Important events in history
on August 18 ^th

Events

2019
1. One hundred activists, officials, and other concerned citizens in Iceland hold a funeral for Okjökull glacier, which has completely melted after having once covered six square miles (15.5 km2).
  1. Iceland
    
    Iceland is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which is home to over 65% of the population. Iceland is the biggest part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge that rises above sea level, and its central volcanic plateau is erupting almost constantly. The interior consists of a plateau characterised by sand and lava fields, mountains, and glaciers, and many glacial rivers flow to the sea through the lowlands. Iceland is warmed by the Gulf Stream and has a temperate climate, despite a high latitude just outside the Arctic Circle. Its high latitude and marine influence keep summers chilly, and most of its islands have a polar climate.
  2. Okjökull
    
    Okjökull was a glacier in western Iceland on top of the shield volcano Ok.
2017
1. Two people were killed and eight others wounded when a rejected asylum seeker went on a knife rampage in Turku, Finland.
  1. 2017 Turku attack
    
    The 2017 Turku attack took place on 18 August 2017 at around 16:02–16:05 (UTC+3) when 10 people were stabbed in central Turku, Southwest Finland. Two women were killed in the attack and eight people sustained injuries.
  2. Turku
    
    Turku is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (Varsinais-Suomi) and the former Turku and Pori Province. The region was originally called Suomi (Finland), which later became the name for the whole country. As of 31 March 2021, the population of Turku was 194,244 making it the sixth largest city in Finland after Helsinki, Espoo, Tampere, Vantaa and Oulu. There were 281,108 inhabitants living in the Turku Central Locality, ranking it as the third largest urban area in Finland after the Capital Region area and Tampere Central Locality. The city is officially bilingual as 5.2 percent of its population identify Swedish as a mother-tongue.
2. The first terrorist attack ever sentenced as a crime in Finland kills two and injures eight.
  1. 2017 Turku attack
    
    The 2017 Turku attack took place on 18 August 2017 at around 16:02–16:05 (UTC+3) when 10 people were stabbed in central Turku, Southwest Finland. Two women were killed in the attack and eight people sustained injuries.
2008
1. Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf resigned under pressure from a movement to impeach him.
  1. Pervez Musharraf
    
    General Pervez Musharraf NI(M) HI(M) TBt is a former Pakistani politician and four-star general of the Pakistan Army who became the tenth president of Pakistan after the successful military takeover of the federal government in 1999. He also served as the 10th Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee from 1998 to 2001 and the 7th Chief of Army Staff from 1998 to 2007.
  2. Movement to impeach Pervez Musharraf
    
    The movement to impeach Pervez Musharraf was an August 2008 attempt by opposition parties comprising the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N), Awami National Party (ANP), and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam to force Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf out of office. On August 18, Musharraf announced his resignation.
2. The President of Pakistan, Pervez Musharra, resigns under threat of impeachment.
  1. Pervez Musharraf
    
    General Pervez Musharraf NI(M) HI(M) TBt is a former Pakistani politician and four-star general of the Pakistan Army who became the tenth president of Pakistan after the successful military takeover of the federal government in 1999. He also served as the 10th Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee from 1998 to 2001 and the 7th Chief of Army Staff from 1998 to 2007.
  2. Movement to impeach Pervez Musharraf
    
    The movement to impeach Pervez Musharraf was an August 2008 attempt by opposition parties comprising the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N), Awami National Party (ANP), and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam to force Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf out of office. On August 18, Musharraf announced his resignation.
3. War of Afghanistan: The Uzbin Valley ambush occurs.
  1. Uzbin Valley ambush
    
    French International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) troops were ambushed by Afghan Taliban insurgents, with heavy casualties, in the Uzbin Valley outside the village of Spēṟ Kunday of the Surobi District of Kabul province in eastern Afghanistan on 18 August 2008.
2005
1. A massive power blackout hits the Indonesian island of Java; affecting almost 100 million people, it is one of the largest and most widespread power outages in history.
  1. 2005 Java–Bali blackout
    
    The 2005 Java–Bali Blackout was a power outage across Java and Bali on 18 August 2005, affecting some 100 million people.
  2. Indonesia
    
    Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guinea. Indonesia is the world's largest archipelagic state and the 14th-largest country by area, at 1,904,569 square kilometres. With over 275 million people, Indonesia is the world's fourth-most populous country and the most populous Muslim-majority country. Java, the world's most populous island, is home to more than half of the country's population.
  3. Java
    
    Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's most populous island, home to approximately 56% of the Indonesian population.
  4. List of major power outages
    
    This is a list of notable wide-scale power outages. To be included, the power outage must conform to all of the following criteria:The outage must not be planned by the service provider. The outage must affect at least 1k people. The outage must last at least one hour. There must be at least 1,000,000 person-hours of disruption.
2003
1. One-year-old Zachary Turner is murdered in Newfoundland by his mother, who was awarded custody despite facing trial for the murder of Zachary's father. The case was documented in the film Dear Zachary and led to reform of Canada's bail laws.
  1. Murders of Andrew Bagby and Zachary Turner
    
    Zachary Andrew Turner was a boy from St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada, who was murdered by his mother, Shirley Jane Turner, in a murder–suicide. At the time, Shirley had been released on bail and awarded custody of the infant, even though she was in the process of being extradited to the United States to stand trial for the murder of Zachary's father, Andrew David Bagby. The case led to a critical overview of Newfoundland's legal and child welfare systems as well as Canada's bail laws.
  2. Newfoundland and Labrador
    
    Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of 405,212 square kilometres. In 2021, the population of Newfoundland and Labrador was estimated to be 521,758. The island of Newfoundland is home to around 94 per cent of the province's population, with more than half residing in the Avalon Peninsula. Labrador borders the province of Quebec, and the French overseas collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon lies about 20 km east of the Burin Peninsula.
  3. Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father
    
    Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father is a 2008 American documentary film written, produced, directed, edited, and scored by Kurt Kuenne. It is about Kuenne's close friend Andrew Bagby, who was murdered after Bagby ended a relationship with a woman named Shirley Jane Turner. Turner was arrested as a suspect, and, shortly thereafter, announced she was pregnant with Bagby's child, a boy she named Zachary. Kuenne interviewed numerous relatives, friends, and associates of Andrew Bagby and incorporated their loving remembrances into a film meant to serve as a cinematic scrapbook for the son who would never know his father. Although Dear Zachary began as a project that was only intended to be shown to friends and family of Andrew Bagby, owing to the way events unfolded, Kuenne decided to release the film to the general public.
1993
1. American International Airways Flight 808 crashes at Leeward Point Field at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, injuring the three crew members.
  1. American International Airways Flight 808
    
    American International Airways (AIA) Flight 808 was a cargo flight operated by American International Airways that crashed on August 18, 1993 while attempting to land at Leeward Point Field at the Guantánamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. All 3 crew members on board survived with serious injuries.
  2. Leeward Point Field
    
    Leeward Point Field, also known as Leeward Airfield, is a U.S. military airfield located at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
  3. Guantanamo Bay Naval Base
    
    Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, officially known as Naval Station Guantanamo Bay or NSGB, is a United States military base located on 45 square miles (117 km2) of land and water on the shore of Guantánamo Bay at the southeastern end of Cuba. It has been permanently leased to the United States since 1903 as a coaling station and naval base, making it the oldest overseas U.S. naval base in the world. The lease was $2,000 in gold per year until 1934, when the payment was set to match the value in gold in dollars; in 1974, the yearly lease was set to $4,085.
  4. Guantánamo Bay
    
    Guantánamo Bay is a bay in Guantánamo Province at the southeastern end of Cuba. It is the largest harbor on the south side of the island and it is surrounded by steep hills which create an enclave that is cut off from its immediate hinterland.
  5. Cuba
    
    Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and Atlantic Ocean meet. Cuba is located east of the Yucatán Peninsula (Mexico), south of both the American state of Florida and the Bahamas, west of Hispaniola, and north of both Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. Havana is the largest city and capital; other major cities include Santiago de Cuba and Camagüey. The official area of the Republic of Cuba is 109,884 km2 (42,426 sq mi) but a total of 350,730 km² including the exclusive economic zone. Cuba is the second-most populous country in the Caribbean after Haiti, with over 11 million inhabitants.
1989
1. Leading presidential hopeful Luis Carlos Galán is assassinated near Bogotá in Colombia.
  1. Luis Carlos Galán
    
    Luis Carlos Galán Sarmiento was a Colombian liberal politician and journalist who ran for the Presidency of Colombia on two occasions, the first time for the political movement New Liberalism that he founded in 1979. The movement was an offspring of the mainstream Colombian Liberal Party, and with mediation of former Liberal president Julio César Turbay Ayala, Galán returned to the Liberal party in 1989 and sought the nomination for the 1990 presidential election, but was assassinated before the vote took place.
  2. Bogotá
    
    Bogotá, officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the largest cities in the world. The city is administered as the Capital District, as well as the capital of, though not part of, the surrounding department of Cundinamarca. Bogotá is a territorial entity of the first order, with the same administrative status as the departments of Colombia. It is the political, economic, administrative, and industrial center of the country.
  3. Colombia
    
    Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with an insular region in North America. It is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuela to the east, Brazil to the southeast, Ecuador and Peru to the south, the Pacific Ocean to the west and Panama to the northwest. Colombia comprises 32 departments and the Capital District of Bogotá, the country's largest city. It covers an area of 1,141,748 square kilometers (440,831 sq mi), with a population of 50 million. Colombia's cultural heritage reflects influences by various Amerindian civilizations, European settlement, enslaved Africans, as well as immigration from Europe and the Middle East. Spanish is the nation's official language, besides which over 70 languages are spoken.
1983
1. Hurricane Alicia made landfall near Galveston, Texas, causing $3 billion in damage and 21 fatalities.
  1. Hurricane Alicia
    
    Hurricane Alicia was a small but powerful tropical cyclone that caused significant destruction in the Greater Houston area of Southeast Texas in August 1983. Although Alicia was a relatively small hurricane, its track over the rapidly growing metropolitan area contributed to its $3 billion damage toll, making it the costliest Atlantic hurricane at the time. Alicia spawned from a disturbance that originated from the tail-end of a cold front over the northern Gulf of Mexico in mid-August 1983. The cyclone was named on August 14 when it became a tropical storm, and the combination of weak steering currents and a conducive environment allowed Alicia to quickly intensify as it drifted slowly westward. On August 17, Alicia became a hurricane and continued to strengthen, topping out as a Category 3 major hurricane as it made landfall on the southwestern end of Galveston Island. Alicia's eye passed just west of Downtown Houston as the system accelerated northwestwards across East Texas; Alicia eventually weakened into a remnant area of low pressure over Oklahoma on August 20 before they were last noted on August 21 over eastern Nebraska.
  2. Galveston, Texas
    
    Galveston is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of 209.3 square miles (542 km2), with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galveston County and second-largest municipality in the county. It is also within the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan area at its southern end on the northwestern coast of the Gulf of Mexico.
2. Hurricane Alicia hits the Texas coast, killing 21 people and causing over US$1 billion in damage (1983 dollars).
  1. Hurricane Alicia
    
    Hurricane Alicia was a small but powerful tropical cyclone that caused significant destruction in the Greater Houston area of Southeast Texas in August 1983. Although Alicia was a relatively small hurricane, its track over the rapidly growing metropolitan area contributed to its $3 billion damage toll, making it the costliest Atlantic hurricane at the time. Alicia spawned from a disturbance that originated from the tail-end of a cold front over the northern Gulf of Mexico in mid-August 1983. The cyclone was named on August 14 when it became a tropical storm, and the combination of weak steering currents and a conducive environment allowed Alicia to quickly intensify as it drifted slowly westward. On August 17, Alicia became a hurricane and continued to strengthen, topping out as a Category 3 major hurricane as it made landfall on the southwestern end of Galveston Island. Alicia's eye passed just west of Downtown Houston as the system accelerated northwestwards across East Texas; Alicia eventually weakened into a remnant area of low pressure over Oklahoma on August 20 before they were last noted on August 21 over eastern Nebraska.
  2. Texas
    
    Texas is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by both area and population. Texas shares borders with the states of Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the west, and the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas to the south and southwest; and has a coastline with the Gulf of Mexico to the southeast.
1977
1. Steve Biko is arrested at a police roadblock under Terrorism Act No. 83 of 1967 in King William's Town, South Africa. He later dies from injuries sustained during this arrest, bringing attention to South Africa's apartheid policies.
  1. Steve Biko
    
    Bantu Stephen Biko was a South African anti-apartheid activist. Ideologically an African nationalist and African socialist, he was at the forefront of a grassroots anti-apartheid campaign known as the Black Consciousness Movement during the late 1960s and 1970s. His ideas were articulated in a series of articles published under the pseudonym Frank Talk.
  2. Qonce
    
    Qonce, formerly known as King William's Town, is a city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa along the banks of the Buffalo River. The city is about 60 kilometres (37 mi) northwest of the Indian Ocean port of East London. Qonce, with a population of around 35,000 inhabitants, forms part of the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality.
  3. Apartheid
    
    Apartheid was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was characterised by an authoritarian political culture based on baasskap, which ensured that South Africa was dominated politically, socially, and economically by the nation's minority white population. According to this system of social stratification, white citizens had the highest status, followed by Indians and Coloureds, then black Africans. The economic legacy and social effects of apartheid continue to the present day.
1976
1. The Korean axe murder incident in Panmunjom results in the deaths of two US Army officers.
  1. Korean axe murder incident
    
    The Korean axe murder incident was the killing of two US Army officers, Captain Arthur Bonifas and First Lieutenant Mark Barrett, by North Korean soldiers on August 18, 1976, in the Joint Security Area (JSA) in the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The US Army officers had been part of a work party cutting down a poplar tree in the JSA.
2. The Soviet Union’s robotic probe Luna 24 successfully lands on the Moon.
  1. Soviet Union
    
    The Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national republics; in practice, both its government and its economy were highly centralized until its final years. It was a one-party state governed by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, with the city of Moscow serving as its capital as well as that of its largest and most populous republic: the Russian SFSR. Other major cities included Leningrad, Kiev, Minsk, Tashkent, Alma-Ata, and Novosibirsk. It was the largest country in the world, covering over 22,402,200 square kilometres (8,649,500 sq mi) and spanning eleven time zones.
  2. Luna 24
    
    Luna 24 was a robotic probe of the Soviet Union's Luna programme. The last of the Luna series of spacecraft, the mission of the Luna 24 probe was the third Soviet mission to return lunar soil samples from the Moon. The probe landed in Mare Crisium. The mission returned 170.1 g (6.00 oz) of lunar samples to the Earth on 22 August 1976.
  3. Moon
    
    The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth. The Moon is a planetary-mass object with a differentiated rocky body, making it a satellite planet under the geophysical definitions of the term and larger than all known dwarf planets of the Solar System. It lacks any significant atmosphere, hydrosphere, or magnetic field. Its surface gravity is about one-sixth of Earth's at 0.1654 g, with Jupiter's moon Io being the only satellite in the Solar System known to have a higher surface gravity and density.
1971
1. Vietnam War: Australia and New Zealand decide to withdraw their troops from Vietnam.
  1. Vietnam
    
    Vietnam or Viet Nam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of 311,699 square kilometres (120,348 sq mi) and population of 96 million, making it the world's fifteenth-most populous country. Vietnam borders China to the north, and Laos and Cambodia to the west. It shares maritime borders with Thailand through the Gulf of Thailand, and the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia through the South China Sea. Its capital is Hanoi and its largest city is Ho Chi Minh City.
1966
1. Vietnam War: Members of the 6th Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment were surrounded by a much larger Viet Cong unit at the Battle of Long Tan, but held them off for several hours until reinforcements arrived.
  1. Vietnam War
    
    The Vietnam War was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam and South Vietnam. The north was supported by the Soviet Union, China, and other communist states, while the south was supported by the United States and other anti-communist allies. The war is widely considered to be a Cold War-era proxy war. It lasted almost 20 years, with direct U.S. involvement ending in 1973. The conflict also spilled over into neighboring states, exacerbating the Laotian Civil War and the Cambodian Civil War, which ended with all three countries becoming communist states by 1975.
  2. 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
    
    6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment is a mechanised infantry battalion of the Australian Army. It was originally raised in Brisbane, Queensland, on 6 June 1965 and has since then served in a number of overseas deployments and conflicts including South Vietnam, East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan. During the Vietnam War, the battalion earned a US Presidential Unit Citation from the United States when members from 'D' Company participated in the Battle of Long Tan on 18–19 August 1966. The battalion is currently based at Gallipoli Barracks in Brisbane and forms part of the 7th Brigade.
  3. Royal Australian Regiment
    
    The Royal Australian Regiment (RAR) is the parent administrative regiment for regular infantry battalions of the Australian Army and is the senior infantry regiment of the Royal Australian Infantry Corps. It was originally formed in 1948 as a three battalion regiment; however, since then its size has fluctuated as battalions have been raised, amalgamated or disbanded in accordance with the Australian government's strategic requirements. Currently, the regiment consists of seven battalions and has fulfilled various roles including those of light, parachute, motorised and mechanised infantry. Throughout its existence, units of the Royal Australian Regiment have deployed on operations in Japan, Korea, Malaya, Borneo, Vietnam, Somalia, Rwanda, Cambodia, East Timor, the Solomon Islands, Iraq and Afghanistan.
  4. Viet Cong
    
    The Viet Cong, officially the National Liberation Front for South Vietnam, was an armed communist revolutionary organization in South Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. It fought under the direction of North Vietnam, against the South Vietnamese and United States governments during the Vietnam War, eventually emerging on the winning side. It had both guerrilla and regular army units, as well as a network of cadres who organized peasants in the territory the Viet Cong controlled. During the war, communist fighters and anti-war activists claimed that the Viet Cong was an insurgency indigenous to the South, while the U.S. and South Vietnamese governments portrayed the group as a tool of North Vietnam. According to Trần Văn Trà, the Viet Cong's top commander, and the post-war Vietnamese government's official history, the Viet Cong followed orders from Hanoi and were part of the People's Army of Vietnam, or North Vietnamese army.
  5. Battle of Long Tan
    
    The Battle of Long Tan took place in a rubber plantation near Long Tân, in Phước Tuy Province, South Vietnam, during the Vietnam War. The action was fought between Viet Cong (VC) and People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) units and elements of the 1st Australian Task Force.
2. Vietnam War: The Battle of Long Tan ensues after a patrol from the 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment clashes with a Viet Cong force in Phước Tuy Province.
  1. Battle of Long Tan
    
    The Battle of Long Tan took place in a rubber plantation near Long Tân, in Phước Tuy Province, South Vietnam, during the Vietnam War. The action was fought between Viet Cong (VC) and People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) units and elements of the 1st Australian Task Force.
  2. 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
    
    6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment is a mechanised infantry battalion of the Australian Army. It was originally raised in Brisbane, Queensland, on 6 June 1965 and has since then served in a number of overseas deployments and conflicts including South Vietnam, East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan. During the Vietnam War, the battalion earned a US Presidential Unit Citation from the United States when members from 'D' Company participated in the Battle of Long Tan on 18–19 August 1966. The battalion is currently based at Gallipoli Barracks in Brisbane and forms part of the 7th Brigade.
  3. Viet Cong
    
    The Viet Cong, officially the National Liberation Front for South Vietnam, was an armed communist revolutionary organization in South Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. It fought under the direction of North Vietnam, against the South Vietnamese and United States governments during the Vietnam War, eventually emerging on the winning side. It had both guerrilla and regular army units, as well as a network of cadres who organized peasants in the territory the Viet Cong controlled. During the war, communist fighters and anti-war activists claimed that the Viet Cong was an insurgency indigenous to the South, while the U.S. and South Vietnamese governments portrayed the group as a tool of North Vietnam. According to Trần Văn Trà, the Viet Cong's top commander, and the post-war Vietnamese government's official history, the Viet Cong followed orders from Hanoi and were part of the People's Army of Vietnam, or North Vietnamese army.
  4. Phước Tuy province
    
    Phước Tuy was a province of the former South Vietnam.
1965
1. Vietnam War: Operation Starlite begins: United States Marines destroy a Viet Cong stronghold on the Van Tuong peninsula in the first major American ground battle of the war.
  1. Vietnam War
    
    The Vietnam War was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam and South Vietnam. The north was supported by the Soviet Union, China, and other communist states, while the south was supported by the United States and other anti-communist allies. The war is widely considered to be a Cold War-era proxy war. It lasted almost 20 years, with direct U.S. involvement ending in 1973. The conflict also spilled over into neighboring states, exacerbating the Laotian Civil War and the Cambodian Civil War, which ended with all three countries becoming communist states by 1975.
  2. Operation Starlite
    
    Operation Starlite was the first major offensive action conducted by a purely U.S. military unit during the Vietnam War from 18 to 24 August 1965. The operation was launched based on intelligence provided by Major general Nguyen Chanh Thi, the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) I Corps commander. III Marine Amphibious Force commander Lieutenant General Lewis W. Walt devised a plan to launch a pre-emptive strike against the Viet Cong (VC) 1st Regiment to nullify their threat to the vital Chu Lai Air Base and Base Area and ensure its powerful communication tower remained intact.
  3. United States Marine Corps
    
    The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combined arms, implementing its own infantry, artillery, aerial, and special operations forces. The U.S. Marine Corps is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States.
  4. Viet Cong
    
    The Viet Cong, officially the National Liberation Front for South Vietnam, was an armed communist revolutionary organization in South Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. It fought under the direction of North Vietnam, against the South Vietnamese and United States governments during the Vietnam War, eventually emerging on the winning side. It had both guerrilla and regular army units, as well as a network of cadres who organized peasants in the territory the Viet Cong controlled. During the war, communist fighters and anti-war activists claimed that the Viet Cong was an insurgency indigenous to the South, while the U.S. and South Vietnamese governments portrayed the group as a tool of North Vietnam. According to Trần Văn Trà, the Viet Cong's top commander, and the post-war Vietnamese government's official history, the Viet Cong followed orders from Hanoi and were part of the People's Army of Vietnam, or North Vietnamese army.
1964
1. Hildegard Trabant was killed while attempting to cross the Berlin Wall, making her the only escapee killed at the wall with a record of loyalty to East Germany.
  1. Hildegard Trabant
    
    Hildegard Johanna Maria Trabant was an East German woman who became the fiftieth known person to die at the Berlin Wall. Trabant was shot and killed by East German border guards during a crossing attempt, one of only eight women victims of the Berlin Wall, and was the only escapee victim known to have a record of loyalty toward the East German regime.
  2. Republikflucht
    
    Republikflucht was the colloquial term in the German Democratic Republic for illegal emigration to West Germany, West Berlin, and non-Warsaw Pact countries; the official term was Ungesetzlicher Grenzübertritt. Republikflucht applied to both the 3.5 million Germans who migrated legally from the Soviet occupation zone and East Germany before the Berlin Wall was built on 13 August 1961, and the thousands who migrated illegally across the Iron Curtain until 23 December 1989. It has been estimated that 30,000 people left the GDR per year between 1984 and 1988, and up to 300,000 per year before the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961.
  3. List of deaths at the Berlin Wall
    
    There were numerous deaths at the Berlin Wall, which stood as a barrier between West Berlin and East Berlin from 13 August 1961 until 9 November 1989. Before the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961, 3.5 million East Germans circumvented Eastern Bloc emigration restrictions, many by crossing over the border from East Berlin into West Berlin. From there they could then travel to West Germany and other Western European countries. Between 1961 and 1989, the Wall prevented almost all such emigration.
  4. East Germany
    
    East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic, was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state was a part of the Eastern Bloc in the Cold War. Commonly described as a communist state, it described itself as a socialist "workers' and peasants' state". Its territory was administered and occupied by Soviet forces following the end of World War II—the Soviet occupation zone of the Potsdam Agreement, bounded on the east by the Oder–Neisse line. The Soviet zone surrounded West Berlin but did not include it and West Berlin remained outside the jurisdiction of the GDR.
1963
1. Civil rights movement: James Meredith becomes the first African American to graduate from the University of Mississippi.
  1. Civil rights movement
    
    The civil rights movement was a political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the United States. The movement had its origins in the Reconstruction era during the late 19th century, although it made its largest legislative gains in the 1960s after years of direct actions and grassroots protests. The social movement's major nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience campaigns eventually secured new protections in federal law for the civil rights of all Americans.
  2. James Meredith
    
    James Howard Meredith is an American civil rights activist, writer, political adviser, and Air Force veteran who became, in 1962, the first African-American student admitted to the racially segregated University of Mississippi after the intervention of the federal government. Inspired by President John F. Kennedy's inaugural address, Meredith decided to exercise his constitutional rights and apply to the University of Mississippi. His goal was to put pressure on the Kennedy administration to enforce civil rights for African Americans.
  3. University of Mississippi
    
    The University of Mississippi is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment.
1958
1. Vladimir Nabokov's controversial novel Lolita is published in the United States.
  1. Vladimir Nabokov
    
    Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov, also known by the pen name Vladimir Sirin, was a Russian-American novelist, poet, translator, and entomologist. Born in Imperial Russia in 1899, Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Russian (1926–1938) while living in Berlin, where he met his wife. He achieved international acclaim and prominence after moving to the United States, where he began writing in English. Nabokov became an American citizen in 1945 and lived mostly on the East Coast before returning to Europe in 1961, where he settled in Montreux, Switzerland.
  2. Lolita
    
    Lolita is a 1955 novel written by Russian-American novelist Vladimir Nabokov. The novel is notable for its controversial subject: the protagonist and unreliable narrator, a middle-aged literature professor under the pseudonym Humbert Humbert, is obsessed with a 12-year-old girl, Dolores Haze, whom he kidnaps and sexually abuses after becoming her stepfather. "Lolita", the Spanish nickname for Dolores, is what he calls her privately. The novel was originally written in English and first published in Paris in 1955 by Olympia Press.
2. Brojen Das from Bangladesh swims across the English Channel in a competition as the first Bengali and the first Asian to do so, placing first among the 39 competitors.
  1. Brojen Das
    
    Brojen Das was an Bangladeshi swimmer, who was the first Asian to swim across the English Channel, and the first person to cross it six times.
  2. Bangladesh
    
    Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of 148,460 square kilometres (57,320 sq mi). Bangladesh is among the most densely populated countries in the world, and shares land borders with India to the west, north, and east, and Myanmar to the southeast; to the south it has a coastline along the Bay of Bengal. It is narrowly separated from Bhutan and Nepal by the Siliguri Corridor; and from China by the Indian state of Sikkim in the north. Dhaka, the capital and largest city, is the nation's political, financial and cultural centre. Chittagong, the second-largest city, is the busiest port on the Bay of Bengal. The official language is Bengali, one of the easternmost branches of the Indo-European language family.
  3. English Channel
    
    The English Channel is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busiest shipping area in the world.
  4. Bengalis
    
    Bengalis, also rendered as Bangalee or the Bengali people, are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the Bengal region of South Asia. The current population is divided between the independent country Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura and parts of Assam, Meghalaya and Manipur. Most of them speak Bengali, a language from the Indo-Aryan language family.
1950
1. Julien Lahaut, the chairman of the Communist Party of Belgium, is assassinated. The Party newspaper blames royalists and Rexists.
  1. Julien Lahaut
    
    Julien Lahaut was a Belgian politician and communist activist. He became leader of the Communist Party of Belgium after the First World War. A dissident during the German occupation of 1940–44, he became a vocal advocate for the abolition of the Belgian monarchy during the post-war "Royal Question". His assassination in August 1950, at the height of the crisis, has often been attributed to Belgian royalists but remains unsolved.
  2. Rexist Party
    
    The Rexist Party, or simply Rex, was a far-right Catholic, nationalist, authoritarian and corporatist political party active in Belgium from 1935 until 1945. The party was founded by a journalist, Léon Degrelle, and, unlike other fascist parties in the Belgium of the time, advocated Belgian unitarism and royalism. Initially the party ran in both Flanders and Wallonia, but it never achieved much success outside Wallonia and Brussels. Its name was derived from the Roman Catholic journal and publishing company Christus Rex.
1948
1. Australia won the fifth Test of the 1948 Ashes series, becoming the first Test cricket team to go undefeated in England, earning them the nickname "The Invincibles".
  1. Fifth Test, 1948 Ashes series
    
    The Fifth Test of the 1948 Ashes series, held at The Oval in London, was the final Test in that cricket series between Australia and England. The match took place on 14–18 August, with a rest day on 15 August. Australia won the match by an innings and 149 runs to complete a 4–0 series win. It was the last Test in the career of Australian captain Donald Bradman, generally regarded as the best batsman in the history of the sport. Going into the match, if Australia batted only once, Bradman needed only four runs from his final innings to have a Test batting average of exactly 100, but he failed to score, bowled second ball for a duck by leg spinner Eric Hollies.
  2. Test cricket
    
    Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). A match consists of four innings and is scheduled to last for up to five days. In the past, some Test matches had no time limit and were called Timeless Tests. The term "test match" was originally coined in 1861–62 but in a different context.
  3. Australian cricket team in England in 1948
    
    The Australian cricket team in England in 1948 is famous for being the only Test match side to play an entire tour of England without losing a match. This feat earned them the nickname of "The Invincibles", and they are regarded as one of the greatest cricket teams of all time. According to the Australian federal government, the team "is one of Australia's most cherished sporting legends". The team was captained by Don Bradman, who was making his fourth and final tour of England.
1945
1. World War II: Amid a Soviet invasion of Japanese-held Sakhalin, Japanese police massacred 18 Koreans in Kamishisuka.
  1. World War II
    
    World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries.
  2. Soviet–Japanese War
    
    The Soviet–Japanese War, known in Mongolia as the Liberation War of 1945, was a military conflict within the Second World War beginning soon after midnight on 9 August 1945, with the Soviet invasion of the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo. The Soviets and Mongolians ended Japanese control of Manchukuo, Mengjiang, northern Korea, Karafuto, and the Chishima Islands. The defeat of Japan's Kwantung Army helped bring about the Japanese surrender and the termination of World War II. The Soviet entry into the war was a significant factor in the Japanese government's decision to surrender unconditionally, as it was made apparent that the Soviet Union was not willing to act as a third party in negotiating an end to hostilities on conditional terms.
  3. Sakhalin
    
    Sakhalin is the largest island of Russia. It is north of the Japanese archipelago, and is administered as part of the Sakhalin Oblast. Sakhalin is situated in the Pacific Ocean, sandwiched between the Sea of Okhotsk to the east and the Sea of Japan to the west. It is located just off Khabarovsk Krai, and is north of Hokkaido in Japan. The island has a population of roughly 500,000, the majority of which are Russians. The indigenous peoples of the island are the Ainu, Oroks, and Nivkhs, who are now present in very small numbers.
  4. Sakhalin Koreans
    
    Sakhalin Koreans are Russian citizens and residents of Korean descent living on Sakhalin Island, who can trace their roots to the immigrants from the Gyeongsang and Jeolla provinces of Korea during the late 1930s and early 1940s, the latter half of the Japanese colonial era.
2. Sukarno takes office as the first president of Indonesia, following the country's declaration of independence the previous day.
  1. Sukarno
    
    Sukarno was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967.
  2. List of presidents of Indonesia
    
    The president is the head of state and also head of government of the Republic of Indonesia. The president leads the executive branch of the Indonesian government and is the commander-in-chief of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. Since 2004, the president and vice president are directly elected to a five-year term.
3. Soviet-Japanese War: Battle of Shumshu: Soviet forces land at Takeda Beach on Shumshu Island and launch the Battle of Shumshu; the Soviet Union’s Invasion of the Kuril Islands commences.
  1. Soviet–Japanese War
    
    The Soviet–Japanese War, known in Mongolia as the Liberation War of 1945, was a military conflict within the Second World War beginning soon after midnight on 9 August 1945, with the Soviet invasion of the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo. The Soviets and Mongolians ended Japanese control of Manchukuo, Mengjiang, northern Korea, Karafuto, and the Chishima Islands. The defeat of Japan's Kwantung Army helped bring about the Japanese surrender and the termination of World War II. The Soviet entry into the war was a significant factor in the Japanese government's decision to surrender unconditionally, as it was made apparent that the Soviet Union was not willing to act as a third party in negotiating an end to hostilities on conditional terms.
  2. Battle of Shumshu
    
    The Battle of Shumshu, the Soviet invasion of Shumshu in the Kuril Islands, was the first stage of the Soviet Union's Invasion of the Kuril Islands in August–September 1945 during World War II. It took place from 18 to 23 August 1945, and was the only major battle of the Soviet campaign in the Kuril Islands and one of the last battles of the war.
  3. Shumshu
    
    Shumshu is the second-northernmost island of the Kuril Islands chain, which divides the Sea of Okhotsk from the northwest Pacific Ocean. The name of the island is derived from the Ainu language, meaning "good island". It is separated from Paramushir by the very narrow Second Kuril Strait in the northeast 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi), and its northern tip is 11 kilometres (6.8 mi), from Cape Lopatka at the southern tip of the Kamchatka Peninsula. The island has a seasonal population of around 100 inhabitants.
  4. Soviet Union
    
    The Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national republics; in practice, both its government and its economy were highly centralized until its final years. It was a one-party state governed by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, with the city of Moscow serving as its capital as well as that of its largest and most populous republic: the Russian SFSR. Other major cities included Leningrad, Kiev, Minsk, Tashkent, Alma-Ata, and Novosibirsk. It was the largest country in the world, covering over 22,402,200 square kilometres (8,649,500 sq mi) and spanning eleven time zones.
  5. Invasion of the Kuril Islands
    
    The Invasion of the Kuril Islands was the World War II Soviet military operation to capture the Kuril Islands from Japan in 1945. The invasion, part of the Soviet–Japanese War, was decided on when plans to land on Hokkaido were abandoned. The successful military operations of the Red Army at Mudanjiang and during the Invasion of South Sakhalin created the necessary prerequisites for invasion of the Kuril Islands.
1940
1. Second World War: During the Battle of Britain, the Luftwaffe made an all-out effort to destroy RAF Fighter Command, with both sides combined losing more aircraft on this day than at any other point during the campaign.
  1. World War II
    
    World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries.
  2. Battle of Britain
    
    The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England, was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force, the Luftwaffe. It was the first major military campaign fought entirely by air forces. The British officially recognise the battle's duration as being from 10 July until 31 October 1940, which overlaps the period of large-scale night attacks known as the Blitz, that lasted from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941. German historians do not accept this subdivision and regard the battle as a single campaign lasting from July 1940 to May 1941, including the Blitz.
  3. The Hardest Day
    
    The Hardest Day was a Second World War air battle fought on 18 August 1940 during the Battle of Britain between the German Luftwaffe and British Royal Air Force (RAF). On that day, the Luftwaffe made an all-out effort to destroy RAF Fighter Command. The air battles that took place on that day were amongst the largest aerial engagements in history to that time. Both sides suffered heavy losses. In the air, the British shot down twice as many Luftwaffe aircraft as they lost. However, many RAF aircraft were destroyed on the ground, equalising the total losses of both sides. Further large and costly aerial battles took place after 18 August, but both sides lost more aircraft combined on this day than at any other point during the campaign, including 15 September, the Battle of Britain Day, generally considered the climax of the fighting. For this reason, Sunday 18 August 1940 became known as "the Hardest Day" in Britain.
  4. RAF Fighter Command
    
    RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War. It earned near-immortal fame during the Battle of Britain in 1940, when the Few held off the Luftwaffe attack on Britain. The Command continued until 17 November 1943, when it was disbanded and the RAF fighter force was split into two categories; defence and attack. The defensive force became Air Defence of Great Britain (ADGB) and the offensive force became the RAF Second Tactical Air Force. Air Defence of Great Britain was renamed back to Fighter Command in October 1944 and continued to provide defensive patrols around Great Britain. It was disbanded for the second time in 1968, when it was subsumed into the new Strike Command.
2. World War II: The Hardest Day air battle, part of the Battle of Britain, takes place. At that point, it is the largest aerial engagement in history with heavy losses sustained on both sides.
  1. World War II
    
    World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries.
  2. The Hardest Day
    
    The Hardest Day was a Second World War air battle fought on 18 August 1940 during the Battle of Britain between the German Luftwaffe and British Royal Air Force (RAF). On that day, the Luftwaffe made an all-out effort to destroy RAF Fighter Command. The air battles that took place on that day were amongst the largest aerial engagements in history to that time. Both sides suffered heavy losses. In the air, the British shot down twice as many Luftwaffe aircraft as they lost. However, many RAF aircraft were destroyed on the ground, equalising the total losses of both sides. Further large and costly aerial battles took place after 18 August, but both sides lost more aircraft combined on this day than at any other point during the campaign, including 15 September, the Battle of Britain Day, generally considered the climax of the fighting. For this reason, Sunday 18 August 1940 became known as "the Hardest Day" in Britain.
  3. Battle of Britain
    
    The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England, was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force, the Luftwaffe. It was the first major military campaign fought entirely by air forces. The British officially recognise the battle's duration as being from 10 July until 31 October 1940, which overlaps the period of large-scale night attacks known as the Blitz, that lasted from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941. German historians do not accept this subdivision and regard the battle as a single campaign lasting from July 1940 to May 1941, including the Blitz.
1938
1. The Thousand Islands Bridge, connecting New York, United States, with Ontario, Canada, over the Saint Lawrence River, is dedicated by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
  1. Thousand Islands Bridge
    
    The Thousand Islands International Bridge is an American-maintained international bridge system over the Saint Lawrence River connecting northern New York in the United States with southeastern Ontario in Canada. Constructed in 1937, with additions in 1959, the bridges span the Canada–US border in the middle of the Thousand Islands region. All bridges in the system carry two lanes of traffic, one in each direction, with pedestrian sidewalks.
  2. Ontario
    
    Ontario is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. Located in Central Canada, it is Canada's most populous province, with 38.3 percent of the country's population, and is the second-largest province by total area. Ontario is Canada's fourth-largest jurisdiction in total area when the territories of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut are included. It is home to the nation's capital city, Ottawa, and the nation's most populous city, Toronto, which is Ontario's provincial capital.
  3. St. Lawrence River
    
    The St. Lawrence River is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting the American Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean, and forming the primary drainage outflow of the Great Lakes Basin. The river traverses the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec, as well as the U.S. state of New York, and demarcates part of the international boundary between Canada and the United States. It also provides the foundation for the commercial St. Lawrence Seaway.
  4. Franklin D. Roosevelt
    
    Franklin Delano Roosevelt, often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the leader of the Democratic Party, he won a record four presidential elections and became a central figure in world events during the first half of the 20th century. Roosevelt directed the federal government during most of the Great Depression, implementing his New Deal domestic agenda in response to the worst economic crisis in U.S. history. He built the New Deal Coalition, which defined modern liberalism in the United States throughout the middle third of the 20th century. His third and fourth terms were dominated by World War II, which ended in victory shortly after he died in office.
1937
1. A lightning strike starts the Blackwater Fire of 1937 in Shoshone National Forest, killing 15 firefighters within 3 days and prompting the United States Forest Service to develop their smokejumper program.
  1. Blackwater Fire of 1937
    
    On August 18, 1937, a lightning strike started the Blackwater Fire in Shoshone National Forest, approximately 35 miles (56 km) west of Cody, Wyoming, United States. Fifteen firefighters were killed by the forest fire when a dry weather front caused the winds to suddenly increase and change direction. The fire quickly spread into dense forest, creating spot fires that trapped some of the firefighters in a firestorm. Nine firefighters died during the fire and six more died shortly thereafter from severe burns and respiratory complications. Another 38 firefighters were injured. The fire killed more professional wildland firefighters in the U.S. than any other in the 103 years between the Great Fire of 1910 and the Yarnell Hill Fire in 2013.
  2. Shoshone National Forest
    
    Shoshone National Forest is the first federally protected National Forest in the United States and covers nearly 2,500,000 acres (1,000,000 ha) in the state of Wyoming. Originally a part of the Yellowstone Timberland Reserve, the forest is managed by the United States Forest Service and was created by an act of Congress and signed into law by U.S. President Benjamin Harrison in 1891. Shoshone National Forest is one of the first nationally protected land areas anywhere. Native Americans have lived in the region for at least 10,000 years, and when the region was first explored by European adventurers, forestlands were occupied by several different tribes. Never heavily settled or exploited, the forest has retained most of its wildness. Shoshone National Forest is a part of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, a nearly unbroken expanse of federally protected lands encompassing an estimated 20,000,000 acres (8,100,000 ha).
  3. United States Forest Service
    
    The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages 193 million acres (780,000 km2) of land. Major divisions of the agency include the Chief's Office, National Forest System, State and Private Forestry, Business Operations, and Research and Development. The agency manages about 25% of federal lands and is the only major national land management agency not part of the U.S. Department of the Interior, which manages the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Bureau of Land Management.
  4. Smokejumper
    
    Smokejumpers are specially trained wildland firefighters who provide an initial attack response on remote wildland fires. They are inserted at the site of the fire by parachute.
1933
1. The Volksempfänger is first presented to the German public at a radio exhibition; the presiding Nazi Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, delivers an accompanying speech heralding the radio as the ‘eighth great power’.
  1. Volksempfänger
    
    The Volksempfänger was a range of German radio receivers developed by engineer Otto Griessing at the request of Joseph Goebbels, the Reich Minister of Propaganda of the Nazi regime.
  2. IFA Berlin
    
    The IFA or Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin is one of the oldest industrial exhibitions in Germany. Between 1924 and 1939 it was an annual event, but from 1950 it was held every other year until 2005. Since then it has become an annual event again, held in September. Today it is one of world's leading trade shows for consumer electronics and home appliances.
  3. Joseph Goebbels
    
    Paul Joseph Goebbels was a German Nazi politician who was the Gauleiter of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 1945. He was one of Adolf Hitler's closest and most devoted acolytes, known for his skills in public speaking and his deeply virulent antisemitism, which was evident in his publicly voiced views. He advocated progressively harsher discrimination, including the extermination of the Jews in the Holocaust.
1923
1. The first British Track and Field championships for women are held in London, Great Britain.
  1. 1923 WAAA Championships
    
    The 1923 WAAA Championships were the first national track and field championships for women in the UK. The tournament was held on 18 August 1923 at the Oxo Sport Grounds in London, United Kingdom.
1920
1. The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution (authors pictured) was ratified, guaranteeing women's suffrage in the country.
  1. Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
    
    The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the United States and its states from denying the right to vote to citizens of the United States on the basis of sex, in effect recognizing the right of women to a vote. The amendment was the culmination of a decades-long movement for women's suffrage in the United States, at both the state and national levels, and was part of the worldwide movement towards women's suffrage and part of the wider women's rights movement. The first women's suffrage amendment was introduced in Congress in 1878. However, a suffrage amendment did not pass the House of Representatives until May 21, 1919, which was quickly followed by the Senate, on June 4, 1919. It was then submitted to the states for ratification, achieving the requisite 36 ratifications to secure adoption, and thereby go into effect, on August 18, 1920. The Nineteenth Amendment's adoption was certified on August 26, 1920.
  2. Constitution of the United States
    
    The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the national frame of government. Its first three articles embody the doctrine of the separation of powers, whereby the federal government is divided into three branches: the legislative, consisting of the bicameral Congress ; the executive, consisting of the president and subordinate officers ; and the judicial, consisting of the Supreme Court and other federal courts. Article IV, Article V, and Article VI embody concepts of federalism, describing the rights and responsibilities of state governments, the states in relationship to the federal government, and the shared process of constitutional amendment. Article VII establishes the procedure subsequently used by the 13 states to ratify it. It is regarded as the oldest written and codified national constitution in force.
  3. Women's suffrage in the United States
    
    Women's legal right to vote was established in the United States over the course of more than half a century, first in various states and localities, sometimes on a limited basis, and then nationally in 1920 with the passing of the 19th Amendment.
2. The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, guaranteeing women's suffrage.
  1. Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
    
    The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the United States and its states from denying the right to vote to citizens of the United States on the basis of sex, in effect recognizing the right of women to a vote. The amendment was the culmination of a decades-long movement for women's suffrage in the United States, at both the state and national levels, and was part of the worldwide movement towards women's suffrage and part of the wider women's rights movement. The first women's suffrage amendment was introduced in Congress in 1878. However, a suffrage amendment did not pass the House of Representatives until May 21, 1919, which was quickly followed by the Senate, on June 4, 1919. It was then submitted to the states for ratification, achieving the requisite 36 ratifications to secure adoption, and thereby go into effect, on August 18, 1920. The Nineteenth Amendment's adoption was certified on August 26, 1920.
  2. Suffrage
    
    Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums. In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to vote is called active suffrage, as distinct from passive suffrage, which is the right to stand for election. The combination of active and passive suffrage is sometimes called full suffrage.
1917
1. A Great Fire in Thessaloniki, Greece, destroys 32% of the city leaving 70,000 individuals homeless.
  1. Great Thessaloniki Fire of 1917
    
    The Great Thessaloniki Fire of 1917 destroyed two thirds of the city of Thessaloniki, the second-largest city in Greece, leaving more than 70,000 homeless. The fire burned for 32 hours and destroyed 9,500 houses within an extent of 1 square kilometer. Half the Jewish population emigrated from the city as their livelihoods were gone. Rather than quickly rebuilding, the government commissioned the French architect Ernest Hébrard to design a new urban plan for the burned areas and for the future expansion of the city. His designs are still evident in the city, most notably Aristotelous Square, although some of his most grandiose plans were never completed due to a lack of funds.
  2. Thessaloniki
    
    Thessaloniki, Saloniki, or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of Macedonia, the administrative region of Central Macedonia and the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace. It is also known in Greek as η Συμπρωτεύουσα, literally "the co-capital", a reference to its historical status as the Συμβασιλεύουσα or "co-reigning" city of the Byzantine Empire alongside Constantinople.
1903
1. German engineer Karl Jatho allegedly flies his self-made, motored gliding airplane four months before the first flight of the Wright brothers.
  1. Karl Jatho
    
    Karl Jatho was a German inventor and aviation pioneer, performer and public servant of the city of Hanover.
  2. Airplane
    
    An airplane or aeroplane is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurations. The broad spectrum of uses for airplanes includes recreation, transportation of goods and people, military, and research. Worldwide, commercial aviation transports more than four billion passengers annually on airliners and transports more than 200 billion tonne-kilometers of cargo annually, which is less than 1% of the world's cargo movement. Most airplanes are flown by a pilot on board the aircraft, but some are designed to be remotely or computer-controlled such as drones.
  3. Wright brothers
    
    The Wright brothers, Orville Wright and Wilbur Wright, were American aviation pioneers generally credited with inventing, building, and flying the world's first successful motor-operated airplane. They made the first controlled, sustained flight of a powered, heavier-than-air aircraft with the Wright Flyer on December 17, 1903, 4 mi (6 km) south of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, at what is now known as Kill Devil Hills. The brothers were also the first to invent aircraft controls that made fixed-wing powered flight possible.
1891
1. A hurricane struck the Caribbean island of Martinique, killing about 700 people, injuring at least 1,000 others, and causing severe damage.
  1. 1891 Martinique hurricane
    
    The 1891 Martinique hurricane, also known as Hurricane San Magín, was an intense major hurricane that struck the island of Martinique and caused massive damage. It was the third hurricane of the 1891 Atlantic hurricane season and the only major hurricane of the season. It was first sighted east of the Lesser Antilles on August 18 as a Category 2 hurricane. The storm made landfall on the island of Martinique, where it caused severe damage, over 700 deaths and at least 1,000 injuries. It crossed eastern Dominican Republic while tracking on a northwestward direction on August 19–20, passed the Mona Passage on August 20 and the Bahamas on August 22–23. It crossed the U.S. State of Florida and dissipated in the Gulf of Mexico after August 25. Total damage is estimated at $10 million (1891 USD). The storm is considered to be the worst on Martinique since 1817.
  2. Martinique
    
    Martinique is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It has a land area of 1,128 km2 (436 sq mi) and a population of 364,508 inhabitants as of January 2019. One of the Windward Islands, it is directly north of Saint Lucia, northwest of Barbados and south of Dominica. Martinique is an Outermost Region and a special territory of the European Union; the currency in use is the euro. Virtually the entire population speaks both French and Martinican Creole.
2. A major hurricane strikes Martinique, leaving 700 dead.
  1. 1891 Martinique hurricane
    
    The 1891 Martinique hurricane, also known as Hurricane San Magín, was an intense major hurricane that struck the island of Martinique and caused massive damage. It was the third hurricane of the 1891 Atlantic hurricane season and the only major hurricane of the season. It was first sighted east of the Lesser Antilles on August 18 as a Category 2 hurricane. The storm made landfall on the island of Martinique, where it caused severe damage, over 700 deaths and at least 1,000 injuries. It crossed eastern Dominican Republic while tracking on a northwestward direction on August 19–20, passed the Mona Passage on August 20 and the Bahamas on August 22–23. It crossed the U.S. State of Florida and dissipated in the Gulf of Mexico after August 25. Total damage is estimated at $10 million (1891 USD). The storm is considered to be the worst on Martinique since 1817.
  2. Martinique
    
    Martinique is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It has a land area of 1,128 km2 (436 sq mi) and a population of 364,508 inhabitants as of January 2019. One of the Windward Islands, it is directly north of Saint Lucia, northwest of Barbados and south of Dominica. Martinique is an Outermost Region and a special territory of the European Union; the currency in use is the euro. Virtually the entire population speaks both French and Martinican Creole.
1877
1. American astronomer Asaph Hall discovered Phobos, the larger of Mars's two moons, six days after discovering Deimos, the smaller one.
  1. Asaph Hall
    
    Asaph Hall III was an American astronomer who is best known for having discovered the two moons of Mars, Deimos and Phobos, in 1877. He determined the orbits of satellites of other planets and of double stars, the rotation of Saturn, and the mass of Mars.
  2. Phobos (moon)
    
    Phobos is the innermost and larger of the two natural satellites of Mars, the other being Deimos. The two moons were discovered in 1877 by American astronomer Asaph Hall. It is named after Phobos, the Greek god of fear and panic, who is the son of Ares (Mars) and twin brother of Deimos.
  3. Moons of Mars
    
    The two moons of Mars are Phobos and Deimos. They are irregular in shape. Both were discovered by American astronomer Asaph Hall in August 1877 and are named after the Greek mythological twin characters Phobos and Deimos who accompanied their father Ares into battle. Ares, god of war, was known to the Romans as Mars.
  4. Deimos (moon)
    
    Deimos is the smaller and outermost of the two natural satellites of Mars, the other being Phobos. Of similar composition to C and D-type asteroids, Deimos has a mean radius of 6.2 km (3.9 mi) and takes 30.3 hours to orbit Mars. Deimos is 23,460 km (14,580 mi) from Mars, much farther than Mars's other moon, Phobos. It is named after Deimos, the Ancient Greek god and personification of dread and terror.
2. American astronomer Asaph Hall discovers Phobos, one of Mars’s moons.
  1. Astronomer
    
    An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either observational or theoretical astronomy. Examples of topics or fields astronomers study include planetary science, solar astronomy, the origin or evolution of stars, or the formation of galaxies. A related but distinct subject is physical cosmology, which studies the Universe as a whole.
  2. Asaph Hall
    
    Asaph Hall III was an American astronomer who is best known for having discovered the two moons of Mars, Deimos and Phobos, in 1877. He determined the orbits of satellites of other planets and of double stars, the rotation of Saturn, and the mass of Mars.
  3. Phobos (moon)
    
    Phobos is the innermost and larger of the two natural satellites of Mars, the other being Deimos. The two moons were discovered in 1877 by American astronomer Asaph Hall. It is named after Phobos, the Greek god of fear and panic, who is the son of Ares (Mars) and twin brother of Deimos.
  4. Mars
    
    Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmosphere, and has a crust primarily composed of elements similar to Earth's crust, as well as a core made of iron and nickel. Mars has surface features such as impact craters, valleys, dunes and polar ice caps. It has two small and irregularly shaped moons, Phobos and Deimos.
  5. Moons of Mars
    
    The two moons of Mars are Phobos and Deimos. They are irregular in shape. Both were discovered by American astronomer Asaph Hall in August 1877 and are named after the Greek mythological twin characters Phobos and Deimos who accompanied their father Ares into battle. Ares, god of war, was known to the Romans as Mars.
1870
1. Franco-Prussian War: Battle of Gravelotte is fought.
  1. Franco-Prussian War
    
    The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 January 1871, the conflict was caused primarily by France's determination to reassert its dominant position in continental Europe, which appeared in question following the decisive Prussian victory over Austria in 1866. According to some historians, Prussian chancellor Otto von Bismarck deliberately provoked the French into declaring war on Prussia in order to induce four independent southern German states—Baden, Württemberg, Bavaria and Hesse-Darmstadt—to join the North German Confederation; other historians contend that Bismarck exploited the circumstances as they unfolded. All agree that Bismarck recognized the potential for new German alliances, given the situation as a whole.
  2. Battle of Gravelotte
    
    The Battle of Gravelotte on 18 August 1870 was the largest battle of the Franco-Prussian War. Named after Gravelotte, a village in Lorraine, it was fought about 6 miles (9.7 km) west of Metz, where on the previous day, having intercepted the French army's retreat to the west at the Battle of Mars-la-Tour, the Prussians were now closing in to complete the destruction of the French forces.
1868
1. French astronomer Pierre Janssen discovers helium.
  1. Astronomer
    
    An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either observational or theoretical astronomy. Examples of topics or fields astronomers study include planetary science, solar astronomy, the origin or evolution of stars, or the formation of galaxies. A related but distinct subject is physical cosmology, which studies the Universe as a whole.
  2. Pierre Janssen
    
    Pierre Jules César Janssen, usually known as Jules Janssen, was a French astronomer who, along with English scientist Joseph Norman Lockyer, is credited with discovering the gaseous nature of the solar chromosphere, and with some justification the element helium.
  3. Timeline of chemical element discoveries
    
    The discovery of the 118 chemical elements known to exist as of 2022 is presented in chronological order. The elements are listed generally in the order in which each was first defined as the pure element, as the exact date of discovery of most elements cannot be accurately determined. There are plans to synthesize more elements, and it is not known how many elements are possible.
  4. Helium
    
    Helium is a chemical element with the symbol He and atomic number 2. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas and the first in the noble gas group in the periodic table. Its boiling and melting point are the lowest among all the elements. It is the second lightest and second most abundant element in the observable universe. It is present at about 24% of the total elemental mass, which is more than 12 times the mass of all the heavier elements combined. Its abundance is similar to this in both the Sun and in Jupiter, due to the very high nuclear binding energy of helium-4, with respect to the next three elements after helium. This helium-4 binding energy also accounts for why it is a product of both nuclear fusion and radioactive decay. Most helium in the universe is helium-4, the vast majority of which was formed during the Big Bang. Large amounts of new helium are created by nuclear fusion of hydrogen in stars.
1864
1. American Civil War: At the Battle of Globe Tavern, Union forces attempted to sever the Weldon Railroad during the Siege of Petersburg.
  1. American Civil War
    
    The American Civil War was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union and the Confederacy, the latter formed by states that had seceded. The central cause of the war was the dispute over whether slavery would be permitted to expand into the western territories, leading to more slave states, or be prevented from doing so, which was widely believed would place slavery on a course of ultimate extinction.
  2. Battle of Globe Tavern
    
    The Battle of Globe Tavern, also known as the Second Battle of the Weldon Railroad, fought August 18–21, 1864, south of Petersburg, Virginia, was the second attempt of the Union Army to sever the Weldon Railroad during the siege of Petersburg of the American Civil War. A Union force under Maj. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren destroyed miles of track and withstood strong attacks from Confederate troops under Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard and Lt. Gen. A.P. Hill. It was the first Union victory in the Richmond–Petersburg Campaign. It forced the Confederates to carry their supplies 30 miles (48 km) by wagon to bypass the new Union lines that were extended farther to the south and west.
  3. Union (American Civil War)
    
    During the American Civil War, the Union, also known as the North, referred to the United States led by President Abraham Lincoln. It was opposed by the secessionist Confederate States of America (CSA), informally called "the Confederacy" or "the South". The Union is named after its declared goal of preserving the United States as a constitutional union. "Union" is used in the U.S. Constitution to refer to the founding formation of the people, and to the states in union. In the context of the Civil War, it has also often been used as a synonym for "the northern states loyal to the United States government;" in this meaning, the Union consisted of 20 free states and five border states.
  4. Wilmington and Weldon Railroad
    
    The Wilmington and Weldon Railroad (W&W) name began use in 1855, having been originally chartered as the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad in 1834. At the time of its completion in 1840, the line was the longest railroad in the world with 161.5 miles (259.9 km) of track. It was constructed in 4 ft 8 in gauge. At its terminus in Weldon, North Carolina, it connected with the Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad and the Petersburg Railroad. The railroad also gave rise to the city of Goldsboro, North Carolina, the midpoint of the W&W RR and the railroad intersection with the North Carolina Railroad.
  5. Siege of Petersburg
    
    The Richmond–Petersburg campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War. Although it is more popularly known as the Siege of Petersburg, it was not a classic military siege, in which a city is usually surrounded and all supply lines are cut off, nor was it strictly limited to actions against Petersburg. The campaign consisted of nine months of trench warfare in which Union forces commanded by Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant assaulted Petersburg unsuccessfully and then constructed trench lines that eventually extended over 30 miles (48 km) from the eastern outskirts of Richmond, Virginia, to around the eastern and southern outskirts of Petersburg. Petersburg was crucial to the supply of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's army and the Confederate capital of Richmond. Numerous raids were conducted and battles fought in attempts to cut off the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad. Many of these battles caused the lengthening of the trench lines.
2. American Civil War: Battle of Globe Tavern: Union forces try to cut a vital Confederate supply-line into Petersburg, Virginia, by attacking the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad.
  1. American Civil War
    
    The American Civil War was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union and the Confederacy, the latter formed by states that had seceded. The central cause of the war was the dispute over whether slavery would be permitted to expand into the western territories, leading to more slave states, or be prevented from doing so, which was widely believed would place slavery on a course of ultimate extinction.
  2. Battle of Globe Tavern
    
    The Battle of Globe Tavern, also known as the Second Battle of the Weldon Railroad, fought August 18–21, 1864, south of Petersburg, Virginia, was the second attempt of the Union Army to sever the Weldon Railroad during the siege of Petersburg of the American Civil War. A Union force under Maj. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren destroyed miles of track and withstood strong attacks from Confederate troops under Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard and Lt. Gen. A.P. Hill. It was the first Union victory in the Richmond–Petersburg Campaign. It forced the Confederates to carry their supplies 30 miles (48 km) by wagon to bypass the new Union lines that were extended farther to the south and west.
  3. Union (American Civil War)
    
    During the American Civil War, the Union, also known as the North, referred to the United States led by President Abraham Lincoln. It was opposed by the secessionist Confederate States of America (CSA), informally called "the Confederacy" or "the South". The Union is named after its declared goal of preserving the United States as a constitutional union. "Union" is used in the U.S. Constitution to refer to the founding formation of the people, and to the states in union. In the context of the Civil War, it has also often been used as a synonym for "the northern states loyal to the United States government;" in this meaning, the Union consisted of 20 free states and five border states.
  4. Confederate States of America
    
    The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States, the Confederacy, or "the South", was an unrecognized breakaway republic in North America that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confederacy comprised U.S. states that declared secession and warred against the United States during the American Civil War. Eleven U.S. states, nicknamed Dixie, declared secession and formed the main part of the CSA. They were South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina. Kentucky, and Missouri also had declarations of secession and full representation in the Confederate Congress during their Union army occupation.
  5. Petersburg, Virginia
    
    Petersburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 33,458. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines Petersburg with Dinwiddie County for statistical purposes. The city is 21 miles (34 km) south of the commonwealth (state) capital city of Richmond.
  6. Wilmington and Weldon Railroad
    
    The Wilmington and Weldon Railroad (W&W) name began use in 1855, having been originally chartered as the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad in 1834. At the time of its completion in 1840, the line was the longest railroad in the world with 161.5 miles (259.9 km) of track. It was constructed in 4 ft 8 in gauge. At its terminus in Weldon, North Carolina, it connected with the Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad and the Petersburg Railroad. The railroad also gave rise to the city of Goldsboro, North Carolina, the midpoint of the W&W RR and the railroad intersection with the North Carolina Railroad.
1848
1. Camila O'Gorman and Ladislao Gutierrez are executed on the orders of Argentine dictator Juan Manuel de Rosas.
  1. Camila O'Gorman
    
    Maria Camila O'Gorman Ximénez was a 19th-century Argentine socialite executed over a scandal involving her relationship with a Roman Catholic priest. She was 23 years old and allegedly eight months pregnant when she and Father Ladislao Gutiérrez faced a firing squad.
  2. Juan Manuel de Rosas
    
    Juan Manuel José Domingo Ortiz de Rosas, nicknamed "Restorer of the Laws", was an Argentine politician and army officer who ruled Buenos Aires Province and briefly the Argentine Confederation. Although born into a wealthy family, Rosas independently amassed a personal fortune, acquiring large tracts of land in the process. Rosas enlisted his workers in a private militia, as was common for rural proprietors, and took part in the disputes that led to numerous civil wars in his country. Victorious in warfare, personally influential, and with vast landholdings and a loyal private army, Rosas became a caudillo, as provincial warlords in the region were known. He eventually reached the rank of brigadier general, the highest in the Argentine Army, and became the undisputed leader of the Federalist Party.
1838
1. The Wilkes Expedition, which would explore the Puget Sound and Antarctica, weighs anchor at Hampton Roads.
  1. United States Exploring Expedition
    
    The United States Exploring Expedition of 1838–1842 was an exploring and surveying expedition of the Pacific Ocean and surrounding lands conducted by the United States. The original appointed commanding officer was Commodore Thomas ap Catesby Jones. Funding for the original expedition was requested by President John Quincy Adams in 1828; however, Congress would not implement funding until eight years later. In May 1836, the oceanic exploration voyage was finally authorized by Congress and created by President Andrew Jackson.
  2. Puget Sound
    
    Puget Sound is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and two minor connections to the open Pacific Ocean via the Strait of Juan de Fuca—Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and Deception Pass and Swinomish Channel being the minor.
  3. Hampton Roads
    
    Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James, Nansemond and Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point where the Chesapeake Bay flows into the Atlantic Ocean, and the surrounding metropolitan region located in the southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina portions of the Tidewater Region.
1826
1. Major Gordon Laing becomes the first European to enter Timbuktu.
  1. Alexander Gordon Laing
    
    Major Alexander Gordon Laing was a Scottish explorer and the first European to reach Timbuktu, arriving there via the north-to-south route in August 1826. He was killed shortly after he departed Timbuktu, some five weeks later.
  2. Timbuktu
    
    Timbuktu is a city in Mali, situated twenty kilometres (12 mi) north of the Niger River. The town is the capital of the Tombouctou Region, one of the eight administrative regions of Mali. It had a population of 54,453 in the 2009 census.
1809
1. The Senate of Finland is established in the Grand Duchy of Finland after the official adoption of the Statute of the Government Council by Tsar Alexander I of Russia.
  1. Senate of Finland
    
    The Senate of Finland combined the functions of cabinet and supreme court in the Grand Duchy of Finland from 1816 to 1917 and in the independent Finland from 1917 to 1918.
  2. Grand Duchy of Finland
    
    The Grand Duchy of Finland was the predecessor state of modern Finland. It existed between 1809 and 1917 as an autonomous part of the Russian Empire.
  3. Alexander I of Russia
    
    Alexander I was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first King of Congress Poland from 1815, and the Grand Duke of Finland from 1809 to his death. He was the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg.
1783
1. A meteor procession blazed across the night sky over Great Britain.
  1. Meteor procession
    
    A meteor procession occurs when an Earth-grazing meteor breaks apart, and the fragments travel across the sky in the same path. According to physicist Donald Olson, only a few occurrences are known, including:Great Meteor of August 18, 1783 Meteor procession of July 20, 1860; believed by Donald Olson to be the event referred to in Walt Whitman's poem Year of Meteors, 1859-60. Meteor procession of December 21, 1876; sighted over Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania. Meteor procession of February 9, 1913; a chain of slow, large meteors moving from northwest to southeast, sighted over North America, particularly in Canada, the North Atlantic and the Tropical South Atlantic.
  2. 1783 Great Meteor
    
    The 1783 Great Meteor was a meteor procession observed on 18 August 1783 from the British Isles, at a time when such phenomena were not well understood. The meteor was the subject of much discussion in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society and was the subject of a detailed study by Charles Blagden.
2. A huge fireball meteor is seen across Great Britain as it passes over the east coast.
  1. 1783 Great Meteor
    
    The 1783 Great Meteor was a meteor procession observed on 18 August 1783 from the British Isles, at a time when such phenomena were not well understood. The meteor was the subject of much discussion in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society and was the subject of a detailed study by Charles Blagden.
1721
1. The city of Shamakhi in Safavid Shirvan is sacked.
  1. Shamakhi
    
    Shamakhi is a city in Azerbaijan and the administrative centre of the Shamakhi District. The city's estimated population as of 2010 was 31,704. It is famous for its traditional dancers, the Shamakhi Dancers, and also for perhaps giving its name to the Soumak rugs.
  2. Safavid Shirvan
    
    The Shirvan province was a province founded by the Safavid Empire on the territory of modern Azerbaijan and Russia (Dagestan) between 1501 and 1736 with its capital in the town of Shamakhi.
  3. Sack of Shamakhi
    
    The Sack of Shamakhi took place on 18 August 1721, when rebellious Sunni Lezgins, within the declining Safavid Empire, attacked the capital of Shirvan province, Shamakhi. The initially successful counter-campaign was abandoned by the central government at a critical moment and with the threat then left unchecked, Shamakhi was taken by 15,000 Lezgin tribesmen, its Shia population massacred, and the city ransacked.
1634
1. Urbain Grandier, accused and convicted of sorcery, is burned alive in Loudun, France.
  1. Urbain Grandier
    
    Urbain Grandier was a French Catholic priest who was burned at the stake after being convicted of witchcraft, following the events of the so-called "Loudun possessions". Most modern commentators have concluded that Grandier was the victim of a politically motivated persecution led by the powerful Cardinal Richelieu.
  2. Loudun
    
    Loudun is a commune in the Vienne department and the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, western France.
1612
1. The trials of the Pendle and Samlesbury witches (statue pictured), among the most famous of England's witch trials, began at the assizes in Lancaster.
  1. Pendle witches
    
    The trials of the Pendle witches in 1612 are among the most famous witch trials in English history, and some of the best recorded of the 17th century. The twelve accused lived in the area surrounding Pendle Hill in Lancashire, and were charged with the murders of ten people by the use of witchcraft. All but two were tried at Lancaster Assizes on 18–19 August 1612, along with the Samlesbury witches and others, in a series of trials that have become known as the Lancashire witch trials. One was tried at York Assizes on 27 July 1612, and another died in prison. Of the eleven who went to trial – nine women and two men – ten were found guilty and executed by hanging; one was found not guilty.
  2. Samlesbury witches
    
    The Samlesbury witches were three women from the Lancashire village of Samlesbury – Jane Southworth, Jennet Bierley, and Ellen Bierley – accused by a 14-year-old girl, Grace Sowerbutts, of practising witchcraft. Their trial at Lancaster Assizes in England on 19 August 1612 was one in a series of witch trials held there over two days, among the most infamous in English history. The trials were unusual for England at that time in two respects: Thomas Potts, the clerk to the court, published the proceedings in his The Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches in the Countie of Lancaster; and the number of the accused found guilty and hanged was unusually high, ten at Lancaster and another at York. All three of the Samlesbury women were acquitted.
  3. Witch-hunt
    
    A witch-hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. The classical period of witch-hunts in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America took place in the Early Modern period or about 1450 to 1750, spanning the upheavals of the Reformation and the Thirty Years' War, resulting in an estimated 35,000 to 50,000 executions. The last executions of people convicted as witches in Europe took place in the 18th century. In other regions, like Africa and Asia, contemporary witch-hunts have been reported from sub-Saharan Africa and Papua New Guinea, and official legislation against witchcraft is still found in Saudi Arabia and Cameroon today.
  4. Assizes
    
    The courts of assize, or assizes, were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes exercised both civil and criminal jurisdiction, though most of their work was on the criminal side. The assizes heard the most serious cases, which were committed to it by the quarter sessions, while the more minor offences were dealt with summarily by justices of the peace in petty sessions.
  5. Lancaster, Lancashire
    
    Lancaster is a city and the county town of Lancashire, England, standing on the River Lune. Its population of 52,234 compares with one of 138,375 in the wider City of Lancaster local government district. The House of Lancaster was a branch of the English royal family. The Duchy of Lancaster still holds large estates on behalf of Charles III, who is also Duke of Lancaster. Its long history is marked by Lancaster Castle, Lancaster Priory Church, Lancaster Cathedral and the Ashton Memorial. It is the seat of Lancaster University and has a campus of the University of Cumbria. The Port of Lancaster played a big role in the city's growth, but for many years the outport of Glasson Dock has become the main shipping facility.
2. The trial of the Pendle witches, one of England's most famous witch trials, begins at Lancaster Assizes.
  1. Pendle witches
    
    The trials of the Pendle witches in 1612 are among the most famous witch trials in English history, and some of the best recorded of the 17th century. The twelve accused lived in the area surrounding Pendle Hill in Lancashire, and were charged with the murders of ten people by the use of witchcraft. All but two were tried at Lancaster Assizes on 18–19 August 1612, along with the Samlesbury witches and others, in a series of trials that have become known as the Lancashire witch trials. One was tried at York Assizes on 27 July 1612, and another died in prison. Of the eleven who went to trial – nine women and two men – ten were found guilty and executed by hanging; one was found not guilty.
  2. Lancaster, Lancashire
    
    Lancaster is a city and the county town of Lancashire, England, standing on the River Lune. Its population of 52,234 compares with one of 138,375 in the wider City of Lancaster local government district. The House of Lancaster was a branch of the English royal family. The Duchy of Lancaster still holds large estates on behalf of Charles III, who is also Duke of Lancaster. Its long history is marked by Lancaster Castle, Lancaster Priory Church, Lancaster Cathedral and the Ashton Memorial. It is the seat of Lancaster University and has a campus of the University of Cumbria. The Port of Lancaster played a big role in the city's growth, but for many years the outport of Glasson Dock has become the main shipping facility.
  3. Assizes
    
    The courts of assize, or assizes, were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes exercised both civil and criminal jurisdiction, though most of their work was on the criminal side. The assizes heard the most serious cases, which were committed to it by the quarter sessions, while the more minor offences were dealt with summarily by justices of the peace in petty sessions.
1590
1. John White, governor of the Roanoke Colony, the first English settlement in North America (located in present-day North Carolina), returned after a three-year absence to find it deserted (depicted).
  1. John White (colonist and artist)
    
    John White was an English colonial governor, explorer, artist, and cartographer. White was among those who sailed with Richard Grenville in the first attempt to colonize Roanoke Island in 1585, acting as artist and mapmaker to the expedition. He would most famously briefly serve as the governor of the second attempt to found Roanoke Colony on the same island in 1587 and discover the colonists had mysteriously vanished.
  2. Roanoke Colony
    
    The establishment of the Roanoke Colony was an attempt by Sir Walter Raleigh to found the first permanent English settlement in North America. The English, led by Sir Humphrey Gilbert, had briefly claimed St. John's, Newfoundland, in 1583 as the first English territory in North America at the royal prerogative of Queen Elizabeth I, but Gilbert was lost at sea on his return journey to England.
  3. North Carolina
    
    North Carolina is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and South Carolina to the south, and Tennessee to the west. Raleigh is the state's capital and Charlotte is its largest city. The Charlotte metropolitan area, with a population of 2,595,027 in 2020, is the most-populous metropolitan area in North Carolina, the 21st-most populous in the United States, and the largest banking center in the nation after New York City. The Raleigh-Durham-Cary combined statistical area is the second-largest metropolitan area in the state and 32nd-most populous in the United States, with a population of 2,043,867 in 2020, and is home to the largest research park in the United States, Research Triangle Park.
2. John White, the governor of the Roanoke Colony, returns from a supply trip to England and finds his settlement deserted.
  1. John White (colonist and artist)
    
    John White was an English colonial governor, explorer, artist, and cartographer. White was among those who sailed with Richard Grenville in the first attempt to colonize Roanoke Island in 1585, acting as artist and mapmaker to the expedition. He would most famously briefly serve as the governor of the second attempt to found Roanoke Colony on the same island in 1587 and discover the colonists had mysteriously vanished.
  2. Roanoke Colony
    
    The establishment of the Roanoke Colony was an attempt by Sir Walter Raleigh to found the first permanent English settlement in North America. The English, led by Sir Humphrey Gilbert, had briefly claimed St. John's, Newfoundland, in 1583 as the first English territory in North America at the royal prerogative of Queen Elizabeth I, but Gilbert was lost at sea on his return journey to England.
1572
1. The Huguenot King Henry III of Navarre marries the Catholic Margaret of Valois, ostensibly to reconcile the feuding Protestants and Catholics of France.
  1. Huguenots
    
    The Huguenots were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Bezanson Hugues (1491–1532?), was in common use by the mid-16th century. Huguenot was frequently used in reference to those of the Reformed Church of France from the time of the Protestant Reformation. By contrast, the Protestant populations of eastern France, in Alsace, Moselle, and Montbéliard, were mainly Lutherans.
  2. Henry IV of France
    
    Henry IV, also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarch of France from the House of Bourbon, a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty. He was assassinated in 1610 by François Ravaillac, a Catholic zealot, and was succeeded by his son Louis XIII.
  3. Catholic Church
    
    The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2019. As the world's oldest and largest continuously functioning international institution, it has played a prominent role in the history and development of Western civilization. The church consists of 24 sui iuris churches, including the Latin Church and 23 Eastern Catholic Churches, which comprise almost 3,500 dioceses and eparchies located around the world. The pope, who is the bishop of Rome, is the chief pastor of the church. The bishopric of Rome, known as the Holy See, is the central governing authority of the church. The administrative body of the Holy See, the Roman Curia, has its principal offices in Vatican City, a small enclave of the Italian city of Rome, of which the pope is head of state.
  4. Margaret of Valois
    
    Margaret of Valois, popularly known as La Reine Margot, was a French princess of the Valois dynasty who became Queen of Navarre by marriage to Henry III of Navarre and then also Queen of France at her husband's 1589 accession to the latter throne as Henry IV.
  5. Protestantism
    
    Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to be growing errors, abuses, and discrepancies within it.
  6. Kingdom of France
    
    The Kingdom of France is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe since the High Middle Ages. It was also an early colonial power, with possessions around the world.
1492
1. The first grammar of the Spanish language (Gramática de la lengua castellana) is presented to Queen Isabella I.
  1. Grammar
    
    In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraints, a field that includes domains such as phonology, morphology, and syntax, often complemented by phonetics, semantics, and pragmatics. There are currently two different approaches to the study of grammar: traditional grammar and theoretical grammar.
  2. Spanish language
    
    Spanish is a Romance language spoken by half a billion people, mainly in the Americas and Spain. With official status in 20 countries, it is the world's second-most spoken native language after Mandarin Chinese; the world's fourth-most spoken language overall after English, Mandarin Chinese, and Hindi-Urdu; and the world's most widely spoken Romance language. The country with the largest population of native speakers is Mexico.
  3. Gramática de la lengua castellana
    
    Gramática de la lengua castellana is a book written by Antonio de Nebrija and published in 1492. It was the first work dedicated to the Spanish language and its rules, and the first grammar of a modern European language to be published. When it was presented to Isabella of Castile at Salamanca in the year of its publication, the queen questioned what the merit of such a work might be; Fray Hernando de Talavera, bishop of Avila, answered for the author in prophetic words, as Nebrija himself recalls in a letter addressed to the monarch:After Your Highness has subjected barbarous peoples and nations of varied tongues, with conquest will come the need for them to accept the laws that the conqueror imposes on the conquered, and among them our language; with this work of mine, they will be able to learn it, as we now learn Latin from the Latin Grammar
  4. Isabella I of Castile
    
    Isabella I, also called Isabella the Catholic, was Queen of Castile from 1474 until her death in 1504, as well as Queen consort of Aragon from 1479 until 1504 by virtue of her marriage to King Ferdinand II of Aragon. Reigning together over a dynastically unified Spain, Isabella and Ferdinand are known as the Catholic Monarchs.
1487
1. Reconquista: After a four-month siege, the Catholic Monarchs of Spain conquered the city of Málaga from the Emirate of Granada.
  1. Reconquista
    
    The Reconquista is a historiographical construction describing the 781-year period in the history of the Iberian Peninsula between the Umayyad conquest of Hispania in 711 and the fall of the Nasrid kingdom of Granada in 1492, in which the Christian kingdoms expanded through war and conquered al-Andalus; the territories of Iberia ruled by Muslims. The concept of a Reconquista emerged in Western and especially in Spanish historiography in the 19th century, and was a fundamental component of Spanish nationalism.
  2. Siege of Málaga (1487)
    
    The siege of Málaga (1487) was an action during the Reconquest of Spain in which the Catholic Monarchs of Spain conquered the city of Mālaqa from the Emirate of Granada. The siege lasted about four months. It was the first conflict in which ambulances, or dedicated vehicles for the purpose of carrying injured persons, were used. Geopolitically, the loss of the emirate's second largest city—after Granada itself—and its most important port was a major loss for Granada. Most of the surviving population of the city were enslaved or put to death by the conquerors.
  3. Catholic Monarchs of Spain
    
    The Catholic Monarchs were Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, whose marriage and joint rule marked the de facto unification of Spain. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being both descended from John I of Castile; to remove the obstacle that this consanguinity would otherwise have posed to their marriage under canon law, they were given a papal dispensation by Sixtus IV. They married on October 19, 1469, in the city of Valladolid; Isabella was eighteen years old and Ferdinand a year younger. It is generally accepted by most scholars that the unification of Spain can essentially be traced back to the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella.
  4. Málaga
    
    Málaga is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most populous in Spain. It lies on the Costa del Sol of the Mediterranean, about 100 kilometres east of the Strait of Gibraltar and about 130 km (80.78 mi) north of Africa.
  5. Emirate of Granada
    
    The Emirate of Granada, also known as the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada, was an Islamic realm in southern Iberia during the Late Middle Ages. It was the last independent Muslim state in Western Europe.
2. The Siege of Málaga ends with the taking of the city by Castilian and Aragonese forces.
  1. Siege of Málaga (1487)
    
    The siege of Málaga (1487) was an action during the Reconquest of Spain in which the Catholic Monarchs of Spain conquered the city of Mālaqa from the Emirate of Granada. The siege lasted about four months. It was the first conflict in which ambulances, or dedicated vehicles for the purpose of carrying injured persons, were used. Geopolitically, the loss of the emirate's second largest city—after Granada itself—and its most important port was a major loss for Granada. Most of the surviving population of the city were enslaved or put to death by the conquerors.
  2. Kingdom of Castile
    
    The Kingdom of Castile was a large and powerful state on the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region. It began in the 9th century as the County of Castile, an eastern frontier lordship of the Kingdom of León. During the 10th century, its counts increased their autonomy, but it was not until 1065 that it was separated from León and became a kingdom in its own right. Between 1072 and 1157, it was again united with León, and after 1230, this union became permanent. Throughout this period, the Castilian kings made extensive conquests in southern Iberia at the expense of the Islamic principalities. The Kingdoms of Castile and of León, with their southern acquisitions, came to be known collectively as the Crown of Castile, a term that also came to encompass overseas expansion.
  3. Kingdom of Aragon
    
    The Kingdom of Aragon was a medieval and early modern kingdom on the Iberian Peninsula, corresponding to the modern-day autonomous community of Aragon, in Spain. It should not be confused with the larger Crown of Aragon, which also included other territories — the Principality of Catalonia, the Kingdom of Valencia, the Kingdom of Majorca, and other possessions that are now part of France, Italy, and Greece — that were also under the rule of the King of Aragon, but were administered separately from the Kingdom of Aragon.
1304
1. The Battle of Mons-en-Pévèle is fought to a draw between the French army and the Flemish militias.
  1. Battle of Mons-en-Pévèle
    
    The Battle of Mons-en-Pévèle was fought on 18 August 1304 between the French and the Flemish. The French were led by their king, Philip IV.
  2. Kingdom of France
    
    The Kingdom of France is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe since the High Middle Ages. It was also an early colonial power, with possessions around the world.
  3. County of Flanders
    
    The County of Flanders was a historic territory in the Low Countries.
707
1. Princess Abe accedes to the imperial Japanese throne as Empress Genmei.
  1. AD 707
    
    Year 707 (DCCVII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 707 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
  2. Empress Genmei
    
    Empress Genmei , also known as Empress Genmyō, was the 43rd monarch of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Genmei's reign spanned the years 707 through 715 CE.
684
1. Second Fitna: Umayyad partisans defeated the supporters of Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr near Damascus, cementing Umayyad control of Syria.
  1. Second Fitna
    
    The Second Fitna was a period of general political and military disorder and civil war in the Islamic community during the early Umayyad Caliphate. It followed the death of the first Umayyad caliph Mu'awiya I in 680 and lasted for about twelve years. The war involved the suppression of two challenges to the Umayyad dynasty, the first by Husayn ibn Ali, as well as his supporters including Sulayman ibn Surad and Mukhtar al-Thaqafi who rallied for his revenge in Iraq, and the second by Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr.
  2. Umayyad Caliphate
    
    The Umayyad Caliphate was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a member of the clan. The family established dynastic, hereditary rule with Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan, long-time governor of Greater Syria, who became the sixth caliph after the end of the First Fitna in 661. After Mu'awiyah's death in 680, conflicts over the succession resulted in the Second Fitna, and power eventually fell into the hands of Marwan I from another branch of the clan. Greater Syria remained the Umayyads' main power base thereafter, with Damascus serving as their capital.
  3. Battle of Marj Rahit (684)
    
    The Battle of Marj Rahit was one of the early battles of the Second Fitna. It was fought on 18 August 684 between the Kalb-dominated armies of the Yaman tribal confederation, supporting the Umayyads under Caliph Marwan I, and the Qays under al-Dahhak ibn Qays al-Fihri, who supported the Mecca-based Abdallah ibn al-Zubayr; the latter had proclaimed himself Caliph. The Kalbi victory consolidated the position of the Umayyads over Bilad al-Sham, paving the way for their eventual victory in the war against Ibn al-Zubayr. However, it also left a bitter legacy of division and rivalry between the Qays and the Yaman, which would be a constant source of strife and instability for the remainder of the Umayyad Caliphate.
  4. Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr
    
    Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, was the leader of a caliphate based in Mecca that rivaled the Umayyads from 683 until his death.
  5. Damascus
    
    Damascus is the capital of Syria, the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth holiest city in Islam. Colloquially known in Syria as aš-Šām and titled the "City of Jasmine", Damascus is a major cultural center of the Levant and the Arab world. The city had an estimated population of 2,503,000 in 2022.
2. Battle of Marj Rahit: Umayyad partisans defeat the supporters of Ibn al-Zubayr and cement Umayyad control of Syria.
  1. Battle of Marj Rahit (684)
    
    The Battle of Marj Rahit was one of the early battles of the Second Fitna. It was fought on 18 August 684 between the Kalb-dominated armies of the Yaman tribal confederation, supporting the Umayyads under Caliph Marwan I, and the Qays under al-Dahhak ibn Qays al-Fihri, who supported the Mecca-based Abdallah ibn al-Zubayr; the latter had proclaimed himself Caliph. The Kalbi victory consolidated the position of the Umayyads over Bilad al-Sham, paving the way for their eventual victory in the war against Ibn al-Zubayr. However, it also left a bitter legacy of division and rivalry between the Qays and the Yaman, which would be a constant source of strife and instability for the remainder of the Umayyad Caliphate.
  2. Umayyad Caliphate
    
    The Umayyad Caliphate was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a member of the clan. The family established dynastic, hereditary rule with Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan, long-time governor of Greater Syria, who became the sixth caliph after the end of the First Fitna in 661. After Mu'awiyah's death in 680, conflicts over the succession resulted in the Second Fitna, and power eventually fell into the hands of Marwan I from another branch of the clan. Greater Syria remained the Umayyads' main power base thereafter, with Damascus serving as their capital.
  3. Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr
    
    Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, was the leader of a caliphate based in Mecca that rivaled the Umayyads from 683 until his death.
  4. Syria (region)
    
    Syria or Sham is the name of a historical region located east of the Mediterranean Sea in Western Asia, broadly synonymous with the Levant. Other synonyms are Greater Syria or Syria-Palestine. The region boundaries have changed throughout history. In modern times, the term "Syria" alone is used to refer to the Arab Republic of Syria.

Births & Deaths

2020
1. Ben Cross, English stage and film actor (b. 1947) deaths
  1. Ben Cross
    
    Harry Bernard Cross was an English stage and film actor. He was best known for playing Billy Flynn in the original West End production of the musical Chicago, and his portrayal of the British Olympic athlete Harold Abrahams in the 1981 film Chariots of Fire.
2018
1. Denis Edozie, Nigerian Supreme Court judge (b. 1935) deaths
  1. Denis Edozie
    
    Dennis Edozie was a Nigerian jurist who was Judge of the Supreme Court of Nigeria from 2003 until his retirement in 2005.
2. Kofi Annan, Ghanaian diplomat and seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations (b. 1938) deaths
  1. Kofi Annan
    
    Kofi Atta Annan was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder and chairman of the Kofi Annan Foundation, as well as chairman of The Elders, an international organisation founded by Nelson Mandela.
  2. Secretary-General of the United Nations
    
    The secretary-general of the United Nations is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations.
2017
1. Bruce Forsyth, English television presenter and entertainer (b. 1928) deaths
  1. Bruce Forsyth
    
    Sir Bruce Joseph Forsyth-Johnson was a British entertainer and presenter whose career spanned more than 70 years. Forsyth came to national attention from the late 1950s through the ITV series Sunday Night at the London Palladium. He went on to host several game shows, including The Generation Game, Play Your Cards Right, The Price Is Right and You Bet!. He co-presented Strictly Come Dancing from 2004 to 2013. In 2012, Guinness World Records recognised Forsyth as having the longest television career for a male entertainer.
2. Zoe Laskari, Greek actress and beauty pageant winner (b. 1944) deaths
  1. Zoe Laskari
    
    Zoe Laskari was a Greek film and stage actress.
2016
1. Ernst Nolte, German historian (b. 1923) deaths
  1. Ernst Nolte
    
    Ernst Nolte was a German historian and philosopher. Nolte's major interest was the comparative studies of fascism and communism. Originally trained in philosophy, he was professor emeritus of modern history at the Free University of Berlin, where he taught from 1973 until his 1991 retirement. He was previously a professor at the University of Marburg from 1965 to 1973. He was best known for his seminal work Fascism in Its Epoch, which received widespread acclaim when it was published in 1963. Nolte was a prominent conservative academic from the early 1960s and was involved in many controversies related to the interpretation of the history of fascism and communism, including the Historikerstreit in the late 1980s. In later years, Nolte focused on Islamism and "Islamic fascism".
2015
1. Khaled al-Asaad, Syrian archaeologist and author (b. 1932) deaths
  1. Khaled al-Asaad
    
    Khaled Mohamad al-Asaad was a Syrian archaeologist and the head of antiquities at the ancient city of Palmyra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. He held this position for over forty years. Al-Asaad was publicly beheaded by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) on 18 August 2015, at the age of eighty-three.
2. Roger Smalley, English-Australian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1943) deaths
  1. Roger Smalley
    
    John Roger Smalley was an Anglo-Australian composer, pianist and conductor. Professor Smalley was a senior honorary research fellow at the School of Music, University of Western Australia in Perth and honorary research associate at the University of Sydney.
3. Suvra Mukherjee, Wife of former Indian president Pranab Mukherjee (b. 1940) deaths
  1. Suvra Mukherjee
    
    Suvra Mukherjee was the First Lady of India serving from the year 2012 until her death in 2015.
  2. Pranab Mukherjee
    
    Pranab Mukherjee was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the 13th president of India from 2012 until 2017. In a political career spanning five decades, Mukherjee was a senior leader in the Indian National Congress and occupied several ministerial portfolios in the Government of India. Prior to his election as President, Mukherjee was Union Finance Minister from 2009 to 2012. He was awarded India's highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, in 2019, by his successor as president, Ram Nath Kovind.
4. Louis Stokes, American lawyer and politician (b. 1925) deaths
  1. Louis Stokes
    
    Louis Stokes was an American attorney, civil rights pioneer and politician. He served 15 terms in the United States House of Representatives – representing the east side of Cleveland – and was the first African American congressman elected in the state of Ohio. He was one of the Cold War-era chairmen of the House Intelligence Committee, headed the Congressional Black Caucus, and was the first African American on the House Appropriations Committee.
5. Bud Yorkin, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1926) deaths
  1. Bud Yorkin
    
    Alan David "Bud" Yorkin was an American film and television producer, director, screenwriter, and actor.
2014
1. Gordon Faber, American soldier and politician, 39th Mayor of Hillsboro, Oregon (b. 1930) deaths
  1. Gordon Faber
    
    Gordon C. Faber was an American politician and businessman in the U.S. state of Oregon. A native of Pennsylvania, he grew up in Hillsboro, Oregon. He joined the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War and was a small business owner before becoming a real estate agent and entering politics. He served on Hillsboro's budget committee and city council before serving two terms as mayor from 1993 to 2001. The Gordon Faber Recreation Complex in the city's northeast corner is named in his honor.
  2. List of mayors of Hillsboro, Oregon
    
    List of mayors of Hillsboro, Oregon, United States, arranged chronologically by term.
2. Jim Jeffords, American captain, lawyer, and politician (b. 1934) deaths
  1. Jim Jeffords
    
    James Merrill Jeffords was an American lawyer and politician who served as a U.S. senator from Vermont. Sworn into the Senate in 1989, he served as a Republican until 2001, when he left the party to become an independent and began caucusing with the Democrats. Jeffords retired from the Senate in 2007. Prior to serving in the Senate, he served as the U.S. representative for Vermont's at-large congressional district from 1975 to 1989.
3. Levente Lengyel, Hungarian chess player (b. 1933) deaths
  1. Levente Lengyel
    
    Levente Lengyel was a Hungarian chess player, who gained the Grandmaster title in 1964.
4. Don Pardo, American radio and television announcer (b. 1918) deaths
  1. Don Pardo
    
    Dominick George "Don" Pardo was an American radio and television announcer whose career spanned more than seven decades.
2013
1. Josephine D'Angelo, American baseball player (b. 1924) deaths
  1. Josephine D'Angelo
    
    Josephine "Jo Jo" D'Angelo was an American baseball left fielder who played from 1943 through 1944 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5 ft 0 in (152 cm), 135 lb, she batted and threw right-handed.
2. Jean Kahn, French lawyer and activist (b. 1929) deaths
  1. Jean Kahn
    
    Jean Salomon Kahn was a French Jewish community leader, human rights activist, and lawyer. Kahn served as the President of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France (CRIF) from 1989 to 1995, as well as the CRIF's vice president from 1983 to 1985. He later served as the President of the European Jewish Congress and the Vice President of the World Jewish Congress. Kahn also headed the Central Consistory of France from 1995 to 2008.
3. Albert Murray, American author and critic (b. 1916) deaths
  1. Albert Murray (writer)
    
    Albert L. Murray was an American literary and music critic, novelist, essayist, and biographer. His books include The Omni-Americans, South to a Very Old Place, and Stomping the Blues.
2012
1. Harrison Begay, American painter (b. 1917) deaths
  1. Harrison Begay
    
    Harrison Begay, also known as Haashké yah Níyá was a renowned Diné (Navajo) painter, printmaker, and illustrator. Begay specialized in watercolors, gouache, and silkscreen prints. At the time of his death in 2012, he was the last living, former student of Dorothy Dunn and Geronima C. Montoya at the Santa Fe Indian School. His work has won multiple awards and is exhibited in museums and private collections worldwide and he was among the most famous Diné artists of his generation.
2. John Kovatch, American football player (b. 1920) deaths
  1. John Kovatch
    
    John George Kovatch, Jr. was an American football end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins and the Green Bay Packers. He was born in South Bend, Indiana. He played college football at the University of Notre Dame and was drafted in the 13th round of the 1942 NFL Draft.
3. Scott McKenzie, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1939) deaths
  1. Scott McKenzie
    
    Scott McKenzie was an American singer and songwriter who recorded the 1967 hit single and generational anthem "San Francisco ".
4. Ra. Ki. Rangarajan, Indian journalist and author (b. 1927) deaths
  1. Ra. Ki. Rangarajan
    
    Ra. Ki. Rangarajan, popularly known as Ra Ki, was a Tamil journalist and prolific author of novels, short stories, essays, translations and other works. Rangarajan wrote under 10 pen names including: Mohini for historical novels, T. Duraisami for family dramas, Surya for youthful romance, Krishnakumar for mysteries, K. Malathi for postal-related stories, Mulri, Vinodh, Hamsa and Avittam for another genres.
5. Jesse Robredo, Filipino public servant and politician, 23rd Filipino Secretary of the Interior and Local Government (b. 1958) deaths
  1. Jesse Robredo
    
    Jesse Manalastas Robredo was a Filipino politician who served as Secretary of the Interior and Local Government in the administration of President Benigno Aquino III from 2010 until his death in 2012. Robredo was a member of the Liberal Party.
  2. Secretary of the Interior and Local Government
    
    The secretary of the interior and local government is the member of the Cabinet in charge of the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
2010
1. Hal Connolly, American hammer thrower and coach (b. 1931) deaths
  1. Hal Connolly
    
    Harold Vincent "Hal" Connolly was an American athlete and hammer thrower from Somerville, Massachusetts. He won a gold medal in the hammer throw at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. Connolly became the first American to throw hammer more than 200 feet. He set his first of six world records just prior to the 1956 Olympics, and held the world record for nearly 10 years.
2. Benjamin Kaplan, American scholar and jurist (b. 1911) deaths
  1. Benjamin Kaplan
    
    Benjamin Kaplan was an American copyright and procedure scholar and jurist. He was also notable as "one of the principal architects" of the Nuremberg trials. And as Reporter to the U.S. Judicial Conference Advisory Committee on Civil Rules, he played a pivotal role in the 1966 revisions to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23, which transformed class action practice in the U.S.
2009
1. Kim Dae-jung, South Korean lieutenant and politician, 15th President of South Korea, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1925) deaths
  1. Kim Dae-jung
    
    Kim Dae-jung, was a South Korean politician and activist who served as the eighth president of South Korea from 1998 to 2003.
  2. President of South Korea
    
    The president of the Republic of Korea, also known as the president of South Korea, is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Korea. The president leads the State Council, and is the chief of the executive branch of the national government as well as the commander-in-chief of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces.
  3. Nobel Peace Prize
    
    The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiology or Medicine and Literature. Since March 1901, it has been awarded annually to those who have "done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses".
2. Rose Friedman, Ukrainian-American economist and author (b. 1910) deaths
  1. Rose Friedman
    
    Rose Director Friedman (; born Rose Director, was a free-market economist and co-founder of the Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation.
3. Robert Novak, American journalist and author (b. 1931) deaths
  1. Robert Novak
    
    Robert David Sanders Novak was an American syndicated columnist, journalist, television personality, author, and conservative political commentator. After working for two newspapers before serving in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, he became a reporter for the Associated Press and then for The Wall Street Journal. He teamed up with Rowland Evans in 1963 to start Inside Report, which became the longest running syndicated political column in U.S. history and ran in hundreds of papers. They also started the Evans-Novak Political Report, a notable biweekly newsletter, in 1967.
2007
1. Michael Deaver, American soldier and politician, White House Deputy Chief of Staff (b. 1938) deaths
  1. Michael Deaver
    
    Michael Keith Deaver was a member of President Ronald Reagan's White House staff serving as White House Deputy Chief of Staff under James Baker III and Donald Regan from January 1981 until May 1985.
  2. White House Deputy Chief of Staff
    
    The White House deputy chief of staff is officially the top aide to the White House chief of staff, who is the senior aide to the president of the United States. The deputy chief of staff usually has an office in the West Wing and is responsible for ensuring the smooth running of the White House bureaucracy, as well as such other duties as the chief of staff assigns to them. In all recent administrations, there have been multiple deputy chiefs with different duties.
2. Magdalen Nabb, English author (b. 1947) deaths
  1. Magdalen Nabb
    
    Magdalen Nabb was a British author, best known for the Marshal Guarnaccia detective novels.
2006
1. Ken Kearney, Australian rugby player (b. 1924) deaths
  1. Ken Kearney
    
    Kenneth Howard "Killer" Kearney was an Australian rugby footballer – a dual-code international player – and a rugby league coach. He represented the Wallabies in seven Tests, and the Kangaroos in thirty-one Test matches and World Cup games. He captained Australia in nine rugby league Test matches in 1956 and 1957. He was a hooker and captain-coach with the St. George Dragons in the first half of their eleven-year consecutive premiership winning run from 1956 to 1966. He is considered one of Australia's finest footballers of the 20th century.
2005
1. Chri$ Ca$h, American wrestler (b. 1982) deaths
  1. Chri$ Ca$h
    
    Christopher John Bauman Jr. was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Chri$ Ca$h. Bauman wrestled in many independent promotions, but is known for his time in Combat Zone Wrestling, where he was a CZW World Tag Team Champion. On August 18, 2005, Bauman was killed in a motorcycle accident.
2004
1. Elmer Bernstein, American composer and conductor (b. 1922) deaths
  1. Elmer Bernstein
    
    Elmer Bernstein was an American composer and conductor. In a career that spanned over five decades, he composed "some of the most recognizable and memorable themes in Hollywood history", including over 150 original film scores, as well as scores for nearly 80 television productions. For his work he received an Academy Award for Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967) and Primetime Emmy Award. He also received seven Golden Globe Awards, five Grammy Awards, and two Tony Award nominations.
2. Hiram Fong, American soldier and politician (b. 1906) deaths
  1. Hiram Fong
    
    Hiram Leong Fong was an American businessman, lawyer, and politician from Hawaii. Born to a sugar plantation Cantonese immigrant worker, Fong became the first Chinese-American and first Asian-American United States Senator, serving from 1959 to 1977.
2003
1. Tony Jackson, English singer and bassist (b. 1938) deaths
  1. Tony Jackson (singer)
    
    Anthony Paul Jackson was an English singer and bass-guitar player who was a member of The Searchers.
2002
1. Dean Riesner, American actor and screenwriter (b. 1918) deaths
  1. Dean Riesner
    
    Dean Riesner was an American film and television writer.
2001
1. David Peakall, English chemist and toxicologist (b. 1931) deaths
  1. David Peakall
    
    David Beaumont Peakall was an internationally recognised toxicologist. His research into the effects of DDE and DDT on eggshells contributed to the ban on DDT in the United States. He proved that the chemicals caused thinning of eggshells, leading to a reduction in the population of various bird species. He also pioneered research on the effects of PCBs on birds.
1998
1. Brian To'o, Australian-Samoan rugby league player births
  1. Brian To'o
    
    Brian To'o is a Samoa international rugby league footballer who plays as a winger for the Penrith Panthers in the NRL.
2. Persis Khambatta, Indian model and actress, Femina Miss India 1965 (b. 1948) deaths
  1. Persis Khambatta
    
    Persis Khambatta was an Indian model and actress who is best remembered for playing Lieutenant Ilia in the feature film Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979).
  2. Femina Miss India
    
    Miss India or Femina Miss India is a national beauty pageant in India that annually selects representatives to compete in Miss World, one of the Big Four major international beauty pageants. It is organised by Femina, a women's magazine published by The Times Group. Since 2013, Femina has also organised Miss Diva as a separate competition, with representatives competing at Miss Universe.
1997
1. Renato Sanches, Portuguese footballer births
  1. Renato Sanches
    
    Renato Júnior Luz Sanches is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the Portugal national team.
1995
1. Alīna Fjodorova, Latvian figure skater births
  1. Alīna Fjodorova
    
    Alīna Fjodorova is a Latvian figure skater. She is a three-time Latvian national champion and competed in the free skate at three ISU Championships – 2010 Junior Worlds in The Hague, Netherlands; 2012 Junior Worlds in Minsk, Belarus; and 2012 Europeans in Sheffield, England. In England, she ranked 18th in the short program, 14th in the free skate, and 16th overall. She finished 5th at the 2011 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival.
1994
1. Morgan Sanson, French footballer births
  1. Morgan Sanson
    
    Morgan Stéphane Sanson is a French professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Aston Villa.
2. Francis Raymond Shea, American bishop (b. 1913) deaths
  1. Francis Raymond Shea
    
    Francis Raymond Shea was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the third bishop of the Diocese of Evansville in Indiana from 1969 to 1989.
1993
1. Jung Eun-ji, South Korean singer-songwriter births
  1. Jung Eun-ji
    
    Jung Eun-ji, better known mononymously as Eunji, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, actress, radio DJ, musical actress, and voice actress. She is best known as a member of the South Korean girl group Apink. Jung made her acting debut in the coming-of-age drama, Reply 1997 in 2012. She has since had roles in That Winter, the Wind Blows (2013), Trot Lovers (2014), Cheer Up! (2015), Untouchable (2017), Work Later, Drink Now (2021-2022) and Blind (2022) in addition to various voice acting roles. She released her debut solo album, Dream, in 2016.
2. Maia Mitchell, Australian actress and singer births
  1. Maia Mitchell
    
    Maia Mitchell is an Australian actress and singer. She is known for her roles as Brittany Flune in the children's television series Mortified for the Nine Network, and as Natasha Ham in the Seven Network's teen drama Trapped. For American audiences, she played the role of Callie Adams Foster in the Freeform drama The Fosters (2013–18) and its spin-off series Good Trouble (2019–22). She also co-starred with Ross Lynch in the Disney Channel original films Teen Beach Movie (2013) and Teen Beach 2 (2015) as McKenzie/Mack.
1992
1. Elizabeth Beisel, American swimmer births
  1. Elizabeth Beisel
    
    Elizabeth Lyon Beisel is an American competition swimmer who specializes in backstroke and individual medley events. Beisel placed second in the 400m individual medley at the 2016 US Olympic Swimming Trials, qualifying for her third Olympic team. She has won a total of nine medals in major international competition, four gold, one silver, and four bronze spanning the Olympics, World Aquatics, and the Pan Pacific championships. Beisel competed in the 200-meter backstroke and 400-meter individual medley events at the 2008 Summer Olympics, placing fifth and fourth, respectively, in the world. She won the silver medal in the 400-meter individual medley and bronze in the 200-meter backstroke at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
2. Bogdan Bogdanović, Serbian basketball player births
  1. Bogdan Bogdanović (basketball)
    
    Bogdan Bogdanović is a Serbian professional basketball player for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He also represents the Serbian national basketball team internationally.
3. Frances Bean Cobain, American visual artist and model births
  1. Frances Bean Cobain
    
    Frances Bean Cobain is an American visual artist and model. She is the only child of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain and Hole frontwoman Courtney Love. She controls the publicity rights to her father's name and image.
1990
1. B. F. Skinner, American psychologist and philosopher, invented the Skinner box (b. 1904) deaths
  1. B. F. Skinner
    
    Burrhus Frederic Skinner was an American psychologist, behaviorist, author, inventor, and social philosopher. He was a professor of psychology at Harvard University from 1958 until his retirement in 1974.
  2. Operant conditioning chamber
    
    An operant conditioning chamber is a laboratory apparatus used to study animal behavior. The operant conditioning chamber was created by B. F. Skinner while he was a graduate student at Harvard University. The chamber can be used to study both operant conditioning and classical conditioning.
1989
1. Yu Mengyu, Singaporean table tennis player births
  1. Yu Mengyu
    
    Yu Mengyu is a retired Chinese-born Singaporean table tennis player. Born in Liaoning, China, Yu left China in 2006 at the age of 17 to join the Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA).
1988
1. Jack Hobbs, English footballer births
  1. Jack Hobbs (footballer)
    
    Jack Hobbs is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He has played in the English Football League and Premier League for Lincoln City, Liverpool, Scunthorpe United, Leicester City, Hull City, Nottingham Forest and Bolton Wanderers.
2. Eggert Jónsson, Icelandic footballer births
  1. Eggert Jónsson
    
    Eggert Gunnþór Jónsson is an Icelandic international footballer who plays predominantly as a midfielder but is also capable of playing as a centre back or in both full back roles. He current plays for the Icelandic club FH.
3. G-Dragon, South Korean rapper, singer-songwriter and record producer births
  1. G-Dragon
    
    Kwon Ji-yong, also known by his stage name G-Dragon (지드래곤), is a South Korean rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur and fashion designer, known as the "King of K-pop". G-Dragon is the recipient of numerous awards, including seven Mnet Asian Music Awards, six Melon Music Awards, two Korean Music Awards, two Golden Disc Awards, two MBC Entertainment Awards, among several other awards. Additionally, he is the first and only solo artist to receive the Mnet Asian Music Award for Artist of the Year in 2013.
1987
1. Joanna Jędrzejczyk, Polish mixed martial artist births
  1. Joanna Jędrzejczyk
    
    Joanna Jędrzejczyk is a Polish former professional mixed martial artist and Muay Thai kickboxer. She has been called the greatest female strawweight mixed martial artist of all time, including by Daniel Cormier, who credited her with putting the weight class "on the map". Jędrzejczyk holds several records in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where she is a former UFC Women's Strawweight Champion, including most successful strawweight title defenses (5), most consecutive wins at strawweight (8), and is the first Polish champion and first female European champion.
1986
1. Evan Gattis, American baseball player births
  1. Evan Gattis
    
    James Evan Gattis is an American former professional baseball designated hitter and catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros. Gattis has also earned the nickname of "El Oso Blanco" or The White Bear, due to his raw power capabilities when playing for the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. While with Atlanta, he played catcher and occasionally left field.
2. Ross McCormack, Scottish footballer births
  1. Ross McCormack
    
    Ross McCormack is a Scottish professional footballer who most recently played as a striker for Aldershot Town.
3. Harun Babunagari, Bangladeshi Islamic scholar and educationist (b. 1902) deaths
  1. Harun Babunagari
    
    Harun Babunagari was a Bangladeshi Deobandi Islamic scholar, Sufi and an exegete of the Quran. He was the founder and first Principal of Al-Jamiatul Islamiah Azizul Uloom Babunagar, one of the oldest Qawmi Madrasa in Bangladesh.
  2. 1902
    
    1902 (MCMII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar and a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar, the 1902nd year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 902nd year of the 2nd millennium, the 2nd year of the 20th century, and the 3rd year of the 1900s decade. As of the start of 1902, the Gregorian calendar was 13 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923.
1985
1. Inge Dekker, Dutch swimmer births
  1. Inge Dekker
    
    Inge Dekker is a Dutch former competitive swimmer who specialised in butterfly and freestyle events. She won the bronze medal with the Dutch women's 4×100-metre freestyle relay team at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, alongside teammates Inge de Bruijn, Marleen Veldhuis and Chantal Groot. At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Dekker became Olympic champion in the 4×100-metre freestyle together with Ranomi Kromowidjojo, Femke Heemskerk and Marleen Veldhuis, setting a then Olympic record. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, she was part of the Dutch 4 x 100 metre freestyle team that won the silver medal, with Veldhuis, Heemskerk and Kromowidjojo, behind the Australian team who set a new Olympic record.
2. Bryan Ruiz, Costa Rican footballer births
  1. Bryan Ruiz
    
    Bryan Jafet Ruiz González is a Costa Rican professional footballer who plays for Liga FPD club Alajuelense and the Costa Rica national team, whom he also captains. A left-footed attacking midfielder, he can also play as a second striker.
1984
1. Sigourney Bandjar, Dutch footballer births
  1. Sigourney Bandjar
    
    Sigourney Bandjar is a Dutch former professional footballer. He previously played five years for Excelsior.
2. Robert Huth, German footballer births
  1. Robert Huth
    
    Robert Huth is a German former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He is a three-time Premier League winner and has made the most Premier League appearances (322) by a German player.
1983
1. Mika, Lebanese-born English recording artist and singer-songwriter births
  1. Mika (singer)
    
    Michael Holbrook Penniman Jr., known professionally as Mika, is a singer-songwriter born in Beirut, Lebanon, and raised in Paris and London.
2. Cameron White, Australian cricketer births
  1. Cameron White
    
    Cameron Leon White is an Australian former international cricketer who captained the national side in Twenty20 Internationals. A powerful middle order batsman and right-arm leg-spin bowler, White made his first-class cricket debut as a teenager in the 2000–01 season for the Victoria cricket team as a bowling all-rounder.
3. Nikolaus Pevsner, German-English historian and scholar (b. 1902) deaths
  1. Nikolaus Pevsner
    
    Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, The Buildings of England (1951–74).
1981
1. César Delgado, Argentinian footballer births
  1. César Delgado
    
    César Fabián Delgado Godoy is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a winger. He also played as a central midfielder, making piercing forward runs through the center of the opposition's defence. His nickname "Chelito" is derived from that of Marcelo Delgado because of their same last name. Since 2013, he also holds Mexican citizenship.
2. Dimitris Salpingidis, Greek footballer births
  1. Dimitris Salpingidis
    
    Dimitris Salpingidis is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a winger or a striker. He was known to be "a very quick and useful tool on the counter attack."
3. Anita Loos, American author and screenwriter (b. 1889) deaths
  1. Anita Loos
    
    Corinne Anita Loos was an American actress, novelist, playwright and screenwriter. In 1912, she became the first female staff screenwriter in Hollywood, when D. W. Griffith put her on the payroll at Triangle Film Corporation. She is best known for her 1925 comic novel, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and her 1951 Broadway adaptation of Colette's novella Gigi.
1980
1. Esteban Cambiasso, Argentinian footballer births
  1. Esteban Cambiasso
    
    Esteban Matías Cambiasso Deleau, nicknamed "Cuchu", is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
2. Rob Nguyen, Australian race car driver births
  1. Rob Nguyen
    
    Rob Nguyen is an Australian racing car driver of Vietnamese descent who competed in the 2002 and part of the 2003 International Formula 3000 seasons before running out of money. He was noted for coming straight into F3000 after only nine previous car races in his life and was at one stage regarded as a potential major talent.
3. Ryan O'Hara, Australian rugby league player births
  1. Ryan O'Hara
    
    Ryan O'Hara is a former Australian professional rugby league footballer who played for the Jacksonville Axemen in the USA Rugby League. A New South Wales State of Origin representative forward, he previously played in the NRL for the Canberra Raiders and the Wests Tigers. He played as a prop.
4. Bart Scott, American football player births
  1. Bart Scott
    
    Bartholomew Edward Scott is an American sports analyst and former football player. Scott was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for eleven seasons. After playing college football for the Southern Illinois Salukis, he was signed by the NFL's Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2002. Scott was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2006. After playing his first seven years with Ravens, Scott signed with the New York Jets in 2009. He would play his final four seasons for the Jets.
5. Jeremy Shockey, American football player births
  1. Jeremy Shockey
    
    Jeremy Charles Shockey is a former American football tight end. He played college football at the University of Miami and was drafted by the New York Giants in the first round of the 2002 NFL Draft.
1979
1. Stuart Dew, Australian footballer births
  1. Stuart Dew
    
    Stuart Dew is an Australian rules football coach and former player who is currently the head coach of the Gold Coast Suns in the Australian Football League (AFL). As a player he played for the Port Adelaide Football Club and Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League. Dew was acknowledged as being a long penetrating left foot kick of the football.
2. Vasantrao Naik, Indian politician (b. 1913) deaths
  1. Vasantrao Naik
    
    Vasantrao Phulsing Naik was an Indian politician who served as Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 1963 until 1975. To this date, he remains as the longest-serving Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Also, he had a credit to return to power after completion of full five years. Vasantrao Naik is pioneer of green revolution and white revolution in Maharashtra state.
1978
1. Andy Samberg, American actor and comedian births
  1. Andy Samberg
    
    Andy Samberg is an American actor, comedian, musician, producer and screenwriter. He is a member of the comedy music group The Lonely Island and was a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 2005 to 2012, where he and his fellow group members are credited with popularizing the SNL Digital Shorts.
1977
1. Paraskevas Antzas, Greek footballer births
  1. Paraskevas Antzas
    
    Paraskevas Antzas is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a central defender.
2. Even Kruse Skatrud, Norwegian musician and educator births
  1. Even Kruse Skatrud
    
    Even Kruse Skatrud lecturer at the University of Oslo, a Norwegian Jazz musician, composer, Music arranger and Orchestra leader. He is the son of musician Harry Andersen and Marit Skatrud Andersen, married to singer-artist Anine Kruse Skatrud and son-in-law of the major Norwegian Contemporary composer Bjørn Kruse.
1974
1. Nicole Krauss, American novelist and critic births
  1. Nicole Krauss
    
    Nicole Krauss is an American author best known for her four novels Man Walks into a Room (2002), The History of Love (2005), Great House (2010) and Forest Dark (2017), which have been translated into 35 languages. Her fiction has been published in The New Yorker, Harper's, Esquire, and Granta's Best American Novelists Under 40, and has been collected in Best American Short Stories 2003, Best American Short Stories 2008 and Best American Short Stories 2019. In 2011, Nicole Krauss won an award from the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards for Great House. A collection of her short stories, To Be a Man, was published in 2020 and won the Wingate Literary Prize in 2022.
1971
1. Patrik Andersson, Swedish footballer births
  1. Patrik Andersson
    
    Patrik Jonas Andersson is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a defender.
2. Richard David James, English musician composer births
  1. Aphex Twin
    
    Richard David James, best known as Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born British musician, composer and DJ. He is known for his idiosyncratic work in electronic styles such as techno, ambient, and jungle. Journalists from publications including Mixmag, The New York Times, NME, Fact, Clash and The Guardian have called James one of the most influential or important artists in contemporary electronic music.
1970
1. Jason Furman, American economist and politician births
  1. Jason Furman
    
    Jason Furman is an American economist and professor at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government and a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. On June 10, 2013, Furman was named by President Barack Obama as chair of the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA). Furman has also served as the deputy director of the U.S. National Economic Council, which followed his role as an advisor for the Barack Obama 2008 presidential campaign.
2. Malcolm-Jamal Warner, American actor and producer births
  1. Malcolm-Jamal Warner
    
    Malcolm-Jamal Warner is an American actor. He rose to prominence for his role as Theodore Huxtable on the NBC sitcom The Cosby Show, which earned him a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series at the 38th Primetime Emmy Awards. He is also known for his roles as Malcolm McGee on the UPN sitcom Malcolm & Eddie, and Dr. Alex Reed in the sitcom Reed Between the Lines.
1969
1. Mark Kuhlmann, German rugby player and coach births
  1. Mark Kuhlmann
    
    Mark Kuhlmann is a retired German international rugby union player, having played for the DRC Hannover in the Rugby-Bundesliga and the German national rugby union team. He captained Germany for a lengthy period of time during his career in the national team. He is, behind Horst Kemmling, Germany's second-most capped rugby player.
2. Edward Norton, American actor births
  1. Edward Norton
    
    Edward Harrison Norton is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received numerous awards and nominations, including a Golden Globe Award and three Academy Award nominations.
1968
1. Arthur Marshall, American pianist and composer (b. 1881) deaths
  1. Arthur Marshall (composer)
    
    Arthur Owen Marshall was an American composer and performer of ragtime music.
1967
1. Daler Mehndi, Indian Punjabi singer, songwriter and record producer births
  1. Daler Mehndi
    
    Daler Singh, better known as Daler Mehndi, is an Indian singer, songwriter, author, and record producer. He has helped to make Bhangra popular worldwide, as well as Indian pop music independent of Bollywood music. He is best known for his dance songs, voice, turban, and long, flowing robes.
2. Brian Michael Bendis, American author and illustrator births
  1. Brian Michael Bendis
    
    Brian Michael Bendis is an American comic book writer and artist. He has won five Eisner Awards for both his creator-owned work and his work on various Marvel Comics books.
1966
1. Gustavo Charif, Argentinian director and producer births
  1. Gustavo Charif
    
    Gustavo Charif is an Argentine writer, visual artist and film director. His works are a sort of Dadaism mixed with the secular poetry of actual times.
1965
1. Ikue Ōtani, Japanese voice actress births
  1. Ikue Ōtani
    
    Ikue Ōtani is a Japanese actress, singer, voice actress and narrator from Tokyo, Japan. She is best known for her anime roles in the Pokémon series, One Piece, Corpse Party, Naruto, Cookie Run: Kingdom, Smile PreCure!, Uchi no Sanshimai, Konjiki no Gash Bell, and Persona 5. She is currently attached to Mausu Promotion. Her pet name is "Iku-chan". She is known for playing both male and female roles, and sometimes plays multiple roles in one production. She is a native of Tokyo, but grew up in Niigata Prefecture.
1964
1. Andi Deris, German singer and songwriter births
  1. Andi Deris
    
    Andreas "Andi" Deris is a German singer, best known as the lead vocalist of the power metal band Helloween, and co-founder and former lead singer of the metal band Pink Cream 69.
2. Mark Sargent, Australian rugby league player births
  1. Mark Sargent
    
    Mark Sargent is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. A New South Wales State of Origin and Australian international representative forward, he played in the NSWRL premiership for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and Newcastle Knights, winning the Rothmans Medal in 1989 while playing for Newcastle.
3. Kenny Walker, American basketball player and sportscaster births
  1. Kenny Walker (basketball)
    
    Kenneth Walker is an American former professional basketball player. He played primarily for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Sky" Walker, he won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest in 1989. He is currently a radio host for WVLK in Lexington, Kentucky.
4. Hildegard Trabant, Berlin Wall victim (b. 1927) deaths
  1. Hildegard Trabant
    
    Hildegard Johanna Maria Trabant was an East German woman who became the fiftieth known person to die at the Berlin Wall. Trabant was shot and killed by East German border guards during a crossing attempt, one of only eight women victims of the Berlin Wall, and was the only escapee victim known to have a record of loyalty toward the East German regime.
  2. Berlin Wall
    
    The Berlin Wall was a guarded concrete barrier that divided Berlin from 1961 to 1989. It encircled West Berlin, separating it from East German territory. Construction of the wall was commenced by the German Democratic Republic on 13 August 1961. The Wall cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany, including East Berlin. It included guard towers placed along large concrete walls, accompanied by a wide area that contained anti-vehicle trenches, beds of nails and other defenses.
  3. List of deaths at the Berlin Wall
    
    There were numerous deaths at the Berlin Wall, which stood as a barrier between West Berlin and East Berlin from 13 August 1961 until 9 November 1989. Before the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961, 3.5 million East Germans circumvented Eastern Bloc emigration restrictions, many by crossing over the border from East Berlin into West Berlin. From there they could then travel to West Germany and other Western European countries. Between 1961 and 1989, the Wall prevented almost all such emigration.
1962
1. Felipe Calderón, Mexican lawyer and politician, 56th President of Mexico births
  1. Felipe Calderón
    
    Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa is a Mexican politician who served as the 63rd president of Mexico from 1 December 2006 to 30 November 2012 and Secretary of Energy during the presidency of Vicente Fox between 2003 and 2004. He was a member of the National Action Party for 30 years before quitting the party in November 2018.
  2. President of Mexico
    
    The president of Mexico, officially the president of the United Mexican States, is the head of state and head of government of Mexico. Under the Constitution of Mexico, the president heads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the Mexican Armed Forces. The current president is Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who took office on 1 December 2018.
2. Geoff Courtnall, Canadian ice hockey player and coach births
  1. Geoff Courtnall
    
    Geoffrey Lawton Courtnall is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1983 to 2000. He was the head coach of the Victoria Grizzlies of the BCHL as well as the University of Victoria Vikes of the BCIHL.
1961
1. Huw Edwards, Welsh-English journalist and author births
  1. Huw Edwards
    
    Huw Edwards is a Welsh journalist, presenter, and newsreader. Edwards presents BBC News at Ten, the corporation's flagship news broadcast.
2. Timothy Geithner, American banker and politician, 75th United States Secretary of the Treasury births
  1. Timothy Geithner
    
    Timothy Franz Geithner is a former American central banker who served as the 75th United States Secretary of the Treasury under President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013. He was the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York from 2003 to 2009, following service in the Clinton administration. Since March 2014, he has served as president and managing director of Warburg Pincus, a private equity firm headquartered in New York City.
  2. United States Secretary of the Treasury
    
    The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters pertaining to economic and fiscal policy. The secretary is a statutory member of the Cabinet of the United States, and is fifth in the presidential line of succession.
3. Bob Woodruff, American journalist and author births
  1. Bob Woodruff
    
    Robert Warren Woodruff is an American television journalist. Since 1996, he has served as a reporter for ABC News. Woodruff co-anchored ABC World News Tonight in 2006 alongside ABC News journalist Elizabeth Vargas. He was severely injured by an IED explosion during a reporting trip to Iraq that January, and slowly recovered over an extended period before returning to air.
1960
1. Mike LaValliere, American baseball player births
  1. Mike LaValliere
    
    Michael Eugene LaValliere is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Chicago White Sox.
2. Fat Lever, American basketball player and sportscaster births
  1. Fat Lever
    
    Lafayette "Fat" Lever is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association. He later served as the director of player development for the Sacramento Kings of the NBA as well as a color analyst for Kings radio broadcasts.
1959
1. Tom Prichard, American wrestler and trainer births
  1. Tom Prichard
    
    Thomas Prichard is a retired American professional wrestler and author. He is the older brother of Bruce Prichard.
1958
1. Didier Auriol, French race car driver births
  1. Didier Auriol
    
    Didier Auriol is a French former rally driver. Born in Montpellier, and initially an ambulance driver, he competed in the World Rally Championship throughout the 1990s. He became World Rally Champion in 1994, the first driver from his country to do so. He was a factory candidate for Lancia, Toyota and Peugeot among others, before losing his seat at Škoda at the end of 2003. His sister Nadine was also involved in rallying as a co-driver, while his brother Gerrard was also a former rally driver.
2. Madeleine Stowe, American actress births
  1. Madeleine Stowe
    
    Madeleine Marie Stowe Mora is an American actress. She appeared mostly on television before her role in the 1987 crime-comedy film Stakeout. She went on to star in the films Revenge (1990), Unlawful Entry (1992), The Last of the Mohicans (1992), Blink (1993), 12 Monkeys (1995), The General's Daughter (1999), and We Were Soldiers (2002). For her role in the 1993 independent film Short Cuts, she won the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress.
1957
1. Tan Dun, Chinese composer births
  1. Tan Dun
    
    Tan Dun is a Chinese-born American composer and conductor. A leading figure of contemporary classical music, he draws from a variety of Western and Chinese influences, a dichotomy which has shaped much of his life and music. Having collaborated with leading orchestras around the world, Tan is the recipient of numerous awards, including a Grawemeyer Award for his opera Marco Polo (1996) and both an Academy Award and Grammy Award for his film score in Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000). His oeuvre as a whole includes operas, orchestral, vocal, chamber, solo and film scores, as well as genres that Tan terms "organic music" and "music ritual."
2. Denis Leary, American comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter births
  1. Denis Leary
    
    Denis Colin Leary is an American actor and comedian. A native of Massachusetts, Leary first came to prominence as a stand-up comedian, especially through appearances on MTV and through the stand-up specials No Cure for Cancer (1993) and Lock 'n Load (1997). Leary began taking roles in film and television starting in the 1990s, including substantial roles in the films Judgment Night (1993), Gunmen (1994), Operation Dumbo Drop (1995) and Wag the Dog (1996).
3. Ron Strykert, Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer births
  1. Ron Strykert
    
    Ronald Graham Strykert is an Australian musician. He is best known for playing lead guitar, co-founding and composing songs with the 1980s band Men at Work.
1956
1. John Debney, American composer and conductor births
  1. John Debney
    
    John Cardon Debney is an American composer and conductor of film, television, and video game scores. His work encompasses a variety of mediums and genres including comedy, horror, thriller, and action-adventure. He is a long-time collaborator of The Walt Disney Company, having written music for their films, television series, and theme parks.
2. Sandeep Patil, Indian cricketer and coach births
  1. Sandeep Patil
    
    Sandeep Patil is a former Indian cricketer, Indian national age group cricket manager and former Kenya national team coach, who guided the underdogs to the semi-finals of the 2003 World Cup. He was a hard-hitting middle order batsman and an occasional medium pace bowler. He was the coach of Mumbai Champs in the Indian Cricket League, but returned to the mainstream when he cut ties with the unofficial league in 2009. He has been appointed as the director of National Cricket Academy (NCA) by the BCCI, replacing Dav Whatmore. He was appointed as the new chief of the BCCI Selection Committee on 27 September 2012.
3. Jon Schwartz, American drummer and producer births
  1. Jon Schwartz (drummer)
    
    Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz is a drummer best known for working with the singer-songwriter "Weird Al" Yankovic. The two met while recording "Another One Rides the Bus" at the Dr. Demento show on September 14, 1980. Shortly after, Yankovic invited Schwartz to join his band, gave him the nickname "Bermuda" and they have worked together ever since. Schwartz is heard and/or seen on all of Yankovic's albums, videos, and concerts.
4. Kelly Willard, American singer-songwriter births
  1. Kelly Willard
    
    Kelly Willard is a contemporary Christian musician best known for her praise and worship recordings. She was featured as a soloist on projects from Integrity, Vineyard Music, and Maranatha! Music. In addition she sang duets and background vocals with such artists as Dion DiMucci, Lenny LeBlanc, Amy Grant, Ricky Skaggs, Paul Overstreet, Twila Paris, Steve Green, Fernando Ortega, Keith Green, Buddy Greene, Jim Cole and many others. Kelly has also recorded nine solo projects, currently offered through her website.
5. Rainer Woelki, German cardinal births
  1. Rainer Woelki
    
    Rainer Maria Woelki is a German Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He has been Archbishop of Cologne since his installation on 20 September 2014 following his election by the Cathedral Chapter to succeed Joachim Meisner in that position. He previously served as Archbishop of Berlin.
1955
1. Bruce Benedict, American baseball player and coach births
  1. Bruce Benedict
    
    Bruce Edwin Benedict is an American former professional baseball player, coach and scout. He played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Atlanta Braves from 1978 to 1989.
2. Taher Elgamal, Egyptian-American cryptographer births
  1. Taher Elgamal
    
    Taher Elgamal is an Egyptian cryptographer and entrepreneur. He has served as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Security at Salesforce since 2013. Prior to that, he was the founder and CEO of Securify and the director of engineering at RSA Security. From 1995 to 1998, he was the chief scientist at Netscape Communications. He has been described as the "father of SSL" for the work he did in computer security while working at Netscape, which helped in establishing a private and secure communications on the Internet.
1954
1. Umberto Guidoni, Italian astrophysicist, astronaut, and politician births
  1. Umberto Guidoni
    
    Umberto Guidoni is an Italian astrophysicist, science writer and a former ESA astronaut, being the first European to visit the International Space Station. He is a veteran of two NASA Space Shuttle missions. He was also a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 2004 to 2009, with the Group of the European United Left (GUE/NGL).
1953
1. Louie Gohmert, American captain, lawyer, and politician births
  1. Louie Gohmert
    
    Louis Buller Gohmert Jr. is an American attorney, politician, and former jurist serving as the U.S. representative from Texas's 1st congressional district since 2005. Gohmert is a Republican and was part of the Tea Party movement. In January 2015, he unsuccessfully challenged John Boehner for Speaker of the House of Representatives. In November 2021, he announced his candidacy in the 2022 Texas Attorney General election. He failed to advance to the Republican primary runoff, getting 17% of the vote.
2. Marvin Isley, American R&B bass player and songwriter (d. 2010) births
  1. Marvin Isley
    
    Marvin Isley was the youngest member of the family music group the Isley Brothers and its bass guitarist.
1952
1. Elayne Boosler, American actress, director, and screenwriter births
  1. Elayne Boosler
    
    Elayne Boosler is an American comedian, writer and actor.
2. Patrick Swayze, American actor and dancer (d. 2009) births
  1. Patrick Swayze
    
    Patrick Wayne Swayze was an American actor, dancer, and singer known for playing distinctive lead roles, particularly romantic, tough, and comedic characters. He was also known for his media image and looks; People magazine named Swayze the "Sexiest Man Alive" in 1991.
3. Ricardo Villa, Argentinian footballer and coach births
  1. Ricardo Villa
    
    Ricardo Julio Villa, more commonly known as Ricky Villa, is an Argentine football coach and former professional midfielder. He was famous for his time playing football from 1970 to 1989.
4. Alberto Hurtado, Chilean priest, lawyer, and saint (b. 1901) deaths
  1. Alberto Hurtado
    
    Alberto Hurtado, popularly known in Chile as Padre Hurtado, was a Chilean Jesuit priest, lawyer, social worker, and writer, of Basque ancestry. He founded the Hogar de Cristo foundation in 1944. He was canonized on October 23, 2005, by Pope Benedict XVI, becoming his country's second saint.
1950
1. Dennis Elliott, English drummer and sculptor births
  1. Dennis Elliott
    
    Dennis Leslie Elliott is a British musician and artist, who was the original drummer for the rock band, Foreigner. He played with the band from 1976 until leaving between 1991 and 1993. He went on to become a sculptor.
2. Julien Lahaut, Belgian soldier and politician (b. 1884) deaths
  1. Julien Lahaut
    
    Julien Lahaut was a Belgian politician and communist activist. He became leader of the Communist Party of Belgium after the First World War. A dissident during the German occupation of 1940–44, he became a vocal advocate for the abolition of the Belgian monarchy during the post-war "Royal Question". His assassination in August 1950, at the height of the crisis, has often been attributed to Belgian royalists but remains unsolved.
1949
1. Nigel Griggs, English bass player, songwriter, and producer births
  1. Nigel Griggs
    
    Nigel Griggs is a musician who played bass guitar in Split Enz. He is the brother of Paul Griggs from the 1970s vocal group Guys 'n' Dolls. A professional musician since 1963, Nigel Griggs played in a number of bands, notably The Cortinas and Octopus, 1963–1971, with his brother Paul, Carmen and Steve Hillage's Khan.
2. Paul Mares, American trumpet player and bandleader (b. 1900) deaths
  1. Paul Mares
    
    Paul Mares, was an American early dixieland jazz cornet and trumpet player, and leader of the New Orleans Rhythm Kings.
1948
1. James Jones, English bishop births
  1. James Jones (bishop)
    
    James Stuart Jones is a retired Church of England bishop. He was the Bishop of Liverpool between 1998 and 2013.
2. John Scarlett, English intelligence officer births
  1. John Scarlett
    
    Sir John McLeod Scarlett is a British senior intelligence officer. He was Chief of the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) from 2004 to 2009. Prior to this appointment, he had chaired the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC).
1945
1. Sarah Dash, American singer-songwriter and actress (d. 2021) births
  1. Sarah Dash
    
    Sarah Dash was an American singer and actress. She first appeared on the music scene as a member of Patti LaBelle & The Bluebelles. Dash was later a member of Labelle, and worked as a singer, session musician, and sideman for The Rolling Stones, and Keith Richards.
2. Värner Lootsmann, Estonian lawyer and politician births
  1. Värner Lootsmann
    
    Värner Lootsmann is an Estonian Politician from Harju County.
3. Lewis Burwell Puller, Jr., American soldier, lawyer, and author (d. 1994) births
  1. Lewis Burwell Puller Jr.
    
    Lewis Burwell Puller Jr. was an attorney and a United States Marine Corps officer who was severely wounded in the Vietnam War. He won the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography for his autobiography Fortunate Son.
4. Subhas Chandra Bose, Indian activist and politician (b. 1897) deaths
  1. Subhas Chandra Bose
    
    Subhas Chandra Bose was an Indian nationalist whose defiance of British authority in India made him a hero among Indians, but his wartime alliances with Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan left a legacy vexed by authoritarianism, anti-Semitism, and military failure. The honorific Netaji was first applied to Bose in Germany in early 1942—by the Indian soldiers of the Indische Legion and by the German and Indian officials in the Special Bureau for India in Berlin. It is now used throughout India.
1944
1. Paula Danziger, American author (d. 2004) births
  1. Paula Danziger
    
    Paula Danziger was an American children's author. She wrote more than 30 books, including her 1974 debut The Cat Ate My Gymsuit, for children's and young adult audiences. At the time of her death, all her books were still in print; they had been published in 53 countries and translated into 14 languages.
2. Robert Hitchcock, Australian sculptor and illustrator births
  1. Robert Hitchcock
    
    Robert Charles Hitchcock is an Australian sculptor. He commenced his career in 1970 and works in a wide variety of subjects and materials. Hitchcock is one of the leading portrait sculptors currently working in Australia today. He is known for his life size bronze sculptures which are located in private collections as well as public works of art in Australia and overseas.
3. Ernst Thälmann, German soldier and politician (b. 1886) deaths
  1. Ernst Thälmann
    
    Ernst Johannes Fritz Thälmann was a German communist politician, and leader of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) from 1925 to 1933.
1943
1. Martin Mull, American actor and comedian births
  1. Martin Mull
    
    Martin Eugene Mull is an American actor, comedian and musician who has appeared in many television and film roles. He is also a painter and recording artist. As an actor, he first became known in his role on Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman and its spin-off Fernwood 2 Night. Among his other notable roles are Colonel Mustard in the 1985 film Clue, Leon Carp on Roseanne, Willard Kraft on Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Vlad Masters/Plasmius on Danny Phantom, and Gene Parmesan on Arrested Development. He had a recurring role on Two and a Half Men as Russell, the drug-using, humorous pharmacist.
2. Gianni Rivera, Italian footballer and politician births
  1. Gianni Rivera
    
    Giovanni "Gianni" Rivera is an Italian politician and former footballer who played as a midfielder. During his career as a footballer he was mostly utilised as an attacking midfielder.
3. Carl Wayne, English singer and actor (d. 2004) births
  1. Carl Wayne
    
    Carl Wayne was an English singer and actor. He is best remembered as the lead singer of The Move in the 1960s.
4. Ali-Agha Shikhlinski, Azerbaijani general (b. 1865) deaths
  1. Aliagha Shikhlinski
    
    Ali Agha Ismail Agha oghlu Shikhlinski ; 3 March [O.S. 15 March] 1863 – 5 August [O.S. 18 August] 1943) was an Azerbaijani lieutenant-general of the Russian imperial army, Deputy Minister of Defense and General of the Artillery of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and a Soviet military officer.
1940
1. Adam Makowicz, Polish-Canadian pianist and composer births
  1. Adam Makowicz
    
    Adam Makowicz is a Polish pianist and composer living in Toronto. He performs jazz and classical piano pieces, as well as his own compositions.
2. Gil Whitney, American journalist (d. 1982) births
  1. Gil Whitney
    
    Gilman "Gil" Whitney (1940-1982) was an American television personality in Dayton, Ohio, who worked primarily at WHIO television and radio until his death in 1982. He was posthumously inducted into the Dayton Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2005.
3. Walter Chrysler, American businessman, founded Chrysler (b. 1875) deaths
  1. Walter Chrysler
    
    Walter Percy Chrysler was an American industrial pioneer in the automotive industry, American automotive industry executive and the founder and namesake of American Chrysler Corporation.
  2. Chrysler
    
    Stellantis North America ) is one of the "Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automotive company Stellantis. In addition to the Chrysler brand, Stellantis North America sells vehicles worldwide under the Dodge, Jeep, and Ram nameplates. It also includes Mopar, its automotive parts and accessories division, and SRT, its performance automobile division.
1939
1. Maxine Brown, American soul/R&B singer-songwriter births
  1. Maxine Brown (soul singer)
    
    Maxine Ella Brown is an American soul and R&B singer.
2. Robert Horton, English businessman (d. 2011) births
  1. Robert Horton (businessman)
    
    Sir Robert Horton was a British businessman. He was a director of the European Advisory Council and of Emerson Electric Company. He spent 30 years working for BP, formerly British Petroleum. He became Chief Executive and Chairman of the Board of BP in March 1990, but was forced out in 1992.
3. Johnny Preston, American pop singer (d. 2011) births
  1. Johnny Preston
    
    John Preston Courville, known professionally as Johnny Preston, was an American rock and roll singer, best known for his international number one hit in 1960, "Running Bear".
1937
1. Sheila Cassidy, English physician and author births
  1. Sheila Cassidy
    
    Sheila Anne Cassidy is an English doctor, known for her work in the hospice movement, as a writer and as someone who, by publicising her own history as a torture survivor, drew attention to human rights abuse in Chile in the 1970s.
1936
1. Robert Redford, American actor, director, and producer births
  1. Robert Redford
    
    Charles Robert Redford Jr. is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award from four nominations, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, the Cecil B. DeMille Award and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 2014, Time named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
1935
1. Gail Fisher, American actress (d. 2000) births
  1. Gail Fisher
    
    Gail Fisher was an American actress who was one of the first black women to play substantive roles in American television. She was best known for playing the role of secretary Peggy Fair on the television detective series Mannix from 1968 through 1975, a role for which she won two Golden Globe Awards and an Emmy Award; she was the first African-American woman to win those prestigious awards. She also won an NAACP Image Award in 1969.
2. Hifikepunye Pohamba, Namibian lawyer and politician, 2nd President of Namibia births
  1. Hifikepunye Pohamba
    
    Hifikepunye Lucas Pohamba is a Namibian politician who served as the second president of Namibia from 21 March 2005 to 21 March 2015. He won the 2004 presidential election overwhelmingly as the candidate of SWAPO, and was reelected in 2009. Pohamba was the president of SWAPO from 2007 until his retirement in 2015. He is a recipient of the Ibrahim Prize.
  2. President of Namibia
    
    The president of the Republic of Namibia is the head of state and the head of government of Namibia. The president directs the executive branch of the Government of Namibia, as chair of the Cabinet and is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, according to the Constitution of Namibia.
1934
1. Vincent Bugliosi, American lawyer and author (d. 2015) births
  1. Vincent Bugliosi
    
    Vincent T. Bugliosi Jr. was an American prosecutor and author who served as Deputy District Attorney for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office between 1964 and 1972.
2. Roberto Clemente, Puerto Rican-American baseball player and soldier (d. 1972) births
  1. Roberto Clemente
    
    Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker was a Puerto Rican professional baseball right fielder who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates. After his early death, he was posthumously inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973, becoming both the first Caribbean and the first Latin-American player to be enshrined. Because he died at a young age and had such a historic career, the Hall of Fame changed its rules of eligibility. As an alternative to a player having to be retired for five years before eligibility, a player who has been deceased for at least six months is eligible for entry.
3. Gulzar, Indian poet, lyricist and film director births
  1. Gulzar
    
    Sampooran Singh Kalra, known professionally as Gulzar, is an Indian Urdu poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, and film director known for his works in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of greatest Urdu poets of this era. He started his career with music director S.D. Burman as a lyricist in the 1963 film Bandini and worked with many music directors including R. D. Burman, Salil Chowdhury, Vishal Bhardwaj and A. R. Rahman. Gulzar also writes poetry, dialogues and scripts. He directed films such as Aandhi and Mausam during the 1970s and the TV series Mirza Ghalib in the 1980s. He also directed Kirdaar in 1993.
4. Michael May, German-Swiss race car driver and engineer births
  1. Michael May (racing driver)
    
    Michael May is a former racing driver and engineer from Switzerland. He participated in three Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 14 May 1961. He scored no championship points.
1933
1. Just Fontaine, Moroccan-French footballer and manager births
  1. Just Fontaine
    
    Just Louis Fontaine is a French former professional footballer. A prolific forward, he is best known for scoring the most goals in a single edition of the FIFA World Cup, with thirteen in six matches in 1958. In 2004, Pelé named him one of the 125 Greatest Living Footballers at a FIFA Awards Ceremony.
2. Roman Polanski, French-Polish director, producer, screenwriter, and actor births
  1. Roman Polanski
    
    Raymond Roman Thierry Polański is a French-Polish film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, two British Academy Film Awards, nine César Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, as well as the Golden Bear and a Palme d'Or.
1932
1. Luc Montagnier, French virologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2022) births
  1. Luc Montagnier
    
    Luc Montagnier was a French virologist and joint recipient, with Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and Harald zur Hausen, of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). He worked as a researcher at the Pasteur Institute in Paris and as a full-time professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China.
  2. Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
    
    The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's 1895 will, are awarded "to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind". Nobel Prizes are awarded in the fields of Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace.
1931
1. Bramwell Tillsley, Canadian 14th General of The Salvation Army (d. 2019) births
  1. Bramwell Tillsley
    
    Bramwell Harold Tillsley was a Canadian salvationist and writer, who was the 14th General of The Salvation Army (1993–1994). General Tillsley died on Saturday, November 2, 2019, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
  2. General of The Salvation Army
    
    General is the title of the international leader and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Salvation Army, a Christian denomination with extensive charitable social services that gives quasi-military rank to its ministers. The General is elected by the High Council of The Salvation Army and serves a term of five years, which may be extended to seven years. Brian Peddle, the current general, assumed the position in August 2018 upon the retirement of Andre Cox. The organisation's founder, William Booth, was the first and longest-serving general. There have been 21 generals as of 2018.
2. Hans van Mierlo, Dutch journalist and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 2010) births
  1. Hans van Mierlo
    
    Henricus Antonius Franciscus Maria Oliva "Hans" van Mierlo was a Dutch politician and journalist who co-founded Democrats 66 (D66).
  2. Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands
    
    The deputy prime minister of the Netherlands is the official deputy of the head of government of the Netherlands. In the absence of the prime minister of the Netherlands the deputy prime minister takes over his functions, such as chairing the Cabinet of the Netherlands and the Council of Ministers of the Netherlands. Conventionally, all of the junior partners in the coalition get one deputy, and the deputies are ranked according to the size of their respective parties. The incumbent deputy prime ministers are Sigrid Kaag of the Democrats 66 serving as Minister of Finance, Wopke Hoekstra of the Christian Democratic Appeal serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Carola Schouten of the Christian Union serving as Minister for Welfare and Civic Engagement.
3. Grant Williams, American film, theater and television actor (d. 1985) births
  1. Grant Williams (actor)
    
    John Joseph Williams, known as Grant Williams, was an American film, theater, and television actor. He is best remembered for his portrayal of Scott Carey in the science fiction film The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957), and for his starring role as Greg MacKenzie on Hawaiian Eye from 1960 through 1963.
1930
1. Liviu Librescu, Romanian-American engineer and academic (d. 2007) births
  1. Liviu Librescu
    
    Liviu Librescu was a Romanian–American scientist and engineer. A prominent academic in addition to being a survivor of the Holocaust, his major research fields were aeroelasticity and aerodynamics.
2. Rafael Pineda Ponce, Honduran academic and politician (d. 2014) births
  1. Rafael Pineda Ponce
    
    Rafael Pineda Ponce was a Honduran professor and politician in the Liberal Party of Honduras and President of the National Congress of Honduras from 1998 to 2002.
1929
1. Hugues Aufray, French singer-songwriter births
  1. Hugues Aufray
    
    Hugues Jean Marie Auffray, better known as Hugues Aufray, is a French singer-songwriter and guitarist.
1928
1. Marge Schott, American businesswoman (d. 2004) births
  1. Marge Schott
    
    Margaret Carolyn Schott was an American baseball executive. Serving as managing general partner, president and CEO of Major League Baseball's Cincinnati Reds franchise from 1984 to 1999, she was the second woman to own a North American major-league team without inheriting it, after New York Mets founder Joan Whitney Payson.
2. Sonny Til, American R&B singer (d. 1981) births
  1. Sonny Til
    
    Earlington Carl Tilghman, known as Sonny Til, was an American singer. He was the lead singer of The Orioles, a vocal group from Baltimore, Maryland, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995.
1927
1. Rosalynn Carter, 41st First Lady of the United States births
  1. Rosalynn Carter
    
    Eleanor Rosalynn Carter is an American writer and activist who served as First Lady of the United States from 1977 to 1981 as the wife of President Jimmy Carter. For decades, she has been a leading advocate for numerous causes, including mental health. Carter was politically active during her White House years, sitting in on Cabinet meetings. She was her husband's closest adviser. She also served as an envoy abroad, particularly in Latin America. Like her husband, Rosalynn Carter is considered a key figure in the Habitat for Humanity charity. After Bess Truman, Carter is the second-longest lived First Lady of the White House.
1925
1. Brian Aldiss, English author and critic (d. 2017) births
  1. Brian Aldiss
    
    Brian Wilson Aldiss was an English writer, artist, and anthology editor, best known for science fiction novels and short stories. His byline reads either Brian W. Aldiss or simply Brian Aldiss, except for occasional pseudonyms during the mid-1960s.
2. Pierre Grondin, Canadian surgeon and academic (d. 2006) births
  1. Pierre Grondin
    
    Pierre Rene Grondin, MD was a Canadian cardiac surgeon who was one of the first doctors to perform a successful heart transplant. He was legendary in his surgical abilities and style and brought many innovations to the Montreal Heart Institute after his post-graduate training with pioneers Michael DeBakey and Denton Cooley in Houston, Texas. He was one of a select few heart surgeons worldwide who participated in the development of open heart surgery using the heart-lung machine in the early 1960s. He performed the first Canadian heart transplantation at the Montreal Heart Institute in May, 1968 shortly after the first successful heart transplant in the world in December, 1967 in Cape Town, South Africa by Dr. Christiaan Barnard.
3. Anis Mansour, Egyptian journalist and author (d. 2011) births
  1. Anis Mansour
    
    Anis Mansour, also transliterated as Anīs Manṣūr was an Egyptian writer.
1923
1. Katherine Victor, American actress (d. 2004) births
  1. Katherine Victor
    
    Katherine Victor was an American actress, perhaps best known for her roles in Ron Ormond's Mesa of Lost Women (1953) and Jerry Warren films. She was also known as Katina Vea.
1922
1. Alain Robbe-Grillet, French director, screenwriter, and novelist (d. 2008) births
  1. Alain Robbe-Grillet
    
    Alain Robbe-Grillet was a French writer and filmmaker. He was one of the figures most associated with the Nouveau Roman trend of the 1960s, along with Nathalie Sarraute, Michel Butor and Claude Simon. Alain Robbe-Grillet was elected a member of the Académie française on 25 March 2004, succeeding Maurice Rheims at seat No. 32. He was married to Catherine Robbe-Grillet.
1921
1. Lydia Litvyak, Russian lieutenant and pilot (d. 1943) births
  1. Lydia Litvyak
    
    Lydia Vladimirovna Litvyak, also known as Lilya, was a fighter pilot in the Soviet Air Force during World War II. Historians estimate for her total victories range from five to twelve solo victories and two to four shared kills in her 66 combat sorties. In about two years of operations, she was the first female fighter pilot to shoot down an enemy aircraft, the first of two female fighter pilots who have earned the title of fighter ace and the holder of the record for the greatest number of kills by a female fighter pilot. She was shot down near Orel during the Battle of Kursk as she attacked a formation of German aircraft.
2. Zdzisław Żygulski, Polish historian and academic (d. 2015) births
  1. Zdzisław Żygulski (art historian)
    
    Zdzisław Żygulski was a Polish art historian and professor of the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków. The son of Zdzisław Żygulski (senior), he was the curator of the Arms and Armour Section of the Czartoryski Museum from 1949 until his death in 2015 in Kraków, aged 93.
1920
1. Godfrey Evans, English cricketer (d. 1999) births
  1. Godfrey Evans
    
    Thomas Godfrey Evans was an English cricketer who played for Kent and England. Described by Wisden as 'arguably the best wicket-keeper the game has ever seen', Evans collected 219 dismissals in 91 Test match appearances between 1946 and 1959 and a total of 1066 in all first-class matches. En route he was the first wicket keeper to reach 200 Test dismissals and the first Englishman to reach both 1000 runs and 100 dismissals and 2000 runs and 200 dismissals in Test cricket. He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1951.
2. Bob Kennedy, American baseball player and manager (d. 2005) births
  1. Bob Kennedy
    
    Robert Daniel Kennedy was a right fielder/third baseman, manager and executive in Major League Baseball.
3. Shelley Winters, American actress (d. 2006) births
  1. Shelley Winters
    
    Shelley Winters was an American actress whose career spanned seven decades. She appeared in numerous films. She won Academy Awards for The Diary of Anne Frank (1959) and A Patch of Blue (1965), and received nominations for A Place in the Sun (1951) and The Poseidon Adventure (1972). She also appeared in A Double Life (1947), The Night of the Hunter (1955), Lolita (1962), Alfie (1966), Next Stop, Greenwich Village (1976), and Pete's Dragon (1977). In addition to film, Winters appeared in television, including a tenure on the sitcom Roseanne, and wrote three autobiographical books.
1919
1. Wally Hickel, American businessman and politician, 2nd Governor of Alaska (d. 2010) births
  1. Wally Hickel
    
    Walter Joseph Hickel was an American businessman, real estate developer, and politician who served as the second governor of Alaska from 1966 to 1969 and 1990 to 1994 and as U.S. Secretary of the Interior from 1969 to 1970. He worked as a construction worker and eventually became a construction company owner/operator during Alaska's territorial days. Following World War II, Hickel became heavily involved with real estate development, building residential subdivisions, shopping centers and hotels. Hickel entered politics in the 1950s during Alaska's battle for statehood and remained politically active for the rest of his life.
  2. List of governors of Alaska
    
    The governor of Alaska is the head of government of Alaska. The governor is the chief executive of the state and is the holder of the highest office in the executive branch of the government as well as being the commander in chief of the Alaska's state forces.
2. Joseph E. Seagram, Canadian businessman and politician, founded the Seagram Company (b. 1841) deaths
  1. Joseph E. Seagram
    
    Joseph Emm Seagram was a Canadian distillery founder, politician, philanthropist, and major owner of thoroughbred racehorses.
  2. Seagram
    
    The Seagram Company Ltd. was a Canadian multinational conglomerate formerly headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. Originally a distiller of Canadian whisky based in Waterloo, Ontario, it was once the largest owner of alcoholic beverage lines in the world.
1918
1. Cisco Houston, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1961) births
  1. Cisco Houston
    
    Gilbert Vandine "Cisco" Houston was an American folk singer and songwriter, who is closely associated with Woody Guthrie due to their extensive history of recording together.
1917
1. Caspar Weinberger, American captain, lawyer, and politician, 15th United States Secretary of Defense (d. 2006) births
  1. Caspar Weinberger
    
    Caspar Willard Weinberger was an American statesman and businessman. As a prominent Republican, he served in a variety of state and federal positions for three decades, including chairman of the California Republican Party, 1962–1968. Most notably he was Secretary of Defense under President Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1987.
  2. United States Secretary of Defense
    
    The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high ranking member of the federal cabinet. The secretary of defense's position of command and authority over the military is second only to that of the president of the United States, who is the commander-in-chief. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a defense minister in many other countries. The secretary of defense is appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the Senate, and is by custom a member of the Cabinet and by law a member of the National Security Council.
1916
1. Neagu Djuvara, Romanian historian, journalist, and diplomat (d. 2018) births
  1. Neagu Djuvara
    
    Neagu Bunea Djuvara was a Romanian historian, essayist, philosopher, journalist, novelist, and diplomat.
2. Moura Lympany, English pianist (d. 2005) births
  1. Moura Lympany
    
    Dame Moura Lympany DBE was an English concert pianist.
1915
1. Max Lanier, American baseball player and manager (d. 2007) births
  1. Max Lanier
    
    Hubert Max Lanier was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who spent most of his career with the St. Louis Cardinals. He led the National League in earned run average in 1943, and was the winning pitcher of the clinching game in the 1944 World Series against the crosstown St. Louis Browns. His son Hal became a major league infielder and manager.
1914
1. Lucy Ozarin, United States Navy lieutenant commander and psychiatrist (d. 2017) births
  1. Lucy Ozarin
    
    Lucy Dorothy Ozarin was a psychiatrist who served in the United States Navy. She was one of the first women psychiatrists commissioned in the Navy, and she was one of seven female Navy psychiatrists who served during World War II.
  2. United States Navy
    
    The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of its active battle fleet alone exceeding the next 13 navies combined, including 11 allies or partner nations of the United States as of 2015. It has the highest combined battle fleet tonnage and the world's largest aircraft carrier fleet, with eleven in service, two new carriers under construction, and five other carriers planned. With 336,978 personnel on active duty and 101,583 in the Ready Reserve, the United States Navy is the third largest of the United States military service branches in terms of personnel. It has 290 deployable combat vessels and more than 2,623 operational aircraft as of June 2019.
  3. Lieutenant commander
    
    Lieutenant commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank in most armies and air forces is major, and in the Royal Air Force and other Commonwealth air forces is squadron leader.
1913
1. Romain Maes, Belgian cyclist (d. 1983) births
  1. Romain Maes
    
    Romain Maes was a Belgian cyclist who won the 1935 Tour de France after wearing the yellow jersey of leadership from beginning to end. Maes was the 13th child in his family. He started racing when he was 17. He turned professional in 1933 and won the Omloop van het Westen. The following year he started the Tour de France and twice finished stages in second place. He then crashed on the day from Digne to Nice and left the race in an ambulance.
1912
1. Otto Ernst Remer, German general (d. 1997) births
  1. Otto Ernst Remer
    
    Otto Ernst Remer was a German Wehrmacht officer in World War II who played a major role in stopping the 20 July plot in 1944 against Adolf Hitler. In his later years he became a politician and far right activist. He co-founded the Socialist Reich Party in West Germany in the 1950s and is considered an influential figure in post-war neo-fascist politics in Germany.
1911
1. Amelia Boynton Robinson, American activist (d. 2015) births
  1. Amelia Boynton Robinson
    
    Amelia Isadora Platts Boynton Robinson was an American activist who was a leader of the American Civil Rights Movement in Selma, Alabama, and a key figure in the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches. In 1984, she became founding vice-president of the Schiller Institute affiliated with Lyndon LaRouche. She was awarded the Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Medal in 1990.
2. Klara Dan von Neumann, Hungarian computer scientist and programmer (d. 1963) births
  1. Klára Dán von Neumann
    
    Klára Dán von Neumann was a Hungarian-American self-taught computer scientist, noted as one of the first computer programmers.
1910
1. Herman Berlinski, Polish-American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2001) births
  1. Herman Berlinski
    
    Herman Berlinski was a German-born American composer, organist, pianist, musicologist and choir conductor.
2. Robert Winters, Canadian colonel, engineer, and politician, 26th Canadian Minister of Public Works (d. 1969) births
  1. Robert Winters
    
    Robert Henry Winters, was a Canadian politician, businessman, and businessman.
  2. Minister of Public Works (Canada)
    
    The Minister of Public Works was a position in the Cabinet of Canada who oversaw the public works portfolio of the federal government.
1909
1. Gérard Filion, Canadian businessman and journalist (d. 2005) births
  1. Gérard Filion
    
    Gérard Filion, was a Canadian businessman and journalist.
1908
1. Edgar Faure, French historian and politician, 139th Prime Minister of France (d. 1988) births
  1. Edgar Faure
    
    Edgar Jean Faure was a French politician, lawyer, essayist, historian and memoirist who served as Prime Minister of France in 1952 and again between 1955 and 1956. Prior to his election to the National Assembly for Jura under the Fourth Republic in 1946, he was a member of the French Committee of National Liberation (CFLN) in Algiers (1943–1944). A Radical, Faure was married to writer Lucie Meyer. In 1978, he was elected to the Académie Française.
  2. Prime Minister of France
    
    The prime minister of France, officially the prime minister of the French Republic, is the head of government of the French Republic and the leader of the Council of Ministers.
2. Olav H. Hauge, Norwegian poet and gardener (d. 1994) births
  1. Olav H. Hauge
    
    Olav Håkonson Hauge was a Norwegian horticulturist, translator and poet.
3. Bill Merritt, New Zealand cricketer and sportscaster (d. 1977) births
  1. Bill Merritt (cricketer)
    
    William Edward Merritt was a New Zealand Test cricketer who played for Canterbury and Northamptonshire, and a rugby league footballer who played for Canterbury, Wigan and Halifax.
1906
1. Marcel Carné, French director and screenwriter (d. 1996) births
  1. Marcel Carné
    
    Marcel Albert Carné was a French film director. A key figure in the poetic realism movement, Carné's best known films include Port of Shadows (1938), Le Jour Se Lève (1939), The Devil's Envoys (1942) and Children of Paradise (1945), the last of which has been cited as one of the greatest films of all time.
2. Curtis Jones, American blues pianist and singer (d. 1971) births
  1. Curtis Jones (pianist)
    
    Curtis Jones was an American blues pianist.
1905
1. Enoch Light, American bandleader, violinist, and recording engineer (d. 1978) births
  1. Enoch Light
    
    Enoch Henry Light was an American classically trained violinist, danceband leader, and recording engineer. As the leader of various dance bands that recorded as early as March 1927 and continuing through at least 1940, Light and his band primarily worked in various hotels in New York. For a time in 1928 he also led a band in Paris. In the 1930s Light also studied conducting with the French conductor Maurice Frigara in Paris.
1904
1. Max Factor, Jr., American businessman (d. 1996) births
  1. Max Factor Jr.
    
    Francis Factor, also known as Max Factor Jr., was an American businessman who was president of the Max Factor Cosmetics empire.
1903
1. Lucienne Boyer, French singer (d. 1983) births
  1. Lucienne Boyer
    
    Lucienne Boyer was a French diseuse and singer, best known for her song "Parlez-moi d'amour". Her impresario was Bruno Coquatrix.
1902
1. Adamson-Eric, Estonian painter (d. 1968) births
  1. Adamson-Eric
    
    Erich Carl Hugo Adamson was an Estonian artist who worked mainly within the medium of painting in applied art.
2. Margaret Murie, American environmentalist and author (d. 2003) births
  1. Margaret Murie
    
    Margaret Thomas "Mardy" Murie was a naturalist, writer, adventurer, and conservationist. Dubbed the "Grandmother of the Conservation Movement" by both the Sierra Club and the Wilderness Society, she helped in the passage of the Wilderness Act, and was instrumental in creating the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. She was the recipient of the Audubon Medal, the John Muir Award, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom—the highest civilian honor awarded by the United States.
1900
1. Ruth Bonner, Soviet Communist activist, sentenced to a labor camp during Joseph Stalin's Great Purge (d. 1987) births
  1. Ruth Bonner
    
    Ruf Grigorievna Bonner, also known as Ruth Bonner, was a Soviet Communist activist and who spent eight years in a labor camp during Joseph Stalin's Great Purge. She was the mother of the human rights activist Yelena Bonner and the mother-in-law of physicist and dissident Andrei Sakharov.
  2. Joseph Stalin
    
    Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1922–1952) and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union (1941–1953). Initially governing the country as part of a collective leadership, he consolidated power to become a dictator by the 1930s. Ideologically adhering to the Leninist interpretation of Marxism, he formalised these ideas as Marxism–Leninism, while his own policies are called Stalinism.
  3. Great Purge
    
    The Great Purge or the Great Terror, also known as the Year of '37 and the Yezhovshchina, was Soviet General Secretary Joseph Stalin's campaign to solidify his power over the party and the state; the purges were also designed to remove the remaining influence of Leon Trotsky as well as other prominent political rivals within the party. It occurred from August 1936 to March 1938.
2. Ruth Norman, American religious leader (d. 1993) births
  1. Ruth Norman
    
    Ruth E. Norman, also known as Uriel, was an American religious leader who co-founded the Unarius Academy of Science, based in Southern California. Raised in California, Norman received little education and worked from an early age in a variety of jobs. In the 1940s, she developed an interest in psychic phenomena and past-life regression. These pursuits led to her introduction to Ernest Norman, a self-described psychic, in 1954. He engaged in channeling, past-life regression, and attempts at communication with extraterrestrials. She married Ernest, her fourth husband, in the mid-1950s. Together they published several books about his revelations and formed Unarius, an organization which later became known as the Unarius Academy of Science, to popularize his teachings. The couple discussed numerous details about their alleged past lives and spiritual visits to other planets, forming a mythology from these accounts.
1898
1. Clemente Biondetti, Italian race car driver (d. 1955) births
  1. Clemente Biondetti
    
    Clemente Biondetti was an Italian auto racing driver. Born into a working-class family, Biondetti raced motorcycles before turning to automobiles where he had greater success.
1896
1. Jack Pickford, Canadian-American actor and director (d. 1933) births
  1. Jack Pickford
    
    John Charles Smith, known professionally as Jack Pickford, was a Canadian-American actor, film director and producer. He was the younger brother of actresses Mary and Lottie Pickford.
1893
1. Burleigh Grimes, American baseball player and manager (d. 1985) births
  1. Burleigh Grimes
    
    Burleigh Arland Grimes was an American professional baseball player and manager, and the last pitcher officially permitted to throw the spitball. Grimes made the most of this advantage, as well as his unshaven, menacing presence on the mound, which earned him the nickname "Ol' Stubblebeard." He won 270 MLB games, pitched in four World Series over the course of his 19-year career, and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1964. A decade earlier, he had been inducted into the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame.
2. Ernest MacMillan, Canadian conductor and composer (d. 1973) births
  1. Ernest MacMillan
    
    Sir Ernest Alexander Campbell MacMillan, was a Canadian orchestral conductor, composer, organist, and Canada's only "Musical Knight". He is widely regarded as being Canada's pre-eminent musician, from the 1920s through the 1950s. His contributions to the development of music in Canada were sustained and varied, as conductor, performer, composer, administrator, lecturer, adjudicator, writer, humourist, and statesman.
1890
1. Walther Funk, German economist and politician, Reich Minister of Economics (d. 1960) births
  1. Walther Funk
    
    Walther Funk was a German economist and Nazi official who served as Reich Minister for Economic Affairs (1938–1945) and president of Reichsbank (1939–1945). During his incumbency, he oversaw the mobilization of German economy for rearmament and arrangement of forced labor in concentration camps. After the war he was tried and convicted as a major war criminal by the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg. Sentenced to life in prison, he remained incarcerated until he was released on health grounds in 1957. He died three years later.
  2. Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action
    
    The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, abbreviated BMWK, is a cabinet-level ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany. It was previously known as the "Ministry of Economy". It was recreated in 2005 as "Ministry of Economics and Technology" after it had previously been merged with other ministries to form the Federal Ministry for Economics and Labour between 2002 and 2005. The ministry is advised by the Council of Advisors on Digital Economy.
1887
1. John Anthony Sydney Ritson, English rugby player, mines inspector, engineer and professor of mining (d. 1957) births
  1. John Anthony Sydney Ritson
    
    John Anthony Sydney Ritson DSO & Bar, was an English mines inspector and engineer who became professor of mining at Leeds University and at the Royal School of Mines, Imperial College, London. In his early life he was a rugby union player of note playing international rugby for both England and the British and Irish Lions, and was a member of the first ever English Grand Slam winning side. During the First World War he served in the Durham Light Infantry and later commanded a battalion of the Royal Scots.
1886
1. Eli Whitney Blake, American inventor, invented the Mortise lock (b. 1795) deaths
  1. Eli Whitney Blake
    
    Eli Whitney Blake, Sr. was an American inventor, best known for his mortise lock and stone-crushing machine, the latter of which earned him a place into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
  2. Mortise lock
    
    A mortise lock is a lock that requires a pocket—the mortise—to be cut into the edge of the door or piece of furniture into which the lock is to be fitted. In most parts of the world, mortise locks are found on older buildings constructed before the advent of bored cylindrical locks, but they have recently become more common in commercial and upmarket residential construction in the United States. The design is widely used in domestic properties of all vintages in Europe.
1885
1. Nettie Palmer, Australian poet and critic (d. 1964) births
  1. Nettie Palmer
    
    Janet Gertrude "Nettie" Palmer was an Australian poet, essayist and Australia's leading literary critic of her day. She corresponded with women writers and collated the Centenary Gift Book which gathered together writing by Victorian women.
1879
1. Alexander Rodzyanko, Russian general (d. 1970) births
  1. Alexander Rodzyanko
    
    Alexander Pavlovich Rodzyanko was an officer of the Imperial Russian Army during the World War I and lieutenant-general and a corps commander of the White Army during the Russian Civil War. He also competed at the 1912 Summer Olympics.
1870
1. Lavr Kornilov, Russian general and explorer (d. 1918) births
  1. Lavr Kornilov
    
    Lavr Georgiyevich Kornilov was a Russian military intelligence officer, explorer, and general in the Imperial Russian Army during World War I and the ensuing Russian Civil War. Kornilov was of Siberian Cossack origin. Today he is best remembered for the Kornilov Affair, an unsuccessful endeavor in August/September 1917 that was intended to strengthen Alexander Kerensky's Provisional Government, but which led to Kerensky eventually having Kornilov arrested and charged with attempting a coup d'état, and ultimately undermined Kerensky's rule.
1869
1. Carl Rungius, German-American painter and educator (d. 1959) births
  1. Carl Rungius
    
    Carl Clemens Moritz Rungius was a leading American wildlife artist. He was born in Germany though he immigrated to the United States and he spent his career painting in the western United States and Canada. Active primarily in the first half of the 20th century, he earned a reputation as the most important big game painter and the first career wildlife artist in North America.
1866
1. Mahboob Ali Khan, 6th Nizam of Hyderabad (d. 1911) births
  1. Mahboob Ali Khan
    
    Asaf Jah VI, also known as, Sir Mir Mahboob Ali Khan Siddiqi Bayafandi was the 6th Nizam of Hyderabad. He ruled Hyderabad state, one of the Princely states in India between 1869 and 1911.
  2. Nizam of Hyderabad
    
    The Nizams were the rulers of Hyderabad from the 18th through the 20th century. Nizam of Hyderabad was the title of the monarch of the Hyderabad State. Nizam, shortened from Nizam-ul-Mulk, meaning Administrator of the Realm, was the title inherited by Asaf Jah I. He was the former Naib (suzerain) of the Great Mughal in the Deccan, the premier courtier of Mughal India until 1724, the founding of an independent monarchy as the "Nizam (title) of Hyderabad".
1857
1. Libert H. Boeynaems, Belgian-American bishop and missionary (d. 1926) births
  1. Libert H. Boeynaems
    
    Libert H. Boeynaems, formally Libert Hubert John Louis Boeynaems, SS.CC.,, was the fourth vicar apostolic of the Vicariate Apostolic of the Hawaiian Islands — now the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu.
1855
1. Alfred Wallis, English painter and illustrator (d. 1942) births
  1. Alfred Wallis
    
    Alfred Wallis was a British fisherman and artist known for his port landscapes and shipping scenes painted in a naïve style. Having no artistic training, he began painting at the age of 70, using household paint on scraps of cardboard. He achieved little commercial success, although his work was championed by progressive artists such as Ben Nicholson and Christopher Wood.
1852
1. James Finlayson, Scottish Quaker (b. 1772) deaths
  1. James Finlayson (industrialist)
    
    James Finlayson was a British Quaker who, in effect, brought the Industrial Revolution to Tampere, Finland founding in 1820 the Finlayson company.
  2. Quakers
    
    Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements are generally united by a belief in each human's ability to experience the light within or see "that of God in every one". Some profess a priesthood of all believers inspired by the First Epistle of Peter. They include those with evangelical, holiness, liberal, and traditional Quaker understandings of Christianity. There are also Nontheist Quakers, whose spiritual practice does not rely on the existence of God. To differing extents, the Friends avoid creeds and hierarchical structures. In 2017, there were approximately 377,557 adult Quakers, 49% of them in Africa.
1850
1. Honoré de Balzac, French novelist and playwright (b. 1799) deaths
  1. Honoré de Balzac
    
    Honoré de Balzac was a French novelist and playwright. The novel sequence La Comédie humaine, which presents a panorama of post-Napoleonic French life, is generally viewed as his magnum opus.
1842
1. Louis de Freycinet, French explorer and navigator (b. 1779) deaths
  1. Louis de Freycinet
    
    Louis Claude de Saulces de Freycinet was a French Navy officer. He circumnavigated the earth, and in 1811 published the first map to show a full outline of the coastline of Australia.
1841
1. William Halford, English-American lieutenant, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1919) births
  1. William Halford
    
    William Halford was a sailor, and later an officer, in the United States Navy. He also received the Medal of Honor.
  2. Medal of Honor
    
    The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. The medal is normally awarded by the president of the United States, but as it is presented "in the name of the United States Congress", it is sometimes erroneously referred to as the "Congressional Medal of Honor".
1834
1. Marshall Field, American businessman, founded Marshall Field's (d. 1906) births
  1. Marshall Field
    
    Marshall Field was an American entrepreneur and the founder of Marshall Field and Company, the Chicago-based department stores. His business was renowned for its then-exceptional level of quality and customer service.
  2. Marshall Field's
    
    Marshall Field & Company was an upscale department store in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in the 19th century, it grew to become a large chain before Macy's, Inc acquired it in 2005. Its eponymous founder, Marshall Field, was a pioneering retail magnate.
1831
1. Ernest Noel, Scottish businessman and politician (d. 1931) births
  1. Ernest Noel
    
    Ernest Noel, FGS was Member of Parliament (MP) for the Scottish seat of Dumfries Burghs from 1874 to 1886. He was chairman of the Artizans, Labourers & General Dwellings Company from 1880, during the construction of a new suburb for the working classes in Wood Green which was named "Noel Park" in his honour.
1830
1. Franz Joseph I of Austria (d. 1916) births
  1. Franz Joseph I of Austria
    
    Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his death on 21 November 1916. In the early part of his reign, his realms and territories were referred to as the Austrian Empire, but were reconstituted as the dual monarchy of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1867. From 1 May 1850 to 24 August 1866, Franz Joseph was also President of the German Confederation.
1823
1. André-Jacques Garnerin, French balloonist and the inventor of the frameless parachute (b. 1769) deaths
  1. André-Jacques Garnerin
    
    André-Jacques Garnerin was a French balloonist and the inventor of the frameless parachute. He was appointed Official Aeronaut of France.
1822
1. Isaac P. Rodman, American general and politician (d. 1862) births
  1. Isaac P. Rodman
    
    Isaac Peace Rodman was a Rhode Island banker and politician, and a Union Army brigadier general in the American Civil War, mortally wounded at the Battle of Antietam.
1819
1. Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia (d. 1876) births
  1. Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia (1819–1876)
    
    Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaievna of Russia was a daughter of Emperor Nicholas I of Russia, and sister of Alexander II. In 1839 she married Maximilian, Duke of Leuchtenberg. She was an art collector and President of the Imperial Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg.
1815
1. Chauncey Goodrich, American lawyer and politician, 8th Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut (b. 1759) deaths
  1. Chauncey Goodrich
    
    Chauncey Goodrich was an American lawyer and politician from Connecticut who represented that state in the United States Congress as both a senator and a representative.
  2. Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut
    
    The following is a list of lieutenant governors of the State of Connecticut.
1807
1. B. T. Finniss, Australian politician, 1st Premier of South Australia (d. 1893) births
  1. B. T. Finniss
    
    Boyle Travers Finniss was the first premier of South Australia, serving from 24 October 1856 to 20 August 1857.
  2. Premier of South Australia
    
    The premier of South Australia is the head of government in the state of South Australia, Australia. The Government of South Australia follows the Westminster system, with a Parliament of South Australia acting as the legislature. The premier is appointed by the Governor of South Australia, and by modern convention holds office by virtue of his or her ability to command the support of a majority of members of the lower house of Parliament, the House of Assembly.
1803
1. Nathan Clifford, American lawyer, jurist, and politician, 19th United States Attorney General (d. 1881) births
  1. Nathan Clifford
    
    Nathan Clifford was an American statesman, diplomat and jurist.
  2. United States Attorney General
    
    The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all legal matters. The attorney general is a statutory member of the Cabinet of the United States.
1792
1. John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1878) births
  1. John Russell, 1st Earl Russell
    
    John Russell, 1st Earl Russell,, known by his courtesy title Lord John Russell before 1861, was a British Whig and Liberal statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1852 and again from 1865 to 1866.
  2. Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
    
    The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern prime ministers hold office by virtue of their ability to command the confidence of the House of Commons, they sit as members of Parliament.
1774
1. Meriwether Lewis, American soldier, explorer, and politician (d. 1809) births
  1. Meriwether Lewis
    
    Meriwether Lewis was an American explorer, soldier, politician, and public administrator, best known for his role as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery, with William Clark. Their mission was to explore the territory of the Louisiana Purchase, establish trade with, and sovereignty over the natives near the Missouri River, and claim the Pacific Northwest and Oregon Country for the United States before European nations. They also collected scientific data, and information on indigenous nations. President Thomas Jefferson appointed him Governor of Upper Louisiana in 1806. He died of gunshot wounds in what was either a murder or suicide, in 1809. While the Louisiana Purchase was not made official until July 1803, President Jefferson secretly requested Congress to fund the expedition in January 1803.
1765
1. Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1708) deaths
  1. Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor
    
    Francis I was Holy Roman Emperor (1745–1765), Archduke of Austria (1740–1765), Duke of Lorraine and Bar (1729–1737), and Grand Duke of Tuscany (1737–1765). He became the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, Austria, and Tuscany through his marriage to Maria Theresa, daughter of Emperor Charles VI. Francis was the last non-Habsburg monarch of both the Empire and Austria, which were effectively governed by Maria Theresa. The couple were the founders of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty, and their marriage produced sixteen children.
1754
1. François, marquis de Chasseloup-Laubat, French general and engineer (d. 1833) births
  1. François de Chasseloup-Laubat
    
    François, marquis de Chasseloup-Laubat, French general and military engineer, was born at Saint-Sornin, of a noble family, and entered the French engineers in 1774.
1750
1. Antonio Salieri, Italian composer and conductor (d. 1825) births
  1. Antonio Salieri
    
    Antonio Salieri was an Italian classical composer, conductor, and teacher. He was born in Legnago, south of Verona, in the Republic of Venice, and spent his adult life and career as a subject of the Habsburg monarchy.
1720
1. Laurence Shirley, 4th Earl Ferrers, English politician (d. 1760) births
  1. Laurence Shirley, 4th Earl Ferrers
    
    Laurence Shirley, 4th Earl Ferrers was an English nobleman, notable for being the last peer to be hanged, following his conviction for murdering his steward.
1712
1. Richard Savage, 4th Earl Rivers, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Essex (b. 1660) deaths
  1. Richard Savage, 4th Earl Rivers
    
    General Richard Savage, 4th Earl Rivers PC was an English nobleman and soldier who was a senior Army officer in the English and then British Army. The second son of Thomas Savage, 3rd Earl Rivers and his first wife Elizabeth Scrope, Savage was styled Viscount Colchester after the death of his elder brother Thomas in 1680, he was designated by that title until he succeeded to the peerage upon the death of his father, the 3rd Earl, in 1694. Savage served as Master-General of the Ordnance and Constable of the Tower, and was briefly commander-in-chief of the forces in lieu of James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde until his death in 1712.
  2. Lord Lieutenant of Essex
    
    This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Essex. Since 1688, all the Lord Lieutenants have also been Custos Rotulorum of Essex.John Petre, 1st Baron Petre John de Vere, 16th Earl of Oxford 1558–? Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester 3 July 1585 – 4 September 1588 William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley 31 December 1588 – 4 August 1598 vacant Robert Radclyffe, 5th Earl of Sussex 26 August 1603 – 5 February 1629 jointly with Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick 8 September 1625 – 1642 jointly with Richard Weston, 1st Earl of Portland 5 February 1629 – 31 March 1635 and William Maynard, 1st Baron Maynard 6 August 1635 – 17 December 1640 and James Hay, 2nd Earl of Carlisle 8 January 1641 – 1642 Interregnum Aubrey de Vere, 20th Earl of Oxford 13 August 1660 – 1687 jointly with Christopher Monck, 2nd Duke of Albemarle 30 November 1675 – 1687 Thomas Petre, 6th Baron Petre 18 February 1688 – 1688 Aubrey de Vere, 20th Earl of Oxford 25 October 1688 – 12 March 1703 Francis North, 2nd Baron Guilford 23 March 1703 – 1705 Richard Savage, 4th Earl Rivers 16 April 1705 – 18 August 1712 Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke 24 October 1712 – 1714 Henry Howard, 6th Earl of Suffolk 7 January 1715 – 19 September 1718 Charles Howard, 7th Earl of Suffolk 10 December 1718 – 9 February 1722 Henry O'Brien, 8th Earl of Thomond 2 April 1722 – 20 April 1741 Benjamin Mildmay, 1st Earl Fitzwalter 7 May 1741 – 29 February 1756 William Nassau de Zuylestein, 4th Earl of Rochford 3 April 1756 – 28 September 1781 John Waldegrave, 3rd Earl Waldegrave 7 November 1781 – 22 October 1784 John Griffin, 4th Baron Howard de Walden 17 November 1784 – 25 May 1797 Richard Griffin, 2nd Baron Braybrooke 27 January 1798 – 28 February 1825 Henry Maynard, 3rd Viscount Maynard 19 April 1825 – 19 May 1865 Thomas Crosbie William Trevor, 22nd Baron Dacre 5 October 1865 – 1869 Sir Thomas Burch Western, 1st Baronet 11 May 1869 – 30 May 1873 Chichester Parkinson-Fortescue, 1st Baron Carlingford 4 September 1873 – 1892 John Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh 2 February 1892 – 1 August 1901 Francis Greville, 5th Earl of Warwick 1 August 1901 – 1919 Amelius Lockwood, 1st Baron Lambourne 11 February 1919 – 26 December 1928 Sir Richard Beale Colvin 31 January 1929 – 1936 Sir Francis Henry Douglas Charlton Whitmore, 1st Baronet 16 April 1936 – 1958 Sir John Ruggles-Brise, 2nd Baronet 6 September 1958 – 1978 Sir Andrew Lewis 1978–1992 Robin Neville, 10th Baron Braybrooke 3 August 1992 – October 2002 John Petre, 18th Baron Petre 16 December 2002 – 4 August 2017 Jennifer Tolhurst 5 August 2017 – present
1707
1. William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire (b. 1640) deaths
  1. William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire
    
    William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire, was an English soldier, nobleman, and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1661 to 1684 when he inherited his father's peerage as Earl of Devonshire. He was part of the "Immortal Seven" group that invited William III, Prince of Orange to depose James II of England as monarch during the Glorious Revolution, and was rewarded with the elevation to Duke of Devonshire in 1694.
  2. Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire
    
    This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire. Since 1689, all the Lord Lieutenants have also been Custos Rotulorum of Derbyshire.
1700
1. Baji Rao I, first Peshwa of Maratha Empire (d. 1740) births
  1. Baji Rao I
    
    Baji Rao I, born as Visaji, also known as Bajirao Ballal, was the 7th Peshwa of the Maratha Empire. During his 20-year tenure as a Peshwa, he defeated Mughals and their vassal Nizam-ul-Mulk at several battles like the Battle of Delhi and Battle of Bhopal. Baji Rao's achievements include establishing Maratha supremacy in southern India and northern India. Thus, he was responsible for establishing Maratha power in Gujarat, Malwa, Rajputana and Bundelkhand and liberating Konkan from the Siddis of Janjira and Portuguese rule.
  2. Peshwa
    
    The Peshwa was the appointed prime minister of the Maratha Empire of the Indian subcontinent. Originally, the Peshwas served as subordinates to the Chhatrapati ; later, under the Bhat family, they became the de facto leaders of the Maratha Confederacy, with the Chhatrapati becoming a nominal ruler. During the last years of the Maratha Empire, the Peshwas themselves were reduced to titular leaders, and remained under the authority of the Maratha nobles and the British East India Company.
  3. Maratha Empire
    
    The Maratha Empire, later referred as Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian empire that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of Shivaji of the Bhonsle Dynasty as the Chhatrapati. Although Shivaji came from the Maratha caste, the Maratha empire also included warriors, administrators and other notables from Maratha and several other castes from Maharashtra.
1692
1. Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon (d. 1740) births
  1. Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon
    
    Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon, was a French nobleman and politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 1723 to 1726. As a member of the reigning House of Bourbon, he was a prince du sang.
1685
1. Brook Taylor, English mathematician and theorist (d. 1731) births
  1. Brook Taylor
    
    Brook Taylor was an English mathematician best known for creating Taylor's theorem and the Taylor series, which are important for their use in mathematical analysis.
1683
1. Charles Hart, English actor (b. 1625) deaths
  1. Charles Hart (actor)
    
    Charles Hart was a prominent British Restoration actor.
1657
1. Ferdinando Galli-Bibiena, Italian architect and painter (d. 1743) births
  1. Ferdinando Galli-Bibiena
    
    Ferdinando Galli-Bibiena, surname also spelled Galli da Bibiena or Bibbiena, was an Italian Baroque-era architect, designer, and painter.
1648
1. Ibrahim of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1615) deaths
  1. Ibrahim of the Ottoman Empire
    
    Ibrahim was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1640 until 1648. He was born in Constantinople, the son of Sultan Ahmed I by Kösem Sultan, an ethnic Greek originally named Anastasia.
1642
1. Guido Reni, Italian painter and educator (b. 1575) deaths
  1. Guido Reni
    
    Guido Reni was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, although his works showed a classical manner, similar to Simon Vouet, Nicolas Poussin, and Philippe de Champaigne. He painted primarily religious works, but also mythological and allegorical subjects. Active in Rome, Naples, and his native Bologna, he became the dominant figure in the Bolognese School that emerged under the influence of the Carracci.
1634
1. Urbain Grandier, French priest (b. 1590) deaths
  1. Urbain Grandier
    
    Urbain Grandier was a French Catholic priest who was burned at the stake after being convicted of witchcraft, following the events of the so-called "Loudun possessions". Most modern commentators have concluded that Grandier was the victim of a politically motivated persecution led by the powerful Cardinal Richelieu.
1629
1. Agneta Horn, Swedish writer (d. 1672) births
  1. Agneta Horn
    
    Agneta Horn was a Swedish writer born to noble parents and a military father. She traveled a great deal throughout Europe in her lifetime as a result of living in a military family and later marrying another soldier. She is most known for writing her autobiography, Agneta Horns leverne.
1625
1. Edward la Zouche, 11th Baron Zouche, English diplomat (b. 1556) deaths
  1. Edward la Zouche, 11th Baron Zouche
    
    Edward la Zouche, 11th Baron Zouche was an English diplomat. He is remembered chiefly for his lone vote against the condemnation of Mary, Queen of Scots, and for organising the stag hunt where his guest, the Archbishop of Canterbury, accidentally killed a man.
1620
1. Wanli Emperor of China (b. 1563) deaths
  1. Wanli Emperor
    
    The Wanli Emperor, personal name Zhu Yijun, was the 14th Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1572 to 1620. "Wanli", the era name of his reign, literally means "ten thousand calendars". He was the third son of the Longqing Emperor. His reign of 48 years (1572–1620) was the longest among all the Ming dynasty emperors and it witnessed several successes in his early and middle reign, followed by the decline of the dynasty as the emperor withdrew from his active role in government around 1600.
1613
1. Giovanni Artusi, Italian composer and theorist (b. 1540) deaths
  1. Giovanni Artusi
    
    Giovanni Maria Artusi was an Italian theorist, composer, and writer.
1606
1. Maria Anna of Spain (d. 1646) births
  1. Maria Anna of Spain
    
    Maria Anna of Spain was a Holy Roman Empress and Queen of Hungary and Bohemia by marriage to Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor. She acted as regent on several occasions during the absences of her spouse, notably during his absence in Bohemia in 1645.
1605
1. Henry Hammond, English churchman and theologian (d. 1660) births
  1. Henry Hammond
    
    Henry Hammond was an English churchman, who supported the Royalist cause during the English Civil War.
1600
1. Sebastiano Montelupi, Italian businessman (b. 1516) deaths
  1. Sebastiano Montelupi
    
    Sebastiano Montelupi, was an Italian-born merchant and banker in Kraków, Poland, and Postmaster General of the Polish royal postal service under Sigismund II Augustus, Henry III of Poland, Anna Jagiellon, Stephen Báthory and Sigismund III Vasa.
1596
1. Jean Bolland, Flemish priest and hagiographer (d. 1665) births
  1. Jean Bolland
    
    Jean Bolland was a Jesuit priest, theologian, and prominent Flemish hagiographer.
1587
1. Virginia Dare, granddaughter of Governor John White of the Colony of Roanoke, first child born to English parents in the Americas (date of death unknown) births
  1. Virginia Dare
    
    Virginia Dare was the first English child born in a New World English colony.
  2. John White (colonist and artist)
    
    John White was an English colonial governor, explorer, artist, and cartographer. White was among those who sailed with Richard Grenville in the first attempt to colonize Roanoke Island in 1585, acting as artist and mapmaker to the expedition. He would most famously briefly serve as the governor of the second attempt to found Roanoke Colony on the same island in 1587 and discover the colonists had mysteriously vanished.
  3. Roanoke Colony
    
    The establishment of the Roanoke Colony was an attempt by Sir Walter Raleigh to found the first permanent English settlement in North America. The English, led by Sir Humphrey Gilbert, had briefly claimed St. John's, Newfoundland, in 1583 as the first English territory in North America at the royal prerogative of Queen Elizabeth I, but Gilbert was lost at sea on his return journey to England.
1579
1. Countess Charlotte Flandrina of Nassau (d. 1640) births
  1. Countess Charlotte Flandrina of Nassau
    
    Countess Charlotte Flandrina of Nassau was a french abbess. She was the fourth daughter of William the Silent and his third spouse Charlotte of Bourbon.
1563
1. Étienne de La Boétie, French judge and philosopher (b. 1530) deaths
  1. Étienne de La Boétie
    
    Étienne or Estienne de La Boétie was a French magistrate, classicist, writer, poet, and political theorist, best remembered for his intense and intimate friendship with essayist Michel de Montaigne. His early political treatise Discourse on Voluntary Servitude was posthumously adopted by the Huguenot movement and is sometimes seen as an early influence on modern anti-statist, utopian, and civil disobedience thought.
1559
1. Pope Paul IV (b. 1476) deaths
  1. Pope Paul IV
    
    Pope Paul IV, born Gian Pietro Carafa, C.R. was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 May 1555 to his death in August 1559. While serving as papal nuncio in Spain, he developed an anti-Spanish outlook that later coloured his papacy. In response to an invasion of part of the Papal States by Spain during his papacy, he called for a French military intervention. After a defeat of the French and with Spanish troops at the edge of Rome, the Papacy and Spain reached a compromise: French and Spanish forces left the Papal States and the Pope thereafter adopted a neutral stance between France and Spain.
1550
1. Antonio Ferramolino, Italian architect and military engineer deaths
  1. Antonio Ferramolino
    
    Antonio Ferramolino was a 16th-century Italian architect and military engineer. He is also known as Sferrandino da Bergamo, and is called Hernan Molin in Spanish sources. He is mostly known for his work in Sicily, but he also designed fortifications in Ragusa and Malta.
1542
1. Charles Neville, 6th Earl of Westmorland (d. 1601) births
  1. Charles Neville, 6th Earl of Westmorland
    
    Charles Neville, 6th Earl of Westmorland was an English nobleman and one of the leaders of the Rising of the North in 1569.
1503
1. Pope Alexander VI (b. 1431) deaths
  1. Pope Alexander VI
    
    Pope Alexander VI was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 August 1492 until his death in 1503.
1502
1. Knut Alvsson, Norwegian nobleman and politician (b. 1455) deaths
  1. Knut Alvsson
    
    Knut Alvsson was a Norwegian nobleman and landowner. He was the country's foremost Norwegian-born noble in his time and served as fief-holder in southern-central Norway.
1500
1. Alfonso of Aragon, Spanish prince (b. 1481) deaths
  1. Alfonso of Aragon (1481–1500)
    
    Alfonso of Aragon, Duke of Bisceglie and Prince of Salerno of the House of Trastámara, was the illegitimate son of Alfonso II King of Naples and his mistress Trogia Gazzela. His father, cousin of King Ferdinand II of Aragon, abdicated in favour of his legitimate son Ferdinand II of Naples.
1497
1. Francesco Canova da Milano, Italian composer (d. 1543) births
  1. Francesco Canova da Milano
    
    Francesco Canova da Milano was an Italian lutenist and composer. He was born in Monza, near Milan, and worked for the papal court for almost all of his career. Francesco was heralded throughout Europe as the foremost lute composer of his time. More of his music is preserved than of any other lutenist of the period, and his work continued to influence composers for more than a century after his death.
1458
1. Lorenzo Pucci, Catholic cardinal (d. 1531) births
  1. Lorenzo Pucci
    
    Lorenzo Pucci was an Italian cardinal and bishop from the Florentine Pucci family. His brother Roberto Pucci and his nephew Antonio Pucci also became cardinals.
1450
1. Marko Marulić, Croatian poet and author (d. 1524) births
  1. Marko Marulić
    
    Marko Marulić Splićanin, in Latin Marcus Marulus Spalatensis, was a Croatian poet, lawyer, judge, and Renaissance humanist who coined the term "psychology". He is the national poet of Croatia. According to George J. Gutsche, Marulic's epic poem Judita, "is the first long poem in Croatian", and, "gives Marulić a position in his own literature comparable to Dante in Italian literature." Furthermore, Marulić's Latin poetry is also of such high quality that his contemporaries dubbed him, "The Christian Virgil."
1430
1. Thomas de Ros, 8th Baron de Ros, English soldier and politician (b. 1406) deaths
  1. Thomas Ros, 8th Baron Ros
    
    Thomas Ros or Roos, 8th Baron Ros of Helmsley was an English peer.
1318
1. Clare of Montefalco, Italian nun and saint (b. 1268) deaths
  1. Clare of Montefalco
    
    Clare of Montefalco, also called Saint Clare of the Cross, was an Augustinian nun and abbess. Before becoming a nun, Clare was a member of the Third Order of St. Francis (Secular). She was canonized by Pope Leo XIII on December 8, 1881.
1305
1. Ashikaga Takauji, Japanese Shōgun (d. 1358) births
  1. Ashikaga Takauji
    
    Ashikaga Takauji was the founder and first shōgun of the Ashikaga shogunate. His rule began in 1338, beginning the Muromachi period of Japan, and ended with his death in 1358. He was a male-line descendant of the samurai of the (Minamoto) Seiwa Genji line who had settled in the Ashikaga area of Shimotsuke Province, in present-day Tochigi Prefecture.
  2. List of shoguns
    
    This article is a list of shoguns that ruled Japan intermittently, as hereditary military dictators, from the beginning of the Asuka period in 709 until the end of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1868.
1276
1. Pope Adrian V (b. 1220) deaths
  1. Pope Adrian V
    
    Pope Adrian V, born Ottobuono de' Fieschi, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 July 1276 to his death on 18 August 1276. He was an envoy of Pope Clement IV sent to England in May 1265 who successfully completed his task of resolving disputes between King Henry III of England and his barons. Adrian V was elected pope following the death of Innocent V, but died of natural illness before being ordained to the priesthood.
1258
1. Theodore II Laskaris, emperor of Nicea (Byzantine emperor in exile) deaths
  1. Theodore II Laskaris
    
    Theodore II Doukas Laskaris or Ducas Lascaris was Emperor of Nicaea from 1254 to 1258. He was the only child of Emperor John III Doukas Vatatzes and Empress Irene Laskarina. His mother was the eldest daughter of Theodore I Laskaris who had established the Empire of Nicaea as a successor state to the Byzantine Empire in Asia Minor, after the crusaders captured the Byzantine capital, Constantinople, during the Fourth Crusade in 1204. Theodore received an excellent education from two renowned scholars, Nikephoros Blemmydes and George Akropolites. He made friends with young intellectuals, especially with a page of low birth, George Mouzalon. Theodore began to write treatises on theological, historical and philosophical themes in his youth.
  2. List of Byzantine emperors
    
    This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised sovereign authority are included, to the exclusion of junior co-emperors (symbasileis) who never attained the status of sole or senior ruler, as well as of the various usurpers or rebels who claimed the imperial title.
1227
1. Genghis Khan, Mongolian emperor (b. 1162) deaths
  1. Genghis Khan
    
    Genghis Khan was the founder and first Great Khan (Emperor) of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death. He came to power by uniting many of the nomadic tribes of the Mongol steppe and being proclaimed the universal ruler of the Mongols, or Genghis Khan. With the tribes of Northeast Asia largely under his control, he set in motion the Mongol invasions, which ultimately witnessed the conquest of much of Eurasia, and incursions by Mongol raiding parties as far west as Legnica in western Poland and as far south as Gaza. He launched campaigns against the Qara Khitai, Khwarezmia, the Western Xia and Jin dynasty during his life, and his generals raided into medieval Georgia, Circassia, the Kievan Rus', and Volga Bulgaria.
1211
1. Narapatisithu, king of Burma (b. 1150) deaths
  1. Narapatisithu
    
    Narapati Sithu was king of Pagan dynasty of Burma (Myanmar) from 1174 to 1211. He is considered the last important king of Pagan. His peaceful and prosperous reign gave rise to Burmese culture which finally emerged from the shadows of Mon and Pyu cultures. The Burman leadership of the kingdom was now unquestioned. The Pagan Empire reached its peak during his reign, and would decline gradually after his death.
1095
1. King Olaf I of Denmark deaths
  1. Olaf I of Denmark
    
    Olaf I, nicknamed Olaf Hunger, was king of Denmark from 1086 to 1095, following the death of his brother Canute IV the Holy. He was a son of king Sweyn II Estridsson, and the third of Sweyn's sons to rule. He married Ingegard, the daughter of Harald Hardråde, but did not have any sons. He was succeeded by his brother Eric the Good.
911
1. Al-Hadi ila'l-Haqq Yahya, first Zaydi Imam of Yemen (b. 859) deaths
  1. AD 911
    
    911 (CMXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar.
  2. Al-Hadi ila'l-Haqq Yahya
    
    Abūʾl-Ḥusayn Yaḥyā ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn al-Qāsim ibn Ibrāhīm al-Ḥasanī, better known by his honorific title of al-Hādī ilāʾl-Ḥaqq, was a religious and political leader in the Arabian Peninsula. He was the first Zaydi imam who ruled portions of Yemen from 897 to 911. He is also the ancestor of the Rassid Dynasty which ruled Yemen intermittently until the North Yemen Civil War in 1962.
  3. Zaydism
    
    Zaydism is a unique branch of Shia Islam that emerged in the eighth century following Zayd ibn Ali‘s unsuccessful rebellion against the Umayyad Caliphate. In contrast to other Shia Muslims of Twelver Shi'ism and Isma'ilism, Zaydis, also called Fivers, consider Zayd to be the fifth imam and successor to Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin, instead of his half-brother Muhammad al-Baqir.
  4. Imams of Yemen
    
    The Imams of Yemen, later also titled the Kings of Yemen, were religiously consecrated leaders belonging to the Zaidiyyah branch of Shia Islam. They established a blend of religious and temporal-political rule in parts of Yemen from 897. Their imamate endured under varying circumstances until the republican revolution in 1962. Zaidiyyah theology differed from Isma'ilism or Twelver Shi’ism by stressing the presence of an active and visible imam as leader. The imam was expected to be knowledgeable in religious scholarship, and to prove himself a worthy headman of the community, even in battle if this was necessary. A claimant of the imamate would proclaim a "call" (dawah), and there were not infrequently more than one claimant.
849
1. Walafrid Strabo, German monk and theologian (b. 808) deaths
  1. Walafrid Strabo
    
    Walafrid, alternatively spelt Walahfrid, nicknamed Strabo, was an Alemannic Benedictine monk and theological writer who lived on Reichenau Island in southern Germany.
673
1. Kim Yu-shin, general of Silla (b. 595) deaths
  1. Gim Yu-sin
    
    Gim Yu-sin was a Korean military general and politician in 7th-century Silla. He led the unification of the Korean Peninsula by Silla under the reign of King Muyeol and King Munmu. He is said to have been the great-grandchild of King Guhae of Geumgwan Gaya, the last ruler of the Geumgwan Gaya state. This would have given him a very high position in the Silla bone rank system, which governed the political and military status that a person could attain.
  2. Silla
    
    Silla or Shilla was a Korean kingdom located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla, along with Baekje and Goguryeo, formed the Three Kingdoms of Korea.
670
1. Fiacre, Irish hermit deaths
  1. Saint Fiacre
    
    Saint Fiacre is the name of three different Irish saints, the most famous of which is Saint Fiacre of Breuil, the Catholic priest, abbot, hermit, and gardener of the seventh century who was famous for his sanctity and skill in curing infirmities. He emigrated from his native Ireland to France, where he constructed for himself a hermitage together with a vegetable and herb garden, oratory, and hospice for travellers. He is the patron saint of gardeners.
  2. Recluse
    
    A recluse is a person who lives in voluntary seclusion from the public and society. The word is from the Latin recludere, which means "shut up" or "sequester". Historically, the word referred to a Christian hermit's total isolation from the world, with examples including Symeon of Trier, who lived within the great Roman gate Porta Nigra with permission from the Archbishop of Trier, or Theophan the Recluse, the 19th-century Orthodox Christian monk who was later glorified as a saint. Many celebrated figures of human history have spent significant portions of their lives as recluses.
472
1. Ricimer, Roman general and politician (b. 405) deaths
  1. Ricimer
    
    Flavius Ricimer was a Romanized Germanic general who effectively ruled the remaining territory of the Western Roman Empire from 461 until his death in 472, with a brief interlude in which he contested power with Anthemius. Deriving his power from his position as magister militum of the Western Empire, Ricimer exercised political control through a series of puppet emperors.
440
1. Pope Sixtus III deaths
  1. Pope Sixtus III
    
    Pope Sixtus III was the bishop of Rome from 31 July 432 to his death on 18 August 440. His ascension to the papacy is associated with a period of increased construction in the city of Rome. His feast day is celebrated by Catholics on 28 March.
353
1. Decentius, Roman usurper deaths
  1. Decentius
    
    Magnus Decentius was caesar of the Western Roman Empire from 350 to 353, under his brother Magnentius.

Holidays

Christian feast day: Agapitus of Palestrina
1. Agapitus of Palestrina
  
  Agapitus is venerated as a martyr saint, who died on August 18, perhaps in 274, a date that the latest editions of the Roman Martyrology say is uncertain.
Christian feast day: Alberto Hurtado
1. Alberto Hurtado
  
  Alberto Hurtado, popularly known in Chile as Padre Hurtado, was a Chilean Jesuit priest, lawyer, social worker, and writer, of Basque ancestry. He founded the Hogar de Cristo foundation in 1944. He was canonized on October 23, 2005, by Pope Benedict XVI, becoming his country's second saint.
Christian feast day: Daig of Inniskeen
1. Daig
  
  Saint Daig was an Irish Christian bishop and confessor of Inis-Caoin-Deagha, who lived towards the end of the 6th century. His name in Gaelic means "A great flame" and he was probably named after his mother Deighe.
Christian feast day: Evan (or Inan)
1. Saint Inan
  
  Saint Inan (Evan) was the patron saint of Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland, where he is said to have resided during the 9th century AD. He is reputed to have come from Iona, and to have died in Irvine, where his tomb was reputed to have been the site of miracles.
Christian feast day: Fiacre
1. Saint Fiacre
  
  Saint Fiacre is the name of three different Irish saints, the most famous of which is Saint Fiacre of Breuil, the Catholic priest, abbot, hermit, and gardener of the seventh century who was famous for his sanctity and skill in curing infirmities. He emigrated from his native Ireland to France, where he constructed for himself a hermitage together with a vegetable and herb garden, oratory, and hospice for travellers. He is the patron saint of gardeners.
Christian feast day: Florus and Laurus
1. Florus and Laurus
  
  Saints Florus and Laurus are venerated as Christian martyrs of the 2nd century. According to a Greek tale, they were twin brothers who worked as stonemasons. They were originally from Constantinople, Byzantium but settled in Ulpiana, Dardania, south of Pristina, Kosovo in the district of Illyricum. They were educated in the art of masonry by two men named Maximus and Proculus, who were Christians.
Christian feast day: Helena of Constantinople (Roman Catholic Church)
1. Helena, mother of Constantine I
  
  Flavia Julia Helena Augusta was an Augusta and Empress of the Roman Empire and mother of Emperor Constantine the Great. She was born in the lower classes traditionally in the Greek city of Drepanon, Bithynia, in Asia Minor, which was renamed Helenopolis in her honor, though several locations have been proposed for her birthplace and origin.
2. Catholic Church
  
  The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2019. As the world's oldest and largest continuously functioning international institution, it has played a prominent role in the history and development of Western civilization. The church consists of 24 sui iuris churches, including the Latin Church and 23 Eastern Catholic Churches, which comprise almost 3,500 dioceses and eparchies located around the world. The pope, who is the bishop of Rome, is the chief pastor of the church. The bishopric of Rome, known as the Holy See, is the central governing authority of the church. The administrative body of the Holy See, the Roman Curia, has its principal offices in Vatican City, a small enclave of the Italian city of Rome, of which the pope is head of state.
Christian feast day: William Porcher DuBose (Episcopal Church)
1. William Porcher DuBose
  
  William Porcher DuBose was an American priest, author, and theologian in the Episcopal Church in the United States. After service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War, in which he became a chaplain in his cousin's regiment, DuBose served as a Professor, Chaplain, and Dean of Theology at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. Later he served as Chaplain at Fairmount College in Monteagle, Tennessee and as priest-in-charge at the nearby Chapel of the Holy Comforter.
2. Calendar of saints (Episcopal Church)
  
  The veneration of saints in the Episcopal Church is a continuation of an ancient tradition from the early Church which honors important and influential people of the Christian faith. The usage of the term saint is similar to Roman Catholic and Orthodox traditions. Episcopalians believe in the communion of saints in prayer and as such the Episcopal liturgical calendar accommodates feasts for saints.
Christian feast day: August 18 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
1. August 18 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  
  August 17 - Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar - August 19
Arbor Day (Pakistan)
1. Arbor Day
  
  Arbor Day is a secular day of observance in which individuals and groups are encouraged to plant trees. Today, many countries observe such a holiday. Though usually observed in the spring, the date varies, depending on climate and suitable planting season.
Armed Forces Day (North Macedonia)
1. Armed Forces Day
  
  Many nations around the world observe some kind of Armed Forces Day to honor their military forces. This day is not to be confused with Veterans Day or Memorial Day.
Birthday of Virginia Dare (Roanoke Island)
1. Virginia Dare
  
  Virginia Dare was the first English child born in a New World English colony.
2. Roanoke Island
  
  Roanoke Island is an island in Dare County, bordered by the Outer Banks of North Carolina, United States. It was named after the historical Roanoke, a Carolina Algonquian people who inhabited the area in the 16th century at the time of English colonization.
Constitution Day (Indonesia)
1. Public holidays in Indonesia
  
  The following table indicates declared Indonesian government national holidays. Cultural variants also provide opportunity for holidays tied to local events. Beside official holidays, there are the so-called "libur bersama" or "cuti bersama", or joint leave(s) declared nationwide by the government. In total there are 16 public holidays every year.
Long Tan Day, also called Vietnam Veterans' Day (Australia)
1. Battle of Long Tan
  
  The Battle of Long Tan took place in a rubber plantation near Long Tân, in Phước Tuy Province, South Vietnam, during the Vietnam War. The action was fought between Viet Cong (VC) and People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) units and elements of the 1st Australian Task Force.
2. Australia
  
  Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of 7,617,930 square kilometres (2,941,300 sq mi), Australia is the largest country by area in Oceania and the world's sixth-largest country. Australia is the oldest, flattest, and driest inhabited continent, with the least fertile soils. It is a megadiverse country, and its size gives it a wide variety of landscapes and climates, with deserts in the centre, tropical rainforests in the north-east, and mountain ranges in the south-east.
National Science Day (Thailand)
1. Public holidays in Thailand
  
  Public holidays in Thailand are regulated by the government, and most are observed by both the public and private sectors. There are usually nineteen public holidays in a year, but more may be declared by the cabinet. Other observances, both official and non-official, local and international, are observed to varying degrees throughout the country.

Important events in history on August 18 th

Events

Iceland

Okjökull

2017 Turku attack

Turku

2017 Turku attack

Pervez Musharraf

Movement to impeach Pervez Musharraf

Pervez Musharraf

Movement to impeach Pervez Musharraf

Uzbin Valley ambush

2005 Java–Bali blackout

Indonesia

Java

List of major power outages

Murders of Andrew Bagby and Zachary Turner

Newfoundland and Labrador

Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father

American International Airways Flight 808

Leeward Point Field

Guantanamo Bay Naval Base

Guantánamo Bay

Cuba

Luis Carlos Galán

Bogotá

Colombia

Hurricane Alicia

Galveston, Texas

Hurricane Alicia

Texas

Steve Biko

Qonce

Apartheid

Korean axe murder incident

Soviet Union

Luna 24

Moon

Vietnam

Vietnam War

6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment

Royal Australian Regiment

Viet Cong

Battle of Long Tan

Battle of Long Tan

6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment

Viet Cong

Phước Tuy province

Vietnam War

Operation Starlite

United States Marine Corps

Viet Cong

Hildegard Trabant

Republikflucht

List of deaths at the Berlin Wall

East Germany

Civil rights movement

James Meredith

University of Mississippi

Vladimir Nabokov

Lolita

Brojen Das

Bangladesh

English Channel

Bengalis

Julien Lahaut

Rexist Party

Fifth Test, 1948 Ashes series

Test cricket

Australian cricket team in England in 1948

World War II

Soviet–Japanese War

Sakhalin

Sakhalin Koreans

Sukarno

List of presidents of Indonesia

Soviet–Japanese War

Battle of Shumshu

Shumshu

Soviet Union

Important events in history
on August 18 ^th