753 BCRomulus founds Rome (traditional date).
571 Prophet Muhammad is born in Makkah.
1073 Pope Alexander II (died)
1142 Peter Abelard (died), French philosopher and theologian (born 1079)
1509 Henry VII of England (died) (born 1457)
1509 Henry VIII ascends the throne of England on the death of his father, Henry VII.
1555 Ludovico Carracci (born), Italian painter (died 1619)
1557 Petrus Apianus (died), German mathematician and astronomer (born 1495)
1671 John Law (born), Scottish economist (died 1729)
1673 Wilhelmine Amalia of Brunswick-Lüneburg (born) (died 1742)
1719 Philippe de La Hire (died), French mathematician and astronomer (born 1640)
1730 Antonín Kammel (born), Czech violinist and composer (died 1788)
1767 Duchess Elisabeth of Württemberg (born) (died 1790)
1774 Jean-Baptiste Biot (born), French physicist, astronomer, and mathematician (died 1862)
1782 The city of Rattanakosin, now known internationally as Bangkok, is founded on the eastern bank of the Chao Phraya River by King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke.
1816 Charlotte Brontë (born), English author and poet (died 1855)
1836 Texas Revolution: The Battle of San Jacinto: Republic of Texas forces under Sam Houston defeat troops under Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna.
1838 John Muir (born), Scottish-American environmentalist and author (died 1914)
1851 Charles Barrois (born), French geologist and palaeontologist (died 1939)
1864 Max Weber (born), German economist and sociologist (died 1920)
1870 Edwin Stanton Porter (born), American director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1941)
1889 Efrem Zimbalist (born), Russian-American violinist, composer, and conductor (died 1985)
1894 Norway formally adopts the Krag-Jørgensen bolt-action rifle as the main arm of its armed forces, a weapon that would remain in service for almost 50 years.
1898 Maurice Wilson (born), English soldier, mystic, mountaineer, and pilot (died 1934)
1907 Wade Mainer (born), American singer and banjo player (died 2011)
1910 Mark Twain (died), American author (born 1835)
1911 Ivan Combe (born), American businessman, invented Clearasil (died 2000)
1912 Marcel Camus (born), French director and screenwriter (died 1982)
1915 Garrett Hardin (born), American ecologist (died 2003)
1918 World War I: German fighter ace Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen (born 1892), better known as “The Red Baron”, is shot down and killed over Vaux-sur-Somme, France.
1922 Alistair MacLean (born), Scottish author (died 1987)
1922 The first Aggie Muster is held as a remembrance for fellow Texas A&M graduates who had died in the previous year.
1923 John Mortimer (born), English lawyer and author (died 2009)
1924 Ira Louvin (born), American singer-songwriter and mandolin player (The Louvin Brothers) (died 1965)
1932 Elaine May (born), American actress, director, and screenwriter
1934 The “Surgeon’s Photograph”, the most famous photo allegedly showing the Loch Ness Monster, is published in the Daily Mail (in 1999, it is revealed to be a hoax).
1946 John Maynard Keynes (died), English economist (born 1883)
1947 Iggy Pop (born), American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (The Stooges and The Trolls)
1947 John Weider (born), English bass player (Family, The Animals, Johnny Kidd & the Pirates, and Stud)
1948 Aldo Leopold (died), American ecologist and author (born 1887)
1948 Gary Condit (born), American politician
1948 Paul Davis (born), American singer-songwriter and pianist (died 2008)
1949 Patti LuPone (born), American actress and singer
1951 Bob Varsha (born), American sportscaster
1951 Michael Freedman (born), American mathematician
1951 Tony Danza (born), American actor and producer
1952 Gerald Early (born), American academic and author
1960 Brasília, Brazil’s capital, is officially inaugurated. At 09:30, the Three Powers of the Republic are simultaneously transferred from the old capital, Rio de Janeiro.
1962 The Seattle World’s Fair (Century 21 Exposition) opens. It is the first World’s Fair in the United States since World War II.
1963 The Universal House of Justice of the Bahá’í Faith is elected for the first time.
1965 Edward Victor Appleton (died), English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1892)
1965 The 1964–1965 New York World’s Fair opens for its second and final season.
1966 Rastafari movement: Haile Selassie of Ethiopia visits Jamaica, an event now celebrated as Grounation Day.
1971 François Duvalie (died), Haitian physician and politician, 40th President of Haiti (born 1907)
1975 Vietnam War: President of South Vietnam Nguyen Van Thieu flees Saigon, as Xuan Loc, the last South Vietnamese outpost blocking a direct North Vietnamese assault on Saigon, falls.
1978 Thomas Wyatt Turner (died), American biologist, educator, and activist (born 1877)
1980 Alexander Oparin (died), Russian biochemist (born 1894)
1982 Lynn Hilary (born), Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist (Celtic Woman and Anúna)
1983 Walter Slezak (died), Austrian-American actor (born 1902)
1989 James Kirkwood, Jr. (died), American actor, playwright, and author (born 1924)
1989 Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989: In Beijing, around 100,000 students gather in Tiananmen Square to commemorate Chinese reform leade Hu Yaobang.
1992 The first discoveries of extrasolar planets are announced by astronomers Alexander Wolszczan and Dale Frail. They discovered two planets orbiting the pulsar PSR 1257+12.
1993 The Supreme Court in La Paz, Bolivia, sentences former dictator Luis Garcia Meza to 30 years in jail without parole for murder, theft, fraud and violating the constitution.
2000 Neal Matthews, Jr. (died), American singer (The Jordanaires) (born 1929)
2003 Nina Simone (died), American singer-songwriter, pianist, and activist (born 1933)
2004 Five suicide car bombers target police stations in and around Basra, killing 74 people and wounding 160.
2004 Mary McGrory (died), American journalist (born 1918)
EO Smith
Latest posts by EO Smith (see all)
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