Important events in history
on January 4 ^th

Events

2020
1. Sembawang Hot Spring Park re-opened in Singapore after being redeveloped by the National Parks Board.
  1. Sembawang Hot Spring Park
    
    Sembawang Hot Spring Park is a natural hot spring and a public park in Singapore. It is located beside a military camp about 100 metres (330 ft) off the main road, Gambas Avenue. Like hot springs worldwide, it can have health healing properties with proper use in moderation, and its natural spring water had once been bottled commercially by Fraser and Neave, under the brand name of Seletaris. Since its discovery in 1909, the spring has been through a few changes of ownership and potential redevelopment proposals. The hot spring has a rural rustic feel for visitors to unwind from the hustle and bustle of the modern metropolitan city. The National Parks Board took over the ownership of the park for redevelopment, which officially reopened on 4 January 2020. Sembawang Hot Spring is one of two hot springs in Singapore, with the other located on Pulau Tekong.
  2. National Parks Board
    
    The National Parks Board (NParks) is a statutory board under the Ministry of National Development of the Government of Singapore.
2018
1. A passenger train collided with a truck and derailed in the Free State, South Africa, killing 21 people and injuring 254 others.
  1. Hennenman–Kroonstad train crash
    
    On 4 January 2018, a passenger train operated by Shosholoza Meyl collided with a truck at a level crossing at Geneva Station between Hennenman and Kroonstad, in the Free State, South Africa. The train derailed, and seven of the twelve carriages caught fire. Twenty-one people were killed and 254 others were injured.
  2. Free State (province)
    
    The Free State, known as Orange Free State until 1995, is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bloemfontein, which is also South Africa's judicial capital. Its historical origins lie in the Boer republic called the Orange Free State and later Orange Free State Province.
2. Hennenman–Kroonstad train crash: A passenger train operated by Shosholoza Meyl collides with a truck on a level crossing at Geneva Station between Hennenman and Kroonstad, Free State, South Africa. Twenty people are killed and 260 injured.
  1. Hennenman–Kroonstad train crash
    
    On 4 January 2018, a passenger train operated by Shosholoza Meyl collided with a truck at a level crossing at Geneva Station between Hennenman and Kroonstad, in the Free State, South Africa. The train derailed, and seven of the twelve carriages caught fire. Twenty-one people were killed and 254 others were injured.
  2. Shosholoza Meyl
    
    Shosholoza Meyl is a division of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) that operates long-distance (intercity) passenger rail services. It operates various train routes across South Africa, carrying approximately 4 million passengers annually. Before 2009, Shosholoza Meyl was a division of Spoornet, but it was transferred after the formation of PRASA.
  3. Hennenman
    
    Hennenman is a town in the Free State goldfields in the Lejweleputswa District Municipality of the Free State province of South Africa. The settlement is unusual for the district as being supported by agriculture rather than the mining industry which is common in other towns.
  4. Kroonstad
    
    Kroonstad is the third largest city in the Free State and lies two hours' drive on the N1 from Gauteng. Maokeng is an area within Kroonstad, and is occasionally used as a synonym of the town itself. It is the second-largest commercial and urban centre in the Northern Free State, and an important railway junction on the main line from Cape Town to Johannesburg. Maokeng is Sesotho and means "place of the thorn trees ".
2013
1. A gunman kills eight people in a house-to-house rampage in Kawit, Cavite, Philippines.
  1. Kawit shooting
    
    The Kawit shooting was a mass murder that occurred in barangay Tabon 1 in Kawit, Philippines, on January 4, 2013. 41-year-old Ronald Baquiran Bae killed at least seven people and a dog and wounded twelve other people with a semiautomatic pistol, before he was shot and killed by police. Another man, 27-year-old John Paul Lopez, who was said to have been employed by Bae as his house caretaker, was later arrested for assisting the gunman during the shooting by reloading his pistol magazine. The motive of the suspect is unclear, officials said.
  2. Kawit
    
    Kawit, officially the Municipality of Kawit, is a first-class municipality in the province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 107,535. It is one of the notable places that had a major role in the country's history during the 1800s and 1900s.
  3. Cavite
    
    Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite, is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Located on the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest of Manila, it is one of the most industrialized and fastest-growing provinces in the Philippines. As of 2020, it has a population of 4,344,829, making it the most populated province in the country if the independent cities of Cebu are excluded from Cebu's population figure.
2010
1. The Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest structure, officially opened in Dubai.
  1. Burj Khalifa
    
    The Burj Khalifa, known as the Burj Dubai prior to its inauguration in 2010, is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is known for being the world’s tallest building. With a total height of 829.8 m and a roof height of 828 m (2,717 ft), the Burj Khalifa has been the tallest structure and building in the world since its topping out in 2009, supplanting Taipei 101, the previous holder of that status.
  2. List of tallest structures
    
    The tallest structure in the world is the Burj Khalifa skyscraper at 829.8 m (2,722 ft). Listed are guyed masts, self-supporting towers, skyscrapers, oil platforms, electricity transmission towers, and bridge support towers. This list is organized by absolute height. See List of tallest buildings and structures, List of tallest freestanding structures and List of tallest buildings and List of tallest towers for additional information about these types of structures.
  3. Dubai
    
    Dubai is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai. Established in the 18th century as a small fishing village, the city grew rapidly in the early 21st century with a focus on tourism and luxury, having the second most five-star hotels in the world, and the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa, which is 828 metres (2,717 ft) tall.
2. The Burj Khalifa, the current tallest building in the world, officially opens in Dubai.
  1. Burj Khalifa
    
    The Burj Khalifa, known as the Burj Dubai prior to its inauguration in 2010, is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is known for being the world’s tallest building. With a total height of 829.8 m and a roof height of 828 m (2,717 ft), the Burj Khalifa has been the tallest structure and building in the world since its topping out in 2009, supplanting Taipei 101, the previous holder of that status.
  2. Dubai
    
    Dubai is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai. Established in the 18th century as a small fishing village, the city grew rapidly in the early 21st century with a focus on tourism and luxury, having the second most five-star hotels in the world, and the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa, which is 828 metres (2,717 ft) tall.
2008
1. A Let L-410 Turbolet crashes in the Los Roques Archipelago in Venezuela, killing 14 people.
  1. Let L-410 Turbolet
    
    The Let L-410 Turbolet is a twin-engine short-range transport aircraft, manufactured by the Czech aircraft manufacturer Let Kunovice, often used as an airliner. The aircraft is capable of landing on short and unpaved runways and operating under extreme conditions from −50 °C (−58 °F) to +50 °C (122 °F). By 2016, 1,200 L-410s had been built, and over 350 are in service in more than 50 countries.
  2. 2008 Los Roques archipelago Transaven Let L-410 crash
    
    On 4 January 2008, a scheduled domestic Transaven flight from Simón Bolívar International Airport to Los Roques Airport, 118 kilometres (64 nmi) north of the departure airport and over water, radioed that both engines had failed and that they were descending through 3,000 feet. The crew was going to attempt a ditching as close as possible to the Los Roques archipelago. Shortly thereafter, radio contact was lost and the plane disappeared from radar.
  3. Los Roques Archipelago
    
    The Los Roques Archipelago is a federal dependency of Venezuela consisting of approximately 350 islands, cays, and islets in a total area of 40.61 square kilometers. The archipelago is located 128 kilometers (80 mi) directly north of the port of La Guaira, in the Caribbean Sea.
  4. Venezuela
    
    Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It has a territorial extension of 916,445 km2 (353,841 sq mi), and its population was estimated at 29 million in 2022. The capital and largest urban agglomeration is the city of Caracas.
2007
1. Nancy Pelosi became Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, becoming the highest-ranking woman in the history of the U.S. government.
  1. Nancy Pelosi
    
    Nancy Patricia Pelosi is an American politician who has served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2019 and previously from 2007 to 2011. She has represented California's 12th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives since 1987. The district, numbered as the 5th district from 1987 to 1993 and the 8th from 1993 to 2013, includes most of the city of San Francisco. A member of the Democratic Party, Pelosi is the first woman elected Speaker and the first woman to lead a major political party in either chamber of Congress.
  2. Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
    
    The speaker of the United States House of Representatives, commonly known as the speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives. The office was established in 1789 by Article I, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution. The speaker is the political and parliamentary leader of the House and is simultaneously its presiding officer, de facto leader of the body's majority party, and the institution's administrative head. Speakers also perform various other administrative and procedural functions. Given these several roles and responsibilities, the speaker usually does not personally preside over debates. That duty is instead delegated to members of the House from the majority party. Nor does the speaker regularly participate in floor debates.
  3. 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.
2. The 110th United States Congress convenes, electing Nancy Pelosi as the first female Speaker of the House in U.S. history.
  1. 110th United States Congress
    
    The 110th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, between January 3, 2007, and January 3, 2009, during the last two years of the Presidency of George W. Bush. It was composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The apportionment of seats in the House was based on the 2000 U.S. Census.
  2. Nancy Pelosi
    
    Nancy Patricia Pelosi is an American politician who has served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2019 and previously from 2007 to 2011. She has represented California's 12th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives since 1987. The district, numbered as the 5th district from 1987 to 1993 and the 8th from 1993 to 2013, includes most of the city of San Francisco. A member of the Democratic Party, Pelosi is the first woman elected Speaker and the first woman to lead a major political party in either chamber of Congress.
  3. Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
    
    The speaker of the United States House of Representatives, commonly known as the speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives. The office was established in 1789 by Article I, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution. The speaker is the political and parliamentary leader of the House and is simultaneously its presiding officer, de facto leader of the body's majority party, and the institution's administrative head. Speakers also perform various other administrative and procedural functions. Given these several roles and responsibilities, the speaker usually does not personally preside over debates. That duty is instead delegated to members of the House from the majority party. Nor does the speaker regularly participate in floor debates.
2006
1. Ehud Olmert becomes acting Prime Minister of Israel after the incumbent, Ariel Sharon, suffers a second, apparently more serious stroke.
  1. Ehud Olmert
    
    Ehud Olmert is an Israeli politician and lawyer. He served as the 12th Prime Minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009 and before that as a cabinet minister from 1988 to 1992 and from 2003 to 2006. Between his first and second stints as a cabinet member, he served as mayor of Jerusalem from 1993 to 2003. After serving as PM, he was sentenced to serve a prison term over convictions for accepting bribes and for obstruction of justice during his terms as mayor of Jerusalem and as trade minister.
  2. Prime Minister of Israel
    
    The prime minister of Israel is the head of government and chief executive of the State of Israel.
  3. Ariel Sharon
    
    Ariel Sharon was an Israeli general and politician who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006.
2004
1. Spirit, the first of two rovers of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover mission, successfully landed on Mars.
  1. Spirit (rover)
    
    Spirit, also known as MER-A or MER-2, is a Mars robotic rover, active from 2004 to 2010. Spirit was operational on Mars for 2208 sols or 3.3 Martian years. It was one of two rovers of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Mission managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Spirit landed successfully within the impact crater Gusev on Mars at 04:35 Ground UTC on January 4, 2004, three weeks before its twin, Opportunity (MER-B), which landed on the other side of the planet. Its name was chosen through a NASA-sponsored student essay competition. The rover got stuck in a "sand trap" in late 2009 at an angle that hampered recharging of its batteries; its last communication with Earth was on March 22, 2010.
  2. Rover (space exploration)
    
    A rover is a planetary surface exploration device designed to move across the solid surface on a planet or other planetary mass celestial bodies. Some rovers have been designed as land vehicles to transport members of a human spaceflight crew; others have been partially or fully autonomous robots. Rovers are typically created to land on another planet via a lander-style spacecraft, tasked to collect information about the terrain, and to take crust samples such as dust, soil, rocks, and even liquids. They are essential tools in space exploration.
  3. NASA
    
    The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
  4. Mars Exploration Rover
    
    NASA's Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission was a robotic space mission involving two Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, exploring the planet Mars. It began in 2003 with the launch of the two rovers to explore the Martian surface and geology; both landed on Mars at separate locations in January 2004. Both rovers far outlived their planned missions of 90 Martian solar days: MER-A Spirit was active until March 22, 2010, while MER-B Opportunity was active until June 10, 2018.
2. Spirit, a NASA Mars rover, lands successfully on Mars at 04:35 UTC.
  1. Spirit (rover)
    
    Spirit, also known as MER-A or MER-2, is a Mars robotic rover, active from 2004 to 2010. Spirit was operational on Mars for 2208 sols or 3.3 Martian years. It was one of two rovers of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Mission managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Spirit landed successfully within the impact crater Gusev on Mars at 04:35 Ground UTC on January 4, 2004, three weeks before its twin, Opportunity (MER-B), which landed on the other side of the planet. Its name was chosen through a NASA-sponsored student essay competition. The rover got stuck in a "sand trap" in late 2009 at an angle that hampered recharging of its batteries; its last communication with Earth was on March 22, 2010.
  2. NASA
    
    The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
  3. Mars rover
    
    A Mars rover is a motor vehicle designed to travel on the surface of Mars. Rovers have several advantages over stationary landers: they examine more territory, they can be directed to interesting features, they can place themselves in sunny positions to weather winter months, and they can advance the knowledge of how to perform very remote robotic vehicle control. They serve a different purpose than orbital spacecraft like Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. A more recent development is the Mars helicopter.
  4. Mars
    
    Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, being larger than only Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmosphere, and has a crust primarily composed of elements similar to Earth's crust, as well as a core made of iron and nickel. Mars has surface features such as impact craters, valleys, dunes, and polar ice caps. It has two small and irregularly shaped moons: Phobos and Deimos.
  5. Coordinated Universal Time
    
    Coordinated Universal Time or UTC is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is within about one second of mean solar time at 0° longitude and is not adjusted for daylight saving time. It is effectively a successor to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
3. Mikheil Saakashvili is elected President of Georgia following the November 2003 Rose Revolution.
  1. Mikheil Saakashvili
    
    Mikheil Saakashvili is a Georgian and Ukrainian politician and jurist. He was the third president of Georgia for two consecutive terms from 25 January 2004 to 17 November 2013. From May 2015 until November 2016, Saakashvili was the governor of Ukraine's Odesa Oblast. He is the founder and former chairman of the United National Movement party. Saakashvili heads the executive committee of Ukraine's National Reform Council since 7 May 2020.
  2. 2004 Georgian presidential election
    
    Presidential elections were held in Georgia on January 4, 2004. The election followed the resignation of former President Eduard Shevardnadze. As expected, the main opposition leader, Mikhail Saakashvili, was soon shown by exit polls to be heading for an overwhelming victory. According to preliminary results issued on January 6 by the Central Election Commission, Saakashvili won over 97% of the votes cast.
  3. President of Georgia
    
    The president of Georgia is the ceremonial head of state of Georgia as well as the commander-in-chief of the Defense Forces. The constitution defines the presidential office as "the guarantor of the country’s unity and national independence."
  4. Rose Revolution
    
    The Rose Revolution or Revolution of Roses was a nonviolent change of power that occurred in Georgia in November 2003. The event was brought about by widespread protests over the disputed parliamentary elections and culminated in the resignation of President Eduard Shevardnadze, which marked the end of the Soviet era leadership in the country. The revolution derives its name from the climactic moment, when demonstrators led by Mikheil Saakashvili stormed the Parliament session with red roses in hand.
2000
1. A Norwegian passenger train departing from Trondheim, collides with a local train coming from Hamar in Åsta, Åmot; 19 people are killed and 68 injured in the accident.
  1. Trondheim
    
    Trondheim, historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and was the fourth largest urban area. Trondheim lies on the south shore of Trondheim Fjord at the mouth of the River Nidelva. Among the major technology-oriented institutions headquartered in Trondheim are the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), the Foundation for Scientific and Industrial Research (SINTEF), and St. Olavs University Hospital.
  2. Åsta accident
    
    The Åsta accident was a railway accident that occurred at 13:12:25 on 4 January 2000 at Åsta in Åmot, south of Rena in Østerdalen, Norway. A train from Trondheim collided with a local train from Hamar on the Røros Line, resulting in an explosive fire. 19 people were killed, while 67 survived the accident.
  3. Hamar
    
    Hamar [ˈhɑ̂ːmɑr] (listen) is a town in Hamar Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. Hamar is the administrative centre of Hamar Municipality. It is located in the traditional region of Hedmarken. The town is located on the shores of Mjøsa, Norway's largest lake. Historically, it was the principal city of the former Hedmark county which is now part of the larger Innlandet county.
  4. Åsta
    
    Åsta is a village in Åmot Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located about 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) south of the village of Rena, the municipal centre. The village of Åsta lies at the confluence of the rivers Åsta and Glomma. The Norwegian National Road 3 runs through the village. The Rørosbanen railway line also passes through the village, stopping at Åsta Station.
  5. Åmot
    
    Åmot is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Rena. Other villages in the municipality include Åsta, Osneset, and Snippen.
1999
1. Former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura is sworn in as governor of Minnesota, United States.
  1. Jesse Ventura
    
    Jesse Ventura is an American politician, actor, and retired professional wrestler. After achieving fame in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), he served as the 38th governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003. He was elected governor with the Reform Party and is the party's only candidate to win a major government office.
  2. Minnesota
    
    Minnesota is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to intensive agriculture; deciduous forests in the southeast, now partially cleared, farmed, and settled; and the less populated North Woods, used for mining, forestry, and recreation. Roughly a third of the state is covered in forests, and it is known as the "Land of 10,000 Lakes" for having over 14,000 bodies of fresh water of at least ten acres. More than 60% of Minnesotans live in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, known as the "Twin Cities", the state's main political, economic, and cultural hub. With a population of about 3.7 million, the Twin Cities is the 16th largest metropolitan area in the U.S. Other minor metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas in the state include Duluth, Mankato, Moorhead, Rochester, and St. Cloud.
1998
1. A massive ice storm hits eastern Canada and the northeastern United States, continuing through January 10 and causing widespread destruction.
  1. January 1998 North American ice storm
    
    The North American Ice Storm of 1998 was a massive combination of five smaller successive ice storms in January 1998 that struck a relatively narrow swath of land from eastern Ontario to southern Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in Canada, and bordering areas from northern New York to central Maine in the United States. It caused massive damage to trees and electrical infrastructure throughout the area, leading to widespread long-term power outages. Millions were left in the dark for periods varying from days to several weeks, and in some instances, months. It led to 34 fatalities, a shutdown of activities in large cities like Montreal and Ottawa, and an unprecedented effort in reconstruction of the power grid. The ice storm led to the largest deployment of Canadian military personnel since the Korean War, with over 16,000 Canadian Forces personnel deployed, 12,000 in Quebec and 4,000 in Ontario at the height of the crisis.
1990
1. In Pakistan's deadliest train accident an overloaded passenger train collides with an empty freight train, resulting in 307 deaths and 700 injuries.
  1. Sukkur rail disaster
    
    The Sukkur rail disaster occurred on 4 January 1990 in the village of Sangi near Sukkur in the Sindh Province of Pakistan. 307 people were killed, making it Pakistan's worst rail disaster.
1989
1. Two American F-14 Tomcats shot down two Libyan MiG-23 Floggers that appeared to be attempting to engage them over the Gulf of Sirte in the Mediterranean Sea.
  1. Grumman F-14 Tomcat
    
    The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is an American carrier-capable supersonic, twin-engine, two-seat, twin-tail, variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for the United States Navy's Naval Fighter Experimental (VFX) program after the collapse of the General Dynamics-Grumman F-111B project. The F-14 was the first of the American Teen Series fighters, which were designed incorporating air combat experience against MiG fighters during the Vietnam War.
  2. 1989 air battle near Tobruk
    
    On 4 January 1989, two Grumman F-14 Tomcats of the United States Navy shot down two Libyan-operated Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 Floggers which the American aircrews believed were attempting to engage and attack them, as had happened eight years prior during the 1981 Gulf of Sidra incident. The engagement took place over the Mediterranean Sea, about 40 miles (64 km) north of Tobruk, Libya.
  3. Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23
    
    The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 is a variable-geometry fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau in the Soviet Union. It is a third-generation jet fighter, alongside similar Soviet aircraft such as the Su-17 "Fitter". It was the first Soviet fighter to field a look-down/shoot-down radar, the RP-23 Sapfir, and one of the first to be armed with beyond-visual-range missiles. Production started in 1969 and reached large numbers with over 5,000 aircraft built, making it the most produced variable-sweep wing aircraft in history. Today the MiG-23 remains in limited service with some export customers.
  4. Gulf of Sidra
    
    The Gulf of Sidra (Arabic: خليج السدرة, romanized: Khalij as-Sidra, also known as the Gulf of Sirte (Arabic: خليج سرت, romanized: Khalij Surt, is a body of water in the Mediterranean Sea on the northern coast of Libya, named after the oil port of Sidra or the city of Sirte. It was also historically known as the Great Sirte or Greater Syrtis.
  5. Mediterranean Sea
    
    The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant. The Sea has played a central role in the history of Western civilization. Although the Mediterranean is sometimes considered a part of the Atlantic Ocean, it is usually referred to as a separate body of water. Geological evidence indicates that around 5.9 million years ago, the Mediterranean was cut off from the Atlantic and was partly or completely desiccated over a period of some 600,000 years during the Messinian salinity crisis before being refilled by the Zanclean flood about 5.3 million years ago.
2. Second Gulf of Sidra incident: A pair of Libyan MiG-23 "Floggers" are shot down by a pair of US Navy F-14 Tomcats during an air-to-air confrontation.
  1. 1989 air battle near Tobruk
    
    On 4 January 1989, two Grumman F-14 Tomcats of the United States Navy shot down two Libyan-operated Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 Floggers which the American aircrews believed were attempting to engage and attack them, as had happened eight years prior during the 1981 Gulf of Sidra incident. The engagement took place over the Mediterranean Sea, about 40 miles (64 km) north of Tobruk, Libya.
  2. Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23
    
    The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 is a variable-geometry fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau in the Soviet Union. It is a third-generation jet fighter, alongside similar Soviet aircraft such as the Su-17 "Fitter". It was the first Soviet fighter to field a look-down/shoot-down radar, the RP-23 Sapfir, and one of the first to be armed with beyond-visual-range missiles. Production started in 1969 and reached large numbers with over 5,000 aircraft built, making it the most produced variable-sweep wing aircraft in history. Today the MiG-23 remains in limited service with some export customers.
  3. Grumman F-14 Tomcat
    
    The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is an American carrier-capable supersonic, twin-engine, two-seat, twin-tail, variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for the United States Navy's Naval Fighter Experimental (VFX) program after the collapse of the General Dynamics-Grumman F-111B project. The F-14 was the first of the American Teen Series fighters, which were designed incorporating air combat experience against MiG fighters during the Vietnam War.
1987
1. The Maryland train collision: An Amtrak train en route to Boston from Washington, D.C., collides with Conrail engines in Chase, Maryland, United States, killing 16 people.
  1. 1987 Maryland train collision
    
    The 1987 Maryland train collision occurred at 1:30 pm on January 4, 1987, on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor main line. The site of the crash was in the Chase community in eastern Baltimore County, Maryland, United States, at Gunpow Interlocking, about 18 miles (29 km) northeast of Baltimore. Amtrak train 94, the Colonial, traveling north from Washington, D.C., to Boston, crashed into a set of Conrail locomotives running light, and which had fouled (entered) the mainline. Train 94's speed at the time of the collision was estimated at 108 miles per hour (174 km/h). Fourteen passengers on the Amtrak train were killed, as well as the Amtrak engineer and lounge car attendant.
  2. Amtrak
    
    The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak, is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. Amtrak is a portmanteau of the words America and trak, the latter itself a sensational spelling of track.
  3. Boston
    
    Boston, officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th-most populous city in the country. The city boundaries encompass an area of about 48.4 sq mi (125 km2) and a population of 675,647 as of 2020. It is the seat of Suffolk County. The city is the economic and cultural anchor of a substantially larger metropolitan area known as Greater Boston, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) home to a census-estimated 4.8 million people in 2016 and ranking as the tenth-largest MSA in the country. A broader combined statistical area (CSA), generally corresponding to the commuting area and including Providence, Rhode Island, is home to approximately 8.2 million people, making it the sixth most populous in the United States.
  4. Conrail
    
    Conrail, formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do business as an asset management and network services provider in three Shared Assets Areas that were excluded from the division of its operations during its acquisition by CSX Corporation and the Norfolk Southern Railway.
  5. Chase, Maryland
    
    Chase is an unincorporated community in eastern Baltimore County, Maryland, United States.
1977
1. The English punk-rock band Sex Pistols lewd and disruptive behaviour at Heathrow Airport prompts the record label EMI to end their contract with them
  1. Punk rock
    
    Punk rock is a music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced short, fast-paced songs with hard-edged melodies and singing styles, stripped-down instrumentation, and often shouted political, anti-establishment lyrics. Punk embraces a DIY ethic; many bands self-produce recordings and distribute them through independent record labels.
  2. Sex Pistols
    
    The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians. Their fashion and hairstyles were a significant influence on punk image, and they are often associated with anarchism within music.
  3. Heathrow Airport
    
    Heathrow Airport, called London Airport until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow, is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports serving Greater London. The airport facility is owned and operated by Heathrow Airport Holdings. In 2021, it was the seventh-busiest airport in the world by international passenger traffic and eighth-busiest in Europe by total passenger traffic.
  4. EMI
    
    EMI Group Limited was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 2012, it was the fourth largest business group and record label conglomerate in the music industry, and was one of the "Big Four" record companies. Its labels included EMI Records, Parlophone, Virgin Records, and Capitol Records, which are now owned by other companies.
1976
1. The Troubles: The Ulster Volunteer Force shoots dead six Irish Catholic civilians in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The next day, gunmen would shoot dead ten Protestant civilians nearby in retaliation.
  1. The Troubles
    
    The Troubles were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "irregular war" or "low-level war". The conflict began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed to have ended with the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. Although the Troubles mostly took place in Northern Ireland, at times violence spilled over into parts of the Republic of Ireland, England and mainland Europe.
  2. Ulster Volunteer Force
    
    The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group. Formed in 1965, it first emerged in 1966. Its first leader was Gusty Spence, a former British Army soldier from Northern Ireland. The group undertook an armed campaign of almost thirty years during The Troubles. It declared a ceasefire in 1994 and officially ended its campaign in 2007, although some of its members have continued to engage in violence and criminal activities. The group is a proscribed organisation and is on the terrorist organisation list of the United Kingdom.
  3. Reavey and O'Dowd killings
    
    The Reavey and O'Dowd killings were two co-ordinated gun attacks on 4 January 1976 in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. Six Catholic civilians died after members of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group, broke into their homes and shot them. Three members of the Reavey family were shot at their home in Whitecross and four members of the O'Dowd family were shot at their home in Ballydougan. Two of the Reaveys and three of the O'Dowds were killed outright, with the third Reavey victim dying of brain hemorrhage almost a month later.
  4. County Armagh
    
    County Armagh is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 1,327 km2 (512 sq mi) and has a population of about 175,000. County Armagh is known as the "Orchard County" because of its many apple orchards. The county is part of the historic province of Ulster.
  5. Kingsmill massacre
    
    The Kingsmill massacre was a mass shooting that took place on 5 January 1976 near the village of Whitecross in south County Armagh, Northern Ireland. Gunmen stopped a minibus carrying eleven Protestant workmen, lined them up alongside it and shot them. Only one victim survived, despite having been shot 18 times. A Catholic man on the minibus was allowed to go free. A group calling itself the South Armagh Republican Action Force claimed responsibility. It said the shooting was retaliation for a string of attacks on Catholic civilians in the area by Loyalists, particularly the killing of six Catholics the night before. The Kingsmill massacre was the climax of a string of tit-for-tat killings in the area during the mid-1970s, and was one of the deadliest mass shootings of the Troubles.
1975
1. This date overflowed the 12-bit field that had been used in TOPS-10. There were numerous problems and crashes related to this bug while an alternative format was developed.
  1. TOPS-10
    
    TOPS-10 System is a discontinued operating system from Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) for the PDP-10 mainframe computer family. Launched in 1967, TOPS-10 evolved from the earlier "Monitor" software for the PDP-6 and PDP-10 computers; this was renamed to TOPS-10 in 1970.
1973
1. Last of the Summer Wine, the longest-running sitcom in the world, premiered as an episode of the BBC's Comedy Playhouse.
  1. Last of the Summer Wine
    
    Last of the Summer Wine is a British sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke and originally broadcast by the BBC from 1973 to 2010. It premiered as an episode of Comedy Playhouse on 4 January 1973, and the first series of episodes followed on 12 November 1973. From 1983 to 2010, Alan J. W. Bell produced and directed all episodes of the show. The BBC confirmed on 2 June 2010 that Last of the Summer Wine would no longer be produced and the 31st series would be its last. Subsequently, the final episode was broadcast on 29 August 2010. Since its original release, all 295 episodes, comprising thirty-one series—including the pilot and all films and specials—have been released on DVD. Repeats of the show are broadcast in the UK on BBC One, Gold, Yesterday, and Drama. It is also seen in more than 25 countries, including various PBS stations in the United States and on VisionTV in Canada. Last of the Summer Wine is the longest-running comedy programme in Britain and the longest-running sitcom in the world.
  2. Sitcom
    
    A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use new characters in each sketch, and stand-up comedy, where a comedian tells jokes and stories to an audience. Sitcoms originated in radio, but today are found mostly on television as one of its dominant narrative forms.
  3. BBC
    
    The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is the national broadcaster of the United Kingdom, based at Broadcasting House in London, England. It is the world's oldest national broadcaster, and the largest broadcaster in the world by number of employees, employing over 22,000 staff in total, of whom approximately 19,000 are in public-sector broadcasting.
  4. Comedy Playhouse
    
    Comedy Playhouse is a long-running British anthology series of one-off unrelated sitcoms that aired for 120 episodes from 1961 to 1975. Many episodes later graduated to their own series, including Steptoe and Son, Meet the Wife, Till Death Us Do Part, All Gas and Gaiters, Up Pompeii!, Not in Front of the Children, Me Mammy, That's Your Funeral, The Liver Birds, Are You Being Served? and particularly Last of the Summer Wine, which is the world's longest running sitcom, having run from January 1973 to August 2010.
1972
1. Rose Heilbron (pictured) became the first female judge to sit at the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales.
  1. Rose Heilbron
    
    Dame Rose Heilbron DBE, QC was a British barrister who served as a High Court judge. Her career included many "firsts" for a woman – she was the first woman to achieve a first class honours degree in law at the University of Liverpool, the first woman to win a scholarship to Gray's Inn, one of the first two women to be appointed King's Counsel in England, the first woman to lead in a murder case, the first woman recorder, the first woman judge to sit at the Old Bailey, and the first woman treasurer of Gray's Inn. She was also the second woman to be appointed a High Court judge, after Elizabeth Lane.
  2. Old Bailey
    
    The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The street outside follows the route of the ancient wall around the City of London, which was part of the fortification's bailey, hence the metonymic name.
2. Rose Heilbron becomes the first female judge to sit at the Old Bailey in London, UK.
  1. Rose Heilbron
    
    Dame Rose Heilbron DBE, QC was a British barrister who served as a High Court judge. Her career included many "firsts" for a woman – she was the first woman to achieve a first class honours degree in law at the University of Liverpool, the first woman to win a scholarship to Gray's Inn, one of the first two women to be appointed King's Counsel in England, the first woman to lead in a murder case, the first woman recorder, the first woman judge to sit at the Old Bailey, and the first woman treasurer of Gray's Inn. She was also the second woman to be appointed a High Court judge, after Elizabeth Lane.
  2. Old Bailey
    
    The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The street outside follows the route of the ancient wall around the City of London, which was part of the fortification's bailey, hence the metonymic name.
1959
1. Luna 1 becomes the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon.
  1. Luna 1
    
    Luna 1, also known as Mechta, E-1 No.4 and First Lunar Rover, was the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of Earth's Moon, and the first spacecraft to be placed in heliocentric orbit. Intended as an impactor, Luna 1 was launched as part of the Soviet Luna programme in 1959.
  2. Spacecraft
    
    A spacecraft is a vehicle or machine designed to fly in outer space. A type of artificial satellite, spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, Earth observation, meteorology, navigation, space colonization, planetary exploration, and transportation of humans and cargo. All spacecraft except single-stage-to-orbit vehicles cannot get into space on their own, and require a launch vehicle.
  3. Moon
    
    The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth. The Moon is a planetary-mass object with a differentiated rocky body, making it a satellite planet under the geophysical definitions of the term and larger than all known dwarf planets of the Solar System. It lacks any significant atmosphere, hydrosphere, or magnetic field. Its surface gravity is about one-sixth of Earth's at 0.1654 g, with Jupiter's moon Io being the only satellite in the Solar System known to have a higher surface gravity and density.
1958
1. Sputnik 1, the first artificial Earth satellite, launched by the Soviet Union in 1957, falls to Earth from orbit.
  1. Sputnik 1
    
    Sputnik 1 was the first artificial Earth satellite. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957 as part of the Soviet space program. It sent a radio signal back to Earth for three weeks before its three silver-zinc batteries ran out, and continued in orbit for two months until aerodynamic drag caused it to fall back into the atmosphere on 4 January 1958.
  2. Earth
    
    Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surface is made up of the ocean, dwarfing Earth's polar ice, lakes, and rivers. The remaining 29% of Earth's surface is land, consisting of continents and islands. Earth's surface layer is formed of several slowly moving tectonic plates, interacting to produce mountain ranges, volcanoes, and earthquakes. Earth's liquid outer core generates the magnetic field that shapes the magnetosphere of the Earth, deflecting destructive solar winds.
1956
1. The Greek National Radical Union is formed by Konstantinos Karamanlis.
  1. National Radical Union
    
    The National Radical Union was a Greek political party formed in 1956 by Konstantinos Karamanlis, mostly out of the Greek Rally party.
  2. Konstantinos Karamanlis
    
    Konstantinos G. Karamanlis, commonly anglicised to Constantine Karamanlis or just Caramanlis, was a four-time prime minister and twice as the president of the Third Hellenic Republic, and a towering figure of Greek politics, whose political career spanned much of the latter half of the 20th century.
1951
1. Korean War: Chinese and North Korean troops captured Seoul from United Nations forces.
  1. Korean War
    
    The Korean War was fought between North Korea and South Korea from 1950 to 1953. The war began on 25 June 1950 when North Korea invaded South Korea following clashes along the border and rebellions in South Korea. North Korea was supported by China and the Soviet Union while South Korea was supported by the United States and allied countries. The fighting ended with an armistice on 27 July 1953.
  2. Third Battle of Seoul
    
    The Third Battle of Seoul, also known as the Chinese New Year's Offensive, the January–Fourth Retreat or the Third Phase Campaign Western Sector, was a battle of the Korean War, which took place from December 31, 1950, to January 7, 1951, around the South Korean capital of Seoul. In the aftermath of the major Chinese People's Volunteer Army (PVA) victory at the Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River, the United Nations Command (UN) started to contemplate the possibility of evacuation from the Korean Peninsula. Chinese Communist Party chairman Mao Zedong ordered the Chinese People's Volunteer Army to cross the 38th Parallel in an effort to pressure the UN forces to withdraw from South Korea.
  3. United Nations Command
    
    United Nations Command is the multinational military force established to support the Republic of Korea during and after the Korean War. It was the first international unified command in history, and the first attempt at collective security pursuant to the Charter of the United Nations.
2. Korean War: Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time.
  1. Korean War
    
    The Korean War was fought between North Korea and South Korea from 1950 to 1953. The war began on 25 June 1950 when North Korea invaded South Korea following clashes along the border and rebellions in South Korea. North Korea was supported by China and the Soviet Union while South Korea was supported by the United States and allied countries. The fighting ended with an armistice on 27 July 1953.
  2. North Korea
    
    North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and Tumen rivers, and South Korea to the south at the Korean Demilitarized Zone. North Korea's border with South Korea is a disputed border as both countries claim the entirety of the Korean Peninsula. The country's western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eastern border is defined by the Sea of Japan. North Korea, like its southern counterpart, claims to be the legitimate government of the entire peninsula and adjacent islands. Pyongyang is the capital and largest city.
  3. Third Battle of Seoul
    
    The Third Battle of Seoul, also known as the Chinese New Year's Offensive, the January–Fourth Retreat or the Third Phase Campaign Western Sector, was a battle of the Korean War, which took place from December 31, 1950, to January 7, 1951, around the South Korean capital of Seoul. In the aftermath of the major Chinese People's Volunteer Army (PVA) victory at the Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River, the United Nations Command (UN) started to contemplate the possibility of evacuation from the Korean Peninsula. Chinese Communist Party chairman Mao Zedong ordered the Chinese People's Volunteer Army to cross the 38th Parallel in an effort to pressure the UN forces to withdraw from South Korea.
1948
1. Burma achieved independence from the British Empire, with Sao Shwe Thaik as its first president.
  1. British Empire
    
    The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts established by England between the late 16th and early 18th centuries. At its height it was the largest empire in history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power. By 1913, the British Empire held sway over 412 million people, 23 per cent of the world population at the time, and by 1920, it covered 35.5 million km2 (13.7 million sq mi), 24 per cent of the Earth's total land area. As a result, its constitutional, legal, linguistic, and cultural legacy is widespread. At the peak of its power, it was described as "the empire on which the sun never sets", as the Sun was always shining on at least one of its territories.
  2. Sao Shwe Thaik
    
    Sao Shwe Thaik was a Burmese politician who served as the first president of the Union of Burma and the last Saopha of Yawnghwe. His full royal title was Kambawsarahta Thiri Pawaramahawuntha Thudamaraza. He was a well-respected Shan political figure in Burma. His residence in Nyaung Shwe (Yawnghwe), the Haw, is now the "Buddha Museum" and is open to the public.
2. Burma gains its independence from the United Kingdom, becoming an independent republic.
  1. Myanmar
    
    Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, also known as Burma, is a country in Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia, and has a population of about 54 million as of 2017. Myanmar is bordered by Bangladesh and India to its northwest, China to its northeast, Laos and Thailand to its east and southeast, and the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal to its south and southwest. The country's capital city is Naypyidaw, and its largest city is Yangon (Rangoon).
1944
1. World War II: Operation Carpetbagger, involving the dropping of arms and supplies to resistance fighters in Europe, begins.
  1. World War II
    
    World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries.
  2. Operation Carpetbagger
    
    Operation Carpetbagger was a World War II operation to provide aerial supply of weapons and other matériel to resistance fighters in France, Italy and the Low Countries by the U.S. Army Air Forces that began on 4 January 1944.
1936
1. Billboard magazine published its first music hit parade.
  1. Billboard (magazine)
    
    Billboard is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music industry. Its music charts include the Hot 100, the 200, and the Global 200, tracking the most popular albums and songs in different genres of music. It also hosts events, owns a publishing firm, and operates several TV shows.
  2. Billboard charts
    
    The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in Billboard magazine. Billboard biz, the online extension of the Billboard charts, provides additional weekly charts, as well as year-end charts. The two most important charts are the Billboard Hot 100 for songs and Billboard 200 for albums, and other charts may be dedicated to a specific genre such as R&B, country, or rock, or they may cover all genres. The charts can be ranked according to sales, streams, or airplay, and for main song charts such as the Hot 100 song chart, all three data are used to compile the charts. For the Billboard 200 album chart, streams and track sales are included in addition to album sales.
1918
1. The Finnish Declaration of Independence is recognized by Russia, Sweden, Germany and France.
  1. Finnish Declaration of Independence
    
    The Finnish Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Parliament of Finland on 6 December 1917. It declared Finland an independent nation, ending its autonomy within Russia as the Grand Principality of Finland, with reference to a bill simultaneously delivered to the Parliament to make Finland an independent republic instead.
1912
1. The Boy Scouts Association was incorporated throughout the British Empire by royal charter.
  1. The Scout Association
    
    The Scout Association is the largest Scouting organisation in the United Kingdom and is the World Organization of the Scout Movement's recognised member for the United Kingdom. Following the origin of Scouting in 1907, the association was formed in 1910 and incorporated in 1912 by a royal charter under its previous name of The Boy Scouts Association.
  2. British Empire
    
    The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts established by England between the late 16th and early 18th centuries. At its height it was the largest empire in history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power. By 1913, the British Empire held sway over 412 million people, 23 per cent of the world population at the time, and by 1920, it covered 35.5 million km2 (13.7 million sq mi), 24 per cent of the Earth's total land area. As a result, its constitutional, legal, linguistic, and cultural legacy is widespread. At the peak of its power, it was described as "the empire on which the sun never sets", as the Sun was always shining on at least one of its territories.
  3. Royal charter
    
    A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta of 1215, but since the 14th century have only been used in place of private acts to grant a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organisations such as boroughs, universities and learned societies.
2. The Scout Association is incorporated throughout the British Empire by royal charter.
  1. The Scout Association
    
    The Scout Association is the largest Scouting organisation in the United Kingdom and is the World Organization of the Scout Movement's recognised member for the United Kingdom. Following the origin of Scouting in 1907, the association was formed in 1910 and incorporated in 1912 by a royal charter under its previous name of The Boy Scouts Association.
  2. British Empire
    
    The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts established by England between the late 16th and early 18th centuries. At its height it was the largest empire in history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power. By 1913, the British Empire held sway over 412 million people, 23 per cent of the world population at the time, and by 1920, it covered 35.5 million km2 (13.7 million sq mi), 24 per cent of the Earth's total land area. As a result, its constitutional, legal, linguistic, and cultural legacy is widespread. At the peak of its power, it was described as "the empire on which the sun never sets", as the Sun was always shining on at least one of its territories.
  3. Royal charter
    
    A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta of 1215, but since the 14th century have only been used in place of private acts to grant a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organisations such as boroughs, universities and learned societies.
1909
1. Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escaped death by fleeing across ice floes.
  1. Aeneas Mackintosh
    
    Aeneas Lionel Acton Mackintosh was a British Merchant Navy officer and Antarctic explorer, who commanded the Ross Sea party as part of Sir Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, 1914–1917. The Ross Sea party's mission was to support Shackleton's proposed transcontinental march by laying supply depots along the latter stages of the march's intended route. In the face of persistent setbacks and practical difficulties, Mackintosh's party fulfilled its task, although he and two others died in the course of their duties. Mackintosh's first Antarctic experience was as second officer on Shackleton's Nimrod expedition, 1907–1909. Shortly after his arrival in the Antarctic, a shipboard accident destroyed his right eye, and he was sent back to New Zealand. He returned in 1909 to participate in the later stages of the expedition; his will and determination in adversity impressed Shackleton, and led to his Ross Sea party appointment in 1914.
  2. Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition
    
    The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–1917 is considered to be the last major expedition of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Conceived by Sir Ernest Shackleton, the expedition was an attempt to make the first land crossing of the Antarctic continent. After Roald Amundsen's South Pole expedition in 1911, this crossing remained, in Shackleton's words, the "one great main object of Antarctic journeyings". Shackleton's expedition failed to accomplish this objective, but became recognized instead as an epic feat of endurance.
  3. Drift ice
    
    Drift ice, also called brash ice, is sea ice that is not attached to the shoreline or any other fixed object. Unlike fast ice, which is "fastened" to a fixed object, drift ice is carried along by winds and sea currents, hence its name. When drift ice is driven together into a large single mass, it is called pack ice. Wind and currents can pile up that ice to form ridges up to tens of metres in thickness. These represent a challenge for icebreakers and offshore structures operating in cold oceans and seas.
2. Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escaped death by fleeing across ice floes.
  1. Aeneas Mackintosh
    
    Aeneas Lionel Acton Mackintosh was a British Merchant Navy officer and Antarctic explorer, who commanded the Ross Sea party as part of Sir Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, 1914–1917. The Ross Sea party's mission was to support Shackleton's proposed transcontinental march by laying supply depots along the latter stages of the march's intended route. In the face of persistent setbacks and practical difficulties, Mackintosh's party fulfilled its task, although he and two others died in the course of their duties. Mackintosh's first Antarctic experience was as second officer on Shackleton's Nimrod expedition, 1907–1909. Shortly after his arrival in the Antarctic, a shipboard accident destroyed his right eye, and he was sent back to New Zealand. He returned in 1909 to participate in the later stages of the expedition; his will and determination in adversity impressed Shackleton, and led to his Ross Sea party appointment in 1914.
  2. Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition
    
    The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–1917 is considered to be the last major expedition of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Conceived by Sir Ernest Shackleton, the expedition was an attempt to make the first land crossing of the Antarctic continent. After Roald Amundsen's South Pole expedition in 1911, this crossing remained, in Shackleton's words, the "one great main object of Antarctic journeyings". Shackleton's expedition failed to accomplish this objective, but became recognized instead as an epic feat of endurance.
  3. Drift ice
    
    Drift ice, also called brash ice, is sea ice that is not attached to the shoreline or any other fixed object. Unlike fast ice, which is "fastened" to a fixed object, drift ice is carried along by winds and sea currents, hence its name. When drift ice is driven together into a large single mass, it is called pack ice. Wind and currents can pile up that ice to form ridges up to tens of metres in thickness. These represent a challenge for icebreakers and offshore structures operating in cold oceans and seas.
1903
1. Topsy, an elephant, is electrocuted by the owners of Luna Park, Coney Island. The Edison film company records the film Electrocuting an Elephant of Topsy's death.
  1. Topsy (elephant)
    
    Topsy was a female Asian elephant who was electrocuted at Coney Island, New York, in January 1903. Born in Southeast Asia around 1875, Topsy was secretly brought into the United States soon thereafter and added to the herd of performing elephants at the Forepaugh Circus, who fraudulently advertised her as the first elephant born in America. During her 25 years at Forepaugh, Topsy gained a reputation as a "bad" elephant and, after killing a spectator in 1902, was sold to Coney Island's Sea Lion Park. Sea Lion was leased out at the end of the 1902 season and during the construction of the park that took its place, Luna Park, Topsy was used in publicity stunts and also involved in several well-publicized incidents, attributed to the actions of either her drunken handler or the park's new publicity-hungry owners, Frederic Thompson and Elmer "Skip" Dundy.
  2. Elephant
    
    Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae and the order Proboscidea. The order was formerly much more diverse during the Pleistocene, but most species became extinct during the Late Pleistocene epoch. Distinctive features of elephants include a long proboscis called a trunk, tusks, large ear flaps, pillar-like legs, and tough but sensitive skin. The trunk is used for breathing, bringing food and water to the mouth, and grasping objects. Tusks, which are derived from the incisor teeth, serve both as weapons and as tools for moving objects and digging. The large ear flaps assist in maintaining a constant body temperature as well as in communication. African elephants have larger ears and concave backs, whereas Asian elephants have smaller ears, and convex or level backs.
  3. Luna Park (Coney Island, 1903)
    
    Luna Park was an amusement park in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City. Luna Park was located on a site bounded by Surf Avenue to the south, West 8th Street to the east, Neptune Avenue to the north, and West 12th Street to the west. Luna Park opened in 1903 and operated until 1944.
  4. Edison Studios
    
    Edison Studios was an American film production organization, owned by companies controlled by inventor and entrepreneur, Thomas Edison. The studio made close to 1,200 films, as part of the Edison Manufacturing Company (1894–1911) and then Thomas A. Edison, Inc. (1911–1918), until the studio's closing in 1918. Of that number, 54 were feature length, and the remainder were shorts. All of the company's films have fallen into the public domain because they were released before 1925.
  5. Electrocuting an Elephant
    
    Electrocuting an Elephant is a 1903 American, short, black-and-white, silent documentary film of the killing of the elephant Topsy by electrocution at a Coney Island amusement park. It was produced by the Edison film company and is believed to have been shot by Edwin S. Porter or Jacob Blair Smith.
1896
1. Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state.
  1. Utah
    
    Utah is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its west by Nevada. Utah also touches a corner of New Mexico in the southeast. Of the fifty U.S. states, Utah is the 13th-largest by area; with a population over three million, it is the 30th-most-populous and 11th-least-densely populated. Urban development is mostly concentrated in two areas: the Wasatch Front in the north-central part of the state, which is home to roughly two-thirds of the population and includes the capital city, Salt Lake City; and Washington County in the southwest, with more than 180,000 residents. Most of the western half of Utah lies in the Great Basin.
  2. U.S. state
    
    In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sovereignty with the federal government. Due to this shared sovereignty, Americans are citizens both of the federal republic and of the state in which they reside. State citizenship and residency are flexible, and no government approval is required to move between states, except for persons restricted by certain types of court orders.
1885
1. Sino-French War: French troops under General Oscar de Négrier defeated a larger Qing Chinese force at the Battle of Núi Bop in northern Vietnam.
  1. Sino-French War
    
    The Sino-French War, also known as the Tonkin War and Tonquin War, was a limited conflict fought from August 1884 to April 1885. There was no declaration of war. The Chinese armies performed better than its other nineteenth-century wars and the war ended with French retreat on land and the momentum in China's favor. However lack of foreign support, French naval supremacy, and northern threats posed by Russia and Japan forced China to enter negotiations. China ceded its sphere of influence in Tonkin to France and recognized all the French treaties with Annam turning it into a French protectorate. The war strengthened the dominance of Empress Dowager Cixi over the Chinese government, but brought down the government of Prime Minister Jules Ferry in Paris. Both sides ratified the Treaty of Tientsin. According to Lloyd Eastman, "neither nation reaped diplomatic gains."
  2. Oscar de Négrier
    
    François Oscar de Négrier was a French general of the Third Republic, winning fame in Algeria in the Sud-Oranais campaign (1881) and in Tonkin during the Sino-French War.
  3. Qing dynasty
    
    The Qing dynasty, officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaking ethnic group who unified other Jurchen tribes to form a new "Manchu" ethnic identity. The dynasty was officially proclaimed in 1636 in Manchuria. It seized control of Beijing in 1644, then later expanded its rule over the whole of China proper and Taiwan, and finally expanded into Inner Asia. The dynasty lasted until 1912 when it was overthrown in the Xinhai Revolution. In orthodox Chinese historiography, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the Ming dynasty and succeeded by the Republic of China. The multiethnic Qing empire lasted for almost three centuries and assembled the territorial base for modern China. It was the largest imperial dynasty in the history of China and in 1790 the fourth-largest empire in world history in terms of territorial size. With 419,264,000 citizens in 1907, it was the world's most populous country at the time.
  4. Battle of Núi Bop
    
    The Battle of Núi Bop was a French victory during the Sino-French War. The battle was fought to clear Chinese forces away from the French forward base at Chu, and was an essential preliminary to the Lạng Sơn Campaign in February 1885.
2. Sino-French War: French troops under General Oscar de Négrier defeat a numerically superior Qing force at Núi Bop in northern Vietnam.
  1. Sino-French War
    
    The Sino-French War, also known as the Tonkin War and Tonquin War, was a limited conflict fought from August 1884 to April 1885. There was no declaration of war. The Chinese armies performed better than its other nineteenth-century wars and the war ended with French retreat on land and the momentum in China's favor. However lack of foreign support, French naval supremacy, and northern threats posed by Russia and Japan forced China to enter negotiations. China ceded its sphere of influence in Tonkin to France and recognized all the French treaties with Annam turning it into a French protectorate. The war strengthened the dominance of Empress Dowager Cixi over the Chinese government, but brought down the government of Prime Minister Jules Ferry in Paris. Both sides ratified the Treaty of Tientsin. According to Lloyd Eastman, "neither nation reaped diplomatic gains."
  2. Oscar de Négrier
    
    François Oscar de Négrier was a French general of the Third Republic, winning fame in Algeria in the Sud-Oranais campaign (1881) and in Tonkin during the Sino-French War.
  3. Battle of Núi Bop
    
    The Battle of Núi Bop was a French victory during the Sino-French War. The battle was fought to clear Chinese forces away from the French forward base at Chu, and was an essential preliminary to the Lạng Sơn Campaign in February 1885.
  4. Qing dynasty
    
    The Qing dynasty, officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaking ethnic group who unified other Jurchen tribes to form a new "Manchu" ethnic identity. The dynasty was officially proclaimed in 1636 in Manchuria. It seized control of Beijing in 1644, then later expanded its rule over the whole of China proper and Taiwan, and finally expanded into Inner Asia. The dynasty lasted until 1912 when it was overthrown in the Xinhai Revolution. In orthodox Chinese historiography, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the Ming dynasty and succeeded by the Republic of China. The multiethnic Qing empire lasted for almost three centuries and assembled the territorial base for modern China. It was the largest imperial dynasty in the history of China and in 1790 the fourth-largest empire in world history in terms of territorial size. With 419,264,000 citizens in 1907, it was the world's most populous country at the time.
1884
1. The Fabian Society is founded in London, United Kingdom.
  1. Fabian Society
    
    The Fabian Society is a British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in democracies, rather than by revolutionary overthrow. The Fabian Society was also historically related to radicalism, a left-wing liberal tradition.
1878
1. Russo-Turkish War (1877–78): Sofia is liberated from Ottoman rule.
  1. Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)
    
    The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 was a conflict between the Ottoman Empire and a coalition led by the Russian Empire, and including Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro. Fought in the Balkans and in the Caucasus, it originated in emerging 19th century Balkan nationalism. Additional factors included the Russian goals of recovering territorial losses endured during the Crimean War of 1853–56, re-establishing itself in the Black Sea and supporting the political movement attempting to free Balkan nations from the Ottoman Empire.
  2. Sofia
    
    Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and has many mineral springs, such as the Sofia Central Mineral Baths. It has a humid continental climate. Being in the centre of the Balkans, it is midway between the Black Sea and the Adriatic Sea, and closest to the Aegean Sea.
  3. Battle of Sofia
    
    The Battle of Sofia was the culmination of Russian General Iosif Gurko's Western Squad for the defeat of the Orhaniye army in the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878). It led to the Liberation of Sofia from Turkish rule.
  4. Ottoman Bulgaria
    
    The history of Ottoman Bulgaria spans nearly 500 years, from the conquest by the Ottoman Empire of the smaller kingdoms emerging from the disintegrating Second Bulgarian Empire in the late 14th century, to the Liberation of Bulgaria in 1878. As a result of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878), the Principality of Bulgaria, a self-governing Ottoman vassal state that was functionally independent, was created. In 1885 the Ottoman autonomous province of Eastern Rumelia came under the control of and was unified with the Principality of Bulgaria. Bulgaria declared independence in 1908.
1863
1. The New Apostolic Church, a Christian and chiliastic church, is established in Hamburg, Germany.
  1. New Apostolic Church
    
    The New Apostolic Church (NAC) is a Christian church that split from the Catholic Apostolic Church during an 1863 schism in Hamburg, Germany.
  2. Hamburg
    
    Hamburg, officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, is the second-largest city in Germany after Berlin, as well as the overall 7th largest city and largest non-capital city in the European Union with a population of over 1.85 million. Hamburg's urban area has a population of around 2.5 million and is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region, which has a population of over 5.1 million people in total. The city lies on the River Elbe and two of its tributaries, the River Alster and the River Bille. One of Germany's 16 federated states, Hamburg is surrounded by Schleswig-Holstein to the north and Lower Saxony to the south.
1854
1. The McDonald Islands are discovered by Captain William McDonald aboard the Samarang.
  1. Heard Island and McDonald Islands
    
    The Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands (HIMI) is an Australian external territory comprising a volcanic group of mostly barren Antarctic islands, about two-thirds of the way from Madagascar to Antarctica. The group's overall size is 372 km2 (144 sq mi) in area and it has 101.9 km (63 mi) of coastline. Discovered in the mid-19th century, the islands lie on the Kerguelen Plateau in the Indian Ocean and have been an Australian territory since 1947. They contain Australia's only two active volcanoes. The summit of one, Mawson Peak, is higher than any mountain in all other Australian states or territories, except Dome Argus, Mount McClintock and Mount Menzies in the Australian Antarctic Territory.
1853
1. Solomon Northup regained his freedom after having been sold into slavery in the American South; his memoir Twelve Years a Slave later became a national bestseller.
  1. Solomon Northup
    
    Solomon Northup was an American abolitionist and the primary author of the memoir Twelve Years a Slave. A free-born African American from New York, he was the son of a freed slave and a free woman of color. A farmer and a professional violinist, Northup had been a landowner in Washington County, New York. In 1841, he was offered a traveling musician's job and went to Washington, D.C. ; there he was drugged, kidnapped, and sold as a slave. He was shipped to New Orleans, purchased by a planter, and held as a slave for 12 years in the Red River region of Louisiana, mostly in Avoyelles Parish. He remained a slave until he met Samuel Bass, a Canadian working on his plantation who helped get word to New York, where state law provided aid to free New York citizens who had been kidnapped and sold into slavery. His family and friends enlisted the aid of the Governor of New York, Washington Hunt, and Northup regained his freedom on January 3, 1853.
  2. Slavery in the United States
    
    The legal institution of human chattel slavery, comprising the enslavement primarily of Africans and African Americans, was prevalent in the United States of America from its founding in 1776 until 1865, predominantly in the South. Slavery was established throughout European colonization in the Americas. From 1526, during early colonial days, it was practiced in what became Britain's colonies, including the Thirteen Colonies that formed the United States. Under the law, an enslaved person was treated as property that could be bought, sold, or given away. Slavery lasted in about half of U.S. states until abolition. In the decades after the end of Reconstruction, many of slavery's economic and social functions were continued through segregation, sharecropping, and convict leasing.
  3. Twelve Years a Slave
    
    Twelve Years a Slave is an 1853 memoir and slave narrative by American Solomon Northup as told to and written by David Wilson. Northup, a black man who was born free in New York state, details himself being tricked to go to Washington, D.C., where he was kidnapped and sold into slavery in the Deep South. He was in bondage for 12 years in Louisiana before he was able to secretly get information to friends and family in New York, who in turn secured his release with the aid of the state. Northup's account provides extensive details on the slave markets in Washington, D.C. and New Orleans, and describes at length cotton and sugar cultivation and slave treatment on major plantations in Louisiana.
2. After having been kidnapped and sold into slavery in the American South, Solomon Northup regains his freedom; his memoir Twelve Years a Slave later becomes a national bestseller.
  1. Solomon Northup
    
    Solomon Northup was an American abolitionist and the primary author of the memoir Twelve Years a Slave. A free-born African American from New York, he was the son of a freed slave and a free woman of color. A farmer and a professional violinist, Northup had been a landowner in Washington County, New York. In 1841, he was offered a traveling musician's job and went to Washington, D.C. ; there he was drugged, kidnapped, and sold as a slave. He was shipped to New Orleans, purchased by a planter, and held as a slave for 12 years in the Red River region of Louisiana, mostly in Avoyelles Parish. He remained a slave until he met Samuel Bass, a Canadian working on his plantation who helped get word to New York, where state law provided aid to free New York citizens who had been kidnapped and sold into slavery. His family and friends enlisted the aid of the Governor of New York, Washington Hunt, and Northup regained his freedom on January 3, 1853.
  2. Twelve Years a Slave
    
    Twelve Years a Slave is an 1853 memoir and slave narrative by American Solomon Northup as told to and written by David Wilson. Northup, a black man who was born free in New York state, details himself being tricked to go to Washington, D.C., where he was kidnapped and sold into slavery in the Deep South. He was in bondage for 12 years in Louisiana before he was able to secretly get information to friends and family in New York, who in turn secured his release with the aid of the state. Northup's account provides extensive details on the slave markets in Washington, D.C. and New Orleans, and describes at length cotton and sugar cultivation and slave treatment on major plantations in Louisiana.
1847
1. American gun inventor Samuel Colt sold the first thousand of his Colt Walker revolvers to the Texas Rangers.
  1. Samuel Colt
    
    Samuel Colt was an American inventor, industrialist, and businessman who established Colt's Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company and made the mass production of revolvers commercially viable.
  2. Colt Walker
    
    The Colt Walker, sometimes known as the Walker Colt, is a single-action revolver with a revolving cylinder holding six charges of black powder behind six bullets. It was designed in 1846 by American firearms inventor Samuel Colt to the specifications of Captain Samuel Hamilton Walker.
  3. Texas Ranger Division
    
    The Texas Ranger Division, commonly called the Texas Rangers and also known as Los Diablos Tejanos, is an investigative law enforcement agency with statewide jurisdiction in the US state of Texas. It is based in the capital city of Austin. In the time since its creation, the Texas Rangers have investigated crimes ranging from murder to political corruption, acted in riot control and as detectives, protected the governor of Texas, tracked down fugitives, served as a security force at important state locations, including the Alamo, and functioned as a paramilitary force at the service of both the Republic (1836–1845) and the State of Texas.
1798
1. After his investiture as Prince of Wallachia, Constantine Hangerli arrived in Bucharest to assume the throne.
  1. List of rulers of Wallachia
    
    This is a list of rulers of Wallachia, from the first mention of a medieval polity situated between the Southern Carpathians and the Danube until the union with Moldavia in 1859, which led to the creation of Romania.
  2. Constantine Hangerli
    
    Constantine Hangerli, also written as Constantin Hangerliu, was a Prince of Wallachia between 1797 and the time of his death. He was the brother of Alexander Hangerli, who served as Prince of Moldavia in 1807.
  3. Bucharest
    
    Bucharest is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than 60 km (37.3 mi) north of the Danube River and the Bulgarian border.
2. Constantine Hangerli arrives in Bucharest, Wallachia, as its new Prince, invested by the Ottoman Empire.
  1. Constantine Hangerli
    
    Constantine Hangerli, also written as Constantin Hangerliu, was a Prince of Wallachia between 1797 and the time of his death. He was the brother of Alexander Hangerli, who served as Prince of Moldavia in 1807.
  2. Bucharest
    
    Bucharest is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than 60 km (37.3 mi) north of the Danube River and the Bulgarian border.
  3. Wallachia
    
    Wallachia or Walachia is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia is traditionally divided into two sections, Muntenia and Oltenia. Dobruja could sometimes be considered a third section due to its proximity and brief rule over it. Wallachia as a whole is sometimes referred to as Muntenia through identification with the larger of the two traditional sections.
  4. List of rulers of Wallachia
    
    This is a list of rulers of Wallachia, from the first mention of a medieval polity situated between the Southern Carpathians and the Danube until the union with Moldavia in 1859, which led to the creation of Romania.
  5. 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.
1762
1. Great Britain declares war on Spain, which meant the entry of Spain into the Seven Years' War.
  1. Spain
    
    Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country primarily located in southwestern Europe with parts of territory in the Atlantic Ocean and across the Mediterranean Sea. The largest part of Spain is situated on the Iberian Peninsula; its territory also includes the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea, and the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla in Africa. The country's mainland is bordered to the south by Gibraltar; to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea; to the north by France, Andorra and the Bay of Biscay; and to the west by Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean. With an area of 505,990 km2 (195,360 sq mi), Spain is the second-largest country in the European Union (EU) and, with a population exceeding 47.4 million, the fourth-most populous EU member state. Spain's capital and largest city is Madrid; other major urban areas include Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Zaragoza, Málaga, Murcia, Palma de Mallorca, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Bilbao.
  2. Seven Years' War
    
    The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754–1763), the Carnatic Wars and the Anglo-Spanish War (1762–1763). The opposing alliances were led by Great Britain and France respectively, both seeking to establish global pre-eminence at the expense of the other. Along with Spain, France fought Britain both in Europe and overseas with land-based armies and naval forces, while Britain's ally Prussia sought territorial expansion in Europe and consolidation of its power. Long-standing colonial rivalries pitting Britain against France and Spain in North America and the West Indies were fought on a grand scale with consequential results. Prussia sought greater influence in the German states, while Austria wanted to regain Silesia, captured by Prussia in the previous war, and to contain Prussian influence.
1717
1. The Netherlands, Great Britain, and France sign the Triple Alliance.
  1. 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.
  2. Kingdom of Great Britain
    
    The Kingdom of Great Britain was a sovereign country in Western Europe from 1 May 1707 to the end of 31 December 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of Union 1707, which united the kingdoms of England and Scotland to form a single kingdom encompassing the whole island of Great Britain and its outlying islands, with the exception of the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. The unitary state was governed by a single parliament at the Palace of Westminster, but distinct legal systems – English law and Scots law – remained in use.
  3. Triple Alliance (1717)
    
    The Triple Alliance was a defence pact signed on 4 January 1717 in The Hague between the Dutch Republic, France and Great Britain, against Bourbon Spain in an attempt to maintain the agreements of the 1713–15 Peace of Utrecht. The three states were concerned about Spain becoming a superpower in Europe. As a result, militarisation took place and caused great havoc to civilians. That enraged Spain and other states and led to brinkmanship. The alliance became the Quadruple Alliance the next year, after the accession of Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI.
1698
1. Most of London's Palace of Whitehall, the main residence of English monarchs since 1530, was destroyed by fire.
  1. Palace of Whitehall
    
    The Palace of Whitehall at Westminster was the main residence of the English monarchs from 1530 until 1698, when most of its structures, except notably Inigo Jones's Banqueting House of 1622, were destroyed by fire. Henry VIII moved the royal residence to White Hall after the old royal apartments at the nearby Palace of Westminster were themselves destroyed by fire. Although the Whitehall palace does not survive, the area where it was located is still called Whitehall and has remained a centre of government.
  2. List of English monarchs
    
    This list of kings and reigning queens of the Kingdom of England begins with Alfred the Great, who initially ruled Wessex, one of the seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms which later made up modern England. Alfred styled himself King of the Anglo-Saxons from about 886, and while he was not the first king to claim to rule all of the English, his rule represents the start of the first unbroken line of kings to rule the whole of England, the House of Wessex.
1649
1. English Civil War: The Rump Parliament votes to put Charles I on trial.
  1. Rump Parliament
    
    The Rump Parliament was the English Parliament after Colonel Thomas Pride commanded soldiers to purge the Long Parliament, on 6 December 1648, of those members hostile to the Grandees' intention to try King Charles I for high treason.
871
1. Battle of Reading: Æthelred of Wessex and his brother Alfred are defeated by a Danish invasion army.
  1. Battle of Reading (871)
    
    The Battle of Reading was a victory for a Danish Viking army over a West Saxon force on about 4 January 871 at Reading in Berkshire. The Vikings were led by Bagsecg and Halfdan Ragnarsson and the West Saxons by King Æthelred and his brother, the future King Alfred the Great. It was the second of a series of battles that took place following an invasion of Wessex by the Danish army in December 870.
  2. Æthelred I of Wessex
    
    Æthelred I was King of Wessex from 865 until his death in 871. He was the fourth of five sons of King Æthelwulf of Wessex, four of whom in turn became king. Æthelred succeeded his elder brother Æthelberht and was followed by his youngest brother, Alfred the Great. Æthelred had two sons, Æthelhelm and Æthelwold, who were passed over for the kingship on their father's death because they were still infants. Alfred was succeeded by his son, Edward the Elder, and Æthelwold unsuccessfully disputed the throne with him.
  3. Alfred the Great
    
    Alfred the Great was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who both died when Alfred was young. Three of Alfred's brothers, Æthelbald, Æthelberht and Æthelred, reigned in turn before him. Under Alfred's rule, considerable administrative and military reforms were introduced, prompting lasting change in England.
-46
1. Julius Caesar fights Titus Labienus in the Battle of Ruspina.
  1. Julius Caesar
    
    Gaius Julius Caesar, was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and subsequently became dictator from 49 BC until his assassination in 44 BC. He played a critical role in the events that led to the demise of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire.
  2. Titus Labienus
    
    Titus Labienus was a high-ranking military officer in the late Roman Republic. He served as tribune of the Plebs in 63 BC. Although mostly remembered as one of Julius Caesar's best lieutenants in Gaul, mentioned frequently in the accounts of his military campaigns, Labienus chose to oppose him during the Civil War and was killed at Munda. He was the father of Quintus Labienus.
  3. Battle of Ruspina
    
    The Battle of Ruspina was fought on 4 January 46 BC in the Roman province of Africa, between the Republican forces of the Optimates and forces loyal to Julius Caesar. The Republican army was commanded by Titus Labienus, Caesar's former lieutenant during the Gallic Wars who had defected to the Republican side at the beginning of the civil war.

Births & Deaths

2021
1. Tanya Roberts, American actress (b. 1955) deaths
  1. Tanya Roberts
    
    Tanya Roberts was an American actress. She played Julie Rogers in the final season of the television series Charlie's Angels (1980–1981), Stacey Sutton in the James Bond film A View to a Kill (1985), Sheena in Sheena (1984), Kiri in The Beastmaster (1982) and Midge Pinciotti on That '70s Show (1998–2004).
2020
1. Tom Long, Australian actor (b. 1968) deaths
  1. Tom Long (actor)
    
    Tom Long was an Australian film and television actor. He played court official and avid surfer Angus in the late 1990s TV series SeaChange and Brenden Abbott in the 2003 Australian TV movie The Postcard Bandit.
2019
1. Harold Brown, 14th United States Secretary of Defense (b. 1927) deaths
  1. Harold Brown (Secretary of Defense)
    
    Harold Brown was an American nuclear physicist who served as United States Secretary of Defense from 1977 to 1981, under President Jimmy Carter. Previously, in the John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson administrations, he held the posts of Director of Defense Research and Engineering (1961–1965) and United States Secretary of the Air Force (1965–1969).
  2. United States Secretary of Defense
    
    The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high ranking member of the federal cabinet. The secretary of defense's position of command and authority over the military is second only to that of the president of the United States, who is the commander-in-chief. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a defense minister in many other countries. The secretary of defense is appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the Senate, and is by custom a member of the Cabinet and by law a member of the National Security Council.
2017
1. Milt Schmidt, Canadian ice hockey player, coach and general manager (b. 1918) deaths
  1. Milt Schmidt
    
    Milton Conrad Schmidt was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre, coach and general manager, mostly for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL), where he was a member of the Kraut Line. He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1961. In 2017, Schmidt was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.
2. Georges Prêtre, French orchestral and opera conductor (b. 1924) deaths
  1. Georges Prêtre
    
    Georges Prêtre was a French orchestral and opera conductor.
2016
1. S. H. Kapadia, Indian lawyer, judge, and politician, 38th Chief Justice of India (b. 1947) deaths
  1. S. H. Kapadia
    
    Sarosh Homi Kapadia was the thirty-eighth Chief Justice of India. He was the first chief justice born in independent India.
  2. Chief Justice of India
    
    The Chief Justice of India is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of India as well as the highest-ranking officer of the Indian Judiciary. The Constitution of India grants power to the President of India to appoint, in consultation with the outgoing chief justice, the next chief justice, who will serve until they reach the age of sixty-five or are removed by impeachment. As per convention, the name suggested by the incumbent chief justice is almost always the next senior most judge in the Supreme Court.
2. Stephen W. Bosworth, American academic and diplomat, United States Ambassador to South Korea (b. 1939) deaths
  1. Stephen W. Bosworth
    
    Stephen Warren Bosworth was an American academic and diplomat. He served as Dean of The Fletcher School at Tufts University and served as United States Special Representative for North Korea Policy from March 2009 to October 2011. He served three times as a U.S. Ambassador, to Tunisia (1979–1981), to the Philippines (1984–1987), and to South Korea (1997–2001). In 1987, he received the American Academy of Diplomacy's Diplomat of the Year Award.
  2. List of ambassadors of the United States to South Korea
    
    The United States Ambassador to South Korea is the chief diplomatic representative of the United States accredited to the Republic of Korea. The ambassador's official title is "Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Korea."
2015
1. Pino Daniele, Italian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1955) deaths
  1. Pino Daniele
    
    Giuseppe Daniele, known by his stage name Pino Daniele, was an Italian singer, songwriter and musician. His influences covered a wide number of genres, including pop, blues, jazz, and Italian and Middle Eastern music.
2013
1. Anwar Shamim, Pakistani general (b. 1931) deaths
  1. Anwar Shamim
    
    Air Chief Marshal Mohammad Anwar Shamim NI(M) HI(M) SJ SI(M) OI LoM ; was a senior air officer of the Pakistan Air Force and was the Chief of Air Staff, appointed to the post in 1978 until retiring in 1985.
2. Zoran Žižić, Montenegrin politician, 4th Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (b. 1951) deaths
  1. Zoran Žižić
    
    Zoran Žižić was a Yugoslav and Montenegrin politician. He served as Deputy Prime Minister of Montenegro in the first two Đukanović cabinets from 1991 to 1996, and was the first Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia following the overthrow of Slobodan Milošević in 2000.
  2. Prime Minister of Serbia and Montenegro
    
    The prime minister of Serbia and Montenegro was the head of government of Serbia and Montenegro from its establishment in 1992 up until the state's dissolution in 2006. Between 1992–2003 the full name of the office was President of the Federal Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, while after the constitutional reforms of 2003 the title was Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Serbia and Montenegro. The office was merged in 2003 with the head of state, providing for one person to hold both the office of President of Serbia and Montenegro and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Serbia and Montenegro.
2012
1. Eve Arnold, American photographer and journalist (b. 1912) deaths
  1. Eve Arnold
    
    Eve Arnold, OBE (honorary), FRPS (honorary) was an American photojournalist, long-resident in the UK. She joined Magnum Photos agency in 1951, and became a full member in 1957. She was the first woman to join the agency.
2. Rod Robbie, English-Canadian architect, designed the Canadian Pavilion and Rogers Centre (b. 1928) deaths
  1. Rod Robbie
    
    Roderick "Rod" George Robbie, was a British-born Canadian architect and planner. He was known for his design of the Canadian Pavilion at Expo 67 and Toronto's Rogers Centre (SkyDome).
  2. Canadian Pavilion
    
    The Canadian Pavilion at Expo 67 in Montreal featured an inverted pyramid structure as well as a walk through an attraction called the "People Tree." The pavilion had its highest single-day attendance on Canada Day, 1967.
  3. Rogers Centre
    
    Rogers Centre is a multi-purpose retractable roof stadium in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated at the base of the CN Tower near the northern shore of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989 on the former Railway Lands, it is home to the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). Previously, the stadium was also home to the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL) played an annual game at the stadium as part of the Bills Toronto Series from 2008 to 2013. While it is primarily a sports venue, it also hosts other large events such as conventions, trade fairs, concerts, travelling carnivals, circuses and monster truck shows.
2011
1. Coen Moulijn, Dutch footballer (b. 1937) deaths
  1. Coen Moulijn
    
    Coenraadt "Coen" Moulijn was a Dutch footballer who played for Feyenoord from 1955 to 1972 and was part of their European Cup victory in 1970.
2. Gerry Rafferty, Scottish singer-songwriter (b. 1947) deaths
  1. Gerry Rafferty
    
    Gerald Rafferty was a Scottish singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He was a founding member of Stealers Wheel, whose biggest hit was "Stuck in the Middle with You" in 1973. His solo hits in the late 1970s included "Baker Street", "Right Down the Line", and "Night Owl".
3. Salmaan Taseer, Pakistani businessman and politician, 26th Governor of Punjab, Pakistan (b. 1944) deaths
  1. Salman Taseer
    
    Salman Taseer ; was a Pakistani businessman and politician, who served as the 26th Governor of Punjab from 2008 until his assassination in 2011.
  2. Governor of Punjab, Pakistan
    
    The Governor of Punjab is the appointed head of state of the provincial government in Punjab, Pakistan. Although the Governor is the head of the province on paper, it is largely a ceremonial position; and the main powers lie with the Chief Minister Punjab and Chief Secretary Punjab.
2010
1. Johan Ferrier, Surinamese educator and politician, 1st President of Suriname (b. 1910) deaths
  1. Johan Ferrier
    
    Johan Henri Eliza Ferrier was a Surinamese politician who served as the 1st president of Suriname from 1975 to 1980. He was also the country's last governor-general before independence, serving from 1968 to 1975, before becoming the first president upon independence from the Netherlands in 1975.
  2. President of Suriname
    
    The president of the Republic of Suriname is, in accordance with the Constitution of 1987, the head of state and head of government of Suriname, and commander-in-chief of the Suriname National Army (SNL). The president also appoints a cabinet.
2. Tsutomu Yamaguchi, Japanese engineer (b. 1916) deaths
  1. Tsutomu Yamaguchi
    
    Tsutomu Yamaguchi was a Japanese marine engineer and a survivor of both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings during World War II. Although at least 70 people are known to have been affected by both bombings, he is the only person to have been officially recognized by the government of Japan as surviving both explosions.
2009
1. Gert Jonke, Austrian poet, playwright, and author (b. 1946) deaths
  1. Gert Jonke
    
    Gert Jonke was an Austrian poet, playwright and novelist.
2008
1. Xavier Chamorro Cardenal, Nicaraguan journalist (b. 1932) deaths
  1. Xavier Chamorro Cardenal
    
    Xavier Chamorro Cardenal was a Nicaraguan journalist. He began his career working at his father’s newspaper, La Prensa, and in 1980 became founding editor and publisher of El Nuevo Diario, a competitor newspaper.
2007
1. Helen Hill, American director and producer (b. 1970) deaths
  1. Helen Hill
    
    Helen Wingard Hill was an American artist, filmmaker, writer, teacher, and social activist. When her final film, The Florestine Collection, was released in 2011, curators and critics praised her work and legacy, describing her, for example, as "one of the most well-regarded experimental animators of her generation."
2. Marais Viljoen, South African politician, 5th State President of South Africa (b. 1915) deaths
  1. Marais Viljoen
    
    Marais Viljoen, was the last ceremonial state president of South Africa from 4 June 1979 until 3 September 1984. Viljoen became the last of the ceremonial presidents of South Africa when he was succeeded in 1984 by Prime Minister P. W. Botha, who combined the offices into an executive state presidency.
  2. State President of South Africa
    
    The State President of the Republic of South Africa was the head of state of South Africa from 1961 to 1994. The office was established when the country became a republic on 31 May 1961, albeit, outside the Commonwealth of Nations, and Queen Elizabeth II ceased to be Queen of South Africa. The position of Governor-General of South Africa was accordingly abolished. From 1961 to 1984, the post was largely ceremonial. After constitutional reforms enacted in 1983 and taking effect in 1984, the State President became an executive post, and its holder was both head of state and head of government.
2006
1. Irving Layton, Romanian-Canadian poet and academic (b. 1912) deaths
  1. Irving Layton
    
    Irving Peter Layton, OC was a Romanian-born Canadian poet. He was known for his "tell it like it is" style which won him a wide following, but also made him enemies. As T. Jacobs notes in his biography (2001), Layton fought Puritanism throughout his life:Layton's work had provided the bolt of lightning that was needed to split open the thin skin of conservatism and complacency in the poetry scene of the preceding century, allowing modern poetry to expose previously unseen richness and depth.
2. Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Emirati politician, 1st Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates (b. 1946) deaths
  1. Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum
    
    Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum was an Emirati politician who served as the vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as well as the ruler of Dubai. He was initially prime minister of the UAE from 1971 to 1979. He later served as the country's vice president and prime minister, and as ruler of Dubai, from 1990 to 2006.
  2. List of prime ministers of the United Arab Emirates
    
    The Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates is the head of government of the Federal government of the United Arab Emirates. While not required by the UAE constitution, the practice is that the ruler of Dubai serve as the prime minister and vice president of the UAE.
3. Milton Himmelfarb, American sociographer, author, and academic (b. 1918) deaths
  1. Milton Himmelfarb
    
    Milton Himmelfarb was an American sociographer of the American Jewish community.
2005
1. Bud Poile, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager (b. 1924) deaths
  1. Bud Poile
    
    Norman Robert "Bud" Poile was a professional ice hockey player, coach, general manager, and league executive. Bud is the brother of Don Poile, and the father of David Poile.
2. Frank Harary, American mathematician and academic (b. 1921) deaths
  1. Frank Harary
    
    Frank Harary was an American mathematician, who specialized in graph theory. He was widely recognized as one of the "fathers" of modern graph theory. Harary was a master of clear exposition and, together with his many doctoral students, he standardized the terminology of graphs. He broadened the reach of this field to include physics, psychology, sociology, and even anthropology. Gifted with a keen sense of humor, Harary challenged and entertained audiences at all levels of mathematical sophistication. A particular trick he employed was to turn theorems into games—for instance, students would try to add red edges to a graph on six vertices in order to create a red triangle, while another group of students tried to add edges to create a blue triangle. Because of the theorem on friends and strangers, one team or the other would have to win.
3. Humphrey Carpenter, English radio host and author (b. 1946) deaths
  1. Humphrey Carpenter
    
    Humphrey William Bouverie Carpenter was an English biographer, writer, and radio broadcaster. He is known especially for his biographies of J. R. R. Tolkien and other members of the literary society the Inklings.
4. Robert Heilbroner, American economist and historian (b. 1919) deaths
  1. Robert Heilbroner
    
    Robert L. Heilbroner was an American economist and historian of economic thought. The author of some 20 books, Heilbroner was best known for The Worldly Philosophers: The Lives, Times and Ideas of the Great Economic Thinkers (1953), a survey of the lives and contributions of famous economists, notably Adam Smith, Karl Marx, and John Maynard Keynes.
2004
1. Brian Gibson, English director and screenwriter (b. 1944) deaths
  1. Brian Gibson (director)
    
    Brian Gibson was an English film director.
2. Joan Aiken, English author (b. 1924) deaths
  1. Joan Aiken
    
    Joan Delano Aiken was an English writer specialising in supernatural fiction and children's alternative history novels. In 1999 she was awarded an MBE for her services to children's literature. For The Whispering Mountain, published by Jonathan Cape in 1968, she won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, a book award judged by a panel of British children's writers, and she was a commended runner-up for the Carnegie Medal from the Library Association, recognising the year's best children's book by a British writer. She won an Edgar Allan Poe Award (1972) for Night Fall.
3. John Toland, American historian and author (b. 1912) deaths
  1. John Toland (historian)
    
    John Willard Toland was an American writer and historian. He is best known for a biography of Adolf Hitler and a Pulitzer Prize-winning history of World War II-era Japan, The Rising Sun.
2001
1. Les Brown, American bandleader and composer (b. 1912) deaths
  1. Les Brown (bandleader)
    
    Lester Raymond Brown was an American jazz musician who led the big band Les Brown and His Band of Renown for nearly seven decades from 1938 to 2000.
1999
1. Nico Hischier, Swiss ice hockey player births
  1. Nico Hischier
    
    Nico Hischier is a Swiss professional ice hockey centre and captain of the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL). Hischier made his professional debut in his native Switzerland in 2015, spending time both in the top-tier National League A (NLA) and the second-tier National League B. He moved to North America for the 2016–17 season to play major junior hockey for the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) in hopes of furthering his hockey career; in his first season in the QMJHL, he was named rookie of the year, along with the award for best rookie in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), the governing body for major junior hockey in Canada. Internationally Hischier has represented Switzerland at several junior tournaments, including two World Junior Championships. Regarded as a strong two-way forward and a top prospect for the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, Hischier was selected first overall by the Devils, the first time a Swiss player was selected first overall, and made his NHL debut in 2017. He was named captain of the Devils in 2021.
2. Jaeman Salmon, Australian rugby league player births
  1. Jaeman Salmon
    
    Jaeman Salmon is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a second-row or centre for the Penrith Panthers in the NRL.
3. Iron Eyes Cody, American actor and stuntman (b. 1904) deaths
  1. Iron Eyes Cody
    
    Iron Eyes Cody was an American actor of Italian descent who portrayed Native Americans in Hollywood films, famously as Chief Iron Eyes in Bob Hope's The Paleface (1948). He also played a Native American shedding a tear about litter in one of the country's most well-known television public service announcements from the group Keep America Beautiful. Living in Hollywood, he began to insist, even in his private life, that he was Native American, over time claiming membership in several different tribes. In 1996, Cody's half-sister said that he was of Italian ancestry, but he denied it. After his death, it was revealed that he was of Sicilian parentage, and not Native American at all.
1998
1. Liza Soberano, Filipina actress births
  1. Liza Soberano
    
    Hope Elizabeth Soberano( LY-zə, Tagalog: [ˈlɐjsa sɔbɛˈɾɐno]; born January 4, 1998), professionally known as Liza Soberano, is a Filipino-American actress, model and singer. She started in a range of television series and films, including Wansapanataym (2011), Kung Ako'y Iiwan Mo (2012), She's the One (2013), Must Be... Love (2013). She rose to prominence after playing the protagonist in the romantic comedy television series Forevermore (2014–2015) with Enrique Gil. She has since paired with Gil in the films Just The Way You Are (2015), Everyday I Love You (2015), My Ex and Whys (2017), Alone/Together (2019) and the television series Forevermore (2014) Dolce Amore (2016) Bagani (2018) and Make It with You (2020).
2. Mae Questel, American actress (b. 1908) deaths
  1. Mae Questel
    
    Mae Questel was an American actress. She was best known for providing the voices for the animated characters Betty Boop and Olive Oyl. She began in vaudeville, primarily working as an impressionist. She later performed on Broadway and in films and television, including her role as Aunt Bethany in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989).
1997
1. Ante Žižić, Croatian basketball player births
  1. Ante Žižić
    
    Ante Toni Žižić is a Croatian professional basketball player for Anadolu Efes of the Turkish Basketball Super League (BSL) and the Euroleague. He was selected 23rd overall by the Boston Celtics in the 2016 NBA draft.
2. Harry Helmsley, American businessman (b. 1909) deaths
  1. Harry Helmsley
    
    Harry Brakmann Helmsley was an American real estate billionaire whose company, Helmsley-Spear, became one of the country's biggest property holders, owning the Empire State Building and many of New York's most prestigious hotels. From humble beginnings, Helmsley moved up in property through natural salesmanship, a willingness to delegate, and shrewd acquisition policies that were ahead of their time. His second marriage to Leona Roberts led to charges of false accounting and tax evasion as well as a celebrated trial, where Harry was judged too frail to plead, but Leona was fined and jailed.
1996
1. Jackson Hastings, Australian rugby league player births
  1. Jackson Hastings
    
    Jackson Hastings is a Great Britain international rugby league footballer who plays as a halfback and five-eighth for the Newcastle Knights in the NRL.
2. Jasmine Paolini, Italian tennis player births
  1. Jasmine Paolini
    
    Jasmine Paolini is an Italian tennis player. She reached career-high WTA rankings of No. 44 in singles and world No. 122 in doubles. Paolini has won one singles title and one doubles title on the WTA Tour. She has also won one singles title on the WTA Challenger Tour along with eight singles titles and one doubles title on the ITF Circuit.
1995
1. Eduardo Mata, Mexican conductor and composer (b. 1942) deaths
  1. Eduardo Mata
    
    Eduardo Mata was a Mexican conductor and composer.
2. Sol Tax, American anthropologist and academic (b. 1907) deaths
  1. Sol Tax
    
    Sol Tax was an American anthropologist. He is best known for creating action anthropology and his studies of the Meskwaki, or Fox, Indians, for "action-anthropological" research titled the Fox Project, and for founding the academic journal Current Anthropology. He received his doctorate from the University of Chicago in 1935 and, together with Fred Eggan, was a student of Alfred Radcliffe-Brown.
1994
1. Derrick Henry, American football player births
  1. Derrick Henry
    
    Derrick Lamar Henry Jr. is an American football running back for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). His imposing rushing game and larger stature than the average running back earned him the nickname "King Henry".
2. R. D. Burman, Indian film composer and music director (b. 1939) deaths
  1. R. D. Burman
    
    Rahul Dev Burman was an Indian music director. From the 1960s to the 1990s, Burman composed musical scores for 331 films. Burman did major work with his wife, Asha Bhosle, and Kishore Kumar and scored many of the songs that made these singers famous. He also worked extensively and scored approximately 331 songs including some of the most memorable numbers in his career for his sister-in-law, Lata Mangeshkar. Nicknamed Pancham, he was the only son of the composer Sachin Dev Burman.
1992
1. Kris Bryant, American baseball player births
  1. Kris Bryant
    
    Kristopher Lee Bryant, nicknamed "KB", is an American professional baseball third baseman and outfielder for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants. Prior to playing professionally, Bryant attended the University of San Diego, where he played college baseball for the Toreros.
1990
1. Iago Falque, Spanish footballer births
  1. Iago Falque
    
    Iago Falque Silva is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a forward for America de Cali.
2. Toni Kroos, German footballer births
  1. Toni Kroos
    
    Toni Kroos is a German professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for La Liga club Real Madrid. Kroos plays mainly as a central midfielder, but has also been deployed as a deep-lying playmaker in his career. He is known for his vision, passing, creativity, crossing and set-piece ability, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time.
3. Alberto Paloschi, Italian footballer births
  1. Alberto Paloschi
    
    Alberto Paloschi is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Serie C Group B club Siena.
4. Harold Eugene Edgerton, American engineer and academic (b. 1903) deaths
  1. Doc Edgerton
    
    Harold Eugene "Doc" Edgerton, also known as Papa Flash, was an American scientist and researcher, a professor of electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is largely credited with transforming the stroboscope from an obscure laboratory instrument into a common device. He also was deeply involved with the development of sonar and deep-sea photography, and his equipment was used by Jacques Cousteau in searches for shipwrecks and even the Loch Ness Monster.
5. Henry Bolte, Australian politician, 38th Premier of Victoria (b. 1908) deaths
  1. Henry Bolte
    
    Sir Henry Edward Bolte GCMG was an Australian politician who served as the 38th Premier of Victoria. To date he is the longest-serving Victorian premier, having been in office for over 17 consecutive years.
  2. Premier of Victoria
    
    The premier of Victoria is the head of government in the Australian state of Victoria. The premier is appointed by the governor of Victoria, and is the leader of the political party able to secure a majority in the Victorian Legislative Assembly.
1989
1. Graham Rahal, American race car driver births
  1. Graham Rahal
    
    Graham Robert Rahal is an American race car driver and small business owner. He currently participates in the IndyCar Series with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, a team partially owned by his father Bobby Rahal, the winner of the 1986 Indianapolis 500.
1988
1. Anestis Argyriou, Greek footballer births
  1. Anestis Argyriou
    
    Anestis Argyriou is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a right-back.
2. Maximilian Riedmüller, German footballer births
  1. Maximilian Riedmüller
    
    Maximilian Riedmüller is a German footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for SV Heimstetten.
3. Lily Laskine, French harp player (b. 1893) deaths
  1. Lily Laskine
    
    Lily Laskine was one of the most prominent harpists of the twentieth century. Born Lily Aimée Laskine to Jewish parents in Paris, she studied at the Conservatoire de Paris with Alphonse Hasselmans and became a frequent performing partner of several distinguished French flautists, including Marcel Moyse and Jean-Pierre Rampal. Laskine also served as professor of harp at the Conservatoire de Paris from 1948 to 1958. She was awarded the Legion of Honour in 1958. She died in Paris.
1987
1. Kay Voser, Swiss footballer births
  1. Kay Voser
    
    Kay Voser is a Swiss footballer who plays as defender.
1986
1. Younès Kaboul, French footballer births
  1. Younes Kaboul
    
    Younes Kaboul is a French former professional footballer who played as a centre-back for Auxerre, Tottenham Hotspur, Portsmouth, Sunderland and Watford. For France, Kaboul played for the under-21 team and went on to play five matches and scored one goal for senior national team in 2011.
2. Andrei Krauchanka, Belarusian decathlete births
  1. Andrei Krauchanka
    
    Andrei Sergeyevich Krauchanka is a Belarusian decathlete. He was the silver medallist at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. His personal best score of 8617 points is the Belarusian record for the event. He also holds the national indoor record in the heptathlon with 6282 points.
3. James Milner, English footballer births
  1. James Milner
    
    James Philip Milner is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Liverpool. A versatile player, Milner has played in multiple positions, including on the wing, in midfield and at full-back.
4. Christopher Isherwood, English-American author and academic (b. 1904) deaths
  1. Christopher Isherwood
    
    Christopher William Bradshaw Isherwood was an Anglo-American novelist, playwright, screenwriter, autobiographer, and diarist. His best-known works include Goodbye to Berlin (1939), a semi-autobiographical novel which inspired the musical Cabaret; A Single Man (1964), adapted as a film by Tom Ford in 2009; and Christopher and His Kind (1976), a memoir which "carried him into the heart of the Gay Liberation movement".
5. Phil Lynott, Irish singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer (b. 1949) deaths
  1. Phil Lynott
    
    Philip Parris Lynott was an Irish singer, bassist, and songwriter. His most commercially successful group was Thin Lizzy, of which he was a founding member, the principal songwriter, lead vocalist and bassist. He was known for his distinctive plectrum-based style on the bass, and for his imaginative lyrical contributions including working class tales and numerous characters drawn from personal influences and Celtic culture.
1985
1. Kari Aalvik Grimsbø, Norwegian handball player births
  1. Kari Aalvik Grimsbø
    
    Kari Aalvik Grimsbø is a former Norwegian handball player who last played for Győri Audi ETO KC and the Norwegian national team. Since her retirement she is the goalkeeping coach at Byåsen HE.
2. Gökhan Gönül, Turkish footballer births
  1. Gökhan Gönül
    
    Gökhan Gönül is a Turkish professional footballer who plays as a right back for TFF First League club Çaykur Rizespor. He is also a senior international for Turkey national football team.
3. Al Jefferson, American basketball player births
  1. Al Jefferson
    
    Al Ricardo Jefferson is an American former professional basketball player. He was a high school All-American for Prentiss High School in Mississippi before skipping college to enter the 2004 NBA draft, where he was drafted 15th overall by the Boston Celtics. He played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Celtics, Minnesota Timberwolves, Utah Jazz, Charlotte Hornets and Indiana Pacers, earning third-team All-NBA honors in 2014 with the Hornets.
4. Brian Horrocks, Indian-English general (b. 1895) deaths
  1. Brian Horrocks
    
    Lieutenant-General Sir Brian Gwynne Horrocks, was a British Army officer, chiefly remembered as the commander of XXX Corps in Operation Market Garden and other operations during the Second World War. He also served in the First World War and the Russian Civil War, was taken prisoner twice, and competed in the modern pentathlon at the 1924 Paris Olympics. Later he was a television presenter, wrote books on military history, and was Black Rod in the House of Lords for 14 years.
1984
1. Kho Jabing, Malaysian and convicted murderer executed in Singapore (d. 2016). births
  1. Kho Jabing
    
    Kho Jabing, later in life Muhammad Kho Abdullah, was a Malaysian of mixed Chinese and Iban descent from Sarawak, Malaysia, who partnered with a friend to rob and murder a Chinese construction worker named Cao Ruyin in Singapore on 17 February 2008. While his accomplice was eventually jailed and caned for robbery, Kho Jabing was convicted of murder and sentenced to death on 30 July 2010, and lost his appeal on 24 May 2011.
1982
1. Richard Logan, English footballer births
  1. Richard Logan (footballer, born 1982)
    
    Richard James Logan is an English former footballer.
2. Danny Sullivan, Australian rugby league player births
  1. Danny Sullivan (rugby league)
    
    Danny Sullivan is an Australian former rugby league footballer. His position of preference was in the Second Row.
1980
1. Miguel Monteiro, Portuguese footballer births
  1. Miguel Monteiro
    
    Luís Miguel Brito Garcia Monteiro, simply known as Miguel, is a former Portuguese professional footballer who played mainly as a right-back or a winger.
2. Justin Ontong, South African cricketer births
  1. Justin Ontong
    
    Justin Lee Ontong is a former South African cricketer, who played domestic cricket for the Cape Cobras. He has played two Test matches, 26 One Day Internationals and twelve Twenty20 Internationals as an all-rounder.
1979
1. Shergo Biran, German footballer births
  1. Shergo Biran
    
    Shergo Biran is a German former professional footballer of Albanian ethnic origin who played as a forward. He was born in West Berlin.
2. Tristan Gommendy, French race car driver births
  1. Tristan Gommendy
    
    Tristan Gommendy is a French professional racing driver who currently competes in the European Le Mans Series with Duqueine Engineering.
1978
1. Dominik Hrbatý, Slovak tennis player births
  1. Dominik Hrbatý
    
    Dominik Hrbatý is a Slovakian former professional tennis player. Hrbatý reached the semifinals of the 1999 French Open, and achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 12 in October 2005. Hrbatý is one of only three players, alongside Nick Kyrgios and Lleyton Hewitt, to have beaten each member of the Big Three the first time he played each of them.
1976
1. Ted Lilly, American baseball player births
  1. Ted Lilly
    
    Theodore Roosevelt Lilly III is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Lilly attended Yosemite High School in Oakhurst, California, and Fresno City College. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Montreal Expos, New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers.
1975
1. Shane Carwin, American mixed martial artist and wrestler births
  1. Shane Carwin
    
    Shane Bannister Carwin is an American former mixed martial artist who competed in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a former Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion. He is considered to be one of the hardest hitting athletes to ever fight in the UFC.
2. Paul Watson, English footballer and physiotherapist births
  1. Paul Watson (footballer, born 1975)
    
    Paul Douglas Watson is an English former footballer.
3. Carlo Levi, Italian painter, author, and activist (b. 1902) deaths
  1. Carlo Levi
    
    Carlo Levi was an Italian painter, writer, activist, communist, and doctor.
1974
1. Danilo Hondo, German cyclist births
  1. Danilo Hondo
    
    Danilo Hondo is a German former professional road bicycle racer. He won the German National Road Race in 2002. He competed in the men's team pursuit at the 1996 Summer Olympics.
1973
1. Frank Høj, Danish cyclist births
  1. Frank Høj
    
    Frank Høj is a retired Danish professional road bicycle racer. Høj started as a stagiaire for the Zetelhallen–Vosschemie team in 1994, and became professional in 1995 for Collstrop–Lystex. His first win as a professional came the year after. In a live interview with Danish media station TV2 during the coverage of Tour de France 2015, Høj admitted to have used EPO in the early periods of his career, namely 1995-1998. He also competed at the 2000 Summer Olympics and the 2004 Summer Olympics.
1971
1. Shane Walker, Australian rugby league player births
  1. Shane Walker (rugby league, born 1971)
    
    Shane Walker, is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and early 2000s. Walker played for the St. George Dragons in 1990 and 1992, the Eastern Suburbs Roosters in 1993 and 1994, the Balmain Tigers between 1995 and 1999, the Wests Tigers in 2000 and 2001 and finally the Melbourne Storm in 2002.
2. Colin Ward, Australian rugby league player births
  1. Colin Ward (rugby league)
    
    Colin Ward is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. Goat
1969
1. Kees van Wonderen, Dutch footballer and manager births
  1. Kees van Wonderen
    
    Cornelis "Kees" Hendricus van Wonderen is a Dutch professional football manager and former player, who is the current head coach of Eredivisie club Heerenveen. During his playing career, he was mostly utilised as a centre back.
2. Paul Chambers, American bassist and composer (b. 1935) deaths
  1. Paul Chambers
    
    Paul Laurence Dunbar Chambers Jr. was an American jazz double bassist. A fixture of rhythm sections during the 1950s and 1960s, he has become one of the most widely-known jazz bassists of the hard bop era. He was also known for his bowed solos. Chambers recorded about a dozen albums as a leader or co-leader, and over 100 more as a sideman, especially as the anchor of trumpeter Miles Davis's "first great quintet" (1955–63) and with pianist Wynton Kelly (1963–68).
1967
1. Johnny Nelson, English boxer and sportscaster births
  1. Johnny Nelson
    
    Ivanson Ranny "Johnny" Nelson is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1986 to 2005, and has since worked as a boxing analyst. He is currently the longest reigning world cruiserweight champion of all time, having held the WBO title from 1999 to 2005. Nelson defended the title against thirteen different fighters, more than any other cruiserweight in history, and holds a joint-record of most consecutive cruiserweight title defences. Nelson also held the British cruiserweight title twice between 1989 and 1997, and the European cruiserweight title twice between 1990 and 1998.
2. David Toms, American golfer and philanthropist births
  1. David Toms
    
    David Wayne Toms is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. From 1992 to 2017, Toms was a member of the PGA Tour, where he won 13 events, including one major, the 2001 PGA Championship. He was in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking for 175 weeks between 2001 and 2006, and ranked as high as fifth in 2002 and 2003.
3. David Wilson, Australian rugby player births
  1. David Wilson (rugby union, born 1967)
    
    David Wilson is a former Australian rugby union footballer who played on the openside flank 79 times, and who captained the Wallabies 9 times.
4. Donald Campbell, English racing driver and world speed record holder (b. 1921) deaths
  1. Donald Campbell
    
    Donald Malcolm Campbell, was a British speed record breaker who broke eight absolute world speed records on water and on land in the 1950s and 1960s. He remains the only person to set both world land and water speed records in the same year (1964). He died during a water speed record attempt at Coniston Water in the Lake District, England.
1966
1. Deana Carter, American singer-songwriter and guitarist births
  1. Deana Carter
    
    Deana Kay Carter is an American country music singer-songwriter who broke through in 1996 with the release of her debut album Did I Shave My Legs for This?, which was certified 5× Multi-Platinum in the United States for sales of over 5 million. It was followed by 1998's Everything's Gonna Be Alright, 2003's I'm Just a Girl, 2005's The Story of My Life, and 2007's The Chain. Overall, Carter's albums have accounted for 14 singles, including three which reached Number One on the Billboard country charts: "Strawberry Wine", "We Danced Anyway", and "How Do I Get There".
1965
1. Guy Forget, French tennis player births
  1. Guy Forget
    
    Guy Forget is a French tennis administrator and retired professional player. During his career, he helped France win the Davis Cup in both 1991 and 1996. Since retiring as a player, he has served as France's Davis Cup team captain.
2. Craig Revel Horwood, Australian-English dancer, choreographer, and director births
  1. Craig Revel Horwood
    
    Craig Revel Horwood is an Australian-British author, dancer, choreographer, conductor, theatre director, and former drag queen in the United Kingdom. He is also a patron of the Royal Osteoporosis Society.
3. Julia Ormond, English actress and producer births
  1. Julia Ormond
    
    Julia Karin Ormond is an English actress. She rose to prominence by appearing in The Baby of Mâcon (1993), Legends of the Fall (1994), First Knight (1995), Sabrina (1995), Smilla's Sense of Snow (1997) and The Barber of Siberia (1998). She won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie for her role in the HBO film Temple Grandin (2010). She is also known for her role in The Walking Dead: World Beyond (2020) as a main antagonist.
4. T. S. Eliot, American-English poet, playwright, and critic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1888) deaths
  1. T. S. Eliot
    
    Thomas Stearns Eliot was a poet, essayist, publisher, playwright, literary critic and editor. Considered one of the 20th century's major poets, he is a central figure in English-language Modernist poetry.
  2. Nobel Prize in Literature
    
    The Nobel Prize in Literature is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in the field of literature, produced the most outstanding work in an idealistic direction". Though individual works are sometimes cited as being particularly noteworthy, the award is based on an author's body of work as a whole. The Swedish Academy decides who, if anyone, will receive the prize. The academy announces the name of the laureate in early October. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895. Literature is traditionally the final award presented at the Nobel Prize ceremony. On some occasions the award has been postponed to the following year, most recently in 2018 as of May 2022.
1964
1. Susan Devoy, New Zealand squash player births
  1. Susan Devoy
    
    Dame Susan Elizabeth Anne Devoy is a former New Zealand squash player and senior public servant. As a squash player, she was dominant in the late 1980s and early 1990s, winning the World Open on four occasions. She served as New Zealand's Race Relations Commissioner from 2013 to 2018.
2. Adrian Shelford, New Zealand rugby league player (d. 2003) births
  1. Adrian Shelford
    
    Adrian Tremain Shelford was a New Zealand rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He played at representative level for New Zealand, and at club level for Wigan and Wakefield Trinity in the Championship as well as the Newcastle Knights and Manly Sea Eagles in the NSWRL Premiership, as a prop.
1963
1. Dave Foley, Canadian comedian, actor, director, and producer births
  1. Dave Foley
    
    David Scott Foley is a Canadian actor, stand-up comedian, director, producer and writer. He is known as a co-founder of the comedy group The Kids in the Hall, who have appeared together in a number of television, stage and film productions, most notably the 1988–1995 TV sketch comedy show of the same name, as well as the 1996 film Brain Candy.
2. Martina Proeber, German diver births
  1. Martina Proeber
    
    Martina Proeber is a German diver. She won a silver medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics in the 3 metre springboard event.
1961
1. Sidney Green, American basketball player and coach births
  1. Sidney Green (basketball)
    
    Sidney Green is an American former professional basketball player and former coach. He played college basketball for the UNLV Runnin' Rebels and was drafted into the National Basketball Association (NBA) by the Chicago Bulls in 1983. After a ten-year career in the NBA he went into college coaching. He now works as a Chicago Bulls team ambassador.
2. Erwin Schrödinger, Austrian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1887) deaths
  1. Erwin Schrödinger
    
    Erwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrödinger, sometimes written as Erwin Schroedinger or Erwin Schrodinger, was a Nobel Prize-winning Austrian physicist with Irish citizenship who developed a number of fundamental results in quantum theory: the Schrödinger equation provides a way to calculate the wave function of a system and how it changes dynamically in time.
  2. Nobel Prize in Physics
    
    The Nobel Prize in Physics is a yearly award given by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for those who have made the most outstanding contributions for humankind in the field of physics. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901, the others being the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Physics is traditionally the first award presented in the Nobel Prize ceremony.
1960
1. Gavin Miller, Australian rugby league player births
  1. Gavin Miller
    
    Gavin John Miller is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1970's and '80s. An Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin representative forward, he played the majority of his club football for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, and is an Immortal of the club. He earned two successive Dally M Player of the Year awards in 1988 and 1989.
2. Michael Stipe, American singer-songwriter and producer births
  1. Michael Stipe
    
    John Michael Stipe is an American singer-songwriter and artist, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of alternative rock band R.E.M. He is known for his vocal quality, poetic lyrics and unique stage presence.
3. Albert Camus, French novelist, philosopher, and journalist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1913) deaths
  1. Albert Camus
    
    Albert Camus was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, and journalist. He was awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the second-youngest recipient in history. His works include The Stranger, The Plague, The Myth of Sisyphus, The Fall, and The Rebel.
  2. Nobel Prize in Literature
    
    The Nobel Prize in Literature is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in the field of literature, produced the most outstanding work in an idealistic direction". Though individual works are sometimes cited as being particularly noteworthy, the award is based on an author's body of work as a whole. The Swedish Academy decides who, if anyone, will receive the prize. The academy announces the name of the laureate in early October. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895. Literature is traditionally the final award presented at the Nobel Prize ceremony. On some occasions the award has been postponed to the following year, most recently in 2018 as of May 2022.
1958
1. Matt Frewer, American-Canadian actor births
  1. Matt Frewer
    
    Matthew George Frewer is an American-Canadian actor, singer and comedian. He portrayed the 1980s icon Max Headroom in the 1985 TV movie and 1987 television series of the same names.
1957
1. Patty Loveless, American singer-songwriter and guitarist births
  1. Patty Loveless
    
    Patty Loveless is an American country music singer. She began performing in her teenaged years before signing her first recording contract with MCA Records' Nashville division in 1985. While her first few releases were unsuccessful, she broke through by decade's end with a cover of George Jones' "If My Heart Had Windows". Loveless issued five albums on MCA before moving to Epic Records in 1993, where she released nine more albums. Four of her albums —Honky Tonk Angel, Only What I Feel, When Fallen Angels Fly, and The Trouble with the Truth — are certified platinum in the United States. Loveless has charted 44 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including five which reached number one: "Timber, I'm Falling in Love", "Chains", "Blame It on Your Heart", "You Can Feel Bad", and "Lonely Too Long".
1956
1. Ann Magnuson, American actress and performance artist births
  1. Ann Magnuson
    
    Ann Magnuson is an American actress, performance artist, and nightclub performer. She was described by The New York Times in 1990 as "An endearing theatrical chameleon who has as many characters at her fingertips as Lily Tomlin does".
2. Zehava Gal-On, Israeli politician births
  1. Zehava Gal-On
    
    Zehava Gal-On is an Israeli politician, serving as a member of the Knesset from 1999 to 2017. She was the chairwoman of the Meretz political party from 2012 to 2018 and again since 2022.
3. Bernard Sumner, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer births
  1. Bernard Sumner
    
    Bernard Sumner is an English singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is a founding member of the bands Joy Division, New Order, and Electronic. Sumner was an early force in several areas, including the post-punk, synthpop, and techno music scenes, as well as their various related genres, and was an early influence on the Manchester music scene that presaged the "Madchester" movement of the late 1980s centered on Factory Records and The Haçienda club in Manchester.
1954
1. Rob Kerin, Australian politician, 43rd Premier of South Australia births
  1. Rob Kerin
    
    Robert Gerard Kerin is a former South Australian politician who was the Premier of South Australia from 22 October 2001 to 5 March 2002, representing the South Australian Division of the Liberal Party of Australia. He was also Deputy Premier of South Australia from 7 July 1998 until he became Premier and, after losing government, leader of the opposition until after the 2006 election.
  2. Premier of South Australia
    
    The premier of South Australia is the head of government in the state of South Australia, Australia. The Government of South Australia follows the Westminster system, with a Parliament of South Australia acting as the legislature. The premier is appointed by the governor of South Australia, and by modern convention holds office by virtue of his or her ability to command the support of a majority of members of the lower house of Parliament, the House of Assembly.
2. Tina Knowles, American fashion designer, founded House of Deréon births
  1. Tina Knowles
    
    Celestine Beyoncé Knowles-Lawson is an American businesswoman, fashion designer, and philanthropist known for establishing the brands House of Deréon and Miss Tina by Tina Knowles. She is the mother of singers Beyoncé and Solange Knowles, and, until 2011, was married to their father Mathew Knowles, the manager of Destiny's Child.
  2. House of Deréon
    
    House of Deréon was a ready-to-wear fashion line introduced by singer and actress Beyoncé and her mother/stylist Tina Lawson. The style and concept is inspired by three generations of women in their family, with the name "Deréon" paying tribute to Beyoncé's maternal grandmother, Agnèz Deréon. As of 2012 the junior line Deréon has been discontinued.
1953
1. Norberto Alonso, Argentinian footballer births
  1. Norberto Alonso
    
    Norberto Osvaldo Alonso, known colloquially as "Beto" Alonso, is an Argentine former football midfielder, who played the majority of his career for the Argentine club River Plate, where he won 9 titles. He remains one of their most notable players. He stands in fifth place in River Plate's all time goalscoring records with 149 goals and 7th place in their all time appearances record with 374 matches played. A former Copa Libertadores, Intercontinental Cup and FIFA World Cup champion, Alonso was regularly regarded as one of the best South American players in the world during the 1970s.
1950
1. Khondakar Ashraf Hossain, Bangladesh poet and academic (d. 2013) births
  1. Khondakar Ashraf Hossain
    
    Khondakar Ashraf Hossain was a leading postmodernist poet, essayist, translator, and editor from Bangladesh. He wrote more than eighteen titles.
1949
1. Mick Mills, English footballer and manager births
  1. Mick Mills
    
    Michael Dennis Mills MBE is an English former footballer who played for Ipswich Town, Southampton and Stoke City. He managed Stoke City, Colchester United and Birmingham City. During his career he achieved Ipswich Town's record number of appearances and captained England at the 1982 World Cup.
1948
1. Kostas Davourlis, Greek footballer (d. 1992) births
  1. Kostas Davourlis
    
    Kostas Davourlis born in Agyia, Patras, popularly nicknamed The Black Prince, was a former Greek footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. A gifted and talented player, he was voted by the Greek sports magazine "Ethnosport" as one of the 50 best Greek football players ever.
2. Cissé Mariam Kaïdama Sidibé, Malian civil servant and politician, Prime Minister of Mali births
  1. Cissé Mariam Kaïdama Sidibé
    
    Cissé Mariam Kaïdama Sidibé was a Malian politician and the Prime Minister of Mali at the time of the 2012 Malian coup d'état. She was the first female prime minister in the country's history. She was announced to the position by decree on 3 April 2011, replacing Modibo Sidibé. She held the position for slightly less than a year under the presidency of Amadou Toumani Touré before was removed from office in the 22 March 2012 coup.
  2. List of prime ministers of Mali
    
    This is a list of prime ministers of Mali since the country gained independence from France in 1960 to the present day.
1947
1. Chris Cutler, English percussionist, lyricist and music theorist births
  1. Chris Cutler
    
    Chris Cutler is an English percussionist, composer, lyricist and music theorist. Best known for his work with English avant-rock group Henry Cow, Cutler was also a member and drummer of other bands, including Art Bears, News from Babel, Pere Ubu and (briefly) Gong/Mothergong. He has collaborated with many musicians and groups, including Fred Frith, Lindsay Cooper, Zeena Parkins, Peter Blegvad, Telectu and The Residents, and has appeared on over 100 recordings. Cutler's career spans over four decades and he still performs actively throughout the world.
2. Marie-Thérèse Letablier, French sociologist and academic births
  1. Marie-Thérèse Letablier
    
    Marie-Thérèse Letablier, is a French sociologist. Her major sociological works concern work, family and gender issues. She is Research director in the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and a senior research fellow in the Paris Centre d’Economie de la Sorbonne (CES).
1946
1. Arthur Conley, American singer-songwriter (d. 2003) births
  1. Arthur Conley
    
    Arthur Lee Conley, also known in later years as Lee Roberts, was an American soul singer, best known for the 1967 hit "Sweet Soul Music".
1945
1. Vesa-Matti Loiri, Finnish actor, musician and comedian (d. 2022) births
  1. Vesa-Matti Loiri
    
    Vesa-Matti "Vesku" Loiri was a Finnish actor, musician and comedian, best known for his role as Uuno Turhapuro, whom he portrayed in a total of 20 movies between the years 1973 and 2004.
2. Richard R. Schrock, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate births
  1. Richard R. Schrock
    
    Richard Royce Schrock is an American chemist and Nobel laureate recognized for his contributions to the olefin metathesis reaction used in organic chemistry.
  2. Nobel Prize in Chemistry
    
    The Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outstanding contributions in chemistry, physics, literature, peace, and physiology or medicine. This award is administered by the Nobel Foundation, and awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on proposal of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry which consists of five members elected by the Academy. The award is presented in Stockholm at an annual ceremony on 10 December, the anniversary of Nobel's death.
1944
1. Gary Stevens, Australian rugby league player births
  1. Gary Stevens (rugby league)
    
    Gary Stevens is an Australian former rugby league footballer, a hard tackling second-row forward, of the 1960s and 1970s for the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs and the Australian national representative side. He is the grandson of Souths club great Arthur Oxford.
2. Alan Sutherland, New Zealand rugby player (d. 2020) births
  1. Alan Sutherland (rugby union)
    
    Alan Richard Sutherland was a New Zealand rugby union player. A number 8 and lock, Sutherland represented Marlborough at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national side, the All Blacks, from 1968 to 1976. He played 64 matches for the All Blacks, of which three were as captain, including 10 internationals.
3. Kaj Munk, Danish playwright and pastor (b. 1898) deaths
  1. Kaj Munk
    
    Kaj Harald Leininger Munk was a Danish playwright and Lutheran pastor, known for his cultural engagement and his martyrdom during the Occupation of Denmark of World War II. He is commemorated as a martyr in the Calendar of Saints of the Lutheran Church on 14 August, alongside Maximilian Kolbe.
1943
1. Doris Kearns Goodwin, American historian and author births
  1. Doris Kearns Goodwin
    
    Doris Helen Kearns Goodwin is an American biographer, historian, former sports journalist, and political commentator. She has written biographies of several U.S. presidents, including Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream; The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys: An American Saga; Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln; and The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism. Goodwin's book No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II won the Pulitzer Prize for History in 1995. Goodwin also produced the American television miniseries Washington. She was also executive producer of 'Abraham Lincoln,' a 2022 docudrama on the History Channel. This latter series was based on Goodwin's Leadership in Turbulent Times.
2. Hwang Sok-yong, South Korean author and educator births
  1. Hwang Sok-yong
    
    Hwang Sok-yong is a South Korean novelist.
3. Jerzy Iwanow-Szajnowicz, Greek-Polish swimmer and water polo player (b. 1911) deaths
  1. Jerzy Iwanow-Szajnowicz
    
    Jerzy Iwanow-Szajnowicz was a Polish-Greek athlete who fought as a saboteur in the Greek Resistance during World War II and was executed by the Germans.
4. Marina Raskova, Russian pilot and navigator (b. 1912) deaths
  1. Marina Raskova
    
    Marina Mikhaylovna Raskova was the first woman in the Soviet Union to achieve the diploma of professional air navigator. Raskova went from a young woman with aspirations of becoming an opera singer to a military instructor to the Soviet's first female navigator. She was the navigator to many record-setting as well as record-breaking flights and the founding and commanding officer of the 587th Bomber Aviation Regiment, which was renamed the 125th M.M. Raskova Borisov Guards Dive Bomber Regiment in her honor. Raskova became one of over 800,000 women in the military service, founding three female air regiments, one of which eventually flew over 30,000 sorties in World War II and produced at least 30 Heroes of the Soviet Union.
1942
1. Bolaji Akinyemi, Nigerian political scientist, academic, and politician births
  1. Bolaji Akinyemi
    
    Akinwande Bolaji Akinyemi is a Nigerian professor of political science who was Nigeria External Affairs Minister from 1985 to late 1987. He is the chairman of the National Think Tank.
2. Jim Downing, American race car driver and inventor births
  1. Jim Downing
    
    James Downing is an American former professional race car driver, he is a five-time IMSA Championship winner, owner/driver of Downing/Atlanta Racing, and was principal in the development of the HANS device.
3. John McLaughlin, English guitarist and songwriter births
  1. John McLaughlin (musician)
    
    John McLaughlin, frequently known as Mahavishnu John, is an English guitarist, bandleader, and composer. A pioneer of jazz fusion, his music combines elements of jazz with rock, world music, Indian classical music, Western classical music, flamenco, and blues. After contributing to several key British groups of the early 1960s, McLaughlin made Extrapolation, his first album as a bandleader, in 1969. He then moved to the U.S., where he played with drummer Tony Williams's group Lifetime and then with Miles Davis on his electric jazz fusion albums In a Silent Way, Bitches Brew, Jack Johnson, and On the Corner. His 1970s electric band, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, performed a technically virtuosic and complex style of music that fused electric jazz and rock with Indian influences.
1941
1. George P. Cosmatos, Italian-Canadian director and screenwriter (d. 2005) births
  1. George P. Cosmatos
    
    George Pan Cosmatos was a Greek-Italian film director and screenwriter. Following early success in his home country with drama films such as Massacre in Rome with Richard Burton, Cosmatos retooled his career towards mainstream "blockbuster" action and adventure films, including The Cassandra Crossing and Escape to Athena, both of which were British-Italian co-productions. After relocating to North America, he directed the horror film Of Unknown Origin. This was followed by some of his best-known work, including the action films Rambo: First Blood Part II and Cobra, the science-fiction horror film Leviathan, and the critically acclaimed Western Tombstone.
2. Kalpnath Rai, Indian politician (d. 1999) births
  1. Kalpnath Rai
    
    Kalpnath Rai was an Indian politician. He served as a member of the Rajya Sabha between 1974–80, 1980–86, and 1986–92, as well as being elected on four occasions to the Lok Sabha from the Ghosi constituency in the state of Uttar Pradesh. He was a minister in various national Congress (I) governments.
3. Henri Bergson, French philosopher and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1859) deaths
  1. Henri Bergson
    
    Henri-Louis Bergson was a French philosopher who was influential in the tradition of analytic philosophy and continental philosophy, especially during the first half of the 20th century until the Second World War, but also after 1966 when Gilles Deleuze published Le Bergsonisme. Bergson is known for his arguments that processes of immediate experience and intuition are more significant than abstract rationalism and science for understanding reality.
  2. Nobel Prize in Literature
    
    The Nobel Prize in Literature is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in the field of literature, produced the most outstanding work in an idealistic direction". Though individual works are sometimes cited as being particularly noteworthy, the award is based on an author's body of work as a whole. The Swedish Academy decides who, if anyone, will receive the prize. The academy announces the name of the laureate in early October. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895. Literature is traditionally the final award presented at the Nobel Prize ceremony. On some occasions the award has been postponed to the following year, most recently in 2018 as of May 2022.
1940
1. Gao Xingjian, Chinese novelist, playwright, and critic, Nobel Prize laureate births
  1. Gao Xingjian
    
    Gao Xingjian is a Chinese émigré and later French naturalized novelist, playwright, critic, painter, photographer, film director, and translator who in 2000 was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature "for an oeuvre of universal validity, bitter insights and linguistic ingenuity." He is also a noted translator, screenwriter, stage director, and a celebrated painter.
  2. Nobel Prize in Literature
    
    The Nobel Prize in Literature is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in the field of literature, produced the most outstanding work in an idealistic direction". Though individual works are sometimes cited as being particularly noteworthy, the award is based on an author's body of work as a whole. The Swedish Academy decides who, if anyone, will receive the prize. The academy announces the name of the laureate in early October. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895. Literature is traditionally the final award presented at the Nobel Prize ceremony. On some occasions the award has been postponed to the following year, most recently in 2018 as of May 2022.
2. Brian Josephson, Welsh physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate births
  1. Brian Josephson
    
    Brian David Josephson is a Welsh theoretical physicist and professor emeritus of physics at the University of Cambridge. Best known for his pioneering work on superconductivity and quantum tunnelling, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1973 for his prediction of the Josephson effect, made in 1962 when he was a 22-year-old PhD student at Cambridge University. Josephson is the only Welshman to have won a Nobel Prize in Physics. He shared the prize with physicists Leo Esaki and Ivar Giaever, who jointly received half the award for their own work on quantum tunnelling.
  2. Nobel Prize in Physics
    
    The Nobel Prize in Physics is a yearly award given by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for those who have made the most outstanding contributions for humankind in the field of physics. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901, the others being the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Physics is traditionally the first award presented in the Nobel Prize ceremony.
1937
1. Grace Bumbry, American operatic soprano births
  1. Grace Bumbry
    
    Grace Melzia Bumbry, an American opera singer, is considered one of the leading mezzo-sopranos of her generation, as well as a major soprano earlier in her career. She is a member of a pioneering generation of African-American opera and classical singers, beginning with Leontyne Price and including Martina Arroyo, Shirley Verrett, Jessye Norman, Kathleen Battle, and Reri Grist), who succeeded Marian Anderson in the worlds of opera and classical music. They paved the way for future generations of African-American opera and concert singers. Bumbry's voice was rich and dynamic, possessing a wide range, and was capable of producing a very distinctive plangent tone.
2. Dyan Cannon, American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter births
  1. Dyan Cannon
    
    Dyan Cannon is an American actress, director, screenwriter, producer, and editor. Her accolades include a Saturn Award, a Golden Globe Award, three Academy Award nominations, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She was named Female Star of the Year by the National Association of Theatre Owners in 1973 and the Hollywood Women's Press Club in 1979.
1935
1. Floyd Patterson, American boxer (d. 2006) births
  1. Floyd Patterson
    
    Floyd Patterson was an American professional boxer who competed from 1952 to 1972, and twice reigned as the world heavyweight champion between 1956 and 1962. At the age of 21, he became the youngest boxer in history to win the title, and was also the first heavyweight to regain the title after losing it. As an amateur, he won a gold medal in the middleweight division at the 1952 Summer Olympics.
1934
1. Rudolf Schuster, Slovak politician, 2nd President of Slovakia births
  1. Rudolf Schuster
    
    Rudolf Schuster served as the second president of Slovakia, his term of office ran from 1999 to 2004. He was elected on 29 May 1999 and inaugurated on 15 June. In the presidential elections of April 2004, in which he sought re-election, Schuster was defeated. He received only 7.4% of the vote, with three other candidates receiving more than that. He was succeeded by Ivan Gašparovič.
  2. President of Slovakia
    
    The president of the Slovak Republic is the head of state of Slovakia and the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. The president is directly elected by the people for five years, and can be elected for a maximum of two consecutive terms. The presidency is largely a ceremonial office, but the president does exercise certain limited powers with absolute discretion. The president's official residence is the Grassalkovich Palace in Bratislava.
1932
1. Carlos Saura, Spanish director and screenwriter births
  1. Carlos Saura
    
    Carlos Saura Atarés is a Spanish film director, photographer and writer. Along with Luis Buñuel and Pedro Almodóvar, he is considered to be one of Spain’s most renowned filmmakers. He has a long and prolific career that spans over half a century. His films have won many international awards.
1931
1. William Deane, Australian judge and politician, 22nd Governor-General of Australia births
  1. William Deane
    
    Sir William Patrick Deane is an Australian barrister and jurist who served as the 22nd governor-general of Australia, in office from 1996 to 2001. He was previously a Justice of the High Court of Australia from 1982 to 1995.
  2. 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.
2. Nora Iuga, Romanian poet, writer and translator births
  1. Nora Iuga
    
    Nora Iuga is a Romanian poet, writer and translator.
3. Art Acord, American actor and stuntman (b. 1890) deaths
  1. Art Acord
    
    Arthemus Ward "Art" Acord was an American silent film actor and rodeo champion. After his film career ended in 1929, Acord worked in rodeo road shows and as a miner in Mexico.
4. Louise, Princess Royal of the United Kingdom (b. 1867) deaths
  1. Louise, Princess Royal
    
    Louise, Princess Royal and Duchess of Fife was the third child and eldest daughter of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom; she was a younger sister of King George V. Louise was given the title of Princess Royal in 1905. Known for her shy and quiet personality, Louise remained a low-key member of the royal family throughout her life.
1930
1. Sorrell Booke, American actor and director (d. 1994) births
  1. Sorrell Booke
    
    Sorrell Booke was an American actor who performed on stage, screen, and television. He acted in more than 100 plays and 150 television shows, and is best known for his role as corrupt politician Jefferson Davis "Boss" Hogg in the television show The Dukes of Hazzard.
2. Don Shula, American football player and coach (d. 2020) births
  1. Don Shula
    
    Donald Francis Shula was an American football defensive back and coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) from 1963 to 1995. The head coach of the Miami Dolphins for most of his career, Shula is the NFL's winningest head coach at 347 career victories and 328 regular season victories. He held his first head coaching position with the Baltimore Colts, whom he led for seven seasons, and spent his next 26 seasons with Miami. Shula had only two losing seasons during his 33 years as a head coach and led the Dolphins to two consecutive Super Bowl titles in Super Bowl VII and Super Bowl VIII. His first Super Bowl title during 1972 is the only perfect season in NFL history.
1929
1. Günter Schabowski, German journalist and politician (d. 2015) births
  1. Günter Schabowski
    
    Günter Schabowski was an East German politician who served as an official of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany, the ruling party during most of the existence of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Schabowski gained worldwide fame in November 1989 when he improvised a slightly mistaken answer to a press conference question. That raised popular expectations much more rapidly than the government planned and so massive crowds gathered the same night at the Berlin Wall, which forced its opening after 28 years. Soon afterward, the entire inner German border was opened.
1927
1. Paul Desmarais, Canadian businessman and philanthropist (d. 2013) births
  1. Paul Desmarais
    
    Paul Desmarais Sr. was a Canadian financier and philanthropist, based in Montreal. With an estimated family net worth of US$4.5 billion, Desmarais was ranked by Forbes as the fourth wealthiest person in Canada and 235th in the world in 2013. He was chairman and chief executive officer of Power Corporation of Canada until 1996 when he passed the reins of management of Power Corporation to his sons, Paul Jr. and André. He then continued to serve as a director and as chairman of the executive committee of the board, and remained the controlling shareholder. Power Corporation of Canada is a diversified international management and holding company with interests in companies in the financial services, asset management, sustainable and renewable energy, and other business sectors.
2. Barbara Rush, American actress births
  1. Barbara Rush
    
    Barbara Rush is an American actress. In 1954, Rush won the Golden Globe Award as most promising female newcomer for her role in the 1953 American science-fiction film It Came from Outer Space. Later in her career, Rush became a regular performer in the television series Peyton Place, and appeared in TV movies, miniseries, and a variety of other programs, including the soap opera All My Children and family drama 7th Heaven, as well as starring in films, including The Young Philadelphians, The Young Lions, Robin and the 7 Hoods, and Hombre.
3. Süleyman Nazif, Turkish poet and civil servant (b. 1870) deaths
  1. Süleyman Nazif
    
    Süleyman Nazif was a Turkish poet and a prominent member of the CUP. He mastered Arabic, Persian, and French languages and worked as a civil servant during the reign of Sultan Abdul Hamid II. He contributed to the literary magazine Servet-i Fünun until it was censored by the Ottoman government in 1901.
1925
1. Veikko Hakulinen, Finnish skier and technician (d. 2003) births
  1. Veikko Hakulinen
    
    Veikko Johannes Hakulinen was a Finnish cross-country skier, triple champion in both the Olympics and World Championships. He also competed in biathlon, orienteering, ski-orienteering, cross-country running, and rowing at a national level.
2. Nellie Cashman, American nurse, restaurateur, entrepreneur, and gold prospector (b. 1845) deaths
  1. Nellie Cashman
    
    Ellen Cashman was an Irish nurse, restaurateur, businesswoman and philanthropist in Arizona, Alaska, British Columbia and Yukon.
1924
1. Marianne Werner, German shot putter births
  1. Marianne Werner
    
    Marianne Werner, is a retired West German athlete who specialized in throwing events. She competed in the shot put and discus throw at the 1952 and 1956 Olympics and earned two medals in the shot put. Werner won the European title in this event in 1958 and finished fifth in 1954.
2. Alfred Grünfeld, Austrian pianist and composer (b. 1852) deaths
  1. Alfred Grünfeld
    
    Alfred Grünfeld was an Austrian pianist and composer.
1920
1. William Colby, American intelligence officer, 10th Director of Central Intelligence (d. 1996) births
  1. William Colby
    
    William Egan Colby was an American intelligence officer who served as Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) from September 1973 to January 1976.
  2. Director of Central Intelligence
    
    The director of central intelligence (DCI) was the head of the American Central Intelligence Agency from 1946 to 2005, acting as the principal intelligence advisor to the president of the United States and the United States National Security Council, as well as the coordinator of intelligence activities among and between the various US intelligence agencies.
2. Benito Pérez Galdós, Spanish author and playwright (b. 1843) deaths
  1. Benito Pérez Galdós
    
    Benito Pérez Galdós was a Spanish realist novelist. He was the leading literary figure in 19th-century Spain, and some scholars consider him second only to Miguel de Cervantes in stature as a Spanish novelist.
1919
1. Georg von Hertling, German academic and politician, 7th Chancellor of the German Empire (b. 1843) deaths
  1. Georg von Hertling
    
    Georg Friedrich Karl Freiherr von Hertling, from 1914 Count von Hertling, was a German politician of the Catholic Centre Party. He was foreign minister and minister president of Bavaria, then chancellor of the German Reich and minister president of Prussia from 1 November 1917 to 30 September 1918. He was the first party politician to hold the two offices; all the others were non-partisan.
  2. Chancellor of Germany
    
    The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, is the head of the federal government of Germany and the commander in chief of the German Armed Forces during wartime. The chancellor is the chief executive of the Federal Cabinet and heads the executive branch. The chancellor is elected by the Bundestag on the proposal of the federal president and without debate.
1916
1. Lionel Newman, American pianist and composer (d. 1989) births
  1. 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.
2. Robert Parrish, American actor and director (d. 1995) births
  1. Robert Parrish
    
    Robert R. Parrish was an American film director, screenwriter, editor and former child actor. He received an Academy Award for Best Film Editing for his contribution to Body and Soul (1947).
1913
1. Malietoa Tanumafili II, Samoan ruler (d. 2007) births
  1. Malietoa Tanumafili II
    
    Malietoa Tanumafili II, addressed Susuga Malietoa Tanumafili II, was the Malietoa, the title of one of Samoa's four paramount chiefs, and the head of state, or O le Ao o le Malo, a position that he held for life, of Samoa from 1962 to 2007. He was co-head of state in 1962 with the tama-a-'aiga Tupua Tamasese Mea'ole and became the sole head of state on 15 April 1963 upon the death of his co-regent. At the time of his death, he was the oldest national leader in the world, and was also the last incumbent president-for-life in the world. His Highness Malietoa Tanumafili II was also the first head of state to be a follower of the Bahá’í Faith.
1912
1. Clarence Dutton, American geologist and soldier (b. 1841) deaths
  1. Clarence Dutton
    
    Clarence Edward Dutton was an American geologist and US Army officer. Dutton was born in Wallingford, Connecticut on May 15, 1841. He graduated from Yale College in 1860 and took postgraduate courses there until 1862, when he enlisted in the 21st Connecticut Volunteer Infantry; he fought at Fredericksburg, Suffolk, Nashville and Petersburg. He was elected as a member to the American Philosophical Society in 1871.
1910
1. Léon Delagrange, French pilot and sculptor (b. 1873) deaths
  1. Léon Delagrange
    
    Ferdinand Marie Léon Delagrange was a sculptor and pioneering French aviator, ranked as one of the top aviators in the world.
1905
1. Sterling Holloway, American actor (d. 1992) births
  1. Sterling Holloway
    
    Sterling Price Holloway Jr. was an American actor and voice actor who appeared in over 100 films and 40 television shows. He did voice acting for The Walt Disney Company, playing Mr. Stork in Dumbo, Adult Flower in Bambi, the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland, Kaa in The Jungle Book, Roquefort the Mouse in The Aristocats, and the title character in Winnie the Pooh, among many others.
1904
1. Anna Winlock, American astronomer and academic (b. 1857) deaths
  1. Anna Winlock
    
    Anna Winlock (1857–1904) was an American astronomer and human computer, one of the first members of female computer group known as "the Harvard Computers." She made the most complete catalog of stars near the north and south poles of her era. She is also remembered for her calculations and studies of asteroids. In particular, she did calculations on 433 Eros and 475 Ocllo.
1902
1. John A. McCone, American businessman and politician, 6th Director of Central Intelligence (d. 1991) births
  1. John A. McCone
    
    John Alexander McCone was an American businessman and politician who served as Director of Central Intelligence from 1961 to 1965, during the height of the Cold War.
  2. Director of Central Intelligence
    
    The director of central intelligence (DCI) was the head of the American Central Intelligence Agency from 1946 to 2005, acting as the principal intelligence advisor to the president of the United States and the United States National Security Council, as well as the coordinator of intelligence activities among and between the various US intelligence agencies.
1901
1. C. L. R. James, Trinidadian journalist and theorist (d. 1989) births
  1. C. L. R. James
    
    Cyril Lionel Robert James, who sometimes wrote under the pen-name J. R. Johnson, was a Trinidadian historian, journalist and Marxist. His works are influential in various theoretical, social, and historiographical contexts. His work is a staple of Marxism, and he figures as a pioneering and influential voice in postcolonial literature. A tireless political activist, James is the author of the 1937 work World Revolution outlining the history of the Communist International, which stirred debate in Trotskyist circles, and in 1938 he wrote on the Haitian Revolution, The Black Jacobins.
1900
1. James Bond, American ornithologist and zoologist (d. 1989) births
  1. James Bond (ornithologist)
    
    James Bond was an American ornithologist and expert on the birds of the Caribbean, having written the definitive book on the subject: Birds of the West Indies, first published in 1936. He served as a curator of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. His name was appropriated by writer Ian Fleming for his fictional British spy of the same name; the real Bond enjoyed knowing his name was being used this way, and references to him permeate the resulting media franchise.
2. Stanisław Mieroszewski, Polish-born politician, writer, historian and member of the Imperial Council of Austria (b. 1827) deaths
  1. Stanisław Mieroszewski
    
    Count Stanisław Mieroszewski (Mieroszowski) (1827–1900) was a Polish-born politician, writer, historian and member of the Imperial Council of Austria.
1897
1. Chen Cheng, Chinese politician, Vice President of the Republic of China (d. 1965) births
  1. Chen Cheng
    
    Chen Cheng was a Chinese political and military leader, and one of the main commanders of the National Revolutionary Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War.
  2. Vice President of the Republic of China
    
    The vice president of the Republic of China, commonly referred to as the vice president of Taiwan, is the second-highest constitutional office of the Republic of China (Taiwan).
1896
1. Everett Dirksen, American politician (d. 1969) births
  1. Everett Dirksen
    
    Everett McKinley Dirksen was an American politician. A Republican, he represented Illinois in the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate. As Senate Minority Leader from 1959 until his death in 1969, he played a highly visible and key role in the politics of the 1960s. He helped write and pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Civil Rights Act of 1968, both landmark pieces of legislation during the civil rights movement. He was also one of the Senate's strongest supporters of the Vietnam War. A talented orator with a florid style and a notably rich baritone voice, he delivered flamboyant speeches that caused his detractors to refer to him as "The Wizard of Ooze".
2. André Masson, French painter and illustrator (d. 1987) births
  1. André Masson
    
    André-Aimé-René Masson was a French artist.
3. Joseph Hubert Reinkens, German bishop and academic (b. 1821) deaths
  1. Joseph Hubert Reinkens
    
    Joseph Hubert Reinkens was the first German Old Catholic bishop.
1895
1. Leroy Grumman, American engineer and businessman, co-founded Grumman Aeronautical Engineering Co. (d. 1982) births
  1. Leroy Grumman
    
    Leroy Randle "Roy" Grumman was an American aeronautical engineer, test pilot, and industrialist. In 1929, he co-founded Grumman Aircraft Engineering Co., later renamed Grumman Aerospace Corporation, and now part of Northrop Grumman.
  2. Grumman
    
    The Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, later Grumman Aerospace Corporation, was a 20th century American producer of military and civilian aircraft. Founded on December 6, 1929, by Leroy Grumman and his business partners, it merged in 1994 with Northrop Corporation to form Northrop Grumman.
1891
1. Edward Brooker, English-Australian sergeant and politician, 31st Premier of Tasmania (d. 1948) births
  1. Edward Brooker
    
    William Edward Brooker was a Labor Party politician. He became the interim Premier of Tasmania on 19 December 1947 while Robert Cosgrove was facing corruption charges. He died on 18 June 1948, shortly after returning the premiership to Cosgrove on 24 February 1948.
  2. Premier of Tasmania
    
    The premier of Tasmania is the head of the executive government in the Australian state of Tasmania. By convention, the leader of the party or political grouping which has majority support in the House of Assembly is invited by the governor of Tasmania to be premier and principal adviser.
2. Antoine Labelle, Canadian priest (b. 1833) deaths
  1. Antoine Labelle
    
    François-Xavier-Antoine Labelle was a Roman Catholic priest and the person principally responsible for the settlement of the Laurentians. He is also referred to as "Curé Labelle" and sometimes, the "King of the North."
1889
1. M. Patanjali Sastri, Indian lawyer and jurist, 2nd Chief Justice of India (d. 1963) births
  1. M. Patanjali Sastri
    
    Mandakolathur Patanjali Sastri was the second Chief Justice of India, serving in the post from 7 November 1951 to 3 January 1954.
  2. Chief Justice of India
    
    The Chief Justice of India is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of India as well as the highest-ranking officer of the Indian Judiciary. The Constitution of India grants power to the President of India to appoint, in consultation with the outgoing chief justice, the next chief justice, who will serve until they reach the age of sixty-five or are removed by impeachment. As per convention, the name suggested by the incumbent chief justice is almost always the next senior most judge in the Supreme Court.
1884
1. Guy Pène du Bois, American painter, critic, and educator (d. 1958) births
  1. Guy Pène du Bois
    
    Guy Pène du Bois was a 20th-century American painter, art critic, and educator. Born in the U.S. to a French family, his work depicted the culture and society around him: cafes, theatres, and in the twenties, flappers.
1883
1. Max Eastman, American author and poet (d. 1969) births
  1. Max Eastman
    
    Max Forrester Eastman was an American writer on literature, philosophy and society, a poet and a prominent political activist. Moving to New York City for graduate school, Eastman became involved with radical circles in Greenwich Village. He supported socialism and became a leading patron of the Harlem Renaissance and an activist for a number of liberal and radical causes. For several years, he edited The Masses. With his sister Crystal Eastman, he co-founded in 1917 The Liberator, a radical magazine of politics and the arts.
2. Johanna Westerdijk, Dutch pathologist and academic (d. 1961) births
  1. Johanna Westerdijk
    
    Johanna Westerdijk was a Dutch plant pathologist and the first female professor in the Netherlands.
3. Antoine Chanzy, French general (b. 1823) deaths
  1. Antoine Chanzy
    
    Antoine Eugène Alfred Chanzy was a French general, notable for his successes during the Franco-Prussian War and as a governor of Algeria.
1882
1. John William Draper, English-American physician, chemist, and photographer (b. 1811) deaths
  1. John William Draper
    
    John William Draper was an English-born American scientist, philosopher, physician, chemist, historian and photographer. He is credited with producing the first clear photograph of a female face (1839–40) and the first detailed photograph of the moon in 1840. He was also the first president of the American Chemical Society (1876–77) and a founder of the New York University School of Medicine.
1881
1. Wilhelm Lehmbruck, German sculptor (d. 1919) births
  1. Wilhelm Lehmbruck
    
    Wilhelm Lehmbruck was a German sculptor.
1880
1. Anselm Feuerbach, German painter and educator (b. 1829) deaths
  1. Anselm Feuerbach
    
    Anselm Feuerbach was a German painter. He was the leading classicist painter of the German 19th-century school.
2. Edward William Cooke, English painter and illustrator (b. 1811) deaths
  1. Edward William Cooke
    
    Edward William Cooke was an English landscape and marine painter, and gardener.
1878
1. A. E. Coppard, English poet and short story writer (d. 1957) births
  1. A. E. Coppard
    
    Alfred Edgar Coppard was an English author, noted for his poetry and short stories.
2. Augustus John, Welsh painter and illustrator (d. 1961) births
  1. Augustus John
    
    Augustus Edwin John was a Welsh painter, draughtsman, and etcher. For a time he was considered the most important artist at work in Britain: Virginia Woolf remarked that by 1908 the era of John Singer Sargent and Charles Wellington Furse "was over. The age of Augustus John was dawning." He was the younger brother of the painter Gwen John.
1877
1. Marsden Hartley, American painter and poet (d. 1943) births
  1. Marsden Hartley
    
    Marsden Hartley was an American Modernist painter, poet, and essayist. Hartley developed his painting abilities by observing Cubist artists in Paris and Berlin.
2. Cornelius Vanderbilt, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1794) deaths
  1. Cornelius Vanderbilt
    
    Cornelius Vanderbilt, nicknamed "the Commodore", was an American business magnate who built his wealth in railroads and shipping. After working with his father's business, Vanderbilt worked his way into leadership positions in the inland water trade and invested in the rapidly growing railroad industry, effectively transforming the geography of the United States.
1874
1. Josef Suk, Czech violinist and composer (d. 1935) births
  1. Josef Suk (composer)
    
    Josef Suk was a Czech composer and violinist. He studied under Antonín Dvořák, whose daughter he married.
2. Thomas Gregson, English-Australian lawyer and politician, 2nd Premier of Tasmania (b. 1798) deaths
  1. Thomas Gregson
    
    Thomas George Gregson was the second Premier of Tasmania, serving from 26 February 1857 until 25 April 1857.
  2. Premier of Tasmania
    
    The premier of Tasmania is the head of the executive government in the Australian state of Tasmania. By convention, the leader of the party or political grouping which has majority support in the House of Assembly is invited by the governor of Tasmania to be premier and principal adviser.
1869
1. Tommy Corcoran, American baseball player and umpire (d. 1960) births
  1. Tommy Corcoran
    
    Thomas William Corcoran was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop from 1890 to 1907 for the Pittsburgh Burghers (1890), Philadelphia Athletics (1891), Brooklyn Grooms/Brooklyn Bridegrooms (1892–1896), Cincinnati Reds (1897–1906) and the New York Giants (1907). The 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Connecticut native occasionally played second base later in his career. He batted and threw right-handed.
1864
1. Clara Emilia Smitt, Swedish doctor and author (d. 1928) births
  1. Clara Emilia Smitt
    
    Clara Emilia Smitt, was a Swedish doctor and author. Between 1896 and 1902 she ran Saltsjöbadens sanatorium in Saltsjöbaden.
1863
1. Roger Hanson, American general (b. 1827) deaths
  1. Roger Hanson
    
    Roger Weightman Hanson was a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. The commander of the famed "Orphan Brigade," he was mortally wounded at the Battle of Murfreesboro. He was nicknamed "Old Flintlock."
1858
1. Carter Glass, American publisher and politician, 47th United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1946) births
  1. Carter Glass
    
    Carter Glass was an American newspaper publisher and Democratic politician from Lynchburg, Virginia. He represented Virginia in both houses of Congress and served as the United States Secretary of the Treasury under President Woodrow Wilson. He played a major role in the establishment of the U.S. financial regulatory system, helping to establish the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
  2. United States Secretary of the Treasury
    
    The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters pertaining to economic and fiscal policy. The secretary is a statutory member of the Cabinet of the United States, and is fifth in the presidential line of succession.
1848
1. Katsura Tarō, Japanese general and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1913) births
  1. Katsura Tarō
    
    Prince Katsura Tarō was a Japanese politician and general of the Imperial Japanese Army who served as the Prime Minister of Japan from 1901 to 1906, from 1908 to 1911, and from 1912 to 1913.
  2. Prime Minister of Japan
    
    The prime minister of Japan is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its Ministers of State. The prime minister also serves as the civilian commander-in-chief of the Japan Self Defence Forces and as a sitting member of the House of Representatives. The individual is appointed by the emperor of Japan after being nominated by the National Diet and must retain the nomination of the lower house and answer to parliament to remain in office.
1839
1. Carl Humann, German archaeologist, architect, and engineer (d. 1896) births
  1. Carl Humann
    
    Carl Humann was a German engineer, architect and archaeologist. He discovered the Pergamon Altar.
1838
1. General Tom Thumb, American circus performer (d. 1883) births
  1. General Tom Thumb
    
    Charles Sherwood Stratton, better known by his stage name "General Tom Thumb", was an American dwarf who achieved great fame as a performer under circus pioneer P. T. Barnum.
1832
1. George Tryon, English admiral (d. 1893) births
  1. George Tryon
    
    Vice-Admiral Sir George Tryon was a British admiral who died when his flagship HMS Victoria collided with HMS Camperdown during manoeuvres off Tripoli, Lebanon.
1825
1. Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies (b. 1751) deaths
  1. Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies
    
    Ferdinand I was the King of the Two Sicilies from 1816, after his restoration following victory in the Napoleonic Wars. Before that he had been, since 1759, Ferdinand IV of the Kingdom of Naples and Ferdinand III of the Kingdom of Sicily. He was also King of Gozo. He was deposed twice from the throne of Naples: once by the revolutionary Parthenopean Republic for six months in 1799 and again by Napoleon in 1805, before being restored in 1816.
1821
1. Elizabeth Ann Seton, American nun and saint (b. 1774) deaths
  1. Elizabeth Ann Seton
    
    Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton was a Catholic religious sister in the United States and an educator, known as a founder of the country's parochial school system. After her death, she became the first person born in what would become the United States to be canonized by the Catholic Church. She also established the first Catholic girls' school in the nation in Emmitsburg, Maryland, where she likewise founded the first American congregation of religious sisters, the Sisters of Charity.
1813
1. Isaac Pitman, English linguist and educator (d. 1897) births
  1. Isaac Pitman
    
    Sir Isaac Pitman was a teacher of the English language who developed the most widely used system of shorthand, known now as Pitman shorthand. He first proposed this in Stenographic Soundhand in 1837. He was also the vice-president of the Vegetarian Society. Pitman was knighted by Queen Victoria in 1894.
1809
1. Louis Braille, French educator, invented Braille (d. 1852) births
  1. Louis Braille
    
    Louis Braille was a French educator and the inventor of a reading and writing system, named braille after him, intended for use by visually impaired people. His system is used worldwide and remains virtually unchanged to this day.
  2. Braille
    
    Braille is a tactile writing system used by people who are visually impaired, including people who are blind, deafblind or who have low vision. It can be read either on embossed paper or by using refreshable braille displays that connect to computers and smartphone devices. Braille can be written using a slate and stylus, a braille writer, an electronic braille notetaker or with the use of a computer connected to a braille embosser.
1804
1. Charlotte Lennox, English author and poet (b. 1730) deaths
  1. Charlotte Lennox
    
    Charlotte Lennox, née Ramsay, was a Scottish novelist, playwright, poet, translator, essayist, and magazine editor, who has primarily been remembered as the author of The Female Quixote, and for her association with Samuel Johnson, Joshua Reynolds and Samuel Richardson. However, she had a long, productive career in her own right.
1786
1. Moses Mendelssohn, German philosopher and theologian (b. 1729) deaths
  1. Moses Mendelssohn
    
    Moses Mendelssohn was a German-Jewish philosopher and theologian. His writings and ideas on Jews and the Jewish religion and identity were a central element in the development of the Haskalah, or 'Jewish Enlightenment' of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Born to a poor Jewish family in Dessau, Principality of Anhalt, and originally destined for a rabbinical career, Mendelssohn educated himself in German thought and literature. Through his writings on philosophy and religion he came to be regarded as a leading cultural figure of his time by both Christian and Jewish inhabitants of German-speaking Europe and beyond. His involvement in the Berlin textile industry formed the foundation of his family's wealth.
1785
1. Jacob Grimm, German philologist and mythologist (d. 1863) births
  1. Jacob Grimm
    
    Jacob Ludwig Karl Grimm, also known as Ludwig Karl, was a German author, linguist, philologist, jurist, and folklorist. He is known as the discoverer of Grimm's law of linguistics, the co-author of the monumental Deutsches Wörterbuch, the author of Deutsche Mythologie, and the editor of Grimms' Fairy Tales. He was the older brother of Wilhelm Grimm, of the literary duo the Brothers Grimm.
1782
1. Ange-Jacques Gabriel, French architect, designed École Militaire (b. 1698) deaths
  1. Ange-Jacques Gabriel
    
    Ange-Jacques Gabriel was the principal architect of King Louis XV of France. His major works included the Place de la Concorde, the École Militaire, and the Petit Trianon and opera theater at the Palace of Versailles. His style was a careful balance between French Baroque architecture and French neoclassicism.
  2. École militaire
    
    The École militaire is a complex of buildings in Paris, France, which house various military training facilities. It was founded in 1750 by King Louis XV and is located in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, southeast of the Champ de Mars.
1761
1. Stephen Hales, English clergyman and physiologist (b. 1677) deaths
  1. Stephen Hales
    
    Stephen Hales was an English clergyman who made major contributions to a range of scientific fields including botany, pneumatic chemistry and physiology. He was the first person to measure blood pressure. He also invented several devices, including a ventilator, a pneumatic trough and a surgical forceps for the removal of bladder stones. In addition to these achievements, he was a philanthropist and wrote a popular tract on alcoholic intemperance.
1720
1. Johann Friedrich Agricola, German organist and composer (d. 1774) births
  1. Johann Friedrich Agricola
    
    Johann Friedrich Agricola was a German composer, organist, singer, pedagogue, and writer on music. He sometimes wrote under the pseudonym Flavio Anicio Olibrio.
1710
1. Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Italian composer, violinist, and organist (d. 1736) births
  1. Giovanni Battista Pergolesi
    
    Giovanni Battista Draghi, often referred to as Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, was an Italian Baroque composer, violinist, and organist. His best-known works include his Stabat Mater and the opera La serva padrona. His compositions include operas and sacred music. He died of tuberculosis at the age of 26.
1695
1. François-Henri de Montmorency, duc de Luxembourg, French general (b. 1628) deaths
  1. François-Henri de Montmorency, duc de Luxembourg
    
    François Henri de Montmorency-Bouteville, Duke of Piney-Luxembourg, commonly known as Luxembourg, and nicknamed "The Upholsterer of Notre-Dame", was a French general and Marshal of France. A comrade and successor of the Great Condé, he was one of the most accomplished military commanders of the early modern period and is particularly noted for his exploits in the Franco-Dutch War and War of the Grand Alliance. Not imposing physically, as he was a slight man and hunchbacked, Luxembourg was nonetheless one of France's greatest generals. He never lost a battle in which he held command.
1672
1. Hugh Boulter, English-Irish archbishop (d. 1742) births
  1. Hugh Boulter
    
    Hugh Boulter was the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh, the Primate of All Ireland, from 1724 until his death. He also served as the chaplain to George I from 1719.
1654
1. Lars Roberg, Swedish physician and academic (d. 1742) births
  1. Lars Roberg
    
    Lars Roberg was a Swedish physician and natural science researcher. He served as a professor of anatomy and medicine at Uppsala University.
1604
1. Ferenc Nádasdy, Hungarian noble (b. 1555) deaths
  1. Ferenc Nádasdy
    
    Count Ferenc II Nádasdy de Nádasd et Fogarasföld was a Hungarian nobleman. His family, Nádasdy, was one of the wealthiest and most influential of the era in Hungary. In 1571, when Ferenc was 16, his mother, Orsolya Nádasdy, using her association with many noble families in Hungary, organized a marriage to the young Elizabeth Báthory, daughter of the Count György and Anna Báthory. The Báthory family were as rich and illustrious as the Nádasdy family, though older and more influential, since they had several relatives who had the charge of Nádor (palatine) of Hungary. Among them, included a cardinal, a King of Poland-Lithuania, and a Prince of Transylvania.
1584
1. Tobias Stimmer, Swiss painter and illustrator (b. 1539) deaths
  1. Tobias Stimmer
    
    Tobias Stimmer was a Swiss painter and illustrator. His most famous work is the paintings on the Strasbourg astronomical clock.
1581
1. James Ussher, Irish archbishop and historian (d. 1656) births
  1. James Ussher
    
    James Ussher was the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland between 1625 and 1656. He was a prolific scholar and church leader, who today is most famous for his identification of the genuine letters of the church father, Ignatius of Antioch, and for his chronology that sought to establish the time and date of the creation as "the entrance of the night preceding the 23rd day of October... the year before Christ 4004"; that is, around 6 pm on 22 October 4004 BC, per the proleptic Julian calendar.
1467
1. Bodo VIII, Count of Stolberg-Wernigerode (d. 1538) births
  1. Bodo III, Count of Stolberg-Wernigerode
    
    Count Bodo III of Stolberg-Wernigerode, nicknamed "the Blissful", was Count of Stolberg and Hohnstein and Lord of Wernigerode from 1511 until his death.
1428
1. Frederick I, Elector of Saxony (b. 1370) deaths
  1. Frederick I, Elector of Saxony
    
    Frederick I, the Belligerent or the Warlike, a member of the House of Wettin, ruled as Margrave of Meissen from 1407 and Elector of Saxony from 1423 until his death.
1424
1. Muzio Sforza, Italian condottiero deaths
  1. Muzio Attendolo Sforza
    
    Muzio Attendolo Sforza, was an Italian condottiero. Founder of the Sforza dynasty, he led a Bolognese-Florentine army at the Battle of Casalecchio.
1399
1. Nicholas Eymerich, Catalan theologian and inquisitor deaths
  1. Nicholas Eymerich
    
    Nicholas Eymerich was a Roman Catholic theologian in Medieval Spain and Inquisitor General of the Inquisition in the Crown of Aragon in the later half of the 14th century. He is best known for authoring the Directorium Inquisitorum, that mostly summarized previous texts and mores.
1344
1. Robert de Lisle, 1st Baron Lisle, English peer (b. 1288) deaths
  1. Robert Lisle, 1st Baron Lisle of Rougemont
    
    Robert de Lisle, 1st Baron Lisle was an English peer. He saw military service in Scotland, and fought at the Battle of Boroughbridge. After his wife's death, he joined the Franciscan order. He was the owner of the Lisle Psalter.
1334
1. Amadeus VI, Count of Savoy (d. 1383) births
  1. Amadeus VI, Count of Savoy
    
    Amadeus VI, nicknamed the Green Count was Count of Savoy from 1343 to 1383. He was the eldest son of Aymon, Count of Savoy, and Yolande Palaeologina of Montferrat. Though he started under a regency, he showed himself to be a forceful leader, continuing Savoy's emergence as a power in Europe politically and militarily. He participated in a crusade against the Turks who were moving into Europe.
1248
1. Sancho II of Portugal (b. 1209) deaths
  1. Sancho II of Portugal
    
    Sancho II, nicknamed the Cowled or the Capuched, alternatively, the Pious, was King of Portugal from 1223 to 1248. He was succeeded on the Portuguese throne by his brother, King Afonso III, in 1248.
1077
1. Emperor Zhezong of China (d. 1100) births
  1. Emperor Zhezong
    
    Emperor Zhezong of Song, personal name Zhao Xu, was the seventh emperor of the Song dynasty of China. His original personal name was Zhao Yong but he changed it to "Zhao Xu" after his coronation. He reigned from 1085 until his death in 1100, and was succeeded by his younger half-brother, Emperor Huizong, because his son died prematurely.
874
1. Hasan al-Askari, eleventh of the Twelve Imams (probable; b. 846) deaths
  1. Hasan al-Askari
    
    Hasan ibn Ali ibn Muhammad, better known as Hasan al-Askari, was a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He is regarded as the eleventh of the Twelve Imams, succeeding his father, Ali al-Hadi. Hasan Al-Askari was born in Medina in 844 and brought with his father to the garrison town of Samarra in 848, where the Abbasid caliphs held them under close surveillance until their deaths, even though neither were politically active. After the death of al-Hadi in 868, the majority of his following acknowledged his son, al-Askari, as their next Imam. Al-Askari's contact with the Shia population was restricted by the caliphs and instead he communicated with his followers through a network of representatives. He died in Samarra in 873-874 at the age of about twenty-eight and was buried in the family home next to his father, which later developed into al-Askari shrine, a major center for Shia pilgrimage. Shia sources commonly hold the Abbasids responsible for the death of al-Askari and his father. A well-known early Shia commentary of the Quran is attributed to al-Askari.
  2. Twelve Imams
    
    The Twelve Imams are the spiritual and political successors to the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Twelver branch of Islam, including that of the Alawite and Alevi.
871
1. Æthelwulf, Saxon ealdorman deaths
  1. Æthelwulf of Berkshire
    
    Æthelwulf of Berkshire was a Saxon ealdorman. In 860 he and other men of Berkshire fought off a band of pirates near Winchester, Hampshire. Later he mustered a force of 1400 men against an army of Danes, won the 31 December 870 Battle of Englefield on behalf of the then kingdom of Wessex. He received a land grant in 843/44 from Brihtwulf, king of Mercia; and lost his life at the Battle of Reading.
  2. Ealdorman
    
    Ealdorman was a term in Anglo-Saxon England which originally applied to a man of high status, including some of royal birth, whose authority was independent of the king. It evolved in meaning and in the eighth century was sometimes applied to the former kings of territories which had submitted to great powers such as Mercia. In Wessex in the second half of the ninth century it meant the leaders of individual shires appointed by the king. By the tenth century ealdormen had become the local representatives of the West Saxon king of England. Ealdormen would lead in battle, preside over courts and levy taxation. Ealdormanries were the most prestigious royal appointments, the possession of noble families and semi-independent rulers. Their territories became large, often covering former kingdoms such as Mercia or East Anglia. Southern ealdormen often attended court, reflecting increasing centralisation of the kingdom, but the loyalty of northern ealdormen was more uncertain. In the eleventh century the term eorl, today's earl, replaced that of ealdorman, but this reflected a change in terminology under Danish influence rather than a change in function.
659
1. Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin (d.680) births
  1. Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin
    
    ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn, also known as al-Sajjād or simply as Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn, c. 4 January 659 – c. 13 October 713, was an Imam in Shiʻi Islam after his father Husayn ibn Ali, his uncle Hasan ibn Ali, and his grandfather, Ali.

Holidays

Christian feast day: Angela of Foligno
1. Angela of Foligno
  
  Angela of Foligno was an Italian Franciscan tertiary who became known as a mystic from her extensive writings about her mystical revelations. Due to the respect those writings engendered in the Catholic Church she became known as "Mistress of Theologians".
Christian feast day: Elizabeth Ann Seton
1. Elizabeth Ann Seton
  
  Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton was a Catholic religious sister in the United States and an educator, known as a founder of the country's parochial school system. After her death, she became the first person born in what would become the United States to be canonized by the Catholic Church. She also established the first Catholic girls' school in the nation in Emmitsburg, Maryland, where she likewise founded the first American congregation of religious sisters, the Sisters of Charity.
Christian feast day: Ferréol of Uzès
1. Ferréol of Uzès
  
  Saint Ferréol (Ferreolus) of Uzès was bishop of Uzès and possibly bishop of Nîmes (553-581). His Feast Day is January 4.
Christian feast day: Mavilus
1. Mavilus
  
  Mavilus, distinguished as Mavilus of Hadrumetum, was an early Christian martyr during the persecutions of Caracalla. He suffered martyrdom at Hadrumetum, in 212, by being thrown to wild beasts, by order of Governor Scapula.
Christian feast day: Pharaildis of Ghent
1. Pharaildis
  
  Saint Pharaildis or Pharailde is an 8th-century Belgian saint in Roman Catholicism, and patron saint of Ghent. Her dates are imprecise, but she lived to a great age and died on January 5 at ninety.
Christian feast day: Rigobert
1. Rigobert
  
  Rigobert was a Benedictine monk and later abbot at Orbais who subsequently succeeded Saint Rieul as bishop of Reims in 698. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church.
Christian feast day: January 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
1. January 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  
  January 3 - Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar - January 5
The eleventh of the Twelve Days of Christmas. (Western Christianity)
1. Twelve Days of Christmas
  
  The Twelve Days of Christmas, also known as Twelvetide, is a festive Christian season celebrating the Nativity of Jesus. In some Western ecclesiastical traditions, "Christmas Day" is considered the "First Day of Christmas" and the Twelve Days are 25 December to 5 January, inclusive, with 6 January being a "thirteenth day" in some traditions and languages. However, 6 January is sometimes considered Twelfth Day/Twelfth Night with the Twelve Days "of" Christmas actually after Christmas Day from 26 December to 6 January. For many Christian denominations—for example, the Anglican Communion and Lutheran Church—the Twelve Days are identical to Christmastide, but for others, e.g. the Roman Catholic Church, Christmastide lasts longer than the Twelve Days of Christmas.
2. Western Christianity
  
  Western Christianity is one of two sub-divisions of Christianity. Western Christianity is composed of the Latin Church and Western Protestantism, together with their offshoots such as the Old Catholic Church, Independent Catholicism and Restorationism.
Independence Day (Myanmar), celebrates the independence of Myanmar from the United Kingdom in 1948.
1. Independence Day (Myanmar)
  
  Independence Day is a national holiday observed annually in Myanmar every 4 January. The date celebrates Myanmar's Declaration of Independence from British rule on 4 January 1948.
2. Myanmar
  
  Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, also known as Burma, is a country in Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia, and has a population of about 54 million as of 2017. Myanmar is bordered by Bangladesh and India to its northwest, China to its northeast, Laos and Thailand to its east and southeast, and the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal to its south and southwest. The country's capital city is Naypyidaw, and its largest city is Yangon (Rangoon).
3. United Kingdom
  
  The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and many smaller islands within the British Isles. Northern Ireland shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland; otherwise, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea and the Irish Sea. The total area of the United Kingdom is 242,495 square kilometres (93,628 sq mi), with an estimated 2020 population of more than 67 million people.
Colonial Martyrs Repression Day (Angola)
1. Baixa de Cassanje revolt
  
  The Baixa de Cassanje revolt is considered the first confrontation of the War of Independence in Angola and the Portuguese Colonial War throughout the Portuguese overseas provinces. The uprising began on 3 January 1961 in the region of Baixa do Cassanje, district of Malanje, Portuguese Angola. By the following day the Portuguese authorities had successfully suppressed the revolt. 4 January is now Colonial Martyrs Repression Day, a national holiday in Angola.
2. Angola
  
  Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country located on the west coast of central-southern Africa. It is the second-largest Lusophone (Portuguese-speaking) country in both total area and population, and is the seventh-largest country in Africa. It is bordered by Namibia to the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Zambia to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Angola has an exclave province, the province of Cabinda, that borders the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The capital and most populous city is Luanda.
Day of the Martyrs (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
1. Public holidays in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
  
  This is a list of holidays in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Ogoni Day (Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People)
1. Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People
  
  The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), is a social movement organization representing the indigenous Ogoni people of Rivers State, Nigeria. The Ogoni contend that Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), along with other petroleum multinationals and the Nigerian government, have destroyed their environment, polluted their rivers, and provided no benefits in return for enormous oil revenues extracted from their lands.
Tokyo Dome Show: The annual Wrestle Kingdom event run by New Japan Pro-Wrestling
1. January 4 Tokyo Dome Show
  
  The January 4 Tokyo Dome Show is a professional wrestling event produced annually on January 4 in the Tokyo Dome by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), a Japan-based professional wrestling promotion. NJPW has promoted events in the venue every January 4 since Super Warriors in Tokyo Dome in 1992.
2. New Japan Pro-Wrestling
  
  New Japan Pro-Wrestling Co., Ltd. (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares of the company. Naoki Sugabayashi has served as the promotion's Chairman since September 2013, while Takami Ohbari has served as the president of the promotion since October 2020.
World Braille Day
1. World Health Observances
  
  International Observances denote a period to observe an issue of international interest or concern. Many of these observances have been established by the United Nations General Assembly, United Nations Economic and Social Council or World Health Organization. World Health Observances mark a period which is often used to promote an issue and mobilize for action. Below follows a list of days and months which have been denoted as health related observances.

Important events in history on January 4 th

Events

Sembawang Hot Spring Park

National Parks Board

Hennenman–Kroonstad train crash

Free State (province)

Hennenman–Kroonstad train crash

Shosholoza Meyl

Hennenman

Kroonstad

Kawit shooting

Kawit

Cavite

Burj Khalifa

List of tallest structures

Dubai

Burj Khalifa

Dubai

Let L-410 Turbolet

2008 Los Roques archipelago Transaven Let L-410 crash

Los Roques Archipelago

Venezuela

Nancy Pelosi

Speaker of the United States House of Representatives

Federal government of the United States

110th United States Congress

Nancy Pelosi

Speaker of the United States House of Representatives

Ehud Olmert

Prime Minister of Israel

Ariel Sharon

Spirit (rover)

Rover (space exploration)

NASA

Mars Exploration Rover

Spirit (rover)

NASA

Mars rover

Mars

Coordinated Universal Time

Mikheil Saakashvili

2004 Georgian presidential election

President of Georgia

Rose Revolution

Trondheim

Åsta accident

Hamar

Åsta

Åmot

Jesse Ventura

Minnesota

January 1998 North American ice storm

Sukkur rail disaster

Grumman F-14 Tomcat

1989 air battle near Tobruk

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23

Gulf of Sidra

Mediterranean Sea

1989 air battle near Tobruk

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23

Grumman F-14 Tomcat

1987 Maryland train collision

Amtrak

Boston

Conrail

Chase, Maryland

Punk rock

Sex Pistols

Heathrow Airport

EMI

The Troubles

Ulster Volunteer Force

Reavey and O'Dowd killings

County Armagh

Kingsmill massacre

TOPS-10

Last of the Summer Wine

Sitcom

BBC

Comedy Playhouse

Important events in history
on January 4 ^th