On This Day /

Important events in history
on January 5 th

Events

  1. 2014

    1. A launch of the communication satellite GSAT-14 aboard the GSLV MK.II D5 marks the first successful flight of an Indian cryogenic engine.

      1. Indian communications satellite

        GSAT-14

        GSAT-14 is an Indian communications satellite launched in January 2014. It replaced the GSAT-3 satellite, which was launched in 2004. GSAT-14 was launched by a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk.II, which incorporated an Indian-built cryogenic engine on the third stage.

      2. Indian satellite launch vehicle

        Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle

        Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) is an expendable launch system operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). GSLV was used in fourteen launches from 2001 to 2021. Even though GSLV Mark III shares the name, it is an entirely different launch vehicle.

      3. Cryogenic rocket engine developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation

        CE-7.5

        The CE-7.5 is a cryogenic rocket engine developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation to power the upper stage of its GSLV Mk-2 launch vehicle. The engine was developed as a part of the Cryogenic Upper Stage Project (CUSP). It replaced the KVD-1 (RD-56) Russian cryogenic engine that powered the upper stage of GSLV Mk-1.

  2. 2009

    1. In Eng Foong Ho v Attorney-General, the Court of Appeal of Singapore held that equality before the law was satisfied by a 'reasonable nexus' between the state action and the object of the law.

      1. Singapore legal judgement

        Eng Foong Ho v Attorney-General

        Eng Foong Ho v. Attorney-General is the name of two cases of the Singapore courts, a High Court decision delivered in 2008 and the 2009 judgment by the Court of Appeal. The main issue raised by the case was whether the Collector of Land Revenue had treated the plaintiffs, who were devotees of the Jin Long Si Temple, unequally by compulsorily acquiring for public purposes the land on which the temple stood but not the lands of a Hindu mission and a Christian church nearby. It was alleged that the authorities had acted in violation of Article 12(1) of the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore, which guarantees the rights to equality before the law and equal protection of the law.

      2. Supreme appellate court of Singapore

        Court of Appeal of Singapore

        The Court of Appeal of Singapore is the nation's highest court and court of final appeal. It is the upper division of the Supreme Court of Singapore, the lower being the High Court. The Court of Appeal consists of the chief justice, who is the president of the Court, and the Judges of Appeal. The chief justice may ask judges of the High Court to sit as members of the Court of Appeal to hear particular cases. The seat of the Court of Appeal is the Supreme Court Building.

      3. Judicial principle

        Equality before the law

        Equality before the law, also known as equality under the law, equality in the eyes of the law, legal equality, or legal egalitarianism, is the principle that all people must be equally protected by the law. The principle requires a systematic rule of law that observes due process to provide equal justice, and requires equal protection ensuring that no individual nor group of individuals be privileged over others by the law. Sometimes called the principle of isonomy, it arises from various philosophical questions concerning equality, fairness and justice. Equality before the law is one of the basic principles of some definitions of liberalism. It is incompatible with legal slavery.

  3. 2008

    1. Mikheil Saakashvili was decisively re-elected as President of Georgia in "the first genuinely competitive presidential election" in the history of the country.

      1. Georgian-Ukrainian politician, former President of Georgia and former Governor of Odesa

        Mikheil Saakashvili

        Mikheil Saakashvili is a Georgian and Ukrainian politician and jurist. He was the third president of Georgia for two consecutive terms from 25 January 2004 to 17 November 2013. From May 2015 until November 2016, Saakashvili was the governor of Ukraine's Odesa Oblast. He is the founder and former chairman of the United National Movement party. Saakashvili heads the executive committee of Ukraine's National Reform Council since 7 May 2020.

      2. 2008 Georgian presidential election

        Presidential elections were held in Georgia on 5 January 2008, moved forward from autumn 2008 by President Mikheil Saakashvili after the 2007 demonstrations.

      3. Office of the head of state of Georgia

        President of Georgia

        The president of Georgia is the ceremonial head of state of Georgia as well as the commander-in-chief of the Defense Forces. The constitution defines the presidential office as "the guarantor of the country’s unity and national independence."

  4. 2007

    1. The Taiwan High Speed Rail, which connects Taipei and Kaohsiung, began operation.

      1. High-speed railway in Taiwan

        Taiwan High Speed Rail

        Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) is the high-speed railway of Taiwan consisting of one line that runs approximately 350 km (220 mi) along the west coast, from the capital Taipei to the southern city of Kaohsiung. With construction and operations managed by a private company, Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation, which also operates the line, the total cost of the project was NT$513.3 billion in 1998. At the time it was built, this was one of the world's largest privately funded rail construction schemes. The system is based primarily on Japan's Shinkansen.

      2. Special municipality and capital city of Taiwan

        Taipei

        Taipei, officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about 25 km (16 mi) southwest of the northern port city of Keelung. Most of the city rests on the Taipei Basin, an ancient lakebed. The basin is bounded by the relatively narrow valleys of the Keelung and Xindian rivers, which join to form the Tamsui River along the city's western border.

      3. City in southern Taiwan

        Kaohsiung

        Kaohsiung City is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of 2,952 km2 (1,140 sq mi). Kaohsiung City has a population of approximately 2.72 million people as of May 2022 and is Taiwan's third most populous city and largest city in southern Taiwan.

  5. 2005

    1. Eris, the most massive known dwarf planet in the Solar System, was discovered through image analysis by a team of astronomers at the Palomar Observatory in California.

      1. Dwarf planet beyond Pluto in the Solar System

        Eris (dwarf planet)

        Eris is the most massive and second-largest known dwarf planet in the Solar System. It is a trans-Neptunian object (TNO) in the scattered disk and has a high-eccentricity orbit. Eris was discovered in January 2005 by a Palomar Observatory–based team led by Mike Brown and verified later that year. In September 2006, it was named after the Greco–Roman goddess of strife and discord. Eris is the ninth-most massive known object orbiting the Sun and the sixteenth-most massive overall in the Solar System. It is also the largest object that has not been visited by a spacecraft. Eris has been measured at 2,326 ± 12 kilometers (1,445 ± 7 mi) in diameter; its mass is 0.28% that of the Earth and 27% greater than that of Pluto, although Pluto is slightly larger by volume.

      2. Small planetary-mass object

        Dwarf planet

        A dwarf planet is a small planetary-mass object that is in direct orbit of the Sun, smaller than any of the eight classical planets but still a world in its own right. The prototypical dwarf planet is Pluto. The interest of dwarf planets to planetary geologists is that, since they are possibly differentiated and geologically active bodies, they may display planetary geology, an expectation that was borne out by the Dawn mission to Ceres and the New Horizons mission to Pluto, both in 2015.

      3. The Sun and objects orbiting it

        Solar System

        The Solar System is the gravitationally bound system of the Sun and the objects that orbit it. It formed 4.6 billion years ago from the gravitational collapse of a giant interstellar molecular cloud. The vast majority (99.86%) of the system's mass is in the Sun, with most of the remaining mass contained in the planet Jupiter. The four inner system planets—Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars—are terrestrial planets, being composed primarily of rock and metal. The four giant planets of the outer system are substantially larger and more massive than the terrestrials. The two largest, Jupiter and Saturn, are gas giants, being composed mainly of hydrogen and helium; the next two, Uranus and Neptune, are ice giants, being composed mostly of volatile substances with relatively high melting points compared with hydrogen and helium, such as water, ammonia, and methane. All eight planets have nearly circular orbits that lie near the plane of Earth's orbit, called the ecliptic.

      4. Astronomical observatory in Southern California

        Palomar Observatory

        Palomar Observatory is an astronomical research observatory in San Diego County, California, United States, in the Palomar Mountain Range. It is owned and operated by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Research time at the observatory is granted to Caltech and its research partners, which include the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Yale University, and the National Optical Observatories of China.

    2. The dwarf planet Eris is discovered by Palomar Observatory-based astronomers, later motivating the International Astronomical Union (IAU) to define the term planet for the first time.

      1. Dwarf planet beyond Pluto in the Solar System

        Eris (dwarf planet)

        Eris is the most massive and second-largest known dwarf planet in the Solar System. It is a trans-Neptunian object (TNO) in the scattered disk and has a high-eccentricity orbit. Eris was discovered in January 2005 by a Palomar Observatory–based team led by Mike Brown and verified later that year. In September 2006, it was named after the Greco–Roman goddess of strife and discord. Eris is the ninth-most massive known object orbiting the Sun and the sixteenth-most massive overall in the Solar System. It is also the largest object that has not been visited by a spacecraft. Eris has been measured at 2,326 ± 12 kilometers (1,445 ± 7 mi) in diameter; its mass is 0.28% that of the Earth and 27% greater than that of Pluto, although Pluto is slightly larger by volume.

      2. Astronomical observatory in Southern California

        Palomar Observatory

        Palomar Observatory is an astronomical research observatory in San Diego County, California, United States, in the Palomar Mountain Range. It is owned and operated by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Research time at the observatory is granted to Caltech and its research partners, which include the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Yale University, and the National Optical Observatories of China.

      3. Association of professional astronomers

        International Astronomical Union

        The International Astronomical Union is a nongovernmental organisation with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and development through global cooperation. It was founded in 1919 and is based in Paris, France.

      4. History of the word "planet" and its definition

        Definition of planet

        The definition of planet, since the word was coined by the ancient Greeks, has included within its scope a wide range of celestial bodies. Greek astronomers employed the term ἀστέρες πλανῆται, 'wandering stars', for star-like objects which apparently moved over the sky. Over the millennia, the term has included a variety of different objects, from the Sun and the Moon to satellites and asteroids.

  6. 2003

    1. London police arrested six people in conjunction with an alleged terrorist plot to release ricin on the Underground, although none was actually found.

      1. English territorial police force

        Metropolitan Police

        The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police, is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and the prevention of crime in Greater London. In addition, the Metropolitan Police is also responsible for some specialised matters throughout the United Kingdom; these responsibilities include co-ordinating and leading national counter-terrorism measures and the personal safety of specific individuals, such as the Monarch and other members of the Royal Family, members of the Government, and other officials.

      2. Foiled terrorist plot

        Wood Green ricin plot

        The Wood Green ricin plot was an alleged bioterrorism plot to attack the London Underground with ricin poison. The Metropolitan Police Service arrested six suspects on 5 January 2003, with one more arrested two days later.

      3. Type of toxic lectin

        Ricin

        Ricin ( RY-sin) is a lectin (a carbohydrate-binding protein) and a highly potent toxin produced in the seeds of the castor oil plant, Ricinus communis. The median lethal dose (LD50) of ricin for mice is around 22 micrograms per kilogram of body weight via intraperitoneal injection. Oral exposure to ricin is far less toxic. An estimated lethal oral dose in humans is approximately 1 milligram per kilogram of body weight.

      4. Public rapid transit system in London, UK

        London Underground

        The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England.

  7. 2000

    1. Sri Lankan Tamil politician Kumar Ponnambalam was killed in an assassination suspected to have been sanctioned by President Chandrika Kumaratunga.

      1. South Asian ethnic group

        Sri Lankan Tamils

        Sri Lankan Tamils, also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, live in significant numbers in the Eastern Province and are in the minority throughout the rest of the country. 70% of Sri Lankan Tamils in Sri Lanka live in the Northern and Eastern provinces.

      2. Sri Lankan politician (1938-2000)

        Kumar Ponnambalam

        Gaasinather Gangaser Ponnambalam was a Sri Lankan lawyer and politician. Leader of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress, he was a presidential candidate in 1982. He was shot dead in January 2000 in an assassination many suspect to be ordered by President Chandrika Kumaratunga.

      3. President of Sri Lanka from 1994 to 2005

        Chandrika Kumaratunga

        Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga is a Sri Lankan politician who served as the fifth President of Sri Lanka, from 12 November 1994 to 19 November 2005. The country's first and only female president to date and the country's second female prime minister. She is the daughter of two former prime ministers and was the leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) until the end of 2005.

  8. 1993

    1. The oil tanker MV Braer runs aground on the coast of the Shetland Islands, spilling 84,700 tons of crude oil.

      1. Oil tanker which ran aground during a storm off Shetland, Scotland in 1993

        MV Braer

        The MV Braer was an oil tanker which ran aground during a storm off Shetland, Scotland, in January 1993, and nearly a week later broke up during the most intense extratropical cyclone on record for the northern Atlantic Ocean, the Braer Storm of January 1993.

      2. Archipelago in the Northern Atlantic

        Shetland

        Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom.

  9. 1991

    1. The United States Embassy to Somalia in Mogadishu was evacuated by helicopter airlift days after violence enveloped Mogadishu during the Somali Civil War.

      1. U.S. diplomatic mission in Mogadishu, Somalia

        Embassy of the United States, Mogadishu

        The Embassy of the United States of America to Somalia is a diplomatic mission of the United States in Mogadishu, Somalia from 1960 to 1991. In 1957, the US opened a consulate-general in Mogadishu—the capital of the Trust Territory of Somalia, a UN trusteeship under Italian administration. The consulate was upgraded to embassy status in July 1960, when the US recognized Somalia's independence and appointed an ambassador. The embassy served to counter Soviet influence during the Cold War and also served as a base for the United States Agency for International Development, which had a large presence in the country. In 1989, the embassy moved from a dilapidated building in central Mogadishu to a new compound on the outskirts of the city.

      2. Capital and the largest city of Somalia

        Mogadishu

        Mogadishu, locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port connecting traders across the Indian Ocean for millennia, and has an estimated population of 2,388,000 (2021). Mogadishu is located in the coastal Banadir region on the Indian Ocean, which unlike other Somali regions, is considered a municipality rather than a maamul goboleed.

      3. 1991 US embassy evacuation in Somalia

        Operation Eastern Exit

        Operation Eastern Exit was the codename given to the military evacuation of the United States embassy in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, in January 1991. In late December 1990, violence quickly enveloped the city as armed militants began clashing with government soldiers. On 1 January 1991, the US Ambassador to Somalia, James Keough Bishop, contacted the Department of State requesting an evacuation of the embassy, which was approved the following day. United States Central Command began planning and mobilizing forces that evening. The initial plan was to evacuate with a military transport plane through the Mogadishu International Airport, but this was later abandoned. A helicopter evacuation via the USS Guam and USS Trenton was the remaining option.

      4. 1991–present conflict after the overthrow of President Siad Barre

        Somali Civil War

        The Somali Civil War is an ongoing civil war that is taking place in Somalia. It grew out of resistance to the military junta which was led by Siad Barre during the 1980s. From 1988 to 1990, the Somali Armed Forces began engaging in combat against various armed rebel groups, including the Somali Salvation Democratic Front in the northeast, the Somali National Movement in the northwest, and the United Somali Congress in the south. The clan-based armed opposition groups overthrew the Barre government in 1991.

    2. Georgian troops attacked Tskhinvali, the South Ossetian capital, beginning the First South Ossetia War.

      1. Capital city of South Ossetia

        Tskhinvali

        Tskhinvali or Tskhinval is the capital of the disputed de facto independent Republic of South Ossetia, internationally considered part of Shida Kartli, Georgia, and previously the capital of the erstwhile Soviet Georgian South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast. It is located on the Great Liakhvi River approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi) northwest of the Georgian capital Tbilisi.

      2. Partially recognised state in the South Caucasus

        South Ossetia

        South Ossetia, officially the Republic of South Ossetia – the State of Alania, is a partially recognised landlocked state in the South Caucasus. It has an officially stated population of just over 56,500 people (2022), who live in an area of 3,900 square kilometres (1,500 sq mi), on the south side of the Greater Caucasus mountain range, with 33,000 living in the capital city, Tskhinvali. Only Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru, and Syria recognise South Ossetia as a sovereign state. Although Georgia does not control South Ossetia, the Georgian government and the United Nations consider the territory part of Georgia.

      3. 20th-century war

        1991–1992 South Ossetia War

        The 1991–1992 South Ossetia War was fought between Georgian government forces and ethnic Georgian militia on one side and the forces of South Ossetia and North Ossetian volunteers who wanted South Ossetia to secede from Georgia and become an independent state on the other. The war ended with a Russian-brokered ceasefire, signed on 24 June 1992, which established a joint peacekeeping force and left South Ossetia divided between the rival authorities.

    3. Georgian forces enter Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, Georgia, opening the 1991–92 South Ossetia War.

      1. Country straddling Western Asia and Eastern Europe in the Caucusus

        Georgia (country)

        Georgia is a transcontinental country at the intersection of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is part of the Caucasus region, bounded by the Black Sea to the west, by Russia to the north and northeast, by Turkey to the southwest, by Armenia to the south, and by Azerbaijan to the southeast. The country covers an area of 69,700 square kilometres (26,900 sq mi), and has a population of 3.7 million people. Tbilisi is its capital as well as its largest city, home to roughly a third of the Georgian population.

      2. Capital city of South Ossetia

        Tskhinvali

        Tskhinvali or Tskhinval is the capital of the disputed de facto independent Republic of South Ossetia, internationally considered part of Shida Kartli, Georgia, and previously the capital of the erstwhile Soviet Georgian South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast. It is located on the Great Liakhvi River approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi) northwest of the Georgian capital Tbilisi.

      3. Partially recognised state in the South Caucasus

        South Ossetia

        South Ossetia, officially the Republic of South Ossetia – the State of Alania, is a partially recognised landlocked state in the South Caucasus. It has an officially stated population of just over 56,500 people (2022), who live in an area of 3,900 square kilometres (1,500 sq mi), on the south side of the Greater Caucasus mountain range, with 33,000 living in the capital city, Tskhinvali. Only Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru, and Syria recognise South Ossetia as a sovereign state. Although Georgia does not control South Ossetia, the Georgian government and the United Nations consider the territory part of Georgia.

      4. 20th-century war

        1991–1992 South Ossetia War

        The 1991–1992 South Ossetia War was fought between Georgian government forces and ethnic Georgian militia on one side and the forces of South Ossetia and North Ossetian volunteers who wanted South Ossetia to secede from Georgia and become an independent state on the other. The war ended with a Russian-brokered ceasefire, signed on 24 June 1992, which established a joint peacekeeping force and left South Ossetia divided between the rival authorities.

    4. Somali Civil War: The United States Embassy to Somalia in Mogadishu is evacuated by helicopter airlift days after the outbreak of violence in Mogadishu.

      1. 1991–present conflict after the overthrow of President Siad Barre

        Somali Civil War

        The Somali Civil War is an ongoing civil war that is taking place in Somalia. It grew out of resistance to the military junta which was led by Siad Barre during the 1980s. From 1988 to 1990, the Somali Armed Forces began engaging in combat against various armed rebel groups, including the Somali Salvation Democratic Front in the northeast, the Somali National Movement in the northwest, and the United Somali Congress in the south. The clan-based armed opposition groups overthrew the Barre government in 1991.

      2. U.S. diplomatic mission in Mogadishu, Somalia

        Embassy of the United States, Mogadishu

        The Embassy of the United States of America to Somalia is a diplomatic mission of the United States in Mogadishu, Somalia from 1960 to 1991. In 1957, the US opened a consulate-general in Mogadishu—the capital of the Trust Territory of Somalia, a UN trusteeship under Italian administration. The consulate was upgraded to embassy status in July 1960, when the US recognized Somalia's independence and appointed an ambassador. The embassy served to counter Soviet influence during the Cold War and also served as a base for the United States Agency for International Development, which had a large presence in the country. In 1989, the embassy moved from a dilapidated building in central Mogadishu to a new compound on the outskirts of the city.

      3. Capital and the largest city of Somalia

        Mogadishu

        Mogadishu, locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port connecting traders across the Indian Ocean for millennia, and has an estimated population of 2,388,000 (2021). Mogadishu is located in the coastal Banadir region on the Indian Ocean, which unlike other Somali regions, is considered a municipality rather than a maamul goboleed.

      4. 1991 US embassy evacuation in Somalia

        Operation Eastern Exit

        Operation Eastern Exit was the codename given to the military evacuation of the United States embassy in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, in January 1991. In late December 1990, violence quickly enveloped the city as armed militants began clashing with government soldiers. On 1 January 1991, the US Ambassador to Somalia, James Keough Bishop, contacted the Department of State requesting an evacuation of the embassy, which was approved the following day. United States Central Command began planning and mobilizing forces that evening. The initial plan was to evacuate with a military transport plane through the Mogadishu International Airport, but this was later abandoned. A helicopter evacuation via the USS Guam and USS Trenton was the remaining option.

  10. 1976

    1. The Troubles: In response to the killings of six Catholics the night before, South Armagh Republican Action Force gunmen killed ten Protestants in County Armagh, Northern Ireland.

      1. 1960s–1990s conflict in Northern Ireland

        The Troubles

        The Troubles were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "irregular war" or "low-level war". The conflict began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed to have ended with the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. Although the Troubles mostly took place in Northern Ireland, at times violence spilled over into parts of the Republic of Ireland, England and mainland Europe.

      2. Gun attacks in 1976 in Northern Ireland

        Reavey and O'Dowd killings

        The Reavey and O'Dowd killings were two co-ordinated gun attacks on 4 January 1976 in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. Six Catholic civilians died after members of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group, broke into their homes and shot them. Three members of the Reavey family were shot at their home in Whitecross and four members of the O'Dowd family were shot at their home in Ballydougan. Two of the Reaveys and three of the O'Dowds were killed outright, with the third Reavey victim dying of brain hemorrhage almost a month later.

      3. Irish republican paramilitary group

        South Armagh Republican Action Force

        The South Armagh Republican Action Force shortened simply to the Republican Action Force for a small number of attacks in Belfast was an Irish republican paramilitary group that was active from September 1975 to April 1977 during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Its area of activity was mainly the southern part of County Armagh. According to writers such as Ed Moloney and Richard English, it was a cover name used by some members of the Provisional IRA South Armagh Brigade. The journalist Jack Holland, alleged that members of the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) were also involved in the group. During the same time that the South Armagh Republican Action Force was active the INLA carried out at least one sectarian attack that killed Protestant civilians using the covername "Armagh People's Republican Army". According to Malcolm Sutton's database at CAIN, the South Armagh Republican Action Force was responsible for 24 deaths during the conflict, all of whom were classified as civilians.

      4. 1976 sectarian massacre during The Troubles in Northern Ireland

        Kingsmill massacre

        The Kingsmill massacre was a mass shooting that took place on 5 January 1976 near the village of Whitecross in south County Armagh, Northern Ireland. Gunmen stopped a minibus carrying eleven Protestant workmen, lined them up alongside it and shot them. Only one victim survived, despite having been shot 18 times. A Catholic man on the minibus was allowed to go free. A group calling itself the South Armagh Republican Action Force claimed responsibility. It said the shooting was retaliation for a string of attacks on Catholic civilians in the area by Loyalists, particularly the killing of six Catholics the night before. The Kingsmill massacre was the climax of a string of tit-for-tat killings in the area during the mid-1970s, and was one of the deadliest mass shootings of the Troubles.

      5. County in Northern Ireland

        County Armagh

        County Armagh is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 1,327 km2 (512 sq mi) and has a population of about 175,000. County Armagh is known as the "Orchard County" because of its many apple orchards. The county is part of the historic province of Ulster.

    2. The Khmer Rouge proclaim the Constitution of Democratic Kampuchea.

      1. Followers of the Communist Party of Kampuchea

        Khmer Rouge

        The Khmer Rouge is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) and by extension to the regime through which the CPK ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. The name was coined in the 1960s by then Chief of State Norodom Sihanouk to describe his country's heterogeneous, communist-led dissidents, with whom he allied after his 1970 overthrow.

      2. Communist state in Southeast Asia from 1975 to 1979

        Democratic Kampuchea

        Kampuchea, officially known as Democratic Kampuchea from 5 January 1976, was a one-party totalitarian state which encompassed modern-day Cambodia and existed from 1975 to 1979. It was controlled by the Khmer Rouge (KR), the name popularly given to the followers of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK), and was founded when KR forces defeated the Khmer Republic of Lon Nol in 1975.

    3. The Troubles: Gunmen shoot dead ten Protestant civilians after stopping their minibus at Kingsmill in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, UK, allegedly as retaliation for a string of attacks on Catholic civilians in the area by Loyalists, particularly the killing of six Catholics the night before.

      1. 1960s–1990s conflict in Northern Ireland

        The Troubles

        The Troubles were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "irregular war" or "low-level war". The conflict began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed to have ended with the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. Although the Troubles mostly took place in Northern Ireland, at times violence spilled over into parts of the Republic of Ireland, England and mainland Europe.

      2. 1976 sectarian massacre during The Troubles in Northern Ireland

        Kingsmill massacre

        The Kingsmill massacre was a mass shooting that took place on 5 January 1976 near the village of Whitecross in south County Armagh, Northern Ireland. Gunmen stopped a minibus carrying eleven Protestant workmen, lined them up alongside it and shot them. Only one victim survived, despite having been shot 18 times. A Catholic man on the minibus was allowed to go free. A group calling itself the South Armagh Republican Action Force claimed responsibility. It said the shooting was retaliation for a string of attacks on Catholic civilians in the area by Loyalists, particularly the killing of six Catholics the night before. The Kingsmill massacre was the climax of a string of tit-for-tat killings in the area during the mid-1970s, and was one of the deadliest mass shootings of the Troubles.

      3. County in Northern Ireland

        County Armagh

        County Armagh is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 1,327 km2 (512 sq mi) and has a population of about 175,000. County Armagh is known as the "Orchard County" because of its many apple orchards. The county is part of the historic province of Ulster.

      4. Part of the United Kingdom on the island of Ireland

        Northern Ireland

        Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares a border to the south and west with the Republic of Ireland. In 2021, its population was 1,903,100, making up about 27% of Ireland's population and about 3% of the UK's population. The Northern Ireland Assembly, established by the Northern Ireland Act 1998, holds responsibility for a range of devolved policy matters, while other areas are reserved for the UK Government. Northern Ireland cooperates with the Republic of Ireland in several areas.

      5. Ethnoreligious group native to Ireland

        Irish Catholics

        Irish Roman Catholics are an ethnoreligious group which is native to Ireland and its members are both Catholic and Irish. Irish Catholics have a large diaspora, which includes more than 20 million Americans.

      6. Pro-UK political ideology in Northern Ireland

        Ulster loyalism

        Ulster loyalism is a strand of Ulster unionism associated with working class Ulster Protestants in Northern Ireland. Like other unionists, loyalists support the continued existence of Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom, and oppose a united Ireland. Unlike other strands of unionism, loyalism has been described as an ethnic nationalism of Ulster Protestants and "a variation of British nationalism". Loyalists are often said to have a conditional loyalty to the British state so long as it defends their interests. They see themselves as loyal primarily to the Protestant British monarchy rather than to British governments and institutions, while Garret FitzGerald argued they are loyal to 'Ulster' over 'the Union'. A small minority of loyalists have called for an independent Ulster Protestant state, believing they cannot rely on British governments to support them. The term 'loyalism' is usually associated with paramilitarism.

      7. Gun attacks in 1976 in Northern Ireland

        Reavey and O'Dowd killings

        The Reavey and O'Dowd killings were two co-ordinated gun attacks on 4 January 1976 in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. Six Catholic civilians died after members of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group, broke into their homes and shot them. Three members of the Reavey family were shot at their home in Whitecross and four members of the O'Dowd family were shot at their home in Ballydougan. Two of the Reaveys and three of the O'Dowds were killed outright, with the third Reavey victim dying of brain hemorrhage almost a month later.

  11. 1975

    1. The bulk carrier Lake Illawarra struck a bridge over the River Derwent in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, causing the deaths of seven of the ship's crewmen and five motorists on the bridge.

      1. Bulk ore carrier which collided with the Tasman Bridge in 1975

        SS Lake Illawarra

        SS Lake Illawarra was a handysize bulk carrier of 7,274 tons in the service of the Australian National Line. This ship is known for causing the Tasman Bridge disaster when she collided with pylon 19 of Hobart's giant high concrete arch style Tasman Bridge on the evening of 5 January 1975 at 9.27 pm, resulting in the deaths of 12 people.

      2. River in south east Tasmania, Australia

        River Derwent (Tasmania)

        The River Derwent is a river located in Tasmania, Australia. It is also known by the palawa kani name timtumili minanya. The river rises in the state's Central Highlands at Lake St Clair, and descends more than 700 metres (2,300 ft) over a distance of more than 200 kilometres (120 mi), flowing through Hobart, the state's capital city, before emptying into Storm Bay and flowing into the Tasman Sea. The banks of the Derwent were once covered by forests and occupied by Aboriginal Tasmanians. European settlers farmed the area and during the 20th century many dams were built on its tributaries for the generation of hydro-electricity.

      3. Capital city of Tasmania, Australia

        Hobart

        Hobart is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-smallest if territories are taken into account, before Darwin, Northern Territory. Hobart is located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, making it the most southern of Australia's capital cities. Its skyline is dominated by the 1,271-metre (4,170 ft) kunanyi/Mount Wellington, and its harbour forms the second-deepest natural port in the world, with much of the city's waterfront consisting of reclaimed land. The metropolitan area is often referred to as Greater Hobart, to differentiate it from the City of Hobart, one of the five local government areas that cover the city. It has a mild maritime climate.

      4. State of Australia

        Tasmania

        Tasmania is an island state of Australia. It is located 240 kilometres (150 miles) to the south of the Australian mainland, separated from it by the Bass Strait, with the archipelago containing the southernmost point of the country. The state encompasses the main island of Tasmania, the 26th-largest island in the world, and the surrounding 1000 islands. It is Australia's least populous state, with 569,825 residents as of December 2021. The state capital and largest city is Hobart, with around 40 percent of the population living in the Greater Hobart area.

      5. 1975 bridge collapse in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

        Tasman Bridge disaster

        The Tasman Bridge disaster occurred on the evening of 5 January 1975, in Hobart, the capital city of Australia's island state of Tasmania, when the bulk carrier Lake Illawarra, travelling up the Derwent River, collided with several pylons of the Tasman Bridge and caused a large section of the bridge deck to collapse onto the ship and into the river below. Twelve people were killed, including seven crew on board Lake Illawarra, and the five occupants of four cars which fell 45 m (150 feet) after driving off the bridge. Hobart was cut off from its eastern suburbs, and the loss of the road connection had a major social impact. The ship’s master was officially penalised for inattention and failure to handle his vessel in a seamanlike manner.

    2. The Tasman Bridge in Tasmania, Australia, is struck by the bulk ore carrier Lake Illawarra, killing twelve people.

      1. Highway bridge over the Derwent River in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

        Tasman Bridge

        The Tasman Bridge is a bridge that carries the Tasman Highway over the Derwent River in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Including approaches, the bridge has a total length of 1,396 metres (4,580 ft) and it provides the main traffic route from the Hobart city centre to the eastern shore. The bridge has a separated pedestrian footway on each side. There is no dedicated lane for bicycles; however, steps to the pedestrian footway were replaced with ramps in 2010.

      2. State of Australia

        Tasmania

        Tasmania is an island state of Australia. It is located 240 kilometres (150 miles) to the south of the Australian mainland, separated from it by the Bass Strait, with the archipelago containing the southernmost point of the country. The state encompasses the main island of Tasmania, the 26th-largest island in the world, and the surrounding 1000 islands. It is Australia's least populous state, with 569,825 residents as of December 2021. The state capital and largest city is Hobart, with around 40 percent of the population living in the Greater Hobart area.

      3. 1975 bridge collapse in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

        Tasman Bridge disaster

        The Tasman Bridge disaster occurred on the evening of 5 January 1975, in Hobart, the capital city of Australia's island state of Tasmania, when the bulk carrier Lake Illawarra, travelling up the Derwent River, collided with several pylons of the Tasman Bridge and caused a large section of the bridge deck to collapse onto the ship and into the river below. Twelve people were killed, including seven crew on board Lake Illawarra, and the five occupants of four cars which fell 45 m (150 feet) after driving off the bridge. Hobart was cut off from its eastern suburbs, and the loss of the road connection had a major social impact. The ship’s master was officially penalised for inattention and failure to handle his vessel in a seamanlike manner.

  12. 1972

    1. US President Richard Nixon announces the Space Shuttle program.

      1. President of the United States from 1969 to 1974

        Richard Nixon

        Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was the 36th vice president from 1953 to 1961 under President Dwight D. Eisenhower. His five years in the White House saw reduction of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, détente with the Soviet Union and China, the first manned Moon landings, and the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency and Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Nixon's second term ended early, when he became the only president to resign from office, as a result of the Watergate scandal.

      2. 1972–2011 United States human spaceflight program

        Space Shuttle program

        The Space Shuttle program was the fourth human spaceflight program carried out by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which accomplished routine transportation for Earth-to-orbit crew and cargo from 1981 to 2011. Its official name, Space Transportation System (STS), was taken from a 1969 plan for a system of reusable spacecraft of which it was the only item funded for development. It flew 135 missions and carried 355 astronauts from 16 countries, many on multiple trips.

  13. 1970

    1. An earthquake registering Mw 7.1 struck Tonghai County in southern China, killing at least 10,000 people and eventually spurring the creation of the nation's largest earthquake monitoring system.

      1. 1970 earthquake in southwest China and northern Vietnam

        1970 Tonghai earthquake

        The 1970 Tonghai earthquake occurred at 01:00:41 local time on January 5 with a moment magnitude of 7.1 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme). The strike-slip rupture originated on the Red River Fault, which had not experienced an earthquake above magnitude 7 since 1700, and affected Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China. At least 10,000 people were killed, making it one of the deadliest in its decade. The tremor caused between US$5 and $25 million in damage, felt over an area of 8,781 km2 (3,390 sq mi). In Hanoi, North Vietnam, almost 483 km (300 mi) from the epicenter, victims left their homes as the rupture rumbled through the city.

      2. Measure of earthquake size, in terms of the energy released

        Moment magnitude scale

        The moment magnitude scale is a measure of an earthquake's magnitude based on its seismic moment. It was defined in a 1979 paper by Thomas C. Hanks and Hiroo Kanamori. Similar to the local magnitude scale (ML ) defined by Charles Francis Richter in 1935, it uses a logarithmic scale; small earthquakes have approximately the same magnitudes on both scales.

      3. County in Yunnan, People's Republic of China

        Tonghai County

        Tonghai County is located in Yuxi Prefecture-level City, Yunnan Province, China.

    2. The 7.1 Mw  Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme). Between 10,000 and 15,000 people are known to have been killed and about another 26,000 are injured.

      1. 1970 earthquake in southwest China and northern Vietnam

        1970 Tonghai earthquake

        The 1970 Tonghai earthquake occurred at 01:00:41 local time on January 5 with a moment magnitude of 7.1 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme). The strike-slip rupture originated on the Red River Fault, which had not experienced an earthquake above magnitude 7 since 1700, and affected Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China. At least 10,000 people were killed, making it one of the deadliest in its decade. The tremor caused between US$5 and $25 million in damage, felt over an area of 8,781 km2 (3,390 sq mi). In Hanoi, North Vietnam, almost 483 km (300 mi) from the epicenter, victims left their homes as the rupture rumbled through the city.

      2. County in Yunnan, People's Republic of China

        Tonghai County

        Tonghai County is located in Yuxi Prefecture-level City, Yunnan Province, China.

      3. Province in Southwest China

        Yunnan

        Yunnan, is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately 394,000 km2 (152,000 sq mi) and has a population of 48.3 million. The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces of Guizhou, Sichuan, autonomous regions of Guangxi, and Tibet as well as Southeast Asian countries: Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar. Yunnan is China's fourth least developed province based on disposable income per capita in 2014.

      4. Seismic intensity scale used to quantify the degree of shaking during earthquakes

        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.

  14. 1969

    1. The Venera 5 space probe is launched at 06:28:08 UTC from Baikonur.

      1. Soviet space probe to Venus in 1969

        Venera 5

        Venera 5 was a space probe in the Soviet space program Venera for the exploration of Venus.

      2. Spaceport in Kazakhstan leased to Russia

        Baikonur Cosmodrome

        The Baikonur Cosmodrome is a spaceport in an area of southern Kazakhstan leased to Russia. The Cosmodrome is the world's first spaceport for orbital and human launches and the largest operational space launch facility. All crewed Russian spaceflights are launched from Baikonur.

    2. Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes in Fernhill, West Sussex, while on approach to Gatwick Airport, killing 50 people.

      1. 1969 aviation accident

        Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701

        Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 was the flight involved in a fatal air accident on 5 January 1969, when a Boeing 727 with 62 people on board crashed into a house on its approach to London Gatwick Airport in heavy fog. Due to pilot error the flaps were not extended to maintain flight at final approach speed.

      2. Fernhill, West Sussex

        Fernhill is a hamlet close to Gatwick Airport in West Sussex, England. Its fields and farmhouses formerly straddled the county boundary between Surrey and West Sussex, but since 1990 the whole area has been part of the county of West Sussex and the borough of Crawley. Fernhill is bounded on three sides by motorways and the airport. A fatal aeroplane crash occurred here in 1969.

      3. Secondary airport serving London, England

        Gatwick Airport

        Gatwick Airport, also known as London Gatwick, is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, 29.5 miles (47.5 km) south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after Heathrow and Stansted airports, and was the 36th-busiest in Europe by total passenger traffic. It covers a total area of 674 hectares.

  15. 1968

    1. Alexander Dubček comes to power in Czechoslovakia, effectively beginning the "Prague Spring".

      1. Czechoslovak and Slovak politician (1921–1992)

        Alexander Dubček

        Alexander Dubček was a Slovak politician who served as the First Secretary of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ) from January 1968 to April 1969. He attempted to reform the communist government during the Prague Spring but was forced to resign following the Warsaw Pact invasion in August 1968.

      2. Country in Central Europe, 1918–1992

        Czechoslovakia

        Czechoslovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland became part of Germany, while the country lost further territories to Hungary and Poland. Between 1939 and 1945 the state ceased to exist, as Slovakia proclaimed its independence and the remaining territories in the east became part of Hungary, while in the remainder of the Czech Lands the German Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was proclaimed. In 1939, after the outbreak of World War II, former Czechoslovak President Edvard Beneš formed a government-in-exile and sought recognition from the Allies.

      3. Period of liberalisation in Czechoslovakia from 5 January to 21 August 1968

        Prague Spring

        The Prague Spring was a period of political liberalization and mass protest in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ), and continued until 21 August 1968, when the Soviet Union and most of Warsaw Pact members invaded the country to suppress the reforms.

  16. 1967

    1. Cultural Revolution: The Shanghai People's Commune is established following the seizure of power from local city officials by revolutionaries.

      1. 1966–1976 Maoist sociopolitical movement in China

        Cultural Revolution

        The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal was to preserve Chinese communism by purging remnants of capitalist and traditional elements from Chinese society. The Revolution marked the effective commanding return of Mao –who was still the Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)– to the centre of power, after a period of self-abstention and ceding to less radical leadership in the aftermath of the Mao-led Great Leap Forward debacle and the Great Chinese Famine (1959–1961). The Revolution failed to achieve its main goals.

      2. Short-lived commune in Shanghai, China during the Cultural Revolution

        Shanghai People's Commune

        The Shanghai People's Commune or was established in January 1967 during the January Storm, also known as the January Revolution, of China's Cultural Revolution by the Shanghai Workers Revolutionary Rebel General Headquarters. The Commune was modelled on the Paris Commune. It lasted less than a month before it was replaced by the government.

      3. Attempts by rebels to usurp local government in China during the Cultural Revolution

        Seizure of power (Cultural Revolution)

        The seizure of power, or power-seizure movement during the Chinese Cultural Revolution was a series of events led by the "rebel groups (造反派)", attempting to grab power from the local governments in China and local branches of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The seizure of power began in the "January Storm" of Shanghai in 1967, and rapidly spread to other areas of China. The power seizure usually culminated in the establishment of local revolutionary committees, which replaced the original governments as well as communist party branches, and wielded enormous power that often caused much chaos in the Chinese society.

  17. 1957

    1. In a speech given to the United States Congress, United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces the establishment of what will later be called the Eisenhower Doctrine.

      1. Branch of the United States federal government

        United States Congress

        The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. Senators and representatives are chosen through direct election, though vacancies in the Senate may be filled by a governor's appointment. Congress has 535 voting members: 100 senators and 435 representatives. The vice president of the United States has a vote in the Senate only when senators are evenly divided. The House of Representatives has six non-voting members.

      2. President of the United States from 1953 to 1961

        Dwight D. Eisenhower

        Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe and achieved the five-star rank of General of the Army. He planned and supervised the invasion of North Africa in Operation Torch in 1942–1943 as well as the invasion of Normandy (D-Day) from the Western Front in 1944–1945.

      3. American policy on the Middle East

        Eisenhower Doctrine

        The Eisenhower Doctrine was a policy enunciated by Dwight D. Eisenhower on January 5, 1957, within a "Special Message to the Congress on the Situation in the Middle East". Under the Eisenhower Doctrine, a Middle Eastern country could request American economic assistance or aid from U.S. military forces if it was being threatened by armed aggression. Eisenhower singled out the Soviet threat in his doctrine by authorizing the commitment of U.S. forces "to secure and protect the territorial integrity and political independence of such nations, requesting such aid against overt armed aggression from any nation controlled by international communism." The phrase "international communism" made the doctrine much broader than simply responding to Soviet military action. A danger that could be linked to communists of any nation could conceivably invoke the doctrine.

  18. 1953

    1. Waiting for Godot by Irish playwright Samuel Beckett, termed the "most significant English language play of the 20th century", premiered in Paris.

      1. Play by Samuel Beckett

        Waiting for Godot

        Waiting for Godot is a play by Samuel Beckett in which two characters, Vladimir (Didi) and Estragon (Gogo), engage in a variety of discussions and encounters while awaiting the titular Godot, who never arrives. Waiting for Godot is Beckett's translation of his own original French-language play, En attendant Godot, and is subtitled "a tragicomedy in two acts". The original French text was composed between 9 October 1948 and 29 January 1949. The premiere, directed by Roger Blin, was on 5 January 1953 at the Théâtre de Babylone, Paris. The English-language version premiered in London in 1955. In a poll conducted by the British Royal National Theatre in 1998/99, it was voted the "most significant English-language play of the 20th century".

      2. Nobel-winning Irish playwright, writer, translator and poet (1906-1989)

        Samuel Beckett

        Samuel Barclay Beckett was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and tragicomic experiences of life, often coupled with black comedy and nonsense. It became increasingly minimalist as his career progressed, involving more aesthetic and linguistic experimentation, with techniques of repetition and self-reference. He is considered one of the last modernist writers, and one of the key figures in what Martin Esslin called the Theatre of the Absurd.

    2. The play Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett receives its première in Paris.

      1. Play by Samuel Beckett

        Waiting for Godot

        Waiting for Godot is a play by Samuel Beckett in which two characters, Vladimir (Didi) and Estragon (Gogo), engage in a variety of discussions and encounters while awaiting the titular Godot, who never arrives. Waiting for Godot is Beckett's translation of his own original French-language play, En attendant Godot, and is subtitled "a tragicomedy in two acts". The original French text was composed between 9 October 1948 and 29 January 1949. The premiere, directed by Roger Blin, was on 5 January 1953 at the Théâtre de Babylone, Paris. The English-language version premiered in London in 1955. In a poll conducted by the British Royal National Theatre in 1998/99, it was voted the "most significant English-language play of the 20th century".

      2. Nobel-winning Irish playwright, writer, translator and poet (1906-1989)

        Samuel Beckett

        Samuel Barclay Beckett was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and tragicomic experiences of life, often coupled with black comedy and nonsense. It became increasingly minimalist as his career progressed, involving more aesthetic and linguistic experimentation, with techniques of repetition and self-reference. He is considered one of the last modernist writers, and one of the key figures in what Martin Esslin called the Theatre of the Absurd.

  19. 1950

    1. In the Sverdlovsk air disaster, all 19 of those on board are killed, including almost the entire national ice hockey team (VVS Moscow) of the Soviet Air Force – 11 players, as well as a team doctor and a masseur.

      1. 1950 Soviet Air Force crash near Yekaterinburg, Russia

        1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash

        The Sverdlovsk plane crash of 5 January 1950 killed all 19 persons on board, including almost the entire ice hockey team of the Soviet Air Forces – 11 players, as well as a team doctor and a masseur. The team was on board a twin-engined Lisunov Li-2 transport aircraft, a licensed Soviet-built version of the DC-3, heading to a match against the Dzerzhinets (Chelyabinsk) hockey club. Due to poor weather at Chelyabinsk, the flight diverted to Sverdlovsk. The crew attempted four approaches but during the fifth approach to Koltsovo Airport at Sverdlovsk in the Soviet Union's Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, the aircraft crashed near the airport in a heavy snowstorm with strong winds.

      2. Football club

        VVS Moscow

        VVS Moscow was a Soviet sports club representing the Soviet Air Force. Among the sports the club participated in were football, ice hockey, basketball, and volleyball. They won the Soviet national basketball league championship in 1952, as well as the Soviet national volleyball league championship in 1952, and the Soviet national ice hockey league championship three times, in the years 1951, 1952, and 1953 following the 1950 Sverdlovsk Air Disaster.

      3. Aerial warfare branch of the Soviet Union's armed forces

        Soviet Air Forces

        The Soviet Air Forces were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The Air Forces were formed from components of the Imperial Russian Air Service in 1917, and faced their greatest test during World War II. The groups were also involved in the Korean War, and dissolved along with the Soviet Union itself in 1991–92. Former Soviet Air Forces' assets were subsequently divided into several air forces of former Soviet republics, including the new Russian Air Force. "March of the Pilots" was its song.

  20. 1949

    1. In his State of the Union speech, U.S. president Harry S. Truman announced: "Every segment of our population, and every individual, has a right to expect from his government a fair deal."

      1. Annual report by the president of the United States

        State of the Union

        The State of the Union Address is an annual message delivered by the president of the United States to a joint session of the United States Congress near the beginning of each calendar year on the current condition of the nation. The State of the Union Address generally includes reports on the nation's budget, economy, news, agenda, achievements and the president's priorities and legislative proposals.

      2. President of the United States from 1945 to 1953

        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.

      3. Domestic agenda of U.S. President Harry S. Truman's administration (1945-53)

        Fair Deal

        The Fair Deal was a set of proposals put forward by U.S. President Harry S. Truman to Congress in 1945 and in his January 1949 State of the Union address. More generally. the term characterizes the entire domestic agenda of the Truman administration, from 1945 to 1953. It offered new proposals to continue New Deal liberalism, but with a conservative coalition controlling Congress, only a few of its major initiatives became law and then only if they had considerable GOP support. As Richard Neustadt concludes, the most important proposals were aid to education, national health insurance, the Fair Employment Practices Commission, and repeal of the Taft–Hartley Act. They were all debated at length, then voted down. Nevertheless, enough smaller and less controversial items passed that liberals could claim some success.

    2. In his "State of the Union" address, United States President Harry S. Truman unveils his Fair Deal program.

      1. President of the United States from 1945 to 1953

        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. Domestic agenda of U.S. President Harry S. Truman's administration (1945-53)

        Fair Deal

        The Fair Deal was a set of proposals put forward by U.S. President Harry S. Truman to Congress in 1945 and in his January 1949 State of the Union address. More generally. the term characterizes the entire domestic agenda of the Truman administration, from 1945 to 1953. It offered new proposals to continue New Deal liberalism, but with a conservative coalition controlling Congress, only a few of its major initiatives became law and then only if they had considerable GOP support. As Richard Neustadt concludes, the most important proposals were aid to education, national health insurance, the Fair Employment Practices Commission, and repeal of the Taft–Hartley Act. They were all debated at length, then voted down. Nevertheless, enough smaller and less controversial items passed that liberals could claim some success.

  21. 1945

    1. The Soviet Union recognizes the new pro-Soviet Provisional Government of the Republic of Poland.

      1. Country in Eurasia (1922–1991)

        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. Government of Poland from 1944 to 1945

        Provisional Government of the Republic of Poland

        The Provisional Government of the Republic of Poland was created by the State National Council on the night of 31 December 1944.

  22. 1944

    1. The Daily Mail becomes the first major London newspaper to be published on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

      1. British tabloid newspaper

        Daily Mail

        The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news website published in London. Founded in 1896, it is the United Kingdom's highest-circulated daily newspaper. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982, while Scottish and Irish editions of the daily paper were launched in 1947 and 2006 respectively. Content from the paper appears on the MailOnline website, although the website is managed separately and has its own editor.

      2. Capital city of England and the United Kingdom

        London

        London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a 50-mile (80 km) estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major settlement for two millennia. The City of London, its ancient core and financial centre, was founded by the Romans as Londinium and retains its medieval boundaries. The City of Westminster, to the west of the City of London, has for centuries hosted the national government and parliament. Since the 19th century, the name "London" has also referred to the metropolis around this core, historically split between the counties of Middlesex, Essex, Surrey, Kent, and Hertfordshire, which largely comprises Greater London, governed by the Greater London Authority.

  23. 1941

    1. Second World War: Australian and British troops defeated Italian forces in Bardia, Libya, the first battle of the war in which an Australian Army formation took part.

      1. Global war, 1939–1945

        World War II

        World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries.

      2. Battle of World War II

        Battle of Bardia

        The Battle of Bardia was fought between 3 and 5 January 1941, as part of Operation Compass, the first British military operation of the Western Desert campaign of the Second World War. It was the first battle of the war in which an Australian Army formation took part, the first to be commanded by an Australian general and the first to be planned by an Australian staff. The 6th Australian Division assaulted the strongly held Italian fortress of Bardia, Libya, assisted by air support and naval gunfire and under the cover of an artillery barrage. The 16th Australian Infantry Brigade attacked at dawn from the west, where the defences were known to be weak. Sappers blew gaps in the barbed wire with Bangalore torpedoes and filled in and broke down the sides of the anti-tank ditch with picks and shovels. This allowed the infantry and 23 Matilda II tanks of the 7th Royal Tank Regiment to enter the fortress and capture all their objectives, along with 8,000 prisoners.

      3. Mediterranean port town in Libya

        Bardia

        Bardia, or El Burdi is a Mediterranean seaport in the Butnan District of eastern Libya, located near the border with Egypt. It is also occasionally called Bórdi Slemán.

      4. Military land force of the Commonwealth of Australia

        Australian Army

        The Australian Army is the principal land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (CA), who is subordinate to the Chief of the Defence Force (CDF) who commands the ADF. The CA is also directly responsible to the Minister for Defence, with the Department of Defence administering the ADF and the Army.

    2. Amy Johnson, a 37-year-old pilot and the first woman to fly solo from London to Australia, disappears after bailing out of her plane over the River Thames, and is presumed dead.

      1. British aviator (1903–1941)

        Amy Johnson

        Amy Johnson was a pioneering English pilot who was the first woman to fly solo from London to Australia.

  24. 1933

    1. Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge begins in San Francisco Bay.

      1. San Francisco Bay suspension bridge

        Golden Gate Bridge

        The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the one-mile-wide (1.6 km) strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. The structure links the U.S. city of San Francisco, California—the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula—to Marin County, carrying both U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1 across the strait. It also carries pedestrian and bicycle traffic, and is designated as part of U.S. Bicycle Route 95. Being declared one of the Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers, the bridge is one of the most internationally recognized symbols of San Francisco and California. It was initially designed by engineer Joseph Strauss in 1917. The bridge was named for the Golden Gate strait, the channel that it spans.

      2. Shallow estuary on the coast of California, United States

        San Francisco Bay

        San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland.

  25. 1925

    1. Nellie Tayloe Ross was inaugurated as Governor of Wyoming, the first woman to serve as governor of a U.S. state.

      1. American politician (1876–1977)

        Nellie Tayloe Ross

        Nellie Davis Tayloe Ross was an American politician who served as the 14th governor of Wyoming from 1925 to 1927, and as the 28th and first female director of the United States Mint from 1933 to 1953. She was the first woman to serve as governor of a U.S. state, and remains the only woman to have served as governor of Wyoming.

      2. List of governors of Wyoming

        This is a list of governors of Wyoming, beginning with territorial governors. Wyoming Territory was organized in 1868, and the state was admitted to the union on July 10, 1890.

      3. List of female governors in the United States

        As of November 2022, 45 women have served or are serving as the governor of a U.S. state and three women have served or are serving as the governor of an unincorporated U.S. territory. Two women have served or are serving as Mayor of the District of Columbia. Currently, nine women are serving as governors of U.S. states, along with the Mayor of the District of Columbia Muriel Bowser and territorial governor Lou Leon Guerrero of Guam.

    2. Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming becomes the first female governor in the United States.

      1. American politician (1876–1977)

        Nellie Tayloe Ross

        Nellie Davis Tayloe Ross was an American politician who served as the 14th governor of Wyoming from 1925 to 1927, and as the 28th and first female director of the United States Mint from 1933 to 1953. She was the first woman to serve as governor of a U.S. state, and remains the only woman to have served as governor of Wyoming.

      2. U.S. state

        Wyoming

        Wyoming is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the south. With a population of 576,851 in the 2020 United States census, Wyoming is the least populous state despite being the 10th largest by area, with the second-lowest population density after Alaska. The state capital and most populous city is Cheyenne, which had an estimated population of 63,957 in 2018.

  26. 1922

    1. Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton died of a heart attack during his final expedition.

      1. Continent

        Antarctica

        Antarctica is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest continent, being about 40% larger than Europe, and has an area of 14,200,000 km2 (5,500,000 sq mi). Most of Antarctica is covered by the Antarctic ice sheet, with an average thickness of 1.9 km (1.2 mi).

      2. Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer (1874–1922)

        Ernest Shackleton

        Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton was an Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic. He was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.

      3. 1921–1922 exploration cruise to the eastern Antarctic

        Shackleton–Rowett Expedition

        The Shackleton–Rowett Expedition (1921–22) was Sir Ernest Shackleton's last Antarctic project, and the final episode in the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.

  27. 1919

    1. The German Workers' Party, the forerunner to the Nazi Party, was founded by Anton Drexler.

      1. Predecessor of the Nazi Party

        German Workers' Party

        The German Workers' Party was a short-lived far-right political party established in Weimar Germany after World War I. It was the precursor of the Nazi Party, which was officially known as the National Socialist German Workers' Party. The DAP only lasted from 5 January 1919 until 24 February 1920.

      2. Far-right political party active in Germany (1920–1945)

        Nazi Party

        The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party, was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor, the German Workers' Party, existed from 1919 to 1920. The Nazi Party emerged from the extremist German nationalist, racist and populist Freikorps paramilitary culture, which fought against the communist uprisings in post–World War I Germany. The party was created to draw workers away from communism and into völkisch nationalism. Initially, Nazi political strategy focused on anti–big business, anti-bourgeois, and anti-capitalist rhetoric. This was later downplayed to gain the support of business leaders, and in the 1930s, the party's main focus shifted to antisemitic and anti-Marxist themes. The party had little popular support until the Great Depression.

      3. Far-right German politician (1884–1942)

        Anton Drexler

        Anton Drexler was a German far-right political agitator for the Völkisch movement in the 1920s. He founded the pan-German and anti-Semitic German Workers' Party (DAP), the antecedent of the Nazi Party (NSDAP). Drexler mentored his successor in the NSDAP, Adolf Hitler, during his early years in politics.

    2. The German Workers' Party, which would become the Nazi Party, is founded in Munich.

      1. Predecessor of the Nazi Party

        German Workers' Party

        The German Workers' Party was a short-lived far-right political party established in Weimar Germany after World War I. It was the precursor of the Nazi Party, which was officially known as the National Socialist German Workers' Party. The DAP only lasted from 5 January 1919 until 24 February 1920.

      2. Far-right political party active in Germany (1920–1945)

        Nazi Party

        The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party, was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor, the German Workers' Party, existed from 1919 to 1920. The Nazi Party emerged from the extremist German nationalist, racist and populist Freikorps paramilitary culture, which fought against the communist uprisings in post–World War I Germany. The party was created to draw workers away from communism and into völkisch nationalism. Initially, Nazi political strategy focused on anti–big business, anti-bourgeois, and anti-capitalist rhetoric. This was later downplayed to gain the support of business leaders, and in the 1930s, the party's main focus shifted to antisemitic and anti-Marxist themes. The party had little popular support until the Great Depression.

      3. Capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany

        Munich

        Munich is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg, and thus the largest which does not constitute its own state, as well as the 11th-largest city in the European Union. The city's metropolitan region is home to 6 million people. Straddling the banks of the River Isar north of the Bavarian Alps, Munich is the seat of the Bavarian administrative region of Upper Bavaria, while being the most densely populated municipality in Germany. Munich is the second-largest city in the Bavarian dialect area, after the Austrian capital of Vienna.

  28. 1914

    1. The Ford Motor Company announces an eight-hour workday and minimum daily wage of $5 in salary plus bonuses.

      1. American multinational automobile manufacturer

        Ford Motor Company

        Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobiles and commercial vehicles under the Ford brand, and luxury cars under its Lincoln luxury brand. Ford also owns Brazilian SUV manufacturer Troller, an 8% stake in Aston Martin of the United Kingdom and a 32% stake in China's Jiangling Motors. It also has joint ventures in China, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, and Russia. The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and is controlled by the Ford family; they have minority ownership but the majority of the voting power.

      2. Social movement to regulate the length of the working day

        Eight-hour day

        The eight-hour day movement was a social movement to regulate the length of a working day, preventing excesses and abuses.

  29. 1913

    1. First Balkan War: The Battle of Lemnos begins; Greek admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis forces the Turkish fleet to retreat to its base within the Dardanelles, from which it did not venture for the rest of the war.

      1. 1912–1913 war between the Balkan League and the Ottoman Empire

        First Balkan War

        The First Balkan War lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and involved actions of the Balkan League against the Ottoman Empire. The Balkan states' combined armies overcame the initially numerically inferior and strategically disadvantaged Ottoman armies, achieving rapid success.

      2. Naval battle during the First Balkan War

        Battle of Lemnos (1913)

        The Second Battle of Lemnos, fought on 18 January [O.S. 5 January] 1913, was a naval battle during the First Balkan War, in which the Greeks defeated the second and last attempt of the Ottoman Empire to break the Greek naval blockade of the Dardanelles and reclaim supremacy over the Aegean Sea. This, the final naval battle of the First Balkan War, forced the Ottoman Navy to retreat to its base within the Dardanelles, from which it did not venture for the rest of the war, thus ensuring the dominion of the Aegean Sea and the Aegean islands by Greece.

      3. Greek admiral and head of state (1855–1935)

        Pavlos Kountouriotis

        Pavlos Kountouriotis was a Greek rear admiral during the Balkan Wars, regent, and the first President of the Second Hellenic Republic. In total he served four times as head of the Greek State, the most times in the history of the seat.

      4. Narrow strait in northwestern Turkey

        Dardanelles

        The Dardanelles, also known as the Strait of Gallipoli from the Gallipoli peninsula or from Classical Antiquity as the Hellespont, is a narrow, natural strait and internationally significant waterway in northwestern Turkey that forms part of the continental boundary between Asia and Europe and separates Asian Turkey from European Turkey. Together with the Bosporus, the Dardanelles forms the Turkish Straits.

  30. 1912

    1. The sixth All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (Prague Party Conference) opens. In the course of the conference, Vladimir Lenin and his supporters break from the rest of the party to form the Bolshevik movement.

      1. 1898–1912 political party in the Russian Empire

        Russian Social Democratic Labour Party

        The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, also known as the Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party or the Russian Social Democratic Party, was a socialist political party founded in 1898 in Minsk.

      2. 6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (1912)

        Prague Conference

        The Prague Conference, officially the 6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, was held in Prague, Austria-Hungary, on 5–17 January 1912. Sixteen Bolsheviks and two Mensheviks attended, although Joseph Stalin and Yakov Sverdlov were unable to attend because they were in internal exile at the time, while Georgi Plekhanov claimed he was too ill to attend. At the conference, Vladimir Lenin and his supporters broke away from the rest of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party and formed their own predominantly Bolshevik Russian Social Democratic Labour Party. The conference was meant to be secret; Lenin had instructed: "No-one, no organisation must know about this". However, every detail was known to the Okhrana, the secret police of the Russian Empire.

      3. Russian politician, communist theorist and founder of the Soviet Union

        Vladimir Lenin

        Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1924 and of the Soviet Union from 1922 to 1924. Under his administration, Russia, and later the Soviet Union, became a one-party socialist state governed by the Communist Party. Ideologically a Marxist, his developments to the ideology are called Leninism.

      4. Far-left faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party

        Bolsheviks

        The Bolsheviks, also known in English as the Bolshevists, were a far-left, revolutionary Marxist faction founded by Vladimir Lenin that split with the Mensheviks from the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP), a revolutionary socialist political party formed in 1898, at its Second Party Congress in 1903.

  31. 1911

    1. Kappa Alpha Psi, the world's third oldest and largest black fraternity, is founded at Indiana University.

      1. Historically African American fraternity

        Kappa Alpha Psi

        Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. (ΚΑΨ) is a historically African American fraternity. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never restricted membership on the basis of color, creed or national origin though membership traditionally is dominated by those of African heritage. The fraternity has over 160,000 members with 721 undergraduate and alumni chapters in every state of the United States, and international chapters in the United Kingdom, Germany, South Korea, Japan, United States Virgin Islands, Nigeria, South Africa, and The Bahamas.

      2. List of African-American fraternities

        African American fraternities and sororities are social organizations that predominantly recruit Black college students and provide a network that includes both undergraduate and alumni members. These organizations were typically founded by Black American undergraduate students, faculty and leaders at various institutions in the United States.

      3. Public university system in Indiana

        Indiana University

        Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana.

  32. 1900

    1. Irish nationalist leader John Edward Redmond calls for revolt against British rule.

      1. Irish politician

        John Redmond

        John Edward Redmond was an Irish nationalist politician, barrister, and MP in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. He was best known as leader of the moderate Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP) from 1900 until his death in 1918. He was also leader of the paramilitary organisation the Irish National Volunteers (INV).

  33. 1895

    1. Dreyfus affair: French army officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his rank and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island.

      1. 1894–1906 political scandal in the French Third Republic

        Dreyfus affair

        The Dreyfus affair was a political scandal that divided the French Third Republic from 1894 until its resolution in 1906. "L'Affaire", as it is known in French, has come to symbolise modern injustice in the Francophone world, and it remains one of the most notable examples of a complex miscarriage of justice and antisemitism. The role played by the press and public opinion proved influential in the conflict.

      2. French artillery officer (1859–1935)

        Alfred Dreyfus

        Alfred Dreyfus was a French artillery officer of Jewish ancestry whose trial and conviction in 1894 on charges of treason became one of the most polarizing political dramas in modern French history. The incident has gone down in history as the Dreyfus affair, the reverberations from which were felt throughout Europe. It ultimately ended with Dreyfus's complete exoneration.

      3. Cayenne's Prison in French Guiana

        Devil's Island

        The penal colony of Cayenne, commonly known as Devil's Island, was a French penal colony that operated for 100 years, from 1852 to 1952, and officially closed in 1953 in the Salvation Islands of French Guiana.

  34. 1875

    1. The Palais Garnier, one of the most famous opera houses in the world, is inaugurated in Paris.

      1. Opera house in Paris, France

        Palais Garnier

        The Palais Garnier, also known as Opéra Garnier, is a 1,979-seat opera house at the Place de l'Opéra in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was built for the Paris Opera from 1861 to 1875 at the behest of Emperor Napoleon III. Initially referred to as le nouvel Opéra de Paris, it soon became known as the Palais Garnier, "in acknowledgment of its extraordinary opulence" and the architect Charles Garnier's plans and designs, which are representative of the Napoleon III style. It was the primary theatre of the Paris Opera and its associated Paris Opera Ballet until 1989, when a new opera house, the Opéra Bastille, opened at the Place de la Bastille. The company now uses the Palais Garnier mainly for ballet. The theatre has been a monument historique of France since 1923.

      2. Theatre building used for opera performances

        Opera house

        An opera house is a theatre building used for performances of opera. It usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and building sets.

  35. 1822

    1. The government of Central America votes for total annexation to the First Mexican Empire.

      1. Subregion of North America

        Central America

        Central America is a subregion of The Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Central America consists of seven countries: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama. Within Central America is the Mesoamerican biodiversity hotspot, which extends from northern Guatemala to central Panama. Due to the presence of several active geologic faults and the Central America Volcanic Arc, there is a high amount of seismic activity in the region, such as volcanic eruptions and earthquakes which has resulted in death, injury, and property damage.

      2. History of Central America (1822–1823)

        Central America under Mexican rule

        From January 1822 to July 1823, the five Central American nations of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua were controlled by the First Mexican Empire, and briefly, the Supreme Executive Power. Collectively known as the Captaincy General of Guatemala, each nation was one of the five southernmost provinces of the Mexican Empire. The incorporation of Central America brought Mexico to the height of its territorial extent.

      3. Mexican government from 1821 to 1823

        First Mexican Empire

        The Mexican Empire was a constitutional monarchy, the first independent government of Mexico and the only former colony of the Spanish Empire to establish a monarchy after independence. It is one of the few modern-era, independent monarchies that have existed in the Americas, along with the Brazilian Empire. It is typically denominated as the First Mexican Empire to distinguish it from the Second Mexican Empire.

  36. 1781

    1. American Revolutionary War: Richmond, Virginia, is burned by British naval forces led by Benedict Arnold.

      1. 1775–1783 war of independence

        American Revolutionary War

        The American Revolutionary War, also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, secured American independence from Great Britain. 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. Capital city of Virginia, United States

        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. Constitutional monarchy in Western Europe (1707–1800)

        Kingdom of Great Britain

        The Kingdom of Great Britain was a sovereign country in Western Europe from 1 May 1707 to the end of 31 December 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of Union 1707, which united the kingdoms of England and Scotland to form a single kingdom encompassing the whole island of Great Britain and its outlying islands, with the exception of the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. The unitary state was governed by a single parliament at the Palace of Westminster, but distinct legal systems – English law and Scots law – remained in use.

      4. Maritime service of the British Armed Forces

        His Majesty's Naval Service

        His Majesty's Naval Service is the United Kingdom's naval warfare and maritime service. It consists of the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Royal Fleet Auxiliary, Royal Naval Reserve, Royal Marines Reserve and Naval Careers Service. The term Naval Service should be distinguished from the "UK Naval Services", which consist of the Naval Service and the Merchant Navy. The Naval Service as a whole falls under the command of the Navy Board, which is headed by the First Sea Lord. This position is currently held by Admiral Sir Ben Key. The Defence Council delegates administration of the Naval Service to the Admiralty Board, chaired by the Secretary of State for Defence.

      5. American, then British officer after defecting during the US Revolutionary War (1740–1801)

        Benedict Arnold

        Benedict Arnold was an American military officer who served during the Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of major general before defecting to the British side of the conflict in 1780. General George Washington had given him his fullest trust and had placed him in command of West Point in New York. Arnold was planning to surrender the fort there to British forces, but the plot was discovered in September 1780, whereupon he fled to the British lines. In the later part of the conflict, Arnold was commissioned as a brigadier general in the British Army, and placed in command of the American Legion. He led the British army in battle against the soldiers whom he had once commanded, after which his name became synonymous with treason and betrayal in the United States.

  37. 1757

    1. Louis XV of France survived an assassination attempt by Robert-François Damiens, who later became the last person in the country to be executed by being drawn and quartered (depicted).

      1. King of France from 1715 to 1774

        Louis XV

        Louis XV, known as Louis the Beloved, was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity on 15 February 1723, the kingdom was ruled by his grand-uncle Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, as Regent of France. Cardinal Fleury was chief minister from 1726 until his death in 1743, at which time the king took sole control of the kingdom.

      2. French domestic servant and attempted assassin (1715–1757)

        Robert-François Damiens

        Robert-François Damiens was a French domestic servant whose attempted assassination of King Louis XV in 1757 culminated in his public execution. He was the last person to be executed in France by dismemberment, the traditional form of death penalty reserved for regicides.

      3. Act of removing limbs or other body parts of a living or dead person

        Dismemberment

        Dismemberment is the act of cutting, ripping, tearing, pulling, wrenching or otherwise disconnecting the limbs from a living or dead being. It has been practiced upon human beings as a form of capital punishment, especially in connection with regicide, but can occur as a result of a traumatic accident, or in connection with murder, suicide, or cannibalism. As opposed to surgical amputation of the limbs, dismemberment is often fatal. In criminology, a distinction is made between offensive dismemberment, in which dismemberment is the primary objective of the dismemberer, and defensive dismemberment, in which the motivation is to destroy evidence.

    2. Louis XV of France survives an assassination attempt by Robert-François Damiens, who becomes the last person to be executed in France by drawing and quartering (the traditional form of capital punishment used for regicides).

      1. King of France from 1715 to 1774

        Louis XV

        Louis XV, known as Louis the Beloved, was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity on 15 February 1723, the kingdom was ruled by his grand-uncle Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, as Regent of France. Cardinal Fleury was chief minister from 1726 until his death in 1743, at which time the king took sole control of the kingdom.

      2. Murder of a prominent person, often a political leader or ruler

        Assassination

        Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a direct role in matters of the state, may also sometimes be considered an assassination. An assassination may be prompted by political and military motives, or done for financial gain, to avenge a grievance, from a desire to acquire fame or notoriety, or because of a military, security, insurgent or secret police group's command to carry out the assassination. Acts of assassination have been performed since ancient times. A person who carries out an assassination is called an assassin or hitman.

      3. French domestic servant and attempted assassin (1715–1757)

        Robert-François Damiens

        Robert-François Damiens was a French domestic servant whose attempted assassination of King Louis XV in 1757 culminated in his public execution. He was the last person to be executed in France by dismemberment, the traditional form of death penalty reserved for regicides.

      4. Death penalty as punishment for a crime

        Capital punishment

        Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is a state-sanctioned practice of killing a person as a punishment for a crime. The sentence ordering that an offender is to be punished in such a manner is known as a death sentence, and the act of carrying out the sentence is known as an execution. A prisoner who has been sentenced to death and awaits execution is condemned and is commonly referred to as being "on death row".

      5. Legal punishment in medieval England, Wales and Ireland for men convicted of high treason

        Hanged, drawn and quartered

        To be hanged, drawn and quartered became a statutory penalty for men convicted of high treason in the Kingdom of England from 1352 under King Edward III (1327–1377), although similar rituals are recorded during the reign of King Henry III (1216–1272). The convicted traitor was fastened to a hurdle, or wooden panel, and drawn by horse to the place of execution, where he was then hanged, emasculated, disembowelled, beheaded, and quartered. His remains would then often be displayed in prominent places across the country, such as London Bridge, to serve as a warning of the fate of traitors. For reasons of public decency, women convicted of high treason were instead burned at the stake.

      6. Intentional killing of a monarch

        Regicide

        Regicide is the purposeful killing of a monarch or sovereign of a polity and is often associated with the usurpation of power. A regicide can also be the person responsible for the killing. The word comes from the Latin roots of regis and cida (cidium), meaning "of monarch" and "killer" respectively.

  38. 1675

    1. Franco-Dutch War: French troops defeated Austrian and Brandenburg forces at the Battle of Turckheim in Alsace.

      1. Conflict between the Dutch Republic and France and their respective allies (1672–1678)

        Franco-Dutch War

        The Franco-Dutch War, also known as the Dutch War, was fought between France and the Dutch Republic, supported by its allies the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, Brandenburg-Prussia and Denmark-Norway. In its early stages, France was allied with Münster and Cologne, as well as England. The 1672 to 1674 Third Anglo-Dutch War and 1675 to 1679 Scanian War are considered related conflicts.

      2. 1675 battle of the Franco-Dutch War

        Battle of Turckheim

        The Battle of Turckheim was a battle during the Franco-Dutch War that occurred on 5 January 1675 at a site between the towns of Colmar and Turckheim in Alsace. The French army, commanded by the Viscount of Turenne, defeated the armies of Austria and Brandenburg, led by Alexander von Bournonville and Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg.

      3. Region of France

        Alsace

        Alsace is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had a population of 1,898,533. Alsatian culture is characterized by a blend of Germanic and French influences.

    2. Battle of Colmar: The French army beats Brandenburg.

      1. 1675 battle of the Franco-Dutch War

        Battle of Turckheim

        The Battle of Turckheim was a battle during the Franco-Dutch War that occurred on 5 January 1675 at a site between the towns of Colmar and Turckheim in Alsace. The French army, commanded by the Viscount of Turenne, defeated the armies of Austria and Brandenburg, led by Alexander von Bournonville and Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg.

      2. State in Germany

        Brandenburg

        Brandenburg is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 square kilometres and a population of 2.5 million residents, it is the fifth-largest German state by area and the tenth-most populous. Potsdam is the state capital and largest city, and other major towns are Cottbus, Brandenburg an der Havel and Frankfurt (Oder).

  39. 1477

    1. Battle of Nancy: Charles the Bold is defeated and killed in a conflict with René II, Duke of Lorraine; Burgundy subsequently becomes part of France.

      1. Part of the Burgundian Wars, 5 January 1477

        Battle of Nancy

        The Battle of Nancy was the final and decisive battle of the Burgundian Wars, fought outside the walls of Nancy on 5 January 1477 by Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, against René II, Duke of Lorraine, and the Swiss Confederacy.

      2. Duke of Burgundy from 1467 to 1477

        Charles the Bold

        Charles I, nicknamed the Bold, was Duke of Burgundy from 1467 to 1477.

      3. 15/16th-century French nobleman

        René II, Duke of Lorraine

        René II was Count of Vaudémont from 1470, Duke of Lorraine from 1473, and Duke of Bar from 1483 to 1508. He claimed the crown of the Kingdom of Naples and the County of Provence as the Duke of Calabria 1480–1493 and as King of Naples and Jerusalem 1493–1508. He succeeded his uncle John of Vaudémont as Count of Harcourt in 1473, exchanging it for the county of Aumale in 1495. He succeeded as Count of Guise in 1504.

      4. Vassal territory of France, 918–1482

        Duchy of Burgundy

        The Duchy of Burgundy emerged in the 9th century as one of the successors of the ancient Kingdom of the Burgundians, which after its conquest in 532 had formed a constituent part of the Frankish Empire. Upon the 9th-century partitions, the French remnants of the Burgundian kingdom were reduced to a ducal rank by King Robert II of France in 1004. Robert II's son and heir, King Henry I of France, inherited the duchy but ceded it to his younger brother Robert in 1032. Other portions had passed to the Imperial Kingdom of Burgundy-Arles, including the County of Burgundy (Franche-Comté).

Births & Deaths

  1. 2022

    1. Kim Mi-soo, South Korean actress and model. (b. 1992) deaths

      1. South Korean actress (1992–2022)

        Kim Mi-soo

        Kim Mi-soo was a South Korean actress and model.

  2. 2021

    1. Colin Bell, English footballer (b. 1946) deaths

      1. English professional footballer (1946–2021)

        Colin Bell (footballer, born 1946)

        Colin Bell was an English professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Bell known for his thirteen-year spell at Manchester City, he is regarded as one of the club's greatest-ever players, and was part of the Bell–Lee–Summerbee trio in the late 1960s and 1970s. Bell made forty-eight appearances for the England national football team; he was an unused squad member at UEFA Euro 1968 and played in three matches at the 1970 FIFA World Cup.

    2. John Georgiadis, English violinist and composer (b. 1939) deaths

      1. British violinist and conductor (1939–2021)

        John Georgiadis

        John Alexander Georgiadis was a British violinist and conductor. He was twice Concert Leader with the London Symphony Orchestra during the 1960s and 70s, a member of both the ensembles London Virtuosi and the Gabrieli String Quartet as well as conductor for both the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra and the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, and as Director of Orchestral Studies at the Royal Academy of Music.

  3. 2020

    1. Tafazzul Haque Habiganji, Bangladeshi Islamic scholar and politician (b. 1938) deaths

      1. Bangladeshi Islamic advocacy group

        Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh

        Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh is an Islamic Advocacy group of madrassah teachers and students. In 2013, it submitted to the government of Bangladesh a 13-point charter, which included the demand for the enactment of a blasphemy law.

      2. Calendar year

        1938

        1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1938th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 938th year of the 2nd millennium, the 38th year of the 20th century, and the 9th year of the 1930s decade.

  4. 2019

    1. Bernice Sandler, American women's rights activist (b. 1928) deaths

      1. American women's rights activist (1928–2019)

        Bernice Sandler

        Bernice Resnick Sandler was an American women's rights activist. She is best known for being instrumental in the creation of Title IX, a portion of the Education Amendments of 1972, in conjunction with representatives Edith Green and Patsy Mink and Senator Birch Bayh in the 1970s. She has been called "the Godmother of Title IX" by The New York Times. Sandler wrote extensively about sexual and peer harassment towards women on campus, coining the phrase "the chilly campus climate".

    2. Dragoslav Šekularac, Serbian footballer and manager (b. 1937) deaths

      1. Serbian footballer and coach (1937–2019)

        Dragoslav Šekularac

        Dragoslav Šekularac was a Serbian professional footballer and coach.

  5. 2018

    1. Asghar Khan, Pakistani three star general and politician (b. 1921) deaths

      1. Pakistani politician

        Asghar Khan

        Air Marshal Muhammad Asghar Khan (Retd.), was a Pakistani politician and an autobiographer, later a dissident serving the cause of pacifism, peace, and human rights.

    2. Thomas Bopp, American astronomer best known as the co-discoverer of comet Hale–Bopp (b. 1949) deaths

      1. American astronomer (1949–2018)

        Thomas Bopp

        Thomas Joel Bopp was an American amateur astronomer. In 1995, he discovered comet Hale–Bopp; Alan Hale discovered it independently at almost the same time, and it was thus named after both of them. At the time of the comet discovery he was a manager at a construction materials factory and an amateur astronomer. On the night of July 22, Bopp was observing the sky with friends in the Arizona desert when he made the discovery. It was the first comet he had observed and he was using a borrowed, home-built telescope.

      2. Long-period comet

        Comet Hale–Bopp

        Comet Hale–Bopp is a comet that was one of the most widely observed of the 20th century and one of the brightest seen for many decades.

    3. Karin von Aroldingen, German ballerina (b. 1941) deaths

      1. German ballet dancer

        Karin von Aroldingen

        Karin Anny Hannelore Reinbold von Aroldingen was a German ballet dancer. She danced as a soloist at the Frankfurt Opera Ballet before joining the New York City Ballet in 1962 after receiving a personal invitation from George Balanchine. She was named as one of Balanchine's main beneficiaries in his will. Von Aroldingen retired from New York City Ballet in 1984, having reached the rank of principal dancer in 1972. In her later life, she worked as a répétiteur for the Balanchine Trust, for which she was also a founder, staging his ballets for various companies.

  6. 2017

    1. Jill Saward, English rape victim and activist (b. 1965) deaths

      1. Jill Saward

        Jill Saward, also known by her married name Jill Drake was an English campaigner on issues relating to sexual violence.

  7. 2016

    1. Pierre Boulez, French pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1925) deaths

      1. French composer, conductor and writer (1925–2016)

        Pierre Boulez

        Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war Western classical music.

  8. 2015

    1. Jean-Pierre Beltoise, French racing driver and motorcycle racer (b. 1937) deaths

      1. French motorcycle racer and racing driver

        Jean-Pierre Beltoise

        Jean-Pierre Maurice Georges Beltoise was a French Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Formula One driver who raced for the Matra and BRM teams. He competed in 88 Grands Prix achieving a single victory, at the 1972 Monaco Grand Prix, and a total of eight podium finishes.

    2. Bernard Joseph McLaughlin, American bishop (b. 1912) deaths

      1. Catholic bishop (1912–2015)

        Bernard Joseph McLaughlin

        Bernard Joseph McLaughlin was an American bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the Auxiliary Bishop of Buffalo and also held the titular see of Mottola.

  9. 2014

    1. Eusébio, Mozambican-Portuguese footballer and manager (b. 1942) deaths

      1. Portuguese footballer (1942–2014)

        Eusébio

        Eusébio da Silva Ferreira, nicknamed the "Black Panther", the "Black Pearl" or "O Rei", was a Portuguese footballer who played as a striker. He is considered one of the greatest players of all time as well as Benfica's best player ever. He was known for his speed, technique, athleticism and his ferocious right-footed shot, making him a prolific goalscorer, in which he scored 733 goals in 745 matches.

    2. Carmen Zapata, American actress (b. 1927) deaths

      1. American actress

        Carmen Zapata

        Carmen Margarita Zapata often referred to as "The First Lady of the Hispanic Theater" was an American actress best known for her role in the PBS bilingual children's program Villa Alegre. Zapata is also the co-founder and director of the Bilingual Foundation of the Arts in Los Angeles. Zapata took an active part in the Chicano movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Zapata was born in New York City to Julio Zapata, a Mexican immigrant, and Ramona Roca, an Argentine immigrant.

  10. 2013

    1. Qazi Hussain Ahmad, Pakistani scholar and politician (b. 1938) deaths

      1. Islamist political party president

        Qazi Hussain Ahmad

        Qazi Hussain Ahmad was an Islamic scholar, democracy activist, and former Emir of Jamaat-e-Islami, the socially conservative Islamist political party in Pakistan.

  11. 2012

    1. Isaac Díaz Pardo, Spanish painter and sculptor (b. 1920) deaths

      1. Isaac Díaz Pardo

        Isaac Díaz Pardo was a Galician intellectual strongly attached to both Sargadelos and Cerámica do Castro.

    2. Frederica Sagor Maas, American author, playwright, and screenwriter (b. 1900) deaths

      1. American dramatist (1900–2012)

        Frederica Sagor Maas

        Frederica Alexandrina Sagor Maas was an American dramatist and playwright, screenwriter, memoirist, and author, the youngest daughter of Jewish immigrants from Russia. As an essayist, Maas was best known for a detailed, tell-all memoir of her time spent in early Hollywood. A supercentenarian, she was one of the oldest surviving entertainers from the silent film era.

  12. 2010

    1. Willie Mitchell, American singer-songwriter, trumpet player, and producer (b. 1928) deaths

      1. American songwriter and record producer

        Willie Mitchell (musician)

        William Lawrence Mitchell was an American trumpeter, bandleader, soul, R&B, rock and roll, pop and funk record producer and arranger who ran Royal Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. He was best known for his Hi Records label of the 1970s, which released albums by a large stable of popular Memphis soul artists, including Mitchell himself, Al Green, O. V. Wright, Syl Johnson, Ann Peebles and Quiet Elegance.

    2. Kenneth Noland, American painter (b. 1924) deaths

      1. American abstract painter (1924–2010)

        Kenneth Noland

        Kenneth Noland was an American painter. He was one of the best-known American color field painters, although in the 1950s he was thought of as an abstract expressionist and in the early 1960s he was thought of as a minimalist painter. Noland helped establish the Washington Color School movement. In 1977, he was honored by a major retrospective at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York that then traveled to the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C. and Ohio's Toledo Museum of Art in 1978. In 2006, Noland's Stripe Paintings were exhibited at the Tate in London.

  13. 2009

    1. Griffin Bell, American lawyer and politician, 72nd United States Attorney General (b. 1918) deaths

      1. American judge

        Griffin Bell

        Griffin Boyette Bell was the 72nd Attorney General of the United States, having served under President Jimmy Carter. Previously, he was a U.S. circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

      2. Head of the United States Department of Justice

        United States Attorney General

        The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all legal matters. The attorney general is a statutory member of the Cabinet of the United States.

  14. 2007

    1. Momofuku Ando, Taiwanese-Japanese businessman, founded Nissin Foods (b. 1910) deaths

      1. Taiwanese-Japanese inventor and businessman (1910–2007)

        Momofuku Ando

        Momofuku Ando , was an inventor and businessman who founded Nissin Food Products Co., Ltd. He is known as the inventor of instant noodles and the creator of the brands Top Ramen and Cup Noodles.

      2. Japanese food company

        Nissin Foods

        Nissin Food Products Co., Ltd. is a Japanese food company that specializes in the production and sale of convenience food and instant noodles.

  15. 2006

    1. Merlyn Rees, Welsh educator and politician, Home Secretary (b. 1920) deaths

      1. British politician (1920–2006)

        Merlyn Rees

        Merlyn Merlyn-Rees, Baron Merlyn-Rees, was a British Labour Party politician and Member of Parliament from 1963 until 1992. He served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1974–1976) and Home Secretary (1976–1979).

  16. 2004

    1. Norman Heatley, English biologist and chemist, co-developed penicillin (b. 1911) deaths

      1. English biologist

        Norman Heatley

        Norman George Heatley OBE was an English biologist and biochemist. He was member of the team of Oxford University scientists who developed penicillin. Norman Heatley developed the back-extraction technique for efficiently purifying penicillin in bulk.

      2. Group of antibiotics derived from Penicillium fungi

        Penicillin

        Penicillins are a group of β-lactam antibiotics originally obtained from Penicillium moulds, principally P. chrysogenum and P. rubens. Most penicillins in clinical use are synthesised by P. chrysogenum using deep tank fermentation and then purified. A number of natural penicillins have been discovered, but only two purified compounds are in clinical use: penicillin G and penicillin V. Penicillins were among the first medications to be effective against many bacterial infections caused by staphylococci and streptococci. They are still widely used today for different bacterial infections, though many types of bacteria have developed resistance following extensive use.

  17. 2003

    1. Roy Jenkins, Welsh politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1920) deaths

      1. British politician, historian and writer (1920–2003)

        Roy Jenkins

        Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead, was a British politician who served as President of the European Commission from 1977 to 1981. At various times a Member of Parliament (MP) for the Labour Party, Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the Liberal Democrats, he was Chancellor of the Exchequer and Home Secretary under the Wilson and Callaghan Governments.

      2. Minister for Finance in the United Kingdom and Head of Treasury

        Chancellor of the Exchequer

        The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Chancellor is a high-ranking member of the British Cabinet and is third in the ministerial ranking, behind the prime minister and the deputy prime minister.

  18. 2000

    1. Kumar Ponnambalam, Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer and politician (b. 1938) deaths

      1. Sri Lankan politician (1938-2000)

        Kumar Ponnambalam

        Gaasinather Gangaser Ponnambalam was a Sri Lankan lawyer and politician. Leader of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress, he was a presidential candidate in 1982. He was shot dead in January 2000 in an assassination many suspect to be ordered by President Chandrika Kumaratunga.

  19. 1998

    1. Sonny Bono, American singer-songwriter, producer, actor, and politician (b. 1935) deaths

      1. American singer, actor, and politician (1935–1998)

        Sonny Bono

        Salvatore Phillip "Sonny" Bono was an American singer, actor, and politician who came to fame in partnership with his second wife Cher as the popular singing duo Sonny & Cher. A member of the Republican Party, Bono served as the 16th mayor of Palm Springs, California, from 1988 to 1992, and served as the U.S. representative for California's 44th district from 1995 until his death in 1998.

  20. 1997

    1. André Franquin, Belgian author and illustrator (b. 1924) deaths

      1. Belgian comics artist

        André Franquin

        André Franquin was an influential Belgian comics artist, whose best-known creations are Gaston and Marsupilami. He also produced the Spirou et Fantasio comic strip from 1946 to 1968, a period seen by many as the series' golden age.

    2. Burton Lane, American composer and songwriter (b. 1912) deaths

      1. American composer and lyricist (1912–1997)

        Burton Lane

        Burton Lane was an American composer and lyricist primarily known for his theatre and film scores. His most popular and successful works include Finian's Rainbow in 1947 and On a Clear Day You Can See Forever in 1965.

  21. 1996

    1. James Fisher-Harris, New Zealand rugby league player births

      1. New Zealand & Maori international rugby league footballer

        James Fisher-Harris

        James Fisher-Harris is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop, lock and second-row forward for the Penrith Panthers in the NRL, and New Zealand and the New Zealand Māori at international level. He is a dual NRL premiership winning player of 2021 and 2022.

  22. 1995

    1. Toafofoa Sipley, New Zealand rugby league player births

      1. Niue international rugby league footballer

        Toafofoa Sipley

        Toafofoa Sipley is a Niue international rugby league footballer who plays as a prop for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in the NRL.

  23. 1994

    1. Lachlan Fitzgibbon, Australian rugby league player births

      1. Australian rugby league footballer

        Lachlan Fitzgibbon

        Lachlan Fitzgibbon is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as second-row forward for the Newcastle Knights in the NRL.

    2. Tyrone Phillips, Australian rugby league player births

      1. Fiji international rugby league footballer

        Tyrone Phillips

        Tyrone Phillips is a Fiji international rugby league footballer who plays as a fullback, centre and winger for the Newtown Jets in the Canterbury Cup NSW.

    3. Tip O'Neill, American lawyer and politician, 55th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1912) deaths

      1. American politician (1912–1994)

        Tip O'Neill

        Thomas Phillip "Tip" O'Neill Jr. was an American politician who served as the 47th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1987, representing northern Boston, Massachusetts, as a Democrat from 1953 to 1987. The only Speaker to serve for five complete consecutive Congresses, he is the third longest-serving Speaker in American history after Sam Rayburn and Henry Clay in terms of total tenure and longest-serving in terms of continuous tenure.

      2. Presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives

        Speaker of the United States House of Representatives

        The speaker of the United States House of Representatives, commonly known as the speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives. The office was established in 1789 by Article I, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution. The speaker is the political and parliamentary leader of the House and is simultaneously its presiding officer, de facto leader of the body's majority party, and the institution's administrative head. Speakers also perform various other administrative and procedural functions. Given these several roles and responsibilities, the speaker usually does not personally preside over debates. That duty is instead delegated to members of the House from the majority party. Nor does the speaker regularly participate in floor debates.

  24. 1993

    1. Stefan Rzadzinski, Canadian race car driver births

      1. Canadian racing driver

        Stefan Rzadzinski

        Stefan Rzadzinski is a Canadian racing driver from Edmonton, Alberta.

  25. 1991

    1. Denis Alibec, Romanian footballer births

      1. Romanian professional footballer

        Denis Alibec

        Denis Alibec is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Liga I club Farul Constanța and the Romania national team.

    2. Vasko Popa, Serbian poet and academic (b. 1922) deaths

      1. Serbian poet

        Vasko Popa

        Vasile "Vasko" Popa was a Serbian poet.

  26. 1990

    1. Mark Nicholls, Australian rugby league player births

      1. Australian rugby league footballer

        Mark Nicholls (rugby league)

        Mark Nicholls is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop for the Dolphins in the NRL.

    2. Arthur Kennedy, American actor (b. 1914) deaths

      1. American actor (1914–1990)

        Arthur Kennedy

        John Arthur Kennedy was an American stage and film actor known for his versatility in supporting film roles and his ability to create "an exceptional honesty and naturalness on stage", especially in the original casts of Arthur Miller plays on Broadway. He won the 1949 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for Miller's Death of a Salesman. He also won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor for the 1955 film Trial, and was a five-time Academy Award nominee.

  27. 1989

    1. Krisztián Németh, Hungarian footballer births

      1. Hungarian footballer

        Krisztián Németh

        Krisztián Németh is a Hungarian professional footballer who currently plays for Hungarian club MTK Budapest.

  28. 1988

    1. Azizulhasni Awang, Malaysian track cyclist births

      1. Malaysian cyclist

        Azizulhasni Awang

        Dato' Muhammad Azizulhasni bin Awang is a Malaysian professional track cyclist. Nicknamed "The Pocket Rocketman" due to his small stature, he is the first and the only Malaysian cyclist to win a medal at the Summer Olympics.

    2. Luke Daniels, English footballer births

      1. English association football player

        Luke Daniels

        Luke Matthew Daniels is an English professional footballer who plays for EFL Championship club Middlesbrough as a goalkeeper.

  29. 1987

    1. Dexter Bean, American race car driver births

      1. American racing driver and crew chief

        Dexter Bean

        Dexter J. Bean is an American professional stock car racing driver and crew chief who competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 92 Chevrolet Camaro SS for DGM Racing, and also crew chiefs for the team on occasion. He has also competed part-time in both the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in the past, both in 2009. Prior to competing in those series, he ran full-time for three years in what is now the ARCA Menards Series, where he finished third in the standings in 2007.

    2. Kristin Cavallari, American TV personality[non-primary source needed] births

      1. American television personality

        Kristin Cavallari

        Kristin Elizabeth Cavallari is an American television personality, fashion designer, actress and author. She first rose to fame in 2004 as a cast member on the popular MTV reality television series Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County (2004–2006), then on the spin-off MTV reality television series The Hills (2009–2010), and was later given her own E! reality series to star in, Very Cavallari (2018–2020). She also starred as an actress on television shows and in films, including National Lampoon's Van Wilder: Freshman Year. In 2017, Cavallari founded the company Uncommon James, which sells jewelry, homeware, skincare and beauty products.

      2. Wikimedia policy page

        Wikipedia:No original research

    3. Stuart Flanagan, Australian rugby league player births

      1. Hungary international rugby league footballer

        Stuart Flanagan

        Stuart Flanagan is a former Hungary international rugby league footballer who last played for the Appin Dogs and previously Cronulla Sharks in the Australian National Rugby League (NRL) competition. He primarily plays at hooker.

    4. Margaret Laurence, Canadian author and academic (b. 1926) deaths

      1. Canadian novelist and short story writer

        Margaret Laurence

        Jean Margaret Laurence was a Canadian novelist and short story writer, and is one of the major figures in Canadian literature. She was also a founder of the Writers' Trust of Canada, a non-profit literary organization that seeks to encourage Canada's writing community.

    5. Herman Smith-Johannsen, Norwegian-Canadian skier (b. 1875) deaths

      1. Norwegian skier (1875–1987)

        Herman Smith-Johannsen

        Herman Smith-Johannsen, was a Norwegian skier, credited for introducing cross-country skiing to Canada and North America. In his youth he was rated one of the best all-round Norwegian skiers. He became a supercentenarian and died at 111.

  30. 1986

    1. Deepika Padukone, Indian actress births

      1. Indian actress (born 1986)

        Deepika Padukone

        Deepika Padukone is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. She is one of the highest-paid actresses in India, and her accolades include three Filmfare Awards. She features in listings of the nation's most popular personalities; Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2018 and awarded her the TIME100 Impact Award in 2022.

  31. 1985

    1. Filinga Filiga, New Zealand rugby league player births

      1. New Zealand rugby league footballer

        Filinga Filiga

        Filinga Filiga is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who played for the Bulldogs in the National Rugby League.

    2. Diego Vera, Uruguayan footballer births

      1. Uruguayan footballer

        Diego Vera

        Diego Daniel Vera Méndez is a Uruguayan footballer who plays as a striker for Curicó Unido in the Chilean Primera División.

    3. Robert L. Surtees, American cinematographer (b. 1906) deaths

      1. American cinematographer

        Robert Surtees (cinematographer)

        Robert L. Surtees was an American cinematographer who won three Academy Awards for the films King Solomon's Mines, The Bad and the Beautiful and the 1959 version of Ben-Hur. Surtees worked at various studios, including Universal, UFA, Warner Brothers, and MGM, lighting for notable directors Howard Hawks, Mike Nichols, and William Wyler, gaining him a reputation as one of the most versatile cinematographers of his time.

  32. 1984

    1. Derrick Atkins, Bahamian sprinter births

      1. Bahamian sprinter

        Derrick Atkins

        Derrick Atkins is a Bahamian sprinter. Atkins specializes in the 100 metres event and also holds the national record, with a time of 9.91 seconds. He is the second cousin of former world record holder Asafa Powell.

    2. Matt Ballin, Australian rugby league player births

      1. Australian rugby league footballer

        Matt Ballin

        Matthew Ballin is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who last played for the Wests Tigers in the National Rugby League and also the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles. Ballin is the current head coach for the Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles which is the feeder team playing in the NSW Cup Competition, prior to that he was the Under 20s Head Coach. He has played one game for Queensland in State of Origin. He played at hooker and previously played for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles, with whom he won the 2008 and 2011 Premierships.

    3. Bronx Goodwin, Australian rugby league player births

      1. NZ Maori international rugby league footballer

        Bronx Goodwin

        Bronx Goodwin is a former professional rugby league footballer who played as a winger or fullback.

  33. 1982

    1. Janica Kostelić, Croatian skier births

      1. Croatian alpine skier

        Janica Kostelić

        Janica Kostelić is a former World Cup alpine ski racer and four-time Olympic gold medalist from Croatia. In addition to the Olympics, she won five gold medals at the World Championships. In World Cup competition, she won thirty individual races, three overall titles, three slalom titles, and four combined titles. Kostelic's accomplishments in professional skiing have led some commentators, writers, and fellow ski racers to regard her as the greatest female ski racer of all time.

    2. Hans Conried, American actor (b. 1917) deaths

      1. American actor (1917–1982)

        Hans Conried

        Hans Georg Conried Jr. was an American actor and comedian. He was known for providing the voices of George Darling and Captain Hook in Walt Disney's Peter Pan (1953), Snidely Whiplash in Jay Ward's Dudley Do-Right cartoons, Professor Waldo P. Wigglesworth in Ward's Hoppity Hooper cartoons, was host of Ward's "Fractured Flickers" and Professor Kropotkin on the radio and film versions of My Friend Irma. He also appeared as Uncle Tonoose on Danny Thomas' sitcom Make Room for Daddy, and twice on I Love Lucy.

    3. Edmund Herring, Australian general and politician, 7th Chief Justice of Victoria (b. 1892) deaths

      1. Australian general and judge (1892–1982)

        Edmund Herring

        Lieutenant General Sir Edmund Francis Herring, was a senior Australian Army officer during the Second World War, Lieutenant Governor of Victoria, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria. A Rhodes scholar, Herring was at New College, Oxford, when the First World War broke out and served with the Royal Field Artillery on the Macedonian front, for which he was awarded the Military Cross and Distinguished Service Order. After the war he carved out a successful career as a barrister and King's Counsel. He also joined the Australian Army, rising to the rank of colonel by 1939.

      2. Chief Justice of Victoria

        The Chief Justice of Victoria is the senior judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria and the highest ranking judicial officer in the Australian state of Victoria. The Chief Justice is both the judicial head of the Supreme Court as well as the administrative head. They are responsible for arranging the business of the court and establishing its rules and procedures.

  34. 1981

    1. Deadmau5 (Joel Thomas Zimmerman), Canadian musician births

      1. Canadian music producer and DJ

        Deadmau5

        Joel Thomas Zimmerman, known professionally as Deadmau5, is a Canadian electronic music producer and DJ. He mainly produces progressive house music, though he also produces and DJs other genres of electronic music, including techno under the alias Testpilot. Zimmerman has received six Grammy Award nominations for his work.

    2. Harold Urey, American chemist and astronomer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1893) deaths

      1. American physical chemist

        Harold Urey

        Harold Clayton Urey was an American physical chemist whose pioneering work on isotopes earned him the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1934 for the discovery of deuterium. He played a significant role in the development of the atom bomb, as well as contributing to theories on the development of organic life from non-living matter.

      2. One of the five Nobel Prizes established in 1895 by Alfred Nobel

        Nobel Prize in Chemistry

        The Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outstanding contributions in chemistry, physics, literature, peace, and physiology or medicine. This award is administered by the Nobel Foundation, and awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on proposal of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry which consists of five members elected by the Academy. The award is presented in Stockholm at an annual ceremony on 10 December, the anniversary of Nobel's death.

    3. Lanza del Vasto, Italian poet and philosopher (b. 1901) deaths

      1. Italian activist

        Lanza del Vasto

        Lanza del Vasto was an Italian philosopher, poet, artist, Catholic and nonviolent activist.

  35. 1980

    1. Luke Bailey, Australian rugby league player births

      1. Australia international rugby league footballer

        Luke Bailey (rugby league)

        Luke Bailey is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. An Australia national and New South Wales State of Origin representative front row forward, he played his club football in the National Rugby League for the St. George Illawarra Dragons before deserting for the much less successful Gold Coast Titans. His move was described by former friend and mentor Matt Cooper as, "The Greatest Day in the history of White Australia."

    2. Brad Meyers, Australian rugby league player births

      1. Australia international rugby league footballer

        Brad Meyers

        Bradley Meyers, also known by the nicknames of "Big Red", or "Two Step", is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. A Queensland State of Origin and Australian national representative forward, he played his club football in the National Rugby League for the Brisbane Broncos and the Gold Coast Titans, and in the Super League for the Bradford Bulls, with whom he won 2005's Super League X Championship.

  36. 1979

    1. Kyle Calder, Canadian ice hockey player births

      1. Canadian ice hockey player

        Kyle Calder

        Kyle Charles Calder is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Chicago Blackhawks, Philadelphia Flyers, Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings, and Anaheim Ducks.

    2. Giuseppe Gibilisco, Italian pole vaulter births

      1. Italian pole vaulter and coach

        Giuseppe Gibilisco

        Giuseppe "Peppe" Gibilisco is an Italian coach and former pole vaulter, who won the 2003 World Championships with a personal best of 5.90 m. He followed this with a bronze medal in the 2004 Olympics. He also competed in four-man bobsleigh in two race of the 2016–17 Bobsleigh World Cup finishing 25th and 28th.

    3. Billy Bletcher, American actor, singer, and screenwriter (b. 1894) deaths

      1. American actor (1894-1979)

        Billy Bletcher

        William Bletcher was an American actor. He was known for voice roles for various classic animated characters, most notably Pete in Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse short films and the Big Bad Wolf in Disney's Three Little Pigs.

    4. Charles Mingus, American bassist, composer, bandleader (b. 1922) deaths

      1. American jazz bassist, composer and bandleader (1922–1979)

        Charles Mingus

        Charles Mingus Jr. was an American jazz upright bassist, pianist, composer, bandleader, and author. A major proponent of collective improvisation, he is considered to be one of the greatest jazz musicians and composers in history, with a career spanning three decades and collaborations with other jazz musicians such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Herbie Hancock.

  37. 1978

    1. January Jones, American actress births

      1. American actress and model (born 1978)

        January Jones

        January Kristen Jones is an American actress and model. She played Betty Draper in Mad Men (2007–2015), for which she was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards for Best Actress – Television Series Drama and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. She also portrayed Melissa Chartres in The Last Man on Earth (2015–2018) and has starred in films such as American Wedding (2003), We Are Marshall (2006), The Boat That Rocked (2009), Unknown (2011), Seeking Justice (2011), and X-Men: First Class (2011).

    2. Wyatt Emory Cooper, American author and screenwriter (b. 1927) deaths

      1. American writer and actor (1927–1978)

        Wyatt Emory Cooper

        Wyatt Emory Cooper was an American author, screenwriter, and actor. He was the fourth husband of Vanderbilt heiress and socialite Gloria Vanderbilt and the father of CNN anchor Anderson Cooper. As an actor, he was usually billed as Wyatt Cooper.

  38. 1977

    1. Gavin Lester, Australian rugby league player births

      1. Australian rugby league footballer

        Gavin Lester

        Gavin Lester is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He played for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and the Sydney Roosters, as a wing.

  39. 1976

    1. Diego Tristán, Spanish footballer births

      1. Spanish footballer

        Diego Tristán

        Diego Tristán Herrera is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a striker. At his peak, he was considered amongst the best players in his position in Europe, displaying a vast array of skills: dribble, shot accuracy, aerial ability and off-the-ball movements.

    2. John A. Costello, Irish lawyer and politician, 3rd Taoiseach of Ireland (b. 1891) deaths

      1. 3rd Taoiseach from 1948 to 1951, and 1954 to 1957

        John A. Costello

        John Aloysius Costello was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 1948 to 1951 and from 1954 to 1957, Leader of the Opposition from 1951 to 1954 and from 1957 to 1959, and Attorney General of Ireland from 1926 to 1932. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1933 to 1943 and from 1944 to 1969.

      2. Head of government of Ireland

        Taoiseach

        The Taoiseach is the head of government of Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann and the office-holder must retain the support of a majority in the Dáil to remain in office.

  40. 1975

    1. Bradley Cooper, American actor and producer births

      1. American actor and filmmaker (born 1975)

        Bradley Cooper

        Bradley Charles Cooper is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award and two Grammy Awards, in addition to nominations for nine Academy Awards, six Golden Globe Awards, and a Tony Award. Cooper appeared on the Forbes Celebrity 100 three times and on Time's list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2015. His films have grossed $11 billion worldwide and he has placed four times in annual rankings of the world's highest-paid actors.

    2. Warrick Dunn, American football player births

      1. American football player (born 1975)

        Warrick Dunn

        Warrick De'Mon Dunn is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for twelve seasons. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 12th overall in the 1997 NFL Draft, after playing college football for the Florida State Seminoles. Dunn was named AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 1997 and earned three Pro Bowl selections in his career. After his playing career, Dunn took a minority stake in the Falcons' ownership group led by Arthur Blank.

    3. Mike Grier, American ice hockey player and scout births

      1. American ice hockey player

        Mike Grier

        Michael James Grier is an American former professional ice hockey winger and current general manager of the San Jose Sharks in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Edmonton Oilers, Washington Capitals, Buffalo Sabres, and San Jose Sharks. Primarily a checking forward, he played 1,060 games over 14 seasons. He was the first African-American NHL player to train exclusively in the United States, and the league's first black general manager.

  41. 1974

    1. Iwan Thomas, Welsh sprinter and coach births

      1. British sprinter (born 1974)

        Iwan Thomas

        Iwan Gwyn Thomas is a British sprinter who represented Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the Olympic Games in the 400 metres, and Wales at the Commonwealth Games. Thomas is a former European, Commonwealth Games and World champion.

    2. Lev Oborin, Russian pianist and educator (b. 1907) deaths

      1. Soviet musician

        Lev Oborin

        Lev Nikolayevich Oborin was a Soviet and Russian pianist, composer and pedagogue. He was the winner of the first International Chopin Piano Competition in 1927.

  42. 1973

    1. Uday Chopra, Bollywood actor and filmmaker births

      1. Indian actor, film director and producer

        Uday Chopra

        Uday Raj Chopra is an Indian actor, film producer, screenwriter and assistant director in Bollywood. He is the son of the late filmmaker Yash Chopra and brother of Aditya Chopra. His sister-in-law is the actress Rani Mukerji and his cousins are film director Karan Johar and film producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra. Chopra worked as an assistant director on a number of his father's and brother's films under the Yash Raj Films banner. Chopra is the owner-manager (CEO) of YRF Entertainment and manager of Yash Raj Films along with his mother Pamela Chopra and his brother Aditya, who owns the company.

  43. 1972

    1. Sakis Rouvas, Greek singer-songwriter, producer, and actor births

      1. Greek recording artist

        Sakis Rouvas

        Anastasios "Sakis" Rouvas, also known mononymously as Sakis, is a Greek singer, film and television actor, businessman and former pole vaulter and model. Born in Corfu, he won medals on the national athletics team during the 1980s. Rouvas began a musical career in 1991 as one of Greece's first dance-pop performers. His tenor vocals, complex choreography, costumes, and technological advancements have been credited with transforming music videos and live performances. Rouvas is noted for avoiding domestic music, attaining success for a non-laïko or -éntekhno artist, and for breaking cultural, social, artistic, and generational barriers in Greece and Cyprus.

  44. 1971

    1. Stian Carstensen, Norwegian multi-instrumentalist and composer births

      1. Norwegian jazz musician

        Stian Carstensen

        Stian Carstensen is a multi-instrument Norwegian musician, entertainer and with Jarle Vespestad (drums) and Nils-Olav Johansen, central members of the Balkan-jazz orchestra Farmers market.

    2. Douglas Shearer, Canadian-American sound designer and engineer (b. 1899) deaths

      1. Canadian sound designer and recording director

        Douglas Shearer

        Douglas Graham Shearer was a Canadian American pioneering sound designer and recording director who played a key role in the advancement of sound technology for motion pictures. The elder brother of actress Norma Shearer, he won seven Academy Awards for his work. In 2008, he was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame.

  45. 1970

    1. Nigel Gaffey, Australian rugby league player births

      1. Australian rugby league footballer

        Nigel Gaffey

        Nigel Gaffey is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He played at club level for the Canberra Raiders, the Sydney City Roosters, the South Queensland Crushers and the Penrith Panthers, as a second-row and lock. He is the son of former Cronulla Sharks player Len Gaffey.

    2. Max Born, German physicist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1882) deaths

      1. German physicist, mathematician (1882–1970)

        Max Born

        Max Born was a German physicist and mathematician who was instrumental in the development of quantum mechanics. He also made contributions to solid-state physics and optics and supervised the work of a number of notable physicists in the 1920s and 1930s. Born won the 1954 Nobel Prize in Physics for his "fundamental research in quantum mechanics, especially in the statistical interpretation of the wave function".

      2. One of the five Nobel Prizes established in 1895 by Alfred Nobel

        Nobel Prize in Physics

        The Nobel Prize in Physics is a yearly award given by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for those who have made the most outstanding contributions for humankind in the field of physics. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901, the others being the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Physics is traditionally the first award presented in the Nobel Prize ceremony.

    3. Roberto Gerhard, Catalan composer and scholar (b. 1896) deaths

      1. Catalan composer

        Robert Gerhard

        Robert Gerhard i Ottenwaelder was a Spanish Catalan composer and musical scholar and writer, generally known outside Catalonia as Roberto Gerhard.

  46. 1969

    1. Marilyn Manson, American singer-songwriter, actor, and director births

      1. American musician (born 1969)

        Marilyn Manson

        Brian Hugh Warner, known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He came to prominence as the lead singer of the band which shares his name, of which he remains the only constant member since its formation in 1989. Known for his controversial stage personality and public image, his stage name was formed by combining the names of two opposing American cultural icons: actress Marilyn Monroe and cult leader Charles Manson.

    2. Shaun Micheel, American golfer births

      1. American professional golfer (born 1969)

        Shaun Micheel

        Shaun Carl Micheel is an American professional golfer who is best known for his surprise victory at the 2003 PGA Championship.

  47. 1968

    1. Carrie Ann Inaba, American actress, dancer, and choreographer births

      1. American television dancer, choreographer, actress, and singer

        Carrie Ann Inaba

        Carrie Ann Inaba is an American television personality, dancer, choreographer, actress, and singer. She is best known for her work on ABC TV's Dancing with the Stars for which she has served as a judge since 2005. She co-hosted and moderated the CBS Daytime talk show, The Talk from 2019 to 2021. She started her career as a singer in Japan, but became best known for her dancing, introducing herself to American audiences as one of the original Fly Girls on the Fox sketch comedy series In Living Color from 1990 to 1992.

    2. Joé Juneau, Canadian ice hockey player and engineer births

      1. Ice hockey player

        Joé Juneau

        Joseph Juneau is a Canadian former professional hockey player and engineer, born in Pont-Rouge, Quebec. He played in the National Hockey League for the Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals, Buffalo Sabres, Ottawa Senators, Phoenix Coyotes and the Montreal Canadiens.

  48. 1965

    1. Vinnie Jones, English/Welsh footballer and actor births

      1. British actor and former professional footballer

        Vinnie Jones

        Vincent Peter Jones is a British actor, presenter, and former professional footballer.

    2. Stuart Raper, Australian rugby league player and coach births

      1. Australian RL coach, broadcaster and former professional rugby league footballer

        Stuart Raper

        Stuart Raper is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer and coach. He has since become a sideline commentator for the NRL with Foxsports. He is widely known for his father being Rugby League legend Johnny Raper and he also is the only Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks coach to win the President's Cup (under-21s) for the club in 1994.

    3. Patrik Sjöberg, Swedish high jumper births

      1. Swedish high jumper

        Patrik Sjöberg

        Jan Niklas Patrik Sjöberg is a Swedish former high jumper. He broke the world record with 2.42 metres in Stockholm on 30 June 1987. This mark is still the European record and ranks him third on the world all-time list behind Javier Sotomayor and Mutaz Essa Barshim. He twice held the world indoor record holder with marks of 2.38 m (1985) and 2.41 m (1987). He was the 1987 World Champion and three-times an Olympic medallist.

  49. 1963

    1. Jeff Fassero, American baseball player and coach births

      1. American baseball player and coach (born 1963)

        Jeff Fassero

        Jeffrey Joseph Fassero is a former Major League Baseball pitcher.

    2. Rogers Hornsby, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1896) deaths

      1. American baseball player, coach and manager

        Rogers Hornsby

        Rogers Hornsby Sr., nicknamed "The Rajah", was an American baseball infielder, manager, and coach who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants (1927), Boston Braves (1928), Chicago Cubs (1929–1932), and St. Louis Browns (1933–1937). He was named the National League (NL)'s Most Valuable Player (MVP) twice, and was a member of one World Series championship team.

  50. 1962

    1. Suzy Amis, American actress and model births

      1. American environmental advocate, actress, and model

        Suzy Amis Cameron

        Suzy Amis Cameron is an American environmental advocate, and a former actress and model.

    2. Danny Jackson, American baseball player and manager births

      1. American baseball player (born 1962)

        Danny Jackson

        Danny Lynn Jackson is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1983 to 1997. He played for the Kansas City Royals, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, and San Diego Padres.

  51. 1961

    1. Iris DeMent, American singer-songwriter and guitarist births

      1. Musical artist

        Iris DeMent

        Iris Luella DeMent is an American two-time Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter. DeMent's musical style includes elements of folk, country and gospel.

  52. 1960

    1. Glenn Strömberg, Swedish footballer and sportscaster births

      1. Swedish footballer

        Glenn Strömberg

        Glenn Peter Strömberg is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He won the 1981–82 UEFA Cup with IFK Göteborg before moving on to represent Benfica in Portugal and Atalanta in Italy. He won 52 caps and scored 7 goals for the Sweden national team, and represented his country at the 1990 FIFA World Cup. He was awarded Guldbollen in 1985 as Sweden's best footballer of the year.

  53. 1959

    1. Nancy Delahunt, Canadian curler births

      1. Canadian curler

        Nancy Delahunt

        Nancy Dale Delahunt is a Canadian curler from Halifax, Nova Scotia. Delahunt currently plays third for Colleen Jones.

  54. 1958

    1. Ron Kittle, American baseball player and manager births

      1. American baseball player

        Ron Kittle

        Ronald Dale Kittle is an American former left fielder and designated hitter in Major League Baseball (MLB). He was known for his home run hitting power, and was named the 1983 AL Rookie of the Year. Kittle played for the Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees (1986–87), Cleveland Indians (1988) and Baltimore Orioles (1990). He batted and threw right-handed. Kittle was also a manager for the minor league Schaumburg Flyers.

  55. 1957

    1. Kevin Hastings, Australian rugby league player births

      1. Australian rugby league footballer

        Kevin Hastings

        Kevin "Horrie" Hastings is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a halfback, hooker and lock during the 1970s and 1980s.

    2. George Moroko, Australian rugby league player births

      1. Australian rugby league footballer

        George Moroko

        George Moroko is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played for Western Suburbs, Cronulla and St. George in the early 1980s.

  56. 1956

    1. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, German academic and politician, 14th Vice-Chancellor of Germany births

      1. President of Germany since 2017

        Frank-Walter Steinmeier

        Frank-Walter Steinmeier is a German politician serving as President of Germany since 19 March 2017. He was previously Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2005 to 2009 and again from 2013 to 2017, as well as Vice Chancellor of Germany from 2007 to 2009. Steinmeier was chairman-in-office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in 2016.

      2. German cabinet member

        Vice-Chancellor of Germany

        The vice-chancellor of Germany, unofficially the vice-chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, officially the deputy to the federal chancellor, is the second highest ranking German cabinet member. The chancellor is the head of government and, according to the constitution, gives this title of deputy to one of the federal ministers. It is common that the title is given to the major minister provided by the (smaller) coalition partner.

    2. Mistinguett, French actress and singer (b. 1875) deaths

      1. French actress and singer

        Mistinguett

        Mistinguett was a French actress and singer. She was at one time the highest-paid female entertainer in the world.

  57. 1955

    1. Mamata Banerjee, Indian lawyer and politician, Chief Minister of West Bengal births

      1. 8th and the current Chief Minister of West Bengal, India

        Mamata Banerjee

        Mamata Banerjee is an Indian politician who is serving as the eighth and current chief minister of the Indian state of West Bengal since 20 May 2011, the first woman to hold the office. Having served many times as a Union Cabinet Minister, Mamata Banerjee became the Chief Minister of West Bengal for the first time in 2011. She founded the All India Trinamool Congress in 1998 after separating from the Indian National Congress, and became its first chairperson. She is often referred to as 'Didi'.

      2. Head of the government of West Bengal

        List of chief ministers of West Bengal

        The Chief Minister of West Bengal is the representative of the Government of India in the state of West Bengal and the head of the executive branch of the Government of West Bengal. The chief minister is head of the Council of Ministers and appoints ministers. The chief minister, along with their cabinet, exercises executive authority in the state. The governor appoints the chief minister, whose council of ministers are collectively responsible to the assembly.

  58. 1954

    1. Alex English, American basketball player and coach births

      1. American basketball player/coach

        Alex English

        Alexander English is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and businessman.

    2. László Krasznahorkai, Hungarian author and screenwriter births

      1. Hungarian novelist and screenwriter

        László Krasznahorkai

        László Krasznahorkai is a Hungarian novelist and screenwriter known for difficult and demanding novels, often labeled postmodern, with dystopian and melancholic themes. Several of his works, including his novels Satantango and The Melancholy of Resistance, have been turned into feature films by Hungarian film director Béla Tarr.

    3. Rabbit Maranville, American baseball player and manager (b. 1891) deaths

      1. American baseball player and manager

        Rabbit Maranville

        Walter James Vincent "Rabbit" Maranville was an American professional baseball shortstop, second baseman and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, Brooklyn Robins, and St. Louis Cardinals between 1912 and 1934. At the time of his retirement in 1935, he had played in a record 23 seasons in the National League, a mark which was not broken until 1986 by Pete Rose.

  59. 1953

    1. Pamela Sue Martin, American actress births

      1. Actress

        Pamela Sue Martin

        Pamela Sue Martin is an American actress, who is best known for starring as Nancy Drew on the television series The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries and as socialite Fallon Carrington Colby on the ABC soap opera Dynasty, winning a Bambi Award for the latter in 1984.

    2. Mike Rann, English-Australian journalist and politician, 44th Premier of South Australia births

      1. Australian politician

        Mike Rann

        Michael David Rann,, is an Australian former politician who was the 44th premier of South Australia from 2002 to 2011. He was later Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 2013 to 2014, and Australian ambassador to Italy, Albania, Libya and San Marino from 2014 to 2016.

      2. Premier of South Australia

        The premier of South Australia is the head of government in the state of South Australia, Australia. The Government of South Australia follows the Westminster system, with a Parliament of South Australia acting as the legislature. The premier is appointed by the governor of South Australia, and by modern convention holds office by virtue of his or her ability to command the support of a majority of members of the lower house of Parliament, the House of Assembly.

    3. George Tenet, American civil servant and academic, 18th Director of Central Intelligence births

      1. American Central Intelligence Agency Director (born 1953)

        George Tenet

        George John Tenet is an American intelligence official and academic who served as the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) for the United States Central Intelligence Agency, as well as a Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy at Georgetown University.

      2. Head of the US Central Intelligence Agency (1946–2005)

        Director of Central Intelligence

        The director of central intelligence (DCI) was the head of the American Central Intelligence Agency from 1946 to 2005, acting as the principal intelligence advisor to the president of the United States and the United States National Security Council, as well as the coordinator of intelligence activities among and between the various US intelligence agencies.

  60. 1952

    1. Uli Hoeneß, German footballer and manager births

      1. German footballer and manager

        Uli Hoeneß

        Ulrich "Uli" Hoeneß is the former president of German football club Bayern Munich and a former footballer for West Germany who played as a forward for club and country. Hoeneß represented Germany at one World Cup and two European Championships, winning one tournament in each competition.

    2. Victor Hope, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow, Scottish colonel and politician, 46th Governor-General of India (b. 1887) deaths

      1. British politician, agriculturalist and colonial administrator (1887–1952)

        Victor Hope, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow

        Victor Alexander John Hope, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow, was a British Unionist politician, agriculturalist, and colonial administrator. He served as Governor-General and Viceroy of India from 1936 to 1943. He was usually referred to simply as Linlithgow.

      2. List of governors-general of India

        The Regulating Act of 1773 created the office with the title of Governor-General of Presidency of Fort William, or Governor-General of Bengal to be appointed by the Court of Directors of the East India Company (EIC). The Court of Directors assigned a Council of Four to assist the Governor-General, and the decision of the council was binding on the Governor-General during 1773–1784.

    3. Hristo Tatarchev, Bulgarian-Italian physician and activist (b. 1869) deaths

      1. Bulgarian revolutionary (1869–1952)

        Hristo Tatarchev

        Hristo Tatarchev was a Bulgarian doctor and revolutionary, the first leader of the revolutionary movement in Macedonia and Adrianople Thrace. He wrote a memoirs called The First Central Committee of the IMRO (1928). Tatarchev authored several political journalism works between the First and Second World War. Despite his Bulgarian ethnic identification, according to post-WWII Macedonian historiography, he was an ethnic Macedonian.

  61. 1951

    1. Soh Jaipil, South Korean-American journalist and activist (b. 1864) deaths

      1. Soh Jaipil

        Soh Jaipil or Seo Jae-pil, also known as Philip Jaisohn, was a Korean-American political activist and physician who was a noted champion of the Korean independence movement, the first Korean naturalized citizen of the United States, and founded Tongnip Sinmun, the first Korean newspaper in Hangul.

    2. Andrei Platonov, Russian journalist and author (b. 1899) deaths

      1. Russian author

        Andrei Platonov

        Andrei Platonov was the pen name of Andrei Platonovich Klimentov, a Soviet Russian writer, philosopher, playwright, and poet. Although Platonov regarded himself as a communist, his principal works remained unpublished in his lifetime because of their skeptical attitude toward collectivization of agriculture (1929–1940) and other Stalinist policies, as well as for their experimental, avant-garde form. His famous works include the novels Chevengur (1928) and The Foundation Pit (1930).

  62. 1950

    1. Ioan P. Culianu, Romanian historian, philosopher, and author (d. 1991) births

      1. Romanian academic (1950–1991)

        Ioan Petru Culianu

        Ioan Petru Culianu or Couliano was a Romanian historian of religion, culture, and ideas, a philosopher and political essayist, and a short story writer. He served as professor of the history of religions at the University of Chicago from 1988 to his death, and had previously taught the history of Romanian culture at the University of Groningen.

    2. Peter Goldsmith, Baron Goldsmith, English lawyer and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales births

      1. British attorney general

        Peter Goldsmith, Baron Goldsmith

        Peter Henry Goldsmith, Baron Goldsmith is a British barrister and a former Attorney General for England and Wales and for Northern Ireland. On 22 June 2007, Goldsmith announced his resignation which took effect on 27 June 2007, the same day that Prime Minister Tony Blair, stepped down. Goldsmith was the longest serving Labour Attorney General. He is currently a Partner and head of European litigation practice at US law firm Debevoise & Plimpton and Vice Chairperson of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre.

      2. Law officer of the Monarch of England and Wales

        Attorney General for England and Wales

        His Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales is one of the law officers of the Crown and the principal legal adviser to sovereign and Government in affairs pertaining to England and Wales. The attorney general maintains the Attorney General's Office and currently attends Cabinet. Unlike in other countries employing the common law legal system, the attorney general does not govern the administration of justice; that function is carried out by the secretary of state for justice and lord chancellor. The incumbent is also concurrently advocate general for Northern Ireland.

    3. John Manley, Canadian lawyer and politician, 8th Deputy Prime Minister of Canada births

      1. Canadian politician

        John Manley

        John Paul Manley is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the eighth deputy prime minister of Canada from 2002 to 2003. He served as Liberal Member of Parliament for Ottawa South from 1988 to 2004. From January 2010 to October 2018 he was president and CEO of the Business Council of Canada. He is currently the Chairman of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) and serves on the advisory board of the Leaders' Debates Commission.

      2. Canadian cabinet portfolio

        Deputy Prime Minister of Canada

        The deputy prime minister of Canada is a minister of the Crown and a member of the Canadian Cabinet. The office is conferred at the discretion of the prime minister and does not have an associated departmental portfolio. Canadian deputy prime ministers are appointed to the Privy Council and styled as the Honourable, a privilege maintained for life.

    4. Chris Stein, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer births

      1. American guitarist

        Chris Stein

        Christopher Stein is an American musician known as the co-founder and guitarist of the new wave band Blondie. He is also a producer and performer for the classic soundtrack of the hip hop film Wild Style, and writer of the soundtrack for the film Union City, as well as an accomplished photographer.

  63. 1947

    1. Mike DeWine, American lawyer and politician, 70th Governor of Ohio births

      1. 70th governor of Ohio

        Mike DeWine

        Richard Michael DeWine is an American politician and attorney serving as the 70th and current governor of Ohio. A member of the Republican Party, DeWine began his career as a prosecutor before being elected to the Ohio Senate. He served as a U.S. representative from 1983 until 1991, the 59th lieutenant governor of Ohio under George Voinovich from 1991 until 1994, United States senator from 1995 to 2007, and the 50th attorney general of Ohio from 2011 to 2019.

      2. List of governors of Ohio

        The governor of Ohio is the head of government of Ohio and the commander-in-chief of the U.S. state's military forces. The officeholder has a duty to enforce state laws, the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Ohio General Assembly, the power to convene the legislature and the power to grant pardons, except in cases of treason and impeachment.

  64. 1946

    1. Diane Keaton, American actress, director, and businesswoman births

      1. American film actress (born 1946)

        Diane Keaton

        Diane Keaton is an American actress and director. She has received various accolades throughout her career spanning over six decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and the AFI Life Achievement Award.

  65. 1944

    1. Carolyn McCarthy, American nurse and politician births

      1. American politician

        Carolyn McCarthy

        Carolyn McCarthy is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for New York's 4th congressional district from 1997 to 2015. She is a member of the Democratic Party.

    2. Ed Rendell, American politician, 45th Governor of Pennsylvania births

      1. American lawyer and politician

        Ed Rendell

        Edward Gene Rendell is an American lawyer, prosecutor, politician, and author. He served as the 45th Governor of Pennsylvania from 2003 to 2011, as chair of the national Democratic Party, and as the 96th Mayor of Philadelphia from 1992 to 2000.

      2. List of governors of Pennsylvania

        The governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is the head of state and head of government of the U.S. state, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as well as commander-in-chief of the Commonwealth's military forces.

  66. 1943

    1. Mary Gaudron, Australian lawyer and judge births

      1. 20th and 21st-century Australian judge

        Mary Gaudron

        Mary Genevieve Gaudron, is an Australian lawyer and judge, who was the first female Justice of the High Court of Australia. She was the Solicitor-General of New South Wales from 1981 until 1987 before her appointment to the High Court. After her retirement in 2002, she joined the International Labour Organization, serving as the President of its Administrative Tribunal from 2011 until 2014.

    2. Murtaz Khurtsilava, Georgian footballer and manager births

      1. Murtaz Khurtsilava

        Murtaz Kalistratovich Khurtsilava is a former Georgian association football defender.

    3. George Washington Carver, American botanist, educator, and inventor (b. 1864) deaths

      1. American botanist and inventor (1864–1943)

        George Washington Carver

        George Washington Carver was an American agricultural scientist and inventor who promoted alternative crops to cotton and methods to prevent soil depletion. He was one of the most prominent black scientists of the early 20th century.

  67. 1942

    1. Maurizio Pollini, Italian pianist and conductor births

      1. Italian pianist

        Maurizio Pollini

        Maurizio Pollini is an Italian pianist. He is known for performances of compositions by Beethoven, Chopin and Debussy, among others. He has also championed and performed works by contemporary composers such as Pierre Boulez, Karlheinz Stockhausen, George Benjamin, Roberto Carnevale, Gianluca Cascioli and Bruno Maderna. Works composed for him include Luigi Nono's ..... sofferte onde serene ..., Giacomo Manzoni's Masse: omaggio a Edgard Varèse and Salvatore Sciarrino's Fifth Sonata.

    2. Charlie Rose, American journalist and talk show host births

      1. American TV interviewer and journalist

        Charlie Rose

        Charles Peete Rose Jr. is an American former television journalist and talk show host. From 1991 to 2017, he was the host and executive producer of the talk show Charlie Rose on PBS and Bloomberg LP.

    3. Tina Modotti, Italian photographer, model, actress, and activist (b. 1896) deaths

      1. Italian-born photographer and actress, active in the USA and Mexico

        Tina Modotti

        Tina Modotti was an Italian American photographer, model, actor, and revolutionary political activist for the Comintern. She left Italy in 1913 and moved to the United States, where she settled in San Francisco with her father and sister. In San Francisco, Modotti worked as a model and, later, as a photographer. In 1922 she moved to Mexico, where she became an active member of the Mexican Communist Party.

  68. 1941

    1. Bob Cunis, New Zealand cricketer (d. 2008) births

      1. New Zealand cricketer

        Bob Cunis

        Robert Smith Cunis played 20 Test matches for New Zealand as a pace bowler between 1964 and 1972, and was later coach of the New Zealand national team from 1987 to 1990. His son Stephen played cricket for Canterbury between 1998 and 2006.

    2. Chuck McKinley, American tennis player (d. 1986) births

      1. American tennis player

        Chuck McKinley

        Charles Robert McKinley Jr. was an American former world no. 1 men's amateur tennis champion of the 1960s. He is remembered as an undersized, hard-working dynamo, whose relentless effort and competitive spirit led American tennis to the top of the sport during a period heavily dominated by Australians.

    3. Hayao Miyazaki, Japanese animator, director, and screenwriter births

      1. Japanese animator, film director, and mangaka

        Hayao Miyazaki

        Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese animator, director, producer, screenwriter, author, and manga artist. A co-founder of Studio Ghibli, he has attained international acclaim as a masterful storyteller and creator of Japanese animated feature films, and is widely regarded as one of the most accomplished filmmakers in the history of animation.

    4. Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, Indian cricketer and coach (d. 2011) births

      1. Indian cricketer (1941–2011)

        Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi

        Nawab Mohammad Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi was an Indian cricketer and a former captain of the Indian cricket team.

  69. 1940

    1. Athol Guy, Australian singer-songwriter and bassist births

      1. Australian politician

        Athol Guy

        Athol George Guy is a member of the Australian pop music group the Seekers, for whom he plays double bass and sings. He is easily recognisable by his black-framed "Buddy Holly" style glasses, and, during live performances, often acts as the group's compère.

  70. 1939

    1. M. E. H. Maharoof, Sri Lankan politician (d. 1997) births

      1. M. E. H. Maharoof

        Mohamed Ehuttar Hadjiar Maharoof was a Sri Lankan politician and Member of Parliament.

  71. 1938

    1. Juan Carlos I of Spain births

      1. King of Spain from 1975 to 2014

        Juan Carlos I

        Juan Carlos I is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 November 1975 until his abdication on 19 June 2014. In Spain, since his abdication, Juan Carlos has usually been referred to as the Rey Emérito.

    2. Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, Kenyan author and playwright births

      1. Kenyan writer

        Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o

        Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o is a Kenyan author and academic who writes primarily in Gikuyu and who formerly wrote in English. He has been described as having been "considered East Africa’s leading novelist". His work includes novels, plays, short stories, and essays, ranging from literary and social criticism to children's literature. He is the founder and editor of the Gikuyu-language journal Mũtĩiri. His short story The Upright Revolution: Or Why Humans Walk Upright, is translated into 100 languages from around the world.

  72. 1936

    1. Florence King, American journalist and memoirist (d. 2016) births

      1. American journalist

        Florence King

        Florence Virginia King was an American novelist, essayist and columnist.

    2. Terry Lineen, New Zealand rugby player (d. 2020) births

      1. NZ international rugby union player (1936–2020)

        Terry Lineen

        Terence Raymond Lineen was a New Zealand rugby union player. A second five-eighth and centre three-quarter, Lineen represented Auckland at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national side, the All Blacks, from 1957 to 1960. He played 35 matches for the All Blacks including 12 internationals.

  73. 1934

    1. Phil Ramone, South African-American songwriter and producer, co-founded A & R Recording (d. 2013) births

      1. American music producer

        Phil Ramone

        Philip Ramone was a South African-born American recording engineer, record producer, violinist and composer, who in 1958 co-founded A & R Recording, Inc., a recording studio with business partner Jack Arnold at 112 West 48th Street, New York, upstairs from the famous musicians' watering hole, Jim & Andy's, and several doors east of Manny's Music. The success of the original A & R Recording allowed it to expand into several studios and a record production company. He was described by Billboard as "legendary", and the BBC as a "CD pioneer".

      2. Former American independent recording studio

        A & R Recording

        A & R Recording Inc. was a major American independent studio recording company founded in 1958 by Jack Arnold and Phil Ramone.

    2. Murli Manohar Joshi, Indian politician births

      1. Indian politician (born 1934)

        Murli Manohar Joshi

        Murli Manohar Joshi is an Indian politician. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of which he was the President between 1991 and 1993, and the former Member of Parliament for Kanpur parliamentary constituency. He was formerly a professor of physics in University of Allahabad. He was one of the key leaders of the BJP. Joshi later became the Union Human Resources Development minister in the National Democratic Alliance government. Joshi was awarded Padma Vibhushan, the second-highest civilian award, in 2017 by the Government of India.

  74. 1933

    1. Calvin Coolidge, American lawyer and politician, 30th President of the United States (b. 1872) deaths

      1. President of the United States from 1923 to 1929

        Calvin Coolidge

        Calvin Coolidge was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a Republican lawyer from New England who climbed up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, becoming the state's 48th governor. His response to the Boston Police Strike of 1919 thrust him into the national spotlight as a man of decisive action. Coolidge was elected the country's 29th vice president the next year, succeeding the presidency upon the sudden death of President Warren G. Harding in 1923. Elected in his own right in 1924, Coolidge gained a reputation as a small-government conservative distinguished by a taciturn personality and dry sense of humor, receiving the nickname "Silent Cal." Though his widespread popularity enabled him to run for a third term, he chose not to run again in 1928, remarking that ten years as president was "longer than any other man has had it – too long!"

      2. Head of state and head of government of the United States of America

        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.

  75. 1932

    1. Umberto Eco, Italian novelist, literary critic, and philosopher (d. 2016) births

      1. Italian semiotician, philosopher and writer (1932–2016)

        Umberto Eco

        Umberto Eco was an Italian medievalist, philosopher, semiotician, novelist, cultural critic, and political and social commentator. In English, he is best known for his popular 1980 novel The Name of the Rose, a historical mystery combining semiotics in fiction with biblical analysis, medieval studies and literary theory, as well as Foucault's Pendulum, his 1988 novel which touches on similar themes.

    2. Chuck Noll, American football player and coach (d. 2014) births

      1. American football player and coach (1932–2014)

        Chuck Noll

        Charles Henry Noll was an American professional football player and head coach. Regarded as one of the greatest head coaches of all time, his sole head coaching position was for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1969 to 1991. When Noll retired after 23 years, only three other head coaches in NFL history had longer tenures with one team.

  76. 1931

    1. Alvin Ailey, American dancer and choreographer, founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (d. 1989) births

      1. American dancer and activist (1931–1989)

        Alvin Ailey

        Alvin Ailey Jr. was an American dancer, director, choreographer, and activist who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT). He created AAADT and its affiliated Alvin Ailey American Dance Center as havens for nurturing Black artists and expressing the universality of the African-American experience through dance.

      2. Modern dance company based in New York City

        Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

        The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT) is a modern dance company based in New York City. It was founded in 1958 by choreographer and dancer Alvin Ailey. It is made up of 32 dancers, led by artistic director Robert Battle and associate artistic director Matthew Rushing.

    2. Alfred Brendel, Austrian pianist, poet, and author births

      1. Austrian composer and pianist

        Alfred Brendel

        Alfred Brendel KBE is an Austrian classical pianist, poet, author, composer, and lecturer who is known particularly for his performances of Mozart, Schubert, Schoenberg, and Beethoven.

    3. Robert Duvall, American actor and director births

      1. American actor and director (born 1931)

        Robert Duvall

        Robert Selden Duvall is an American actor and filmmaker. His career spans more than seven decades and he is considered one of the greatest American actors of all time. He is the recipient of an Academy Award, four Golden Globe Awards, a BAFTA Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

  77. 1930

    1. Kevin Considine, Australian rugby league player births

      1. Australian rugby league footballer

        Kevin Considine

        Kevin William Considine is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s and 1960s.

  78. 1929

    1. Aulis Rytkönen, Finnish footballer and manager (d. 2014) births

      1. Finnish footballer

        Aulis Rytkönen

        Taavi Aulis Rytkönen was a Finnish footballer. He became the country's first professional player when he signed for France's Toulouse FC in 1952.

  79. 1928

    1. Imtiaz Ahmed, Pakistani cricketer (d. 2016) births

      1. Pakistani cricketer

        Imtiaz Ahmed (cricketer)

        Imtiaz Ahmed PP, was a cricketer who played for Pakistan's first Test team in 1952 and in 40 subsequent Test matches. He played in Pakistan's first 39 Test matches, setting a record for the most consecutive Tests played from a team's inaugural match.

    2. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Pakistani lawyer and politician, 4th President of Pakistan (d. 1979) births

      1. President of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973, and Prime Minister from 1973 to 1977

        Zulfikar Ali Bhutto

        Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, also known as Quaid-e-Awam, was a Pakistani barrister, politician and statesman who served as the fourth President from 1971 to 1973, and later as the ninth Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1973 to 1977. Bhutto is an icon of leadership for his efforts to preserve and lead the nation after the Bangladesh Liberation War. His government drafted the Constitution of Pakistan in 1973, which is the current constitution of the country. He was the founder of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and served as its chairman until his execution. Bhutto's execution in 1979, till this day is widely recognised as a judicial murder ordered by then dictator General Zia-ul-Haq. His daughter, Benazir Bhutto later led the PPP and became the 11th and 13th Prime Minister of Pakistan; his grandson, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is the current chairman of PPP and is serving as the Foreign Minister of Pakistan.

      2. Head of state of Pakistan

        President of Pakistan

        The president of Pakistan, officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.

    3. Walter Mondale, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 42nd Vice President of the United States (d. 2021) births

      1. Vice president of the United States from 1977 to 1981

        Walter Mondale

        Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 42nd vice president of the United States from 1977 to 1981 under President Jimmy Carter. A U.S. senator from Minnesota from 1964 to 1976, he was the Democratic Party's nominee in the 1984 presidential election, but lost to incumbent Ronald Reagan in an Electoral College and popular vote landslide. Reagan won 49 states while Mondale carried his home state of Minnesota and the District of Columbia. His vice presidential nominee, U.S. Representative Geraldine Ferraro from New York, was the first female vice-presidential nominee of any major party in U.S. history.

      2. Second-highest constitutional office in the United States

        Vice President of the United States

        The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice president is also an officer in the legislative branch, as the president of the Senate. In this capacity, the vice president is empowered to preside over Senate deliberations at any time, but may not vote except to cast a tie-breaking vote. The vice president is indirectly elected together with the president to a four-year term of office by the people of the United States through the Electoral College.

  80. 1927

    1. Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, American guru and author, founded Iraivan Temple (d. 2001) births

      1. Sivaya Subramuniyaswami

        Sivaya Subramuniyaswami was an American Hindu religious leader known as Gurudeva by his followers. Subramuniyaswami was born in Oakland, California and adopted Hinduism as a young man. He was the 162nd head of the Nandinatha Sampradaya's Kailasa Parampara and Guru at Kauai's Hindu Monastery which is a 382-acre (155 ha) temple-monastery complex on Hawaii's Garden Island.

      2. Iraivan Temple

        The San Marga Iraivan Temple is a Chola-style Hindu temple dedicated to the Lord Shiva located on the Kauai island in the state of Hawaii, USA. "Iraivan" means "He who is worshipped," and is one of the oldest words for God in the Tamil language. It is the first all-stone, white granite temple to be built in the western hemisphere whose construction began in 1990. The Iraivan Temple is located next to the Wailua River and 8 km from Mount Waialeale. It is maintained by the Saiva Siddhanta Temple which is also known as Kauai Aadheenam and Kauai's Hindu Monastery. The temple is under construction. Spatika (Crystal) Lingam will be housed in it after its construction completes, till then crystal Lingam is placed in the Kadavul temple. The centerpiece of the temple will be a 700-pound, 39-inch-tall, uncut quartz crystal, believed to be the largest six-sided, single-pointed crystal ever found

  81. 1926

    1. Veikko Karvonen, Finnish runner (d. 2007) births

      1. Finnish long-distance runner

        Veikko Karvonen

        Veikko Leo Karvonen was a Finnish long-distance runner who mainly competed in the marathon. He won the bronze medal in the marathon at the 1956 Summer Olympics. At the 1954 European Championships he won the gold medal in the marathon and the following year won the Boston Marathon.

    2. W. D. Snodgrass, American poet (d. 2009) births

      1. American poet

        W. D. Snodgrass

        William De Witt Snodgrass was an American poet who also wrote under the pseudonym S. S. Gardons. He won the 1960 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.

    3. Hosea Williams, American businessman and activist (d. 2000) births

      1. American civil rights activist and ordained minister

        Hosea Williams

        Hosea Lorenzo Williams was an American civil rights leader, activist, ordained minister, businessman, philanthropist, scientist, and politician. He is best known as a trusted member of fellow famed civil rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Martin Luther King Jr.'s inner circle. Under the banner of their flagship organization, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, King depended on Williams to organize and stir masses of people into nonviolent direct action in myriad protest campaigns they waged against racial, political, economic, and social injustice. King alternately referred to Williams, his chief field lieutenant, as his "bull in a china closet" and his "Castro." Vowing to continue King's work for the poor, Williams is well known in his own right as the founding president of one of the largest social services organizations in North America, Hosea Feed the Hungry and Homeless. His famous motto was "Unbought and Unbossed."

  82. 1923

    1. Sam Phillips, American radio host and producer, founded Sun Records (d. 2003) births

      1. American record producer (1923–2003)

        Sam Phillips

        Samuel Cornelius Phillips was an American record producer. He was the founder of Sun Records and Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, where he produced recordings by Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, and Howlin' Wolf. Phillips played a major role in the development of rock and roll during the 1950s, launching the career of Presley. In 1969, he sold Sun to Shelby Singleton.

      2. American independent record label

        Sun Records

        Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by producer Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee in February 1952. Sun was the first label to record Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash. Prior to that, Sun had concentrated mainly on African-American musicians because Phillips loved rhythm and blues and wanted to bring it to a white audience.

  83. 1922

    1. Anthony Synnot, Australian admiral (d. 2001) births

      1. Anthony Synnot

        Admiral Sir Anthony Monckton Synnot, was a senior officer in the Royal Australian Navy, who served as Chief of the Defence Force Staff from 1979 to 1982.

    2. Ernest Shackleton, Anglo-Irish sailor and explorer (b. 1874) deaths

      1. Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer (1874–1922)

        Ernest Shackleton

        Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton was an Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic. He was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.

  84. 1921

    1. Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Swiss author and playwright (d. 1990) births

      1. Swiss author and dramatist (1921-1990)

        Friedrich Dürrenmatt

        Friedrich Dürrenmatt was a Swiss author and dramatist. He was a proponent of epic theatre whose plays reflected the recent experiences of World War II. The politically active author's work included avant-garde dramas, philosophical crime novels, and macabre satire. Dürrenmatt was a member of the Gruppe Olten, a group of left-wing Swiss writers who convened regularly at a restaurant in the city of Olten.

    2. Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Luxembourgish soldier and aristocrat (d. 2019) births

      1. Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 1964 to 2000

        Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg

        Jean was the Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 1964 until his abdication in 2000. He was the first Grand Duke of Luxembourg of French agnatic descent.

    3. John H. Reed, American politician and diplomat, 67th Governor of Maine (d. 2012) births

      1. American politician (1921–2012)

        John H. Reed

        John Hathaway Reed was the 67th Governor of Maine, holding office during the 1960s. He was once an Aroostook County potato farmer. Reed was a Republican who took office following the death of Governor Clinton Clauson.

      2. Head of state and of government of the U.S. state of Maine

        Governor of Maine

        The governor of Maine is the head of government of the U.S. state of Maine. Before Maine was admitted to the Union in 1820, Maine was part of Massachusetts and the governor of Massachusetts was chief executive.

  85. 1920

    1. Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Italian pianist and educator (d. 1995) births

      1. Italian pianist

        Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli

        Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli was an Italian classical pianist. He is considered one of the greatest pianists of the twentieth century. According to The New York Times, he was perhaps the most reclusive, enigmatic and obsessive among the handful of the world's legendary pianists.

  86. 1919

    1. Hector Abhayavardhana, Sri Lankan theorist and politician (d. 2012) births

      1. Sri Lankan Trotskyist theoretician (1919–2012)

        Hector Abhayavardhana

        Hector Abhayavardhana was a Sri Lankan Trotskyist theoretician, a long-standing member of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) and a founder-member of the Bolshevik-Leninist Party of India, Ceylon and Burma.

    2. Severino Gazzelloni, Italian flute player (d. 1992) births

      1. Musical artist

        Severino Gazzelloni

        Severino Gazzelloni, born Severino Gazzellone was an Italian flutist.

  87. 1917

    1. Francis L. Kellogg, American businessman and diplomat (d. 2006) births

      1. American diplomat

        Francis L. Kellogg

        Francis Leonard Kellogg was an American diplomat, a special assistant to the Secretary of State during the Nixon and Ford Administrations and a prominent socialite in New York City.

    2. Wieland Wagner, German director and producer (d. 1966) births

      1. German stage director and impresario

        Wieland Wagner

        Wieland Wagner was a German opera director, grandson of Richard Wagner. As co-director of the Bayreuth Festival when it re-opened after World War II, he was noted for innovative new stagings of the operas, departing from the naturalistic scenery and lighting of the originals. His wartime involvement in the development of the V-2 rocket was kept secret for many years.

    3. Jane Wyman, American actress (d. 2007) births

      1. American actress (1917–2007)

        Jane Wyman

        Jane Wyman was an American actress. She received an Academy Award, three Golden Globe Awards and nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards.

    4. Isobel Lilian Gloag, English painter (b. 1865) deaths

      1. English painter

        Isobel Lilian Gloag

        Isobel Lilian Gloag (1865–1917) was an English painter, known for her oil and watercolour portraits, as well as posters and stained-glass designs.

  88. 1915

    1. Arthur H. Robinson, Canadian geographer and cartographer (d. 2004) births

      1. American geographer and cartographer

        Arthur H. Robinson

        Arthur H. Robinson was an American geographer and cartographer, who was professor in the Geography Department at the University of Wisconsin–Madison from 1947 until he retired in 1980. He was a prolific writer and influential philosopher on cartography, and one of his most notable accomplishments is the Robinson projection of 1961.

  89. 1914

    1. Doug Deitz, Australian rugby league player (d. 1994) births

      1. Australian rugby league footballer

        Doug Deitz

        Douglas Phillip Charles Deitz (1914–1994) was an Australian rugby league player who played in the 1930s and 1940s.

    2. George Reeves, American actor and director (d. 1959) births

      1. American actor (1914–1959)

        George Reeves

        George Reeves was an American actor. He is best known for portraying Superman in the television series Adventures of Superman (1952–1958).

  90. 1911

    1. Jean-Pierre Aumont, French actor and screenwriter (d. 2001) births

      1. French actor (1911–2001)

        Jean-Pierre Aumont

        Jean-Pierre Aumont was a French actor, and holder of the Légion d'Honneur and the Croix de Guerre for his World War II military service.

  91. 1910

    1. Jack Lovelock, New Zealand runner and journalist (d. 1949) births

      1. New Zealand athlete

        Jack Lovelock

        John Edward Lovelock was a New Zealand athlete who became the world 1500m and mile record holder and 1936 Olympic champion in the 1500 metres.

    2. Léon Walras, French-Swiss economist and academic (b. 1834) deaths

      1. French mathematical economist

        Léon Walras

        Marie-Esprit-Léon Walras was a French mathematical economist and Georgist. He formulated the marginal theory of value and pioneered the development of general equilibrium theory. Walras is best known for his book Éléments d'économie politique pure, a work that has contributed greatly to the mathematization of economics through the concept of general equilibrium. The definition of the role of the entrepreneur found in it was also taken up and amplified by Joseph Schumpeter.

  92. 1909

    1. Lucienne Bloch, Swiss-American sculptor, painter, and photographer (d. 1995) births

      1. Swiss-American artist and photographer (1909–1999)

        Lucienne Bloch

        Lucienne Bloch was a Switzerland-born American artist. She was best known for her murals and for her association with the Mexican artist Diego Rivera, for whom she produced the only existing photographs of Rivera's mural Man at the Crossroads, painted in 1933 and destroyed in January 1934 at Rockefeller Center in New York City.

    2. Stephen Cole Kleene, American mathematician and computer scientist (d. 1994) births

      1. American mathematician

        Stephen Cole Kleene

        Stephen Cole Kleene was an American mathematician. One of the students of Alonzo Church, Kleene, along with Rózsa Péter, Alan Turing, Emil Post, and others, is best known as a founder of the branch of mathematical logic known as recursion theory, which subsequently helped to provide the foundations of theoretical computer science. Kleene's work grounds the study of computable functions. A number of mathematical concepts are named after him: Kleene hierarchy, Kleene algebra, the Kleene star, Kleene's recursion theorem and the Kleene fixed-point theorem. He also invented regular expressions in 1951 to describe McCulloch-Pitts neural networks, and made significant contributions to the foundations of mathematical intuitionism.

  93. 1908

    1. George Dolenz, Italian-American actor (d. 1963) births

      1. American actor (1908–1963)

        George Dolenz

        George Dolenz was an American film actor born in Trieste, in the city's Slovene community.

  94. 1907

    1. Volmari Iso-Hollo, Finnish athlete (d. 1969) births

      1. Athletics competitor

        Volmari Iso-Hollo

        Volmari "Vomma" Fritijof Iso-Hollo was a Finnish runner. He competed at the 1932 and 1936 Olympics in the 3000 m steeplechase and 10000 m and won two gold, one silver and one bronze medals. Iso-Hollo was one of the last "Flying Finns", who dominated distance running between the World Wars.

  95. 1906

    1. Kathleen Kenyon, English archaeologist and academic (d. 1978) births

      1. British archaeologist

        Kathleen Kenyon

        Dame Kathleen Mary Kenyon, was a British archaeologist of Neolithic culture in the Fertile Crescent. She led excavations of Tell es-Sultan, the site of ancient Jericho, from 1952 to 1958, and has been called one of the most influential archaeologists of the 20th century. She was Principal of St Hugh's College, Oxford, from 1962 to 1973 and studied herself at Somerville College, Oxford.

  96. 1904

    1. Jeane Dixon, American astrologer and psychic (d. 1997) births

      1. American astrologer and psychic

        Jeane Dixon

        Jeane Dixon was one of the best-known American psychics and astrologers of the twentieth century, owing to her prediction of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, her syndicated newspaper astrology column, some well-publicized predictions, and a best-selling biography.

    2. Erika Morini, Austrian violinist (d. 1995) births

      1. Austrian violist (1904–1995)

        Erika Morini

        Erika Morini Siracusano was a Jewish Austrian violinist.

    3. George Plant, Executed Irish Republican (d. 1942) births

      1. George Plant

        George Plant was a member of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) who was executed by the Irish Government in 1942.

      2. Political movement for the unity and independence of Ireland

        Irish republicanism

        Irish republicanism is the political movement for the unity and independence of Ireland under a republic. Irish republicans view British rule in any part of Ireland as inherently illegitimate.

    4. Karl Alfred von Zittel, German paleontologist and geologist (b. 1839) deaths

      1. Karl Alfred von Zittel

        Karl Alfred Ritter von Zittel was a German palaeontologist best known for his Handbuch der Palaeontologie (1876–1880).

  97. 1903

    1. Harold Gatty, Australian pilot and navigator (d. 1957) births

      1. Australian aviation record holder

        Harold Gatty

        Harold Charles Gatty was an Australian navigator and aviation pioneer. Charles Lindbergh called Gatty the "Prince of Navigators." In 1931, Gatty served as navigator, along with pilot Wiley Post, on the flight which set the record for aerial circumnavigation of the world, flying a distance of 15,747 miles (24,903 km) in a Lockheed Vega named the Winnie Mae, in 8 days, 15 hours and 51 minutes.

  98. 1902

    1. Hubert Beuve-Méry, French journalist (d. 1989) births

      1. French journalist and newspaper editor

        Hubert Beuve-Méry

        Hubert Beuve-Méry was a French journalist and newspaper editor. Before the Second World War, he was associated with the Vichy regime until December 1942, when he joined the Resistance. In 1944, he founded Le Monde at the behest of Charles de Gaulle. Following the liberation of France, Beuve-Méry built Le Monde from the ruins of Le Temps by using its offices, printing presses, masthead and those staff members who had not collaborated with the Germans.

    2. Stella Gibbons, English journalist and author (d. 1989) births

      1. 20th-century British writer

        Stella Gibbons

        Stella Dorothea Gibbons was an English writer, journalist, and poet. She established her reputation with her first novel, Cold Comfort Farm (1932) which has been reprinted many times. Although she was active as a writer for half a century, none of her later 22 novels or other literary works—which included a sequel to Cold Comfort Farm—achieved the same critical or popular success. Much of her work was long out of print before a modest revival in the 21st century.

  99. 1900

    1. Yves Tanguy, French-American painter (d. 1955) births

      1. French surrealist painter

        Yves Tanguy

        Raymond Georges Yves Tanguy, known as just Yves Tanguy, was a French surrealist painter.

  100. 1899

    1. Ezra Otis Kendall, American professor, astronomer and mathematician (b. 1818) deaths

      1. American professor, astronomer and mathematician

        Ezra Otis Kendall

        Ezra Otis Kendall was an American professor, astronomer and mathematician. He was known for his work in uranography.

  101. 1897

    1. Kiyoshi Miki, Japanese philosopher and author (d. 1945) births

      1. Japanese philosopher

        Kiyoshi Miki

        Kiyoshi Miki was a Japanese philosopher, literary critic, scholar and university professor. He was an esteemed student of Nishida Kitarō and a prominent member of the Kyoto School.

  102. 1893

    1. Paramahansa Yogananda, Indian-American guru and philosopher (d. 1952) births

      1. 20th-century Indian yogi and guru

        Paramahansa Yogananda

        Paramahansa Yogananda was an Indian Hindu monk, yogi and guru who introduced millions to the teachings of meditation and Kriya Yoga through his organization Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) / Yogoda Satsanga Society (YSS) of India, and who lived his last 32 years in America. A chief disciple of the Bengali yoga guru Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri, he was sent by his lineage to spread the teachings of yoga to the West, to prove the unity between Eastern and Western religions and to preach a balance between Western material growth and Indian spirituality. His long-standing influence in the American yoga movement, and especially the yoga culture of Los Angeles, led him to be considered by yoga experts as the "Father of Yoga in the West."

  103. 1892

    1. Agnes von Kurowsky, American nurse (d. 1984) births

      1. American Nurse and Muse for Ernest Hemingway (1892–1984)

        Agnes von Kurowsky

        Agnes Hannah von Kurowsky Stanfield was an American nurse who inspired the character "Catherine Barkley" in Ernest Hemingway's 1929 novel A Farewell to Arms.

  104. 1888

    1. Henri Herz, Austrian pianist and composer (b. 1803) deaths

      1. 19th-century Austrian musician

        Henri Herz

        Henri Herz was a virtuoso pianist, composer and piano manufacturer, Austrian by birth and French by nationality and domicile. He was a professor in the Paris Conservatoire for more than thirty years. Among his major works are eight piano concertos, a piano sonata, rondos, nocturnes, waltzes, marches, fantasias, and numerous sets of variations.

  105. 1886

    1. Markus Reiner, Israeli physicist and engineer (d. 1976) births

      1. Israeli scientist and engineer

        Markus Reiner

        Markus Reiner was an Israeli scientist and a major figure in rheology.

  106. 1885

    1. Humbert Wolfe, Italian-English poet and civil servant (d. 1940) births

      1. Humbert Wolfe

        Humbert Wolfe CB CBE was an Italian-born British poet, man of letters and civil servant.

    2. Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, Norwegian author and scholar (b. 1812) deaths

      1. 19th-century Norwegian writer

        Peter Christen Asbjørnsen

        Peter Christen Asbjørnsen was a Norwegian writer and scholar. He and Jørgen Engebretsen Moe were collectors of Norwegian folklore. They were so closely united in their lives' work that their folk tale collections are commonly mentioned only as "Asbjørnsen and Moe".

  107. 1883

    1. Charles Tompson, Australian poet and public servant (b. 1806) deaths

      1. Australian public servant and poet (1807–1883)

        Charles Tompson

        Charles Tompson was an Australian public servant and it is claimed he was the first published Australian-born poet.

  108. 1882

    1. Herbert Bayard Swope, American journalist (d. 1958) births

      1. 20th-century American journalist

        Herbert Bayard Swope

        Herbert Bayard Swope Sr. was an American editor, journalist and intimate of the Algonquin Round Table. Swope spent most of his career at the New York World. He was the first and three-time recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Reporting. Swope was called the greatest reporter of his time by Lord Northcliffe of the London Daily Mail.

    2. Edwin Barclay, 18th president of Liberia (d. 1955) births

      1. President of Liberia from 1930 to 1944

        Edwin Barclay

        Edwin James Barclay was a Liberian politician, poet, and musician who served as the 18th president of Liberia from 1930 until 1944. He was a member of the True Whig political party, which dominated the political governance of the country for decades. Under Barclay's leadership, Liberia was an ally of the United States during World War II.

  109. 1881

    1. Pablo Gargallo, Spanish sculptor and painter (d. 1934) births

      1. Spanish painter

        Pablo Gargallo

        Pablo EmilioorPau Emili Gargallo Catalán, known simply as Pau or Pablo Gargallo, was a Spanish sculptor and painter.

  110. 1880

    1. Nikolai Medtner, Russian pianist and composer (d. 1951) births

      1. Russian composer and pianist

        Nikolai Medtner

        Nikolai Karlovich Medtner was a Russian composer and virtuoso pianist. After a period of comparative obscurity in the 25 years immediately after his death, he is now becoming recognized as one of the most significant Russian composers for the piano.

  111. 1879

    1. Hans Eppinger, Austrian physician and academic (d. 1946) births

      1. Austrian physician

        Hans Eppinger

        Hans Eppinger Jr. was an Austrian physician of part-Jewish descent who performed experiments upon concentration camp prisoners.

  112. 1876

    1. Konrad Adenauer, German lawyer and politician, Chancellor of West Germany (d. 1967) births

      1. Chancellor of West Germany from 1949 to 1963

        Konrad Adenauer

        Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer was a German statesman who served as the first chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1949 to 1963. From 1946 to 1966, he was the first leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), a Christian-democratic party he co-founded, which became the dominant force in the country under his leadership.

      2. List of chancellors of Germany

        The chancellor of Germany is the political leader of Germany and the head of the federal government. The office holder is responsible for selecting all other members of the government and chairing cabinet meetings.

  113. 1874

    1. Joseph Erlanger, American physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1965) births

      1. American physiologist (1874-1965)

        Joseph Erlanger

        Joseph Erlanger was an American physiologist who is best known for his contributions to the field of neuroscience. Together with Herbert Spencer Gasser, he identified several varieties of nerve fiber and established the relationship between action potential velocity and fiber diameter. They were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1944 for these achievements.

      2. One of five Nobel Prizes established in 1895 by Alfred Nobel

        Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

        The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's 1895 will, are awarded "to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind". Nobel Prizes are awarded in the fields of Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace.

  114. 1871

    1. Frederick Converse, American composer and academic (d. 1940) births

      1. American composer

        Frederick Converse

        Frederick Shepherd Converse, was an American composer of classical music, whose works include four operas and five symphonies.

  115. 1867

    1. Dimitrios Gounaris, Greek lawyer and politician, 94th Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1922) births

      1. Greek politician

        Dimitrios Gounaris

        Dimitrios Gounaris was a Greek politician who served as the Prime Minister of Greece from 25 February to 10 August 1915 and 26 March 1921 to 3 May 1922. Leader of the People's Party, he was the main right-wing opponent of his contemporary Eleftherios Venizelos.

      2. Head of government of Greece

        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.

  116. 1864

    1. Bob Caruthers, American baseball player and manager (d. 1911) births

      1. American baseball player (1864–1911)

        Bob Caruthers

        Robert Lee Caruthers, nicknamed "Parisian Bob", was an American right-handed pitcher and right fielder in Major League Baseball who played primarily for the St. Louis Browns and Brooklyn Bridegrooms. The star pitcher on five league champions in a ten-year career, he was the top pitcher in the American Association, leading that league in wins and shutouts twice each, winning percentage three times, and earned run average once. His 175 wins in the Association were the second most of any pitcher, and his league ERA of 2.62 was the lowest of any pitcher with at least 2,000 innings in the league; he was also the only pitcher to have 40-win seasons for two different Association teams. His career winning percentage was the highest of any pitcher prior to 1950 with at least 250 decisions; some sources recognize him as having compiled the highest winning percentage of any pitcher with at least 200 decisions in major league history.

  117. 1860

    1. John Neumann, Czech-American bishop and saint (b. 1811) deaths

      1. 19th-century Czech Catholic missionary, bishop, and saint

        John Neumann

        John Nepomucene Neumann was a Catholic priest from Bohemia. He immigrated to the United States in 1836, where he was ordained, joined the Redemptorist order, and became the fourth Bishop of Philadelphia in 1852. In Philadelphia, Neumann founded the first Catholic diocesan school system in the US. Canonized in 1977, he is the only male US citizen to be named a saint.

  118. 1858

    1. Joseph Radetzky von Radetz, Austrian field marshal (b. 1766) deaths

      1. Austrian field marshal and Czech nobleman

        Joseph Radetzky von Radetz

        Johann Josef Wenzel Anton Franz Karl, Graf Radetzky von Radetz was a Czech nobleman and Austrian field marshal. He served as chief of the general staff in the Habsburg monarchy during the later period of the Napoleonic Wars and afterwards began military reforms. A disciplined and fair man, he was so beloved by his troops that he was known as Vater ('Father') Radetzky. He is best known for the victories at the Battles of Custoza and Novara during the First Italian War of Independence.

  119. 1855

    1. King Camp Gillette, American businessman, founded the Gillette Company (d. 1932) births

      1. American entrepreneur (1855–1932)

        King C. Gillette

        King Camp Gillette was an American businessman who invented a bestselling version of the safety razor. Gillette's innovation was the thin, inexpensive, disposable blade of stamped steel. Gillette is often erroneously credited with inventing the so-called razor and blades business model in which razors are sold cheaply to increase the market for blades. However, Gillette Safety Razor Company adopted the business model from its competitors.

      2. American razor and personal care brand

        Gillette

        Gillette is an American brand of safety razors and other personal care products including shaving supplies, owned by the multi-national corporation Procter & Gamble (P&G).

  120. 1846

    1. Rudolf Christoph Eucken, German philosopher and author, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1926) births

      1. 19th/20th-century German philosopher

        Rudolf Christoph Eucken

        Rudolf Christoph Eucken was a German philosopher. He received the 1908 Nobel Prize in Literature "in recognition of his earnest search for truth, his penetrating power of thought, his wide range of vision, and the warmth and strength in presentation with which in his numerous works he has vindicated and developed an idealistic philosophy of life", after he had been nominated by a member of the Swedish Academy.

      2. One of five Nobel Prizes established in 1895 by Alfred Nobel

        Nobel Prize in Literature

        The Nobel Prize in Literature is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in the field of literature, produced the most outstanding work in an idealistic direction". Though individual works are sometimes cited as being particularly noteworthy, the award is based on an author's body of work as a whole. The Swedish Academy decides who, if anyone, will receive the prize. The academy announces the name of the laureate in early October. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895. Literature is traditionally the final award presented at the Nobel Prize ceremony. On some occasions the award has been postponed to the following year, most recently in 2018 as of May 2022.

    2. Mariam Baouardy, Syrian Roman Catholic nun; later canonized (d. 1878) births

      1. 19th-century Melkite Carmelite nun and saint

        Mariam Baouardy

        Mariam Baouardy, was a Discalced Carmelite nun of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church. Born to Palestinian Greek Catholic parents from the town of Hurfiesh in the upper Galilee, later moved to I’billin, she was known for her service to the poor. In addition, she became a Christian mystic who suffered the stigmata, and has been canonized by the Catholic Church.

    3. Alfred Thomas Agate, American painter and illustrator (b. 1812) deaths

      1. American painter and botanical illustrator

        Alfred Thomas Agate

        Alfred Thomas Agate was a noted American artist, painter and miniaturist.

  121. 1845

    1. Robert Smirke, English painter and illustrator (b. 1753) deaths

      1. English painter

        Robert Smirke (painter)

        Robert Smirke was an English painter and illustrator, specialising in small paintings showing subjects taken from literature. He was a member of the Royal Academy.

  122. 1838

    1. Camille Jordan, French mathematician and academic (d. 1922) births

      1. French mathematician (1838 – 1922)

        Camille Jordan

        Marie Ennemond Camille Jordan was a French mathematician, known both for his foundational work in group theory and for his influential Cours d'analyse.

  123. 1834

    1. William John Wills, English surgeon and explorer (d. 1861) births

      1. British explorer (1834–c. 1861)

        William John Wills

        William John Wills was a British surveyor who also trained as a surgeon. Wills achieved fame as the second-in-command of the ill-fated Burke and Wills expedition, which was the first expedition to cross Australia from south to north, finding a route across the continent from the settled areas of Victoria to the Gulf of Carpentaria.

  124. 1823

    1. George Johnston, Scottish-Australian colonel and politician, Lieutenant Governor of New South Wales (b. 1764) deaths

      1. British Marines officer and colonial administrator (1764–1823)

        George Johnston (British Marines officer)

        Lieutenant-Colonel George Johnston was a British military officer who served as Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales, Australia after leading the rebellion later known as the Rum Rebellion. After serving as a young marine officer in the American Revolutionary War, Johnston served in the East Indies, fighting against the French, before volunteering to accompany the First Fleet to New South Wales. After serving as adjutant to Governor Arthur Phillip, Johnston served in the New South Wales Corps and he was a key figure in putting down the Castle Hill convict rebellion in 1804. He led his troops in deposing Governor Bligh in the Rum Rebellion in 1808; which led to his court martial and subsequent cashiering from military service. In his later life, he returned to New South Wales as a private citizen, raising a family in the colony and establishing a successful farm around Annandale in Sydney.

      2. Wikimedia list article

        Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales

        The Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales is a government position in the State of New South Wales, Australia, acting as a deputy to the Governor of New South Wales. The office was first created in October 1786, before the arrival of the First Fleet, to act as a deputy to the first governor, Arthur Phillip. At that time the Lieutenant-Governor, or its equivalent of "Administrator of the Government", was filled by military officers and was a position only created when needed or in times of long absences by the Governor. Since 1872 this office has been held concurrently by the Chief Justice of New South Wales but the position may be retained by the Chief Justice after their retirement from the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

  125. 1808

    1. Anton Füster, Austrian priest and activist (d. 1881) births

      1. Austrian Roman Catholic priest (1808–1881)

        Anton Füster

        Anton Füster, also spelled as Fister was an Austrian Roman Catholic priest, theologian, pedagogue, radical political activist and author of Slovene origin. He was one of the leaders of the Viennese March Revolution of 1848.

  126. 1796

    1. Samuel Huntington, American jurist and politician, 18th Governor of Connecticut (b. 1731) deaths

      1. American politician

        Samuel Huntington (Connecticut politician)

        Samuel Huntington was a Founding Father of the United States and a lawyer, jurist, statesman, and Patriot in the American Revolution from Connecticut. As a delegate to the Continental Congress, he signed the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation. He also served as President of the Continental Congress from 1779 to 1781, President of the United States in Congress Assembled in 1781, chief justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court from 1784 to 1785, and the 18th Governor of Connecticut from 1786 until his death. He was the first United States governor to have died while in office.

      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.

  127. 1793

    1. Harvey Putnam, American lawyer and politician (d. 1855) births

      1. American politician (1793–1855)

        Harvey Putnam

        Harvey Putnam was an American lawyer and politician. He was a Whig member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and served in the New York Senate.

  128. 1781

    1. Gaspar Flores de Abrego, three terms mayor of San Antonio, in Spanish Texas (d. 1836) births

      1. American politician

        Gaspar Flores de Abrego

        José Gaspar Flores de Abrego (1781–1836) was a Tejano who served three terms as the mayor of San Antonio, Texas. He was also a land commissioner and associate of Austin's early colonists. Gaspar Flores was a member of a group opposing the dictatorial actions of the President of Mexico, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, and is known to have attended their first meeting in Bexar as well as the first revolutionary convention ever held in the city on November 15, 1834. He was one of the 35 men who signed the anti-Centrist document which was presented at the convention.

  129. 1779

    1. Stephen Decatur, American commander (d. 1820) births

      1. United States naval officer and commodore (1779–1820)

        Stephen Decatur

        Stephen Decatur Jr. was an American naval officer and commodore. He was born on the eastern shore of Maryland in Worcester County. His father, Stephen Decatur Sr., was a commodore in the United States Navy who served during the American Revolution; he brought the younger Stephen into the world of ships and sailing early on. Shortly after attending college, Decatur followed in his father's footsteps and joined the U.S. Navy at the age of nineteen as a midshipman.

    2. Zebulon Pike, American general and explorer (d. 1813) births

      1. American brigadier general and explorer

        Zebulon Pike

        Zebulon Montgomery Pike was an American brigadier general and explorer for whom Pikes Peak in Colorado was named. As a U.S. Army officer he led two expeditions under authority of President Thomas Jefferson through the Louisiana Purchase territory, first in 1805–1806 to reconnoiter the upper northern reaches of the Mississippi River, and then in 1806–1807 to explore the southwest to the fringes of the northern Spanish-colonial settlements of New Mexico and Texas. Pike's expeditions coincided with other Jeffersonian expeditions, including the Lewis and Clark Expedition and the Red River Expedition in 1806.

  130. 1771

    1. John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford, English politician, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (b. 1710) deaths

      1. 18th-century British statesman

        John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford

        John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford, was an 18th-century British statesman. Bedford was a leading Whig political figure around the time of the Seven Years' War, and negotiated the Treaty of Paris which ended the conflict in 1763. He was also an early promoter of cricket and a patron of the arts who commissioned many works from artists, most notably Canaletto.

      2. Former British political position

        Secretary of State for the Southern Department

        The Secretary of State for the Southern Department was a position in the cabinet of the government of the Kingdom of Great Britain up to 1782, when the Southern Department became the Home Office.

  131. 1767

    1. Jean-Baptiste Say, French economist and academic (d. 1832) births

      1. French economist and businessman (1767–1832)

        Jean-Baptiste Say

        Jean-Baptiste Say was a liberal French economist and businessman who argued in favor of competition, free trade and lifting restraints on business. He is best known for Say's law—also known as the law of markets—which he popularized. Scholars disagree on the surprisingly subtle question of whether it was Say who first stated what is now called Say's law. Moreover, he was one of the first economists to study entrepreneurship and conceptualized entrepreneurs as organizers and leaders of the economy.

  132. 1762

    1. Empress Elizabeth of Russia (b. 1709) deaths

      1. Empress regnant of Russia from 1741 to 1762

        Elizabeth of Russia

        Elizabeth Petrovna, also known as Yelisaveta or Elizaveta, reigned as Empress of Russia from 1741 until her death in 1762. She remains one of the most popular Russian monarchs because of her decision not to execute a single person during her reign, her numerous construction projects, and her strong opposition to Prussian policies.

  133. 1740

    1. Antonio Lotti, Italian composer and educator (b. 1667) deaths

      1. Italian Baroque composer

        Antonio Lotti

        Antonio Lotti was an Italian composer of the Baroque era.

  134. 1735

    1. Claude Martin, French-English general and explorer (d. 1800) births

      1. French soldier (1735–1800)

        Claude Martin

        Major-General Claude Martin was a French army officer who served in the French, and later British East India companies in colonial India. Martin rose to the rank of major-general in the British East India Company's Bengal Army. Martin was born in Lyon, France, into a humble background, and was a self-made man who left a substantial lasting legacy in the form of his writings, buildings and the educational institutions he founded posthumously. There are now ten schools named after him, two in Lucknow, two in Calcutta and six in Lyon. The small village of Martin Purwa in India was also named after him.

  135. 1713

    1. Jean Chardin, French explorer and author (b. 1643) deaths

      1. French jeweller, traveller and author (1643-1713)

        Jean Chardin

        Jean Chardin, born Jean-Baptiste Chardin, and also known as Sir John Chardin, was a French jeweller and traveller whose ten-volume book The Travels of Sir John Chardin is regarded as one of the finest works of early Western scholarship on Safavid Iran and the Near East in general.

  136. 1640

    1. Paolo Lorenzani, Italian composer (d. 1713) births

      1. Italian composer

        Paolo Lorenzani

        Paolo Francesco Lorenzani was an Italian composer of the Baroque Era. While living in France, he helped promote appreciation for the Italian style of music.

  137. 1620

    1. Miklós Zrínyi, Croatian military commander (d. 1664) births

      1. Croatian-Hungarian military commander

        Miklós Zrínyi

        Nikola VII Zrinski was a Croatian and Hungarian military leader, statesman and poet. He was a member of the House of Zrinski, a Croatian-Hungarian noble family. He is the author of the first epic poem, The Peril of Sziget, in Hungarian literature.

  138. 1592

    1. Shah Jahan, Mughal emperor (d. 1666) births

      1. 5th Mughal Emperor r. (1628–1658)

        Shah Jahan

        Shihab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram, better known by his regnal name Shah Jahan I, was the fifth emperor of the Mughal Empire, reigning from January 1628 until July 1658. Under his emperorship, the Mughals reached the peak of their architectural achievements and cultural glory.

  139. 1589

    1. Catherine de' Medici, queen of Henry II of France (b. 1519) deaths

      1. 16th-century Italian noblewoman and queen consort of France

        Catherine de' Medici

        Catherine de' Medici was an Italian noblewoman born into the Medici family. She was Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to King Henry II and the mother of French Kings Francis II, Charles IX, and Henry III. The years during which her sons reigned have been called "the age of Catherine de' Medici" since she had extensive, if at times varying, influence in the political life of France.

      2. 16th-century King of France

        Henry II of France

        Henry II was King of France from 31 March 1547 until his death in 1559. The second son of Francis I and Duchess Claude of Brittany, he became Dauphin of France upon the death of his elder brother Francis in 1536.

  140. 1587

    1. Xu Xiake, Chinese geographer and explorer (d. 1641) births

      1. Xu Xiake

        Xu Xiake, born Xu Hongzu (徐弘祖), courtesy name Zhenzhi (振之), was a Chinese travel writer and geographer of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), known best for his famous geographical treatise, and noted for his bravery and humility. He traveled throughout China for more than 30 years, documenting his travels extensively. The records of his travels were compiled posthumously in The Travel Diaries Xu Xiake, and his work translated by Ding Wenjiang. Xu's writing falls under the old Chinese literary category of 'travel record literature', which used narrative and prose styles of writing to portray one's travel experiences.

  141. 1580

    1. Anna Sibylle of Hanau-Lichtenberg, German noblewoman (b. 1542) deaths

      1. Anna Sibylle of Hanau-Lichtenberg

        Countess Anna Sibylle of Hanau-Lichtenberg was a German noblewoman. She was born in Lichtenberg, the eldest surviving daughter of Count Philipp IV and his wife, Countess Eleonore of Fürstenberg.

  142. 1578

    1. Giulio Clovio, Dalmatian painter (b. 1498) deaths

      1. Croatian painter

        Giulio Clovio

        Giorgio Giulio Clovio or Juraj Julije Klović was an illuminator, miniaturist, and painter born in the Kingdom of Croatia, who was mostly active in Renaissance Italy. He is considered the greatest illuminator of the Italian High Renaissance, and arguably the last very notable artist in the long tradition of the illuminated manuscript, before some modern revivals.

  143. 1548

    1. Francisco Suárez, Spanish priest, philosopher, and theologian (d. 1617) births

      1. Spanish priest, philosopher and theologian

        Francisco Suárez

        Francisco Suárez, was a Spanish Jesuit priest, philosopher and theologian, one of the leading figures of the School of Salamanca movement, and generally regarded among the greatest scholastics after Thomas Aquinas. His work is considered a turning point in the history of second scholasticism, marking the transition from its Renaissance to its Baroque phases. According to Christopher Shields and Daniel Schwartz, "figures as distinct from one another in place, time, and philosophical orientation as Leibniz, Grotius, Pufendorf, Schopenhauer and Heidegger, all found reason to cite him as a source of inspiration and influence."

  144. 1530

    1. Gaspar de Bono, monk of the Order of the Minims (d. 1571) births

      1. Gaspar de Bono

        Gaspar de Bono i Manzón, O.M., was a Spanish friar of the Order of Minims and Catholic priest. He is venerated as blessed by the Catholic Church.

  145. 1527

    1. Felix Manz, Swiss martyr (b. 1498) deaths

      1. Co-founder of the Swiss Brethren movement (1498–1527)

        Felix Manz

        Felix Manz was an Anabaptist, a co-founder of the original Swiss Brethren congregation in Zürich, Switzerland, and the first martyr of the Radical Reformation.

  146. 1524

    1. Marko Marulić, Croatian poet (b. 1450) deaths

      1. Croatian national poet and European humanist

        Marko Marulić

        Marko Marulić Splićanin, in Latin Marcus Marulus Spalatensis, was a Croatian poet, lawyer, judge, and Renaissance humanist who coined the term "psychology". He is the national poet of Croatia. According to George J. Gutsche, Marulic's epic poem Judita, "is the first long poem in Croatian", and, "gives Marulić a position in his own literature comparable to Dante in Italian literature." Furthermore, Marulić's Latin poetry is also of such high quality that his contemporaries dubbed him, "The Christian Virgil."

  147. 1477

    1. Charles, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1433) deaths

      1. Duke of Burgundy from 1467 to 1477

        Charles the Bold

        Charles I, nicknamed the Bold, was Duke of Burgundy from 1467 to 1477.

  148. 1430

    1. Philippa of England, Queen of Denmark, Norway and Sweden (b. 1394) deaths

      1. 15th-century English princess and queen of Norway, Sweden and Denmark

        Philippa of England

        Philippa of England, also known as Philippa of Lancaster, was Queen of Denmark, Norway and Sweden from 1406 to 1430 by marriage to King Eric of the Kalmar Union. She was the daughter of King Henry IV of England by his first spouse Mary de Bohun and the younger sister of King Henry V. Queen Philippa participated significantly in state affairs during the reign of her spouse, and served as regent of Denmark from 1423 to 1425.

  149. 1400

    1. John Montacute, 3rd Earl of Salisbury, English politician (b. 1350) deaths

      1. John Montagu, 3rd Earl of Salisbury

        John Montagu, 3rd Earl of Salisbury and 5th and 2nd Baron Montagu, KG was an English nobleman, one of the few who remained loyal to Richard II after Henry IV became king.

  150. 1382

    1. Philippa Plantagenet, Countess of Ulster (b. 1355) deaths

      1. 5th Countess of Ulster

        Philippa, 5th Countess of Ulster

        Philippa of Clarence was a medieval English princess and the suo jure Countess of Ulster.

  151. 1209

    1. Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall, English prince, nominal King of Germany (d. 1272) births

      1. 13th-century English King of the Romans and Earl of Cornwall

        Richard of Cornwall

        Richard was an English prince who was King of the Romans from 1257 until his death in 1272. He was the second son of John, King of England, and Isabella, Countess of Angoulême. Richard was nominal Count of Poitou from 1225 to 1243, and he also held the title Earl of Cornwall from 1225. He was one of the wealthiest men in Europe and joined the Barons' Crusade, where he achieved success as a negotiator for the release of prisoners and assisted with the building of the citadel in Ascalon.

  152. 1173

    1. Bolesław IV the Curly, High Duke of Poland (b. 1120) deaths

      1. High Duke of Poland

        Bolesław IV the Curly

        Bolesław IV the Curly, a member of the Piast dynasty, was Duke of Masovia from 1138 and High Duke of Poland from 1146 until his death.

      2. List of Polish monarchs

        Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes or by kings. During the latter period, a tradition of free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electable position in Europe.

  153. 1066

    1. Edward the Confessor, English king (b. 1004) deaths

      1. Anglo-Saxon King of England from 1042 to 1066

        Edward the Confessor

        Edward the Confessor was one of the last Anglo-Saxon English kings. Usually considered the last king of the House of Wessex, he ruled from 1042 to 1066.

  154. 941

    1. Zhang Yanhan, Chinese chancellor (b. 884) deaths

      1. Zhang Yanhan

        Zhang Yanhan (張延翰), courtesy name Dehua (德華), was an official of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period states Wu and Wu's successor state Southern Tang, serving as a chancellor late in Wu and early in Southern Tang.

  155. 842

    1. Al-Mu'tasim, Abbasid caliph (b. 796) deaths

      1. 8th Abbasid caliph (r. 833–842)

        Al-Mu'tasim

        Abū Isḥāq Muḥammad ibn Hārūn al-Rashīd, better known by his regnal name al-Muʿtaṣim biʾllāh, was the eighth Abbasid caliph, ruling from 833 until his death in 842. A younger son of Caliph Harun al-Rashid, he rose to prominence through his formation of a private army composed predominantly of Turkic slave-soldiers. This proved useful to his half-brother, Caliph al-Ma'mun, who employed al-Mu'tasim and his Turkish guard to counterbalance other powerful interest groups in the state, as well as employing them in campaigns against rebels and the Byzantine Empire. When al-Ma'mun died unexpectedly on campaign in August 833, al-Mu'tasim was thus well placed to succeed him, overriding the claims of al-Ma'mun's son al-Abbas.

Holidays

  1. Christian Feast day: Charles of Mount Argus

    1. Charles of Mount Argus

      Charles of Mount Argus, was a Dutch Passionist priest who served in 19th-century Ireland. He gained a reputation for his compassion for the sick and those in need of guidance. His reputation for healings and miracles was so great at the time that a reference is made to him in the famous novel Ulysses by James Joyce. He has been canonized by the Catholic Church. His feast day is 5 January

  2. Christian Feast day: John Neumann (Catholic Church)

    1. 19th-century Czech Catholic missionary, bishop, and saint

      John Neumann

      John Nepomucene Neumann was a Catholic priest from Bohemia. He immigrated to the United States in 1836, where he was ordained, joined the Redemptorist order, and became the fourth Bishop of Philadelphia in 1852. In Philadelphia, Neumann founded the first Catholic diocesan school system in the US. Canonized in 1977, he is the only male US citizen to be named a saint.

    2. Largest Christian church, led by the pope

      Catholic Church

      The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2019. As the world's oldest and largest continuously functioning international institution, it has played a prominent role in the history and development of Western civilization. The church consists of 24 sui iuris churches, including the Latin Church and 23 Eastern Catholic Churches, which comprise almost 3,500 dioceses and eparchies located around the world. The pope, who is the bishop of Rome, is the chief pastor of the church. The bishopric of Rome, known as the Holy See, is the central governing authority of the church. The administrative body of the Holy See, the Roman Curia, has its principal offices in Vatican City, a small enclave of the Italian city of Rome, of which the pope is head of state.

  3. Christian Feast day: Pope Telesphorus

    1. Head of the Catholic Church from c. 126 to c. 137

      Pope Telesphorus

      Pope Telesphorus was the bishop of Rome from c. 126 to his death c. 137, during the reigns of Roman Emperors Hadrian and Antoninus Pius. He was of Greek ancestry and born in Terranova da Sibari, Calabria, Italy.

  4. Christian Feast day: Simeon Stylites (Latin Church)

    1. Syrian Christian ascetic (c. 390 – 459)

      Simeon Stylites

      Simeon Stylites or Symeon the Stylite was a Syrian Christian ascetic, who achieved notability by living 37 years on a small platform on top of a pillar near Aleppo. Several other stylites later followed his model. Simeon is venerated as a saint by the Oriental Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, and Roman Catholic Churches. He is known formally as Simeon Stylites the Elder to distinguish him from Simeon Stylites the Younger, Simeon Stylites III, and Symeon Stylites of Lesbos.

    2. Largest autonomous particular Catholic church

      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.

  5. Christian Feast day: January 5 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

    1. January 5 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

      January 4 - Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar - January 6

  6. Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival (Harbin, China)

    1. Annual winter festival in Harbin, China

      Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival

      The Harbin International Ice and Snow festival is an annual winter festival that takes place with a theme in Harbin, Heilongjiang, China, and now is the largest ice and snow festival in the world. At first participants in the festival were mainly Chinese, however it has since become an international festival and competition, with the festival attracting 18 million visitors and generating 28.7 billion yuan of revenue. The festival includes the world's biggest ice sculptures.

    2. Prefecture-level and sub-provincial city in Heilongjiang province, China

      Harbin

      Harbin is a sub-provincial city and the provincial capital and the largest city of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China, as well as the second largest city by urban population after Shenyang and largest city by metropolitan population in Northeast China. Harbin has direct jurisdiction over nine metropolitan districts, two county-level cities and seven counties, and is the eighth most populous Chinese city according to the 2020 census. The built-up area of Harbin had 5,841,929 inhabitants, while the total metropolitan population was up to 10,009,854, making it one of the 50 largest urban areas in the world.

    3. Country in East Asia

      China

      China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and borders fourteen countries by land, the most of any country in the world, tied with Russia. China also has a narrow maritime boundary with the disputed Taiwan. Covering an area of approximately 9.6 million square kilometers (3,700,000 sq mi), it is the world's third largest country by total land area. The country consists of 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four municipalities, and two Special Administrative Regions. The national capital is Beijing, and the most populous city and financial center is Shanghai.

  7. Joma Shinji (Japan)

    1. List of festivals and events in Kamakura

      The city of Kamakura in Kanagawa Prefecture has many festivals and other events in all of the seasons, usually based on its rich historical heritage. They are often sponsored by private businesses and, unlike those in Kyoto, they are relatively small-scale events attended mostly by locals and a few tourists. January in particular has many because it's the first month of the year, so authorities, fishermen, businesses and artisans organize events to pray for their own health and safety, and for a good and prosperous working year. Kamakura's numerous temples and shrines, first among them city symbols Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū and Kenchō-ji, organize many events too, bringing the total to over a hundred.

    2. Island country in East Asia

      Japan

      Japan is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north toward the East China Sea, Philippine Sea, and Taiwan in the south. Japan is a part of the Ring of Fire, and spans an archipelago of 6852 islands covering 377,975 square kilometers (145,937 sq mi); the five main islands are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu, and Okinawa. Tokyo is the nation's capital and largest city, followed by Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Kobe, and Kyoto.

  8. National Bird Day (United States)

    1. Bird Day

      Bird Day is the name of several holidays celebrating birds. Various countries observe such a holiday on various dates.

  9. The Twelfth day of Christmas and the Twelfth Night of Christmas. (Western Christianity)

    1. Period between 25 December and 5 January

      Twelve Days of Christmas

      The Twelve Days of Christmas, also known as Twelvetide, is a festive Christian season celebrating the Nativity of Jesus. In some Western ecclesiastical traditions, "Christmas Day" is considered the "First Day of Christmas" and the Twelve Days are 25 December to 5 January, inclusive, with 6 January being a "thirteenth day" in some traditions and languages. However, 6 January is sometimes considered Twelfth Day/Twelfth Night with the Twelve Days "of" Christmas actually after Christmas Day from 26 December to 6 January. For many Christian denominations—for example, the Anglican Communion and Lutheran Church—the Twelve Days are identical to Christmastide, but for others, e.g. the Roman Catholic Church, Christmastide lasts longer than the Twelve Days of Christmas.

    2. Christian holiday

      Twelfth Night (holiday)

      Twelfth Night is a Christian festival on the last night of the Twelve Days of Christmas, marking the coming of the Epiphany. Different traditions mark the date of Twelfth Night as either 5 January or 6 January, depending on whether the counting begins on Christmas Day or 26 December.

    3. Holiday originating in Christianity, usually December 25

      Christmas

      Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, it is preceded by the season of Advent or the Nativity Fast and initiates the season of Christmastide, which historically in the West lasts twelve days and culminates on Twelfth Night. Christmas Day is a public holiday in many countries, is celebrated religiously by a majority of Christians, as well as culturally by many non-Christians, and forms an integral part of the holiday season organized around it.

    4. Religious category of the Latin Church, Protestantism, and their derivatives

      Western Christianity

      Western Christianity is one of two sub-divisions of Christianity. Western Christianity is composed of the Latin Church and Western Protestantism, together with their offshoots such as the Old Catholic Church, Independent Catholicism and Restorationism.