On This Day /

Important events in history
on February 3 rd

Events

  1. 2014

    1. Russia's first school shooting took place when a student opened fire at School No. 263 in Moscow, resulting in the deaths of a teacher and a police officer.

      1. Event in which gun violence happens at a school

        School shooting

        A school shooting is an attack at an educational institution, such as a primary school, secondary school, high school or university, involving the use of firearms. Many school shootings are also categorized as mass shootings due to multiple casualties. The phenomenon is most widespread in the United States, which has the highest number of school-related shootings, although school shootings have taken place elsewhere in the world.

      2. 2014 school shooting in Moscow

        2014 Moscow school shooting

        On February 3, 2014, 15-year-old high school student Sergey Gordeyev opened fire at School No. 263 in Otradnoye District, Moscow, Russia, killing a teacher. Gordeyev then took 29 students hostage, killed one police officer, and injured another. Later on, he surrendered to the authorities. It is the first reported school shooting in Russia's modern history.

      3. School No. 263 (Moscow)

        School No. 263 is located in Otradnoye District, North-Eastern Administrative Okrug, Moscow and has high school-level students.

    2. Two people are shot and killed and 29 students are taken hostage at a high school in Moscow, Russia.

      1. 2014 school shooting in Moscow

        2014 Moscow school shooting

        On February 3, 2014, 15-year-old high school student Sergey Gordeyev opened fire at School No. 263 in Otradnoye District, Moscow, Russia, killing a teacher. Gordeyev then took 29 students hostage, killed one police officer, and injured another. Later on, he surrendered to the authorities. It is the first reported school shooting in Russia's modern history.

      2. Capital and largest city of Russia

        Moscow

        Moscow is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million residents within the city limits, over 17 million residents in the urban area, and over 20 million residents in the metropolitan area. The city covers an area of 2,511 square kilometers (970 sq mi), while the urban area covers 5,891 square kilometers (2,275 sq mi), and the metropolitan area covers over 26,000 square kilometers (10,000 sq mi). Moscow is among the world's largest cities; being the most populous city entirely in Europe, the largest urban and metropolitan area in Europe, and the largest city by land area on the European continent.

  2. 2010

    1. An edition of L'Homme qui marche I, a bronze sculpture by Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti, was sold for £65 million, setting the record for the most expensive sculpture sold at auction.

      1. Sculpture by Alberto Giacometti

        L'Homme qui marche I

        L’Homme qui marche I is the name of any one of the cast bronze sculptures that comprise six numbered editions plus four artist proofs created by Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti in 1961. On 3 February 2010, the second edition of the cast of the sculpture became one of the most expensive works of art ever sold at auction, for $104.3 million. Its price meant it was considered the most expensive sculpture, until May 2015, when another Giacometti work, L'Homme au doigt, surpassed it.

      2. Sculpture cast in bronze

        Bronze sculpture

        Bronze is the most popular metal for cast metal sculptures; a cast bronze sculpture is often called simply "a bronze". It can be used for statues, singly or in groups, reliefs, and small statuettes and figurines, as well as bronze elements to be fitted to other objects such as furniture. It is often gilded to give gilt-bronze or ormolu.

      3. Swiss sculptor and painter (1901–1966)

        Alberto Giacometti

        Alberto Giacometti was a Swiss sculptor, painter, draftsman and printmaker. Beginning in 1922, he lived and worked mainly in Paris but regularly visited his hometown Borgonovo to see his family and work on his art.

      4. List of most expensive sculptures

        This is a list of the highest known prices paid for sculptures.

  3. 2007

    1. A Baghdad market bombing kills at least 135 people and injures a further 339.

      1. 2007 truck bombing of a market in Baghdad, Iraq

        3 February 2007 Baghdad market bombing

        The 3 February 2007 Baghdad market bombing was the detonation of a large truck bomb in a busy market in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad on 3 February 2007. The suicide attack killed at least 135 people and injured 339 others. The bomb, estimated to be about one ton in weight, brought down at least 10 buildings and coffee shops and obliterated market stalls in a largely Shi‘ite enclave less than a half-mile from the Tigris River.

  4. 1998

    1. Despite a large international movement advocating the commutation of her sentence to life imprisonment, Karla Faye Tucker became the first woman to be executed in the United States since 1984.

      1. Substitution of a lesser penalty after the conviction for a crime

        Commutation (law)

        In law, a commutation is the substitution of a lesser penalty for that given after a conviction for a crime. The penalty can be lessened in severity, in duration, or both. Unlike most pardons by government and overturning by the court, a commutation does not affect the status of a defendant's underlying criminal conviction.

      2. American murderer (1959–1998)

        Karla Faye Tucker

        Karla Faye Tucker was an American woman sentenced to death for killing two people with a pickaxe during a burglary. She was the first woman to be executed in the United States since Velma Barfield in 1984 in North Carolina, and the first in Texas since Chipita Rodriguez in 1863. She was convicted of murder in Texas in 1984 and executed by lethal injection after 14 years on death row. Due to her gender and widely publicized conversion to Christianity, she inspired an unusually large national and international movement that advocated the commutation of her sentence to life without parole, a movement that included a few foreign government officials.

    2. A U.S. Marine Corps EA-6B Prowler inadvertently severed a cable supporting a cable-car gondola in Cavalese, Italy, killing 20 passengers.

      1. American carrier-based electronic warfare aircraft

        Northrop Grumman EA-6B Prowler

        The Northrop Grumman EA-6B Prowler is a twin-engine, four-seat, mid-wing electronic-warfare aircraft derived from the A-6 Intruder airframe. The EA-6A was the initial electronic warfare version of the A-6 used by the United States Marine Corps and United States Navy. Development on the more advanced EA-6B began in 1966. An EA-6B aircrew consisted of one pilot and three Electronic Countermeasures Officers, though it was not uncommon for only two ECMOs to be used on missions. It was capable of carrying and firing anti-radiation missiles (ARMs), such as the AGM-88 HARM.

      2. 1998 disaster in which a U.S. Navy aircraft flew into ski lift cables in Cavalese, Italy

        1998 Cavalese cable car crash

        The Cavalese cable car crash, also known as the Cermis massacre, occurred on February 3, 1998, near the Italian town of Cavalese, a ski resort in the Dolomites some 40 kilometres (25 mi) northeast of Trento. Twenty people were killed when a United States Marine Corps EA-6B Prowler aircraft, flying too low and against regulations, in order for the pilots to "have fun" and "take videos of the scenery", cut a cable supporting a cable car of an aerial lift.

      3. Aerial lift in which the cars are permanently fixed to the cables

        Aerial tramway

        An aerial tramway, sky tram, cable car, ropeway, aerial tram, telepherique, or seilbahn is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary ropes for support while a third moving rope provides propulsion. With this form of lift, the grip of an aerial tramway cabin is fixed onto the propulsion rope and cannot be decoupled from it during operations. In comparison to gondola lifts, aerial tramways generally provide lower line capacities and higher wait times.

      4. Comune in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Italy

        Cavalese

        Cavalese is a comune of 4,004 inhabitants in Trentino, northern Italy, a ski resort and the main center in the Fiemme Valley. It is part of the Magnifica Comunità di Fiemme and, together with Predazzo, is the administrative, cultural and historical center of the valley. The town is a renowned tourist location, during winter for cross-country and alpine skiing, and during summer for excursions. The cable car from Cavalese to the nearby mountain Cermis has been the site of two major cable-car accidents, one in 1976 and one in 1998.

    3. Cavalese cable car disaster: A United States military pilot causes the death of 20 people when his low-flying plane cuts the cable of a cable-car near Trento, Italy.

      1. 1998 disaster in which a U.S. Navy aircraft flew into ski lift cables in Cavalese, Italy

        1998 Cavalese cable car crash

        The Cavalese cable car crash, also known as the Cermis massacre, occurred on February 3, 1998, near the Italian town of Cavalese, a ski resort in the Dolomites some 40 kilometres (25 mi) northeast of Trento. Twenty people were killed when a United States Marine Corps EA-6B Prowler aircraft, flying too low and against regulations, in order for the pilots to "have fun" and "take videos of the scenery", cut a cable supporting a cable car of an aerial lift.

      2. Comune in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Italy

        Trento

        Trento, also anglicized as Trent, is a city on the Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th century, the city was the location of the Council of Trent. Formerly part of Austria and Austria-Hungary, it was annexed by Italy in 1919. With 118,142 inhabitants, Trento is the third largest city in the Alps and second largest in the historical region of Tyrol.

  5. 1995

    1. Astronaut Eileen Collins becomes the first woman to pilot the Space Shuttle as mission STS-63 gets underway from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

      1. American astronaut and pilot (born 1956)

        Eileen Collins

        Eileen Marie Collins is a retired NASA astronaut and United States Air Force (USAF) colonel. A former flight instructor and test pilot, Collins was the first woman to pilot the Space Shuttle and the first to command a Space Shuttle mission.

      2. 1972–2011 United States human spaceflight program

        Space Shuttle program

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

      3. 1995 American crewed spaceflight to Mir

        STS-63

        STS-63 was the second mission of the US/Russian Shuttle-Mir Program, which carried out the first rendezvous of the American Space Shuttle with Russia's space station Mir. Known as the 'Near-Mir' mission, the flight used Space Shuttle Discovery, which lifted off from launch pad 39B on 3 February 1995 from Kennedy Space Center, Florida. A night launch and the 20th mission for Discovery, it marked the first time a Space Shuttle mission had a female pilot, Eileen Collins, and the first EVAs for both a UK born astronaut, Michael Foale, and a US astronaut of African heritage, Bernard A. Harris, Jr. It also carried out the successful deployment and retrieval of the Spartan-204 platform, along with the scheduled rendezvous and flyaround of Mir, in preparation for STS-71, the first mission to dock with Mir.

      4. United States space launch site in Florida

        Kennedy Space Center

        The John F. Kennedy Space Center, located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since December 1968, KSC has been NASA's primary launch center of human spaceflight. Launch operations for the Apollo, Skylab and Space Shuttle programs were carried out from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 and managed by KSC. Located on the east coast of Florida, KSC is adjacent to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS). The management of the two entities work very closely together, share resources and operate facilities on each other's property.

      5. U.S. state

        Florida

        Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to the south by the Straits of Florida and Cuba; it is the only state that borders both the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. Spanning 65,758 square miles (170,310 km2), Florida ranks 22nd in area among the 50 states, and with a population of over 21 million, is the third-most populous. The state capital is Tallahassee and the most populous city is Jacksonville. The Miami metropolitan area, with a population of almost 6.2 million, is the most populous urban area in Florida and the ninth-most populous in the United States; other urban conurbations with over one million people are Tampa Bay, Orlando, and Jacksonville.

  6. 1994

    1. Space Shuttle program: STS-60 is launched, carrying Sergei Krikalev, the first Russian cosmonaut to fly aboard the Shuttle.

      1. 1972–2011 United States human spaceflight program

        Space Shuttle program

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

      2. 1994 American crewed spaceflight

        STS-60

        STS-60 was the first mission of the U.S./Russian Shuttle-Mir Program, which carried Sergei K. Krikalev, the first Russian cosmonaut to fly aboard a Space Shuttle. The mission used NASA Space Shuttle Discovery, which lifted off from Launch Pad 39A on 3 February 1994 from Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The mission carried the Wake Shield Facility experiment and a SPACEHAB module, developed by SPACEHAB Inc., into orbit, and carried out a live bi-directional audio and downlink link-up with the cosmonauts aboard the Russian space station Mir.

      3. Soviet and Russian cosmonaut (born 1958)

        Sergei Krikalev

        Sergei Konstantinovich Krikalev is a Russian mechanical engineer and former cosmonaut. As a prominent rocket scientist, he is a veteran of six space flights and ranks third to Gennady Padalka and Yuri Malenchenko for the most time spent in space: a total of 803 days, 9 hours, and 39 minutes.

  7. 1989

    1. After a stroke two weeks previously, South African President P. W. Botha resigns as leader of the National Party, but stays on as president for six more months.

      1. Death of a region of brain cells due to poor blood flow

        Stroke

        A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functioning properly.

      2. South Africa's head of state and head of government

        President of South Africa

        The president of South Africa is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of South Africa. The president heads the executive branch of the Government of South Africa and is the commander-in-chief of the South African National Defence Force. Between 1961 and 1994, the office of head of state was the state presidency.

      3. Leader of South Africa from 1978 to 1989

        P. W. Botha

        Pieter Willem Botha,, commonly known as P. W. and Afrikaans: Die Groot Krokodil, was a South African politician. He served as the last prime minister of South Africa from 1978 to 1984 and the first executive state president of South Africa from 1984 to 1989.

      4. 1914–1997 political party known for implementing apartheid

        National Party (South Africa)

        The National Party, also known as the Nationalist Party, was a political party in South Africa founded in 1914 and disbanded in 1997. The party was an Afrikaner ethnic nationalist party that promoted Afrikaner interests in South Africa. However, in 1990 it became a South African civic nationalist party seeking to represent all South Africans. It first became the governing party of the country in 1924. It merged with its rival, the SAP, during the Great Depression, and a splinter faction became the official opposition during World War II and returned to power and governed South Africa from 4 June 1948 until 9 May 1994.

    2. A military coup overthrows Alfredo Stroessner, dictator of Paraguay since 1954.

      1. Military dictator of Paraguay from 1954 to 1989

        Alfredo Stroessner

        Alfredo Stroessner Matiauda was a Paraguayan army officer and politician who served as President of Paraguay from 15 August 1954 to 3 February 1989.

      2. Country in South America

        Paraguay

        Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. It has a population of seven million, nearly three million of whom live in the capital and largest city of Asunción, and its surrounding metro. Although one of only two landlocked countries in South America, Paraguay has ports on the Paraguay and Paraná rivers that give exit to the Atlantic Ocean, through the Paraná-Paraguay Waterway.

      3. Calendar year

        1954

        1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1954th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 954th year of the 2nd millennium, the 54th year of the 20th century, and the 5th year of the 1950s decade.

  8. 1986

    1. Steve Jobs purchased Pixar from Lucasfilm and launched it as an independent computer-animation studio.

      1. American business magnate (1955–2011)

        Steve Jobs

        Steven Paul Jobs was an American entrepreneur, industrial designer, business magnate, media proprietor, and investor. He was the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Apple; the chairman and majority shareholder of Pixar; a member of The Walt Disney Company's board of directors following its acquisition of Pixar; and the founder, chairman, and CEO of NeXT. He is widely recognized as a pioneer of the personal computer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s, along with his early business partner and fellow Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.

      2. American computer animation studio

        Pixar

        Pixar Animation Studios and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, California, United States. Since 2006, Pixar has been a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is another studio owned by The Walt Disney Company.

      3. American film and television production company

        Lucasfilm

        Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC is an American film and television production company and a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is a business segment of The Walt Disney Company. The studio is best known for creating and producing the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises, as well as its leadership in developing special effects, sound, and computer animation for films. Lucasfilm was founded by filmmaker George Lucas in 1971 in San Rafael, California; most of the company's operations were moved to San Francisco in 2005.

      4. Art of creating moving images using computers

        Computer animation

        Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating animations. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both static scenes and dynamic images, while computer animation only refers to moving images. Modern computer animation usually uses 3D computer graphics to generate a three-dimensional picture. The target of the animation is sometimes the computer itself, while other times it is film.

  9. 1984

    1. Doctor John Buster and a research team at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in the United States announce history's first embryo transfer, from one woman to another resulting in a live birth.

      1. American physician

        John Buster

        John Edmond Buster is an American physician who, while working at the University of California at Los Angeles School of Medicine, directed the research team that performed the first embryo transfer from one woman to another resulting in a live birth. It was performed at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, reported in July 1983, and culminated in the announcement of the birth on February 3, 1984. In the procedure, an embryo that was just beginning to develop was transferred from the woman in whom it had been conceived by artificial insemination to another woman who gave birth to the infant 38 weeks later. The sperm used in the artificial insemination came from the husband of the woman who bore the baby.

      2. Embryo transfer

        Embryo transfer refers to a step in the process of assisted reproduction in which embryos are placed into the uterus of a female with the intent to establish a pregnancy. This technique (which is often used in connection with in vitro fertilization, may be used in humans or in animals, in which situations the goals may vary.

    2. Space Shuttle program: STS-41-B is launched using Space Shuttle Challenger.

      1. 1972–2011 United States human spaceflight program

        Space Shuttle program

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

      2. 1984 American crewed spaceflight

        STS-41-B

        STS-41-B was the tenth NASA Space Shuttle mission and the fourth flight of the Space Shuttle Challenger. It launched on 3 February 1984, and landed on 11 February 1984 after deploying two communications satellites. It was also notable for including the first untethered spacewalk.

      3. Second spacecraft used in NASA's Space Shuttle program

        Space Shuttle Challenger

        Space Shuttle Challenger (OV-099) was a Space Shuttle orbiter manufactured by Rockwell International and operated by NASA. Named after the commanding ship of a nineteenth-century scientific expedition that traveled the world, Challenger was the second Space Shuttle orbiter to fly into space after Columbia, and launched on its maiden flight in April 1983. It was destroyed in January 1986 soon after launch in an accident that killed all seven crewmembers aboard. Initially manufactured as a test article not intended for spaceflight, it was utilized for ground testing of the Space Shuttle orbiter's structural design. However, after NASA found that their original plan to upgrade Enterprise for spaceflight would be more expensive than upgrading Challenger, the orbiter was pressed into operational service in the Space Shuttle program. Lessons learned from the first orbital flights of Columbia led to Challenger's design possessing fewer thermal protection system tiles and a lighter fuselage and wings. This led to it being 1,000 kilograms lighter than Columbia, though still 2,600 kilograms heavier than Discovery.

  10. 1972

    1. The first day of the seven-day 1972 Iran blizzard, which would kill at least 4,000 people, making it the deadliest snowstorm in history.

      1. Deadliest blizzard in history

        1972 Iran blizzard

        The Iran blizzard of February 1972 was the deadliest blizzard in history. A week-long period of low temperatures and severe winter storms, lasting 3–9 February 1972, resulted in the deaths of over 4,000 people. Storms dumped more than 3 metres (9.8 ft) of snow across rural areas in northwestern, central and southern Iran.

      2. List of natural disasters by death toll

        A natural disaster is a sudden event that always causes widespread destruction, major collateral damage or loss of life, brought about by forces other than the acts of human beings. A natural disaster might be caused by earthquakes, flooding, volcanic eruption, landslide, hurricanes etc. To be classified as a disaster, it will have profound environmental effect and/or human loss and frequently causes financial loss.

  11. 1971

    1. New York Police Officer Frank Serpico is shot during a drug bust in Brooklyn and survives to later testify against police corruption.

      1. American police officer and whistleblower

        Frank Serpico

        Francesco Vincent Serpico is an American retired New York Police Department detective, best known for whistleblowing on police corruption. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, he was a plainclothes police officer working in Brooklyn, the Bronx and Manhattan to expose vice racketeering. In 1967, he reported credible evidence of widespread police corruption, to no effect. In 1970, he contributed to a front-page story in The New York Times on widespread corruption in the NYPD, which drew national attention to the problem. Mayor John V. Lindsay appointed a five-member panel to investigate accusations of police corruption, which became the Knapp Commission.

      2. Borough of New York City, US

        Brooklyn

        Brooklyn is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, behind New York County (Manhattan). Brooklyn is also New York City's most populous borough, with 2,736,074 residents in 2020.

  12. 1966

    1. The Soviet Union's Luna 9 becomes the first spacecraft to make a soft landing on the Moon, and the first spacecraft to take pictures from the surface of the Moon.

      1. Country in Eurasia (1922–1991)

        Soviet Union

        The Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national republics; in practice, both its government and its economy were highly centralized until its final years. It was a one-party state governed by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, with the city of Moscow serving as its capital as well as that of its largest and most populous republic: the Russian SFSR. Other major cities included Leningrad, Kiev, Minsk, Tashkent, Alma-Ata, and Novosibirsk. It was the largest country in the world, covering over 22,402,200 square kilometres (8,649,500 sq mi) and spanning eleven time zones.

      2. 1966 uncrewed space mission of the Soviet Union's Luna programme

        Luna 9

        Luna 9 (Луна-9), internal designation Ye-6 No.13, was an uncrewed space mission of the Soviet Union's Luna programme. On 3 February 1966, the Luna 9 spacecraft became the first spacecraft to achieve a survivable landing on a celestial body.

  13. 1961

    1. The United States Air Forces begins Operation Looking Glass, and over the next 30 years, a "Doomsday Plane" is always in the air, with the capability of taking direct control of the United States' bombers and missiles in the event of the destruction of the SAC's command post.

      1. Air service branch of the United States Armed Forces

        United States Air Force

        The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal Corps, the USAF was established as a separate branch of the United States Armed Forces in 1947 with the enactment of the National Security Act of 1947. It is the second youngest branch of the United States Armed Forces and the fourth in order of precedence. The United States Air Force articulates its core missions as air supremacy, global integrated intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, rapid global mobility, global strike, and command and control.

      2. American command and control center

        Operation Looking Glass

        Looking Glass is the (historic) code name for an airborne command and control center operated by the United States. In more recent years it has been more officially referred to as the ABNCP. It provides command and control of U.S. nuclear forces in the event that ground-based command centers have been destroyed or otherwise rendered inoperable. In such an event, the general officer aboard the Looking Glass serves as the Airborne Emergency Action Officer (AEAO) and by law assumes the authority of the National Command Authority and could command execution of nuclear attacks. The AEAO is supported by a battle staff of approximately 20 people, with another dozen responsible for the operation of the aircraft systems. The name Looking Glass, which is another name for a mirror, was chosen for the Airborne Command Post because the mission operates in parallel with the underground command post at Offutt Air Force Base.

      3. 1946–1992 US Air Force major command; predecessor of USAF Global Strike Command

        Strategic Air Command

        Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile components of the United States military's strategic nuclear forces from 1946 to 1992. SAC was also responsible for the operation of strategic reconnaissance aircraft and airborne command post aircraft as well as most of the USAF's aerial refueling fleet, including aircraft from the Air Force Reserve (AFRES) and Air National Guard (ANG).

  14. 1960

    1. British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan speaks of "a wind of change", signalling that his Government was likely to support decolonisation.

      1. 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.

      2. Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963

        Harold Macmillan

        Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, was a British Conservative statesman and politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. Caricatured as "Supermac", he was known for his pragmatism, wit and unflappability.

      3. Speech by British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan

        Wind of Change (speech)

        The "Wind of Change" speech was an address made by British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan to the Parliament of South Africa on 3 February 1960 in Cape Town. He had spent a month in Africa in visiting a number of British colonies. The speech signalled clearly that the Conservative Party, which formed the British government, had no intention to block independence for many of those territories.

  15. 1959

    1. American rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson died in a plane crash shortly after takeoff from Mason City Municipal Airport in Iowa.

      1. Genre of popular music

        Rock and roll

        Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm and blues, boogie woogie, and gospel, as well as country music. While rock and roll's formative elements can be heard in blues records from the 1920s and in country records of the 1930s, the genre did not acquire its name until 1954.

      2. American singer-songwriter (1936–1959)

        Buddy Holly

        Charles Hardin Holley, known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas during the Great Depression, and learned to play guitar and sing alongside his siblings. His style was influenced by gospel music, country music, and rhythm and blues acts, which he performed in Lubbock with his friends from high school.

      3. American guitarist (1941–1959)

        Ritchie Valens

        Richard Steven Valenzuela, known professionally as Ritchie Valens, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rock and roll pioneer and a forefather of the Chicano rock movement, Valens was killed in a plane crash eight months into his music career.

      4. American musician (1930–1959)

        The Big Bopper

        Jiles Perry "J.P." Richardson Jr., known as The Big Bopper, was an American singer, songwriter and disc jockey. His best-known compositions include "Chantilly Lace" and "White Lightning", the latter of which became George Jones' first number one hit in 1959. Richardson was killed in an airplane crash in Clear Lake, Iowa, in 1959, along with fellow musicians Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens, and the pilot, Roger Peterson.

      5. 1959 American plane crash

        The Day the Music Died

        On February 3, 1959, American rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and "The Big Bopper" J. P. Richardson were all killed in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, together with pilot Roger Peterson. The event later became known as "The Day the Music Died" after singer-songwriter Don McLean referred to it as such in his 1971 song "American Pie".

      6. Airport in Iowa, USA

        Mason City Municipal Airport

        Mason City Municipal Airport is located six miles west of downtown Mason City, in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, United States. It is in the northern part of Lake Township, just east of the city of Clear Lake. It is used for general aviation and has airline service subsidized through the Essential Air Service (EAS) program.

      7. U.S. state

        Iowa

        Iowa is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the east and southeast, Missouri to the south, Nebraska to the west, South Dakota to the northwest, and Minnesota to the north.

    2. Rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson are killed in a plane crash along with the pilot near Clear Lake, Iowa, an event later known as The Day the Music Died.

      1. American singer-songwriter (1936–1959)

        Buddy Holly

        Charles Hardin Holley, known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas during the Great Depression, and learned to play guitar and sing alongside his siblings. His style was influenced by gospel music, country music, and rhythm and blues acts, which he performed in Lubbock with his friends from high school.

      2. American guitarist (1941–1959)

        Ritchie Valens

        Richard Steven Valenzuela, known professionally as Ritchie Valens, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rock and roll pioneer and a forefather of the Chicano rock movement, Valens was killed in a plane crash eight months into his music career.

      3. American musician (1930–1959)

        The Big Bopper

        Jiles Perry "J.P." Richardson Jr., known as The Big Bopper, was an American singer, songwriter and disc jockey. His best-known compositions include "Chantilly Lace" and "White Lightning", the latter of which became George Jones' first number one hit in 1959. Richardson was killed in an airplane crash in Clear Lake, Iowa, in 1959, along with fellow musicians Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens, and the pilot, Roger Peterson.

      4. City in Iowa, United States

        Clear Lake, Iowa

        Clear Lake is a city in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, United States. The population was 7,687 at the 2020 census. The city is named for the large lake on which it is located. It is the home of a number of marinas, state parks and tourism-related businesses. Clear Lake is also a major stop on Interstate 35 with many restaurants, hotels and truck stops.

      5. 1959 American plane crash

        The Day the Music Died

        On February 3, 1959, American rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and "The Big Bopper" J. P. Richardson were all killed in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, together with pilot Roger Peterson. The event later became known as "The Day the Music Died" after singer-songwriter Don McLean referred to it as such in his 1971 song "American Pie".

  16. 1958

    1. Founding of the Benelux Economic Union, creating a testing ground for a later European Economic Community.

      1. Western European politico-economic union

        Benelux

        The Benelux Union, also known as simply Benelux, is a politico-economic union and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighboring states in western Europe: Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The name is a portmanteau formed from joining the first few letters of each country's name and was first used to name the customs agreement that initiated the union. It is now used more generally to refer to the geographic, economic, and cultural grouping of the three countries.

      2. Former international organization

        European Economic Community

        The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957, aiming to foster economic integration among its member states. It was subsequently renamed the European Community (EC) upon becoming integrated into the first pillar of the newly formed European Union in 1993. In the popular language, however, the singular European Community was sometimes inaccuratelly used in the wider sense of the plural European Communities, in spite of the latter designation covering all the three constituent entities of the first pillar.

  17. 1953

    1. Hundreds of native creoles known as forros were massacred on São Tomé Island by the colonial administration and Portuguese landowners.

      1. Ethnic groups formed from mixed cultural and linguistic ancestry

        Creole peoples

        Creole peoples are ethnic groups formed during the European colonial era, from the mass displacement of peoples brought into sustained contact with others from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds, who converged onto a colonial territory to which they had not previously belonged.

      2. Portuguese-based creole of São Tomé and Príncipe

        Forro Creole

        Forro Creole or Sãotomense is a Portuguese creole language spoken in São Tomé and Príncipe. It is also called by its native speakers as sãotomense creole or santomense creole.

      3. Batepá massacre

        The Batepá massacre occurred on 3 February 1953 in São Tomé when hundreds of native creoles known as forros were massacred by the colonial administration and Portuguese landowners. Many forros believed the government intended to force them to work as contract laborers, to which they objected. In response, the governor blamed the unrest on communists and ordered the military to round up such individuals and for civilians to protect themselves. This quickly turned into a bloodbath, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of forros. No communist conspiracy was ever proven.

      4. Largest island of São Tomé and Príncipe

        São Tomé Island

        São Tomé Island, at 854 km2 (330 sq mi), is the largest island of São Tomé and Príncipe and is home in May 2018 to about 193,380 or 96% of the nation's population. The island is divided into six districts. It is located 2 km north of the equator.

    2. The Batepá massacre occurred in São Tomé when the colonial administration and Portuguese landowners unleashed a wave of violence against the native creoles known as forros.

      1. Batepá massacre

        The Batepá massacre occurred on 3 February 1953 in São Tomé when hundreds of native creoles known as forros were massacred by the colonial administration and Portuguese landowners. Many forros believed the government intended to force them to work as contract laborers, to which they objected. In response, the governor blamed the unrest on communists and ordered the military to round up such individuals and for civilians to protect themselves. This quickly turned into a bloodbath, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of forros. No communist conspiracy was ever proven.

      2. Capital and the largest city of São Tomé and Príncipe

        São Tomé

        São Tomé is the capital and largest city of the Central African island country of São Tomé and Príncipe. Its name is Portuguese for "Saint Thomas". Founded in the 15th century, it is one of Africa's oldest colonial cities.

      3. Ethnic groups formed from mixed cultural and linguistic ancestry

        Creole peoples

        Creole peoples are ethnic groups formed during the European colonial era, from the mass displacement of peoples brought into sustained contact with others from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds, who converged onto a colonial territory to which they had not previously belonged.

      4. Portuguese-based creole of São Tomé and Príncipe

        Forro Creole

        Forro Creole or Sãotomense is a Portuguese creole language spoken in São Tomé and Príncipe. It is also called by its native speakers as sãotomense creole or santomense creole.

  18. 1945

    1. World War II: As part of Operation Thunderclap, 1,000 B-17s of the Eighth Air Force bomb Berlin, a raid which kills between 2,500 and 3,000 and dehouses another 120,000.

      1. Part of Allied strategic aerial bombing campaigns

        Bombing of Berlin in World War II

        Berlin, then the capital of Nazi Germany, was subject to 363 air raids during the Second World War. It was bombed by the RAF Bomber Command between 1940 and 1945, by the USAAF Eighth Air Force between 1943 and 1945, and the French Air Force between 1940, 1944 and 1945, as part of the Allied campaign of strategic bombing of Germany. It was also attacked by aircraft of the Red Air Force, in 1941 and particularly in 1945 as Soviet forces closed on the city. British bombers dropped 45,517 tons of bombs, while American aircraft dropped 22,090.3 tons. As the bombings continued, more and more people fled the city. By May 1945, 1.7 million people had fled.

      2. 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.

      3. Numbered air force of the United States Air Force

        Eighth Air Force

        The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Forces Strategic – Global Strike, one of the air components of United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM). The Eighth Air Force includes the heart of America's heavy bomber force: the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, the Rockwell B-1 Lancer supersonic bomber, and the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress heavy bomber aircraft.

      4. Dehousing

        Professor Frederick Lindemann, Baron Cherwell, the British government's chief scientific adviser, sent on 30 March 1942 to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill a memorandum which, after it was accepted by the Cabinet, became known as the dehousing paper.

    2. World War II: The United States and the Philippine Commonwealth begin a month-long battle to retake Manila from Japan.

      1. 1935–1946 republic in Southeast Asia

        Commonwealth of the Philippines

        The Commonwealth of the Philippines was the administrative body that governed the Philippines from 1935 to 1946, aside from a period of exile in the Second World War from 1942 to 1945 when Japan occupied the country. It was established following the Tydings–McDuffie Act to replace the Insular Government, a United States territorial government. The Commonwealth was designed as a transitional administration in preparation for the country's full achievement of independence. Its foreign affairs remained managed by the United States.

      2. 1945 battle in the Pacific theatre of World War II

        Battle of Manila (1945)

        The Battle of Manila was a major battle of the Philippine campaign of 1944–45, during the Second World War. It was fought by forces from both the United States and the Philippines against Japanese troops in Manila, the capital city of the Philippines. The month-long battle, which resulted in the death of over 100,000 civilians and the complete devastation of the city, was the scene of the worst urban fighting fought by American forces in the Pacific theater. Japanese forces committed mass murder against Filipino civilians during the battle and American firepower killed many people. Japanese resistance and American artillery also destroyed much of Manila's architectural and cultural heritage dating back to the city's founding. Manila became one of the most devastated capital cities during the entire war, alongside Berlin and Warsaw. The battle ended the almost three years of Japanese military occupation in the Philippines (1942–1945). The city's capture was marked as General Douglas MacArthur's key to victory in the campaign of reconquest. To date, it is the last of the many battles fought within Manila's history.

      3. Capital city of the Philippines

        Manila

        Manila, known officially as the City of Manila, is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and as of 2019 was the world's most densely populated city proper. Manila is considered to be a global city and rated as an Alpha – City by Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC). It was the first chartered city in the country, designated as such by the Philippine Commission Act 183 of July 31, 1901. It became autonomous with the passage of Republic Act No. 409, "The Revised Charter of the City of Manila", on June 18, 1949. Manila is considered to be part of the world's original set of global cities because its commercial networks were the first to extend across the Pacific Ocean and connect Asia with the Spanish Americas through the galleon trade; when this was accomplished, it marked the first time in world history that an uninterrupted chain of trade routes circling the planet had been established. It is among the most populous and fastest growing cities in Southeast Asia.

      4. Empire in the Asia-Pacific region from 1868 to 1947

        Empire of Japan

        The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent formation of modern Japan. It encompassed the Japanese archipelago and several colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories.

  19. 1944

    1. World War II: During the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign, U.S. Army and Marine forces seize Kwajalein Atoll from the defending Japanese garrison.

      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. U.S. military offensive during WWII to seize Japanese-occupied islands in the Pacific

        Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign

        The Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign were a series of battles fought from August 1942 through February 1944, in the Pacific theatre of World War II between the United States and Japan. They were the first steps of the drive across the central Pacific by the United States Pacific Fleet and Marine Corps. The purpose was to establish airfields and naval bases that would allow air and naval support for upcoming operations across the Central Pacific. Operation Galvanic and Operation Kourbash were the code names for the Gilberts campaign that included the seizures of Tarawa and Makin, during the Battle of Tarawa of 20–23 November and the Battle of Makin of 20–24 November 1943. Operation Flintlock and Operation Catchpole were aimed at capturing Japanese bases at Kwajalein, Eniwetok, and Majuro in the Marshall Islands.

      3. Land service branch of the United States Armed Forces

        United States Army

        The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution. The oldest and most senior branch of the U.S. military in order of precedence, the modern U.S. Army has its roots in the Continental Army, which was formed 14 June 1775 to fight the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783)—before the United States was established as a country. After the Revolutionary War, the Congress of the Confederation created the United States Army on 3 June 1784 to replace the disbanded Continental Army. The United States Army considers itself to be a continuation of the Continental Army, and thus considers its institutional inception to be the origin of that armed force in 1775.

      4. Maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces

        United States Marine Corps

        The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combined arms, implementing its own infantry, artillery, aerial, and special operations forces. The U.S. Marine Corps is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States.

      5. 1944 battle in the Pacific theater of World War II

        Battle of Kwajalein

        The Battle of Kwajalein was fought as part of the Pacific campaign of World War II. It took place from 31 January – 3 February 1944, on Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Employing the hard-learned lessons of the Battle of Tarawa, the United States launched a successful twin assault on the main islands of Kwajalein in the south and Roi-Namur in the north. The Japanese defenders put up stiff resistance, although outnumbered and under-prepared. The determined defense of Roi-Namur left only 51 survivors of an original garrison of 3,500.

      6. Empire in the Asia-Pacific region from 1868 to 1947

        Empire of Japan

        The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent formation of modern Japan. It encompassed the Japanese archipelago and several colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories.

  20. 1943

    1. The SS Dorchester is sunk by a German U-boat. Only 230 of 902 men aboard survive.

      1. World War II troop ship

        SS Dorchester

        Dorchester was a coastal passenger steamship requisitioned and operated by the War Shipping Administration (WSA) in January 1942 for wartime use as a troop ship allocated to United States Army requirements. The ship was operated for WSA by its agent Atlantic, Gulf & West Indies Steamship Lines (Agwilines). The ship was in convoy SG 19 from New York to Greenland transiting the Labrador Sea when it was torpedoed by a German U-boat on February 3, 1943. The ship sank with loss of 674 of the 904 on board with one of the 230 survivors lost after rescue. The story of four Army chaplains, known as the "Four Chaplains" or the "Immortal Chaplains," who all gave away their life jackets to save others before they died, gained fame and led to many memorials.

  21. 1941

    1. Second World War: British and Free French forces began the Battle of Keren to capture the strategic town of Keren in Italian Eritrea.

      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. 1940–1944 government-in-exile led by Charles de Gaulle during WWII

        Free France

        Free France was a political entity that claimed to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third Republic. Led by French general Charles de Gaulle, Free France was established as a government-in-exile in London in June 1940 after the Fall of France during World War II and fought the Axis as an Allied nation with its Free French Forces. Free France also supported the resistance in Nazi-occupied France, known as the French Forces of the Interior, and gained strategic footholds in several French colonies in Africa.

      3. 1941 battle in Africa

        Battle of Keren

        The Battle of Keren took place from 3 February to 27 March 1941. Keren was attacked by the British during the East African Campaign of the Second World War. A force of Italian regular and colonial troops defended the position against British troops and Free French forces. The town of Keren, in the colony of Italian East Africa, was of tactical importance to both sides. The road and railway through Keren were the main routes to the colonial capital of Italian Eritrea at Asmara and the Red Sea port of Massawa, which surrendered to the British after the battle.

      4. Capital of Anseba Region, Eritrea

        Keren, Eritrea

        Keren, historically known as Sanhit, is the second-largest city in Eritrea. It is situated around 91 kilometres (57 mi) northwest of Asmara at an elevation of 1,390 metres (4,560 ft) above sea-level. The city sprawls on a wide basin surrounded by granitic mountains on all sides. It serves as the capital of the Anseba Region, and is home to a number of ethnic groups including the Bilen people, Tigre people and Tigrinya people.

      5. 1882–1936 Italian colony in modern Eritrea

        Italian Eritrea

        Italian Eritrea was a colony of the Kingdom of Italy in the territory of present-day Eritrea. The first Italian establishment in the area was the purchase of Assab by the Rubattino Shipping Company in 1869, which came under government control in 1882. Occupation of Massawa in 1885 and the subsequent expansion of territory would gradually engulf the region and in 1889 borders with the Ethiopian Empire were defined in the Treaty of Wuchale. In 1890 the Colony of Eritrea was officially founded.

  22. 1933

    1. Adolf Hitler announced that the conquest of Lebensraum in Eastern Europe, and its "ruthless Germanisation", were the geopolitical objectives of Reich foreign policy.

      1. Dictator of Germany from 1933 to 1945

        Adolf Hitler

        Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then taking the title of Führer und Reichskanzler in 1934. During his dictatorship, he initiated World War II in Europe by invading Poland on 1 September 1939. He was closely involved in military operations throughout the war and was central to the perpetration of the Holocaust: the genocide of about six million Jews and millions of other victims.

      2. German "living space" ideas of settler colonialism (1890s–1940s)

        Lebensraum

        Lebensraum is a German concept which consists of policies and practices of settler colonialism which proliferated in Germany from the 1890s to the 1940s. First popularized around 1901, Lebensraum became a geopolitical goal of Imperial Germany in World War I (1914–1918), as the core element of the Septemberprogramm of territorial expansion. The most extreme form of this ideology was supported by the Nazi Party and Nazi Germany. Lebensraum was a leading motivation of Nazi Germany to initiate World War II, and it would continue this policy until the end of World War II.

      3. Spread of the German language, people and culture

        Germanisation

        Germanisation, or Germanization, is the spread of the German language, people and culture. It was a central idea of German conservative thought in the 19th and the 20th centuries, when conservatism and ethnic nationalism went hand in hand. In linguistics, Germanisation of non-German languages also occurs when they adopt many German words.

      4. Official name of the political entity that Nazi Germany tried to establish

        Greater Germanic Reich

        The Greater Germanic Reich, fully styled the Greater Germanic Reich of the German Nation, was the official state name of the political entity that Nazi Germany tried to establish in Europe during World War II. The territorial claims for the Greater Germanic Reich fluctuated over time. As early as the autumn of 1933, Hitler envisioned annexing such territories as Bohemia, Western Poland and Austria to Germany and creation of satellite or puppet states without economies or policies of their own.

    2. Adolf Hitler announces that the expansion of Lebensraum into Eastern Europe, and its ruthless Germanisation, are the ultimate geopolitical objectives of Nazi foreign policy.

      1. Dictator of Germany from 1933 to 1945

        Adolf Hitler

        Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then taking the title of Führer und Reichskanzler in 1934. During his dictatorship, he initiated World War II in Europe by invading Poland on 1 September 1939. He was closely involved in military operations throughout the war and was central to the perpetration of the Holocaust: the genocide of about six million Jews and millions of other victims.

      2. German "living space" ideas of settler colonialism (1890s–1940s)

        Lebensraum

        Lebensraum is a German concept which consists of policies and practices of settler colonialism which proliferated in Germany from the 1890s to the 1940s. First popularized around 1901, Lebensraum became a geopolitical goal of Imperial Germany in World War I (1914–1918), as the core element of the Septemberprogramm of territorial expansion. The most extreme form of this ideology was supported by the Nazi Party and Nazi Germany. Lebensraum was a leading motivation of Nazi Germany to initiate World War II, and it would continue this policy until the end of World War II.

      3. Spread of the German language, people and culture

        Germanisation

        Germanisation, or Germanization, is the spread of the German language, people and culture. It was a central idea of German conservative thought in the 19th and the 20th centuries, when conservatism and ethnic nationalism went hand in hand. In linguistics, Germanisation of non-German languages also occurs when they adopt many German words.

      4. German fascist ideology

        Nazism

        Nazism, the common name in English for National Socialism, is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Nazi Germany. During Hitler's rise to power in 1930s Europe, it was frequently referred to as Hitlerism. The later related term "neo-Nazism" is applied to other far-right groups with similar ideas which formed after the Second World War.

  23. 1931

    1. The Hawke's Bay earthquake, New Zealand's worst natural disaster, kills 258.

      1. Deadly 1931 natural disaster centered north of Napier, New Zealand

        1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake

        The 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake, also known as the Napier earthquake, occurred in New Zealand at 10:47 am on 3 February, killing 256, injuring thousands and devastating the Hawke's Bay region. It remains New Zealand's deadliest natural disaster. Centred 15 km north of Napier, it lasted for two and a half minutes and had a magnitude of 7.8 Ms (7.7 Mw). There were 525 aftershocks recorded in the following two weeks, with 597 being recorded by the end of February. The main shock could be felt in much of New Zealand, with reliable reports coming in from as far south as Timaru, on the east coast of the South Island.

  24. 1930

    1. The Communist Party of Indochina, the Communist Party of Annam and the Communist League of Indochina merged to form the Communist Party of Vietnam.

      1. Political party in Southeast Asia

        Communist Party of Indochina

        The Communist Party of Indochina is one of three predecessors of the Communist Party of Vietnam. Other two predecessors are the Communist Party of Annam and the Communist League of Indochina.

      2. Political party in Southeast Asia

        Communist Party of Annam

        Communist Party of Annam was a Vietnamese political party that existed from August 1929 until February 1930. It was created by leaders of the Communist Youth League. The Communist Youth League was formed by Ho Chi Minh in 1926 as a section of the Vietnam Revolutionary Youth League. Initially based in Guangzhou, southern China, the League created publications that were clandestinely smuggled into Vietnam. In 1927 the communists were expelled from Guangzhou by Chiang Kai-shek.

      3. Political party in Southeast Asia

        Communist League of Indochina

        The Indochinese Communist League was one of the three communist groups of 1929–1930 which formed the base of the Vietnamese Communist Party in Vietnam, and within colonial French Indochina.

      4. Founding and sole legal party of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam

        Communist Party of Vietnam

        The Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), also known as the Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP), is the founding and sole legal party of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Founded in 1930 by Hồ Chí Minh, the CPV became the ruling party of North Vietnam in 1954 and then all of Vietnam after the collapse of the South Vietnamese government following the Fall of Saigon in 1975. Although it nominally exists alongside the Vietnamese Fatherland Front, it maintains a unitary government and has centralized control over the state, military, and media. The supremacy of the CPV is guaranteed by Article 4 of the national constitution. The Vietnamese public generally refer to the CPV as simply "the Party" or "our Party".

    2. Communist Party of Vietnam is founded at a "Unification Conference" held in Kowloon, British Hong Kong.

      1. Founding and sole legal party of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam

        Communist Party of Vietnam

        The Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), also known as the Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP), is the founding and sole legal party of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Founded in 1930 by Hồ Chí Minh, the CPV became the ruling party of North Vietnam in 1954 and then all of Vietnam after the collapse of the South Vietnamese government following the Fall of Saigon in 1975. Although it nominally exists alongside the Vietnamese Fatherland Front, it maintains a unitary government and has centralized control over the state, military, and media. The supremacy of the CPV is guaranteed by Article 4 of the national constitution. The Vietnamese public generally refer to the CPV as simply "the Party" or "our Party".

      2. Heavily populated peninsula of mainland Hong Kong

        Kowloon Peninsula

        The Kowloon Peninsula is a peninsula that forms the southern part of the main landmass in the territory of Hong Kong, alongside Victoria Harbour and facing toward Hong Kong Island. The Kowloon Peninsula and the area of New Kowloon are collectively known as Kowloon.

      3. British colony and dependent territory from 1841 to 1997

        British Hong Kong

        Hong Kong was a colony and subsequently a dependent territory of the British Empire from 1841 to 1997, apart from a period of occupation under the Japanese Empire from 1941 to 1945 during the Pacific War. The colonial period began with the British occupation of Hong Kong Island in 1841, during the First Opium War between the British and the Qing dynasty. The Qing had wanted to enforce its prohibition of opium importation within the dynasty that was being exported mostly from British India, as it was causing widespread addiction among its populace.

  25. 1927

    1. A revolt against the military dictatorship of Portugal breaks out at Oporto.

      1. February 1927 Revolt

        The February 1927 Revolt, sometimes also referred to as the February 1927 Revolution, was a military rebellion that took place between February 3 and 9, 1927, centered in Porto, the city where the insurgents' command center was installed and fought the main challenges. The revolt, led by Adalberto Gastão de Sousa Dias, ended with the surrender and arrest of the rebels and resulted in about 80 deaths and 360 injuries in Porto and more than 70 deaths and 400 injuries in Lisbon. It was the first consequent attempt to overthrow the Military Dictatorship that was then consolidated in Portugal following the 28 May 1926 coup d'état, which occurred nine months earlier, initiating a set of insurrectionary movements that became known as the Reviralhism.

      2. 1926–1933 government of Portugal

        Ditadura Nacional

        The Ditadura Nacional was the name given to the regime that governed Portugal from 1926, after the re-election of General Óscar Carmona to the post of President, until 1933. The preceding period of military dictatorship that started after the 28 May 1926 coup d'état is known as Ditadura Militar. After adopting a new constitution in 1933, the regime changed its name to Estado Novo. The Ditadura Nacional, together with the Estado Novo, forms the historical period of the Portuguese Second Republic (1926–1974).

      3. Country in Southwestern Europe

        Portugal

        Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira. It features the westernmost point in continental Europe, and its Iberian portion is bordered to the west and south by the Atlantic Ocean and to the north and east by Spain, the sole country to have a land border with Portugal. Its two archipelagos form two autonomous regions with their own regional governments. Lisbon is the capital and largest city by population.

      4. Municipality in Norte, Portugal

        Porto

        Porto or Oporto is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropolitan area, with an estimated population of just 291,962 people in a municipality with only 41.42 km2. Porto's metropolitan area has around 2.4 million people (2021) in an area of 2,395 km2 (925 sq mi), making it the second-largest urban area in Portugal. It is recognized as a global city with a Gamma + rating from the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.

  26. 1918

    1. At 11,675 ft (3,559 m) long, the Twin Peaks Tunnel in San Francisco opened as the longest streetcar tunnel in the world at the time.

      1. Tunnel in San Francisco, California for light rail/streetcar system

        Twin Peaks Tunnel

        The Twin Peaks Tunnel is a 2.27-mile-long (3.65 km) light rail/streetcar tunnel in San Francisco, California. The tunnel runs under Twin Peaks and is used by the K Ingleside/T Third Street, M Ocean View and S Shuttle lines of the Muni Metro system.

      2. Street-running light railcar

        Tram

        A tram is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are called tramways or simply trams/streetcars. Many recently built tramways use the contemporary term light rail. The vehicles are called streetcars or trolleys in North America and trams or tramcars elsewhere. The first two terms are often used interchangeably in the United States, with trolley being the preferred term in the eastern US and streetcar in the western US. Streetcar or tramway are preferred in Canada. In parts of the United States, internally powered buses made to resemble a streetcar are often referred to as "trolleys". To avoid further confusion with trolley buses, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) refers to them as "trolley-replica buses". In the United States, the term tram has sometimes been used for rubber-tired trackless trains, which are unrelated to other kinds of trams.

    2. The Twin Peaks Tunnel in San Francisco, California begins service as the longest streetcar tunnel in the world at 11,920 feet (3,633 meters) long.

      1. Tunnel in San Francisco, California for light rail/streetcar system

        Twin Peaks Tunnel

        The Twin Peaks Tunnel is a 2.27-mile-long (3.65 km) light rail/streetcar tunnel in San Francisco, California. The tunnel runs under Twin Peaks and is used by the K Ingleside/T Third Street, M Ocean View and S Shuttle lines of the Muni Metro system.

      2. Consolidated city and county in California, United States

        San Francisco

        San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th most populous in the United States, with 815,201 residents as of 2021. It covers a land area of 46.9 square miles, at the end of the San Francisco Peninsula, making it the second most densely populated large U.S. city after New York City, and the fifth most densely populated U.S. county, behind only four of the five New York City boroughs. Among the 331 U.S. cities proper with more than 100,000 residents, San Francisco was ranked first by per capita income and fifth by aggregate income as of 2019. Colloquial nicknames for San Francisco include SF, San Fran, The City, Frisco, and Baghdad by the Bay.

      3. U.S. state

        California

        California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2 million residents across a total area of approximately 163,696 square miles (423,970 km2), it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the most populated subnational entity in North America and the 34th most populous in the world. The Greater Los Angeles area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nation's second and fifth most populous urban regions respectively, with the former having more than 18.7 million residents and the latter having over 9.6 million. Sacramento is the state's capital, while Los Angeles is the most populous city in the state and the second most populous city in the country. San Francisco is the second most densely populated major city in the country. Los Angeles County is the country's most populous, while San Bernardino County is the largest county by area in the country. California borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, the Mexican state of Baja California to the south; and has a coastline along the Pacific Ocean to the west.

      4. Street-running light railcar

        Tram

        A tram is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are called tramways or simply trams/streetcars. Many recently built tramways use the contemporary term light rail. The vehicles are called streetcars or trolleys in North America and trams or tramcars elsewhere. The first two terms are often used interchangeably in the United States, with trolley being the preferred term in the eastern US and streetcar in the western US. Streetcar or tramway are preferred in Canada. In parts of the United States, internally powered buses made to resemble a streetcar are often referred to as "trolleys". To avoid further confusion with trolley buses, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) refers to them as "trolley-replica buses". In the United States, the term tram has sometimes been used for rubber-tired trackless trains, which are unrelated to other kinds of trams.

  27. 1917

    1. World War I: The American entry into World War I begins when diplomatic relations with Germany are severed due to its unrestricted submarine warfare.

      1. Global war, 1914–1918

        World War I

        World War I or the First World War, often abbreviated as WWI or WW1, and referred to by some Anglophone authors as the "Great War" or the "War to End All Wars", was a global conflict which lasted from 1914 to 1918, and is considered one of the deadliest conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fighting occurring throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Pacific, and parts of Asia. An estimated 9 million soldiers were killed in combat, plus another 23 million wounded, while 5 million civilians died as a result of military action, hunger, and disease. Millions more died in genocides within the Ottoman Empire and in the 1918 influenza pandemic, which was exacerbated by the movement of combatants during the war.

      2. Entry of the United States of America into World War I

        American entry into World War I

        The United States entered into World War I in April 1917, more than two and a half years after the war began in Europe.

  28. 1916

    1. The Centre Block of the Parliament buildings in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada burns down with the loss of seven lives.

      1. Main building of Canada's parliament

        Centre Block

        The Centre Block is the main building of the Canadian parliamentary complex on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, Ontario, containing the House of Commons and Senate chambers, as well as the offices of a number of members of parliament, senators, and senior administration for both legislative houses. It is also the location of several ceremonial spaces, such as the Hall of Honour, the Memorial Chamber, and Confederation Hall.

      2. Canadian federal legislature

        Parliament of Canada

        The Parliament of Canada is the federal legislature of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and is composed of three parts: the King, the Senate, and the House of Commons. By constitutional convention, the House of Commons is dominant, with the Senate rarely opposing its will. The Senate reviews legislation from a less partisan standpoint and may initiate certain bills. The monarch or his representative, normally the governor general, provides royal assent to make bills into law.

      3. Capital city of Canada

        Ottawa

        Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core of the Ottawa–Gatineau census metropolitan area (CMA) and the National Capital Region (NCR). As of 2021, Ottawa had a city population of 1,017,449 and a metropolitan population of 1,488,307, making it the fourth-largest city and fourth-largest metropolitan area in Canada.

  29. 1913

    1. The Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, authorizing the Federal government to impose and collect an income tax.

      1. 1913 amendment regulating the collection of federal income tax

        Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution

        The Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution allows Congress to levy an income tax without apportioning it among the states on the basis of population. It was passed by Congress in 1909 in response to the 1895 Supreme Court case of Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co. The Sixteenth Amendment was ratified by the requisite number of states on February 3, 1913, and effectively overruled the Supreme Court's ruling in Pollock.

      2. Common government of the United States

        Federal government of the United States

        The federal government of the United States is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a federal district, five major self-governing territories and several island possessions. The federal government, sometimes simply referred to as Washington, is composed of three distinct branches: legislative, executive, and judicial, whose powers are vested by the U.S. Constitution in the Congress, the president and the federal courts, respectively. The powers and duties of these branches are further defined by acts of Congress, including the creation of executive departments and courts inferior to the Supreme Court.

      3. Tax based on taxable income

        Income tax

        An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them. Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Taxation rates may vary by type or characteristics of the taxpayer and the type of income.

  30. 1870

    1. The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, granting voting rights to citizens regardless of "race, color, or previous condition of servitude".

      1. 1870 amendment prohibiting denial of voting rights on the basis of race

        Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution

        The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the federal government and each state from denying or abridging a citizen's right to vote "on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." It was ratified on February 3, 1870, as the third and last of the Reconstruction Amendments.

      2. Supreme law of the United States of America

        Constitution of the United States

        The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the national frame of government. Its first three articles embody the doctrine of the separation of powers, whereby the federal government is divided into three branches: the legislative, consisting of the bicameral Congress ; the executive, consisting of the president and subordinate officers ; and the judicial, consisting of the Supreme Court and other federal courts. Article IV, Article V, and Article VI embody concepts of federalism, describing the rights and responsibilities of state governments, the states in relationship to the federal government, and the shared process of constitutional amendment. Article VII establishes the procedure subsequently used by the 13 States to ratify it. It is regarded as the oldest written and codified national constitution in force.

      3. Right to vote in public and political elections

        Suffrage

        Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums. In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to vote is called active suffrage, as distinct from passive suffrage, which is the right to stand for election. The combination of active and passive suffrage is sometimes called full suffrage.

    2. The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, guaranteeing voting rights to male citizens regardless of race.

      1. 1870 amendment prohibiting denial of voting rights on the basis of race

        Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution

        The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the federal government and each state from denying or abridging a citizen's right to vote "on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." It was ratified on February 3, 1870, as the third and last of the Reconstruction Amendments.

  31. 1852

    1. The Argentine Confederation was defeated in the Platine War by an alliance consisting of Brazil, Uruguay and the Argentine provinces of Entre Ríos and Corrientes.

      1. 1831–1861 republic in South America

        Argentine Confederation

        The Argentine Confederation was the last predecessor state of modern Argentina; its name is still one of the official names of the country according to the Argentine Constitution, Article 35. It was the name of the country from 1831 to 1852, when the provinces were organized as a confederation without a head of state. The governor of Buenos Aires Province managed foreign relations during this time. Under his rule, the Argentine Confederation resisted attacks by Brazil, Bolivia, Uruguay, France and the United Kingdom, as well as other Argentine factions during the Argentine Civil Wars.

      2. 1851–1852 war between Argentina and Brazil

        Platine War

        The Platine War was fought between the Argentine Confederation and an alliance consisting of the Empire of Brazil, Uruguay, and the Argentine provinces of Entre Ríos and Corrientes, with the participation of the Republic of Paraguay as Brazil's co-belligerent and ally. The war was part of a decades-long dispute between Argentina and Brazil for influence over Uruguay and Paraguay, and hegemony over the Platine region. The conflict took place in Uruguay and northeastern Argentina, and on the Río de la Plata. Uruguay's internal troubles, including the longrunning Uruguayan Civil War, were heavily influential factors leading to the Platine War.

      3. Province of Argentina

        Entre Ríos Province

        Entre Ríos is a central province of Argentina, located in the Mesopotamia region. It borders the provinces of Buenos Aires (south), Corrientes (north) and Santa Fe (west), and Uruguay in the east.

      4. Northeastern province of Argentina

        Corrientes Province

        Corrientes, officially the Province of Corrientes is a province in northeast Argentina, in the Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by : Paraguay, the province of Misiones, Brazil, Uruguay, and the provinces of Entre Rios, Santa Fe and Chaco.

  32. 1830

    1. The London Protocol of 1830 establishes the full independence and sovereignty of Greece from the Ottoman Empire as the final result of the Greek War of Independence.

      1. 1830 agreement between the United Kingdom, France, and Russia

        London Protocol (1830)

        The 1830 Protocol of London was a treaty signed between the Kingdom of France, the Russian Empire, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland on February 3, 1830. It was the first official, international diplomatic act recognizing Greece as a sovereign and independent state, with all the rights - political, administrative, and commercial - that derived from its independence, which would extend south of the border defined by the rivers Achelous and Spercheios. The first governor of the newly-formed state (1830-1831) was Ioannis Kapodistrias, who had already previously served as governor of Greece in 1828 following a resolution of the Third National Assembly at Troezen.

      2. Country in Southeast Europe

        Greece

        Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the northeast. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of the mainland, the Ionian Sea to the west, and the Sea of Crete and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the longest coastline on the Mediterranean Basin, featuring thousands of islands. The country consists of nine traditional geographic regions, and has a population of approximately 10.4 million. Athens is the nation's capital and largest city, followed by Thessaloniki and Patras.

      3. Empire existing from 1299 to 1922

        Ottoman Empire

        The Ottoman Empire, also known as the Turkish Empire, was an empire that controlled much of Southeast Europe, Western Asia, and Northern Africa between the 14th and early 20th centuries. It was founded at the end of the 13th century in northwestern Anatolia in the town of Söğüt by the Turkoman tribal leader Osman I. After 1354, the Ottomans crossed into Europe and, with the conquest of the Balkans, the Ottoman beylik was transformed into a transcontinental empire. The Ottomans ended the Byzantine Empire with the conquest of Constantinople in 1453 by Mehmed the Conqueror.

      4. Greek Revolution, 1821–1830

        Greek War of Independence

        The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by the British Empire, Kingdom of France, and the Russian Empire, while the Ottomans were aided by their North African vassals, particularly the eyalet of Egypt. The war led to the formation of modern Greece. The revolution is celebrated by Greeks around the world as independence day on 25 March.

  33. 1813

    1. Argentine War of Independence: José de San Martín and the Mounted Grenadiers Regiment defeated Spanish royalist forces in the Battle of San Lorenzo.

      1. Conflict for Argentine independence from the Spanish Empire (1810-1818)

        Argentine War of Independence

        The Argentine War of Independence was a secessionist civil war fought from 1810 to 1818 by Argentine patriotic forces under Manuel Belgrano, Juan José Castelli and José de San Martín against royalist forces loyal to the Spanish crown. On July 9, 1816, an assembly met in San Miguel de Tucumán, declaring independence with provisions for a national constitution.

      2. Argentine military leader and Libertador (1778–1850)

        José de San Martín

        José Francisco de San Martín y Matorras, known simply as José de San Martín or the Liberator of Argentina, Chile and Peru, was an Argentine general and the primary leader of the southern and central parts of South America's successful struggle for independence from the Spanish Empire who served as the Protector of Peru. Born in Yapeyú, Corrientes, in modern-day Argentina, he left the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata at the early age of seven to study in Málaga, Spain.

      3. Military unit

        Mounted Grenadiers Regiment

        The Regiment of Mounted Grenadiers is the name of two Argentine Army regiments of two different time periods: a historic regiment that operated from 1812 to 1826, and a modern cavalry unit that was organized in 1903. The first Regiment of Mounted Grenadiers, formed in 1812, fought in the Argentine War of Independence under José de San Martín, and the Cisplatine War, subsequently becoming the Presidential bodyguard in 1825. Refusing to replenish its membership with soldiers who had not fought in the Argentine War of Independence, the regiment disbanded in 1826.

      4. Supporters of the Spanish monarchy during the Spanish-American independence wars

        Royalist (Spanish American independence)

        The royalists were the people of Hispanic America and European that fought to preserve the integrity of the Spanish monarchy during the Spanish American wars of independence.

      5. 1813 battle in the Argentine War of Independence

        Battle of San Lorenzo

        The Battle of San Lorenzo was fought on 3 February 1813 in San Lorenzo, Argentina, then part of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata. The royalist troops, were composed of militiamen recruited in Montevideo under the command of militia captain Antonio Zabala that was defeated by the Regiment of Mounted Grenadiers, under the command of José de San Martín. This battle was the baptism by fire for this military unit, and for San Martín in the Spanish American wars of independence.

    2. José de San Martín defeats a Spanish royalist army at the Battle of San Lorenzo, part of the Argentine War of Independence.

      1. Argentine military leader and Libertador (1778–1850)

        José de San Martín

        José Francisco de San Martín y Matorras, known simply as José de San Martín or the Liberator of Argentina, Chile and Peru, was an Argentine general and the primary leader of the southern and central parts of South America's successful struggle for independence from the Spanish Empire who served as the Protector of Peru. Born in Yapeyú, Corrientes, in modern-day Argentina, he left the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata at the early age of seven to study in Málaga, Spain.

      2. 1813 battle in the Argentine War of Independence

        Battle of San Lorenzo

        The Battle of San Lorenzo was fought on 3 February 1813 in San Lorenzo, Argentina, then part of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata. The royalist troops, were composed of militiamen recruited in Montevideo under the command of militia captain Antonio Zabala that was defeated by the Regiment of Mounted Grenadiers, under the command of José de San Martín. This battle was the baptism by fire for this military unit, and for San Martín in the Spanish American wars of independence.

      3. Conflict for Argentine independence from the Spanish Empire (1810-1818)

        Argentine War of Independence

        The Argentine War of Independence was a secessionist civil war fought from 1810 to 1818 by Argentine patriotic forces under Manuel Belgrano, Juan José Castelli and José de San Martín against royalist forces loyal to the Spanish crown. On July 9, 1816, an assembly met in San Miguel de Tucumán, declaring independence with provisions for a national constitution.

  34. 1809

    1. The Territory of Illinois is created by the 10th United States Congress.

      1. Territory of the USA between 1809-1818

        Illinois Territory

        The Territory of Illinois was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 1, 1809, until December 3, 1818, when the southern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Illinois. Its capital was the former French village of Kaskaskia. The northern half of the territory, modern Wisconsin and parts of modern Minnesota and Michigan became part of the Territory of Michigan.

      2. Meeting of the United States federal government's legislative branch (1807-09)

        10th United States Congress

        The 10th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1807, to March 4, 1809, during the seventh and eighth years of Thomas Jefferson's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1800 census; both chambers had an overwhelming Democratic-Republican majority.

  35. 1807

    1. A British military force, under Brigadier-General Sir Samuel Auchmuty captures the Spanish Empire city of Montevideo, now the capital of Uruguay.

      1. Samuel Auchmuty (British Army officer)

        Lieutenant-General Sir Samuel Auchmuty, was an American-born British Army general, who served in a number of military campaigns in India, Africa and South America during the Napoleonic period.

      2. Colonial empire governed by Spain between 1492 and 1976

        Spanish Empire

        The Spanish Empire, also known as the Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its predecessor states between 1492 and 1976. One of the largest empires in history, it was, in conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, the first to usher the European Age of Discovery and achieve a global scale, controlling vast portions of the Americas, territories in Western Europe, Africa, and various islands in Oceania and Asia. It was one of the most powerful empires of the early modern period, becoming the first empire known as "the empire on which the sun never sets", and reached its maximum extent in the 18th century.

      3. Capital and largest city of Uruguay

        Montevideo

        Montevideo is the capital and largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 in an area of 201 square kilometers (78 sq mi). Montevideo is situated on the southern coast of the country, on the northeastern bank of the Río de la Plata.

      4. Country in South America

        Uruguay

        Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast. It is part of the Southern Cone region of South America. Uruguay covers an area of approximately 181,034 square kilometers (69,898 sq mi) and has a population of an estimated 3.4 million, of whom around 2 million live in the metropolitan area of its capital and largest city, Montevideo.

  36. 1787

    1. Militia led by General Benjamin Lincoln crush the remnants of Shays' Rebellion in Petersham, Massachusetts.

      1. Continental Army general

        Benjamin Lincoln

        Benjamin Lincoln was an American army officer. He served as a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Lincoln was involved in three major surrenders during the war: his participation in the Battles of Saratoga contributed to John Burgoyne's surrender of a British army, he oversaw the largest American surrender of the war at the 1780 Siege of Charleston, and, as George Washington's second in command, he formally accepted the British surrender at Yorktown.

      2. Armed uprising in the U.S.

        Shays' Rebellion

        Shays' Rebellion was an armed uprising in Western Massachusetts and Worcester in response to a debt crisis among the citizenry and in opposition to the state government's increased efforts to collect taxes both on individuals and their trades. The fight took place mostly in and around Springfield during 1786 and 1787. American Revolutionary War veteran Daniel Shays led four thousand rebels in a protest against economic and civil rights injustices. In 1787, Shays' rebels marched on the federal Springfield Armory in an unsuccessful attempt to seize its weaponry and overthrow the government. The confederal government found itself unable to finance troops to put down the rebellion, and it was consequently put down by the Massachusetts State militia and a privately funded local militia.

      3. Town in Massachusetts, United States

        Petersham, Massachusetts

        Petersham is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,194 at the 2020 census. Petersham is home to a considerable amount of conservation land, including the Quabbin Reservation, Harvard Forest, the Swift River Reservation, and Federated Women's Club State Forest.

  37. 1783

    1. Spain–United States relations are first established.

      1. Bilateral relations

        Spain–United States relations

        The troubled history of Spanish–American relations has been seen as one of "love and hate". The groundwork was laid by the colonization of parts of the Americas by Spain before 1700. The Spaniards were the first Europeans to establish a permanent settlement in what is now United States territory. The first settlement in modern-day United States territory was San Juan, Puerto Rico, founded in 1521 by Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon. 35 years later, Spanish admiral Pedro Menendez de Aviles founded the city of St Augustine, Spanish Florida, which became a small outpost that never grew very large. More permanent, much larger colonies were established in New Mexico and California, with a few in Texas and Arizona, forming part of the colonial history of the United States. Although the Spanish elements in the history of the United States were mostly ignored by American historians in the decades after independence, the concept of the "Spanish borderlands" in the American Southwest was developed by American historians in the 20th century, which integrated Spain into U.S. history.

  38. 1781

    1. Fourth Anglo-Dutch War: British forces captured the Dutch island of Sint Eustatius after a brief skirmish.

      1. UK–Netherlands war, 1780–1784

        Fourth Anglo-Dutch War

        The Fourth Anglo-Dutch War was a conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Dutch Republic. The war, contemporary with the War of American Independence (1775-1783), broke out over British and Dutch disagreements on the legality and conduct of Dutch trade with Britain's enemies in that war.

      2. 18th-century battle

        Capture of Sint Eustatius

        The Capture of Sint Eustatius took place in February 1781 during the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War when British army and naval forces under Lieutenant-General Sir John Vaughan and Admiral George Rodney seized the Dutch-owned Caribbean island of Sint Eustatius. The capture was controversial in Britain, as it was alleged that Vaughan and Rodney had used the opportunity to enrich themselves and had neglected more important military duties. The island was subsequently taken by Dutch-allied French forces in late 1781, ending the British occupation.

      3. Special municipality of the Netherlands

        Sint Eustatius

        Sint Eustatius, also known locally as Statia, is an island in the Caribbean. It is a special municipality of the Netherlands.

    2. American Revolutionary War: British forces seize the Dutch-owned Caribbean island Sint Eustatius.

      1. 1775–1783 war of independence

        American Revolutionary War

        The American Revolutionary War, also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, secured American independence from Great Britain. Fighting began on April 19, 1775, followed by the Lee Resolution on July 2, 1776, and the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The American Patriots were supported by the Kingdom of France and, to a lesser extent, the Dutch Republic and the Spanish Empire, in a conflict taking place in North America, the Caribbean, and the Atlantic Ocean.

      2. 18th-century battle

        Capture of Sint Eustatius

        The Capture of Sint Eustatius took place in February 1781 during the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War when British army and naval forces under Lieutenant-General Sir John Vaughan and Admiral George Rodney seized the Dutch-owned Caribbean island of Sint Eustatius. The capture was controversial in Britain, as it was alleged that Vaughan and Rodney had used the opportunity to enrich themselves and had neglected more important military duties. The island was subsequently taken by Dutch-allied French forces in late 1781, ending the British occupation.

      3. Federal republic in the Netherlands from 1579 to 1795

        Dutch Republic

        The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands, and commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a federal republic that existed from 1579, during the Dutch Revolt, to 1795. It was a predecessor state of the Netherlands and the first fully independent Dutch nation state.

      4. Special municipality of the Netherlands

        Sint Eustatius

        Sint Eustatius, also known locally as Statia, is an island in the Caribbean. It is a special municipality of the Netherlands.

  39. 1716

    1. The 1716 Algiers earthquake sequence began with an Mw  7.0 mainshock that caused severe damage and killed 20,000 in Algeria.

      1. Earthquake in Algeria

        1716 Algiers earthquake

        The 1716 Algiers earthquake was part of a seismic sequence which began in February and ended in May 1716. The largest and most destructive shock occurred on February 3 with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.0. The earthquakes with an epicenter thought to be in the Algiers region had a maximum European macroseismic scale (EMS-98) intensity of IX (Destructive), killing approximately 20,000 people. The earthquake was felt in Catania and Syracuse on the Italian island Sicily.

  40. 1706

    1. During the Battle of Fraustadt Swedish forces defeat a superior Saxon-Polish-Russian force by deploying a double envelopment.

      1. 1706 battle of the Great Northern War

        Battle of Fraustadt

        The Battle of Fraustadt was fought on 2 February 1706 (O.S.) / 3 February 1706 / 13 February 1706 (N.S.) between Sweden and Saxony-Poland and their Russian allies near Fraustadt in Poland. During the Battle of Fraustadt on February 3, August II was only 120 km away, with a cavalry force about 8,000 men strong. That was one of the main reasons that Swedish General Rehnskiöld hurried to engage Schulenburg. The battle is an example of a successful pincer movement and was one of Sweden's greatest victories in the Great Northern War.

      2. State in Germany

        Saxony

        Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and its largest city is Leipzig. Saxony is the tenth largest of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of 18,413 square kilometres (7,109 sq mi), and the sixth most populous, with more than 4 million inhabitants.

      3. Military tactic

        Pincer movement

        The pincer movement, or double envelopment, is a military maneuver in which forces simultaneously attack both flanks (sides) of an enemy formation. This classic maneuver holds an important foothold throughout the history of warfare.

  41. 1690

    1. The colony of Massachusetts issues the first paper money in the Americas.

      1. 1630–1691 English colony in North America

        Massachusetts Bay Colony

        The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around the Massachusetts Bay, the northernmost of the several colonies later reorganized as the Province of Massachusetts Bay. The lands of the settlement were in southern New England, with initial settlements on two natural harbors and surrounding land about 15.4 miles (24.8 km) apart—the areas around Salem and Boston, north of the previously established Plymouth Colony. The territory nominally administered by the Massachusetts Bay Colony covered much of central New England, including portions of Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, and Connecticut.

      2. Form of physical currency made of paper, cotton or polymer

        Banknote

        A banknote—also called a bill, paper money, or simply a note—is a type of negotiable promissory note, made by a bank or other licensed authority, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes were originally issued by commercial banks, which were legally required to redeem the notes for legal tender when presented to the chief cashier of the originating bank. These commercial banknotes only traded at face value in the market served by the issuing bank. Commercial banknotes have primarily been replaced by national banknotes issued by central banks or monetary authorities.

  42. 1661

    1. Maratha forces under Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj defeat the Mughals in the Battle of Umberkhind.

      1. 1674–1818 empire in the Indian subcontinent

        Maratha Empire

        The Maratha Empire, later referred as Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian empire that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of Shivaji of the Bhonsle Dynasty as the Chhatrapati. Although Shivaji came from the Maratha caste, the Maratha empire also included warriors, administrators and other notables from Maratha and several other castes from Maharashtra.

      2. Indian king and founder of the Maratha Empire (r. 1674–80)

        Shivaji

        Shivaji Bhonsale I, also referred to as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the declining Adilshahi sultanate of Bijapur which formed the genesis of the Maratha Empire. In 1674, he was formally crowned the Chhatrapati of his realm at Raigad Fort.

      3. 1526–1857 empire in South Asia

        Mughal Empire

        The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. For some two hundred years, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus river basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to the highlands of present-day Assam and Bangladesh in the east, and the uplands of the Deccan Plateau in South India.

      4. 17th century battle involving Marathas and Mughals

        Battle of Umberkhind

        Battle of Umberkhind took place on 3 February 1661 in the mountain range of Sahyadri near the city of Khopoli, Maharashtra, India. The battle was fought between the Maratha army under Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and General Kartalab Khan of the Mughal Empire. The Marathas defeated the Mughal forces. This battle was a great example of guerrilla warfare. On the orders of Aurangzeb, Shahista Khan sent Kartalab Khan and Rai Bagan to attack Rajgad Fort. Shivaji's men encountered them in a forest in the mountain hills, which was called the Umberkhind.

  43. 1583

    1. Battle of São Vicente takes place off Portuguese Brazil where three English warships led by navigator Edward Fenton fight off three Spanish galleons sinking one in the process.

      1. Battle of São Vicente

        The Battle of São Vicente was a minor naval engagement that took place off São Vicente, Portuguese Brazil on 3 February 1583 during the Anglo–Spanish War between three English ships, and three Spanish galleons. The English under Edward Fenton on an expedition having failed to enter the Pacific, then attempted to trade off Portuguese Brazil but were intercepted by a detached Spanish squadron under Commodore Andrés de Equino. After a moonlit battle briefly interrupted by a rainstorm the Spanish were defeated with one galleon sunk and another heavily damaged along with heavy losses. Fenton then attempted to resume trading but without success and thus returned to England.

      2. Portuguese 1500-1815 possession in South America

        Colonial Brazil

        Colonial Brazil comprises the period from 1500, with the arrival of the Portuguese, until 1815, when Brazil was elevated to a kingdom in union with Portugal as the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves. During the early 300 years of Brazilian colonial history, the economic exploitation of the territory was based first on brazilwood extraction, which gave the territory its name; sugar production ; and finally on gold and diamond mining. Slaves, especially those brought from Africa, provided most of the work force of the Brazilian export economy after a brief period of Indian slavery to cut brazilwood.

      3. 16th-century English navigator

        Edward Fenton

        Edward Fenton was an English navigator, son of Henry Fenton and Cicely Beaumont and brother of Sir Geoffrey Fenton. He was also a publisher of diaries and journals.

      4. Large and multi-decked sailing ships

        Galleon

        Galleons were large, multi-decked sailing ships first used as armed cargo carriers by European states from the 16th to 18th centuries during the age of sail and were the principal vessels drafted for use as warships until the Anglo-Dutch Wars of the mid-1600s. Galleons generally carried three or more masts with a lateen fore-and-aft rig on the rear masts, were carvel built with a prominent squared off raised stern, and used square-rigged sail plans on their fore-mast and main-masts.

  44. 1509

    1. The Portuguese navy defeats a joint fleet of the Ottoman Empire, the Republic of Venice, the Sultan of Gujarat, the Mamlûk Burji Sultanate of Egypt, the Zamorin of Calicut, and the Republic of Ragusa at the Battle of Diu in Diu, India.

      1. Colonial empire of Portugal (1415–1999)

        Portuguese Empire

        The Portuguese Empire, also known as the Portuguese Overseas or the Portuguese Colonial Empire, was composed of the overseas colonies, factories, and the later overseas territories governed by Portugal. It was one of the longest-lived empires in European history, lasting almost six centuries from the conquest of Ceuta in North Africa, in 1415, to the transfer of sovereignty over Macau to China in 1999. The empire began in the 15th century, and from the early 16th century it stretched across the globe, with bases in North and South America, Africa, and various regions of Asia and Oceania.

      2. Empire existing from 1299 to 1922

        Ottoman Empire

        The Ottoman Empire, also known as the Turkish Empire, was an empire that controlled much of Southeast Europe, Western Asia, and Northern Africa between the 14th and early 20th centuries. It was founded at the end of the 13th century in northwestern Anatolia in the town of Söğüt by the Turkoman tribal leader Osman I. After 1354, the Ottomans crossed into Europe and, with the conquest of the Balkans, the Ottoman beylik was transformed into a transcontinental empire. The Ottomans ended the Byzantine Empire with the conquest of Constantinople in 1453 by Mehmed the Conqueror.

      3. Former country in northeastern Italy (697–1797)

        Republic of Venice

        The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic, traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and maritime republic in parts of present-day Italy that existed for 1100 years from AD 697 until AD 1797. Centered on the lagoon communities of the prosperous city of Venice, it incorporated numerous overseas possessions in modern Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Greece, Albania and Cyprus. The republic grew into a trading power during the Middle Ages and strengthened this position during the Renaissance. Citizens spoke the still-surviving Venetian language, although publishing in (Florentine) Italian became the norm during the Renaissance.

      4. Sultan of Gujarat (1458–1511)

        Mahmud Begada

        Sultan Mahmud Begada or Mahmud Shah I, was the most prominent Sultan of the Gujarat Sultanate. Raised to the throne at young age, he successfully captured Pavagadh and Junagadh forts in battles which gave him his name Begada. He established Champaner as the capital. He was responsible for the destruction of the Dwarkadhish Temple in Dwarka, Gujarat, one of the Char Dhams considered sacred by Hindus. He is assigned Punjabi ancestry by various historians, he was either a Khatri convert or a Tank Rajput from Southern Punjab.

      5. Burji dynasty

        The Burji or Circassian Mamluk dynasty of Circassian origin, ruled Egypt from 1382 until 1517, during the Mamluk Sultanate. The Circassian community in Cairo especially flourished during this time. Political power-plays often became important in designating a new sultan. During this time Mamluks fought Timur and conquered Cyprus. Constant bickering may have contributed to the ability of the Ottomans to challenge them. Their name means 'of the tower', referring to them ruling from the Citadel east of Cairo.

      6. Hereditary monarch of historical kingdom in present-day Kerala, India (1124–1806)

        Zamorin

        The Samoothiri was the hereditary Nair monarch and ruler of the Kingdom of Kozhikode (Calicut) in the South Malabar region of India. Calicut was one of the most important trading ports on the southwest coast of India. At the peak of their reign, they ruled over a region extending from Kozhikode Kollam (Kollam) to the borders of Panthalayini Kollam (Koyilandy). The Zamorins belonged to the Eradi caste of the Samantan Nair community of medieval Kerala.

      7. City in Kerala, India

        Kozhikode

        Kozhikode, also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second largest metropolitan area in Kerala and the 19th largest in India. Kozhikode is classified as a Tier 2 city by the Government of India.

      8. 1358–1808 maritime republic in southern Europe (Dalmatia)

        Republic of Ragusa

        The Republic of Ragusa was an aristocratic maritime republic centered on the city of Dubrovnik in South Dalmatia that carried that name from 1358 until 1808. It reached its commercial peak in the 15th and the 16th centuries, before being conquered by Napoleon's French Empire and formally annexed by the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy in 1808. It had a population of about 30,000 people, of whom 5,000 lived within the city walls. Its motto was "Non bene pro toto libertas venditur auro", a Latin phrase which means "Liberty is not sold for all the gold in the world".

      9. 1509 Portuguese naval victory in India

        Battle of Diu

        The Battle of Diu was a naval battle fought on 3 February 1509 in the Arabian Sea, in the port of Diu, India, between the Portuguese Empire and a joint fleet of the Sultan of Gujarat, the Mamlûk Burji Sultanate of Egypt, and the Zamorin of Calicut with support of the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire.

      10. City in Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, India

        Diu, India

        Diu, also known as Diu Town, is a town in Diu district in the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, India. Diu District is the tenth least populated district of India. The town of Diu lies at the eastern end of Diu Island and is known for its fortress and old Portuguese cathedral. It is a fishing town.

  45. 1488

    1. Bartolomeu Dias of Portugal lands in Mossel Bay after rounding the Cape of Good Hope, becoming the first known European to travel so far south.

      1. Late 15th-century Portuguese maritime explorer

        Bartolomeu Dias

        Bartolomeu Dias was a Portuguese mariner and explorer. In 1488, he became the first European navigator to round the southern tip of Africa and to demonstrate that the most effective southward route for ships lay in the open ocean, well to the west of the African coast. His discoveries effectively established the sea route between Europe and Asia.

      2. Town in Western Cape, South Africa

        Mossel Bay

        Mossel Bay is a harbour town of about 99,000 people on the Southern Cape of South Africa. It is an important tourism and farming region of the Western Cape Province. Mossel Bay lies 400 kilometres east of the country's seat of parliament, Cape Town, and 400 km west of Port Elizabeth, the largest city in the Eastern Cape. The older parts of the town occupy the north-facing side of the Cape St Blaize Peninsula, whilst the newer suburbs straddle the Peninsula and have spread eastwards along the sandy shore of the Bay.

      3. Headland of Cape Peninsula, South Africa

        Cape of Good Hope

        The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa.

  46. 1451

    1. Sultan Mehmed II inherits the throne of the Ottoman Empire.

      1. Noble title with several historical meanings

        Sultan

        Sultan is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun سلطة sulṭah, meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who claimed almost full sovereignty without claiming the overall caliphate, or to refer to a powerful governor of a province within the caliphate. The adjectival form of the word is "sultanic", and the state and territories ruled by a sultan, as well as his office, are referred to as a sultanate.

      2. 7th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (r. 1444–1446, 1451–1481)

        Mehmed II

        Mehmed II, commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror, was an Ottoman sultan who ruled from August 1444 to September 1446, and then later from February 1451 to May 1481. In Mehmed II's first reign, he defeated the crusade led by John Hunyadi after the Hungarian incursions into his country broke the conditions of the truce Peace of Szeged. When Mehmed II ascended the throne again in 1451, he strengthened the Ottoman navy and made preparations to attack Constantinople. At the age of 21, he conquered Constantinople and brought an end to the Byzantine Empire.

      3. Empire existing from 1299 to 1922

        Ottoman Empire

        The Ottoman Empire, also known as the Turkish Empire, was an empire that controlled much of Southeast Europe, Western Asia, and Northern Africa between the 14th and early 20th centuries. It was founded at the end of the 13th century in northwestern Anatolia in the town of Söğüt by the Turkoman tribal leader Osman I. After 1354, the Ottomans crossed into Europe and, with the conquest of the Balkans, the Ottoman beylik was transformed into a transcontinental empire. The Ottomans ended the Byzantine Empire with the conquest of Constantinople in 1453 by Mehmed the Conqueror.

  47. 1266

    1. Mudéjar revolt: King James I of Aragon entered the Muslim-held city of Murcia (depicted), conquered following its surrender three days earlier.

      1. 13th century revolt by Muslim communities in Castile

        Mudéjar revolt of 1264–1266

        The Mudéjar revolt of 1264–1266 was a rebellion by the Muslim populations (Mudéjares) in the Lower Andalusia and Murcia regions of the Crown of Castile. The rebellion was in response to Castile's policy of relocating Muslim populations from these regions and was partially instigated by Muhammad I of Granada. The rebels were aided by the independent Emirate of Granada, while the Castilians were allied with Aragon. Early in the uprising, the rebels managed to capture Murcia and Jerez, as well as several smaller towns, but were eventually defeated by the royal forces. Subsequently, Castile expelled the Muslim populations of the reconquered territories and encouraged Christians from elsewhere to settle their lands. Granada became a vassal of Castile and paid an annual tribute.

      2. King of Aragon from 1213 to 1276

        James I of Aragon

        James I the Conqueror was King of Aragon and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276; King of Majorca from 1231 to 1276; and Valencia from 1238 to 1276 and Count of Barcelona. His long reign—the longest of any Iberian monarch—saw the expansion of the Crown of Aragon in three directions: Languedoc to the north, the Balearic Islands to the southeast, and Valencia to the south. By a treaty with Louis IX of France, he achieved the renunciation of any possible claim of French suzerainty over the County of Barcelona and the other Catalan counties, while he renounced northward expansion and taking back the once Catalan territories in Occitania and vassal counties loyal to the County of Barcelona, lands that were lost by his father Peter II of Aragon in the Battle of Muret during the Albigensian Crusade and annexed by the Kingdom of France, and then decided to turn south. His great part in the Reconquista was similar in Mediterranean Spain to that of his contemporary Ferdinand III of Castile in Andalusia. One of the main reasons for this formal renunciation of most of the once Catalan territories in Languedoc and Occitania and any expansion into them is the fact that he was raised by the Knights Templar crusaders, who had defeated his father fighting for the Pope alongside the French, so it was effectively forbidden for him to try to maintain the traditional influence of the Count of Barcelona that previously existed in Occitania and Languedoc.

      3. Municipality in Region of Murcia, Spain

        Murcia

        Murcia is a city in south-eastern Spain, the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the seventh largest city in the country. It has a population of 460,349 inhabitants in 2021. The total population of the metropolitan area is 672,773 in 2020, covering an urban area of 1,230.9 km2. It is located on the Segura River, in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula. It has a climate with hot summers, mild winters, and relatively low precipitation.

      4. 13th-century military campaign in Iberia

        Conquest of Murcia (1265–66)

        A conquest of Murcia took place in 1265–66 when James I of Aragon conquered the Muslim-held Taifa of Murcia on behalf of his ally Alfonso X of Castile.

  48. 1112

    1. Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona, and Douce I, Countess of Provence, marry, uniting the fortunes of those two states.

      1. Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona

        Ramon Berenguer III the Great was the count of Barcelona, Girona, and Ausona from 1086, Besalú from 1111, Cerdanya from 1117, and count of Provence in the Holy Roman Empire, from 1112, all until his death in Barcelona in 1131. As Ramon Berenguer I, he was Count of Provence in right of his wife.

      2. 12th-century noblewoman of Provence (present-day region in southeastern France)

        Douce I, Countess of Provence

        Douce I was the daughter of Gilbert I of Gévaudan and Gerberga of Provence and wife of Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona. In 1112, she inherited the county of Provence through her mother. She married Ramon Berenguer at Arles on 3 February that year.

Births & Deaths

  1. 2020

    1. George Steiner, French-American philosopher, author, and critic (b. 1929) deaths

      1. Writer, literary critic, and philosopher (1929–2020)

        George Steiner

        Francis George Steiner, FBA was a Franco-American literary critic, essayist, philosopher, novelist, and educator. He wrote extensively about the relationship between language, literature and society, and the impact of the Holocaust. An article in The Guardian described Steiner as a "polyglot and polymath".

  2. 2019

    1. Julie Adams, American actress (b. 1926) deaths

      1. American actress (1926–2019)

        Julie Adams

        Julie Adams was an American actress, billed as Julia Adams toward the beginning of her career, primarily known for her numerous television guest roles. She starred in a number of films in the 1950s, including Bend of the River (1952), opposite James Stewart; and Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954). On television, she was known for her roles as Paula Denning on the 1980s soap opera Capitol, and Eve Simpson on Murder, She Wrote.

    2. Kristoff St. John, American actor (b. 1966) deaths

      1. American actor (1966–2019)

        Kristoff St. John

        Kristoff St. John was an American actor best known for playing Neil Winters on the CBS daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless from 1991 until his death in 2019, which earned him two Daytime Emmy Award from eleven nominations, and ten NAACP Image Awards. He was also known for his role as Adam Marshall in the NBC soap opera Generations, for which he received two Daytime Emmy Award nominations; and his role as a young Alex Haley on ABC miniseries Roots: The Next Generations.

  3. 2017

    1. Dritëro Agolli, Albanian poet, writer and politician (b. 1931) deaths

      1. Albanian poet, writer, and politician

        Dritëro Agolli

        Dritëro Agolli was an Albanian poet, writer and politician. He studied in Leningrad in the Soviet Union, and wrote primarily poetry, but also short stories, essays, plays, and novels. He was head of the League of Writers and Artists of Albania from 1973 until 1992. He was a leading figure in the Albanian Communist nomenklatura.

  4. 2016

    1. Joe Alaskey, American actor (b. 1952) deaths

      1. American actor (1952–2016)

        Joe Alaskey

        Joseph Francis Alaskey III was an American actor, voice actor, broadcaster, impressionist and stand-up comedian.

    2. Balram Jakhar, Indian lawyer and politician, 23rd Governor of Madhya Pradesh (b. 1923) deaths

      1. Indian politician

        Balram Jakhar

        Balram Jakhar was an Indian politician, who served as the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and Governor of Madhya Pradesh. He was also the longest serving Speaker of the Lok Sabha.

      2. List of governors of Madhya Pradesh

        The governor of Madhya Pradesh is a nominal head and representative of the president of India in the state of Madhya Pradesh. The governor is appointed by the president for a period of five years.

    3. József Kasza, Serbian politician and economist (b. 1945) deaths

      1. Serbian politician

        József Kasza

        József Kasza was an ethnic Hungarian politician, economist and banker from Serbia.

  5. 2015

    1. Martin Gilbert, English historian, author, and academic (b. 1936) deaths

      1. British historian (1936–2015)

        Martin Gilbert

        Sir Martin John Gilbert was a British historian and honorary Fellow of Merton College, Oxford. He was the author of eighty-eight books, including works on Winston Churchill, the 20th century, and Jewish history including the Holocaust. He was a member of the Chilcot Inquiry into Britain's role in the Iraq War.

    2. Mary Healy, American actress and singer (b. 1918) deaths

      1. American actress

        Mary Healy (entertainer)

        Mary Sarah Healy was an American actress, singer, and variety entertainer.

    3. Charlie Sifford, American golfer (b. 1922) deaths

      1. American professional golfer (1922–2015)

        Charlie Sifford

        Charles Luther Sifford was an American professional golfer who was the first African American to play on the PGA Tour. He won the Greater Hartford Open in 1967 and the Los Angeles Open in 1969. He also won the United Golf Association's National Negro Open six times, and the PGA Seniors' Championship in 1975.

    4. Nasim Hasan Shah, Pakistani lawyer and judge, 12th Chief Justice of Pakistan (b. 1929) deaths

      1. Nasim Hasan Shah

        Nasim Hasan Shah was a Pakistani jurist and served as Chief Justice of Pakistan. He is best known for his role in the verdict against Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the first democratically elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, which resulted in the death penalty.

      2. Head judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan

        Chief Justice of Pakistan

        The Chief Justice of Pakistan is the head of the court system of Pakistan and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. The officeholder is the senior most of 17 senior justices of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

  6. 2013

    1. Cardiss Collins, American politician (b. 1931) deaths

      1. American Democratic politician from Illinois

        Cardiss Collins

        Cardiss Hortense Collins was an American politician from Illinois who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1973 to 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the fourth African-American woman in Congress and the first to represent the Midwest. Collins was elected to Congress in the June 5, 1973 special election to replace her husband, George, who had died in the December 8, 1972 United Airlines Flight 553 plane crash a month after being elected to a second term. The seat had been renumbered and combined from the 6th district to the 7th, and had been redrawn to include the Loop. She had previously worked as an accountant in various state government positions.

    2. Oscar Feltsman, Ukrainian-Russian composer and producer (b. 1921) deaths

      1. Russian composer

        Oscar Feltsman

        Oscar Borisovich Feltsman was a Ukrainian-born composer of Lithuanian Jewish descent. He was the father of Vladimir Feltsman.

    3. James Muri, American soldier and pilot (b. 1918) deaths

      1. US Air Force officer

        James Muri

        James Perry Muri was an American World War II pilot. His United States Army Air Forces squadron helped protect Midway Island during the war by attacking a Japanese aircraft carrier task force.

    4. Jam Mohammad Yousaf, Pakistani politician, Chief Minister of Balochistan (b. 1954) deaths

      1. Pakistani politician

        Jam Mohammad Yousaf

        Jam Mir Mohammad Yousaf Aliani was the 12th Jam of Lasbela, and a former Chief Minister of Balochistan province of Pakistan.

      2. Head of the provincial government of Balochistan

        Chief Minister of Balochistan

        The Chief Minister of Balochistan is the head of government of the Pakistani province of Balochistan. The chief minister leads the legislative branch of the provincial government, and is elected by the Provincial Assembly. Given that he has the confidence of the assembly, the chief minister's term is for five years and is subject to no term limits. Abdul Quddus Bizenjo is the current chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

  7. 2012

    1. Toh Chin Chye, Singaporean academic and politician, 1st Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore (b. 1921) deaths

      1. Singaporean Politician

        Toh Chin Chye

        Toh Chin Chye was a Singaporean politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore between 1959 and 1968. Toh is widely recognised as one of the founding fathers of Singapore. He was also one of the founders of the People's Action Party (PAP), which has governed the country continuously since independence.

      2. Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore

        The deputy prime minister of Singapore is the deputy head of government of the Republic of Singapore. The incumbent deputy prime ministers are Heng Swee Keat and Lawrence Wong, who took office on 1 May 2019 and 13 June 2022 respectively.

    2. Ben Gazzara, American actor and director (b. 1930) deaths

      1. American actor (1930–2012)

        Ben Gazzara

        Biagio Anthony Gazzara was an American actor and director of film, stage, and television. He received numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and a Drama Desk Award, in addition to nominations for three Golden Globe Awards and three Tony Awards.

    3. Terence Hildner, American general (b. 1962) deaths

      1. Terence Hildner

        Brigadier General Terence John Hildner was a United States Army General Officer who served as commander of the 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) from 2010 until his death in 2012. He is the second highest-ranking American officer to die while serving in the war in Afghanistan.

    4. Raj Kanwar, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1961) deaths

      1. Indian film director

        Raj Kanwar

        Raj Kanwar was an Indian film director, writer and film producer of Hindi films based in Mumbai, India.

    5. Zalman King, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1942) deaths

      1. American director, writer, producer, actor

        Zalman King

        Zalman King was an American film director, writer, actor and producer. His films are known for incorporating sexuality, and are often categorized as erotica.

    6. Andrzej Szczeklik, Polish physician and academic (b. 1938) deaths

      1. Andrzej Szczeklik

        Andrzej Szczeklik was a Polish immunologist working at the Jagiellonian University School of Medicine in Kraków. Having received numerous distinctions for his research, Szczeklik was also well known as a writer.

  8. 2011

    1. Maria Schneider, French actress (b. 1952) deaths

      1. French actress

        Maria Schneider (actress)

        Maria-Hélène Schneider, known professionally as Maria Schneider, was a French actress. In 1972, at the age of 19, she starred opposite Marlon Brando in Last Tango in Paris, but being traumatised by a rape scene and hounded by unsavoury publicity negatively affected her subsequent career. Although Michelangelo Antonioni's The Passenger (1975) showcased her abilities, a reputation for walking out of films mid-production resulted in her becoming unwelcome in the industry. However, she re-established stability in her personal and professional life in the early 1980s, and became an advocate for equality and improving the conditions actresses worked under. She continued acting in film and TV until a few years before she died in 2011 after a long illness.

  9. 2010

    1. Dick McGuire, American basketball player and coach (b. 1926) deaths

      1. American basketball player and coach (1926–2010)

        Dick McGuire

        Richard Joseph McGuire was an American professional basketball player and coach.

    2. Frances Reid, American actress (b. 1914) deaths

      1. American actress (1914–2010)

        Frances Reid

        Frances Reid was an American dramatic actress. Reid acted on television for nearly all of the second half of the 20th century. Her career continued into the early 2000s.

  10. 2009

    1. Sheng-yen, Chinese monk and scholar, founded the Dharma Drum Mountain (b. 1930) deaths

      1. Chinese Zen Buddhist monk and writer

        Sheng-yen

        Sheng Yen, born Zhang Baokang, was a Taiwanese Buddhist monk, religious scholar, and writer. He was one of the mainstream teachers of Chan Buddhism. He was a 57th generational dharma heir of Linji Yixuan in the Linji school and a third-generation dharma heir of Hsu Yun. In the Caodong lineage, Sheng Yen was a 52nd-generation Dharma heir of Dongshan Liangjie (807-869), and a direct Dharma heir of Dongchu (1908–1977).

      2. Buddhist foundation founded by late Chan master Sheng-yen

        Dharma Drum Mountain

        Dharma Drum Mountain is an international Buddhist spiritual, cultural, and educational foundation founded by late Chan master Sheng-yen. The center focuses on educating the public in Buddhism with the goal of improving the world and establishing a "Pure Land on Earth" through Buddhist education. The international headquarters of this organization is located at Jinshan District, New Taipei City, Taiwan.

  11. 2006

    1. Al Lewis, American actor and activist (b. 1923) deaths

      1. American actor

        Al Lewis (actor)

        Al Lewis was an American actor and activist, best known for his role as Count Dracula-lookalike Grandpa on the television series The Munsters from 1964 to 1966 and its film versions. He previously also co-starred with The Munsters’s Fred Gwynne in the television show Car 54, Where Are You? from 1961–1963. Later in life, he was a restaurant owner, political candidate, and radio broadcaster.

  12. 2005

    1. Zurab Zhvania, Georgian biologist and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Georgia (b. 1963) deaths

      1. Georgian politician; Prime Minister of Georgia (1963-2005)

        Zurab Zhvania

        Zurab Zhvania was a Georgian politician, who served as Prime Minister of Georgia and Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia.

      2. Head of government of Georgia

        Prime Minister of Georgia

        The prime minister of Georgia is the head of government and chief executive of Georgia.

    2. Ernst Mayr, German-American biologist and ornithologist (b. 1904) deaths

      1. German-American evolutionary biologist

        Ernst Mayr

        Ernst Walter Mayr was one of the 20th century's leading evolutionary biologists. He was also a renowned taxonomist, tropical explorer, ornithologist, philosopher of biology, and historian of science. His work contributed to the conceptual revolution that led to the modern evolutionary synthesis of Mendelian genetics, systematics, and Darwinian evolution, and to the development of the biological species concept.

  13. 1999

    1. Gwen Guthrie, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1950) deaths

      1. American singer-songwriter

        Gwen Guthrie

        Gwendolyn Guthrie was an American singer-songwriter and pianist who also sang backing vocals for Aretha Franklin, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, Peter Tosh, and Madonna, among others, and who wrote songs made famous by Ben E. King, Angela Bofill and Roberta Flack. Guthrie is well known for her 1986 anthem "Ain't Nothin' Goin' on But the Rent," and for her 1986 cover of the song "(They Long to Be) Close to You."

  14. 1996

    1. Audrey Meadows, American actress and banker (b. 1922) deaths

      1. American actress (1922–1996)

        Audrey Meadows

        Audrey Meadows was an American actress best known for her role as the deadpan housewife Alice Kramden on the 1950s American television comedy The Honeymooners. She was the younger sister of Hollywood leading lady Jayne Meadows.

  15. 1993

    1. Françoys Bernier, Canadian pianist and conductor (b. 1927) deaths

      1. Françoys Bernier

        Françoys Joseph Arthur Maurice Bernier was a Canadian pianist, conductor, radio producer, arts administrator, and music educator. He served as the music director of the Montreal Festivals from 1956 to 1960 and was an active conductor and a producer for CBC Radio during the 1950s and early 1960s. He was the General Director of the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec from 1960 to 1966 and then the orchestra's Music Director from 1966 to 1968. He was also active as a teacher of conducting at a number of universities, notably serving as the first director of the Music Department at the University of Ottawa.

  16. 1992

    1. Olli Aitola, Finnish ice hockey player births

      1. Finnish ice hockey player

        Olli Aitola

        Olli Aitola is a Finnish ice hockey player who plays as a defenceman for KeuPa HT on loan from JYP Jyväskylä.

  17. 1991

    1. Corey Norman, Australian rugby league player births

      1. Australian rugby league footballer

        Corey Norman

        Corey Norman is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as five-eighth, halfback and fullback for FC Lézignan XIII in the Elite One Championship.

    2. Nancy Kulp, American actress (b. 1921) deaths

      1. American actress and educator (1921–1991)

        Nancy Kulp

        Nancy Jane Kulp was an American character actress and comedienne best known as Miss Jane Hathaway on the CBS television series The Beverly Hillbillies.

  18. 1990

    1. Sean Kingston, American-Jamaican singer-songwriter births

      1. American-Jamaican singer and rapper

        Sean Kingston

        Kisean Paul Anderson, better known by his stage name Sean Kingston, is an American-Jamaican singer and rapper. He is known for his hit songs "Beautiful Girls", "Fire Burning", "Take You There", and his collaboration with Justin Bieber: "Eenie Meenie".

    2. Martin Taupau, New Zealand rugby league player births

      1. NZ & Samoa international rugby league footballer

        Martin Taupau

        Martin Taupau is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as prop and lock and has played for both Samoa and New Zealand at international level.

  19. 1989

    1. Slobodan Rajković, Serbian footballer births

      1. Serbian footballer

        Slobodan Rajković

        Slobodan Rajković is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Hungarian club MTK Budapest.

    2. John Cassavetes, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1929) deaths

      1. American actor, film director, and screenwriter (1929–1989)

        John Cassavetes

        John Nicholas Cassavetes was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter. First known as a television and film actor, Cassavetes also helped pioneer American independent cinema, writing and directing movies financed partly by income from his acting work. AllMovie called him "an iconoclastic maverick", while The New Yorker suggested in 2013 that he "may be the most influential American director of the last half century."

    3. Lionel Newman, American pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1916) deaths

      1. American composer, pianist and conductor (1916–1989)

        Lionel Newman

        Lionel Newman was an American conductor, pianist, and film and television composer. He won the Academy Award for Best Score of a Musical Picture for Hello Dolly! with Lennie Hayton in 1969. He is the brother of Alfred Newman and Emil Newman, uncle of composers Randy Newman, David Newman, Thomas Newman, Maria Newman, and grandfather of Joey Newman. His 11 nominations contribute to the Newmans being the most nominated Academy Award extended family, with a collective 92 nominations in various music categories.

  20. 1988

    1. Cho Kyuhyun, South Korean singer births

      1. South Korean singer

        Cho Kyu-hyun

        Cho Kyu-hyun, referred to as Kyuhyun, is a South Korean singer, musical theatre actor and television host. He debuted as a new member of boy group Super Junior in May 2006. Apart from his group's activities, he has established himself as a musical actor, notably through his participation in the original and Korean versions of stage musicals including The Three Musketeers, Catch Me If You Can, Moon Embracing the Sun, Singin' in the Rain, The Days, Robin Hood, Werther, Mozart!, and The Man Who Laughs. He also cast in television show including Radio Star, We Got Married, Mamma Mia, Fluttering India and in the third, fourth, seventh, and eighth seasons of New Journey to the West. He debuted as a solo artist with his debut mini album, At Gwanghwamun, on November 13, 2014, making him the first Super Junior member to debut as a solo artist.

  21. 1987

    1. Elvana Gjata, Albanian singer births

      1. Albanian singer and songwriter (born 1987)

        Elvana Gjata

        Elvana Gjata, is an Albanian singer, songwriter and entrepreneur. Born and raised in Tirana, she has been referred to as a "Diva of Albanian music". She rose to recognition in Albania and other Albanian-speaking territories in the Balkans following the release of her two studio albums, Mamës (2007) and Afër dhe larg (2011). The singer saw further success through many acclaimed singles, as well as her extended plays 3 (2018) and Çelu (2021), and has achieved multiple number one singles in the Albanian singles chart. Gjata has also received numerous awards and accolades, including two Balkan Music Awards, a Festivali i Këngës Award, four Kënga Magjike Awards and a Top Fest Award.

  22. 1986

    1. Lucas Duda, American baseball player births

      1. American baseball player (born 1986)

        Lucas Duda

        Lucas Christopher Duda is an American former professional baseball first baseman who played most of his Major League Baseball career for the New York Mets. He was the starting first baseman for the 2015 Mets team that won the National League pennant, and led the team in games played during the 2010s.

    2. Mathieu Giroux, Canadian speed skater births

      1. Canadian speed skater

        Mathieu Giroux

        Mathieu Giroux is a Canadian speed-skater. He shared medals at team pursuit medals at world cup races in Calgary and Salt Lake City in 2009. He represented Canada at the 2010 Winter Olympics. On February 27, he won a gold medal in the team pursuit along with Denny Morrison and Lucas Makowsky.

    3. Kanako Yanagihara, Japanese actress births

      1. Japanese actress, comedian, and tarento (born 1986)

        Kanako Yanagihara

        Kanako Yanagihara is a Japanese actress, comedian, and tarento, who has been featured in Cartoon KAT-TUN, the live-action drama Otomen, and collaborated on the music for Keroro Gunso the Super Movie 3: Keroro vs. Keroro Great Sky Duel. She is represented with Ohta Production.

  23. 1985

    1. Angela Fong, Canadian wrestler and actress births

      1. Canadian professional wrestler and model

        Angela Fong

        Angela Carolyn Fong is a Canadian professional wrestler, model, ring announcer, cheerleader and actress. She is best known for her time at WWE from 2007 to 2010 under the ring name Savannah, and at Lucha Underground from 2014 to 2019, under the ring name Black Lotus.

    2. Andrei Kostitsyn, Belarusian ice hockey player births

      1. Ice hockey player

        Andrei Kostitsyn

        Andrei Olegovich Kostitsyn is a Belarusian professional ice hockey forward. He is currently a free agent.

    3. Frank Oppenheimer, American physicist and academic (b. 1912) deaths

      1. American particle physicist (1912–1985)

        Frank Oppenheimer

        Frank Friedman Oppenheimer was an American particle physicist, cattle rancher, professor of physics at the University of Colorado, and the founder of the Exploratorium in San Francisco.

  24. 1984

    1. Elizabeth Holmes, American fraudster, founder of Theranos births

      1. American businesswoman and criminal (born 1984)

        Elizabeth Holmes

        Elizabeth Anne Holmes is an American convicted fraudster and former biotechnology entrepreneur. In 2003, Holmes founded and was the chief executive officer (CEO) of Theranos, a now-defunct health technology company that soared in valuation after the company claimed to have revolutionized blood testing by developing methods that could use surprisingly small volumes of blood, such as from a fingerprick. By 2015, Forbes had named Holmes the youngest and wealthiest self-made female billionaire in America on the basis of a $9-billion valuation of her company. In the following year, as revelations of potential fraud about Theranos's claims began to surface, Forbes revised its estimate of Holmes's net worth to zero, and Fortune named her in its feature article on "The World's 19 Most Disappointing Leaders".

      2. Defunct American health technology company

        Theranos

        Theranos Inc. was an American privately held corporation that was touted as a breakthrough health technology company. Founded in 2003 by then 19-year-old Elizabeth Holmes, Theranos raised more than US$700 million from venture capitalists and private investors, resulting in a $10 billion valuation at its peak in 2013 and 2014. The company claimed that it had devised blood tests that required very small amounts of blood and that could be performed rapidly and accurately, all using compact automated devices which the company had developed. These claims were later proven to be false.

  25. 1982

    1. Becky Bayless, American wrestler births

      1. American professional wrestler

        Becky Bayless

        Rebecca Treston better known by her ring name Rebecca "Becky" Bayless, is an American professional wrestler, currently working for independent promotions such as Women's Extreme Wrestling, Wrestling Superstars Unleashed, Wrestlicious, and Women Superstars Uncensored. In the past she has worked for a number of major independent promotions, primarily Ring of Honor (ROH), Full Impact Pro, and Shimmer Women Athletes. She is also known for working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) under the ring name Cookie and for ROH and Shimmer as a backstage/in-ring interviewer.

    2. Marie-Ève Drolet, Canadian speed skater births

      1. Short-track speed skater

        Marie-Ève Drolet

        Marie-Ève Drolet is a Canadian short track speed skater who competed in the 2002 Winter Olympics where she won a bronze in the relay event. She also has six ISU World Championship medals to her name and was a two time overall World Junior Champion in 2000 and again in 2001.

  26. 1979

    1. Paul Franks, English cricketer and coach births

      1. English cricketer

        Paul Franks

        Paul John Franks is a former English professional cricketer. He played a single One Day International (ODI) as a right-arm pace bowler for England, and had a long career in county cricket for Nottinghamshire.

  27. 1978

    1. Joan Capdevila, Spanish footballer births

      1. Spanish footballer

        Joan Capdevila

        Joan Capdevila Méndez is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a left back.

  28. 1977

    1. Daddy Yankee, American-Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, rapper, actor and record producer births

      1. Puerto Rican rapper and singer (born 1976)

        Daddy Yankee

        Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez, known professionally as Daddy Yankee, is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer, composer, and actor. Known as the "King of Reggaetón" by music critics and fans alike, he is the artist who coined the word reggaeton in 1991 in the mixtape Playero 34 in the song "So persigueme, no te detengas" to describe the new music genre that was emerging from Puerto Rico that synthesized American hip-hop, Hispanic Caribbean music, and Jamaican reggae rhythms with Spanish rapping and singing. He is often cited as an influence by other Hispanic urban performers.

    2. Marek Židlický, Czech ice hockey player births

      1. Czech ice hockey player

        Marek Židlický

        Marek Židlický is a Czech former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the sixth round, 176th overall, by the New York Rangers in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft.

  29. 1976

    1. Isla Fisher, Australian actress. births

      1. Australian actress and author

        Isla Fisher

        Isla Lang Fisher is an Australian actress and author. Born to Scottish parents in Oman, she moved to Australia at age six where she began appearing in television commercials. Fisher came to prominence for her portrayal of Shannon Reed on the Australian soap opera Home and Away from 1994–97, for which she received two Logie Award nominations.

  30. 1975

    1. William D. Coolidge, American physicist and engineer (b. 1873) deaths

      1. William D. Coolidge

        William David Coolidge was an American physicist and engineer, who made major contributions to X-ray machines. He was the director of the General Electric Research Laboratory and a vice-president of the corporation. He was also famous for the development of "ductile tungsten", which is important for the incandescent light bulb.

    2. Umm Kulthum, Egyptian singer-songwriter and actress (b. 1904) deaths

      1. Egyptian singer, songwriter, and film actress (1898–1975)

        Umm Kulthum

        Umm Kulthum was an Egyptian singer, songwriter, and film actress active from the 1920s to the 1970s. She was given the honorific title "Kawkab el-charq". She is considered a national icon in her native Egypt; she has been dubbed "The Voice of Egypt", the "Lady of Arabic Song" and "Egypt's Fourth Pyramid".

  31. 1973

    1. Ilana Sod, Mexican journalist and producer births

      1. Mexican journalist

        Ilana Sod

        Ilana Sod is a Mexican television and radio journalist, presenter, and producer. She has worked for a variety of media outlets and collaborated on initiatives relating to social issues and youth-oriented programming.

  32. 1972

    1. Jesper Kyd, Danish pianist and composer births

      1. Danish composer and sound designer

        Jesper Kyd

        Jesper Kyd Jakobson is a Danish composer and sound designer who has worked on various video game, television, and film projects. He has composed soundtracks for the Hitman series, Assassin's Creed series, Borderlands series, Darksiders II and State of Decay, among many others. His scores use orchestra, choir, acoustic manipulations and electronic soundscapes.

  33. 1971

    1. Sarah Kane, English playwright (d. 1999) births

      1. English playwright

        Sarah Kane

        Sarah Marie Kane was an English playwright, screenwriter and theatre director.

    2. Hong Seok-cheon, South Korean actor births

      1. South Korean actor, television personality, restaurateur

        Hong Seok-cheon

        Hong Seok-cheon is a South Korean actor, television personality, restaurateur and member of the dissolved Democratic Labor Party. He caused considerable controversy in his home country when he came out as gay in 2000, and remains the most prominent openly gay celebrity in Korea.

  34. 1970

    1. Óscar Córdoba, Colombian footballer births

      1. Colombian footballer (born 1970)

        Óscar Córdoba

        Óscar Eduardo Córdoba Arce is a Colombian retired professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played more than 70 games for the Colombia national team. He is also the only person to never concede a goal in a Copa América edition, having done so in 2001.

    2. Warwick Davis, English actor, producer, and screenwriter births

      1. English actor

        Warwick Davis

        Warwick Ashley Davis is an English actor. He played the title character in Willow (1988) and the Leprechaun film series (1993–2003), several characters in the Star Wars film series (1983–2019), most notably the Ewok Wicket, and Professor Filius Flitwick and the goblin Griphook in the Harry Potter film series (2001–2011). Davis starred as a fictionalised version of himself in the sitcom Life's Too Short (2012–2013). He has also presented the ITV game shows Celebrity Squares (2014–2015) and Tenable (2016–2021).

  35. 1969

    1. Beau Biden, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 44th Attorney General of Delaware (d. 2015) births

      1. American politician and lawyer (1969–2015)

        Beau Biden

        Joseph Robinette "Beau" Biden III was an American politician, lawyer, and officer in the Army Judge Advocate General's Corps from Wilmington, Delaware. The oldest child of current U.S. president Joe Biden and Neilia Hunter Biden, he served as the 44th attorney general of Delaware from 2007 to 2015 and was a major in the Delaware Army National Guard in the Iraq War. He died of brain cancer in 2015 at the age of 46.

      2. Attorney General of Delaware

        The attorney general of Delaware is a constitutional officer of the U.S. state of Delaware, and is the chief law officer and the head of the State Department of Justice. On January 1, 2019, Kathy Jennings was sworn in as the 46th attorney general of Delaware.

    2. Retief Goosen, South African golfer births

      1. South African professional golfer

        Retief Goosen

        Retief Goosen is a South African professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He has won two U.S. Opens, in 2001 and 2004, headed the European Tour Order of Merit in 2001 and 2002, and was in the top ten of the world rankings for over 250 weeks between 2001 and 2007. He was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame, class of 2019.

    3. C. N. Annadurai, Indian journalist and politician, 7th Chief Minister of Madras State (b. 1909) deaths

      1. Indian politician and first Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu (1909–1969)

        C. N. Annadurai

        Conjeevaram Natarajan Annadurai, popularly known as Anna also known as Arignar Anna or Perarignar Anna, was an Indian Tamil politician who served as the fourth and last Chief Minister of Madras State from 1967 until 1969 and first Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for 20 days before his death. He was the first member of a Dravidian party to hold either post.

      2. Leader of the executive of the Government of Tamil Nadu

        List of chief ministers of Tamil Nadu

        The chief minister of Tamil Nadu is the chief executive of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's de jure head, but de facto executive authority rests with the chief minister. Following elections to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, the state's governor usually invites the party with a majority of seats to form the government. The governor appoints the chief minister, whose council of ministers are collectively responsible to the assembly. Given that he has the confidence of the assembly, the chief minister's term is for five years and is subject to no term limits.

    4. Eduardo Mondlane, Mozambican activist and academic (b. 1920) deaths

      1. Mozambican politician

        Eduardo Mondlane

        Eduardo Chivambo Mondlane was the President of the Mozambican Liberation Front (FRELIMO) from 1962, the year that FRELIMO was founded in Tanzania, until his assassination in 1969. Born in Mozambique, he was an anthropologist by profession, and worked as a history and sociology professor at Syracuse University before returning to Mozambique in 1963.

  36. 1968

    1. Vlade Divac, Serbian-American basketball player and sportscaster births

      1. Serbian basketball player and executive

        Vlade Divac

        Vlade Divac is a Serbian professional basketball executive and former player who was most recently the vice president of basketball operations and general manager of the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

    2. Marwan Khoury, Lebanese singer, songwriter, and composer births

      1. Musical artist

        Marwan Khoury

        Marwan Khoury is a Lebanese singer, writer, composer and music arranger. He has composed hits for artists such as Majida El Roumi, Saber Rebaï, Nawal Al Zoghbi, Assala Nasri, Najwa Karam, Fadl Shaker, Elissa, Carole Samaha, Bassima, and Myriam Fares.

  37. 1967

    1. Tim Flowers, English footballer and coach births

      1. English footballer (born 1967)

        Tim Flowers

        Timothy David Flowers is an English football manager and former player who recently was the manager of Stratford Town.

    2. Mixu Paatelainen, Finnish footballer and coach births

      1. Finnish footballer and manager

        Mixu Paatelainen

        Mika-Matti Petteri Paatelainen is a Finnish former professional football player and the head coach of Veikkausliiga club HIFK. He scored 18 goals in 70 appearances for the Finnish national team, which makes him Finland's all time thirteenth most capped player and fifth top goalscorer. He is the eldest of three brothers, all of whom have played professional football. Their father Matti was also a Finnish international.

    3. Joe Meek, English songwriter and producer (b. 1929) deaths

      1. English record producer (1929–1967)

        Joe Meek

        Robert George "Joe" Meek was an English record producer, musician, sound engineer and songwriter who pioneered space age and experimental pop music. He also assisted in the development of recording practices like overdubbing, sampling and reverberation. Meek is considered one of the most influential sound engineers of all time, being one of the first to develop ideas such as the recording studio as an instrument, and becoming one of the first producers to be recognised for his individual identity as an artist.

  38. 1966

    1. Frank Coraci, American director and screenwriter births

      1. American film director and screenwriter

        Frank Coraci

        Frank Coraci is an American film director and screenwriter best known for his work with actor Adam Sandler.

    2. Danny Morrison, New Zealand cricketer and sportscaster births

      1. New Zealand cricketer

        Danny Morrison (cricketer)

        Daniel Kyle Morrison is a New Zealand cricket commentator and former cricketer. He specialised as a pace bowler with a useful outswinger. He made his test debut for New Zealand in 1987 at the age of 21 against Australia.

  39. 1965

    1. Maura Tierney, American actress and producer births

      1. American actress

        Maura Tierney

        Maura Therese Tierney is an American film, stage, and television actress. She is best known for her roles as Lisa Miller on the sitcom NewsRadio (1995–1999), Abby Lockhart on the medical drama ER (1999–2009), and Helen Solloway on the mystery drama The Affair (2014–2019), the last of which won her a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film.

  40. 1964

    1. Indrek Tarand, Estonian historian, journalist, and politician births

      1. Estonian politician

        Indrek Tarand

        Indrek Tarand is an Estonian politician and Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Estonia. He is an Independent politician, but a member of the European Green Party.

  41. 1963

    1. Raghuram Rajan, Indian economist and academic births

      1. Indian economist and former governor of Reserve Bank of India

        Raghuram Rajan

        Raghuram Govind Rajan is an Indian economist and the Katherine Dusak Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Between 2003 and 2006 he was Chief Economist and director of research at the International Monetary Fund. From September 2013 through September 2016 he was the 23rd Governor of the Reserve Bank of India; in 2015, during his tenure at the RBI, he became the Vice-Chairman of the Bank for International Settlements.

    2. Vũ Đức Đam, Vietnamese politician births

      1. Vietnamese politician

        Vũ Đức Đam

        Vũ Đức Đam is a Vietnamese politician who previously served as Minister of Government Office, and is currently one of four Deputy Prime Ministers of Vietnam since 2013. He governs Science and Technology, Information and Communication, Tourism and Sports. He is currently a Member of the Party Central Committee XII. He is also chairman of the National Committee for AIDS, and prevention of drug addiction, prostitution.

    3. Benjamin R. Jacobs (b. 1879) deaths

      1. Benjamin R. Jacobs

        Benjamin Ricardo Jacobs, Ph.D. was born at the American Consulate in Lima, Peru to Rosa Mulet Jacobs of Valparaíso, Chile, a French-Chilean, and Washington Michael Jacobs of South Carolina in the United States. Originally christened on April 5, 1879 as Ricardo Benjamin Jacobs, he later changed his name, once by reversing the order of his first and middle name, and then in some records by anglicizing the name Ricardo to Richard. His mother was the accomplished and well-educated daughter of a noted French merchant in Valparaíso. At the time of his birth, his father was the American vice-consul to Peru. A businessman with many interests in the United States, including mining, his father also was engaged in mining in several countries in South America and he published the Imprenta Americana and a semi-weekly newspaper, El Tumbes.

  42. 1961

    1. Linda Eder, American singer and actress births

      1. American singer and actress

        Linda Eder

        Linda Eder is an American singer and actress. She made her Broadway debut in the musical Jekyll & Hyde, originating the role of Lucy Harris, for which she was nominated for the Drama Desk Award. Eder has performed in concert halls across the country including Carnegie Hall and Radio City Musical Hall. She has released her 18th solo album in 2018.

    2. William Morrison, 1st Viscount Dunrossil, Scottish-Australian captain and politician, 14th Governor-General of Australia (b. 1893) deaths

      1. British Conservative politician (1893–1961)

        William Morrison, 1st Viscount Dunrossil

        William Shepherd Morrison, 1st Viscount Dunrossil,, was a British politician. He was a long-serving cabinet minister before serving as Speaker of the House of Commons from 1951 to 1959. He was then appointed as the 14th Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1960 until his death in 1961.

      2. Representative of the monarch of Australia

        Governor-General of Australia

        The governor-general of Australia is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in Australia. The governor-general is appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of government ministers. The governor-general has formal presidency over the Federal Executive Council and is commander-in-chief of the Australian Defence Force. The functions of the governor-general include appointing ministers, judges, and ambassadors; giving royal assent to legislation passed by parliament; issuing writs for election; and bestowing Australian honours.

    3. Anna May Wong, American actress (b. 1905) deaths

      1. American actress (1905–1961)

        Anna May Wong

        Wong Liu Tsong, known professionally as Anna May Wong, was an American actress, considered the first Chinese-American movie star in Hollywood, as well as the first Chinese-American actress to gain international recognition. Her varied career spanned silent film, sound film, television, stage, and radio. As one of the first women depicted on the reverse of the quarter in the 2022–2025 American Women quarters series, she is also the first Asian American to appear on a US coin.

  43. 1960

    1. Joachim Löw, German footballer and manager births

      1. German footballer and manager

        Joachim Löw

        Joachim Löw is a German football coach and former player. He was the manager of the Germany national team from 2006 until 2021. During his tenure as manager, he led Germany to victory at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil and the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia. In March 2021, Löw announced that he would resign from his position after Euro 2020.

    2. Fred Buscaglione, Italian singer and actor (b. 1921) deaths

      1. Italian actor, recording artist, singer

        Fred Buscaglione

        Ferdinando "Fred" Buscaglione was an Italian singer and actor who became very popular in the late 1950s. His public persona – the character he played both in his songs and his movies – was of a humorous mobster with a penchant for whisky and women.

  44. 1959

    1. Óscar Iván Zuluaga, Colombian economist and politician, 67th Colombian Minister of Finance births

      1. Colombian politician and economist (born 1959)

        Óscar Iván Zuluaga

        Óscar Iván Zuluaga Escobar is a Colombian politician and economist who was the Democratic Center's nominee for President of Colombia in the 2014 election. He won the most votes in the first round of the election and but went on to lose to the incumbent Juan Manuel Santos Calderon in the second round.

      2. Ministry of Finance and Public Credit

        The Ministry of Finance and Public Credit, is the national executive ministry of the Government of Colombia responsible for the financial and budgetary matters of the country as well as implementing the financial policies passed by Congress, equivalent to the finance ministries of other countries.

    2. The Day the Music Died deaths

      1. American musician (1930–1959)

        The Big Bopper

        Jiles Perry "J.P." Richardson Jr., known as The Big Bopper, was an American singer, songwriter and disc jockey. His best-known compositions include "Chantilly Lace" and "White Lightning", the latter of which became George Jones' first number one hit in 1959. Richardson was killed in an airplane crash in Clear Lake, Iowa, in 1959, along with fellow musicians Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens, and the pilot, Roger Peterson.

    3. The Day the Music Died deaths

      1. American singer-songwriter (1936–1959)

        Buddy Holly

        Charles Hardin Holley, known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas during the Great Depression, and learned to play guitar and sing alongside his siblings. His style was influenced by gospel music, country music, and rhythm and blues acts, which he performed in Lubbock with his friends from high school.

    4. The Day the Music Died deaths

      1. American guitarist (1941–1959)

        Ritchie Valens

        Richard Steven Valenzuela, known professionally as Ritchie Valens, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rock and roll pioneer and a forefather of the Chicano rock movement, Valens was killed in a plane crash eight months into his music career.

  45. 1958

    1. Joe F. Edwards, Jr., American commander, pilot, and astronaut births

      1. Joe F. Edwards Jr.

        Joe Frank Edwards Jr., , is an American aerospace engineer, and former naval officer and aviator, test pilot and NASA astronaut.

    2. Douglas Holtz-Eakin, American economist births

      1. American economist

        Douglas Holtz-Eakin

        Douglas James "Doug" Holtz-Eakin is an American economist. He was formerly an economics professor at Syracuse University, Director of the Congressional Budget Office, and chief economic policy adviser to Senator John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign. Holtz-Eakin is currently president of the American Action Forum policy institute, a conservative think tank.

    3. Greg Mankiw, American economist and academic births

      1. American economist

        Greg Mankiw

        Nicholas Gregory Mankiw is an American macroeconomist who is currently the Robert M. Beren Professor of Economics at Harvard University. Mankiw is best known in academia for his work on New Keynesian economics.

  46. 1957

    1. Eric Lander, American mathematician, geneticist, and academic births

      1. American mathematician

        Eric Lander

        Eric Steven Lander is an American mathematician and geneticist who served as the 11th director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy and Science Advisor to the President, serving on the presidential Cabinet. Lander is a professor of biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a professor of systems biology at Harvard Medical School, a former member of the Whitehead Institute, and the founding director of the Broad Institute. He is a 1987 MacArthur Fellow and Rhodes Scholar. Lander co-chaired President Barack Obama's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Lander announced he would resign from the Biden Administration effective February 18, 2022 after allegations surfaced he had engaged in bullying and abusive conduct directed against his subordinates and other White House staff.

  47. 1956

    1. John Jefferson, American football player and coach births

      1. American football player (born 1956)

        John Jefferson

        John Larry Jefferson is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football with the Arizona State Sun Devils, he was selected in the first round of the 1978 NFL Draft by the San Diego Chargers. He played three seasons in San Diego, where he became the first NFL player to gain 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first three seasons. He was traded to the Green Bay Packers after a contract dispute with the Chargers, and later finished his playing career with the Cleveland Browns.

    2. Nathan Lane, American actor and comedian births

      1. American actor (born 1956)

        Nathan Lane

        Nathan Lane is an American actor. In a career spanning over 40 years he has been seen on stage and screen in roles both comedic and dramatic. Lane has received numerous awards including three Tony Awards, six Drama Desk Awards, an Olivier Award, two Obie Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, two Daytime Emmy Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a People's Choice Award. In 2006, Lane received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2008. In 2010, The New York Times hailed Lane as "the greatest stage entertainer of the decade".

    3. Émile Borel, French mathematician and academic (b. 1871) deaths

      1. French mathematician (1871–1956)

        Émile Borel

        Félix Édouard Justin Émile Borel was a French mathematician and politician. As a mathematician, he was known for his founding work in the areas of measure theory and probability.

    4. Johnny Claes, English-Belgian race car driver and trumpet player (b. 1916) deaths

      1. Belgian racing driver

        Johnny Claes

        Octave John Claes was an English-born racing driver who competed for Belgium. Before his fame as a racing driver, Claes was also a jazz trumpeter and successful bandleader in Britain.

  48. 1955

    1. Vasily Blokhin, Russian general (b. 1895) deaths

      1. Soviet Russian soldier and executioner (1895–1955)

        Vasily Blokhin

        Vasily Mikhailovich Blokhin was a Soviet and Russian major general who served as the chief executioner of the NKVD under the administrations of Genrikh Yagoda, Nikolay Yezhov, and Lavrentiy Beria.

  49. 1954

    1. Tiger Williams, Canadian ice hockey player and coach births

      1. Ice hockey player

        Tiger Williams

        David James "Tiger" Williams is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from the 1974–75 NHL season to the 1987–88 NHL season. He is the NHL's career leader in penalty minutes.

  50. 1952

    1. Fred Lynn, American baseball player and sportscaster births

      1. American baseball player

        Fred Lynn

        Fredric Michael Lynn is an American former professional baseball player who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1974 through 1990 as a center fielder with the Boston Red Sox, California Angels, Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers and San Diego Padres. He was the first player to win MLB's Rookie of the Year Award and Most Valuable Player Award in the same year, which he accomplished in 1975 with the Red Sox.

    2. Harold L. Ickes, American journalist and politician, 32nd United States Secretary of the Interior (b. 1874) deaths

      1. American politician (1874–1952)

        Harold L. Ickes

        Harold LeClair Ickes was an American administrator, politician and lawyer. He served as United States Secretary of the Interior for nearly 13 years from 1933 to 1946, the longest tenure of anyone to hold the office, and the second longest-serving Cabinet member in U.S. history after James Wilson. Ickes and Labor Secretary Frances Perkins were the only original members of the Roosevelt cabinet who remained in office for his entire presidency.

      2. Head of the United States Department of the Interior

        United States Secretary of the Interior

        The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natural resources, leading such agencies as the Bureau of Land Management, the United States Geological Survey, Bureau of Indian Affairs and the National Park Service. The secretary also serves on and appoints the private citizens on the National Park Foundation Board. The secretary is a member of the United States Cabinet and reports to the president of the United States. The function of the U.S. Department of the Interior is different from that of the interior minister designated in many other countries.

  51. 1951

    1. Eugenijus Riabovas, Lithuanian footballer and manager births

      1. Lithuanian footballer and manager

        Eugenijus Riabovas

        Eugenijus Riabovas is a Lithuanian football manager.

    2. Michael Ruppert, American journalist and author (d. 2014) births

      1. American writer and investigative journalist

        Michael Ruppert

        Michael Craig Ruppert was an American writer and musician, Los Angeles Police Department officer, investigative journalist, political activist, and peak oil awareness advocate known for his 2004 book Crossing The Rubicon: The Decline of the American Empire at the End of the Age of Oil.

  52. 1950

    1. Morgan Fairchild, American actress births

      1. American actress

        Morgan Fairchild

        Morgan Fairchild is an American actress. She began acting in the early 1970s and has had roles in several television series since.

    2. Grant Goldman, Australian radio and television host (d. 2020) births

      1. Australian broadcaster (1950–2020)

        Grant Goldman

        Grant Goldman was an Australian radio and television presenter. He worked as both a voice-over and live presenter.

  53. 1949

    1. Jim Thorpe, American golfer births

      1. American professional golfer

        Jim Thorpe (golfer)

        Jimmy Lee Thorpe is an American professional golfer, currently playing on the Champions Tour.

  54. 1948

    1. Henning Mankell, Swedish author and playwright (d. 2015) births

      1. Swedish author

        Henning Mankell

        Henning Georg Mankell was a Swedish crime writer, children's author, and dramatist, best known for a series of mystery novels starring his most noted creation, Inspector Kurt Wallander. He also wrote a number of plays and screenplays for television.

  55. 1947

    1. Paul Auster, American novelist, essayist, and poet births

      1. American writer and film director

        Paul Auster

        Paul Benjamin Auster is an American writer and film director. His notable works include The New York Trilogy (1987), Moon Palace (1989), The Music of Chance (1990), The Book of Illusions (2002), The Brooklyn Follies (2005), Invisible (2009), Sunset Park (2010), Winter Journal (2012), and 4 3 2 1 (2017). His books have been translated into more than forty languages.

    2. Dave Davies, English musician births

      1. British musician, best known for work in rock group The Kinks

        Dave Davies

        David Russell Gordon Davies is an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for the English rock band the Kinks, which also featured his elder brother Ray Davies. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 as a member of the Kinks.

    3. Stephen McHattie, Canadian actor and director births

      1. Canadian actor

        Stephen McHattie

        Stephen McHattie Smith is a Canadian actor. Since beginning his professional career in 1970, he has amassed over 200 film and television credits. He won the Genie Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in The Rocket, and a Gemini Award for Life with Billy.

    4. Marc Mitscher, American admiral and pilot (b. 1887) deaths

      1. United States Navy admiral (1887–1947)

        Marc Mitscher

        Marc Andrew "Pete" Mitscher was a pioneer in naval aviation who became an admiral in the United States Navy, and served as commander of the Fast Carrier Task Force in the Pacific during the latter half of World War II.

  56. 1945

    1. Johnny Cymbal, Scottish-American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 1993) births

      1. American musician

        Johnny Cymbal

        Johnny Cymbal was a Scottish-born American songwriter, singer and record producer who had numerous hit records, including his signature song, "Mr. Bass Man".

    2. Bob Griese, American football player and sportscaster births

      1. American football player (born 1945)

        Bob Griese

        Robert Allen Griese is a former American football quarterback who earned All-American honors with the Purdue Boilermakers before being drafted in 1967 by the American Football League's Miami Dolphins. Griese led the Dolphins to a then record three consecutive Super Bowl appearances, including two Super Bowl victories in VII and VIII. Griese was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and the Indiana Football Hall of Fame in 1984 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990. He later worked as a television commentator, calling NFL games for NBC Sports and college football for ESPN and ABC Sports. Griese is one of three quarterbacks from Purdue to win the Super Bowl.

    3. Roland Freisler, German lawyer and judge (b. 1893) deaths

      1. German lawyer and judge

        Roland Freisler

        Roland Freisler, a German Nazi jurist, judge, and politician, served as the State Secretary of the Reich Ministry of Justice from 1934 to 1942 and as President of the People's Court from 1942 to 1945.

  57. 1944

    1. Yvette Guilbert, French singer and actress (b. 1865) deaths

      1. French cabaret singer

        Yvette Guilbert

        Yvette Guilbert was a French cabaret singer and actress of the Belle Époque.

  58. 1943

    1. Blythe Danner, American actress births

      1. American actress (born 1943)

        Blythe Danner

        Blythe Katherine Danner is an American actress. Accolades she has received include two Primetime Emmy Awards for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Izzy Huffstodt on Huff (2004–2006), and a Tony Award for Best Actress for her performance in Butterflies Are Free on Broadway (1969–1972). Danner was twice nominated for the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for portraying Marilyn Truman on Will & Grace, and the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie for her roles in We Were the Mulvaneys (2002) and Back When We Were Grownups (2004). For the latter, she also received a Golden Globe Award nomination.

    2. Dennis Edwards, American soul/R&B singer (d. 2018) births

      1. American soul and R&B singer (1943–2018)

        Dennis Edwards

        Dennis Edwards Jr. was an American soul and R&B singer who was best known as the frontman in The Temptations, on Motown Records. Edwards joined the Temptations in 1968, replacing David Ruffin and sang with the group from 1968 to 1976, 1980 to 1984 and 1987 to 1989. In the mid-1980s, he attempted a solo career, scoring a hit in 1984 with "Don't Look Any Further". Until his death, Edwards was the lead singer of The Temptations Review, a Temptations splinter group.

    3. Eric Haydock, English bass player (d. 2019) births

      1. British musician (1943–2019)

        Eric Haydock

        Eric Haydock was a British musician, best known as the original bass guitarist of The Hollies from December 1962 until July 1966. He was one of the first British musicians to play a Fender Bass VI, a six-string bass. Although considered a great bass guitarist, he was replaced in 1966 by Bernie Calvert, after disputes related to the conduct of the band's managers.

    4. Shawn Phillips, American-South African singer-songwriter and guitarist births

      1. American singer-songwriter

        Shawn Phillips

        Shawn Phillips is an American singer-songwriter and musician, primarily influential in the 1960s and 1970s. His work is rooted in folk rock but straddles other genres, including jazz fusion and funk. Phillips has recorded twenty-six albums and worked with musicians including Donovan, Paul Buckmaster, J. Peter Robinson, Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Bernie Taupin, Tim Hardin, Manos Hatzidakis and many others.

  59. 1941

    1. Dory Funk, Jr., American wrestler and trainer births

      1. American professional wrestler and trainer

        Dory Funk Jr.

        Dorrance Earnest Funk, known professionally as Dory Funk Jr., is an American retired professional wrestler and wrestling trainer. The son of Dory Funk and brother of Terry Funk, he was the promoter of the Amarillo, Texas-based Western States Sports promotion.

    2. Howard Phillips, American lawyer and politician (d. 2013) births

      1. American political activist (1941–2013)

        Howard Phillips (activist)

        Howard Jay Phillips was an American politician and activist. A political conservative, Phillips was a United States presidential candidate who served as the chairman of The Conservative Caucus, a conservative public policy advocacy group which he founded in 1974. Phillips was a founding member of the U.S. Taxpayers Party, which later became known as the Constitution Party.

  60. 1940

    1. Fran Tarkenton, American football player and sportscaster births

      1. American football player (born 1940)

        Fran Tarkenton

        Francis Asbury Tarkenton is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Minnesota Vikings. He played college football at the University of Georgia, where he was recognized as a two-time first-team All-SEC, and was selected by the Vikings in the third round of the 1961 NFL Draft. After retiring from football, he became a media personality and computer software executive.

  61. 1939

    1. Michael Cimino, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2016) births

      1. American film director, screenwriter, producer and author

        Michael Cimino

        Michael Antonio Cimino was an American filmmaker. One of the "New Hollywood" directors, Cimino achieved fame with The Deer Hunter (1978), which won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.

  62. 1938

    1. Victor Buono, American actor (d. 1982) births

      1. American actor and comic

        Victor Buono

        Victor Charles Buono was an American actor, comic, and briefly a recording artist. He was known for playing the villain King Tut in the television series Batman (1966–1968) and musician Edwin Flagg in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962), the latter of which earned him Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nominations. He was a busy actor from his late teens until his death at the age of 43 and, with his large size and sonorous voice, he made a career of playing men much older than he was.

    2. Emile Griffith, American boxer and trainer (d. 2013) births

      1. American boxer (1938–2013)

        Emile Griffith

        Emile Alphonse Griffith was a professional boxer from the U.S. Virgin Islands who won world titles in three weight divisions. He held the world light middleweight, undisputed welterweight, and middleweight titles. His best-known contest was a 1962 title match with Benny Paret. Griffith won the bout by knockout; Paret never recovered consciousness and died in the hospital 10 days later.

  63. 1937

    1. Billy Meier, Swiss author and photographer births

      1. Billy Meier

        Eduard Albert Meier, commonly nicknamed "Billy", is the founder of a UFO religion called the "Freie Interessengemeinschaft für Grenz- und Geisteswissenschaften und Ufologiestudien" and alleged contactee whose UFO photographs are claimed to show alien spacecraft. Meier claims to be in regular contact with extraterrestrial beings he calls the Plejaren. He also presented other material during the 1970s such as metal samples, sound recordings and film footage. Meier claims to be the seventh reincarnation after six prophets common to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam: Enoch, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Immanuel (Jesus), and Muhammad.

  64. 1936

    1. Elizabeth Peer, American journalist (d. 1984) births

      1. American journalist

        Elizabeth Peer

        Elizabeth Peer Jansson, born Elizabeth Clow Peer, often just Liz Peer, was a pioneering American journalist who worked for Newsweek from 1958 until her death in 1984. She began her career at Newsweek as a copy girl, at a time when opportunities for women were limited. Osborn Elliott promoted her to writer in 1962; two years later she would be dispatched to Paris as Newsweek's first female foreign correspondent.

    2. Bob Simpson, Australian cricketer and coach births

      1. Australian cricketer

        Bob Simpson (cricketer)

        Robert Baddeley Simpson is a former cricketer who played for New South Wales, Western Australia and Australia, captaining the national team from 1963/64 until 1967/68, and again in 1977–78. He later had a highly successful term as the coach of the Australian team. He is also known as Bobby or Simmo.

  65. 1935

    1. Johnny "Guitar" Watson, American blues, soul, and funk singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1996) births

      1. American musician and singer-songwriter

        Johnny "Guitar" Watson

        John Watson Jr., known professionally as Johnny "Guitar" Watson, was an American musician and singer-songwriter. A flamboyant showman and electric guitarist in the style of T-Bone Walker, his recording career spanned forty years, and encompassed rhythm and blues, funk and soul music.

    2. Hugo Junkers, German engineer, designed the Junkers J 1 (b. 1859) deaths

      1. German aviation pioneer

        Hugo Junkers

        Hugo Junkers was a German aircraft engineer and aircraft designer who pioneered the design of all-metal airplanes and flying wings. His company, Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke AG, was one of the mainstays of the German aircraft industry in the years between World War I and World War II. His multi-engined, all-metal passenger- and freight planes helped establish airlines in Germany and around the world.

      2. Type of aircraft

        Junkers J 1

        The Junkers J 1, nicknamed the Blechesel, was an experimental monoplane aircraft developed by Junkers & Co. It was the world's first all-metal aircraft.

  66. 1934

    1. Juan Carlos Calabró, Argentinian actor and screenwriter (d. 2013) births

      1. Argentine actor and comedian

        Juan Carlos Calabró

        Juan Carlos Calabró was an Argentine actor and comedian.

  67. 1933

    1. Paul Sarbanes, American lawyer and politician (d. 2020) births

      1. American politician and attorney (1933–2020)

        Paul Sarbanes

        Paul Spyros Sarbanes was an American politician and attorney. A member of the Democratic Party from Maryland, he served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1971 to 1977 and as a United States Senator from 1977 to 2007. Sarbanes was the longest-serving senator in Maryland history until he was surpassed by Barbara Mikulski by a single day when her term ended on January 3, 2017. He was the first Greek American senator.

  68. 1929

    1. Agner Krarup Erlang, Danish mathematician and engineer (b. 1878) deaths

      1. Danish mathematician, statistician and engineer

        Agner Krarup Erlang

        Agner Krarup Erlang was a Danish mathematician, statistician and engineer, who invented the fields of traffic engineering and queueing theory.

  69. 1927

    1. Kenneth Anger, American actor, director, and screenwriter births

      1. American filmmaker and writer

        Kenneth Anger

        Kenneth Anger is an American underground experimental filmmaker, actor, and author. Working exclusively in short films, he has produced almost 40 works since 1937, nine of which have been grouped together as the "Magick Lantern Cycle". His films variously merge surrealism with homoeroticism and the occult, and have been described as containing "elements of erotica, documentary, psychodrama, and spectacle". Anger has been called "one of America's first openly gay filmmakers, and certainly the first whose work addressed homosexuality in an undisguised, self-implicating manner", and his "role in rendering gay culture visible within American cinema, commercial or otherwise [...] impossible to overestimate", with several films released before the legalization of homosexual acts between consenting adults in the United States. He focused on occult themes in many of his films, being fascinated by the English gnostic mage and poet Aleister Crowley, and is an adherent of Thelema, the religion Crowley founded.

    2. Blas Ople, Filipino journalist and politician, 21st President of the Senate of the Philippines (d. 2003) births

      1. President of the Senate of the Philippines from 1999 to 2000

        Blas Ople

        Blas Fajardo Ople was a Filipino journalist and politician who held several high-ranking positions in the executive and legislative branches of the Philippine government, including as Senate President from 1999 to 2000, and as Secretary of Foreign Affairs from 2002 until his death. Perceived as a leftist-nationalist at the onset of his career in public service, Ople was, in his final years, a vocal supporter for allowing a limited United States military presence in the Philippines, and for American initiatives in the War on Terror including the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq.

      2. Highest ranking-official of the Senate of the Philippines

        President of the Senate of the Philippines

        The president of the Senate of the Philippines, commonly known as the Senate president, is the presiding officer and the highest-ranking official of the Senate of the Philippines, and third highest and most powerful official in the government of the Philippines. They are elected by the entire body to be their leader. The Senate president is second in the line of succession to the presidency, behind only the vice president and ahead of the speaker of the House of Representatives.

  70. 1926

    1. Hans-Jochen Vogel, German lawyer and politician, 8th Mayor of Berlin (d. 2020) births

      1. German lawyer and politician (1926–2020)

        Hans-Jochen Vogel

        Hans-Jochen Vogel was a German lawyer and a politician for the Social Democratic Party (SPD). He served as Mayor of Munich from 1960 to 1972, winning the 1972 Summer Olympics for the city and Governing Mayor of West Berlin in 1981, the only German ever to lead two cities with a million+ inhabitants. He was Federal Minister of Regional Planning, Construction and Urban Development from 1972 to 1974, and Federal Minister of Justice from 1974 to 1981. He served as leader of the SPD in the Bundestag from 1983 to 1991, and as Leader of the Social Democratic Party from 1987 to 1991. In 1993, he co-founded the organisation Gegen Vergessen – Für Demokratie. He was a member of the National Ethics Council of Germany from its beginning in 2001.

      2. Governing Mayor of Berlin

        The Governing Mayor of Berlin is the head of government, presiding over the Berlin Senate. As Berlin is an independent city as well as one of the constituent States of Germany (Bundesländer), the office is the equivalent of the Ministers President of the other German states, except the states of Hamburg and Bremen, where the heads of government are called "First Mayor" and "President of the Senate and Mayor", respectively. The title Governing Mayor of Berlin is the equivalent of Lord Mayor in the meaning of an actual executive leader.

  71. 1925

    1. Shelley Berman, American actor and comedian (d. 2017) births

      1. American comedian, actor, writer and teacher

        Shelley Berman

        Sheldon Leonard Berman was an American comedian, actor, writer, teacher, and lecturer.

    2. John Fiedler, American actor (d. 2005) births

      1. American actor (1925–2005)

        John Fiedler

        John Donald Fiedler was an American actor. His career lasted more than 55 years in stage, film, television and radio. Among his best-known roles are the meek Juror #2 in 12 Angry Men (1957); the benign-seeming gentleman who tries to prevent the Younger family from moving into a whites-only neighbourhood in A Raisin in the Sun (1961); the voice of Piglet in Disney's Winnie the Pooh productions; Vinnie, one of Oscar's poker cronies in the film The Odd Couple (1968); and Emil Peterson, the hen-pecked milquetoast husband on The Bob Newhart Show.

  72. 1924

    1. E. P. Thompson, English historian and author (d. 1993) births

      1. English historian and socialist activist (1924–1993)

        E. P. Thompson

        Edward Palmer Thompson was an English historian, writer, socialist and peace campaigner. He is best known today for his historical work on the radical movements in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, in particular The Making of the English Working Class (1963).

    2. Martial Asselin, Canadian lawyer and politician, 25th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (d. 2013) births

      1. Canadian politician

        Martial Asselin

        Joseph Ferdinand Martial Asselin, was a Canadian politician and the 25th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (1990–1996).

      2. Representative in Quebec of the Canadian monarch

        Lieutenant Governor of Quebec

        The lieutenant governor of Quebec is the viceregal representative in Quebec of the Canadian monarch, King Charles III, who operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the ten other jurisdictions of Canada, as well as the other Commonwealth realms and any subdivisions thereof, and resides predominantly in his oldest realm, the United Kingdom. The lieutenant governor of Quebec is appointed in the same manner as the other provincial viceroys in Canada and is similarly tasked with carrying out most of the monarch's constitutional and ceremonial duties. The present and 29th lieutenant governor of Quebec is J. Michel Doyon, who has served in the role since September 24, 2015.

    3. Woodrow Wilson, American historian, academic, and politician, 28th President of the United States, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1856) deaths

      1. President of the United States from 1913 to 1921

        Woodrow Wilson

        Thomas Woodrow Wilson was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of Princeton University and as the governor of New Jersey before winning the 1912 presidential election. As president, Wilson changed the nation's economic policies and led the United States into World War I in 1917. He was the leading architect of the League of Nations, and his progressive stance on foreign policy came to be known as Wilsonianism.

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

        President of the United States

        The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces.

      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".

  73. 1922

    1. Christiaan de Wet, South African general and politician, State President of the Orange Free State (b. 1854) deaths

      1. Boer general (1854–1922)

        Christiaan de Wet

        Christiaan Rudolf de Wet was a Boer general, rebel leader and politician.

      2. State President of the Orange Free State

        This is a list of State Presidents of the Orange Free State.

    2. John Butler Yeats, Irish painter and illustrator (b. 1839) deaths

      1. Irish artist (1839–1922)

        John Butler Yeats

        John Butler Yeats was an Irish artist and the father of W. B. Yeats, Lily Yeats, Elizabeth Corbett "Lolly" Yeats and Jack Butler Yeats. The National Gallery of Ireland holds a number of his portraits in oil and works on paper, including one of his portraits of his son William, painted in 1900. His portrait of John O'Leary (1904) is considered his masterpiece.

  74. 1920

    1. Russell Arms, American actor and singer (d. 2012) births

      1. American singer, actor

        Russell Arms

        Russell Lee Arms was an American actor and singer.

    2. Tony Gaze, Australian race car driver and pilot (d. 2013) births

      1. Australian fighter pilot and racing driver (1920–2013)

        Tony Gaze

        Frederick Anthony Owen "Tony" Gaze, was an Australian fighter pilot and racing driver. He flew with the Royal Air Force in the Second World War, was a flying ace credited with 12.5 confirmed victories, and later enjoyed a successful racing career in the UK, Europe and Australia. He was the first ever Australian to take part in a Formula One Grand Prix.

    3. Henry Heimlich, American physician and author (d. 2016) births

      1. American surgeon widely credited as the inventor of the Heimlich maneuver (1920–2016)

        Henry Heimlich

        Henry Judah Heimlich was an American thoracic surgeon and medical researcher. He is widely credited as the inventor of the Heimlich maneuver, a technique of abdominal thrusts for stopping choking, first described in 1974. He also invented the Micro Trach portable oxygen system for ambulatory patients and the Heimlich Chest Drain Valve, or "flutter valve", which drains blood and air out of the chest cavity.

  75. 1918

    1. Joey Bishop, American actor and producer (d. 2007) births

      1. American entertainer (1918–2007)

        Joey Bishop

        Joseph Abraham Gottlieb, known professionally as Joey Bishop, was an American entertainer who appeared on television as early as 1948 and eventually starred in his own weekly comedy series playing a talk/variety show host, then later hosted a late-night talk show with Regis Philbin as his young sidekick on ABC. He also was a member of the "Rat Pack" with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and Peter Lawford. He is listed as 96th entry on Comedy Central's list of 100 greatest comedians.

    2. Helen Stephens, American runner, baseball player, and manager (d. 1994) births

      1. American athlete

        Helen Stephens

        Helen Herring Stephens was an American athlete and a double Olympic champion in 1936.

  76. 1917

    1. Shlomo Goren, Polish-Israeli rabbi and general (d. 1994) births

      1. Polish-born Israeli rabbi

        Shlomo Goren

        Shlomo Goren, was a Polish-born Israeli Orthodox Religious Zionist rabbi and Talmudic scholar who was considered a foremost authority on Jewish law (Halakha). Goren founded and served as the first head of the Military Rabbinate of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Subsequently, he was the third Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1973 to 1983, after which he established a yeshiva in Jerusalem, which he headed until his death.

  77. 1915

    1. Johannes Kotkas, Estonian wrestler and hammer thrower (d. 1998) births

      1. Estonian wrestler

        Johannes Kotkas

        Johannes Kotkas was a heavyweight Greco-Roman wrestler from Estonia who won a gold medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics. He held the European title in 1938, 1939 and 1947 and placed second at the 1953 world championships.

  78. 1914

    1. Mary Carlisle, American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2018) births

      1. American actress

        Mary Carlisle

        Mary Carlisle was an American actress, singer, and dancer, best known for her roles as a wholesome ingénue in numerous 1930s musical-comedy films.

  79. 1912

    1. Jacques Soustelle, French anthropologist and politician (d. 1990) births

      1. French politician

        Jacques Soustelle

        Jacques Soustelle was an important and early figure of the Free French Forces, a politician who served in the French National Assembly and at one time served as Governor General of Algeria, an anthropologist specializing in Pre-Columbian civilizations, and vice-director of the Musée de l'Homme in Paris in 1939. Soustelle and his followers opposed any compromise with anticolonial activists in Algeria in the Algerian War.

  80. 1911

    1. Jehan Alain, French organist and composer (d. 1940) births

      1. Jehan Alain

        Jehan-Aristide Paul Alain was a French organist, composer, and soldier. Born into a family of musicians, he learned the organ from his father and a host of other teachers, becoming a composer at 18, and composing until the outbreak of the Second World War 10 years later. His compositional style was influenced by the musical language of the earlier Claude Debussy, as well as his interest in music, dance and philosophy of the far east. At the outbreak of the Second World War, Alain became a dispatch rider in the Eighth Motorised Armour Division of the French Army; he took part in the Battle of Saumur, in which he was killed.

  81. 1909

    1. André Cayatte, French lawyer and director (d. 1989) births

      1. André Cayatte

        André Cayatte was a French filmmaker, writer and lawyer, who became known for his films centering on themes of crime, justice, and moral responsibility.

    2. Simone Weil, French mystic and philosopher (d. 1943) births

      1. French philosopher, Christian mystic, writer and social activist

        Simone Weil

        Simone Adolphine Weil was a French philosopher, mystic, and political activist. Over 2,500 scholarly works have been published about her, including close analyses and readings of her work, since 1995.

  82. 1907

    1. James A. Michener, American author and philanthropist (d. 1997) births

      1. American author (1907–1997)

        James A. Michener

        James Albert Michener was an American writer. He wrote more than 40 books, most of which were long, fictional family sagas covering the lives of many generations in particular geographic locales and incorporating detailed history. Many of his works were bestsellers and were chosen by the Book of the Month Club; he was known for the meticulous research that went into his books.

  83. 1906

    1. George Adamson, Indian-English author and activist (d. 1989) births

      1. British Wildlife Conservationist

        George Adamson

        George Alexander Graham Adamson MBE, also known as the Baba ya Simba, was a Kenyan wildlife conservationist and author. He and his wife, Joy, were depicted in the film Born Free and best-selling book with the same title, which is based on the true story of Elsa the Lioness, an orphaned lioness cub they had raised and later released into the wild. Several other films have been made based on the Adamsons' lives.

  84. 1905

    1. Paul Ariste, Estonian linguist and academic (d. 1990) births

      1. Estonian linguist

        Paul Ariste

        Paul Ariste was an Estonian linguist renowned for his studies of the Finno-Ugric languages, Yiddish and Baltic Romani language.

    2. Arne Beurling, Swedish-American mathematician and academic (d. 1986) births

      1. Swedish mathematician

        Arne Beurling

        Arne Carl-August Beurling was a Swedish mathematician and professor of mathematics at Uppsala University (1937–1954) and later at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. Beurling worked extensively in harmonic analysis, complex analysis and potential theory. The "Beurling factorization" helped mathematical scientists to understand the Wold decomposition, and inspired further work on the invariant subspaces of linear operators and operator algebras, e.g. Håkan Hedenmalm's factorization theorem for Bergman spaces.

  85. 1904

    1. Pretty Boy Floyd, American gangster (d. 1934) births

      1. American bank robber

        Pretty Boy Floyd

        Charles Arthur Floyd, nicknamed Pretty Boy Floyd, was an American bank robber. He operated in the West and Central states, and his criminal exploits gained widespread press coverage in the 1930s. He was seen positively by the public because it was believed that during robberies he burned mortgage documents, freeing many people from their debts. He was pursued and killed by a group of Bureau of Investigation (BOI) agents led by Melvin Purvis. Historians have speculated as to which officers were at the event, but accounts document that local officers Robert "Pete" Pyle and George Curran were present at his fatal shooting and also at his embalming. Floyd has continued to be a familiar figure in American popular culture, sometimes seen as notorious, other times portrayed as a tragic figure, even a victim of the hard times of the Great Depression in the United States.

  86. 1903

    1. Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton, Scottish soldier, pilot, and politician (d. 1973) births

      1. Scottish nobleman, aviator and politician

        Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton

        Air Commodore Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton and 11th Duke of Brandon, was a Scottish nobleman and aviator who was the first man to fly over Mount Everest.

  87. 1900

    1. Mabel Mercer, English-American singer (d. 1984) births

      1. Cabaret singer

        Mabel Mercer

        Mabel Mercer was an English-born cabaret singer who performed in the United States, Britain, and Europe with the greats in jazz and cabaret. She was a featured performer at Chez Bricktop in Paris, owned by the hostess Bricktop, and performed in such clubs as Le Ruban Bleu, Tony's, the RSVP, the Carlyle, the St. Regis Hotel, and eventually her own room, the Byline Club. Among those who frequently attended Mercer's shows was Frank Sinatra, who made no secret of his emulating her phrasing and story-telling techniques.

  88. 1899

    1. Café Filho, Brazilian journalist, lawyer, and politician, 18th President of Brazil (d. 1970) births

      1. President of Brazil from 1954 to 1955

        Café Filho

        João Fernandes Campos Café Filho was a Brazilian politician who served as the 18th president of Brazil, taking office upon the suicide of former president Getúlio Vargas. He was the first Protestant to occupy the position.

      2. Head of state and head of government of Brazil

        President of Brazil

        The president of Brazil, officially the president of the Federative Republic of Brazil or simply the President of the Republic, is the head of state and head of government of Brazil. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the Brazilian Armed Forces. The presidential system was established in 1889, upon the proclamation of the republic in a military coup d'état against Emperor Pedro II. Since then, Brazil has had six constitutions, three dictatorships, and three democratic periods. During the democratic periods, voting has always been compulsory. The Constitution of Brazil, along with several constitutional amendments, establishes the requirements, powers, and responsibilities of the president, their term of office and the method of election.

  89. 1898

    1. Alvar Aalto, Finnish architect, designed the Finlandia Hall and Aalto Theatre (d. 1976) births

      1. Finnish architect and designer (1898–1976)

        Alvar Aalto

        Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto was a Finnish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware, as well as sculptures and paintings. He never regarded himself as an artist, seeing painting and sculpture as "branches of the tree whose trunk is architecture." Aalto's early career ran in parallel with the rapid economic growth and industrialization of Finland during the first half of the 20th century. Many of his clients were industrialists, among them the Ahlström-Gullichsen family, who became his patrons. The span of his career, from the 1920s to the 1970s, is reflected in the styles of his work, ranging from Nordic Classicism of the early work, to a rational International Style Modernism during the 1930s to a more organic modernist style from the 1940s onwards.

      2. Concert venue in Helsinki

        Finlandia Hall

        The Finlandia Hall is a congress and event venue in the centre of Helsinki on the Töölönlahti Bay, owned by the City of Helsinki. The building, which was designed by architect Alvar Aalto, was completed in 1971. Every detail in the building is designed by Aalto. The designs were completed in 1962, with building taking place between 1967 and 1971. The Congress Wing was designed in 1970 and built in 1973–1975. In 2011, the building was expanded with new exhibition and meeting facilities. Finlandia Hall is known as the venue for the OSCE Summit held in August 1975, attended by 35 world leaders, including the leader of the Soviet Union, Leonid Brezhnev, and the President of the United States, Gerald Ford.

      3. Opera house in Essen, Germany

        Aalto Theatre

        The Aalto Theatre (Aalto-Theater) is a performing arts venue in Essen, Germany, and is home to the city's opera company Aalto-Musiktheater and the ballet company Aalto Ballett. The Essener Philharmoniker serve as the venue's orchestra. The theatre opened on 25 September 1988 with Richard Wagner's opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and is mainly used for opera and ballet, but also for concerts and galas.

  90. 1894

    1. Norman Rockwell, American painter and illustrator (d. 1978) births

      1. American painter and illustrator (1894–1978)

        Norman Rockwell

        Norman Percevel Rockwell was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of the country's culture. Rockwell is most famous for the cover illustrations of everyday life he created for The Saturday Evening Post magazine over nearly five decades. Among the best-known of Rockwell's works are the Willie Gillis series, Rosie the Riveter, The Problem We All Live With, Saying Grace, and the Four Freedoms series. He is also noted for his 64-year relationship with the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), during which he produced covers for their publication Boys' Life, calendars, and other illustrations. These works include popular images that reflect the Scout Oath and Scout Law such as The Scoutmaster, A Scout Is Reverent and A Guiding Hand, among many others.

  91. 1893

    1. Gaston Julia, Algerian-French mathematician and academic (d. 1978) births

      1. French mathematician

        Gaston Julia

        Gaston Maurice Julia was a French Algerian mathematician who devised the formula for the Julia set. His works were popularized by French mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot; the Julia and Mandelbrot fractals are closely related. He founded, independently with Pierre Fatou, the modern theory of holomorphic dynamics.

  92. 1892

    1. Juan Negrín, Spanish physician and politician, 67th Prime Minister of Spain (d. 1956) births

      1. Prime Minister of Spain

        Juan Negrín

        Juan Negrín López was a Spanish politician and physician. He was a leader of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party and served as finance minister and prime minister of the left-leaning Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. He was the last Loyalist premier of Spain (1937–1939), leading the Republican forces defeated by the Nationalists under General Francisco Franco. He was President of the Council of Ministers of the Second Spanish Republic and the Spanish Republican government in exile between 1937 and 1945. He died in exile in Paris, France.

      2. Head of government of Spain

        Prime Minister of Spain

        The prime minister of Spain, officially president of the Government, is the head of government of Spain. The office was established in its current form by the Constitution of 1978 and it was first regulated in 1823 as a chairmanship of the extant Council of Ministers, although it is not possible to determine when it actually originated.

  93. 1889

    1. Artur Adson, Estonian poet, playwright, and critic (d. 1977) births

      1. Estonian writer and theatre critic

        Artur Adson

        Artur Adson was an Estonian poet, writer and theatre critic.

    2. Carl Theodor Dreyer, Danish director and screenwriter (d. 1968) births

      1. Danish film director

        Carl Theodor Dreyer

        Carl Theodor Dreyer, commonly known as Carl Th. Dreyer, was a Danish film director and screenwriter. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his movies are noted for their emotional austerity and slow, stately pacing, frequent themes of social intolerance, the inseparability of fate and death, and the power of evil in earthly life.

    3. Risto Ryti, Finnish lawyer, politician and the Governor of the Bank of Finland; 5th President of Finland (d. 1956) births

      1. President of Finland from 1940 to 1944

        Risto Ryti

        Risto Heikki Ryti served as the fifth president of Finland from 1940 to 1944. Ryti started his career as a politician in the field of economics and as a political background figure during the interwar period. He made a wide range of international contacts in the world of banking and within the framework of the League of Nations. Ryti served (1939–1940) as prime minister during the Winter War of 1939–1940 and the Interim Peace of 1940–1941. Later he became president during the Continuation War of 1941–1944. After the war, Ryti was the main defendant in the Finnish war-responsibility trials (1945–1946), which resulted in his conviction for crimes against peace.

      2. Central Bank of Finland

        Bank of Finland

        The Bank of Finland is the central bank of Finland. It views itself as the fourth oldest surviving central bank in the world, after Sweden's Riksbank, the Bank of England, and the Bank of France.

      3. Head of state of Finland

        President of Finland

        The president of the Republic of Finland is the head of state of Finland. Under the Constitution of Finland, executive power is vested in the Finnish Government and the president, with the latter possessing only residual powers. The president is directly elected by universal suffrage for a term of six years. Since 1994, no president may be elected for more than two consecutive terms. The president must be a natural-born Finnish citizen. The presidential office was established in the Constitution Act of 1919. The incumbent president is Sauli Niinistö. He was elected for the first time in 2012 and was re-elected in 2018.

  94. 1887

    1. Georg Trakl, Austrian pharmacist and poet (d. 1914) births

      1. Austrian poet (1887–1914)

        Georg Trakl

        Georg Trakl was an Austrian poet and the brother of the pianist Grete Trakl. He is considered one of the most important Austrian Expressionists. He is perhaps best known for his poem "Grodek", which he wrote shortly before he died of a cocaine overdose.

  95. 1878

    1. Gordon Coates, New Zealand soldier and politician, 21st Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1943) births

      1. Prime minister of New Zealand from 1925 to 1928

        Gordon Coates

        Joseph Gordon Coates served as the 21st prime minister of New Zealand from 1925 to 1928. He was the third successive Reform prime minister since 1912.

      2. Head of Government of New Zealand

        Prime Minister of New Zealand

        The prime minister of New Zealand is the head of government of New Zealand. The incumbent prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, took office on 26 October 2017.

  96. 1874

    1. Gertrude Stein, American novelist, poet, playwright, (d. 1946) births

      1. American author (1874–1946)

        Gertrude Stein

        Gertrude Stein was an American novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the Allegheny West neighborhood and raised in Oakland, California, Stein moved to Paris in 1903, and made France her home for the remainder of her life. She hosted a Paris salon, where the leading figures of modernism in literature and art, such as Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Sinclair Lewis, Ezra Pound, Sherwood Anderson and Henri Matisse, would meet.

  97. 1873

    1. Isaac Baker Brown, English gynecologist and surgeon (b. 1811) deaths

      1. English gynaecologist and obstetric surgeon

        Isaac Baker Brown

        Isaac Baker Brown was a prominent 19th-century English gynaecologist and obstetrical surgeon. He had a reputation as a specialist in the diseases of women and advocated certain surgical procedures, including clitoridectomies, as cures for epilepsy and hysteria. In 1867, his career ended when he was accused of performing these procedures without consent of the patients. He was subsequently expelled from the Obstetrical Society of London.

  98. 1872

    1. Lou Criger, American baseball player and manager (d. 1934) births

      1. American baseball player

        Lou Criger

        Louis Criger was an American professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1896 to 1912 for the Cleveland Spiders, St. Louis Perfectos / Cardinals, Boston Americans / Red Sox, St. Louis Browns and New York Highlanders. Listed at 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) and 165 pounds (75 kg), he batted and threw right-handed.

  99. 1867

    1. Charles Henry Turner, American biologist, educator and zoologist (d. 1923) births

      1. African American zoologist, educator, and comparative psychologist

        Charles Henry Turner (zoologist)

        Charles Henry Turner was an American zoologist, educator, and comparative psychologist, known for his studies on the behavior of insects, particularly bees and ants. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Turner was the first African American to receive a graduate degree at the University of Cincinnati and most likely the first African American to earn a PhD from the University of Chicago. Being a black man in the eighteen hundreds he was a victim of racism. He spent most of his career as a high school teacher in Sumner High School in St. Louis.

  100. 1866

    1. François-Xavier Garneau, Canadian poet, author, and historian (b. 1809) deaths

      1. François-Xavier Garneau

        François-Xavier Garneau was a nineteenth-century French Canadian notary, poet, civil servant and liberal who wrote a three-volume history of the French Canadian nation entitled Histoire du Canada between 1845 and 1848.

  101. 1862

    1. James Clark McReynolds, American lawyer and judge (d. 1946) births

      1. US Supreme Court justice from 1914 to 1941

        James Clark McReynolds

        James Clark McReynolds was an American lawyer and judge from Tennessee who served as United States Attorney General under President Woodrow Wilson and as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He served on the Court from 1914 to his retirement in 1941. McReynolds is best known today for his sustained opposition to the domestic programs of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his personality, which was widely viewed negatively and included documented elements of overt antisemitism and racism. Born in Elkton, Kentucky, McReynolds practiced law in Tennessee after graduating from the University of Virginia School of Law. He served as the U.S. Assistant Attorney General during President Theodore Roosevelt's administration and became well known for his skill in antitrust cases. After Wilson took office in 1913, he appointed McReynolds as his administration's first attorney general. Wilson nominated McReynolds to the Supreme Court in 1914 to fill the vacancy caused Associate Justice Horace Harmon Lurton's death.

    2. Jean-Baptiste Biot, French physicist, astronomer, and mathematician (b. 1774) deaths

      1. French physicist

        Jean-Baptiste Biot

        Jean-Baptiste Biot was a French physicist, astronomer, and mathematician who co-discovered the Biot–Savart law of magnetostatics with Félix Savart, established the reality of meteorites, made an early balloon flight, and studied the polarization of light.

  102. 1859

    1. Hugo Junkers, German engineer, designed the Junkers J 1 (d. 1935) births

      1. German aviation pioneer

        Hugo Junkers

        Hugo Junkers was a German aircraft engineer and aircraft designer who pioneered the design of all-metal airplanes and flying wings. His company, Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke AG, was one of the mainstays of the German aircraft industry in the years between World War I and World War II. His multi-engined, all-metal passenger- and freight planes helped establish airlines in Germany and around the world.

      2. Type of aircraft

        Junkers J 1

        The Junkers J 1, nicknamed the Blechesel, was an experimental monoplane aircraft developed by Junkers & Co. It was the world's first all-metal aircraft.

  103. 1857

    1. Giuseppe Moretti, Italian sculptor, designed the Vulcan statue (d. 1935) births

      1. American sculptor

        Giuseppe Moretti

        Giuseppe Moretti was an Italian émigré sculptor who became known in the United States for his public monuments in bronze and marble. Notable among his works is Vulcan in Birmingham, Alabama, which is the largest cast iron statue in the world. On a personal level, Moretti was "known for his eclectic personality and for always wearing a green tie," but professionally, is claimed to be "the first man to use aluminum in art." Moretti enjoyed some celebrity in his lifetime, and was a friend of famed Italian tenor Enrico Caruso. It is even reported that the singer repeatedly praised Moretti's voice.

      2. United States historic place

        Vulcan statue

        The Vulcan statue is the largest cast iron statue in the world, and is the city symbol of Birmingham, Alabama, reflecting its roots in the iron and steel industry. The 56-foot (17 m) tall statue depicts the Roman god Vulcan, god of the fire and forge, with ironworking equipment. It was created as Birmingham's entry for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, Missouri. While it is the world's largest made of iron, it is also among the nation's tallest statues of any kind.

  104. 1843

    1. William Cornelius Van Horne, American-Canadian businessman (d. 1915) births

      1. American-Canadian businessman and art collector (1843–1915)

        William Cornelius Van Horne

        Sir William Cornelius Van Horne, is most famous for overseeing the construction of the first Canadian transcontinental railway, a project that was completed in 1885, in under half the projected time. He succeeded Lord Mount Stephen as president of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) in 1888. He was responsible for launching the sea transport division of the CPR, which inaugurated regular service between Vancouver and Hong Kong in 1891. He also presided over the expansion of the CPR into the luxury hotel business in the 1890s. He was also a prominent member of the syndicate that created the Cuba Railroad Company in 1900. He lived at the Van Horne Mansion in Montreal's Golden Square Mile.

  105. 1842

    1. Sidney Lanier, American composer and poet (d. 1881) births

      1. American musician and poet

        Sidney Lanier

        Sidney Clopton Lanier was an American musician, poet and author. He served in the Confederate States Army as a private, worked on a blockade-running ship for which he was imprisoned, taught, worked at a hotel where he gave musical performances, was a church organist, and worked as a lawyer. As a poet he sometimes used dialects. Many of his poems are written in heightened, but often archaic, American English. He became a flautist and sold poems to publications. He eventually became a professor of literature at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and is known for his adaptation of musical meter to poetry. Many schools, other structures and two lakes are named for him, and he became hailed in the South as the "poet of the Confederacy". A 1972 US postage stamp honored him as an "American poet".

  106. 1832

    1. George Crabbe, English surgeon and poet (b. 1754) deaths

      1. 18th and 19th-century English poet, surgeon, and clergyman

        George Crabbe

        George Crabbe was an English poet, surgeon and clergyman. He is best known for his early use of the realistic narrative form and his descriptions of middle and working-class life and people.

  107. 1830

    1. Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1903) births

      1. UK Prime Minister three times from 1885 to 1902

        Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury

        Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury was a British statesman and Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom three times for a total of over thirteen years. He was also Foreign Secretary for much of his tenure, and during his last two years of office he was Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal. He avoided alignments or alliances, maintaining the policy of "splendid isolation".

      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.

  108. 1826

    1. Walter Bagehot, English journalist and businessman (d. 1877) births

      1. English constitutional essayist, journalist, author and businessman (1826–1877)

        Walter Bagehot

        Walter Bagehot was an English journalist, businessman, and essayist, who wrote extensively about government, economics, literature and race. He is known for co-founding the National Review in 1855, and for his works The English Constitution and Lombard Street: A Description of the Money Market (1873).

  109. 1824

    1. Ranald MacDonald, American explorer and educator (d. 1894) births

      1. American English teacher (1824–1894)

        Ranald MacDonald

        Ranald MacDonald was the first native English-speaker to teach the English language in Japan, including educating Einosuke Moriyama, one of the chief interpreters to handle the negotiations between Commodore Perry and the Tokugawa Shogunate.

  110. 1821

    1. Elizabeth Blackwell, American physician and educator (d. 1910) births

      1. England-born American physician, abolitionist, women's rights activist

        Elizabeth Blackwell

        Elizabeth Blackwell was a British physician, notable as the first woman to receive a medical degree in the United States, and the first woman on the Medical Register of the General Medical Council for the United Kingdom. Blackwell played an important role in both the United States and the United Kingdom as a social awareness and moral reformer, and pioneered in promoting education for women in medicine. Her contributions remain celebrated with the Elizabeth Blackwell Medal, awarded annually to a woman who has made a significant contribution to the promotion of women in medicine.

  111. 1820

    1. Gia Long, Vietnamese emperor (b. 1762) deaths

      1. Founder and 1st emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty of Vietnam (r. 1802-04)

        Gia Long

        Gia Long, born Nguyễn Phúc Ánh (阮福暎) or Nguyễn Ánh, was the founding emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty, the last dynasty of Vietnam. His dynasty would rule the unified territories that constitute modern-day Vietnam until 1945.

  112. 1817

    1. Achille Ernest Oscar Joseph Delesse, French geologist and mineralogist (d. 1881) births

      1. French geologist and mineralogist

        Achille Ernest Oscar Joseph Delesse

        Achille Ernest Oscar Joseph Delesse was a French geologist and mineralogist.

    2. Émile Prudent, French pianist and composer (d. 1863) births

      1. French pianist and composer

        Émile Prudent

        Émile Racine Gauthier Prudent was a French pianist and composer. His works number about seventy, and include a piano trio, a concerto-symphony, many character pieces, sets of variations, transcriptions and etudes, in addition to his celebrated fantasies on operatic airs. As a teacher, he was very successful and produced several distinguished pupils.

  113. 1816

    1. Ram Singh Kuka, Indian credited with starting the Non-cooperation movement births

      1. Ram Singh Kuka

        Ram Singh Kuka was the second guru of the Namdhari sect of Sikhism. He is credited as being the first British Indian to use non-cooperation and boycott of British goods and services as a political tool. He was exiled to Rangoon, Burma (Myanmar) by the British colonial government of India on 18 January 1872.

      2. Indian political campaign (1909-22)

        Non-cooperation movement

        The Non-cooperation movement was a political campaign launched on 4 September 1920, by Mahatma Gandhi to have Indians revoke their cooperation from the British government, with the aim of persuading them to grant self-governance.

  114. 1815

    1. Edward James Roye, 5th President of Liberia (d. 1872) births

      1. 5th president of Liberia (1870–71)

        Edward James Roye

        Edward James Roye served as the fifth president of Liberia from 1870 to his overthrow in 1871 and subsequent death. He had previously served as the fourth Chief Justice of Liberia from 1865 until 1868. He was the first member of Liberia's True Whig Party to serve as president.

  115. 1813

    1. Juan Bautista Cabral, Argentinian sergeant (b. 1789) deaths

      1. Juan Bautista Cabral

        Juan Bautista Cabral was an Argentine soldier, of Zambo origin, of the Regiment of Mounted Grenadiers who died in the Battle of San Lorenzo, while he was aiding then Colonel Don José de San Martín, whose horse had fallen to enemy fire. The action of Cabral in this first military confrontation of the Argentine War of Independence gave him lasting fame and a prominent place among Argentine patriots.

  116. 1811

    1. Horace Greeley, American journalist and politician (d. 1872) births

      1. American politician and publisher (1811–1872)

        Horace Greeley

        Horace Greeley was an American newspaper editor and publisher who was the founder and editor of the New-York Tribune. Long active in politics, he served briefly as a congressman from New York, and was the unsuccessful candidate of the new Liberal Republican Party in the 1872 presidential election against incumbent President Ulysses S. Grant, who won by a landslide.

  117. 1809

    1. Felix Mendelssohn, German pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1847) births

      1. German composer (1809–1847)

        Felix Mendelssohn

        Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include symphonies, concertos, piano music, organ music and chamber music. His best-known works include the overture and incidental music for A Midsummer Night's Dream, the Italian Symphony, the Scottish Symphony, the oratorio St. Paul, the oratorio Elijah, the overture The Hebrides, the mature Violin Concerto and the String Octet. The melody for the Christmas carol "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" is also his. Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words are his most famous solo piano compositions.

  118. 1807

    1. Joseph E. Johnston, American general and politician (d. 1891) births

      1. Confederate Army general (1807–1891)

        Joseph E. Johnston

        Joseph Eggleston Johnston was an American career army officer, serving with distinction in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War (1846–1848) and the Seminole Wars. After Virginia seceded from the Union, he entered the Confederate States Army as one of its most senior general officers.

  119. 1802

    1. Pedro Rodríguez, Spanish statesman and economist (b. 1723) deaths

      1. Pedro Rodríguez, Count of Campomanes

        Pedro Rodríguez de Campomanes y Pérez, 1st Count of Campomanes, was a Spanish statesman, economist, and writer who was Minister of the Treasury in 1760. He was an adherent of the position that the state held supremacy over the Church, often called Erastianism. Campomanes was part of the government of Charles III. A staunch anti-Jesuit, one of the biggest foes of the order, Campomanes was the main driving force behind their expulsion.

  120. 1795

    1. Antonio José de Sucre, Venezuelan general and politician, 2nd President of Bolivia (d. 1830) births

      1. President of Peru and Bolivia (1795–1830)

        Antonio José de Sucre

        Antonio José de Sucre y Alcalá, known as the "Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho", was a Venezuelan independence leader who served as the president of Peru and as the second president of Bolivia. Sucre was one of Simón Bolívar's closest friends, generals and statesmen.

      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.

  121. 1790

    1. Gideon Mantell, English scientist (d. 1852) births

      1. British scientist and obstetrician

        Gideon Mantell

        Gideon Algernon Mantell MRCS FRS was a British obstetrician, geologist and palaeontologist. His attempts to reconstruct the structure and life of Iguanodon began the scientific study of dinosaurs: in 1822 he was responsible for the discovery of the first fossil teeth, and later much of the skeleton, of Iguanodon. Mantell's work on the Cretaceous of southern England was also important.

  122. 1780

    1. Mihail G. Boiagi, Aromanian grammarian and professor (d. uncertain) births

      1. Aromanian grammarian and professor

        Mihail G. Boiagi

        Mihail George Boiagi was an Aromanian grammarian and professor in the Habsburg monarchy and the Austrian Empire. He was born on 3 February 1780 in Buda, today Budapest in Hungary. Boiagi was one of the first grammarians from the Balkans and a professor in a school in Vienna, where he taught Greek. He had origins from Moscopole, today in Albania. Boiagi was one of the main figures of the Aromanian diaspora in Austria and Hungary, the capitals of which, Vienna and Budapest respectively, became gathering centers for members of this community in the 19th century. Boiagi introduced the Aromanian historian Dimitrie Cozacovici to the Aromanian community of Austria and Hungary after Cozacovici's migration from Metsovo, today in Greece, to Buda.

  123. 1777

    1. John Cheyne, Scottish physician and author (d. 1836) births

      1. John Cheyne (physician)

        John Cheyne FRSE FKQCPI was a British physician, surgeon, Professor of Medicine in the Royal College of Surgery in Ireland (RCSI) and author of monographs on a number of medical topics. He was one of the people to identify Cheyne–Stokes respiration.

  124. 1763

    1. Caroline von Wolzogen, German author (d. 1847) births

      1. German writer of Weimar Classicism

        Caroline von Wolzogen

        Caroline von Wolzogen, was a German writer in the Weimar Classicism circle. Her best-known works are a novel, Agnes von Lilien, and a biography of Friedrich Schiller, her brother-in-law.

  125. 1757

    1. Joseph Forlenze, Italian ophthalmologist and surgeon (d. 1833)[citation needed] births

      1. Joseph Forlenze

        Joseph-Nicolas-Blaise Forlenze, was an Italian ophthalmologist and surgeon, considered one of the most important ophthalmologists between the 18th and the 19th century. He was mostly known in France under the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Empire, for his cataract surgery.

      2. Wikipedia information page

        Wikipedia:Citation needed

  126. 1747

    1. Samuel Osgood, American soldier and politician, 1st United States Postmaster General (d. 1813) births

      1. American politician (1747–1813)

        Samuel Osgood

        Samuel Osgood was an American merchant and statesman born in Andover, Massachusetts, currently a part of North Andover, Massachusetts. His family home still stands at 440 Osgood Street in North Andover and his home in New York City, the Samuel Osgood House, served as the country's first Presidential mansion. He served in the Massachusetts and New York State legislatures, represented Massachusetts in the Continental Congress and was the fourth Postmaster General of the United States, serving during George Washington's first term.

      2. Chief executive of the US Postal Service

        United States Postmaster General

        The United States Postmaster General (PMG) is the chief executive officer of the United States Postal Service (USPS). The PMG is responsible for managing and directing the day-to-day operations of the agency.

  127. 1737

    1. Tommaso Ceva, Italian mathematician and academic (b. 1648) deaths

      1. Tommaso Ceva

        Tommaso Ceva was an Italian Jesuit mathematician from Milan. He was the brother of Giovanni Ceva.

  128. 1736

    1. Johann Georg Albrechtsberger, Austrian composer and theorist (d. 1809) births

      1. Austrian composer

        Johann Georg Albrechtsberger

        Johann Georg Albrechtsberger was an Austrian composer, organist, and music theorist, and one of the teachers of Ludwig van Beethoven. He was a friend of Haydn and Mozart.

  129. 1721

    1. Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz, Prussian general (d. 1773) births

      1. Prussian cavalry general (1721–1773)

        Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz

        Friedrich Wilhelm Freiherr von Seydlitz was a Prussian officer, lieutenant general, and among the greatest of the Prussian cavalry generals. He commanded one of the first Hussar squadrons of Frederick the Great's army and is credited with the development of the Prussian cavalry to its efficient level of performance in the Seven Years' War. His cavalryman father retired and then died while Seydlitz was still young. Subsequently, he was mentored by Margrave Frederick William of Brandenburg-Schwedt. Seydlitz's superb horsemanship and his recklessness combined to make him a stand-out subaltern, and he emerged as a redoubtable Rittmeister in the War of Austrian Succession (1740–1748) during the First and Second Silesian Wars.

  130. 1689

    1. Blas de Lezo, Spanish admiral (d. 1741) births

      1. Spanish admiral

        Blas de Lezo

        Admiral Blas de Lezo y Olavarrieta was a Spanish navy officer best remembered for the Battle of Cartagena de Indias (1741) in the Viceroyalty of New Granada, where Spanish imperial forces under his command decisively defeated a large British invasion fleet under Admiral Edward Vernon.

  131. 1677

    1. Jan Santini Aichel, Czech architect, designed the Karlova Koruna Chateau (d. 1723) births

      1. Jan Santini Aichel

        Jan Blažej Santini Aichel was a Czech architect of Italian descent, whose major works represent the unique Baroque Gothic style - the special combination of the Baroque and Gothic styles.

      2. Chateau in Hradec Králové Region, Czech Republic

        Karlova Koruna Chateau

        Karlova Koruna is a château in the town of Chlumec nad Cidlinou in the Czech Republic.

  132. 1619

    1. Henry Brooke, 11th Baron Cobham, English politician, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (b. 1564) deaths

      1. Henry Brooke, 11th Baron Cobham

        Henry Brooke, 11th Baron Cobham KG (22 November 1564 – 24 January 1618 /3 February 1618, lord of the Manor of Cobham, Kent, was an English peer who was implicated in the Main Plot against the rule of James I of England.

      2. Ceremonial official in the United Kingdom

        Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports

        The Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports is a ceremonial official in the United Kingdom. The post dates from at least the 12th century, when the title was Keeper of the Coast, but may be older. The Lord Warden was originally in charge of the Cinque Ports, a group of five port towns on the southeast coast of England that was formed to collectively supply ships for The Crown in the absence at the time of a formal navy. Today the role is a sinecure and an honorary title, and fourteen towns belong to the Cinque Ports confederation. The title is one of the higher honours bestowed by the Sovereign; it has often been held by members of the Royal Family or prime ministers, especially those who have been influential in defending Britain at times of war.

  133. 1618

    1. Philip II, duke of Pomerania (b. 1573) deaths

      1. Philip II, Duke of Pomerania

        Philip II, Duke of Pomerania-Stettin was from 1606 to 1618 the reigning duke of Pomerania-Stettin and is considered among the one of the most artistic of the Pomeranian dukes. He married Sophia of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg in 1607. The marriage remained childless.

  134. 1566

    1. George Cassander, Flemish theologian and author (b. 1513) deaths

      1. George Cassander

        George Cassander was a Flemish Catholic theologian and humanist.

  135. 1537

    1. Thomas FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Kildare (b. 1513) deaths

      1. Irish noble (1513–1537)

        Thomas FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Kildare

        Thomas FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Kildare, also known as Silken Thomas, was a leading figure in 16th-century Irish history.

  136. 1504

    1. Scipione Rebiba, Italian cardinal (d. 1577) births

      1. Catholic cardinal

        Scipione Rebiba

        Scipione Rebiba was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church, a protégé of Gian Pietro Carafa, who became Pope Paul IV. He held a variety of positions in the Church hierarchy, including some of the most senior. He introduced the Inquisition to Naples in the 1550s and became a cardinal in 1555. He is mostly known today for having been the earliest bishop to whom most Roman Catholic bishops can trace their apostolic succession, as it is unknown who consecrated Rebiba.

  137. 1478

    1. Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham (d. 1521) births

      1. 15th–16th-century English noble

        Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham

        Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham was an English nobleman. He was the son of Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, and Katherine Woodville, and nephew of Elizabeth Woodville and King Edward IV. Thus, Edward Stafford was a first cousin once removed of King Henry VIII. He was convicted of treason and executed on 17 May 1521.

  138. 1475

    1. John IV, Count of Nassau-Siegen, German count (b. 1410) deaths

      1. German count (1410–1475)

        John IV, Count of Nassau-Siegen

        Count John IV of Nassau-Siegen, German: Johann IV. Graf von Nassau-Siegen, official titles: Graf zu Nassau, Vianden und Diez, Herr zu Breda, was since 1442 Count of Nassau-Siegen, of Vianden and of half Diez, and Lord of Breda and of de Lek. He descended from the Ottonian Line of the House of Nassau.

  139. 1468

    1. Johannes Gutenberg, German publisher, invented the Printing press (b. 1398) deaths

      1. German blacksmith, goldsmith, printer and publisher (1400–1468)

        Johannes Gutenberg

        Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg was a German inventor, printer, publisher, and goldsmith who introduced printing to Europe with his mechanical movable-type printing press. His work started the Printing Revolution in Europe and is regarded as a milestone of the second millennium, ushering in the modern period of human history. It played a key role in the development of the Renaissance, Reformation, Age of Enlightenment, and Scientific Revolution, as well as laying the material basis for the modern knowledge-based economy and the spread of learning to the masses.

      2. Device for evenly printing ink onto a print medium

        Printing press

        A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium, thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in which the cloth, paper or other medium was brushed or rubbed repeatedly to achieve the transfer of ink, and accelerated the process. Typically used for texts, the invention and global spread of the printing press was one of the most influential events in the second millennium.

  140. 1451

    1. Murad II, Ottoman sultan (b. 1404) deaths

      1. 6th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (r. 1421–1444, 1446–1451)

        Murad II

        Murad II was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1421 to 1444 and again from 1446 to 1451.

  141. 1428

    1. Helena Palaiologina, Queen of Cyprus (d. 1458) [citation needed] births

      1. Queen consort of Cyprus and Armenia

        Helena Palaiologina

        Helena Palaiologina was a Byzantine princess of the Palaiologos family, who became Queen of Cyprus and Armenia, titular Queen consort of Jerusalem, and Princess of Antioch through her marriage to King John II of Cyprus and Armenia. She was the mother of Queen Charlotte of Cyprus.

      2. Wikipedia information page

        Wikipedia:Citation needed

    2. Ashikaga Yoshimochi, Japanese shōgun (b. 1386) deaths

      1. Fourth shōgun of the Ashikaga Shogunate of Japan (1386–1428)

        Ashikaga Yoshimochi

        Ashikaga Yoshimochi was the fourth shōgun of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned from 1394 to 1423 during the Muromachi period of Japan. Yoshimochi was the son of the third shōgun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu.

  142. 1399

    1. John of Gaunt, Belgian-English politician, Lord High Steward (b. 1340) deaths

      1. 14th-century English prince, Duke of Lancaster

        John of Gaunt

        John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster was an English royal prince, military leader, and statesman. He was the fourth son of King Edward III of England, and the father of King Henry IV. Due to Gaunt's royal origin, advantageous marriages, and some generous land grants, he was one of the richest men of his era, and was an influential figure during the reigns of both his father and his nephew, Richard II. As Duke of Lancaster, he is the founder of the royal House of Lancaster, whose members would ascend the throne after his death. His birthplace, Ghent in Flanders, then known in English as Gaunt, was the origin of his name. When he became unpopular later in life, a scurrilous rumour circulated, along with lampoons, claiming that he was actually the son of a Ghent butcher. This rumour, which infuriated him, may have been inspired by the fact that Edward III had not been present at his birth.

      2. First of the Great Officers of State in England

        Lord High Steward

        The Lord High Steward is the first of the Great Officers of State in England, nominally ranking above the Lord Chancellor.

  143. 1392

    1. Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland, English nobleman and military commander (d. 1455) births

      1. English nobleman and military commander

        Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland

        Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland was an English nobleman and military commander in the lead up to the Wars of the Roses. He was the son of Henry "Hotspur" Percy, and the grandson of Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland. His father and grandfather were killed in different rebellions against Henry IV in 1403 and 1408 respectively, and the young Henry spent his minority in exile in Scotland. Only after the death of Henry IV in 1413 was he reconciled with the Crown, and in 1414 he was created Earl of Northumberland.

  144. 1338

    1. Joanna of Bourbon (d. 1378) births

      1. Queen consort of France

        Joanna of Bourbon

        Joanna of Bourbon was Queen of France by marriage to King Charles V. She acted as his political adviser and was appointed potential regent in case of a minor regency.

  145. 1252

    1. Sviatoslav III, Russian Grand Prince (b. 1196) deaths

      1. Sviatoslav III of Vladimir

        Sviatoslav III Vsevolodovich of Vladimir was the Prince of Novgorod and Grand Prince of Vladimir-Suzdal (1246–1248).

  146. 1161

    1. Inge I, king of Norway (b. 1135) deaths

      1. Norwegian King

        Inge I of Norway

        Inge I was king of Norway from 1136 to 1161. Inge’s reign fell within the start of the period known in Norwegian history as the civil war era. He was never the sole ruler of the country. He is often known as Inge the Hunchback, because of his physical disability. However, this epithet does not appear in medieval sources.

  147. 1116

    1. Coloman, king of Hungary deaths

      1. King of Hungary from 1095 to 1116

        Coloman, King of Hungary

        Coloman the Learned, also the Book-Lover or the Bookish was King of Hungary from 1095 and King of Croatia from 1097 until his death. Because Coloman and his younger brother Álmos were underage when their father Géza I died, their uncle Ladislaus I ascended the throne in 1077. Ladislaus prepared Coloman—who was "half-blind and humpbacked", according to late medieval Hungarian chronicles—for a church career, and Coloman was eventually appointed bishop of Eger or Várad in the early 1090s. The dying King Ladislaus preferred Álmos to Coloman when nominating his heir in early 1095. Coloman fled from Hungary but returned around 19 July 1095 when his uncle died. He was crowned in early 1096; the circumstances of his accession to the throne are unknown. He granted the Hungarian Duchy—one-third of the Kingdom of Hungary—to Álmos.

  148. 1014

    1. Sweyn Forkbeard, king of Denmark and England (b. 960) deaths

      1. King of Denmark (r. 986–1014), Norway (986–95, 1000–14) and England (1013–14)

        Sweyn Forkbeard

        Sweyn Forkbeard was King of Denmark from 986 to 1014, also at times King of the English and King of Norway. He was the father of King Harald II of Denmark, King Cnut the Great, and Queen Estrid Svendsdatter.

  149. 994

    1. William IV, duke of Aquitaine (b. 937) deaths

      1. Duke of Aquitaine

        William IV, Duke of Aquitaine

        William IV, called Fierebras or Fierebrace, was the Duke of Aquitaine and Count of Poitou from 963 to his retirement in 990.

  150. 938

    1. Zhou Ben, Chinese general (b. 862) deaths

      1. Zhou Ben

        Zhou Ben (周本), formally Prince Gonglie of Xiping (西平恭烈王), was a general of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period state Wu and (briefly) Wu's successor state Southern Tang.

  151. 929

    1. Guy, margrave of Tuscany deaths

      1. Italian nobleman

        Guy, Margrave of Tuscany

        Guy was the son of Adalbert II of Tuscany with Bertha, daughter of Lothair II of Lotharingia.

  152. 865

    1. Ansgar, Frankish archbishop (b. 801) deaths

      1. Christian saint, Archbishop, and missionary

        Ansgar

        Ansgar, also known as Anskar, Saint Ansgar, Saint Anschar or Oscar, was Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen in the northern part of the Kingdom of the East Franks. Ansgar became known as the "Apostle of the North" because of his travels and the See of Hamburg received the missionary mandate to bring Christianity to Northern Europe.

  153. 699

    1. Werburgh, English nun and saint deaths

      1. Anglo-Saxon saint

        Werburgh

        Werburgh was an Anglo-Saxon princess who became the patron saint of the city of Chester in Cheshire. Her feast day is 3 February.

  154. 639

    1. K'inich Yo'nal Ahk I, ruler of Piedras Negras deaths

      1. Ajaw of Piedras Negras from 603 to 639

        Kʼinich Yoʼnal Ahk I

        Kʼinich Yoʼnal Ahk I, also known as Ruler 1, was an ajaw of Piedras Negras, an ancient Maya settlement in Guatemala. He ruled during the Late Classic Period, from 603–639 AD. It has been proposed that he began a new dynasty at Piedras Negras, following years of ineffective kings. As to how Kʼinich Yoʼnal Ahk I came to power, a consensus has not yet been reached, although it is known that he waged several successful wars against Palenque and Sak Tzʼiʼ. He was succeeded by his son, Itzam Kʼan Ahk I, in 639 AD and left behind several monuments, including stelae at Piedras Negras and a large mortuary temple now known as Pyramid R-5.

  155. 456

    1. Sihyaj Chan K'awiil II, ruler of Tikal deaths

      1. Ajaw

        Sihyaj Chan Kʼawiil II

        Sihyaj Chan Kʼawiil II, also known as Storm Sky and Manikin Cleft Sky, was an ajaw of the Maya city of Tikal. He took the throne on 26 November 411 and reigned until his death. He was a son of his predecessor Yax Nuun Ahiin I and Lady Kʼinich, and a grandson of Spearthrower Owl. Stela 31, erected during his reign, describes the death of his grandfather in 439; other monuments associated with Sihyaj Chan Kʼawiil II are Stelae 1 and possibly Stelae 28. Tikal Temple 33 was Sihyaj Chan Kʼawiil II's funerary pyramid and his tomb was located beneath it.

  156. 6

    1. Ping, emperor of the Han Dynasty (b. 9 BC) deaths

      1. Calendar year

        AD 6

        6 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Lepidus and Lucius Arruntius. The denomination "AD 6" for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

      2. Emperor of the Han dynasty

        Emperor Ping of Han

        Emperor Ping was eleventh emperor of the Chinese Han dynasty from 1 BC to AD 6. After Emperor Ai died childless, the throne was passed to his cousin Emperor Ping—then a child of eight years old. Wang Mang was appointed regent by the Grand Empress Dowager Wang. Dissatisfied with his father's dictatorial regency, in AD 3, Wang's son Wang Yu (王宇) conspired with Emperor Ping's maternal uncles of the Wei clan against Wang, but after they were discovered, Wang had not only Wang Yu and the Weis put to death, but also used this opportunity to accuse many actual or potential political enemies as being part of the conspiracy and to execute or exile them. From then onwards, the Han Dynasty existed only in name. Furthermore, Wang Mang also designated his daughter as the empress consort to Emperor Ping to codify his legitimacy to power. Emperor Ping was allegedly poisoned by Wang Mang after reigning less than six years, because Wang was concerned that he would avenge his uncles, and his successor, the infant Emperor Ruzi, would be chosen by none other than Wang Mang himself.

Holidays

  1. Christian feast day: Aaron the Illustrious (Syriac Orthodox Church)

    1. Martyrology of Rabban Sliba

      The Martyrology of Rabban Sliba is a book containing the names and feast days of a number of martyrs of the Syriac Orthodox Church. It was edited by P. Paul Peeters, S.J., and published in Analecta Bollandiana #27 in 1908.

    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.

  2. Christian feast day: Ansgar

    1. Christian saint, Archbishop, and missionary

      Ansgar

      Ansgar, also known as Anskar, Saint Ansgar, Saint Anschar or Oscar, was Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen in the northern part of the Kingdom of the East Franks. Ansgar became known as the "Apostle of the North" because of his travels and the See of Hamburg received the missionary mandate to bring Christianity to Northern Europe.

  3. Christian feast day: Berlinda of Meerbeke

    1. Berlinda of Meerbeke

      Saint Berlinda was a Benedictine nun of noble descent. Her feast day is 3 February. According to legend she was a niece of Saint Amandus, and was disinherited by her father, Count Odelard, after he became sick with leprosy and believed that she would not take proper care of him.

  4. Christian feast day: Blaise

    1. Christian saint and bishop

      Saint Blaise

      Blaise of Sebaste was a physician and bishop of Sebastea in historical Armenia who is venerated as a Christian saint and martyr.

  5. Christian feast day: Celsa and Nona

    1. Celsa and Nona

      Saints Celsa and Nona are Christian saints of whom little is known. They were virgins of Brabant, whose bodies were found near that of Saint Berlinda. Their feast day is 3 February.

  6. Christian feast day: Claudine Thévenet

    1. French saint

      Claudine Thévenet

      Claudine Thévenet, RJM, religious name Marie of Saint Ignatius, was a French Catholic nun and the founder of the Religious of Jesus and Mary.

  7. Christian feast day: Dom Justo Takayama (Philippines and Japan)

    1. Japanese Daimyō and Blessed

      Dom Justo Takayama

      Justo Takayama Ukon (ジュスト高山右近), born Takayama Hikogorō (高山彦五郎) and also known as Dom Justo Takayama was a Japanese Catholic Kirishitan daimyō and samurai who lived during the Sengoku period that witnessed anti-Catholic sentiment. Takayama had been baptized into the faith in 1564 when he was twelve, though over time neglected his faith due to his actions as a samurai. He eventually rekindled his faith just after his coming-of-age ritual near the age of 20. He abandoned his status to devote himself to his faith and was exiled to Manila, where he lived a life of holiness until his death two months later.

    2. Archipelagic country in Southeast Asia

      Philippines

      The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It is situated in the western Pacific Ocean and consists of around 7,641 islands that are broadly categorized under three main geographical divisions from north to south: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The Philippines is bounded by the South China Sea to the west, the Philippine Sea to the east, and the Celebes Sea to the southwest. It shares maritime borders with Taiwan to the north, Japan to the northeast, Palau to the east and southeast, Indonesia to the south, Malaysia to the southwest, Vietnam to the west, and China to the northwest. The Philippines covers an area of 300,000 km2 (120,000 sq mi) and, as of 2021, it had a population of around 109 million people, making it the world's thirteenth-most populous country. The Philippines has diverse ethnicities and cultures throughout its islands. Manila is the country's capital, while the largest city is Quezon City; both lie within the urban area of Metro Manila.

    3. Island country in East Asia

      Japan

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

  8. Christian feast day: Hadelin

    1. Saint Hadelin

      Saint Hadelin, born in Guyenne, was one of the scholarly monks who preached Christianity and started conversion work in what is now Belgium, along with Saint Remaclus.

  9. Christian feast day: Margaret of England

    1. Saint Margaret of England

      Saint Margaret of England was born in Hungary to an Englishwoman who was related to Thomas Becket, the murdered Archbishop of Canterbury.

  10. Christian feast day: Werburgh

    1. Anglo-Saxon saint

      Werburgh

      Werburgh was an Anglo-Saxon princess who became the patron saint of the city of Chester in Cheshire. Her feast day is 3 February.

  11. Christian feast day: February 3 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

    1. February 3 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

      Feb. 2 - Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar - Feb. 4

  12. Day of the Virgin of Suyapa (Honduras)

    1. Public holidays in Honduras

      Public holidays in Honduras are centered on Christianity and the commemoration of events in Honduran history. Each celebration is very important to many families across this country. They are often celebrated with extended family members, and friends. On a few of the most important holidays, such as Independence Day and holy week parades and processions are held from early morning to later in the afternoon or evening.

    2. Country in Central America

      Honduras

      Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, and to the north by the Gulf of Honduras, a large inlet of the Caribbean Sea. Its capital and largest city is Tegucigalpa.

  13. Earliest day on which Shrove Tuesday can fall, while March 9 is the latest; celebrated on Tuesday before Ash Wednesday (Christianity)

    1. Day in February or March preceding Ash Wednesday

      Shrove Tuesday

      Shrove Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday, observed in many Christian countries through participating in confession and absolution, the ritual burning of the previous year's Holy Week palms, finalizing one's Lenten sacrifice, as well as eating pancakes and other sweets.

    2. First day of Lent on the Western Christian calendar

      Ash Wednesday

      Ash Wednesday is a holy day of prayer and fasting in many Western Christian denominations. It is preceded by Shrove Tuesday and falls on the first day of Lent. It is observed by Catholics in the Roman Rite, Lutherans, Moravians, Anglicans, Methodists, Nazarenes, as well as by some churches in the Reformed tradition.

  14. Four Chaplains Day (United States, also considered a Feast Day by the Episcopal Church)

    1. American military chaplains who gave up their lives to save others in WWII

      Four Chaplains

      The Four Chaplains, also referred to as the Immortal Chaplains or the Dorchester Chaplains, were four World War II chaplains who died rescuing civilian and military personnel as the American troop ship SS Dorchester sank on February 3, 1943, in what has been referred to as the second-worst sea disaster of WW II. The Dorchester was a civilian liner converted for military service in World War II as a War Shipping Administration troop transport. She was able to carry slightly more than 900 military passengers and crew.

    2. Anglican denomination in the United States

      Episcopal Church (United States)

      The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine provinces. The presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church is Michael Bruce Curry, the first African-American bishop to serve in that position.

  15. Communist Party of Vietnam Foundation Anniversary (Vietnam)

    1. Public holidays in Vietnam

    2. Country in Southeast Asia

      Vietnam

      Vietnam or Viet Nam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of 311,699 square kilometres (120,348 sq mi) and population of 96 million, making it the world's fifteenth-most populous country. Vietnam borders China to the north, and Laos and Cambodia to the west. It shares maritime borders with Thailand through the Gulf of Thailand, and the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia through the South China Sea. Its capital is Hanoi and largest city Ho Chi Minh City

  16. Day of Finnish architecture and design, birthday of Alvar Aalto (Finland)

    1. Wikimedia list article

      Flag flying days in Finland

      Flag flying days in Finland are days of the year when the national flag is flown nationwide, either by law or by custom. The flag of Finland is generally flown only on special occasions to celebrate or honour someone or something. On certain days of the year the state officially flies the flag, and recommends all private citizens to do so as well, these are the flag flying days as listed below. Any citizen has a right to fly the flag on their own property if they deem it appropriate, for example in celebration of birthdays or weddings in the family. Midsummer’s day is additionally celebrated as Flag Day in Finland.

    2. Finnish architect and designer (1898–1976)

      Alvar Aalto

      Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto was a Finnish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware, as well as sculptures and paintings. He never regarded himself as an artist, seeing painting and sculpture as "branches of the tree whose trunk is architecture." Aalto's early career ran in parallel with the rapid economic growth and industrialization of Finland during the first half of the 20th century. Many of his clients were industrialists, among them the Ahlström-Gullichsen family, who became his patrons. The span of his career, from the 1920s to the 1970s, is reflected in the styles of his work, ranging from Nordic Classicism of the early work, to a rational International Style Modernism during the 1930s to a more organic modernist style from the 1940s onwards.

    3. Country in Northern Europe

      Finland

      Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland across Estonia to the south. Finland covers an area of 338,455 square kilometres (130,678 sq mi) with a population of 5.6 million. Helsinki is the capital and largest city, forming a larger metropolitan area with the neighbouring cities of Espoo, Kauniainen, and Vantaa. The vast majority of the population are ethnic Finns. Finnish, alongside Swedish, are the official languages. Swedish is the native language of 5.2% of the population. Finland's climate varies from humid continental in the south to the boreal in the north. The land cover is primarily a boreal forest biome, with more than 180,000 recorded lakes.

  17. Heroes' Day (Mozambique)

    1. Public holidays in Mozambique

  18. Martyrs' Day (São Tomé and Príncipe)

    1. Public holidays in São Tomé and Príncipe

      This is a list of holidays in São Tomé and Príncipe.

  19. Setsubun (Japan)

    1. Japanese holiday celebrating spring held in the first week of February

      Setsubun

      Setsubun is the day before the beginning of spring in the old calendar in Japan. The name literally means 'seasonal division', referring to the day just before the first day of spring in the traditional calendar, known as Setsubun; though previously referring to a wider range of possible dates, Setsubun is now typically held on February 3, with the day after – the first day of spring in the old calendar – known as Risshun . Both Setsubun and Risshun are celebrated yearly as part of the Spring Festival in Japan. In its association with the Lunar New Year, Setsubun, though not the official New Year, was thought of as similar in its ritual and cultural associations of 'cleansing' the previous year as the beginning of the new season of spring. Setsubun was accompanied by a number of rituals and traditions held at various levels to drive away the previous year's bad fortunes and evil spirits for the year to come.

    2. Island country in East Asia

      Japan

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

  20. Veterans' Day (Thailand)

    1. Public holidays in Thailand

      Public holidays in Thailand are regulated by the government, and most are observed by both the public and private sectors. There are usually nineteen public holidays in a year, but more may be declared by the cabinet. Other observances, both official and non-official, local and international, are observed to varying degrees throughout the country.