Important events in history
on December 26 ^th

Events

2015
1. During the December 2015 North American storm complex, a Tornado Outbreak occurs in the DFW Metroplex, with the most notable tornadoes being an EF2, EF3, and an EF4. About a dozen people died due to various reasons, 10 of which due to the EF4, which did substantial damage to the suburb of Rowlett.
  1. December 2015 North American storm complex
    
    The December 2015 North American storm complex was a major storm complex that produced a tornado outbreak, a winter storm, a blizzard and an ice storm in areas ranging from the Southwestern United States to New England. Tornadoes impacted areas around Dallas, Texas while several other states, especially Missouri, were affected by heavy rain and snow causing severe floods. As the system moved through the Great Lakes region, heavy rain, ice pellets and heavy snow fell in the entire region. Wintry mix moved through southern Ontario and Quebec had significant snowfall on December 29. Almost 60 people were killed in the storm system and its aftermath, which made it one of the deadliest of such systems of 2015 in the United States.
  2. Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex
    
    The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, officially designated Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, is a conurbated metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Texas encompassing 11 counties and anchored by the major cities of Dallas and Fort Worth. It is the economic and cultural hub of North Texas. Residents of the area also refer to it as DFW, or the Metroplex. The Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area's population was 7,637,387 according to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2020 census, making it the most populous metropolitan area in both Texas and the Southern United States, the fourth-largest in the U.S., and the tenth-largest in the Americas. In 2016, the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex had the highest annual population growth in the United States.
  3. Rowlett, Texas
    
    Rowlett is a city in Dallas and Rockwall counties in the U.S. state of Texas, and an eastern suburb of Dallas. The total population estimate is 73,270 in 2021. It is a growing, upscale community with nearly $1.5 billion in development in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, located on Lake Ray Hubbard.
2012
1. China opens the world's longest high-speed rail route, which links Beijing and Guangzhou.
  1. High-speed rail in China
    
    The high-speed rail (HSR) network in the People's Republic of China (PRC) is the world's longest and most extensively used – with a total length of 40,000 kilometers by the end of 2021. The HSR network encompasses newly built rail lines with a design speed of 200–350 km/h (120–220 mph). China's HSR accounts for two-thirds of the world's total high-speed railway networks. Almost all HSR trains, track and service are owned and operated by the China Railway Corporation under the brand China Railway High-speed (CRH).
  2. List of high-speed railway lines
    
    This article provides a list of operated high-speed rail networks, listed by country or region.
  3. Beijing–Guangzhou high-speed railway
    
    The Beijing–Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong high-speed railway or Jingguangshengang high-speed railway from its Chinese name is a high-speed railway corridor of the CRH passenger service, connecting Beijingxi station in Beijing and West Kowloon station in Hong Kong in less than nine hours of travel time. It is 2,230 kilometres (1,390 mi) long, and is the only Chinese high-speed railway to cross a border that requires immigration and customs clearance. The existing, conventional Jingguang railway runs largely parallel to the line.
  4. Beijing
    
    Beijing, alternatively romanized as Peking, is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 million residents. It has an administrative area of 16,410.5 km2 (6,336.1 sq mi), the third in the country after Guangzhou and Shanghai. It is located in Northern China, and is governed as a municipality under the direct administration of the State Council with 16 urban, suburban, and rural districts. Beijing is mostly surrounded by Hebei Province with the exception of neighboring Tianjin to the southeast; together, the three divisions form the Jingjinji megalopolis and the national capital region of China.
  5. Guangzhou
    
    Guangzhou, also known as Canton and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about 120 km (75 mi) north-northwest of Hong Kong and 145 km (90 mi) north of Macau, Guangzhou has a history of over 2,200 years and was a major terminus of the maritime Silk Road; it continues to serve as a major port and transportation hub as well as being one of China's three largest cities. For a long time, the only Chinese port accessible to most foreign traders, Guangzhou was captured by the British during the First Opium War. No longer enjoying a monopoly after the war, it lost trade to other ports such as Hong Kong and Shanghai, but continued to serve as a major transshipment port. Due to a high urban population and large volumes of port traffic, Guangzhou is classified as a Large-Port Megacity, the largest type of port-city in the world. Due to worldwide travel restrictions at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, the major airport of Guangzhou, briefly became the world's busiest airport by passenger traffic in 2020.
2006
1. Two earthquakes occurring off the southwest coast of Taiwan damaged submarine communications cables, disrupting Internet services in Asia and seriously affecting financial transactions.
  1. 2006 Hengchun earthquakes
    
    The 2006 Hengchun earthquakes occurred on December 26 at 20:26 and 20:34 local time off the southwest coast of Taiwan in the Luzon Strait, which connects the South China Sea with the Philippine Sea. The International Seismological Centre measured the shocks at 7.0 and 6.9 on the moment magnitude scale. The earthquakes not only caused casualties and building damage, but several submarine communications cables were cut, disrupting telecommunication services in various parts of Asia.
  2. Submarine communications cable
    
    A submarine communications cable is a cable laid on the sea bed between land-based stations to carry telecommunication signals across stretches of ocean and sea. The first submarine communications cables laid beginning in the 1850s carried telegraphy traffic, establishing the first instant telecommunications links between continents, such as the first transatlantic telegraph cable which became operational on 16 August 1858. Subsequent generations of cables carried telephone traffic, then data communications traffic. Modern cables use optical fibre technology to carry digital data, which includes telephone, Internet and private data traffic.
2. Two earthquakes in Hengchun, Taiwan measuring 7.0 and 6.9 on the Richter scale kill two and disrupt telecommunications across Asia.
  1. 2006 Hengchun earthquakes
    
    The 2006 Hengchun earthquakes occurred on December 26 at 20:26 and 20:34 local time off the southwest coast of Taiwan in the Luzon Strait, which connects the South China Sea with the Philippine Sea. The International Seismological Centre measured the shocks at 7.0 and 6.9 on the moment magnitude scale. The earthquakes not only caused casualties and building damage, but several submarine communications cables were cut, disrupting telecommunication services in various parts of Asia.
  2. Richter magnitude scale
    
    The Richter scale —also called the Richter magnitude scale, Richter's magnitude scale, and the Gutenberg–Richter scale—is a measure of the strength of earthquakes, developed by Charles Francis Richter and presented in his landmark 1935 paper, where he called it the "magnitude scale". This was later revised and renamed the local magnitude scale, denoted as ML or ML .
  3. Asia
    
    Asia is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area of 44,579,000 square kilometres (17,212,000 sq mi), about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8.7% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which has long been home to the majority of the human population, was the site of many of the first civilizations. Its 4.7 billion people constitute roughly 60% of the world's population.
2004
1. The 9.1–9.3 Mw  Indian Ocean earthquake shakes northern Sumatra with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). One of the largest observed tsunamis, it affected coastal and partially mainland areas of Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Malaysia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Indonesia; death toll is estimated at 227,898.
  1. 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami
    
    An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia. It was an undersea megathrust earthquake that registered a magnitude of 9.1–9.3 Mw, reaching a Mercalli intensity up to IX in certain areas. The earthquake was caused by a rupture along the fault between the Burma Plate and the Indian Plate.
  2. Sumatra
    
    Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent islands such as the Simeulue, Nias, Mentawai, Enggano, Riau Islands, Bangka Belitung and Krakatoa archipelago.
  3. Modified Mercalli intensity scale
    
    The Modified Mercalli intensity scale, developed from Giuseppe Mercalli's Mercalli intensity scale of 1902, is a seismic intensity scale used for measuring the intensity of shaking produced by an earthquake. It measures the effects of an earthquake at a given location, distinguished from the earthquake's inherent force or strength as measured by seismic magnitude scales. While shaking is caused by the seismic energy released by an earthquake, earthquakes differ in how much of their energy is radiated as seismic waves. Deeper earthquakes also have less interaction with the surface, and their energy is spread out across a larger volume. Shaking intensity is localized, generally diminishing with distance from the earthquake's epicenter, but can be amplified in sedimentary basins and certain kinds of unconsolidated soils.
  4. Tsunami
    
    A tsunami is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explosions above or below water all have the potential to generate a tsunami. Unlike normal ocean waves, which are generated by wind, or tides, which are in turn generated by the gravitational pull of the Moon and the Sun, a tsunami is generated by the displacement of water from a large event.
  5. Thailand
    
    Thailand, historically known as Siam and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning 513,120 square kilometres (198,120 sq mi), with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bordered to the north by Myanmar and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and the extremity of Myanmar. Thailand also shares maritime borders with Vietnam to the southeast, and Indonesia and India to the southwest. Bangkok is the nation's capital and largest city.
  6. India
    
    India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; its Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand, Myanmar, and Indonesia.
  7. Sri Lanka
    
    Sri Lanka, formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, and southeast of the Arabian Sea; it is separated from the Indian subcontinent by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait. Sri Lanka shares a maritime border with India and the Maldives. Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is its legislative capital, and Colombo is its largest city and financial centre.
  8. Maldives
    
    Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, is an archipelagic state located in South Asia, situated in the Indian Ocean. It lies southwest of Sri Lanka and India, about 750 kilometres from the Asian continent's mainland. The chain of 26 atolls stretches across the equator from Ihavandhippolhu Atoll in the north to Addu Atoll in the south.
  9. Malaysia
    
    Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions, Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Malaysia. Peninsular Malaysia shares a land and maritime border with Thailand and maritime borders with Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia. East Malaysia shares land and maritime borders with Brunei and Indonesia and a maritime border with the Philippines and Vietnam. Kuala Lumpur is the national capital, largest city and the seat of the legislative branch of the federal government. The nearby planned capital of Putrajaya is the administrative capital, which represents the seat of both the executive branch and the judicial branch of the federal government. With a population of over 32 million, Malaysia is the world's 45th-most populous country. The southernmost point of continental Eurasia is in Tanjung Piai. In the tropics, Malaysia is one of 17 megadiverse countries, home to numerous endemic species.
  10. Myanmar
    
    Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, also known as Burma, is a country in Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia, and has a population of about 54 million as of 2017. Myanmar is bordered by Bangladesh and India to its northwest, China to its northeast, Laos and Thailand to its east and southeast, and the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal to its south and southwest. The country's capital city is Naypyidaw, and its largest city is Yangon (Rangoon).
  11. 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.
  12. 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.
2. Orange Revolution: The final run-off election in Ukraine is held under heavy international scrutiny.
  1. Orange Revolution
    
    The Orange Revolution was a series of protests and political events that took place in Ukraine from late November 2004 to January 2005, in the immediate aftermath of the run-off vote of the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election, which was claimed to be marred by massive corruption, voter intimidation and electoral fraud. Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, was the focal point of the movement's campaign of civil resistance, with thousands of protesters demonstrating daily. Nationwide, the revolution was highlighted by a series of acts of civil disobedience, sit-ins, and general strikes organized by the opposition movement.
  2. 2004 Ukrainian presidential election
    
    Presidential elections were held in Ukraine on 31 October, 21 November and 26 December 2004. The election was the fourth presidential election to take place in Ukraine following independence from the Soviet Union. The last stages of the election were contested between the opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko and incumbent Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych from the Party of Regions. It was later determined by the Ukrainian Supreme Court that the election was plagued by widespread falsification of the results in favour of Yanukovych.
2003
1. The 6.6 Mw  Bam earthquake shakes southeastern Iran with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), leaving more than 26,000 dead and 30,000 injured.
  1. 2003 Bam earthquake
    
    The 2003 Bam earthquake struck the Kerman province of southeastern Iran at 01:56 UTC on December 26. The shock had a moment magnitude of 6.6 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). The earthquake was particularly destructive in Bam, with the death toll amounting to at least 34,000 people and injuring up to 200,000. The effects of the earthquake were exacerbated by the use of mud brick as the standard construction medium; many of the area's structures did not comply with earthquake regulations set in 1989.
  2. Iran
    
    Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmenistan to the north, by Afghanistan and Pakistan to the east, and by the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf to the south. It covers an area of 1.64 million square kilometres, making it the 17th-largest country. Iran has a population of 86 million, making it the 17th-most populous country in the world, and the second-largest in the Middle East. Its largest cities, in descending order, are the capital Tehran, Mashhad, Isfahan, Karaj, Shiraz, and Tabriz.
  3. Modified Mercalli intensity scale
    
    The Modified Mercalli intensity scale, developed from Giuseppe Mercalli's Mercalli intensity scale of 1902, is a seismic intensity scale used for measuring the intensity of shaking produced by an earthquake. It measures the effects of an earthquake at a given location, distinguished from the earthquake's inherent force or strength as measured by seismic magnitude scales. While shaking is caused by the seismic energy released by an earthquake, earthquakes differ in how much of their energy is radiated as seismic waves. Deeper earthquakes also have less interaction with the surface, and their energy is spread out across a larger volume. Shaking intensity is localized, generally diminishing with distance from the earthquake's epicenter, but can be amplified in sedimentary basins and certain kinds of unconsolidated soils.
1999
1. The storm Lothar sweeps across Central Europe, killing 137 and causing US$1.3 billion in damage.
  1. Cyclone Lothar
    
    Cyclone Lothar is regarded as the worst European windstorm recorded during the 20th century. Crossing France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany between 25 December and 27 December 1999, Cyclone Lothar resulted in 110 fatalities and more than €15 billion in damage, becoming the costliest European windstorm ever recorded.
1998
1. Iraq announces its intention to fire upon U.S. and British warplanes that patrol the northern and southern no-fly zones.
  1. Ba'athist Iraq
    
    Ba'athist Iraq, formally the Iraqi Republic until 6 January 1992 and the Republic of Iraq thereafter, covers the national history of Iraq between 1968 and 2003 under the rule of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. This period began with high economic growth and soaring prosperity, but ended with Iraq facing social, political, and economic stagnation. The average annual income decreased both because of external factors such as the heavy sanctions placed on Iraq by Western countries and the internal policies of the Iraqi government.
  2. Iraqi no-fly zones conflict
    
    The Iraqi no-fly zones conflict was a low-level conflict in the two no-fly zones (NFZs) in Iraq that were proclaimed by the United States, United Kingdom, and France after the Gulf War of 1991. The United States stated that the NFZs were intended to protect the ethnic Kurdish minority in northern Iraq and Shiite Muslims in the south. Iraqi aircraft were forbidden from flying inside the zones. The policy was enforced by the United States and the United Kingdom until 2003, when it was rendered obsolete by the 2003 invasion of Iraq. French aircraft patrols also participated until France withdrew in 1996.
1996
1. Six-year-old American beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey was found beaten and strangled in the basement of her family's home in Boulder, Colorado.
  1. Killing of JonBenét Ramsey
    
    JonBenét Patricia Ramsey was an American child beauty queen who was killed at the age of six in her family's home in Boulder, Colorado. A long handwritten ransom note was found in the home. Her father, John, found the girl's body in the basement of their house about seven hours after she had been reported missing. She had sustained a broken skull from a blow to the head and had been strangled; a garrote was found tied around her neck. The autopsy report stated that JonBenét's official cause of death was "asphyxia by strangulation associated with craniocerebral trauma". Her death was ruled a homicide. The case generated worldwide public and media interest, in part because her mother Patsy Ramsey, a former beauty queen, had entered JonBenét into a series of child beauty pageants. The crime is still considered a cold case and remains an open investigation with the Boulder Police Department.
  2. Boulder, Colorado
    
    Boulder is a home rule city that is the county seat and most populous municipality of Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,250 at the 2020 United States Census, making it the 12th most populous city in Colorado. Boulder is the principal city of the Boulder, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area and an important part of the Front Range Urban Corridor.
2. The Federation of Korean Trade Unions called on its 1.2 million members to refuse to work, beginning the largest organized strike in South Korean history.
  1. Federation of Korean Trade Unions
    
    The Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) is a national trade union center in South Korea formed in 1960. It represents the company union tendency of the South Korean labour movement, as opposed to the more militant Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU).
  2. 1996–1997 strikes in South Korea
    
    In December 1996 and January 1997, South Korea experienced the largest organized strike in its history, when workers in the automotive and shipbuilding industries refused to work in protest against a law which was to make firing employees easier for employers and curtail labor organizing rights.
1994
1. Four Armed Islamic Group hijackers seize control of Air France Flight 8969. When the plane lands at Marseille, a French Gendarmerie assault team boards the aircraft and kills the hijackers.
  1. Armed Islamic Group of Algeria
    
    The Armed Islamic Group was one of the two main Islamist insurgent groups that fought the Algerian government and army in the Algerian Civil War.
  2. Aircraft hijacking
    
    Aircraft hijacking is the unlawful seizure of an aircraft by an individual or a group. Dating from the earliest of hijackings, most cases involve the pilot being forced to fly according to the hijacker's demands. There have also been incidents where the hijackers have overpowered the flight crew, made unauthorized entry into cockpit and flown them into buildings – most notably in the September 11 attacks – and in several cases, planes have been hijacked by the official pilot or co-pilot; e.g., Germanwings Flight 9525.
  3. Air France Flight 8969
    
    Air France Flight 8969 was an Air France flight that was hijacked on 24 December 1994 by the Armed Islamic Group of Algeria (GIA) at Houari Boumediene Airport, Algiers. The terrorists murdered three passengers and their intention was either to blow up the plane over the Eiffel Tower in Paris or crash the plane into it. When the aircraft reached Marseille, the National Gendarmerie Intervention Group (GIGN), a counter-terror unit of the French National Gendarmerie, stormed the plane and killed all four hijackers.
  4. Marseille
    
    Marseille is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern France, it is located on the coast of the Gulf of Lion, part of the Mediterranean Sea, near the mouth of the Rhône river. Its inhabitants are called Marseillais.
  5. National Gendarmerie
    
    The National Gendarmerie is one of two national law enforcement forces of France, along with the National Police. The Gendarmerie is a branch of the French Armed Forces placed under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior, with additional duties from the Ministry of Armed Forces. Its responsibilities include policing smaller towns, suburbs and rural areas, along with special subdivisions like the GSPR. By contrast, the National Police is a civilian law enforcement agency that is in charge of policing cities and larger towns. Because of its military status, the Gendarmerie also fulfills a range of military and defence missions, including having a cybercrime division. The Gendarmerie has a strength of around 102,269 people.
1991
1. The Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union meets and formally dissolves the Soviet Union, ending the Cold War.
  1. Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union
    
    The Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was, beginning in 1936, the most authoritative legislative body of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), and the only one with the power to approve constitutional amendments. Prior to 1936, the Congress of Soviets was the supreme legislative body. During 1989–1991 a similar, but not identical structure was the supreme legislative body. The Supreme Soviet elected the USSR's collective head of state, the Presidium; and appointed the Council of Ministers, the Supreme Court, and the Procurator General of the USSR.
  2. Dissolution of the Soviet Union
    
    The dissolution of the Soviet Union was the process of internal disintegration within the Soviet Union (USSR) which resulted in the end of the country's and its federal government's existence as a sovereign state, thereby resulting in its constituent republics gaining full sovereignty on 26 December 1991. It brought an end to General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev's effort to reform the Soviet political and economic system in an attempt to stop a period of political stalemate and economic backslide. The Soviet Union had experienced internal stagnation and ethnic separatism. Although highly centralized until its final years, the country was made up of fifteen top-level republics that served as homelands for different ethnicities. By late 1991, amid a catastrophic political crisis, with several republics already departing the Union and the waning of centralized power, the leaders of three of its founding members declared that the Soviet Union no longer existed. Eight more republics joined their declaration shortly thereafter. Gorbachev resigned in December 1991 and what was left of the Soviet parliament voted to end itself.
  3. Cold War
    
    The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term cold war is used because there was no large-scale fighting directly between the two superpowers, but they each supported major regional conflicts known as proxy wars. The conflict was based around the ideological and geopolitical struggle for global influence by these two superpowers, following their temporary alliance and victory against Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan in 1945. Aside from the nuclear arsenal development and conventional military deployment, the struggle for dominance was expressed via indirect means such as psychological warfare, propaganda campaigns, espionage, far-reaching embargoes, rivalry at sports events, and technological competitions such as the Space Race.
1989
1. United Express Flight 2415 crashes on approach to the Tri-Cities Airport in Pasco, Washington, killing all six people on board.
  1. United Express Flight 2415
    
    United Express Flight 2415 was a regularly scheduled flight in the northwest United States from Seattle to Pasco, Washington, operated using a BAe Jetstream 31. Late on Tuesday, December 26, 1989, Flight 2415 crashed while attempting to land at Pasco's Tri-Cities Airport, killing both pilots and all four passengers aboard.
  2. Tri-Cities Airport (Washington)
    
    Tri-Cities Airport is a public airport in the northwest United States in Franklin County, Washington. Located two miles (3 km) northwest of Pasco, it serves the Tri-Cities metropolitan area in southeast Washington, and is the third largest commercial airport in the state. The facility has three runways and covers 2,235 acres.
  3. Pasco, Washington
    
    Pasco is a city in, and the county seat of, Franklin County, Washington, United States. It had a population of 59,781 at the 2010 census, and 75,432 as of the July 1, 2019 Census Bureau estimate.
1980
1. Witnesses report the first of several sightings of unexplained lights near RAF Woodbridge, in Rendlesham Forest, Suffolk, England, United Kingdom, an incident called "Britain's Roswell".
  1. Rendlesham Forest incident
    
    The Rendlesham Forest incident was a series of reported sightings of unexplained lights near Rendlesham Forest in Suffolk, England in late December 1980 which became linked with claims of UFO landings. The events occurred just outside RAF Woodbridge, which was used at the time by the United States Air Force (USAF). USAF personnel, including deputy base commander Lieutenant Colonel Charles I. Halt, claimed to see things they described as a UFO sighting.
  2. RAF Woodbridge
    
    Royal Air Force Woodbridge or RAF Woodbridge, is a former Royal Air Force station located east of Woodbridge in the county of Suffolk, England.
  3. Rendlesham Forest
    
    Rendlesham Forest is a 1,500-hectare (3,700-acre) mixed woodland in Suffolk owned by Forestry England with recreation facilities for walkers, cyclists and campers.
  4. Suffolk
    
    Suffolk is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowestoft, Bury St Edmunds, Newmarket, and Felixstowe which has one of the largest container ports in Europe.
  5. Roswell incident
    
    The Roswell incident is the 1947 recovery of mundane metallic and rubber debris from a military balloon that crashed near Corona, New Mexico by United States Army Air Forces officers from Roswell Army Air Field, and the conspiracy theories, decades later, claiming that the debris involved a flying saucer and that the truth had been covered up by the United States government. On July 8, 1947, Roswell Army Air Field issued a press release stating that they had recovered a "flying disc". The Army quickly retracted the statement and said instead that the crashed object was a conventional weather balloon. In 1994, the United States Air Force published a report identifying the crashed object as a nuclear test surveillance balloon from Project Mogul.
1978
1. The inaugural Paris-Dakar Rally begins.
  1. Dakar Rally
    
    The Dakar Rally is an annual rally raid organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation. Most events since the inception in 1978 were staged from Paris, France, to Dakar, Senegal, but due to security threats in Mauritania, which led to the cancellation of the 2008 rally, events from 2009 to 2019 were held in South America. Since 2020, the rally has been held in Saudi Arabia. The event is open to amateur and professional entries, amateurs typically making up about eighty percent of the participants.
1975
1. Tu-144, the world's first commercial supersonic aircraft, surpassing Mach 2, goes into service.
  1. Tupolev Tu-144
    
    The Tupolev Tu-144 is a Soviet supersonic passenger airliner designed by Tupolev in operation from 1968 to 1999.
  2. Supersonic aircraft
    
    A supersonic aircraft is an aircraft capable of supersonic flight, that is, flying faster than the speed of sound. Supersonic aircraft were developed in the second half of the twentieth century. Supersonic aircraft have been used for research and military purposes, but only two supersonic aircraft, the Tupolev Tu-144 and the Concorde, ever entered service for civil use as airliners. Fighter jets are the most common example of supersonic aircraft.
  3. Mach number
    
    Mach number is a dimensionless quantity in fluid dynamics representing the ratio of flow velocity past a boundary to the local speed of sound. It is named after the Moravian physicist and philosopher Ernst Mach.
1972
1. Vietnam War: As part of Operation Linebacker II, 120 American B-52 Stratofortress bombers attacked Hanoi, including 78 launched from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, the largest single combat launch in Strategic Air Command history.
  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 Linebacker II
    
    Operation Linebacker II was an aerial bombing campaign conducted by U.S. Seventh Air Force, Strategic Air Command and U.S. Navy Task Force 77 against targets in the Democratic Republic of Vietnam during the final period of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. The operation was conducted from 18 to 29 December 1972, leading to several informal names such as The December Raids and The Christmas Bombings. In Vietnam, it is just simply called "12 days and nights" and "Operation Dien Bien Phu in the air" or just simply "Dien Bien Phu in the air". Unlike the Operation Rolling Thunder and Operation Linebacker air interdiction operations, Linebacker II was designed to be a "maximum effort" bombing campaign to "destroy major target complexes in the Hanoi and Haiphong areas, which could only be accomplished by B-52s". It saw the largest heavy bomber strikes launched by the U.S. Air Force since World War II.
  3. Boeing B-52 Stratofortress
    
    The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) since the 1950s. The bomber is capable of carrying up to 70,000 pounds (32,000 kg) of weapons, and has a typical combat range of around 8,800 miles (14,080 km) without aerial refueling.
  4. Hanoi
    
    Hanoi is the capital city of Vietnam. It covers an area of 3,359.82 km2 (1,297.2 sq mi). The second largest city in Vietnam consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is the cultural and political centre of Vietnam.
  5. Andersen Air Force Base
    
    Andersen Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located primarily within the village of Yigo in the United States territory of Guam. The host unit at Andersen AFB is the 36th Wing, assigned to the Pacific Air Forces Eleventh Air Force. As a non-flying wing, the 36 WG's mission is to provide support to deployed air and space forces of USAF, foreign air forces to Andersen, and tenant units assigned to the base. Andersen AFB was placed under the installation management authority of Joint Region Marianas on 1 October 2009, along with Naval Base Guam. The two bases are about 30 miles (48 km) apart at opposite ends of the island. Established in 1944 after the Liberation of Guam as North Field, it is named for Brigadier General James Roy Andersen (1904–1945).
  6. Guam
    
    Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States ; its capital Hagåtña (144°45'00"E) lies further west than Melbourne, Australia (144°57'47"E). In Oceania, Guam is the largest and southernmost of the Mariana Islands and the largest island in Micronesia. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, and the most populous village is Dededo.
  7. Strategic Air Command
    
    Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile components of the United States military's strategic nuclear forces from 1946 to 1992. SAC was also responsible for the operation of strategic reconnaissance aircraft and airborne command post aircraft as well as most of the USAF's aerial refueling fleet, including aircraft from the Air Force Reserve (AFRES) and Air National Guard (ANG).
1968
1. The Communist Party of the Philippines is established by Jose Maria Sison, breaking away from the Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas-1930.
  1. Communist Party of the Philippines
    
    The Communist Party of the Philippines is a far-left, Marxist-Leninist-Maoist revolutionary organization and communist party in the Philippines, formed by Jose Maria Sison on 26 December 1968. It is designated as a terrorist group by the United States Department of State together with Sison and its armed wing New People's Army (NPA) in 2002. The European Union renewed its terrorist designation on the organization in 2019, though a 2009 ruling by the EU's second highest court delisted Sison as a "person supporting terrorism" and reversed a decision by member governments to freeze assets. According to the US' Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook, the CPP and the NPA aims to destabilize the Philippines' economy and overthrow the national government.
  2. Jose Maria Sison
    
    Jose Maria Canlas Sison, also known by his nickname Joma, is a Filipino writer and activist who founded the Communist Party of the Philippines and added elements of Maoism to its philosophy — which would be known as national democracy. He applied the theory of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism to the history and current circumstances of the Philippines.
  3. Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas-1930
    
    The Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas-1930 (PKP-1930), also known as the Philippine Communist Party, is a communist party in the Philippines that was established on November 7, 1930. It uses the aforementioned appellation in order to distinguish itself from its better known splinter group, the Communist Party of the Philippines.
1966
1. The first Kwanzaa is celebrated by Maulana Karenga, the chair of Black Studies at California State University, Long Beach.
  1. Kwanzaa
    
    Kwanzaa is an annual celebration of African-American culture from December 26 to January 1, culminating in a communal feast called Karamu, usually on the sixth day. It was created by activist Maulana Karenga, based on African harvest festival traditions from various parts of West and Southeast Africa. Kwanzaa was first celebrated in 1966.
  2. Maulana Karenga
    
    Maulana Ndabezitha Karenga, previously known as Ron Karenga, is an American activist, author, and professor of Africana studies, best known as the creator of the pan-African and African-American holiday of Kwanzaa.
  3. Black studies
    
    Black studies, or Africana studies, is an interdisciplinary academic field that primarily focuses on the study of the history, culture, and politics of the peoples of the African diaspora and Africa. The field includes scholars of African-American, Afro-Canadian, Afro-Caribbean, Afro-Latino, Afro-European, Afro-Asian, African Australian, and African literature, history, politics, and religion as well as those from disciplines, such as sociology, anthropology, cultural studies, psychology, education, and many other disciplines within the humanities and social sciences including performance and art. The field also uses various types of research methods.
  4. California State University, Long Beach
    
    California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities in the state of California by enrollment, its student body numbering 39,435 for the fall 2021 semester. With 5,830 graduate students as of fall 2021, the university enrolls one of the largest graduate student populations across the CSU system and in the state of California.
1963
1. The Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "I Saw Her Standing There" are released in the United States, marking the beginning of Beatlemania on an international level.
  1. The Beatles
    
    The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the development of 1960s counterculture and popular music's recognition as an art form. Rooted in skiffle, beat and 1950s rock 'n' roll, their sound incorporated elements of classical music and traditional pop in innovative ways; the band also explored music styles ranging from folk and Indian music to psychedelia and hard rock. As pioneers in recording, songwriting and artistic presentation, the Beatles revolutionised many aspects of the music industry and were often publicised as leaders of the era's youth and sociocultural movements.
  2. I Want to Hold Your Hand
    
    "I Want to Hold Your Hand" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and recorded on 17 October 1963, it was the first Beatles record to be made using four-track equipment.
  3. I Saw Her Standing There
    
    "I Saw Her Standing There" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles written primarily by Paul McCartney with some contributions from John Lennon. It is the opening track on the band's 1963 debut UK album Please Please Me and their debut US album Introducing... The Beatles.
1948
1. Cardinal József Mindszenty is arrested in Hungary and accused of treason and conspiracy.
  1. József Mindszenty
    
    József Mindszenty was a Hungarian cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Esztergom and leader of the Catholic Church in Hungary from 1945 to 1973. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, for five decades "he personified uncompromising opposition to fascism and communism in Hungary". During World War II, he was imprisoned by the pro-Nazi Arrow Cross Party. After the war, he opposed communism and communist persecution in his country. As a result, he was tortured and given a life sentence in a 1949 show trial that generated worldwide condemnation, including a United Nations resolution.
  2. Treason
    
    Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state. A person who commits treason is known in law as a traitor.
2. The last Soviet troops withdraw from North Korea.
  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. North Korea
    
    North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and Tumen rivers, and South Korea to the south at the Korean Demilitarized Zone. North Korea's border with South Korea is a disputed border as both countries claim the entirety of the Korean Peninsula. The country's western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eastern border is defined by the Sea of Japan. North Korea, like its southern counterpart, claims to be the legitimate government of the entire peninsula and adjacent islands. Pyongyang is the capital and largest city.
1946
1. American gangster Bugsy Siegel opened The Flamingo Hotel & Casino (pictured) in Las Vegas, the oldest casino still in operation on the Las Vegas Strip.
  1. Bugsy Siegel
    
    Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel was an American mobster who was a driving force behind the development of the Las Vegas Strip. Siegel was not only influential within the Jewish Mob, but along with his childhood friend and fellow gangster Meyer Lansky, also held significant influence within the Italian-American Mafia and the largely Italian-Jewish National Crime Syndicate. Described as handsome and charismatic, he became one of the first front-page celebrity gangsters.
  2. Flamingo Las Vegas
    
    Flamingo Las Vegas is a casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment.
  3. Las Vegas
    
    Las Vegas, often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area and is the largest city within the greater Mojave Desert. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city, known primarily for its gambling, shopping, fine dining, entertainment, and nightlife. The Las Vegas Valley as a whole serves as the leading financial, commercial, and cultural center for Nevada.
  4. Las Vegas Strip
    
    The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard South in Clark County, Nevada, that is known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos. The Strip, as it is known, is about 4.2 mi (6.8 km) long, and is immediately south of the Las Vegas city limits in the unincorporated towns of Paradise and Winchester, but is often referred to simply as "Las Vegas".
1944
1. World War II: George S. Patton's Third Army breaks the encirclement of surrounded U.S. forces at Bastogne, Belgium.
  1. George S. Patton
    
    George Smith Patton Jr. was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France and Germany after the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944.
  2. United States Army Central
    
    The United States Army Central, formerly the Third United States Army, commonly referred to as the Third Army and as ARCENT, is a military formation of the United States Army which saw service in World War I and World War II, in the 1991 Gulf War, and in the coalition occupation of Iraq. It is best known for its campaigns in World War II under the command of General George S. Patton.
  3. Siege of Bastogne
    
    The siege of Bastogne was an engagement in December 1944 between American and German forces at the Belgian town of Bastogne, as part of the larger Battle of the Bulge. The goal of the German offensive was the harbor at Antwerp. In order to reach it before the Allies could regroup and bring their superior air power to bear, German mechanized forces had to seize the roadways through eastern Belgium. Because all seven main roads in the densely wooded Ardennes highlands converged on Bastogne, just a few miles away from the border with neighboring Luxembourg, control of its crossroads was vital to the German attack. The siege was from 20 to 26 December, until the besieged American forces were relieved by elements of General George Patton's Third Army.
  4. Bastogne
    
    Bastogne is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Luxembourg in the Ardennes, Belgium.
1943
1. Second World War: The German battleship Scharnhorst was sunk in the Battle of the North Cape during its attempt to attack Arctic convoys of war materiel.
  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. German battleship Scharnhorst
    
    Scharnhorst was a German capital ship, alternatively described as a battleship or battlecruiser, of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine. She was the lead ship of her class, which included her sister ship Gneisenau. The ship was built at the Kriegsmarinewerft dockyard in Wilhelmshaven; she was laid down on 15 June 1935 and launched a year and four months later on 3 October 1936. Completed in January 1939, the ship was armed with a main battery of nine 28 cm (11 in) C/34 guns in three triple turrets. Plans to replace these weapons with six 38 cm (15 in) SK C/34 guns in twin turrets were never carried out.
  3. Battle of the North Cape
    
    The Battle of the North Cape was a Second World War naval battle that occurred on 26 December 1943, as part of the Arctic campaign. The German battleship Scharnhorst, on an operation to attack Arctic Convoys of war materiel from the Western Allies to the Soviet Union, was brought to battle and sunk by the Royal Navy's battleship HMS Duke of York with cruisers and destroyers, including an onslaught from the destroyer HNoMS Stord of the exiled Royal Norwegian Navy, off the North Cape, Norway.
  4. Arctic convoys of World War II
    
    The Arctic convoys of World War II were oceangoing convoys which sailed from the United Kingdom, Iceland, and North America to northern ports in the Soviet Union – primarily Arkhangelsk (Archangel) and Murmansk in Russia. There were 78 convoys between August 1941 and May 1945, sailing via several seas of the Atlantic and Arctic oceans, with two gaps with no sailings between July and September 1942, and March and November 1943.
  5. Materiel
    
    Materiel refers to supplies, equipment, and weapons in military supply-chain management, and typically supplies and equipment in a commercial supply chain context.
2. World War II: German warship Scharnhorst is sunk off of Norway's North Cape after a battle against major Royal Navy forces.
  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. German battleship Scharnhorst
    
    Scharnhorst was a German capital ship, alternatively described as a battleship or battlecruiser, of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine. She was the lead ship of her class, which included her sister ship Gneisenau. The ship was built at the Kriegsmarinewerft dockyard in Wilhelmshaven; she was laid down on 15 June 1935 and launched a year and four months later on 3 October 1936. Completed in January 1939, the ship was armed with a main battery of nine 28 cm (11 in) C/34 guns in three triple turrets. Plans to replace these weapons with six 38 cm (15 in) SK C/34 guns in twin turrets were never carried out.
  3. North Cape (Norway)
    
    North Cape is a cape on the northern coast of the island of Magerøya in Northern Norway. The cape is in Nordkapp Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The European route E69 highway has its northern terminus at North Cape, which makes it the northernmost point in Europe that can be accessed by car and makes the E69 the northernmost public road in Europe. The plateau is a popular tourist attraction. The cape includes a 307-metre-high cliff (1,007 ft) with a large flat plateau on top, where visitors, weather permitting, can watch the midnight sun and views of the Barents Sea to the north. North Cape Hall, a visitor centre, was built in 1988 on the plateau. It includes a café, restaurant, post office, souvenir shop, a small museum, and video cinema.
  4. Battle of the North Cape
    
    The Battle of the North Cape was a Second World War naval battle that occurred on 26 December 1943, as part of the Arctic campaign. The German battleship Scharnhorst, on an operation to attack Arctic Convoys of war materiel from the Western Allies to the Soviet Union, was brought to battle and sunk by the Royal Navy's battleship HMS Duke of York with cruisers and destroyers, including an onslaught from the destroyer HNoMS Stord of the exiled Royal Norwegian Navy, off the North Cape, Norway.
1941
1. U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs a bill establishing the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day in the United States.
  1. 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.
  2. Thanksgiving (United States)
    
    Thanksgiving is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. It is sometimes called American Thanksgiving to distinguish it from the Canadian holiday of the same name and related celebrations in other regions. It originated as a day of thanksgiving and harvest festival, with the theme of the holiday revolving around giving thanks and the centerpiece of Thanksgiving celebrations remaining a Thanksgiving dinner. The dinner traditionally consists of foods and dishes indigenous to the Americas, namely turkey, potatoes, stuffing, squash, corn (maize), green beans, cranberries, and pumpkin pie. Other Thanksgiving customs include charitable organizations offering Thanksgiving dinner for the poor, attending religious services, and watching television events such as Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and NFL football games. Thanksgiving is regarded as the beginning of the Christmas and holiday season, with the day following it, Black Friday, being the busiest shopping day of the year in the United States.
1919
1. American baseball player Babe Ruth was sold by the Boston Red Sox to their rivals, the New York Yankees, beginning the 84-year-long "Curse of the Bambino".
  1. Babe Ruth
    
    George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", he began his MLB career as a star left-handed pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, but achieved his greatest fame as a slugging outfielder for the New York Yankees. Ruth is regarded as one of the greatest sports heroes in American culture and is considered by many to be the greatest baseball player of all time. In 1936, Ruth was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame as one of its "first five" inaugural members.
  2. Boston Red Sox
    
    The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in 1901 as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox' home ballpark has been Fenway Park since 1912. The "Red Sox" name was chosen by the team owner, John I. Taylor, c. 1908, following the lead of previous teams that had been known as the "Boston Red Stockings," including the Boston Braves. The team has won nine World Series championships, tied for the third-most of any MLB team, and has played in 13 World Series. Their most recent World Series appearance and win was in 2018. In addition, they won the 1904 American League pennant, but were not able to defend their 1903 World Series championship when the New York Giants refused to participate in the 1904 World Series.
  3. New York Yankees
    
    The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of two major league clubs based in New York City, the other is the National League (NL)'s New York Mets. The team was founded in 1903 when Frank Farrell and Bill Devery purchased the franchise rights to the defunct Baltimore Orioles after it ceased operations and used them to establish the New York Highlanders. The Highlanders were officially renamed the New York Yankees in 1913.
  4. Curse of the Bambino
    
    The Curse of the Bambino was a superstitious sports curse in Major League Baseball (MLB) derived from the 86-year championship drought of the Boston Red Sox between 1918 and 2004. The superstition was named after Babe Ruth, colloquially known as "The Bambino", who played for the Red Sox until he was sold to the New York Yankees in 1920. While some fans took the curse seriously, most used the expression in a tongue-in-cheek manner.
2. Babe Ruth of the Boston Red Sox is sold to the New York Yankees by owner Harry Frazee, allegedly establishing the Curse of the Bambino superstition.
  1. Babe Ruth
    
    George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", he began his MLB career as a star left-handed pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, but achieved his greatest fame as a slugging outfielder for the New York Yankees. Ruth is regarded as one of the greatest sports heroes in American culture and is considered by many to be the greatest baseball player of all time. In 1936, Ruth was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame as one of its "first five" inaugural members.
  2. Boston Red Sox
    
    The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in 1901 as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox' home ballpark has been Fenway Park since 1912. The "Red Sox" name was chosen by the team owner, John I. Taylor, c. 1908, following the lead of previous teams that had been known as the "Boston Red Stockings," including the Boston Braves. The team has won nine World Series championships, tied for the third-most of any MLB team, and has played in 13 World Series. Their most recent World Series appearance and win was in 2018. In addition, they won the 1904 American League pennant, but were not able to defend their 1903 World Series championship when the New York Giants refused to participate in the 1904 World Series.
  3. New York Yankees
    
    The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of two major league clubs based in New York City, the other is the National League (NL)'s New York Mets. The team was founded in 1903 when Frank Farrell and Bill Devery purchased the franchise rights to the defunct Baltimore Orioles after it ceased operations and used them to establish the New York Highlanders. The Highlanders were officially renamed the New York Yankees in 1913.
  4. Harry Frazee
    
    Harry Herbert Frazee was an American theatrical agent, producer, and director, and owner of Major League Baseball's Boston Red Sox from 1916 to 1923. He is well known for selling Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees, which started the alleged Curse of the Bambino.
  5. Curse of the Bambino
    
    The Curse of the Bambino was a superstitious sports curse in Major League Baseball (MLB) derived from the 86-year championship drought of the Boston Red Sox between 1918 and 2004. The superstition was named after Babe Ruth, colloquially known as "The Bambino", who played for the Red Sox until he was sold to the New York Yankees in 1920. While some fans took the curse seriously, most used the expression in a tongue-in-cheek manner.
1900
1. A relief crew arrived at the Flannan Isles Lighthouse in Scotland and discovered that the previous crew had disappeared.
  1. Flannan Isles Lighthouse
    
    Flannan Isles Lighthouse is a lighthouse near the highest point on Eilean Mòr, one of the Flannan Isles in the Outer Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland. It is best known for the mysterious disappearance of its keepers in 1900.
1898
1. At the French Academy of Sciences, physicists Pierre and Marie Curie announced the discovery of a new element, naming it radium.
  1. French Academy of Sciences
    
    The French Academy of Sciences is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research. It was at the forefront of scientific developments in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries, and is one of the earliest Academies of Sciences.
  2. Pierre Curie
    
    Pierre Curie was a French physicist, a pioneer in crystallography, magnetism, piezoelectricity, and radioactivity. In 1903, he received the Nobel Prize in Physics with his wife, Marie Curie, and Henri Becquerel, "in recognition of the extraordinary services they have rendered by their joint researches on the radiation phenomena discovered by Professor Henri Becquerel". With their win, the Curies became the first ever married couple to win the Nobel Prize, launching the Curie family legacy of five Nobel Prizes.
  3. Marie Curie
    
    Marie Salomea Skłodowska–Curie was a Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the first person and the only woman to win a Nobel Prize twice, and the only person to win a Nobel Prize in two scientific fields. Her husband, Pierre Curie, was a co-winner on her first Nobel Prize, making them the first ever married couple to win the Nobel Prize and launching the Curie family legacy of five Nobel Prizes. She was, in 1906, the first woman to become a professor at the University of Paris.
  4. 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.
  5. Radium
    
    Radium is a chemical element with the symbol Ra and atomic number 88. It is the sixth element in group 2 of the periodic table, also known as the alkaline earth metals. Pure radium is silvery-white, but it readily reacts with nitrogen (rather than oxygen) upon exposure to air, forming a black surface layer of radium nitride (Ra3N2). All isotopes of radium are radioactive, the most stable isotope being radium-226 with a half-life of 1600 years. When radium decays, it emits ionizing radiation as a by-product, which can excite fluorescent chemicals and cause radioluminescence.
2. Marie and Pierre Curie announce the isolation of radium.
  1. Marie Curie
    
    Marie Salomea Skłodowska–Curie was a Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the first person and the only woman to win a Nobel Prize twice, and the only person to win a Nobel Prize in two scientific fields. Her husband, Pierre Curie, was a co-winner on her first Nobel Prize, making them the first ever married couple to win the Nobel Prize and launching the Curie family legacy of five Nobel Prizes. She was, in 1906, the first woman to become a professor at the University of Paris.
  2. Pierre Curie
    
    Pierre Curie was a French physicist, a pioneer in crystallography, magnetism, piezoelectricity, and radioactivity. In 1903, he received the Nobel Prize in Physics with his wife, Marie Curie, and Henri Becquerel, "in recognition of the extraordinary services they have rendered by their joint researches on the radiation phenomena discovered by Professor Henri Becquerel". With their win, the Curies became the first ever married couple to win the Nobel Prize, launching the Curie family legacy of five Nobel Prizes.
  3. Radium
    
    Radium is a chemical element with the symbol Ra and atomic number 88. It is the sixth element in group 2 of the periodic table, also known as the alkaline earth metals. Pure radium is silvery-white, but it readily reacts with nitrogen (rather than oxygen) upon exposure to air, forming a black surface layer of radium nitride (Ra3N2). All isotopes of radium are radioactive, the most stable isotope being radium-226 with a half-life of 1600 years. When radium decays, it emits ionizing radiation as a by-product, which can excite fluorescent chemicals and cause radioluminescence.
1871
1. Thespis, the first comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan, premiered at the Gaiety Theatre in London.
  1. Thespis (opera)
    
    Thespis, or The Gods Grown Old, is an operatic extravaganza that was the first collaboration between dramatist W. S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan. No musical score of Thespis was ever published, and most of the music has been lost. Gilbert and Sullivan went on to become the most famous and successful artistic partnership in Victorian England, creating a string of enduring comic opera hits, including H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado.
  2. Comic opera
    
    Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue.
  3. Gilbert and Sullivan
    
    Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado are among the best known.
  4. Gaiety Theatre, London
    
    The Gaiety Theatre was a West End theatre in London, located on Aldwych at the eastern end of the Strand. The theatre was first established as the Strand Musick Hall in 1864 on the former site of the Lyceum Theatre. In 1868, it became known as the Gaiety Theatre and was, at first, known for music hall and then for musical burlesque, pantomime and operetta performances. From 1868 to the 1890s, it had a major influence on the development of modern musical comedy.
2. Thespis, the first Gilbert and Sullivan collaboration, debuts.
  1. Thespis (opera)
    
    Thespis, or The Gods Grown Old, is an operatic extravaganza that was the first collaboration between dramatist W. S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan. No musical score of Thespis was ever published, and most of the music has been lost. Gilbert and Sullivan went on to become the most famous and successful artistic partnership in Victorian England, creating a string of enduring comic opera hits, including H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado.
  2. Gilbert and Sullivan
    
    Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado are among the best known.
1862
1. American Civil War: The Battle of Chickasaw Bayou began with Confederate defenders engaging Union forces attempting to capture the city of Vicksburg, Mississippi.
  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 Chickasaw Bayou
    
    The Battle of Chickasaw Bayou, also called the Battle of Walnut Hills, fought December 26–29, 1862, was the opening engagement of the Vicksburg Campaign during the American Civil War. Confederate forces under Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton repulsed an advance by Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman that was intended to lead to the capture of Vicksburg, Mississippi.
  3. Confederate States Army
    
    The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting against the United States forces in order to win the independence of the Southern states and uphold the institution of slavery. On February 28, 1861, the Provisional Confederate Congress established a provisional volunteer army and gave control over military operations and authority for mustering state forces and volunteers to the newly chosen Confederate president, Jefferson Davis. Davis was a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, and colonel of a volunteer regiment during the Mexican–American War. He had also been a United States senator from Mississippi and U.S. Secretary of War under President Franklin Pierce. On March 1, 1861, on behalf of the Confederate government, Davis assumed control of the military situation at Charleston, South Carolina, where South Carolina state militia besieged Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor, held by a small U.S. Army garrison. By March 1861, the Provisional Confederate Congress expanded the provisional forces and established a more permanent Confederate States Army.
  4. Union Army
    
    During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to the preservation of the United States as a working, viable republic.
  5. Vicksburg campaign
    
    The Vicksburg campaign was a series of maneuvers and battles in the Western Theater of the American Civil War directed against Vicksburg, Mississippi, a fortress city that dominated the last Confederate-controlled section of the Mississippi River. The Union Army of the Tennessee under Major General Ulysses S. Grant gained control of the river by capturing this stronghold and defeating Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton's forces stationed there.
  6. Vicksburg, Mississippi
    
    Vicksburg is a historic city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the county seat, and the population at the 2010 census was 23,856.
2. American Civil War: The Battle of Chickasaw Bayou begins as General William Tecumseh Sherman begins landing his troops.
  1. Battle of Chickasaw Bayou
    
    The Battle of Chickasaw Bayou, also called the Battle of Walnut Hills, fought December 26–29, 1862, was the opening engagement of the Vicksburg Campaign during the American Civil War. Confederate forces under Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton repulsed an advance by Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman that was intended to lead to the capture of Vicksburg, Mississippi.
  2. William Tecumseh Sherman
    
    William Tecumseh Sherman was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), achieving recognition for his command of military strategy as well as criticism for the harshness of the scorched-earth policies that he implemented against the Confederate States. British military theorist and historian B. H. Liddell Hart declared that Sherman was "the first modern general".
3. The largest mass-hanging in U.S. history took place in Mankato, Minnesota, where 38 Native Americans died.
  1. Dakota War of 1862
    
    The Dakota War of 1862, also known as the Sioux Uprising, the Dakota Uprising, the Sioux Outbreak of 1862, the Dakota Conflict, the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862, or Little Crow's War, was an armed conflict between the United States and several bands of eastern Dakota also known as the Santee Sioux. It began on August 18, 1862, at the Lower Sioux Agency along the Minnesota River in southwest Minnesota.
  2. Mankato, Minnesota
    
    Mankato is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the state of Minnesota. The population was 44,488 according to the 2020 census, making it the 21st-largest city in Minnesota, and the 5th-largest outside of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. It is along a large bend of the Minnesota River at its confluence with the Blue Earth River. Mankato is across the Minnesota River from North Mankato. Mankato and North Mankato have a combined population of 58,763 according to the 2020 census. It completely encompasses the town of Skyline. North of Mankato Regional Airport, a tiny non-contiguous part of the city lies within Le Sueur County. Most of the city is in Blue Earth County.
1861
1. American Civil War: The Trent Affair: Confederate diplomatic envoys James Murray Mason and John Slidell are freed by the United States government, thus heading off a possible war between the United States and the United Kingdom.
  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. Trent Affair
    
    The Trent Affair was a diplomatic incident in 1861 during the American Civil War that threatened a war between the United States and Great Britain. The U.S. Navy captured two Confederate envoys from a British Royal Mail steamer; the British government protested vigorously. Washington ended the incident by releasing the envoys.
  3. 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.
  4. James Murray Mason
    
    James Murray Mason was an American lawyer and politician. He served as senator from Virginia, having previously represented Frederick County, Virginia, in the Virginia House of Delegates.
  5. John Slidell
    
    John Slidell was an American politician, lawyer, and businessman. A native of New York, Slidell moved to Louisiana as a young man and became a Representative and Senator. He was one of two Confederate diplomats captured by the United States Navy from the British ship RMS Trent in 1861 and later released. He was the older brother of Alexander Slidell Mackenzie, a US naval officer.
1860
1. First Rules derby is held between Sheffield F.C. and Hallam F.C., the oldest football fixture in the world.
  1. Rules derby
    
    Rules derby is a football derby played in Sheffield, England between Sheffield F.C. and Hallam F.C. It was first played on 26 December 1860 and is the oldest football fixture in the world. The name refers to the fact that the fixture was originally played under the Sheffield Rules.
  2. Sheffield F.C.
    
    Sheffield Football Club is an English football club from Sheffield, South Yorkshire, although now based in nearby Dronfield, across the county boundary in Derbyshire. They currently compete in the Northern Premier League Division One East. Founded in October 1857, the club is recognised by FIFA as the oldest existing club still playing football in the world. Sheffield FC initially played games under the Sheffield Rules and did not officially adopt the new FA rules until 1878.
  3. Hallam F.C.
    
    Hallam Football Club is an English football club based in Crosspool, Sheffield, South Yorkshire. Founded in 1860, Hallam is the second oldest association football club in the world. Hallam currently play in the Northern Counties East League Premier Division, at the ninth level of the English football league system.
1825
1. Imperial Russian Army officers led about 3,000 soldiers in protest against Nicholas I's assumption of the throne after his elder brother Konstantin removed himself from the line of succession.
  1. Imperial Russian Army
    
    The Imperial Russian Army was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Army consisted of more than 900,000 regular soldiers and nearly 250,000 irregulars.
  2. Decembrist revolt
    
    The Decembrist Revolt took place in Russia on 26 December [O.S. 14 December] 1825, during the interregnum following the sudden death of Emperor Alexander I.
  3. Nicholas I of Russia
    
    Nicholas I was Emperor of Russia, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland. He was the third son of Paul I and younger brother of his predecessor, Alexander I. Nicholas inherited his brother's throne despite the failed Decembrist revolt against him. He is mainly remembered in history as a reactionary whose controversial reign was marked by geographical expansion, economic growth, and massive industrialisation on the one hand, and centralisation of administrative policies and repression of dissent on the other. Nicholas had a happy marriage that produced a large family; all of their seven children survived childhood.
  4. Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich of Russia
    
    Konstantin Pavlovich was a grand duke of Russia and the second son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. He was the heir-presumptive for most of his elder brother Alexander I's reign, but had secretly renounced his claim to the throne in 1823. For 25 days after the death of Alexander I, from 19 November (O.S.)/1 December 1825 to 14 December (O.S.)/26 December 1825 he was known as His Imperial Majesty Konstantin I Emperor and Sovereign of Russia, although he never reigned and never acceded to the throne. His younger brother Nicholas became Tsar in 1825. The succession controversy became the pretext of the Decembrist revolt.
2. Advocates of liberalism in Russia rise up against Czar Nicholas I in the Decembrist revolt, but are later suppressed.
  1. Liberalism
    
    Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law. Liberals espouse various views depending on their understanding of these principles. However, they generally support private property, market economies, individual rights, liberal democracy, secularism, rule of law, economic and political freedom, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and freedom of religion. Liberalism is frequently cited as the dominant ideology of modern times.
  2. Nicholas I of Russia
    
    Nicholas I was Emperor of Russia, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland. He was the third son of Paul I and younger brother of his predecessor, Alexander I. Nicholas inherited his brother's throne despite the failed Decembrist revolt against him. He is mainly remembered in history as a reactionary whose controversial reign was marked by geographical expansion, economic growth, and massive industrialisation on the one hand, and centralisation of administrative policies and repression of dissent on the other. Nicholas had a happy marriage that produced a large family; all of their seven children survived childhood.
  3. Decembrist revolt
    
    The Decembrist Revolt took place in Russia on 26 December [O.S. 14 December] 1825, during the interregnum following the sudden death of Emperor Alexander I.
1811
1. Seventy-two people died when a theater in Richmond, Virginia, was destroyed by fire, becoming the worst urban disaster in American history at the time.
  1. Richmond, Virginia
    
    Richmond is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond Region. Richmond was incorporated in 1742 and has been an independent city since 1871. At the 2010 census, the city's population was 204,214; in 2020, the population had grown to 226,610, making Richmond the fourth-most populous city in Virginia. The Richmond Metropolitan Area has a population of 1,260,029, the third-most populous metro in the state.
  2. Richmond Theatre fire
    
    The Richmond Theatre fire occurred in Richmond, Virginia, United States, on Thursday, December 26, 1811. It devastated the Richmond Theatre, located on the north side of Broad Street between what is now Twelfth and College Streets. The fire killed 72 people including Virginia's governor George William Smith, former U.S. senator Abraham B. Venable, and other government officials in what was the worst urban disaster in U.S. history at the time. The Monumental Church was erected on the site as a memorial to the fire.
2. A theater fire in Richmond, Virginia kills the Governor of Virginia George William Smith and the president of the First National Bank of Virginia Abraham B. Venable.
  1. Richmond Theatre fire
    
    The Richmond Theatre fire occurred in Richmond, Virginia, United States, on Thursday, December 26, 1811. It devastated the Richmond Theatre, located on the north side of Broad Street between what is now Twelfth and College Streets. The fire killed 72 people including Virginia's governor George William Smith, former U.S. senator Abraham B. Venable, and other government officials in what was the worst urban disaster in U.S. history at the time. The Monumental Church was erected on the site as a memorial to the fire.
  2. Richmond, Virginia
    
    Richmond is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond Region. Richmond was incorporated in 1742 and has been an independent city since 1871. At the 2010 census, the city's population was 204,214; in 2020, the population had grown to 226,610, making Richmond the fourth-most populous city in Virginia. The Richmond Metropolitan Area has a population of 1,260,029, the third-most populous metro in the state.
  3. Governor of Virginia
    
    The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia serves as the head of government of Virginia for a four-year term. The incumbent, Glenn Youngkin, was sworn in on January 15, 2022.
  4. George William Smith (politician)
    
    George William Smith was a Virginia lawyer and politician, who served several terms in the Virginia House of Delegates and was twice the acting governor of the state before then being elected as the 17th Governor of Virginia. His term as elected governor was short and ended with his death in the Richmond Theatre fire of 1811.
  5. Abraham B. Venable
    
    Abraham Bedford Venable was a Virginia lawyer, planter and politician who served in the U.S. House of Representatives and briefly as U.S. Senator, as well as in the Virginia House of Delegates.
1806
1. Battles of Pultusk and Golymin: Russian forces hold French forces under Napoleon.
  1. Battle of Pułtusk (1806)
    
    The Battle of Pułtusk took place on 26 December 1806 during the War of the Fourth Coalition near Pułtusk, Poland. Despite their strong numerical superiority and artillery, the Russians suffered the French attacks, before retiring the next day having suffered greater losses than the French, disorganizing their army for the rest of the year.
  2. Battle of Golymin
    
    The Battle of Golymin took place on 26 December 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars at Gołymin, Poland, between around 17,000 Russian soldiers with 28 guns under Prince Golitsyn and 38,000 French soldiers under Marshal Murat. The Russian forces disengaged successfully from the superior French forces. The battle took place on the same day as the Battle of Pułtusk.
  3. First French Empire
    
    The First French Empire, officially the French Republic, then the French Empire after 1809, also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from 18 May 1804 to 11 April 1814 and again briefly from 20 March 1815 to 7 July 1815.
  4. Napoleon
    
    Napoleon Bonaparte, later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led successful campaigns during the Revolutionary Wars. He was the de facto leader of the French Republic as First Consul from 1799 to 1804, then Emperor of the French from 1804 until 1814 and again in 1815. Napoleon's political and cultural legacy endures to this day, as a highly celebrated and controversial leader. He initiated many liberal reforms that have persisted in society, and is considered one of the greatest military commanders in history, but between three and six million civilians and soldiers perished in what became known as the Napoleonic Wars.
1805
1. Austria and France sign the Treaty of Pressburg.
  1. Peace of Pressburg (1805)
    
    The Peace of Pressburg was signed in Pressburg on 26 December 1805 between French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and Holy Roman Emperor Francis II, as a consequence of the French victory over the Russians and Austrians at the Battle of Austerlitz. A truce was agreed on 4 December, and negotiations for the treaty began. The treaty was signed by Johann I Joseph, Prince of Liechtenstein, and the Hungarian Count Ignác Gyulay for the Austrian Empire and Charles Maurice de Talleyrand for France.
1799
1. Henry Lee III's eulogy to George Washington in congress declares him as "first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen".
  1. Henry Lee III
    
    Henry Lee III was an early American Patriot and U.S. politician who served as the ninth Governor of Virginia and as the Virginia Representative to the United States Congress. Lee's service during the American Revolution as a cavalry officer in the Continental Army earned him the nickname by which he is best known, "Light-Horse Harry". He was the father of Robert E. Lee, who led Confederate armies against the U.S. in the American Civil War.
  2. George Washington
    
    George Washington was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of the Continental Army, Washington led the Patriot forces to victory in the American Revolutionary War and served as the president of the Constitutional Convention of 1787, which created the Constitution of the United States and the American federal government. Washington has been called the "Father of his Country" for his manifold leadership in the formative days of the country.
1793
1. Second Battle of Wissembourg: France defeats Austria.
  1. Second Battle of Wissembourg (1793)
    
    The Second Battle of Wissembourg from 26 December 1793 to 29 December 1793 saw an army of the First French Republic under General Lazare Hoche fight a series of clashes against an army of Austrians, Prussians, Bavarians, and Hessians led by General Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser. There were significant actions at Wœrth on 22 December and Geisberg on 26 and 27 December. In the end, the French forced their opponents to withdraw to the east bank of the Rhine River. The action occurred during the War of the First Coalition phase of the French Revolutionary Wars.
1790
1. Louis XVI of France gives his public assent to Civil Constitution of the Clergy during the French Revolution.
  1. Louis XVI
    
    Louis XVI was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as Citizen Louis Capet during the four months just before he was executed by guillotine. He was the son of Louis, Dauphin of France, son and heir-apparent of King Louis XV, and Maria Josepha of Saxony. When his father died in 1765, he became the new Dauphin. Upon his grandfather's death on 10 May 1774, he became King of France and Navarre, reigning as such until 4 September 1791, when he received the title of King of the French, continuing to reign as such until the monarchy was abolished on 21 September 1792.
  2. Civil Constitution of the Clergy
    
    The Civil Constitution of the Clergy was a law passed on 12 July 1790 during the French Revolution, that caused the immediate subordination of most of the Catholic Church in France to the French government. As such, a schism was created, resulting in a small remnant French Catholic Church loyal to the Papacy, and a much larger "constitutional church" subject to the French state. The schism was not fully resolved until 1801.
  3. French Revolution
    
    The French Revolution was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considered fundamental principles of liberal democracy, while phrases like liberté, égalité, fraternité reappeared in other revolts, such as the 1917 Russian Revolution, and inspired campaigns for the abolition of slavery and universal suffrage. The values and institutions it created dominate French politics to this day.
1776
1. American Revolutionary War: George Washington led a column of the Continental Army across the Delaware River to launch a surprise attack against Hessian forces at the Battle of Trenton.
  1. American Revolutionary War
    
    The American Revolutionary War, also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of the United States, fighting began on April 19, 1775, followed by the Lee Resolution on July 2, 1776, and the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The American Patriots were supported by the Kingdom of France and, to a lesser extent, the Dutch Republic and the Spanish Empire, in a conflict taking place in North America, the Caribbean, and the Atlantic Ocean.
  2. George Washington
    
    George Washington was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of the Continental Army, Washington led the Patriot forces to victory in the American Revolutionary War and served as the president of the Constitutional Convention of 1787, which created the Constitution of the United States and the American federal government. Washington has been called the "Father of his Country" for his manifold leadership in the formative days of the country.
  3. Continental Army
    
    The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was established by a resolution of Congress on June 14, 1775. The Continental Army was created to coordinate military efforts of the Colonies in their war for independence against the British, who sought to keep their American lands under control. General George Washington was the commander-in-chief of the army throughout the war.
  4. George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River
    
    George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River, which occurred on the night of December 25–26, 1776, during the American Revolutionary War, was the first move in a surprise attack organized by George Washington against Hessian forces, which were German auxiliaries aiding the British, in Trenton, New Jersey, on the morning of December 26. Planned in secrecy, Washington led a column of Continental Army troops from today's Bucks County, Pennsylvania across the icy Delaware River to today's Mercer County, New Jersey, in a logistically challenging and dangerous operation.
  5. Hessian (soldier)
    
    Hessians were German soldiers who served as auxiliaries to the British Army during the American Revolutionary War. The term is an American synecdoche for all Germans who fought on the British side, since 65% came from the German states of Hesse-Kassel and Hesse-Hanau. Known for their discipline and martial prowess, around 30,000 Germans fought for the British during the war, comprising a quarter of British land forces.
  6. Battle of Trenton
    
    The Battle of Trenton was a small but pivotal American Revolutionary War battle on the morning of December 26, 1776, in Trenton, New Jersey. After General George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River north of Trenton the previous night, Washington led the main body of the Continental Army against Hessian auxiliaries garrisoned at Trenton. After a brief battle, almost two-thirds of the Hessian force were captured, with negligible losses to the Americans. The battle significantly boosted the Continental Army's waning morale, and inspired re-enlistments.
2. American Revolutionary War: In the Battle of Trenton, the Continental Army attacks and successfully defeats a garrison of Hessian forces.
  1. American Revolutionary War
    
    The American Revolutionary War, also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of the United States, fighting began on April 19, 1775, followed by the Lee Resolution on July 2, 1776, and the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The American Patriots were supported by the Kingdom of France and, to a lesser extent, the Dutch Republic and the Spanish Empire, in a conflict taking place in North America, the Caribbean, and the Atlantic Ocean.
  2. Battle of Trenton
    
    The Battle of Trenton was a small but pivotal American Revolutionary War battle on the morning of December 26, 1776, in Trenton, New Jersey. After General George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River north of Trenton the previous night, Washington led the main body of the Continental Army against Hessian auxiliaries garrisoned at Trenton. After a brief battle, almost two-thirds of the Hessian force were captured, with negligible losses to the Americans. The battle significantly boosted the Continental Army's waning morale, and inspired re-enlistments.
  3. Continental Army
    
    The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was established by a resolution of Congress on June 14, 1775. The Continental Army was created to coordinate military efforts of the Colonies in their war for independence against the British, who sought to keep their American lands under control. General George Washington was the commander-in-chief of the army throughout the war.
  4. Hessian (soldier)
    
    Hessians were German soldiers who served as auxiliaries to the British Army during the American Revolutionary War. The term is an American synecdoche for all Germans who fought on the British side, since 65% came from the German states of Hesse-Kassel and Hesse-Hanau. Known for their discipline and martial prowess, around 30,000 Germans fought for the British during the war, comprising a quarter of British land forces.
1709
1. The opera Agrippina by George Frideric Handel premiered in Venice.
  1. Agrippina (opera)
    
    Agrippina is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel with a libretto by Cardinal Vincenzo Grimani. Composed for the 1709–10 Venice Carnevale season, the opera tells the story of Agrippina, the mother of Nero, as she plots the downfall of the Roman Emperor Claudius and the installation of her son as emperor. Grimani's libretto, considered one of the best that Handel set, is an "anti-heroic satirical comedy", full of topical political allusions. Some analysts believe that it reflects Grimani's political and diplomatic rivalry with Pope Clement XI.
  2. George Frideric Handel
    
    George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training in Halle and worked as a composer in Hamburg and Italy before settling in London in 1712, where he spent the bulk of his career and became a naturalised British subject in 1727. He was strongly influenced both by the middle-German polyphonic choral tradition and by composers of the Italian Baroque. In turn, Handel's music forms one of the peaks of the "high baroque" style, bringing Italian opera to its highest development, creating the genres of English oratorio and organ concerto, and introducing a new style into English church music. He is consistently recognized as one of the greatest composers of his age.
1704
1. Second Battle of Anandpur: In the Second Battle of Anandpur, Aurangzeb's two generals, Wazir Khan and Zaberdast Khan executed two children of Guru Gobind Singh, Zorawar Singh aged eight and Fateh Singh aged five, by burying them alive into a wall.
  1. Second Battle of Anandpur (1704)
    
    The Second Battle of Anandpur (1704), also known as the Siege of Anandpur, was fought at Anandpur, between Sikhs and the Mughal generals Wazir Khan and Zaberdast Khan aided by the vassal Rajas of the Sivalik Hills in May 1704.
  2. Guru Gobind Singh
    
    Guru Gobind Singh, born Gobind Das or Gobind Rai the tenth Sikh Guru, a spiritual master, warrior, poet and philosopher. When his father, Guru Tegh Bahadur, was executed by Aurangzeb, Guru Gobind Singh was formally installed as the leader of the Sikhs at the age of nine, becoming the tenth and final human Sikh Guru. His four biological sons died during his lifetime – two in battle, two executed by the Mughal governor Wazir Khan.
1606
1. The first known performance of Shakespeare's tragedy King Lear, based on the legend of Leir of Britain, took place before King James I.
  1. William Shakespeare
    
    William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon". His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, three long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. He remains arguably the most influential writer in the English language, and his works continue to be studied and reinterpreted.
  2. King Lear
    
    King Lear is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane and a proscribed crux of political machinations. The first known performance of any version of Shakespeare's play was on Saint Stephen's Day in 1606. The three extant publications from which modern editors derive their texts are the 1608 quarto (Q1) and the 1619 quarto and the 1623 First Folio. The quarto versions differ significantly from the folio version.
  3. Leir of Britain
    
    Leir was a legendary king of the Britons whose story was recounted by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his pseudohistorical 12th-century History of the Kings of Britain. According to Geoffrey's genealogy of the British dynasty, Leir's reign would have occurred around the 8th century BC, around the time of the founding of Rome. The story was modified and retold by William Shakespeare in his Jacobean tragedy King Lear.
  4. James VI and I
    
    James VI and I was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until his death in 1625. The kingdoms of Scotland and England were individual sovereign states, with their own parliaments, judiciaries, and laws, though both were ruled by James in personal union.
1481
1. Battle of Westbroek: An army of 4,000 to 5,000 soldiers raised by David of Burgundy, Bishop of Utrecht, attacks an armed mob of people from nearby Utrecht who were trying to avenge the massacre of the inhabitants of Westbroek.
  1. Battle of Westbroek
    
    The Battle of Westbroek was a battle that occurred on 26 December 1481 between the armies of the prince-bishopric of Utrecht and the county of Holland. It was one of the last battles of the Hook and Cod wars.
  2. David of Burgundy
    
    David of Burgundy was Bishop of Utrecht. The illegitimate son of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, David was made bishop of Utrecht by his father in 1456 in an attempt to enforce more centralised Burgundian control over the Netherlands. He also served as bishop of Thérouanne from 1451 to 1456. He is the third longest-reigning bishop of Utrecht after Balderic and Willibrord, holding the see until his death in 1494.
  3. List of bishops and archbishops of Utrecht
    
    List of bishops and archbishops of the diocese and archdioceses of Utrecht.
  4. Utrecht
    
    Utrecht is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Netherlands, about 35 km south east of the capital Amsterdam and 45 km north east of Rotterdam. It has a population of 361,966 as of 1 December 2021.
887
1. Berengar I is elected as king of Italy by the lords of Lombardy. He is crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy at Pavia.
  1. Berengar I of Italy
    
    Berengar I was the king of Italy from 887. He was Holy Roman Emperor between 915 and his death in 924. He is usually known as Berengar of Friuli, since he ruled the March of Friuli from 874 until at least 890, but he had lost control of the region by 896.
  2. Kingdom of Italy (Holy Roman Empire)
    
    The Kingdom of Italy, also called Imperial Italy, was one of the constituent kingdoms of the Holy Roman Empire, along with the kingdoms of Germany, Bohemia, and Burgundy. It originally comprised large parts of northern and central Italy. Its original capital was Pavia until the 11th century.
  3. Lombardy
    
    Lombardy is an administrative region of Italy that covers 23,844 km2 (9,206 sq mi); it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Over a fifth of the Italian gross domestic product (GDP) is produced in the region.
  4. Iron Crown
    
    The Iron Crown is a relic and may be one of the oldest royal insignia of Christendom. It was made in the Early Middle Ages, consisting of a circlet of gold and jewels fitted around a central silver band, which tradition held to be made of iron beaten out of a nail of the True Cross. In the medieval Kingdom of Italy, the crown came to be seen as a relic from the Kingdom of the Lombards and was used as regalia for the coronation of the Holy Roman Emperors as kings of Italy. It is kept in the Cathedral of Monza.
  5. Pavia
    
    Pavia is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, 35 kilometres south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the capital of the Ostrogothic Kingdom from 540 to 553, of the Kingdom of the Lombards from 572 to 774, of the Kingdom of Italy from 774 to 1024 and seat of the Visconti court from 1365 to 1413.

Births & Deaths

2021
1. Giacomo Capuzzi, Italian Roman Catholic prelate, bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lodi (b. 1929) deaths
  1. Giacomo Capuzzi
    
    Giacomo Capuzzi was an Italian Roman Catholic prelate, who served as a bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lodi.
  2. Roman Catholic Diocese of Lodi
    
    The Diocese of Lodi is an Italian Roman Catholic territorial entity that existed since the 4th century; it is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Milan.
2. Paul B. Kidd, Australian author, journalist, and radio show host (b. 1945) deaths
  1. Paul B. Kidd
    
    Paul Benjamin Kidd was an Australian author, journalist, and radio show host. From 2001 until 2020, Kidd was the co-host of the 2UE George and Paul weekend show with George Moore; from 2020 until his death, he co-hosted Weekends with John and Paul with John Stanley on 2GB. Kidd was also a prolific true crime writer, having published a large number of books about high-profile murder cases across Australia and the world.
3. Karolos Papoulias, Greek politician, President of Greece from 2005 to 2015 (b. 1929) deaths
  1. Karolos Papoulias
    
    Karolos Papoulias was a Greek politician who served as the president of Greece from 2005 to 2015.
  2. President of Greece
    
    The president of Greece, officially the President of the Hellenic Republic, commonly referred to in Greek as the President of the Republic, is the head of state of Greece. The president is elected by the Hellenic Parliament; the role has been mainly ceremonial since the 1986 constitutional reform. The office was formally established by the Constitution of Greece in 1975, but has antecedents in the Second Hellenic Republic of 1924–1935 and the Greek junta in 1973–1974 which predated the transition to the current Third Hellenic Republic. The incumbent, since 13 March 2020, is Katerina Sakellaropoulou.
4. Desmond Tutu, South African Anglican bishop, theologian and anti-apartheid and human rights activist (b. 1931) deaths
  1. Desmond Tutu
    
    Desmond Mpilo Tutu was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbishop of Cape Town from 1986 to 1996, in both cases being the first black African to hold the position. Theologically, he sought to fuse ideas from black theology with African theology.
5. Edward O. Wilson, American biologist (b. 1929) deaths
  1. E. O. Wilson
    
    Edward Osborne Wilson was an American biologist, naturalist, entomologist and writer. According to David Attenborough, Wilson was the world's leading expert in his specialty of myrmecology, the study of ants. He was nicknamed the "ant man".
2020
1. Brodie Lee, American Professional Wrestler (b. 1979) deaths
  1. Brodie Lee
    
    Jonathan Huber was an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Luke Harper from 2012 to 2019, and in All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performed under the ring name Mr. Brodie Lee in 2020.
2017
1. Irv Weinstein, American broadcaster and television news anchor (b. 1930) deaths
  1. Irv Weinstein
    
    Irwin B. "Irv" Weinstein was an American local television news anchor and occasional radio actor. He hosted WKBW-TV's Eyewitness News in Buffalo, New York, for 34 years, from 1964 to 1998, becoming an iconic broadcaster well known in both the Buffalo area and in Southern Ontario, which was within WKBW's broadcast area. Weinstein was known for his powerful delivery and sense of humor. Weinstein, weatherman Tom Jolls and sports anchor Rick Azar fronted the broadcast from 1965 until Azar's retirement in 1989. Weinstein was inducted into the Buffalo Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 1998 and the N.Y. State Broadcasters Association in 2006.
2016
1. Ricky Harris, American comedian, actor (b. 1962) deaths
  1. Ricky Harris
    
    Richard George Harris II was an American producer, actor, and comedian. He was known for his role as Malvo in the UPN/The CW sitcom Everybody Hates Chris.
2. George S. Irving, American actor, singer and dancer (b. 1922) deaths
  1. George S. Irving
    
    George S. Irving was an American actor known primarily for his character roles on Broadway and as the voice of Heat Miser in the American Christmas television specials beginning with The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974).
2015
1. Sidney Mintz, American anthropologist and academic (b. 1922) deaths
  1. Sidney Mintz
    
    Sidney Wilfred Mintz was an American anthropologist best known for his studies of the Caribbean, creolization, and the anthropology of food. Mintz received his PhD at Columbia University in 1951 and conducted his primary fieldwork among sugar-cane workers in Puerto Rico. Later expanding his ethnographic research to Haiti and Jamaica, he produced historical and ethnographic studies of slavery and global capitalism, cultural hybridity, Caribbean peasants, and the political economy of food commodities. He taught for two decades at Yale University before helping to found the Anthropology Department at Johns Hopkins University, where he remained for the duration of his career. Mintz's history of sugar, Sweetness and Power, is considered one of the most influential publications in cultural anthropology and food studies.
2. Jim O'Toole, American baseball player (b. 1937) deaths
  1. Jim O'Toole
    
    James Jerome O'Toole was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago White Sox during his 10-year career.
2014
1. Stanisław Barańczak, Polish-American poet, critic, and scholar (b. 1946) deaths
  1. Stanisław Barańczak
    
    Stanisław Barańczak was a Polish poet, literary critic, scholar, editor, translator and lecturer. He is perhaps most well known for his English-to-Polish translations of the dramas of William Shakespeare and of the poetry of E.E. Cummings, Elizabeth Bishop, Emily Dickinson, Wystan Hugh Auden, Seamus Heaney, Thomas Hardy, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Thomas Stearns Eliot, John Keats, Robert Frost, Edward Lear and others.
2. James B. Edwards, American dentist, soldier, and politician, 3rd United States Secretary of Energy (b. 1927) deaths
  1. James B. Edwards
    
    James Burrows Edwards was an American politician and administrator from South Carolina. He was the first Republican to be elected governor of South Carolina since the post-Civil War Reconstruction Era in the 1870s. He later served as the U.S. Secretary of Energy under Ronald Reagan.
  2. United States Secretary of Energy
    
    The United States secretary of energy is the head of the United States Department of Energy, a member of the Cabinet of the United States, and fifteenth in the presidential line of succession. The position was created on October 1, 1977, when President Jimmy Carter signed the Department of Energy Organization Act, establishing the department. The energy secretary and the department originally focused on energy production and regulation. The emphasis soon shifted to developing technology for better and more efficient energy sources, as well as energy education. After the end of the Cold War, the department's attention also turned toward radioactive waste disposal and the maintenance of environmental quality. Former secretary of defense James Schlesinger served as the first secretary of energy. As a Republican nominated to the post by Democratic president Jimmy Carter, Schlesinger's appointment marks the only time a president has chosen a member of another political party for the position. Schlesinger is also the only secretary to be dismissed from the post. Hazel O'Leary, Bill Clinton's first secretary of energy, was the first female and first African American to hold the position. The first Hispanic to serve as Energy Secretary was Clinton's second energy secretary, Federico Peña. Spencer Abraham became the first Arab American to hold the position on January 20, 2001, serving under the administration of George W. Bush. Steven Chu became the first Asian American to hold the position on January 20, 2009, serving under president Barack Obama. Chu was also the longest-serving secretary of energy and the first individual to join the Cabinet after having received a Nobel Prize.
3. Leo Tindemans, Belgian politician, 43rd Prime Minister of Belgium (b. 1922) deaths
  1. Leo Tindemans
    
    Leonard Clemence "Leo" Tindemans was a Belgian politician. He served as the prime minister of Belgium serving from 25 April 1974 until he resigned as minister on 20 October 1978. He was a member of the Christian Democratic and Flemish party.
  2. Prime Minister of Belgium
    
    The Prime Minister of Belgium or the Premier of Belgium is the head of the federal government of Belgium, and the most powerful person in Belgian politics.
2013
1. Paul Blair, American baseball player and coach (b. 1944) deaths
  1. Paul Blair (baseball)
    
    Paul L. D. Blair was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from 1964 through 1980, most notably as the center fielder for the Baltimore Orioles dynasty that won four American League pennants and two World Series championships between 1966 and 1971. He also played for the New York Yankees and the Cincinnati Reds.
2. Marta Eggerth, Hungarian-American actress and singer (b. 1912) deaths
  1. Marta Eggerth
    
    Marta Eggerth was a Hungarian actress and singer from "The Silver Age of Operetta". Many of the 20th century's most famous operetta composers, including Franz Lehár, Fritz Kreisler, Robert Stolz, Oscar Straus, and Paul Abraham, composed works especially for her.
2012
1. Gerry Anderson, English director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1929) deaths
  1. Gerry Anderson
    
    Gerald Alexander Anderson was an English television and film producer, director, writer and occasional voice artist. He remains famous for his futuristic television programmes, especially his 1960s productions filmed with "Supermarionation".
2. Gerald McDermott, American author and illustrator (b. 1941) deaths
  1. Gerald McDermott
    
    Gerald McDermott was an American filmmaker, creator of children's picture books, and expert on mythology. His creative works typically combine bright colors and styles with ancient imagery. His picture books feature folktales and cultures from all around the world.
3. Ibrahim Tannous, Lebanese general (b. 1929) deaths
  1. Ibrahim Tannous
    
    Ibrahim Tannous was a former commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces. General Tannous earned a reputation for honesty and was seen as “a general willing to get his uniform dirty to build a fighting Lebanese Army,” in the words of one Arab authority. Gen. Tannous took over command of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) in December 1982, during the early years of the civil war and oversaw joint operations with the Multinational Force that was in charge of training LAF forces and restoring order to Beirut. Gen. Tannous, who is close to President Gemayel, resigned his post as armed forces commander in June 1984 as a concession to government's opposition factions who were calling for restructuring the army and was succeeded by Michel Aoun. Until Gen. Tannous' resignation, the army was one of the most important institution supporting the U.S.-backed Gemayel Government, however, Tannous' departure marked a major shift in the American-trained armed forces towards a policy closely in tune with Syria's foreign policy and security objectives.
2011
1. Houston Antwine, American football player (b. 1939) deaths
  1. Houston Antwine
    
    Houston J. Antwine was a college and professional American football player from Southern Illinois University. He was drafted by the American Football League's Houston Oilers, then traded to the Boston Patriots in 1961. He is in the Southern Illinois University Athletic Hall of Fame and the Patriots Hall of Fame. A former NAIA wrestling champion, as a defensive tackle, the stocky "Twine" was nearly impossible to move out of the middle.
2. Pedro Armendáriz, Jr., Mexican-American actor and producer (b. 1940) deaths
  1. Pedro Armendáriz Jr.
    
    Pedro Armendáriz Bohr, better known by his stage name Pedro Armendáriz Jr., was a Mexican actor who made films and television series from the United States and Mexico.
3. Sarekoppa Bangarappa, Indian politician, 15th Chief Minister of Karnataka (b. 1932) deaths
  1. Sarekoppa Bangarappa
    
    Sarekoppa Bangarappa was an Indian politician who was the 12th Chief Minister of Karnataka from 1990 to 1992.
  2. List of chief ministers of Karnataka
    
    The chief minister of Karnataka, formerly known as the chief minister of Mysore, is the chief executive officer of the government of the Indian state of Karnataka. As per the Constitution of India, the governor of Karnataka is the state's de jure head, but de facto executive authority rests with the chief minister, a template applicable to all other Indian states. Following elections to the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, the governor usually invites the political party with a majority of assembly seats to form the government in the state. The governor appoints the chief minister, whose council of ministers is collectively responsible to the assembly. Given that he has the confidence of the assembly, the chief minister's term is for five years, renewable, and is subject to no term limits.
4. Joe Bodolai, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1948) deaths
  1. Joe Bodolai
    
    Joe Bodolai was an American film and television producer and writer.
5. James Rizzi, American painter and illustrator (b. 1950) deaths
  1. James Rizzi
    
    James Rizzi was an American pop artist who was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York.
2010
1. Salvador Jorge Blanco, 48th President of the Dominican Republic (b. 1926) deaths
  1. Salvador Jorge Blanco
    
    José Salvador Omar Jorge Blanco was a politician, lawyer and a writer. He was President of the Dominican Republic, from 1982 to 1986. He was a Senator running for the PRD party. He started his political career as a Committee Secretary for the Unión Cívica de Santiago in 1963 and joined the PRD in 1964.
2. Edward Bhengu, South African activist (b. 1934) deaths
  1. Edward Bhengu
    
    Edward "Sonnyboy" Bhengu was a South African activist and founding member of the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania.
3. Teena Marie, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1956) deaths
  1. Teena Marie
    
    Mary Christine Brockert, known professionally as Teena Marie, was an American singer-songwriter, musician, composer, arranger, and producer. She was known by her childhood nickname Tina before taking the stage name Teena Marie and later acquired the nickname Lady T, given to her by her collaborator and friend, Rick James.
2009
1. Felix Wurman, American cellist and composer (b. 1958) deaths
  1. Felix Wurman
    
    Felix Wurman was an American cellist and composer.
2006
1. Gerald Ford, American commander, lawyer, and politician, 38th President of the United States (b. 1913) deaths
  1. Gerald Ford
    
    Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected to the office of president or vice president. He previously served as the leader of the Republican Party in the House of Representatives, and was appointed to be the 40th vice president in 1973. When President Richard Nixon resigned in 1974, Ford succeeded to the presidency, but was defeated for election to a full term in 1976.
  2. President of the United States
    
    The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces.
2. Ivar Formo, Norwegian skier and engineer (b. 1951) deaths
  1. Ivar Formo
    
    Ivar Formo was a Norwegian cross-country skier and orienteer who competed during the 1970s.
3. Munir Niazi, Indian-Pakistani poet (b. 1928) deaths
  1. Munir Niazi
    
    Munir Ahmed Niazi, was an Punjabi and Urdu poet from Pakistan. He also wrote for newspapers, magazines and radio. In 1960, he established a publication institute, Al-Misal. He was later associated with Pakistan Television, Lahore and lived in Lahore till his death.
2005
1. Muriel Costa-Greenspon, American soprano (b. 1937) deaths
  1. Muriel Costa-Greenspon
    
    Muriel Salina Costa-Greenspon was an American mezzo-soprano who had a lengthy career at the New York City Opera from 1963 to 1993.
2. Ted Ditchburn, English footballer and manager (b. 1921) deaths
  1. Ted Ditchburn
    
    Edwin George Ditchburn was an English professional football goalkeeper who played for Northfleet United, Tottenham Hotspur, Romford, Brentwood Town and represented England on six occasions at international level.
3. Kerry Packer, Australian publisher and businessman (b. 1937) deaths
  1. Kerry Packer
    
    Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer was an Australian media tycoon, and was considered one of Australia's most powerful media proprietors of the twentieth century. The Packer family company owned a controlling interest in both the Nine Network and the publishing company Australian Consolidated Press, which were later merged to form Publishing and Broadcasting Limited (PBL). Outside Australia, Packer was best known for founding World Series Cricket. At the time of his death, he was the richest and one of the most influential men in Australia. In 2004, Business Review Weekly magazine estimated Packer's net worth at A$6.5 billion.
4. Viacheslav Platonov, Russian volleyball player and coach (b. 1939) deaths
  1. Viacheslav Platonov
    
    Viacheslav Platonov was a Russian volleyball player and coach.
5. Vincent Schiavelli, American actor (b. 1948) deaths
  1. Vincent Schiavelli
    
    Vincent Andrew Schiavelli was an American character actor noted for his work on stage, screen, and television. Described as an "instantly recognizable sad-faced actor", he was diagnosed with Marfan syndrome in childhood.
6. Erich Topp, German commander (b. 1914) deaths
  1. Erich Topp
    
    Erich Topp was a German U-boat commander of World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords of Nazi Germany. He sank 35 ships for a total of 197,460 gross register tons (GRT). After the war, he served with the Federal German Navy, reaching the rank of Konteradmiral. He later served in NATO.
2004
1. Jonathan Drummond-Webb, South African surgeon and academic (b. 1959) deaths
  1. Jonathan Drummond-Webb
    
    Jonathan Drummond-Webb was a South African pediatric heart surgeon.
2. Angus Ogilvy, English businessman (b. 1928) deaths
  1. Angus Ogilvy
    
    Sir Angus James Bruce Ogilvy was a British businessman. He is best known as the husband of Princess Alexandra of Kent, a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. Ogilvy is also remembered for his role in a business scandal, known as the Lonrho affair, involving the breaking of sanctions against Rhodesia during the 1970s. In later years, he was very involved in charity work.
3. Reggie White, American football player and wrestler (b. 1961) deaths
  1. Reggie White
    
    Reginald Howard White was an American professional football player who played defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons during the 1980s and 1990s. He played college football for the University of Tennessee, and was recognized as an All-American. After playing two professional seasons for the Memphis Showboats of the United States Football League (USFL), he was selected in the first round of the 1984 Supplemental Draft, and then played for the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers, and Carolina Panthers, becoming one of the most awarded defensive players in NFL history.
2003
1. Virginia Coffey, American civil rights activist (b. 1904) deaths
  1. Virginia Coffey
    
    Virginia Coffey (1904–2003), was an American social reformer and civil rights activist who worked for improved race relations in and around Cincinnati, Ohio. She advised and directed several organisations during her career, including a variety of boards and committees.
2002
1. Herb Ritts, American photographer and director (b. 1952) deaths
  1. Herb Ritts
    
    Herbert Ritts Jr. was an American fashion photographer and director known for his photographs of celebrities, models, and other cultural figures throughout the 1980s and 1990s. His work concentrated on black and white photography and portraits, often in the style of classical Greek sculpture, which emphasized the human shape.
2. Armand Zildjian, American businessman, founded the Avedis Zildjian Company (b. 1921) deaths
  1. Armand Zildjian
    
    Armand Zildjian was an American manufacturer of cymbals and the head of the Avedis Zildjian Company.
  2. Avedis Zildjian Company
    
    The Avedis Zildjian Company, simply known as Zildjian, is a musical instrument manufacturer specializing in cymbals and other percussion instruments. Founded by the ethnic Armenian Zildjian family in the 17th-century Ottoman Empire, the company relocated to the United States in the 20th century. Today, it is the largest cymbal and drumstick maker in the world.
2001
1. Nigel Hawthorne, English actor (b. 1929) deaths
  1. Nigel Hawthorne
    
    Sir Nigel Barnard Hawthorne was an English actor. He is most known for his stage acting and his portrayal of Sir Humphrey Appleby, the permanent secretary in the 1980s sitcom Yes Minister and the Cabinet Secretary in its sequel, Yes, Prime Minister. For this role, he won four BAFTA TV Awards for Best Light Entertainment Performance.
2000
1. Jason Robards, American actor (b. 1922) deaths
  1. Jason Robards
    
    Jason Nelson Robards Jr. was an American actor. Known as an interpreter of the works of playwright Eugene O'Neill, Robards received two Academy Awards, a Tony Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor. He is one of 24 performers to have achieved the Triple Crown of Acting.
1999
1. Curtis Mayfield, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1942) deaths
  1. Curtis Mayfield
    
    Curtis Lee Mayfield was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, and one of the most influential musicians behind soul and politically conscious African-American music. He first achieved success and recognition with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-inducted group The Impressions during the civil rights movement of the late 1950s and the 1960s, and later worked as a solo artist.
2. Shankar Dayal Sharma, Indian academic and politician, 9th President of India (b. 1918) deaths
  1. Shankar Dayal Sharma
    
    Shankar Dayal Sharma was an Indian lawyer and politician from the state of Madhya Pradesh who served as the ninth President of India, from 1992 to 1997.
  2. President of India
    
    The president of India is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murmu is the 15th and current president, having taken office from 25 July 2022.
1998
1. Ram Swarup, Indian writer on Hindu philosophy and religion (b. 1920) deaths
  1. Ram Swarup
    
    Ram Swarup, born Ram Swarup Agarwal, was an Indian author and one of the most important thought leaders of the Hindu revivalist movement.
1997
1. Tamara Zidanšek, Slovenian tennis player births
  1. Tamara Zidanšek
    
    Tamara Zidanšek is a Slovenian tennis player. She has career-high WTA rankings of No. 22 in singles and No. 54 in doubles, and as of June 2021 is the current number-one Slovene tennis player in singles. She has won one singles title and four doubles titles on the WTA Tour and two WTA Challenger singles titles, as well as 17 singles and four doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. On the ITF Junior Circuit, she was in top 20 and had a career-high ranking of No. 16, achieved in December 2015. Playing for the Slovenia Fed Cup team, she has a win–loss record of 9–8.
2. Cahit Arf, Turkish mathematician and academic (b. 1910) deaths
  1. Cahit Arf
    
    Cahit Arf was a Turkish mathematician. He is known for the Arf invariant of a quadratic form in characteristic 2 in topology, the Hasse–Arf theorem in ramification theory, Arf semigroups and Arf rings.
3. Cornelius Castoriadis, Greek economist and philosopher (b. 1922) deaths
  1. Cornelius Castoriadis
    
    Cornelius Castoriadis was a Greek-French philosopher, social critic, economist, psychoanalyst, author of The Imaginary Institution of Society, and co-founder of the Socialisme ou Barbarie group.
1996
1. JonBenét Ramsey, American child beauty queen and prominent unsolved murder victim (b. 1990) deaths
  1. Killing of JonBenét Ramsey
    
    JonBenét Patricia Ramsey was an American child beauty queen who was killed at the age of six in her family's home in Boulder, Colorado. A long handwritten ransom note was found in the home. Her father, John, found the girl's body in the basement of their house about seven hours after she had been reported missing. She had sustained a broken skull from a blow to the head and had been strangled; a garrote was found tied around her neck. The autopsy report stated that JonBenét's official cause of death was "asphyxia by strangulation associated with craniocerebral trauma". Her death was ruled a homicide. The case generated worldwide public and media interest, in part because her mother Patsy Ramsey, a former beauty queen, had entered JonBenét into a series of child beauty pageants. The crime is still considered a cold case and remains an open investigation with the Boulder Police Department.
1994
1. Souleymane Coulibaly, Ivorian footballer births
  1. Souleymane Coulibaly
    
    Souleymane Coulibaly is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Étoile Sahel.
2. Sylva Koscina, Italian actress (b. 1933) deaths
  1. Sylva Koscina
    
    Sylva Koscina was a Yugoslav-born Italian actress, maybe best remembered for her role as Iole, the bride of Hercules in Hercules (1958) and Hercules Unchained (1960). She also played Paul Newman's romantic interest in The Secret War of Harry Frigg (1968).
1992
1. Cecilia Costa Melgar, Chilean tennis player births
  1. Cecilia Costa Melgar
    
    Cecilia Raquel Costa Melgar is a Chilean former tennis player.
2. Jade Thirlwall, English singer births
  1. Jade Thirlwall
    
    Jade Amelia Thirlwall is an English singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence in the 2010s as a member of Little Mix, one of the world's best-selling girl groups. With Little Mix, she released six studio albums and achieved five number-one singles on the UK Singles Chart.
1991
1. Eden Sher, American actress births
  1. Eden Sher
    
    Eden Rebecca Sher is an American actress, best known for her roles as Sue Heck from the family sitcom series The Middle (2009–2018) and as Star Butterfly from the Disney Channel animated fantasy dramedy series Star vs. the Forces of Evil (2015–2019). She won the 2013 Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her performance in The Middle.
1990
1. Jon Bellion, American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer births
  1. Jon Bellion
    
    Jonathan David Bellion is an American singer and songwriter. He was born and raised in Lake Grove, New York on Long Island. He is best known for his song "All Time Low," along with his writing and producing credits. Bellion has released four mixtapes and two studio albums. His first, The Human Condition, was released on June 10, 2016, and it debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200. He released his second studio album, Glory Sound Prep, on November 9, 2018.
2. Andy Biersack, American singer-songwriter births
  1. Andy Biersack
    
    Andrew Dennis Biersack, formerly known as Andy Six, is an American singer. He is the founder and lead vocalist of the rock band Black Veil Brides and is its only remaining original member. In 2014, he started a solo music project under the moniker Andy Black and released his debut album, The Shadow Side, in 2016.
3. Denis Cheryshev, Russian footballer births
  1. Denis Cheryshev
    
    Denis Dmitriyevich Cheryshev is a Russian professional footballer who plays as a left winger for Serie B club Venezia and the Russia national team.
4. Aaron Ramsey, Welsh footballer births
  1. Aaron Ramsey
    
    Aaron James Ramsey is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Ligue 1 club Nice and the Wales national team. Ramsey mainly plays as a box-to-box midfielder, but has also been deployed on the left and right wings.
5. Gene Callahan, American art director and production designer (b. 1923) deaths
  1. Gene Callahan
    
    Gene Callahan was an American art director as well as set and production designer who contributed to over fifty films and more than a thousand TV episodes. He received nominations for the British Academy Film Award and four Oscars, including two wins.
1989
1. Yohan Blake, Jamaican sprinter births
  1. Yohan Blake
    
    Yohan Blake is a Jamaican sprinter specialising in the 100-metre and 200-metre sprint races. He won gold at the 100 m at the 2011 World Athletics Championships as the youngest 100 m world champion ever, and a silver medal in the 2012 Olympic Games in London in the 100 m and 200 m races for the Jamaican team behind Usain Bolt. His times of 9.75 in 100m and 19.44 in 200m are the fastest 100m and 200m Olympic sprints in history to not win the gold medal.
2. Doug Harvey, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1924) deaths
  1. Doug Harvey (ice hockey)
    
    Douglas Norman Harvey was a Canadian professional hockey defenceman and coach who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1947 until 1964, and from 1966 until 1969. Best known for playing with the Montreal Canadiens, Harvey also played for the New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, and St. Louis Blues, as well as several teams in the minor leagues. He also served as the player-coach of the Rangers for one season, and served a similar role for the minor-league Kansas City Blues.
1988
1. Glenn McCarthy, American businessman, founded the Shamrock Hotel (b. 1907) deaths
  1. Glenn McCarthy
    
    Glenn Herbert McCarthy was an American oil tycoon. The media often referred to him as "Diamond Glenn" and "The King of the Wildcatters". McCarthy was an oil prospector and entrepreneur who owned many businesses in various sectors of the economy. McCarthy founded the Shamrock Hotel in Houston, which garnered him national fame and inspired the fictional character Jett Rink in Edna Ferber's 1952 novel Giant which, in 1956, became a film, which starred James Dean in the role.
  2. Shamrock Hotel
    
    The Shamrock was a hotel constructed between 1946 and 1949 by wildcatter Glenn McCarthy southwest of downtown Houston, Texas next to the Texas Medical Center. It was the largest hotel built in the United States during the 1940s. The grand opening of the Shamrock is still cited as one of the biggest social events ever held in Houston. Sold to Hilton Hotels in 1955 and operated for over three decades as the Shamrock Hilton, the facility endured financial struggles throughout its history. In 1985, Hilton Hotels donated the building to the Texas Medical Center and the structure was demolished on June 1, 1987.
2. Pablo Sorozábal, German-Spanish composer and conductor (b. 1897) deaths
  1. Pablo Sorozábal
    
    Pablo Sorozábal Mariezcurrena was a Spanish composer of zarzuelas, operas, symphonic works, and the popular romanza, "No puede ser".
1987
1. Dorothy Bliss, American invertebrate zoologist, curator at the American Museum of Natural History (b. 1916) deaths
  1. Dorothy Bliss
    
    Dorothy Elizabeth Bliss was an American carcinologist and curator of invertebrates at the American Museum of Natural History, with which she was associated for over 30 years. She was known as a pioneer in the field of hormonal control in crustaceans. She was editor-in-chief of the 10-volume series The Biology of Crustacea, and author of the popular book Shrimps, Lobsters and Crabs. She served as president of the American Society of Zoologists and was a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
1986
1. Joe Alexander, American-Israeli basketball player births
  1. Joe Alexander
    
    Joe Alexander is a Taiwanese-born American-Israeli professional basketball player who last played for Maccabi Rishon LeZion of the Israeli Premier League. Alexander, who at 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) plays both forward positions, was selected for the 2007 All-Big East squad during his collegiate career with West Virginia and was an All-American Honorable Mention. He was selected eighth overall in the 2008 NBA draft by the Milwaukee Bucks. He is the first-ever Taiwanese-born NBA player.
2. Kit Harington, English actor births
  1. Kit Harington
    
    Christopher Catesby Harington is an English actor who is widely known for his role as Jon Snow in the HBO epic fantasy television series Game of Thrones (2011–2019).
3. Hugo Lloris, French footballer births
  1. Hugo Lloris
    
    Hugo Hadrien Dominique Lloris is a French professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper and captains both Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur and the France national team. He is a three-time winner of the National Union of Professional Footballers (UNFP) Ligue 1 Goalkeeper of the Year award.
4. Selen Soyder, Turkish actress and beauty queen births
  1. Selen Soyder
    
    Mükerrem Selen Soyder is a Turkish actress, activist, model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss World Turkey 2007 and represented her country in the Miss World 2007 in Sanya, China.
5. Elsa Lanchester, English-American actress (b. 1902) deaths
  1. Elsa Lanchester
    
    Elsa Sullivan Lanchester was a British-American actress with a long career in theatre, film and television.
1985
1. Beth Behrs, American actress births
  1. Beth Behrs
    
    Elizabeth Ann Behrs is an American actress known for her starring role as Caroline Channing in the CBS comedy series 2 Broke Girls. The show ran for six seasons and earned Behrs praise and nominations for the Teen and the People's Choice Awards. Having made her screen debut in the 2009 comedy film American Pie Presents: The Book of Love, she later ventured into television roles. After 2 Broke Girls, Behrs returned to feature films with the 2015 productions Chasing Eagle Rock and Hello, My Name Is Doris. She voiced Carrie Williams in the animated film Monsters University (2013) and Moochie in the television series Home: Adventures with Tip & Oh. In 2018, she was cast in her second major TV role, playing Gemma Johnson in the CBS sitcom The Neighborhood.
1984
1. Ahmed Barusso, Ghanaian footballer births
  1. Ahmed Barusso
    
    Ahmed Apimah Barusso is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Italian club A.S.D. Terme Monticelli.
2. Leonardo Ghiraldini, Italian rugby player births
  1. Leonardo Ghiraldini
    
    Leonardo Ghiraldini is a retired Italian international rugby union player. Ghiraldini's playing position is hooker.
3. Alex Schwazer, Italian race walker births
  1. Alex Schwazer
    
    Alex Schwazer, OMRI, is an Italian race walker. He was the 2008 Olympic 50k walk champion. He retired during the 2012 Olympics after being disqualified for doping offences.
1983
1. Yu Takahashi, Japanese singer-songwriter births
  1. Yu Takahashi
    
    Yu Takahashi is a Japanese singer-songwriter. He debuted on a major label in 2010, with his singles "Subarashiki Nichijō" and "Honto no Kimochi".
2. Alexander Wang, American fashion designer births
  1. Alexander Wang (designer)
    
    Alexander Wang is an American fashion designer. Wang launched his Alexander Wang fashion brand in 2005 and came to prominence after being awarded the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund in 2008. From November 2012 through July 2015, Wang was creative director at Balenciaga. He is known for his urban-inspired designs and use of black.
3. Hans Liska, Austrian-German artist (b. 1907) deaths
  1. Hans Liska
    
    Hans Liska was an Austrian artist, painter, commercial artist and illustrator.
1982
1. Kenneth Darby, American football player births
  1. Kenneth Darby
    
    Kenneth Darby is a former American football running back. He was originally drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the seventh round of the 2007 NFL Draft. Darby has been a member of the Atlanta Falcons and St. Louis Rams. He played college football at Alabama.
2. Noel Hunt, Irish footballer births
  1. Noel Hunt
    
    Noel Hunt is an Irish retired professional footballer, who is the Under-23s manager at Reading.
3. Aksel Lund Svindal, Norwegian skier births
  1. Aksel Lund Svindal
    
    Aksel Lund Svindal is a Norwegian former World Cup alpine ski racer.
1981
1. Pablo Canavosio, Argentinian-Italian rugby player births
  1. Pablo Canavosio
    
    Pablo Canavosio is an Italian Argentine rugby union footballer. Canavosio played for Rovigo, Calvisano, Castres Olympique and Aironi. His usual position is at scrum half or wing.
2. Nikolai Nikolaeff, Australian actor births
  1. Nikolai Nikolaeff
    
    Nikolai Nikolaeff is an Australian actor who is best known for his roles in the television series Sea Patrol, Power Rangers Jungle Fury and Daredevil.
3. Amber Reeves, New Zealand-English author and scholar (b. 1887) deaths
  1. Amber Reeves
    
    Amber Blanco White was a New Zealand-born British feminist writer and scholar.
4. Suat Hayri Ürgüplü, Turkish politician, Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1903) deaths
  1. Suat Hayri Ürgüplü
    
    Ali Suat Hayri Ürgüplü was a Turkish politician who served a brief term as Prime Minister of Turkey in 1965. He was also the last Prime Minister to be born outside the territory of present-day Turkey, being born in Damascus, which was then part of the Ottoman Empire.
  2. Prime Minister of Turkey
    
    The prime minister of the Republic of Turkey was the head of government of the Republic of Turkey from 1920 to 2018, who led a political coalition in the Turkish Parliament and presided over the cabinet. Throughout the political history of Turkey, functions and powers of the post have changed occasionally. Prior to its dissolution as a result of the 2017 Constitutional Referendum, the prime minister was generally the dominant figure in Turkish politics, outweighing the president.
5. Savitri, Indian actress, playback singer, dancer, director and producer (b. 1936) deaths
  1. Savitri (actress)
    
    Savitri Ganesan was an Indian actress, playback singer, dancer, director, and producer known for her works primarily in Telugu and Tamil cinema. She had also worked in Kannada, Hindi and Malayalam films. She starred in more than 250 films over three decades. She was one of the highest-paid and most popular Indian actresses of the 1950s, 60s, and early 70s. She is known by the epithets Mahanati and Nadigaiyar Thilagam.
1980
1. Todd Dunivant, American soccer player births
  1. Todd Dunivant
    
    Todd Dunivant is an American former soccer player who played 13 years in Major League Soccer winning 5 MLS Cup trophies. After retirement he spearheaded the San Francisco Deltas professional soccer team as the Director of Soccer Operations and Business Development —winning the NASL Championship in its expansion season. He currently serves as the general manager of Sacramento Republic FC.
2. Ceylan Ertem, Turkish singer births
  1. Ceylan Ertem
    
    Ceylan Ertem is Turkish singer-songwriter.
3. Tony Smith, American sculptor and educator (b. 1912) deaths
  1. Tony Smith (sculptor)
    
    Anthony Peter Smith was an American sculptor, visual artist, architectural designer, and a noted theorist on art. He is often cited as a pioneering figure in American Minimalist sculpture.
1979
1. Fabián Carini, Uruguayan footballer births
  1. Fabián Carini
    
    Héctor Fabián Carini Hernández is a Uruguayan former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
2. Chris Daughtry, American singer-songwriter and guitarist births
  1. Chris Daughtry
    
    Christopher Adam Daughtry is an American singer, musician, and actor. He is the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the rock band Daughtry, which he formed after placing fourth on the fifth season of American Idol. Released by RCA Records, Daughtry's self-titled debut album became the fastest selling debut rock album in Nielsen SoundScan history, selling more than one million copies within five weeks of release. The album was recorded before the band was officially formed, making him the only official member present on the album.
3. Dimitry Vassiliev, Russian ski jumper births
  1. Dmitriy Vassiliev
    
    Dimitry Viktorovich Vassiliev is a Russian former ski jumper who has competed at World Cup level from 1998 to 2021.
4. Craig Wing, Australian rugby player births
  1. Craig Wing
    
    Craig Wing, also known by the nickname of "Wingy", is an Australian-born former professional rugby league and rugby union footballer. He began his career in rugby league, playing for the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Sydney Roosters in the NRL, representing Australia internationally and New South Wales in State of Origin. He switched to rugby union, playing in Japan for the NTT Communications Shining Arcs and the Kobelco Steelers, earning selection for the Japanese national team after completing three years residency.
1978
1. Karel Rüütli, Estonian lawyer and politician births
  1. Karel Rüütli
    
    Karel Rüütli was Chairman of the Estonian People's Union and also leader of Estonian People's Union faction in the Estonian Parliament. He left the ERL and joined the Social Democratic Party of Estonia on 14 June 2010.
2. Kaoru Sugayama, Japanese volleyball player births
  1. Kaoru Sugayama
    
    Kaoru Sugayama is a Japanese volleyball player. Although her nickname is "yuu", Ai Otomo already had that nickname on the All-Japan women's Team, so she was given the new nickname "kaoru". Her nickname in television broadcasts is "koushuni kagayaku Kaoru-hime",. Also, she is sometimes known as "shiroi yousei" due in part to her fair skin. However, she is embarrassed to be called "Princess Kaoru" or "White fairy". She belongs to the volleyball team JT Marvelous of the V.League. In May 2008, she retired from the team and from organized volleyball.
1977
1. Fatih Akyel, Turkish footballer and manager births
  1. Fatih Akyel
    
    Fatih Akyel is a Turkish football manager and former professional player. He played as a defender for clubs such as Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe during his 15-year career. He was capped by the Turkey national team 64 times from 1997 to 2004, and also won a silver medal with the Olympic team at the 1997 Mediterranean Games.
2. Adrienn Hegedűs, Hungarian tennis player births
  1. Adrienn Hegedűs
    
    Adrienn Hegedűs is a Hungarian former tennis player. In her career, she won a total of 18 titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. On 24 September 2001, she reached her career-high singles ranking of world No. 178.
3. Howard Hawks, American director and screenwriter (b. 1896) deaths
  1. Howard Hawks
    
    Howard Winchester Hawks was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era. Critic Leonard Maltin called him "the greatest American director who is not a household name."
1976
1. Simon Goodwin, Australian footballer and coach births
  1. Simon Goodwin
    
    Simon Goodwin is an Australian rules football coach and former player. He has been the senior coach of the Melbourne Football Club of the Australian Football League (AFL) since 2017.
1975
1. Chris Calaguio, Filipino basketball player births
  1. Chris Calaguio
    
    Christian Jay Calaguio is a Filipino former professional basketball player. He last played for the San Miguel Beermen in the Philippine Basketball Association. He is a former San Beda Red Cub cager and was one of the star players of the Colegio de San Juan de Letran Knights during his college days in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. After playing for the Knights, he went on to play in the defunct Metropolitan Basketball Association as a member of the San Juan Knights.
2. Marcelo Ríos, Chilean tennis player births
  1. Marcelo Ríos
    
    Marcelo Andrés Ríos Mayorga is a Chilean former world No. 1 tennis player. Nicknamed "El Chino" and "El zurdo de Vitacura", he became the first Latin American player to reach the top position on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) singles rankings in March 1998, holding the spot for six weeks. He also held the top ranking in juniors. At 1.75 m, Ríos is the shortest man to hold the number 1 ranking in men's tennis.
3. María Vasco, Spanish race walker births
  1. María Vasco
    
    María del Monte Vasco Pes Gallardo is a Spanish race walker. She won the bronze medal in the 20 km at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and the 2007 World Championships in Osaka. Vasco was also a gold and bronze medalist at the IAAF Race Walking Championships. She was born in Viladecans near Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
1974
1. Joshua John Miller, American actor, director, and screenwriter births
  1. Joshua John Miller
    
    Joshua John Miller is an American actor, screenwriter, author, and director. Miller co-writes with his life partner M. A. Fortin; the two wrote the screenplay for the 2015 horror comedy The Final Girls, and the USA Network drama series Queen of the South.
2. Farid al-Atrash, Syrian-Egyptian singer-songwriter, oud player, and actor (b. 1915) deaths
  1. Farid al-Atrash
    
    Farid al-Atrash, also written Farid El-Atrache, was a Syrian-Egyptian composer, singer, virtuoso oud player, and actor. Having immigrated to Egypt at the age of only nine years old with his mother and siblings, he studied there under numerous respected musicians.
  2. Oud
    
    The oud is a short-neck lute-type, pear-shaped, fretless stringed instrument, usually with 11 strings grouped in six courses, but some models have five or seven courses, with 10 or 13 strings respectively.
3. Jack Benny, American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, and violinist (b. 1894) deaths
  1. Jack Benny
    
    Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success playing violin on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century with a highly popular comedic career in radio, television, and film. He was known for his comic timing and the ability to cause laughter with a long pause or a single expression, such as his signature exasperated summation "Well! "
4. Frederick Dalrymple-Hamilton, Scottish admiral (b. 1890) deaths
  1. Frederick Dalrymple-Hamilton
    
    Admiral Sir Frederick Hew George Dalrymple-Hamilton KCB was a British naval officer who served in World War I and World War II. He was captain of HMS Rodney when it engaged the Bismarck on 27 May 1941.
1973
1. Paulo Frederico Benevenute, Brazilian footballer births
  1. Paulão (footballer, born 1973)
    
    Paulo Frederico Benevenute, known as Paulão, is a retired Brazilian footballer.
2. Gianluca Faliva, Italian rugby player births
  1. Gianluca Faliva
    
    Gianluca Faliva is a retired Italian rugby union player. He played as a loosehead prop forward.
3. Nobuhiko Matsunaka, Japanese baseball player births
  1. Nobuhiko Matsunaka
    
    Nobuhiko Matsunaka is a former left fielder and designated hitter for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.
4. Steve Prescott, English rugby player (d. 2013) births
  1. Steve Prescott
    
    Stephen Prescott was a professional rugby league footballer who played as a fullback in the 1990s and 2000s.
5. Harold B. Lee, American religious leader, 11th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1899) deaths
  1. Harold B. Lee
    
    Harold Bingham Lee was an American religious leader and educator who served as the 11th president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from July 1972 until his death in December 1973.
  2. President of the Church (LDS Church)
    
    The President of the Church is the highest office of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was the office held by Joseph Smith, the church's founder. The church's president is its leader and the head of the First Presidency, its highest governing body. Latter-day Saints consider the president of the church to be a "prophet, seer, and revelator" and refer to him as "the Prophet", a title that was originally given to Smith. When the name of the president is used by adherents, it is usually prefaced by the title "President". Russell M. Nelson has been the president since January 14, 2018.
1972
1. Esteban Fuertes, Argentinian footballer births
  1. Esteban Fuertes
    
    Esteban Óscar Fuertes is an Argentine former footballer.
2. Robert Muchamore, English author births
  1. Robert Muchamore
    
    Robert Muchamore is an English author, most notable for writing the CHERUB and Henderson's Boys novels.
3. Harry S. Truman, American colonel and politician, 33rd President of the United States (b. 1884) deaths
  1. Harry S. Truman
    
    Harry S. Truman was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin Roosevelt and as a United States senator from Missouri from 1935 to January 1945. Assuming the presidency after Roosevelt's death, Truman implemented the Marshall Plan to rebuild the economy of Western Europe and established both the Truman Doctrine and NATO to contain the expansion of Soviet communism. He proposed numerous liberal domestic reforms, but few were enacted by the Conservative Coalition which dominated the Congress.
  2. President of the United States
    
    The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces.
1971
1. Jared Leto, American actor and musician births
  1. Jared Leto
    
    Jared Joseph Leto is an American actor and musician. Known for his method acting in a variety of roles, he has received numerous accolades over a career spanning three decades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. Additionally, he is recognised for his musicianship and eccentric stage persona as a member of the rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars.
2. Mika Nurmela, Finnish footballer births
  1. Mika Nurmela
    
    Mika Nurmela is a Finnish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He is the sporting director of Finnish Ykkönen club AC Oulu. His son Anselmi Nurmela is also a professional footballer.
3. Tatiana Sorokko, Russian-American model and journalist births
  1. Tatiana Sorokko
    
    Tatiana Sorokko is a Russian-born American model, fashion journalist, and haute couture collector. She walked the runways for the world's most prominent designers and fashion houses, appeared on covers of leading fashion magazines, and became the first Russian model of the post-Soviet period to gain international recognition. After modeling, Sorokko worked as contributing editor for such publications as Vogue, Vanity Fair and Harper's Bazaar. Her distinct personal style and her private collection of historically important haute couture clothing were subjects of museum exhibitions in Russia and the U.S.
1970
1. James Mercer, American singer-songwriter and guitarist births
  1. James Mercer (musician)
    
    James Russell Mercer is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and musician. He is the founder, vocalist, lead singer-songwriter, and sole remaining original member of the indie rock group The Shins. In 2009, Mercer and producer Danger Mouse formed the side project Broken Bells, for which they released a self-titled album in March 2010, followed by After the Disco in 2014, and then Into the Blue in 2022. Mercer also has acted, appearing in Matt McCormick's feature film Some Days Are Better Than Others, which premiered in 2010.
2. Lillian Board, South African-English runner (b. 1948) deaths
  1. Lillian Board
    
    Lillian Barbara Board, was a British athlete. She won the silver medal in the 400 metres at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, and two gold medals at the 1969 European Championships in Athletics in Athens. Her career was cut short in 1970 when she developed the colorectal cancer that within months would claim her life.
1969
1. Isaac Viciosa, Spanish runner births
  1. Isaac Viciosa
    
    Isaac Viciosa is a former middle distance runner from Spain.
1968
1. Matt Zoller Seitz, American film critic and author births
  1. Matt Zoller Seitz
    
    Matt Zoller Seitz is an American film and television critic, author and film-maker.
2. Weegee, Ukrainian-American photographer and journalist (b. 1898) deaths
  1. Weegee
    
    Arthur (Usher) Fellig, known by his pseudonym Weegee, was a photographer and photojournalist, known for his stark black and white street photography in New York City.
1966
1. Jay Farrar, American singer-songwriter and guitarist births
  1. Jay Farrar
    
    Jay Farrar is an American songwriter and musician currently based in St. Louis. A member of two critically acclaimed music groups, Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt, he began his solo music career in 2001. Beyond his established talents as a songwriter, he is a guitarist, pianist, harmonicist, and a vocalist.
2. Tim Legler, American basketball player and sportscaster births
  1. Tim Legler
    
    Timothy Eugene Legler is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is currently an ESPN basketball analyst and co-host/analyst on SiriusXM NBA Radio.
3. Jay Yuenger, American guitarist and producer births
  1. Jay Yuenger
    
    Jay Noel Yuenger, also known by the stage name "J.", is a rock guitarist best known for his work with Grammy-nominated heavy metal band White Zombie.
4. Ina Boudier-Bakker, Dutch author (b. 1875) deaths
  1. Ina Boudier-Bakker
    
    Klaziena (Ina) Boudier-Bakker was a Dutch writer of novels. Her most famous work is De klop op de deur, written in 1930.
5. Herbert Otto Gille, German general (b. 1897) deaths
  1. Herbert Gille
    
    Herbert Otto Gille was a high-ranking German SS officer, and divisional & corps commander of the Waffen SS. He commanded the SS Division Wiking during World War II. Gille was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds, making him the most highly decorated Waffen-SS member of the war. After the war, Gille opened a book store and became active in HIAG, a lobby group and a revisionist veteran's organisation founded by former high-ranking Waffen-SS personnel in West Germany in 1951.
6. Guillermo Stábile, Argentinian footballer and manager (b. 1905) deaths
  1. Guillermo Stábile
    
    Guillermo Stábile was an Argentine professional football player and manager who played as a centre forward. At club level, Stábile won two national championships with Huracán and played in Italy and France. He was the top scorer of 1930 World Cup, the inaugural iteration of the tournament. As manager, he led Argentina to victory at six South American Championships and Racing Club to three league titles.
1964
1. Elizabeth Kostova, American author births
  1. Elizabeth Kostova
    
    Elizabeth Johnson Kostova is an American author best known for her debut novel The Historian.
1963
1. Craig Teitzel, Australian rugby league player births
  1. Craig Teitzel
    
    Craig Teitzel is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. Primarily a prop, he played for the Western Suburbs Magpies, Illawarra Steelers, Warrington Wolves and was a foundation player for the North Queensland Cowboys.
2. Lars Ulrich, Danish-American drummer, songwriter, and producer births
  1. Lars Ulrich
    
    Lars Ulrich R is a Danish musician best known as the drummer and co-founder of American heavy metal band Metallica. The son and grandson respectively of tennis players Torben and Einer Ulrich, he played tennis in his youth and moved to Los Angeles at age 16 to train professionally. However, rather than playing tennis, Ulrich began playing drums. After publishing an advertisement in The Recycler, Ulrich met James Hetfield and formed Metallica. Along with Hetfield, Ulrich has songwriting credits on almost all of the band's songs, and the two of them are the only remaining original members of the band.
3. Gorgeous George, American wrestler (b. 1915) deaths
  1. Gorgeous George
    
    George Raymond Wagner was an American professional wrestler known by his ring name Gorgeous George. In the United States, during the First Golden Age of Professional Wrestling in the 1940s–1950s, Gorgeous George was one of the biggest stars of the sport, gaining media attention for his outrageous character, which was described as flamboyant and charismatic. He was posthumously inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2002 and the WWE Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2010.
1962
1. Mark Starr, English wrestler (d. 2013) births
  1. Mark Starr
    
    Mark Ashford-Smith was an English professional wrestler best known by his ring name Mark Starr. He competed as a member of several tag teams.
1961
1. Andrew Lock, Australian mountaineer births
  1. Andrew Lock
    
    Andrew James Lock OAM is an Australian high-altitude mountaineer. He became the first, and still remains the only, Australian to climb all 14 "eight-thousanders" on 2 October 2009, and is the 18th person to ever complete this feat. He climbed 13 of the 14 without using bottled oxygen, only using it on Mount Everest, which he has summited three times. He retired from eight-thousander climbing in 2012.
2. John Lynch, Northern Irish actor births
  1. John Lynch (actor)
    
    John Lynch is an Irish actor and novelist. He won the AFI (AACTA) Award for Best Actor for the 1995 film Angel Baby. His other film appearances include Cal (1984), The Secret Garden (1993), In the Name of the Father (1993) and Sliding Doors (1998). He has also written two novels, Torn Water (2005) and Falling Out of Heaven (2010).
1960
1. Keith Martin Ball, American mathematician and academic births
  1. Keith Martin Ball
    
    Keith Martin Ball FRS FRSE is a mathematician and professor at the University of Warwick. He was scientific director of the International Centre for Mathematical Sciences (ICMS) from 2010 to 2014.
2. Ruud Kaiser, Dutch footballer and manager births
  1. Ruud Kaiser
    
    Ruud Kaiser is a Dutch association football manager and former player, who played as a midfielder.
3. Jim Toomey, American cartoonist births
  1. Jim Toomey
    
    James Patrick Toomey is an American cartoonist famous for his comic Sherman's Lagoon. Toomey received his B.S.E. from Duke University's Pratt School of Engineering in 1983, an M.L.A. from Stanford University in 1995, and a Master's of Environmental Management from the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences in 2008.
4. Cem Uzan, Turkish businessman and politician births
  1. Cem Uzan
    
    Cem Uzan is a Turkish businessman and politician involved in the media and banking industries, while also chairing the social liberal Young Party (GP). His family's media empire at one time included both television stations and print media. His family was one of Turkey's most influential families. His supporters claim Uzan's political rivalry resulted in the group's companies being seized by the government under Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, eventually resulting in Uzan's flight to France to escape what he claimed was political persecution. He has been sentenced in absentia to jail terms in the UK, USA and Turkey for fraud-related offences.
5. Tetsuro Watsuji, Japanese historian and philosopher (b. 1889) deaths
  1. Tetsuro Watsuji
    
    Tetsuro Watsuji was a Japanese historian and moral philosopher.
1959
1. Kōji Morimoto, Japanese animator and director births
  1. Kōji Morimoto
    
    Kōji Morimoto is a Japanese anime director. Some of his works include being an animator in the Akira film; shorts in Robot Carnival, Short Peace, and The Animatrix; and key animation in anime such as Kiki's Delivery Service, City Hunter, and Fist of the North Star. He is the co-founder of Studio 4°C. He has hosted the independent creative team 'phy' since 2009.
2. Hans Nielsen, Danish motorcycle racer births
  1. Hans Nielsen (speedway rider)
    
    Hans Hollen Nielsen is a Danish former professional motorcycle speedway rider. He competed in the Speedway World Championships from 1977 to 1999. Nielsen is notable for winning four Speedway World Championship titles. During his career, he won a total of 22 World Championships, making him arguably the most successful speedway rider of all time. In 2012, Nielsen was named an FIM Legend for his motorcycling achievements.
3. Wang Lijun, Chinese police officer and politician births
  1. Wang Lijun
    
    Wang Lijun is a Chinese former police chief. He served as vice-mayor and police chief of the megacity of Chongqing. Wang is ethnically Mongol and was born in Arxan, Inner Mongolia. Prior to taking on positions in Chongqing, Wang served as vice-mayor and police chief of Jinzhou, Liaoning, and the police chief of Tieling, Liaoning.
4. Jack Tresadern, English footballer and manager (b. 1890) deaths
  1. Jack Tresadern
    
    John Tresadern was an English professional footballer and football manager. He played twice for the England national side.
1958
1. Adrian Newey, English aerodynamicist and engineer births
  1. Adrian Newey
    
    Adrian Martin Newey, is a British Formula One engineer. He is currently the chief technical officer of the Red Bull Racing F1 team.
1957
1. Dermot Murnaghan, English-Northern Irish journalist and game show host births
  1. Dermot Murnaghan
    
    Dermot John Murnaghan is a British broadcaster. A presenter for Sky News, he was a news presenter at CNBC Europe, Independent Television News and BBC News. He has presented news programmes in a variety of time slots since joining Sky News in 2007.
1956
1. David Sedaris, American comedian, author, and radio host births
  1. David Sedaris
    
    David Raymond Sedaris is an American humorist, comedian, author, and radio contributor. He was publicly recognized in 1992 when National Public Radio broadcast his essay "Santaland Diaries.” He published his first collection of essays and short stories, Barrel Fever, in 1994. His next book, Naked (1997), became his first of a series of New York Times Bestsellers, and his 2000 collection Me Talk Pretty One Day won the Thurber Prize for American Humor.
1955
1. Evan Bayh, American lawyer and politician, 46th Governor of Indiana births
  1. Evan Bayh
    
    Birch Evans Bayh III is an American lawyer, lobbyist, and Democratic Party politician who served as a United States senator from Indiana from 1999 to 2011 and the 46th governor of Indiana from 1989 to 1997.
  2. Governor of Indiana
    
    The governor of Indiana is the head of government of the State of Indiana. The governor is elected to a four-year term and is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day management of the functions of many agencies of the Indiana state government. The governor also shares power with other statewide executive officers, who manage other state government agencies. The governor works out of the Indiana Statehouse and holds official functions at the Indiana Governor's Residence in the state capital of Indianapolis.
1954
1. Peter Hillary, New Zealand mountaineer and philanthropist births
  1. Peter Hillary
    
    Peter Edmund Hillary is a New Zealand mountaineer, philanthropist and writer. He is the son of adventurer Sir Edmund Hillary, who, along with mountaineer Tenzing Norgay, completed the first successful ascent of Mount Everest. When Peter Hillary summited Everest in 1990, he and his father were the first father/son duo to achieve the feat. Hillary has achieved two summits of Everest, an 84-day trek across Antarctica to the South Pole, and an expedition guiding astronaut Neil Armstrong to land a small aircraft at the North Pole. He has climbed many of the world's major peaks, and on 19 June 2008, completed the Seven Summits, reaching the top of the highest mountains on all seven continents, when he summited Denali in Alaska.
2. Ozzie Smith, American baseball player and sportscaster births
  1. Ozzie Smith
    
    Osborne Earl Smith is an American former professional baseball player. Nicknamed "the Wizard of Oz", Smith played shortstop for the San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals in Major League Baseball, winning the National League Gold Glove Award for defensive play at shortstop for 13 consecutive seasons. A 15-time All-Star, Smith accumulated 2,460 hits and 580 stolen bases during his career, and won the National League Silver Slugger Award as the best hitter at shortstop in 1987. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 2002. He was also elected to the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame in the inaugural class of 2014.
1953
1. Leonel Fernández, Dominican lawyer and politician, 51st President of the Dominican Republic births
  1. Leonel Fernández
    
    Leonel Antonio Fernández Reyna is a Dominican lawyer, academic, and was the 50th and 52nd President of the Dominican Republic from 1996 to 2000 and from 2004 to 2012. From 2016 until 2020, he was the President of the EU–LAC Foundation.
  2. President of the Dominican Republic
    
    The president of the Dominican Republic is both the head of state and head of government of the Dominican Republic. The presidential system was established in 1844, following the proclamation of the republic during the Dominican War of Independence. The President of the Dominican Republic is styled Your Excellency, Mr. President during his time in office. His official residence is the National Palace.
2. Makis Katsavakis, Greek footballer and manager births
  1. Makis Katsavakis
    
    Makis Katsavakis is a Greek professional football manager and former player.
3. Toomas Hendrik Ilves, Swedish-Estonian journalist and politician, 4th President of Estonia births
  1. Toomas Hendrik Ilves
    
    Toomas Hendrik Ilves is an Estonian politician who served as the fourth president of Estonia from 2006 until 2016.
  2. President of Estonia
    
    The president of the Republic of Estonia is the head of state of the Republic of Estonia. The current president is Alar Karis, elected by Parliament on 31 August 2021, replacing Kersti Kaljulaid.
4. Henning Schmitz, German drummer births
  1. Kraftwerk
    
    Kraftwerk is a German band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk were among the first successful acts to popularize the genre. The group began as part of West Germany's experimental krautrock scene in the early 1970s before fully embracing electronic instrumentation, including synthesizers, drum machines, and vocoders. Wolfgang Flür joined the band in 1974 and Karl Bartos in 1975, expanding the band to a quartet.
1950
1. Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Pakistani businessman and politician, 17th Prime Minister of Pakistan births
  1. Raja Pervaiz Ashraf
    
    Raja Pervaiz Ashraf is a Pakistani politician, businessman and agriculturist who is the current Speaker of the National Assembly and a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from NA-58 (Rawalpindi-II). He served as the 19th prime minister of Pakistan from 22 June 2012 until completing his designated term on 16 March 2013. He has also served as the Senior Vice President of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), an anti-establishment coalition of political parties in Pakistan.
  2. Prime Minister of Pakistan
    
    The prime minister of Pakistan is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen cabinet, despite the president of Pakistan serving as the nominal head of executive. The prime minister is often the leader of the party or the coalition with a majority in the lower house of the Parliament of Pakistan, the National Assembly where he serves as Leader of the House. Prime minister holds office by virtue of their ability to command the confidence of the National Assembly. The prime minister is designated as the "Chief Executive of the Islamic Republic".
2. Mario Mendoza, Mexican baseball player and manager births
  1. Mario Mendoza
    
    Mario Mendoza Aizpuru is a Mexican former professional baseball infielder. Mendoza, a lifetime .215 hitter, is best known for being the source of the name for the threshold for batting ineptitude, the "Mendoza Line", meaning a batting average of .200. Mendoza managed in the minor leagues and in Mexico after his nine-year Major League Baseball (MLB) playing career. He is a member of the Mexican League Hall of Fame.
1949
1. José Ramos-Horta, East Timorese lawyer and politician, 2nd President of East Timor, Nobel Prize laureate births
  1. José Ramos-Horta
    
    José Manuel Ramos-Horta is an East Timorese politician currently serving as president of East Timor since May 2022. He previously served as president from 20 May 2007 to 20 May 2012. Previously he was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2002 to 2006 and Prime Minister from 2006 to 2007. He is a co-recipient of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize, along with Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, for working "towards a just and peaceful solution to the conflict in East Timor".
  2. President of East Timor
    
    The president of the Democratic Republic of Timor Leste is the head of state of the Democratic Republic of Timor Leste. The executive powers of the president are limited however, the president is also the ex officio head of the Council of State, able to veto legislation and is the supreme commander of the Timor Leste Defence Force.
  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".
1948
1. Candy Crowley, American journalist births
  1. Candy Crowley
    
    Candy Alt Crowley is an American news anchor who was employed as CNN's chief political correspondent, specializing in American national and state elections. She was based in CNN's Washington, D.C. bureau and was the anchor of their Sunday morning talk show State of the Union with Candy Crowley. She has covered elections for over two decades.
1947
1. James T. Conway, American general births
  1. James T. Conway
    
    James Terry Conway is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general who served as the 34th Commandant of the Marine Corps. Among his previous postings were Director of Operations (J-3) on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Commanding General of 1st Marine Division and I Marine Expeditionary Force, taking part in the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the First Battle of Fallujah.
2. Jean Echenoz, French author births
  1. Jean Echenoz
    
    Jean Echenoz is a French writer.
3. Carlton Fisk, American baseball player births
  1. Carlton Fisk
    
    Carlton Ernest Fisk, nicknamed "Pudge" and "The Commander", is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from 1969 to 1993 for the Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox (1981–1993). In 1972, he was the first player to be unanimously voted American League (AL) Rookie of the Year. Fisk is best known for his game-winning home run in the 12th inning of Game 6 of the 1975 World Series, during which he memorably waved his arms hoping for the batted ball to remain fair.
4. Josef Janíček, Czech singer-songwriter, guitarist, and keyboard player births
  1. Josef Janíček
    
    Josef Janíček is a Czech rock keyboardist, singer, accordion and guitar player. He was a former guitarist of The Primitives Group; from 1969 he played with The Plastic People of the Universe. He was also a member of Milan Hlavsa's band called Půlnoc. Since 1990, he is a member of The Velvet Underground Revival Band.
5. Liz Lochhead, Scottish poet and playwright births
  1. Liz Lochhead
    
    Liz Lochhead Hon FRSE is a Scottish poet, playwright, translator and broadcaster. Between 2011 and 2016 she was the Makar, or National Poet of Scotland, and served as Poet Laureate for Glasgow between 2005 and 2011.
6. Richard Levis McCormick, American historian and academic births
  1. Richard Levis McCormick
    
    Richard Levis McCormick is a historian, professor and president emeritus of Rutgers University.
1946
1. Alan Frumin, American lawyer and politician births
  1. Alan Frumin
    
    Alan Scott Frumin is a former parliamentarian of the United States Senate.
2. Tiit Rosenberg, Estonian historian and academic births
  1. Tiit Rosenberg
    
    Tiit Rosenberg is an Estonian historian and professor of Estonian History in University of Tartu. In 1996–2008 was he also chairman of Õpetatud Eesti Selts.
1945
1. John Walsh, American television host, producer, and activist, created America's Most Wanted births
  1. John Walsh (television host)
    
    John Edward Walsh Jr. is an American television personality, and victim rights advocate, and the host/creator of America's Most Wanted. He is known for his anti-crime activism, with which he became involved following the murder of his son, Adam, in 1981; in 2008, the late serial killer Ottis Toole was officially named as Adam's killer. Walsh was part-owner of the now defunct National Museum of Crime and Punishment in Washington, D.C. He also anchors an investigative documentary series, The Hunt with John Walsh, which debuted on CNN in 2014.
  2. America's Most Wanted
    
    America's Most Wanted is an American television program whose first run was produced by 20th Television, and second run is under the Fox Alternative Entertainment division of Fox Corporation. At the time of its cancellation by the Fox television network in June 2011, it was the longest-running program in the network's history, a mark since surpassed by The Simpsons, although the program was revived ten years later. The show started off as a half-hour program on February 7, 1988. In 1990, the show's format was changed from 30 minutes to 60 minutes. The show's format was reverted to 30 minutes in 1995, and then back to 60 minutes in 1996. A short-lived syndicated spinoff titled America's Most Wanted: Final Justice aired during the 1995–96 season.
1944
1. William Ayers, American academic and activist births
  1. Bill Ayers
    
    William Charles Ayers rose to prominence during the 1960s as a domestic terrorist.
1942
1. Vinicio Cerezo, Guatemalan politician, 28th President of Guatemala births
  1. Vinicio Cerezo
    
    Marco Vinicio Cerezo Arévalo is a Guatemalan politician and the current Secretary General of the Central American Integration System (SICA). He served as President of Guatemala from 14 January 1986 to 14 January 1991.
  2. President of Guatemala
    
    The president of Guatemala, officially known as the President of the Republic of Guatemala, is the head of state and head of government of Guatemala, elected to a single four-year term. The position of President was created in 1839.
2. Catherine Coulter, American author births
  1. Catherine Coulter
    
    Jean Catherine Coulter is an American author of romantic suspense thrillers and historical romances who currently resides in northern California.
3. Gray Davis, American captain, lawyer, and politician, 37th Governor of California births
  1. Gray Davis
    
    Joseph Graham "Gray" Davis Jr. is an American attorney and former politician who served as the 37th governor of California from 1999 to 2003. In 2003, only a few months into his second term, Davis was recalled and removed from office. He is the second state governor in U.S. history to have been recalled.
  2. Governor of California
    
    The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard.
1941
1. Daniel Schmid, Swiss actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2006) births
  1. Daniel Schmid
    
    Daniel Walter Schmid was a Swiss theatre and film director.
1940
1. Edward C. Prescott, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2022) births
  1. Edward C. Prescott
    
    Edward Christian Prescott was an American economist. He received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics in 2004, sharing the award with Finn E. Kydland, "for their contributions to dynamic macroeconomics: the time consistency of economic policy and the driving forces behind business cycles". This research was primarily conducted while both Kydland and Prescott were affiliated with the Graduate School of Industrial Administration at Carnegie Mellon University. According to the IDEAS/RePEc rankings, he was the 19th most widely cited economist in the world in 2013. In August 2014, Prescott was appointed an Adjunct Distinguished Economic Professor at the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra, Australia. Prescott died of cancer on November 6, 2022, at the age of 81.
  2. Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences
    
    The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, officially the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, is an economics award administered by the Nobel Foundation.
2. Ray Sadecki, American baseball player (d. 2014) births
  1. Ray Sadecki
    
    Raymond Michael Sadecki was a Major League Baseball pitcher. He is best remembered as the left-handed complement to Bob Gibson, who in 1964, won 20 games to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to their first World Series title in eighteen years. He was notable for throwing the palmball.
1939
1. Fred Schepisi, Australian director and screenwriter births
  1. Fred Schepisi
    
    Frederic Alan Schepisi is an Australian film director, producer and screenwriter. His credits include The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, Plenty, Roxanne, A Cry in the Dark, Mr. Baseball, Six Degrees of Separation, and Last Orders.
2. Phil Spector, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2021) births
  1. Phil Spector
    
    Harvey Phillip Spector was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by his two trials and conviction for murder in the 2000s. Spector developed the Wall of Sound, a production style that is characterized for its diffusion of tone colors and dense orchestral sound, which he described as a "Wagnerian" approach to rock and roll. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in pop music history and one of the most successful producers of the 1960s.
1938
1. Bahram Beyzai, Iranian director, producer, and screenwriter births
  1. Bahram Beyzai
    
    Bahrām Beyzāêi is an Iranian playwright, theatre director, screenwriter, film editor, and ostād ("master") of Persian letters, arts and Iranian studies.
2. Robert Hamerton-Kelly, South African-American pastor, scholar, and author (d. 2013) births
  1. Robert Hamerton-Kelly
    
    Robert Gerald Hamerton-Kelly was a Christian theologian, ordained United Methodist pastor, ethics scholar, and author and editor of several books on religion and violence. He served as Dean of the Chapel at Stanford Memorial Church at Stanford University for 14 years and was on the faculty of the university for more than 30 years. A leading advocate of the work of René Girard's theory of mimetic desire, Hamerton-Kelly co-founded several organizations dedicated to the study of the theory and edited several important texts about it.
3. Alamgir Kabir, Bangladeshi director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1989) births
  1. Alamgir Kabir (film maker)
    
    Alamgir Kabir was a Bangladeshi film director and cultural activist. Three of his feature films are featured in the "Top 10 Bangladeshi Films" list by British Film Institute.
4. Mirko Kovač, Yugoslav-Croatian author, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 2013) births
  1. Mirko Kovač (writer)
    
    Mirko Kovač was a Yugoslav writer. In his rich career he wrote novels, short stories, essays, film scripts, TV and radio plays. Among his best known works are the novels Gubilište, Životopis Malvine Trifković, Vrata od utrobe, Grad u zrcalu, the short story collection Ruže za Nives Koen, the book of essays Europska trulež and the scripts for some of the most successful films of Yugoslav cinema like Handcuffs, Playing Soldiers and Occupation in 26 Pictures among others. He was one quarter of the infamous Belgrade quartet, the other three being Danilo Kiš, Borislav Pekić and Filip David.
1937
1. John Horton Conway, English mathematician, known for Conway's Game of Life (d. 2020) births
  1. John Horton Conway
    
    John Horton Conway was an English mathematician active in the theory of finite groups, knot theory, number theory, combinatorial game theory and coding theory. He also made contributions to many branches of recreational mathematics, most notably the invention of the cellular automaton called the Game of Life.
  2. Conway's Game of Life
    
    The Game of Life, also known simply as Life, is a cellular automaton devised by the British mathematician John Horton Conway in 1970. It is a zero-player game, meaning that its evolution is determined by its initial state, requiring no further input. One interacts with the Game of Life by creating an initial configuration and observing how it evolves. It is Turing complete and can simulate a universal constructor or any other Turing machine.
1936
1. Peep Jänes, Estonian architect births
  1. Peep Jänes
    
    Peep Jänes is an Estonian architect.
2. Trevor Taylor, English race car driver (d. 2010) births
  1. Trevor Taylor (racing driver)
    
    Trevor Taylor was a British motor racing driver from England.
1935
1. Abdul "Duke" Fakir, American singer births
  1. Duke Fakir
    
    Abdul Kareem Fakir, professionally known as Duke Fakir, is an American singer. He is a founding member of the Motown quartet the Four Tops, from 1953 to the present day. A first tenor, Fakir is the group's lone surviving original member, performing today with Ronnie McNeir, Lawrence "Roquel" Payton Jr., and Alexander Morris.
2. Rohan Kanhai, Guyanese cricketer births
  1. Rohan Kanhai
    
    Rohan Babulal Kanhai is a Guyanese former cricketer of Tamil Indo-Guyanese origin, who represented the West Indies in 79 Test matches. He is widely considered to be one of the best batsmen of the 1960s. Kanhai featured in several great West Indian teams, playing alongside Sir Garfield Sobers, Roy Fredericks, Lance Gibbs, Clive Lloyd, and Alvin Kallicharran among others. C. L. R. James wrote in the New World journal that Kanhai was "the high peak of West Indian cricketing development", and praised his "adventuresome" attitude. Kanhai was part of the West Indian team that won the inaugural, 1975 Cricket World Cup.
3. Norm Ullman, Canadian ice hockey player births
  1. Norm Ullman
    
    Norman Victor Alexander Ullman is a former ice hockey forward. He previously played for the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1982.
1933
1. Caroll Spinney, American puppeteer and voice actor (d. 2019) births
  1. Caroll Spinney
    
    Caroll Edwin Spinney was an American puppeteer, cartoonist, author, artist and speaker, most famous for playing Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on Sesame Street from its inception in 1969 until 2018.
2. Anatoly Lunacharsky, Russian journalist and politician (b. 1875) deaths
  1. Anatoly Lunacharsky
    
    Anatoly Vasilyevich Lunacharsky was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and the first Bolshevik Soviet People's Commissar (Narkompros) responsible for Ministry of Education as well as an active playwright, critic, essayist and journalist throughout his career.
3. Henry Watson Fowler, English lexicographer and educator (b. 1858) deaths
  1. H. W. Fowler
    
    Henry Watson Fowler was an English schoolmaster, lexicographer and commentator on the usage of the English language. He is notable for both A Dictionary of Modern English Usage and his work on the Concise Oxford Dictionary, and was described by The Times as "a lexicographical genius".
1931
1. Melvil Dewey, American librarian and educator, created the Dewey Decimal Classification (b. 1851) deaths
  1. Melvil Dewey
    
    Melville Louis Kossuth "Melvil" Dewey was an influential American librarian and educator, inventor of the Dewey Decimal system of library classification, a founder of the Lake Placid Club, and a chief librarian at Columbia University. He was also a founding member of the American Library Association but resigned in 1905, due to allegations of sexual harassment, racism, and antisemitism.
  2. Dewey Decimal Classification
    
    The Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC), colloquially known as the Dewey Decimal System, is a proprietary library classification system which allows new books to be added to a library in their appropriate location based on subject. It was first published in the United States by Melvil Dewey in 1876. Originally described in a 44-page pamphlet, it has been expanded to multiple volumes and revised through 23 major editions, the latest printed in 2011. It is also available in an abridged version suitable for smaller libraries. OCLC, a non-profit cooperative that serves libraries, currently maintains the system and licenses online access to WebDewey, a continuously updated version for catalogers.
1930
1. Jean Ferrat, French singer-songwriter and poet (d. 2010) births
  1. Jean Ferrat
    
    Jean Ferrat was a French singer-songwriter and poet. He specialized in singing poetry, particularly that of Louis Aragon. He had a left-wing sympathy that found its way into a few songs.
2. Harry Gamble, American football player, coach, and manager (d. 2014) births
  1. Harry Gamble
    
    Harry T. Gamble was an American football coach and executive. He was the head coach at the Lafayette College and University of Pennsylvania and general manager of the Philadelphia Eagles.
3. Donald Moffat, English-American actor (d. 2018) births
  1. Donald Moffat
    
    Donald Moffat was a British–American actor with a decades-long career in film and stage in the United States. He began his acting career on- and off-Broadway, which included appearances in The Wild Duck and Right You Are If You Think You Are, earning a Tony Award nomination for both, as well as Painting Churches, for which he received an Obie Award. Moffat also appeared in several feature films, including The Thing and The Right Stuff, along with his guest appearances in the television series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman and The West Wing.
1929
1. Kathleen Crowley, American actress (d. 2017) births
  1. Kathleen Crowley
    
    Kathleen Crowley was an American actress. She appeared more than 100 times in movies and television series in the 1950s and 1960s, almost always as a leading lady.
2. Régine Zylberberg, Belgian-French singer and actress births
  1. Régine Zylberberg
    
    Régine Zylberberg, often known mononymously as Régine, was a Belgian-born French singer and nightclub impresario. She dubbed herself the "Queen of the Night".
3. Albert Giraud, Belgian poet (b. 1860) deaths
  1. Albert Giraud
    
    Albert Giraud was a Belgian poet who wrote in French.
1927
1. Denis Gifford, English journalist and historian (d. 2000) births
  1. Denis Gifford
    
    Denis Gifford was a British writer, broadcaster, journalist, comic artist and historian of film, comics, television and radio. In his lengthy career, he wrote and drew for British comics; wrote more than fifty books on the creators, performers, characters and history of popular media; devised, compiled and contributed to popular programmes for radio and television; and directed several short films. Gifford was also a major comics collector, owning what was perhaps the largest collection of British comics in the world.
2. Alan King, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2004) births
  1. Alan King
    
    Alan King was an American actor and comedian known for his biting wit and often angry humorous rants. King became well known as a Jewish comedian and satirist. He was also a serious actor who appeared in a number of films and television shows. King wrote several books, produced films, and appeared in plays. In later years he helped many philanthropic causes.
3. Stu Miller, American baseball player (d. 2015) births
  1. Stu Miller
    
    Stuart Leonard Miller, nicknamed The Butterfly Man, was a pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the St. Louis Cardinals (1952–56), Philadelphia Phillies (1956), New York/San Francisco Giants (1957–62), Baltimore Orioles (1963–67) and Atlanta Braves (1968). He batted and threw right-handed. In a 16-season career, Miller posted a 105–103 record with a 3.24 earned run average, 1164 strikeouts, and 154 saves in 704 games pitched. He was named an All-Star for the Giants in 1961. Manager Alvin Dark thought Miller's 1961 season was the best of any relief pitcher who ever played for Dark. "It got so the starters would work seven innings and look to the bullpen expecting to see him running in."
4. Denis Quilley, English actor (d. 2003) births
  1. Denis Quilley
    
    Denis Clifford Quilley, OBE was an English actor and singer. From a family with no theatrical connections, Quilley was determined from an early age to become an actor. He was taken on by the Birmingham Repertory Theatre in his teens, and after a break for compulsory military service he began a West End career in 1950, succeeding Richard Burton in The Lady's Not For Burning. In the 1950s he appeared in revue, musicals, operetta and on television as well as in classic and modern drama in the theatre.
1926
1. Earle Brown, American composer (d. 2002) births
  1. Earle Brown
    
    Earle Brown was an American composer who established his own formal and notational systems. Brown was the creator of "open form," a style of musical construction that has influenced many composers since—notably the downtown New York scene of the 1980s and generations of younger composers.
1925
1. Jan Letzel, Czech architect, designed the Hiroshima Peace Memorial (b. 1880) deaths
  1. Jan Letzel
    
    Jan Letzel was a Czech architect, most famous for designing a building in Hiroshima whose ruins are now the A-Bomb Dome or Peace Memorial.
  2. Hiroshima Peace Memorial
    
    The Hiroshima Peace Memorial , originally the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, and now commonly called the Genbaku Dome, Atomic Bomb Dome or A-Bomb Dome , is part of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, Japan and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. The ruin of the hall serves as a memorial to the over 140,000 people who were killed in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima at the end of World War II. It is permanently kept in a state of arrested ruin as a reminder of the destructive effects of nuclear warfare.
1924
1. Frank Broyles, American football player, coach, and sportscaster (d. 2017) births
  1. Frank Broyles
    
    John Franklin Broyles was an American college football player and coach, college athletics administrator, and broadcaster. He served as the head football coach for one season at the University of Missouri in 1957 and at the University of Arkansas from 1958 to 1976, compiling a career coaching record of 149–62–6. Broyles was also the athletic director at Arkansas from 1974 to 2007. His mark of 144–58–5 in 19 seasons at the helm of the Arkansas Razorbacks football gives him the most wins and the most coached games of any head coach in program history. With Arkansas, Broyles won seven Southwest Conference titles and his 1964 team was named a national champion by a number of selectors including the Football Writers Association of America.
1923
1. Richard Artschwager, American painter, illustrator, and sculptor (d. 2013) births
  1. Richard Artschwager
    
    Richard Ernst Artschwager was an American painter, illustrator and sculptor. His work has associations with Pop Art, Conceptual art and Minimalism.
2. Dietrich Eckart, German journalist, poet, and politician (b. 1868) deaths
  1. Dietrich Eckart
    
    Dietrich Eckart was a German völkisch poet, playwright, journalist, publicist, and political activist who was one of the founders of the German Workers' Party, the precursor of the Nazi Party. Eckart was a key influence on Adolf Hitler in the early years of the Party, the original publisher of the party newspaper, the Völkischer Beobachter, and the lyricist of the first party anthem, Sturmlied. He was a participant in the failed Beer Hall Putsch in 1923 and died on 26 December of that year, shortly after his release from Landsberg Prison, from a heart attack.
1922
1. Richard Mayes, English actor (d. 2006) births
  1. Richard Mayes
    
    Derek Leonard Richard Mayes was an English stage, film and television actor. He trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama. A well-known face on British television, he was primarily a theatrical actor, described by The Stage as "an RSC stalwart." He appeared in many roles on stage and small screen, including roles in Doctor Who and as Jedediah Dingle in Emmerdale. He suffered a stroke in 2004.
1921
1. Steve Allen, American actor, singer, talk show host, and screenwriter (d. 2000) births
  1. Steve Allen
    
    Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen was an American television personality, radio personality, musician, composer, actor, comedian, and writer. In 1954, he achieved national fame as the co-creator and first host of The Tonight Show, which was the first late-night television talk show.
2. John Severin, American illustrator (d. 2012) births
  1. John Severin
    
    John Powers Severin was an American comics artist noted for his distinctive work with EC Comics, primarily on the war comics Two-Fisted Tales and Frontline Combat; for Marvel Comics, especially its war and Western comics; and for his 45-year stint with the satiric magazine Cracked. He was one of the founding cartoonists of Mad in 1952.
1918
1. Olga Lopes-Seale, Guyanese-Barbadian singer and radio host (d. 2011) births
  1. Olga Lopes-Seale
    
    Dame Olga Lopes-Seale DA MBE, was a Guyanese-born Barbados-based social and community worker, radio broadcaster and singer.
2. Georgios Rallis, Greek lieutenant and politician, 173rd Prime Minister of Greece (d. 2006) births
  1. Georgios Rallis
    
    Georgios Ioannou Rallis, anglicised to George Rallis, was a Greek conservative politician and the 2nd Prime Minister of Greece from 1980 to 1981.
  2. Prime Minister of Greece
    
    The prime minister of the Hellenic Republic, colloquially referred to as the prime minister of Greece, is the head of government of the Hellenic Republic and the leader of the Greek Cabinet. The incumbent prime minister is Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who took office on 8 July 2019 from Alexis Tsipras.
1915
1. Rolf Botvid, Swedish actor and screenwriter (d. 1998) births
  1. Rolf Botvid
    
    Rolf Botvid was a Swedish actor and writer. He appeared in over 30 films. He was the son of actor and comedian John Botvid and was married to actress Marianne Gyllenhammar.
1914
1. Richard Widmark, American actor (d. 2008) births
  1. Richard Widmark
    
    Richard Weedt Widmark was an American film, stage, and television actor and producer.
1913
1. Frank Swift, English footballer and journalist (d. 1958) births
  1. Frank Swift
    
    Frank Victor Swift was an English footballer, who played as a goalkeeper for Manchester City and England. After starting his career with local clubs near his home town of Blackpool, in 1932 he was signed by First Division Manchester City, with whom he played his entire professional career.
1912
1. Arsenio Lacson, Filipino journalist and politician, Mayor of Manila (d. 1962) births
  1. Arsenio Lacson
    
    Arsenio Hilario Sison Lacson Sr. was a Filipino journalist and politician who gained widespread attention as mayor of Manila from 1952 to 1962. An active executive likened by Time and The New York Times to New York's Fiorello La Guardia, he was the first Manila mayor to be reelected to three terms. Nicknamed "Arsenic" and described as "a good man with a bad mouth", Lacson's fiery temperament became a trademark of his political and broadcasting career. He died suddenly from a stroke amidst talk that he was planning to run in the 1965 presidential election.
  2. Mayor of Manila
    
    The City Mayor of Manila is the head of the executive branch of Manila's city government. The mayor holds office at Manila City Hall. Like all local government heads in the Philippines, the mayor is elected via popular vote, and may not be elected for a fourth consecutive term. In case of death, resignation or incapacity, the vice mayor becomes the mayor.
1910
1. Imperio Argentina, Argentine-Spanish actress and singer (d. 2003) births
  1. Imperio Argentina
    
    María Magdalena Nile del Río was an Argentine professional singer and movie actress, better known as Imperio Argentina; she became a citizen of Spain in 1999.
2. Marguerite Churchill, American actress (d. 2000) births
  1. Marguerite Churchill
    
    Marguerite Churchill was an American stage and film actress whose career lasted 30 years, from 1922 to 1952. She was John Wayne's first leading lady, in The Big Trail (1930).
1909
1. Matt Gordy, American pole vaulter (d. 1989) births
  1. Matt Gordy
    
    Matthew Bell Gordy was an American pole vaulter. In 1933 Gordy shared first place at both the NCAA championships and the national championships and helped Louisiana State University win the NCAA team title.
2. Frederic Remington, American painter and illustrator (b. 1861) deaths
  1. Frederic Remington
    
    Frederic Sackrider Remington was an American painter, illustrator, sculptor, and writer who specialized in the genre of Western American Art. His works are known for depicting the Western United States in the last quarter of the 19th century and featuring such images as cowboys, American Indians, and the US Cavalry.
1908
1. Ralph Hill, American runner (d. 1994) births
  1. Ralph Hill
    
    Ralph Anthony Hill was an American runner. He set an American record over the mile in 1930 and won a silver medal in the 5000 m event at the 1932 Olympics.
1907
1. Albert Gore, Sr., American lawyer and politician (d. 1998) births
  1. Albert Gore Sr.
    
    Albert Arnold Gore was an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Tennessee from 1953 to 1971. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a U.S. Representative from the state's 4th congressional district from 1939 to 1953. He was the father of Al Gore, who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 until 2001, and held Tennessee's other U.S. Senate seat from 1985 to 1993. A native of Granville, Tennessee, Gore graduated from Middle Tennessee State Teachers College and taught school. From 1932 to 1936 he was superintendent of schools for Smith County. He attended the Nashville Y.M.C.A. Night Law School, now the Nashville School of Law, from which he graduated in 1936.
1905
1. William Loeb III, American publisher (d. 1981) births
  1. William Loeb III
    
    William Loeb III was publisher of the Manchester Union Leader newspaper in Manchester, New Hampshire, for thirty-five years from 1946 until his death. His unyieldingly conservative political views helped to make The Union Leader one of the best-known small papers in the country. The publication benefited from nationwide attention every four years during the New Hampshire primary.
1904
1. Alejo Carpentier, Swiss-Cuban musicologist and author (d. 1980) births
  1. Alejo Carpentier
    
    Alejo Carpentier y Valmont was a Cuban novelist, essayist, and musicologist who greatly influenced Latin American literature during its famous "boom" period. Born in Lausanne, Switzerland, of French and Russian parentage, Carpentier grew up in Havana, Cuba, and despite his European birthplace, he strongly identified as Cuban throughout his life. He traveled extensively, particularly in France, and to South America and Mexico, where he met prominent members of the Latin American cultural and artistic community. Carpentier took a keen interest in Latin American politics and often aligned himself with revolutionary movements, such as Fidel Castro's Communist Revolution in Cuba in the mid-20th century. Carpentier was jailed and exiled for his leftist political philosophies.
1903
1. Elisha Cook, Jr., American actor (d. 1995) births
  1. Elisha Cook Jr.
    
    Elisha Vanslyck Cook Jr. was an American character actor famed for his work in films noir. According to Bill Georgaris of TSPDT: They Shoot Pictures, Don't They, Cook appeared in a total of 21 film noirs, more than any other actor or actress. He played cheerful, brainy collegiates until he was cast against type as the bug-eyed baby-faced psychopathic killer Wilmer Cook in the 1941 version of The Maltese Falcon. He went on to play deceptively mild-mannered villains. Cook's acting career spanned more than 60 years, with roles in productions including The Big Sleep, Shane, The Killing, House on Haunted Hill, and Rosemary's Baby.
1902
1. Anatoli Lvovich Kaplan, Russian painter and sculptor (d. 1980) births
  1. Anatoli Lvovich Kaplan
    
    Anatoli Lvovich Kaplan, was a Soviet-era Russian painter, sculptor and printmaker, whose works often reflect his Jewish origins.
2. Mary Hartwell Catherwood, American author and poet (b. 1849) deaths
  1. Mary Hartwell Catherwood
    
    Mary Hartwell Catherwood was an American writer of popular historical romances, short stories, and poetry. Early in her career she published under her birth name, Mary Hartwell, and under the pseudonym Lewtrah. She was known for setting her works in the Midwest, for a strong interest in American dialects, and for bringing a high standard of historical accuracy to the period detail of her novels.
1901
1. Elmar Muuk, Estonian linguist and author (d. 1941) births
  1. Elmar Muuk
    
    Elmar Muuk was an Estonian linguist and author of a number of dictionaries and textbooks of the Estonian language, and was, together with Johannes Voldemar Veski and Johannes Aavik, responsible for development of Estonian as a modern European language.
1900
1. Evelyn Bark, leading member of the British Red Cross, first female recipient of the CMG (d. 1993) births
  1. Evelyn Bark
    
    Evelyn Elizabeth Patricia Bark, was a leading member of the British Red Cross.
  2. British Red Cross
    
    The British Red Cross Society is the United Kingdom body of the worldwide neutral and impartial humanitarian network the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with more than 17,200 volunteers and 3,400 staff. At the heart of their work is providing help to people in crisis, both in the UK and overseas. The Red Cross is committed to helping people without discrimination, regardless of their ethnic origin, nationality, political beliefs or religion. Queen Elizabeth II was the patron of the society until her death on 8 September 2022.
  3. Order of St Michael and St George
    
    The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III.
  4. 1993
    
    1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1993rd year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 993rd year of the 2nd millennium, the 93rd year of the 20th century, and the 4th year of the 1990s decade.
1894
1. Jean Toomer, American author and poet (d. 1967) births
  1. Jean Toomer
    
    Jean Toomer was an American poet and novelist commonly associated with the Harlem Renaissance, though he actively resisted the association, and with modernism. His reputation stems from his novel Cane (1923), which Toomer wrote during and after a stint as a school principal at a black school in rural Sparta, Georgia. The novel intertwines the stories of six women and includes an apparently autobiographical thread; sociologist Charles S. Johnson called it "the most astonishingly brilliant beginning of any Negro writer of his generation". He resisted being classified as a Negro writer, as he identified as "American". For more than a decade Toomer was an influential follower and representative of the pioneering spiritual teacher G.I. Gurdjieff. Later in life he took up Quakerism.
1893
1. Mao Zedong, Chinese politician, Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (d. 1976) births
  1. Mao Zedong
    
    Mao Zedong, also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC), which he led as the chairman of the Chinese Communist Party from the establishment of the PRC in 1949 until his death in 1976. Ideologically a Marxist–Leninist, his theories, military strategies, and political policies are collectively known as Maoism.
  2. Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party
    
    The Chairman of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party was the leader of the Chinese Communist Party. The position was established at the 8th National Congress in 1945 and abolished at the 12th National Congress in 1982, being replaced by the general secretary. Offices with the name Chairman of the Central Executive Committee and Chairman of the Central Committee existed in 1922–1923 and 1928–1931, respectively.
1892
1. Don Barclay, American actor and illustrator (d. 1975) births
  1. Don Barclay (actor)
    
    Don Barclay was an American actor, artist and caricaturist whose many roles stretched the period from the Keystone Cops in 1915 to Mary Poppins in 1964 and whose many paintings and caricatures of celebrities filled establishments worldwide and are archived in the Library of Congress.
1891
1. Henry Miller, American author and painter (d. 1980) births
  1. Henry Miller
    
    Henry Valentine Miller was an American novelist. He broke with existing literary forms and developed a new type of semi-autobiographical novel that blended character study, social criticism, philosophical reflection, stream of consciousness, explicit language, sex, surrealist free association, and mysticism. His most characteristic works of this kind are Tropic of Cancer, Black Spring, Tropic of Capricorn, and the trilogy The Rosy Crucifixion, which are based on his experiences in New York and Paris. He also wrote travel memoirs and literary criticism, and painted watercolors.
1890
1. Konstantinos Georgakopoulos, Greek lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1973) births
  1. Konstantinos Georgakopoulos
    
    Konstantinos Georgakopoulos was a Greek lawyer, politician and Prime Minister of Greece.
  2. Prime Minister of Greece
    
    The prime minister of the Hellenic Republic, colloquially referred to as the prime minister of Greece, is the head of government of the Hellenic Republic and the leader of the Greek Cabinet. The incumbent prime minister is Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who took office on 8 July 2019 from Alexis Tsipras.
2. Percy Hodge, English runner (d. 1967) births
  1. Percy Hodge
    
    Percy Hodge was a British athlete, winner of the 3000 m steeplechase at the 1920 Summer Olympics.
3. Heinrich Schliemann, German-Italian archaeologist and author (b. 1822) deaths
  1. Heinrich Schliemann
    
    Johann Ludwig Heinrich Julius Schliemann was a German businessman and pioneer in the field of archaeology. He was an advocate of the historicity of places mentioned in the works of Homer and an archaeological excavator of Hisarlik, now presumed to be the site of Troy, along with the Mycenaean sites Mycenae and Tiryns. His work lent weight to the idea that Homer's Iliad reflects historical events. Schliemann's excavation of nine levels of archaeological remains has been criticized as destructive of significant historical artifacts, including the level that is believed to be the historical Troy.
1888
1. Marius Canard, French orientalist and historian (d. 1982) births
  1. Marius Canard
    
    Marius Canard FBA was a French Orientalist and historian.
1887
1. Arthur Percival, English general (d. 1966) births
  1. Arthur Percival
    
    Lieutenant-General Arthur Ernest Percival, was a senior British Army officer. He saw service in the First World War and built a successful military career during the interwar period but is most noted for his defeat in the Second World War, when he commanded British Empire forces during the Japanese Malayan Campaign and the subsequent Battle of Singapore.
1885
1. Bazoline Estelle Usher, African-American educator (d. 1992) births
  1. Bazoline Estelle Usher
    
    Bazoline Estelle Usher was an American educator known for her work in the Atlanta Public Schools. As director of education for African-American children in the district prior to integration, she was the first African American to have an office at Atlanta City Hall. She founded the first Girl Scout troop for African-American girls in Atlanta in 1943. Her career as an educator lasted over 50 years, over 40 of which were in the Atlanta schools. A school in Atlanta is named for her, and in 2014 she was posthumously named a Georgia Woman of Achievement.
1883
1. Maurice Utrillo, French painter (d. 1955) births
  1. Maurice Utrillo
    
    Maurice Utrillo, born Maurice Valadon; 26 December 1883 – 5 November 1955), was a French painter of School of Paris who specialized in cityscapes. Born in the Montmartre quarter of Paris, France, Utrillo is one of the few famous painters of Montmartre who were born there.
1874
1. Khan Bahadur Ahsanullah, Bangladeshi theologian and academic (d. 1965) births
  1. Khan Bahadur Ahsanullah
    
    Khan Bahadur Ahsanullah was an educator, litterateur, Islamic theologist and social reformer of pre-partition India.
1873
1. Thomas Wass, English cricketer (d. 1953) births
  1. Thomas Wass
    
    Thomas George Wass, known as Tom Wass, was a Nottinghamshire bowler who is best remembered, along with Albert Hallam, for bowling that gave Nottinghamshire a brilliant County Championship win in 1907. Wass also holds the record for the most wickets taken for Nottinghamshire - 1633 for 20.34 each.
1872
1. Norman Angell, English journalist, academic, and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1967) births
  1. Norman Angell
    
    Sir Ralph Norman Angell was an English Nobel Peace Prize winner. He was a lecturer, journalist, author and Member of Parliament for the Labour Party.
  2. 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".
1869
1. Mathieu Cordang, Dutch cyclist (d. 1942) births
  1. Mathieu Cordang
    
    Mathieu Cordang was a Dutch professional cyclist. His specialties were track racing and endurance racing.
2. Jean Léonard Marie Poiseuille, French physician and physiologist (b. 1797) deaths
  1. Jean Léonard Marie Poiseuille
    
    Jean Léonard Marie Poiseuille was a French physicist and physiologist.
1867
1. Phan Bội Châu, Vietnamese activist (d. 1940) births
  1. Phan Bội Châu
    
    Phan Bội Châu, born Phan Văn San, courtesy name Hải Thụ, was a pioneer of Vietnamese 20th century nationalism. In 1903, he formed a revolutionary organization called Duy Tân Hội. From 1905 to 1908, he lived in Japan where he wrote political tracts calling for the independence of Vietnam from French colonial rule. After being forced to leave Japan, he moved to China where he was influenced by Sun Yat-sen. He formed a new group called Việt Nam Quang Phục Hội, modeled after Sun Yat-sen's republican party. In 1925, French agents seized him in Shanghai. He was convicted of treason and spent the rest of his life under house arrest in Huế.
1864
1. Yun Chi-ho, Korean activist and politician (d. 1945) births
  1. Yun Chi-ho
    
    Yun Chi-ho or Tchi ho yun was an important political activist and thinker during the late 1800s and early 1900s in Joseon Korea. His penname was Jwa-ong ; his courtesy name was Sungheum (성흠;聖欽), or Sungheum (성흠;成欽). Yun was a prominent member of reformist organizations such as the Independence Club (독립협회;獨立協會), led by Seo Jae-pil, the People's joint association (만민공동회;萬民共同會), and the New People's Association (신민회;新民會). He was a strong nationalist especially in his early years; pushing for reform and modernization of the Joseon government. He also served in various government positions and was a strong supporter of Christianity in Korea.
1863
1. Charles Pathé, French record producer, co-founded Pathé Records (d. 1957) births
  1. Charles Pathé
    
    Charles Morand Pathé was a pioneer of the French film and recording industries. As the founder of Pathé Frères, its roots lie in 1896 Paris, France, when Pathé and his brothers pioneered the development of the moving image. Pathé adopted the national emblem of France, the cockerel, as the trademark for his company. After the company, now called Compagnie Générale des Éstablissements Pathé Frères Phonographes & Cinématographes, invented the cinema newsreel with Pathé-Journal.
  2. Pathé Records
    
    Pathé Records was an international record company and label and producer of phonographs, based in France, and active from the 1890s through the 1930s.
2. Francis Caulfeild, 2nd Earl of Charlemont, Irish politician, Lord Lieutenant of Tyrone (b. 1775) deaths
  1. Francis Caulfeild, 2nd Earl of Charlemont
    
    Francis William Caulfeild, 2nd Earl of Charlemont KP, PC (Ire), styled Viscount Caulfeild until 1799, was an Irish peer and politician.
  2. Lord Lieutenant of Tyrone
    
    This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of County Tyrone.
1859
1. William Stephens, American lawyer and politician, 24th Governor of California (d. 1944) births
  1. William Stephens (American politician)
    
    William Dennison Stephens was an American federal and state politician. A three-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1911 to 1916, Stephens was the 24th governor of California from 1917 to 1923.
  2. Governor of California
    
    The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard.
1854
1. José Yves Limantour, Mexican financier and politician, Mexican Secretary of Finance (d. 1935) births
  1. José Yves Limantour
    
    José Yves Limantour Marquet was a Mexican financier who served as Secretary of the Finance of Mexico from 1893 until the fall of the Porfirio Díaz regime in 1911. Limantour established the gold standard in Mexico, suspending free coinage of silver, and mandating only government coins be used. He secured the national debt in 1899 with a consortium of foreign banks, and at the time of the outbreak of the Revolution, Mexico was on strong financial basis. Before the Mexican Revolution he was widely seen, along with General Bernardo Reyes, as one of the stronger candidates to succeed President Díaz.
  2. Secretariat of Finance and Public Credit
    
    The Secretariat of the Treasury and Public Credit is the finance ministry of Mexico. The Secretary of the Treasury is the head of the department, and is a member of the federal executive cabinet, appointed to the post by the President of the Republic, with the approval of the Chamber of Deputies. Recently, the institution has been promoting a financial inclusion policy and is now a member of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion. This position is analogous to the Secretary of the Treasury in the United States of America or to the finance ministers of other nations.Proposes and directs the Federal Government’s economic policy as regards finances, tax, spending, income and public debt and statistics, geography and information, in order to ensure quality, equitable, inclusive and sustained economic growth.
1853
1. René Bazin, French author and academic (d. 1932) births
  1. René Bazin
    
    René François Nicolas Marie Bazin was a French novelist.
1852
1. Johannes François Snelleman, Dutch zoologist, orientalist, and ethnographer (d. 1938) births
  1. Johannes François Snelleman
    
    Johannes François Snelleman was a Dutch zoologist, orientalist, ethnographer and museum director. He was a son of Christiaan Snelleman and Sara Lacombe. Snelleman was married three times, to Josepha Hendrika Dupont (1860-1899), Catharina Johanna Elisabeth Augusta Inckel, and Theodora Maria Beun (1887-1964).
1837
1. Morgan Bulkeley, American soldier and politician, 54th Governor of Connecticut (d. 1922) births
  1. Morgan Bulkeley
    
    Morgan Gardner Bulkeley was an American politician, businessman, and sports executive. A Republican, he served in the American Civil War, and became a Hartford bank president before becoming the third president of the Aetna Life Insurance Company, a post he held for 43 years. He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in recognition of his role as the first president of the National League. Bulkeley served on the Hartford City Council and was a four-term mayor of Hartford. He later served as the 54th Governor of Connecticut for two terms and as a United States Senator.
  2. List of governors of Connecticut
    
    The governor of Connecticut is the head of government of Connecticut, and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Connecticut General Assembly and to convene the legislature. Unusual among U.S. governors, the Governor of Connecticut has no power to pardon. The Governor of Connecticut is automatically a member of the state's Bonding Commission. He is an ex-officio member of the board of trustees of the University of Connecticut and Yale University.
2. George Dewey, American admiral (d. 1917) births
  1. George Dewey
    
    George Dewey was Admiral of the Navy, the only person in United States history to have attained that rank. He is best known for his victory at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish–American War, with the loss of only a single crewman on the American side.
1820
1. Dion Boucicault, Irish actor and playwright (d. 1890) births
  1. Dion Boucicault
    
    Dionysius Lardner "Dion" Boucicault was an Irish actor and playwright famed for his melodramas. By the later part of the 19th century, Boucicault had become known on both sides of the Atlantic as one of the most successful actor-playwright-managers then in the English-speaking theatre. Although The New York Times hailed him in his obituary as "the most conspicuous English dramatist of the 19th century," he and his second wife, Agnes Robertson Boucicault, had applied for and received American citizenship in 1873.
1819
1. E. D. E. N. Southworth, American author and educator (d. 1899) births
  1. E. D. E. N. Southworth
    
    Emma Dorothy Eliza Nevitte Southworth was an American writer of more than 60 novels in the latter part of the 19th century. She was the most popular American novelist of her day.
1803
1. Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald, Estonian physician and author (d. 1882) births
  1. Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald
    
    Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald was an Estonian writer who is considered to be the father of the national literature for the country. He is the author of Estonian national epic Kalevipoeg.
1791
1. Charles Babbage, English mathematician and engineer, invented the Difference engine (d. 1871) births
  1. Charles Babbage
    
    Charles Babbage was an English polymath. A mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer, Babbage originated the concept of a digital programmable computer.
  2. Difference engine
    
    A difference engine is an automatic mechanical calculator designed to tabulate polynomial functions. It was designed in the 1820s, and was first created by Charles Babbage. The name, the difference engine, is derived from the method of divided differences, a way to interpolate or tabulate functions by using a small set of polynomial co-efficients. Some of the most common mathematical functions used in engineering, science and navigation, were, and still are computable with the use of the difference engine's capability of computing logarithmic and trigonometric functions, which can be approximated by polynomials, so a difference engine can compute many useful tables of numbers.
1786
1. Gasparo Gozzi, Italian playwright and critic (b. 1713) deaths
  1. Gasparo Gozzi
    
    Gasparo, count Gozzi was a Venetian critic and dramatist.
1785
1. Étienne Constantin de Gerlache, Belgian lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Belgium (d. 1871) births
  1. Étienne Constantin de Gerlache
    
    Étienne Constantin, Baron de Gerlache was a lawyer and politician in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, and later became in 1831 the first prime minister of the newly founded Belgian state.
  2. Prime Minister of Belgium
    
    The Prime Minister of Belgium or the Premier of Belgium is the head of the federal government of Belgium, and the most powerful person in Belgian politics.
1784
1. Seth Warner, American colonel (b. 1743) deaths
  1. Seth Warner
    
    Seth Warner was an American soldier. He was a Revolutionary War officer from Vermont who rose to rank of Continental colonel and was often given the duties of a brigade commander. He is best known for his leadership in the capture of Fort Crown Point, the Battle of Longueuil, the siege of Quebec, the retreat from Canada, and the battles of Hubbardton and Bennington.
1782
1. Philaret Drozdov, Russian metropolitan and saint (d. 1867) births
  1. Philaret Drozdov
    
    Metropolitan Philaret was Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna and the most influential figure in the Russian Orthodox Church for more than 40 years, from 1821 to 1867.
1780
1. Mary Somerville, Scottish mathematician, astronomer, and author (d. 1872) births
  1. Mary Somerville
    
    Mary Somerville was a Scottish scientist, writer, and polymath. She studied mathematics and astronomy, and in 1835 she and Caroline Herschel were elected as the first female Honorary Members of the Royal Astronomical Society.
2. John Fothergill, English physician and botanist (b. 1712) deaths
  1. John Fothergill (physician)
    
    John Fothergill FRS was an English physician, plant collector, philanthropist and Quaker. His medical writings were influential, and he built up a sizeable botanic garden in what is now West Ham Park in London.
1771
1. Claude Adrien Helvétius, French philosopher and activist (b. 1715) deaths
  1. Claude Adrien Helvétius
    
    Claude Adrien Helvétius was a French philosopher, freemason and littérateur.
1769
1. Ernst Moritz Arndt, German writer and poet (d. 1860) births
  1. Ernst Moritz Arndt
    
    Ernst Moritz Arndt was a German nationalist historian, writer and poet. Early in his life, he fought for the abolition of serfdom, later against Napoleonic dominance over Germany. Arndt had to flee to Sweden for some time due to his anti-French positions. He is one of the main founders of German nationalism and the 19th century movement for German unification. After the Carlsbad Decrees, the forces of the restoration counted him as a demagogue.
1751
1. Lord George Gordon, English lieutenant and politician (d. 1793) births
  1. Lord George Gordon
    
    Lord George Gordon was a British politician best known for lending his name to the Gordon Riots of 1780.
2. Clemens Maria Hofbauer, Austrian priest, missionary, and saint (d. 1820) births
  1. Clement Mary Hofbauer
    
    Clement Mary Hofbauer was a Moravian hermit and later a priest of the Redemptorist congregation. He established the presence of his congregation, founded in Italy, north of the Alps, for which he is considered a co-founder of the congregation. He was greatly known for his lifelong dedication to the care of the poor during a tumultuous period of Europe's history, which left thousands in destitution. He worked to care for the Polish people, until he was expelled from there and moved to Austria.
1737
1. Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (d. 1815) births
  1. Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
    
    Prince Frederick Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld was an Austrian nobleman and military general.
1731
1. Antoine Houdar de la Motte, French author (b. 1672) deaths
  1. Antoine Houdar de la Motte
    
    Antoine Houdar de la Motte was a French author.
1723
1. Friedrich Melchior, Baron von Grimm, German-French author and playwright (d. 1807) births
  1. Friedrich Melchior, Baron von Grimm
    
    Friedrich Melchior, Baron von Grimm was a German-born French-language journalist, art critic, diplomat and contributor to the Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers. In 1765 Grimm wrote Poème lyrique, an influential article for the Encyclopédie on lyric and opera librettos. Like Christoph Willibald Gluck and Ranieri de' Calzabigi, Grimm became interested in opera reform. According to Martin Fontius, a German literary theorist, "sooner or later a book entitled The Aesthetic Ideas of Grimm will have to be written."
1716
1. Thomas Gray, English poet and scholar (d. 1771) births
  1. Thomas Gray
    
    Thomas Gray was an English poet, letter-writer, classical scholar, and professor at Pembroke College, Cambridge. He is widely known for his Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard, published in 1751.
2. Jean François de Saint-Lambert, French soldier and philosopher (d. 1803) births
  1. Jean François de Saint-Lambert
    
    Jean François de Saint-Lambert was a French poet, philosopher and military officer.
1709
1. The opera Agrippina by George Frideric Handel premiered in Venice. births
  1. Agrippina (opera)
    
    Agrippina is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel with a libretto by Cardinal Vincenzo Grimani. Composed for the 1709–10 Venice Carnevale season, the opera tells the story of Agrippina, the mother of Nero, as she plots the downfall of the Roman Emperor Claudius and the installation of her son as emperor. Grimani's libretto, considered one of the best that Handel set, is an "anti-heroic satirical comedy", full of topical political allusions. Some analysts believe that it reflects Grimani's political and diplomatic rivalry with Pope Clement XI.
  2. George Frideric Handel
    
    George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training in Halle and worked as a composer in Hamburg and Italy before settling in London in 1712, where he spent the bulk of his career and became a naturalised British subject in 1727. He was strongly influenced both by the middle-German polyphonic choral tradition and by composers of the Italian Baroque. In turn, Handel's music forms one of the peaks of the "high baroque" style, bringing Italian opera to its highest development, creating the genres of English oratorio and organ concerto, and introducing a new style into English church music. He is consistently recognized as one of the greatest composers of his age.
1687
1. Johann Georg Pisendel, German violinist and composer (d. 1755) births
  1. Johann Georg Pisendel
    
    Johann Georg Pisendel was a German Baroque violinist and composer who, for many years, led the Court Orchestra in Dresden as concertmaster, then the finest instrumental ensemble in Europe. He was the leading violinist of his time, and composers such as Tomaso Albinoni, Georg Philipp Telemann and Antonio Vivaldi all dedicated violin compositions to him.
1646
1. Robert Bolling, English/English Colonial merchant and planter (d. 1709) births
  1. Robert Bolling
    
    Colonel Robert Bolling, sometimes called Robert Bolling, Sr., after he gave a son his own name, was a wealthy early American settler planter and merchant.
2. Henri de Bourbon, prince of Condé (b. 1588) deaths
  1. Henri, Prince of Condé (1588–1646)
    
    Henri II de Bourbon, Prince of Condé was the head of the senior-most cadet branch of the House of Bourbon for nearly all his life and heir presumptive to the King of France for the first few years of his life. Henri was the father of Louis, le Grand Condé, the celebrated French general.
1628
1. John Page, English Colonial politician (d. 1692) births
  1. John Page (planter)
    
    Colonel John Page was a planter, slave trader, merchant and politician in colonial Virginia. Born in East Bedfont, Middlesex, Page eventually migrated to the colony of Virginia, where he lived in Middle Plantation and served as a member of the House of Burgesses from 1665 to 1677 and a member of the Virginia Governor's Council from 1677 to 1692. A wealthy landowner, Page donated land and funds towards construction of the Bruton Parish Church. Page was also involved in the establishment of the College of William & Mary in 1693, as well as being a chief proponent of Middle Plantation being designated the colony's capital in 1698.
1618
1. Elisabeth of the Palatinate, German princess, philosopher, and Calvinist (d. 1680) births
  1. Elisabeth of the Palatinate
    
    Elisabeth of the Palatinate, also known as Elisabeth of Bohemia, Princess Elisabeth of the Palatinate, or Princess-Abbess of Herford Abbey, was the eldest daughter of Frederick V, Elector Palatine, and Elizabeth Stuart. Elisabeth of the Palatinate was a philosopher best known for her correspondence with René Descartes. She was critical of Descartes' dualistic metaphysics and her work anticipated the metaphysical concerns of later philosophers.
1581
1. Philip III, Landgrave of Hesse-Butzbach (d. 1643) births
  1. Philip III, Landgrave of Hesse-Butzbach
    
    Landgrave Philip III of Hesse-Butzbach was Landgrave of Hesse-Butzbach from 1609 to 1643.
1574
1. Charles de Lorraine, French cardinal (b. 1524) deaths
  1. Charles, Cardinal of Lorraine
    
    Charles de Lorraine, Duke of Chevreuse, was a French Cardinal, a member of the powerful House of Guise. He was known at first as the Cardinal of Guise, and then as the second Cardinal of Lorraine, after the death of his uncle, Jean, Cardinal of Lorraine (1550). He was the protector of François Rabelais and Pierre de Ronsard and founded Reims University. He is sometimes known as the Cardinal de Lorraine.
1537
1. Albert, Count of Nassau-Weilburg (d. 1593) births
  1. Albert, Count of Nassau-Weilburg
    
    Albert of Nassau-Weilburg-Ottweiler, was a count of the House of Nassau. His territory included the areas around Weilburg, Ottweiler and Lahr in the Black Forest. Like his father, Philip III of Nassau-Weilburg he was an advocate of the Reformation.
1536
1. Yi I, Korean philosopher and scholar (d. 1584) births
  1. Yi I
    
    Yi Yi was a Korean philosopher, writer, and Confucian scholar of the Joseon Dynasty. Yi I is often referred to by his pen name Yulgok. He was also a politician and was the academical successor of Jo Gwang-jo.
1532
1. Wilhelm Xylander, German scholar and academic (d. 1576) births
  1. Wilhelm Xylander
    
    Wilhelm Xylander was a German classical scholar and humanist. He served as rector of Heidelberg University in 1564.
1530
1. Babur, Mughal emperor (b. 1483) deaths
  1. Babur
    
    Babur, born Mīrzā Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad, was the founder of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. He was a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through his father and mother respectively. He was also given the posthumous name of Firdaws Makani.
1526
1. Rose Lok, businesswoman and Protestant exile (d.1613) births
  1. Rose Lok
    
    Rose Lok was an English businesswoman and Protestant exile during the Tudor period. At the age of eighty-four, she wrote an account covering the first part of her life.
1476
1. Galeazzo Maria Sforza, duke of Milan (b. 1444) deaths
  1. Galeazzo Maria Sforza
    
    Galeazzo Maria Sforza was the fifth Duke of Milan from 1466 until his assassination a decade later. He was notorious for being lustful, cruel, and tyrannical.
1458
1. Arthur III, duke of Brittany (b. 1393) deaths
  1. Arthur III, Duke of Brittany
    
    Arthur III, more commonly known as Arthur de Richemont, was briefly Duke of Brittany from 1457 until his death. He is noted primarily, however, for his role as a leading military commander during the Hundred Years' War. Although Richemont briefly sided with the English once, he otherwise remained firmly committed to the House of Valois. He fought alongside Joan of Arc, and was appointed Constable of France. His military and administrative reforms in the French state were an important factor in assuring the final defeat of the English in the Hundred Years' War.
1446
1. Charles de Valois, Duke de Berry, French noble (d. 1472) births
  1. Charles of Valois, Duke of Berry
    
    Charles, Duke of Berry, later Duke of Normandy and Duke of Aquitaine, was a son of Charles VII, King of France. He spent most of his life in conflict with his elder brother, King Louis XI.
1441
1. Niccolò III d'Este, marquess of Ferrara deaths
  1. Niccolò III d'Este, Marquis of Ferrara
    
    Niccolò III d'Este was Marquess of Ferrara from 1393 until his death. He was also a condottiero.
1413
1. Michele Steno, doge of Venice (b. 1331) deaths
  1. Michele Steno
    
    Michele Steno was a Venetian statesman who served as the 63rd Doge of Venice from December 1, 1400 until his death. He is remembered as the ruler crucial for establishing the Domini di Terraferma, in the aftermath of the War of Padua.
1360
1. Thomas Holland, 1st Earl of Kent, English commander (b. 1314) deaths
  1. Thomas Holland, 1st Earl of Kent
    
    Thomas Holland, 2nd Baron Holand, and jure uxoris 1st Earl of Kent, KG was an English nobleman and military commander during the Hundred Years' War. By the time of the Crécy campaign, he had apparently lost one of his eyes.
1352
1. John, 3rd Earl of Kent, English politician (b. 1330) deaths
  1. John, 3rd Earl of Kent
    
    John, an English nobleman, was the Earl of Kent (1331–52) and 4th Baron Wake of Liddell (1349–52). His promising career was cut short by an untimely death at the age of twenty-two.
1350
1. Jean de Marigny, French archbishop deaths
  1. Jean de Marigny
    
    Jean de Marigny, French bishop, was a younger brother of Enguerrand de Marigny.
1331
1. Philip I, Prince of Taranto, titular Latin Emperor (b. 1278) deaths
  1. Philip I, Prince of Taranto
    
    Philip I of Taranto, of the Angevin house, was titular Latin Emperor of Constantinople by right of his wife Catherine of Valois–Courtenay, Despot of Romania, King of Albania, Prince of Achaea and Taranto.
1302
1. Valdemar, king of Sweden (b. 1239) deaths
  1. Valdemar, King of Sweden
    
    Valdemar was King of Sweden from 1250 to 1275.
1194
1. Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1250) births
  1. Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
    
    Frederick II was King of Sicily from 1198, King of Germany from 1212, King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor from 1220 and King of Jerusalem from 1225. He was the son of emperor Henry VI of the Hohenstaufen dynasty and Queen Constance of Sicily of the Hauteville dynasty.
1191
1. Reginald Fitz Jocelin, archbishop-elect of Canterbury deaths
  1. Reginald Fitz Jocelin
    
    Reginald fitz Jocelin was a medieval Bishop of Bath and an Archbishop of Canterbury-elect in England. A member of an Anglo-Norman noble family, he was the son of a bishop, and was educated in Italy. He was a household clerk for Thomas Becket, but by 1167 he was serving King Henry II of England. He was also a favourite of King Louis VII of France, who had him appointed abbot of the Abbey of Corbeil. After Reginald angered Becket while attempting to help negotiate a settlement between Becket and the king, Becket called him "that offspring of fornication, that enemy to the peace of the Church, that traitor." When he was elected as a bishop, the election was challenged by King Henry's eldest son, Henry the Young King, and Reginald was forced to go to Rome to be confirmed by Pope Alexander III. He attended the Third Lateran Council in 1179, and spent much of his time administering his diocese. He was elected Archbishop of Canterbury in 1191, but died before he could be installed.
1006
1. Gao Qiong, Chinese general (b. 935) deaths
  1. Gao Qiong
    
    Gao Qiong, born in Bozhou Mengcheng. Northern Song Dynasty general. Zhong-Wu military governor. Gao conducted many military exploits.
893
1. Masrur al-Balkhi, Abbasid general deaths
  1. Masrur al-Balkhi
    
    Masrur al-Balkhi was a senior military officer in the late-9th century Abbasid Caliphate.
865
1. Zheng, empress of the Tang Dynasty deaths
  1. Empress Dowager Zheng
    
    Empress Dowager Zheng, formally Empress Xiaoming, was an empress dowager of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty. She was a concubine to Emperor Xianzong and, after her son Emperor Xuānzong became emperor, she became empress dowager and continued to serve in that role until her death, during the reign of her grandson Emperor Yizong.
831
1. Euthymius of Sardis, Byzantine bishop and saint (b. 754) deaths
  1. Euthymius of Sardis
    
    Euthymius of Sardis was metropolitan bishop of Sardis between ca. 785 and ca. 804, and a leading iconophile during the period of Byzantine Iconoclasm. Martyred in 831, he is a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church, celebrated on 26 December.
418
1. Zosimus, pope of the Catholic Church deaths
  1. Pope Zosimus
    
    Pope Zosimus was the bishop of Rome from 18 March 417 to his death on 26 December 418. He was born in Mesoraca, Calabria. Zosimus took a decided part in the protracted dispute in Gaul as to the jurisdiction of the See of Arles over that of Vienne, giving energetic decisions in favour of the former, but without settling the controversy. His fractious temper coloured all the controversies in which he took part, in Gaul, Africa and Italy, including Rome, where at his death the clergy were very much divided.
268
1. Dionysius, pope of the Catholic Church deaths
  1. Pope Dionysius
    
    Pope Dionysius was the bishop of Rome from 22 July 259 to his death on 26 December 268. His task was to reorganize the Roman church, after the persecutions of Emperor Valerian I and the edict of toleration by his successor Gallienus. He also helped rebuild the churches of Cappadocia, devastated by the marauding Goths.

Holidays

Boxing Day, except when December 26 is a Sunday. If it is a Sunday, Boxing Day is transferred to December 27 by Royal Proclamation. (Commonwealth of Nations), and its related observances: Day of Good Will (South Africa and Namibia)
1. Boxing Day
  
  Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide. Though it originated as a holiday to give gifts to the poor, today Boxing Day is primarily known as a shopping holiday. It originated in Great Britain and is celebrated in a number of countries that previously formed part of the British Empire. The attached bank holiday or public holiday may take place on 28 December if necessary to ensure it falls on a weekday. Boxing Day is also concurrent with the Catholic holiday Saint Stephen's Day.
2. Public holidays in South Africa
  
  A list of current public holidays in South Africa:In gold, the National Day
3. Public holidays in Namibia
Boxing Day, except when December 26 is a Sunday. If it is a Sunday, Boxing Day is transferred to December 27 by Royal Proclamation. (Commonwealth of Nations), and its related observances: Family Day (Vanuatu)
1. Family Day
  
  Family Day is a public holiday in the countries of Angola, Israel, South Africa, Uruguay, Vanuatu, and Vietnam; in the Australian Capital Territory; in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Saskatchewan and soon New Brunswick and Nova Scotia; in the American states of Arizona and Nevada; and as the second day of Songkran in Thailand.
Boxing Day, except when December 26 is a Sunday. If it is a Sunday, Boxing Day is transferred to December 27 by Royal Proclamation. (Commonwealth of Nations), and its related observances: Thanksgiving (Solomon Islands)
1. Public holidays in the Solomon Islands
  
  The people of the Solomon Islands observe these holidays nationally.
Christian feast day: Abadiu of Antinoe (Coptic Church)
1. Abadiu of Antinoe
  
  Abadiu of Antinoe was a bishop of Antinoe in the Fourth Century. He is commemorated as a saint in the Coptic Orthodox Church, and is said to have been killed in a theological dispute with the Arians. His feast day is December 26. He is referenced in Les Martyrs d'Égypte by Hippolyte Delehaye.
2. Coptic Orthodox Church
  
  The Coptic Orthodox Church, also known as the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, is an Oriental Orthodox Christian church based in Egypt, servicing Africa and the Middle East. The head of the church and the See of Alexandria is the Pope of Alexandria on the Holy Apostolic See of Saint Mark, who also carries the title of Father of fathers, Shepherd of Shepherds, Ecumenical Judge and the thirteenth among the Apostles. The See of Alexandria is titular, and today, the Coptic Pope presides from Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in the Abbassia District in Cairo. The church follows the Coptic Rite for its liturgy, prayer and devotional patrimony. The church has approximately 25 million members worldwide and is Egypt's largest Christian denomination.
Christian feast day: Earliest day on which Feast of the Holy Family can fall, celebrated on Sunday after Christmas or 30 if Christmas falls on a Sunday.
1. Holy Family
  
  The Holy Family consists of the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. The subject became popular in art from the 1490s on, but veneration of the Holy Family was formally begun in the 17th century by Saint François de Laval, the first bishop of New France, who founded a confraternity.
Christian feast day: James the Just (Eastern Orthodox Church)
1. James, brother of Jesus
  
  James the Just, or a variation of James, brother of the Lord, was "a brother of Jesus", according to the New Testament. He was an early leader of the Jerusalem Church of the Apostolic Age. Traditionally, it is believed he was martyred in AD 62 or 69 by being stoned to death by the Pharisees on order of High Priest Ananus ben Ananus.
2. Eastern Orthodox Church
  
  The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via local synods. The church has no central doctrinal or governmental authority analogous to the head of the Roman Catholic Church—the Pope—but the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople is recognized by them as primus inter pares, which may be explained as a representative of the church. As one of the oldest surviving religious institutions in the world, the Eastern Orthodox Church has played a prominent role in the history and culture of Eastern and Southeastern Europe. The Eastern Orthodox Church officially calls itself the Orthodox Catholic Church.
Christian feast day: Stephen (Western Church)
1. Saint Stephen
  
  Stephen is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first martyr of Christianity. According to the Acts of the Apostles, he was a deacon in the early Church at Jerusalem who angered members of various synagogues by his teachings. Accused of blasphemy at his trial, he made a speech denouncing the Jewish authorities who were sitting in judgment on him and was then stoned to death. Saul of Tarsus, later known as Paul, a Pharisee and Roman citizen who would later become a Christian apostle, participated in Stephen's martyrdom.
2. Latin Church
  
  The Latin Church is the largest autonomous particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Christians in communion with the Pope in Rome. The Latin Church is one of 24 churches sui iuris in communion with the pope; the other 23 are referred to as the Eastern Catholic Churches, and have approximately 18 million members combined. The Latin Church traditionally employs the Latin liturgical rites, which since the mid-twentieth century are very often translated into the vernacular language. The predominant liturgical rite is the Roman Rite, elements of which have been practiced since the fourth century.
Christian feast day: Synaxis of the Theotokos (Eastern Orthodox Church)
1. Synaxis
  
  A synaxis is a liturgical assembly in Eastern Christianity, generally for the celebration of Vespers, Matins, Little Hours and the Divine Liturgy.
Christian feast day: December 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
1. December 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  
  December 25 – Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar – December 27
Independence and Unity Day (Slovenia)
1. Independence and Unity Day (Slovenia)
  
  Independence and Unity Day is a Slovenian national holiday that occurs on every 26 December to commemorate the official proclamation of the Slovenian independence referendum on 26 December 1990. The referendum took place on 23 December that year. In it, 95% of the voters favoured the establishment of independent and sovereign nation. Between 1991 and 2005, the holiday used to be known simply as Independence Day. The current name was adopted in September 2005, following the proposal of the then-opposition Social Democrats, in order to emphasize the national consensus at the time of the 1990 referendum, which was supported by all political parties represented in the Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia at the time.
Mauro Hamza Day (Houston, Texas)
1. Mauro Hamza
  
  Maher "Mauro" Hamza is a fencing coach who was born in Cairo, Egypt. In 1994, Hamza coached at Texas A&M for one year. In August 1999, he established Salle Mauro in Houston, Texas. Hamza also served as Fencing Program Coordinator at Rice University from 1998 to 2014. He spent three years serving the Southwest fencing community as volunteer Chairman of the Gulf Coast Division.
2. Houston
  
  Houston is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in 2020. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the seat and largest city of Harris County and the principal city of the Greater Houston metropolitan area, which is the fifth-most populous metropolitan statistical area in the United States and the second-most populous in Texas after Dallas–Fort Worth. Houston is the southeast anchor of the greater megaregion known as the Texas Triangle.
Mummer's Day (Padstow, Cornwall)
1. Mummer's Day
  
  Mummer's Day, or "Darkie Day" as it is sometimes known, is a traditional Cornish midwinter celebration that occurs every year on Boxing Day and New Year's Day in Padstow, Cornwall. It was originally part of the pagan heritage of midwinter celebrations that were regularly celebrated throughout Cornwall where people would take part in the traditional custom of guise dancing, which involves disguising themselves by painting their faces black or wearing masks.
2. Padstow
  
  Padstow is a town, civil parish and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, England. The town is situated on the west bank of the River Camel estuary approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) northwest of Wadebridge, 10 miles (16 km) northwest of Bodmin and 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Newquay. The population of Padstow civil parish was 3,162 in the 2001 census, reducing to 2,993 at the 2011 census. In addition an electoral ward with the same name exists but extends as far as Trevose Head. The population for this ward is 4,434
3. Cornwall
  
  Cornwall is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, with the River Tamar forming the border between them. Cornwall forms the westernmost part of the South West Peninsula of the island of Great Britain. The southwesternmost point is Land's End and the southernmost Lizard Point. Cornwall has a population of 568,210 and an area of 3,563 km2 (1,376 sq mi). The county has been administered since 2009 by the unitary authority, Cornwall Council. The ceremonial county of Cornwall also includes the Isles of Scilly, which are administered separately. The administrative centre of Cornwall is Truro, its only city.
St. Stephen's Day (public holiday in Alsace, Austria, Catalonia, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Ireland, Luxembourg, Poland, Slovakia and Switzerland), and its related observances: Father's Day (Bulgaria)
1. Father's Day
  
  Father's Day is a holiday of honoring fatherhood and paternal bonds, as well as the influence of fathers in society. In Catholic countries of Europe, it has been celebrated on 19 March as Saint Joseph's Day since the Middle Ages. In the United States, Father's Day was founded by Sonora Smart Dodd, and celebrated on the third Sunday of June for the first time in 1910. The day is held on various dates across the world, and different regions maintain their own traditions of honoring fatherhood.
The first day of Kwanzaa, celebrated until January 1 (United States)
1. Kwanzaa
  
  Kwanzaa is an annual celebration of African-American culture from December 26 to January 1, culminating in a communal feast called Karamu, usually on the sixth day. It was created by activist Maulana Karenga, based on African harvest festival traditions from various parts of West and Southeast Africa. Kwanzaa was first celebrated in 1966.
The first day of Junkanoo street parade, the second day is on the New Year's Day (The Bahamas)
1. Junkanoo
  
  Junkanoo is a street parade with music, dance, and costumes with origin in many islands across the English speaking Caribbean every Boxing Day and New Year's Day. These cultural parades are predominantly showcased in the Bahamas where the music is also mainstreamed, and competition results are hotly contested, There are also Junkanoo parades in Miami in June and Key West in October, where local black populations have their roots in the Caribbean. In addition to being a culture dance for Afro-North Carolinians and the Garifuna people, this type of dancing is also performed in The Bahamas on Independence day and other historical holidays.
2. New Year's Day
  
  New Year's Day is a festival observed in most of the world on 1 January, the first day of the year in the modern Gregorian calendar. 1 January is also New Year's Day on the Julian calendar, but this is not the same day as the Gregorian one. Whilst most solar calendars begin the year regularly at or near the northern winter solstice, cultures that observe a lunisolar or lunar calendar celebrate their New Year at less fixed points relative to the solar year.
3. The Bahamas
  
  The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is a country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the archipelago's population. The archipelagic state consists of more than 3,000 islands, cays, and islets in the Atlantic Ocean, and is located north of Cuba and northwest of the island of Hispaniola and the Turks and Caicos Islands, southeast of the US state of Florida, and east of the Florida Keys. The capital is Nassau on the island of New Providence. The Royal Bahamas Defence Force describes The Bahamas' territory as encompassing 470,000 km2 (180,000 sq mi) of ocean space.
The second day of the Twelve Days of Christmas (Western Christianity) Second day of Christmas (Public holiday in the Netherlands, Poland and Slovakia)
1. Public holidays in the Netherlands
  
  The national holidays in the Netherlands are:
Veer Baal Divas, is observed to pay tribute to martyr sons of Guru Gobind Singh ji.
1. Guru Gobind Singh
  
  Guru Gobind Singh, born Gobind Das or Gobind Rai the tenth Sikh Guru, a spiritual master, warrior, poet and philosopher. When his father, Guru Tegh Bahadur, was executed by Aurangzeb, Guru Gobind Singh was formally installed as the leader of the Sikhs at the age of nine, becoming the tenth and final human Sikh Guru. His four biological sons died during his lifetime – two in battle, two executed by the Mughal governor Wazir Khan.
Wren Day (Ireland and the Isle of Man)
1. Wren Day
  
  Wren Day, also known as Wren's Day, Day of the Wren, or Hunt the Wren Day, is an Irish celebration held on 26 December, St. Stephen's Day in a number of countries across Europe. The tradition consists of "hunting" a wren and putting it on top of a decorated pole. Then the crowds of mummers, or strawboys, celebrate the wren by dressing up in masks, straw suits, and colourful motley clothing. They form music bands and parade through towns and villages. These crowds are sometimes called the wrenboys.
2. Ireland
  
  Ireland is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the second-largest island of the British Isles, the third-largest in Europe, and the twentieth-largest on Earth.
3. Isle of Man
  
  The Isle of Man, also known as Mann, is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Governor. The United Kingdom is responsible for the isle's military defence and represents it abroad.