Marguerite Duras, French novelist, screenwriter, and director (d. 1996)
    • 1914 – David W. Goodall, Australian ecologist and botanist (d. 2018)
    • 1915 – Louis Archambault, Canadian sculptor (d. 2003)
    • 1916 – Nikola Ljubičić, Serbian general and politician, 10th President of Serbia (d. 2005)
    • 1916 – Mickey Owen, American baseball player and coach (d. 2005)
    • 1916 – David White, American actor (d. 1990)
    • 1918 – George Jellicoe, 2nd Earl Jellicoe, English soldier and politician, Leader of the House of Lords (d. 2007)
    • 1920 – Orunamamu, American-Canadian author and educator (d. 2014)
    • 1920 – Ignatius IV of Antioch, Greek patriarch (d. 2012)
    • 1921 – Elizabeth Wilson, American actress (d. 2015)
    • 1922 – Elmer Bernstein, American composer and conductor (d. 2004)
    • 1923 – Peter Vaughan, English actor (d. 2016)
    • 1923 – Gene Reynolds, American actor, director, producer and screenwriter (d. 2020)
    • 1924 – Bob Christie, American race car driver (d. 2009)
    • 1924 – Gil Hodges, American baseball player and manager (d. 1972)
    • 1925 – Dettmar Cramer, German footballer and manager (d. 2015)
    • 1925 – Frank Truitt, American basketball player and coach (d. 2014)
    • 1925 – Claude Wagner, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician (d. 1979)
    • 1925 – Emmett Williams, American poet and author (d. 2007)
    • 1926 – Mildred Fay Jefferson, American physician and activist (d. 2010)
    • 1926 – Ronnie Masterson, Irish actress (d. 2014)
    • 1927 – Joe Orlando, Italian-American author and illustrator (d. 1998)
    • 1928 – Maya Angelou, American memoirist and poet (d. 2014)
    • 1928 – Estelle Harris, American actress and comedian
    • 1928 – Jimmy Logan, Scottish actor, director, and producer (d. 2001)
    • 1928 – Monty Norman, English singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1929 – Humbert Allen Astredo, American actor (d. 2016)
    • 1930 – Netty Herawaty, Indonesian actress (d. 1989)
    • 1931 – James Dickens, English politician (d. 2013)
    • 1931 – Bobby Ray Inman, American admiral and intelligence officer
    • 1931 – Catherine Tizard, New Zealand politician, 16th Governor-General of New Zealand
    • 1932 – Clive Davis, American record producer, founded Arista Records and J Records
    • 1932 – Richard Lugar, American lieutenant and politician, 44th Mayor of Indianapolis (d. 2019)
    • 1932 – Anthony Perkins, American actor (d. 1992)
    • 1932 – Johanna Reiss, Dutch-American author
    • 1932 – Andrei Tarkovsky, Russian director and producer (d. 1986)
    • 1933 – Bill France, Jr., American businessman (d. 2007)
    • 1933 – Brian Hewson, English runner
    • 1933 – Bapu Nadkarni, Indian cricketer (d. 2020)
    • 1934 – Helen Hanft, American actress (d. 2013)
    • 1934 – Kronid Lyubarsky, Russian journalist and activist (d. 1996)
    • 1935 – Geoff Braybrooke, English-New Zealand soldier and politician (d. 2013)
    • 1935 – Kenneth Mars, American actor and comedian (d. 2011)
    • 1935 – Trevor Griffiths, English playwright and educator
    • 1938 – A. Bartlett Giamatti, American businessman and academic (d. 1989)
    • 1939 – JoAnne Carner, American golfer
    • 1939 – Darlene Hooley, American educator and politician
    • 1939 – Hugh Masekela, South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer, and singer (d. 2018)
    • 1940 – Richard Attwood, English race car driver
    • 1940 – Sharon Sheeley, American singer-songwriter (d. 2002)
    • 1942 – Jim Fregosi, American baseball player and manager (d. 2014)
    • 1942 – Kitty Kelley, American journalist and biographer
    • 1942 – Elizabeth Levy, American author
    • 1944 – Magda Aelvoet, Belgian politician
    • 1944 – Mary Kenny, Irish journalist, author, and playwright
    • 1944 – Bob McDill, American country music songwriter
    • 1944 – Craig T. Nelson, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1944 – Nelson Prudêncio, Brazilian triple jumper and educator (d. 2012)
    • 1944 – Toktamış Ateş, Turkish academician, political commentator, columnist and writer (d. 2013)
    • 1945 – Daniel Cohn-Bendit, French-German educator and politician
    • 1945 – Caroline McWilliams, American actress (d. 2010)
    • 1946 – Colin Coates, Australian speed skater
    • 1946 – Dave Hill, English guitarist
    • 1946 – Katsuaki Satō, Japanese martial artist and coach
    • 1946 – György Spiró, Hungarian author and playwright
    • 1946 – Bubba Wyche, American football player and coach
    • 1947 – Wiranto, Indonesian general and politician
    • 1947 – Ray Fosse, American baseball player and sportscaster
    • 1947 – Eliseo Soriano, Filipino minister and television host
    • 1948 – Abdullah Öcalan, Turkish activist
    • 1948 – Berry Oakley, American bass player (d. 1972)
    • 1948 – Richard Parsons, American lawyer and businessman
    • 1948 – Dan Simmons, American author
    • 1948 – Derek Thompson, Northern Irish actor
    • 1948 – Pick Withers, English drummer
    • 1949 – Junior Braithwaite, Jamaican-American singer (d. 1999)
    • 1949 – Shing-Tung Yau, Chinese-American mathematician and academic
    • 1950 – Christine Lahti, American actress and director
    • 1951 – John Hannah, American football player and coach
    • 1952 – Rosemarie Ackermann, German high jumper
    • 1952 – Pat Burns, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2010)
    • 1952 – Gregg Hansford, Australian race car driver and motorcycle racer (d. 1995)
    • 1952 – Cherie Lunghi, English actress and dancer
    • 1952 – Karen Magnussen, Canadian figure skater and coach
    • 1952 – Gary Moore, Northern Irish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2011)
    • 1952 – Villy Søvndal, Danish educator and politician, Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs
    • 1953 – Robert Bertrand, Canadian politician
    • 1953 – Henry Fotheringham, South African cricketer
    • 1953 – Simcha Jacobovici, Canadian director, producer, journalist, and author
    • 1953 – Sammy Wilson, Northern Irish politician, 31st Lord Mayor of Belfast
    • 1953 – Chen Yi, Chinese violinist and composer
    • 1956 – Evelyn Hart, Canadian ballerina
    • 1956 – Tom Herr, American baseball player and manager
    • 1956 – David E. Kelley, American screenwriter and producer
    • 1957 – Paul Downton, English cricketer
    • 1957 – Aki Kaurismäki, Finnish director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1957 – Graeme Kelling, Scottish guitarist (d. 2004)
    • 1957 – Nobuyoshi Kuwano, Japanese singer and trumpet player
    • 1958 – Peter Baltes, German bass player
    • 1958 – Cazuza, Brazilian singer-songwriter (d. 1990)
    • 1958 – Rodney Eade, Australian footballer and coach
    • 1959 – Phil Morris, American actor and screenwriter
    • 1960 – Jonathan Agnew, English cricketer and sportscaster
    • 1960 – Jane Eaglen, English soprano
    • 1960 – Hugo Weaving, Nigerian-Australian actor and producer
    • 1960 – Godknows Igali, Nigerian diplomat, civil servant and technocrat
    • 1961 – Hildi Santo-Tomas, American interior decorator
    • 1962 – Craig Adams, English bass player and songwriter
    • 1962 – Kailasho Devi, Indian social worker and politician
    • 1963 – A. Michael Baldwin, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1963 – Jack Del Rio, American football player and coach
    • 1963 – Dale Hawerchuk, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1963 – Jane McDonald, English singer and broadcaster
    • 1963 – Graham Norton, Irish actor and talk show host
    • 1964 – Branco, Brazilian footballer and coach
    • 1964 – Dr. Chud, American drummer and singer
    • 1964 – Anthony Clark, American actor
    • 1964 – David Cross, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1964 – Paul Parker, England international footballer, right-back and TV pundit
    • 1964 – Đặng Thân, Vietnamese writer and poet
    • 1965 – Vinny Burns, English guitarist and producer
    • 1965 – Robert Downey Jr., American actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1966 – Nancy McKeon, American actress
    • 1966 – Mike Starr, American bass player (d. 2011)
    • 1966 – Christos Tsekos, Greek basketball player
    • 1967 – Edith Masai, Kenyan-German runner
    • 1967 – George Mavrotas, Greek water polo player and politician
    • 1968 – Jesús Rollán, Spanish water polo player (d. 2006)
    • 1969 – Piotr Anderszewski, Polish pianist and composer
    • 1969 – Karren Brady, English journalist and businesswoman
    • 1970 – Georgios Amanatidis, Greek footballer and manager
    • 1970 – Greg Garcia, American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1970 – Barry Pepper, Canadian actor and producer
    • 1970 – Jason Stoltenberg, Australian tennis player
    • 1970 – Josh Todd, American singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1970 – Yelena Yelesina, Russian high jumper
    • 1971 – Yanic Perreault, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1971 – Malik Yusef, American actor, producer, and poet
    • 1971 – John Zandig, American wrestler and promoter
    • 1972 – Jim Dymock, Australian rugby league player and coach
    • 1972 – Jill Scott, American singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1972 – Magnus Sveningsson, Swedish bass player
    • 1973 – Chris Banks, American football player (d. 2014)
    • 1973 – David Blaine, American magician and producer
    • 1973 – Loris Capirossi, Italian motorcycle racer
    • 1973 – Peter Hoekstra, Dutch footballer and coach
    • 1973 – Chris McCormack, Australian triathlete and coach
    • 1973 – Kelly Price, American singer-songwriter
    • 1975 – Delphine Arnault, French businesswoman
    • 1975 – Thobias Fredriksson, Swedish skier
    • 1975 – Joyce Giraud, Puerto Rican-American model, television actress and producer, Miss Puerto Rico 1994
    • 1975 – Pamela Ribon, American actress, screenwriter, and author
    • 1975 – Miranda Lee Richards, American singer-songwriter
    • 1975 – Scott Rolen, American baseball player
    • 1975 – Kevin Weekes, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
    • 1976 – Nathan Blacklock, Australian rugby player
    • 1976 – Sébastien Enjolras, French race car driver (d. 1997)
    • 1976 – Emerson Ferreira da Rosa, Brazilian footballer
    • 1976 – James Roday, American actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1977 – Stephan Bonnar, American mixed martial artist
    • 1977 – Keith Bulluck, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1977 – Adam Dutkiewicz, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
    • 1977 – Stephen Mulhern, English magician and television host
    • 1977 – Omarr Smith, American football player and coach
    • 1978 – Jason Ellison, American baseball player and scout
    • 1978 – Alan Mahon, Irish footballer
    • 1979 – Heath Ledger, Australian actor (d. 2008)
    • 1979 – Roberto Luongo, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1979 – Natasha Lyonne, American actress
    • 1979 – Andy McKee, American guitarist
    • 1979 – Maksim Opalev, Russian canoeist
    • 1980 – Johnny Borrell, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1980 – Trevor Moore, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1980 – Eric Steinbach, American football player
    • 1980 – Björn Wirdheim, Swedish race car driver
    • 1981 – Currensy, American rapper
    • 1981 – Eduardo Luís Carloto, Brazilian footballer
    • 1981 – Casey Daigle, American baseball player
    • 1981 – Anna Pyatykh, Russian triple jumper
    • 1981 – Ned Vizzini, American author and screenwriter (d. 2013)
    • 1982 – Justin Cook, American voice actor and producer
    • 1982 – Magnus Lindgren, Swedish chef (d. 2012)
    • 1983 – Evgeny Artyukhin, Russian ice hockey player
    • 1983 – Eric Andre, American comedian
    • 1983 – Ben Gordon, American basketball player
    • 1983 – Doug Lynch, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1983 – Natalie Pike, Scottish-English model and actress
    • 1983 – Amanda Righetti, American actress
    • 1984 – Sean May, American basketball player
    • 1984 – Arkady Vyatchanin, Russian swimmer
    • 1985 – Rudy Fernández, Spanish basketball player
    • 1985 – Dudi Sela, Israeli tennis player
    • 1985 – Ricardo Vilar, Brazilian footballer
    • 1986 – Eunhyuk, South Korean singer-songwriter and dancer
    • 1986 – Cameron Barker, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1986 – Maurice Manificat, French skier
    • 1986 – Aiden McGeady, Scottish-born Irish footballer
    • 1986 – Alexander Tettey, Norwegian footballer
    • 1987 – Sami Khedira, German footballer
    • 1987 – McDonald Mariga, Kenyan footballer
    • 1987 – Cameron Maybin, American baseball player
    • 1987 – Marcos Vellidis, Greek footballer
    • 1987 – Sarah Gadon, Canadian actress
    • 1988 – Frank Fielding, English footballer
    • 1989 – Vurnon Anita, Dutch footballer
    • 1989 – Steven Finn, English cricketer
    • 1989 – Chris Herd, Australian footballer
    • 1991 – Yui Koike, Japanese singer and actress
    • 1991 – Justin O’Neill, Australian rugby league player
    • 1991 – Jamie Lynn Spears, American actress and singer
    • 1991 – Marlon Stöckinger, Filipino race car driver
    • 1992 – Lucy May Barker, English actress and singer
    • 1992 – Christina Metaxa, Cypriot singer-songwriter
    • 1992 – Ricky Dillon, American youtuber and singer
    • 1993 – Samir Carruthers, English footballer
    • 1993 – Frank Kaminsky, American basketball player
    • 1994 – Shunsuke Nishikawa, Japanese actor
    • 1994 – Risako Sugaya, Japanese singer and actress
    • 1996 – Austin Mahone, American singer-songwriter and actor

    Deaths on April 4

    • 397 – Ambrose, Roman archbishop and saint (b. 338)
    • 636 – Isidore of Seville, Spanish archbishop and saint (b. 560)
    • 814 – Plato of Sakkoudion, Byzantine monk and saint (b. 735)
    • 896 – Formosus, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 816)
    • 911 – Liu Yin, Chinese warlord and governor (b. 874)
    • 931 – Kong Xun, Chinese official and governor (b. 884)
    • 968 – Abu Firas al-Hamdani, Arab prince and poet (b. 932)
    • 991 – Reginold, bishop of Eichstätt
    • 1284 – Alfonso X, king of Castile and León (b. 1221)
    • 1292 – Nicholas IV, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 1227)
    • 1406 – Robert III, king of Scotland (b.1337)
    • 1483 – Henry Bourchier, 1st Earl of Essex (b. c. 1405)
    • 1536 – Frederick I, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (b. 1460)
    • 1538 – Elena Glinskaya, Grand Princess and regent of Russia
    • 1588 – Frederick II, king of Denmark and Norway (b. 1534)
    • 1596 – Philip II, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen (b. 1533)
    • 1609 – Carolus Clusius, Flemish botanist, mycologist, and academic (b. 1526)
    • 1617 – John Napier, Scottish mathematician, physicist, and astronomer (b. 1550)
    • 1643 – Simon Episcopius, Dutch theologian and academic (b. 1583)
    • 1661 – Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven, Scottish field marshal (b. 1580)
    • 1743 – Daniel Neal, English historian and author (b. 1678)
    • 1761 – Théodore Gardelle, Swiss painter (b. 1722)
    • 1766 – John Taylor, English librarian and scholar (b. 1704)
    • 1774 – Oliver Goldsmith, Irish novelist, playwright and poet (b. 1728)
    • 1792 – James Sykes, American lawyer and politician (b. 1725)
    • 1807 – Jérôme Lalande, French astronomer and academic (b. 1732)
    • 1817 – André Masséna, French general (b. 1758)
    • 1841 – William Henry Harrison, American general and politician, 9th President of the United States (b. 1773)
    • 1846 – Solomon Sibley, American lawyer and politician, 1st Mayor of Detroit (b. 1769)
    • 1861 – John McLean, American jurist and politician, 6th United States Postmaster General (b. 1785)
    • 1863 – Ludwig Emil Grimm, German painter and engraver (b. 1790)
    • 1864 – Joseph Pitty Couthouy, American commander and paleontologist (b. 1808)
    • 1870 – Heinrich Gustav Magnus, German chemist and physicist (b. 1802)
    • 1874 – Charles Ernest Beulé, French archaeologist and politician (b. 1826)
    • 1875 – Karl Mauch, German geographer and explorer (b. 1837)
    • 1878 – Richard M. Brewer, American criminal (b. 1850)
    • 1879 – Heinrich Wilhelm Dove, German physicist and meteorologist (b. 1803)
    • 1883 – Peter Cooper, American businessman and philanthropist, founded Cooper Union (b. 1791)
    • 1890 – Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau, Canadian lawyer and politician, 1st Premier of Quebec (b. 1820)
    • 1890 – Edmond Hébert, French geologist and academic (b. 1812)
    • 1912 – Charles Brantley Aycock, American lawyer and politician, 50th Governor of North Carolina (b. 1859)
    • 1912 – Isaac K. Funk, American minister, lexicographer, and publisher, co-founded Funk & Wagnalls (b. 1839)
    • 1919 – William Crookes, English chemist and physicist (b. 1832)
    • 1919 – Francisco Marto, Portuguese saint (b. 1908)
    • 1923 – John Venn, English mathematician and philosopher, created the Venn diagram (b. 1834)
    • 1929 – Karl Benz, German engineer and businessman, founded Mercedes-Benz (b. 1844)
    • 1931 – André Michelin, French businessman, co-founded the Michelin Tyre Company (b. 1853)
    • 1932 – Wilhelm Ostwald, Latvian-German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1853)
    • 1933 – Elizabeth Bacon Custer, American author and educator (b. 1842)
    • 1941 – Emine Nazikedâ Kadınefendi, the first wife and chief consort of Sultan Mehmed VI (b. 1866)
    • 1944 – Morris H. Whitehouse, American architect (b. 1878)[14]
    • 1951 – George Albert Smith, American religious leader, 8th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1870)
    • 1953 – Carol II of Romania (b. 1893)
    • 1957 – E. Herbert Norman, Canadian historian and diplomat (b. 1909)
    • 1958 – Johnny Stompanato, American soldier and bodyguard (b. 1925)
    • 1961 – Harald Riipalu, Estonian military commander (b. 1912)
    • 1961 – Simion Stoilow, Romanian mathematician and academic (b. 1873)
    • 1967 – Al Lewis, American songwriter (b. 1901)
    • 1967 – Héctor Scarone, Uruguayan footballer and manager (b. 1898)
    • 1968 – Martin Luther King Jr., American minister and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (assassinated)(b. 1929)
    • 1972 – Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., American pastor and politician (b. 1908)
    • 1972 – Stefan Wolpe, German-American composer and academic (b. 1902)
    • 1976 – Harry Nyquist, Swedish engineer and theorist (b. 1889)
    • 1977 – Andrey Dikiy, Ukrainian-American journalist, historian, and politician (b. 1893)
    • 1979 – Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Pakistani lawyer and politician, 4th President of Pakistan (b. 1928)
    • 1979 – Edgar Buchanan, American actor (b. 1903)
    • 1980 – Red Sovine, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1917)
    • 1983 – Gloria Swanson, American actress (b. 1899)
    • 1983 – Bernard Vukas, Croatian football player, played for 1953 FIFA’s “Rest of the World” team against England at Wembley (b. 1927)
    • 1984 – Oleg Antonov, Russian-Ukrainian engineer and businessman, founded Antonov (b. 1906)
    • 1985 – Kate Roberts, Welsh author and activist (b. 1891)
    • 1987 – C. L. Moore, American author and academic (b. 1911)
    • 1987 – Chögyam Trungpa, Tibetan guru, poet, and scholar (b. 1939)
    • 1987 – Sachchidananda Vatsyayan, Indian journalist and author (b. 1911)
    • 1991 – Edmund Adamkiewicz, German footballer (b. 1920)
    • 1991 – Max Frisch, Swiss playwright and novelist (b. 1911)
    • 1991 – H. John Heinz III, American soldier and politician (b. 1938)
    • 1991 – Graham Ingels, American illustrator (b. 1915)
    • 1992 – Yvette Brind’Amour, Canadian actress and director (b. 1918)
    • 1992 – Jack Hamilton, Australian footballer (b. 1928)
    • 1992 – Arthur Russell, American singer-songwriter and cellist (b. 1951)
    • 1993 – Alfred Mosher Butts, American game designer, invented Scrabble (b. 1899)
    • 1993 – Douglas Leopold, Canadian radio and television host (b. 1947)
    • 1995 – Kenny Everett, English radio and television host (b. 1944)
    • 1995 – Priscilla Lane, American actress (b. 1915)
    • 1996 – Barney Ewell, American runner and long jumper (b. 1918)
    • 1996 – Boone Guyton, American lieutenant and pilot (b. 1913)
    • 1997 – Leo Picard, German-Israeli geologist and academic (b. 1900)
    • 1997 – Alparslan Türkeş, Turkish colonel and politician, 39th Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1917)
    • 1999 – Lucille Lortel, American actress, artistic director and producer (b. 1900)
    • 1999 – Early Wynn, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1920)
    • 2001 – Liisi Oterma, Finnish astronomer (b. 1915)
    • 2001 – Ed Roth, American illustrator and engineer (b. 1932)
    • 2001 – Maury Van Vliet, American-Canadian academic (b. 1913)
    • 2003 – Anthony Caruso, American actor (b. 1916)
    • 2004 – Briek Schotte, Belgian cyclist and coach (b. 1919)
    • 2005 – Edward Bronfman, Canadian businessman and philanthropist (b. 1924)
    • 2007 – Bob Clark, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1941)
    • 2007 – Karen Spärck Jones, English computer scientist and academic (b. 1935)
    • 2008 – Francis Tucker, South African race car driver (b. 1923)
    • 2009 – Maxine Cooper, American actress, activist and photographer (b. 1924)
    • 2011 – Scott Columbus, American drummer (b. 1956)
    • 2011 – Juliano Mer-Khamis, Israeli actor, director, and activist (b. 1958)
    • 2012 – A. Dean Byrd, American psychologist and academic (b. 1948)
    • 2012 – Anne Karin Elstad, Norwegian author and educator (b. 1938)
    • 2012 – Claude Miller, French director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1942)
    • 2012 – Dubravko Pavličić, Croatian footballer (b. 1967)
    • 2012 – Roberto Rexach Benítez, American-Puerto Rican academic and politician, 10th President of the Senate of Puerto Rico (b. 1929)
    • 2013 – Bengt Blomgren, Swedish actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1923)
    • 2013 – Roger Ebert, American journalist, critic, and screenwriter (b. 1942)
    • 2013 – Carmine Infantino, American illustrator (b. 1925)
    • 2013 – Tommy Tycho, Hungarian-Australian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1928)
    • 2013 – Ian Walsh, Australian rugby player and coach (b. 1933)
    • 2013 – Noboru Yamaguchi, Japanese author (b. 1972)
    • 2014 – İsmet Atlı, Turkish wrestler and trainer (b. 1931)
    • 2014 – Wayne Henderson, American trombonist and producer (b. 1939)
    • 2014 – Kumba Ialá, Bissau-Guinean soldier and politician, President of Guinea-Bissau (b. 1953)
    • 2014 – Margo MacDonald, Scottish journalist and politician (b. 1943)
    • 2014 – Curtis Bill Pepper, American journalist and author (b. 1917)
    • 2014 – Muhammad Qutb, Egyptian author and academic (b. 1919)
    • 2015 – Jamaluddin Jarjis, Malaysian engineer and politician (b. 1951)
    • 2015 – Elmer Lach, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1918)
    • 2015 – Donald N. Levine, American sociologist and academic (b. 1931)
    • 2015 – Klaus Rifbjerg, Danish author and poet (b. 1931)
    • 2016 – Chus Lampreave, Spanish actress (b. 1930)

    Holidays and observances on April 4

    • Children’s Day (Hong Kong, Taiwan)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Benedict the Moor
      • Gaetano Catanoso
      • Isidore of Seville
      • Martin Luther King Jr. (Episcopal Church (USA))
      • Reginald Heber (Anglican Church of Canada)
      • Tigernach of Clones
      • April 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Senegal from France (1960).
    • Peace Day (Angola)[15]
    • One of the possible days for Qingming Festival.

  • March 15- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    In the Roman calendar, March 15 was known as the Ides of March.

    March 15 in History

    • 474 BC – Roman consul Gnaeus Manlius Vulso celebrates an ovation for concluding the war against Veii and securing a forty years’ truce.
    • 44 BC – Marcus Junius Brutus the Younger and his fellow conspirators, Gaius Cassius Longinus, Decimus Junius Brutus, and several other Roman senators, march to the Capitol following the assassination of Julius Caesar, but there is no response to their appeals to the population, who have left the streets in fear. Caesar’s body remains in its place
    • 351 – Constantius II elevates his cousin Gallus to Caesar, and puts him in charge of the Eastern part of the Roman Empire.
    • 493 – Odoacer, the first barbarian King of Italy after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, is slain by Theoderic the Great, king of the Ostrogoths, while the two kings were feasting together.
    • 856 – Michael III, emperor of the Byzantine Empire, overthrows the regency of his mother, empress Theodora (wife of Theophilos) with support of the Byzantine nobility.
    • 933 – After a ten-year truce, German King Henry the Fowler defeats a Hungarian army at the Battle of Riade near the Unstrut river.
    • 1147 – Conquest of Santarém: The forces of Afonso I of Portugal capture Santarém.
    • 1311 – Battle of Halmyros: The Catalan Company defeats Walter V, Count of Brienne to take control of the Duchy of Athens, a Crusader state in Greece.
    • 1493 – Christopher Columbus returns to Spain after his first trip to the Americas.
    • 1564 – Mughal Emperor Akbar abolishes “jizya” (per capita tax).
    • 1672 – Charles II of England issues the Royal Declaration of Indulgence.
    • 1781 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of Guilford Court House: Near present-day Greensboro, North Carolina, 1,900 British troops under General Charles Cornwallis defeat a mixed American force numbering 4,400 in a Pyrrhic victory.
    • 1783 – In an emotional speech in Newburgh, New York, George Washington asks his officers not to support the Newburgh Conspiracy. The plea is successful and the threatened coup d’état never takes place.
    • 1819 – French physicist Augustin Fresnel is adjudged the winner of the Grand Prix of the Académie des Sciences for his “Memoir on the Diffraction of Light”, which verifies the Fresnel integrals, accounts for the limited extent to which light spreads into shadows, and thereby demolishes Newton’s initial objection to the wave theory of light.
    • 1820 – Maine becomes the 23rd U.S. state.
    • 1827 – University of Toronto is founded.
    • 1848 – A revolution breaks out in Hungary. The Habsburg rulers are compelled to meet the demands of the Reform party.
    • 1864 – American Civil War: The Red River Campaign: U.S. Navy fleet arrives at Alexandria, Louisiana.
    • 1874 – France and Vietnam sign the Second Treaty of Saigon, further recognizing the full sovereignty of France over Cochinchina.
    • 1875 – Archbishop of New York John McCloskey is named the first cardinal in the United States.
    • 1877 – First ever official cricket test match is played: Australia vs England at the MCG Stadium, in Melbourne, Australia.
    • 1878 – Restoration of the Scottish Catholic hierarchy, broken off back in 1603.
    • 1888 – Start of the Anglo-Tibetan War of 1888.
    • 1895 – Heian Shrine is founded.
    • 1906 – Rolls-Royce Limited is incorporated.
    • 1916 – United States President Woodrow Wilson sends 4,800 United States troops over the U.S.–Mexico border to pursue Pancho Villa.
    • 1917 – Tsar Nicholas II of Russia abdicates the Russian throne ending the 304-year Romanov dynasty.
    • 1921 – Talaat Pasha, former Grand Vizir of the Ottoman Empire and chief architect of the Armenian Genocide is assassinated in Berlin by a 23-year-old Armenian, Soghomon Tehlirian.
    • 1922 – After Egypt gains nominal independence from the United Kingdom, Fuad I becomes King of Egypt.
    • 1926 – The dictator Theodoros Pangalos is elected President of Greece without opposition.
    • 1927 – The first Women’s Boat Race between the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge takes place on The Isis in Oxford.
    • 1931 – SS Viking explodes off Newfoundland, killing 27 of the 147 onboard.
    • 1933 – Austrian Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss keeps members of the National Council from convening, starting the Austrofascist dictatorship.
    • 1939 – Germany occupies Czechoslovakia.
    • 1939 – Carpatho-Ukraine declares itself an independent republic, but is annexed by Hungary the next day.
    • 1941 – Philippine Airlines, the flag carrier of the Philippines takes its first flight between Manila (from Nielson Field) to Baguio City with a Beechcraft Model 18 making the airline the first and oldest commercial airline in Asia operating under its original name.
    • 1943 – World War II: Third Battle of Kharkov: The Germans retake the city of Kharkov from the Soviet armies in bitter street fighting.
    • 1945 – World War II: Soviet forces begin an offensive to push Germans from Upper Silesia.
    • 1951 – the Iranian oil industry is nationalized.
    • 1952 – In Cilaos, Réunion, 1870 mm (73 inches) of rain falls in a 24-hour period, setting a new world record (March 15 through March 16).
    • 1961 – At the 1961 Commonwealth Prime Ministers’ Conference, South Africa announces that it will withdraw from the Commonwealth when the South African Constitution of 1961 comes into effect.
    • 1965 – President Lyndon B. Johnson, responding to the Selma crisis, tells U.S. Congress “We shall overcome” while advocating the Voting Rights Act.
    • 1978 – Somalia and Ethiopia signed a truce to end the Ethio-Somali War.
    • 1986 – Collapse of Hotel New World: Thirty-three people die when the Hotel New World in Singapore collapses.
    • 1990 – Mikhail Gorbachev is elected as the first President of the Soviet Union.
    • 1991 – Cold War: The Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany comes into effect, granting full sovereignty to the Federal Republic of Germany.
    • 2008 – Stockpiles of obsolete ammunition explode at an ex-military ammunition depot in the village of Gërdec, Albania, killing 26 people.
    • 2011 – Beginning of the Syrian Civil War.
    • 2019 – Fifty-one people are killed in the Christchurch mosque shootings.
    • 2019 – Beginning of the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests.
    • 2019 – Approximately 1.4 million young people in 123 countries go on strike to protest climate change.

    Births on March 15

    • 270 – Saint Nicholas, Greek bishop and saint (d. 343)
    • 1097 – Fujiwara no Tadamichi, Japanese noble (d. 1164)
    • 1275 – Margaret of England, Duchess of Brabant (d. 1333)
    • 1407 – Jacob, Margrave of Baden-Baden (d. 1453)
    • 1444 – Francesco Gonzaga, Catholic cardinal (d. 1483)
    • 1493 – Anne de Montmorency, French captain and diplomat (d. 1567)
    • 1513 – Hedwig Jagiellon, Electress of Brandenburg (d. 1573)
    • 1516 – Alqas Mirza, Safavid prince (d. 1550)
    • 1582 – Daniel Featley, English theologian and controversialist (d. 1645)
    • 1584 – Philip, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (d. 1663)
    • 1591 – Alexandre de Rhodes, French missionary and lexicographer (d. 1660)
    • 1611 – Jan Fyt, Flemish painter (d. 1661)
    • 1638 – Shunzhi Emperor of China (d. 1661)
    • 1666 – George Bähr, German architect, designed the Dresden Frauenkirche (d. 1738)
    • 1754 – Archibald Menzies, Scottish surgeon and botanist (d. 1842)
    • 1767 – Andrew Jackson, American general, judge, and politician, 7th President of the United States (d. 1845)
    • 1779 – William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1848)
    • 1790 – Ludwig Immanuel Magnus, German mathematician and academic (d. 1861)
    • 1791 – Charles Knight, English author and publisher (d. 1873)
    • 1809 – Joseph Jenkins Roberts, American-Liberian historian and politician, 1st President of Liberia (d. 1876)
    • 1809 – Karl Josef von Hefele, German bishop and theologian (d. 1893)
    • 1813 – John Snow, English physician and epidemiologist (d. 1858)
    • 1818 – Mariano Álvarez, Filipino general and politician (d. 1924)
    • 1821 – Johann Josef Loschmidt, Austrian physicist and chemist (d. 1895)
    • 1821 – William Milligan, Scottish theologian, author, and educator (d. 1892)
    • 1824 – Jules Chevalier, French priest, founded the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (d. 1907)
    • 1830 – Paul Heyse, German author, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1914)
    • 1830 – Élisée Reclus, French geographer and academic (d. 1905)
    • 1831 – Saint Daniele Comboni, Italian missionary and saint (d. 1881)
    • 1835 – John Henry Kagi, American lawyer and activist (d. 1859)
    • 1835 – Eduard Strauss, Austrian composer and conductor (d. 1916)
    • 1838 – Karl Davydov, Russian cellist, composer, and conductor (d. 1889)
    • 1851 – John Sebastian Little, American lawyer and politician, 21st Governor of Arkansas (d. 1916)
    • 1851 – William Mitchell Ramsay, Scottish archaeologist and scholar (d. 1939)
    • 1852 – Augusta, Lady Gregory, Anglo-Irish landowner, playwright, and translator (d. 1932)
    • 1854 – Emil von Behring, German physiologist and physician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1917)
    • 1857 – Christian Michelsen, Norwegian businessman and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Norway (d. 1925)
    • 1858 – Liberty Hyde Bailey, American botanist and academic, co-founded the American Society for Horticultural Science (d. 1954)
    • 1860 – Waldemar Haffkine, Russian-Swiss bacteriologist and microbiologist (d. 1930)
    • 1864 – Johan Halvorsen, Norwegian violinist, composer, and conductor (Oslo Philharmonic) (d. 1935)
    • 1865 – Manuk Abeghian, Armenian author and scholar (d. 1944)
    • 1866 – Matthew Charlton, Australian miner and politician (d. 1948)
    • 1866 – Johan Vaaler, Norwegian inventor, often erroneously identified as the inventor of the Paper clip (d. 1910)
    • 1868 – Grace Chisholm Young, English mathematician (d. 1944)
    • 1869 – Stanisław Wojciechowski, Polish scholar and politician, 2nd President of the Republic of Poland (d. 1953)
    • 1874 – Eugène Fiset, Canadian physician, general, and politician, 18th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (d. 1951)
    • 1874 – Harold L. Ickes, American journalist and politician, 32nd United States Secretary of the Interior (d. 1952)
    • 1878 – Reza Shah, Iranian king (d. 1944)
    • 1886 – Wladimir Burliuk, Ukrainian-Greek painter and illustrator (d. 1917)
    • 1887 – Marjorie Merriweather Post, American businesswoman and philanthropist, founded General Foods (d. 1973)
    • 1887 – Lütfi Kırdar, Turkish physician and politician, Turkish Minister of Health (d. 1961)
    • 1879 – Benjamin R. Jacobs, American biochemist (d. 1963)
    • 1890 – Boris Delaunay, Russian mathematician and mountaineer (d. 1980)
    • 1892 – James Basevi Ord, Mexican-American colonel (d. 1938)
    • 1897 – Jackson Scholz, American runner (d. 1986)
    • 1900 – Gilberto Freyre, Brazilian sociologist, anthropologist, historian and writer (d. 1987)
    • 1904 – George Brent, Irish-American actor (d. 1979)
    • 1904 – J. Pat O’Malley, English-American actor (d. 1985)
    • 1905 – Berthold Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, German lawyer and judge (d. 1944)
    • 1907 – Zarah Leander, Swedish actress and singer (d. 1981)
    • 1909 – Jaroslava Muchová Syllabová, Czech painter (d. 1986)
    • 1912 – Lightnin’ Hopkins, American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1982)
    • 1912 – Louis Paul Boon, Flemish journalist and author (d. 1979)
    • 1913 – Macdonald Carey, American actor (d. 1994)
    • 1913 – Jack Fairman, English race car driver (d. 2002)
    • 1916 – Frank Coghlan, Jr., American actor and pilot (d. 2009)
    • 1916 – Fadil Hoxha, Kosovar commander and politician, 2nd President of Kosovo (d. 2001)
    • 1916 – Harry James, American trumpet player, bandleader, and actor (d. 1983)
    • 1918 – Richard Ellmann, American author and critic (d. 1987)
    • 1918 – Punch Imlach, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager (d. 1987)
    • 1919 – Lawrence Tierney, American actor (d. 2002)
    • 1920 – E. Donnall Thomas, American physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2012)
    • 1921 – Madelyn Pugh, American television writer and producer (d. 2011)
    • 1922 – Eddie Calvert, English trumpeter (d. 1978)
    • 1926 – Ben Johnston, American composer and academic (d. 2019)
    • 1926 – Norm Van Brocklin, American football player and coach (d. 1983)
    • 1927 – Christian Marquand, French actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2000)
    • 1927 – Carl Smith, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2010)
    • 1928 – Bob Wilber, American clarinetist and saxophonist (d. 2019)
    • 1930 – Zhores Alferov, Belarusian-Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2019)
    • 1932 – Alan Bean, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2018)
    • 1932 – Arif Mardin, Turkish-American record producer (d. 2006)
    • 1933 – Ruth Bader Ginsburg, American lawyer and judge
    • 1933 – Philippe de Broca, French actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2004)
    • 1934 – Richard Layard, Baron Layard, English economist and academic
    • 1934 – Kanshi Ram, Indian politician (d. 2006)
    • 1935 – David Andrews, Irish politician, 21st Minister of Foreign Affairs for Ireland
    • 1935 – Judd Hirsch, American actor
    • 1935 – Jimmy Swaggart, American pastor and television host
    • 1935 – Leonid Yengibarov, Russian-Armenian clown and boxer (d. 1972)
    • 1936 – Howard Greenfield, American songwriter (d. 1986)
    • 1937 – Marcus Raichle, American neurologist and physiologist
    • 1937 – Valentin Rasputin, Russian environmentalist and author (d. 2015)
    • 1938 – Charles Lloyd, American saxophonist and flute player
    • 1939 – Ted Kaufman, American engineer and politician
    • 1939 – Robert Nye, English author, poet, and playwright (d. 2016)
    • 1939 – Julie Tullis, English mountaineer (d. 1986)
    • 1940 – Frank Dobson, English politician, Secretary of State for Health (d. 2019)
    • 1940 – Phil Lesh, American bassist
    • 1941 – Mike Love, American singer-songwriter and musician
    • 1941 – Carolyn Hansson, Canadian materials engineer
    • 1943 – David Cronenberg, Canadian actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1943 – Lynda La Plante, English actress, screenwriter, and author
    • 1943 – Michael Scott-Joynt, English bishop (d. 2014)
    • 1943 – Sly Stone, American singer-songwriter, musician, and producer
    • 1943 – The Iron Sheik, Iranian-American wrestler and actor
    • 1944 – Chi Cheng, Taiwanese runner and politician
    • 1944 – Jacques Doillon, French director and screenwriter
    • 1944 – Francis Mankiewicz, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1993)
    • 1944 – A. K. Faezul Huq, Bangladeshi lawyer and politician (d. 2007)
    • 1945 – Mark J. Green, American lawyer and politician
    • 1946 – Bobby Bonds, American baseball player and coach (d. 2003)
    • 1946 – John Dempsey, English born Irish international footballer, centre-back and manager
    • 1947 – Ry Cooder, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1947 – Gino Ferrin, German footballer and manager
    • 1947 – Juraj Kukura, Slovak-German actor
    • 1948 – Kate Bornstein, American author and activist
    • 1948 – Sérgio Vieira de Mello, Brazilian diplomat (d. 2003)
    • 1950 – Jørgen Olsen, Danish singer-songwriter
    • 1950 – Kurt Koch, Swiss cardinal
    • 1951 – David Alton, Baron Alton of Liverpool, English educator and politician
    • 1952 – Howard Devoto, English singer-songwriter
    • 1952 – Philip Green, English businessman
    • 1952 – Howard Koh, American physician and politician, 14th United States Assistant Secretary for Health
    • 1953 – Richard Bruton, Irish economist and politician, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation
    • 1953 – Heather Graham Pozzessere, American author
    • 1953 – Kumba Ialá, Bissau-Guinean educator and politician, President of Guinea-Bissau (d. 2014)
    • 1954 – Massimo Bubola, Italian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1954 – Isobel Buchanan, Scottish soprano and actress
    • 1954 – Bob Budiansky, American author and illustrator
    • 1954 – Henry Marsh, American runner and businessman, co-founded MonaVie
    • 1954 – Craig Wasson, American actor
    • 1955 – Mohsin Khan, Pakistani cricketer
    • 1955 – Dee Snider, American singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1956 – Clay Matthews, Jr., American football player and coach
    • 1957 – Joaquim de Almeida, Portuguese-American actor
    • 1957 – Víctor Muñoz, Spanish footballer and manager
    • 1957 – David Silverman, American animator, director, and screenwriter
    • 1958 – Anne Davies, English television presenter and newsreader
    • 1959 – Harold Baines, American baseball player and coach
    • 1959 – Renny Harlin, Finnish director and producer
    • 1959 – Lisa Holton, American journalist and author
    • 1959 – Ben Okri, Nigerian poet and author
    • 1960 – Mike Pagliarulo, American baseball player and coach
    • 1960 – Phil Walsh, Australian rules footballer and coach (d. 2015)
    • 1961 – Terry Cummings, American basketball player and singer
    • 1961 – Craig Ludwig, American ice hockey player and coach
    • 1962 – Terence Trent D’Arby, American singer-songwriter
    • 1962 – Jimmy Baio, American actor
    • 1963 – Bret Michaels, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
    • 1964 – Davide Pinato, Italian footballer
    • 1964 – Rockwell, American singer-songwriter and musician
    • 1965 – Sunetra Gupta, Indian epidemiologist, author, and academic
    • 1965 – Robyn Malcolm, New Zealand actress
    • 1967 – Naoko Takeuchi, Japanese manga artist, creator of Sailor Moon
    • 1968 – Kahimi Karie, Japanese singer
    • 1968 – Mark McGrath, American singer-songwriter and television host
    • 1968 – Terje Riis-Johansen, Norwegian politician, Norwegian Minister of Petroleum and Energy
    • 1968 – Sabrina Salerno, Italian singer-songwriter, actress, and producer
    • 1969 – Rona Ambrose, Canadian journalist and politician, former Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada
    • 1969 – Gianluca Festa, Italian footballer and coach
    • 1969 – Yutaka Take, Japanese jockey
    • 1970 – Christine Anu, Australian singer
    • 1970 – Naka Drotske, South African rugby player
    • 1970 – Derek Parra, American speed skater and coach
    • 1971 – Penny Lancaster, English model and photographer
    • 1971 – Joanne Wise, English long jumper
    • 1972 – Mark Hoppus, American singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer
    • 1972 – Holger Stromberg, German chef
    • 1972 – Mike Tomlin, American football player and coach
    • 1973 – Robin Hunicke, American video game designer and producer
    • 1973 – Masayuki Naruse, Japanese wrestler and mixed martial artist
    • 1974 – Robert Fick, American baseball player
    • 1975 – Eva Longoria, American actress and producer
    • 1975 – Veselin Topalov, Bulgarian chess player
    • 1975 – Darcy Tucker, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1975 – will.i.am, American rapper, producer, and actor
    • 1976 – Katherine Brooks, American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1976 – Abhay Deol, Indian actor
    • 1976 – Cara Pifko, Canadian actress
    • 1977 – Joe Hahn, American DJ, producer, and director
    • 1977 – Brian Tee, Japanese-American actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1978 – Takeru Kobayashi, Japanese competitive eater
    • 1979 – Kyle Mills, New Zealand cricketer
    • 1979 – Kevin Youkilis, American baseball player and scout
    • 1980 – Freddie Bynum, American baseball player
    • 1980 – Eric Grothe, Jr. Australian rugby league player and guitarist
    • 1980 – Claudiney Ramos, Brazilian footballer (d. 2013)
    • 1981 – Young Buck, American rapper, producer, and actor
    • 1981 – Mikael Forssell, German-Finnish footballer
    • 1981 – Veronica Maggio, Swedish singer-songwriter
    • 1981 – Jens Salumäe, Estonian skier
    • 1982 – Tom Budge, Australian actor
    • 1982 – Emily Dunn, American actress and dancer
    • 1982 – Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich, Kenyan runner
    • 1983 – Sean Biggerstaff, Scottish actor
    • 1983 – Umut Bulut, Turkish footballer
    • 1983 – Ben Hilfenhaus, Australian cricketer
    • 1983 – Kostas Kaimakoglou, Greek basketball player
    • 1983 – Golda Marcus, Salvadoran swimmer
    • 1983 – Daryl Murphy, Irish footballer
    • 1983 – Heiko Niidas, Estonian basketball player
    • 1983 – Ricky Sekhon, English actor
    • 1983 – Yo Yo Honey Singh, Indian music producer
    • 1984 – Badradine Belloumou, French-Algerian footballer
    • 1984 – Malin Buska, Swedish actress
    • 1984 – Olivier Jean, Canadian speed skater
    • 1984 – Kostas Vasileiadis, Greek basketball player
    • 1984 – Wilson Aparecido Xavier Júnior, Brazilian footballer
    • 1987 – Eric Decker, American football player
    • 1988 – Éver Guzmán, Mexican footballer
    • 1988 – James Reimer, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1988 – Jolo Revilla, Filipino actor and politician
    • 1988 – Alexander Sims, English race car driver
    • 1989 – Sam Baldock, English footballer
    • 1989 – Bryce Gibbs, Australian footballer
    • 1989 – Sandro, Brazilian international footballer, midfielder
    • 1989 – Gil Roberts, American sprinter
    • 1989 – Adrien Silva, Portuguese footballer
    • 1989 – Caitlin Wachs, American actress
    • 1990 – Siobhan Magnus, American singer-songwriter
    • 1991 – Tavon Austin, American footballer
    • 1991 – Kurt Baptiste, Australian rugby league player
    • 1991 – Xavier Henry, American basketball player
    • 1996 – Seonaid McIntosh, Scottish sports shooter
    • 2000 – Kristian Kostov, Russian-Bulgarian singer-songwriter

    Deaths on March 15

    • 44 BC – Julius Caesar, Roman general and statesman (b. 100 BC)
    • 220 – Cao Cao, Chinese general, warlord and statesman (b. 155)
    • 493 – Odoacer, the first king of Italy after the fall of the Western Roman Empire (b. 433)
    • 752 – Pope Zachary
    • 963 – Romanos II, Byzantine emperor (b. 938)
    • 990 – Siegfried I (the Older), German nobleman
    • 1086 – Richilde, Countess of Hainaut, Flemish consort and regent (b. c. 1018)
    • 1124 – Ernulf, Bishop of Rochester (b. c. 1040)
    • 1190 – Isabella of Hainault, queen of Philip II of France (b. 1170)
    • 1311 – Walter V, Count of Brienne (b. 1275)
    • 1311 – Thomas III d’Autremencourt, Lord of Salona, Marshal of Achaea
    • 1311 – Albert Pallavicini, Margrave of Bodonitza
    • 1311 – George I Ghisi, Triarch of Euboea, Baron of Chalandritsa, Lord of Tinos, Mykonos, Serifos and Keos
    • 1327 – Albert of Schwarzburg, grand preceptor of the Knights Hospitaller
    • 1346 – Shah Jalal, Sufi saint of Bengal (b. 1271).
    • 1536 – Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha, Ottoman politician, 35th Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1493)
    • 1575 – Annibale Padovano, Italian organist and composer (b. 1527)
    • 1644 – Countess Louise Juliana of Nassau (b. 1576)
    • 1657 – David Pardo, Dutch rabbi and scholar (b. 1591)
    • 1673 – Salvator Rosa, Italian painter and poet (b. 1615)
    • 1711 – Eusebio Kino, Italian priest and missionary (b. 1645)
    • 1820 – Clement Mary Hofbauer, Austrian priest and saint (b. 1751)
    • 1832 – Otto Wilhelm Masing, Estonian linguist and clergyman (b. 1763)
    • 1842 – Luigi Cherubini, Italian composer and theorist (b. 1760)
    • 1849 – Giuseppe Caspar Mezzofanti, Italian cardinal and linguist (b. 1774)
    • 1891 – Joseph Bazalgette, English engineer and academic (b. 1819)
    • 1897 – James Joseph Sylvester, English mathematician and academic (b. 1814)
    • 1898 – Henry Bessemer, English engineer and businessman (b. 1813)
    • 1921 – Talaat Pasha, Ottoman politician, 281st Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1874)
    • 1927 – Hector Rason, English-Australian politician, 7th Premier of Western Australia (b. 1858)
    • 1933 – Gustavo Jiménez, Peruvian colonel and politician, 73rd President of Peru (b. 1886)
    • 1937 – H. P. Lovecraft, American short story writer, editor, and novelist (b. 1890)
    • 1938 – Nikolai Bukharin, Russian journalist, and politician (b. 1888)
    • 1939 – Luis Barceló, Spanish colonel (b. 1896)
    • 1941 – Alexej von Jawlensky, Russian-German painter (b. 1864)
    • 1944 – Otto von Below, Prussian general (b. 1857)
    • 1951 – John S. Paraskevopoulos, Greek-South African astronomer and academic (b. 1889)
    • 1957 – Ernst Nobs, Swiss politician (b. 1886)
    • 1959 – Lester Young, American saxophonist and clarinet player (b. 1909)
    • 1962 – Charles Bartliff, American soccer player (b. 1886)
    • 1962 – Arthur Compton, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1892)
    • 1966 – Abe Saperstein, American basketball player and coach (b. 1902)
    • 1969 – Miles Malleson, English actor and screenwriter (b. 1888)
    • 1969 – Musashiyama Takeshi, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 33rd Yokozuna (b. 1909)
    • 1970 – Tarjei Vesaas, Norwegian author and poet (b. 1897)
    • 1971 – Jean-Pierre Monseré, Belgian cyclist (b. 1948)
    • 1972 – Aleksandr Ivanovich Laktionov, Russian painter and educator (b. 1910)
    • 1975 – Aristotle Onassis, Greek-Argentinian businessman (b. 1906)
    • 1977 – Hubert Aquin, Canadian author and activist (b. 1929)
    • 1977 – Antonino Rocca, Italian-American wrestler and referee (b. 1921)
    • 1981 – René Clair, French director and screenwriter (b. 1898)
    • 1983 – Coloman Braun-Bogdan, Romanian footballer and manager (b. 1905)
    • 1983 – Rebecca West, English author and critic (b. 1892)
    • 1985 – Radha Krishna Choudhary, Indian historian and author (b. 1921)
    • 1986 – Alexandru Giugaru, Romanian actor (b. 1897)
    • 1987 – Douglas Abbott, Canadian lawyer and politician, 10th Canadian Minister of National Defence (b. 1899)
    • 1988 – Dmitri Polyakov, Ukrainian general and spy (b. 1926)
    • 1989 – Muhammad Jameel Didi, Maldivian poet and politician (b. 1915)
    • 1990 – Farzad Bazoft, Iranian-English journalist (b. 1958)
    • 1990 – Tom Harmon, American football player and sportscaster (b. 1919)
    • 1991 – Bud Freeman, American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1906)
    • 1992 – Rahi Masoom Raza, Indian Urdu poet (b.1927)
    • 1997 – Gail Davis, American actress (b. 1925)
    • 1997 – Victor Vasarely, Hungarian-French painter (b. 1906)
    • 1998 – Tim Maia, Brazilian singer-songwriter (b. 1942)
    • 1998 – Benjamin Spock, American pediatrician and author (b. 1903)
    • 1999 – Guy D’Artois, Canadian soldier (b. 1917)
    • 2001 – Gaetano Cozzi, Italian historian and academic (b. 1922)
    • 2001 – Ann Sothern, American actress and singer (b. 1909)
    • 2003 – Thora Hird, English actress (b. 1911)
    • 2003 – Paul Stojanovich, American television producer, created World’s Wildest Police Videos (b. 1956)
    • 2004 – Philippe Lemaire, French actor (b. 1927)
    • 2004 – Bill Pickering, New Zealand-American scientist and engineer (b. 1910)
    • 2004 – John Pople, English-American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1925)
    • 2005 – Bob Bellear, Australian engineer and judge (b. 1944)
    • 2005 – Otar Korkia, Georgian basketball player and coach (b. 1923)
    • 2005 – Shoji Nishio, Japanese martial artist (b. 1927)
    • 2006 – Georgios Rallis, Greek lieutenant and politician, 173rd Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1918)
    • 2006 – Red Storey, Canadian football player and referee (b. 1918)
    • 2007 – Charles Harrelson, American murderer (b. 1938)
    • 2007 – Bowie Kuhn, American lawyer and businessman (b. 1926)
    • 2007 – Stuart Rosenberg, American director and producer (b. 1927)
    • 2008 – Mikey Dread, Jamaican singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1954)
    • 2008 – Vytautas Kernagis, Lithuanian singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1951)
    • 2008 – G. David Low, American astronaut and engineer (b. 1956)
    • 2008 – Ken Reardon, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1921)
    • 2008 – Sarla Thakral, First Indian woman to earn a pilot’s license. (b. 1914)
    • 2009 – Ron Silver, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1946)
    • 2011 – Nate Dogg, American rapper (b. 1969)
    • 2011 – Smiley Culture, English singer and DJ (b. 1963)
    • 2012 – Mervyn Davies, Welsh rugby player (b. 1946)
    • 2012 – Eb Gaines, American businessman and diplomat (b. 1927)
    • 2012 – Luis Gonzales, Filipino actor (b. 1928)
    • 2012 – Bernardino González Ruíz, Panamanian physician and politician, President of Panama (b. 1911)
    • 2012 – Fran Matera, American illustrator (b. 1924)
    • 2012 – Dave Philley, American baseball player and manager (b. 1920)
    • 2013 – James Bonk, American chemist and academic (b. 1931)
    • 2013 – Booth Gardner, American businessman and politician, 19th Governor of Washington (b. 1936)
    • 2013 – Hardrock Gunter, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1925)
    • 2013 – Shannon Larratt, Canadian publisher, founded BMEzine (b. 1973)
    • 2013 – Terry Lightfoot, English clarinet player (b. 1935)
    • 2013 – Leverne McDonnell, Australian actress (b. 1963).
    • 2013 – Masamichi Noro, Japanese-French martial artist, founded Kinomichi (b. 1935)
    • 2013 – Kallam Anji Reddy, Indian engineer and businessman, founded Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories (b. 1940)
    • 2013 – Peter Worsley, English sociologist (b. 1924)
    • 2013 – Felipe Zetter, Mexican footballer (b. 1923)
    • 2014 – Scott Asheton, American drummer (b. 1949).
    • 2014 – David Brenner, American comedian, actor, and author (b. 1936)
    • 2014 – Bo Callaway, American soldier and politician, 11th United States Secretary of the Army (b. 1927)
    • 2014 – Clarissa Dickson Wright, English chef, author, and television personality (b. 1947)
    • 2014 – Everett L. Fullam, American priest and scholar (b. 1930)
    • 2014 – Cees Veerman, Dutch singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1943)
    • 2015 – Collins Chabane, South African politician (b. 1960)
    • 2015 – Robert Clatworthy, English sculptor and educator (b. 1928)
    • 2015 – Narayan Desai, Indian author and activist (b. 1924)
    • 2015 – Sally Forrest, American actress and dancer (b. 1928)
    • 2015 – Curtis Gans, American political scientist and author (b. 1937)
    • 2015 – Mike Porcaro, American bass player (b. 1955)
    • 2016 – Sylvia Anderson, English voice actress and television and film producer (b. 1927)
    • 2016 – Asa Briggs, English historian and academic (b. 1921)
    • 2016 – Daryl Coley, American singer and pastor (b. 1955)
    • 2016 – Seru Rabeni, Fijian rugby player (b. 1978)
    • 2019 – Larry DiTillio, American film and TV series writer (b. 1948)
    • 2020 – Vittorio Gregotti, Italian architect (b. 1927)

    Holidays and observances on March 15

    • Christian feast day:
      • Aristobulus of Britannia
      • Clemens Maria Hofbauer
      • Leocritia
      • Longinus
      • Louise de Marillac
      • Raymond of Fitero
      • March 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Constitution Day (Belarus)
    • Earliest day on which Birth of Benito Juárez can fall, while March 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Monday of March. (Mexico)
    • Earliest day on which Palm Sunday can fall, while April 18 is the latest; celebrated on the sixth Sunday of Lent. (Christianity)
    • Hōnen Matsuri (Japan)
    • International Day Against Police Brutality (International)
    • J. J. Roberts’ Birthday (Liberia)
    • National Day, celebrating the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 (Hungary)
    • World Consumer Rights Day (International)
    • World Contact Day
    • World Day of Muslim Culture, Peace, Dialogue and Film (International)
    • World Speech Day
    • Youth Day (Palau)

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

    February 29, also known as leap day or leap year day, is a date added to most years that are divisible by 4, such as 2016, 2020, and 2024. A leap day is added in various solar calendars (calendars based on the Earth’s revolution around the Sun), including the Gregorian calendar standard in most of the world. Lunisolar calendars (whose months are based on the phases of the Moon) instead add a leap or intercalary month

    In the Gregorian calendar, years that are divisible by 100, but not by 400, do not contain a leap day. Thus, 1700, 1800, and 1900 did not contain a leap day; neither will 2100, 2200, and 2300. Conversely, 1600 and 2000 did and 2400 will. Years containing a leap day are called leap years. Years not containing a leap day are called common years. In the Chinese calendar, this day will only occur in years of the monkey, dragon, and rat.

    A leap day is observed because the Earth’s period of orbital revolution around the Sun takes approximately six hours longer than 365 whole days. A leap day compensates for this lag, realigning the calendar with the Earth’s position in the Solar System; otherwise, seasons would occur later than intended in the calendar year. The Julian calendar used in Christendom until the 16th century added a leap day every four years; but this rule adds too many days (roughly three every 400 years), making the equinoxes and solstices shift gradually to earlier dates. By the 16th century the vernal equinox had drifted to March 11, so the Gregorian calendar was introduced both to shift it back by omitting several days, and to reduce the number of leap years via the aforementioned century rule to keep the equinoxes more or less fixed and the date of Easter consistently close to the vernal equinox.

    Leap days can present a particular problem in computing known as the leap year bug when February 29 is not handled correctly in logic that accepts or manipulates dates. For example, this has happened with ATMs and Microsoft’s cloud system Azure.

    Leap years

    Although most modern calendar years have 365 days, a complete revolution around the Sun (one solar year) takes approximately 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 46 seconds (or, for simplicity’s sake, approximately 365 days and 6 hours, or 365.25 days) .An extra 23 hours, 15 minutes, and 4 seconds thus accumulates every four years (again, for simplicity’s sake, approximately an extra 24 hours, or 1 day, every four years), requiring that an extra calendar day be added to align the calendar with the Sun’s apparent position. Without the added day, in future years the seasons would occur later in the calendar, eventually leading to confusion about when to undertake activities dependent on weather, ecology, or hours of daylight.

    Solar years are actually slightly shorter than 365 days and 6 hours (365.25 days), which had been known since the 2nd century BC when Hipparchus stated that it lasted 365 + 1/4 − 1/300 days, but this was ignored by Julius Caesar and his astronomical adviser Sosigenes. The Gregorian calendar corrected this by adopting the length of the tropical year stated in three medieval sources, the Alfonsine tables, De Revolutionibus, and the Prutenic Tables, truncated to two sexagesimal places, 365 14/60 33/3600 days or 365 + 1/4 − 3/400 days or 365.2425 days. The length of the tropical year in 2000 was 365.24217 mean solar daysAdding a calendar day every four years, therefore, results in an excess of around 44 minutes every four years, or about 3 days every 400 years. To compensate for this, three days are removed every 400 years. The Gregorian calendar reform implements this adjustment by making an exception to the general rule that there is a leap year every four years. Instead, a year divisible by 100 is not a leap year unless that year is also divisible by 400. This means that the years 1600, 2000, and 2400 are leap years, while the years 1700, 1800, 1900, 2100, 2200, 2300, and 2500 are not leap years.

    Modern (Gregorian) calendar

    The Gregorian calendar repeats itself every 400 years, which is exactly 20,871 weeks including 97 leap days (146,097 days). Over this period, February 29 falls on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday 13 times; Friday and Saturday 14 times; and Monday and Wednesday 15 times. Except for a century mark that is not a multiple of 400, consecutive leap days fall in order Sunday, Friday, Wednesday, Monday, Saturday, Thursday, Tuesday, and repeats again.

    Early Roman calendar

    Adding a leap day (after 23 February) shifts the commemorations in the 1962 Roman Missal.

    Main article: Roman calendar

    The calendar of the Roman king Numa Pompilius had only 355 days (even though it was not a lunar calendar) which meant that it would quickly become unsynchronized with the solar year. An earlier Roman solution to this problem was to lengthen the calendar periodically by adding extra days to February, the last month of the year. February consisted of two parts, each with an odd number of days. The first part ended with the Terminalia on the 23rd, which was considered the end of the religious year, and the five remaining days formed the second part. To keep the calendar year roughly aligned with the solar year, a leap month, called Mensis Intercalaris (“intercalary month”), was added from time to time between these two parts of February. The (usual) second part of February was incorporated in the intercalary month as its last five days, with no change either in their dates or the festivals observed on them. This followed naturally because the days after the Ides (13th) of February (in an ordinary year) or the Ides of Intercalaris (in an intercalary year) both counted down to the Kalends of March (i.e. they were known as “the nth day before the Kalends of March”). The Nones (5th) and Ides of Intercalaris occupied their normal positions.

    The third-century writer Censorinus says:

    When it was thought necessary to add (every two years) an intercalary month of 22 or 23 days, so that the civil year should correspond to the natural (solar) year, this intercalation was in preference made in February, between Terminalia [23rd]and Regifugium [24th].

    Julian reform

    Main article: Julian calendar

    The set leap day was introduced in Rome as a part of the Julian reform in the 1st century BCE. As before, the intercalation was made after February 23. The day following the Terminalia (February 23) was doubled, forming the “bis sextum“—literally ‘twice sixth’, since February 24 was ‘the sixth day before the Kalends of March’ using Roman inclusive counting (March 1 was the Kalends of March and was also the first day of the calendar year). Inclusive counting initially caused the Roman priests to add the extra day every three years instead of four; Augustus was compelled to omit leap years for a few decades to return the calendar to its proper position. Although there were exceptions, the first day of the bis sextum (February 24) was usually regarded as the intercalated or “bissextile” day since the 3rd century CE. February 29 came to be regarded as the leap day when the Roman system of numbering days was replaced by sequential numbering in the late Middle Ages, although this has only been formally enacted in Sweden and Finland. In Britain, the extra day added to leap years remains notionally the 24th, although the 29th remains more visible on the calendar.

    Born on February 29

    A person born on February 29 may be called a “leapling”, a “leaper”, or a “leap-year baby”. Some leaplings celebrate their birthday in non-leap years on either February 28 or March 1, while others only observe birthdays on the authentic intercalary date, February 29.

    Legal status: The effective legal date of a leapling’s birthday in non-leap years varies between jurisdictions.

    In the United Kingdom and its former colony Hong Kong, when a person born on February 29 turns 18, they are considered to have their birthday on March 1 in the relevant year.

    In New Zealand, a person born on February 29 is deemed to have their birthday on February 28 in non-leap years, for the purposes of Driver Licensing under §2(2) of the Land Transport (Driver Licensing) Rule 1999. The net result is that for drivers aged 75, or over 80, their driver licence expires at the end of the last day of February, even though their birthday would otherwise fall on the first day in March in non-leap years. Otherwise, New Zealand legislation is silent on when a person born on February 29 has their birthday, although case law would suggest that age is computed based on the number of years elapsed, from the day after the date of birth, and that the person’s birth day then occurs on the last day of the year period. This differs from English common law where a birthday is considered to be the start of the next year, the preceding year ending at midnight on the day preceding the birthday. While a person attains the same age on the same day, it also means that, in New Zealand, if something must be done by the time a person attains a certain age, that thing can be done on the birthday that they attain that age and still be lawful.

    In Taiwan, the legal birthday of a leapling is February 28 in common years:

    If a period fixed by weeks, months, and years does not commence from the beginning of a week, month, or year, it ends with the ending of the day which proceeds the day of the last week, month, or year which corresponds to that on which it began to commence. But if there is no corresponding day in the last month, the period ends with the ending of the last day of the last month.

    Thus, in England and Wales or in Hong Kong, a person born on February 29 will have legally reached 18 years old on March 1. If they were born in Taiwan they legally become 18 on February 28, a day earlier.

    In the United States, according to John Reitz, a professor of law at the University of Iowa, there is no “… statute or general rule that has anything to do with leap day.” Reitz speculates that “March 1 would likely be considered the legal birthday in non-leap years of someone born on leap day,”using the same reasoning as described for the United Kingdom and Hong Kong. However, for the purposes of Social Security, a person attains the next age the day before the anniversary of birth. Therefore, Social Security would recognize February 28 as the change in age for leap year births, not March 1

    In fiction

    There are many instances in children’s literature where a person’s claim to be only a quarter of their actual age turns out to be based on counting only their leap-year birthdays.

    A similar device is used in the plot of Gilbert and Sullivan’s 1879 comic opera The Pirates of Penzance: as a child, Frederic was apprenticed to a band of pirates until his 21st birthday. Having passed his 21st year, he leaves the pirate band and falls in love. However, since he was born on February 29, his 21st birthday will not arrive until he is eighty-eight (since 1900 was not a leap year), so he must leave his fiancée and return to the pirates.

    Since 1967, February 29 has been the official birthday of Superman, but not Clark Kent.

    February 29 in History

    • 1504 – Christopher Columbus uses his knowledge of a lunar eclipse that night to convince Jamaican natives to provide him with supplies.
    • 1644 – Abel Tasman’s second Pacific voyage begins.
    • 1704 – Queen Anne’s War: French forces and Native Americans stage a raid on Deerfield, Massachusetts Bay Colony, killing 56 villagers and taking more than 100 captive.
    • 1712 – February 29 is followed by February 30 in Sweden, in a move to abolish the Swedish calendar for a return to the Julian calendar.
    • 1720 – Ulrika Eleonora, Queen of Sweden abdicates in favour of her husband, who becomes King Frederick I on March 24.
    • 1752 – King Alaungpaya founds Konbaung Dynasty, the last dynasty of Burmese monarchy.
    • 1768 – Polish nobles form the Bar Confederation.
    • 1796 – The Jay Treaty between the United States and Great Britain comes into force, facilitating ten years of peaceful trade between the two nations.
    • 1864 – American Civil War: Kilpatrick–Dahlgren Raid fails: Plans to free 15,000 Union soldiers being held near Richmond, Virginia are thwarted.
    • 1892 – St. Petersburg, Florida is incorporated.
    • 1912 – The Piedra Movediza (Moving Stone) of Tandil falls and breaks.
    • 1916 – Tokelau is annexed by the United Kingdom.
    • 1916 – Child labor: In South Carolina, the minimum working age for factory, mill, and mine workers is raised from 12 to 14 years old.
    • 1920 – Czechoslovak National Assembly adopts the Constitution.
    • 1936 – February 26 Incident in Tokyo ends.
    • 1940 – 12th Academy Awards: For her performance as “Mammy” in Gone with the Wind, Hattie McDaniel becomes the first African American to win an Academy Award.
    • 1940 – Finland initiates Winter War peace negotiations.
    • 1940 – In a ceremony held in Berkeley, California, physicist Ernest Lawrence receives the 1939 Nobel Prize in Physics from Sweden’s Consul General in San Francisco.
    • 1944 – World War II: The Admiralty Islands are invaded in Operation Brewer led by American General Douglas MacArthur.
    • 1960 – The 5.7 Mw  Agadir earthquake shakes coastal Morocco with a maximum perceived intensity of X (Extreme), destroying Agadir, and leaving 12,000 dead and another 12,000 injured.
    • 1972 – Vietnam War: Vietnamization: South Korea withdraws 11,000 of its 48,000 troops from Vietnam.
    • 1980 – Gordie Howe of the Hartford Whalers makes NHL history as he scores his 800th goal.
    • 1984 – Pierre Trudeau announces his retirement as Liberal Party leader and Prime Minister of Canada.
    • 1988 – South African archbishop Desmond Tutu is arrested along with one hundred other clergymen during a five-day anti-apartheid demonstration in Cape Town.
    • 1988 – Svend Robinson becomes the first member of the House of Commons of Canada to come out as gay.
    • 1992 – First day of Bosnia and Herzegovina independence referendum.
    • 1996 – Faucett Flight 251 crashes in the Andes; all 123 passengers and crew die.
    • 1996 – Siege of Sarajevo officially ends.
    • 2000 – Second Chechen War: Eighty-four Russian paratroopers are killed in a rebel attack on a guard post near Ulus Kert.
    • 2004 – Jean-Bertrand Aristide is removed as President of Haiti following a coup.
    • 2008 – The United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence decides to withdraw Prince Harry from a tour of Afghanistan “immediately” after a leak leads to his deployment being reported by foreign media.
    • 2008 – Misha Defonseca admits to fabricating her memoir, Misha: A Mémoire of the Holocaust Years, in which she claims to have lived with a pack of wolves in the woods during the Holocaust.
    • 2012 – Tokyo Skytree construction is completed. It is the tallest tower in the world, 634 meters high, and the second-tallest artificial structure on Earth, next to Burj Khalifa.

    Births on February 29

    • 1468 – Pope Paul III (d. 1549)
    • 1528 – Albert V, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1579)
    • 1528 – Domingo Báñez, Spanish theologian (d. 1604)
    • 1572 – Edward Cecil, 1st Viscount Wimbledon (d. 1638)
    • 1576 – Antonio Neri, Florentine priest and glassmaker (d. 1614)
    • 1640 – Benjamin Keach, Particular Baptist preacher and author whose name was given to Keach’s Catechism (d. 1704)
    • 1692 – John Byrom, English poet and educator (d. 1763)
    • 1724 – Eva Marie Veigel, Austrian-English dancer (d. 1822)
    • 1736 – Ann Lee, English-American religious leader, founded the Shakers (d. 1784)
    • 1792 – Gioachino Rossini, Italian composer (d. 1868)
    • 1812 – James Milne Wilson, Scottish-Australian soldier and politician, 8th Premier of Tasmania (d. February 29, 1880)
    • 1828 – Emmeline B. Wells, American journalist, poet, and activist (d. 1921)
    • 1836 – Dickey Pearce, American baseball player and manager (d. 1908)
    • 1852 – Frank Gavan Duffy, Irish-Australian lawyer and judge, 4th Chief Justice of Australia (d. 1936)
    • 1860 – Herman Hollerith, American statistician and businessman, co-founded the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (d. 1929)
    • 1876 – William Stewart, Scottish footballer
    • 1884 – Richard S. Aldrich, American lawyer and politician (d. 1941)
    • 1892 – Augusta Savage, American sculptor (d. 1962)
    • 1896 – Morarji Desai, Indian civil servant and politician, 4th Prime Minister of India (d. 1995)
    • 1896 – William A. Wellman, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1975)
    • 1904 – Jimmy Dorsey, American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader (d. 1957)
    • 1904 – Pepper Martin, American baseball player and manager (d. 1965)
    • 1908 – Balthus, French-Swiss painter and illustrator (d. 2001)
    • 1908 – Dee Brown, American historian and author (d. 2002)
    • 1908 – Alf Gover, English cricketer and coach (d. 2001)
    • 1908 – Louie Myfanwy Thomas, Welsh writer (d. 1968)
    • 1916 – Dinah Shore, American singer and actress (d. 1994)
    • 1916 – James B. Donovan, American lawyer (d. 1970)
    • 1916 – Leonard Shoen, founder of U-Haul Corp. (d. 1999)
    • 1920 – Fyodor Abramov, Russian author and critic (d. 1983)
    • 1920 – Arthur Franz, American actor (d. 2006)
    • 1920 – James Mitchell, American actor and dancer (d. 2010)
    • 1920 – Michèle Morgan, French-American actress and singer (d. 2016)
    • 1920 – Howard Nemerov, American poet and academic (d. 1991)
    • 1920 – Rolland W. Redlin, American lawyer and politician (d. 2011)
    • 1924 – David Beattie, New Zealand judge and politician, 14th Governor-General of New Zealand (d. 2001)
    • 1924 – Carlos Humberto Romero, Salvadoran politician, President of El Salvador (d. 2017)
    • 1924 – Al Rosen, American baseball player and manager (d. 2015)
    • 1928 – Joss Ackland, English actor
    • 1928 – Jean Adamson, British writer and illustrator
    • 1928 – Vance Haynes, American archaeologist, geologist, and author
    • 1928 – Seymour Papert, South African mathematician and computer scientist, co-created the Logo programming language (d. 2016)
    • 1932 – Gene H. Golub, American mathematician and academic (d. 2007)
    • 1932 – Masten Gregory, American race car driver (d. 1985)
    • 1932 – Reri Grist, American soprano and actress
    • 1932 – Jaguar, Brazilian cartoonist
    • 1932 – Gavin Stevens, Australian cricketer
    • 1936 – Jack Lousma, American colonel, astronaut, and politician
    • 1936 – Henri Richard, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2020)
    • 1936 – Alex Rocco, American actor (d. 2015)
    • 1936 – Nh. Dini, Indonesian writer (d. 2018)
    • 1940 – Sonja Barend, Dutch talk show host
    • 1940 – Bartholomew I of Constantinople
    • 1940 – William H. Turner, Jr., American horse trainer
    • 1944 – Ene Ergma, Estonian physicist and politician
    • 1944 – Dennis Farina, American police officer and actor (d. 2013)
    • 1944 – Nicholas Frayling, English priest and academic
    • 1944 – Phyllis Frelich, American actress (d. 2014)
    • 1944 – Steve Mingori, American baseball player (d. 2008)
    • 1944 – Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri, Italian author and illustrator
    • 1944 – Lennart Svedberg, Swedish ice hockey player (d. 1972).
    • 1948 – Hermione Lee, English author, critic, and academic
    • 1948 – Manoel Maria, Brazilian footballer
    • 1948 – Patricia A. McKillip, American author
    • 1948 – Henry Small, American-born Canadian singer
    • 1952 – Sharon Dahlonega Raiford Bush, American journalist and producer
    • 1952 – Tim Powers, American author and educator
    • 1952 – Raisa Smetanina, Russian cross-country skier
    • 1952 – Bart Stupak, American police officer and politician
    • 1956 – Jonathan Coleman, English-Australian radio and television host
    • 1956 – Bob Speller, Canadian businessman and politician, 30th Canadian Minister of Agriculture
    • 1956 – Aileen Wuornos, American serial killer (d. 2002)
    • 1960 – Lucian Grainge, English businessman
    • 1960 – Khaled, Algerian singer-songwriter
    • 1960 – Richard Ramirez, American serial killer (d. 2013)
    • 1964 – Dave Brailsford, English cyclist and coach
    • 1964 – Lyndon Byers, Canadian ice hockey player and radio host
    • 1964 – Mervyn Warren, American tenor, composer, and producer
    • 1968 – Chucky Brown, American basketball player and coach
    • 1968 – Pete Fenson, American curler and sportscaster
    • 1968 – Naoko Iijima, Japanese actress and model
    • 1968 – Bryce Paup, American football player and coach
    • 1968 – Howard Tayler, American author and illustrator
    • 1968 – Eugene Volokh, Ukrainian-American lawyer and educator
    • 1968 – Frank Woodley, Australian actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1972 – Mike Pollitt, English footballer and coach
    • 1972 – Sylvie Lubamba, Italian showgirl
    • 1972 – Antonio Sabàto, Jr., Italian-American model and actor
    • 1972 – Pedro Sánchez, Prime Minister of Spain
    • 1972 – Dave Williams, American singer (d. 2002)
    • 1972 – Saul Williams, American singer-songwriter
    • 1972 – Pedro Zamora, Cuban-American activist and educator (d. 1994)
    • 1976 – Vonteego Cummings, American basketball player
    • 1976 – Gehad Grisha, Egyptian soccer referee
    • 1976 – Katalin Kovács, Hungarian sprint kayaker
    • 1976 – Terrence Long, American baseball player
    • 1976 – Ja Rule, American rapper and actor
    • 1980 – Çağdaş Atan, Turkish footballer and coach
    • 1980 – Chris Conley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1980 – Patrick Côté, Canadian mixed martial artist
    • 1980 – Simon Gagné, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1980 – Rubén Plaza, Spanish cyclist
    • 1980 – Peter Scanavino, American actor
    • 1980 – Clinton Toopi, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1980 – Taylor Twellman, American soccer player and sportscaster
    • 1984 – Rica Imai, Japanese model and actress
    • 1984 – Cullen Jones, American swimmer
    • 1984 – Nuria Martínez, Spanish basketball player
    • 1984 – Adam Sinclair, Indian field hockey player
    • 1984 – Rakhee Thakrar, English actress
    • 1984 – Dennis Walger, German rugby player
    • 1984 – Cam Ward, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1984 – Mark Foster, American singer, songwriter and musician
    • 1988 – Lena Gercke, German model and television host
    • 1988 – Benedikt Höwedes, German footballer
    • 1988 – Brent Macaffer, Australian Rules footballer
    • 1988 – Bobby Sanguinetti, American ice hockey player
    • 1988 – Milan Melindo, Filipino boxer
    • 1992 – Sean Abbott, Australian cricketer
    • 1992 – Ben Hampton, Australian rugby league player
    • 1992 – Eric Kendricks, American football player
    • 1992 – Caitlin EJ Meyer, American actress
    • 1996 – Nelson Asofa-Solomona, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1996 – Reece Prescod, British sprinter
    • 1996 – Claudia Williams, New Zealand tennis player
    • 2000 – Ferran Torres, Spanish footballer

    Deaths on February 29

    • 468 – Pope Hilarius
    • 992 – Oswald of Worcester, Anglo-Saxon archbishop and saint (b. 925)
    • 1212 – Hōnen, Japanese monk, founded Jōdo-shū (b. 1133)
    • 1460 – Albert III, Duke of Bavaria-Munich (b. 1401)
    • 1528 – Patrick Hamilton, Scottish Protestant reformer and martyr (b. 1504)
    • 1592 – Alessandro Striggio, Italian composer and diplomat (b. 1540)
    • 1600 – Caspar Hennenberger, German pastor, historian and cartographer (b. 1529)
    • 1604 – John Whitgift, English archbishop and academic (b. 1530)
    • 1740 – Pietro Ottoboni, Italian cardinal (b. 1667)
    • 1744 – John Theophilus Desaguliers, French-English physicist and philosopher (b. 1683)
    • 1792 – Johann Andreas Stein, German piano builder (b. 1728)
    • 1820 – Johann Joachim Eschenburg, German historian and critic (b. 1743)
    • 1848 – Louis-François Lejeune, French general, painter and lithographer (b. 1775)
    • 1852 – Matsudaira Katataka, Japanese daimyō (b. 1806)
    • 1868 – Ludwig I of Bavaria (b. 1786)
    • 1880 – James Milne Wilson, Scottish-Australian soldier and politician, 8th Premier of Tasmania (b. February 29, 1812)
    • 1908
      • Pat Garrett, American sheriff (b. 1850)
      • John Hope, 1st Marquess of Linlithgow, Scottish-Australian politician, 1st Governor-General of Australia (b. 1860)
    • 1920 – Ernie Courtney, American baseball player (b. 1875)
    • 1928
      • Adolphe Appia, Swiss architect and theorist (b. 1862)
      • Ina Coolbrith, American poet and librarian (b. 1841)
    • 1940 – E. F. Benson, English archaeologist and author (b. 1867)
    • 1944 – Pehr Evind Svinhufvud, Finnish lawyer, judge and politician, 3rd President of Finland (b. 1861)
    • 1948
      • Robert Barrington-Ward, English lawyer and journalist (b. 1891)
      • Rebel Oakes, American baseball player and manager (b. 1883)
    • 1952 – Quo Tai-chi, Chinese politician and diplomat, Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations (b. 1888)
    • 1956 – Elpidio Quirino, Filipino lawyer and politician, 6th President of the Philippines (b. 1890)
    • 1960
      • Melvin Purvis, American police officer and FBI agent (b. 1903)
      • Walter Yust, American journalist and author (b. 1894)
    • 1964 – Frank Albertson, American actor and singer (b. 1909)
    • 1968
      • Lena Blackburne, American baseball player, coach and manager (b. 1886)
      • Tore Ørjasæter, Norwegian poet and educator (b. 1886)
    • 1972 – Tom Davies, American football player and coach (b. 1896)
    • 1976 – Florence P. Dwyer, American politician (b. 1902)
    • 1980
      • Yigal Allon, Israeli general and politician, Prime Minister of Israel (b. 1918)
      • Gil Elvgren, American painter and illustrator (b. 1914)
    • 1984 – Ludwik Starski, Polish screenwriter and songwriter (b. 1903)
    • 1988 – Sidney Harmon, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1907)
    • 1992 – Ruth Pitter, English poet and author (b. 1897)
    • 1996
      • Wes Farrell, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1939)
      • Ralph Rowe, American baseball player, coach and manager (b. 1924)
    • 2000 – Dennis Danell, American guitarist (b. 1961)
    • 2004
      • Kagamisato Kiyoji, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 42nd Yokozuna (b. 1923)
      • Jerome Lawrence, American playwright and author (b. 1915)
      • Harold Bernard St. John, Barbadian lawyer and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Barbados (b. 1931)
      • Lorrie Wilmot, South African cricketer (b. 1943)
    • 2008
      • Janet Kagan, American author (b. 1946)
      • Erik Ortvad, Danish painter and illustrator (b. 1917)
      • Akira Yamada, Japanese scholar and philosopher (b. 1922)
    • 2012
      • Roland Bautista, American guitarist (b. 1951)
      • Davy Jones, English singer, guitarist and actor (b. 1945)
      • Sheldon Moldoff, American illustrator (b. 1920)
      • P. K. Narayana Panicker, Indian social leader (b. 1930)
    • 2016
      • Wenn V. Deramas, Filipino director and screenwriter (b. 1966)
      • Gil Hill, American police officer, actor and politician (b. 1931)
      • Josefin Nilsson, Swedish singer (b. 1969)
      • Louise Rennison, English author (b. 1951)
      • Mumtaz Qadri, Pakistani assassin (b. 1985)

    Holidays and observances on February 29

    • As a Christian feast day:
      • Auguste Chapdelaine (one of the Martyr Saints of China)
      • Oswald of Worcester (in leap year only)
      • Saint John Cassian
      • February 29 in the Orthodox church
    • The fourth day of Ayyám-i-Há (Bahá’í Faith) (observed on this date only if Bahá’í Naw-Rúz falls on March 21)
    • Rare Disease Day (in leap years; celebrated in common years on February 28)
    • Bachelor’s Day (Ireland, United Kingdom)

    Folk traditions

    There is a popular tradition known as Bachelor’s Day in some countries allowing a woman to propose marriage to a man on February 29If the man refuses, he then is obliged to give the woman money or buy her a dress. In upper-class societies in Europe, if the man refuses marriage, he then must purchase 12 pairs of gloves for the woman, suggesting that the gloves are to hide the woman’s embarrassment of not having an engagement ring. In Ireland, the tradition is supposed to originate from a deal that Saint Bridget struck with Saint Patrick.

    In the town of Aurora, Illinois, single women are deputized and may arrest single men, subject to a four-dollar fine, every February 29.

    In Greece, it is considered unlucky to marry on a leap day.

  • February 24 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    For superstitious reasons, when the Romans began to intercalate to bring their calendar into line with the solar year, they chose not to place their extra month of Mercedonius after February but within it. February 24 — known in the Roman calendar as “the sixth day before the Kalends of March” — was replaced by the first day of this month since it followed Terminalia, the festival of the Roman god of boundaries. After the end of Mercedonius, the rest of the days of February were observed and the new year began with the first day of March. The overlaid religious festivals of February were so complicated that Julius Caesar opted not to change it at all during his 46 bc calendar reform. The extra day of his system’s leap years was located in the same place as the old intercalary month but he opted to ignore it as a date. Instead, the sixth day before the Kalends of March was simply said to last for 48 hours and all the other days continued to bear their original names. (The Roman practice of inclusive counting initially caused the priests in charge of the calendar to add the extra hours every three years instead of every four and Augustus was obliged to omit them for a span of decades until the system was back to where it should have been.) When the extra hours finally began to be reckoned as two separate days instead of a doubled sixth (“bissextile”) one, the leap day was still taken to be the one following hard on the February 23 Terminalia. Although February 29 has been popularly understood as the leap day of leap years since the beginning of sequential reckoning of the days of months in the late Middle Ages, in Britain and most other countries, no formal replacement of February 24 as the leap day of the Julian and Gregorian calendars has occurred. The exceptions include Sweden and Finland, who enacted legislation to move the day to February 29. This custom still has some effect around the world, for example with respect to name days in Hungary.

    February 24 in History

    • 484 – King Huneric of the Vandals replaces Nicene bishops with Arian ones, and banishes some to Corsica.
    • 1303 – Battle of Roslin, of the First War of Scottish Independence.
    • 1386 – King Charles III of Naples and Hungary is assassinated at Buda.
    • 1525 – A Spanish-Austrian army defeats a French army at the Battle of Pavia.
    • 1538 – Treaty of Nagyvárad between Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I and King John Zápolya of Hungary and Croatia.
    • 1582 – With the papal bull Inter gravissimas, Pope Gregory XIII announces the Gregorian calendar.
    • 1607 – L’Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi, one of the first works recognized as an opera, receives its première performance.
    • 1711 – The London première of Rinaldo by George Frideric Handel, the first Italian opera written for the London stage.
    • 1739 – Battle of Karnal: The army of Iranian ruler Nader Shah defeats the forces of the Mughal emperor of India, Muhammad Shah.
    • 1803 – In Marbury v. Madison, the Supreme Court of the United States establishes the principle of judicial review.
    • 1809 – London’s Drury Lane Theatre burns to the ground, leaving owner Richard Brinsley Sheridan destitute.
    • 1821 – Final stage of the Mexican War of Independence from Spain with Plan of Iguala.
    • 1822 – The first Swaminarayan temple in the world, Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Ahmedabad, is inaugurated.
    • 1826 – The signing of the Treaty of Yandabo marks the end of the First Anglo-Burmese War.
    • 1831 – The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, the first removal treaty in accordance with the Indian Removal Act, is proclaimed. The Choctaws in Mississippi cede land east of the river in exchange for payment and land in the West.
    • 1848 – King Louis-Philippe of France abdicates the throne.
    • 1854 – A Penny Red with perforations was the first perforated postage stamp to be officially issued for distribution.
    • 1863 – Arizona is organized as a United States territory.
    • 1868 – Andrew Johnson becomes the first President of the United States to be impeached by the United States House of Representatives. He is later acquitted in the Senate.
    • 1875 – The SS Gothenburg hits the Great Barrier Reef and sinks off the Australian east coast, killing approximately 100, including a number of high-profile civil servants and dignitaries.
    • 1881 – China and Russia sign the Sino-Russian Ili Treaty.
    • 1895 – Revolution breaks out in Baire, a town near Santiago de Cuba, beginning the Cuban War of Independence, that ends with the Spanish–American War in 1898.
    • 1916 – The Governor-General of Korea establishes a clinic called Jahyewon in Sorokdo to segregate Hansen’s disease patients.
    • 1917 – World War I: The U.S. ambassador Walter Hines Page to the United Kingdom is given the Zimmermann Telegram, in which Germany pledges to ensure the return of New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona to Mexico if Mexico declares war on the United States.
    • 1918 – Estonian Declaration of Independence.
    • 1920 – Nancy Astor becomes the first woman to speak in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom following her election as a Member of Parliament (MP) three months earlier.
    • 1920 – The Nazi Party (NSDAP) was founded by Adolf Hitler in the Hofbräuhaus beer hall in Munich, Germany
    • 1942 – The Battle of Los Angeles: A false alarm led to an anti-aircraft barrage that lasted into the early hours of February 25.
    • 1942 – An order-in-council passed under the Defence of Canada Regulations of the War Measures Act gives the Canadian federal government the power to intern all “persons of Japanese racial origin”.
    • 1944 – Merrill’s Marauders: The Marauders begin their 1,000-mile journey through Japanese-occupied Burma.
    • 1945 – Egyptian Premier Ahmad Mahir Pasha is killed in Parliament after reading a decree.
    • 1946 – Colonel Juan Perón, founder of the political movement that became known as Peronism, is elected to his first term as President of Argentina.
    • 1949 – The Armistice Agreements are signed, to formally end the hostilities of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
    • 1968 – Vietnam War: The Tet Offensive is halted; South Vietnam recaptures Hué.
    • 1971 – The All India Forward Bloc holds an emergency central committee meeting after its chairman, Hemantha Kumar Bose, is killed three days earlier. P.K. Mookiah Thevar is appointed as the new chairman.
    • 1976 – The current constitution of Cuba is formally proclaimed.
    • 1978 – The Yuba County Five disappear in California. Four of their bodies are found four months later.
    • 1980 – The United States Olympic hockey team completes its Miracle on Ice by defeating Finland 4–2 to win the gold medal.
    • 1981 – The 6.7 Ms Gulf of Corinth earthquake affected Central Greece with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). Twenty-two people were killed, 400 were injured, and damage totaled $812 million.
    • 1983 – A special commission of the United States Congress condemns the Japanese American internment during World War II.
    • 1984 – Tyrone Mitchell perpetrates the 49th Street Elementary School shooting in Los Angeles, killing two children and injuring 12 more.
    • 1989 – United Airlines Flight 811, bound for New Zealand from Honolulu, rips open during flight, blowing nine passengers out of the business-class section.
    • 1991 – Gulf War: Ground troops cross the Saudi Arabian border and enter Iraq, thus beginning the ground phase of the war.
    • 1996 – Two civilian airplanes operated by the Miami-based group Brothers to the Rescue are shot down in international waters by the Cuban Air Force.
    • 1999 – China Southwest Airlines Flight 4509, a Tupolev Tu-154 aircraft, crashes on approach to Wenzhou Longwan International Airport in Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China. All 61 people on board are killed.
    • 2004 – The 6.3 Mw Al Hoceima earthquake strikes northern Morocco with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). At least 628 people are killed, 926 are injured, and up to 15,000 are displaced.
    • 2006 – Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declares Proclamation 1017 placing the country in a state of emergency in attempt to subdue a possible military coup.
    • 2007 – Japan launches its fourth spy satellite, stepping up its ability to monitor potential threats such as North Korea.
    • 2008 – Fidel Castro retires as the President of Cuba and the Council of Ministers after 32 years. He remains as head of the Communist Party for another three years.
    • 2015 – A Metrolink train derails in Oxnard, California following a collision with a truck, leaving more than 30 injured.
    • 2016 – Tara Air Flight 193, a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft, crashed, with 23 fatalities, in Solighopte, Myagdi District, Dhaulagiri Zone, while en route from Pokhara Airport to Jomsom Airport.

    Births on February 24

    • 1103 – Emperor Toba of Japan (d. 1156)
    • 1304 – Ibn Battuta, Moroccan jurist
    • 1413 – Louis, Duke of Savoy (d. 1465)
    • 1463 – Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, Italian philosopher (d. 1494)
    • 1494 – Johan Friis, Danish statesman (d. 1570)
    • 1500 – Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1558)
    • 1536 – Pope Clement VIII (d. 1605)
    • 1545 – John of Austria (d. 1578)
    • 1553 – Cherubino Alberti, Italian engraver and painter (d. 1615)
    • 1557 – Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1619)
    • 1593 – Henry de Vere, 18th Earl of Oxford, English soldier and courtier (d. 1625)
    • 1595 – Maciej Kazimierz Sarbiewski, Polish author and poet (d. 1640)
    • 1604 – Arcangela Tarabotti, Venetian nun and feminist (d. 1652)
    • 1619 – Charles Le Brun, French painter and theorist (d. 1690)
    • 1622 – Johannes Clauberg, German theologian and philosopher (d. 1665)
    • 1709 – Jacques de Vaucanson, French engineer (d. 1782)
    • 1721 – John McKinly, Irish-American physician and politician, 1st Governor of Delaware (d. 1796)
    • 1723 – John Burgoyne, English general and politician (d. 1792)
    • 1736 – Charles Alexander, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (d. 1806)
    • 1743 – Joseph Banks, English botanist and explorer (d. 1820)
    • 1762 – Charles Frederick Horn, German-English composer and educator (d. 1830)
    • 1767 – Rama II of Siam (d. 1824)
    • 1774 – Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge (d. 1850)
    • 1786 – Martin W. Bates, American lawyer and politician (d. 1869)
    • 1786 – Wilhelm Grimm, German anthropologist, author, and academic (d. 1859)
    • 1788 – Johan Christian Dahl, Norwegian-German painter (d. 1857)
    • 1827 – Lydia Becker, English-French activist (d. 1890)
    • 1831 – Leo von Caprivi, German general and politician, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1899)
    • 1835 – Julius Vogel, English-New Zealand journalist and politician, 8th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1899)
    • 1836 – Winslow Homer, American painter and illustrator (d. 1910)
    • 1837 – Rosalía de Castro, Spanish poet (d. 1885)
    • 1842 – Arrigo Boito, Italian journalist, author, and composer (d. 1918)
    • 1848 – Andrew Inglis Clark, Australian engineer, lawyer, and politician (d. 1907)
    • 1852 – George Moore, Irish author, poet, and playwright (d. 1933)
    • 1868 – Édouard Alphonse James de Rothschild, French financier and polo player (d. 1949)
    • 1869 – Zara DuPont, American suffragist (d. 1946)
    • 1874 – Honus Wagner, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1955)
    • 1877 – Rudolph Ganz, Swiss pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1972)
    • 1877 – Ettie Rout, Australian-New Zealand educator and activist (d. 1936)
    • 1885 – Chester W. Nimitz, American admiral (d. 1966)
    • 1885 – Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, Polish author, poet, and painter (d. 1939)
    • 1890 – Marjorie Main, American actress (d. 1975)
    • 1896 – Richard Thorpe, American director and screenwriter (d. 1991)
    • 1898 – Kurt Tank, German pilot and engineer (d. 1983)
    • 1900 – Irmgard Bartenieff, German-American dancer and physical therapist, leading pioneer of dance therapy (d. 1981)
    • 1903 – Vladimir Bartol, Italian-Slovene author and playwright (d. 1967)
    • 1908 – Telford Taylor, American general, lawyer, and historian (d. 1998)
    • 1909 – August Derleth, American anthologist and author (d. 1971)
    • 1914 – Ralph Erskine, English-Swedish architect, designed The Ark and Byker Wall (d. 2005)
    • 1914 – Weldon Kees, American author, poet, painter, and pianist (d. 1955)
    • 1915 – Jim Ferrier, Australian golfer (d. 1986)
    • 1919 – John Carl Warnecke, American architect (d. 2010)
    • 1921 – Abe Vigoda, American actor (d. 2016)
    • 1922 – Richard Hamilton, English painter and academic (d. 2011)
    • 1922 – Steven Hill, American actor (d. 2016)
    • 1924 – Hal Herring, American football player and coach (d. 2014)
    • 1924 – Erik Nielsen, Canadian lawyer and politician, 3rd Deputy Prime Minister of Canada (d. 2008)
    • 1925 – Bud Day, American colonel and pilot, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2013)
    • 1927 – Emmanuelle Riva, French actress (d. 2017)
    • 1929 – Kintaro Ohki, South Korean wrestler (d. 2006)
    • 1930 – Barbara Lawrence, American model and actress (d. 2013)
    • 1931 – Dominic Chianese, American actor and singer
    • 1931 – Brian Close, English cricketer and coach (d. 2015)
    • 1932 – Michel Legrand, French pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2019)
    • 1932 – Zell Miller, American sergeant and politician, 79th Governor of Georgia (d. 2018)
    • 1932 – John Vernon, Canadian-American actor (d. 2005)
    • 1933 – Judah Folkman, American physician and biologist (d. 2008)
    • 1933 – Ali Mazrui, Kenyan-American political scientist, philosopher, and academic (d. 2014)
    • 1933 – David “Fathead” Newman, American saxophonist and composer (d. 2009)
    • 1934 – Bettino Craxi, Italian lawyer and politician, 45th Prime Minister of Italy (d. 2000)
    • 1934 – Johnny Hills, English footballer, full-back
    • 1934 – Renata Scotto, Italian soprano
    • 1935 – Ryhor Baradulin, Belarusian poet, essayist, and translator (d. 2014)
    • 1936 – Guillermo O’Donnell, Argentine political scientist (d. 2011)
    • 1938 – James Farentino, American actor (d. 2012)
    • 1938 – Phil Knight, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Nike, Inc.
    • 1939 – Jamal Nazrul Islam, Bangladeshi physicist and cosmologist (d. 2013)
    • 1940 – Pete Duel, American actor (d. 1971)
    • 1940 – Jimmy Ellis, American boxer (d. 2014)
    • 1940 – Denis Law, Scottish footballer and sportscaster
    • 1941 – Joanie Sommers, American singer and actress
    • 1942 – Colin Bond, Australian race car driver
    • 1942 – Paul Jones, English singer, harmonica player, and actor
    • 1942 – Joe Lieberman, American lawyer and politician
    • 1942 – Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Indian philosopher, theorist, and academic
    • 1943 – Kent Haruf, American novelist (d. 2014)
    • 1943 – Gigi Meroni, Italian footballer (d. 1967)
    • 1943 – Pablo Milanés, Cuban singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1943 – Terry Semel, American businessman
    • 1944 – Nicky Hopkins, English keyboard player (d. 1994)
    • 1944 – Ivica Račan, Croatian lawyer and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Croatia (d. 2007)
    • 1945 – Barry Bostwick, American actor and singer
    • 1946 – Grigory Margulis, Russian mathematician and academic
    • 1947 – Mike Fratello, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster
    • 1947 – Rupert Holmes, English-American singer-songwriter and playwright
    • 1947 – Edward James Olmos, American actor and director
    • 1948 – Jayalalithaa, Indian actress and politician, 16th Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu (d. 2016)
    • 1948 – Walter Smith, Scottish footballer and manager
    • 1948 – Tim Staffell, English singer and guitarist
    • 1948 – Dennis Waterman, English actor
    • 1950 – Steve McCurry, American photographer and journalist
    • 1951 – David Ford, Northern Irish social worker and politician
    • 1951 – Derek Randall, English cricketer
    • 1951 – Debra Jo Rupp, American actress
    • 1951 – Helen Shaver, Canadian actress and director
    • 1951 – Laimdota Straujuma, Latvian economist and politician, 12th Prime Minister of Latvia
    • 1953 – Anatoli Kozhemyakin, Soviet footballer (d. 1974)
    • 1954 – Plastic Bertrand, Belgian singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1954 – Judith Ortiz Cofer, Puerto Rican American award-winning author (d. 2016)
    • 1954 – Aurora Levins Morales, Puerto Rican Jewish writer and activist
    • 1954 – Sid Meier, Canadian-American game designer and programmer, created the Civilization series
    • 1954 – Mike Pickering, English DJ and saxophonist
    • 1955 – Steve Jobs, American businessman, co-founded Apple Inc. and Pixar (d. 2011)
    • 1955 – Eddie Johnson, American basketball player
    • 1955 – Alain Prost, French race car driver
    • 1956 – Judith Butler, American philosopher, theorist, and author
    • 1956 – Eddie Murray, American baseball player and coach
    • 1956 – Paula Zahn, American journalist and producer
    • 1958 – Sammy Kershaw, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1958 – Mark Moses, American actor
    • 1959 – Beth Broderick, American actress and director
    • 1959 – Mike Whitney, Australian cricketer and television host
    • 1963 – Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro
    • 1963 – Mike Vernon, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1963 – Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Gujarati family, most versatile filmmaker of Hindi cinema.
    • 1964 – Russell Ingall, British-Australian race car driver and sportscaster
    • 1965 – Paul Gruber, American football player
    • 1965 – Jane Swift, American businesswoman and politician, Governor of Massachusetts
    • 1966 – Billy Zane, American actor and producer
    • 1967 – Brian Schmidt, Australian astrophysicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1968 – Mitch Hedberg, American comedian and actor (d. 2005)
    • 1969 – Kim Seung-woo, South Korean actor
    • 1970 – Jeff Garcia, American football player and coach
    • 1970 – Neil Sullivan, English born Scottish international footballer, goalkeeper and coach
    • 1970 – Jonathan Ward, American actor
    • 1971 – Josh Bernstein, American anthropologist, explorer, and author
    • 1971 – Pedro de la Rosa, Spanish race car driver
    • 1971 – Brian Savage, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1972 – Teodor Currentzis, Greek conductor and composer
    • 1972 – Manon Rhéaume, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1973 – Stubby Clapp, Canadian baseball player and coach
    • 1973 – Chris Fehn, American drummer
    • 1973 – Alexei Kovalev, Russian ice hockey player and pilot
    • 1974 – Chad Hugo, American keyboard player, songwriter, and producer
    • 1974 – Mike Lowell, American baseball player and sportscaster
    • 1974 – Bonnie Somerville, American actress
    • 1975 – Ashley MacIsaac, Canadian singer-songwriter and fiddler
    • 1976 – Crista Flanagan, American actress and screenwriter
    • 1976 – Zach Johnson, American golfer
    • 1976 – Bradley McGee, Australian cyclist and coach
    • 1976 – Matt Skiba, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1976 – Marco Campos, Brazilian Formula 3000 race car driver (d. 1995)
    • 1977 – Jason Akermanis, Australian footballer and coach
    • 1977 – Bronson Arroyo, American baseball player and singer
    • 1977 – Floyd Mayweather, Jr., American boxer
    • 1978 – Gary, South Korean rapper and producer
    • 1978 – Shinya, Japanese drummer and songwriter
    • 1978 – John Nolan, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1978 – DeWayne Wise, American baseball player
    • 1978 – Leon Constantine, English footballer
    • 1980 – Shinsuke Nakamura, Japanese wrestler and mixed martial artist
    • 1981 – Felipe Baloy, Panamanian footballer
    • 1981 – Lleyton Hewitt, Australian tennis player
    • 1981 – Mauro Rosales, Argentinian footballer
    • 1981 – Mohammad Sami, Pakistani cricketer
    • 1982 – Nick Blackburn, American baseball player
    • 1982 – Emanuel Villa, Argentinian footballer
    • 1982 – Klára Koukalová, Czech tennis player
    • 1982 – Fala Chen, Chinese actress and singer
    • 1984 – Corey Graves, American wrestler and sportscaster
    • 1985 – Nakash Aziz, Indian playback singer and music composer
    • 1987 – Kim Kyu-jong, South Korean singer, dancer, and actor
    • 1988 – Mathieu Baudry, French footballer
    • 1989 – Trace Cyrus, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1991 – Madison Hubbell, American ice dancer
    • 1991 – Semih Kaya, Turkish footballer
    • 1996 – Royce Freeman, American football player

    Deaths on February 24

    • 616 – Æthelberht of Kent (b. 560)
    • 951 – Liu Yun, Chinese governor (jiedushi)
    • 1018 – Borrell, bishop of Vic
    • 1114 – Thomas, archbishop of York
    • 1386 – Charles III of Naples (b. 1345)
    • 1496 – Eberhard I, Duke of Württemberg (b. 1445)
    • 1525 – Jacques de La Palice, French nobleman and military officer (b. 1470)
    • 1525 – Guillaume Gouffier, seigneur de Bonnivet, French soldier (b. c. 1488)
    • 1525 – Richard de la Pole, last Yorkist claimant to the English throne (b. 1480)
    • 1563 – Francis, Duke of Guise (b. 1519)
    • 1580 – Henry FitzAlan, 19th Earl of Arundel, English nobleman (b. 1511)
    • 1588 – Johann Weyer, Dutch physician and occultist (b. 1515)
    • 1666 – Nicholas Lanier, English composer and painter (b. 1588)
    • 1685 – Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Carlisle, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Cumberland (b. 1629)
    • 1704 – Marc-Antoine Charpentier, French composer (b. 1643)
    • 1714 – Edmund Andros, English courtier and politician, 4th Colonial Governor of New York (b. 1637)
    • 1721 – John Sheffield, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Normanby, English poet and politician, Lord President of the Council (b. 1648)
    • 1732 – Francis Charteris, Scottish soldier (b. 1675)
    • 1777 – Joseph I of Portugal (b. 1714)
    • 1785 – Carlo Buonaparte, Corsican lawyer and politician (b. 1746)
    • 1799 – Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, German physicist and academic (b. 1742)
    • 1810 – Henry Cavendish, French-English physicist and chemist (b. 1731)
    • 1812 – Étienne-Louis Malus, French physicist and mathematician (b. 1775)
    • 1815 – Robert Fulton, American engineer (b. 1765)
    • 1825 – Thomas Bowdler, English physician and philanthropist (b. 1754)
    • 1856 – Nikolai Lobachevsky, Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1792)
    • 1876 – Joseph Jenkins Roberts, American-Liberian politician, 1st President of Liberia (b. 1809)
    • 1879 – Shiranui Kōemon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 11th Yokozuna (b. 1825)
    • 1910 – Osman Hamdi Bey, Greek archaeologist and painter (b. 1842)
    • 1914 – Joshua Chamberlain, American general and politician, 32nd Governor of Maine (b. 1828)
    • 1925 – Hjalmar Branting, Swedish journalist and politician, 16th Prime Minister of Sweden, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1860)
    • 1927 – Edward Marshall Hall, English lawyer and politician (b. 1858)
    • 1929 – André Messager, French pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1853)
    • 1930 – Hermann von Ihering, German-Brazilian zoologist (b. 1850)
    • 1953 – Robert La Follette Jr., American politician, senator of Wisconsin (b. 1895)
    • 1953 – Gerd von Rundstedt, German field marshal (b. 1875)
    • 1967 – Mir Osman Ali Khan, Last Nizam of Hyderabad State (b. 1886)
    • 1970 – Conrad Nagel, American actor (b. 1897)
    • 1974 – Margaret Leech, American historian and author (b. 1895)
    • 1975 – Hans Bellmer, German artist (b. 1902)
    • 1975 – Nikolai Bulganin, Russian marshal and politician, 6th Premier of the Soviet Union (b. 1895)
    • 1978 – Alma Thomas, American painter and educator (b.1891)
    • 1982 – Virginia Bruce, American actress (b. 1910)
    • 1986 – Rukmini Devi Arundale, Indian Bharatnatyam dancer (b. 1904)
    • 1986 – Tommy Douglas, Scottish-Canadian minister and politician, 7th Premier of Saskatchewan (b. 1904)
    • 1990 – Tony Conigliaro, American baseball player (b. 1945)
    • 1990 – Malcolm Forbes, American sergeant and publisher (b. 1917)
    • 1990 – Sandro Pertini, Italian journalist and politician, 7th President of Italy (b. 1896)
    • 1990 – Johnnie Ray, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1927)
    • 1991 – John Daly, American journalist and game show host (b. 1914)
    • 1991 – George Gobel, American actor (b. 1919)
    • 1991 – Webb Pierce, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1921)
    • 1993 – Danny Gallivan, Canadian sportscaster (b. 1917)
    • 1993 – Bobby Moore, English footballer and manager (b. 1941)
    • 1994 – Jean Sablon, French singer and actor (b. 1906)
    • 1994 – Dinah Shore, American actress and singer (b. 1916)
    • 1998 – Antonio Prohías, Cuban-American cartoonist (b. 1921)
    • 1998 – Henny Youngman, English-American comedian and violinist (b. 1906)
    • 1999 – Andre Dubus, American short story writer, essayist, and memoirist (b. 1936)
    • 2001 – Theodore Marier, American composer and educator, founded the Boston Archdiocesan Choir School (b. 1912)
    • 2001 – Claude Shannon, American mathematician, cryptographer, and engineer (b. 1916)
    • 2002 – Leo Ornstein, Ukrainian-American pianist and composer (b. 1893)
    • 2004 – John Randolph, American actor (b. 1915)
    • 2005 – Coşkun Kırca, Turkish diplomat, journalist and politician (b. 1927)
    • 2006 – Octavia E. Butler, American author and educator (b. 1947)
    • 2006 – Don Knotts, American actor and comedian (b. 1924)
    • 2006 – John Martin, Canadian broadcaster, co-founded MuchMusic (b. 1947)
    • 2006 – Dennis Weaver, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1924)
    • 2007 – Bruce Bennett, American shot putter and actor (b. 1906)
    • 2007 – Damien Nash, American football player (b. 1982)
    • 2008 – Larry Norman, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1947)
    • 2010 – Dawn Brancheau, senior animal trainer at SeaWorld (b. 1969)
    • 2011 – Anant Pai, Indian author and illustrator (b. 1929)
    • 2012 – Agnes Allen, American baseball player and therapist (b. 1930)
    • 2012 – Oliver Wrong, English nephrologist and academic (b. 1925)
    • 2013 – Virgil Johnson, American singer (b. 1935)
    • 2013 – Con Martin, Irish footballer and manager (b. 1923)
    • 2014 – Franny Beecher, American guitarist (b. 1921)
    • 2014 – Alexis Hunter, New Zealand-English painter and photographer (b. 1948)
    • 2014 – Carlos Páez Vilaró, Uruguayan painter and sculptor (b. 1923)
    • 2014 – Harold Ramis, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1944)
    • 2015 – Mefodiy, Ukrainian metropolitan (b. 1949)
    • 2015 – Rakhat Aliyev, Kazakh politician and diplomat (b. 1962)
    • 2016 – Peter Kenilorea, Solomon Islands politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands (b. 1943)
    • 2016 – Nabil Maleh, Syrian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1936)
    • 2016 – George C. Nichopoulos, American soldier and physician (b. 1927)
    • 2018 – Sridevi, Indian actress (b. 1963)
    • 2020 – Katherine Johnson, American physicist and mathematician (b. 1918)

    Holidays and observances on February 24

    • Christian feast day:
      • Blessed Ascensión Nicol y Goñi
      • Lindel Tsen and Paul Sasaki (Anglican Church of Canada)
      • Modest (bishop of Trier)
      • Sergius of Cappadocia
      • February 24 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Dragobete (Romania)
    • Engineer’s Day (Iran)
    • Flag Day in Mexico
    • Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Estonia from the Russian Empire in 1918; the Soviet period is considered to have been an illegal annexation.
    • National Artist Day (Thailand)

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

    During the Middle Ages under the influence of the Catholic Church, many countries in western Europe decided to move the start of the year to one of several important Christian festivals – December 25 (the Nativity of Jesus), March 1, March 25 (the Annunciation), or even Easter. The Byzantine Empire began its numbered year on September 1.

    In England, January 1 was celebrated as the New Year festival, but from the 12th century to 1752 the year in England began on March 25 (Lady Day). So, for example, the Parliamentary record notes the execution of Charles I as occurring on January 30, 1648, (as the year did not end until March 24), although modern histories adjust the start of the year to January 1 and record the execution as occurring in 1649.

    Most western European countries changed the start of the year to January 1 before they adopted the Gregorian calendar. For example, Scotland changed the start of the Scottish New Year to January 1 in 1600. England, Ireland and the British colonies changed the start of the year to January 1 in 1752. Later that year in September, the Gregorian calendar was introduced throughout Britain and the British colonies. These two reforms were implemented by the Calendar (New Style) Act 1750.

    January 1 became the official start of the year as follows:

    Julian calendar:

    • 1544 Holy Roman Empire (Germany)
    • 1556 Spain, Portugal
    • 1559 Prussia, Sweden
    • 1564 France
    • 1576 Southern Netherlands
    • 1579 Duchy of Lorraine
    • 1583 Northern Netherlands
    • 1600 Scotland
    • 1700 Russia
    • 1752 Great Britain (excluding Scotland) and its colonies
    • 1804 Serbia

    Gregorian calendar:

    • 1750 Tuscany
    • 1797 Republic of Venice
    • 1918 Ottoman Empire
    • 1941 Thailand

    Events on January 1

    Pre-Julian Roman calendar

    • 153 BC – For the first time, Roman consuls begin their year in office on January 1.

    Early Julian calendar (before Augustus’ leap year correction)

    • 45 BC – The Julian calendar takes effect as the civil calendar of the Roman Empire, establishing January 1 as the new date of the new year.
    • 42 BC – The Roman Senate posthumously deifies Julius Caesar.

    Julian calendar

    • 193 – The Senate chooses Pertinax against his will to succeed Commodus as Roman emper]or.
    • 404 – Saint Telemachus tries to stop a gladiatorial fight in a Roman amphitheatre, and is stoned to death by the crowd. This act impresses the Christian Emperor Honorius, who issues a historic ban on gladiatorial fights.
    • 417 – Emperor Honorius forces Galla Placidia into marriage to Constantius, his famous general (magister militum) (probable).
    • 1001 – Grand Prince Stephen I of Hungary is named the first King of Hungary by Pope Sylvester II (probable).
    • 1068 – Romanos IV Diogenes marries Eudokia Makrembolitissa and is crowned Byzantine Emperor.
    • 1259 – Michael VIII Palaiologos is proclaimed co-emperor of the Empire of Nicaea with his ward John IV Laskaris.
    • 1438 – Albert II of Habsburg is crowned King of Hungary.
    • 1502 – The present-day location of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is first explored by the Portuguese.
    • 1515 – Twenty-year-old Francis, Duke of Brittany, succeeds to the French throne following the death of his father-in-law, Louis XII.
    • 1527 – Croatian nobles elect Ferdinand I of Austria as King of Croatia in the Parliament on Cetin.
    • 1583 to 1700 – see January 11
    • 1600 – Scotland recognises January 1 as the start of the year, instead of March 25.
    • 1651 – Charles II is crowned King of Scotland.
    • 1700 – Russia begins using the Anno Domini era instead of the Anno Mundi era of the Byzantine Empire.
    • 1701 to 1800 – see January 12
    • 1801 to 1900 – see January 13
    • 1901 to 2100 – see January 14

    Gregorian calendar

    • 1707 – John V is proclaimed King of Portugal and the Algarves in Lisbon.
    • 1739 – Bouvet Island, the world’s remotest island is discovered by French explorer Jean-Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier.
    • 1772 – The first traveler’s cheques, which could be used in 90 European cities, were issued by the London Credit Exchange Company.
    • 1773 – The hymn that became known as “Amazing Grace”, then titled “1 Chronicles 17:16–17” is first used to accompany a sermon led by John Newton in the town of Olney, Buckinghamshire, England.
    • 1776 – American Revolutionary War: Norfolk, Virginia is burned by combined Royal Navy and Continental Army action.
    • 1776 – General George Washington hoists the first United States flag; the Grand Union Flag at Prospect Hill.
    • 1781 – American Revolutionary War: One thousand five hundred soldiers of the 6th Pennsylvania Regiment under General Anthony Wayne’s command rebel against the Continental Army’s winter camp in Morristown, New Jersey in the Pennsylvania Line Mutiny of 1781.
    • 1788 – First edition of The Times of London, previously The Daily Universal Register, is published.
    • 1801 – The legislative union of Kingdom of Great Britain and Kingdom of Ireland is completed, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland is proclaimed.
    • 1801 – Ceres, the largest and first known object in the Asteroid belt, is discovered by Giuseppe Piazzi.
    • 1803 – Emperor Gia Long orders all bronze wares of the Tây Sơn dynasty to be collected and melted into nine cannons for the Royal Citadel in Huế, Vietnam.
    • 1804 – French rule ends in Haiti. Haiti becomes the first black-majority republic and second independent country in North America after the United States.
    • 1806 – The French Republican Calendar is abolished.
    • 1808 – The United States bans the importation of slaves.
    • 1810 – Major-General Lachlan Macquarie officially becomes Governor of New South Wales.
    • 1822 – The Greek Constitution of 1822 is adopted by the First National Assembly at Epidaurus.
    • 1847 – The world’s first “Mercy” Hospital is founded in Pittsburgh, United States, by a group of Sisters of Mercy from Ireland; the name will go on to grace over 30 major hospitals throughout the world.
    • 1860 – The first Polish stamp is issued, replacing the Russian stamps previously in use.
    • 1861 – Liberal forces supporting Benito Juárez enter Mexico City.
    • 1863 – American Civil War: The Emancipation Proclamation takes effect in Confederate territory.
    • 1877 – Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom is proclaimed Empress of India.
    • 1885 – Twenty-five nations adopt Sandford Fleming’s proposal for standard time (and also, time zones).
    • 1890 – Eritrea is consolidated into a colony by the Italian government
    • 1892 – Ellis Island begins processing immigrants into the United States.
    • 1898 – New York, New York annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York. The four initial boroughs, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and The Bronx, are joined on January 25 by Staten Island to create the modern city of five boroughs.
    • 1899 – Spanish rule ends in Cuba.
    • 1901 – Nigeria becomes a British protectorate
    • 1901 – The British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, and Western Australia federate as the Commonwealth of Australia; Edmund Barton is appointed the first Prime Minister
    • 1902 – The first American college football bowl game, the Rose Bowl between Michigan and Stanford, is held in Pasadena, California.
    • 1910 – Captain David Beatty is promoted to Rear admiral, and becomes the youngest admiral in the Royal Navy (except for Royal family members) since Horatio Nelson.
    • 1912 – The Republic of China is established.
    • 1914 – The SPT Airboat Line becomes the world’s first scheduled airline to use a winged aircraft.
    • 1923 – Britain’s Railways are grouped into the Big Four: LNER, GWR, SR, and LMS.
    • 1927 – New Mexican oil legislation goes into effect, leading to the formal outbreak of the Cristero War.
    • 1928 – Boris Bazhanov defects through Iran. He is the only assistant of Joseph Stalin’s secretariat to have defected from the Eastern Bloc.
    • 1929 – The former municipalities of Point Grey, British Columbia and South Vancouver, British Columbia are amalgamated into Vancouver.
    • 1932 – The United States Post Office Department issues a set of 12 stamps commemorating the 200th anniversary of George Washington’s birth.
    • 1934 – Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay becomes a United States federal prison.
    • 1934 – A “Law for the Prevention of Genetically Diseased Offspring” comes into effect in Nazi Germany.
    • 1942 – The Declaration by United Nations is signed by twenty-six nations.
    • 1945 – World War II: In retaliation for the Malmedy massacre, U.S. troops kill 60 German POWs at Chenogne.
    • 1945 – World War II: The German Luftwaffe launches Operation Bodenplatte, a massive, but failed attempt to knock out Allied air power in northern Europe in a single blow.
    • 1947 – Cold War: The American and British occupation zones in Allied-occupied Germany, after World War II, merge to form the Bizone, which later (with the French zone) became part of West Germany.
    • 1947 – The Canadian Citizenship Act 1946 comes into effect, converting British subjects into Canadian citizens.Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King becomes the first Canadian citizen.
    • 1948 – The British railway network is nationalized to form British Railways.
    • 1949 – United Nations cease-fire takes effect in Kashmir from one minute before midnight. War between India and Pakistan stops accordingly.
    • 1956 – Sudan achieves independence from Egypt and the United Kingdom.
    • 1957 – George Town, Penang, is made a city by a royal charter of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.
    • 1958 – European Economic Community is established.
    • 1959 – Cuban Revolution: Fulgencio Batista, dictator of Cuba, is overthrown by Fidel Castro’s forces.
    • 1960 – Cameroon achieves independence from France and the United Kingdom.
    • 1962 – Western Samoa achieves independence from New Zealand; its name is changed to the Independent State of Western Samoa.
    • 1964 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is divided into the independent republics of Zambia and Malawi, and the British-controlled Rhodesia.
    • 1965 – The People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan is founded in Kabul, Afghanistan.
    • 1970 – The defined beginning of Unix time, at 00:00:00.
    • 1971 – Cigarette advertisements are banned on American television.
    • 1973 – Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom are admitted into the European Economic Community.
    • 1976 – A bomb explodes on board Middle East Airlines Flight 438 over Qaisumah, Saudi Arabia, killing all 81 people on board.
    • 1978 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747, crashes into the Arabian Sea, due to instrument failure, spatial disorientation, and pilot error, off the coast of Bombay, India, killing all 213 people on board.
    • 1979 – Normal diplomatic relations are established between the People’s Republic of China and the United States.
    • 1981 – Greece is admitted into the European Community.
    • 1982 – Peruvian Javier Pérez de Cuéllar becomes the first Latin American to hold the title of Secretary-General of the United Nations.
    • 1983 – The ARPANET officially changes to using TCP/IP, the Internet Protocol, effectively creating the Internet.
    • 1984 – The original American Telephone & Telegraph Company is divested of its 22 Bell System companies as a result of the settlement of the 1974 United States Department of Justice antitrust suit against AT&T.
    • 1984 – Brunei becomes independent of the United Kingdom.
    • 1985 – The first British mobile phone call is made by Michael Harrison to his father Sir Ernest Harrison, chairman of Vodafone.
    • 1987 – The Isleta Pueblo tribe elect Verna Williamson to be their first female governor.
    • 1988 – The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America comes into existence, creating the largest Lutheran denomination in the United States.
    • 1989 – The Montreal Protocol comes into force, stopping the use of chemicals contributing to ozone depletion.
    • 1990 – David Dinkins is sworn in as New York City’s first black mayor.
    • 1993 – Dissolution of Czechoslovakia: Czechoslovakia is divided into the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic.
    • 1994 – The Zapatista Army of National Liberation initiates twelve days of armed conflict in the Mexican state of Chiapas.
    • 1994 – The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) comes into effect.
    • 1995 – The World Trade Organization comes into being.
    • 1995 – The Draupner wave in the North Sea in Norway is detected, confirming the existence of freak waves.
    • 1995 – Austria, Finland and Sweden join the EU.
    • 1998 – Following a currency reform, Russia begins to circulate new rubles to stem inflation and promote confidence.
    • 1999 – Euro currency is introduced in 11 member nations of the European Union (with the exception of the United Kingdom, Denmark, Greece and Sweden; Greece later adopts the euro).
    • 2004 – In a vote of confidence, General Pervez Musharraf wins 658 out of 1,170 votes in the Electoral College of Pakistan, and according to Article 41(8) of the Constitution of Pakistan, is “deemed to be elected” to the office of President until October 2007.
    • 2007 – Bulgaria and Romania join the EU.
    • 2007 – Adam Air Flight 574 breaks apart in mid-air and crashes near the Makassar Strait, Indonesia killing all 102 people on board.
    • 2009 – Sixty-six people die in a nightclub fire in Bangkok, Thailand.
    • 2010 – A suicide car bomber detonates at a volleyball tournament in Lakki Marwat, Pakistan, killing 105 and injuring 100 more.
    • 2011 – A bomb explodes as Coptic Christians in Alexandria, Egypt, leave a new year service, killing 23 people.
    • 2011 – Estonia officially adopts the Euro currency and becomes the 17th Eurozone country.
    • 2013 – At least 60 people are killed and 200 injured in a stampede after celebrations at Félix Houphouët-Boigny Stadium in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
    • 2015 – The Eurasian Economic Union comes into effect, creating a political and economic union between Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
    • 2017 – An attack on a nightclub in Istanbul, Turkey, during New Year’s celebrations, kills at least 39 people and injures more than 60 others

    Births on January 1

    • 766 – Ali al-Ridha (d. 818) 8th Imam of Twelver Shia Islam
    • 1431 – Pope Alexander VI (d. 1503)
    • 1449 – Lorenzo de’ Medici, Italian politician (d. 1492)
    • 1467 – Sigismund I the Old, Polish king (d. 1548)
    • 1484 – Huldrych Zwingli, Swiss pastor and theologian (d. 1531)
    • 1511 – Henry, Duke of Cornwall, first-born child of Henry VIII of England (d. 1511)
    • 1557 – Stephen Bocskay, Prince of Transylvania (d. 1606)
    • 1600 – Friedrich Spanheim, Dutch theologian and academic (d. 1649)
    • 1628 – Christoph Bernhard, German composer and theorist (d. 1692)
    • 1655 – Christian Thomasius, German jurist and philosopher (d. 1728)
    • 1684 – Arnold Drakenborch, Dutch scholar and author (d. 1748)
    • 1704 – Soame Jenyns, English author, poet, and politician (d. 1787)
    • 1711 – Baron Franz von der Trenck, Austrian soldier (d. 1749)
    • 1714 – Giovanni Battista Mancini, Italian soprano and author (d. 1800)
    • 1714 – Kristijonas Donelaitis, Lithuanian pastor and poet (d. 1780)
    • 1735 – Paul Revere, American silversmith and engraver (d. 1818)
    • 1745 – Anthony Wayne, American general and politician (d. 1796)
    • 1752 – Betsy Ross, American seamstress, credited with designing the Flag of the United States (d. 1836)
    • 1768 – Maria Edgeworth, Anglo-Irish author (d. 1849)
    • 1769 – Marie-Louise Lachapelle, French obstetrician (d. 1821)
    • 1774 – André Marie Constant Duméril, French zoologist and academic (d. 1860)
    • 1779 – William Clowes, English publisher (d. 1847)
    • 1803 – Edward Dickinson, American politician and father of poet Emily Dickinson (d. 1874)
    • 1806 – Lionel Kieseritzky, Estonian-French chess player (d. 1853)
    • 1809 – Achille Guenée, French lawyer and entomologist (d. 1880)
    • 1813 – George Bliss, American politician (d. 1868)
    • 1814 – Hong Xiuquan, Chinese rebellion leader and king (d. 1864)
    • 1818 – William Gamble, Irish-born American general (d. 1866)
    • 1819 – Arthur Hugh Clough, English-Italian poet and academic (d. 1861)
    • 1819 – George Foster Shepley, American general (d. 1878)
    • 1823 – Sándor Petőfi, Hungarian poet and activist (d. 1849)
    • 1833 – Robert Lawson, Scottish-New Zealand architect, designed the Otago Boys’ High School and Knox Church (d. 1902)
    • 1834 – Ludovic Halévy, French author and playwright (d. 1908)
    • 1839 – Ouida, English-Italian author and activist (d. 1908)
    • 1848 – John W. Goff, Irish-American lawyer and politician (d. 1924)
    • 1852 – Eugène-Anatole Demarçay, French chemist and academic (d. 1904)
    • 1854 – James George Frazer, Scottish anthropologist and academic (d. 1941)
    • 1854 – Thomas Waddell, Irish-Australian politician, 15th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1940)
    • 1857 – Tim Keefe, American baseball player (d. 1933)
    • 1859 – Michael Joseph Owens, American inventor (d. 1923)
    • 1859 – Thibaw Min, Burmese king (d. 1916)
    • 1860 – Michele Lega, Italian cardinal (d. 1935)
    • 1863 – Pierre de Coubertin, French historian, and educator, founded the International Olympic Committee (d. 1937)
    • 1864 – Alfred Stieglitz, American photographer, and curator (d. 1946)
    • 1864 – Qi Baishi, Chinese painter (d. 1957)
    • 1867 – Mary Ackworth Evershed, English astronomer and scholar (d. 1949)
    • 1874 – Frank Knox, American publisher, and politician, 46th United States Secretary of the Navy (d. 1944)
    • 1874 – Gustave Whitehead, German-American pilot and engineer (d. 1927)
    • 1877 – Alexander von Staël-Holstein, German sinologist and orientalist (d. 1937)
    • 1878 – Agner Krarup Erlang, Danish mathematician, statistician, and engineer (d. 1929)
    • 1879 – E. M. Forster, English author and playwright (d. 1970)
    • 1879 – William Fox, Hungarian-American screenwriter and producer, founded the Fox Film Corporation and Fox Theatres (d. 1952)
    • 1883 – William J. Donovan, American general, lawyer, and politician (d. 1959)
    • 1884 – Chikuhei Nakajima, Japanese lieutenant, engineer, and politician, founded Nakajima Aircraft Company (d. 1949)
    • 1887 – Wilhelm Canaris, German admiral (d. 1945)
    • 1888 – Georgios Stanotas, Greek general (d. 1965)
    • 1888 – John Garand, Canadian-American engineer, designed the M1 Garand rifle (d. 1974)
    • 1889 – Charles Bickford, American actor (d. 1967)
    • 1890 – Anton Melik, Slovenian geographer and academic (d. 1966)
    • 1891 – Sampurnanand, Indian educator and politician, 3rd Governor of Rajasthan (d. 1969)
    • 1892 – Mahadev Desai, Indian author and activist (d. 1942)
    • 1892 – Manuel Roxas, Filipino lawyer and politician, 5th President of the Philippines (d. 1948)
    • 1893 – Mordechai Frizis, Greek colonel (d. 1940)
    • 1894 – Satyendra Nath Bose, Indian physicist, and mathematician (d. 1974)
    • 1894 – Edward Joseph Hunkeler, American clergyman (d. 1970)
    • 1895 – J. Edgar Hoover, American law enforcement official; 1st Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (d. 1972)
    • 1900 – Chiune Sugihara, Japanese soldier and diplomat (d. 1986)
    • 1900 – Xavier Cugat, Spanish-American singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1990)
    • 1902 – Buster Nupen, Norwegian-South African cricketer and lawyer (d. 1977)
    • 1902 – Hans von Dohnányi, German jurist and political dissident (d. 1945)
    • 1904 – Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry, Pakistani lawyer and politician, 5th President of Pakistan (d. 1982)
    • 1905 – Stanisław Mazur, Ukrainian-Polish mathematician and theorist (d. 1981)
    • 1906 – Manuel Silos, Filipino filmmaker, and actor (d. 1988)
    • 1907 – Kinue Hitomi, Japanese sprinter and long jumper (d. 1931)
    • 1909 – Dana Andrews, American actor (d. 1992)
    • 1909 – Stepan Bandera, Ukrainian soldier and politician (d. 1959)
    • 1911 – Audrey Wurdemann, American poet and author (d. 1960)
    • 1911 – Basil Dearden, English director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1971)
    • 1911 – Hank Greenberg, American baseball player (d. 1986)
    • 1911 – Roman Totenberg, Polish-American violinist and educator (d. 2012)
    • 1912 – Boris Vladimirovich Gnedenko, Russian mathematician and historian (d. 1995)
    • 1912 – Kim Philby, British spy (d. 1988)
    • 1912 – Nikiforos Vrettakos, Greek poet and academic (d. 1991)
    • 1914 – Noor Inayat Khan, British SOE agent (d. 1944)
    • 1917 – Shannon Bolin, American actress and singer (d. 2016)
    • 1918 – Patrick Anthony Porteous, Scottish colonel, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 2000)
    • 1918 – Willy den Ouden, Dutch swimmer (d. 1997)
    • 1919 – Carole Landis, American actress (d. 1948)
    • 1919 – J. D. Salinger, American soldier and author (d. 2010)
    • 1919 – Rocky Graziano, American boxer and actor (d. 1990)
    • 1920 – Osvaldo Cavandoli, Italian cartoonist (d. 2007)
    • 1921 – César Baldaccini, French sculptor and academic (d. 1998)
    • 1921 – Ismail al-Faruqi, Palestinian-American philosopher and academic (d. 1986)
    • 1921 – Regina Bianchi, Italian actress (d. 2013)
    • 1922 – Ernest Hollings, American soldier, and politician, 106th Governor of South Carolina (d. 2019)
    • 1923 – Valentina Cortese, Italian actress (d. 2019)
    • 1923 – Milt Jackson, American jazz vibraphonist and composer (d. 1999)
    • 1924 – Francisco Macías Nguema, Equatorial Guinean politician, 1st President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea (d. 1979)
    • 1925 – Matthew Beard, American child actor (d. 1981)
    • 1925 – Paul Bomani, Tanzanian politician and diplomat, 1st Tanzanian Minister of Finance (d. 2005)
    • 1926 – Kazys Petkevičius, Lithuanian basketball player and coach (d. 2008)
    • 1927 – Doak Walker, American football player and businessman (d. 1998)
    • 1927 – James Reeb, American clergyman and political activist (d. 1965)
    • 1927 – Maurice Béjart, French-Swiss dancer, choreographer, and director (d. 2007)
    • 1927 – Vernon L. Smith, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1928 – Ernest Tidyman, American author and screenwriter (d. 1984)
    • 1928 – Gerhard Weinberg, German-American historian, author, and academic
    • 1929 – Larry L. King, American journalist, author, and playwright (d. 2012)
    • 1930 – Frederick Wiseman, American director and producer
    • 1930 – Gaafar Nimeiry, Egyptian-Sudanese politician, 4th President of the Sudan (d. 2009)
    • 1932 – Giuseppe Patanè, Italian conductor (d. 1989)
    • 1933 – James Hormel, American philanthropist and diplomat.
    • 1933 – Joe Orton, English dramatist (d. 1967)
    • 1934 – Alan Berg, American lawyer and radio host (d. 1984
    • 1934 – Lakhdar Brahimi, Algerian politician, Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs
    • 1935 – Om Prakash Chautala, Indian politician
    • 1936 – James Sinegal, American businessman, co-founded Costco
    • 1939 – Michèle Mercier, French actress
    • 1939 – Phil Read, English motorcycle racer and businessman
    • 1939 – Senfronia Thompson, American politician
    • 1941 – Younoussi Touré, Malian politician, Prime Minister of Mali
    • 1942 – Alassane Ouattara, Ivorian economist and politician, President of the Ivory Coast (doubtful)
    • 1942 – Anthony Hamilton-Smith, 3rd Baron Colwyn, English dentist and politician
    • 1942 – Country Joe McDonald, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1942 – Dennis Archer, American lawyer and politician, 67th Mayor of Detroit
    • 1942 – Gennadi Sarafanov, Russian pilot and cosmonaut (d. 2005)
    • 1943 – Don Novello, American comedian, screenwriter and producer.
    • 1943 – Tony Knowles, American soldier and politician, 7th Governor of Alaska.
    • 1943 – Vladimir Šeks, Croatian lawyer and politician, 16th Speaker of the Croatian Parliament
    • 1944 – Mati Unt, Estonian author, playwright, and director (d. 2005)
    • 1944 – Omar al-Bashir, Sudanese field marshal and politician, 7th President of Sudan
    • 1944 – Teresa Torańska, Polish journalist and author (d. 2013)
    • 1944 – Zafarullah Khan Jamali, Pakistani field hockey player and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Pakistan
    • 1945 – Jacky Ickx, Belgian racing driver
    • 1945 – Victor Ashe, American politician and former United States Ambassador to Poland
    • 1946 – Claude Steele, American social psychologist and academic
    • 1946 – Rivellino, Brazilian footballer and manager
    • 1947 – Jon Corzine, American sergeant and politician, 54th Governor of New Jersey
    • 1948 – Devlet Bahçeli, Turkish economist, academic, and politician, 57th Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey
    • 1948 – Dick Quax, New Zealand runner and politician (d. 2018)
    • 1948 – Pavel Grachev, Russian general and politician, 1st Russian Minister of Defence (d. 2012)
    • 1949 – Borys Tarasyuk, Ukrainian politician and diplomat
    • 1952 – Shaji N. Karun, Indian director and cinematographer
    • 1953 – Gary Johnson, American businessman and politician, 29th Governor of New Mexico
    • 1954 – Bob Menendez, American lawyer and politician
    • 1954 – Dennis O’Driscoll, Irish poet and critic (d. 2012)
    • 1954 – Yannis Papathanasiou, Greek engineer and politician, Greek Minister of Finance
    • 1955 – LaMarr Hoyt, American baseball player
    • 1955 – Mary Beard, English classicist, academic and presenter
    • 1956 – Sergei Avdeyev, Russian engineer and astronaut
    • 1956 – Christine Lagarde, French lawyer and politician; Managing Director, International Monetary Fund
    • 1957 – Evangelos Venizelos, Greek lawyer and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Greece
    • 1958 – Grandmaster Flash, Barbadian rapper and DJ
    • 1959 – Abdul Ahad Mohmand, Afghan colonel, pilot, and astronaut
    • 1959 – Azali Assoumani, Comorian colonel and politician, President of the Comoros
    • 1959 – Panagiotis Giannakis, Greek basketball player and coach
    • 1962 – Anton Muscatelli, Italian-Scottish economist and academic
    • 1963 – Jean-Marc Gounon, French racing driver
    • 1964 – Dedee Pfeiffer, American actress
    • 1966 – Anna Burke, Australian businesswoman and politician, 28th Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives
    • 1966 – Ivica Dačić, Serbian journalist and politician, 95th Prime Minister of Serbia
    • 1966 – Tihomir Orešković, Croatian–Canadian businessman, 11th Prime Minister of Croatia
    • 1968 – Davor Šuker, Croatian footballer
    • 1971 – Bobby Holík, Czech-American ice hockey player and coach
    • 1971 – Jyotiraditya Madhavrao Scindia, Indian politician
    • 1971 – Sammie Henson, American wrestler and coach
    • 1972 – Lilian Thuram, French footballer
    • 1974 – Christian Paradis, Canadian lawyer and politician, 9th Canadian Minister of Industry
    • 1975 – Becky Kellar-Duke, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1975 – Chris Anstey, Australian basketball player and coach
    • 1975 – Fernando Tatís, Dominican baseball player
    • 1975 – Joe Cannon, American soccer player and sportscaster
    • 1979 – Vidya Balan, Indian actress
    • 1981 – Zsolt Baumgartner, Hungarian racing driver
    • 1981 – Mladen Petrić, Croatian footballer
    • 1982 – David Nalbandian, Argentinian tennis player
    • 1982 – Egidio Arévalo Ríos, Uruguayan footballer
    • 1983 – Melaine Walker, Jamaican hurdler
    • 1983 – Park Sung-hyun, South Korean archer
    • 1983 – Calum Davenport, English footballer
    • 1984 – Paolo Guerrero, Peruvian footballer
    • 1985 – Steven Davis, Northern Irish footballer
    • 1985 – Tiago Splitter, Brazilian basketball player
    • 1986 – Pablo Cuevas, Uruguayan tennis player
    • 1986 – Ramses Barden, American football player
    • 1987 – Meryl Davis, American ice dancer1987 – Patric Hörnqvist, Swedish ice hockey player
    • 1988 – Marcel Gecov, Czech footballer
    • 1989 – Jason Pierre-Paul, American football player
    • 1991 – Darius Slay, American football player

    Deaths on January 1

    • 138 – Lucius Aelius, adopted son and intended successor of Hadrian (b. 101)
    • 404 – Telemachus, Christian monk and martyr
    • 466 – Qianfei, Chinese emperor of the Liu Song Dynasty (b. 449)
    • 898 – Odo I, Frankish king (b. 860)
    • 951 – Ramiro II, king of León and Galicia1031 – William of Volpiano, Italian abbot (b. 962)
    • 1189 – Henry of Marcy, Cistercian abbot (b. c. 1136)
    • 1204 – Haakon III, king of Norway (b. 1182)
    • 1387 – Charles II, king of Navarre (b. 1332)
    • 1496 – Charles d’Orléans, count of Angoulême (b. 1459)
    • 1515 – Louis XII, king of France (b. 1462)
    • 1559 – Christian III, king of Denmark (b. 1503)
    • 1560 – Joachim du Bellay, French poet and critic (b. 1522)
    • 1617 – Hendrik Goltzius, Dutch painter and illustrator (b. 1558)
    • 1697 – Filippo Baldinucci, Florentine historian and author (b. 1625)
    • 1716 – William Wycherley, English playwright and poet (b. 1641)
    • 1748 – Johann Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician and academic (b. 1667)
    • 1780 – Johann Ludwig Krebs, German organist and composer (b. 1713)
    • 1782 – Johann Christian Bach, German composer (b. 1735)
    • 1789 – Fletcher Norton, 1st Baron Grantley, English lawyer and politician, British Speaker of the House of Commons (b. 1716)
    • 1793 – Francesco Guardi, Italian painter and educator (b. 1712)
    • 1817 – Martin Heinrich Klaproth, German chemist and academic (b. 1743)
    • 1846 – John Torrington, English sailor and explorer (b. 1825)
    • 1853 – Gregory Blaxland, Australian farmer and explorer (b. 1778)
    • 1862 – Mikhail Ostrogradsky, Ukrainian mathematician and physicist (b. 1801)
    • 1881 – Louis Auguste Blanqui, French activist (b. 1805)
    • 1892 – Roswell B. Mason, American lawyer and politician, 25th Mayor of Chicago (b. 1805)
    • 1894 – Heinrich Hertz, German physicist and academic (b. 1857)
    • 1896 – Alfred Ely Beach, American publisher and lawyer, created the Beach Pneumatic Transit (b. 1826)
    • 1906 – Hugh Nelson, Scottish-Australian farmer and politician, 11th Premier of Queensland (b. 1833)
    • 1918 – William Wilfred Campbell, Canadian poet and author (b. 1858)
    • 1921 – Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg, German lawyer and politician, 5th Chancellor of Germany (b. 1856)
    • 1929 – Mustafa Necati, Turkish civil servant and politician, Turkish Minister of Environment and Urban Planning (b. 1894)
    • 1931 – Martinus Beijerinck, Dutch microbiologist and botanist (b. 1851)
    • 1937 – Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, Indian religious leader, founded the Gaudiya Math (b. 1874)
    • 1940 – Panuganti Lakshminarasimha Rao, Indian author and educator (b. 1865)
    • 1944 – Edwin Lutyens, English architect, designed the Castle Drogo and Thiepval Memorial (b. 1869)
    • 1944 – Charles Turner, Australian cricketer (b. 1862)
    • 1953 – Hank Williams, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1923)
    • 1954 – Duff Cooper, English politician and diplomat, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (b. 1890)
    • 1954 – Leonard Bacon, American poet and critic (b. 1887)
    • 1955 – Arthur C. Parker, American archaeologist and historian (b. 1881)
    • 1960 – Margaret Sullavan, American actress (b. 1909)
    • 1966 – Vincent Auriol, French journalist and politician, 16th President of the French Republic (b. 1884)
    • 1969 – Barton MacLane, American actor, playwright and screenwriter (b. 1902)
    • 1971 – Amphilochius of Pochayiv, Ukrainian saint (b. 1894)
    • 1972 – Maurice Chevalier, French actor and singer (b. 1888)
    • 1978 – Carle Hessay, German-Canadian painter (b. 1911)
    • 1980 – Pietro Nenni, Italian journalist and politician, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1891)
    • 1981 – Hephzibah Menuhin, American-Australian pianist (b. 1920)
    • 1982 – Victor Buono, American actor (b. 1938)
    • 1984 – Alexis Korner, French-English singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1928)
    • 1992 – Grace Hopper, American computer scientist and admiral, co-developed COBOL (b. 1906)
    • 1994 – Arthur Porritt, Baron Porritt, New Zealand physician and politician, 11th Governor-General of New Zealand (b. 1900)
    • 1994 – Cesar Romero, American actor (b. 1907)
    • 1994 – Edward Arthur Thompson, Irish historian and academic (b. 1914)
    • 1995 – Eugene Wigner, Hungarian-American physicist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
    • 1996 – Arleigh Burke, American admiral (b. 1901)
    • 1996 – Arthur Rudolph, German-American engineer (b. 1906)
    • 1997 – Townes Van Zandt, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1944)
    • 1998 – Helen Wills, American tennis player and coach (b. 1905)
    • 2000 – Betty Archdale, English-Australian cricketer and educator (b. 1907)
    • 2001 – Ray Walston, American actor (b. 1914)
    • 2002 – Julia Phillips, American film producer and author (b. 1944)
    • 2003 – Joe Foss, American soldier, pilot, and politician, 20th Governor of South Dakota (b. 1915)
    • 2005 – Shirley Chisholm, American educator and politician (b. 1924)
    • 2006 – Harry Magdoff, American economist and journalist (b. 1913)
    • 2007 – Roland Levinsky, South African-English biochemist and academic (b. 1943)
    • 2007 – Tillie Olsen, American short story writer (b. 1912)
    • 2008 – Pratap Chandra Chunder, Indian educator and politician (b. 1919)
    • 2009 – Claiborne Pell, American politician (b. 1918)
    • 2010 – Lhasa de Sela, American-Mexican singer-songwriter (b. 1972)
    • 2012 – Kiro Gligorov, Bulgarian-Macedonian lawyer and politician, 1st President of the Republic of Macedonia (b. 1917)
    • 2012 – Nay Win Maung, Burmese physician, businessman, and activist (b. 1962)
    • 2012 – Tommy Mont, American football player and coach (b. 1922)
    • 2013 – Christopher Martin-Jenkins, English journalist (b. 1945)
    • 2013 – Patti Page, American singer and actress (b. 1927)
    • 2014 – Higashifushimi Kunihide, Japanese monk and educator (b. 1910)
    • 2014 – Juanita Moore, American actress (b. 1914)
    • 2014 – William Mgimwa, Tanzanian banker and politician, 13th Tanzanian Minister of Finance (b. 1950)
    • 2015 – Boris Morukov, Russian physician and astronaut (b. 1950)
    • 2015 – Donna Douglas, American actress (b. 1932)
    • 2015 – Mario Cuomo, American lawyer and politician, 52nd Governor of New York (b. 1932)
    • 2015 – Omar Karami, Lebanese lawyer and politician, 58th Prime Minister of Lebanon (b. 1934)
    • 2016 – Dale Bumpers, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 38th Governor of Arkansas (b. 1925)
    • 2016 – Fazu Aliyeva, Russian poet and journalist (b. 1932)
    • 2016 – Vilmos Zsigmond, Hungarian-American cinematographer and producer (b. 1930)
    • 2017 – Derek Parfit, British philosopher (b. 1942)
    • 2017 – Tony Atkinson, British economist (b. 1944)
    • 2017 – Yvon Dupuis, Canadian politician (b. 1926)
    • 2018 – Robert Mann, American violinist (b. 1920)
    • 2019 – Pegi Young, American singer, songwriter, environmentalist, educator and philanthropist (b. 1952)
    • 2019 – Paul Neville, Australian politician (b. 1940)
    • 2020 – David Stern, American lawyer and businessman (b. 1942)
    • 2020 – Alexander Frater, British travel writer and journalist (b. 1937)
    • 2020 – Barry McDonald, Australian rugby union player (b. 1940)

    Holidays and observances on January 1

    • Christian feast day:
      • Adalard of Corbie
      • Basil the Great (Eastern Orthodox Church)
      • Feast of the Circumcision of Christ
        • Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus (Anglican Communion, Lutheran Church)
        • Feast of Fools (Medieval Europe)
      • Fulgentius of Ruspe
      • Giuseppe Maria Tomasi
      • Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, the Octave Day of Christmas, considered a holy day of obligation in some countries (Catholic Church); and its related observances:
        • World Day of Peace
      • Telemachus
      • Zygmunt Gorazdowski
      • January 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which Handsel Monday can fall, while January 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of the year (Scotland)
    • The second day of Hogmanay (Scotland) December 31-January 1, in some cases until January 2.
    • The last day of Kwanzaa (African-Americans)
    • The eighth of the Twelve Days of Christmas (Western Christianity)
    • Constitution Day (Italy)
    • Dissolution of Czechoslovakia-related observances:
      • Day of the Establishment of the Slovak Republic (Slovakia)
      • Restoration Day of the Independent Czech State (Czech Republic)
    • Emancipation Day (United States)
    • Euro Day (European Union)
    • Flag Day (Lithuania) commemorates raising of the Lithuanian flag on Gediminas’ Tower in 1919
    • Founding Day (Taiwan) commemorates the establishment of the Provisional Government in Nanjing
    • Global Family Day
    • Independence Day (Brunei, Cameroon, Haiti, Sudan)
    • International Nepali Dhoti and Nepali Topi Day
    • Jump-up Day (Montserrat)
    • Kalpataru Day (Ramakrishna Movement)
    • Kamakura Ebisu, January 1–3 (Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan)
    • National Bloody Mary Day (United States)
    • National Tree Planting Day (Tanzania)
    • New Year’s Day (Gregorian calendar)
      • Japanese New Year
      • Novy God Day (Russia)
      • Sjoogwachi (Okinawa Islands)
    • Polar Bear Swim Day (Canada and United States)
    • Public Domain Day (multiple countries)
    • Triumph of the Revolution (Cuba)