On This Day /

Important events in history
on October 2 nd

Events

  1. 2019

    1. A privately-owned Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress conducting a living history exhibition flight crashes shortly after takeoff from Windsor Locks, Connecticut, killing seven.

      1. American WWII-era four-engine heavy bomber

        Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress

        The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater of Operations and dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during World War II. It is the third-most produced bomber of all time, behind the four-engined Consolidated B-24 Liberator and the multirole, twin-engined Junkers Ju 88. It was also employed as a transport, antisubmarine aircraft, drone controller, and search-and-rescue aircraft.

      2. Historical reenactment

        Living history

        Living history is an activity that incorporates historical tools, activities and dress into an interactive presentation that seeks to give observers and participants a sense of stepping back in time. Although it does not necessarily seek to reenact a specific event in history, living history is similar to, and sometimes incorporates, historical reenactment. Living history is an educational medium used by living history museums, historic sites, heritage interpreters, schools and historical reenactment groups to educate the public or their own members in particular areas of history, such as clothing styles, pastimes and handicrafts, or to simply convey a sense of the everyday life of a certain period in history.

      3. Vintage World War II heavy bomber crash during tourist flight

        2019 Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress crash

        On October 2, 2019, a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress owned by the Collings Foundation crashed at Bradley International Airport, Windsor Locks, Connecticut, United States. Seven of the thirteen people on board were killed, and the other six, as well as one person on the ground, were injured. The aircraft was destroyed by fire, with only the tail and a portion of one wing remaining.

      4. Town in Connecticut, United States

        Windsor Locks, Connecticut

        Windsor Locks is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 12,613. It is the site of Bradley International Airport, which serves the Greater Hartford-Springfield region and occupies approximately 1/3 of the town. Windsor Locks is also the site of the New England Air Museum.

  2. 2018

    1. The Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi is assassinated in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.

      1. American daily newspaper

        The Washington Post

        The Washington Post is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large national audience. Daily broadsheet editions are printed for D.C., Maryland, and Virginia.

      2. Assassinated Saudi journalist and dissident (1958–2018)

        Jamal Khashoggi

        Jamal Ahmad Khashoggi was a Saudi journalist, dissident, author, columnist for Middle East Eye and The Washington Post, and a general manager and editor-in-chief of Al-Arab News Channel who was assassinated at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 2 October 2018 by agents of the Saudi government, allegedly at the behest of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. He also served as editor for the Saudi Arabian newspaper Al Watan, turning it into a platform for Saudi progressives. Khashoggi fled Saudi Arabia in September 2017 and went into self-imposed exile. He said that the Saudi government had "banned him from Twitter", and he later wrote newspaper articles critical of the Saudi government. Khashoggi had been sharply critical of the Saudi rulers, King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. He also opposed the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen.

      3. 2018 murder in Istanbul, Turkey

        Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi

        On 2 October 2018, Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident journalist was assassinated by agents of the Saudi government at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. Khashoggi was ambushed and strangled by a 15-member squad of Saudi assassins. His body was dismembered and disposed of. Khashoggi's final moments were captured in audio recordings, transcripts of which were subsequently made public.

  3. 2016

    1. Ethiopian protests break out during a festival in the Oromia region, killing dozens of people.

      1. Civil uprising in Ethiopia

        2014–2016 Oromo protests

        The 2014–2016 Oromo protests were a series of protests and resistance first sparked on 25 April 2014. The initial actions were taken in opposition to the Addis Ababa Master Plan, and resumed on 12 November 2015 by university students and farmers in the town of Ginchi, located 80 km southwest of Addis Ababa, encircled by the Oromia region. The plan was to expand the capital into the Oromia special zone, leading to fears that native Oromo farmers would lose their land and be displaced. The plan was later dropped but protests continued, highlighting issues such as marginalization and human rights. Mulatu Gemechu, Deputy Chairman of the opposition Oromo Federalist Congress, expressed to Reuters: "so far, we have compiled a list of 33 protesters killed by armed security forces that included police and soldiers but I am very sure the list will grow". Protesters demanded social and political reforms, including an end to human rights abuses like government killings of civilians, mass arrests, government land seizures, and political marginalization of opposition groups. The government responded by restricting access to the internet and attacking as well as arresting protesters.

  4. 2007

    1. South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun walked across the Military Demarcation Line on his way to the second inter-Korean summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.

      1. President of South Korea from 2003 to 2008

        Roh Moo-hyun

        Roh Moo-hyun was a South Korean politician and lawyer who served as the ninth president of South Korea between 2003 and 2008.

      2. Land border between North and South Korea

        Military Demarcation Line

        The Military Demarcation Line (MDL), sometimes referred to as the Armistice Line, is the land border or demarcation line between North Korea and South Korea. On either side of the line is the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The MDL and DMZ were established by the Armistice.

      3. Korean summit was held in 2007 for North and South Korea

        2007 inter-Korean summit

        The 2007 Inter-Korean summit meeting was held between October 2 and October 4, 2007, in Pyongyang, between President Roh Moo-hyun of the Republic of Korea and Kim Jong-il of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). It is the second Inter-Korean summit following the 2000 inter-Korean summit. It is also called the 10.4 Inter-Korean summit. As a result of the talks, both sides announced a declaration for the development of inter-Korean relations and peace and prosperity.

      4. Leader of North Korea from 1994 to 2011

        Kim Jong-il

        Kim Jong-il was a North Korean politician who was the second supreme leader of North Korea from 1994 to 2011. He led North Korea from the 1994 death of his father Kim Il-sung, the first Supreme Leader, until his own death in 2011, when he was succeeded by his son, Kim Jong-un.

    2. President Roh Moo-hyun of South Korea goes to North Korea for an Inter-Korean summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.

      1. Series of meetings between the leaders of North and South Korea

        Inter-Korean summits

        Inter-Korean summits are meetings between the leaders of North and South Korea. To date, there have been five such meetings so far, three of them being in Pyongyang, with another two in Panmunjom. The importance of these summits lies in the lack of formal communication between North and South Korea, which makes discussing political and economic issues difficult. The summits' agendas have included topics such as the ending of the 1950-53 war, the massive deployment of troops at the DMZ, the development of nuclear weapons by North Korea, and human rights issues.

  5. 2006

    1. A gunman killed five Amish girls before committing suicide in a one-room schoolhouse in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania.

      1. 2006 mass shooting in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, US

        West Nickel Mines School shooting

        On October 2, 2006, a shooting occurred at the West Nickel Mines School, an Amish one-room schoolhouse in the Old Order Amish community of Nickel Mines, a village in Bart Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Gunman Charles Carl Roberts IV took hostages and shot ten girls, killing five, before committing suicide in the schoolhouse. The emphasis on forgiveness and reconciliation in the Amish community's response was widely discussed by the national media. The West Nickel Mines School was later demolished, and a new one-room schoolhouse, the New Hope School, was built at another location.

      2. Group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships

        Amish

        The Amish, formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite churches, another Anabaptist denomination. The Amish are known for simple living, plain dress, Christian pacifism, and slowness to adopt many conveniences of modern technology, with a view neither to interrupt family time, nor replace face-to-face conversations whenever possible, and a view to maintain self-sufficiency. The Amish value rural life, manual labor, humility and Gelassenheit.

      3. Small rural school in which students of different ages are mixed in a single classroom

        One-room school

        One-room schools, or schoolhouses, were commonplace throughout rural portions of various countries, including Prussia, Norway, Sweden, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Spain. In most rural and small town schools, all of the students met in a single room. There, a single teacher taught academic basics to several grade levels of elementary-age children. While in many areas one-room schools are no longer used, some remain in developing nations and rural or remote areas.

      4. Hamlet in Pennsylvania, United States

        Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania

        Nickel Mines is a hamlet in Bart Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, USA. The area now has a sizable Amish community. The zip code is 17562 and the area code is 717.

    2. Five Amish girls are murdered in a shooting at a school in Pennsylvania, United States.

      1. 2006 mass shooting in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, US

        West Nickel Mines School shooting

        On October 2, 2006, a shooting occurred at the West Nickel Mines School, an Amish one-room schoolhouse in the Old Order Amish community of Nickel Mines, a village in Bart Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Gunman Charles Carl Roberts IV took hostages and shot ten girls, killing five, before committing suicide in the schoolhouse. The emphasis on forgiveness and reconciliation in the Amish community's response was widely discussed by the national media. The West Nickel Mines School was later demolished, and a new one-room schoolhouse, the New Hope School, was built at another location.

  6. 2004

    1. The first parkrun, then known as the Bushy Park Time Trial, takes place in Bushy Park, London, UK.

      1. 5K runs managed by Parkrun

        Parkrun

        Parkrun is a collection of 5-kilometre (3.1 mi) events for walkers, runners and volunteers that take place every Saturday morning at more than 2,000 locations in 23 countries across six continents. Junior Parkrun is a spin-off event that provides a 2 kilometres event for children aged 4–14 on a Sunday morning. Parkrun events are free to enter and are delivered by volunteers, supported by a small group of staff at its headquarters.

      2. Public park in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames

        Bushy Park

        Bushy Park in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames is the second largest of London's Royal Parks, at 445 hectares in area, after Richmond Park. The park, most of which is open to the public, is immediately north of Hampton Court Palace and Hampton Court Park and is a few minutes' walk from the west side of Kingston Bridge. It is surrounded by Teddington, Hampton, Hampton Hill and Hampton Wick and is mainly within the post towns of Hampton and Teddington, those of East Molesey and Kingston upon Thames taking the remainder.

      3. 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.

  7. 2002

    1. The Beltway sniper attacks begin in Washington, D.C., extending over three weeks and killing 10 people.

      1. 2002 series of coordinated shootings in the Washington, D.C. area

        D.C. sniper attacks

        The D.C. sniper attacks were a series of coordinated shootings that occurred during three weeks in October 2002 throughout the Washington metropolitan area, consisting of the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia. Ten people were killed, and three others were critically wounded.

  8. 1996

    1. A maintenance worker's failure to remove tape covering the aircraft's static ports caused Aeroperú Flight 603 to crash into the ocean near Lima, Peru, killing all 70 people on board.

      1. System of pressure-sensitive instruments used to determine an aircraft's speed, altitude, etc.

        Pitot-static system

        A pitot-static system is a system of pressure-sensitive instruments that is most often used in aviation to determine an aircraft's airspeed, Mach number, altitude, and altitude trend. A pitot-static system generally consists of a pitot tube, a static port, and the pitot-static instruments. Other instruments that might be connected are air data computers, flight data recorders, altitude encoders, cabin pressurization controllers, and various airspeed switches. Errors in pitot-static system readings can be extremely dangerous as the information obtained from the pitot static system, such as altitude, is potentially safety-critical. Several commercial airline disasters have been traced to a failure of the pitot-static system.

      2. 1996 aviation accident

        Aeroperú Flight 603

        Aeroperú Flight 603 was a scheduled passenger flight from Miami International Airport in Miami, Florida to Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport in Santiago, Chile, with stopovers in Quito, Ecuador and Lima, Peru. On October 2, 1996, the Boeing 757-23A aircraft flying the final leg of the flight crashed, killing all 70 people aboard.

    2. Aeroperú Flight 603 crashes into the ocean near Peru, killing all 70 people on board.

      1. 1996 aviation accident

        Aeroperú Flight 603

        Aeroperú Flight 603 was a scheduled passenger flight from Miami International Airport in Miami, Florida to Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport in Santiago, Chile, with stopovers in Quito, Ecuador and Lima, Peru. On October 2, 1996, the Boeing 757-23A aircraft flying the final leg of the flight crashed, killing all 70 people aboard.

    3. The Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments are signed by U.S. President Bill Clinton.

      1. 1967 US statute regarding access to information held by the US government

        Freedom of Information Act (United States)

        The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552, is the U.S. federal freedom of information law that requires the full or partial disclosure of previously unreleased or uncirculated information and documents controlled by the United States government, state, or other public authority upon request. The act defines agency records subject to disclosure, outlines mandatory disclosure procedures, and includes nine exemptions that define categories of information not subject to disclosure. The act was intended to make U.S. government agencies' functions more transparent so that the American public could more easily identify problems in government functioning and put pressure on Congress, agency officials, and the president to address them. The FOIA has been changed repeatedly by both the legislative and executive branches.

  9. 1992

    1. Military police storm the Carandiru Penitentiary in São Paulo, Brazil during a prison riot. The resulting massacre leaves 111 prisoners dead.

      1. 1992 military police killing of prisoners in Brazil

        Carandiru massacre

        The Carandiru massacre occurred on Friday, 2 October 1992, in Carandiru Penitentiary in São Paulo, Brazil, when military police stormed the penitentiary following a prison riot. The massacre, which left 111 prisoners dead, is considered by many people to be a major human rights violation.

  10. 1990

    1. A hijacked airliner collided with two other planes while attempting to land at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in China, resulting in 128 deaths.

      1. Incident involving unlawful seizure of an aircraft in operation

        Aircraft hijacking

        Aircraft hijacking is the unlawful seizure of an aircraft by an individual or a group. Dating from the earliest of hijackings, most cases involve the pilot being forced to fly according to the hijacker's demands. There have also been incidents where the hijackers have overpowered the flight crew, made unauthorized entry into cockpit and flown them into buildings – most notably in the September 11 attacks – and in several cases, planes have been hijacked by the official pilot or co-pilot; e.g., Germanwings Flight 9525.

      2. 1990 passenger aircraft hijacking and crash in Guangzhou, China

        1990 Guangzhou Baiyun airport collisions

        On 2 October 1990, a hijacked Boeing 737, operating Xiamen Airlines Flight 8301, collided with two other aircraft on the runways of the old Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, while attempting to land. The hijacked aircraft struck parked China Southwest Airlines Flight 4305 first, inflicting only minor damage, but then collided with China Southern Airlines Flight 3523, a Boeing 757 waiting to take off, flipping onto its back. A total of 128 people were killed, including seven of nine crew members and 75 of 93 passengers on Flight 8301 and 46 of 110 passengers on Flight 3523.

      3. Airport in Guangdong, China

        Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport

        Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport is the major airport of Guangzhou, Guangdong province, in Southern China. Both airport codes were inherited from the former Baiyun Airport, and the IATA code is derived from Guangzhou's historical romanization Canton. Baiyun Airport serves as a hub for China Southern Airlines, FedEx Express, 9 Air, Hainan Airlines and Shenzhen Airlines. In 2020, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on aviation, it was the world's busiest airport by passenger traffic, handling 43.8 million passengers.

    2. Xiamen Airlines Flight 8301 is hijacked and lands at Guangzhou, where it crashes into two other airliners on the ground, killing 132.

      1. 1990 passenger aircraft hijacking and crash in Guangzhou, China

        1990 Guangzhou Baiyun airport collisions

        On 2 October 1990, a hijacked Boeing 737, operating Xiamen Airlines Flight 8301, collided with two other aircraft on the runways of the old Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, while attempting to land. The hijacked aircraft struck parked China Southwest Airlines Flight 4305 first, inflicting only minor damage, but then collided with China Southern Airlines Flight 3523, a Boeing 757 waiting to take off, flipping onto its back. A total of 128 people were killed, including seven of nine crew members and 75 of 93 passengers on Flight 8301 and 46 of 110 passengers on Flight 3523.

  11. 1980

    1. Michael Myers becomes the first member of either chamber of Congress to be expelled since the Civil War.

      1. American politician

        Michael Myers (Pennsylvania politician)

        Michael Joseph "Ozzie" Myers is an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1976 to 1980. A member of the Democratic Party, Myers became involved in the Abscam scandal during his tenure in Congress and was later expelled from the House of Representatives after being caught taking bribes in an FBI sting operation. He spent three years in federal prison.

      2. Most serious disciplinary action that can be taken against a Member of the U.S. Congress

        Expulsion from the United States Congress

        Expulsion is the most serious form of disciplinary action that can be taken against a Member of Congress. The United States Constitution provides that "Each House [of Congress] may determine the Rules of its proceedings, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member." The processes for expulsion differ somewhat between the House of Representatives and the Senate.

      3. 1861–1865 conflict in the United States

        American Civil War

        The American Civil War was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union and the Confederacy, the latter formed by states that had seceded. The central cause of the war was the dispute over whether slavery would be permitted to expand into the western territories, leading to more slave states, or be prevented from doing so, which was widely believed would place slavery on a course of ultimate extinction.

  12. 1971

    1. Nguyễn Văn Thiệu was re-elected unopposed as President of South Vietnam.

      1. President of South Vietnam from 1965 to 1975

        Nguyễn Văn Thiệu

        Nguyễn Văn Thiệu was a South Vietnamese military officer and politician who was the president of South Vietnam from 1967 to 1975. He was a general in the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces (RVNAF), became head of a military junta in 1965, and then president after winning an election in 1967. He established rule over South Vietnam until he resigned and left the nation and relocated to Taipei, Taiwan a few days before the fall of Saigon and the ultimate North Vietnamese victory.

      2. 1971 South Vietnamese presidential election

        Presidential elections were held in South Vietnam on 2 October 1971. After the opposition candidates Dương Văn Minh and Nguyễn Cao Kỳ withdrew their candidacies, incumbent President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu was the only candidate, receiving 100% of the vote. Thiệu's victory in this election officially marked his second term in office. They were the last presidential elections held in South Vietnam.

      3. Country in Southeast Asia from 1955 to 1975

        South Vietnam

        South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam, was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of the Cold War after the 1954 division of Vietnam. It first received international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the French Union, with its capital at Saigon, before becoming a republic in 1955. South Vietnam was bordered by North Vietnam to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and Thailand across the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest. Its sovereignty was recognized by the United States and 87 other nations, though it failed to gain admission into the United Nations as a result of a Soviet veto in 1957. It was succeeded by the Republic of South Vietnam in 1975.

    2. South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu is re-elected in a one-man election.

      1. President of South Vietnam from 1965 to 1975

        Nguyễn Văn Thiệu

        Nguyễn Văn Thiệu was a South Vietnamese military officer and politician who was the president of South Vietnam from 1967 to 1975. He was a general in the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces (RVNAF), became head of a military junta in 1965, and then president after winning an election in 1967. He established rule over South Vietnam until he resigned and left the nation and relocated to Taipei, Taiwan a few days before the fall of Saigon and the ultimate North Vietnamese victory.

      2. 1971 South Vietnamese presidential election

        Presidential elections were held in South Vietnam on 2 October 1971. After the opposition candidates Dương Văn Minh and Nguyễn Cao Kỳ withdrew their candidacies, incumbent President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu was the only candidate, receiving 100% of the vote. Thiệu's victory in this election officially marked his second term in office. They were the last presidential elections held in South Vietnam.

    3. British European Airways Flight 706 crashes near Aarsele, Belgium, killing 63.

      1. 1971 aviation accident in Belgium

        British European Airways Flight 706

        British European Airways Flight 706 (BE706/BEA706) was a scheduled international passenger flight from United Kingdom to Salzburg, Austria. On 2 October 1971, whilst en route at 19,000 feet (5,791 m), the Vickers Vanguard suffered a failure with its rear cabin pressure bulkhead. The resulting depressurisation of the tail section caused the surfaces of the tailplanes to separate. The aircraft entered an uncontrollable dive and crashed near Aarsele, Belgium, killing all 63 passengers and crew on impact. A piece of debris from the aircraft struck a passing car, causing minor injuries to one of its occupants.

      2. Aarsele

        Aarsele is a village in the Belgian province of West Flanders and a subdivision of the city of Tielt.

  13. 1970

    1. An aircraft carrying the Wichita State University football team, administrators, and supporters crashes in Colorado, killing 31 people.

      1. 1970 aviation accident in Colorado

        Wichita State University football team plane crash

        In clear and calm weather in Colorado at 1:14 p.m. MDT on Friday, October 2, 1970, a chartered Martin 4-0-4 airliner crashed into a mountain eight miles (13 km) west of Silver Plume. Operated by Golden Eagle Aviation, the twin-engined propliner carried 37 passengers and a crew of three; 29 were killed at the scene and two later died of their injuries while under medical care.

  14. 1968

    1. Mexican President Gustavo Díaz Ordaz orders soldiers to suppress a demonstration of unarmed students, ten days before the start of the 1968 Summer Olympics.

      1. President of Mexico from 1964 to 1970

        Gustavo Díaz Ordaz

        Gustavo Díaz Ordaz Bolaños was a Mexican politician and member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). He served as the President of Mexico from 1964 to 1970.

      2. 1968 killing of anti-government protestors by the Mexican Armed Forces in Mexico City

        Tlatelolco massacre

        On October 2, 1968 in the Tlatelolco section of Mexico City, the Mexican Armed Forces opened fire on a group of unarmed civilians in the Plaza de las Tres Culturas who were protesting the upcoming 1968 Summer Olympics. The Mexican government and media claimed that the Armed Forces had been provoked by protesters shooting at them, but government documents made public since 2000 suggest that snipers had been employed by the government.

      3. Multi-sport event in Mexico City, Mexico

        1968 Summer Olympics

        The 1968 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad and commonly known as Mexico 1968, were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968 in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Olympic Games to be staged in Latin America and the first to be staged in a Spanish-speaking country. They were also the first Games to use an all-weather (smooth) track for track and field events instead of the traditional cinder track, as well as the first example of the Olympics exclusively using electronic timekeeping equipment.

  15. 1967

    1. Thurgood Marshall is sworn in as the first African-American justice of the United States Supreme Court.

      1. US Supreme Court justice from 1967 to 1991

        Thurgood Marshall

        Thurgood Marshall was an American civil rights lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1967 until 1991. He was the Supreme Court's first African-American justice. Prior to his judicial service, he was an attorney who fought for civil rights, leading the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Marshall coordinated the assault on racial segregation in schools. He won 29 of the 32 civil rights cases he argued before the Supreme Court, culminating in the Court's landmark 1954 decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which rejected the separate but equal doctrine and held segregation in public education to be unconstitutional. President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Marshall to the Supreme Court in 1967. A staunch liberal, he frequently dissented as the Court became increasingly conservative.

  16. 1958

    1. Guinea declares its independence from France.

      1. Country in West Africa

        Guinea

        Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Cote d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sierra Leone and Liberia to the south. It is sometimes referred to as Guinea-Conakry after its capital Conakry, to distinguish it from other territories in the eponymous region such as Guinea-Bissau and Equatorial Guinea. It has a population of 13.5 million and an area of 245,857 square kilometres (94,926 sq mi).

  17. 1944

    1. World War II: German troops end the Warsaw Uprising.

      1. Major World War II operation by the Polish resistance Home Army

        Warsaw Uprising

        The Warsaw Uprising was a major World War II operation by the Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occurred in the summer of 1944, and it was led by the Polish resistance Home Army. The uprising was timed to coincide with the retreat of the German forces from Poland ahead of the Soviet advance. While approaching the eastern suburbs of the city, the Red Army temporarily halted combat operations, enabling the Germans to regroup and defeat the Polish resistance and to destroy the city in retaliation. The Uprising was fought for 63 days with little outside support. It was the single largest military effort taken by any European resistance movement during World War II.

  18. 1942

    1. Second World War: HMS Curacoa (pictured) was accidentally rammed and sunk by RMS Queen Mary while escorting the liner to provide protection from submarine attacks.

      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. British C-class light cruiser

        HMS Curacoa (D41)

        HMS Curacoa was a C-class light cruiser built for the Royal Navy during the First World War. She was one of the five ships of the Ceres sub-class and spent much of her career as a flagship. The ship was assigned to the Harwich Force during the war, but saw little action as she was completed less than a year before the war ended. Briefly assigned to the Atlantic Fleet in early 1919, Curacoa was deployed to the Baltic in May to support anti-Bolshevik forces during the British campaign in the Baltic during the Russian Civil War. Shortly thereafter the ship struck a naval mine and had to return home for repairs.

      3. Retired British ocean liner

        RMS Queen Mary

        RMS Queen Mary is a retired British ocean liner that sailed primarily on the North Atlantic Ocean from 1936 to 1967 for the Cunard-White Star Line and was built by John Brown & Company in Clydebank, Scotland. Queen Mary, along with RMS Queen Elizabeth, were built as part of Cunard's planned two-ship weekly express service between Southampton, Cherbourg and New York. The two ships were a British response to the express superliners built by German, Italian and French companies in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

    2. World War II: Ocean Liner RMS Queen Mary accidentally rams and sinks HMS Curacoa, killing over 300 crewmen aboard Curacoa.

      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. Retired British ocean liner

        RMS Queen Mary

        RMS Queen Mary is a retired British ocean liner that sailed primarily on the North Atlantic Ocean from 1936 to 1967 for the Cunard-White Star Line and was built by John Brown & Company in Clydebank, Scotland. Queen Mary, along with RMS Queen Elizabeth, were built as part of Cunard's planned two-ship weekly express service between Southampton, Cherbourg and New York. The two ships were a British response to the express superliners built by German, Italian and French companies in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

      3. British C-class light cruiser

        HMS Curacoa (D41)

        HMS Curacoa was a C-class light cruiser built for the Royal Navy during the First World War. She was one of the five ships of the Ceres sub-class and spent much of her career as a flagship. The ship was assigned to the Harwich Force during the war, but saw little action as she was completed less than a year before the war ended. Briefly assigned to the Atlantic Fleet in early 1919, Curacoa was deployed to the Baltic in May to support anti-Bolshevik forces during the British campaign in the Baltic during the Russian Civil War. Shortly thereafter the ship struck a naval mine and had to return home for repairs.

  19. 1937

    1. President Rafael Trujillo announced that Dominican troops had begun mass killings of Haitians living in the Dominican Republic.

      1. Leader of the Dominican Republic from 1930 to 1961

        Rafael Trujillo

        Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina, nicknamed El Jefe, was a Dominican dictator who ruled the Dominican Republic from February 1930 until his assassination in May 1961. He served as president from 1930 to 1938 and again from 1942 to 1952, ruling for the rest of the time as an unelected military strongman under presidents. His rule of 31 years, known to Dominicans as the Trujillo Era, is considered one of the bloodiest and most corrupt regimes in the Western hemisphere, and centered around a personality cult of the ruling family. Trujillo's security forces, including the infamous SIM, were responsible for perhaps as many as 50,000 murders, including between 12,000 and 30,000 Haitians in the infamous Parsley massacre in 1937, which continues to affect Dominican-Haitian relations to this day.

      2. 1937 mass killing of Haitians by Dominican forces on the Haiti-Dominican Republic border

        Parsley massacre

        The Parsley massacre was a mass killing of Haitians living in the Dominican Republic's northwestern frontier and in certain parts of the contiguous Cibao region in October 1937. Dominican Army troops from different areas of the country carried out the massacre on the orders of Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo. As a result of the massacre, virtually the entire Haitian population in the Dominican frontier was either killed or forced to flee across the border. Some died while trying to flee to Haiti across the Dajabón River that divides the two countries on the island.

    2. Rafael Trujillo orders the execution of Haitians living in the border region of the Dominican Republic.

      1. Leader of the Dominican Republic from 1930 to 1961

        Rafael Trujillo

        Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina, nicknamed El Jefe, was a Dominican dictator who ruled the Dominican Republic from February 1930 until his assassination in May 1961. He served as president from 1930 to 1938 and again from 1942 to 1952, ruling for the rest of the time as an unelected military strongman under presidents. His rule of 31 years, known to Dominicans as the Trujillo Era, is considered one of the bloodiest and most corrupt regimes in the Western hemisphere, and centered around a personality cult of the ruling family. Trujillo's security forces, including the infamous SIM, were responsible for perhaps as many as 50,000 murders, including between 12,000 and 30,000 Haitians in the infamous Parsley massacre in 1937, which continues to affect Dominican-Haitian relations to this day.

      2. 1937 mass killing of Haitians by Dominican forces on the Haiti-Dominican Republic border

        Parsley massacre

        The Parsley massacre was a mass killing of Haitians living in the Dominican Republic's northwestern frontier and in certain parts of the contiguous Cibao region in October 1937. Dominican Army troops from different areas of the country carried out the massacre on the orders of Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo. As a result of the massacre, virtually the entire Haitian population in the Dominican frontier was either killed or forced to flee across the border. Some died while trying to flee to Haiti across the Dajabón River that divides the two countries on the island.

  20. 1928

    1. The "Prelature of the Holy Cross and the Work of God", commonly known as Opus Dei, is founded.

      1. Personal Prelature of the Catholic Church

        Opus Dei

        Opus Dei, formally known as the Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei, is an institution of the Catholic Church whose members seek personal Christian holiness and strive to imbue their work and society with Christian principles.

  21. 1879

    1. Qing China signed the Treaty of Livadia with the Russian Empire, but the terms were so unfavorable that the Chinese government refused to ratify the treaty.

      1. Manchu-led dynasty of China (1636–1912)

        Qing dynasty

        The Qing dynasty, officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaking ethnic group who unified other Jurchen tribes to form a new "Manchu" ethnic identity. The dynasty was officially proclaimed in 1636 in Manchuria. It seized control of Beijing in 1644, then later expanded its rule over the whole of China proper and Taiwan, and finally expanded into Inner Asia. The dynasty lasted until 1912 when it was overthrown in the Xinhai Revolution. In orthodox Chinese historiography, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the Ming dynasty and succeeded by the Republic of China. The multiethnic Qing empire lasted for almost three centuries and assembled the territorial base for modern China. It was the largest imperial dynasty in the history of China and in 1790 the fourth-largest empire in world history in terms of territorial size. With 419,264,000 citizens in 1907, it was the world's most populous country at the time.

      2. 1879 treaty between the Russian Empire and the Qing dynasty

        Treaty of Livadia

        The Treaty of Livadia was an unequal treaty between the Russian Empire and the Chinese Qing dynasty signed in Livadiya, Crimea, on 2 October 1879, wherein Russia agreed to return a portion of the lands it had occupied in Xinjiang during the Dungan Revolt of 1862–1877. Even though Qing forces had reconquered the area, the resulting treaty was extremely unfavorable to China. As a result, the Qing government refused to ratify it and the emissary who made the negotiations was sentenced to death. Seventeen months later, the two nations signed the Treaty of Saint Petersburg, which apart from territorial matters, largely had the same terms as the Treaty of Livadia.

      3. Empire spanning Europe and Asia from 1721 to 1917

        Russian Empire

        The Russian Empire was the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. The rise of the Russian Empire coincided with the decline of neighbouring rival powers: the Swedish Empire, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Qajar Iran, the Ottoman Empire, and Qing China. It also held colonies in North America between 1799 and 1867. Covering an area of approximately 22,800,000 square kilometres (8,800,000 sq mi), it remains the third-largest empire in history, surpassed only by the British Empire and the Mongol Empire; it ruled over a population of 125.6 million people per the 1897 Russian census, which was the only census carried out during the entire imperial period. Owing to its geographic extent across three continents at its peak, it featured great ethnic, linguistic, religious, and economic diversity.

  22. 1870

    1. By plebiscite, the citizens of the Papal States accept annexation by the Kingdom of Italy.

      1. Direct vote on a specific proposal

        Referendum

        A referendum is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a new policy or specific law, or the referendum may be only advisory. In some countries, it is synonymous with or commonly known by other names including plebiscite, votation, popular consultation, ballot question, ballot measure, or proposition.

      2. Final event of Italian unification (1870)

        Capture of Rome

        The Capture of Rome on 20 September 1870 was the final event of the unification of Italy (Risorgimento), marking both the final defeat of the Papal States under Pope Pius IX and the unification of the Italian Peninsula under the Kingdom of Italy.

  23. 1864

    1. American Civil War: Confederates defeat a Union attack on Saltville, Virginia. A massacre of wounded Union prisoners ensues.

      1. 1861–1865 conflict in the United States

        American Civil War

        The American Civil War was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union and the Confederacy, the latter formed by states that had seceded. The central cause of the war was the dispute over whether slavery would be permitted to expand into the western territories, leading to more slave states, or be prevented from doing so, which was widely believed would place slavery on a course of ultimate extinction.

      2. 1864 battle of the American Civil War

        First Battle of Saltville

        The First Battle of Saltville was fought near the town of Saltville, Virginia, during the American Civil War. The battle over an important Confederate saltworks in town was fought by both regular and Home Guard Confederate units against regular Union troops, which included two of the few black cavalry units of the United States Colored Troops. The Union troops were led by Brig. Gen. Stephen G. Burbridge, then commander of US forces in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

  24. 1835

    1. Mexican dragoons dispatched to disarm settlers at Gonzales in Mexican Texas encountered stiff resistance from a Texian militia at the Battle of Gonzales, the first armed engagement of the Texas Revolution.

      1. Two types of mounted soldiers

        Dragoon

        Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat with swords and firearms from horseback. While their use goes back to the late 16th century, dragoon regiments were established in most European armies during the 17th and early 18th centuries; they provided greater mobility than regular infantry but were far less expensive than cavalry.

      2. City in Austin Chalk, Eagle Ford Shale

        Gonzales, Texas

        Gonzales is a city in Gonzales County, Texas, United States. It is the county seat. The population was 7,165 at the 2020 census. The "Come and Take It" flag in the War for Texas Independence from Mexico originated in Gonzales.

      3. Residents of Mexican Texas and, later, the Republic of Texas

        Texians

        Texians were Anglo-American residents of Mexican Texas and, later, the Republic of Texas.

      4. First military engagement of the Texas Revolution

        Battle of Gonzales

        The Battle of Gonzales was the first military engagement of the Texas Revolution. It was fought near Gonzales, Texas, on October 2, 1835, between rebellious Texian settlers and a detachment of Mexican army soldiers.

      5. Rebellion of US colonists and Tejanos against the Mexican government (1835–36)

        Texas Revolution

        The Texas Revolution was a rebellion of colonists from the United States and Tejanos in putting up armed resistance to the centralist government of Mexico. Although the uprising was part of a larger one, the Mexican Federalist War, that included other provinces opposed to the regime of President Antonio López de Santa Anna, the Mexican government believed the United States had instigated the Texas insurrection with the goal of annexation. The Mexican Congress passed the Tornel Decree, declaring that any foreigners fighting against Mexican troops "will be deemed pirates and dealt with as such, being citizens of no nation presently at war with the Republic and fighting under no recognized flag". Only the province of Texas succeeded in breaking with Mexico, establishing the Republic of Texas. It was eventually annexed by the United States.

    2. Texas Revolution: Mexican troops attempt to disarm the people of Gonzales, but encounter stiff resistance from a hastily assembled militia.

      1. First military engagement of the Texas Revolution

        Battle of Gonzales

        The Battle of Gonzales was the first military engagement of the Texas Revolution. It was fought near Gonzales, Texas, on October 2, 1835, between rebellious Texian settlers and a detachment of Mexican army soldiers.

  25. 1789

    1. The United States Bill of Rights is sent to the various States for ratification.

      1. First ten amendments to the US Constitution

        United States Bill of Rights

        The United States Bill of Rights comprises the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. Proposed following the often bitter 1787–88 debate over the ratification of the Constitution and written to address the objections raised by Anti-Federalists, the Bill of Rights amendments add to the Constitution specific guarantees of personal freedoms and rights, clear limitations on the government's power in judicial and other proceedings, and explicit declarations that all powers not specifically granted to the federal government by the Constitution are reserved to the states or the people. The concepts codified in these amendments are built upon those in earlier documents, especially the Virginia Declaration of Rights (1776), as well as the Northwest Ordinance (1787), the English Bill of Rights (1689), and Magna Carta (1215).

  26. 1780

    1. American Revolutionary War: John André, a British Army officer, is hanged as a spy by the Continental Army.

      1. 1775–1783 war of independence

        American Revolutionary War

        The American Revolutionary War, also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of the United States, fighting began on April 19, 1775, followed by the Lee Resolution on July 2, 1776, and the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The American Patriots were supported by the Kingdom of France and, to a lesser extent, the Dutch Republic and the Spanish Empire, in a conflict taking place in North America, the Caribbean, and the Atlantic Ocean.

      2. British Army officer during the American Revolutionary War

        John André

        John André was a major in the British Army and head of its Secret Service in America during the American Revolutionary War. He was hanged as a spy by the Continental Army for assisting Benedict Arnold's attempted surrender of the fort at West Point, New York, to the British. André is typically remembered favorably by historians as a man of honor, and several prominent U.S. leaders of the time, including Alexander Hamilton and Marquis de Lafayette, did not agree with his fate.

  27. 1552

    1. Russo-Kazan Wars: Russian troops enter Kazan.

      1. 1552 final battle of the Russo-Kazan Wars

        Siege of Kazan

        The siege of Kazan in 1552 was the final battle of the Russo-Kazan Wars and led to the fall of the Khanate of Kazan. Conflict continued after the fall of Kazan, however, as rebel governments formed in Çalım and Mişätamaq, and a new khan was invited from the Nogais. This guerrilla war lingered until 1556.

  28. 1470

    1. The Earl of Warwick's rebellion forces King Edward IV of England to flee to the Netherlands, restoring Henry VI to the throne.

      1. 15th-century English noble

        Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick

        Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, known as Warwick the Kingmaker, was an English nobleman, administrator, and military commander. The eldest son of Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury, he became Earl of Warwick through marriage, and was the wealthiest and most powerful English peer of his age, with political connections that went beyond the country's borders. One of the leaders in the Wars of the Roses, originally on the Yorkist side but later switching to the Lancastrian side, he was instrumental in the deposition of two kings, which led to his epithet of "Kingmaker".

      2. King from 1461 to 1470 and 1471 to 1483

        Edward IV of England

        Edward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England fought between the Yorkist and Lancastrian factions between 1455 and 1487.

      3. Country in Northwestern Europe with territories in the Caribbean

        Netherlands

        The Netherlands, informally Holland, is a country located in Northwestern Europe with overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Netherlands consists of twelve provinces; it borders Germany to the east, Belgium to the south, with a North Sea coastline to the north and west. It shares maritime borders with the United Kingdom, Germany and Belgium in the North Sea. The country's official language is Dutch, with West Frisian as a secondary official language in the province of Friesland. Dutch Low Saxon and Limburgish are recognised regional languages, while Dutch Sign Language, Sinte Romani and Yiddish are recognised non-territorial languages. Dutch, English and Papiamento are official in the Caribbean territories.

      4. King of England (r. 1422–61, 1470–71); disputed King of France (r. 1422–53)

        Henry VI of England

        Henry VI was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. The only child of Henry V, he succeeded to the English throne at the age of nine months upon his father's death, and succeeded to the French throne on the death of his maternal grandfather, Charles VI, shortly afterwards.

  29. 1263

    1. Scottish–Norwegian War: Norwegian and Scottish armies fought the Battle of Largs, an inconclusive engagement near the present-day town of Largs, Scotland.

      1. 1262-66 territorial conflict between the kingdoms of Norway and Scotland

        Scottish–Norwegian War

        The Scottish–Norwegian War lasted from 1262 to 1266. The conflict arose because of disagreement over the ownership of the Hebrides. The war consisted of mainly skirmishes and feuds between the kings, and the only major battle was the indecisive Battle of Largs.

      2. 1263 battle of the Scottish-Norwegian War

        Battle of Largs

        The Battle of Largs was a battle between the kingdoms of Norway and Scotland, on the Firth of Clyde near Largs, Scotland. Through it, Scotland achieved the end of 500 years of Norse Viking depredations and invasions despite being tremendously outnumbered, without a one-sided military victory in the ensuing battle. The victory caused the complete retreat of Norwegian forces from western Scotland and the realm entered a period of prosperity for almost 40 years. The tactical decision at Largs thus led to a sweeping strategic victory that ended in Scotland purchasing the Hebrides Islands and the Isle of Man in the Treaty of Perth, 1266. Victory was achieved with a crafty three-tiered strategy on the part of the young Scottish king, Alexander III: plodding diplomacy forced the campaign to bad weather months and a ferocious storm ravaged the Norwegian fleet, stripping it of many vessels and supplies and making the forces on the Scottish coast vulnerable to an attack that forced the Norwegians into a hasty retreat that was to end their 500-year history of invasion and leave Scotland to consolidate its resources into building the nation. The conflict formed part of the Norwegian expedition against Scotland in 1263, in which Haakon Haakonsson, King of Norway attempted to reassert Norwegian sovereignty over the western seaboard of Scotland.

      3. Town in Scotland

        Largs

        Largs is a town on the Firth of Clyde in North Ayrshire, Scotland, about 33 mi (53 km) from Glasgow. The original name means "the slopes" in Scottish Gaelic.

    2. The Battle of Largs is fought between Norwegians and Scots.

      1. 1263 battle of the Scottish-Norwegian War

        Battle of Largs

        The Battle of Largs was a battle between the kingdoms of Norway and Scotland, on the Firth of Clyde near Largs, Scotland. Through it, Scotland achieved the end of 500 years of Norse Viking depredations and invasions despite being tremendously outnumbered, without a one-sided military victory in the ensuing battle. The victory caused the complete retreat of Norwegian forces from western Scotland and the realm entered a period of prosperity for almost 40 years. The tactical decision at Largs thus led to a sweeping strategic victory that ended in Scotland purchasing the Hebrides Islands and the Isle of Man in the Treaty of Perth, 1266. Victory was achieved with a crafty three-tiered strategy on the part of the young Scottish king, Alexander III: plodding diplomacy forced the campaign to bad weather months and a ferocious storm ravaged the Norwegian fleet, stripping it of many vessels and supplies and making the forces on the Scottish coast vulnerable to an attack that forced the Norwegians into a hasty retreat that was to end their 500-year history of invasion and leave Scotland to consolidate its resources into building the nation. The conflict formed part of the Norwegian expedition against Scotland in 1263, in which Haakon Haakonsson, King of Norway attempted to reassert Norwegian sovereignty over the western seaboard of Scotland.

  30. 939

    1. Battle of Andernach: Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, crushes a rebellion against his rule, by a coalition of Eberhard of Franconia and other Frankish dukes.

      1. 939 AD battle for royal succession within the Kingdom of Germany

        Battle of Andernach

        The Battle of Andernach, between the followers and the opponents of King Otto I of Germany, took place on 2 October 939 in Andernach on the Rhine river and ended with a decisive defeat of the rebels and the death of their leaders.

      2. Holy Roman Emperor from 962 to 973

        Otto the Great

        Otto I, traditionally known as Otto the Great, was East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the oldest son of Henry the Fowler and Matilda of Ringelheim.

      3. Duke of Franconia from 918 to 939 AD

        Eberhard of Franconia

        Eberhard III, a member of the Conradine dynasty, was Duke of Franconia, succeeding his elder brother, King Conrad I, in December 918. From 926 to 928, he also acted as ruler of Lotharingia.

  31. 829

    1. Theophilos succeeds his father Michael II as Byzantine Emperor.

      1. Byzantine emperor from 829 to 842

        Theophilos (emperor)

        Theophilos was the Byzantine Emperor from 829 until his death in 842. He was the second emperor of the Amorian dynasty and the last emperor to support iconoclasm. Theophilos personally led the armies in his long war against the Arabs, beginning in 831.

      2. Byzantine emperor from 820 to 829

        Michael II

        Michael II, called the Amorian and the Stammerer, reigned as Byzantine Emperor from 25 December 820 to his death on 2 October 829, the first ruler of the Amorian dynasty.

      3. Roman Empire during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages

        Byzantine Empire

        The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinople. It survived the fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD and continued to exist for an additional thousand years until the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453. During most of its existence, the empire remained the most powerful economic, cultural, and military force in Europe. The terms "Byzantine Empire" and "Eastern Roman Empire" were coined after the end of the realm; its citizens continued to refer to their empire as the Roman Empire, and to themselves as Romans—a term which Greeks continued to use for themselves into Ottoman times. Although the Roman state continued and its traditions were maintained, modern historians distinguish Byzantium from its earlier incarnation because it was centered on Constantinople and not Rome, oriented towards Greek rather than Latin culture, and characterised by Eastern Orthodox Christianity, instead of Roman Catholicism or Paganism.

Births & Deaths

  1. 2022

    1. Sacheen Littlefeather, American actress, model and Native American civil rights activist (b. 1946) deaths

      1. American actress, model and activist (1946–2022)

        Sacheen Littlefeather

        Marie Louise Cruz, better known as Sacheen Littlefeather, was an American actress, model, and activist on behalf of Native American civil rights.

  2. 2020

    1. Anne-Marie Hutchinson, British lawyer (b. 1957) deaths

      1. Irish lawyer (1957–2020)

        Anne-Marie Hutchinson

        Anne-Marie Hutchinson OBE QC (Hon) was an Irish lawyer known for her work in the UK concerning children’s rights, particularly forced marriage and international child abduction.

  3. 2018

    1. Jamal Khashoggi, Saudi journalist (b. 1958) deaths

      1. Assassinated Saudi journalist and dissident (1958–2018)

        Jamal Khashoggi

        Jamal Ahmad Khashoggi was a Saudi journalist, dissident, author, columnist for Middle East Eye and The Washington Post, and a general manager and editor-in-chief of Al-Arab News Channel who was assassinated at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 2 October 2018 by agents of the Saudi government, allegedly at the behest of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. He also served as editor for the Saudi Arabian newspaper Al Watan, turning it into a platform for Saudi progressives. Khashoggi fled Saudi Arabia in September 2017 and went into self-imposed exile. He said that the Saudi government had "banned him from Twitter", and he later wrote newspaper articles critical of the Saudi government. Khashoggi had been sharply critical of the Saudi rulers, King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. He also opposed the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen.

  4. 2017

    1. Tom Petty, American musician (b. 1950) deaths

      1. American singer and guitarist (1950–2017)

        Tom Petty

        Thomas Earl Petty was an American musician who was the lead vocalist and guitarist of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in 1976. He previously led the band Mudcrutch, was a member of the late 1980s supergroup the Traveling Wilburys, and had success as a solo artist.

  5. 2016

    1. Neville Marriner, British conductor (b. 1924) deaths

      1. English conductor and violinist

        Neville Marriner

        Sir Neville Marriner, was an English violinist and "one of the world's greatest conductors". Gramophone lists Marriner as one of the 50 greatest conductors and another compilation ranks Marriner #14 of the 18 "Greatest and Most Famous Conductors of All Time". He founded the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, and his partnership with them is the most recorded of any orchestra and conductor.

  6. 2015

    1. Brian Friel, Irish author, playwright, and director (b. 1929) deaths

      1. Irish dramatist, author and theatre director (1929–2015)

        Brian Friel

        Brian Patrick Friel was an Irish dramatist, short story writer and founder of the Field Day Theatre Company. He had been considered one of the greatest living English-language dramatists. He has been likened to an "Irish Chekhov" and described as "the universally accented voice of Ireland". His plays have been compared favourably to those of contemporaries such as Samuel Beckett, Arthur Miller, Harold Pinter and Tennessee Williams.

    2. Coleridge Goode, Jamaican-English bassist and composer (b. 1914) deaths

      1. British Jamaican-born jazz bassist

        Coleridge Goode

        George Coleridge Emerson Goode was a British Jamaican-born jazz bassist best known for his long collaboration with alto saxophonist Joe Harriott. Goode was a member of Harriott's innovatory jazz quintet throughout its eight-year existence as a regular unit (1958–65). Goode was also involved with the saxophonist's later pioneering blend of jazz and Indian music in Indo-Jazz Fusions, the group Harriott co-led with composer/violinist John Mayer.

    3. Johnny Paton, Scottish footballer and coach (b. 1923) deaths

      1. Scottish footballer, snooker referee

        Johnny Paton

        John Aloysius Paton was a Scottish professional football player, manager, coach, scout and later a professional snooker referee. He began his career in Scotland with Celtic and played in the Football League for Chelsea, Brentford and Watford. Paton later managed Watford and Arsenal 'A'.

  7. 2014

    1. Robert Flower, Australian footballer (b. 1955) deaths

      1. Australian rules footballer

        Robert Flower

        Robert Alan Flower was an Australian rules footballer with Melbourne Football Club. His first game was against Geelong in 1973 and he captained the team from 1981 until his final game in 1987. He held the record for the number of games for his club, 272, until overtaken by David Neitz in 2006.

  8. 2013

    1. Abraham Nemeth, American mathematician and academic (b. 1918) deaths

      1. American mathematician

        Abraham Nemeth

        Abraham Nemeth was an American mathematician. He was Professor of Mathematics at the University of Detroit Mercy in Detroit, Michigan. Nemeth was blind and is known for developing Nemeth Braille, a system for blind people to read and write mathematics.

  9. 2012

    1. Nguyễn Chí Thiện, Vietnamese-American poet and activist (b. 1939) deaths

      1. Vietnamese-American dissident, activist and poet

        Nguyễn Chí Thiện

        Nguyễn Chí Thiện was a North Vietnamese dissident, activist and poet who spent a total of twenty-seven years as a political prisoner of the communist regimes of both North Vietnam and of post-1975 Vietnam, before being released and allowed to join the large Overseas Vietnamese community in the United States.

    2. Charles Roach, Trinidadian-Canadian lawyer and activist (b. 1933) deaths

      1. Canadian civil rights lawyer and activist

        Charles Roach

        Charles Conliff Mende Roach was a Canadian civil rights lawyer and an activist in the Black community in Toronto.

    3. J. Philippe Rushton, English-Canadian psychologist, theorist, academic (b. 1943) deaths

      1. Canadian psychology professor

        J. Philippe Rushton

        John Philippe Rushton was a Canadian psychologist and author. He taught at the University of Western Ontario until the early 1990s, and became known to the general public during the 1980s and 1990s for research on race and intelligence, race and crime, and other purported racial correlations.

  10. 2010

    1. Kwa Geok Choo, Singaporean lawyer and scholar (b. 1920) deaths

      1. Singaporean lawyer

        Kwa Geok Choo

        Kwa Geok Choo was a Singaporean lawyer. She was the wife of former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and the mother of current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. She was also the co-founder and partner of law firm Lee & Lee.

  11. 2007

    1. Tex Coulter, American football player (b. 1924) deaths

      1. American gridiron football player (1924–2007)

        Tex Coulter

        DeWitt Echoles "Tex" Coulter was an American gridiron football player. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Giants and in the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union for the Montreal Alouettes. Coulter attended the United States Military Academy, where starred in football competed in the shot put.

    2. George Grizzard, American actor (b. 1928) deaths

      1. American actor

        George Grizzard

        George Cooper Grizzard Jr. was an American stage, television, and film actor. He was the recipient of a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Tony Award, among other accolades.

    3. Dan Keating, Irish Republican Army volunteer (b. 1902) deaths

      1. Irish republican (1902-2007)

        Dan Keating

        Daniel Keating was a lifelong Irish republican and patron of Republican Sinn Féin. At the time of his death, he was Ireland's oldest man and the last surviving veteran of the Irish War of Independence.

      2. Irish republican revolutionary military organisation

        Irish Republican Army

        The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic free from British rule.

  12. 2006

    1. Helen Chenoweth-Hage, American politician (b. 1938) deaths

      1. American politician

        Helen Chenoweth-Hage

        Helen Margaret Palmer Chenoweth-Hage was a Republican politician from the U.S. state of Idaho. She remains the only Republican woman to ever represent Idaho in the United States Congress.

    2. Paul Halmos, Hungarian-American mathematician (b. 1916) deaths

      1. Hungarian-American mathematician (1916–2006)

        Paul Halmos

        Paul Richard Halmos was a Hungarian-born American mathematician and statistician who made fundamental advances in the areas of mathematical logic, probability theory, statistics, operator theory, ergodic theory, and functional analysis. He was also recognized as a great mathematical expositor. He has been described as one of The Martians.

  13. 2005

    1. Nipsey Russell, American comedian and actor (b. 1918) deaths

      1. American entertainer (1918–2005)

        Nipsey Russell

        Julius "Nipsey" Russell was an American actor, comedian, poet, and dancer best known for his appearances as a panelist on game shows from the 1960s through the 1990s, including Match Game, Password, Hollywood Squares, To Tell the Truth, and Pyramid. His appearances were often distinguished by short, humorous poems he recited during the broadcast, which led to his nickname "the poet laureate of television". He had one of the leading roles in the film version of The Wiz as the Tin Man. He was a frequent guest on the Dean Martin Celebrity Roast series and often appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien during the program's early years.

    2. August Wilson, American author and playwright (b. 1945) deaths

      1. American playwright (1945–2005)

        August Wilson

        August Wilson was an American playwright. He has been referred to as the "theater's poet of Black America". He is best known for a series of ten plays, collectively called The Pittsburgh Cycle , which chronicle the experiences and heritage of the African-American community in the 20th century. Plays in the series include Fences (1987) and The Piano Lesson (1990), both of which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, as well as Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (1984) and Joe Turner's Come and Gone (1988). In 2006, Wilson was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.

  14. 2003

    1. John Thomas Dunlop, American scholar and politician, United States Secretary of Labor (b. 1914) deaths

      1. American negotiator, industrial relations scholar, and former United States Secretary of Labor

        John Thomas Dunlop

        John Thomas Dunlop was an American administrator, labor economist, and educator. Dunlop was the United States Secretary of Labor between 1975 and 1976 under President Gerald Ford. He was Director of the United States Cost of Living Council from 1973 to 1974, Chairman of the United States Commission on the Future of Worker-Management Relations from 1993 to 1995, which produced the Dunlop Report in 1994. He was also arbitrator and impartial chairman of various United States labor-management committees, and a member of numerous government boards on industrial relations disputes and economic stabilization.

      2. U.S. cabinet member and head of the U.S. Department of Labor

        United States Secretary of Labor

        The United States secretary of labor is a member of the Cabinet of the United States, and as the head of the United States Department of Labor, controls the department, and enforces and suggests laws involving unions, the workplace, and all other issues involving any form of business-person controversies.

  15. 2002

    1. Heinz von Foerster, Austrian-American physicist and philosopher (b. 1911) deaths

      1. Austrian American scientist and cybernetician (1911-2002)

        Heinz von Foerster

        Heinz von Foerster was an Austrian American scientist combining physics and philosophy, and widely attributed as the originator of Second-order cybernetics. He was twice a Guggenheim fellow and also was a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1980. He is well known for his 1960 Doomsday equation formula published in Science predicting future population growth.

  16. 2001

    1. Franz Biebl, German composer and academic (b. 1906) deaths

      1. German composer

        Franz Biebl

        Franz Xaver Biebl was a German composer of classical music. Most of his compositions were for choral ensembles.

  17. 2000

    1. David Tonkin, Australian politician, Premier of South Australia (b. 1929) deaths

      1. Australian politician

        David Tonkin

        David Oliver Tonkin AO was an Australian politician who served as the 38th Premier of South Australia from 18 September 1979 to 10 November 1982. He was elected to the House of Assembly seat of Bragg at the 1970 election, serving until 1983. He became the leader of the South Australian Division of the Liberal Party of Australia in 1975, replacing Bruce Eastick. Initially leading the party to defeat at the 1977 election against the Don Dunstan Labor government, his party won the 1979 election against the Des Corcoran Labor government. Following the 1980 Norwood by-election the Tonkin government was reduced to a one-seat majority. His government's policy approach combined economic conservatism with social progressivism. The Tonkin Liberal government was defeated after one term at the 1982 election by Labor led by John Bannon.

      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.

  18. 1999

    1. Heinz G. Konsalik, German journalist and author (b. 1921) deaths

      1. German novelist

        Heinz G. Konsalik

        Heinz G. Konsalik, pseudonym of Heinz Günther was a German novelist. Konsalik was his mother's maiden name.

  19. 1998

    1. Gene Autry, American actor, singer, and guitarist (b. 1907) deaths

      1. American actor and singer (1907–1998)

        Gene Autry

        Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry, nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, musician, rodeo performer, and baseball owner who gained fame largely by singing in a crooning style on radio, in films, and on television for more than three decades beginning in the early 1930s. Autry was the owner of a television station, several radio stations in Southern California, and the Los Angeles/Anaheim/California Angels Major League Baseball team from 1961 to 1997.

  20. 1996

    1. Tom Trbojevic, Australian rugby league player births

      1. Australia international rugby league footballer

        Tom Trbojevic

        Thomas Peter Trbojevic, also nicknamed "Tommy Turbo", is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a fullback as well as a wing and centre for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in the NRL and plays centre for Australia at international level and New South Wales at State of Origin level.

    2. Robert Bourassa, Canadian lawyer and politician, Premier of Quebec (b. 1933) deaths

      1. 20th-century Premier of Quebec

        Robert Bourassa

        Robert Bourassa was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd premier of Quebec from 1970 to 1976 and from 1985 to 1994. A member of the Liberal Party of Quebec, he served a total of just under 15 years as premier. Bourassa's tenure was marked by major events affecting Quebec, including the October Crisis and the Meech Lake and Charlottetown Accords.

      2. Head of government of Quebec

        Premier of Quebec

        The premier of Quebec is the head of government of the Canadian province of Quebec. The current premier of Quebec is François Legault of the Coalition Avenir Québec, sworn in on October 18, 2018, following that year's election.

    3. Andrey Lukanov, Bulgarian politician, 40th Prime Minister of Bulgaria (b. 1938) deaths

      1. Bulgarian politician (1938–1996)

        Andrey Lukanov

        Andrey Karlov Lukanov was a Bulgarian politician. Between February and November 1990, was the final Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Bulgaria.

      2. List of heads of government of Bulgaria

        This is a list of the heads of government of the modern Bulgarian state, from the establishment of the Principality of Bulgaria to the present day.

  21. 1995

    1. Tepai Moeroa, Cook Islands rugby league player births

      1. Cook Islands international rugby league & union footballer

        Tepai Moeroa

        Tepai Moeroa is a Cook Islands professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop, lock or second-rower for the Melbourne Storm in the NRL and the Cook Islands at international level.

  22. 1994

    1. Joana Eidukonytė, Lithuanian tennis player births

      1. Lithuanian tennis player

        Joana Eidukonytė

        Joana Eidukonytė is an inactive Lithuanian tennis player.

  23. 1991

    1. Roberto Firmino, Brazilian footballer births

      1. Brazilian association football player

        Roberto Firmino

        Roberto Firmino Barbosa de Oliveira is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward or attacking midfielder for Premier League club Liverpool and the Brazil national team.

    2. Hazen Argue, Canadian politician (b. 1921) deaths

      1. Canadian politician (1921–1991)

        Hazen Argue

        Hazen Robert Argue was a Canadian politician who served in the House of Commons and the Senate. He was first elected as a Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) Member of Parliament (MP) in 1945 and was the last leader of the party, from 1960 to 1961. He crossed the floor to the Liberal Party in 1962 and was defeated in 1963. In 1966 he was appointed to the Senate. He entered the federal cabinet in 1980, as the only Saskatchewan representative, with responsibilities for the Canadian Wheat Board. He is well known for being a strong proponent of the proposed Canadian annexation of the Turks and Caicos Islands. He was the first senator ever to have been charged with fraud, in 1989. The charges were eventually dropped as he had been suffering from cancer for a year; he died shortly thereafter in 1991.

    3. Demetrios I of Constantinople (b. 1914) deaths

      1. 269th Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople

        Demetrios I of Constantinople

        Demetrios I also Dimitrios I or Demetrius I, born Demetrios Papadopoulos was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from July 16, 1973, to October 2, 1991. He was the 269th successor to St. Andrew, and was the spiritual leader of more than 5 million Eastern Orthodox Christians. Before his election as patriarch he served as the metropolitan bishop of Imvros. He was born and died in Constantinopole, in modern day Turkey.

  24. 1989

    1. Aaron Hicks, American baseball player births

      1. American baseball player (born 1989)

        Aaron Hicks

        Aaron Michael Hicks is an American professional baseball center fielder for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the first round of the 2008 MLB draft. He made his MLB debut on In 2013 with the Twins.

    2. George Nash, English rower births

      1. British rower

        George Nash (rower)

        George Christopher Nash is a British rower. He is dual Olympian, dual Olympic medal winner and three time world champion.

  25. 1988

    1. Brittany Howard, American singer-songwriter and guitarist births

      1. American singer (born 1988)

        Brittany Howard

        Brittany Amber Howard is an American musician, singer, and songwriter known for being the lead vocalist, guitarist, and main songwriter of rock bands Alabama Shakes, Thunderbitch, and Bermuda Triangle. Her work with Alabama Shakes has garnered her nine Grammy Award nominations including Best New Artist and Album of the Year for Sound & Color. They eventually won four awards including Best Alternative Music Album.

    2. Kirara Asuka, Japanese model and adult video actress births

      1. Japanese AV idol

        Kirara Asuka

        Kirara Asuka is a Japanese model and former adult video (AV) actress.

    3. Alec Issigonis, English car designer, designed the Mini (b. 1906) deaths

      1. British car designer

        Alec Issigonis

        Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis was a British-Greek automotive designer. He designed the Mini, launched by the British Motor Corporation in 1959, and voted the second most influential car of the 20th century in 1999.

      2. British car model from 1959 to 2000

        Mini

        The Mini is a small, two-door, four-seat car, developed as ADO15, and produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors, from 1959 through 2000. Minus a brief hiatus, original Minis were built for four decades and sold during six, from the last year of the 1950s into the last year of the 20th century, over a single generation, as fastbacks, estates, and convertibles.

    4. Hamengkubuwono IX, Indonesian politician, Vice President of Indonesia (b. 1912) deaths

      1. Vice President of Indonesia and Sultan of Yogyakarta from 1973–1978

        Hamengkubuwono IX

        Hamengkubuwono IX or HB IX was an Indonesian statesman and royal who was the second vice president of Indonesia, the ninth sultan of Yogyakarta, and the first governor of the Special Region of Yogyakarta. Hamengkubuwono IX was also the Chairman of the first National Scout Movement Quarter and was known as the Father of the Indonesian Scouts.

      2. List of vice presidents of Indonesia

        The vice president of the Republic of Indonesia is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the Indonesian government, after the president, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. Since 2004, the president and vice president are directly elected to a five-year term.

  26. 1987

    1. Bojana Bobusic, Australian tennis player births

      1. Australian tennis player

        Bojana Bobusic

        Bojana Bobusic is a former professional Australian tennis player. On 20 February 2012, she reached her highest WTA singles ranking of 222. In her career, she won one singles title and three doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. She was coached by Rohan Fisher.

    2. Joe Ingles, Australian basketball player births

      1. Australian basketball player

        Joe Ingles

        Joseph Howarth Ingles is an Australian professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He last played for the Utah Jazz. He also represents the Australian national team. He primarily plays at the small forward and shooting guard positions. He is the Utah Jazz all-time leader in three-pointers made.

    3. Phil Kessel, American ice hockey player births

      1. American ice hockey player

        Phil Kessel

        Philip Joseph Kessel Jr. is an American professional ice hockey winger for the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously played for the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Arizona Coyotes. Kessel is a two-time Stanley Cup champion, winning back-to-back championships with the Penguins in 2016 and 2017.

    4. Joel Reinders, American football player births

      1. Canadian gridiron football player (born 1987)

        Joel Reinders

        Joel Reinders is a former offensive tackle. He played college football at the University of Waterloo.

    5. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., American race car driver births

      1. American racing driver

        Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

        Richard Lynn Stenhouse Jr. is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 47 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for JTG Daugherty Racing. Stenhouse was the 2010 Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year, and won back-to-back Nationwide Series championships in 2011 and 2012. Stenhouse was the 2013 Sprint Cup Series Rookie of the Year.

    6. Madeleine Carroll, English actress (b. 1906) deaths

      1. English actress (1906–1987)

        Madeleine Carroll

        Edith Madeleine Carroll was an English actress, popular both in Britain and America in the 1930s and 1940s. At the peak of her success in 1938, she was the world's highest-paid actress.

    7. Peter Medawar, Brazilian-English biologist and zoologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1915) deaths

      1. UK biologist, 1915–1987

        Peter Medawar

        Sir Peter Brian Medawar was a Brazilian-British biologist and writer, whose works on graft rejection and the discovery of acquired immune tolerance were fundamental to the medical practice of tissue and organ transplants. For his scientific works he is regarded as the "father of transplantation". He is remembered for his wit both in person and in popular writings. Famous zoologists such as Richard Dawkins referred to him as "the wittiest of all scientific writers", and Stephen Jay Gould as "the cleverest man I have ever known".

      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.

  27. 1985

    1. Çağlar Birinci, Turkish footballer births

      1. Turkish footballer

        Çağlar Birinci

        Çağlar Birinci is a Turkish former footballer who played as a central defender.

    2. Brandon Jackson, American football player births

      1. American football player (born 1985)

        Brandon Jackson (American football)

        Brandon Lamar Jackson is a former American football running back. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the second round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He later won Super Bowl XLV with the Packers against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football at Nebraska.

    3. Rock Hudson, American actor (b. 1925) deaths

      1. American actor (1925–1985)

        Rock Hudson

        Rock Hudson was an American actor. One of the most popular movie stars of his time, he had a screen career spanning more than three decades. A prominent heartthrob in the Golden Age of Hollywood, he achieved stardom with his role in Magnificent Obsession (1954), followed by All That Heaven Allows (1955), and Giant (1956), for which he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Hudson also found continued success with a string of romantic comedies co-starring Doris Day: Pillow Talk (1959), Lover Come Back (1961), and Send Me No Flowers (1964). During the late 1960s, his films included Seconds (1966), Tobruk (1967), and Ice Station Zebra (1968). Unhappy with the film scripts he was offered, Hudson turned to television and was a hit, starring in the popular mystery series McMillan & Wife (1971–1977). His last role was as a guest star on the fifth season (1984–1985) of the primetime ABC soap opera Dynasty, until AIDS-related illness made it impossible for him to continue.

  28. 1984

    1. Marion Bartoli, French tennis player births

      1. French tennis player

        Marion Bartoli

        Marion Bartoli is a French former professional tennis player. Bartoli won the 2013 Wimbledon Championships singles title after previously being runner-up in 2007, and was a semifinalist at the 2011 French Open. She also won eight WTA Tour singles and three doubles titles.

  29. 1982

    1. Esra Gümüş, Turkish volleyball player births

      1. Turkish volleyball player

        Esra Gümüş

        Esra Gümüş Kirici is a former Turkish volleyball player. She is 181 cm and plays as an outside hitter. She is a former team captain of the Turkey women's national volleyball team. She started her career with VakıfBank Istanbul in 1995 to 2000. Then she played for Yeşilyurt between 2000 and 2004. She transferred to Eczacıbaşı VitrA in 2004. She played for Sariyer Belediyesi before she quit volleyball.

  30. 1981

    1. Santi Kolk, Dutch footballer births

      1. Dutch former professional footballer (born 1981)

        Santi Kolk

        Santiago Torti "Santi" Kolk is a Dutch former professional footballer. He currently works as a football agent. He mostly played as a forward during his career.

    2. Luke Wilkshire, Australian footballer births

      1. Australian association football player and coach

        Luke Wilkshire

        Luke Wilkshire is an Australian former footballer who is currently coaching NPL NSW side Wollongong Wolves FC.

    3. Harry Golden, American journalist and author (b. 1902) deaths

      1. American journalist

        Harry Golden

        Harry Lewis Golden was an American writer and newspaper publisher.

    4. Hazel Scott, Trinidadian-American activist, actress, and musician (b. 1920) deaths

      1. American pianist and singer (1920–1981)

        Hazel Scott

        Hazel Dorothy Scott was a Trinidad-born American jazz and classical pianist and singer. She was an outspoken critic of racial discrimination and segregation. She used her influence to improve the representation of Black Americans in film.

  31. 1978

    1. Ayumi Hamasaki, Japanese singer, songwriter, actress births

      1. Japanese singer, songwriter, and actress

        Ayumi Hamasaki

        Ayumi Hamasaki is a Japanese singer, songwriter, record producer, actress, model, spokesperson, and entrepreneur. By 2002, Hamasaki had earned the nickname "Empress of J-pop" due to her popularity in Japan and throughout Asia. Due to her success and relevance throughout her career, she is considered one of the top solo female artists of the Heisei era, both for her influence on various fashion trends and the music industry.

  32. 1977

    1. Didier Défago, Swiss skier births

      1. Swiss alpine skier

        Didier Défago

        Didier Défago is a Swiss retired World Cup alpine ski racer.

  33. 1976

    1. Mark Chilton, English cricketer births

      1. Mark Chilton

        Mark James Chilton is an English first-class cricketer. Chilton was educated at Manchester Grammar School and Durham University where he won the British Universities tournament in 1997. The same year he made his debut for Lancashire, aged 20. Chilton has been compared in batting style to fellow Manchester Grammar School student and former Lancashire and England batsman John Crawley.

  34. 1975

    1. K. Kamaraj, Indian lawyer and politician (b. 1903) deaths

      1. Indian politician (1903–1975)

        K. Kamaraj

        Kumaraswami Kamaraj, popularly known as Kamarajar was an Indian independence activist and politician who served as the Chief Minister of Madras State from 13 April 1954 to 2 October 1963. He was the founder and the president of the Indian National Congress (Organisation), widely acknowledged as the "Kingmaker" in Indian politics during the 1960s. He also served as the president of the Indian National Congress for two terms i.e. four years between 1964–1967 and was responsible for the elevation of Lal Bahadur Shastri to the position of Prime Minister of India after Nehru's death and Indira Gandhi after Shastri's death. He was the Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha during 1952–1954 and 1969–1975. He was known for his simplicity and integrity. He played a major role in developing the infrastructure of the Madras state and worked to improve the quality of life of the needy and the disadvantaged.

  35. 1974

    1. Bjarke Ingels, Danish architect births

      1. Danish architect (b.1974)

        Bjarke Ingels

        Bjarke Bundgaard Ingels is a Danish architect, founder and creative partner of Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG).

    2. Brian Knight, American baseball player births

      1. American baseball umpire (born 1974)

        Brian Knight

        Brian Michael Knight is an American professional baseball umpire. He has worked as a full-time Major League Baseball (MLB) umpire since 2011. He wears uniform number 91.

    3. Matthew Nicholson, Australian cricketer births

      1. Australian cricketer

        Matthew Nicholson

        Matthew James Nicholson is an Australian former cricketer who played in one Test match in 1998 and over 100 first-class games for New South Wales, Western Australia, Northamptonshire and Surrey.

    4. Sam Roberts, Canadian singer-songwriter and musician births

      1. Canadian singer-songwriter

        Sam Roberts (singer-songwriter)

        Sam Roberts is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter who has released seven albums. His debut EP The Inhuman Condition, reached the Canadian charts in 2002. He and his bandmates have released three albums as Sam Roberts and four albums as Sam Roberts Band. He is also a member of Canadian supergroup Anyway Gang, who released their debut self-titled album in 2019. Roberts has been nominated, together with his band, for fifteen Juno Awards, winning six, including Artist of the Year twice and Album of the Year once (2004).

    5. Paul Teutul Jr., American motorcycle designer, co-founded Orange County Choppers births

      1. American motorcycle designer and builder

        Paul Teutul Jr.

        Paul Michael Teutul is one of the stars of the American reality television series American Chopper. He started working for his father. Teutul was the chief designer and fabricator. Prior to this, he was head of the rail shop at Orange County Ironworks. He is the owner of Paul Jr. Designs, which manufactures custom motorcycles and sells branded clothing. Teutul, along with his father and younger brother Michael, became celebrities when they became the focus of a reality television series American Chopper on Discovery Channel in 2002.

      2. American motorcycle manufacturer based in Orange County, New York

        Orange County Choppers

        Orange County Choppers (OCC) is an American motorcycle manufacturer and lifestyle brand company based in the town of Newburgh, located in Orange County, New York, that was founded in 1999 by Paul Teutul Sr. The company was featured on American Chopper, a reality TV show that debuted in September 2002 on the Discovery Channel. The series moved to Discovery Channel's sister channel TLC in 2007. Following cancellation of the Discovery series, the company was also featured on Orange County Choppers on the CMT network in 2013. Orange County Choppers returned to Discovery Channel in March 2018.

    6. Vasily Shukshin, Russian actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1929) deaths

      1. Russian writer

        Vasily Shukshin

        Vasily Makarovich Shukshin was a Soviet Russian writer, actor, screenwriter and film director from the Altai region who specialized in rural themes. A prominent member of the Village Prose movement, he began writing short stories in his early teenage years and later transition to acting by his late 20s.

  36. 1973

    1. Melissa Harris-Perry, American journalist, author, and educator births

      1. American journalist

        Melissa Harris-Perry

        Melissa Victoria Harris-Perry, formerly known as Melissa Victoria Harris-Lacewell, is an American writer, professor, television host, and political commentator with a focus on African-American politics. Harris-Perry hosted the Melissa Harris-Perry weekend news and opinion television show on MSNBC from 2012 to February 27, 2016.

    2. Scott Schoeneweis, American baseball player births

      1. American baseball player (born 1973)

        Scott Schoeneweis

        Scott David Schoeneweis is an American former Major League Baseball left-handed relief pitcher who played for several teams between 1999 and 2010.

    3. Paul Hartman, American actor and dancer (b. 1904) deaths

      1. American actor and dancer (1904–1973)

        Paul Hartman

        Paul Hartman was an American dancer, stage performer and television actor.

    4. Paavo Nurmi, Finnish runner (b. 1897) deaths

      1. Finnish middle and long distance runner

        Paavo Nurmi

        Paavo Johannes Nurmi was a Finnish middle-distance and long-distance runner. He was called the "Flying Finn" or the "Phantom Finn", as he dominated distance running in the 1920s. Nurmi set 22 official world records at distances between 1500 metres and 20 kilometres, and won nine gold and three silver medals in his 12 events in the Summer Olympic Games. At his peak, Nurmi was undefeated for 121 races at distances from 800 m upwards. Throughout his 14-year career, he remained unbeaten in cross country events and the 10,000 metres.

  37. 1972

    1. Aaron McKie, American basketball player births

      1. American basketball player and coach

        Aaron McKie

        Aaron Fitzgerald McKie is an American basketball coach and former professional basketball player who played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is currently the head coach for his alma mater Temple University. Selected by the Portland Trail Blazers 17th overall in the 1994 NBA draft, McKie spent time as a point guard, shooting guard or small forward throughout his professional playing career from 1994 to 2007.

  38. 1971

    1. Tiffany Darwish, American singer-songwriter births

      1. American singer (born 1971)

        Tiffany Darwish

        Tiffany Renee Darwish, known mononymously as Tiffany, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and former teen icon. Her 1987 cover of the Tommy James and the Shondells song "I Think We're Alone Now" spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and was released as the second single from her debut studio album Tiffany.

    2. Jim Root, American guitarist and songwriter births

      1. American guitarist

        Jim Root

        James Donald Root is an American guitarist. He is one of two guitarists for heavy metal band Slipknot, in which he is designated #4, as well as the former lead guitarist for rock band Stone Sour.

    3. Chris Savino, American comic book artist, writer, animator and creator of The Loud House births

      1. American animator and comic book artist (born 1971)

        Chris Savino

        Christopher Mason Savino is an American writer, comic book artist, and former animator. He is well-known as the creator of the animated series The Loud House. Savino has also worked on The Ren & Stimpy Show, Dexter's Laboratory, Cow and Chicken, I Am Weasel, The Powerpuff Girls, Samurai Jack, My Gym Partner's a Monkey, Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, Mickey Mouse and Johnny Test.

      2. American animated television series

        The Loud House

        The Loud House is an American animated television series created by Chris Savino that premiered on Nickelodeon on May 2, 2016. The series revolves around the chaotic everyday life of a boy named Lincoln Loud, who is the middle child and only son in a large family of 11 children. It is set in a fictional town in southeastern Michigan called Royal Woods, based on Savino's hometown of Royal Oak. The series was pitched to the network in 2013 as a two-minute short film entered in the annual Animated Shorts Program. It entered production the following year. The series is based on Savino's own childhood growing up in a large family, and its animation is largely influenced by newspaper comic strips.

    4. Jessie Arms Botke, American painter (b. 1883) deaths

      1. Jessie Arms Botke

        Jessie Hazel Arms Botke was an Illinois and California painter noted for her bird images and use of gold leaf highlights.

  39. 1970

    1. Eddie Guardado, American baseball player births

      1. American baseball player (born 1970)

        Eddie Guardado

        Edward Adrian Guardado is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher and current bullpen coach. Guardado played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Seattle Mariners (2004–2006), Cincinnati Reds (2006–2007), and the Texas Rangers. He was named as a bullpen coach for the Minnesota Twins in 2014.

    2. Patricia O'Callaghan, Canadian soprano births

      1. Musical artist

        Patricia O'Callaghan

        Patricia Mary O'Callaghan is a classically trained Canadian singer. She is a soprano who has built an international reputation as a performer of contemporary opera, early 20th-century cabaret music and the songs of Leonard Cohen.

    3. Kelly Ripa, American actress and talk show host births

      1. American actress and talk show host

        Kelly Ripa

        Kelly Ripa is an American actress and talk show host. Since 2001, she has been the co-host of the syndicated morning talk show Live! with Kelly and Ryan in various formats.

    4. Maribel Verdú, Spanish actress births

      1. Spanish actress (born 1970)

        Maribel Verdú

        María Isabel Verdú Rollán is a Spanish actress. Some of her film credits include performances in Lovers, Belle Époque, Y tu mamá también, Pan's Labyrinth, The Blind Sunflowers and Snow White.

  40. 1969

    1. Badly Drawn Boy, English musician births

      1. English singer-songwriter

        Badly Drawn Boy

        Damon Michael Gough, known by the stage name Badly Drawn Boy, is an English indie singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.

  41. 1968

    1. Jana Novotná, Czech tennis player and sportscaster (d. 2017) births

      1. Czech tennis player

        Jana Novotná

        Jana Novotná was a Czech professional tennis player. She played a serve and volley game, an increasingly rare style of play among women during her career. Novotná won the women's singles title at Wimbledon in 1998, and was runner-up in three other majors. Novotná also won 12 major women's doubles titles, four major mixed doubles titles, and three Olympic medals. She reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 2 in 1997, and held the No. 1 ranking in doubles for 67 weeks.

    2. Glen Wesley, Canadian ice hockey player births

      1. Canadian ice hockey player

        Glen Wesley

        Glen Edwin Wesley is a Canadian former ice hockey defenceman. Wesley played 13 seasons for the Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League. He began his career with the Boston Bruins, and briefly played for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Wesley played in four Stanley Cup Finals, winning it once in 2006. He was the Hurricanes' director of development for defensemen, and announced his departure on June 12, 2018. As of August 28, 2018 he now works as a development coach for the St. Louis Blues.

    3. Kelly Willis, American country music singer-songwriter births

      1. American country music singer-songwriter

        Kelly Willis

        Kelly Willis is an American country music singer-songwriter, whose music has been described as alternative country and new traditionalist.

    4. Marcel Duchamp, French painter and sculptor (b. 1887) deaths

      1. French painter, sculptor, and chess player (1887–1968)

        Marcel Duchamp

        Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp was a French painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism, Dada, and conceptual art. Duchamp is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse, as one of the three artists who helped to define the revolutionary developments in the plastic arts in the opening decades of the 20th century, responsible for significant developments in painting and sculpture. Duchamp has had an immense impact on twentieth-century and twenty first-century art, and he had a seminal influence on the development of conceptual art. By the time of World War I he had rejected the work of many of his fellow artists as "retinal" art, intended only to please the eye. Instead, Duchamp wanted to use art to serve the mind.

  42. 1967

    1. Frankie Fredericks, Namibian sprinter births

      1. Namibian sprinter

        Frankie Fredericks

        Frank "Frankie" Fredericks is a former track and field athlete from Namibia. Running in the 100 metres and 200 metres, he won four silver medals at the Olympic Games, making him Namibia's only able-bodied Olympic medalist until Christine Mboma's silver medal at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. He also won gold medals at the World Championships, World Indoor Championships, All-Africa Games and Commonwealth Games. He is the world indoor record-holder for 200 metres, with a time of 19.92 seconds set in 1996.

    2. Thomas Muster, Austrian tennis player births

      1. Austrian tennis player

        Thomas Muster

        Thomas Muster is an Austrian former world No. 1 tennis player. One of the world's leading clay court players in the 1990s, he won the 1995 French Open and at his peak was called "The King of Clay". In addition, he won eight Masters 1000 Series titles. Muster is one of the nine players to win Super 9/ATP Masters Series/ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles on clay, hardcourt and carpet.

    3. Gillian Welch, American singer-songwriter and guitarist births

      1. American musician

        Gillian Welch

        Gillian Howard Welch is an American singer-songwriter. She performs with her musical partner, guitarist David Rawlings. Their sparse and dark musical style, which combines elements of Appalachian music, bluegrass, country and Americana, is described by The New Yorker as "at once innovative and obliquely reminiscent of past rural forms."

  43. 1965

    1. Darren Cahill, Australian tennis player births

      1. Australian tennis player and coach

        Darren Cahill

        Darren Cahill is a tennis coach and former professional tennis player from Australia. In addition, Cahill is a tennis analyst for the Grand Slam events on the US sports network ESPN and a coach with the Adidas Player Development Program and at ProTennisCoach.com.

    2. Tom Moody, Australian cricketer births

      1. Australian cricketer

        Tom Moody

        Thomas Masson Moody is a former Australian international cricketer and current Director of Cricket of Sri Lanka Cricket. He ended his long tenure with the Indian Premier League team Sunrisers Hyderabad in August 2022 and was earlier appointed Director of Cricket at Desert Vipers, one of the six franchises in the ILT20, which is scheduled to begin in the UAE in January 2023.

  44. 1964

    1. Dirk Brinkmann, German field hockey player births

      1. German field hockey player

        Dirk Brinkmann

        Dirk Brinkmann is a former West German field hockey player who competed at two Summer Olympics. On both occasions he won the silver medal with his team at the 1984 Summer Olympics and 1988 Summer Olympics. He was born in Duisburg, Nordrhein-Westfalen.

  45. 1963

    1. Keith Bradshaw, Australian cricketer births

      1. Australian cricketer (1963–2021)

        Keith Bradshaw (cricketer)

        Keith Bradshaw was an Australian cricketer, accountant and administrator.

    2. Maria Ressa, Filipino-American journalist births

      1. Filipino and American journalist (born 1963)

        Maria Ressa

        Maria Angelita Ressa is a Filipino and American journalist. She is the co-founder and CEO of Rappler. She previously spent nearly two decades working as a lead investigative reporter in Southeast Asia for CNN.

  46. 1962

    1. Mark Rypien, Canadian-American football player births

      1. Canadian-born American football player (born 1962)

        Mark Rypien

        Mark Robert Rypien is a Canadian-born former American football quarterback who played 14 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Washington State and was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the sixth round of the 1986 NFL Draft. He was the first Canadian-born quarterback to both start in the NFL and be named Super Bowl MVP, doing so in Super Bowl XXVI with the Redskins. He also played for several other NFL teams. His nephew Brett plays in the NFL for the Denver Broncos.

  47. 1960

    1. Glenn Anderson, Canadian ice hockey player births

      1. Canadian ice hockey player

        Glenn Anderson

        Glenn Chris Anderson is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, and St. Louis Blues. Anderson was known to have a knack for stepping up in big games, which garnered him the reputation of a "money" player. His five playoff overtime goals rank third in NHL history, while his 17 playoff game-winning goals put him fifth all-time. During the playoffs, Anderson accumulated 93 goals, 121 assists, and 214 points, the fourth, ninth, and fourth most in NHL history. Anderson is also first all-time in regular season game winning goals in Oilers history with 72.

    2. Django Bates, English musician and composer births

      1. British composer, musician, band leader and educator

        Django Bates

        Django Bates is a British jazz musician, composer, multi-instrumentalist, band leader and educator. He plays the piano, keyboards and the tenor horn. Bates has been described as "one of the most talented musicians Britain has produced... his work covers the entire spectrum of jazz, from early jazz through to bebop and free jazz to jazz-rock fusion."

    3. Joe Sacco, Maltese-American journalist and cartoonist births

      1. American cartoonist

        Joe Sacco

        Joe Sacco is a Maltese-American cartoonist and journalist. He is best known for his comics journalism, in particular in the books Palestine (1996) and Footnotes in Gaza (2009), on Israeli–Palestinian relations; and Safe Area Goražde (2000) and The Fixer (2003) on the Bosnian War. In 2020, Sacco released Paying the Land, published by Henry Holt and Company.

    4. Dereck Whittenburg, American basketball player and coach births

      1. Dereck Whittenburg

        Dereck Whittenburg is a former collegiate basketball player who played for North Carolina State University, where he was a member of the 1982–83 team that won the NCAA national championship. He is currently employed by the athletic department at his alma mater, with his official title being Associate Athletic Director for Community Relations and Student Support.

  48. 1957

    1. John Cook, American golfer births

      1. American professional golfer

        John Cook (golfer)

        John Neuman Cook is an American professional golfer, who won eleven times on the PGA Tour and was a member of the Ryder Cup team in 1993. He was ranked in the top ten of the Official World Golf Ranking for 45 weeks in 1992 and 1993. Cook currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions and is a studio analyst on Golf Channel.

    2. Wade Dooley, English rugby player births

      1. British Lions & England international rugby union footballer

        Wade Dooley

        Wade Dooley is a former England rugby union international who played lock forward. He played for his country 55 times and was known as the "Blackpool Tower", as a result of being 6 feet 8 inches tall and a police officer with Lancashire Constabulary in Blackpool.

  49. 1956

    1. Freddie Jackson, American soul singer births

      1. American rhythm and blues singer

        Freddie Jackson

        Frederick Anthony Jackson is an American singer. Originally from New York, Jackson began his professional music career in the late 1970s with the California funk band Mystic Merlin. Among his well–known R&B/soul hits are "Rock Me Tonight " (1985), "Have You Ever Loved Somebody" (1986), "Jam Tonight" (1986), "Do Me Again" (1990), and "You Are My Lady" (1985). He contributed to the soundtrack for the 1989 film, All Dogs Go to Heaven with the Michael Lloyd-produced duet "Love Survives" alongside Irene Cara. He also appeared in the movie King of New York.

  50. 1955

    1. Philip Oakey, English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer births

      1. English singer-songwriter and producer

        Philip Oakey

        Philip Oakey is a British singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the lead singer, songwriter, and cofounder of British synth-pop band the Human League. Aside from the Human League, Oakey has enjoyed an extensive solo music career and has collaborated with numerous other artists and producers.

    2. William R. Orthwein, American swimmer and water polo player (b. 1881) deaths

      1. American swimmer

        William R. Orthwein

        William Robert Orthwein was an American sportsman, attorney, business executive and political activist.

  51. 1953

    1. Vanessa Bell Armstrong, American singer births

      1. American gospel singer

        Vanessa Bell Armstrong

        Vanessa Bell Armstrong is an American gospel singer who released her debut album Peace Be Still in 1983. Armstrong is an 7x Grammy Award Nominee, Stellar Award Winner, and a Soul Train Award winner. She has worked with many in the industry such as, Mattie Moss Clark, Darryl Coley, The Clark Sisters, Rance Allen, James Cleveland, and a host of others. The Detroit Native also has an honorary doctorate degree in theology from Next Dimension University at the West Angeles Cathedral in Los Angeles on Saturday, August 20, 2017.

    2. John Marin, American painter (b. 1870) deaths

      1. American artist (1870–1953)

        John Marin

        John Marin was an early American modernist artist. He is known for his abstract landscapes and watercolors.

  52. 1951

    1. Sting, English singer-songwriter and actor births

      1. British musician (born 1951)

        Sting (musician)

        Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, known as Sting, is an English musician and actor. He was the frontman, songwriter and bassist for new wave rock band the Police from 1977 to their breakup in 1986. He launched a solo career in 1985 and has included elements of rock, jazz, reggae, classical, new-age, and worldbeat in his music.

  53. 1950

    1. Mike Rutherford, English guitarist births

      1. English guitarist, bassist, songwriter, and singer

        Mike Rutherford

        Michael John Cloete Crawford Rutherford is an English guitarist, bassist and songwriter, co-founder of the rock band Genesis. Rutherford and keyboardist Tony Banks are the group's two continuous members.

  54. 1949

    1. Richard Hell, American singer-songwriter and bass player births

      1. American musician

        Richard Hell

        Richard Lester Meyers, better known by his stage name Richard Hell, is an American singer, songwriter, bass guitarist and writer.

    2. Annie Leibovitz, American photographer births

      1. American photographer (born 1949)

        Annie Leibovitz

        Anna-Lou Leibovitz is an American portrait photographer best known for her engaging portraits, particularly of celebrities, which often feature subjects in intimate settings and poses. Leibovitz's Polaroid photo of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, taken five hours before Lennon's murder, is considered one of Rolling Stone magazine's most famous cover photographs. The Library of Congress declared her a Living Legend, and she is the first woman to have a feature exhibition at Washington's National Portrait Gallery.

  55. 1948

    1. Trevor Brooking, English footballer and manager births

      1. English footballer

        Trevor Brooking

        Sir Trevor David Brooking, is a former England international footballer, manager, pundit and football administrator; he now works as director of football development in England.

    2. Avery Brooks, American actor births

      1. American actor, director, musician, singer, and professor

        Avery Brooks

        Avery Franklin Brooks is an American actor, director, singer, narrator and educator. He is best known for his television roles as Captain Benjamin Sisko on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, as Hawk on Spenser: For Hire and its spinoff A Man Called Hawk, and as Dr. Bob Sweeney in the Academy Award–nominated film American History X. Brooks has delivered a variety of other performances to a great deal of acclaim. He has been nominated for a Saturn Award and three NAACP Image Awards. Brooks also been inducted in the College of Fellows of the American Theatre and bestowed with the William Shakespeare Award for Classical Theatre by the Shakespeare Theatre Company.

    3. Donna Karan, American fashion designer, founded DKNY births

      1. American fashion designer

        Donna Karan

        Donna Karan, also known as "DK", is an American fashion designer and the creator of the Donna Karan New York and DKNY clothing labels.

      2. New York-based fashion house

        DKNY

        DKNY is a New York City–based fashion house for men and women, founded in 1984 by Donna Karan.

    4. Siim Kallas, Estonian politician, Prime Minister of Estonia births

      1. Estonian politician

        Siim Kallas

        Siim Kallas is an Estonian politician, former Prime Minister of Estonia, and former European Commissioner. He served as the European Commissioner for Transport between 2010 and 2014. Before that he was the European Commissioner for Administrative Affairs, Audit and Anti-Fraud between 2004 and 2009. In both Barroso Commissions he was also a Vice-President. He was twice appointed the Acting Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs and the Euro in Olli Rehn's stead, from 19 April 2014 to 25 May 2014 while he was on electoral campaign leave for the 2014 elections to the European Parliament and from 1 July 2014 to 16 July 2014 after he took up his seat.

      2. Head of government of the Republic of Estonia

        Prime Minister of Estonia

        The Prime Minister of Estonia is the head of government of the Republic of Estonia. The prime minister is nominated by the president after appropriate consultations with the parliamentary factions and confirmed by the parliament (Riigikogu). In case of disagreement, the Parliament can reject the president's nomination and choose their own candidate. In practice, since the prime minister must maintain the confidence of Parliament in order to remain in office, they are usually the leader of the senior partner in the governing coalition. The current prime minister is Kaja Kallas of the Reform Party. She took the office on 26 January 2021 following the resignation of Jüri Ratas.

    5. Persis Khambatta, Indian model and actress, (d. 1998) births

      1. Indian model and actress

        Persis Khambatta

        Persis Khambatta was an Indian model and actress who is best remembered for playing Lieutenant Ilia in the feature film Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979).

  56. 1947

    1. Ward Churchill, American author and activist births

      1. American author and political activist

        Ward Churchill

        Ward LeRoy Churchill is an American author and political activist. He was a professor of ethnic studies at the University of Colorado Boulder from 1990 until 2007. The primary focus of his work is on the historical treatment of political dissenters and Native Americans by the United States government. His work features controversial views, written in a direct, often confrontational style. While Churchill has claimed Native American ancestry, genealogical research has failed to unearth such ancestry and he is not a member of a tribe.

  57. 1946

    1. Sonthi Boonyaratglin, Thai general and politician births

      1. Sonthi Boonyaratglin

        Sonthi Boonyaratglin is a Thai former Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Army and former head of the Council for National Security, the military junta that ruled the kingdom, of Iranian descent. He was the first Muslim in charge of the army of the mostly Buddhist country. On 19 September 2006, he became the de facto head of government of Thailand after overthrowing the elected government in a coup d'état. After retiring from the Army in 2007, he became Deputy Prime Minister, in charge of national security.

  58. 1945

    1. Martin Hellman, American cryptographer and academic births

      1. American cryptologist (born 1945)

        Martin Hellman

        Martin Edward Hellman is an American cryptologist and mathematician, best known for his involvement with public key cryptography in cooperation with Whitfield Diffie and Ralph Merkle. Hellman is a longtime contributor to the computer privacy debate, and has applied risk analysis to a potential failure of nuclear deterrence.

    2. Don McLean, American singer-songwriter births

      1. American singer-songwriter (born 1945)

        Don McLean

        Donald McLean III is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for his 1971 hit song "American Pie", an eight-and-a-half-minute folk rock "cultural touchstone" about the loss of innocence of the early rock and roll generation. His other hit singles include "Vincent", "Dreidel", and "Wonderful Baby"; as well as his renditions of Roy Orbison's "Crying" and the Skyliners' "Since I Don't Have You".

  59. 1944

    1. Vernor Vinge, American author births

      1. American mathematician, computer scientist, and science fiction writer

        Vernor Vinge

        Vernor Steffen Vinge is an American science fiction author and retired professor. He taught mathematics and computer science at San Diego State University. He is the first wide-scale popularizer of the technological singularity concept and perhaps the first to present a fictional "cyberspace". He has won the Hugo Award for his novels A Fire Upon the Deep (1992), A Deepness in the Sky (1999), Rainbows End (2006), and novellas Fast Times at Fairmont High (2002), and The Cookie Monster (2004).

  60. 1943

    1. Anna Ford, English journalist births

      1. Anna Ford

        Anna Ford is an English former journalist, television presenter and newsreader. She first worked as a researcher, news reporter and later newsreader for Granada Television, ITN, and the BBC. Ford helped launch the British breakfast television broadcaster TV-am. She retired from broadcast news presenting in April 2006 and was a non-executive director of Sainsbury's until the end of 2012. Ford now lives in her home town of Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire.

    2. Henri Szeps, Australian actor births

      1. Australian actor

        Henri Szeps

        Henri Szeps OAM, alternatively Henry Szeps, is an Australian character actor of theatre and television. He has also featured in films and worked in voice roles, and has worked in productions in the United Kingdom.

    3. John Evans, English-Australian politician, 21st Premier of Tasmania (b. 1855) deaths

      1. Australian politician

        John Evans (Australian politician)

        Sir John William Evans, CMG was an Australian politician, a member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly and Premier of Tasmania from 11 July 1904 to 19 June 1909.

      2. Head of government for the state of Tasmania, Australia

        Premier of Tasmania

        The premier of Tasmania is the head of the executive government in the Australian state of Tasmania. By convention, the leader of the party or political grouping which has majority support in the House of Assembly is invited by the governor of Tasmania to be premier and principal adviser.

  61. 1942

    1. Steve Sabol, American director and producer, co-founded NFL Films (d. 2012) births

      1. American filmmaker and founder of NFL Films (1942–2012)

        Steve Sabol

        Stephen Douglas Sabol was an American filmmaker. He was the president and one of the founders of NFL Films, along with his father Ed. He was also a widely exhibited visual artist.

      2. Motion picture company owned by the National Football League

        NFL Films

        NFL Productions, LLC, doing business as NFL Films, is the film and television production company of the National Football League. It produces commercials, television programs, feature films, and documentaries for and about the NFL, as well as other unrelated major events and awards shows. Founded as Blair Motion Pictures by Ed Sabol in 1962 and run by his son Steve Sabol until his death, it produces most of the NFL's filmed and videotaped content except its live game coverage, which is handled separately by the individual networks. NFL Films is based in Mount Laurel, New Jersey.

  62. 1941

    1. Diana Hendry, English poet and author births

      1. Diana Hendry

        Diana Lois Hendry is an English poet, children's author and short story writer. She won a Whitbread Award in 1991 and was again shortlisted for the prize in 2012.

    2. Ron Meagher, American rock bass player births

      1. Musical artist

        Ron Meagher

        Ron Meagher is an American musician, best known as the bassist of American rock band The Beau Brummels. When guitarist-songwriter Ron Elliott was putting the band together in 1964, he asked a friend, Kay Dane, if she knew any good bass players. Dane recommended Meagher, but cautioned, "He's kind of weird. He has long hair!" After joining the band, Meagher proved to be important to the band's image, as he was one of the first American rock musicians with Beatlesque hair.

  63. 1939

    1. Budhi Kunderan, Indian cricketer (d. 2006) births

      1. Indian cricketer

        Budhi Kunderan

        Budhisagar Krishnappa Kunderan pronunciation (help·info) was an Indian cricketer. He played as a wicket keeper for the most of his career, and was an exciting but unorthodox right-handed batsman who competed for international selection with contemporary Farokh Engineer.In his eighteen Tests between 1960 and 1967, he scored 981 runs with two centuries and a batting average of 32.70. With the gloves he took 23 catches and executed seven stumpings.

  64. 1938

    1. Waheed Murad, Pakistani actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1983) births

      1. Pakistani film producer and director

        Waheed Murad

        Waheed Murad, also known as Chocolate Hero, was a Pakistani film actor, producer and script writer. Famous for his charming expressions, attractive personality, tender voice and unusual talent for acting, Waheed is considered one of the most famous and influential actors of South Asia and has influenced the film industry in the subcontinent.

    2. Rex Reed, American film critic births

      1. American film critic (born 1938)

        Rex Reed

        Rex Taylor Reed is an American film critic, occasional actor, and television host. He writes the column "On the Town with Rex Reed" for The New York Observer.

    3. Alexandru Averescu, Romanian military leader and politician, 24th Prime Minister of Romania (b. 1859) deaths

      1. Romanian marshal and populist politician

        Alexandru Averescu

        Alexandru Averescu was a Romanian marshal, diplomat and populist politician. A Romanian Armed Forces Commander during World War I, he served as Prime Minister of three separate cabinets. He first rose to prominence during the peasants' revolt of 1907, which he helped repress with violence. Credited with engineering the defense of Moldavia in the 1916–1917 Campaign, he built on his popularity to found and lead the successful People's Party, which he brought to power in 1920–1921, with backing from King Ferdinand I and the National Liberal Party (PNL), and with the notable participation of Constantin Argetoianu and Take Ionescu.

      2. List of heads of government of Romania

        This is a table list consisting of all the heads of government, of the modern and contemporary Romanian state, since the establishment of the United Principalities in 1859 to the present-day during the early 21st century.

  65. 1937

    1. Johnnie Cochran, American lawyer (d. 2005) births

      1. American lawyer (1937–2005)

        Johnnie Cochran

        Johnnie Lee Cochran Jr. was an American lawyer best known for his leadership role in the defense and criminal acquittal of O. J. Simpson for the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman. He often defended his client with rhymes like, "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit!"

  66. 1936

    1. Dick Barnett, American basketball player births

      1. American basketball player, shooting guard

        Dick Barnett

        Richard Barnett is an American former basketball player who was a shooting guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Syracuse Nationals, Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks. He won two NBA championships with the Knicks. Barnett was also a member of the Cleveland Pipers in the American Basketball League. He played college basketball at Tennessee A&I College.

    2. Connie Dierking, American basketball player (d. 2013) births

      1. American basketball player

        Connie Dierking

        Conrad William Dierking was an American professional basketball player from 1958 to 1971.

  67. 1935

    1. Omar Sívori, Italian-Argentine footballer and manager (d. 2005) births

      1. Italian-Argentine footballer (1935–2005)

        Omar Sívori

        Enrique Omar Sívori was an Italian-Argentine football player and manager who played as a forward. At club level, he is known for his successful time with Italian side Juventus during the late 1950s and early 1960s, where he won three Serie A titles among other trophies; he also played for River Plate in Argentina and Napoli in Italy.

  68. 1934

    1. Richard Scott, Baron Scott of Foscote, English lawyer and judge births

      1. Richard Scott, Baron Scott of Foscote

        Richard Rashleigh Folliott Scott, Baron Scott of Foscote, is a British judge, who formerly held the office of Lord of Appeal in Ordinary.

    2. Earl Wilson, American baseball player (d. 2005) births

      1. American baseball player (1934-2005)

        Earl Wilson (baseball)

        Robert Earl Wilson was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played all or part of eleven seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers (1966–1970) and San Diego Padres (1970), primarily as a starting pitcher. Wilson batted and threw right-handed; he was born in Ponchatoula, Louisiana, and graduated from Greenville Park High School in Tangipahoa Parish.

  69. 1933

    1. John Gurdon, English biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate births

      1. English developmental biologist (born 1933)

        John Gurdon

        Sir John Bertrand Gurdon is a British developmental biologist. He is best known for his pioneering research in nuclear transplantation and cloning. He was awarded the Lasker Award in 2009. In 2012, he and Shinya Yamanaka were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for the discovery that mature cells can be converted to stem cells.

      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.

    2. Dave Somerville, Canadian singer (d. 2015) births

      1. Musical artist

        Dave Somerville

        David Troy Somerville was a Canadian singer operating primarily in the United States, best known as the co-founder, and original lead singer, of The Diamonds, one of the most popular vocal groups of the 1950s.

  70. 1932

    1. Maury Wills, American baseball player and manager (d. 2022) births

      1. American baseball player and manager (1932–2022)

        Maury Wills

        Maurice Morning Wills was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) primarily for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1959 through 1966 and the latter part of 1969 through 1972 as a shortstop and switch-hitter; he played for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1967 and 1968, and the Montreal Expos the first part of 1969. Wills was an essential component of the Dodgers' championship teams in the mid-1960s, and is credited with reviving the stolen base as part of baseball strategy.

  71. 1930

    1. Dave Barrett, Canadian social worker and politician, 26th Premier of British Columbia (d. 2018) births

      1. Former Premier of British Columbia

        Dave Barrett

        David Barrett was a politician and social worker in British Columbia, Canada. He was the 26th premier of British Columbia from 1972 to 1975.

      2. Head of government and chief minister of the Canadian province of British Columbia

        Premier of British Columbia

        The premier of British Columbia is the first minister and head of government for the Canadian province of British Columbia. Until the early 1970s, the title prime minister of British Columbia was often used. The word premier is derived from the French word of the same spelling, meaning "first"; and ultimately from the Latin word primarius, meaning "primary".

  72. 1929

    1. Peter Bronfman, Canadian businessman (d. 1996) births

      1. Peter Bronfman

        Peter Frederick Bronfman was a Canadian businessman and entrepreneur, born in Montreal, and member of the Toronto branch of Canada's wealthy Bronfman family. He attended Selwyn House School in Montreal and the elite Lawrenceville School in New Jersey, one of the oldest prep schools in America, and received his bachelor's degree from Yale University in 1952.

    2. Moses Gunn, American actor (d. 1993) births

      1. American stage and screen actor

        Moses Gunn

        Moses Gunn was an American actor of stage and screen. An Obie Award-winning stage player, he is an alumnus of the Negro Ensemble Company. His 1962 off-Broadway debut was in Jean Genet's The Blacks, and his Broadway debut was in A Hand is on the Gate, an evening of African-American poetry. He was nominated for the 1976 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performance in The Poison Tree, and he also played Othello on Broadway in 1970. For his screen performances, Gunn is best known for his roles as Clotho in WUSA (1970), Bumpy Jonas in Shaft (1971) and Joe on Little House on the Prairie (1977-1981).

  73. 1928

    1. George McFarland, American actor (d. 1993) births

      1. American child actor (1928–1993)

        Spanky McFarland

        George McFarland was an American actor most famous for his appearances as a child as Spanky in the Our Gang series of short-subject comedies of the 1930s and 1940s. The Our Gang shorts were later syndicated to television as The Little Rascals.

    2. Wolfhart Pannenberg, Polish-German theologian and academic (d. 2014) births

      1. German Lutheran theologian

        Wolfhart Pannenberg

        Wolfhart Pannenberg was a German Lutheran theologian. He made a number of significant contributions to modern theology, including his concept of history as a form of revelation centered on the resurrection of Christ, which has been widely debated in both Protestant and Catholic theology, as well as by non-Christian thinkers.

  74. 1927

    1. Svante Arrhenius, Swedish physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1859) deaths

      1. Swedish scientist (1859–1927)

        Svante Arrhenius

        Svante August Arrhenius was a Swedish scientist. Originally a physicist, but often referred to as a chemist, Arrhenius was one of the founders of the science of physical chemistry. He received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1903, becoming the first Swedish Nobel laureate. In 1905, he became director of the Nobel Institute, where he remained until his death.

      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.

  75. 1926

    1. Jan Morris, Welsh historian and author (d. 2020) births

      1. Welsh historian and travel writer (1926–2020)

        Jan Morris

        (Catharine) Jan Morris was a Welsh historian, author and travel writer. She was known particularly for the Pax Britannica trilogy (1968–1978), a history of the British Empire, and for portraits of cities, including Oxford, Venice, Trieste, Hong Kong and New York City. She published under her birth name, James, until 1972, when she had gender reassignment surgery after transitioning from male to female.

  76. 1925

    1. Wren Blair, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager (d. 2013) births

      1. Canadian ice hockey coach, scout, and executive

        Wren Blair

        Wren Alvin Blair was a Canadian ice hockey coach, scout and executive in the National Hockey League.

  77. 1921

    1. Edmund Crispin, English writer and composer (d. 1978) births

      1. British composer and crime novelist (1921–1978)

        Edmund Crispin

        Edmund Crispin was the pseudonym of Robert Bruce Montgomery, an English crime writer and composer known for his Gervase Fen novels and for his musical scores for the early films in the Carry On series.

    2. Albert Scott Crossfield, American pilot and engineer (d. 2006) births

      1. American test pilot

        Albert Scott Crossfield

        Albert Scott Crossfield was an American naval officer and test pilot. In 1953, he became the first pilot to fly at twice the speed of sound. Crossfield was the first of twelve pilots who flew the North American X-15, an experimental spaceplane jointly operated by the United States Air Force and NASA.

    3. Robert Runcie, English archbishop (d. 2000) births

      1. Archbishop of Canterbury

        Robert Runcie

        Robert Alexander Kennedy Runcie, Baron Runcie, was an English Anglican bishop. He was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1980 to 1991, having previously been Bishop of St Albans. He travelled the world widely to spread ecumenicism and worked to foster relations with both Protestant and Catholic churches across Europe. He was a leader of the Liberal Anglo-Catholicism movement. He came under attack for expressing compassion towards bereaved Argentines after the Falklands War of 1982, and generated controversy by supporting women's ordination.

  78. 1920

    1. Max Bruch, German composer and conductor (b. 1838) deaths

      1. German romantic composer and conductor (1838–1920)

        Max Bruch

        Max Bruch was a German Romantic composer, violinist, teacher, and conductor who wrote more than 200 works, including three violin concertos, the first of which has become a prominent staple of the standard violin repertoire.

  79. 1919

    1. John W. Duarte, English guitarist and composer (d. 2004) births

      1. British composer, guitarist and writer

        John W. Duarte

        John William Duarte was a British composer, guitarist and writer.

  80. 1917

    1. Christian de Duve, Belgian cytologist and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2013) births

      1. Belgian biochemist, cytologist

        Christian de Duve

        Christian René Marie Joseph, Viscount de Duve was a Nobel Prize-winning Belgian cytologist and biochemist. He made serendipitous discoveries of two cell organelles, peroxisome and lysosome, for which he shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1974 with Albert Claude and George E. Palade. In addition to peroxisome and lysosome, he invented scientific names such as autophagy, endocytosis, and exocytosis in a single occasion.

      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.

    2. Charles Drake, American actor (d. 1994) births

      1. American actor

        Charles Drake (actor)

        Charles Drake was an American actor.

  81. 1915

    1. Chuck Williams, American author and businessman, founded Williams Sonoma (d. 2015) births

      1. Chuck Williams (author)

        Charles Edward Williams was the American founder of Williams Sonoma and author and editor of more than 100 books on the subject of cooking. Williams is credited for playing a major role in introducing French cookware into American kitchens through his retail and mail-order business. He became a centenarian in October 2015 and died two months later on December 5, 2015, in San Francisco, California.

      2. American retailer

        Williams Sonoma

        Williams Sonoma is an American retailer of cookware, appliances, and home furnishings. It is owned by Williams-Sonoma, Inc. and was founded by Charles E. (Chuck) Williams in 1956.

  82. 1914

    1. Jack Parsons, American chemist, occultist, and engineer (d. 1952) births

      1. American rocket engineer (1914–1952)

        Jack Parsons

        John Whiteside Parsons was an American rocket engineer, chemist, and Thelemite occultist. Associated with the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Parsons was one of the principal founders of both the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the Aerojet Engineering Corporation. He invented the first rocket engine to use a castable, composite rocket propellant, and pioneered the advancement of both liquid-fuel and solid-fuel rockets.

    2. Bernarr Rainbow, English organist, conductor, and historian (d. 1998) births

      1. Bernarr Rainbow

        Bernarr Joseph George Rainbow was a historian of music education, organist, and choir master from the United Kingdom.

  83. 1912

    1. Frank Malina, American engineer and painter (d. 1981) births

      1. American aeronautical engineer and painter

        Frank Malina

        Frank Joseph Malina was an American aeronautical engineer and painter, especially known for becoming both a pioneer in the art world and the realm of scientific engineering.

  84. 1909

    1. Alex Raymond, American cartoonist, creator of Flash Gordon (d. 1956) births

      1. American cartoonist (1909–1956)

        Alex Raymond

        Alexander Gillespie Raymond Jr. was an American cartoonist who was best known for creating the Flash Gordon comic strip for King Features Syndicate in 1934. The strip was subsequently adapted into many other media, from three Universal movie serials to a 1950s television series and a 1980 feature film.

  85. 1907

    1. Víctor Paz Estenssoro, Bolivian politician, President of Bolivia (d. 2001) births

      1. President of Bolivia variously in the 20th century

        Víctor Paz Estenssoro

        Ángel Víctor Paz Estenssoro was a Bolivian politician who served as the 45th president of Bolivia for three nonconsecutive and four total terms from 1952 to 1956, 1960 to 1964 and 1985 to 1989. He ran for president eight times and was victorious in 1951, 1960, 1964 and 1985. His 1951 victory was annulled by a military junta led by Hugo Ballivián, and his 1964 victory was interrupted by the 1964 Bolivian coup d'état.

      2. Head of state and government of Bolivia

        President of Bolivia

        The president of Bolivia, officially known as the president of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is head of state and head of government of Bolivia and the captain general of the Armed Forces of Bolivia.

    2. Alexander R. Todd, Scottish biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1997) births

      1. British biochemist

        Alexander R. Todd

        Alexander Robertus Todd, Baron Todd was a British biochemist whose research on the structure and synthesis of nucleotides, nucleosides, and nucleotide coenzymes gained him the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1957.

      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.

  86. 1906

    1. Thomas Hollway, Australian politician, Premier of Victoria (d. 1971) births

      1. Australian politician

        Thomas Hollway

        Thomas Tuke Hollway was the 36th Premier of Victoria, and the first to be born in the 20th century. He held office from 1947 to 1950, and again for a short period in 1952. He was originally a member and the leader of the United Australia Party (UAP) in Victoria, and was the inaugural leader of the UAP's successor, the Victorian division of the Liberal Party, but split from the Liberals after a dispute over electoral reform issues.

      2. Head of government in the state of Victoria

        Premier of Victoria

        The premier of Victoria is the head of government in the Australian state of Victoria. The premier is appointed by the governor of Victoria, and is the leader of the political party able to secure a majority in the Victorian Legislative Assembly.

  87. 1905

    1. Franjo Šeper, Croatian cardinal (d. 1981) births

      1. Croatian Roman Catholic cardinal

        Franjo Šeper

        Franjo Šeper was a Croatian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from 1968 to 1981, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1965.

  88. 1904

    1. Graham Greene, English novelist, playwright, and critic (d. 1991) births

      1. English writer and literary critic (1904–1991)

        Graham Greene

        Henry Graham Greene was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquired a reputation early in his lifetime as a major writer, both of serious Catholic novels, and of thrillers. He was shortlisted for the Nobel Prize in Literature several times. Through 67 years of writing, which included over 25 novels, he explored the conflicting moral and political issues of the modern world. He was awarded the 1968 Shakespeare Prize and the 1981 Jerusalem Prize.

    2. Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indian and politician, Prime Minister of India (d. 1966) births

      1. Prime Minister of India from 1964 to 1966

        Lal Bahadur Shastri

        Lal Bahadur Shastri was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the 2nd Prime Minister of India from 1964 to 1966 and 6th Home Minister of India from 1961 to 1963. He promoted the White Revolution – a national campaign to increase the production and supply of milk – by supporting the Amul milk co-operative of Anand, Gujarat and creating the National Dairy Development Board. Underlining the need to boost India's food production, Shastri also promoted the Green Revolution in India in 1965. This led to an increase in food grain production, especially in the states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

      2. Leader of the Executive Branch of the Government of India

        Prime Minister of India

        The prime minister of India is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of the executive. The prime minister is often the leader of the party or the coalition with a majority in the lower house of the Parliament of India, the Lok Sabha, which is the main legislative body in the Republic of India. The prime minister and their cabinet are at all times responsible to the Lok Sabha.

  89. 1902

    1. Leopold Figl, Austrian politician, Chancellor of Austria (d. 1965) births

      1. Austrian politician; Chancellor of Austria

        Leopold Figl

        Leopold Figl was an Austrian politician of the Austrian People's Party and the first Federal Chancellor after World War II. He was also the youngest Federal Chancellor of Austria after the war before Sebastian Kurz.

      2. Head of government of the Republic of Austria

        Chancellor of Austria

        The chancellor of the Republic of Austria is the head of government of the Republic of Austria. The position corresponds to that of Prime Minister in several other parliamentary democracies.

  90. 1900

    1. Leela Roy Nag, Indian freedom fighter, social reformer and politician (d. 1970) births

      1. Indian independence activist and politician

        Leela Roy

        Leela Roy née Nag, was a radical leftist Indian woman politician and reformer, and a close associate of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. She was born in Goalpara, Assam to Girish Chandra Naag, who was a deputy magistrate, and her mother was Kunjalata Naag. She was the first female student of Dhaka University.

  91. 1895

    1. Ruth Cheney Streeter, American colonel (d. 1990) births

      1. American military officer (1895–1990)

        Ruth Cheney Streeter

        Ruth Cheney Streeter was an American military officer who was the first director of the United States Marine Corps Women's Reserve (USMCWR). In 1943, she became the first woman to attain the rank of major in the United States Marine Corps when she was commissioned as a major on January 29, 1943. She retired in 1945 as a lieutenant colonel.

  92. 1893

    1. Leroy Shield, American composer and conductor (d. 1962) births

      1. Musical artist

        Leroy Shield

        Leroy Bernard Shield was an American film score and radio composer. He is best known for the themes and incidental music he wrote for the classic Hal Roach comedy short films of the 1930s, including the Our Gang and Laurel and Hardy series.

  93. 1890

    1. Groucho Marx, American comedian and actor (d. 1977) births

      1. American comedian (1890–1977)

        Groucho Marx

        Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx was an American comedian, actor, writer, stage, film, radio, singer, television star and vaudeville performer. He is generally considered to have been a master of quick wit and one of America's greatest comedians.

  94. 1883

    1. Karl von Terzaghi, Austrian geologist and engineer (d. 1963) births

      1. Austrian geotechnical engineer known as the "father of soil mechanics"

        Karl von Terzaghi

        Karl von Terzaghi was an Austrian mechanical engineer, geotechnical engineer, and geologist known as the "father of soil mechanics and geotechnical engineering".

  95. 1882

    1. Boris Shaposhnikov, Russian colonel (d. 1945) births

      1. Soviet-Russian military commander

        Boris Shaposhnikov

        Boris Mikhaylovich Shaposhnikov was a Soviet military commander, Chief of the Staff of the Red Army, and Marshal of the Soviet Union.

  96. 1879

    1. Wallace Stevens, American poet (d. 1955) births

      1. American poet

        Wallace Stevens

        Wallace Stevens was an American modernist poet. He was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, educated at Harvard and then New York Law School, and spent most of his life working as an executive for an insurance company in Hartford, Connecticut. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his Collected Poems in 1955.

  97. 1875

    1. Pattie Ruffner Jacobs, American suffragist (d. 1935) births

      1. American suffragist (1875–1935)

        Pattie Ruffner Jacobs

        Pattie Ruffner Jacobs was an American suffragist from Birmingham, Alabama. She was inducted into the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame in 1978.

  98. 1873

    1. Stephen Warfield Gambrill, American lawyer and politician (d. 1924) births

      1. American politician

        Stephen Warfield Gambrill

        Stephen Warfield Gambrill was an American politician.

    2. Pelham Warner, English cricketer and manager (d. 1963) births

      1. English cricketer (1873–1963)

        Plum Warner

        Sir Pelham Francis Warner,, affectionately and better known as Plum Warner or "the Grand Old Man" of English cricket, was a Test cricketer and cricket administrator.

  99. 1871

    1. Cordell Hull, American politician, United States Secretary of State, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1955) births

      1. American politician (1871–1955)

        Cordell Hull

        Cordell Hull was an American politician from Tennessee and the longest-serving U.S. Secretary of State, holding the position for 11 years (1933–1944) in the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt during most of World War II. Before that appointment he represented Tennessee for two years in the United States Senate and twenty-two years in the House of Representatives.

      2. Head of the United States Department of State

        United States Secretary of State

        The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Cabinet, and ranks the first in the U.S. presidential line of succession among Cabinet secretaries.

      3. One of five Nobel Prizes established by Alfred Nobel

        Nobel Peace Prize

        The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiology or Medicine and Literature. Since March 1901, it has been awarded annually to those who have "done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses".

    2. Martha Brookes Hutcheson, American landscaper and author (d. 1959) births

      1. Martha Brookes Hutcheson

        Martha Brookes Hutcheson was an American landscape architect, lecturer, and author, active in New England, New York, and New Jersey.

  100. 1869

    1. Mahatma Gandhi, Indian freedom fighter, activist and philosopher (d. 1948) births

      1. Indian nationalist leader and nonviolence advocate (1869–1948)

        Mahatma Gandhi

        Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British rule, and to later inspire movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. The honorific Mahātmā, first applied to him in 1914 in South Africa, is now used throughout the world.

  101. 1866

    1. Swami Abhedananda, Indian mystic and philosopher (d. 1939) births

      1. Indian Hindu mystic (1866-1939)

        Swami Abhedananda

        Swami Abhedananda, born Kaliprasad Chandra, was a direct disciple of the 19th century mystic Ramakrishna Paramahansa and the founder of Ramakrishna Vedanta Math. Swami Vivekananda sent him to the West to head the Vedanta Society of New York in 1897, and spread the message of Vedanta, a theme on which he authored several books through his life, and subsequently founded the Ramakrishna Vedanta Math, in Calcutta and Darjeeling.

  102. 1854

    1. Patrick Geddes, Scottish biologist, sociologist, geographer, and philanthropist (d. 1932) births

      1. British scientist and town planner (1854-1932)

        Patrick Geddes

        Sir Patrick Geddes was a British biologist, sociologist, Comtean positivist, geographer, philanthropist and pioneering town planner. He is known for his innovative thinking in the fields of urban planning and sociology.

  103. 1853

    1. François Arago, French mathematician, physicist, astronomer, and politician (b. 1786) deaths

      1. 18/19th-century French physicist, astonomer, and mathematician

        François Arago

        Dominique François Jean Arago, known simply as François Arago, was a French mathematician, physicist, astronomer, freemason, supporter of the Carbonari revolutionaries and politician.

  104. 1852

    1. William Ramsay, Scottish chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1916) births

      1. Scottish chemist

        William Ramsay

        Sir William Ramsay was a Scottish chemist who discovered the noble gases and received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1904 "in recognition of his services in the discovery of the inert gaseous elements in air" along with his collaborator, John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh, who received the Nobel Prize in Physics that same year for their discovery of argon. After the two men identified argon, Ramsay investigated other atmospheric gases. His work in isolating argon, helium, neon, krypton, and xenon led to the development of a new section of the periodic table.

      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.

  105. 1851

    1. Ferdinand Foch, French field marshal (d. 1929) births

      1. French general and military theorist

        Ferdinand Foch

        Ferdinand Foch was a French general and military theorist who served as the Supreme Allied Commander during the First World War. An aggressive, even reckless commander at the First Marne, Flanders and Artois campaigns of 1914–1916, Foch became the Allied Commander-in-Chief in late March 1918 in the face of the all-out German spring offensive, which pushed the Allies back using fresh soldiers and new tactics that trenches could not withstand. He successfully coordinated the French, British and American efforts into a coherent whole, deftly handling his strategic reserves. He stopped the German offensive and launched a war-winning counterattack. In November 1918, Marshal Foch accepted the German cessation of hostilities and was present at the Armistice of 11 November 1918.

  106. 1850

    1. Sarah Biffen, English painter (b. 1784) deaths

      1. English painter

        Sarah Biffen

        Sarah Biffen, also known as Sarah Biffin, Sarah Beffin, or by her married name Mrs E. M. Wright, was a Victorian English painter born with no arms and only vestigial legs. She was 94 cm (37 in) tall. She was born in 1784 in Somerset. Despite her disability she learned to read and write, and to paint using her mouth. She was apprenticed to a man named Dukes, who exhibited her as an attraction throughout England. In the St. Bartholomew's Fair of 1808, she came to the attention of George Douglas, the Earl of Morton, who went on to sponsor her to receive lessons from a Royal Academy of Arts painter, William Craig. The Society of Arts awarded her a medal in 1821 for a historical miniature and the Royal Academy accepted her paintings. The Royal Family commissioned her to paint miniature portraits of them. When the Earl of Morton died in 1827, Biffen was left without a noble sponsor and she ran into financial trouble. Queen Victoria awarded her a Civil List pension and she retired to a private life in Liverpool. Some years later, she married and 12 years later tried to renew her success with the name Mrs. Wright but this was not successful. She died on 2 October 1850 at the age of 66.

  107. 1847

    1. Paul von Hindenburg, German field marshal and politician, 2nd President of Germany (d. 1934) births

      1. President of Germany from 1925 to 1934

        Paul von Hindenburg

        Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg was a German field marshal and statesman who led the Imperial German Army during World War I and later became President of Germany from 1925 until his death in 1934. During his presidency, he played a key role in the Nazi seizure of power in January 1933 when, under pressure from advisers, he appointed Adolf Hitler as Chancellor of Germany.

      2. German head of state under the Weimar Constitution (effective 1919–45)

        President of Germany (1919–1945)

        The president of the Reich was the German head of state under the Weimar constitution, which was officially in force from 1919 to 1945. In English he was usually simply referred to as the president of Germany.

  108. 1832

    1. Edward Burnett Tylor, English anthropologist (d. 1917) births

      1. English anthropologist

        Edward Burnett Tylor

        Sir Edward Burnett Tylor FRAI was an English anthropologist, and professor of anthropology.

  109. 1828

    1. Charles Floquet, French lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1896) births

      1. French lawyer and statesman (1828–1896)

        Charles Floquet

        Charles Thomas Floquet was a French lawyer and statesman.

      2. Head of Government of France

        Prime Minister of France

        The prime minister of France, officially the prime minister of the French Republic, is the head of government of the French Republic and the leader of the Council of Ministers.

  110. 1821

    1. Alexander P. Stewart, American general (d. 1908) births

      1. Confederate general, mathematician and philosopher

        Alexander P. Stewart

        Alexander Peter Stewart was a career United States Army officer, college professor, and a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He fought in many of the most significant battles in the Western Theater of the war, and briefly took command of the Army of Tennessee in 1865.

  111. 1815

    1. James Agnew, Irish-Australian politician, Premier of Tasmania (d. 1901) births

      1. Australian politician (1815-1901)

        James Agnew

        Sir James Willson Agnew was an Irish-born Australian politician, who was Premier of Tasmania from 1886 to 1887.

      2. Head of government for the state of Tasmania, Australia

        Premier of Tasmania

        The premier of Tasmania is the head of the executive government in the Australian state of Tasmania. By convention, the leader of the party or political grouping which has majority support in the House of Assembly is invited by the governor of Tasmania to be premier and principal adviser.

  112. 1804

    1. Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot, French engineer (b. 1725) deaths

      1. French inventor (1725-1804)

        Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot

        Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot was a French inventor who built the world's first full-size and working self-propelled mechanical land-vehicle, the "Fardier à vapeur" – effectively the world's first automobile.

  113. 1803

    1. Samuel Adams, American politician, Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1722) deaths

      1. American statesman, political philosopher, governor of Massachusetts, and Founding Father

        Samuel Adams

        Samuel Adams was an American statesman, political philosopher, and a Founding Father of the United States. He was a politician in colonial Massachusetts, a leader of the movement that became the American Revolution, and one of the architects of the principles of American republicanism that shaped the political culture of the United States. He was a second cousin to his fellow Founding Father, President John Adams.

      2. Head of government of U.S. state of Massachusetts

        Governor of Massachusetts

        The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the chief executive officer of the government of Massachusetts. The governor is the head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonwealth's military forces.

  114. 1800

    1. Nat Turner, American slave and uprising leader (d. 1831) births

      1. 1831 slave rebellion in Virginia

        Nat Turner's slave rebellion

        Nat Turner's Rebellion, also known as the Southampton Insurrection, was a rebellion of enslaved Virginians that took place in Southampton County, Virginia, in August 1831. Led by Nat Turner, the rebels killed between 55 and 65 people, at least 51 of whom were White. The rebellion was effectively suppressed within a few days, at Belmont Plantation on the morning of August 23, but Turner survived in hiding for more than two months afterward.

  115. 1798

    1. Charles Albert, King of Sardinia (1831–49) (d. 1849) births

      1. King of Sardinia (1831–49) and Duke of Savoy

        Charles Albert of Sardinia

        Charles Albert was the King of Sardinia from 27 April 1831 until 23 March 1849. His name is bound up with the first Italian constitution, the Albertine Statute, and with the First Italian War of Independence (1848–1849).

  116. 1786

    1. Augustus Keppel, 1st Viscount Keppel, English admiral and politician (b. 1725) deaths

      1. British admiral and politician

        Augustus Keppel, 1st Viscount Keppel

        Admiral Augustus Keppel, 1st Viscount Keppel, PC was a Royal Navy officer and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1755 to 1782. He saw action in command of various ships, including the fourth-rate Maidstone, during the War of the Austrian Succession. He went on to serve as Commodore on the North American Station and then Commander-in-Chief, Jamaica Station during the Seven Years' War. After that he served as Senior Naval Lord and then Commander-in-Chief of the Channel Fleet.

  117. 1782

    1. Charles Lee, English-born American general (b. 1732) deaths

      1. 18th century British diplomat and general

        Charles Lee (general)

        Charles Lee was an English-born American military officer who served as a general of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He also served earlier in the British Army during the Seven Years War. He sold his commission after the Seven Years War and served for a time in the Polish army of King Stanislaus II Augustus.

  118. 1780

    1. John André, English soldier (b. 1750) deaths

      1. British Army officer during the American Revolutionary War

        John André

        John André was a major in the British Army and head of its Secret Service in America during the American Revolutionary War. He was hanged as a spy by the Continental Army for assisting Benedict Arnold's attempted surrender of the fort at West Point, New York, to the British. André is typically remembered favorably by historians as a man of honor, and several prominent U.S. leaders of the time, including Alexander Hamilton and Marquis de Lafayette, did not agree with his fate.

  119. 1768

    1. William Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford, English general and politician (d. 1854) births

      1. Anglo-portuguese General

        William Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford

        General William Carr Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford, 1st Marquis of Campo Maior, was an Anglo-Irish soldier and politician. A general in the British Army and a Marshal in the Portuguese Army, he fought alongside The Duke of Wellington in the Peninsular War and held the office of Master-General of the Ordnance in 1828 in Wellington's first ministry. He led the 1806 failed British invasion of Buenos Aires.

  120. 1764

    1. William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1720) deaths

      1. 5th Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1756 to 1757

        William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire

        William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire,, styled Lord Cavendish before 1729, and Marquess of Hartington between 1729 and 1755, was a British Whig statesman and nobleman who was briefly nominal 5th Prime Minister of Great Britain. He was the first son of William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire and his wife, Catherine Hoskins. He is also a great-great-great-great-great-grandfather of King Charles III through the king's maternal great-grandmother.

      2. Head of Government in the United Kingdom

        Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

        The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern prime ministers hold office by virtue of their ability to command the confidence of the House of Commons, they sit as members of Parliament.

  121. 1746

    1. Josiah Burchett, English admiral and politician (b. 1666) deaths

      1. Josiah Burchett

        Josiah Burchett, of Hampstead, Middlesex, was a British naval administrator and Whig politician, who sat in the English and British House of Commons between 1705 and 1741. He was Secretary of the Admiralty in England, a position he held for almost fifty years from 26 September 1694 to 14 October 1742. In addition to his administrative duties, he was the author of the first general history of the Royal Navy, published in 1720 and based on official Admiralty records.

  122. 1724

    1. François-Timoléon de Choisy, French historian and author (b. 1644) deaths

      1. French cross-dresser, abbé, and author

        François-Timoléon de Choisy

        François Timoléon, abbé de Choisy was a French cross-dresser, abbé, and author. He wrote numerous works on church history as well as travelogues, memoirs and fiction.

  123. 1718

    1. Elizabeth Montagu, English author and critic (d. 1800) births

      1. English social reformer and arts patron 1718–1776

        Elizabeth Montagu

        Elizabeth Montagu was a British social reformer, patron of the arts, salonnière, literary critic and writer, who helped to organize and lead the Blue Stockings Society. Her parents were both from wealthy families with strong ties to the British peerage and learned life. She was sister to Sarah Scott, author of A Description of Millenium [sic] Hall and the Country Adjacent. She married Edward Montagu, a man with extensive landholdings, to become one of the richer women of her era. She devoted this fortune to fostering English and Scottish literature and to the relief of the poor.

  124. 1709

    1. Ivan Mazepa, Ukrainian diplomat (b. 1639) deaths

      1. Hetman of Ukrainian Cossacks

        Ivan Mazepa

        Ivan Stepanovych Mazepa was a Ukrainian military, political, and civic leader who served as the Hetman of Zaporizhian Host in 1687–1708. He was awarded a title of Prince of the Holy Roman Empire in 1707 for his efforts for the Holy League. The historical events of Mazepa's life have inspired many literary, artistic and musical works. He was famous as a patron of the arts.

  125. 1708

    1. Anne Jules de Noailles, French general (b. 1650) deaths

      1. 17th and 18th-century French nobleman and general

        Anne Jules de Noailles

        Anne Jules de Noailles, 2nd Duke of Noailles was one of the chief generals of France towards the end of the reign of Louis XIV, and, after raising the regiment of Noailles in 1689, he commanded in Spain during both the War of the Grand Alliance and the War of the Spanish Succession, and was made marshal of France in 1693.

  126. 1678

    1. Wu Sangui, Qing Chinese general (b. 1612) deaths

      1. 17th-century Chinese general and rebel

        Wu Sangui

        Wu Sangui, courtesy name Changbai (長白) or Changbo (長伯), was a notorious Ming Dynasty military officer who played a key role in the fall of the Ming dynasty and the founding of the Qing dynasty in China. In Chinese folklore, Wu Sangui is regarded as an infamous Han Chinese traitor who played a pivotal role in several historical events of Battle of Shanhai Pass, Manchu invasion of China, the suppression of Southern Ming resistances and the execution of the Yongli Emperor, and eventually double-crossed both of his masters, the Ming and the Qing dynasties.

  127. 1674

    1. George Frederick of Nassau-Siegen, officer in the Dutch Army (b. 1606) deaths

      1. German prince and officer in the Dutch Army (1606–1674)

        George Frederick of Nassau-Siegen

        Prince George Frederick of Nassau-Siegen, German: Georg Friedrich Prinz von Nassau-Siegen, official titles: Prinz von Nassau, Graf zu Katzenelnbogen, Vianden und Diez, Herr zu Beilstein, was a count from the House of Nassau-Siegen, a cadet branch of the Ottonian Line of the House of Nassau. In 1664 he was elevated to the rank and title of prince. He served as an officer in the Dutch States Army, and was successively commander of Rheinberg and governor of Bergen op Zoom.

  128. 1629

    1. Antonio Cifra, Italian composer (b. 1584) deaths

      1. Italian composer

        Antonio Cifra

        Antonio Cifra was an Italian composer of the Roman School of the Renaissance and early Baroque eras. He was one of the significant transitional figures between the Renaissance and Baroque styles, and produced music in both idioms.

    2. Pierre de Bérulle, French cardinal and theologian (b. 1575) deaths

      1. French Catholic priest and cardinal

        Pierre de Bérulle

        Pierre de Bérulle was a French Catholic priest, cardinal and statesman, one of the most important mystics of the 17th century in France. He was the founder of the French school of spirituality, who could count among his friends and disciples Vincent de Paul and Francis de Sales.

  129. 1626

    1. Diego Sarmiento de Acuña, 1st Count of Gondomar, Spanish academic and diplomat (b. 1567) deaths

      1. Spanish diplomat (1567–1626)

        Diego Sarmiento de Acuña, Count of Gondomar

        Don Diego Sarmiento de Acuña, Count of Gondomar, was a Spanish (Galician) diplomat. He served as the Spanish ambassador to England from 1613 to 1622 and afterwards, as a kind of ambassador emeritus, Spain's leading expert on English affairs until his death.

  130. 1559

    1. Jacquet of Mantua, French-Italian composer (b. 1483) deaths

      1. Jacquet of Mantua

        Jacquet of Mantua was a French composer of the Renaissance, who spent almost his entire life in Italy. He was an influential member of the generation between Josquin and Palestrina, and represents well the transitional polyphonic style between those two composers.

  131. 1538

    1. Charles Borromeo, Italian cardinal and saint (d. 1584) births

      1. Roman Catholic saint (1538–1584)

        Charles Borromeo

        Charles Borromeo was the Archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584 and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was a leading figure of the Counter-Reformation combat against the Protestant Reformation together with Ignatius of Loyola and Philip Neri. In that role he was responsible for significant reforms in the Catholic Church, including the founding of seminaries for the education of priests. He is honoured as a saint by the Catholic Church, with a feast day on 4 November.

  132. 1527

    1. William Drury, English politician (d. 1579) births

      1. English politician, died 1579

        William Drury

        Sir William Drury was an English statesman and soldier.

  133. 1470

    1. Isabella of Aragon, Queen of Portugal, Daughter of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon (d. 1498) births

      1. Queen consort of Portugal from 1497 to 1498

        Isabella of Aragon, Queen of Portugal

        Isabella, Princess of Asturias was the eldest daughter and heir presumptive of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile. She was Queen of Portugal as the wife of King Manuel I from 30 September 1497 until her death the following year.

      2. Queen of Castile (1474 to 1503), Queen consort of Aragon and Servant of God

        Isabella I of Castile

        Isabella I, also called Isabella the Catholic, was Queen of Castile from 1474 until her death in 1504, as well as Queen consort of Aragon from 1479 until 1504 by virtue of her marriage to King Ferdinand II of Aragon. Reigning together over a dynastically unified Spain, Isabella and Ferdinand are known as the Catholic Monarchs.

      3. King of Aragon, Sicily, Sardinia, Naples, and Castile (1452–1516)

        Ferdinand II of Aragon

        Ferdinand II, also called Ferdinand the Catholic, was King of Aragon and Sardinia from 1479, King of Sicily from 1468, King of Naples from 1504 and King of Navarre from 1512 until his death in 1516. He was also the nominal Duke of the ancient Duchies of Athens and Neopatria. He was King of Castile and León from 1475 to 1504, alongside his wife Queen Isabella I. From 1506 to 1516, he was the Regent of the Crown of Castile, making him the effective ruler of Castile. From 1511 to 1516, he styled himself as Imperator totius Africa after having conquered Tlemcen and making the Zayyanid Sultan, Abu Abdallah V, his vassal. He was also the Grandmaster of the Spanish Military Orders of Santiago (1499-1516), Calatrava (1487-1516), Alcantara (1492-1516) and Montesa (1499-1516), after he permanently annexed them into the Spanish Crown. He reigned jointly with Isabella over a dynastically unified Spain; together they are known as the Catholic Monarchs. Ferdinand is considered the de facto first King of Spain, and was described as such during his reign.

  134. 1452

    1. Richard III of England (d. 1485) births

      1. King of England from 1483 to 1485

        Richard III of England

        Richard III was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Battle of Bosworth Field, the last decisive battle of the Wars of the Roses, marked the end of the Middle Ages in England.

  135. 1264

    1. Pope Urban IV deaths

      1. Head of the Catholic Church from 1261 to 1264

        Pope Urban IV

        Pope Urban IV, born Jacques Pantaléon, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 August 1261 to his death. He was not a cardinal; only a few popes since his time have not been cardinals, including Gregory X, Urban V and Urban VI.

  136. 939

    1. Eberhard of Franconia deaths

      1. Duke of Franconia from 918 to 939 AD

        Eberhard of Franconia

        Eberhard III, a member of the Conradine dynasty, was Duke of Franconia, succeeding his elder brother, King Conrad I, in December 918. From 926 to 928, he also acted as ruler of Lotharingia.

    2. Gilbert, Duke of Lorraine deaths

      1. Gilbert, Duke of Lorraine

        Gilbert was son of Reginar and the brother-in-law of the Ottonian emperor, Otto I. He was duke of Lotharingia until 939. Gilbert was also lay abbot of Echternach, Stablo-Malmedy, St Servatius of Maastricht, and St Maximin of Trier.

  137. 829

    1. Michael II, Byzantine emperor deaths

      1. Byzantine emperor from 820 to 829

        Michael II

        Michael II, called the Amorian and the Stammerer, reigned as Byzantine Emperor from 25 December 820 to his death on 2 October 829, the first ruler of the Amorian dynasty.

  138. 534

    1. Athalaric, king of the Ostrogoths in Italy deaths

      1. King of the Ostrogoths

        Athalaric

        Athalaric was the king of the Ostrogoths in Italy between 526 and 534. He was a son of Eutharic and Amalasuntha, the youngest daughter of Theoderic the Great, whom Athalaric succeeded as king in 526.

Holidays

  1. Batik Day (Indonesia)

    1. Batik Day

      Batik Day is an Indonesian cultural day for celebrating batik – the traditional cloth of Indonesia. It is celebrated on October 2 and marks the anniversary of when UNESCO recognized batik as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2009. At the day, in Jakarta, the map of Indonesian batik diversity by Hokky Situngkir was opened for public for the first time by the Indonesian Ministry of Research and Technology. The Indonesian government strongly encourage Indonesian people to wear batik annually on the holiday and on Fridays to commemorate the day. Wearing batik every Friday has also been encouraged in private companies.

    2. Country in Southeast Asia and Oceania

      Indonesia

      Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guinea. Indonesia is the world's largest archipelagic state and the 14th-largest country by area, at 1,904,569 square kilometres. With over 275 million people, Indonesia is the world's fourth-most populous country and the most populous Muslim-majority country. Java, the world's most populous island, is home to more than half of the country's population.

  2. Christian feast day: Denha I of Tikrit (Syriac Orthodox Church)

    1. Denha I of Tikrit

      Denha I was the Grand Metropolitan of the East and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church of the East from 649 until his death in 659. He is commemorated as a saint by the Syriac Orthodox Church in the Martyrology of Rabban Sliba, and his feast day is 2 October.

    2. Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch

      Syriac Orthodox Church

      The Syriac Orthodox Church, officially known as the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East, and informally as the Jacobite Church, is an Oriental Orthodox church that branched from the Church of Antioch. The bishop of Antioch, known as the patriarch, heads the church, claiming apostolic succession through Saint Peter in the c. 1st century, according to sacred tradition. The church upholds Miaphysite doctrine in Christology, and employs the Divine Liturgy of Saint James, associated with James, the brother of Jesus. Classical Syriac is the official and liturgical language of the church.

  3. Christian feast day: Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels

    1. Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels

      The Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels is a memorial of the Catholic Church officially observed on 2 October. In some places, the feast is observed on the first Sunday in September with the permission of the Congregation for Divine Worship. Catholics set up altars in honor of guardian angels as early as the 4th Century, and local celebrations of a feast in honor of guardian angels go back to the 11th Century. The feast is also observed by some Anglo-Catholics within the Anglican Communion and most churches of the Continuing Anglican movement.

  4. Christian feast day: Leodegar

    1. Leodegar

      Leodegar of Poitiers was a martyred Burgundian Bishop of Autun. He was the son of Saint Sigrada and the brother of Saint Warinus.

  5. Christian feast day: October 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

    1. October 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

      October 1 - Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar - October 3

  6. Gandhi's birthday-related observances: Gandhi Jayanti (India)

    1. National holiday celebrated in India

      Gandhi Jayanti

      Gandhi Jayanti is an event celebrated in India to mark the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi. It is celebrated annually on 2 October, and is one of the three national holidays of India. The UN General Assembly announced on 15 June 2007 that it adopted a resolution which declared that 2 October will be celebrated as the International Day of Non-Violence as he was a non-violent freedom fighter. He is also known as the "Father of The Nation" and this title was given to him by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose for his relentless struggles for independence.

    2. Country in South Asia

      India

      India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; its Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand, Myanmar, and Indonesia.

  7. Gandhi's birthday-related observances: International Day of Non-Violence

    1. Annual celebration

      International Day of Non-Violence

      International Day of Non-Violence is observed on 2 October, the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi. It was established on 15 June 2007 according to United Nations General Assembly resolution A/RES/61/271. The day is an occasion to "disseminate the message of non-violence...through education and public awareness...and reaffirm the desire for a culture of peace, tolerance, understanding and non-violence". It is not a public holiday, but is observed around the world in various ways, often to draw attention to global issues. Its date and purpose correspond with those of the Indian national public holiday of Gandhi Jayanti.

  8. Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Guinea from France in 1958

    1. Country in West Africa

      Guinea

      Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Cote d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sierra Leone and Liberia to the south. It is sometimes referred to as Guinea-Conakry after its capital Conakry, to distinguish it from other territories in the eponymous region such as Guinea-Bissau and Equatorial Guinea. It has a population of 13.5 million and an area of 245,857 square kilometres (94,926 sq mi).

  9. National Grandparents Day (Italy)

    1. Celebration honoring grandparents

      Grandparents' Day

      Grandparents' Day or National Grandparents' Day is a secular holiday celebrated in various countries; it is celebrated to show the bond between grandparents and grandchildren. It occurs on various days of the year, either as one holiday or sometimes as a separate Grandmothers' Day and Grandfather's Day.