On This Day /

Important events in history
on July 4 th

Events

  1. 2015

    1. Chile claims its first title in international football by defeating Argentina in the 2015 Copa América Final.

      1. Team sport played with a spherical ball

        Association football

        Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is to score more goals than the opposition by moving the ball beyond the goal line into a rectangular framed goal defended by the opposing side. Traditionally, the game has been played over two 45 minute halves, for a total match time of 90 minutes. With an estimated 250 million players active in over 200 countries, it is considered the world's most popular sport.

      2. International football competition

        2015 Copa América

        The 2015 Copa América was the 44th edition of the Copa América, the main international football tournament for national teams in South America, and took place in Chile between 11 June and 4 July 2015. The competition was organized by CONMEBOL, South America's football governing body.

  2. 2012

    1. The discovery of particles consistent with the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider is announced at CERN.

      1. Elementary particle

        Higgs boson

        The Higgs boson, sometimes called the Higgs particle, is an elementary particle in the Standard Model of particle physics produced by the quantum excitation of the Higgs field, one of the fields in particle physics theory. In the Standard Model, the Higgs particle is a massive scalar boson with zero spin, even (positive) parity, no electric charge, and no colour charge, that couples to mass. It is also very unstable, decaying into other particles almost immediately.

      2. Particle collider in France and Switzerland

        Large Hadron Collider

        The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world's largest and highest-energy particle collider. It was built by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) between 1998 and 2008 in collaboration with over 10,000 scientists and hundreds of universities and laboratories, as well as more than 100 countries. It lies in a tunnel 27 kilometres (17 mi) in circumference and as deep as 175 metres (574 ft) beneath the France–Switzerland border near Geneva.

      3. European research centre based in Geneva, Switzerland

        CERN

        The European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN, is an intergovernmental organization that operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. Established in 1954, it is based in a northwestern suburb of Geneva, on the France–Switzerland border. It comprises 23 member states, and Israel is currently the only non-European country holding full membership. CERN is an official United Nations General Assembly observer.

  3. 2009

    1. The Statue of Liberty's crown reopens to the public after eight years of closure due to security concerns following the September 11 attacks.

      1. Colossal neoclassical sculpture in New York Harbor

        Statue of Liberty

        The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the United States. The copper statue, a gift from the people of France, was designed by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and its metal framework was built by Gustave Eiffel. The statue was dedicated on October 28, 1886.

      2. 2001 Islamist terrorist attacks in the United States

        September 11 attacks

        The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by the militant Islamist extremist network al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners scheduled to travel from the Northeastern United States to California. The hijackers crashed the first two planes into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, and the third plane into the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia. The fourth plane was intended to hit a federal government building in Washington, D.C., but crashed in a field following a passenger revolt. The attacks killed nearly 3,000 people and instigated the war on terror.

    2. The first of four days of bombings begins on the southern Philippine island group of Mindanao.

      1. 2009 terrorist attacks in Datu Piang, Jolo, Cotabato, and Iligan in Mindanao, Philippines

        2009 Mindanao bombings

        The Mindanao bombings was a series of seemingly unrelated bomb attacks that took place on July 4, 5, and 7, 2009 in the towns of Datu Piang and Jolo, and the cities of Cotabato and Iligan in Mindanao, Philippines. The bombings killed around 7 people and injured at least 66. The Armed Forces of the Philippines has blamed several militant organizations active in Mindanao, such as the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the Abu Sayyaf, and Jemaah Islamiyah.

      2. Archipelagic country in Southeast Asia

        Philippines

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

      3. Second-largest island in the Philippines

        Mindanao

        Mindanao is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of the same name that also includes its adjacent islands, notably the Sulu Archipelago. According to the 2020 census, Mindanao has a population of 26,252,442 people, while the entire island group has an estimated population of 27,021,036 according to the 2021 census.

  4. 2006

    1. Space Shuttle program: Discovery launches STS-121 to the International Space Station. The event gained wide media attention as it was the only shuttle launch in the program's history to occur on the United States' Independence Day.

      1. 1972–2011 United States human spaceflight program

        Space Shuttle program

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

      2. NASA orbiter (1984 to 2011)

        Space Shuttle Discovery

        Space Shuttle Discovery is one of the orbiters from NASA's Space Shuttle program and the third of five fully operational orbiters to be built. Its first mission, STS-41-D, flew from August 30 to September 5, 1984. Over 27 years of service it launched and landed 39 times, aggregating more spaceflights than any other spacecraft to date. The Space Shuttle launch vehicle has three main components: the Space Shuttle orbiter, a single-use central fuel tank, and two reusable solid rocket boosters. Nearly 25,000 heat-resistant tiles cover the orbiter to protect it from high temperatures on re-entry.

      3. 2006 American crewed spaceflight to the ISS

        STS-121

        STS-121 was a 2006 NASA Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) flown by Space Shuttle Discovery. The main purposes of the mission were to test new safety and repair techniques introduced following the Columbia disaster of February 2003 as well as to deliver supplies, equipment and German European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Thomas Reiter to the ISS.

      4. Largest modular space station in low Earth orbit

        International Space Station

        The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA, Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe), and CSA (Canada). The ownership and use of the space station is established by intergovernmental treaties and agreements. The station serves as a microgravity and space environment research laboratory in which scientific research is conducted in astrobiology, astronomy, meteorology, physics, and other fields. The ISS is suited for testing the spacecraft systems and equipment required for possible future long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars.

      5. Public holiday celebrated on July 4

        Independence Day (United States)

        Independence Day is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the Declaration of Independence, which was ratified by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing the United States of America.

  5. 2005

    1. The impactor of the NASA space probe Deep Impact collided with the comet Tempel 1, excavating interior material to study its composition.

      1. American space and aeronautics agency

        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.

      2. NASA space probe launched in 2005, designed to study and impact the comet Tempel 1

        Deep Impact (spacecraft)

        Deep Impact was a NASA space probe launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on January 12, 2005. It was designed to study the interior composition of the comet Tempel 1 (9P/Tempel), by releasing an impactor into the comet. At 05:52 UTC on July 4, 2005, the Impactor successfully collided with the comet's nucleus. The impact excavated debris from the interior of the nucleus, forming an impact crater. Photographs taken by the spacecraft showed the comet to be more dusty and less icy than had been expected. The impact generated an unexpectedly large and bright dust cloud, obscuring the view of the impact crater.

      3. Jupiter-family comet

        Tempel 1

        Tempel 1 is a periodic Jupiter-family comet discovered by Wilhelm Tempel in 1867. It completes an orbit of the Sun every 5.5 years. Tempel 1 was the target of the Deep Impact space mission, which photographed a deliberate high-speed impact upon the comet in 2005. It was re-visited by the Stardust spacecraft on February 14, 2011 and came back to perihelion in August 2016.

    2. The Deep Impact collider hits the comet Tempel 1.

      1. NASA space probe launched in 2005, designed to study and impact the comet Tempel 1

        Deep Impact (spacecraft)

        Deep Impact was a NASA space probe launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on January 12, 2005. It was designed to study the interior composition of the comet Tempel 1 (9P/Tempel), by releasing an impactor into the comet. At 05:52 UTC on July 4, 2005, the Impactor successfully collided with the comet's nucleus. The impact excavated debris from the interior of the nucleus, forming an impact crater. Photographs taken by the spacecraft showed the comet to be more dusty and less icy than had been expected. The impact generated an unexpectedly large and bright dust cloud, obscuring the view of the impact crater.

      2. Natural object in space that releases gas

        Comet

        A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena are due to the effects of solar radiation and the solar wind acting upon the nucleus of the comet. Comet nuclei range from a few hundred meters to tens of kilometers across and are composed of loose collections of ice, dust, and small rocky particles. The coma may be up to 15 times Earth's diameter, while the tail may stretch beyond one astronomical unit. If sufficiently bright, a comet may be seen from Earth without the aid of a telescope and may subtend an arc of 30° across the sky. Comets have been observed and recorded since ancient times by many cultures and religions.

      3. Jupiter-family comet

        Tempel 1

        Tempel 1 is a periodic Jupiter-family comet discovered by Wilhelm Tempel in 1867. It completes an orbit of the Sun every 5.5 years. Tempel 1 was the target of the Deep Impact space mission, which photographed a deliberate high-speed impact upon the comet in 2005. It was re-visited by the Stardust spacecraft on February 14, 2011 and came back to perihelion in August 2016.

  6. 2004

    1. The cornerstone of the Freedom Tower is laid on the World Trade Center site in New York City.

      1. Main building of the rebuilt World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York

        One World Trade Center

        One World Trade Center is the main building of the rebuilt World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Designed by David Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, One World Trade Center is the tallest building in the United States, the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, and the seventh-tallest in the world. The supertall structure has the same name as the North Tower of the original World Trade Center, which was destroyed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The new skyscraper stands on the northwest corner of the 16-acre (6.5 ha) World Trade Center site, on the site of the original 6 World Trade Center. It is bounded by West Street to the west, Vesey Street to the north, Fulton Street to the south, and Washington Street to the east.

      2. Grounds of the World Trade Center in New York City

        World Trade Center site

        The World Trade Center site, often referred to as "Ground Zero" or "the Pile" immediately after the September 11 attacks, is a 14.6-acre (5.9 ha) area in Lower Manhattan in New York City. The site is bounded by Vesey Street to the north, the West Side Highway to the west, Liberty Street to the south, and Church Street to the east. The Port Authority owns the site's land. The original World Trade Center complex stood on the site until it was destroyed in the September 11 attacks.

    2. Greece beats Portugal in the UEFA Euro 2004 Final and becomes European Champion for first time in its history.

      1. Men's national association football team representing Greece

        Greece national football team

        The Greece national football team represents Greece in men's international football matches and is controlled by the Hellenic Football Federation, the governing body for football in Greece. Greece play most of their home matches in Attica, either in Athens at the Olympic Stadium in the Marousi section of the city or in the port city of Piraeus at the Karaiskakis Stadium. Greece is one of only ten national teams to have been crowned UEFA European Champions.

      2. Men's association football team

        Portugal national football team

        The Portugal national football team has represented Portugal in international men's football competition since 1921. The national team is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF), the governing body for football in Portugal. Portugal's home matches are played at various stadiums throughout Portugal, and its primary training ground and technical headquarters, Cidade do Futebol, is located in Oeiras. The current head coach of the team is Fernando Santos and the captain is Cristiano Ronaldo, who also holds the team record for most caps and for most goals.

      3. Final match of Euro 2004

        UEFA Euro 2004 Final

        The UEFA Euro 2004 Final was the final match of Euro 2004, the 12th European Championship, a football competition organised by UEFA for the senior men's national teams of its member associations. The match was played at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, Portugal, on 4 July 2004, and was contested by Portugal, the tournament's hosts, and Greece, the latter playing in their second European Championship. The 16-team tournament consisted of a group stage, from which eight teams qualified for the knockout stage. Both finalists were drawn in Group A of the tournament, and they played each other in the opening game, Greece winning 2–1 in what BBC Sport labelled a "shock defeat" for the hosts. Portugal won their other two group games, against Russia and Spain; Greece drew with Spain and lost to Russia, leaving Portugal top of the group and Greece second. In the knockout stage, Portugal beat England in a penalty shoot-out and then the Netherlands, and Greece beat France in the quarter-final and the Czech Republic in the semi-final.

  7. 2002

    1. A Boeing 707 crashes near Bangui M'Poko International Airport in Bangui, Central African Republic, killing 28.

      1. Narrow-body jet airliner family

        Boeing 707

        The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial 707-120 first flew on December 20, 1957. Pan American World Airways began regular 707 service on October 26, 1958. With versions produced until 1979, the 707 was a swept wing, quadjet with podded engines. Its larger fuselage cross-section allowed six-abreast economy seating, retained in the later 720, 727, 737, and 757 models.

      2. 2002 passenger plane crash in Bangui, Central African Republic

        2002 Prestige Airlines Boeing 707 crash

        On 4 July 2002 a Boeing 707-123B operated by Prestige Airlines and owned by New Gomair, crashed during an emergency landing at Bangui Airport. 28 people on board were killed and two survived. The flight was bound to Brazzaville, but the crew decided to divert to Bangui when the landing gear had not retracted.

      3. International airport serving Bangui, Central African Republic

        Bangui M'Poko International Airport

        Bangui M'Poko International Airport is an international airport located seven kilometres northwest of Bangui, capital of the Central African Republic.

      4. Capital and the largest city of Central African Republic

        Bangui

        Bangui is the capital and largest city of the Central African Republic. It was established as a French outpost in 1889 and named after its location on the northern bank of the Ubangi River ; the Ubangi itself was named from the Bobangi word for the "rapids" located beside the settlement, which marked the end of navigable water north from Brazzaville. The majority of the population of the Central African Republic lives in the western parts of the country, in Bangui and the surrounding area.

      5. Country in Central Africa

        Central African Republic

        The Central African Republic is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of the Congo to the southwest, and Cameroon to the west.

  8. 2001

    1. Vladivostock Air Flight 352 crashes on approach to Irkutsk Airport killing all 145 people on board.

      1. 2001 aviation accident

        Vladivostok Air Flight 352

        Vladivostok Air Flight 352 was a scheduled passenger flight from Yekaterinburg, Russia to Vladivostok via Irkutsk. On 4 July 2001, the aircraft operating the flight, a Tupolev Tu-154M with tail number RA-85845, lost control, stalled, and crashed while approaching Irkutsk Airport. All 136 passengers and 9 flight crew members aboard perished, making it the third deadliest aircraft crash over Russian territory to date after Aeroflot Flight 3352 and Aeroflot Flight 217.

      2. International airport in Irkutsk, Russia

        International Airport Irkutsk

        Irkutsk International Airport is an international airport on the outskirts of Irkutsk, Russia, at a distance of 60 kilometers from Lake Baikal.

  9. 1998

    1. Japan launches the Nozomi probe to Mars, joining the United States and Russia as a space exploring nation.

      1. Failed Mars orbiter

        Nozomi (spacecraft)

        Nozomi was a Mars orbiter that failed to reach Mars due to electrical failures. The mission was terminated on December 31, 2003.

      2. Fourth planet from the Sun

        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.

      3. Void between celestial bodies

        Outer space

        Outer space, commonly shortened to space, is the expanse that exists beyond Earth and its atmosphere and between celestial bodies. Outer space is not completely empty—it is a near perfect vacuum containing a low density of particles, predominantly a plasma of hydrogen and helium, as well as electromagnetic radiation, magnetic fields, neutrinos, dust, and cosmic rays. The baseline temperature of outer space, as set by the background radiation from the Big Bang, is 2.7 kelvins. The plasma between galaxies is thought to account for about half of the baryonic (ordinary) matter in the universe, having a number density of less than one hydrogen atom per cubic metre and a temperature of millions of kelvins. Local concentrations of matter have condensed into stars and galaxies. Studies indicate that 90% of the mass in most galaxies is in an unknown form, called dark matter, which interacts with other matter through gravitational but not electromagnetic forces. Observations suggest that the majority of the mass-energy in the observable universe is dark energy, a type of vacuum energy that is poorly understood. Intergalactic space takes up most of the volume of the universe, but even galaxies and star systems consist almost entirely of empty space.

  10. 1997

    1. NASA's Pathfinder space probe lands on the surface of Mars.

      1. American space and aeronautics agency

        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.

      2. Mission including first robotic rover to operate on Mars (1997)

        Mars Pathfinder

        Mars Pathfinder is an American robotic spacecraft that landed a base station with a roving probe on Mars in 1997. It consisted of a lander, renamed the Carl Sagan Memorial Station, and a lightweight, 10.6 kg (23 lb) wheeled robotic Mars rover named Sojourner, which became the first rover to operate outside the Earth–Moon system.

      3. Fourth planet from the Sun

        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.

  11. 1994

    1. Rwandan genocide: Kigali, the Rwandan capital, is captured by the Rwandan Patriotic Front, ending the genocide in the city.

      1. 1994 genocide in Rwanda

        Rwandan genocide

        The Rwandan genocide occurred between 7 April and 15 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. During this period of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed Hutu militias. The most widely accepted scholarly estimates are around 500,000 to 662,000 Tutsi deaths.

      2. Capital and the largest city of Rwanda

        Kigali

        Kigali is the capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is near the nation's geographic centre in a region of rolling hills, with a series of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. As a primate city, Kigali has been Rwanda's economic, cultural, and transport hub since it became the capital following independence from Belgian rule in 1962.

      3. Political party in Rwanda

        Rwandan Patriotic Front

        The Rwandan Patriotic Front is the ruling political party in Rwanda. Led by President Paul Kagame, the party has governed the country since its armed wing defeated government forces, winning the Rwandan Civil War in 1994.

  12. 1988

    1. Kylie Minogue's first album, Kylie, was released, and went on to top the charts in the UK, New Zealand, and Japan.

      1. Australian singer and actress (born 1968)

        Kylie Minogue

        Kylie Ann Minogue, also known mononymously as Kylie, is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinventing herself in music and fashion, for which she is referred to by the European press as the "Princess of Pop" and a style icon. Her accolades include a Grammy Award, three Brit Awards and 17 ARIA Music Awards.

      2. 1988 studio album by Kylie Minogue

        Kylie (album)

        Kylie is the debut studio album by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue, released on 4 July 1988 by Mushroom Records. Minogue had established herself as a child actress before signing to the record label in early 1987. The success of her debut single, "Locomotion", resulted in her working with Stock, Aitken and Waterman, who produced the album and wrote nine of its ten tracks. Their recording sessions, which started in September 1987 and took place in London and Melbourne, coincided with Minogue filming for the soap opera Neighbours.

  13. 1987

    1. In France, former Gestapo chief Klaus Barbie (a.k.a. the "Butcher of Lyon") is convicted of crimes against humanity and sentenced to life imprisonment.

      1. Nazi Germany secret police

        Gestapo

        The Geheime Staatspolizei, abbreviated Gestapo, was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe.

      2. SS-Hauptsturmführer, soldier and Gestapo member (1913–1991)

        Klaus Barbie

        Nikolaus "Klaus" Barbie was a German operative of the SS and SD who worked in Vichy France during World War II. He became known as the "Butcher of Lyon" for having personally tortured prisoners—primarily Jews and members of the French Resistance—as the head of the Gestapo in Lyon. After the war, United States intelligence services, which employed him for his anti-communist efforts, aided his escape to Bolivia, where he advised the regime on how to repress opposition through torture. The United States later offered France a formal apology for aiding Barbie's escape from an outstanding arrest warrant.

      3. Authoritative and systemic acts that severely violate human rights

        Crimes against humanity

        Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a de facto authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the context of war, and apply to widespread practices rather than acts committed by individuals. Although crimes against humanity apply to acts committed by or on behalf of authorities, they need not be official policy, and require only tolerance rather than explicit approval. The first prosecution for crimes against humanity took place at the Nuremberg trials. Initially being considered for legal use, widely in international law, following the Holocaust a global standard of human rights was articulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948). Political groups or states that violate or incite violation of human rights norms, as found in the Declaration, are an expression of the political pathologies associated with crimes against humanity.

  14. 1982

    1. Four Iranian diplomats were kidnapped after they were stopped at a checkpoint in northern Lebanon by Lebanese Phalange forces; their fates remain unknown.

      1. 1982 unsolved kidnapping incident during the Lebanese Civil War

        1982 kidnapping of Iranian diplomats

        Three Iranian diplomats as well as a reporter for Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) were abducted in Lebanon on 4 July 1982. None of them have been seen since. The missing individuals are Ahmad Motevaselian, military attaché for Iran's embassy in Beirut; Seyed Mohsen Mousavi, chargé d'affaires at the embassy; Taghi Rastegar Moghadam, an embassy employee; and Kazem Akhavan, IRNA photojournalist. Motevaselian was also an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) member in command of an Iranian expeditionary force in Lebanon.

      2. Lebanese Christian democratic political party

        Kataeb Party

        The Kataeb Party, also known in English as the Phalanges, is a Christian political party in Lebanon. The party played a major role in the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990). In decline in the late 1980s and 1990s, the party slowly re-emerged in the early 2000s and is currently part of the March 14 Alliance. The party currently holds 4 out of the 128 seats in the Lebanese Parliament.

    2. Three Iranian diplomats and a journalist are kidnapped in Lebanon by Phalange forces, and their fate remains unknown.

      1. 1982 unsolved kidnapping incident during the Lebanese Civil War

        1982 kidnapping of Iranian diplomats

        Three Iranian diplomats as well as a reporter for Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) were abducted in Lebanon on 4 July 1982. None of them have been seen since. The missing individuals are Ahmad Motevaselian, military attaché for Iran's embassy in Beirut; Seyed Mohsen Mousavi, chargé d'affaires at the embassy; Taghi Rastegar Moghadam, an embassy employee; and Kazem Akhavan, IRNA photojournalist. Motevaselian was also an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) member in command of an Iranian expeditionary force in Lebanon.

      2. Lebanese Christian democratic political party

        Kataeb Party

        The Kataeb Party, also known in English as the Phalanges, is a Christian political party in Lebanon. The party played a major role in the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990). In decline in the late 1980s and 1990s, the party slowly re-emerged in the early 2000s and is currently part of the March 14 Alliance. The party currently holds 4 out of the 128 seats in the Lebanese Parliament.

  15. 1977

    1. The George Jackson Brigade plants a bomb at the main power substation for the Washington state capitol in Olympia, in solidarity with a prison strike at the Walla Walla State Penitentiary Intensive Security Unit.

      1. Revolutionary group based in Seattle, Washington, United States (1975-78)

        George Jackson Brigade

        The George Jackson Brigade was a revolutionary group founded in the mid-1970s, based in Seattle, Washington, and named after George Jackson, a dissident prisoner and Black Panther member shot and killed during an alleged escape attempt at San Quentin Prison in 1971. The group combined veterans of the women's liberation movement, homosexuals and Black prisoners.

      2. U.S. state

        Washington (state)

        Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington Territory, which was ceded by the British Empire in 1846, by the Oregon Treaty in the settlement of the Oregon boundary dispute. The state is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean, Oregon to the south, Idaho to the east, and the Canadian province of British Columbia to the north. It was admitted to the Union as the 42nd state in 1889. Olympia is the state capital; the state's largest city is Seattle. Washington is often referred to as Washington state to distinguish it from the nation's capital, Washington, D.C.

      3. Capital city of Washington, United States

        Olympia, Washington

        Olympia is the capital of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat and largest city of Thurston County. It is 60 miles (100 km) southwest of the state's most populous city, Seattle, and is a cultural center of the southern Puget Sound region.

      4. Men's prison in Walla Walla, Washington, United States

        Washington State Penitentiary

        Washington State Penitentiary is a Washington State Department of Corrections men's prison located in Walla Walla, Washington. With an operating capacity of 2,200, it is the second largest prison in the state and is surrounded by wheat fields. It opened in 1886, three years before statehood.

  16. 1976

    1. Israeli forces raided Uganda's Entebbe International Airport to free hostages taken by hijackers on Air France Flight 139.

      1. Combined military forces of Israel

        Israel Defense Forces

        The Israel Defense Forces, alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym Tzahal (צה״ל), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and the Israeli Navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security apparatus, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel. The IDF is headed by the Chief of the General Staff, who is subordinate to the Israeli Defense Minister.

      2. 1976 counter-terrorist hostage rescue mission by the Israel Defense Forces

        Operation Entebbe

        Operation Entebbe, also known as the Entebbe Raid or Operation Thunderbolt, was a counter-terrorist hostage-rescue mission carried out by commandos of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) at Entebbe Airport in Uganda on 4 July 1976.

      3. International airport in Uganda

        Entebbe International Airport

        Entebbe International Airport is the only international airport in Uganda. It is located about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) southwest of the town of Entebbe, on the northern shores of Lake Victoria. This is approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) by road south-west of the central business district of Kampala, the capital city of Uganda.

    2. Israeli commandos raid Entebbe airport in Uganda, rescuing all but four of the passengers and crew of an Air France jetliner seized by Palestinian terrorists.

      1. Combined military forces of Israel

        Israel Defense Forces

        The Israel Defense Forces, alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym Tzahal (צה״ל), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and the Israeli Navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security apparatus, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel. The IDF is headed by the Chief of the General Staff, who is subordinate to the Israeli Defense Minister.

      2. 1976 counter-terrorist hostage rescue mission by the Israel Defense Forces

        Operation Entebbe

        Operation Entebbe, also known as the Entebbe Raid or Operation Thunderbolt, was a counter-terrorist hostage-rescue mission carried out by commandos of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) at Entebbe Airport in Uganda on 4 July 1976.

      3. Country in East-central Africa

        Uganda

        Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The southern part of the country includes a substantial portion of Lake Victoria, shared with Kenya and Tanzania. Uganda is in the African Great Lakes region. Uganda also lies within the Nile basin and has a varied but generally a modified equatorial climate. It has a population of around 46 million, of which 8.5 million live in the capital and largest city of Kampala.

      4. Flag carrier and largest airline of France; part of Air France–KLM

        Air France

        Air France, stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global airline alliance. As of 2013, Air France serves 36 destinations in France and operates worldwide scheduled passenger and cargo services to 175 destinations in 78 countries and also carried 46,803,000 passengers in 2019. The airline's global hub is at Charles de Gaulle Airport with Orly Airport as the primary domestic hub. Air France's corporate headquarters, previously in Montparnasse, Paris, are located on the grounds of Charles de Gaulle Airport, north of Paris.

    3. The U.S. celebrates its Bicentennial.

      1. 200th anniversary of the U.S.

        United States Bicentennial

        The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to historical events leading up to the creation of the United States of America as an independent republic. It was a central event in the memory of the American Revolution. The Bicentennial culminated on Sunday, July 4, 1976, with the 200th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence by the Founding Father delegates of the Second Continental Congress.

  17. 1966

    1. U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Freedom of Information Act into United States law. The act went into effect the next year.

      1. President of the United States from 1963 to 1969

        Lyndon B. Johnson

        Lyndon Baines Johnson, often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice president from 1961 to 1963 under President John F. Kennedy, and was sworn in shortly after Kennedy's assassination. A Democrat from Texas, Johnson also served as a U.S. representative, U.S. senator and the Senate's majority leader. He holds the distinction of being one of the few presidents who served in all elected offices at the federal level.

      2. 1967 US statute regarding access to information held by the US government

        Freedom of Information Act (United States)

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

  18. 1965

    1. The first Annual Reminder, a series of pickets that were some of the earliest LGBT actions in the United States, took place at Independence Hall in Philadelphia.

      1. Annual Reminder

        The Annual Reminders were a series of early pickets organized by gay organizations, held yearly from 1965 through 1969. The Reminder took place each July 4 at Independence Hall in Philadelphia and were among the earliest LGBT demonstrations in the United States. The events were designed to inform and remind the American people that gay people did not enjoy basic civil rights protections.

      2. Form of protest, usually labor action

        Picketing

        Picketing is a form of protest in which people congregate outside a place of work or location where an event is taking place. Often, this is done in an attempt to dissuade others from going in, but it can also be done to draw public attention to a cause. Picketers normally endeavor to be non-violent. It can have a number of aims, but is generally to put pressure on the party targeted to meet particular demands or cease operations. This pressure is achieved by harming the business through loss of customers and negative publicity, or by discouraging or preventing workers or customers from entering the site and thereby preventing the business from operating normally.

      3. List of LGBT actions in the United States prior to the Stonewall riots

        Although the Stonewall riots on June 28, 1969, are generally considered the impetus of the modern gay liberation movement, a number of demonstrations of civil resistance took place prior to that date. These actions, often organized by local homophile organizations but sometimes spontaneous, addressed concerns ranging from anti-gay discrimination in employment and public accommodations to the exclusion of homosexuals from the United States military to police harassment to the treatment of homosexuals in revolutionary Cuba. The early actions have been credited with preparing the gay community for Stonewall and contributing to the riots' symbolic power.

      4. Historic building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.

        Independence Hall

        Independence Hall is a historic civic building in Philadelphia, where both the United States Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were debated and adopted by America's Founding Fathers. The structure forms the centerpiece of the Independence National Historical Park and has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

  19. 1961

    1. On its maiden voyage, the Soviet nuclear-powered submarine K-19 suffers a complete loss of coolant to its reactor. The crew are able to effect repairs, but 22 of them die of radiation poisoning over the following two years.

      1. Ballistic missile submarine

        Soviet submarine K-19

        K-19 was the first submarine of the Project 658 class, the first generation of Soviet nuclear submarines equipped with nuclear ballistic missiles, specifically the R-13 SLBM. The boat was hastily built by the Soviets in response to United States' developments in nuclear submarines as part of the arms race. Before she was launched, 10 civilian workers and a sailor died due to accidents and fires. After K-19 was commissioned, the boat had multiple breakdowns and accidents, several of which threatened to sink the submarine.

      2. Health problems caused by exposure to high levels of ionizing radiation

        Acute radiation syndrome

        Acute radiation syndrome (ARS), also known as radiation sickness or radiation poisoning, is a collection of health effects that are caused by being exposed to high amounts of ionizing radiation in a short period of time. Symptoms can start within an hour of exposure, and can last for several months. Early symptoms are usually nausea, vomiting and loss of appetite. In the following hours or weeks, initial symptoms may appear to improve, before the development of additional symptoms, after which either recovery or death follow.

  20. 1960

    1. Due to the post-Independence Day admission of Hawaii as the 50th U.S. state on August 21, 1959, the 50-star flag of the United States debuts in Philadelphia, almost ten and a half months later (see Flag Acts (United States)).

      1. Constituent political entity of the United States

        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.

      2. National flag

        Flag of the United States

        The national flag of the United States of America, often referred to as the American flag or the U.S. flag, consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing fifty small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows, where rows of six stars alternate with rows of five stars. The 50 stars on the flag represent the 50 U.S. states, and the 13 stripes represent the thirteen British colonies that declared independence from Great Britain, and became the first states in the U.S. Nicknames for the flag include the Stars and Stripes, Old Glory, and the Star-Spangled Banner.

      3. Largest city in Pennsylvania, United States

        Philadelphia

        Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since 1854, the city has been coextensive with Philadelphia County, the most populous county in Pennsylvania and the urban core of the Delaware Valley, the nation's seventh-largest and one of world's largest metropolitan regions, with 6.245 million residents as of 2020. The city's population as of the 2020 census was 1,603,797, and over 56 million people live within 250 mi (400 km) of Philadelphia.

      4. Series of laws defining the flag of the early United States (1777, 1794, and 1818)

        Flag Acts

        The Flag Acts are three laws that sought to define the design of the flag of the United States. All the submitted suggestions were remarkably short, the shortest being a sentence of 31 words, and the longest being a title and two sentences of 117 words.

  21. 1954

    1. In what is known as "The Miracle of Bern", West Germany defeated Hungary 3–2 to win the FIFA World Cup.

      1. World Cup final, held in Switzerland

        1954 FIFA World Cup Final

        The 1954 FIFA World Cup Final was the final match of the 1954 FIFA World Cup, the fifth World Cup in FIFA history. The game was played at the Wankdorf Stadium in Bern, Switzerland, on 4 July 1954, and saw West Germany beat the heavily favoured Golden Team of Hungary 3–2.

      2. Men's football team representing Germany

        Germany national football team

        The Germany national football team represents Germany in men's international football and played its first match in 1908. The team is governed by the German Football Association, founded in 1900. Between 1949 and 1990, separate German national teams were recognised by FIFA due to Allied occupation and division: the DFB's team representing the Federal Republic of Germany, the Saarland team representing the Saar Protectorate (1950–1956) and the East Germany team representing the German Democratic Republic (1952–1990). The latter two were absorbed along with their records; the present team represents the reunified Federal Republic. The official name and code "Germany FR (FRG)" was shortened to "Germany (GER)" following reunification in 1990.

      3. Men's national association football team representing Hungary

        Hungary national football team

        The Hungary national football team represents Hungary in men's international football and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation. The team has made 9 appearances in the FIFA World Cup and 4 appearances in the European Championship, and plays its home matches at the Puskás Aréna, which opened in November 2019.

      4. Association football tournament in Switzerland

        1954 FIFA World Cup

        The 1954 FIFA World Cup was the fifth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football tournament for senior men's national teams of the nations affiliated to FIFA. It was held in Switzerland from 16 June to 4 July. Switzerland was selected as the host country in July 1946. At the tournament several all-time records for goal-scoring were set, including the highest average number of goals scored per game. The tournament was won by West Germany, who defeated tournament favourites Hungary 3–2 in the final, their first World Cup title.

    2. Four CIA officers arrived in Guatemala to begin Operation PBHistory in an attempt to justify the United States' overthrow of President Jacobo Árbenz one week prior.

      1. National intelligence agency of the United States

        Central Intelligence Agency

        The Central Intelligence Agency, known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, and analyzing national security information from around the world, primarily through the use of human intelligence (HUMINT) and performing covert actions. As a principal member of the United States Intelligence Community (IC), the CIA reports to the Director of National Intelligence and is primarily focused on providing intelligence for the President and Cabinet of the United States. President Harry S. Truman had created the Central Intelligence Group under the direction of a Director of Central Intelligence by presidential directive on January 22, 1946, and this group was transformed into the Central Intelligence Agency by implementation of the National Security Act of 1947.

      2. 1954 CIA operation in Guatemala

        Operation PBHistory

        Operation PBHistory was a covert operation carried out in Guatemala by the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). It followed Operation PBSuccess, which led to the overthrow of Guatemalan President Jacobo Árbenz in June 1954 and ended the Guatemalan Revolution. PBHistory attempted to use documents left behind by Árbenz's government and by organizations related to the communist Guatemalan Party of Labor to demonstrate that the Guatemalan government had been under the influence of the Soviet Union, and to use those documents to obtain further intelligence that would be useful to US intelligence agencies. It was an effort to justify the overthrow of the elected Guatemalan government in response to the negative international reactions to PBSuccess. The CIA also hoped to improve its intelligence resources about communist parties in Latin America, a subject on which it had little information.

      3. Covert CIA operation in Guatemala

        1954 Guatemalan coup d'état

        The 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état was the result of a CIA covert operation code-named PBSuccess. It deposed the democratically elected Guatemalan President Jacobo Árbenz and ended the Guatemalan Revolution of 1944–1954. It installed the military dictatorship of Carlos Castillo Armas, the first in a series of U.S.-backed authoritarian rulers in Guatemala.

      4. President of Guatemala from 1951 to 1954

        Jacobo Árbenz

        Juan Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán was a Guatemalan military officer and politician who served as the 25th President of Guatemala. He was Minister of National Defense from 1944 to 1950, and the second democratically elected President of Guatemala, from 1951 to 1954. He was a major figure in the ten-year Guatemalan Revolution, which represented some of the few years of representative democracy in Guatemalan history. The landmark program of agrarian reform Árbenz enacted as president was very influential across Latin America.

    3. Rationing ends in the United Kingdom.

      1. Government-controlled distribution of scarce goods in the United Kingdom

        Rationing in the United Kingdom

        Rationing was introduced temporarily by the British government several times during the 20th century, during and immediately after a war.

  22. 1951

    1. William Shockley announced the invention of the junction transistor, for which he, John Bardeen, and Walter Houser Brattain later won the Nobel Prize in Physics.

      1. American physicist and inventor

        William Shockley

        William Bradford Shockley Jr. was an American physicist and inventor. He was the manager of a research group at Bell Labs that included John Bardeen and Walter Brattain. The three scientists were jointly awarded the 1956 Nobel Prize in Physics for "their researches on semiconductors and their discovery of the transistor effect".

      2. Transistor that uses both electrons and holes as charge carriers

        Bipolar junction transistor

        A bipolar junction transistor (BJT) is a type of transistor that uses both electrons and electron holes as charge carriers. In contrast, a unipolar transistor, such as a field-effect transistor, uses only one kind of charge carrier. A bipolar transistor allows a small current injected at one of its terminals to control a much larger current flowing between the terminals, making the device capable of amplification or switching.

      3. American physicist and engineer (1908–1991)

        John Bardeen

        John Bardeen was an American physicist and engineer. He is the only person to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics twice: first in 1956 with William Shockley and Walter Brattain for the invention of the transistor; and again in 1972 with Leon N. Cooper and John Robert Schrieffer for a fundamental theory of conventional superconductivity known as the BCS theory.

      4. American physicist (1902–1987)

        Walter Houser Brattain

        Walter Houser Brattain was an American physicist at Bell Labs who, along with fellow scientists John Bardeen and William Shockley, invented the point-contact transistor in December 1947. They shared the 1956 Nobel Prize in Physics for their invention. Brattain devoted much of his life to research on surface states.

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

        Nobel Prize in Physics

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

    2. Cold War: A court in Czechoslovakia sentences American journalist William N. Oatis to ten years in prison on charges of espionage.

      1. Republic in Central Europe between 1948 and 1990

        Czechoslovak Socialist Republic

        The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, formerly known from 1948 to 1960 as the Czechoslovak Republic or Fourth Czechoslovak Republic, was the official name of Czechoslovakia from 1960 to 29 March 1990, when it was renamed the Czechoslovak Federative Republic. On 23 April 1990, it became the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic. From 1948 until the end of November 1989, the country was under Communist rule and was regarded as a satellite state in the Soviet sphere of interest.

      2. American journalist

        William N. Oatis

        William Nathan Oatis was an American journalist who gained international attention when he was charged with espionage by the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic in 1951. He was subsequently jailed until 1953.

      3. Clandestine acquisition of confidential information

        Espionage

        Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangible benefit. A person who commits espionage is called an espionage agent or spy. Any individual or spy ring, in the service of a government, company, criminal organization, or independent operation, can commit espionage. The practice is clandestine, as it is by definition unwelcome. In some circumstances, it may be a legal tool of law enforcement and in others, it may be illegal and punishable by law.

    3. William Shockley announces the invention of the junction transistor.

      1. American physicist and inventor

        William Shockley

        William Bradford Shockley Jr. was an American physicist and inventor. He was the manager of a research group at Bell Labs that included John Bardeen and Walter Brattain. The three scientists were jointly awarded the 1956 Nobel Prize in Physics for "their researches on semiconductors and their discovery of the transistor effect".

      2. Transistor that uses both electrons and holes as charge carriers

        Bipolar junction transistor

        A bipolar junction transistor (BJT) is a type of transistor that uses both electrons and electron holes as charge carriers. In contrast, a unipolar transistor, such as a field-effect transistor, uses only one kind of charge carrier. A bipolar transistor allows a small current injected at one of its terminals to control a much larger current flowing between the terminals, making the device capable of amplification or switching.

  23. 1950

    1. The United States' anti-communist propaganda source Radio Free Europe made its first broadcast aimed at Czechoslovakia.

      1. Opposition to communism

        Anti-communism

        Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when the United States and the Soviet Union engaged in an intense rivalry. Anti-communism has been an element of movements which hold many different political positions, including conservatism, fascism, liberalism, nationalism, social democracy, libertarianism, or the anti-Stalinist left. Anti-communism has also been expressed in philosophy, by several religious groups, and in literature. Some well-known proponents of anti-communism are former communists. Anti-communism has also been prominent among movements resisting communist governance.

      2. United States-funded international broadcaster

        Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

        Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a United States government funded organization that broadcasts and reports news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, and the Middle East where it says that "the free flow of information is either banned by government authorities or not fully developed". RFE/RL is a private, non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation supervised by the U.S. Agency for Global Media, an independent government agency overseeing all U.S. federal government international broadcasting services. Daisy Sindelar is the vice president and editor-in-chief of RFE.

    2. Cold War: Radio Free Europe first broadcasts.

      1. 1947–1991 tension between the Soviet Union and the United States and their respective allies

        Cold War

        The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. Historians do not fully agree on its starting and ending points, but the period is generally considered to span from the announcement of the Truman Doctrine on 12 March 1947 to the dissolution of the Soviet Union on 26 December 1991. The term cold war is used because there was no large-scale fighting directly between the two superpowers, but they each supported major regional conflicts known as proxy wars. The conflict was based around the ideological and geopolitical struggle for global influence by these two superpowers, following their temporary alliance and victory against Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan in 1945. Aside from the nuclear arsenal development and conventional military deployment, the struggle for dominance was expressed via indirect means such as psychological warfare, propaganda campaigns, espionage, far-reaching embargoes, rivalry at sports events, and technological competitions such as the Space Race.

      2. United States-funded international broadcaster

        Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

        Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a United States government funded organization that broadcasts and reports news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, and the Middle East where it says that "the free flow of information is either banned by government authorities or not fully developed". RFE/RL is a private, non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation supervised by the U.S. Agency for Global Media, an independent government agency overseeing all U.S. federal government international broadcasting services. Daisy Sindelar is the vice president and editor-in-chief of RFE.

  24. 1947

    1. The "Indian Independence Bill" is presented before the British House of Commons, proposing the independence of the Provinces of British India into two sovereign countries: India and Pakistan.

      1. Lower house in the Parliament of the United Kingdom

        House of Commons of the United Kingdom

        The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England.

      2. 1612–1947 British directly-ruled administrative divisions in India

        Presidencies and provinces of British India

        The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another, they existed between 1612 and 1947, conventionally divided into three historical periods:Between 1612 and 1757 the East India Company set up factories in several locations, mostly in coastal India, with the consent of the Mughal emperors, Maratha Empire or local rulers. Its rivals were the merchant trading companies of Portugal, Denmark, the Netherlands, and France. By the mid-18th century, three presidency towns: Madras, Bombay and Calcutta, had grown in size. During the period of Company rule in India (1757–1858), the company gradually acquired sovereignty over large parts of India, now called "presidencies". However, it also increasingly came under British government oversight, in effect sharing sovereignty with the Crown. At the same time, it gradually lost its mercantile privileges. Following the Indian Rebellion of 1857 the company's remaining powers were transferred to the Crown. Under the British Raj (1858–1947), administrative boundaries were extended to include a few other British-administered regions, such as Upper Burma. Increasingly, however, the unwieldy presidencies were broken up into "provinces".

      3. Country in South Asia

        Pakistan

        Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-largest Muslim population just behind Indonesia. Pakistan is the 33rd-largest country in the world by area and 2nd largest in South Asia, spanning 881,913 square kilometres. It has a 1,046-kilometre (650-mile) coastline along the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman in the south, and is bordered by India to the east, Afghanistan to the west, Iran to the southwest, and China to the northeast. It is separated narrowly from Tajikistan by Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor in the north, and also shares a maritime border with Oman. Islamabad is the nation's capital, while Karachi is its largest city and financial centre.

  25. 1946

    1. The Kielce pogrom against Jewish Holocaust survivors in Poland.

      1. 1946 outbreak of anti-Jewish violence in Kielce, Poland

        Kielce pogrom

        The Kielce pogrom was an outbreak of violence toward the Jewish community centre's gathering of refugees in the city of Kielce, Poland on 4 July 1946 by Polish soldiers, police officers, and civilians during which 42 Jews were killed and more than 40 were wounded. Polish courts later sentenced nine of the attackers to death in connection with the crimes.

    2. After 381 years of near-continuous colonial rule by various powers, the Philippines attains full independence from the United States.

      1. Archipelagic country in Southeast Asia

        Philippines

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

  26. 1945

    1. The Brazilian cruiser Bahia was accidentally sunk by one of its own crewmen, killing more than 300.

      1. Brazilian Scout cruiser

        Brazilian cruiser Bahia

        Bahia was the lead ship of a two-vessel class of cruisers built for Brazil by the British company Armstrong Whitworth. Crewmen mutinied in November 1910 aboard Bahia, Deodoro, Minas Geraes, and São Paulo, beginning the four-day Revolta da Chibata. Brazil's capital city of Rio de Janeiro was held hostage by the possibility of a naval bombardment, leading the government to give in to the rebel demands which included the abolition of flogging in the navy. During the First World War, Bahia and its sister ship Rio Grande do Sul were assigned to the Divisão Naval em Operações de Guerra, the Brazilian Navy's main contribution in that conflict. The squadron was based in Sierra Leone and Dakar and escorted convoys through an area believed to be heavily patrolled by U-boats.

  27. 1943

    1. The aircraft carrying Władysław Sikorski, prime minister of the Polish government-in-exile, crashed, killing him and fifteen others, leading to several conspiracy theories.

      1. Polish military and political leader

        Władysław Sikorski

        Władysław Eugeniusz Sikorski was a Polish military and political leader.

      2. Government of Poland in exile (1939–1990)

        Polish government-in-exile

        The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile, was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Poland of September 1939, and the subsequent occupation of Poland by Germany and the Soviet Union, which brought to an end the Second Polish Republic.

      3. Crash that killed General Władysław Sikorski

        1943 Gibraltar Liberator AL523 crash

        The 1943 Gibraltar Liberator AL523 crash was an aircraft crash that resulted in the death of General Władysław Sikorski, the commander-in-chief of the Polish Army and Prime Minister of the Polish government-in-exile. Sikorski's Liberator II crashed off Gibraltar almost immediately after takeoff on 4 July 1943. An estimated sixteen people died, including many other senior Polish military leaders. The plane's pilot was the only survivor.

      4. Conspiracy theories

        Władysław Sikorski's death controversy

        Władysław Sikorski's death controversy revolves around the death of the commander-in-chief of the Polish Army and Prime Minister of the Polish government in exile, General Władysław Sikorski, in the 1943 B-24 crash in Gibraltar. Sikorski's Liberator II crashed off Gibraltar almost immediately after takeoff, with the plane's pilot being the only survivor. The catastrophe, while officially classified as an accident, has led to several conspiracy theories that persist to this day, and often propose that the crash was an assassination, which has variously been blamed on the Soviets, British, and even Nazis. The incident is still described by some historians as mysterious and was investigated by the Polish Institute of National Remembrance. They concluded that the injuries sustained were consistent with a plane crash and that there was not enough evidence to support or reject the theory that the plane was deliberately sabotaged.

    2. World War II: The Battle of Kursk, the largest full-scale battle in history and the world's largest tank battle, begins in the village of Prokhorovka.

      1. Eastern Front WWII battle; largest tank battle in history (1943)

        Battle of Kursk

        The Battle of Kursk was a major World War II Eastern Front engagement between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in the southwestern USSR during late summer 1943; it ultimately became the largest tank battle in history.

      2. Index of articles associated with the same name

        Prokhorovka

        Prokhorovka is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia.Urban localitiesProkhorovka, Belgorod Oblast, a settlement in Prokhorovsky District of Belgorod OblastRural localitiesProkhorovka, Irkutsk Oblast, a village in Osinsky District of Irkutsk Oblast Prokhorovka, Kaliningrad Oblast, a settlement in Nizovsky Rural Okrug of Guryevsky District of Kaliningrad Oblast Prokhorovka, Orenburg Oblast, a selo in Konstantinovsky Selsoviet of Sharlyksky District of Orenburg Oblast Prokhorovka, Rostov Oblast, a selo in Proletarskoye Rural Settlement of Krasnosulinsky District of Rostov Oblast Prokhorovka, Tula Oblast, a village in Prokhorovsky Rural Okrug of Novomoskovsky District of Tula Oblast

    3. World War II: In Gibraltar, a Royal Air Force B-24 Liberator bomber crashes into the sea in an apparent accident moments after takeoff, killing sixteen passengers on board, including general Władysław Sikorski, the commander-in-chief of the Polish Army and the Prime Minister of the Polish government-in-exile; only the pilot survives.

      1. British Overseas Territory on the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula

        Gibraltar

        Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory and city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula. It has an area of 6.7 km2 (2.6 sq mi) and is bordered to the north by Spain. The landscape is dominated by the Rock of Gibraltar, at the foot of which is a densely populated town area, home to over 32,000 people, primarily Gibraltarians.

      2. Aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces

        Royal Air Force

        The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). Following the Allied victory over the Central Powers in 1918, the RAF emerged as the largest air force in the world at the time. Since its formation, the RAF has taken a significant role in British military history. In particular, it played a large part in the Second World War where it fought its most famous campaign, the Battle of Britain.

      3. 1939 bomber aircraft family by Consolidated Aircraft

        Consolidated B-24 Liberator

        The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models designated as various LB-30s, in the Land Bomber design category.

      4. Crash that killed General Władysław Sikorski

        1943 Gibraltar Liberator AL523 crash

        The 1943 Gibraltar Liberator AL523 crash was an aircraft crash that resulted in the death of General Władysław Sikorski, the commander-in-chief of the Polish Army and Prime Minister of the Polish government-in-exile. Sikorski's Liberator II crashed off Gibraltar almost immediately after takeoff on 4 July 1943. An estimated sixteen people died, including many other senior Polish military leaders. The plane's pilot was the only survivor.

      5. Polish military and political leader

        Władysław Sikorski

        Władysław Eugeniusz Sikorski was a Polish military and political leader.

  28. 1942

    1. World War II: The 250-day Siege of Sevastopol in the Crimea ends when the city falls to Axis forces.

      1. Nazi German offensive on the Eastern Front of World War II

        Siege of Sevastopol (1941–1942)

        The Siege of Sevastopol also known as the Defence of Sevastopol or the Battle of Sevastopol was a military engagement that took place on the Eastern Front of the Second World War. The campaign was fought by the Axis powers of Germany and Romania against the Soviet Union for control of Sevastopol, a port in the Crimea on the Black Sea. On 22 June 1941 the Axis invaded the Soviet Union during Operation Barbarossa. Axis land forces reached the Crimea in the autumn of 1941 and overran most of the area. The only objective not in Axis hands was Sevastopol. Several attempts were made to secure the city in October and November 1941. A major attack was planned for late November, but heavy rains delayed it until 17 December 1941. Under the command of Erich von Manstein, Axis forces were unable to capture Sevastopol during this first operation. Soviet forces launched an amphibious landing on the Crimean peninsula at Kerch in December 1941 to relieve the siege and force the Axis to divert forces to defend their gains. The operation saved Sevastopol for the time being, but the bridgehead in the eastern Crimea was eliminated in May 1942.

      2. Ukrainian territory occupied by Russia since 2014

        Crimea

        Crimea is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea. It has a population of 2.4 million. The peninsula is almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukraine. To the east, the Crimean Bridge, constructed in 2018, spans the Strait of Kerch, linking the peninsula with Krasnodar Krai in Russia. The Arabat Spit, located to the northeast, is a narrow strip of land that separates the Sivash lagoons from the Sea of Azov. Across the Black Sea to the west lies Romania and to the south is Turkey.

      3. Alliance defeated in World War II

        Axis powers

        The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Germany, the Kingdom of Italy, and the Empire of Japan. The Axis were united in their opposition to the Allies, but otherwise lacked comparable coordination and ideological cohesion.

  29. 1941

    1. German AB-Aktion in Poland: After capturing Lwów, the Nazis executed professors of the University of Lwów along with their families.

      1. German AB-Aktion in Poland

        The AB-Aktion, was a second stage of the Nazi German campaign of violence during World War II aimed to eliminate the intellectuals and the upper classes of the Second Polish Republic across the territories slated for eventual annexation. Most of the killings were arranged in a form of forced disappearances from multiple cities and towns upon the German arrival. In the spring and summer of 1940, more than 30,000 Polish citizens were arrested by the Nazi authorities in German-occupied central Poland, the so-called General Government. About 7,000 of them including community leaders, professors, teachers and priests were subsequently massacred secretly at various locations including at the Palmiry forest complex near Palmiry. The others were sent to Nazi concentration camps.

      2. City in Lviv Oblast, Ukraine

        Lviv

        Lviv is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of 717,510. It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine. It was named in honour of Leo, the eldest son of Daniel, King of Ruthenia.

      3. 1941 mass murder of Polish academics by Nazi forces in present-day Lviv, Ukraine

        Massacre of Lwów professors

        In July 1941, 25 Polish academics from the city of Lwów along with the 25 of their family members were killed by Nazi German occupation forces. By targeting prominent citizens and intellectuals for elimination, the Nazis hoped to prevent anti-Nazi activity and to weaken the resolve of the Polish resistance movement. According to an eyewitness the executions were carried out by an Einsatzgruppe unit under the command of Karl Eberhard Schöngarth with the participation of Ukrainian translators in German uniforms.

      4. Public university in Lviv, Ukraine

        University of Lviv

        The University of Lviv, presently the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, is the oldest institution of higher learning in present-day Ukraine dating from 1661 when John II Casimir, King of Poland, granted it its first royal charter. Over the centuries, it has undergone various transformations, suspensions, and name changes that have reflected the geopolitical complexities of this part of Europe. The present institution can be dated to 1940. It is located in the historic city of Lviv in Lviv Oblast of Western Ukraine.

    2. The Holocaust: During the German occupation of Latvia, a number of synagogues in Riga were set on fire, killing many Jews who were confined within.

      1. Genocide of European Jews by Nazi Germany

        The Holocaust

        The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; around two-thirds of Europe's Jewish population. The murders were carried out in pogroms and mass shootings; by a policy of extermination through labor in concentration camps; and in gas chambers and gas vans in German extermination camps, chiefly Auschwitz-Birkenau, Bełżec, Chełmno, Majdanek, Sobibór, and Treblinka in occupied Poland.

      2. Part of the occupation of the Baltic states

        German occupation of Latvia during World War II

        The military occupation of Latvia by Nazi Germany was completed on July 10, 1941 by Germany's armed forces. Initially, the territory of Latvia was under the military administration of Army Group North, but on 25 July 1941, Latvia was incorporated as Generalbezirk Lettland, subordinated to Reichskommissariat Ostland, an administrative subdivision of Nazi Germany. Anyone not racially acceptable or who opposed the German occupation, as well as those who had cooperated with the Soviet Union, were killed or sent to concentration camps in accordance with the Nazi Generalplan Ost.

      3. 1941 burning of synagogues by Nazi forces during the German occuption of Riga, Latvia

        Burning of the Riga synagogues

        The burning of the Riga synagogues occurred in 1941, during the first days of the World War II Nazi German occupation of the city of Riga, the capital and largest city in the country of Latvia. Many Jews confined in the synagogues died in the fires. Many other anti-Semitic measures were launched at the same time, ultimately followed by the murder of the vast majority of the Jews of Latvia.

    3. Nazi crimes against the Polish nation: Nazi troops massacre Polish scientists and writers in the captured Ukrainian city of Lviv.

      1. WWII war crimes

        Nazi crimes against the Polish nation

        Crimes against the Polish nation committed by Nazi Germany and Axis collaborationist forces during the invasion of Poland, along with auxiliary battalions during the subsequent occupation of Poland in World War II, consisted of the murder of millions of ethnic Poles and the systematic extermination of Jewish Poles. These mass murders were enacted by the Nazis with further plans that were justified by their racial theories, which regarded Poles and other Slavs, as well as Jews, as racially inferior Untermenschen.

      2. Germany under control of the Nazi Party (1933–1945)

        Nazi Germany

        Nazi Germany was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a dictatorship. Under Hitler's rule, Germany quickly became a totalitarian state where nearly all aspects of life were controlled by the government. The Third Reich, meaning "Third Realm" or "Third Empire", alluded to the Nazi claim that Nazi Germany was the successor to the earlier Holy Roman Empire (800–1806) and German Empire (1871–1918). The Third Reich, which Hitler and the Nazis referred to as the Thousand-Year Reich, ended in May 1945 after just 12 years when the Allies defeated Germany, ending World War II in Europe.

      3. 1941 mass murder of Polish academics by Nazi forces in present-day Lviv, Ukraine

        Massacre of Lwów professors

        In July 1941, 25 Polish academics from the city of Lwów along with the 25 of their family members were killed by Nazi German occupation forces. By targeting prominent citizens and intellectuals for elimination, the Nazis hoped to prevent anti-Nazi activity and to weaken the resolve of the Polish resistance movement. According to an eyewitness the executions were carried out by an Einsatzgruppe unit under the command of Karl Eberhard Schöngarth with the participation of Ukrainian translators in German uniforms.

      4. Republic of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991 (founded 1919)

        Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic

        The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, or UkSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine, was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. In the anthem of the Ukrainian SSR, it was referred to simply as Ukraine. Under the Soviet one-party model, the Ukrainian SSR was governed by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union through its republican branch: the Communist Party of Ukraine.

      5. City in Lviv Oblast, Ukraine

        Lviv

        Lviv is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of 717,510. It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine. It was named in honour of Leo, the eldest son of Daniel, King of Ruthenia.

    4. World War II: The Burning of the Riga synagogues: The Great Choral Synagogue in German-occupied Riga is burnt with 300 Jews locked in the basement.

      1. Global war, 1939–1945

        World War II

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

      2. 1941 burning of synagogues by Nazi forces during the German occuption of Riga, Latvia

        Burning of the Riga synagogues

        The burning of the Riga synagogues occurred in 1941, during the first days of the World War II Nazi German occupation of the city of Riga, the capital and largest city in the country of Latvia. Many Jews confined in the synagogues died in the fires. Many other anti-Semitic measures were launched at the same time, ultimately followed by the murder of the vast majority of the Jews of Latvia.

      3. Capital and largest city of Latvia

        Riga

        Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Baltic Sea. Riga's territory covers 307.17 km2 (118.60 sq mi) and lies 1–10 m (3.3–32.8 ft) above sea level, on a flat and sandy plain.

  30. 1939

    1. Lou Gehrig, recently diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, informs a crowd at Yankee Stadium that he considers himself "The luckiest man on the face of the earth", then announces his retirement from major league baseball.

      1. American baseball player (1903–1941)

        Lou Gehrig

        Henry Louis Gehrig was an American professional baseball first baseman who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees (1923–1939). Gehrig was renowned for his prowess as a hitter and for his durability, which earned him his nickname "the Iron Horse". He was an All-Star seven consecutive times, a Triple Crown winner once, an American League (AL) Most Valuable Player twice, and a member of six World Series champion teams. He had a career .340 batting average, .632 slugging average, and a .447 on base average. He hit 493 home runs and had 1,995 runs batted in (RBI). He still has the highest ratio of runs scored plus runs batted in per 100 plate appearances (35.08) and per 100 games (156.7) among Hall of Fame players. In 1939, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame and was the first MLB player to have his uniform number (4) retired by a team.

      2. Rare neurodegenerative disease

        Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

        Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most common type of motor neuron disease. Early symptoms of ALS include stiff muscles, muscle twitches, and gradual increasing weakness and muscle wasting. Limb-onset ALS begins with weakness in the arms or legs, while bulbar-onset ALS begins with difficulty speaking or swallowing. Half of the people with ALS develop at least mild difficulties with thinking and behavior, and about 15% develop frontotemporal dementia. Most people experience pain. The affected muscles are responsible for chewing food, speaking, and walking. Motor neuron loss continues until the ability to eat, speak, move, and finally the ability to breathe is lost. ALS eventually causes paralysis and early death, usually from respiratory failure.

      3. Former baseball stadium in the Bronx, New York

        Yankee Stadium (1923)

        The original Yankee Stadium was a stadium located in the Bronx in New York City. It was the home ballpark of the New York Yankees, one of the city's Major League Baseball franchises, from 1923 to 2008, except for 1974–1975 when the stadium was renovated. It hosted 6,581 Yankees regular season home games during its 85-year history. It was also the home of the New York Giants National Football League (NFL) team from 1956 through September 1973. The stadium's nickname, "The House That Ruth Built", is derived from Babe Ruth, the baseball superstar whose prime years coincided with the stadium's opening and the beginning of the Yankees' winning history. It has often been referred to as "The Cathedral of Baseball".

      4. Bat-and-ball game

        Baseball

        Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game is live when the umpire signals to the pitcher either verbally or by pointing, indicating that the ball is now in play. A player on the fielding team, called the pitcher, throws a ball that a player on the batting team tries to hit with a bat. The objective of the offensive team is to hit the ball into the field of play, away from the other team's players, allowing its players to run the bases, having them advance counter-clockwise around four bases to score what are called "runs". The objective of the defensive team is to prevent batters from becoming runners, and to prevent runners' advance around the bases. A run is scored when a runner legally advances around the bases in order and touches home plate.

  31. 1927

    1. First flight of the Lockheed Vega.

      1. Utility transport aircraft by Lockheed

        Lockheed Vega

        The Lockheed Vega is an American six-passenger high-wing monoplane airliner built by the Lockheed Corporation starting in 1927. It became famous for its use by a number of record-breaking pilots who were attracted to the rugged and very long-range design. Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean in one, and Wiley Post used his to prove the existence of the jet stream after having flown around the world twice.

  32. 1918

    1. World War I: Allied forces led by the Australian general John Monash won the Battle of Hamel, demonstrating the effectiveness of combined-arms techniques in trench warfare.

      1. Global war, 1914–1918

        World War I

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

      2. Countries that fought against the Central Powers

        Allies of World War I

        The Allies of World War I, Entente Powers, or Allied Powers were a coalition of countries led by France, the United Kingdom, Russia, Italy, Japan, and the United States against the Central Powers of Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria, and their colonies during the First World War (1914–1918).

      3. Australian Army officer (1865–1931)

        John Monash

        General Sir John Monash, was an Australian civil engineer and military commander of the First World War. He commanded the 13th Infantry Brigade before the war and then, shortly after its outbreak, became commander of the 4th Brigade in Egypt, with whom he took part in the Gallipoli campaign. In July 1916 he took charge of the newly raised 3rd Division in northwestern France and in May 1918 became commander of the Australian Corps, at the time the largest corps on the Western Front. Monash is considered one of the best Allied generals of the First World War and the most famous commander in Australian history.

      4. Battle of World War I

        Battle of Hamel

        The Battle of Hamel was a successful attack by Australian Army and US Army infantry, supported by British tanks, against German positions in and around the town of Le Hamel, in northern France, during World War I. The attack was planned and commanded by Lieutenant General John Monash, commander of the Australian Corps, and took place on 4 July 1918.

      5. Using different types of combat units together.

        Combined arms

        Combined arms is an approach to warfare that seeks to integrate different combat arms of a military to achieve mutually complementary effects. According to the strategist William S. Lind, combined arms can be distinguished from the concept of "supporting arms" as follows:Combined arms hits the enemy with two or more arms simultaneously in such a manner that the actions he must take to defend himself from one make him more vulnerable to another. In contrast, supporting arms is hitting the enemy with two or more arms in sequence, or if simultaneously, then in such combination that the actions the enemy must take to defend himself from one also defends himself from the other(s).

      6. Land warfare involving static fortification of lines

        Trench warfare

        Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied lines largely comprising military trenches, in which troops are well-protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery. Trench warfare became archetypically associated with World War I (1914–1918), when the Race to the Sea rapidly expanded trench use on the Western Front starting in September 1914.

    2. Mehmed V died at the age of 73 and Ottoman sultan Mehmed VI ascends to the throne.

      1. 35th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1909 to 1918

        Mehmed V

        Mehmed V Reşâd reigned as the 35th and penultimate Ottoman Sultan. He was the son of Sultan Abdulmejid I. He succeeded his half-brother Abdul Hamid II after the 31 March Incident. He was succeeded by his half-brother Mehmed VI.

      2. List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire

        The sultans of the Ottoman Empire, who were all members of the Ottoman dynasty, ruled over the transcontinental empire from its perceived inception in 1299 to its dissolution in 1922. At its height, the Ottoman Empire spanned an area from Hungary in the north to rebel in the south and from Algeria in the west to Iraq in the east. Administered at first from the city of Söğüt since before 1280 and then from the city of Bursa since 1323 or 1324, the empire's capital was moved to Adrianople in 1363 following its conquest by Murad I and then to Constantinople in 1453 following its conquest by Mehmed II.

      3. 36th and last Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1918 to 1922

        Mehmed VI

        Mehmed VI Vahideddin, also known as Şahbaba among the Osmanoğlu family, was the 36th and last Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, reigning from 4 July 1918 until 1 November 1922, when the Ottoman Empire was dissolved after World War I and replaced by the Republic of Turkey on 29 October 1923.

    3. World War I: The Battle of Hamel, a successful attack by the Australian Corps against German positions near the town of Le Hamel on the Western Front.

      1. Global war, 1914–1918

        World War I

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

      2. Battle of World War I

        Battle of Hamel

        The Battle of Hamel was a successful attack by Australian Army and US Army infantry, supported by British tanks, against German positions in and around the town of Le Hamel, in northern France, during World War I. The attack was planned and commanded by Lieutenant General John Monash, commander of the Australian Corps, and took place on 4 July 1918.

      3. First World War army corps

        Australian Corps

        The Australian Corps was a World War I army corps that contained all five Australian infantry divisions serving on the Western Front. It was the largest corps fielded by the British Empire in France. At its peak the Australian Corps numbered 109,881 men. By 1918 the headquarters consisted of more than 300 personnel of all ranks, including senior staff officers, as well as supporting personnel such as clerks, drivers and batmen. Formed on 1 November 1917, the corps replaced I Anzac Corps while II Anzac Corps, which contained the New Zealand Division, became the British XXII Corps on 31 December. While its structure varied, Australian Corps usually included 4–5 infantry divisions, corps artillery and heavy artillery, a corps flying squadron and captive balloon sections, anti-aircraft batteries, corps engineers, corps mounted troops, ordnance workshops, medical and dental units, transport, salvage and an employment company.

      4. Commune in Hauts-de-France, France

        Le Hamel, Somme

        Le Hamel is a commune in the Somme department and Hauts-de-France region of northern France.

      5. Theatre of WWI in France and Belgium

        Western Front (World War I)

        The Western Front was one of the main theatres of war during the First World War. Following the outbreak of war in August 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The German advance was halted with the Battle of the Marne. Following the Race to the Sea, both sides dug in along a meandering line of fortified trenches, stretching from the North Sea to the Swiss frontier with France, which changed little except during early 1917 and in 1918.

    4. Bolsheviks kill Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his family (Julian calendar date).

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

        Bolsheviks

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

      2. Tsar of the Russian Empire from 1894 to 1917

        Nicholas II of Russia

        Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov, known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer, was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland and Grand Duke of Finland, ruling from 1 November 1894 until his abdication on 15 March 1917. During his reign, Nicholas gave support to the economic and political reforms promoted by his prime ministers, Sergei Witte and Pyotr Stolypin. He advocated modernization based on foreign loans and close ties with France, but resisted giving the new parliament major roles. Ultimately, progress was undermined by Nicholas's commitment to autocratic rule, strong aristocratic opposition and defeats sustained by the Russian military in the Russo-Japanese War and World War I. By March 1917, public support for Nicholas had collapsed and he was forced to abdicate the throne, thereby ending the Romanov dynasty's 304-year rule of Russia (1613–1917).

      3. Calendar introduced by Julius Caesar in 45 BC

        Julian calendar

        The Julian calendar, proposed by Roman consul Julius Caesar in 46 BC, was a reform of the Roman calendar. It took effect on 1 January 45 BC, by edict. It was designed with the aid of Greek mathematicians and astronomers such as Sosigenes of Alexandria.

  33. 1914

    1. The funeral of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie takes place in Vienna, six days after their assassinations in Sarajevo.

      1. Royal whose 1914 assassination led to WWI

        Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

        Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I.

      2. Wife of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

        Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg

        Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg was the wife of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. Their assassination in Sarajevo sparked a series of events that led, four weeks later, to World War I.

      3. Capital and largest city of Austria

        Vienna

        Vienna is the capital, largest city, and one of nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's most populous city and its primate city, with about two million inhabitants, and its cultural, economic, and political center. It is the 6th-largest city proper by population in the European Union and the largest of all cities on the Danube river.

      4. Capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina

        Sarajevo

        Sarajevo is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajevo Canton, East Sarajevo and nearby municipalities is home to 555,210 inhabitants. Located within the greater Sarajevo valley of Bosnia, it is surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of the Balkans, a region of Southern Europe.

  34. 1913

    1. President Woodrow Wilson addresses American Civil War veterans at the Great Reunion of 1913.

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

        President of the United States

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

      2. President of the United States from 1913 to 1921

        Woodrow Wilson

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

      3. 1861–1865 conflict in the United States

        American Civil War

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

      4. American Civil War veterans reunion

        1913 Gettysburg reunion

        The 1913 Gettysburg reunion was a Gettysburg Battlefield encampment of American Civil War veterans for the Battle of Gettysburg's 50th anniversary. The June 29–July 4 gathering of 53,407 veterans was the largest ever Civil War veteran reunion. All honorably discharged veterans in the Grand Army of the Republic and the United Confederate Veterans were invited, and veterans from 46 of the 48 states attended.

  35. 1911

    1. A massive heat wave strikes the northeastern United States, killing 380 people in eleven days and breaking temperature records in several cities.

      1. 1911 severe heat wave in the northeastern United States

        1911 Eastern North America heat wave

        The 1911 Eastern North America heat wave was an 11-day severe heat wave that killed at least 380 people though estimates have put the death toll as high as 2,000 people. The heat wave began on July 4, 1911 and didn't cease until July 15. In Nashua, New Hampshire, the temperature peaked at 106 °F (41 °C). In New York City alone, 158 people and 600 horses died.

  36. 1910

    1. The Johnson–Jeffries riots occur after African-American boxer Jack Johnson knocks out white boxer Jim Jeffries in the 15th round. Between 11 and 26 people are killed and hundreds more injured.

      1. 1910 nationwide race rioting in the U.S. following an interracial boxing match

        Johnson–Jeffries riots

        The Johnson–Jeffries riots refer to the dozens of race riots that occurred throughout the United States after African-American boxer Jack Johnson defeated white boxer James J. Jeffries in a boxing match termed the "Fight of the Century". Johnson became the first black World Heavyweight champion in 1908 which made him unpopular with the predominantly white audience of boxing. Jeffries, a former heavyweight champion came out of retirement to fight Johnson and was nicknamed the "Great White Hope". After Johnson defeated Jeffries on July 4, 1910, many white people felt humiliated and began attacking black people who were celebrating Johnson's victory.

  37. 1903

    1. The Philippine–American War is officially concluded.

      1. Armed conflict between the First Philippines Republic and the United States (1899–1902)

        Philippine–American War

        The Philippine–American War or the Filipino–American War, previously referred to as the Philippine Insurrection or the Tagalog Insurgency by the United States, was an armed conflict between the First Philippine Republic and the United States that started on February 4, 1899, and ended on July 2, 1902. The conflict arose in 1898 when the United States, rather than acknowledging the Philippines' declaration of independence, annexed the Philippines under the Treaty of Paris at the conclusion of the Spanish–American War. The war can be seen as a continuation of the Philippine struggle for independence that began in 1896 with the Philippine Revolution against Spanish rule.

  38. 1901

    1. William Howard Taft becomes American governor of the Philippines.

      1. President of the United States from 1909 to 1913

        William Howard Taft

        William Howard Taft was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected president in 1908, the chosen successor of Theodore Roosevelt, but was defeated for reelection in 1912 by Woodrow Wilson after Roosevelt split the Republican vote by running as a third-party candidate. In 1921, President Warren G. Harding appointed Taft to be chief justice, a position he held until a month before his death.

  39. 1898

    1. En route from New York to Le Havre, the SS La Bourgogne collides with another ship and sinks off the coast of Sable Island, with the loss of 549 lives.

      1. Administrative division in Normandy, France

        Le Havre

        Le Havre is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very close to the Prime Meridian. Le Havre is the most populous commune of Upper Normandy, although the total population of the greater Le Havre conurbation is smaller than that of Rouen. After Reims, it is also the second largest subprefecture in France. The name Le Havre means "the harbour" or "the port". Its inhabitants are known as Havrais or Havraises.

      2. French ocean liner

        SS La Bourgogne

        SS La Bourgogne was a French ocean liner, which sank in a collision July 1898, with the loss of 549 lives. At the time this sinking was infamous, because only 13% of the passengers survived, while 48% of the crew did. In 1886 she set a new record for the fastest Atlantic crossing by a postal steamer.

      3. Place in Nova Scotia, Canada

        Sable Island

        Sable Island is a small Canadian island situated 300 km (190 mi) southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia, and about 175 km (109 mi) southeast of the closest point of mainland Nova Scotia in the North Atlantic Ocean. The island is staffed year round by three federal government staff, rising during summer months when research projects and tourism increase. Notable for its role in early Canadian history and the Sable Island horse, the island is protected and managed by Parks Canada, which must grant permission prior to any visit. Sable Island is part of District 7 of the Halifax Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia. The island is also a protected National Park Reserve and an Important Bird Area.

  40. 1894

    1. The short-lived Republic of Hawaii is proclaimed by Sanford B. Dole.

      1. 1894–1898 transitional republic in Hawaii before US annexation

        Republic of Hawaii

        The Republic of Hawaii was a short-lived one-party state in Hawaiʻi between July 4, 1894, when the Provisional Government of Hawaii had ended, and August 12, 1898, when it became annexed by the United States as an organized incorporated territory of the United States. In 1893 the Committee of Public Safety overthrew Kingdom of Hawaii Queen Liliʻuokalani after she rejected the 1887 Bayonet Constitution. The Committee of Public Safety intended for Hawaii to be annexed by the United States but President Grover Cleveland, a Democrat opposed to imperialism, refused. A new constitution was subsequently written while Hawaii was being prepared for annexation.

      2. American judge

        Sanford B. Dole

        Sanford Ballard Dole was a lawyer and jurist from the Hawaiian Islands. He lived through the periods when Hawaii was a kingdom, protectorate, republic, and territory. A descendant of the American missionary community to Hawaii, Dole advocated the westernization of Hawaiian government and culture. After the overthrow of the monarchy, he served as the President of the Republic of Hawaii until his government secured Hawaii's annexation by the United States.

  41. 1892

    1. Western Samoa changes the International Date Line, causing Monday (July 4) to occur twice, resulting in a year with 367 days.

      1. Polynesian island country

        Samoa

        Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ; two smaller, inhabited islands ; and several smaller, uninhabited islands, including the Aleipata Islands. Samoa is located 64 km (40 mi) west of American Samoa, 889 km (552 mi) northeast of Tonga, 1,152 km (716 mi) northeast of Fiji, 483 km (300 mi) east of Wallis and Futuna, 1,151 km (715 mi) southeast of Tuvalu, 519 km (322 mi) south of Tokelau, 4,190 km (2,600 mi) southwest of Hawaii, and 610 km (380 mi) northwest of Niue. The capital city is Apia. The Lapita people discovered and settled the Samoan Islands around 3,500 years ago. They developed a Samoan language and Samoan cultural identity.

      2. Imaginary line that demarcates the change of one calendar day to the next

        International Date Line

        The International Date Line (IDL) is an internationally accepted demarcation on the surface of Earth, running between the South Pole and North Pole and serving as the boundary between one calendar day and the next. It passes through the Pacific Ocean, roughly following the 180° line of longitude and deviating to pass around some territories and island groups. Crossing the date line eastbound decreases the date by one day, while crossing the date line westbound increases the date.

  42. 1887

    1. The founder of Pakistan, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, joins Sindh-Madrasa-tul-Islam, Karachi.

      1. Country in South Asia

        Pakistan

        Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-largest Muslim population just behind Indonesia. Pakistan is the 33rd-largest country in the world by area and 2nd largest in South Asia, spanning 881,913 square kilometres. It has a 1,046-kilometre (650-mile) coastline along the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman in the south, and is bordered by India to the east, Afghanistan to the west, Iran to the southwest, and China to the northeast. It is separated narrowly from Tajikistan by Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor in the north, and also shares a maritime border with Oman. Islamabad is the nation's capital, while Karachi is its largest city and financial centre.

      2. Founder and 1st Governor-General of Pakistan (1876–1948)

        Muhammad Ali Jinnah

        Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the inception of Pakistan on 14 August 1947, and then as the Dominion of Pakistan's first governor-general until his death.

      3. Historical Institute in Karachi, Sindh

        Sindh Madressatul Islam University

        Sindh Madressatul Islam University, also known as SMI University, is a university in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Founded in 1885, it is one of the oldest educational institutions in South Asia.

      4. Capital city of Sindh, Pakistan

        Karachi

        Karachi is the most populous city in Pakistan and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former capital of Pakistan and capital of the province of Sindh. Ranked as a beta-global city, it is Pakistan's premier industrial and financial centre, with an estimated GDP of over $200 billion (PPP) as of 2021. Karachi paid $9billion as tax during fiscal year July 2021 to May 2022 according to FBR report. Karachi is Pakistan's most cosmopolitan city, linguistically, ethnically, and religiously diverse, as well as one of Pakistan's most secular and socially liberal cities. Karachi serves as a transport hub, and contains Pakistan’s two largest seaports, the Port of Karachi and Port Qasim, as well as Pakistan's busiest airport, Jinnah International Airport. Karachi is also a media center, home to news channels, film and fashion industry of Pakistan. Most of Pakistan's multinational companies and banks have their headquarters in Karachi. Karachi is also a tourism hub due to its scenic beaches, historic buildings and shopping malls.

  43. 1886

    1. The Canadian Pacific Railway's first scheduled train from Montreal arrives in Port Moody on the Pacific coast, after six days of travel.

      1. Class I railroad in Canada and United States

        Canadian Pacific Railway

        The Canadian Pacific Railway, also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001.

      2. City in British Columbia, Canada

        Port Moody

        Port Moody is a city in British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It envelops the east end of Burrard Inlet and is the smallest of the Tri-Cities, bordered by Coquitlam on the east and south and by Burnaby on the west. The villages of Belcarra and Anmore, along with the rugged Coast Mountains, lie to the northwest and north, respectively. It is named for Richard Clement Moody, the first lieutenant governor of the Colony of British Columbia.

  44. 1881

    1. In Alabama, the Tuskegee Institute opens.

      1. U.S. state

        Alabama

        Alabama is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered by Tennessee to the north; Georgia to the east; Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south; and Mississippi to the west. Alabama is the 30th largest by area and the 24th-most populous of the U.S. states. With a total of 1,500 miles (2,400 km) of inland waterways, Alabama has among the most of any state.

      2. Private, historically black university located in Tuskegee, Alabama, USA

        Tuskegee University

        Tuskegee University, formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute, is a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama. It was founded on Independence Day in 1881 by the state legislature.

  45. 1879

    1. Anglo-Zulu War: The Zululand capital of Ulundi is captured by British troops and burned to the ground, ending the war and forcing King Cetshwayo to flee.

      1. British colonial war in 1879

        Anglo-Zulu War

        The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in 1879 between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Following the British North America Act of 1867 for the federation in Canada, by Lord Carnarvon, it was thought that similar political effort, coupled with military campaigns, might succeed with the African Kingdoms, tribal areas and Boer republics in South Africa. In 1874, Sir Bartle Frere was sent to South Africa as High Commissioner for the British Empire to effect such plans. Among the obstacles were the armed independent states of the South African Republic and the Kingdom of Zululand.

      2. Place in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

        Ulundi

        Ulundi, also known as Mahlabathini, is a town in the Zululand District Municipality. At one time the capital of Zulu Kingdom in South Africa and later the capital of the Bantustan of KwaZulu, Ulundi now lies in KwaZulu-Natal Province. The town now includes Ulundi Airport, a three-star hotel, and some museums amongst its sights. In the 2001 Census, the population of the town was recorded as 18,420.

      3. King of the Zulu Kingdom (1826–1884)

        Cetshwayo

        King Cetshwayo kaMpande was the king of the Zulu Kingdom from 1873 to 1879 and its Commander in Chief during the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. His name has been transliterated as Cetawayo, Cetewayo, Cetywajo and Ketchwayo. Cetshwayo consistently opposed the war and sought fruitlessly to make peace with the British, and was defeated and exiled following the Zulu defeat in the war. He was later allowed to return to Zululand, where he died in 1884.

  46. 1863

    1. American Civil War: Siege of Vicksburg: Vicksburg, Mississippi surrenders to U.S. forces under Ulysses S. Grant after 47 days of siege.

      1. 1861–1865 conflict in the United States

        American Civil War

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

      2. Battle of the American Civil War's Anaconda Plan

        Siege of Vicksburg

        The siege of Vicksburg was the final major military action in the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed the Mississippi River and drove the Confederate Army of Mississippi, led by Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton, into the defensive lines surrounding the fortress city of Vicksburg, Mississippi.

      3. City in Mississippi, United States

        Vicksburg, Mississippi

        Vicksburg is a historic city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the county seat, and the population at the 2010 census was 23,856.

      4. President of the United States from 1869 to 1877

        Ulysses S. Grant

        Ulysses S. Grant was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Army to victory in the American Civil War in 1865 and thereafter briefly served as Secretary of War. Later, as president, Grant was an effective civil rights executive who signed the bill that created the Justice Department and worked with Radical Republicans to protect African Americans during Reconstruction.

    2. American Civil War: Union forces repulse a Confederate army at the Battle of Helena in Arkansas. The Confederate loss fails to relieve pressure on the besieged city of Vicksburg, and paves the way for the Union to capture Little Rock.

      1. Federal government of Lincoln's “North” U.S

        Union (American Civil War)

        During the American Civil War, the Union, also known as the North, referred to the United States led by President Abraham Lincoln. It was opposed by the secessionist Confederate States of America (CSA), informally called "the Confederacy" or "the South". The Union is named after its declared goal of preserving the United States as a constitutional union. "Union" is used in the U.S. Constitution to refer to the founding formation of the people, and to the states in union. In the context of the Civil War, it has also often been used as a synonym for "the northern states loyal to the United States government;" in this meaning, the Union consisted of 20 free states and five border states.

      2. Former North American state (1861–65)

        Confederate States of America

        The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States, the Confederacy, or "the South", was an unrecognized breakaway republic in North America that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confederacy comprised U.S. states that declared secession and warred against the United States during the American Civil War. Eleven U.S. states, nicknamed Dixie, declared secession and formed the main part of the CSA. They were South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina. Kentucky, and Missouri also had declarations of secession and full representation in the Confederate Congress during their Union army occupation.

      3. Battle of the American Civil War

        Battle of Helena

        The Battle of Helena was fought on July 4, 1863, in Helena, Arkansas, as part of the American Civil War. Union troops had captured the city in July 1862, and had been using it as a base of operations. Over 7,500 Confederate troops led by Lieutenant General Theophilus Holmes attempted to capture Helena in hopes of relieving some of the pressure on Vicksburg, Mississippi. The city was defended by about 4,100 Union troops led by Major General Benjamin Prentiss, manning one fort and four batteries. Differing interpretations of Holmes' order to attack at daylight resulted in Brigadier General James F. Fagan's troops attacking Battery D unsupported, while Major General Sterling Price's attack against the Union center was made after Fagan's had largely fizzled out. To the north, Confederate cavalry commanded by Brigadier Generals John S. Marmaduke and Lucius M. Walker failed to act in concert and accomplished little. The assaults failed, and Vicksburg fell the same day. Later in the year, Union troops used Helena as a staging ground for their successful campaign to capture Little Rock, Arkansas.

      4. City in Mississippi, United States

        Vicksburg, Mississippi

        Vicksburg is a historic city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the county seat, and the population at the 2010 census was 23,856.

      5. Capital and largest city of Arkansas

        Little Rock, Arkansas

        Little Rock is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 in 2020, according to the United States Census Bureau. As the county seat of Pulaski County, the city was incorporated on November 7, 1831, on the south bank of the Arkansas River close to the state's geographic center. The city derived its name from a rock formation along the river, named the "Little Rock" by the French explorer Jean-Baptiste Bénard de la Harpe in 1722. The capital of the Arkansas Territory was moved to Little Rock from Arkansas Post in 1821. The six-county Little Rock–North Little Rock–Conway, AR Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) is ranked 81st in terms of population in the United States with 748,031 residents according to the 2020 estimate by the United States Census Bureau.

    3. American Civil War: The Army of Northern Virginia withdraws from the battlefield after losing the Battle of Gettysburg, signalling an end to the Confederate invasion of U.S. territory.

      1. Confederate army unit in the American Civil War

        Army of Northern Virginia

        The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was also the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed against the Union Army of the Potomac.

      2. Battle of the American Civil War (1863)

        Battle of Gettysburg

        The Battle of Gettysburg was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Potomac defeated attacks by Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, halting Lee's invasion of the North. The battle involved the largest number of casualties of the entire war and is often described as the war's turning point due to the Union's decisive victory and concurrence with the Siege of Vicksburg.

      3. Former North American state (1861–65)

        Confederate States of America

        The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States, the Confederacy, or "the South", was an unrecognized breakaway republic in North America that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confederacy comprised U.S. states that declared secession and warred against the United States during the American Civil War. Eleven U.S. states, nicknamed Dixie, declared secession and formed the main part of the CSA. They were South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina. Kentucky, and Missouri also had declarations of secession and full representation in the Confederate Congress during their Union army occupation.

      4. 1863 Confederate offensive in Pennsylvania during the American Civil War

        Gettysburg campaign

        The Gettysburg campaign was a military invasion of Pennsylvania by the main Confederate army under General Robert E. Lee in summer 1863. It was the first time during the war the Confederate Army attempted a full scale invasion of a free state. The Union won a decisive victory at Gettysburg, July 1–3, with heavy casualties on both sides. Lee managed to escape back to Virginia with most of his army. It was a turning point in the American Civil War, with Lee increasingly pushed back toward Richmond until his surrender in April 1865. The Union Army of the Potomac was commanded by Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker and then by Maj. Gen. George G. Meade.

      5. Region in the United States

        Northern United States

        The Northern United States, commonly referred to as the American North, the Northern States, or simply the North, is a geographical or historical region of the United States.

  47. 1862

    1. In a boat on the River Thames from Oxford to Godstow, author Lewis Carroll told Alice Liddell (pictured) and her sisters a story that later formed the basis for his book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

      1. River in southern England

        River Thames

        The River Thames, known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At 215 miles (346 km), it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the River Severn.

      2. City in Oxfordshire, England

        Oxford

        Oxford is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is 56 miles (90 km) north-west of London, 64 miles (103 km) south-east of Birmingham and 61 miles (98 km) north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the oldest university in the English-speaking world; it has buildings in every style of English architecture since late Anglo-Saxon. Oxford's industries include motor manufacturing, education, publishing, information technology and science.

      3. Hamlet in Oxfordshire, UK

        Godstow

        Godstow is about 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of the centre of Oxford. It lies on the banks of the River Thames between the villages of Wolvercote to the east and Wytham to the west. The ruins of Godstow Abbey, also known as Godstow Nunnery, are here. A bridge spans the Thames and the Trout Inn is at the foot of the bridge across the river from the abbey ruins. There is also a weir and Godstow lock.

      4. British author and scholar (1832–1898)

        Lewis Carroll

        Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass (1871). He was noted for his facility with word play, logic, and fantasy. His poems Jabberwocky (1871) and The Hunting of the Snark (1876) are classified in the genre of literary nonsense.

      5. Basis of the character in "Alice in Wonderland"

        Alice Liddell

        Alice Pleasance Hargreaves, was a British woman who, in her childhood, was an acquaintance and photography subject of Lewis Carroll. One of the stories he told her during a boating trip became the children's classic 1865 novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. She shared her name with "Alice", the heroine of the story, but scholars disagree about the extent to which the character was based upon her.

      6. 1865 children's novel by Lewis Carroll

        Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

        Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatures. It is seen as an example of the literary nonsense genre. The artist John Tenniel provided 42 wood-engraved illustrations for the book.

    2. Lewis Carroll tells Alice Liddell a story that would grow into Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequels.

      1. British author and scholar (1832–1898)

        Lewis Carroll

        Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass (1871). He was noted for his facility with word play, logic, and fantasy. His poems Jabberwocky (1871) and The Hunting of the Snark (1876) are classified in the genre of literary nonsense.

      2. Basis of the character in "Alice in Wonderland"

        Alice Liddell

        Alice Pleasance Hargreaves, was a British woman who, in her childhood, was an acquaintance and photography subject of Lewis Carroll. One of the stories he told her during a boating trip became the children's classic 1865 novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. She shared her name with "Alice", the heroine of the story, but scholars disagree about the extent to which the character was based upon her.

      3. 1865 children's novel by Lewis Carroll

        Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

        Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatures. It is seen as an example of the literary nonsense genre. The artist John Tenniel provided 42 wood-engraved illustrations for the book.

  48. 1855

    1. The first edition of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass was published, and it went on to become one of the most important collections of American poetry.

      1. American poet, essayist and journalist (1819–1892)

        Walt Whitman

        Walter Whitman was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse. His work was controversial in his time, particularly his 1855 poetry collection Leaves of Grass, which was described as obscene for its overt sensuality.

      2. Expansive Walt Whitman poetry collection

        Leaves of Grass

        Leaves of Grass is a poetry collection by American poet Walt Whitman. Though it was first published in 1855, Whitman spent most of his professional life writing and rewriting Leaves of Grass, revising it multiple times until his death. There have been held to be either six or nine individual editions of Leaves of Grass, the count varying depending on how they are distinguished. This resulted in vastly different editions over four decades—the first edition being a small book of twelve poems, and the last, a compilation of over 400.

      3. Poetry from the United States of America

        American poetry

        American poetry refers to the poetry of the United States. It arose first as efforts by American colonists to add their voices to English poetry in the 17th century, well before the constitutional unification of the Thirteen Colonies. Unsurprisingly, most of the early colonists' work relied on contemporary English models of poetic form, diction, and theme. However, in the 19th century, a distinctive American idiom began to emerge. By the later part of that century, when Walt Whitman was winning an enthusiastic audience abroad, poets from the United States had begun to take their place at the forefront of the English-language avant-garde.

    2. The first edition of Walt Whitman's book of poems, Leaves of Grass, is published in Brooklyn.

      1. American poet, essayist and journalist (1819–1892)

        Walt Whitman

        Walter Whitman was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse. His work was controversial in his time, particularly his 1855 poetry collection Leaves of Grass, which was described as obscene for its overt sensuality.

      2. Expansive Walt Whitman poetry collection

        Leaves of Grass

        Leaves of Grass is a poetry collection by American poet Walt Whitman. Though it was first published in 1855, Whitman spent most of his professional life writing and rewriting Leaves of Grass, revising it multiple times until his death. There have been held to be either six or nine individual editions of Leaves of Grass, the count varying depending on how they are distinguished. This resulted in vastly different editions over four decades—the first edition being a small book of twelve poems, and the last, a compilation of over 400.

      3. Borough of New York City, US

        Brooklyn

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

  49. 1845

    1. Henry David Thoreau moves into a small cabin on Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. Thoreau's account of his two years there, Walden, will become a touchstone of the environmental movement.

      1. American philosopher (1817–1862)

        Henry David Thoreau

        Henry David Thoreau was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading transcendentalist, he is best known for his book Walden, a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, and his essay "Civil Disobedience", an argument for disobedience to an unjust state.

      2. Pond in Concord, Massachusetts

        Walden Pond

        Walden Pond is a pond in Concord, Massachusetts, in the United States. A famous example of a kettle hole, it was formed by retreating glaciers 10,000–12,000 years ago. The pond is protected as part of Walden Pond State Reservation, a 335-acre (136 ha) state park and recreation site managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. The reservation was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1962 for its association with the writer Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862), whose two years living in a cabin on its shore provided the foundation for his famous 1854 work, Walden; or, Life in the Woods. The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 ensured federal support for the preservation of the pond.

      3. Book by Henry David Thoreau

        Walden

        Walden is a book by American transcendentalist writer Henry David Thoreau. The text is a reflection upon the author's simple living in natural surroundings. The work is part personal declaration of independence, social experiment, voyage of spiritual discovery, satire, and—to some degree—a manual for self-reliance.

  50. 1838

    1. The Iowa Territory is organized.

      1. Territory of the US between 1838–1846

        Iowa Territory

        The Territory of Iowa was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1838, until December 28, 1846, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Iowa. The remainder of the territory would have no organized territorial government until the Minnesota Territory was organized on March 3, 1849.

  51. 1837

    1. The Grand Junction Railway, the world's first long-distance railway with steam traction, opened between Birmingham and Newton Junction.

      1. Former railway company in England

        Grand Junction Railway

        The Grand Junction Railway (GJR) was an early railway company in the United Kingdom, which existed between 1833 and 1846 when it was amalgamated with other railways to form the London and North Western Railway. The line built by the company was the first trunk railway to be completed in England, and arguably the world's first long-distance railway with steam traction.

      2. Steam-powered haulage engine

        Traction engine

        A traction engine is a steam-powered tractor used to move heavy loads on roads, plough ground or to provide power at a chosen location. The name derives from the Latin tractus, meaning 'drawn', since the prime function of any traction engine is to draw a load behind it. They are sometimes called road locomotives to distinguish them from railway locomotives – that is, steam engines that run on rails.

      3. City in West Midlands, England

        Birmingham

        Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West Midlands metropolitan county, and approximately 4.3 million in the wider metropolitan area. It is the largest UK metropolitan area outside of London. Birmingham is known as the second city of the United Kingdom.

      4. Railway station in Merseyside, England

        Earlestown railway station

        Earlestown railway station is a railway station in Earlestown, Merseyside, England, and one of the few "triangular" stations in Britain.

    2. Grand Junction Railway, the world's first long-distance railway, opens between Birmingham and Liverpool.

      1. Former railway company in England

        Grand Junction Railway

        The Grand Junction Railway (GJR) was an early railway company in the United Kingdom, which existed between 1833 and 1846 when it was amalgamated with other railways to form the London and North Western Railway. The line built by the company was the first trunk railway to be completed in England, and arguably the world's first long-distance railway with steam traction.

      2. City in West Midlands, England

        Birmingham

        Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West Midlands metropolitan county, and approximately 4.3 million in the wider metropolitan area. It is the largest UK metropolitan area outside of London. Birmingham is known as the second city of the United Kingdom.

      3. City and metropolitan borough in England

        Liverpool

        Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of 498,042 in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.24 million.

  52. 1832

    1. John Neal delivers the first public lecture in the US to advocate the rights of women.

      1. American writer and activist (1793–1876)

        John Neal (writer)

        John Neal was an American writer, critic, editor, lecturer, and activist. Considered both eccentric and influential, he delivered speeches and published essays, novels, poems, and short stories between the 1810s and 1870s in the United States and Great Britain, championing American literary nationalism and regionalism in their earliest stages. Neal advanced the development of American art, fought for women's rights, advocated the end of slavery and racial prejudice, and helped establish the American gymnastics movement.

  53. 1831

    1. Samuel Francis Smith writes "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" for the Boston, Massachusetts July 4 festivities.

      1. Protestant Christian Minister Patriotic hymn writer

        Samuel Francis Smith

        Samuel Francis Smith was an American Baptist minister, journalist, and author. He is best known for having written the lyrics to "My Country, 'Tis of Thee", which he entitled "America".

      2. American patriotic song

        America (My Country, 'Tis of Thee)

        "America " is an American patriotic song, the lyrics of which were written by Samuel Francis Smith. The song served as one of the de facto national anthems of the United States before the adoption of "The Star-Spangled Banner" as the official U.S. national anthem in 1931. The melody used is the same as that of the national anthem of the United Kingdom, "God Save the King".

  54. 1827

    1. Slavery is abolished in the State of New York.

      1. 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.

      2. U.S. state

        New York (state)

        New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of 54,556 square miles (141,300 km2), New York is the 27th-largest U.S. state by area. With 20.2 million people, it is the fourth-most-populous state in the United States as of 2021, with approximately 44% living in New York City, including 25% of the state's population within Brooklyn and Queens, and another 15% on the remainder of Long Island, the most populous island in the United States. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont to the east; it has a maritime border with Rhode Island, east of Long Island, as well as an international border with the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the north and Ontario to the northwest.

  55. 1826

    1. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, respectively the second and third presidents of the United States, die on the same day, on the fiftieth anniversary of the adoption of the United States Declaration of Independence. Adams' last words were, "Thomas Jefferson survives," not knowing that Jefferson had died hours earlier.

      1. President of the United States from 1797 to 1801

        John Adams

        John Adams was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before his presidency, he was a leader of the American Revolution that achieved independence from Great Britain, and during the war served as a diplomat in Europe. He was twice elected vice president, serving from 1789 to 1797 in a prestigious role with little power. Adams was a dedicated diarist and regularly corresponded with many important contemporaries, including his wife and adviser Abigail Adams as well as his friend and rival Thomas Jefferson.

      2. President of the United States from 1801 to 1809

        Thomas Jefferson

        Thomas Jefferson was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the nation's second vice president under John Adams and the first United States secretary of state under George Washington. The principal author of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson was a proponent of democracy, republicanism, and individual rights, motivating American colonists to break from the Kingdom of Great Britain and form a new nation. He produced formative documents and decisions at state, national, and international levels.

      3. 1776 assertion of colonial America's independence from Great Britain

        United States Declaration of Independence

        The United States Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, is the pronouncement and founding document adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on July 4, 1776. Enacted during the American Revolution, the Declaration explains why the Thirteen Colonies at war with the Kingdom of Great Britain regarded themselves as thirteen independent sovereign states, no longer subject to British colonial rule. With the Declaration, these new states took a collective first step in forming the United States of America and, de facto, formalized the American Revolutionary War, which had been ongoing since April 1775.

  56. 1818

    1. US Flag Act of 1818 goes into effect creating a 13 stripe flag with a star for each state. New stars would be added on 4th of July after a new state had been admitted.

      1. Series of laws defining the flag of the early United States (1777, 1794, and 1818)

        Flag Acts

        The Flag Acts are three laws that sought to define the design of the flag of the United States. All the submitted suggestions were remarkably short, the shortest being a sentence of 31 words, and the longest being a title and two sentences of 117 words.

  57. 1817

    1. In Rome, New York, construction on the Erie Canal begins.

      1. City in upstate New York

        Rome, New York

        Rome is a city in Oneida County, New York, United States, located in the central part of the state. The population was 32,127 at the 2020 census. Rome is one of two principal cities in the Utica–Rome Metropolitan Statistical Area, which lies in the "Leatherstocking Country" made famous by James Fenimore Cooper's Leatherstocking Tales, set in frontier days before the American Revolutionary War. Rome is in New York's 22nd congressional district.

      2. Waterway in New York, U.S.

        Erie Canal

        The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing the costs of transporting people and goods across the Appalachians. In effect, the canal accelerated the settlement of the Great Lakes region, the westward expansion of the United States, and the economic ascendancy of New York State. It has been called "The Nation's First Superhighway."

  58. 1803

    1. The Louisiana Purchase is announced to the American people.

      1. 1803 acquisition of large region of Middle America land by the U.S. from France

        Louisiana Purchase

        The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or approximately eighteen dollars per square mile, the United States nominally acquired a total of 828,000 sq mi in Middle America. However, France only controlled a small fraction of this area, most of which was inhabited by Native Americans; effectively, for the majority of the area, the United States bought the "preemptive" right to obtain "Indian" lands by treaty or by conquest, to the exclusion of other colonial powers.

  59. 1802

    1. At West Point, New York, the United States Military Academy opens.

      1. CDP in New York, United States

        West Point, New York

        West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York, West Point was identified by General George Washington as the most important strategic position in America during the American Revolution. Until January 1778, West Point was not occupied by the military. On January 27, 1778, Brigadier General Samuel Holden Parsons and his brigade crossed the ice on the Hudson River and climbed to the plain on West Point and from that day to the present, West Point has been occupied by the United States Army. It comprises approximately 16,000 acres (6,500 ha) including the campus of the United States Military Academy, which is commonly called "West Point".

      2. U.S. Army's service academy in West Point, New York

        United States Military Academy

        The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high ground overlooking the Hudson River with a scenic view, 50 miles (80 km) north of New York City. It is the oldest of the five American service academies and educates cadets for commissioning into the United States Army.

  60. 1778

    1. American Revolutionary War: U.S. forces under George Clark capture Kaskaskia during the Illinois campaign.

      1. 1775–1783 war of independence

        American Revolutionary War

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

      2. American surveyor, soldier, and militia officer (1752–1818)

        George Rogers Clark

        George Rogers Clark was an American surveyor, soldier, and militia officer from Virginia who became the highest-ranking American patriot military officer on the northwestern frontier during the American Revolutionary War. He served as leader of the militia in Kentucky throughout much of the war. He is best known for his captures of Kaskaskia (1778) and Vincennes (1779) during the Illinois Campaign, which greatly weakened British influence in the Northwest Territory. The British ceded the entire Northwest Territory to the United States in the 1783 Treaty of Paris, and Clark has often been hailed as the "Conqueror of the Old Northwest".

      3. Village in Illinois, United States

        Kaskaskia, Illinois

        Kaskaskia is a village in Randolph County, Illinois. Having been inhabited by indigenous peoples, it was settled by France as part of the Illinois Country. It was named for the Kaskaskia people. Its population peaked at about 7,000 in the 18th century, when it was a regional center. During the American Revolutionary War, the town, which by then had become an administrative center for the British Province of Quebec, was taken by the Virginia militia during the Illinois campaign. It was designated as the county seat of Illinois County, Virginia, after which it became part of the Northwest Territory in 1787. Kaskaskia was later named as the capital of the United States' Illinois Territory, created on February 3, 1809. In 1818, when Illinois became the 21st U.S. state, the town briefly served as the state's first capital until 1819, when the capital was moved to more centrally located Vandalia.

      4. 1778–79 series of battles during the American Revolutionary War

        Illinois campaign

        The Illinois campaign, also known as Clark's Northwestern campaign (1778–1779), was a series of events during the American Revolutionary War in which a small force of Virginia militiamen, led by George Rogers Clark, seized control of several British posts in the Illinois Country of the Province of Quebec, in what are now Illinois and Indiana in the Midwestern United States. The campaign is the best-known action of the western theater of the war and the source of Clark's reputation as an early American military hero.

  61. 1776

    1. In Philadelphia, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, announcing that the thirteen American colonies were no longer a part of the British Empire.

      1. 1775–1781 convention of the Thirteen Colonies

        Second Continental Congress

        The Second Continental Congress was a late-18th-century meeting of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that united in support of the American Revolutionary War. The Congress was creating a new country it first named "United Colonies" and in 1776 renamed "United States of America." It convened in Philadelphia on May 10, 1775, with representatives from 12 of the colonies. This came shortly after the Battles of Lexington and Concord and was in succession to the First Continental Congress which met from September 5 to October 26, 1774. The Second Congress functioned as a de facto national government at the outset of the Revolutionary War by raising armies, directing strategy, appointing diplomats, and writing petitions such as the Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms and the Olive Branch Petition. All thirteen colonies were represented by the time the Congress adopted the Lee Resolution which declared independence from Britain on July 2, 1776, and the congress agreed to the Declaration of Independence two days later.

      2. 1776 assertion of colonial America's independence from Great Britain

        United States Declaration of Independence

        The United States Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, is the pronouncement and founding document adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on July 4, 1776. Enacted during the American Revolution, the Declaration explains why the Thirteen Colonies at war with the Kingdom of Great Britain regarded themselves as thirteen independent sovereign states, no longer subject to British colonial rule. With the Declaration, these new states took a collective first step in forming the United States of America and, de facto, formalized the American Revolutionary War, which had been ongoing since April 1775.

      3. British colonies forming the United States

        Thirteen Colonies

        The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Founded in the 17th and 18th centuries, they began fighting the American Revolutionary War in April 1775 and formed the United States of America by declaring full independence in July 1776. Just prior to declaring independence, the Thirteen Colonies in their traditional groupings were: New England ; Middle ; Southern. The Thirteen Colonies came to have very similar political, constitutional, and legal systems, dominated by Protestant English-speakers. The first of these colonies was Virginia Colony in 1607, a Southern colony. While all these colonies needed to become economically viable, the founding of the New England colonies, as well as the colonies of Maryland and Pennsylvania, were substantially motivated by their founders' concerns related to the practice of religion. The other colonies were founded for business and economic expansion. The Middle Colonies were established on an earlier Dutch colony, New Netherland. All the Thirteen Colonies were part of Britain's possessions in the New World, which also included territory in Canada, Florida, and the Caribbean.

      4. States and dominions ruled by the United Kingdom

        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. American Revolution: The United States Declaration of Independence is adopted by the Second Continental Congress.

      1. 1765–1791 period establishing the USA

        American Revolution

        The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), gaining independence from the British Crown and establishing the United States of America as the first nation-state founded on Enlightenment principles of liberal democracy.

      2. 1776 assertion of colonial America's independence from Great Britain

        United States Declaration of Independence

        The United States Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, is the pronouncement and founding document adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on July 4, 1776. Enacted during the American Revolution, the Declaration explains why the Thirteen Colonies at war with the Kingdom of Great Britain regarded themselves as thirteen independent sovereign states, no longer subject to British colonial rule. With the Declaration, these new states took a collective first step in forming the United States of America and, de facto, formalized the American Revolutionary War, which had been ongoing since April 1775.

      3. 1775–1781 convention of the Thirteen Colonies

        Second Continental Congress

        The Second Continental Congress was a late-18th-century meeting of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that united in support of the American Revolutionary War. The Congress was creating a new country it first named "United Colonies" and in 1776 renamed "United States of America." It convened in Philadelphia on May 10, 1775, with representatives from 12 of the colonies. This came shortly after the Battles of Lexington and Concord and was in succession to the First Continental Congress which met from September 5 to October 26, 1774. The Second Congress functioned as a de facto national government at the outset of the Revolutionary War by raising armies, directing strategy, appointing diplomats, and writing petitions such as the Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms and the Olive Branch Petition. All thirteen colonies were represented by the time the Congress adopted the Lee Resolution which declared independence from Britain on July 2, 1776, and the congress agreed to the Declaration of Independence two days later.

  62. 1774

    1. Orangetown Resolutions are adopted in the Province of New York, one of many protests against the British Parliament's Coercive Acts.

      1. 1774 declaration of protest against the Intolerable Acts in Orangetown, colonial New York

        Orangetown Resolutions

        The Orangetown Resolutions were adopted on July 4, 1774, exactly two years prior to the adoption of the United States Declaration of Independence. The resolutions were part of a widespread movement of town and county protests of the Intolerable Acts passed by the British Parliament in 1774.

      2. British colony in North America (1664–1776)

        Province of New York

        The Province of New York (1664–1776) was a British proprietary colony and later royal colony on the northeast coast of North America. As one of the Middle Colonies, New York achieved independence and worked with the others to found the United States.

      3. United English and Scottish parliament 1707–1800

        Parliament of Great Britain

        The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in May 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The Acts ratified the treaty of Union which created a new unified Kingdom of Great Britain and created the parliament of Great Britain located in the former home of the English parliament in the Palace of Westminster, near the City of London. This lasted nearly a century, until the Acts of Union 1800 merged the separate British and Irish Parliaments into a single Parliament of the United Kingdom with effect from 1 January 1801.

      4. Series of punitive laws passed by the British Parliament in 1774

        Intolerable Acts

        The Intolerable Acts were a series of punitive laws passed by the British Parliament in 1774 after the Boston Tea Party. The laws aimed to punish Massachusetts colonists for their defiance in the Tea Party protest of the Tea Act, a tax measure enacted by Parliament in May 1773. In Great Britain, these laws were referred to as the Coercive Acts. They were a key development leading to the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War in April 1775.

  63. 1744

    1. The Treaty of Lancaster, in which the Iroquois cede lands between the Allegheny Mountains and the Ohio River to the British colonies, was signed in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

      1. Iroquois and Lenape land cessions to the colonial and later independent U.S. (1682-1797)

        Six Nations land cessions

        The Six Nations land cessions were a series of land cessions by the Haudenosaunee and Lenape which ceded large amounts of land, including both recently conquered territories acquired from other indigenous peoples in the Beaver Wars and ancestral lands to the Thirteen Colonies and the United States. The land ceded covered, partially or in the entire, the U.S. states of New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee and North Carolina. They were bordered to the west by the Algonquian lands in the Ohio Country, Cherokee lands to the south, and Muscogee and Choctaw lands to the southeast.

      2. Indigenous confederacy in North America

        Iroquois

        The Iroquois, officially the Haudenosaunee, are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to the French as the Iroquois League, and later as the Iroquois Confederacy. The English called them the Five Nations, comprising the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca. After 1722, the Iroquoian-speaking Tuscarora people from the southeast were accepted into the confederacy, which became known as the Six Nations.

      3. Mountain range in the northeastern United States

        Allegheny Mountains

        The Allegheny Mountain Range, informally the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada and posed a significant barrier to land travel in less developed eras. The Allegheny Mountains have a northeast–southwest orientation, running for about 400 miles (640 km) from north-central Pennsylvania, southward through western Maryland and eastern West Virginia.

      4. Major river in the midwestern United States

        Ohio River

        The Ohio River is a 981-mile (1,579 km) long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illinois. It is the third largest river by discharge volume in the United States and the largest tributary by volume of the north-south flowing Mississippi River that divides the eastern from western United States. It is also the 6th oldest river on the North American continent. The river flows through or along the border of six states, and its drainage basin includes parts of 14 states. Through its largest tributary, the Tennessee River, the basin includes several states of the southeastern U.S. It is the source of drinking water for five million people.

      5. City in Pennsylvania, United States

        Lancaster, Pennsylvania

        Lancaster, is a city in and the county seat of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It is one of the oldest inland cities in the United States. With a population at the 2020 census of 58,039, it ranks 11th in population among Pennsylvania's municipalities. The Lancaster metropolitan area population is 507,766, making it the 104th-largest metropolitan area in the U.S. and second-largest in the South Central Pennsylvania area.

  64. 1634

    1. The city of Trois-Rivières is founded in New France (now Quebec, Canada).

      1. City in Quebec, Canada

        Trois-Rivières

        Trois-Rivières is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River across from the city of Bécancour. It is part of the densely populated Quebec City–Windsor Corridor and is approximately halfway between Montreal and Quebec City. Trois-Rivières is the economic and cultural hub of the Mauricie region. The settlement was founded by French colonists on July 4, 1634, as the second permanent settlement in New France, after Quebec City in 1608.

      2. Area colonized by France in North America

        New France

        New France was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spain in 1763 under the Treaty of Paris.

  65. 1610

    1. The Battle of Klushino is fought between forces of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and Russia during the Polish–Muscovite War.

      1. 1610 battle of the Polish-Muscovite War

        Battle of Klushino

        The Battle of Klushino, or the Battle of Kłuszyn, was fought on 4 July 1610, between forces of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Tsardom of Russia during the Polish–Muscovite War, part of Russia's Time of Troubles. The battle occurred near the village of Klushino near Smolensk. In the battle the outnumbered Polish-Lithuanian force secured a decisive victory over Russia, due to the tactical competence of hetman Stanisław Żółkiewski and the military prowess of Polish hussars, the elite of the army of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland. The battle is remembered as one of the greatest triumphs of the Polish-Lithuanian cavalry and an example of excellence and supremacy of the Polish-Lithuanian military at the time.

      2. 1569–1795 bi-confederate monarchy in Europe

        Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

        The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch in real union, who was both King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. It was one of the largest and most populous countries of 16th- to 17th-century Europe. At its largest territorial extent, in the early 17th century, the Commonwealth covered almost 1,000,000 km2 (400,000 sq mi) and as of 1618 sustained a multi-ethnic population of almost 12 million. Polish and Latin were the two co-official languages.

      3. 1547–1721 tsardom in Eurasia

        Tsardom of Russia

        The Tsardom of Russia or Tsardom of Rus' also externally referenced as the Tsardom of Muscovy, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of Tsar by Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter I in 1721.

      4. War between Russia and Poland-Lithuania

        Polish–Muscovite War (1609–1618)

        The Polish–Russian War of 1609–1618, also known as the Polish–Muscovite War or the Dimitriads, was a conflict fought between the Tsardom of Russia and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth together with Zaporozhian Cossacks from 1609 to 1618.

  66. 1584

    1. Philip Amadas and Arthur Barlowe arrive at Roanoke Island

      1. 16/17th-century English captain and explorer of North America

        Philip Amadas

        Philip Amadas (1550–1618) was a naval commander and explorer in Elizabethan England. Little is known from his early life, but he grew up within a wealthy merchant family in southwestern England. Amadas was instrumental in the early years of the English colonisation of North America. He served alongside Arthur Barlowe in the 1584 exploratory voyage to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Leaving on 27 April 1584, he captained the Bark Ralegh with Simon Fernandes as his master and pilot on the voyage. Fernandes is best known for his controversial decision to maroon the colonists of the infamous "Lost Colony" on Roanoke Island in 1587. The voyage of 1584 determined Roanoke Island as the location for the future colonies under the leadership of Sir Walter Raleigh. For his role in the Roanoke voyages of 1584 and 1585, Amadas was nominated Admiral of Virginia by Raleigh in 1585. When he returned to England to report their findings, the Queen named the country after herself, Virginia.

      2. 16/17th-century English captain and explorer of North America

        Arthur Barlowe

        Arthur Barlowe was one of two British captains who, under the direction of Sir Walter Raleigh, left England in 1584 to find land in North America to claim for Queen Elizabeth I of England. His account survives in a letter written to Raleigh as a report on their journey. It is one of the earliest detailed English commercial reports written from direct observation about any place in North America and has been called "one of the clearest contemporary pictures of the contact of Europeans with North American Indians."

      3. Island in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, United States

        Roanoke Island

        Roanoke Island is an island in Dare County, bordered by the Outer Banks of North Carolina, United States. It was named after the historical Roanoke, a Carolina Algonquian people who inhabited the area in the 16th century at the time of English colonization.

  67. 1534

    1. Christian III is elected King of Denmark and Norway in the town of Rye.

      1. 1534 election of Christian III as King of Denmark

        Election of Christian III

        The election of Christian III as king of Denmark on 4 July 1534 was a landmark event for all of Denmark and also Norway. It took place in St. Søren's Church in the town of Rye in eastern Jutland, where the Jutlandic nobility elected Prince Christian, son of King Frederick I and Duke of Schleswig and Holsten, as king. This brought about the Count's Feud and later also led to the implementation of the Protestant Reformation in Denmark and Norway.

      2. Town in Denmark

        Old Rye

        Old Rye is a small town in eastern Jutland, Denmark, with a population of 1,570.

  68. 1456

    1. Ottoman–Hungarian wars: The Siege of Nándorfehérvár (Belgrade) begins.

      1. Series of conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary from 1366 to 1526

        Ottoman–Hungarian wars

        The Ottoman–Hungarian Wars were a series of battles between the Ottoman Empire and the medieval Kingdom of Hungary. Following the Byzantine Civil War, the Ottoman capture of Gallipoli, and the decisive Battle of Kosovo, the Ottoman Empire was poised to conquer the entirety of the Balkans and also sought and expressed desire to expand further north into Central Europe beginning with the Hungarian lands.

      2. 1456 battle during the Ottoman-Hungarian Wars

        Siege of Belgrade (1456)

        The siege of Belgrade, Battle of Belgrade or siege of Nándorfehérvár was a military blockade of Belgrade that occurred July 4–22, 1456. After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror rallied his resources to subjugate the Kingdom of Hungary. His immediate objective was the border fort of the town of Belgrade. John Hunyadi, the Count of Temes and captain-general of Hungary, who had fought many battles against the Turks in the previous two decades, prepared the defenses of the fortress.

  69. 1359

    1. Francesco II Ordelaffi of Forlì surrenders to the Papal commander Gil de Albornoz.

      1. 14th-century Italian nobleman

        Francesco II Ordelaffi

        Francesco II Ordelaffi, also known as Cecco II, was a lord of Forlì, the son of Sinibaldo Ordelaffi and Orestina Calboli, and the grandson of Teobaldo I Ordelaffi.

      2. Comune in Emilia-Romagna, Italy

        Forlì

        Forlì is a comune (municipality) and city in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, and is the capital of the province of Forlì-Cesena. It is the central city of Romagna.

      3. 14th century Spanish cardinal, archbishop, Chancellor of Toledo and ecclesiastical leader

        Gil Álvarez Carrillo de Albornoz

        Gil Álvarez Carrillo de Albornoz more commonly Gil de Albornoz, was a Spanish curial cardinal, archbishop of Toledo from 13 May 1338 to 17 December 1350. Grand Penitentiary from December 1352 to August 23, 1364. Cardinal priest with the title of San Clemente from December 17, 1350 to December 1356. Cardinal bishop of Sabina from December 1356 to August 23, 1364. Cardinal legate and vicar general from 30 June 1353 to 1357, who led as condottiere Papal States mercenary armies in two campaigns to reconquer territory in Italy, and statesman.

  70. 1253

    1. Battle of West-Capelle: John I of Avesnes defeats Guy of Dampierre.

      1. Count of Hainaut from 1246 to 1257

        John I, Count of Hainaut

        John of Avesnes was the count of Hainaut from 1246 to his death.

      2. Count of Flanders from 1251 to 1305

        Guy, Count of Flanders

        Guy of Dampierre was the Count of Flanders (1251–1305) and Marquis of Namur (1264–1305). He was a prisoner of the French when his Flemings defeated the latter at the Battle of the Golden Spurs in 1302.

  71. 1187

    1. The Crusades: Battle of Hattin: Saladin defeats Guy of Lusignan, King of Jerusalem.

      1. Religious wars of the High Middle Ages

        Crusades

        The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were intended to recover Jerusalem and its surrounding area from Islamic rule. Beginning with the First Crusade, which resulted in the recovery of Jerusalem in 1099, dozens of Crusades were fought, providing a focal point of European history for centuries.

      2. 1187 Saladin victory over the Crusaders

        Battle of Hattin

        The Battle of Hattin took place on 4 July 1187, between the Crusader states of the Levant and the forces of the Ayyubid sultan Saladin. It is also known as the Battle of the Horns of Hattin, due to the shape of the nearby extinct volcano of that name.

      3. Founder of the Ayyubid dynasty

        Saladin

        Yusuf ibn Ayyub ibn Shadi, commonly known by the epithet Saladin, was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from an ethnic Kurdish family, he was the first sultan of both Egypt and Syria. An important figure of the Third Crusade, he spearheaded the Muslim military effort against the Crusader states in the Levant. At the height of his power, Ayyubid territorial control spanned Egypt, Syria, Upper Mesopotamia, the Hejaz, Yemen, the Maghreb, and Nubia.

      4. French Poitevin knight and King of Jerusalem by right of marriage (c.1150-1194) (r.1186-1192)

        Guy of Lusignan

        Guy of Lusignan was a French Poitevin knight, son of Hugh VIII of Lusignan and as such born of the House of Lusignan. He was king of Jerusalem from 1186 to 1192 by right of marriage to Sibylla of Jerusalem, and King of Cyprus from 1192 to 1194. Having arrived in the Holy Land at an unknown date, Guy was hastily married to Sibylla in 1180 to prevent a political incident within the kingdom. As the health of his brother-in-law, Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, deteriorated, Guy was appointed by Sibylla as regent for his stepson, Baldwin V of Jerusalem. Baldwin IV died in 1185, followed shortly by Baldwin V in 1186, leading to the succession of Sibylla and Guy to the throne. Guy's reign was marked by increased hostilities with the Ayyubids ruled by Saladin, culminating in the Battle of Hattin in July 1187—during which Guy was captured—and the fall of Jerusalem itself three months later.

      5. Ruling monarch of the Kingdom of Jerusalem in the Middle Ages

        King of Jerusalem

        The King of Jerusalem was the supreme ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, a Crusader state founded in Jerusalem by the Latin Catholic leaders of the First Crusade, when the city was conquered in 1099.

  72. 1120

    1. Jordan II of Capua is anointed as prince after his infant nephew's death.

      1. 12th-century Italian nobleman

        Jordan II of Capua

        Jordan II was the third son of Prince Jordan I of Capua and Princess Gaitelgrima, a daughter of Prince Guaimar IV of Salerno. He was, from at least May 1109, the lord of Nocera, and, after June 1120, Prince of Capua. The date and place of his birth are unknown, but it must have been later than 1080. He was married, before 1113, to Gaitelgrima, daughter of Sergius, Prince of Sorrento, a union which allowed him to extend his influence down the Amalfi coast from his castle at Nocera.

  73. 1054

    1. Chinese astronomers recorded the sudden appearance of a "guest star", later identified as the supernova that created the Crab Nebula.

      1. Aspect of science history

        Chinese astronomy

        Astronomy in China has a long history stretching from the Shang dynasty, being refined over a period of more than 3,000 years. The ancient Chinese people have identified stars from 1300 BCE, as Chinese star names later categorized in the twenty-eight mansions have been found on oracle bones unearthed at Anyang, dating back to the mid-Shang dynasty. The core of the "mansion" system also took shape around this period, by the time of King Wu Ding.

      2. Ancient Chinese name for cataclysmic variable stars

        Guest star (astronomy)

        In Chinese astronomy, a guest star is a star which has suddenly appeared in a place where no star had previously been observed and becomes invisible again after some time. The term is a literal translation from ancient Chinese astronomical records.

      3. Supernova in the constellation Taurus; visible from 1054 to 1056

        SN 1054

        SN 1054 is a supernova that was first observed on c. 4 July 1054, and remained visible until c. 6 April 1056.

      4. Supernova remnant in the constellation Taurus

        Crab Nebula

        The Crab Nebula is a supernova remnant and pulsar wind nebula in the constellation of Taurus. The common name comes from William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse, who observed the object in 1842 using a 36-inch (91 cm) telescope and produced a drawing that looked somewhat like a crab. The nebula was discovered by English astronomer John Bevis in 1731, and it corresponds with a bright supernova recorded by Chinese astronomers in 1054. The nebula was the first astronomical object identified that corresponds with a historical supernova explosion.

    2. Chinese astronomers recorded the sudden appearance of a "guest star", later identified as the supernova that created the Crab Nebula.

      1. Aspect of science history

        Chinese astronomy

        Astronomy in China has a long history stretching from the Shang dynasty, being refined over a period of more than 3,000 years. The ancient Chinese people have identified stars from 1300 BCE, as Chinese star names later categorized in the twenty-eight mansions have been found on oracle bones unearthed at Anyang, dating back to the mid-Shang dynasty. The core of the "mansion" system also took shape around this period, by the time of King Wu Ding.

      2. Ancient Chinese name for cataclysmic variable stars

        Guest star (astronomy)

        In Chinese astronomy, a guest star is a star which has suddenly appeared in a place where no star had previously been observed and becomes invisible again after some time. The term is a literal translation from ancient Chinese astronomical records.

      3. Supernova in the constellation Taurus; visible from 1054 to 1056

        SN 1054

        SN 1054 is a supernova that was first observed on c. 4 July 1054, and remained visible until c. 6 April 1056.

      4. Supernova remnant in the constellation Taurus

        Crab Nebula

        The Crab Nebula is a supernova remnant and pulsar wind nebula in the constellation of Taurus. The common name comes from William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse, who observed the object in 1842 using a 36-inch (91 cm) telescope and produced a drawing that looked somewhat like a crab. The nebula was discovered by English astronomer John Bevis in 1731, and it corresponds with a bright supernova recorded by Chinese astronomers in 1054. The nebula was the first astronomical object identified that corresponds with a historical supernova explosion.

    3. A supernova, called SN 1054, is seen by Chinese Song dynasty, Arab, and possibly Amerindian observers near the star Zeta Tauri. For several months it remains bright enough to be seen during the day. Its remnants form the Crab Nebula.

      1. Supernova in the constellation Taurus; visible from 1054 to 1056

        SN 1054

        SN 1054 is a supernova that was first observed on c. 4 July 1054, and remained visible until c. 6 April 1056.

      2. Chinese imperial dynasty from 960 to 1279

        Song dynasty

        The Song dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest of the Ten Kingdoms, ending the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. The Song often came into conflict with the contemporaneous Liao, Western Xia and Jin dynasties in northern China. After retreating to southern China, the Song was eventually conquered by the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty.

      3. Ethnic group originally from the Arabian Peninsula

        Arabs

        The Arabs, also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, and the western Indian Ocean islands. An Arab diaspora is also present around the world in significant numbers, most notably in the Americas, Western Europe, Turkey, Indonesia, and Iran. In modern usage, the term "Arab" tends to refer to those who both carry that ethnic identity and speak Arabic as their native language. This contrasts with the narrower traditional definition, which refers to the descendants of the tribes of Arabia. The religion of Islam was developed in Arabia, and Classical Arabic serves as the language of Islamic literature. 93 percent of Arabs are Muslims, while Arab Muslims are only 20 percent of the global Muslim population.

      4. Native populations of North and South America

        Indigenous peoples of the Americas

        The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples.

      5. Binary star in the constellation Taurus

        Zeta Tauri

        Zeta Tauri is a binary star in the zodiac constellation of Taurus, the Bull. It has an apparent visual magnitude of about 3.0, which is bright enough to be seen with the naked eye. Parallax measurements place it at a distance of roughly 440 light-years from the Sun.

      6. Supernova remnant in the constellation Taurus

        Crab Nebula

        The Crab Nebula is a supernova remnant and pulsar wind nebula in the constellation of Taurus. The common name comes from William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse, who observed the object in 1842 using a 36-inch (91 cm) telescope and produced a drawing that looked somewhat like a crab. The nebula was discovered by English astronomer John Bevis in 1731, and it corresponds with a bright supernova recorded by Chinese astronomers in 1054. The nebula was the first astronomical object identified that corresponds with a historical supernova explosion.

  74. 993

    1. Ulrich of Augsburg is canonized as a saint.

      1. 10th-century Catholic bishop and saint

        Ulrich of Augsburg

        Ulrich of Augsburg, sometimes spelled Uodalric or Odalrici, was Prince-Bishopric of Augsburg in Germany. He was the first saint to be canonized not by a local authority but by the Pope.

      2. Declaration that a deceased person is an officially recognized saint

        Canonization

        Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of saints, or authorized list of that communion's recognized saints.

  75. 836

    1. Pactum Sicardi, a peace treaty between the Principality of Benevento and the Duchy of Naples, is signed.

      1. 836 treaty between Naples and Benevento

        Pactum Sicardi

        The Pactum Sicardi was a treaty signed on 4 July 836 between the Greek Duchy of Naples, including its satellite city-states of Sorrento and Amalfi, represented by Bishop John IV and Duke Andrew II, and the Lombard Prince of Benevento, Sicard. The treaty was an armistice ending a war between the Greek states and Benevento, during which the Byzantine Empire had not intervened on behalf of its subjects. It was supposed to last five years between the Lombard prince and the Neapolitans. It was a temporary armistice and was distinguished from other treaties such as Pactum Warmundi, which established temporary alliances.

      2. Lombard state in present-day southern Italy from 577 to 1053

        Duchy of Benevento

        The Duchy of Benevento was the southernmost Lombard duchy in the Italian Peninsula that was centred on Benevento, a city in Southern Italy. Lombard dukes ruled Benevento from 571 to 1077, when it was conquered by the Normans for four years before it was given to the Pope. Being cut off from the rest of the Lombard possessions by the papal Duchy of Rome, Benevento was practically independent from the start. Only during the reigns of Grimoald and the kings from Liutprand on was the duchy closely tied to the Kingdom of the Lombards. After the fall of the kingdom in 774, the duchy became the sole Lombard territory to continue to exist as a rump state, maintaining its de facto independence for nearly 300 years, although it was divided after 849.

      3. Italian state (661–1137)

        Duchy of Naples

        The Duchy of Naples began as a Byzantine province that was constituted in the seventh century, in the reduced coastal lands that the Lombards had not conquered during their invasion of Italy in the sixth century. It was governed by a military commander (dux), and rapidly became a de facto independent state, lasting more than five centuries during the Early and High Middle Ages. Naples remains a significant metropolitan city in present-day Italy.

  76. 414

    1. Byzantine emperor Theodosius II proclaimed his older sister Aelia Pulcheria as Augusta.

      1. Eastern Roman emperor from 402 to 450

        Theodosius II

        Theodosius II was Roman emperor for most of his life, proclaimed augustus as an infant in 402 and ruling as the eastern Empire's sole emperor after the death of his father Arcadius in 408. His reign was marked by the promulgation of the Theodosian law code and the construction of the Theodosian Walls of Constantinople. He also presided over the outbreak of two great Christological controversies, Nestorianism and Eutychianism.

      2. Byzantine empress

        Pulcheria

        Aelia Pulcheria was an Eastern Roman empress who advised her brother emperor Theodosius II during his minority and then became wife to emperor Marcian from November 450 to her death in 453.

      3. List of Augustae

        Augusta was a Roman imperial honorific title given to empresses and honoured women of the imperial families. It was the feminine form of Augustus. In the third century, Augustae could also receive the titles of Mater Senatus and Mater Castrorum and Mater Patriae.

    2. Emperor Theodosius II, age 13, yields power to his older sister Aelia Pulcheria, who reigned as regent and proclaimed herself empress (Augusta) of the Eastern Roman Empire.

      1. Eastern Roman emperor from 402 to 450

        Theodosius II

        Theodosius II was Roman emperor for most of his life, proclaimed augustus as an infant in 402 and ruling as the eastern Empire's sole emperor after the death of his father Arcadius in 408. His reign was marked by the promulgation of the Theodosian law code and the construction of the Theodosian Walls of Constantinople. He also presided over the outbreak of two great Christological controversies, Nestorianism and Eutychianism.

      2. Byzantine empress

        Pulcheria

        Aelia Pulcheria was an Eastern Roman empress who advised her brother emperor Theodosius II during his minority and then became wife to emperor Marcian from November 450 to her death in 453.

      3. One who governs in place of a monarch

        Regent

        A regent is a person appointed to govern a state pro tempore because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy, or the throne is vacant and the new monarch has not yet been determined. One variation is in the Monarchy of Liechtenstein, where a competent monarch may chose to assign regency to their of-age heir, handing over the majority of their responsibilities to prepare the heir for future succession. The rule of a regent or regents is called a regency. A regent or regency council may be formed ad hoc or in accordance with a constitutional rule. Regent is sometimes a formal title granted to a monarch's most trusted advisor or personal assistant. If the regent is holding their position due to their position in the line of succession, the compound term prince regent is often used; if the regent of a minor is their mother, she would be referred to as queen regent.

      4. List of Augustae

        Augusta was a Roman imperial honorific title given to empresses and honoured women of the imperial families. It was the feminine form of Augustus. In the third century, Augustae could also receive the titles of Mater Senatus and Mater Castrorum and Mater Patriae.

      5. Roman Empire during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages

        Byzantine Empire

        The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinople. It survived the fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD and continued to exist for an additional thousand years until the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453. During most of its existence, the empire remained the most powerful economic, cultural, and military force in Europe. The terms "Byzantine Empire" and "Eastern Roman Empire" were coined after the end of the realm; its citizens continued to refer to their empire as the Roman Empire, and to themselves as Romans—a term which Greeks continued to use for themselves into Ottoman times. Although the Roman state continued and its traditions were maintained, modern historians distinguish Byzantium from its earlier incarnation because it was centered on Constantinople, oriented towards Greek rather than Latin culture, and characterised by Eastern Orthodox Christianity.

  77. -362

    1. Battle of Mantinea: The Thebans, led by Epaminondas, defeated the Spartans.

      1. Battle between the Thebans and Spartans and their allies in 362 BC

        Battle of Mantinea (362 BC)

        The (second) Battle of Mantinea or Mantineia was fought on 4 July 362 BC between the Thebans, led by Epaminondas and supported by the Arcadians and the Boeotian league against the Spartans, led by King Agesilaus II and supported by the Eleans, Athenians, and Mantineans. The battle was to determine which of the two alliances would dominate Greece. However, the death of Epaminondas and his intended successors coupled with the impact on the Spartans of yet another defeat weakened both alliances, and paved the way for Macedonian conquest led by Philip II of Macedon.

      2. City in Boeotia, Greece

        Thebes, Greece

        Thebes is a city in Boeotia, Central Greece. It played an important role in Greek myths, as the site of the stories of Cadmus, Oedipus, Dionysus, Heracles and others. Archaeological excavations in and around Thebes have revealed a Mycenaean settlement and clay tablets written in the Linear B script, indicating the importance of the site in the Bronze Age.

      3. Theban general and statesman (d. 362 BC)

        Epaminondas

        Epaminondas was a Greek general of Thebes and statesman of the 4th century BC who transformed the Ancient Greek city-state, leading it out of Spartan subjugation into a pre-eminent position in Greek politics called the Theban Hegemony. In the process, he broke Spartan military power with his victory at Leuctra and liberated the Messenian helots, a group of Peloponnesian Greeks who had been enslaved under Spartan rule for some 230 years after being defeated in the Messenian War ending in 600 BC. Epaminondas reshaped the political map of Greece, fragmented old alliances, created new ones, and supervised the construction of entire cities. He was also militarily influential and invented and implemented several major battlefield tactics.

      4. City-state in ancient Greece

        Sparta

        Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon, while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement on the banks of the Eurotas River in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. Around 650 BC, it rose to become the dominant military land-power in ancient Greece.

Births & Deaths

  1. 2022

    1. Cláudio Hummes, Brazilian prelate of the Catholic Church (b. 1934) deaths

      1. Roman Catholic prelate (1934–2022)

        Cláudio Hummes

        Cláudio Hummes, OFM was a Brazilian prelate of the Catholic Church. He was prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy from 2006 to 2010, having served as Archbishop of Fortaleza from 1996 to 1998 and Archbishop of São Paulo from 1998 to 2006. A member of the Order of Friars Minor and an outspoken proponent of social justice, he was made a cardinal in 2001.

  2. 2021

    1. Harmoko, Indonesian politician, former parliament speaker and government minister (b. 1939) deaths

      1. Indonesian politician (1939–2021)

        Harmoko

        Harmoko, colloquially referred to as Bung Harmoko, was an Indonesian politician and journalist who was active during the New Order era. He served as the Speaker of the People's Representative Council from 1997 until 1999, and was a factor in president Suharto's resignation during the widespread student demonstrations which occurred at the end of the New Order.

  3. 2018

    1. Henri Dirickx, Belgian footballer (b. 1927) deaths

      1. Belgian footballer

        Henri Dirickx

        Henri Dirickx was a Belgian international footballer, who played as a defender. Dirickx was the last surviving member of Belgium's 1954 World Cup squad.

    2. Robby Müller, Dutch cinematographer (b. 1940) deaths

      1. Dutch cinematographer (1940–2018)

        Robby Müller

        Robby Müller, NSC, BVK, was a Dutch cinematographer. Known for his use of natural light and minimalist imagery, Müller first gained recognition for his contributions to West German cinema through his acclaimed collaborations with Wim Wenders.

  4. 2017

    1. John Blackwell, American R&B, funk, and jazz drummer (b. 1973) deaths

      1. American drummer

        John Blackwell (musician)

        John Blackwell Jr. was an American contemporary R&B, funk, jazz, fusion, and pop drummer, best known for his work with Prince. Later, he was a member of D'Angelo's backing band, The Vanguard.

    2. Daniil Granin, Soviet and Russian author (b. 1919) deaths

      1. Daniil Granin

        Daniil Aleksandrovich Granin, original family name German, was a Soviet and Russian author.

    3. Gene Conley, American MLB player and NBA player (b. 1930) deaths

      1. American baseball player

        Gene Conley

        Donald Eugene Conley was an American professional baseball and basketball player. He played as a pitcher for four teams in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1952 to 1963. Conley also played as a forward in the 1952–53 season and from 1958 to 1964 for two teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is one of only two people to win championships in two of the four major American sports: one with the Milwaukee Braves in the 1957 World Series and three with the Boston Celtics from 1959 to 1961.

  5. 2016

    1. Abbas Kiarostami, Iranian film director, screenwriter, poet, and photographer (b. 1940) deaths

      1. Iranian filmmaker (1940–2016)

        Abbas Kiarostami

        Abbas Kiarostami was an Iranian film director, screenwriter, poet, photographer, and film producer. An active filmmaker from 1970, Kiarostami had been involved in the production of over forty films, including shorts and documentaries. Kiarostami attained critical acclaim for directing the Koker trilogy (1987–1994), Close-Up (1990), The Wind Will Carry Us (1999), and Taste of Cherry (1997), which was awarded the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival that year. In later works, Certified Copy (2010) and Like Someone in Love (2012), he filmed for the first time outside Iran: in Italy and Japan, respectively. His films Where Is the Friend's Home? (1987), Close-Up, and The Wind Will Carry Us were ranked among the 100 best foreign films in a 2018 critics' poll by BBC Culture. Close-Up was also ranked one of the 50 greatest movies of all time in the famous decennial Sight & Sound poll conducted in 2012.

  6. 2015

    1. Nedelcho Beronov, Bulgarian judge and politician (b. 1928) deaths

      1. Nedelcho Beronov

        Nedelcho Krumov Beronov was a Bulgarian jurist, right-wing politician and Constitutional Court chairman, as well as a presidential candidate in the 2006 presidential elections.

    2. William Conrad Gibbons, American historian, author, and academic (b. 1926) deaths

      1. American academic

        William Conrad Gibbons

        William Conrad Gibbons was an American historian and foreign policy expert.

  7. 2014

    1. Giorgio Faletti, Italian author, screenwriter, and actor (b. 1950) deaths

      1. Italian writer (1950–2014)

        Giorgio Faletti

        Giorgio Faletti was an Italian writer, musician, actor and comedian. Born in Asti, Piedmont, he lived on Elba Island. His books have been translated into 25 languages and published with great success in Europe, South America, China, Japan, Russia and the United States.

    2. C. J. Henderson, American author and critic (b. 1951) deaths

      1. C. J. Henderson (writer)

        Chris "C. J." Henderson was an American writer of horror, hardboiled crime fiction and comic books, known for such works as the Piers Knight and Teddy London series. His comics work includes books for Marvel Comics and Valiant Comics.

    3. Earl Robinson, American baseball player (b. 1936) deaths

      1. American baseball player (1936-2014)

        Earl Robinson (baseball)

        Earl John Robinson was an American professional baseball outfielder and third baseman who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Baltimore Orioles. He attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he played both baseball and basketball, helping Cal to three straight conference titles in basketball from 1956 to 1958. Born in New Orleans, Robinson attended Berkeley High School in the San Francisco Bay Area before matriculating at Cal.

    4. Richard Mellon Scaife, American businessman (b. 1932) deaths

      1. American Mellon family heir, and newspaper owner (1932–2014)

        Richard Mellon Scaife

        Richard Mellon Scaife was an American billionaire, a principal heir to the Mellon banking, oil, and aluminum fortune, and the owner and publisher of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. In 2005, Scaife was number 238 on the Forbes 400, with a personal fortune of $1.2 billion. By 2013, Scaife had dropped to number 371 on the listing, with a personal fortune of $1.4 billion.

  8. 2013

    1. Onllwyn Brace, Welsh rugby player and sportscaster (b. 1932) deaths

      1. Wales international rugby union footballer

        Onllwyn Brace

        David Onllwyn Brace was a Welsh international scrum-half who played club rugby for Newport and Aberavon. He won nine caps for Wales and would captain the team twice in the early 1960s. Brace was an exciting, unorthodox scrum-half, who epitomised the Welsh flair scrum-half, though his uneven international appearances point towards unhappiness in his match play from the Welsh selectors.

    2. Jack Crompton, English footballer and manager (b. 1921) deaths

      1. Jack Crompton

        John Crompton was an English professional footballer. Born in Hulme, Manchester, Lancashire, he was a goalkeeper for Manchester United between 1944 and 1956. He was part of the team that won the FA Cup in 1948 and the league title in 1952. During the Second World War, he played as a guest for Stockport County.

    3. James Fulton, American dermatologist and academic (b. 1940) deaths

      1. James Fulton (dermatologist)

        Dr. James E. Fulton Jr., M.D., was an American dermatologist and medical researcher who co-invented Retin-A, a popular acne medication, in 1969.

    4. Charles A. Hines, American general (b. 1935) deaths

      1. United States Army general

        Charles A. Hines

        Charles Alfonso Hines was an American Army Major General, university administrator, and sociology professor.

    5. Bernie Nolan, Irish singer (b. 1960) deaths

      1. Irish actress, singer (1960–2013)

        Bernie Nolan

        Bernadette Therese Nolan was an Irish actress, singer and television personality, formerly lead vocalist of the girl group the Nolans. She was the second youngest of sisters Anne, Denise, Maureen, Linda and Coleen. From the age of two, she was brought up in Blackpool, Lancashire, England.

  9. 2012

    1. Hiren Bhattacharyya, Indian poet and author (b. 1932) deaths

      1. Indian poet and lyricist

        Hiren Bhattacharyya

        Hiren Bhattacharyya, popularly known as Hiruda, was an Indian poet and lyricist best for his works in the Assamese literature. He had innumerable works published in Assamese and achieved many prizes and accolades for his poetry. In 2012, Bhattacharyya died at hospital due to undergoing treatment for lung and urinary infection since 14 June.

    2. Jimmy Bivins, American boxer (b. 1919) deaths

      1. American boxer

        Jimmy Bivins

        James Louis Bivins, was an American light heavyweight boxer whose professional career ran from 1940 to 1955. He was born in Dry Branch, Georgia. Although he was never given the opportunity to fight for a world title, despite at one point being the number one contender in both the light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions, Bivins fought and defeated many of the great fighters of his era and won the "Duration" Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight titles. In recognition of his achievements in the ring - among other things, he defeated eight of the eleven world champions he faced - Bivins was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1999. He was also the one-time husband of Dollree Mapp, the subject of prominent Supreme Court case regarding the rights of search and seizures.

    3. Jeong Min-hyeong, South Korean footballer (b. 1987) deaths

      1. South Korean footballer (1987-2012)

        Jeong Min-hyeong

        Jeong Min-Hyeong was a South Korean footballer who played as a midfielder for Busan IPark in the K-League.

    4. Eric Sykes, English actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1923) deaths

      1. English writer and actor

        Eric Sykes

        Eric Sykes was an English radio, stage, television and film writer, comedian, actor, and director whose performing career spanned more than 50 years. He frequently wrote for and performed with many other leading comedy performers and writers of the period, including Tony Hancock, Spike Milligan, Tommy Cooper, Peter Sellers, John Antrobus, and Johnny Speight. Sykes first came to prominence through his many radio credits as a writer and actor in the 1950s, most notably through his collaboration on The Goon Show scripts. He became a TV star in his own right in the early 1960s when he appeared with Hattie Jacques in several popular BBC comedy television series.

  10. 2010

    1. Robert Neil Butler, American physician and author (b. 1927) deaths

      1. American academic (1927–2010)

        Robert N. Butler

        Robert Neil Butler was an American physician, gerontologist, psychiatrist, and author, who was the first director of the National Institute on Aging. Butler is known for his work on the social needs and the rights of the elderly and for his research on healthy aging and the dementias.

  11. 2009

    1. Brenda Joyce, American actress (b. 1917) deaths

      1. American film actress

        Brenda Joyce (actress)

        Brenda Joyce was an American film actress.

    2. Allen Klein, American businessman and talent agent, founded ABKCO Records (b. 1931) deaths

      1. American businessman

        Allen Klein

        Allen Klein was an American businessman whose aggressive negotiation tactics affected industry standards for compensating recording artists. He founded ABKCO Music & Records Incorporated. Klein increased profits for his musician clients by negotiating new record company contracts. He first scored monetary and contractual gains for Buddy Knox and Jimmy Bowen, one-hit rockabillies of the late 1950s, then parlayed his early successes into a position managing Sam Cooke, and eventually managed the Beatles and the Rolling Stones simultaneously, along with many other artists, becoming one of the most powerful individuals in the music industry during his era.

      2. American independent record label

        ABKCO Records

        ABKCO Music & Records, Inc. is a major American independent record label, music publisher, and film and video production company. It owns and/or administers the rights to music by Sam Cooke, the Rolling Stones, the Animals, Herman's Hermits, Marianne Faithfull, Dishwalla, the Kinks as well as the Cameo Parkway label, which includes recordings by such artists as Chubby Checker, Bobby Rydell, the Orlons, the Dovells, Question Mark & the Mysterians, the Tymes and Dee Dee Sharp. Until 2009, ABKCO administered Philles Records and its master recordings, including hits by the Righteous Brothers, the Ronettes, the Crystals and others.

    3. Drake Levin, American guitarist (b. 1946) deaths

      1. Musical artist

        Drake Levin

        Drake Maxwell Levin was an American musician best known as the guitarist for the pop-rock band Paul Revere & the Raiders. Levin was born in Chicago, and his family's name, Levinshefski, was shortened to Levin a few years before his birth.

    4. Steve McNair, American football player (b. 1973) deaths

      1. American football player (1973–2009)

        Steve McNair

        Stephen LaTreal McNair, nicknamed "Air McNair", was an American professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the Houston / Tennessee Oilers / Titans franchise. He also played for the Baltimore Ravens.

    5. Lasse Strömstedt, Swedish author and actor (b. 1935) deaths

      1. Swedish writer (1935–2009)

        Lasse Strömstedt

        Folke Lars-Olov Strömstedt,, better known as Lasse Strömstedt, was a Swedish writer who wrote of and about his own life in prison and drug abuse. Strömstedt was born in Gävle in 1935. He was a casual laborer whose working life was frequently disrupted by imprisonment. After 1971 he changed his life and became a writer, debater and actor. In 1974, Strömsted published his first novel, Grundbulten, written together with reporter Christer Dahl under the pseudonym Kennet Ahl. Strömstedt was married to Swedish singer and writer Ann-Christine Bärnsten. He died aged 74 of natural causes in Gränna on 4 July 2009.

    6. Jean-Baptiste Tati Loutard, Congolese poet and politician (b. 1938) deaths

      1. Jean-Baptiste Tati Loutard

        Jean-Baptiste Tati Loutard was a Congolese politician and poet. Having previously served as Minister of Higher Education and Minister of Arts and Culture, he was Minister of Hydrocarbons in the government of Congo-Brazzaville from 1997 to 2009; he was also the founder and President of the Action Movement for Renewal (MAR), a political party. Aside from politics, Tati Loutard published numerous books of his own poetry and literature in general.

  12. 2008

    1. Thomas M. Disch, American author and poet (b. 1940) deaths

      1. American science fiction author and poet (1940-2008)

        Thomas M. Disch

        Thomas Michael Disch was an American science fiction author and poet. He won the Hugo Award for Best Related Book – previously called "Best Non-Fiction Book" – in 1999, and he had two other Hugo nominations and nine Nebula Award nominations to his credit, plus one win of the John W. Campbell Memorial Award, a Rhysling Award, and two Seiun Awards, among others.

    2. Jesse Helms, American politician (b. 1921) deaths

      1. American politician (1921–2008)

        Jesse Helms

        Jesse Alexander Helms Jr. was an American politician. A leader in the conservative movement, he served as a senator from North Carolina from 1973 to 2003. As chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 1995 to 2001, he had a major voice in foreign policy. Helms helped organize and fund the conservative resurgence in the 1970s, focusing on Ronald Reagan's quest for the White House as well as helping many local and regional candidates.

    3. Evelyn Keyes, American actress (b. 1916) deaths

      1. American actress

        Evelyn Keyes

        Evelyn Louise Keyes was an American film actress. She is best known for her role as Suellen O'Hara in the 1939 film Gone with the Wind.

    4. Terrence Kiel, American football player (b. 1980) deaths

      1. American football player (1980–2008)

        Terrence Kiel

        Terrence Dewayne Kiel was an American safety in the National Football League. He played his entire career for the San Diego Chargers (2003–2006) after being drafted by them in the second round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at Texas A&M.

    5. Charles Wheeler, German-English soldier and journalist (b. 1923) deaths

      1. British journalist and broadcaster

        Charles Wheeler (journalist)

        Sir Selwyn Charles Cornelius-Wheeler was a British journalist and broadcaster. Having joined the BBC in 1947, he became the corporation's longest-serving foreign correspondent, remaining in the role until his death. Wheeler also had spells as presenter of several BBC current affairs television programmes including Newsnight and Panorama.

  13. 2007

    1. Bill Pinkney, American singer (b. 1925) deaths

      1. Musical artist

        Bill Pinkney

        Willie “Bill” Pinkney was an American performer and singer. Pinkney was often said to be the last surviving original member of The Drifters, who achieved international fame with numerous hit records. He was chiefly responsible for its early sounds. The Drifters have had a strong influence on soul, rhythm and blues, and rock and roll music. As an original group member, Bill Pinkney was a 1988 inductee into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with The Drifters.

  14. 2005

    1. Cliff Goupille, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1915) deaths

      1. Canadian ice hockey player

        Cliff Goupille

        Joseph Emilien Clifford "Red" Goupille was a professional ice hockey player who played 222 games in the National Hockey League. He played for the Montreal Canadiens.

    2. Hank Stram, American football player and coach (b. 1923) deaths

      1. American football coach (1923–2005)

        Hank Stram

        Henry Louis Stram was an American football coach. He is best known for his 15-year tenure with the Dallas Texans / Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL).

  15. 2004

    1. Jean-Marie Auberson, Swiss violinist and conductor (b. 1920) deaths

      1. Swiss conductor and violinist

        Jean-Marie Auberson

        Jean-Marie Auberson was a Swiss conductor and violinist.

  16. 2003

    1. Polina Bogusevich, Russian singer births

      1. Russian singer

        Polina Bogusevich

        Polina Sergeyevna Bogusevich is a Russian singer. She represented Russia in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "Wings", and went on to win the competition. She is the second Russian entrant to win the Junior Eurovision Song Contest.

    2. Larry Burkett, American author and radio host (b. 1939) deaths

      1. Larry Burkett

        Larry Burkett was an American radio personality whose work focused on financial counseling from a Christian point of view.

    3. André Claveau, French singer (b. 1915) deaths

      1. André Claveau

        André Claveau was a popular singer in France from the 1940s to the 1960s. He won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1958 singing "Dors, mon amour", with music composed by Pierre Delanoë and lyrics by Hubert Giraud. Winning at the age of 46 years and 76 days, Claveau was the oldest winner of the contest until 1990, being the first and only winner prior to 1990 to triumph in their forties.

    4. Barry White, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (b. 1944) deaths

      1. American singer (1944–2003)

        Barry White

        Barry Eugene Carter, better known by his stage name Barry White, was an American singer and songwriter. A two-time Grammy Award winner known for his bass voice and romantic image, his greatest success came in the 1970s as a solo singer and with The Love Unlimited Orchestra, crafting many enduring soul, funk, and disco songs such as his two biggest hits: "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe" and "You're the First, the Last, My Everything".

  17. 2002

    1. Gerald Bales, Canadian organist and composer (b. 1919) deaths

      1. Canadian organist and composer (1919–2002)

        Gerald Bales

        Gerald Albert Bales, was a Canadian organist and composer.

    2. Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., American general (b. 1912) deaths

      1. World War II pilot & first African-American US Air Force brigadier general (1912–2002)

        Benjamin O. Davis Jr.

        Benjamin Oliver Davis Jr. was a United States Air Force (USAF) general and commander of the World War II Tuskegee Airmen.

  18. 2000

    1. Gustaw Herling-Grudziński, Polish journalist and author (b. 1919) deaths

      1. Gustaw Herling-Grudziński

        Gustaw Herling-Grudziński was a Polish writer, journalist, essayist, World War II underground fighter, and political dissident abroad during the communist system in Poland. He is best known for writing a personal account of life in the Soviet Gulag entitled A World Apart, first published in 1951 in London.

  19. 1999

    1. Moa Kikuchi, Japanese musician births

      1. Japanese musician

        Moa Kikuchi

        Moa Kikuchi is a Japanese musician, singer, model, and actress. She is represented by the talent agency Amuse, Inc. She is a member of the kawaii metal group Babymetal and a former member of the idol group Sakura Gakuin.

    2. Leo Garel, American illustrator and educator (b. 1917) deaths

      1. American artist

        Leo Garel

        Leo Garel was an American artist. He illustrated cartoons for such notable magazines as The New Yorker, The Saturday Evening Post and Playboy.

  20. 1997

    1. Charles Kuralt, American journalist (b. 1934) deaths

      1. American journalist (1934–1997)

        Charles Kuralt

        Charles Bishop Kuralt was an American television, newspaper and radio journalist and author. He is most widely known for his long career with CBS, first for his "On the Road" segments on The CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite, and later as the first anchor of CBS News Sunday Morning, a position he held for fifteen years. In 1996, Kuralt was inducted into Television Hall of Fame of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

    2. John Zachary Young, English zoologist and neurophysiologist (b. 1907) deaths

      1. John Zachary Young

        John Zachary Young FRS, generally known as "JZ" or "JZY", was an English zoologist and neurophysiologist, described as "one of the most influential biologists of the 20th century".

  21. 1995

    1. Post Malone, American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer births

      1. American rapper, singer, and songwriter (born 1995)

        Post Malone

        Austin Richard Post, known professionally as Post Malone, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his variegated vocals, Malone has gained acclaim for blending genres and subgenres of hip hop, pop, R&B, and trap. His stage name was derived from inputting his birth name into a rap name generator.

    2. Eva Gabor, Hungarian-American actress and singer (b. 1919) deaths

      1. Hungarian-American actress and businesswoman (1919–1995)

        Eva Gabor

        Eva Gabor was a Hungarian-American actress, businesswoman, singer, and socialite. She voiced Duchess and Miss Bianca in the animated Disney Classics, The Aristocats (1970), The Rescuers (1977), and The Rescuers Down Under (1990). She was popular in her role on the 1965–71 television sitcom Green Acres as Lisa Douglas, the wife of Eddie Albert's character Oliver Wendell Douglas. Gabor was successful as an actress in film, on Broadway, and on television. She was also a successful businesswoman, marketing wigs, clothing, and beauty products. Her elder sisters, Zsa Zsa and Magda Gabor, were also actresses and socialites.

    3. Bob Ross, American painter and television host (b. 1942) deaths

      1. American painter and television host (1942–1995)

        Bob Ross

        Robert Norman Ross was an American painter, art instructor, and television host. He was the creator and host of The Joy of Painting, an instructional television program that aired from 1983 to 1994 on PBS in the United States, CBC in Canada, and similar channels in Latin America, Europe and elsewhere. Ross would subsequently become widely known through his posthumous internet presence.

  22. 1994

    1. Joey Marella, American wrestling referee (b. 1964) deaths

      1. American professional wrestling referee (1963 – 1994)

        Joey Marella

        Joseph Anthony Marella was an American professional wrestling referee for the World Wrestling Federation and the adopted son of former wrestler and then WWF announcer Gorilla Monsoon from Willingboro Township, New Jersey.

  23. 1993

    1. Tom Barkhuizen, English footballer births

      1. English footballer

        Tom Barkhuizen

        Thomas John Barkhuizen is an English professional footballer who plays a forward for EFL League One club Derby County.

    2. Bona Arsenault, Canadian historian, genealogist, and politician (b. 1903) deaths

      1. Canadian politician

        Bona Arsenault

        Bona Arsenault, was a Canadian historian, genealogist and a federal and provincial politician.

  24. 1992

    1. Ángel Romero, Paraguayan footballer births

      1. Paraguayan footballer

        Ángel Romero (footballer)

        Ángel Rodrigo Romero Villamayor, more commonly known as Ángel Romero, is a Paraguayan professional footballer who plays as a winger for the Paraguay national team. He is the twin brother of Óscar Romero.

    2. Óscar Romero, Paraguayan footballer births

      1. Paraguayan footballer

        Óscar Romero (footballer)

        Óscar David Romero Villamayor is a Paraguayan professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Argentine Primera División club Boca Juniors and the Paraguay national team. He is the twin brother of Ángel Romero.

    3. Astor Piazzolla, Argentinian bandoneon player and composer (b. 1921) deaths

      1. Argentine tango composer, bandoneon player and arranger

        Astor Piazzolla

        Astor Pantaleón Piazzolla was an Argentine tango composer, bandoneon player, and arranger. His works revolutionized the traditional tango into a new style termed nuevo tango, incorporating elements from jazz and classical music. A virtuoso bandoneonist, he regularly performed his own compositions with a variety of ensembles. In 1992, American music critic Stephen Holden described Piazzolla as "the world's foremost composer of Tango music".

      2. Musical instrument

        Bandoneon

        The bandoneon is a type of concertina particularly popular in Argentina and Uruguay. It is a typical instrument in most tango ensembles. As with other members of the concertina family, the bandoneon is held between the hands, and by pulling and pushing actions force air through bellows and then routing air through particular reeds as by pressing the instrument's buttons. Bandoneons have a different sound from accordions, because bandoneons do not usually have the register switches that are common on accordions. Nevertheless, the tone of the bandoneon can be changed a great deal using varied bellows pressure and overblowing, thus creating potential for expressive playing and diverse timbres.

  25. 1991

    1. Victor Chang, Chinese-Australian surgeon and physician (b. 1936) deaths

      1. Australian cardiac surgeon

        Victor Chang

        Victor Peter Chang, AC, was a Chinese-born Australian cardiac surgeon and a pioneer of modern heart transplantation. Considered one of the most influential surgeons in medical history. His sudden murder in 1991 stunned Australia, and is considered one of the most notorious in the country's history. Chang was given a state funeral, and in 1999, he was voted Australian of the Century at the People's Choice Awards.

    2. Art Sansom, American cartoonist (b. 1920) deaths

      1. American cartoonist

        Art Sansom

        Arthur Baldwin Sansom Jr., better known as Art Sansom, was an American comic strip cartoonist who created the long-running comic strip The Born Loser.

  26. 1990

    1. Jake Gardiner, American ice hockey player births

      1. American ice hockey player (born 1990)

        Jake Gardiner

        Jake William Gardiner is an American professional ice hockey defenseman who is currently playing for the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has also played for the Toronto Maple Leafs. He was drafted 17th overall by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.

    2. Richard Mpong, Ghanaian footballer births

      1. Ghanaian footballer

        Richard Mpong

        Richard Mpong is a Ghanaian professional footballer who currently plays as a winger, for Elmina Sharks and the Ghana national football team.

    3. Naoki Yamada, Japanese footballer births

      1. Japanese footballer

        Naoki Yamada

        Naoki Yamada is a Japanese footballer who plays for Shonan Bellmare.

    4. Ihar Yasinski, Belarusian footballer births

      1. Belarusian professional footballer (born 1990)

        Ihar Yasinski

        Ihar Syarheyevich Yasinski is a Belarusian professional footballer who plays for Rogachev.

    5. Olive Ann Burns, American journalist and author (b. 1924) deaths

      1. American novelist

        Olive Ann Burns

        Olive Ann Burns was an American writer from Georgia best known for her single completed novel, Cold Sassy Tree, published in 1984.

  27. 1989

    1. Benjamin Büchel, Liechtensteiner footballer births

      1. Liechtensteiner footballer

        Benjamin Büchel

        Benjamin Büchel is a Liechtensteiner professional footballer who plays for FC Vaduz in the Swiss Super League. He plays as a goalkeeper.

  28. 1988

    1. Angelique Boyer, French-Mexican actress births

      1. Mexican actress (born 1988)

        Angelique Boyer

        Angelique Monique-Paulette Boyer Rousseau, simply known as Angelique Boyer, is an actress. Born in France, she has spent most of her life and her entire professional career in Mexico, becoming a dual French and Mexican citizen.

    2. Adrian Adonis, American wrestler (b. 1954) deaths

      1. American professional wrestler

        Adrian Adonis

        Keith Adonis Franke was an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Adrian Adonis. He was best known for his appearances with the American Wrestling Association and World Wrestling Federation throughout the 1980s.

  29. 1987

    1. Wude Ayalew, Ethiopian runner births

      1. Ethiopian long-distance runner

        Wude Ayalew

        Wude Ayalew Yimer is an Ethiopian professional long-distance runner. She was the bronze medallist over 10,000 metres at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics and took the silver in that event at the 2011 All-Africa Games. Her sister Hiwot Ayalew is also a top level runner.

    2. Guram Kashia, Georgian footballer births

      1. Georgian footballer (born 1987)

        Guram Kashia

        Guram Kashia is a Georgian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Slovan Bratislava and captains the Georgian national team. On a club level, he currently competes for Slovan Bratislava in the Fortuna Liga.

  30. 1986

    1. Ömer Aşık, Turkish basketball player births

      1. Turkish basketball player

        Ömer Aşık

        Ömer Faruk Aşık is a Turkish former professional basketball player who last played for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Aşık, standing at 7'2", was sought after by many of the top Euroleague basketball teams at the age of 19. Aşık got his first chance playing professionally with the Turkish Basketball League team Fenerbahçe in 2005–06. After one season with Alpella, Aşık moved back to Fenerbahçe and eventually ended his Turkish club career with them in 2009–10. He gained recognition playing for the Turkish national team at the 2010 FIBA World Championship, and as the starting center, he helped Turkey win the silver medal. In July 2010, Aşık signed with the Chicago Bulls. He was nicknamed "The Turkish Hammer" and "Asik the Destroyer" by Bulls commentator Stacey King.

    2. Nguyen Ngoc Duy, Vietnamese footballer births

      1. Vietnamese footballer

        Nguyễn Ngọc Duy

        Nguyễn Ngọc Duy is a Vietnamese retired professional footballer who played as an midfielder.

    3. Rafael Arévalo, Salvadoran tennis player births

      1. Salvadoran tennis player

        Rafael Arévalo

        Rafael Arévalo González is a retired professional tennis player from El Salvador. The majority of Arévalo's professional career has been restricted to playing on the Futures (ITF) circuit, with a further 22 appearances for the El Salvador Davis Cup team; he also encountered modest success in the juniors, reaching a peak of No. 10 in 2004. However, in 2008, aided by the Salvadoran Tennis Federation, he was awarded an invitation to the 2008 Beijing Olympics tennis tournament. The Tripartite Commission, which issued the invitation, is composed of representatives from International Olympic Committee (IOC), National Olympic Committees (NOCs), and the International Tennis Federation (ITF), and it is standard practice to award such invitations to countries with small Olympic teams. Arévalo was the first player from El Salvador to represent the country, in a tennis competition, at the Olympics. Arévalo defeated Lee Hyung-taik in three sets in the first round, before being beaten by Swiss World No. 1 Roger Federer in the second.

    4. Willem Janssen, Dutch footballer births

      1. Dutch footballer

        Willem Janssen (footballer, born 1986)

        Willem Janssen is a Dutch professional football official and a former player who played as a central defender. He is the technical director of VVV-Venlo.

    5. Terrance Knighton, American football player births

      1. American football player and coach (born 1986)

        Terrance Knighton

        Terrance O'Neil Knighton is an American football coach and former defensive tackle. He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the third round of the 2009 NFL Draft after playing college football at Temple. Knighton is nicknamed "Pot Roast" and "Mutton Chop" by his teammates. He has also played for the Denver Broncos, Washington Redskins and spent time with the New England Patriots prior to the 2016 NFL season.

    6. Marte Elden, Norwegian skier births

      1. Norwegian cross-country skier

        Marte Elden

        Marte Elden is a Norwegian cross-country skier who competed between 2005 and 2011.

    7. Paul-Gilbert Langevin, French musicologist, critique musical and physicist (b. 1933) deaths

      1. French musicologist

        Paul-Gilbert Langevin

        Paul-Gilbert Langevin was a French musicologist, who was a specialist on Anton Bruckner, Franz Schubert and 19th-century classical music.

    8. Flor Peeters, Belgian organist and composer (b. 1903) deaths

      1. Flemish organist, composer and music pedagogue

        Flor Peeters

        Franciscus Florentinus Peeters, Baron Peeters was a Belgian composer, organist and academic teacher. He was director of the Conservatorium in Antwerp, Belgium, and organist at Mechelen Cathedral from 1923 to his death in 1986.

    9. Oscar Zariski, Belarusian-American mathematician and academic (b. 1899) deaths

      1. Russian-American mathematician

        Oscar Zariski

        Oscar Zariski was a Russian-born American mathematician and one of the most influential algebraic geometers of the 20th century.

  31. 1985

    1. Kane Tenace, Australian footballer births

      1. Australian rules footballer, born 1985

        Kane Tenace

        Kane Tenace is an Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

    2. Dimitrios Mavroeidis, Greek basketball player births

      1. Greek basketball player

        Dimitrios Mavroeidis

        Dimitrios Mavroeidis is a Greek professional basketball player and the team captain for AEK Athens of the Greek Basket League and the Basketball Champions League. He is a 2.12 m tall center.

    3. Wason Rentería, Colombian footballer births

      1. Colombian footballer

        Wason Rentería

        Wason Libardo Rentería Cuesta is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a striker.

  32. 1984

    1. Jin Akanishi, Japanese singer-songwriter births

      1. Musical artist

        Jin Akanishi

        Jin Akanishi is a Japanese musician, singer, songwriter and actor. He has been active since 1998 as one of the two lead vocalists of the J-pop boy-band KAT-TUN before starting a solo career in 2009. Akanishi has also acted in several films and dramas.

    2. Miguel Santos Soares, Timorese footballer births

      1. East Timorese footballer

        Miguel Soares (East Timorese footballer)

        Miguel Santos Soares known as Migi is a football player. He is the current defender for the Timor-Leste national football team.

    3. Jimmie Spheeris, American singer-songwriter (b. 1949) deaths

      1. American singer-songwriter

        Jimmie Spheeris

        Jimmie Spheeris was an American singer-songwriter who released four albums in the 1970s on the Columbia Records and Epic Records labels. Spheeris died in 1984, at the age of 34, after a motorcycle accident.

  33. 1983

    1. Melanie Fiona, Canadian singer-songwriter births

      1. Canadian singer and songwriter from Ontario

        Melanie Fiona

        Melanie Fiona Hallim is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario. She began her career in 2002 as part of a Canadian girl group trio, who was nominated for a Juno Award for R&B/Soul Recording of the Year for the group's self-titled album. She went on to be part of The Renaissance, and under the name Syren Hall, recorded some reggae songs.

    2. Amantle Montsho, Botswanan sprinter births

      1. Botswana sprinter

        Amantle Montsho

        Amantle Montsho is a female sprinter from Botswana who specializes in the 400 metres. She represented her country at the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics, reaching the final at the latter edition. She was the first woman to represent Botswana at the Olympics. She has also competed at the World Championships in Athletics and the IAAF World Indoor Championships, and is the former World Champion over the 400m, winning in a personal best time of 49.56 in Daegu.

    3. Miguel Pinto, Chilean footballer births

      1. Chilean football goalkeeper (born 1983)

        Miguel Pinto

        Miguel Ángel Pinto Jerez is a Chilean football goalkeeper who plays for Chilean club Unión Española. He also holds Mexican citizenship.

    4. Amol Rajan, Indian-English journalist births

      1. British journalist and broadcaster (born 1983)

        Amol Rajan

        Amol Rajan is an Indian-born British journalist and broadcaster who has been the BBC's Media Editor since December 2016 and a presenter on the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 since 2021.

    5. Mattia Serafini, Italian footballer births

      1. Italian footballer

        Mattia Serafini

        Mattia Serafini is an Italian footballer.

  34. 1982

    1. Vladimir Boisa, Georgian basketball player births

      1. Georgian basketball player

        Vladimir Boisa

        Vladimir Boisa or Vladimer Boisa is a Georgian former professional basketball player. Since 2013 he is the vice-president of Georgian Basketball Federation.

    2. Vladimir Gusev, Russian cyclist births

      1. Russian cyclist

        Vladimir Gusev (cyclist)

        Vladimir Nikolayevich Gusev is a Russian former professional road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2004 and 2015 for the Team CSC, Discovery Channel, Astana, Team Katusha and Skydive Dubai–Al Ahli teams.

    3. Jeff Lima, New Zealand rugby league player births

      1. NZ & Samoa international rugby league footballer

        Jeff Lima

        Jeff Lima is a former professional rugby league footballer who last played for the Canberra Raiders in the NRL. A New Zealand international representative prop, he previously played for the Wests Tigers, Melbourne Storm, South Sydney Rabbitohs, Wigan Warriors and the Catalans Dragons in the Super League, as well as France's Elite One Championship for the Saint-Gaudens Bears.

    4. Michael "The Situation" Sorrentino, American model, author and television personality births

      1. American television personality

        Michael Sorrentino

        Michael Paul Sorrentino, also known as The Situation, is an American television personality. He appeared on all six seasons of the MTV reality show Jersey Shore from 2009 through 2012 and returned to the franchise with Jersey Shore: Family Vacation.

  35. 1981

    1. Dedé, Angolan footballer births

      1. Angolan footballer

        Dedé (footballer, born 1981)

        Adérito Waldemar Alves Carvalho, commonly known as Dedé, is an Angolan former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

    2. Brock Berlin, American football player births

      1. American football player (born 1981)

        Brock Berlin

        Brock Sterling Berlin is an American former college and professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Florida and the University of Miami. Berlin was signed by the Miami Dolphins of the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2005, and has also been a member of the Dallas Cowboys, St. Louis Rams, and Detroit Lions.

    3. Christoph Preuß, German footballer births

      1. German footballer

        Christoph Preuß

        Christoph Preuß is a German former professional footballer who played as a defender or defensive midfielder.

    4. Francisco Cruceta, Dominican baseball player births

      1. Dominican baseball player (born 1981)

        Francisco Cruceta

        Francisco Alberto Cruceta is a former professional baseball pitcher. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Seattle Mariners and Detroit Tigers, in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) for the Samsung Lions and in the Mexican Baseball League for the Saraperos de Saltillo.

    5. Will Smith, American football player (d. 2016) births

      1. American football player (1981–2016)

        Will Smith (defensive end)

        William Raymond Smith III was an American football defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Ohio State and was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the first round of the 2004 NFL draft, where he played for the entirety of his career. Smith was shot and killed during an altercation after an alcohol related traffic crash.

  36. 1980

    1. Kwame Steede, Bermudan footballer births

      1. Bermudian footballer and coach

        Kwame Steede

        Kwame Steede is a Bermudian football coach and former player. He was appointed head coach of the Devonshire Cougars in 2015.

    2. Maurice Grevisse, Belgian linguist and author (b. 1895) deaths

      1. Maurice Grevisse

        Maurice Grevisse was a Belgian grammarian.

  37. 1979

    1. Siim Kabrits, Estonian politician births

      1. Estonian politician and entrepreneur

        Siim Kabrits

        Siim Kabrits, is an Estonian politician and entrepreneur, and a former member of the Riigikogu.

    2. Josh McCown, American football player births

      1. American football player (born 1979)

        Josh McCown

        Joshua Treadwell McCown is an American football quarterback who is a free agent. He attended Jacksonville High School in Jacksonville, Texas, where he was named the East Texas Player of the Year and earned All-State honorable mention honors as a senior. McCown then played three seasons of college football for the Mustangs of Southern Methodist University, where he passed for totals of 4,022 yards, 27 touchdowns, and 34 interceptions. He then transferred to play his final season of college football for the Bearkats of Sam Houston State University. In his only season with the Bearkats, he threw for 3,481 yards, 32 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, earning Southland Football League Player of the Year and Third-team Division I-AA All-American honors.

    3. Renny Vega, Venezuelan footballer births

      1. Venezuelan footballer

        Renny Vega

        Renny Vicente Vega Hernández is a Venezuelan former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

    4. Lee Wai Tong, Chinese footballer and manager (b. 1905) deaths

      1. Chinese footballer (1905–1979)

        Lee Wai Tong

        Lee Wai Tong was a Hong Kong and Chinese international association football player, head coach, and former Vice President of FIFA. He is often regarded as the greatest Chinese footballer due to his accomplishments in winning several Far Eastern Games titles with the national team of the Republic of China as well as captaining the national football squad to their first ever Olympic tournament in 1936, which was held in Berlin.

  38. 1978

    1. Marcos Daniel, Brazilian tennis player births

      1. Brazilian tennis player

        Marcos Daniel

        Marcos Diniz Daniel is a retired professional tennis player from Brazil who turned professional in 1997. The right-hander reached his highest ATP singles ranking of World No. 56 in September 2009. He is coached by his brother, Márcio.

    2. Émile Mpenza, Belgian footballer births

      1. Belgian footballer

        Émile Mpenza

        Eka Basunga Lokonda "Émile" Mpenza is a Belgian former footballer who played as a striker. He has been capped at international level by Belgium. His older brother, Mbo, also represented Belgium.

  39. 1977

    1. Gersh Budker, Ukrainian physicist and academic (b. 1918) deaths

      1. Gersh Budker

        Gersh Itskovich Budker, also named Andrey Mikhailovich Budker, was a Soviet physicist, specialized in nuclear physics and accelerator physics.

  40. 1976

    1. Daijiro Kato, Japanese motorcycle racer (d. 2003) births

      1. Japanese motorcycle racer

        Daijiro Kato

        Daijiro Kato was a Japanese Grand Prix motorcycle road racer, the 2001 250cc world champion, and the 2000 and 2002 Suzuka 8 Hours winner. He died as a result of injuries sustained after a crash during the 2003 Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix at Suzuka Circuit, Japan.

    2. Yevgeniya Medvedeva, Russian skier births

      1. Russian cross-country skier

        Yevgeniya Medvedeva (cross-country skier)

        Yevgeniya Vladimirovna Medvedeva is a Russian cross-country skier who has competed since 1996. Competing in two Winter Olympics, she won two medals at Turin in 2006 with a gold in the 4 × 5 km relay and a bronze in the 7.5 km + 7.5 km double pursuit.

    3. Yonatan Netanyahu, Israeli colonel (b. 1946) deaths

      1. Israeli military officer

        Yonatan Netanyahu

        Yonatan "Yoni" Netanyahu was an American-born Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officer who commanded the elite commando unit Sayeret Matkal during Operation Entebbe, an operation to rescue hostages held at Entebbe Airport in Uganda in 1976. The mission was successful, with 102 of the 106 hostages rescued, but Netanyahu was killed in action—the only IDF fatality during the operation.

    4. Antoni Słonimski, Polish poet and playwright (b. 1895) deaths

      1. 20th century Polish writer and journalist

        Antoni Słonimski

        Antoni Słonimski was a Polish poet, artist, journalist, playwright and prose writer, president of the Union of Polish Writers in 1956–1959 during the Polish October, known for his devotion to social justice.

  41. 1974

    1. Jill Craybas, American tennis player births

      1. American tennis player

        Jill Craybas

        Jill N. Craybas is an American former professional tennis player.

    2. La'Roi Glover, American football player and sportscaster births

      1. American football player and coach (born 1974)

        La'Roi Glover

        La'Roi Damon Glover is an American former football defensive tackle who is the defensive line coach for the St. Louis BattleHawks of the XFL. He played college football at San Diego State University. Glover enjoyed a 13-year career in which he made six-consecutive Pro Bowls and was a four-time All-Pro selection. He spent five seasons with the New Orleans Saints (1997-2001), four seasons with the Dallas Cowboys (2002–2005) and finished his playing career with the St. Louis Rams (2006–2008).

    3. Adrian Griffin, American basketball player and coach births

      1. American basketball player and coach

        Adrian Griffin

        Adrian Darnell Griffin Sr. is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played in the NBA as a shooting guard and small forward from 1999 to 2008. Griffin grew up in Wichita, Kansas and played collegiately at Seton Hall University.

    4. Georgette Heyer, English author (b. 1902) deaths

      1. English writer (1902–1974)

        Georgette Heyer

        Georgette Heyer was an English novelist and short-story writer, in both the Regency romance and detective fiction genres. Her writing career began in 1921, when she turned a story for her younger brother into the novel The Black Moth. In 1925 Heyer married George Ronald Rougier, a mining engineer. The couple spent several years living in Tanganyika Territory and Macedonia before returning to England in 1929. After her novel These Old Shades became popular despite its release during the General Strike, Heyer determined that publicity was not necessary for good sales. For the rest of her life she refused to grant interviews, telling a friend: "My private life concerns no one but myself and my family."

    5. André Randall, French actor (b. 1892) deaths

      1. André Randall

        André Randall was a French screen actor. He was born André Ayaïs in Bordeaux and died at Sainte-Foy-la-Grande.

  42. 1973

    1. Keiko Ihara, Japanese race car driver births

      1. Japanese racing driver

        Keiko Ihara

        Keiko Ihara is a Japanese race car driver. She was a former race queen, a model who appears in a swimsuit or other fashionable apparel at race circuits, before deciding to become a racing driver. She is one of the few Japanese women nationals to race internationally at a high level. Her best finishes in the British Formula Three Championship are two 8th places finishes in 2005, which helped her to a final championship standing position of 16th with 12 points. In the 2006 series, she finished in 17th and last position in the Championship Class, with 4 points.

    2. Gackt, Japanese musician, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor births

      1. Japanese musician, singer-songwriter and actor (born 1973)

        Gackt

        Gakuto Oshiro , better known by his mononymous stage name Gackt, is a Japanese musician, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor.

    3. Michael Johnson, English-Jamaican footballer and manager births

      1. Footballer (born 1973)

        Michael Johnson (footballer, born 1973)

        Michael Owen Johnson is a former footballer who played as a defender, primarily at centre back, although he also played left-back when called upon. He is a current England U18s coach and club ambassador of Derby County. He made more than 550 appearances in the Football League and Premier League, including more than 250 games for Birmingham City and more than 100 each for Notts County, the club where he began his professional career, and for Derby County. Johnson was born in Nottingham, England, and played 13 times for the Jamaica national team, for which he qualified by descent. He retired as a player at the end of the 2008–09 season, and took up the post of youth team manager with Notts County.

    4. Anjelika Krylova, Russian ice dancer and coach births

      1. Russian ice dancer and figure skating coach

        Anjelika Krylova

        Anjelika Alexeyevna Krylova is a Russian retired ice dancer. With partner Oleg Ovsyannikov, she is the 1998 Olympic silver medalist and two-time World champion. She currently works as a coach and choreographer in Moscow, Russia.

    5. Jan Magnussen, Danish race car driver births

      1. Danish racing driver

        Jan Magnussen

        Jan Ellegaard Magnussen is a Danish professional racing driver and was a factory driver for General Motors until the end of the 2020 season. He has competed in Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART), NASCAR, the FIA Formula One World Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

    6. Tony Popovic, Australian footballer and manager births

      1. Australian association football player and manager

        Tony Popovic

        Tony Popovic is an Australian association football manager and former player. He is the current manager of A-League club Melbourne Victory.

  43. 1972

    1. Stephen Giles, Canadian canoe racer and engineer births

      1. Canadian sprint canoeist

        Stephen Giles

        Stephen Giles is a Canadian sprint canoeist who competed from the early 1990s to the mid 2000s. Competing in four Summer Olympics, he won the bronze in the C-1 1000 m event at Sydney in 2000.

    2. Mike Knuble, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach births

      1. Canadian-born American ice hockey player

        Mike Knuble

        Michael Rudolph Knuble is a Canadian-born American former professional ice hockey right winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). During his 16 NHL seasons, he played for the Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers, Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers and Washington Capitals.

  44. 1971

    1. August Derleth, American anthologist and author (b. 1909) deaths

      1. American writer

        August Derleth

        August William Derleth was an American writer and anthologist. Though best remembered as the first book publisher of the writings of H. P. Lovecraft, and for his own contributions to the Cthulhu Mythos and the cosmic horror genre, as well as his founding of the publisher Arkham House, Derleth was a leading American regional writer of his day, as well as prolific in several other genres, including historical fiction, poetry, detective fiction, science fiction, and biography.

    2. Thomas C. Hart, American admiral and politician (b. 1877) deaths

      1. US Navy admiral and US senator

        Thomas C. Hart

        Thomas Charles Hart was an admiral in the United States Navy, whose service extended from the Spanish–American War through World War II. Following his retirement from the navy, he served briefly as a United States Senator from Connecticut.

  45. 1970

    1. Barnett Newman, American painter and illustrator (b. 1905) deaths

      1. American painter

        Barnett Newman

        Barnett Newman was an American artist. He has been critically regarded as one of the major figures of abstract expressionism, and one of the foremost of the color field painters. His paintings explore the sense of place that viewers experience with art, and hence incorporate very simplistic forms to emphasize this feeling.

    2. Harold Stirling Vanderbilt, American sailor and businessman (b. 1884) deaths

      1. Harold Stirling Vanderbilt

        Harold Stirling Vanderbilt CBE was an American railroad executive, a champion yachtsman, an innovator and champion player of contract bridge, and a member of the Vanderbilt family.

  46. 1969

    1. Al Golden, American football player and coach births

      1. American football player and coach (born 1969)

        Al Golden

        Alfred James Golden Jr. is an American football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. He is a former head coach at Temple from 2006 to 2010. He has also served for five years as defensive coordinator at Virginia (2001–2005) and five years as the head coach at University of Miami (2011–2015). He is also a former tight end for the New England Patriots of the NFL. He was fired from Miami on October 25, 2015.

    2. Todd Marinovich, American football player and coach births

      1. American gridiron football player (born 1969)

        Todd Marinovich

        Todd Marvin Marinovich is a former American and Canadian football quarterback. He played for the Los Angeles Raiders of the National Football League and also in the Canadian Football League, Arena Football League. Marinovich is known for the well-documented, intense focus of his training as a young athlete and for his brief career upon reaching the professional leagues that was cut short primarily because of his addiction to drugs.

    3. Wilfred Mugeyi, Zimbabwean footballer and coach births

      1. Zimbabwean footballer and manager

        Wilfred Mugeyi

        Wilfred Mugeyi is a Zimbabwean former footballer last job was coach at South African Premier Soccer League club AmaZulu FC.

    4. Henri Decoin, French director and screenwriter (b. 1890) deaths

      1. French film director

        Henri Decoin

        Henri Decoin was a French film director and screenwriter, who directed more than 50 films between 1933 and 1964. He was also a swimmer who won the national title in 1911 and held the national record in the 500 m freestyle. He competed in the 400 m freestyle at the 1908 Summer Olympics and in the water polo tournament at the 1912 Summer Olympics.

  47. 1967

    1. Vinny Castilla, Mexican baseball player and manager births

      1. Mexican baseball player (born 1967)

        Vinny Castilla

        Vinicio "Vinny" Castilla Soria is a Mexican former Major League Baseball third baseman who played his best years with the Colorado Rockies and Atlanta Braves. Previously, he played with the Atlanta Braves, Colorado Rockies, Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2000–2001), Houston Astros (2001), Washington Nationals (2005), and San Diego Padres (2006). He currently serves as a special assistant to the Rockies GM Bill Schmidt.

    2. Sébastien Deleigne, French athlete births

      1. French modern pentathlete

        Sébastien Deleigne

        Sébastien Deleigne is a French modern pentathlete. He competed in four Olympic Games between 1992 and 2004.

  48. 1966

    1. Ronni Ancona, Scottish actress and screenwriter births

      1. Scottish comedian (born 1966)

        Ronni Ancona

        Veronica "Ronni" Jane Ancona is a British actress, comedian, impressionist and writer best known for The Big Impression, which she co-wrote and starred in and was, for four years, one of BBC One's top-rated comedy programmes, winning numerous awards, including a BAFTA in 2003. Ancona also starred in the first series of the BAFTA-winning ITV series The Sketch Show. Ancona has appeared in the BAFTA-winning Last Tango in Halifax since its creation in 2012. She is a co-director, alongside Sally Phillips and Nick Hamson, of the production company Captain Dolly.

    2. Minas Hantzidis, German-Greek footballer births

      1. Greek footballer

        Minas Hantzidis

        Minas Hantzidis is a Greek former footballer. He played for Bayer Leverkusen, VfL Bochum, Olympiacos, Iraklis, Veria, Wuppertaler SV, SV Elversberg, Union Solingen, 1. FC Kleve, TSV 05 Ronsdorf and SpVgg Radevormwald, as well as for the national side. He competed at the 1994 FIFA World Cup.

    3. Lee Reherman, American actor (d. 2016) births

      1. American actor

        Lee Reherman

        Lee Reherman was an American actor, appearing in television and film and hosting television reality shows.

  49. 1965

    1. Harvey Grant, American basketball player and coach births

      1. American basketball player

        Harvey Grant

        Harvey Grant is an American former professional National Basketball Association basketball player. He is the identical twin brother of Horace Grant, also a former NBA player.

    2. Horace Grant, American basketball player and coach births

      1. American basketball player

        Horace Grant

        Horace Junior Grant Sr. is an American former professional basketball player who is a special advisor for Michael Reinsdorf, the president and chief operating officer of the Chicago Bulls. He attended and played college basketball at Clemson University before playing professionally in the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he became a four-time champion with the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers. Horace is the twin brother of former NBA player Harvey Grant.

    3. Kiriakos Karataidis, Greek footballer and manager births

      1. Greek footballer

        Kyriakos Karataidis

        Kyriakos Karataidis is a former Greek football player. He played for Olympiacos, as well as for the national side.

    4. Gérard Watkins, English actor and playwright births

      1. Gérard Watkins

        Gérard Watkins is an English-French actor, playwright, director, and songwriter.

  50. 1964

    1. Cle Kooiman, American soccer player and manager births

      1. Cle Kooiman

        Christopher Clemence "Cle" Kooiman is an American former soccer defender. He played professionally in both Mexico and the United States including the first Major Indoor Soccer League, Western Soccer Alliance, American Professional Soccer League and Major League Soccer. He earned twelve caps, scoring one goal, with the U.S. national soccer team in 1993 and 1994. He was a member of the U.S. team at the 1994 FIFA World Cup.

    2. Elie Saab, Lebanese fashion designer births

      1. Lebanese fashion designer (born 1964)

        Elie Saab

        Elie Saab is a Lebanese fashion designer.

    3. Edi Rama, Albanian politician births

      1. Prime Minister of Albania

        Edi Rama

        Edi Rama is an Albanian politician, painter, writer, former university lecturer, publicist and former basketball player, who has served as the 33rd and current Prime Minister of Albania since 2013 and chairman of the Socialist Party of Albania since 2005.

    4. Mark Slaughter, American singer-songwriter and producer births

      1. American singer

        Mark Slaughter

        Mark Allen Slaughter is an American singer and musician, and one of the founders of the glam metal band Slaughter.

    5. Mark Whiting, American actor, director, and screenwriter births

      1. Mark Whiting

        Mark Randolph Whiting is an American writer, director, designer and actor.

    6. Gaby Morlay, French actress and singer (b. 1893) deaths

      1. French actress

        Gaby Morlay

        Gaby Morlay was a French film actress.

  51. 1963

    1. Henri Leconte, French tennis player and sportscaster births

      1. French tennis player

        Henri Leconte

        Henri Leconte is a French former professional tennis player. He reached the men's singles final at the French Open in 1988, won the French Open men's doubles title in 1984, and helped France win the Davis Cup in 1991. Leconte's career-high singles ranking was world No. 5.

    2. Laureano Márquez, Spanish-Venezuelan political scientist and journalist births

      1. Laureano Márquez

        Laureano Márquez, is a Spanish-born Venezuelan humorist and politologist.

    3. José Oquendo, Puerto Rican-American baseball player and coach births

      1. Puerto Rican baseball player and coach

        José Oquendo

        José Manuel Roberto Guillermo Oquendo Contreras, nicknamed The Secret Weapon, is a Puerto Rican former infielder and current coach in Major League Baseball (MLB). He currently serves as Minor League Infield Coordinator of the St. Louis Cardinals, an organization with whom he has been affiliated since 1985. He managed the Puerto Rico national team in the 2006 and 2009 World Baseball Classics. During his playing career, Oquendo proved highly versatile defensively: he played primarily second base and shortstop, but also frequently in the outfield, and made at least one appearance at every position during his MLB playing career. Oquendo has the second-highest career fielding percentage for second basemen at .9919 (99.19%), behind only Plácido Polanco's career mark of .9927 (99.27%).

    4. Sonia Pierre, Haitian-Dominican human rights activist (d. 2011) births

      1. Human rights advocate from the Dominican Republic

        Sonia Pierre

        Solange Pierre, known as Sonia Pierre, was a human rights advocate in the Dominican Republic who worked to end antihaitianismo, which is discrimination against individuals of Haitian origin either born in Haiti or in the Dominican Republic. For this work, she won the 2006 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award.

    5. Bernard Freyberg, 1st Baron Freyberg, New Zealand general and politician, 7th Governor-General of New Zealand (b. 1889) deaths

      1. New Zealand military leader, viceroy, Victoria Cross recipient

        Bernard Freyberg, 1st Baron Freyberg

        Lieutenant-General Bernard Cyril Freyberg, 1st Baron Freyberg, was a British-born New Zealand soldier and Victoria Cross recipient, who served as the 7th Governor-General of New Zealand from 1946 to 1952.

      2. Representative of the monarch of New Zealand

        Governor-General of New Zealand

        The governor-general of New Zealand is the viceregal representative of the monarch of New Zealand, currently King Charles III. As the King is concurrently the monarch of 14 other Commonwealth realms and lives in the United Kingdom, he, on the advice of his New Zealand prime minister, appoints a governor-general to carry out his constitutional and ceremonial duties within the Realm of New Zealand.

    6. Clyde Kennard, American activist and martyr (b. 1927) deaths

      1. American soldier and civil rights leader

        Clyde Kennard

        Clyde Kennard was an American Korean War veteran and civil rights leader from Hattiesburg, Mississippi. In the 1950s, he attempted several times to enroll at the all-white Mississippi Southern College to complete his undergraduate degree started at the University of Chicago. Although the United States Supreme Court had ruled in 1954 that segregation of public schools was unconstitutional, the college rejected him. Kennard was among the thousands of local activists in the 1940s and 1950s who pressed for their rights.

    7. Pingali Venkayya, Indian activist, designed the Flag of India (b. 1876) deaths

      1. Freedom Fighter

        Pingali Venkayya

        Pingali Venkayya was an Indian freedom fighter and a Gandhian. He was the designer of the flag on which the Indian National Flag was based. He was also as a lecturer, author, geologist, educationalist, agriculturist, and a polyglot.

      2. National flag

        Flag of India

        The national flag of India, colloquially called the Tricolour, is a horizontal rectangular tricolour flag of India saffron, white and India green; with the Ashoka Chakra, a 24-spoke wheel, in navy blue at its centre. It was adopted in its present form during a meeting of the Constituent Assembly held on 22 July 1947, and it became the official flag of the Dominion of India on 15 August 1947. The flag was subsequently retained as that of the Republic of India. In India, the term "tricolour" almost always refers to the Indian national flag. The flag is based on the Swaraj flag, a flag of the Indian National Congress designed by Pingali Venkayya.

  52. 1962

    1. Pam Shriver, American tennis player and sportscaster births

      1. American tennis player

        Pam Shriver

        Pamela Howard Shriver is an American former professional tennis player and current tennis broadcaster and pundit. During the 1980s and 1990s, Shriver won 133 titles, including 21 singles titles, 111 women's doubles titles, and one mixed doubles title. This includes 22 major titles, 21 in women's doubles and one in mixed doubles. Shriver also won an Olympic gold medal in women's doubles at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, partnering Zina Garrison. Shriver and regular doubles partner Martina Navratilova are the only women's pair to complete the Grand Slam in a calendar year, winning all four majors in 1984.

  53. 1961

    1. Richard Garriott, English-American video game designer, created the Ultima series births

      1. American video game developer and entrepreneur (born 1961)

        Richard Garriott

        Richard Allen Garriott de Cayeux is an American video game developer, entrepreneur and private astronaut. Although both his parents were American, he maintains dual British and American citizenship by birth.

      2. Role-playing video games series

        Ultima (series)

        Ultima is a series of open world fantasy role-playing video games from Origin Systems, Inc. Ultima was created by Richard Garriott. Electronic Arts has owned the brand since 1992. The series sold over 2 million copies by 1997.

  54. 1960

    1. Roland Ratzenberger, Austrian race car driver (d. 1994) births

      1. Austrian racing driver

        Roland Ratzenberger

        Roland Ratzenberger was an Austrian racing driver who raced in various categories of motorsport, including British Formula 3000, Japanese Formula 3000 and Formula One. Having had sporadic success throughout the lower formulas, Ratzenberger managed to secure an F1 seat in 1994 for the new Simtek team, at the unusually old age of 33. He was killed in a crash during qualifying for the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix just three races into his F1 career. The weekend would become notorious for also seeing the death of Ayrton Senna, a three time world champion, during the race the following day.