Thomas Jefferson

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

    • 1111 – Henry V is crowned Holy Roman Emperor.
    • 1204 – Constantinople falls to the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade, temporarily ending the Byzantine Empire.
    • 1612 – Miyamoto Musashi defeats Sasaki Kojirō at Funajima island.
    • 1613 – Samuel Argall, having captured Native American princess Pocahontas in Passapatanzy, Virginia, sets off with her to Jamestown with the intention of exchanging her for English prisoners held by her father.
    • 1742 – George Frideric Handel’s oratorio Messiah makes its world-premiere in Dublin, Ireland.
    • 1777 – American Revolutionary War: American forces are ambushed and defeated in the Battle of Bound Brook, New Jersey.
    • 1829 – The Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 gives Roman Catholics in the United Kingdom the right to vote and to sit in Parliament.
    • 1849 – Lajos Kossuth presents the Hungarian Declaration of Independence in a closed session of the National Assembly.
    • 1861 – American Civil War: Fort Sumter surrenders to Confederate forces.
    • 1865 – American Civil War: Raleigh, North Carolina is occupied by Union Forces.
    • 1870 – The New York City Metropolitan Museum of Art is founded.
    • 1873 – The Colfax massacre, in which more than 60 black men are murdered, takes place.
    • 1909 – The military of the Ottoman Empire reverses the Ottoman countercoup of 1909 to force the overthrow of Sultan Abdul Hamid II.
    • 1919 – Jallianwala Bagh massacre: British Indian Army troops lead by Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer killed approx 379-1000 unarmed demonstrators including men and women in Amritsar, India; and approximately 1,500 injured.
    • 1941 – A pact of neutrality between the USSR and Japan is signed.
    • 1943 – World War II: The discovery of mass graves of Polish prisoners of war killed by Soviet forces in the Katyń Forest Massacre is announced, causing a diplomatic rift between the Polish government-in-exile in London and the Soviet Union, which denies responsibility.
    • 1943 – The Jefferson Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C., on the 200th anniversary of President Thomas Jefferson’s birth.
    • 1944 – Relations between New Zealand and the Soviet Union are established.
    • 1945 – World War II: German troops kill more than 1,000 political and military prisoners in Gardelegen, Germany.
    • 1945 – World War II: Soviet and Bulgarian forces capture Vienna.
    • 1948 – In an ambush, 78 Jewish doctors, nurses and medical students from Hadassah Hospital, and a British soldier, are massacred by Arabs in Sheikh Jarrah. This event came to be known as the Hadassah medical convoy massacre.
    • 1953 – CIA director Allen Dulles launches the mind-control program Project MKUltra.
    • 1958 – American pianist Van Cliburn is awarded first prize at the inaugural International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.
    • 1960 – The United States launches Transit 1-B, the world’s first satellite navigation system.
    • 1964 – At the Academy Awards, Sidney Poitier becomes the first African-American male to win the Best Actor award for the 1963 film Lilies of the Field.
    • 1970 – An oxygen tank aboard the Apollo 13 Service Module explodes, putting the crew in great danger and causing major damage to the Apollo command and service module (codenamed “Odyssey“) while en route to the Moon.
    • 1972 – The Universal Postal Union decides to recognize the People’s Republic of China as the only legitimate Chinese representative, effectively expelling the Republic of China administering Taiwan.
    • 1972 – Vietnam War: The Battle of An Lộc begins.
    • 1975 – An attack by the Phalangist resistance kills 26 militia members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, marking the start of the 15-year Lebanese Civil War.
    • 1976 – The United States Treasury Department reintroduces the two-dollar bill as a Federal Reserve Note on Thomas Jefferson’s 233rd birthday as part of the United States Bicentennial celebration.
    • 1976 – Forty workers die in an explosion at the Lapua ammunition factory, the deadliest accidental disaster in modern history in Finland.
    • 1992 – Basements throughout the Chicago Loop are flooded, forcing the Chicago Board of Trade Building and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange to close.
    • 1997 – Tiger Woods becomes the youngest golfer to win the Masters Tournament.
    • 2003 – A bus near the Vale of Tempe, Greece was involved in a major vehicle accident with a truck and multiple cars, leaving 21 students in the tenth grade of Makrochori, Imathia High School dead and nine injured during their return to their homes from a trip to Athens.
    • 2017 – The US drops the largest ever non-nuclear weapon on Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan.

    Births on April 13

    • 1229 – Louis II, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1294)
    • 1350 – Margaret III, Countess of Flanders (d. 1405)
    • 1506 – Peter Faber, French priest and theologian, co-founded the Society of Jesus (d. 1546)
    • 1519 – Catherine de’ Medici, Italian-French wife of Henry II of France (d. 1589)
    • 1570 – Guy Fawkes, English soldier, planned the Gunpowder Plot (probable; d. 1606)
    • 1573 – Christina of Holstein-Gottorp (d. 1625)
    • 1593 – Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (d. 1641)
    • 1618 – Roger de Rabutin, Comte de Bussy, French author (d. 1693)
    • 1636 – Hendrik van Rheede, Dutch botanist (d. 1691)
    • 1648 – Jeanne Marie Bouvier de la Motte Guyon, French mystic (d. 1717)
    • 1713 – Pierre Jélyotte, French tenor (d. 1797)
    • 1729 – Thomas Percy, Irish bishop and poet (d. 1811)
    • 1732 – Frederick North, Lord North, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1792)
    • 1735 – Isaac Low, American merchant and politician, founded the New York Chamber of Commerce (d. 1791)
    • 1743 – Thomas Jefferson, American lawyer and politician, 3rd President of the United States (d. 1826)
    • 1747 – Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans (d. 1793)
    • 1764 – Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr, French general and politician, French Minister of War (d. 1830)
    • 1769 – Thomas Lawrence, English painter and educator (d. 1830)
    • 1771 – Richard Trevithick, Cornish-English engineer and explorer (d. 1833)
    • 1780 – Alexander Mitchell, Irish engineer, invented the Screw-pile lighthouse (d. 1868)
    • 1784 – Friedrich Graf von Wrangel, Prussian field marshal (d. 1877)
    • 1787 – John Robertson, American lawyer and politician (d. 1873)
    • 1794 – Jean Pierre Flourens, French physiologist and academic (d. 1867)
    • 1802 – Leopold Fitzinger, Austrian zoologist and herpetologist (d. 1884)
    • 1808 – Antonio Meucci, Italian-American engineer (d. 1889)
    • 1810 – Félicien David, French composer (d. 1876)
    • 1824 – William Alexander, Irish archbishop, poet, and theologian (d. 1911)
    • 1825 – Thomas D’Arcy McGee, Irish-Canadian journalist and politician (d. 1868)
    • 1828 – Josephine Butler, English feminist and social reformer (d. 1906)
    • 1828 – Joseph Lightfoot, English bishop and theologian (d. 1889)
    • 1832 – Juan Montalvo, Ecuadorian author and diplomat (d. 1889)
    • 1841 – Louis-Ernest Barrias, French sculptor and academic (d. 1905)
    • 1850 – Arthur Matthew Weld Downing, Irish astronomer (d. 1917)
    • 1851 – Robert Abbe, American surgeon and radiologist (d. 1928)
    • 1851 – William Quan Judge, Irish occultist and theosophist (d. 1896)
    • 1852 – Frank Winfield Woolworth, American businessman, founded the F. W. Woolworth Company (d. 1919)
    • 1854 – Lucy Craft Laney, Founder of the Haines Normal and Industrial School, Augusta, Georgia (d. 1933)
    • 1860 – James Ensor, English-Belgian painter (d. 1949)
    • 1866 – Butch Cassidy, American criminal (d. 1908)
    • 1872 – John Cameron, Scottish international footballer and manager (d. 1935)
    • 1872 – Alexander Roda Roda, Austrian-Croatian journalist and author (d. 1945)
    • 1873 – John W. Davis, American lawyer and politician, 14th United States Solicitor General (d. 1955)
    • 1875 – Ray Lyman Wilbur, American physician, academic, and politician, 31st United States Secretary of the Interior (d. 1949)
    • 1879 – Edward Bruce, American lawyer and painter (d. 1943)
    • 1879 – Oswald Bruce Cooper, American type designer, lettering artist, graphic designer, and educator (d. 1940)
    • 1880 – Charles Christie, Canadian-American businessman, co-founded the Christie Film Company (d. 1955)
    • 1885 – Vean Gregg, American baseball player (d. 1964)
    • 1885 – Juhan Kukk, Estonian politician, Head of State of Estonia (d. 1942)
    • 1885 – György Lukács, Hungarian philosopher and critic (d. 1971)
    • 1885 – Pieter Sjoerds Gerbrandy, Dutch politician (d. 1961)
    • 1887 – Gordon S. Fahrni, Canadian physician and golfer (d. 1995)
    • 1889 – Herbert Yardley, American cryptologist and author (d. 1958)
    • 1890 – Frank Murphy, American jurist and politician, 56th United States Attorney General (d. 1949)
    • 1890 – Dadasaheb Torne, Indian director and producer (d. 1960)
    • 1891 – Maurice Buckley, Australian sergeant, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1921)
    • 1891 – Nella Larsen, Danish/African-American nurse, librarian, and author (d. 1964)
    • 1891 – Robert Scholl, German accountant and politician (d. 1973)
    • 1892 – Sir Arthur Harris, 1st Baronet, English air marshal (d. 1984)
    • 1892 – Robert Watson-Watt, Scottish engineer, invented Radar (d. 1973)
    • 1894 – Arthur Fadden, Australian accountant and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1973)
    • 1894 – Joie Ray, American runner (d. 1978)
    • 1896 – Fred Barnett, English footballer (d. 1982)
    • 1897 – Werner Voss, German lieutenant and pilot (d. 1917)
    • 1899 – Alfred Mosher Butts, American architect and game designer, created Scrabble (d. 1993)
    • 1899 – Harold Osborn, American high jumper and decathlete (d. 1975)
    • 1900 – Sorcha Boru, American potter and ceramic sculptor (d. 2006)
    • 1900 – Pierre Molinier, French painter and photographer (d. 1976)
    • 1901 – Jacques Lacan, French psychiatrist and psychoanalyst (d. 1981)
    • 1901 – Alan Watt, Australian public servant and diplomat, Australian Ambassador to Japan (d. 1988)
    • 1902 – Philippe de Rothschild, French Grand Prix driver, playwright, and producer (d. 1988)
    • 1902 – Marguerite Henry, American author (d. 1997)
    • 1904 – David Robinson, English businessman and philanthropist (d. 1987)
    • 1905 – Rae Johnstone, Australian jockey (d. 1964)
    • 1906 – Samuel Beckett, Irish novelist, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1989)
    • 1906 – Bud Freeman, American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader (d. 1991)
    • 1907 – Harold Stassen, American lawyer and politician, 25th Governor of Minnesota (d. 2001)
    • 1909 – Eudora Welty, American short story writer and novelist (d. 2001)
    • 1911 – Ico Hitrec, Croatian footballer and manager (d. 1946)
    • 1911 – Jean-Louis Lévesque, Canadian businessman and philanthropist (d. 1994)
    • 1911 – Nino Sanzogno, Italian conductor and composer (d. 1983)
    • 1913 – Dave Albritton, American high jumper and coach (d. 1994)
    • 1913 – Kermit Tyler, American lieutenant and pilot (d. 2010)
    • 1914 – Orhan Veli Kanık, Turkish poet and author (d. 1950)
    • 1916 – Phyllis Fraser, Welsh-American actress, journalist, and publisher, co-founded Beginner Books (d. 2006)
    • 1917 – Robert Orville Anderson, American businessman, founded Atlantic Richfield Oil Co. (d. 2007)
    • 1917 – Bill Clements, American soldier, engineer, and politician, 15th United States Deputy Secretary of Defense (d. 2011)
    • 1919 – Roland Gaucher, French journalist and politician (d. 2007)
    • 1919 – Howard Keel, American actor and singer (d. 2004)
    • 1919 – Madalyn Murray O’Hair, American activist, founded American Atheists (d. 1995)
    • 1920 – Roberto Calvi, Italian banker (d. 1982)
    • 1920 – Claude Cheysson, French lieutenant and politician, French Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2012)
    • 1920 – Liam Cosgrave, Irish lawyer and politician, 6th Taoiseach of Ireland (d. 2017)
    • 1920 – Theodore L. Thomas, American chemical engineer, Patent attorney and writer (d. 2005)
    • 1922 – Heinz Baas, German footballer and manager (d. 1994)
    • 1922 – John Braine, English librarian and author (d. 1986)
    • 1922 – Julius Nyerere, Tanzanian politician and teacher, 1st President of Tanzania (d. 1999)
    • 1922 – Valve Pormeister, Estonian architect (d. 2002)
    • 1923 – Don Adams, American actor and director (d. 2005)
    • 1923 – A. H. Halsey, English sociologist and academic (d. 2014)
    • 1923 – Stanley Tanger, American businessman and philanthropist, founded the Tanger Factory Outlet Centers (d. 2010)
    • 1924 – John T. Biggers, American painter (d. 2001)
    • 1924 – Jack T. Chick, American author, illustrator, and publisher (d. 2016)
    • 1924 – Stanley Donen, American film director and choreographer (d. 2019)
    • 1926 – Ellie Lambeti, Greek actress (d. 1983)
    • 1926 – John Spencer-Churchill, 11th Duke of Marlborough, English businessman (d. 2014)
    • 1927 – Rosemary Haughton, English philosopher, theologian, and author
    • 1927 – Antonino Rocca, Italian-American wrestler (d. 1977)
    • 1927 – Maurice Ronet, French actor and director (d. 1983)
    • 1928 – Alan Clark, English historian and politician, Minister of State for Trade (d. 1999)
    • 1928 – Gianni Marzotto, Italian racing driver and businessman (d. 2012)
    • 1929 – Marilynn Smith, American golfer (d. 2019)
    • 1931 – Anita Cerquetti, Italian soprano (d. 2014)
    • 1931 – Robert Enrico, French director and screenwriter (d. 2001)
    • 1931 – Dan Gurney, American race car driver and engineer (d. 2018)
    • 1931 – Jon Stone, American composer, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1997)
    • 1932 – Orlando Letelier, Chilean-American economist and politician, Chilean Minister of National Defense (d. 1976)
    • 1933 – Ben Nighthorse Campbell, American soldier and politician
    • 1934 – John Muckler, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager
    • 1936 – Pierre Rosenberg, French historian and academic
    • 1937 – Col Joye, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1937 – Edward Fox, English actor
    • 1937 – Lanford Wilson, American playwright, co-founded the Circle Repertory Company (d. 2011)
    • 1938 – Klaus Lehnertz, German pole vaulter
    • 1938 – John Weston, English poet and diplomat
    • 1939 – Seamus Heaney, Irish poet and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2013)
    • 1939 – Paul Sorvino, American actor and singer
    • 1940 – Mike Beuttler, Egyptian-English racing driver (d. 1988)
    • 1940 – Lester Chambers, American singer and musician
    • 1940 – J. M. G. Le Clézio, Breton French-Mauritian author and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1940 – Vladimir Cosma, French composer, conductor and violinist
    • 1940 – Jim McNab, Scottish footballer (d. 2006)
    • 1940 – Max Mosley, English racing driver and engineer, co-founded March Engineering, former president of the FIA
    • 1940 – Ruby Puryear Hearn, African-American biophysicist
    • 1941 – Michael Stuart Brown, American geneticist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1941 – Jean-Marc Reiser, French author and illustrator (d. 1983)
    • 1942 – Bill Conti, American composer and conductor
    • 1943 – Alan Jones, Australian rugby coach, radio host, and educator
    • 1943 – Billy Kidd, American skier
    • 1943 – Tim Krabbé, Dutch journalist and author
    • 1943 – Philip Norman, English journalist, author, and playwright
    • 1944 – Franco Arese, Italian runner
    • 1944 – Charles Burnett, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1944 – Jack Casady, American bass guitarist
    • 1944 – Susan Davis, Russian-American social worker and politician
    • 1945 – Ed Caruthers, American high jumper
    • 1945 – Tony Dow, American actor
    • 1945 – Lowell George, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 1979)
    • 1945 – Bob Kalsu, American football player and lieutenant (d. 1970)
    • 1945 – Judy Nunn, Australian actress and author
    • 1946 – Al Green, American singer-songwriter, producer, and pastor
    • 1947 – Rae Armantrout, American poet and academic
    • 1947 – Mike Chapman, Australian-English songwriter and producer
    • 1947 – Jean-Jacques Laffont, French economist and academic (d. 2004)
    • 1947 – Yves Landry, Canadian cyclist
    • 1948 – Nam Hae-il, South Korean admiral
    • 1948 – Drago Jančar, Slovenian author and playwright
    • 1948 – Mikhail Shufutinsky, Soviet and Russian singer, actor, TV presenter
    • 1949 – Len Cook, New Zealand-English mathematician and statistician
    • 1949 – Frank Doran, Scottish lawyer and politician (d. 2017)
    • 1949 – Christopher Hitchens, English-American essayist, literary critic, and journalist (d. 2011)
    • 1949 – Ricardo Zunino, Argentinian racing driver
    • 1950 – Ron Perlman, American actor
    • 1950 – Tommy Raudonikis, Australian rugby league player and coach
    • 1951 – Leszek Borysiewicz, Welsh immunologist and academic
    • 1951 – Peabo Bryson, American singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1951 – Peter Davison, English actor
    • 1951 – Joachim Streich, German footballer and manager
    • 1951 – Max Weinberg, American drummer
    • 1952 – Sam Bush, American mandolin player
    • 1952 – David Drew, English lawyer and politician
    • 1952 – Gabrielle Gourdeau, Canadian writer (d. 2006)
    • 1952 – Jonjo O’Neill, Irish jockey and trainer
    • 1953 – Stephen Byers, English politician
    • 1953 – Dany Laferrière, Haitian-Canadian journalist and author
    • 1954 – Jimmy Destri, American keyboard player and songwriter
    • 1954 – Niels Olsen, Danish singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1954 – Barbara Roche, English lawyer and politician
    • 1955 – Steve Camp, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1955 – Muwenda Mutebi II, current King of Buganda Kingdom
    • 1955 – Louis Johnson, American bass player and producer (d. 2015)
    • 1955 – Lupe Pintor, Mexican boxer
    • 1955 – Ole von Beust, German lawyer and politician, 1st Mayor of Hamburg
    • 1956 – Possum Bourne, New Zealand racing driver (d. 2003)
    • 1956 – Alan Devonshire, English footballer and manager
    • 1956 – Edward Forbes Smiley III, American art thief and map dealer
    • 1957 – Amy Goodman, American journalist and author
    • 1957 – Saundra Santiago, American actress
    • 1960 – Lyn Brown, English social worker and politician
    • 1960 – Bob Casey, Jr., American lawyer and politician, senior senator of Pennsylvania
    • 1960 – Olaf Ludwig, German cyclist and manager
    • 1960 – Rudi Völler, German footballer and manager
    • 1961 – Hiro Yamamoto, American bass player and songwriter
    • 1962 – Hillel Slovak, Israeli-American guitarist (d. 1988)
    • 1963 – Garry Kasparov, Russian chess player and author
    • 1964 – Davis Love III, American golfer and sportscaster
    • 1964 – Caroline Rhea, Canadian actress and comedian
    • 1964 – John Swinney, Scottish businessman and politician, Deputy First Minister of Scotland
    • 1965 – Patricio Pouchulu, Argentinian architect and educator
    • 1966 – Ali Boumnijel, Tunisian footballer
    • 1966 – Marc Ford, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
    • 1967 – Dana Barros, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster
    • 1967 – Michael Eisen, American biologist and academic
    • 1967 – Olga Tañón, Puerto Rican-American singer-songwriter
    • 1968 – Ted Washington, American football player
    • 1969 – Dirk Muschiol, German footballer
    • 1970 – Monty Brown, American football player and wrestler
    • 1970 – Gerry Creaney, Scottish footballer and manager
    • 1970 – Nick Garrett, English singer
    • 1970 – Szilveszter Csollány, Hungarian gymnast
    • 1970 – Ricardo Rincón, Mexican-American baseball player
    • 1970 – Ricky Schroder, American actor
    • 1971 – Franck Esposito, French swimmer
    • 1971 – Danie Mellor, Australian painter and sculptor
    • 1971 – Bo Outlaw, American basketball player
    • 1971 – Valensia, Dutch singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1972 – Mariusz Czerkawski, Polish ice hockey player and golfer
    • 1972 – Aaron Lewis, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1974 – Valentina Cervi, Italian actress
    • 1974 – Sergei Gonchar, Russian ice hockey player
    • 1974 – Darren Turner, English racing driver
    • 1974 – David Zdrilic, Australian footballer and manager
    • 1975 – Jasey-Jay Anderson, Canadian snowboarder
    • 1975 – Lou Bega, German singer-songwriter
    • 1975 – Bruce Dyer, English footballer
    • 1975 – Tatiana Navka, Russian ice dancer
    • 1976 – Jonathan Brandis, American actor (d. 2003)
    • 1976 – Patrik Eliáš, Czech-American ice hockey player
    • 1976 – Glenn Howerton, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1977 – Margus Tsahkna, Estonian lawyer and politician
    • 1978 – Arron Asham, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1978 – Carles Puyol, Spanish footballer
    • 1978 – Raemon Sluiter, Dutch tennis player
    • 1978 – Keydrick Vincent, American football player
    • 1979 – Gréta Arn, Hungarian tennis player
    • 1979 – Baron Davis, American basketball player
    • 1979 – Tony Lundon, Irish singer-songwriter, producer, and dancer
    • 1979 – Meghann Shaughnessy, American tennis player
    • 1980 – Colleen Clinkenbeard, American voice actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1980 – Jason Maguire, Irish jockey
    • 1980 – Alan Melikdjanian, American independent filmmaker and YouTuber
    • 1980 – Quentin Richardson, American basketball player
    • 1981 – Nat Borchers, American soccer player
    • 1981 – Gemma Doyle, Scottish politician
    • 1982 – Nellie McKay, British-American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress
    • 1983 – Claudio Bravo, Chilean footballer
    • 1983 – Schalk Burger, South African rugby player
    • 1983 – Nicole Cooke, Welsh cyclist
    • 1983 – Hunter Pence, American baseball player
    • 1984 – Jarmo Ahjupera, Estonian footballer
    • 1984 – Anders Lindegaard, Danish footballer
    • 1985 – Anna Jennings-Edquist, Australian actress, director, and playwright
    • 1985 – Algo Kärp, Estonian skier
    • 1985 – Cody Nickson, American reality television personality
    • 1986 – Michael Bingham, American-English sprinter
    • 1986 – Lorenzo Cain, American baseball player
    • 1987 – Brandon Hardesty, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1987 – Massimiliano Pesenti, Italian footballer
    • 1987 – Allison Weiss, American singer-songwriter
    • 1988 – Anderson, Brazilian footballer
    • 1988 – Petteri Koponen, Finnish basketball player
    • 1988 – Allison Williams, American actress and singer
    • 1989 – Ryan Bailey, American sprinter
    • 1989 – Dong Dong, Chinese trampolinist
    • 1989 – Nastassia Mironchyk-Ivanova, Belarusian long jumper
    • 1989 – Josh Reynolds, Australian rugby league player
    • 1989 – Vladislav Yegin, Russian ice hockey player
    • 1990 – Anastasija Sevastova, a professional tennis player from Latvia
    • 1991 – Akeem Adams, Trinidadian footballer (d. 2013)
    • 1991 – Ulises Dávila, Mexican footballer
    • 1991 – Josh Gordon, American football player
    • 1992 – Denis Kudryavtsev, Russian hurdler
    • 1992 – Jordan Silk, Australian cricketer
    • 1993 – Tony Wroten, American basketball player
    • 1994 – Ángelo Henríquez, Chilean footballer
    • 1994 – Elvis Merzļikins, Latvian ice hockey player
    • 1997 – Kyle Walker-Peters, English footballer

    Deaths on April 13

    • 548 – Lý Nam Đế, Vietnamese emperor (b. 503)
    • 585 – Hermenegild, Visigothic prince and saint
    • 799 – Paul the Deacon, Italian monk and historian (b. 720)
    • 814 – Krum, khan of the Bulgarian Khanate
    • 862 – Donald I, king of the Picts (b. 812)
    • 989 – Bardas Phokas, Byzantine general
    • 1035 – Herbert I, Count of Maine
    • 1093 – Vsevolod I of Kiev (b. 1030)
    • 1113 – Ida of Lorraine, saint and noblewoman (b. c. 1040)
    • 1138 – Simon I, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1076)
    • 1213 – Guy of Thouars, regent of Brittany
    • 1275 – Eleanor of England (b. 1215)
    • 1367 – John Tiptoft, 2nd Baron Tibetot (b. 1313)
    • 1592 – Bartolomeo Ammannati, Italian architect and sculptor (b. 1511)
    • 1605 – Boris Godunov, Tsar of Russia (b. 1551)
    • 1612 – Sasaki Kojirō, Japanese samurai (b. 1585)
    • 1635 – Fakhr-al-Din II, Ottoman prince (b. 1572)
    • 1638 – Henri, Duke of Rohan (b. 1579)
    • 1641 – Richard Montagu, English bishop (b. 1577)
    • 1695 – Jean de La Fontaine, French author and poet (b. 1621)
    • 1716 – Arthur Herbert, 1st Earl of Torrington, English admiral and politician (b. 1648)
    • 1722 – Charles Leslie, Irish priest and theologian (b. 1650)
    • 1793 – Pierre Gaspard Chaumette, French botanist, lawyer, and politician (b. 1763)
    • 1794 – Nicolas Chamfort, French playwright and poet (b. 1741)
    • 1826 – Franz Danzi, German cellist, composer, and conductor (b. 1763)
    • 1853 – Leopold Gmelin, German chemist and academic (b. 1788)
    • 1853 – James Iredell, Jr., American lawyer and politician, 23rd Governor of North Carolina (b. 1788)
    • 1855 – Henry De la Beche, English geologist and palaeontologist (b. 1796)
    • 1868 – Tewodros II of Ethiopia (b. 1818)
    • 1880 – Robert Fortune, Scottish botanist and author (b. 1813)
    • 1882 – Bruno Bauer, German historian and philosopher (b. 1809)
    • 1886 – John Humphrey Noyes, American religious leader, founded the Oneida Community (b. 1811)
    • 1890 – Samuel J. Randall, American captain, lawyer, and politician, 33rd Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1828)
    • 1899 – James Service, Scottish-Australian politician, 12th Premier of Victoria (b. 1823)
    • 1909 – Whitley Stokes, Anglo-Irish lawyer and scholar (b. 1830)
    • 1910 – William Quiller Orchardson, Scottish-English painter and educator (b. 1835)
    • 1911 – John McLane, Scottish-American politician, 50th Governor of New Hampshire (b. 1852)
    • 1911 – George Washington Glick, American lawyer and politician, 9th Governor of Kansas (b. 1827)
    • 1912 – Takuboku Ishikawa, Japanese poet and author (b. 1886)
    • 1917 – Diamond Jim Brady, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1856)
    • 1918 – Lavr Kornilov, Russian general (b. 1870)
    • 1927 – Georg Voigt, German politician, Mayor of Frankfurt (b. 1866)
    • 1936 – Konstantinos Demertzis, Greek politician 129th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1876)
    • 1938 – Grey Owl, English-Canadian environmentalist and author (b. 1888)
    • 1941 – Annie Jump Cannon, American astronomer and academic (b. 1863)
    • 1941 – William Twaits, Canadian soccer player (b. 1879)
    • 1942 – Henk Sneevliet, Dutch politician (b. 1883)
    • 1942 – Anton Uesson, Estonian engineer and politician, 17th Mayor of Tallinn (b. 1879)
    • 1944 – Cécile Chaminade, French pianist and composer (b. 1857)
    • 1945 – Ernst Cassirer, Polish-American philosopher and academic (b. 1874)
    • 1954 – Samuel Jones, American high jumper (b. 1880)
    • 1954 – Angus Lewis Macdonald, Canadian lawyer and politician, 12th Premier of Nova Scotia (b. 1890)
    • 1956 – Emil Nolde, Danish-German painter and educator (b. 1867)
    • 1959 – Eduard van Beinum, Dutch pianist, violinist, and conductor (b. 1901)
    • 1961 – John A. Bennett, American soldier (b. 1935)
    • 1962 – Culbert Olson, American lawyer and politician, 29th Governor of California (b. 1876)
    • 1966 – Abdul Salam Arif, Iraqi colonel and politician, 2nd President of Iraq (b. 1921)
    • 1966 – Carlo Carrà, Italian painter (b. 1881)
    • 1966 – Georges Duhamel, French soldier and author (b. 1884)
    • 1967 – Nicole Berger, French actress (b. 1934)
    • 1969 – Alfred Karindi, Estonian pianist and composer (b. 1901)
    • 1971 – Michel Brière, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1949)
    • 1971 – Juhan Smuul, Estonian author, poet, and screenwriter (b. 1921)
    • 1975 – Larry Parks, American actor and singer (b. 1914)
    • 1975 – François Tombalbaye, Chadian soldier, academic, and politician, 1st President of Chad (b. 1918)
    • 1978 – Jack Chambers, Canadian painter and director (b. 1931)
    • 1978 – Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, Nigerian educator and women’s rights activist (b. 1900)
    • 1980 – Markus Höttinger, Austrian racing driver (b. 1956)
    • 1983 – Gerry Hitchens, English footballer (b. 1934)
    • 1983 – Theodore Stephanides, Greek physician, author, and poet (b. 1896)
    • 1984 – Ralph Kirkpatrick, American harp player and musicologist (b. 1911)
    • 1988 – Jean Gascon, Canadian actor and director (b. 1920)
    • 1992 – Maurice Sauvé, Canadian economist and politician (b. 1923)
    • 1992 – Feza Gürsey, Turkish mathematician and physicist (b. 1921)
    • 1992 – Daniel Pollock, Australian actor (b. 1968)
    • 1993 – Wallace Stegner, American novelist, short story writer, and essayist (b. 1909)
    • 1996 – Leila Mackinlay, English author and educator (b. 1910)
    • 1997 – Bryant Bowles, American soldier and activist, founded the National Association for the Advancement of White People (b. 1920)
    • 1997 – Alan Cooley, Australian public servant (b. 1920)
    • 1997 – Dorothy Frooks, American author and actress (b. 1896)
    • 1997 – Voldemar Väli, Estonian wrestler (b. 1903)
    • 1998 – Patrick de Gayardon, French skydiver and base jumper (b. 1960)
    • 1999 – Ortvin Sarapu, Estonian-New Zealand chess player and author (b. 1924)
    • 1999 – Willi Stoph, German engineer and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of East Germany (b. 1914)
    • 2000 – Giorgio Bassani, Italian author and poet (b. 1916)
    • 2000 – Frenchy Bordagaray, American baseball player and manager (b. 1910)
    • 2004 – Caron Keating, Northern Irish television host (b. 1962)
    • 2005 – Don Blasingame, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1932)
    • 2005 – Johnnie Johnson, American pianist and songwriter (b. 1924)
    • 2005 – Phillip Pavia, American painter and sculptor (b. 1912)
    • 2005 – Philippe Volter, Belgian actor and director (b. 1959)
    • 2006 – Bill Baker, American baseball player, coach, and umpire (b. 1911)
    • 2006 – Muriel Spark, Scottish novelist, poet, and critic (b. 1918)
    • 2008 – John Archibald Wheeler, American physicist and academic (b. 1911)
    • 2009 – Mark Fidrych, American baseball player (b. 1954)
    • 2009 – Bruce Snyder, American football player and coach (b. 1940)
    • 2009 – George Feigley, American sex cult leader, convicted rapist and two-time prison escapee (b. 1940)
    • 2012 – William B. Buffum, American soldier and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Lebanon (b. 1921)
    • 2012 – Cecil Chaudhry, Pakistani pilot, academic, and activist (b. 1941)
    • 2012 – Shūichi Higurashi, Japanese illustrator (b. 1936)
    • 2012 – David S. Smith, American diplomat, United States Ambassador to Sweden (b. 1918)
    • 2012 – Robert Wigmore, Cook Islander politician, 14th Deputy Prime Minister of the Cook Islands (b. 1949)
    • 2013 – Chi Cheng, American bass player (b. 1970)
    • 2013 – Stephen Dodgson, English composer and educator (b. 1924)
    • 2013 – Dean Drummond, American composer and conductor (b. 1949)
    • 2013 – Vincent Montana, Jr., American drummer and composer (b. 1928)
    • 2013 – Lin Yang-kang, Taiwanese politician, 29th Vice Premier of the Republic of China (b. 1927)
    • 2014 – Fred Enke, American football player (b. 1924)
    • 2014 – Ernesto Laclau, Argentinian-Spanish philosopher and theorist (b. 1935)
    • 2014 – Michael Ruppert, American journalist and author (b. 1951)
    • 2014 – Rafał Sznajder, Polish fencer (b. 1972)
    • 2015 – Gerald Calabrese, American basketball player and politician (b. 1925)
    • 2015 – Ronnie Carroll, Irish singer and politician (b. 1934)
    • 2015 – Thelma Coyne Long, Australian tennis player and captain (b. 1918)
    • 2015 – Eduardo Galeano, Uruguayan journalist and author (b. 1940)
    • 2015 – Günter Grass, German novelist, poet, playwright, and illustrator, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1927)
    • 2015 – Herb Trimpe, American author and illustrator (b. 1939)
    • 2016 – Nera White, American basketball player (b. 1935)
    • 2017 – Dan Rooney, American football executive and former United States Ambassador to Ireland (b. 1932)
    • 2018 – Art Bell, American broadcaster and author (b. 1945)
    • 2019 – Neus Català, Anti-fascist activist (b. 1915)
    • 2019 – Yvette Williams, New Zealand athlete (b. 1929)

    Holidays and observances on April 13

    • Christian feast day:
      • Hermenegild
      • Blessed Ida of Louvain
      • Pope Martin I
      • April 13 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Jefferson’s Birthday (United States)
    • Katyn Memorial Day (Poland)
    • South and Southeast Asian New Year. (see April 14)
    • Teacher’s Day (Ecuador)
    • Unfairly Prosecuted Persons Day (Slovakia)

  • February 17 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    February 17 in History

    • 1370 – Northern Crusades: Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Teutonic Knights meet in the Battle of Rudau.
    • 1411 – Following the successful campaigns during the Ottoman Interregnum, Musa Çelebi, one of the sons of Bayezid I, becomes Sultan of the Ottoman Empire with the support of Mircea I of Wallachia.
    • 1500 – Duke Friedrich and Duke Johann attempt to subdue the peasantry of Dithmarschen, Denmark, in the Battle of Hemmingstedt.
    • 1600 – On his way to be burned at the stake for heresy, at Campo de’ Fiori in Rome, the philosopher Giordano Bruno has a wooden vise put on his tongue to prevent him continuing to speak.
    • 1621 – Myles Standish is appointed as first military commander of the English Plymouth Colony in North America.
    • 1676 – Sixteen men of Pascual de Iriate’s expedition are lost at Evangelistas Islets at the western end of the Strait of Magellan.
    • 1739 – The Battle of Vasai commences as the Marathas move to invade Portuguese-occupied territory.
    • 1753 – In Sweden February 17 is followed by March 1 as the country moves from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar.
    • 1801 – An electoral tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr is resolved when Jefferson is elected President of the United States and Burr, Vice President by the United States House of Representatives.
    • 1814 – War of the Sixth Coalition: The Battle of Mormant.
    • 1819 – The United States House of Representatives passes the Missouri Compromise for the first time.
    • 1838 – Weenen massacre: Hundreds of Voortrekkers along the Blaukraans River, Natal are killed by Zulus.
    • 1854 – The United Kingdom recognizes the independence of the Orange Free State.
    • 1859 – Cochinchina Campaign: The French Navy captured the Citadel of Saigon, a fortress that was manned by 1,000 Nguyễn dynasty soldiers, en route to conquering Saigon and other regions of southern Viet Nam.
    • 1863 – A group of citizens of Geneva founded an International Committee for Relief to the Wounded, which later became known as the International Committee of the Red Cross.
    • 1864 – American Civil War: The H. L. Hunley becomes the first submarine to engage and sink a warship, the USS Housatonic.
    • 1865 – American Civil War: Columbia, South Carolina, is burned as Confederate forces flee from advancing Union forces.
    • 1867 – The first ship passes through the Suez Canal.
    • 1871 – The victorious Prussian Army parades through Paris, France, after the end of the Siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War.
    • 1904 – Madama Butterfly receives its première at La Scala in Milan.
    • 1913 – The Armory Show opens in New York City, displaying works of artists who are to become some of the most influential painters of the early 20th century.
    • 1919 – The Ukrainian People’s Republic asks Entente and the US for help fighting the Bolsheviks.
    • 1933 – Newsweek magazine is first published.
    • 1944 – World War II: The Battle of Eniwetok begins: The battle ends in an American victory on February 22.
    • 1944 – World War II: Operation Hailstone begins: U.S. naval air, surface, and submarine attack against Truk Lagoon, Japan’s main base in the central Pacific, in support of the Eniwetok invasion.
    • 1949 – Chaim Weizmann begins his term as the first President of Israel.
    • 1959 – Project Vanguard: Vanguard 2: The first weather satellite is launched to measure cloud-cover distribution.
    • 1964 – In Wesberry v. Sanders the Supreme Court of the United States rules that congressional districts have to be approximately equal in population.
    • 1964 – Gabonese president Léon M’ba is toppled by a coup and his rival, Jean-Hilaire Aubame, is installed in his place.
    • 1965 – Project Ranger: The Ranger 8 probe launches on its mission to photograph the Mare Tranquillitatis region of the Moon in preparation for the manned Apollo missions. Mare Tranquillitatis or the “Sea of Tranquility” would become the site chosen for the Apollo 11 lunar landing.
    • 1968 – In Springfield, Massachusetts, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame opens.
    • 1972 – Cumulative sales of the Volkswagen Beetle exceed those of the Ford Model T.
    • 1974 – Robert K. Preston, a disgruntled U.S. Army private, buzzes the White House in a stolen helicopter.
    • 1978 – The Troubles: The Provisional IRA detonates an incendiary bomb at the La Mon restaurant, near Belfast, killing 12 and seriously injuring 30 others, all Protestants.
    • 1979 – The Sino-Vietnamese War begins.
    • 1980 – First winter ascent of Mount Everest by Krzysztof Wielicki and Leszek Cichy.
    • 1992 – Nagorno-Karabakh War: Armenian troops massacre more than 20 Azerbaijani civilians during the Capture of Garadaghly.
    • 1995 – The Cenepa War between Peru and Ecuador ends on a ceasefire brokered by the UN.
    • 1996 – In Philadelphia, world champion Garry Kasparov beats the Deep Blue supercomputer in a chess match.
    • 1996 – NASA’s Discovery Program begins as the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft lifts off on the first mission ever to orbit and land on an asteroid, 433 Eros.
    • 1996 – The 8.2 Mw  Biak earthquake shakes the Papua province of eastern Indonesia with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). A large tsunami followed, leaving one-hundred sixty-six people dead or missing and 423 injured.
    • 2006 – A massive mudslide occurs in Southern Leyte, Philippines; the official death toll is set at 1,126.
    • 2008 – Kosovo declares independence from Serbia.
    • 2011 – Arab Spring: Libyan protests against Muammar Gaddafi’s regime begin. In Bahrain, security forces launched a deadly pre-dawn raid on protesters in Pearl Roundabout in Manama, the day is locally known as Bloody Thursday.
    • 2015 – Eighteen people are killed and 78 injured in a stampede at a Mardi Gras parade in Haiti.
    • 2016 – Military vehicles explode outside a Turkish Armed Forces barracks in Ankara, Turkey, killing at least 29 people and injuring 61 others.

    Births on February 17

    • 624 – Wu Zetian, Chinese empress consort (d. 705)
    • 1028 – Al-Juwayni, Persian scholar and imam (d. 1085)
    • 1490 – Charles III, duke of Bourbon (d. 1527)
    • 1519 – Francis, French Grand Chamberlain (d. 1563)
    • 1524 – Charles de Lorraine, French cardinal (d. 1574)
    • 1646 – Pierre Le Pesant, sieur de Boisguilbert, French economist (d. 1714)
    • 1653 – Arcangelo Corelli, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1713)
    • 1723 – Tobias Mayer, German astronomer and academic (d. 1762)
    • 1740 – Horace-Bénédict de Saussure, Swiss physicist and meteorologist (d. 1799)
    • 1752 – Friedrich Maximilian Klinger, German author and playwright (d. 1831)
    • 1754 – Nicolas Baudin, French cartographer and explorer (d. 1803)
    • 1758 – John Pinkerton, Scottish antiquarian, cartographer, author, numismatist and historian (d. 1826)
    • 1781 – René Laennec, French physician, invented the stethoscope (d. 1826)
    • 1796 – Philipp Franz von Siebold, German physician and botanist (d. 1866)
    • 1817 – Édouard Thilges, Luxembourgian jurist and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Luxembourg (d. 1904)
    • 1820 – Henri Vieuxtemps, Belgian violinist and composer (d. 1881)
    • 1821 – Lola Montez, Irish-American actress and dancer (d. 1861)
    • 1832 – Richard Henry Park, American sculptor (d. 1902)
    • 1836 – Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, Spanish author, poet, and playwright (d. 1870)
    • 1843 – Aaron Montgomery Ward, American businessman, founded Montgomery Ward (d. 1913)
    • 1848 – Louisa Lawson, Australian poet and publisher (d. 1920)
    • 1854 – Friedrich Alfred Krupp, German businessman (d. 1902)
    • 1861 – Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont, duchess of Albany (d. 1922)
    • 1862 – Mori Ōgai, Japanese general, author, and poet (d. 1922)
    • 1864 – Jozef Murgaš, Slovak priest, botanist, and painter (d. 1929)
    • 1864 – Banjo Paterson, Australian journalist, author, and poet (d. 1941)
    • 1874 – Thomas J. Watson, American businessman (d. 1956)
    • 1877 – Isabelle Eberhardt, Swiss explorer and author (d. 1904)
    • 1877 – André Maginot, French sergeant and politician (d. 1932)
    • 1881 – Mary Carson Breckinridge, American nurse midwife, founded Frontier Nursing Service (d. 1965)
    • 1887 – Joseph Bech, Luxembourgian lawyer and politician, 15th Prime Minister of Luxembourg (d. 1975)
    • 1887 – Leevi Madetoja, Finnish composer and critic (d. 1947)
    • 1888 – Otto Stern, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1969)
    • 1890 – Ronald Fisher, English-Australian statistician, biologist, and geneticist (d. 1962)
    • 1891 – Abraham Fraenkel, German-Israeli mathematician and academic (d. 1965)
    • 1893 – Wally Pipp, American baseball player and journalist (d. 1965)
    • 1899 – Jibanananda Das, Bangladeshi-Indian poet and author (d. 1954)
    • 1900 – Ruth Clifford, American actress (d. 1998)
    • 1903 – Sadegh Hedayat, Iranian-French author and translator (d. 1951)
    • 1904 – Hans Morgenthau, German-American political scientist, philosopher, and academic (d. 1980)
    • 1905 – Ruth Baldwin, British socialite (d. 1937)
    • 1905 – Rózsa Politzer, Hungarian mathematician (d. 1977)
    • 1906 – Mary Brian, American actress (d. 2002)
    • 1908 – Red Barber, American sportscaster (d. 1992)
    • 1908 – Bo Yibo, Chinese general and politician, Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China (d. 2007)
    • 1910 – Marc Lawrence, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2005)
    • 1911 – Oskar Seidlin, German-American author, poet, and scholar (d. 1984)
    • 1912 – Andre Norton, American author (d. 2005)
    • 1914 – Arthur Kennedy, American actor (d. 1990)
    • 1914 – Wayne Morris, American actor and producer (d. 1959)
    • 1916 – Alexander Obolensky, Russian rugby player and pilot (d. 1940)
    • 1916 – Don Tallon, Australian cricketer (d. 1984)
    • 1916 – Raf Vallone, Italian footballer and actor (d. 2002)
    • 1918 – William Bronk, American poet and academic (d. 1999)
    • 1918 – Jacqueline Ferrand, French mathematician (d. 2014)
    • 1919 – J. M. S. Careless, Canadian historian and academic (d. 2009)
    • 1919 – Kathleen Freeman, American actress and singer (d. 2001)
    • 1919 – Joe Hunt, American tennis player (d. 1945)
    • 1920 – Ivo Caprino, Norwegian director and screenwriter (d. 2001)
    • 1920 – Annie Castor, American disability and communication disorder advocate (d. 2020)
    • 1920 – Curt Swan, American soldier and illustrator (d. 1996)
    • 1921 – Duane Gish, American biochemist and academic (d. 2013)
    • 1922 – Tommy Edwards, American R&B singer-songwriter (d. 1969)
    • 1923 – John M. Allegro, English archaeologist and scholar (d. 1988)
    • 1923 – Buddy DeFranco, American clarinet player and bandleader (d. 2014)
    • 1924 – Margaret Truman, American singer and author (d. 2008)
    • 1925 – Ron Goodwin, English composer and conductor (d. 2003)
    • 1925 – Hal Holbrook, American actor and director
    • 1928 – Marta Romero, Puerto Rican actress and singer (d. 2013)
    • 1929 – Alejandro Jodorowsky, Chilean-French director and screenwriter
    • 1929 – Chaim Potok, American rabbi and author (d. 2002)
    • 1929 – Nicholas Ridley, Baron Ridley of Liddesdale, English lieutenant and politician, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (d. 1993)
    • 1929 – Patricia Routledge, English actress and singer
    • 1930 – Roger Craig, American baseball player, coach, and manager
    • 1930 – Benjamin Fain, Ukrainian-Israeli physicist and academic (d. 2013)
    • 1930 – Ruth Rendell, English author (d. 2015)
    • 1931 – Jiřina Jirásková, Czech actress and singer (d. 2013)
    • 1931 – Buddy Ryan, American football coach (d. 2016)
    • 1933 – Craig L. Thomas, American captain and politician (d. 2007)
    • 1934 – Alan Bates, English actor (d. 2003)
    • 1934 – Barry Humphries (Dame Edna Everage), Australian comedian, actor, and author
    • 1935 – Christina Pickles, English-American actress
    • 1936 – Jim Brown, American football player and actor
    • 1937 – Mary Ann Mobley, American model and actress, Miss America 1959 (d. 2014)
    • 1940 – Vicente Fernández, Mexican singer-songwriter, actor, and producer
    • 1941 – Julia McKenzie, English actress, singer, and director
    • 1941 – Gene Pitney, American singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
    • 1942 – Huey P. Newton, American activist, co-founded the Black Panther Party (d. 1989)
    • 1944 – Karl Jenkins, Welsh saxophonist, keyboard player, and composer (Soft Machine)
    • 1945 – Zina Bethune, American actress, dancer, and choreographer (d. 2012)
    • 1945 – Brenda Fricker, Irish actress
    • 1946 – Shahrnush Parsipur, Iranian-American author and academic
    • 1948 – José José, Mexican singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (d. 2019)
    • 1948 – Rick Majerus, American basketball player and coach (d. 2012)
    • 1949 – Fred Frith, English guitarist and songwriter
    • 1949 – Dennis Green, American football player and coach (d. 2016)
    • 1951 – Rashid Minhas, Pakistani soldier and pilot (d. 1971)
    • 1952 – Karin Büttner-Janz, German gymnast and physician
    • 1952 – Vladimír Padrůněk, Czech bass player (d. 1991)
    • 1954 – Lou Ann Barton, American blues singer-songwriter
    • 1954 – Miki Berkovich, Israeli basketball player
    • 1954 – Rene Russo, American actress
    • 1955 – Mo Yan, Chinese author and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1956 – Richard Karn, American actor and game show host
    • 1957 – Loreena McKennitt, Canadian singer-songwriter, accordion player, and pianist
    • 1959 – Aryeh Deri, Moroccan-Israeli rabbi and politician, Israeli Minister of Internal Affairs
    • 1959 – Rowdy Gaines, American swimmer and sportscaster
    • 1960 – Lindy Ruff, Canadian hockey player and coach
    • 1961 – Angela Eagle, English politician, Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
    • 1961 – Maria Eagle, English politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
    • 1961 – Andrey Korotayev, Russian anthropologist, historian, and sociologist
    • 1962 – Lou Diamond Phillips, American actor and director
    • 1963 – Larry the Cable Guy, American comedian and voice actor
    • 1963 – Alison Hargreaves, English mountaineer (d. 1995)
    • 1963 – Jen-Hsun Huang, Taiwanese-American businessman, co-founded Nvidia
    • 1963 – Michael Jordan, American basketball player and actor
    • 1964 – Sherry Hawco, Canadian gymnast (d. 1991)
    • 1965 – Michael Bay, American director and producer
    • 1965 – Danny Lee, Australian rugby league player
    • 1966 – Quorthon, Swedish guitarist and songwriter (d. 2004)
    • 1966 – Luc Robitaille, Canadian ice hockey player, manager, and actor
    • 1968 – Wu’erkaixi, Chinese journalist and activist
    • 1968 – Giuseppe Signori, Italian footballer
    • 1969 – David Douillet, French martial artist and politician
    • 1969 – Vasily Kudinov, Russian handball player (d. 2017)
    • 1970 – Dominic Purcell, English-born Irish-Australian actor and producer
    • 1971 – Denise Richards, American model and actress
    • 1972 – Billie Joe Armstrong, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, and producer
    • 1972 – Philippe Candeloro, French figure skater
    • 1972 – Taylor Hawkins, American singer-songwriter and drummer
    • 1972 – Valeria Mazza, Argentinian model and businesswoman
    • 1972 – Lars Göran Petrov, Swedish singer and drummer
    • 1973 – Goran Bunjevčević, Serbian FR Yugoslavia international footballer, defender (d. 2018)
    • 1973 – Raphaël Ibañez, French rugby player
    • 1974 – Kaoru, Japanese guitarist, songwriter, and producer
    • 1974 – Jerry O’Connell, American actor, director, and producer
    • 1975 – Václav Prospal, Czech ice hockey player
    • 1978 – Rory Kinnear, English actor and playwright
    • 1980 – Al Harrington, American basketball player
    • 1980 – Klemi Saban, Israeli footballer
    • 1981 – Joseph Gordon-Levitt, American actor, director, and producer
    • 1981 – Paris Hilton, American model, media personality, actress, singer, DJ, author and businesswoman
    • 1981 – Pontus Segerström, Swedish footballer (d. 2014)
    • 1982 – Adriano, Brazilian footballer
    • 1982 – Brian Bruney, American baseball player
    • 1982 – Daniel Merriweather, Australian singer-songwriter
    • 1983 – Kevin Rudolf, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1984 – AB de Villiers, South African cricketer
    • 1984 – Jimmy Jacobs, American wrestler
    • 1984 – Katie Hill, Australian 3.0 point wheelchair basketball player
    • 1984 – Drew Miller, American ice hockey player
    • 1984 – Marcin Gortat, Polish basketball player
    • 1985 – Anders Jacobsen, Norwegian ski jumper
    • 1988 – Vasyl Lomachenko, Ukrainian boxer
    • 1989 – Rebecca Adlington, English swimmer
    • 1989 – Chord Overstreet, American actor and singer
    • 1990 – Marianne St-Gelais, Canadian speed skater
    • 1991 – Ed Sheeran, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1991 – Bonnie Wright, English actress, director, and screenwriter
    • 1993 – Nicola Leali, Italian footballer
    • 1993 – Marc Márquez, Spanish motorcycle racer

    Deaths on February 17

    • 364 – Jovian, Roman emperor (b. 331)
    • 440 – Mesrop Mashtots, Armenian monk, linguist, and theologian (b. 360)
    • 923 – Al-Tabari, Persian scholar (b. 839)
    • 1178 – Evermode of Ratzeburg, bishop of Ratzeburg
    • 1220 – Theobald I, Duke of Lorraine
    • 1339 – Otto, Duke of Austria (b. 1301)
    • 1371 – Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria
    • 1500 – Adolph, Count of Oldenburg-Delmenhorst, German noble (b. before 1463)
    • 1600 – Giordano Bruno, Italian mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher (b. 1548)
    • 1609 – Ferdinando I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1549)
    • 1624 – Juan de Mariana, Spanish priest and historian (b. 1536)
    • 1659 – Abel Servien, French politician, French Minister of Finance (b. 1593)
    • 1673 – Molière, French actor and playwright (b. 1622)
    • 1680 – Denzil Holles, 1st Baron Holles, English politician (b. 1599)
    • 1680 – Jan Swammerdam, Dutch biologist, zoologist, and entomologist (b. 1637)
    • 1715 – Antoine Galland, French orientalist and archaeologist (b. 1646)
    • 1732 – Louis Marchand, French organist and composer (b. 1669)
    • 1768 – Arthur Onslow, English lawyer and politician, Speaker of the House of Commons (b. 1691)
    • 1841 – Ferdinando Carulli, Italian guitarist and composer (b. 1770)
    • 1849 – María de las Mercedes Barbudo, Puerto Rican political activist, the first woman Independentista in the island (b. 1773)
    • 1854 – John Martin, English painter, engraver, and illustrator (b. 1789)
    • 1856 – Heinrich Heine, German journalist and poet (b. 1797)
    • 1874 – Adolphe Quetelet, Belgian astronomer, mathematician, and sociologist (b. 1796)
    • 1890 – Christopher Latham Sholes, American publisher and politician (b. 1819)
    • 1905 – William Bickerton, English-American religious leader, leader in the Latter Day Saint movement (b. 1815)
    • 1909 – Geronimo, American tribal leader (b. 1829)
    • 1912 – Edgar Evans, Welsh sailor and explorer (b. 1876)
    • 1919 – Wilfrid Laurier, Canadian lawyer and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1841)
    • 1934 – Albert I of Belgium (b. 1875)
    • 1934 – Siegbert Tarrasch, German chess player and theoretician (b. 1862)
    • 1939 – Willy Hess, German violinist and educator (b. 1859)
    • 1946 – Dorothy Gibson, American actress and singer (b. 1889)
    • 1961 – Lütfi Kırdar, Turkish physician and politician, Turkish Minister of Health (b. 1887)
    • 1961 – Nita Naldi, American actress (b. 1894)
    • 1962 – Joseph Kearns, American actor (b. 1907)
    • 1962 – Bruno Walter, German-American pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1876)
    • 1966 – Hans Hofmann, German-American painter (b. 1880)
    • 1970 – Shmuel Yosef Agnon, Ukrainian-Israeli novelist, short story writer, and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1888)
    • 1970 – Alfred Newman, American composer and conductor (b. 1900)
    • 1972 – Friday Hassler, American race car driver (b. 1935)
    • 1977 – Janani Luwum, Ugandan archbishop and saint (b. 1922)
    • 1979 – William Gargan, American actor (b. 1905)
    • 1982 – Nestor Chylak, American baseball player and umpire (b. 1922)
    • 1982 – Thelonious Monk, American pianist and composer (b. 1917)
    • 1982 – Lee Strasberg, American actor and director (b. 1901)
    • 1986 – Jiddu Krishnamurti, Indian-American philosopher and author (b. 1895)
    • 1988 – John M. Allegro, English archaeologist and scholar (b. 1923)
    • 1988 – Karpoori Thakur, Indian educator and politician, 11th Chief Minister of Bihar (b. 1924)
    • 1989 – Lefty Gomez, American baseball player (b. 1908)
    • 1990 – Jean-Marc Boivin, French mountaineer, skier, and pilot (b. 1951)
    • 1994 – Randy Shilts, American journalist and author (b. 1951)
    • 1998 – Ernst Jünger, German soldier, philosopher, and author (b. 1895)
    • 2003 – Steve Bechler, American baseball player (b. 1979)
    • 2004 – José López Portillo, Mexican lawyer and politician, 51st President of Mexico, 1976-1982 (b. 1920)
    • 2005 – Dan O’Herlihy, Irish-American actor (b. 1919)
    • 2005 – Omar Sívori, Argentinian footballer and manager (b. 1935)
    • 2006 – Ray Barretto, American drummer (b. 1929)
    • 2006 – Bill Cowsill, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1948)
    • 2009 – Conchita Cintrón, Chilean bullfighter and journalist (b. 1922)
    • 2010 – Kathryn Grayson, American actress and singer (b. 1922)
    • 2012 – Robert Carr, English engineer and politician, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1916)
    • 2012 – Michael Davis, American singer-songwriter and bass player (b. 1943)
    • 2012 – Nicolaas Govert de Bruijn, Dutch mathematician and theorist (b. 1918)
    • 2012 – Ulric Neisser, German-American psychologist and academic (b. 1928)
    • 2013 – Richard Briers, English actor (b. 1934)
    • 2013 – Shmulik Kraus, Israeli singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1935)
    • 2013 – Sophie Kurys, American baseball player (b. 1925)
    • 2013 – Mindy McCready, American singer-songwriter (b. 1975)
    • 2014 – Bob Casale, American guitarist, keyboard player, and producer (b. 1952)
    • 2014 – Peter Florin, German politician and diplomat, President of the United Nations General Assembly (b. 1921)
    • 2014 – Wayne Smith, Jamaican singer (b. 1965)
    • 2015 – John Barrow, American-Canadian football player and manager (b. 1935)
    • 2015 – Cathy Ubels-Veen, Dutch politician (b. 1928)
    • 2015 – Liu Yudi, Chinese general and pilot (b. 1923)
    • 2016 – Andy Ganteaume, Trinidadian cricketer (b. 1921)
    • 2016 – Mohamed Hassanein Heikal, Egyptian journalist (b. 1923)
    • 2016 – Claude Jeancolas, French historian, author, and journalist (b. 1949)
    • 2016 – Tony Phillips, American baseball player (b. 1959)
    • 2016 – Andrzej Żuławski, Polish film director (b. 1940)
    • 2017 – Robert H. Michel, American politician (b. 1923)
    • 2017 – Michael Novak, American Roman Catholic theologian (b. 1933)
    • 2020 – Ror Wolf, German writer, poet, and artist (b. 1932)

    Holidays and observances on February 17

    • Christian feast day:
      • Seven Founders of the Servite Order
        • Alexis Falconieri
      • Constabilis
      • Donatus, Romulus, Secundian, and Companions
      • Fintan of Clonenagh
      • Janani Luwum (Anglican Communion)
      • Lommán of Trim
      • February 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Independence Day, celebrates the independence declaration of Kosovo in 2008, still partially recognized.
    • Revolution Day (Libya)

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

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

    Births on January 16

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

    Deaths on January 16

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

    Holidays and observances on January 16

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

    100 MCQs About World History

    100 MCQs About World History

    1. What is the oldest daily newspaper in England? – The Times

    2. Which two American states joined the union in 1959? – Alaska and Hawaii

    3. Which American President ordered the dropping of the first atomic bomb? – Harry S Truman

    4. In which century did King George IV rule Great Britain? – 18th

    5. After which famous person in history was the teddy bear named? – Theodore Roosevelt

    6. What was the name given to the trials of 24 Nazi leaders for war crimes in 1945? – The Nuremberg Trials

    7. In what century was the Taj Mahal built? – 17th

    8. Which gangster said ‘I’ve been accused of every death except the casualty list of the World War’? – Al Capone

    9. In what year was Prince William born? – 1982

    10. The word ‘book’ originates from the middle English word ‘bok’ meaning which type of
    tree? – Beech

    11. Richard Byrd is credited with having been the first person to fly over what particular spot
    in the world? – The North Pole

    12. Why don’t the restaurants ‘Palm Court’, ‘Cafe Parisien’ and ‘Verandah’ exist anymore? – They were on the Titanic

    13. What city was the capital of Poland between 1320 and 1611? – Krakow

    14. Who was the first President of America? – George Washington

    15. Which American President served only 31 days? – William Harrison

    16. When the first World War broke out which three countries made up the Triple Entente? –
    France, England and Russia

    17. What is Adam’s ale or Adam’s wine? – Water

    18. Who were the mother and father of Elizabeth I? – Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII

    19. Which British Prime Minister resigned because of the Suez crisis? – Anthoney Eden

    20. For what was Rosa Parks arrested in 1955, leading to the biggest US Civil Rights
    movement? – Refusing to give up her seat on a bus for a white man

    21. John Major became a member of Parliament in 1979 for which town, north of London? –
    Huntingdon

    22. Which American President was shot in 1901 and died 8 days later? – McKinley

    23. The Battle of Bosworth in 1485 was the last battle of which series of wars? – The Wars Of The Roses

    24. The explorer Sir Edmund Hillary was from which country? – New Zealand

    25. The popular British pub name ‘The Royal Oak’ is named after which King? – Charles II (he hid in an oak tree to escape enemies)

    26. Collectively, by what name are Carole Richardson, Patrick Armstrong, Paul Hill and Gerard Conlon better known? – The Guildford Four

    27. In which century was the world’s first public railway opened? – 19th

    28. The invention of what in 1867, made Alfred Nobel famous? – Dynamite

    29. What was King William II killed by? An arrow, the plague or old age? – An Arrow

    30. In Greek mythology, who was the goddess of marriage, women and childbirth? – Hera

    31. In what year did Margaret Thatcher become Prime Minister? – 1979

    32. In what year was London due to host the Olympic Games, but couldn’t because of the Second World War? – 1944

    33. On March 3rd, 1991, who was severly beaten by Los Angeles police officers causing public outcry? – Rodney King

    34. Which king was the target of the Gunpowder plot of 1605? – James I

    35. What alloy was the most important metal for tools and weapons between the years 4000
    and 2000 B.C.? – Bronze

    36. In which year did Tony Blair first become British Prime Minister? – 1997

    37. Who was the first US President to meet with a reigning British monarch? – Woodrow Wilson

    38. In which month in 1914, did Britain declare war on Germany? – August

    39. Thomas Chippendale was best known for making and designing what in the 18th century? – Furniture

    40. What historic event does the nursery rhyme ‘Ring-a-ring of roses’ commemorate? – The Great Plague

    41. In which year did colour TV transmissions begin in Britain? – 1969

    42. As at the year 2001, who has been the tallest American President? – Abraham Lincoln

    43. Which famous London department store opened on 15th March, 1909? – Selfridges

    44. Which of the following occurred most recently? The Iron Age or The Bronze Age? – Iron Age

    45. Who is the only American President to have served non-consecutive terms in office? – Grover Cleveland

    46. In which country did the cloning of Dolly the sheep take place? – Scotland

    47. Who ordered the beheading of Mary Queen Of Scots? – Queen Elizabeth I

    48. Which English queen was married to Lord Guildford Dudley? – Lady Jane Grey

    49. Which geographical location was the first word spoken on the moon? – Houston

    50. What was Hitler’s title as the leader of Nazi Germany? – Fuhrer

    51. What was the surname of Zachary, the President of the USA between 1849 and 1850? –Taylor

    52. How many of Henry VIII’s wives had been previously married? – 2

    53. Who did Queen Elizabeth I succeed to the throne? – Mary I

    54. In which war was the Victoria Cross first awarded? – The Crimean War

    55. In which century did the diamond engagement ring first become popular? – 15th

    56. Which country declared war on both Germany and the Allies in World War II? – Italy

    57. Which two brothers are associated with the invention of the aeroplane? – Orville and Wilbur Wright

    58. By what title was Oliver Cromwell known? – Lord Protector

    59. In 1978, what was Sweden’s most profitable export, ahead of Volvo? – Abba

    60. What was the name of the bomb which was dropped on Nagasaki during World War II? – Fat Man

    61. How did Robert The Bruce die? – Of the disease leprosy

    62. Which famous museum opened in London, in April 1928? – Madam Tussauds

    63. In Greek mythology, what was unusual about Medusa’s hair? – It was made of snakes

    64. In America, what became the 49th state to enter the union in 1959? – Alaska

    65. Which district of London was named after a battle fought in 1815? – Waterloo

    66. In what year did the first successful Mars landings take place? – 1976

    67. For how many years did the Jurassic period last? – 180 million

    68. In which century was Mary, Queen Of Scots executed? – 16th

    69. Who was the first American President to visit China? – Richard Nixon

    70. Parker and Barrow were the surnames of which famous couple? – Bonnie and Clyde

    71. What type of animal was the first to be sent into space? – A dog

    72. For what reason did American Sally Ride become famous in 1983? – First American female in space

    73. In which year did Richard Nixon begin the secret bombing of Cambodia? – 1969

    74. Which famous person in history invented the greeting, ‘Hello’ first used for answering the telephone? – Thomas Edison

    75. Who was the famous son of the Greek princess Olympias? – Alexander The Great

    76. What were the names of Adam and Eve’s three sons? – Cain, Abel and Seth

    77. Which war was called the ‘War to end all wars’? – World War I

    78. In what year did Laika the dog become the first space traveller? – 1957

    79. Which country in Europe has the oldest Parliament? – Iceland

    80. Who was the third President of America and chief author of the Declaration Of Independence? – Thomas Jefferson

    81. In what year was the battle of Agincourt? – 1415

    82. By what name was the Scottish outlaw Robert McGregor better known? – Rob Roy

    83. In 1969, what became the first song to be sung in outer space? – Happy Birthday

    84. By what name was Sir Arthur Wellesley better known? – Duke of Wellington

    85. What was the name of the suffragette who threw herself under the King’s horse in the
    1913 Derby? – Emily Davison

    86. What was the profession of Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone? – Teacher (of deaf and dumb children)

    87. Which country suffered over 6 million deaths in World War II, equivalent to over 17% of
    it’s population? – Poland

    88. Which English King was killed by an arrow at the battle of Hastings? – King Harold

    89. Who was murdered by Robert Ford? – Jesse James

    90. In what year were protesting students murdered in Tiananman Square? – 1989

    91. Which US President was forced to resign because of the Watergate scandal? – Richard Nixon

    92. Which monarch’s last words were ‘All my possessions for a moment of time’? – Elizabeth  I

    93. What happened in 1847 that is sometimes referred to as ‘Black Forty Seven’? – The potato famine in Ireland

    94. In which country did Venetian blinds originate? Italy, India or Japan? – Japan

    95. In which country was Mother Theresa born? – Yugoslavia

    96. Who was the first American President to die while in office? – William Harrison

    97. What was the maiden name of the bride at the first wedding watched by over 750 million
    people? – Diana Spencer

    98. Who was Queen Elizabeth II’s father? – George VI

    99. Which famous raid did Guy Gibson lead in 1943? – The Dambusters

    100. Who, in 1901, was the first man to send a Radio Telegraph signal across the Atlantic
    Ocean? – Guglielmo Marconi