On This Day /

Important events in history
on March 4 th

Events

  1. 2020

    1. Nik Wallenda becomes the first person to walk on the Masaya Volcano in Nicaragua.

      1. American acrobat (born 1979)

        Nik Wallenda

        Nikolas Wallenda is an American acrobat, aerialist, daredevil, high wire artist, and author. He is known for his high-wire performances without a safety net. He holds 11 Guinness World Records for various acrobatic feats, and is best known as the first person to walk a tightrope stretched directly over Niagara Falls. Wallenda walked 1,800 feet on a steel cable over Masaya Volcano in Nicaragua, his longest walk, on March 4, 2020.

      2. Active complex volcano in Masaya Department, Nicaragua

        Masaya Volcano

        Masaya is a caldera located in Masaya, Nicaragua, 20 km south of the capital Managua. It is Nicaragua's first and largest national park, and one of 78 protected areas of Nicaragua. The complex volcano is composed of a nested set of calderas and craters, the largest of which is Las Sierras shield volcano and caldera. Within this caldera lies a sub-vent, which is Masaya Volcano sensu stricto. The vent is a shield type composing of basaltic lavas and tephras and includes a summit crater. This hosts Masaya caldera, formed 2,500 years ago by an 8-km³ basaltic ignimbrite eruption. Inside this caldera a new basaltic complex has grown from eruptions mainly on a semi-circular set of vents that include the Masaya and Nindiri cones. The latter host the pit craters of Masaya, Santiago, Nindiri and San Pedro. Observations in the walls of the pit craters indicate that there have been several episodes of cone and pit crater formation.

  2. 2018

    1. Former MI6 spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter are poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent in Salisbury, England, causing a diplomatic uproar that results in mass-expulsions of diplomats from all countries involved.

      1. British foreign intelligence agency

        MI6

        The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6, is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligence in support of the UK's national security. SIS is one of the British intelligence agencies and the Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service ("C") is directly accountable to the Foreign Secretary.

      2. Former Russian military intelligence officer

        Sergei Skripal

        Sergei Viktorovich Skripal is a former Russian military intelligence officer who acted as a double agent for the UK's intelligence services during the 1990s and early 2000s. In December 2004, he was arrested by Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) and later tried, convicted of high treason, and sentenced to 13 years in prison. He settled in the UK in 2010 following the Illegals Programme spy swap. He holds both Russian and British citizenship.

      3. 2018 attempted murder in Salisbury, England

        Poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal

        On 4 March 2018, Sergei Skripal, a former Russian military officer and double agent for the British intelligence agencies, and his daughter, Yulia Skripal, were poisoned in the city of Salisbury, England. According to UK sources and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), they were poisoned by means of a Novichok nerve agent. Both Sergei and Yulia Skripal spent several weeks in hospital in critical condition, before being discharged. A police officer, Nick Bailey, was also taken into intensive care after attending the incident, and was later discharged.

      4. Series of nerve agents developed by the Soviet Union

        Novichok

        Novichok is a group of nerve agents, some of which are binary chemical weapons. The agents were developed at the GosNIIOKhT state chemical research institute by the Soviet Union and Russia between 1971 and 1993. Some Novichok agents are solids at standard temperature and pressure, while others are liquids. Dispersal of solid form agents is thought possible if in ultrafine powder state.

      5. Class of organophosphates; classified as weapons of mass destruction

        Nerve agent

        Nerve agents, sometimes also called nerve gases, are a class of organic chemicals that disrupt the mechanisms by which nerves transfer messages to organs. The disruption is caused by the blocking of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), an enzyme that catalyzes the breakdown of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter. Nerve agents are acetylcholinesterase inhibitors used as poison.

      6. Cathedral city in Wiltshire, England

        Salisbury

        Salisbury is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately 20 miles from Southampton and 30 miles from Bath.

      7. Country in north-west Europe; part of the United Kingdom

        England

        England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south. The country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain, which lies in the North Atlantic, and includes over 100 smaller islands, such as the Isles of Scilly and the Isle of Wight.

  3. 2017

    1. Construction began on a 69-metre statue of the Buddha at Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen in Bangkok.

      1. Siddhartha Gautama, founder of Buddhism

        The Buddha

        Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.

      2. Thai Buddhist temple, origin of Dhammakaya Movement and represented in Supreme Sangha Council

        Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen

        Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen is a royal wat ('temple') located in Phasi Charoen district, Bangkok, at the Chao Phraya River. It is part of the Maha Nikaya fraternity and is the origin of the Dhammakaya tradition. It is a large and popular temple, supported by prosperous community members.

      3. Capital of Thailand

        Bangkok

        Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies 1,568.7 square kilometres (605.7 sq mi) in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated population of 10.539 million as of 2020, 15.3 percent of the country's population. Over 14 million people lived within the surrounding Bangkok Metropolitan Region at the 2010 census, making Bangkok an extreme primate city, dwarfing Thailand's other urban centres in both size and importance to the national economy.

  4. 2015

    1. At least 34 miners die in a suspected gas explosion at the Zasyadko coal mine in the rebel-held Donetsk region of Ukraine.

      1. Deadly coal mine explosion in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine

        2015 Zasyadko mine disaster

        On 4 March 2015, at around 05:20 local time, there was a mining accident at the Zasyadko coal mine in rebel-held Eastern Ukraine. It is suspected to have been caused by a gas explosion.

      2. Coal mining company in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine

        Zasyadko coal mine

        Zasyadko Mine is a coal mining company in Ukraine's eastern city of Donetsk. Following the start of the War in Donbass in 2014 the mine became situated in rebel controlled territory.

  5. 2012

    1. A series of blasts occurred at an arms dump in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo, killing at least 250 people and injuring 2,300 others.

      1. Deadly arms dump explosion in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo

        Brazzaville arms dump blasts

        On 4 March 2012, a series of blasts occurred at an army arms dump in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of the Congo. At least 300 people were killed by the explosions. Additional bodies were said to be "unfindable." Among the dead were six Chinese workers from a Beijing Construction Engineering Group work site close to the armoury. Interior Minister Raymond Mboulou said that nearby hospitals were overflowing with injuries, with many wounded lying in hallways due to lack of space. Total injuries exceeded 2,500. More than 121,000 people were left homeless and 672 million dollars in damages were done. One survivor described the event as feeling like "the apocalypse;" others described it as "like a tsunami" or "earthquake".

      2. Capital and the largest city of the Republic of the Congo

        Brazzaville

        Brazzaville is the capital and largest city of the Republic of the Congo. Constituting the financial and administrative centre of the country, it is located on the north side of the Congo River, opposite Kinshasa, the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

    2. A series of explosions is reported at a munitions dump in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of the Congo, killing at least 250 people.

      1. Deadly arms dump explosion in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo

        Brazzaville arms dump blasts

        On 4 March 2012, a series of blasts occurred at an army arms dump in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of the Congo. At least 300 people were killed by the explosions. Additional bodies were said to be "unfindable." Among the dead were six Chinese workers from a Beijing Construction Engineering Group work site close to the armoury. Interior Minister Raymond Mboulou said that nearby hospitals were overflowing with injuries, with many wounded lying in hallways due to lack of space. Total injuries exceeded 2,500. More than 121,000 people were left homeless and 672 million dollars in damages were done. One survivor described the event as feeling like "the apocalypse;" others described it as "like a tsunami" or "earthquake".

      2. Capital and the largest city of the Republic of the Congo

        Brazzaville

        Brazzaville is the capital and largest city of the Republic of the Congo. Constituting the financial and administrative centre of the country, it is located on the north side of the Congo River, opposite Kinshasa, the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

      3. Country in Central Africa

        Republic of the Congo

        The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the west of the Congo river. It is bordered to the west by Gabon, to its northwest by Cameroon and its northeast by the Central African Republic, to the southeast by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to its south by the Angolan exclave of Cabinda and to its southwest by the Atlantic Ocean.

  6. 2009

    1. President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan was indicted by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the War in Darfur.

      1. President of Sudan from 1989 to 2019

        Omar al-Bashir

        Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir is a Sudanese former military officer and politician who served as the seventh head of state of Sudan under various titles from 1989 until 2019, when he was deposed in a coup d'état. He was subsequently incarcerated, tried and convicted on multiple corruption charges. He came to power in 1989 when, as a brigadier general in the Sudanese Army, he led a group of officers in a military coup that ousted the democratically elected government of prime minister Sadiq al-Mahdi after it began negotiations with rebels in the south. He was elected three times as president in elections that have been under scrutiny for electoral fraud. In 1992, al-Bashir founded the National Congress Party, which remained the dominant political party in the country until 2019. In March 2009, al-Bashir became the first sitting head of state to be indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), for allegedly directing a campaign of mass killing, rape, and pillage against civilians in Darfur. On 11 February 2020, the Sudanese government announced that it had agreed to hand over al-Bashir to the ICC for trial.

      2. Ongoing investigation by the International Criminal Court

        International Criminal Court investigation in Darfur

        The International Criminal Court investigation in Darfur or the situation in Darfur is an ongoing investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) into criminal acts committed during the War in Darfur. Although Sudan is not a state party to the Rome Statute, the treaty which created the ICC, the situation in Darfur was referred to the ICC's Prosecutor by the United Nations Security Council in 2005. As of June 2019, five suspects remained under indictment by the court: Ahmed Haroun, Ali Kushayb, Omar al-Bashir, Abdallah Banda and Abdel Rahim Mohammed Hussein. Charges against Bahar Abu Garda were dropped on the basis of insufficient evidence in 2010 and those against Saleh Jerbo were dropped following his death in 2013. In mid-April 2019, Haroun, al-Bashir and Hussein were imprisoned in Sudan as a result of the 2019 Sudanese coup d'état. In early November 2019, the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) and Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok stated that al-Bashir would be transferred to the ICC. One of the demands of the displaced people of Darfur visited by Hamdok prior to Hamdok's statement was that "Omar Al Bashir and the other wanted persons" had to be surrendered to the ICC.

      3. Intergovernmental organization and international tribunal

        International Criminal Court

        The International Criminal Court is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for the international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression. It is distinct from the International Court of Justice, an organ of the United Nations that hears disputes between states. While praised as a major step towards justice, and as an innovation in international law and human rights, the ICC has faced a number of criticisms from governments and civil society, including objections to its jurisdiction, accusations of bias, Eurocentrism and racism, questioning of the fairness of its case-selection and trial procedures, and doubts about its effectiveness.

      4. Individual act constituting a serious violation of the laws of war

        War crime

        A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostages, unnecessarily destroying civilian property, deception by perfidy, wartime sexual violence, pillaging, and for any individual that is part of the command structure who orders any attempt to committing mass killings including genocide or ethnic cleansing, the granting of no quarter despite surrender, the conscription of children in the military and flouting the legal distinctions of proportionality and military necessity.

      5. 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.

      6. Ongoing genocidal conflict in Southwestern Sudan

        War in Darfur

        The War in Darfur, also nicknamed the Land Cruiser War, is a major armed conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan that began in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebel groups began fighting against the government of Sudan, which they accused of oppressing Darfur's non-Arab population. The government responded to attacks by carrying out a campaign of ethnic cleansing against Darfur's non-Arabs. This resulted in the death of hundreds of thousands of civilians and the indictment of Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir, for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court.

    2. The International Criminal Court (ICC) issues an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. Al-Bashir is the first sitting head of state to be indicted by the ICC since its establishment in 2002.

      1. Intergovernmental organization and international tribunal

        International Criminal Court

        The International Criminal Court is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for the international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression. It is distinct from the International Court of Justice, an organ of the United Nations that hears disputes between states. While praised as a major step towards justice, and as an innovation in international law and human rights, the ICC has faced a number of criticisms from governments and civil society, including objections to its jurisdiction, accusations of bias, Eurocentrism and racism, questioning of the fairness of its case-selection and trial procedures, and doubts about its effectiveness.

      2. List of heads of state of Sudan

        This article lists the heads of state of Sudan since the country's independence in 1956.

      3. President of Sudan from 1989 to 2019

        Omar al-Bashir

        Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir is a Sudanese former military officer and politician who served as the seventh head of state of Sudan under various titles from 1989 until 2019, when he was deposed in a coup d'état. He was subsequently incarcerated, tried and convicted on multiple corruption charges. He came to power in 1989 when, as a brigadier general in the Sudanese Army, he led a group of officers in a military coup that ousted the democratically elected government of prime minister Sadiq al-Mahdi after it began negotiations with rebels in the south. He was elected three times as president in elections that have been under scrutiny for electoral fraud. In 1992, al-Bashir founded the National Congress Party, which remained the dominant political party in the country until 2019. In March 2009, al-Bashir became the first sitting head of state to be indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), for allegedly directing a campaign of mass killing, rape, and pillage against civilians in Darfur. On 11 February 2020, the Sudanese government announced that it had agreed to hand over al-Bashir to the ICC for trial.

      4. Individual act constituting a serious violation of the laws of war

        War crime

        A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostages, unnecessarily destroying civilian property, deception by perfidy, wartime sexual violence, pillaging, and for any individual that is part of the command structure who orders any attempt to committing mass killings including genocide or ethnic cleansing, the granting of no quarter despite surrender, the conscription of children in the military and flouting the legal distinctions of proportionality and military necessity.

      5. 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.

      6. Region of the western Sudan

        Darfur

        Darfur is a region of western Sudan. Dār is an Arabic word meaning "home [of]" – the region was named Dardaju while ruled by the Daju, who migrated from Meroë c. 350 AD, and it was renamed Dartunjur when the Tunjur ruled the area. Darfur was an independent sultanate for several hundred years until it was incorporated into Sudan by Anglo-Egyptian forces in 1916. As an administrative region, Darfur is divided into five federal states: Central Darfur, East Darfur, North Darfur, South Darfur and West Darfur. Because of the War in Darfur between Sudanese government forces and the indigenous population, the region has been in a state of humanitarian emergency and genocide since 2003. The factors include religious and ethnic rivalry, and the rivalry between farmers and herders.

      7. Official who holds the highest ranked position in a sovereign state

        Head of state

        A head of state is the public persona who officially embodies a state in its unity and legitimacy. Depending on the country's form of government and separation of powers, the head of state may be a ceremonial figurehead or concurrently the head of government and more.

  7. 2007

    1. Fourteen-year-old English schoolgirl Charlotte Shaw drowned on Dartmoor, becoming the first person to die in connection with the annual Ten Tors challenge.

      1. Death of Charlotte Shaw

        Charlotte Shaw was a fourteen-year-old British schoolgirl who drowned while crossing a swollen stream on Dartmoor during training for Ten Tors in 2007. Her death, the first to occur in connection with Ten Tors or one of its training expeditions, made national news headlines in the United Kingdom. She was with a group of students from Edgehill College trekking the route of Ten Tors in training for the main event when the group got into difficulties crossing a stream. Shaw slipped into the water and was washed downstream. She was located 20 minutes later by a Royal Navy search and rescue helicopter and airlifted to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, where she died in the early hours of the next morning.

      2. Area of moorland in south Devon, England

        Dartmoor

        Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers 954 km2 (368 sq mi).

      3. Ten Tors

        Ten Tors is an annual weekend hike in early May, on Dartmoor, southwest England. Organised by the British Army, starting in 1960, it brings together teams of six young people each, with the 2,400 young participants hiking to checkpoints on ten specified tors. The majority of entrants are schools, colleges, Scout groups and Cadet squadrons from South West England, though groups from across the UK have regularly taken part, as have teams from Australia and New Zealand. However, from 2012, only teams from the South West of England are eligible to take part, due to the large numbers of entrants.

  8. 2002

    1. Afghanistan: Seven American Special Operations Forces soldiers and 200 Al-Qaeda Fighters are killed as American forces attempt to infiltrate the Shah-i-Kot Valley on a low-flying helicopter reconnaissance mission.

      1. Conflict between NATO Western forces and the Taliban

        War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)

        The War in Afghanistan was an armed conflict in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2021. It began when an international military coalition, led by the United States, launched an invasion of Afghanistan, subsequently toppling the Taliban-ruled Islamic Emirate and establishing the internationally recognized Islamic Republic three years later. The nearly 20-year-long conflict ultimately ended with the 2021 Taliban offensive, which overthrew the Islamic Republic, and re-established the Islamic Emirate. It was the longest war in the military history of the United States, surpassing the length of the Vietnam War (1955–1975) by approximately six months.

      2. Military units trained to conduct special operations

        Special forces

        Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equipped forces using unconventional techniques and modes of employment".

      3. 2002 battle of the War in Afghanistan, between U.S. and al-Qaeda forces

        Battle of Takur Ghar

        The Battle of Takur Ghar was a short but intense military engagement between United States special operations forces and al-Qaeda insurgents fought in March 2002, atop Takur Ghar mountain in Afghanistan. For the U.S. side, the battle proved the deadliest entanglement of Operation Anaconda, an effort early in the War in Afghanistan to rout al-Qaeda forces from the Shahi-Kot Valley and Arma Mountains. The battle saw three helicopter landings by the U.S. on the mountain top, each greeted by direct assault from al-Qaeda forces. Although Takur Ghar was eventually taken, seven U.S. service members were killed and 12 others were wounded. The battle is also known as the Battle of Roberts Ridge, after the first casualty of the battle, Navy SEAL Neil C. Roberts.

      4. Valley in Paktia province, eastern Afghanistan

        Shah-i-Kot Valley

        The Shah-i-Kot Valley is a valley in Afghanistan's Paktia province, southeast of the town of Zormat. The terrain in and around the valley is notoriously rugged, located at a mean altitude of 9,000 feet (2,700 m). Shah-i-Kot means "Place of the King" and it has historically been a redoubt for Afghan guerrillas hiding from foreign invaders.

  9. 2001

    1. BBC bombing: A massive car bomb explodes in front of the BBC Television Centre in London, seriously injuring one person; the attack was attributed to the Real IRA.

      1. 2001 IRA terrorist attack on the BBC headquarters in London

        2001 BBC bombing

        The 2001 BBC bombing was a terrorist attack on the BBC's main news centre within BBC Television Centre, on Wood Lane in the White City area of West London.

      2. Mixed Use complex in West London, England

        Television Centre, London

        Television Centre (TVC) is a building complex in White City, West London, that was the headquarters of BBC Television between 1960 and 2013. After a refurbishment, the complex reopened in 2017 with three studios in use for TV production, operated by BBC Studioworks. The first BBC staff moved into the Scenery Block in 1953, and the centre was officially opened on 29 June 1960. It is one of the most readily recognisable facilities of its type, having appeared as the backdrop for many BBC programmes. Parts of the building are Grade II listed, including the central ring and Studio 1.

      3. Irish republican paramilitary group split from the Provisional IRA in 1997

        Real Irish Republican Army

        The Real Irish Republican Army, or Real IRA (RIRA), is a dissident Irish republican paramilitary group that aims to bring about a United Ireland. It formed in 1997 following a split in the Provisional IRA by dissident members, who rejected the IRA's ceasefire that year. Like the Provisional IRA before it, the Real IRA sees itself as the only rightful successor to the original Irish Republican Army and styles itself as simply "the Irish Republican Army" in English or Óglaigh na hÉireann in Irish. It is an illegal organisation in the Republic of Ireland and designated as a proscribed terrorist organisation in the United Kingdom and the United States.

  10. 1998

    1. Gay rights: Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc.: The Supreme Court of the United States rules that federal laws banning on-the-job sexual harassment also apply when both parties are the same sex.

      1. LGBT rights in the United States

        Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights in the United States are among the most socially, culturally, and legally permissive and advanced in the world, with public opinion and jurisprudence on the issue changing significantly since the late 1980s. In 1962, all 50 states criminalized same-sex sexual activity, but by 2003 all remaining laws against same-sex sexual activity were invalidated in Lawrence v. Texas. Beginning with Massachusetts in 2004, LGBT Americans had won the right to marry in all 50 states by 2015. Additionally, in many states and municipalities, LGBT Americans are explicitly protected from discrimination in employment, housing, and access to public accommodations. Many LGBT rights in the United States have been established by the United States Supreme Court, which has invalidated a state law banning protected class recognition based upon homosexuality, struck down sodomy laws nationwide, struck down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, made same-sex marriage legal nationwide, and prohibited employment discrimination against gay and transgender employees. American public opinion is overwhelmingly supportive of same-sex marriage. A September 2022 Grinnell College National Poll found that 74% of Americans believe same-sex marriage should be a guaranteed right while 13% disagreed, with strong majorities among both Republicans and Democratic voters.

      2. 1998 United States Supreme Court case

        Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc.

        Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, 523 U.S. 75 (1998), is a landmark decision of the US Supreme Court. The case arose out of a suit for sex discrimination by a male oil-rig worker, who claimed that he was repeatedly subjected to sexual harassment by his male co-workers with the acquiescence of his employer. The Court held that the protection of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 against workplace discrimination "because of... sex" applied to harassment in the workplace between members of the same sex.

      3. Highest court in the United States

        Supreme Court of the United States

        The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point of federal law. It also has original jurisdiction over a narrow range of cases, specifically "all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party." The court holds the power of judicial review, the ability to invalidate a statute for violating a provision of the Constitution. It is also able to strike down presidential directives for violating either the Constitution or statutory law. However, it may act only within the context of a case in an area of law over which it has jurisdiction. The court may decide cases having political overtones, but has ruled that it does not have power to decide non-justiciable political questions.

      4. Unwanted sexual attention or advances

        Sexual harassment

        Sexual harassment is a type of harassment involving the use of explicit or implicit sexual overtones, including the unwelcome and inappropriate promises of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. Sexual harassment includes a range of actions from verbal transgressions to sexual abuse or assault. Harassment can occur in many different social settings such as the workplace, the home, school, or religious institutions. Harassers or victims may be of any sex or gender.

  11. 1996

    1. A derailed train in Weyauwega, Wisconsin (USA) causes the emergency evacuation of 2,300 people for 16 days.

      1. 1996 train accident in Wisconsin, U.S.

        Weyauwega, Wisconsin, derailment

        The Weyauwega derailment was a railroad accident that occurred in Weyauwega, Wisconsin, United States, in the early morning hours of March 4, 1996. The derailed train was carrying a large quantity of hazardous material, which immediately caught fire. The fire, which involved the train cars and an adjacent feed mill, burned for more than two weeks after the actual derailment, resulting in the emergency evacuation of 2,300 people for 18 days, including the entire city of Weyauwega, with about 1,700 evacuees.

      2. Urgent removal of people from an area of imminent or ongoing threat

        Emergency evacuation

        Emergency evacuation is the urgent immediate egress or escape of people away from an area that contains an imminent threat, an ongoing threat or a hazard to lives or property.

  12. 1994

    1. Space Shuttle program: the Space Shuttle Columbia is launched on STS-62.

      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. Orbiter in NASA's Space Shuttle program; operational from 1981 until the 2003 disaster

        Space Shuttle Columbia

        Space Shuttle Columbia (OV-102) was a Space Shuttle orbiter manufactured by Rockwell International and operated by NASA. Named after the first American ship to circumnavigate the upper North American Pacific coast and the female personification of the United States, Columbia was the first of five Space Shuttle orbiters to fly in space, debuting the Space Shuttle launch vehicle on its maiden flight in April 1981. As only the second full-scale orbiter to be manufactured after the Approach and Landing Test vehicle Enterprise, Columbia retained unique features indicative of its experimental design compared to later orbiters, such as test instrumentation and distinctive black chines. In addition to a heavier fuselage and the retention of an internal airlock throughout its lifetime, these made Columbia the heaviest of the five spacefaring orbiters; around 1,000 kilograms heavier than Challenger and 3,600 kilograms heavier than Endeavour. Columbia also carried ejection seats based on those from the SR-71 during its first six flights until 1983, and from 1986 onwards carried an external imaging pod on its vertical stabilizer.

      3. 1994 American crewed spaceflight

        STS-62

        STS-62 was a Space Shuttle program mission flown aboard Space Shuttle Columbia. The primary payloads were the USMP-02 microgravity experiments package and the OAST-2 engineering and technology payload, both in the orbiter's cargo bay. The two-week mission also featured a number of biomedical experiments focusing on the effects of long duration spaceflight. The landing was chronicled by the 1994 Discovery Channel special about the Space Shuttle program and served as the show's opening. A C.F. Martin backpacker guitar was also flown aboard Columbia during the mission.

  13. 1990

    1. College basketball player Hank Gathers died after collapsing during a West Coast Conference Tournament semifinal game in Los Angeles.

      1. Amateur basketball played by students of higher education institutions

        College basketball

        In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA), the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), and the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA). Each of these various organizations is subdivided into one to three divisions, based on the number and level of scholarships that may be provided to the athletes.

      2. American basketball player (1967-1990)

        Hank Gathers

        Eric Wilson "Hank" Gathers Jr. was an American college basketball player for the Loyola Marymount Lions in the West Coast Conference (WCC). As a junior in 1989, he became the second player in NCAA Division I history to lead the nation in scoring and rebounding in the same season. Gathers was a consensus second-team All-American as a senior in 1990. His No. 44 was retired by the Lions, who also placed a statue of him in his honor outside their home arena Gersten Pavilion.

      3. West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament

        The West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament is the annual concluding tournament for the NCAA college basketball in the West Coast Conference (WCC). The winner of the tournament each year is guaranteed a place in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament for that season. Through 2008, the tournament was played on a rotating basis at the home courts of member teams. The 2009 edition was the first played at a neutral site, namely Orleans Arena in Paradise, Nevada, just outside Las Vegas. The semifinals are broadcast nationally on ESPN2 and the championship is broadcast nationally on ESPN.

    2. American basketball player Hank Gathers dies after collapsing during the semifinals of a West Coast Conference tournament game.

      1. Team sport

        Basketball

        Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball through the defender's hoop (a basket 18 inches in diameter mounted 10 feet high to a backboard at each end of the court, while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own hoop. A field goal is worth two points, unless made from behind the three-point line, when it is worth three. After a foul, timed play stops and the player fouled or designated to shoot a technical foul is given one, two or three one-point free throws. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins, but if regulation play expires with the score tied, an additional period of play is mandated.

      2. American basketball player (1967-1990)

        Hank Gathers

        Eric Wilson "Hank" Gathers Jr. was an American college basketball player for the Loyola Marymount Lions in the West Coast Conference (WCC). As a junior in 1989, he became the second player in NCAA Division I history to lead the nation in scoring and rebounding in the same season. Gathers was a consensus second-team All-American as a senior in 1990. His No. 44 was retired by the Lions, who also placed a statue of him in his honor outside their home arena Gersten Pavilion.

      3. West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament

        The West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament is the annual concluding tournament for the NCAA college basketball in the West Coast Conference (WCC). The winner of the tournament each year is guaranteed a place in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament for that season. Through 2008, the tournament was played on a rotating basis at the home courts of member teams. The 2009 edition was the first played at a neutral site, namely Orleans Arena in Paradise, Nevada, just outside Las Vegas. The semifinals are broadcast nationally on ESPN2 and the championship is broadcast nationally on ESPN.

  14. 1987

    1. U.S. president Ronald Reagan made a nationally televised address in which he accepted full responsibility for illegal actions in the Iran–Contra affair.

      1. President of the United States from 1981 to 1989

        Ronald Reagan

        Ronald Wilson Reagan was an American politician who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. A member of the Republican Party from 1962 onward, he also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 to 1975 after having a career as a Hollywood actor and union leader.

      2. 1985–1987 political scandal in the U.S.

        Iran–Contra affair

        The Iran–Contra affair, often referred to as the Iran–Contra scandal, the McFarlane affair, or simply Iran–Contra, was a political scandal in the United States that occurred during the second term of the Reagan administration. Between 1981 and 1986, senior administration officials secretly facilitated the sale of arms to Iran, which was the subject of an arms embargo. The administration hoped to use the proceeds of the arms sale to fund the Contras, a right-wing rebel group, in Nicaragua. Under the Boland Amendment, further funding of the Contras by the government had been prohibited by Congress.

  15. 1986

    1. The Soviet Vega 1 begins returning images of Halley's Comet and the first images of its nucleus.

      1. Country in Eurasia (1922–1991)

        Soviet Union

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

      2. 1984 Soviet uncrewed space mission to study Venus and Halley's Comet

        Vega 1

        Vega 1 was a Soviet space probe, part of the Vega program. The spacecraft was a development of the earlier Venera craft. They were designed by Babakin Space Centre and constructed as 5VK by Lavochkin at Khimki. The name VeGa (ВеГа) combines the first two letters from the Russian words for Venus and Halley.

      3. Short-period comet visible every 75–76 years

        Halley's Comet

        Halley's Comet or Comet Halley, officially designated 1P/Halley, is a short-period comet visible from Earth every 75–79 years. Halley is the only known short-period comet that is regularly visible to the naked eye from Earth, and thus the only naked-eye comet that can appear twice in a human lifetime. Halley last appeared in the inner parts of the Solar System in 1986 and will next appear in mid-2061.

  16. 1985

    1. The Food and Drug Administration approves a blood test for HIV infection, used since then for screening all blood donations in the United States.

      1. Agency of the US Department of Health and Human Services

        Food and Drug Administration

        The United States Food and Drug Administration is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food safety, tobacco products, dietary supplements, prescription and over-the-counter pharmaceutical drugs (medications), vaccines, biopharmaceuticals, blood transfusions, medical devices, electromagnetic radiation emitting devices (ERED), cosmetics, animal foods & feed and veterinary products.

      2. Laboratory analysis performed on a blood sample

        Blood test

        A blood test is a laboratory analysis performed on a blood sample that is usually extracted from a vein in the arm using a hypodermic needle, or via fingerprick. Multiple tests for specific blood components, such as a glucose test or a cholesterol test, are often grouped together into one test panel called a blood panel or blood work. Blood tests are often used in health care to determine physiological and biochemical states, such as disease, mineral content, pharmaceutical drug effectiveness, and organ function. Typical clinical blood panels include a basic metabolic panel or a complete blood count. Blood tests are also used in drug tests to detect drug abuse.

      3. Human retrovirus, cause of AIDS

        HIV

        The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of Lentivirus that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive. Without treatment, average survival time after infection with HIV is estimated to be 9 to 11 years, depending on the HIV subtype.

      4. Voluntary blood withdrawal for use by another person via transfusion

        Blood donation

        A blood donation occurs when a person voluntarily has blood drawn and used for transfusions and/or made into biopharmaceutical medications by a process called fractionation. Donation may be of whole blood, or of specific components directly (apheresis). Blood banks often participate in the collection process as well as the procedures that follow it.

  17. 1980

    1. Nationalist leader Robert Mugabe wins a sweeping election victory to become Zimbabwe's first black prime minister.

      1. 2nd president of Zimbabwe from 1987 to 2017

        Robert Mugabe

        Robert Gabriel Mugabe was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017. He served as Leader of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) from 1975 to 1980 and led its successor political party, the ZANU – Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF), from 1980 to 2017. Ideologically an African nationalist, during the 1970s and 1980s he identified as a Marxist–Leninist, and as a socialist after the 1990s.

      2. Country in Southeast Africa

        Zimbabwe

        Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozambique to the east. The capital and largest city is Harare. The second largest city is Bulawayo. A country of roughly 15 million people, Zimbabwe has 16 official languages, with English, Shona, and Ndebele the most common. It was once referred to by Samora Machel as the "Jewel of Africa" for its great prosperity during the early years of Robert Mugabe.

      3. Former head of government in Zimbabwe

        Prime Minister of Zimbabwe

        The prime minister of Zimbabwe was a political office in the government of Zimbabwe that existed on two occasions. The first person to hold the position was Robert Mugabe from 1980 to 1987 following independence from the United Kingdom. He took office when Southern Rhodesia became the Republic of Zimbabwe on 18 April 1980. This position was abolished when the constitution was amended in 1987 and Mugabe became president of Zimbabwe, replacing Canaan Banana as the head of state while also remaining the head of government. The office of prime minister was restored in 2009 and held by Morgan Tsvangirai until the position was again abolished by the 2013 Constitution of Zimbabwe.

  18. 1977

    1. The 1977 Vrancea earthquake in eastern and southern Europe kills more than 1,500, mostly in Bucharest, Romania.

      1. 1977 Vrancea earthquake

        The 1977 Vrancea earthquake occurred on 4 March 1977, at 21:22 local time, and was felt throughout the Balkans. It had a magnitude of 7.5, making it the second most powerful earthquake recorded in Romania in the 20th century, after the 10 November 1940 seismic event. The hypocenter was situated in the Vrancea Mountains, the most seismically active part of Romania, at a depth of 85.3 km.

      2. Capital and largest city of Romania

        Bucharest

        Bucharest is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than 60 km (37.3 mi) north of the Danube River and the Bulgarian border.

  19. 1976

    1. The Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention is formally dissolved in Northern Ireland resulting in direct rule of Northern Ireland from London by the British parliament.

      1. Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention

        The Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention (NICC) was an elected body set up in 1975 by the United Kingdom Labour government of Harold Wilson as an attempt to deal with constitutional issues surrounding the status of Northern Ireland.

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

        Northern Ireland

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

      3. Periods of direct administration of Northern Ireland by the government of the UK

        Direct rule (Northern Ireland)

        In Northern Irish politics, direct rule is the administration of Northern Ireland directly by the Government of the United Kingdom. It was practised for 26 straight years between 1972 and 1998 during the Troubles, and has since then been temporarily applied during suspensions. The most recent period of direct rule came to an end on 8 May 2007 when power was restored to the Northern Ireland Assembly following April elections and a power-sharing agreement among major parties.

      4. Legislative body

        Parliament of the United Kingdom

        The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It alone possesses legislative supremacy and thereby ultimate power over all other political bodies in the UK and the overseas territories. Parliament is bicameral but has three parts, consisting of the sovereign (King-in-Parliament), the House of Lords, and the House of Commons. Both houses of Parliament meet in separate chambers at the Palace of Westminster in the City of Westminster, one of the inner boroughs of the capital city, London.

  20. 1970

    1. French submarine Eurydice explodes underwater, resulting in the loss of the entire 57-man crew.

      1. French Submarine

        French submarine Eurydice (S644)

        Eurydice was a French submarine, one of eleven of the Daphné class.

  21. 1966

    1. During an interview, John Lennon of the Beatles argued that the band had become "more popular than Jesus".

      1. English musician and member of the Beatles (1940–1980)

        John Lennon

        John Winston Ono Lennon was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's work was characterised by the rebellious nature and acerbic wit of his music, writing and drawings, on film, and in interviews. His songwriting partnership with Paul McCartney remains the most successful in history.

      2. English rock band (1960–1970)

        The Beatles

        The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the development of 1960s counterculture and popular music's recognition as an art form. Rooted in skiffle, beat and 1950s rock 'n' roll, their sound incorporated elements of classical music and traditional pop in innovative ways; the band also explored music styles ranging from folk and Indian music to psychedelia and hard rock. As pioneers in recording, songwriting and artistic presentation, the Beatles revolutionised many aspects of the music industry and were often publicised as leaders of the era's youth and sociocultural movements.

      3. Controversial remark made by John Lennon

        More popular than Jesus

        "More popular than Jesus" is part of a remark made by John Lennon of the Beatles in a March 1966 interview, in which he argued that the public were more infatuated with the band than with Jesus, and that Christian faith was declining to the extent that it might be outlasted by rock music. His opinions drew no controversy when originally published in the London newspaper The Evening Standard, but drew angry reactions from Christian communities when republished in the United States that July.

    2. A Canadian Pacific Air Lines DC-8-43 explodes on landing at Tokyo International Airport, killing 64 people.

      1. Defunct airline of Canada (1942—1987)

        Canadian Pacific Air Lines

        Canadian Pacific Air Lines was a Canadian airline that operated from 1942 to 1987. It operated under the name CP Air from 1968 to 1986. Headquartered at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, British Columbia, it served domestic Canadian as well as international routes until it was purchased by Pacific Western Airlines and absorbed into Canadian Airlines International.

      2. Jet airliner family

        Douglas DC-8

        The Douglas DC-8 is a long-range narrow-body airliner built by the American Douglas Aircraft Company. After losing the May 1954 US Air Force tanker competition to the Boeing KC-135, Douglas announced in July 1955 its derived jetliner project. In October 1955, Pan Am made the first order along with the competing Boeing 707, and many other airlines followed. The first DC-8 was rolled out in Long Beach Airport on April 9, 1958, and flew for the first time on May 30. FAA certification was achieved in August 1959 and the DC-8 entered service with Delta Air Lines on September 18.

      3. 1966 deadly plane crash in Tokyo, Japan

        Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 402

        On March 4, 1966, Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 402 (CP402) struck the approach lights and a seawall during a night landing attempt in poor visibility at Haneda Airport in Japan. Of the 62 passengers and 10 crew, only 8 passengers survived.

      4. Airport serving Tokyo, Japan

        Haneda Airport

        Haneda Airport , officially Tokyo International Airport , and sometimes called as Tokyo Haneda Airport or Haneda International Airport, is one of two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Narita International Airport (NRT). It serves as the primary base of Japan's two major domestic airlines, Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways, as well as Air Do, Skymark Airlines, Solaseed Air, and StarFlyer. It is located in Ōta, Tokyo, 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) south of Tokyo Station.

    3. In an interview in the London Evening Standard, The Beatles' John Lennon declares that the band is "more popular than Jesus now".

      1. Regional free daily tabloid-format newspaper in London

        Evening Standard

        The Evening Standard, formerly The Standard (1827–1904), also known as the London Evening Standard, is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format.

      2. English rock band (1960–1970)

        The Beatles

        The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the development of 1960s counterculture and popular music's recognition as an art form. Rooted in skiffle, beat and 1950s rock 'n' roll, their sound incorporated elements of classical music and traditional pop in innovative ways; the band also explored music styles ranging from folk and Indian music to psychedelia and hard rock. As pioneers in recording, songwriting and artistic presentation, the Beatles revolutionised many aspects of the music industry and were often publicised as leaders of the era's youth and sociocultural movements.

      3. English musician and member of the Beatles (1940–1980)

        John Lennon

        John Winston Ono Lennon was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's work was characterised by the rebellious nature and acerbic wit of his music, writing and drawings, on film, and in interviews. His songwriting partnership with Paul McCartney remains the most successful in history.

      4. Controversial remark made by John Lennon

        More popular than Jesus

        "More popular than Jesus" is part of a remark made by John Lennon of the Beatles in a March 1966 interview, in which he argued that the public were more infatuated with the band than with Jesus, and that Christian faith was declining to the extent that it might be outlasted by rock music. His opinions drew no controversy when originally published in the London newspaper The Evening Standard, but drew angry reactions from Christian communities when republished in the United States that July.

  22. 1962

    1. A Caledonian Airways Douglas DC-7 crashes shortly after takeoff from Cameroon, killing 111 – the worst crash of a DC-7.

      1. Scottish private charter airline from 1961 to 1970

        Caledonian Airways

        Caledonian Airways was a wholly private, independent British charter airline formed in April 1961. It began with a single 104-seat Douglas DC-7C leased from the Belgian flag carrier Sabena. Caledonian grew rapidly over the coming years to become the leading transatlantic "affinity group" charter operator by the end of the decade. During that period, passenger numbers grew from just 8,000 in 1961 to 800,000 in 1970. The latter represented 22.7% of all British non-scheduled passengers. It also became Britain's most consistently profitable and financially most secure independent airline of its era, never failing to make a profit in all its ten years of existence. By the end of 1970, Caledonian operated an all-jet fleet consisting of eleven aircraft and provided employment for over 1,000 workers. At that time, its principal activities included group charters between North America, Europe and the Far East using Boeing 707s, and general charter and inclusive tour (IT) activities in Europe utilising One-Elevens.

      2. US airliner with 4 piston engines, 1953

        Douglas DC-7

        The Douglas DC-7 is an American transport aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1953 to 1958. A derivative of the DC-6, it was the last major piston engine-powered transport made by Douglas, being developed shortly after the earliest jet airliner—the de Havilland Comet—entered service and only a few years before the jet-powered Douglas DC-8 first flew in 1958. Unlike other aircraft in Douglas's line of propeller-driven aircraft, no examples remain in service in the present day, as compared to the far more successful DC-3 and DC-6.

      3. 1962 deadly plane crash in Douala, Cameroon

        Caledonian Airways Flight 153

        Caledonian Airways Flight 153 was a multi-leg nonscheduled passenger service from Luxembourg via Khartoum, Lorenzo Marques, Douala and Lisbon, before heading back to Luxembourg. On 4 March 1962 a Douglas DC-7C flying the route, registration G-ARUD, crashed shortly after takeoff from Douala International Airport, Douala, Cameroon in a swamp on the edge of a jungle 2.4 kilometres off the airport. It is the deadliest crash of a DC-7. It is also the second-deadliest accident in Cameroon surpassed only by Kenya Airways Flight 507.

      4. Country in Central Africa

        Cameroon

        Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Its coastline lies on the Bight of Biafra, part of the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. Due to its strategic position at the crossroads between West Africa and Central Africa, it has been categorized as being in both camps. Its nearly 27 million people speak 250 native languages.

  23. 1960

    1. The French freighter La Coubre explodes in Havana, Cuba, killing 100.

      1. 1960 deadly explosion of a French cargo ship in Havana, Cuba

        La Coubre explosion

        The French freighter La Coubre exploded in the harbour of Havana, Cuba, on 4 March 1960 while it was unloading 76 tons of grenades and munitions. Seventy-five to 100 people were killed, and many were injured. Fidel Castro alleged it was an act of sabotage on the part of the United States, which denied any involvement.

      2. Capital and largest city of Cuba

        Havana

        Havana is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. The city has a population of 2.3 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of 728.26 km2 (281.18 sq mi) – making it the largest city by area, the most populous city, and the fourth largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean region.

  24. 1957

    1. The S&P 500 stock market index is introduced, replacing the S&P 90.

      1. American stock market index

        S&P 500

        The Standard and Poor's 500, or simply the S&P 500, is a stock market index tracking the stock performance of 500 large companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States. It is one of the most commonly followed equity indices. As of December 31, 2020, more than $5.4 trillion was invested in assets tied to the performance of the index.

      2. Financial metric which investors use to determine market performance

        Stock market index

        In finance, a stock index, or stock market index, is an index that measures a stock market, or a subset of the stock market, that helps investors compare current stock price levels with past prices to calculate market performance.

  25. 1955

    1. An order to protect the endangered Saimaa ringed seal (Pusa hispida saimensis) was legalized.

      1. Freshwater seal found in Finland

        Saimaa ringed seal

        The Saimaa ringed seal is a subspecies of ringed seal. They are among the most endangered seals in the world, having a total population of only about 400 individuals. The only existing population of these seals is found in Lake Saimaa, Finland. They have lived in complete isolation from other ringed seal species for around 9,500 years and have diverged into a morphologically and ecologically different subspecies of ringed seal. The population is descended from ringed seals that were separated from the rest when the land rose after the last ice age. This seal, along with the Ladoga seal and the Baikal seal, is one of the few living freshwater seals.

  26. 1944

    1. Murder, Inc. leader Lepke Buchalter was executed, becoming the only American mob boss to receive the death penalty after being convicted of murder.

      1. US organized crime groups in the 1930s and 1940s

        Murder, Inc.

        Murder, Inc. was an organized crime group, active from 1929 to 1941, that acted as the enforcement arm of the National Crime Syndicate – a closely connected criminal organization that included the Italian-American Mafia, the Jewish Mob, and other criminal organizations in New York City and elsewhere. Murder, Inc. was composed of Jewish and Italian-American gangsters, and members were mainly recruited from poor and working-class Jewish and Italian neighborhoods in Manhattan and Brooklyn. It was initially headed by Louis "Lepke" Buchalter and later by Albert "The Mad Hatter" Anastasia.

      2. American mob boss

        Lepke Buchalter

        Louis Buchalter, known as Louis Lepke or Lepke Buchalter, was an American mobster and head of the Mafia hit squad Murder, Inc., during the 1930s. Buchalter was one of the premier labor racketeers in New York City during that era.

      3. Highly organized Italian-American criminal society

        American Mafia

        The American Mafia, commonly referred to in North America as the Italian American Mafia, the Mafia, or the Mob, is a highly organized Italian American criminal society and organized crime group. The organization is often referred to by its members as Cosa Nostra and by the American government as La Cosa Nostra (LCN). The organization's name is derived from the original Mafia or Cosa nostra, the Sicilian Mafia, with "American Mafia" originally referring simply to Mafia groups from Sicily operating in the United States, as the organization initially emerged as an offshoot of the Sicilian Mafia formed by Italian immigrants in the United States. However, the organization gradually evolved into a separate entity partially independent of the original Mafia in Sicily, and it eventually encompassed or absorbed other Italian immigrant and Italian-American gangsters and Italian-American crime groups active in the United States and Canada that were not of Sicilian origin. In North America, it is often colloquially referred to as the Italian Mafia or Italian Mob, though these terms may also apply to the separate yet related Sicilian Mafia or other organized crime groups in Italy or ethnic Italian crime groups in other countries.

      4. Legal penalty in the United States

        Capital punishment in the United States

        In the United States, capital punishment is a legal penalty throughout the country at the federal level, in 27 states, and in American Samoa. It is also a legal penalty for some military offenses. Capital punishment has been abolished in 23 states and in the federal capital, Washington, D.C. Capital punishment is, in practice, only applied for aggravated murder. Although it is a legal penalty in 27 states, only 20 states have the ability to execute death sentences, with the other seven, as well as the federal government, being subject to different types of moratoriums. The existence of capital punishment in the United States can be traced to early colonial Virginia. Along with Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore, the United States is one of five advanced democracies and the only Western nation that applies the death penalty regularly. It is one of 54 countries worldwide applying it, and was the first to develop lethal injection as a method of execution, which has since been adopted by five other countries. The Philippines has since abolished executions, and Guatemala has done so for civil offenses, leaving the United States as one of four countries to still use this method. It is common practice for the condemned to be administered sedatives prior to execution, regardless of the method used.

    2. World War II: After the success of Big Week, the USAAF begins a daylight bombing campaign of Berlin.

      1. 1944 series of aerial bombings of German industry by the U.S. during WWII

        Big Week

        Big Week or Operation Argument was a sequence of raids by the United States Army Air Forces and RAF Bomber Command from 20 to 25 February 1944, as part of the European strategic bombing campaign against Nazi Germany. The planners intended to attack the German aircraft industry to lure the Luftwaffe into a decisive battle where the Luftwaffe could be damaged so badly that the Allies would achieve air superiority which would ensure success of the invasion of continental Europe.

      2. Aerial warfare branch of the United States Army from 1941 to 1947

        United States Army Air Forces

        The United States Army Air Forces was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and de facto aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II (1941–1945). It was created on 20 June 1941 as successor to the previous United States Army Air Corps and is the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force, today one of the six armed forces of the United States. The AAF was a component of the United States Army, which on 2 March 1942 was divided functionally by executive order into three autonomous forces: the Army Ground Forces, the United States Army Services of Supply, and the Army Air Forces. Each of these forces had a commanding general who reported directly to the Army Chief of Staff.

      3. Part of Allied strategic aerial bombing campaigns

        Bombing of Berlin in World War II

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

      4. Capital and largest city of Germany

        Berlin

        Berlin is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.6 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constituent states, Berlin is surrounded by the State of Brandenburg and contiguous with Potsdam, Brandenburg's capital. Berlin's urban area, which has a population of around 4.5 million, is the second most populous urban area in Germany after the Ruhr. The Berlin-Brandenburg capital region has around 6.2 million inhabitants and is Germany's third-largest metropolitan region after the Rhine-Ruhr and Rhine-Main regions.

  27. 1943

    1. The Holocaust: Almost all Jews in Bulgarian-occupied northern Greece were deported to Treblinka extermination camp to be killed.

      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. Murder of about 4,075 Jews in March 1943

        The Holocaust in Bulgarian-occupied Greece

        In March 1943, about 4,075 Jews living in Bulgarian-occupied eastern Greek Macedonia and Western Thrace were deported to Treblinka extermination camp and murdered. In an operation coordinated by Bulgaria and Germany, almost all Jews in Bulgarian-occupied Greece were rounded up on the early morning of 4 March 1943, held in camps in Bulgaria, and reached Treblinka by the end of the month. The death rate of 97 percent of the Jews living in the area in 1943 was one of the highest in Europe.

      3. German extermination camp near Treblinka, Poland in World War II

        Treblinka extermination camp

        Treblinka was an extermination camp, built and operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland during World War II. It was in a forest north-east of Warsaw, 4 km (2.5 mi) south of the village of Treblinka in what is now the Masovian Voivodeship. The camp operated between 23 July 1942 and 19 October 1943 as part of Operation Reinhard, the deadliest phase of the Final Solution. During this time, it is estimated that between 700,000 and 900,000 Jews were murdered in its gas chambers, along with 2,000 Romani people. More Jews were murdered at Treblinka than at any other Nazi extermination camp apart from Auschwitz-Birkenau.

    2. World War II: The Battle of the Bismarck Sea in the south-west Pacific comes to an end.

      1. 1943 Allied attack on a Japanese convoy

        Battle of the Bismarck Sea

        The Battle of the Bismarck Sea took place in the South West Pacific Area (SWPA) during World War II when aircraft of the U.S. Fifth Air Force and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) attacked a Japanese convoy carrying troops to Lae, New Guinea. Most of the Japanese task force was destroyed, and Japanese troop losses were heavy.

    3. World War II: The Battle of Fardykambos, one of the first major battles between the Greek Resistance and the occupying Royal Italian Army, begins. It ends on 6 March with the surrender of an entire Italian battalion and the liberation of the town of Grevena.

      1. 1943 World War II battle in Italian-occupied Greece

        Battle of Fardykambos

        The Battle of Fardykambos, also known as the Battle of Bougazi, was fought between the National Liberation Front (EAM-ELAS) of the Greek Resistance against the Italian troops during the Axis Occupation of Greece. The battle was notable for the large-scale and spontaneous participation of the local populace, and of officers from other groups and organizations, including right-wing rivals to ELAS.

      2. Armed resistance to the Axis occuption of Greece during WWII

        Greek resistance

        The Greek resistance, involved armed and unarmed groups from across the political spectrum that resisted the Axis occupation of Greece in the period 1941–1944, during World War II. The largest group was the Communist-dominated EAM-ELAS. The Greek Resistance is considered one of the strongest resistance movements in Nazi-occupied Europe, with partisans, known as andartes, controlling much of the countryside prior to the German withdrawal from Greece in late 1944.

      3. Army from 1861 to 1946

        Royal Italian Army

        The Royal Italian Army was the land force of the Kingdom of Italy, established with the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy. During the 19th century Italy started to unify into one country, and in 1861 Manfredo Fanti signed a decree creating the Army of the Two Sicilies. This newly created army's first task was to defend against the repressive power in southern Italy. The Army of the Two Sicilies combated against criminals and other armies during this time of unification. After the monarchy ended in 1946, the army changed its name to become the modern Italian Army.

      4. Town in Macedonia, Greece

        Grevena

        Grevena is a town and municipality in Western Macedonia, northern Greece, capital of the Grevena regional unit. The town's current population is 13,374 citizens (2011). It lies about 420 kilometres from Athens and about 180 km from Thessaloniki. The municipality's population is 25,905. Grevena has had access to the Egnatia Odos since the early 2000s, which now connects Igoumenitsa with Thessaloniki and Alexandroupoli at the border with Turkey. Mountains surround the municipality, which is situated by the river Greveniotikos, which itself flows into the Aliakmon. Other significant towns in the municipality are Amygdaliés and Méga Seiríni. Grevena Municipal Museum is located in the town.

  28. 1941

    1. Second World War: British Commandos successfully executed a raid on the Lofoten Islands in German-occupied Norway.

      1. Global war, 1939–1945

        World War II

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

      2. British special operations force during World War II

        Commandos (United Kingdom)

        The Commandos, also known as the British Commandos, were formed during the Second World War in June 1940, following a request from the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Winston Churchill, for a force that could carry out raids against German-occupied Europe. Initially drawn from within the British Army from soldiers who volunteered for the Special Service Brigade, the Commandos' ranks would eventually be filled by members of all branches of the British Armed Forces and a number of foreign volunteers from German-occupied countries. By the end of the war 25,000 men had passed through the Commando course at Achnacarry. This total includes not only the British volunteers, but volunteers from Greece, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Canada, Norway, Poland, and the United States Army Rangers and US Marine Corps Raiders, which were modelled on the Commandos.

      3. Raid by British and Norwegian forces in the Lofoten Islands in 1941

        Operation Claymore

        Operation Claymore was a British commando raid on the Norwegian Lofoten Islands during the Second World War. The Lofoten Islands were an important centre for the production of fish oil and glycerine, used in the German war economy. The landings were carried out on 4 March 1941, by the men of No. 3 Commando, No. 4 Commando, a Royal Engineers section and 52 men from the Norwegian Independent Company 1. Supported by the 6th Destroyer Flotilla and two troop transports of the Royal Navy, the force made an unopposed landing and generally continued to meet no opposition. The original plan was to avoid contact with German forces and inflict the maximum of damage to German-controlled industry. They achieved their objective of destroying fish oil factories and some 3,600 t of oil and glycerine. The British experienced only one accident; an officer injuring himself with his own revolver and returned with some 228 German prisoners, 314 loyal Norwegian volunteers and a number of Quisling regime collaborators.

      4. Archipelago and traditional district in Nordland, Norway

        Lofoten

        Lofoten is an archipelago and a traditional district in the county of Nordland, Norway. Lofoten has distinctive scenery with dramatic mountains and peaks, open sea and sheltered bays, beaches and untouched lands. There are two towns, Svolvær and Leknes – the latter is approximately 169 km (105 mi) north of the Arctic Circle and approximately 2,420 km (1,500 mi) away from the North Pole. The archipelago experiences one of the world's largest elevated temperature anomalies relative to its high latitude.

      5. Nazi occupation of Norway during World War II

        German occupation of Norway

        The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until the capitulation of German forces in Europe on 8/9 May 1945. Throughout this period, a pro-German government named Den nasjonale regjering ruled Norway, while the Norwegian king Haakon VII and the prewar government escaped to London, where they formed a government in exile. Civil rule was effectively assumed by the Reichskommissariat Norwegen, which acted in collaboration with the pro-German puppet government. This period of military occupation is, in Norway, referred to as the "war years", "occupation period" or simply "the war".

    2. World War II: The United Kingdom launches Operation Claymore on the Lofoten Islands; the first large scale British Commando raid.

      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. Raid by British and Norwegian forces in the Lofoten Islands in 1941

        Operation Claymore

        Operation Claymore was a British commando raid on the Norwegian Lofoten Islands during the Second World War. The Lofoten Islands were an important centre for the production of fish oil and glycerine, used in the German war economy. The landings were carried out on 4 March 1941, by the men of No. 3 Commando, No. 4 Commando, a Royal Engineers section and 52 men from the Norwegian Independent Company 1. Supported by the 6th Destroyer Flotilla and two troop transports of the Royal Navy, the force made an unopposed landing and generally continued to meet no opposition. The original plan was to avoid contact with German forces and inflict the maximum of damage to German-controlled industry. They achieved their objective of destroying fish oil factories and some 3,600 t of oil and glycerine. The British experienced only one accident; an officer injuring himself with his own revolver and returned with some 228 German prisoners, 314 loyal Norwegian volunteers and a number of Quisling regime collaborators.

      3. Archipelago and traditional district in Nordland, Norway

        Lofoten

        Lofoten is an archipelago and a traditional district in the county of Nordland, Norway. Lofoten has distinctive scenery with dramatic mountains and peaks, open sea and sheltered bays, beaches and untouched lands. There are two towns, Svolvær and Leknes – the latter is approximately 169 km (105 mi) north of the Arctic Circle and approximately 2,420 km (1,500 mi) away from the North Pole. The archipelago experiences one of the world's largest elevated temperature anomalies relative to its high latitude.

      4. British special operations force during World War II

        Commandos (United Kingdom)

        The Commandos, also known as the British Commandos, were formed during the Second World War in June 1940, following a request from the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Winston Churchill, for a force that could carry out raids against German-occupied Europe. Initially drawn from within the British Army from soldiers who volunteered for the Special Service Brigade, the Commandos' ranks would eventually be filled by members of all branches of the British Armed Forces and a number of foreign volunteers from German-occupied countries. By the end of the war 25,000 men had passed through the Commando course at Achnacarry. This total includes not only the British volunteers, but volunteers from Greece, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Canada, Norway, Poland, and the United States Army Rangers and US Marine Corps Raiders, which were modelled on the Commandos.

  29. 1933

    1. Frances Perkins was appointed United States Secretary of Labor, making her the first female member of the Cabinet.

      1. American politician and workers rights advocate (1880–1965)

        Frances Perkins

        Frances Perkins was an American workers-rights advocate who served as the 4th United States secretary of labor from 1933 to 1945, the longest serving in that position. A member of the Democratic Party, Perkins was the first woman ever to serve in a presidential cabinet. As a loyal supporter of her longtime friend, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, she helped make labor issues important in the emerging New Deal coalition. She was one of two Roosevelt cabinet members to remain in office for his entire presidency.

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

        United States Secretary of Labor

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

      3. Advisory body to the president of the United States

        Cabinet of the United States

        The Cabinet of the United States is a body consisting of the vice president of the United States and the heads of the executive branch's departments in the federal government of the United States. It is the principal official advisory body to the president of the United States. The president chairs the meetings but is not formally a member of the Cabinet. The heads of departments, appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, are members of the Cabinet, and acting department heads also participate in Cabinet meetings whether or not they have been officially nominated for Senate confirmation. The president may designate heads of other agencies and non-Senate-confirmed members of the Executive Office of the President as members of the Cabinet.

    2. All three presidents of the Austrian National Council resigned, and Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss later used that pretext to create an authoritarian government.

      1. Lower house of the Austrian Parliament

        National Council (Austria)

        The National Council is one of the two houses of the Austrian Parliament and is frequently referred to as the lower house. The constitution endows the National Council with far more power than the Federal Council.

      2. 1933 constitutional crisis within the First Austrian Republic

        Self-elimination of the Austrian Parliament

        The "self-elimination of Parliament" was a constitutional crisis in the First Austrian Republic caused by the resignation on March 4, 1933 of all three presidents (speakers) of the National Council, the more powerful house of the Austrian Parliament. The law had no mechanism for the National Council to operate without a president, and Engelbert Dollfuss, the Chancellor, stated that Parliament had eliminated itself and that his government had the authority to rule by decree under emergency provisions dating from the First World War. This was a decisive step in the transition from a democratic republic to the fascist Federal State of Austria, as opposition attempts to reconstitute the National Council were unsuccessful.

      3. Chancellor of Austria from 1932 to 1934

        Engelbert Dollfuss

        Engelbert Dollfuss was an Austrian clerical fascist politician who served as Chancellor of Austria between 1932 and 1934. Having served as Minister for Forests and Agriculture, he ascended to Federal Chancellor in 1932 in the midst of a crisis for the conservative government. In early 1933, he dissolved parliament and assumed dictatorial powers. Suppressing the Socialist movement in February 1934 during the Austrian Civil War and later banning the Austrian Nazi Party, he cemented the rule of "Austrofascism" through the authoritarian First of May Constitution. Dollfuss was assassinated as part of a failed coup attempt by Nazi agents in 1934. His successor Kurt Schuschnigg maintained the regime until Adolf Hitler's annexation of Austria in 1938.

    3. Franklin D. Roosevelt becomes the 32nd President of the United States. He was the last president to be inaugurated on March 4.

      1. President of the United States from 1933 to 1945

        Franklin D. Roosevelt

        Franklin Delano Roosevelt, often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the leader of the Democratic Party, he won a record four presidential elections and became a central figure in world events during the first half of the 20th century. Roosevelt directed the federal government during most of the Great Depression, implementing his New Deal domestic agenda in response to the worst economic crisis in U.S. history. He built the New Deal Coalition, which defined modern liberalism in the United States throughout the middle third of the 20th century. His third and fourth terms were dominated by World War II, which ended in victory shortly after he died in office.

      2. 37th United States presidential inauguration

        First inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt

        The first inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt as the 32nd president of the United States was held on Saturday, March 4, 1933, at the East Portico of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. This was the 37th inauguration, and marked the commencement of the first term of Franklin D. Roosevelt as president and John Nance Garner as vice president.

      3. 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.

    4. Frances Perkins becomes United States Secretary of Labor, the first female member of the United States Cabinet.

      1. American politician and workers rights advocate (1880–1965)

        Frances Perkins

        Frances Perkins was an American workers-rights advocate who served as the 4th United States secretary of labor from 1933 to 1945, the longest serving in that position. A member of the Democratic Party, Perkins was the first woman ever to serve in a presidential cabinet. As a loyal supporter of her longtime friend, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, she helped make labor issues important in the emerging New Deal coalition. She was one of two Roosevelt cabinet members to remain in office for his entire presidency.

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

        United States Secretary of Labor

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

      3. Advisory body to the president of the United States

        Cabinet of the United States

        The Cabinet of the United States is a body consisting of the vice president of the United States and the heads of the executive branch's departments in the federal government of the United States. It is the principal official advisory body to the president of the United States. The president chairs the meetings but is not formally a member of the Cabinet. The heads of departments, appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, are members of the Cabinet, and acting department heads also participate in Cabinet meetings whether or not they have been officially nominated for Senate confirmation. The president may designate heads of other agencies and non-Senate-confirmed members of the Executive Office of the President as members of the Cabinet.

    5. The Parliament of Austria is suspended because of a quibble over procedure – Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss initiates an authoritarian rule by decree.

      1. Federal legislature of Austria

        Austrian Parliament

        The Austrian Parliament is the bicameral federal legislature of the Austrian Republic. It consists of two chambers – the National Council and the Federal Council. In specific cases, both houses convene as the Federal Assembly. The legislature meets in the Austrian Parliament Building in Vienna.

      2. 1933 constitutional crisis within the First Austrian Republic

        Self-elimination of the Austrian Parliament

        The "self-elimination of Parliament" was a constitutional crisis in the First Austrian Republic caused by the resignation on March 4, 1933 of all three presidents (speakers) of the National Council, the more powerful house of the Austrian Parliament. The law had no mechanism for the National Council to operate without a president, and Engelbert Dollfuss, the Chancellor, stated that Parliament had eliminated itself and that his government had the authority to rule by decree under emergency provisions dating from the First World War. This was a decisive step in the transition from a democratic republic to the fascist Federal State of Austria, as opposition attempts to reconstitute the National Council were unsuccessful.

      3. Head of government of the Republic of Austria

        Chancellor of Austria

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

      4. Chancellor of Austria from 1932 to 1934

        Engelbert Dollfuss

        Engelbert Dollfuss was an Austrian clerical fascist politician who served as Chancellor of Austria between 1932 and 1934. Having served as Minister for Forests and Agriculture, he ascended to Federal Chancellor in 1932 in the midst of a crisis for the conservative government. In early 1933, he dissolved parliament and assumed dictatorial powers. Suppressing the Socialist movement in February 1934 during the Austrian Civil War and later banning the Austrian Nazi Party, he cemented the rule of "Austrofascism" through the authoritarian First of May Constitution. Dollfuss was assassinated as part of a failed coup attempt by Nazi agents in 1934. His successor Kurt Schuschnigg maintained the regime until Adolf Hitler's annexation of Austria in 1938.

      5. Corporatist political party in Austria during the 1930s

        Fatherland Front (Austria)

        The Fatherland Front was the right-wing conservative, nationalist and corporatist ruling political organisation of the Federal State of Austria. It claimed to be a nonpartisan movement, and aimed to unite all the people of Austria, overcoming political and social divisions. Established on 20 May 1933 by Christian Social Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss as the only legally permitted party in the country, it was organised along the lines of Italian Fascism, except that the Fatherland Front was fully aligned with the Catholic Church and did not advocate any racial ideology, as later Italian Fascism did. It advocated Austrian nationalism and independence from Germany on the basis of protecting Austria's Catholic religious identity from what they considered a Protestant-dominated German state.

  30. 1918

    1. The United States Navy suffered its largest non-combat loss of life when the collier USS Cyclops set sail from Barbados to Baltimore and was never seen again, presumably disappearing in the Bermuda Triangle.

      1. Maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces

        United States Navy

        The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of its active battle fleet alone exceeding the next 13 navies combined, including 11 allies or partner nations of the United States as of 2015. It has the highest combined battle fleet tonnage and the world's largest aircraft carrier fleet, with eleven in service, two new carriers under construction, and five other carriers planned. With 336,978 personnel on active duty and 101,583 in the Ready Reserve, the United States Navy is the third largest of the United States military service branches in terms of personnel. It has 290 deployable combat vessels and more than 2,623 operational aircraft as of June 2019.

      2. Bulk cargo ship to carry coal

        Collier (ship)

        A collier is a bulk cargo ship designed or used to carry coal. Early evidence of coal being transported by sea includes use of coal in London in 1306. In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, coal was shipped from the River Tyne to London and other destinations. Other ports also exported coal – for instance the Old Quay in Whitehaven harbour was built in 1634 for the loading of coal. London became highly reliant on the delivery of coal by sea – Samuel Pepys expressed concern in the winter of 1666–67 that war with the Dutch would prevent a fleet of 200 colliers getting through. In 1795, 4,395 cargoes of coal were delivered to London. By 1824, this number had risen to about 7,000; by 1839, it was over 9,000. The trade continued to the end of the twentieth century, with the last cargo of coal leaving the Port of Tyne in February, 2021.

      3. United States navy ship lost at sea in 1918

        USS Cyclops (AC-4)

        USS Cyclops (AC-4) was the second of four Proteus-class colliers built for the United States Navy several years before World War I. Named after the Cyclops, a race of giants from Greek mythology, she was the second U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name. The loss of the ship and 306 crew and passengers without a trace some time after 4 March 1918 remains the single largest loss of life in the history of the United States Navy not directly involving combat. As the loss occurred during World War I, she was thought to have been captured or sunk by a German raider or submarine, because she was carrying 10,800 long tons (11,000 t) of manganese ore used to produce munitions, but German authorities at the time, and subsequently, denied any knowledge of the vessel. The Naval History & Heritage Command has stated she "probably sank in an unexpected storm", but the cause of the ship's loss is not known.

      4. Island country in the Caribbean

        Barbados

        Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of 432 km2 (167 sq mi) and has a population of about 287,000. Its capital and largest city is Bridgetown.

      5. City in Maryland, United States

        Baltimore

        Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was designated an independent city by the Constitution of Maryland in 1851, and today is the most populous independent city in the United States. As of 2021, the population of the Baltimore metropolitan area was estimated to be 2,838,327, making it the 20th largest metropolitan area in the country. Baltimore is located about 40 miles (64 km) north northeast of Washington, D.C., making it a principal city in the Washington–Baltimore combined statistical area (CSA), the third-largest CSA in the nation, with a 2021 estimated population of 9,946,526.

      6. Region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean

        Bermuda Triangle

        The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil's Triangle, is an urban legend focused on a loosely defined region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean where a number of aircraft and ships are said to have disappeared under mysterious circumstances. The idea of the area as uniquely prone to disappearances arose in the mid-20th century, but most reputable sources dismiss the idea that there is any mystery.

    2. A case of influenza was recorded at Camp Funston, Kansas, conventionally marking the beginning of the Spanish flu.

      1. US Army training camp in Fort Riley, Kansas

        Camp Funston

        Camp Funston is a U.S. Army training camp located on Fort Riley, southwest of Manhattan, Kansas. The camp was named for Brigadier General Frederick Funston (1865–1917). It is one of sixteen such camps established at the outbreak of World War I.

      2. 1918–1920 global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus

        Spanish flu

        The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was March 1918 in Kansas, United States, with further cases recorded in France, Germany and the United Kingdom in April. Two years later, nearly a third of the global population, or an estimated 500 million people, had been infected in four successive waves. Estimates of deaths range from 17 million to 50 million, and possibly as high as 100 million, making it the one of the deadliest pandemics in human history after the Black Death bubonic plague of 1346–1353.

  31. 1917

    1. Jeannette Rankin of Montana becomes the first female member of the United States House of Representatives.

      1. First woman elected to U.S. Congress

        Jeannette Rankin

        Jeannette Pickering Rankin was an American politician and women's rights advocate who became the first woman to hold federal office in the United States in 1917. She was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican from Montana in 1916; she served one term until she was elected again in 1940. As of 2022, Rankin is still the only woman ever elected to Congress from Montana.

      2. U.S. state

        Montana

        Montana is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan to the north. It is the fourth-largest state by area, the eighth-least populous state, and the third-least densely populated state. Its state capital is Helena. The western half of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges, while the eastern half is characterized by western prairie terrain and badlands, with smaller mountain ranges found throughout the state.

      3. Lower house of the United States Congress

        United States House of Representatives

        The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they comprise the national bicameral legislature of the United States.

  32. 1913

    1. First Balkan War: The Greek army engages the Turks at Bizani, resulting in victory two days later.

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

        First Balkan War

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

      2. 1913 battle between Greek and Ottoman forces during the First Balkan War

        Battle of Bizani

        The Battle of Bizani took place in Epirus on 4–6 March [O.S. 19–21 February] 1913. The battle was fought between Greek and Ottoman forces during the last stages of the First Balkan War, and revolved around the forts of Bizani, which covered the approaches to Ioannina, the largest city in the region.

      3. Place in Greece

        Bizani

        Bizani is a village and a former municipality in the Ioannina regional unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Ioannina, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 91.372 km2, the community 11.660 km2. In 2011 its population was 5,124. The seat of the municipality was in Pedini. The municipal unit is situated in the plains and low hills south and southwest of Ioannina. The Greek National Road 5, the Greek National Road 17 and the Egnatia Odos motorway pass through the municipal unit.

    2. The United States Department of Labor is formed.

      1. U.S. Department that regulates workers' rights and labor markets

        United States Department of Labor

        The United States Department of Labor (DOL) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is responsible for the administration of federal laws governing occupational safety and health, wage and hour standards, unemployment benefits, reemployment services, and occasionally, economic statistics. It is headed by the Secretary of Labor, who reports directly to the President of the United States and is a member of the president's Cabinet.

  33. 1909

    1. U.S. President William Taft used what became known as a Saxbe fix, a mechanism to avoid the restriction of the U.S. Constitution's Ineligibility Clause, to appoint Philander C. Knox as U.S. Secretary of State.

      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.

      2. Congressional payment scheme

        Saxbe fix

        The Saxbe fix, or salary rollback, is a mechanism by which the President of the United States, in appointing a current or former member of the United States Congress whose elected term has not yet expired, can avoid the restriction of the United States Constitution's Ineligibility Clause. That clause prohibits the president from appointing a current or former member of Congress to a civil office position that was created, or to a civil office position for which the pay or benefits were increased, during the term for which that member was elected until the term has expired. The rollback, first implemented by an Act of Congress in 1909, reverts the emoluments of the office to the amount they were when that member began his or her elected term.

      3. Supreme law of the United States of America

        Constitution of the United States

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

      4. Provision of the US Constitution

        Ineligibility Clause

        The Ineligibility Clause is a provision in Article 1, Section 6, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution that makes each incumbent member of Congress ineligible to hold an office established by the federal government during their tenure in Congress; it also bars officials in the federal government's executive and judicial branches from simultaneously serving in either the U.S. House or Senate. The purpose of the clause is twofold: first, to protect the separation of powers philosophy ; and second, to prevent Congress from conspiring to create offices or increase federal officials' salaries with the expectation that members of Congress would later be appointed to these posts.

      5. American politician (1853–1921)

        Philander C. Knox

        Philander Chase Knox was an American lawyer, bank director and politician. A member of the Republican Party, Knox served in the Cabinet of three different presidents and represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate.

      6. Head of the United States Department of State

        United States Secretary of State

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

  34. 1908

    1. The Collinwood school fire, Collinwood near Cleveland, Ohio, kills 174 people.

      1. Deadly 1908 fire in Collinwood, Ohio, US

        Collinwood school fire

        The Collinwood school fire was a major disaster that occurred at the Lake View School in Collinwood, Ohio, when a fire erupted on March 4, 1908, killing 172 students, two teachers and one rescuer. It is one of the deadliest school disasters in United States history.

      2. Historical area of Cleveland, Ohio, United States

        Collinwood

        Collinwood is a historical area in the northeast part of Cleveland, Ohio. Originally a village in Euclid Township, it was annexed by the city in 1910. Collinwood grew around the rail yards of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway and is divided by these same tracks into the neighborhoods of North Shore Collinwood and Collinwood–Nottingham. Collinwood was identified as one of America's Best Secret Neighborhoods by Travel + Leisure in 2008.

      3. City and county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States

        Cleveland

        Cleveland, officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. maritime border with Canada and approximately 60 miles west of Pennsylvania.

  35. 1901

    1. McKinley inaugurated president for second time; Theodore Roosevelt is vice president.

      1. President of the United States from 1897 to 1901

        William McKinley

        William McKinley was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in the industrial states and nationwide until the 1930s. He presided over victory in the Spanish–American War of 1898; gained control of Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Philippines and Cuba; restored prosperity after a deep depression; rejected the inflationary monetary policy of free silver, keeping the nation on the gold standard; and raised protective tariffs to boost American industry and keep wages high.

      2. 29th United States presidential inauguration

        Second inauguration of William McKinley

        The second inauguration of William McKinley as president of the United States was held on Monday, March 4, 1901, at the East Portico of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. This was the 29th inauguration and marked the commencement of the second and final term of William McKinley as president and the only term of Theodore Roosevelt as vice president. McKinley died 194 days into this term, and Roosevelt succeeded to the presidency.

      3. President of the United States from 1901 to 1909

        Theodore Roosevelt

        Theodore Roosevelt Jr., often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26th president of the United States from 1901 to 1909. He previously served as the 25th vice president under President William McKinley from March to September 1901 and as the 33rd governor of New York from 1899 to 1900. Assuming the presidency after McKinley's assassination, Roosevelt emerged as a leader of the Republican Party and became a driving force for anti-trust and Progressive policies.

  36. 1899

    1. Cyclone Mahina struck Bathurst Bay, Queensland, killing over 300 people in the deadliest natural disaster in Australian history.

      1. Category 5 Australian region cyclone in 1899

        Cyclone Mahina

        Cyclone Mahina was the deadliest cyclone in recorded Australian history, and also likely the most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Southern Hemisphere. Mahina struck Bathurst Bay, Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, on 4 March 1899, and its winds and enormous storm surge combined to kill more than 300 people.

      2. Bay in Queensland, Australia

        Bathurst Bay

        Bathurst Bay is a bay in the localities of Lakefield and Starcke in the Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. In the 19th century it was the base for the pearling fleet. It is now a tourist attraction on Cape York Peninsula in northern Queensland, Australia, near the Great Barrier Reef.

      3. State of Australia

        Queensland

        Queensland is a state situated in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous of the Australian states. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, southwest and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and the Pacific Ocean; to its north is the Torres Strait, separating the Australian mainland from Papua New Guinea. With an area of 1,852,642 square kilometres (715,309 sq mi), Queensland is the world's sixth-largest sub-national entity; it is larger than all but 15 countries. Due to its size, Queensland's geographical features and climates are diverse, including tropical rainforests, rivers, coral reefs, mountain ranges and sandy beaches in its tropical and sub-tropical coastal regions, as well as deserts and savanna in the semi-arid and desert climatic regions of its interior.

    2. Cyclone Mahina sweeps in north of Cooktown, Queensland, with a 12 metres (39 ft) wave that reaches up to 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) inland, killing over 300.

      1. Category 5 Australian region cyclone in 1899

        Cyclone Mahina

        Cyclone Mahina was the deadliest cyclone in recorded Australian history, and also likely the most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Southern Hemisphere. Mahina struck Bathurst Bay, Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, on 4 March 1899, and its winds and enormous storm surge combined to kill more than 300 people.

      2. Town in Queensland, Australia

        Cooktown, Queensland

        Cooktown is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. Cooktown is at the mouth of the Endeavour River, on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland where James Cook beached his ship, the Endeavour, for repairs in 1770. Both the town and Mount Cook which rises up behind the town were named after James Cook.

  37. 1890

    1. The Forth Bridge, a railway bridge connecting Edinburgh to Fife over the Firth of Forth, opened, eventually becoming an internationally recognised Scottish landmark.

      1. Cantilever railway bridge over the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland

        Forth Bridge

        The Forth Bridge is a cantilever railway bridge across the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland, 9 miles west of central Edinburgh. Completed in 1890, it is considered a symbol of Scotland, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was designed by English engineers Sir John Fowler and Sir Benjamin Baker. It is sometimes referred to as the Forth Rail Bridge, although this has never been its official name.

      2. Capital of Scotland

        Edinburgh

        Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian, it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth. Edinburgh is Scotland's second-most populous city, after Glasgow, and the seventh-most populous city in the United Kingdom.

      3. Council area of Scotland

        Fife

        Fife is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire. By custom it is widely held to have been one of the major Pictish kingdoms, known as Fib, and is still commonly known as the Kingdom of Fife within Scotland. A person from Fife is known as a Fifer. In older documents the county was very occasionally known by the anglicisation Fifeshire.

      4. Estuary of Scotland's River Forth

        Firth of Forth

        The Firth of Forth is the estuary, or firth, of several Scottish rivers including the River Forth. It meets the North Sea with Fife on the north coast and Lothian on the south.

    2. The longest bridge in Great Britain, the Forth Bridge in Scotland, measuring 8,094 feet (2,467 m) long, is opened by the Duke of Rothesay, later King Edward VII.

      1. Cantilever railway bridge over the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland

        Forth Bridge

        The Forth Bridge is a cantilever railway bridge across the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland, 9 miles west of central Edinburgh. Completed in 1890, it is considered a symbol of Scotland, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was designed by English engineers Sir John Fowler and Sir Benjamin Baker. It is sometimes referred to as the Forth Rail Bridge, although this has never been its official name.

      2. King of the United Kingdom from 1901 to 1910

        Edward VII

        Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910.

  38. 1882

    1. Britain's first electric trams run in east London.

      1. Trams in London

        There have been two separate generations of trams in London, from 1860 to 1952 and from 2000 to the present. There were no trams at all in London between 1952 and 2000.

  39. 1878

    1. Pope Leo XIII reestablishes the Catholic Church in Scotland, recreating sees and naming bishops for the first time since 1603.

      1. Head of the Catholic Church from 1878 to 1903

        Pope Leo XIII

        Pope Leo XIII was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-oldest-serving Pope before Pope Agatho, and the third-longest-lived pope in history, before Pope Benedict XVI as Pope emeritus, and had the fourth-longest reign of any, behind those of St. Peter, Pius IX and John Paul II.

      2. 1878 act by Pope Leo XIII

        Restoration of the Scottish Catholic hierarchy

        The re-establishment of the hierarchy of the Catholic Church in Scotland took effect on 15 March 1878. This followed the restoration of the English hierarchy in 1850.

      3. Main administrative seat held by a bishop

        Episcopal see

        An episcopal see is, in a practical use of the phrase, the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction.

  40. 1865

    1. The third and final national flag of the Confederate States of America is adopted by the Confederate Congress.

      1. National flag

        Flags of the Confederate States of America

        The flags of the Confederate States of America have a history of three successive designs during the American Civil War. The flags were known as the "Stars and Bars", used from 1861 to 1863; the "Stainless Banner", used from 1863 to 1865; and the "Blood-Stained Banner", used in 1865 shortly before the Confederacy's dissolution. A rejected national flag design was also used as a battle flag by the Confederate Army and featured in the "Stainless Banner" and "Blood-Stained Banner" designs. Although this design was never a national flag, it is the most commonly recognized symbol of the Confederacy.

      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.

  41. 1861

    1. The first national flag of the Confederate States of America (the "Stars and Bars") is adopted.

      1. National flag

        Flags of the Confederate States of America

        The flags of the Confederate States of America have a history of three successive designs during the American Civil War. The flags were known as the "Stars and Bars", used from 1861 to 1863; the "Stainless Banner", used from 1863 to 1865; and the "Blood-Stained Banner", used in 1865 shortly before the Confederacy's dissolution. A rejected national flag design was also used as a battle flag by the Confederate Army and featured in the "Stainless Banner" and "Blood-Stained Banner" designs. Although this design was never a national flag, it is the most commonly recognized symbol of the Confederacy.

      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.

  42. 1849

    1. President-elect of the United States Zachary Taylor and Vice President-elect Millard Fillmore did not take their respective oaths of office (they did so the following day), leading to the erroneous theory that outgoing President pro tempore of the United States Senate David Rice Atchison had assumed the role of acting president for one day.

      1. Winning candidate of the U.S. presidential election in the time before inauguration

        President-elect of the United States

        The president-elect of the United States is the candidate who has presumptively won the United States presidential election and is awaiting inauguration to become the president. There is no explicit indication in the U.S. Constitution as to when that person actually becomes president-elect, although the Twentieth Amendment uses the term "President-elect", thus giving the term "president-elect" constitutional justification. It is assumed the Congressional certification of votes cast by the Electoral College of the United States – occurring after the third day of January following the swearing-in of the new Congress, per provisions of the Twelfth Amendment – unambiguously confirms the successful candidate as the official ‘President-elect’ under the U.S. Constitution. As an unofficial term, president-elect has been used by the media since at least the latter half of the 19th century, and was in use by politicians since at least the 1790s. Politicians and the media have applied the term to the projected winner, even on election night, and very few who turned out to have lost have been referred to as such.

      2. President of the United States from 1849 to 1850

        Zachary Taylor

        Zachary Taylor was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to the rank of major general and becoming a national hero for his victories in the Mexican–American War. As a result, he won election to the White House despite his vague political beliefs. His top priority as president was to preserve the Union. He died 16 months into his term, having made no progress on the most divisive issue in Congress and the nation: slavery.

      3. President of the United States from 1850 to 1853

        Millard Fillmore

        Millard Fillmore was the 13th president of the United States, serving from 1850 to 1853, the last to be a member of the Whig Party while in the White House. A former member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Upstate New York, Fillmore was elected as the 12th vice president of the United States in 1848, and succeeded to the presidency in July 1850 upon the death of U.S. President Zachary Taylor. Fillmore was instrumental in the passing of the Compromise of 1850, a bargain that led to a brief truce in the battle over the expansion of slavery. He failed to win the Whig nomination for president in 1852 but gained the endorsement of the nativist Know Nothing Party four years later and finished third in the 1856 presidential election.

      4. 16th United States presidential inauguration

        Inauguration of Zachary Taylor

        The inauguration of Zachary Taylor as the 12th president of the United States was held on Monday, March 5, 1849, at the East Portico of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. and was the second instance of an inauguration being rescheduled due to March 4 falling on a Sunday, the Christian sabbath. This was the 16th regular inauguration and marked the commencement of the only four-year term of both Zachary Taylor as president and Millard Fillmore as vice president. Taylor died 1 year, 126 days into this term, and Fillmore succeeded to the presidency. The presidential oath of office was administered by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney. Inauguration Day started off being cloudy with snow flurries, but turned to heavy snow during the inaugural balls.

      5. Second-highest-ranking official of the US Senate

        President pro tempore of the United States Senate

        The president pro tempore of the United States Senate is the second-highest-ranking official of the United States Senate and the most senior U.S. senator. Article One, Section Three of the United States Constitution provides that the vice president of the United States is the president of the Senate, and mandates that the Senate must choose a president pro tempore to act in the vice president's absence.

      6. 19th-century American politician

        David Rice Atchison

        David Rice Atchison was a mid-19th century Democratic United States Senator from Missouri. He served as President pro tempore of the United States Senate for six years. Atchison served as a major general in the Missouri State Militia in 1838 during Missouri's Mormon War and as a Confederate brigadier general during the American Civil War under Major General Sterling Price in the Missouri Home Guard. He is best known for the claim that for 24 hours—Sunday, March 4, 1849 through noon on Monday—he may have been Acting President of the United States. This belief, however, is dismissed by nearly all scholars.

      7. Person acting as U.S. president when officer holder is incapacitated

        Acting President of the United States

        An acting president of the United States is an individual who legitimately exercises the powers and duties of the president of the United States even though that person does not hold the office in their own right. There is an established presidential line of succession in which officials of the United States federal government may be called upon to take on presidential responsibilities if the incumbent president becomes incapacitated, dies, resigns, is removed from office during their four-year term of office; or if a president-elect has not been chosen before Inauguration Day or has failed to qualify by that date.

  43. 1848

    1. Carlo Alberto di Savoia signs the Statuto Albertino that will later represent the first constitution of the Regno d'Italia.

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

        Charles Albert of Sardinia

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

      2. Constitution of the kingdoms of Sardinia (1848–61) and unified Italy (1861–1948)

        Statuto Albertino

        The Statuto Albertino was the constitution granted by King Charles Albert of Sardinia to the Kingdom of Sardinia on 4 March 1848 and written in Italian and French. The Statute later became the constitution of the unified Kingdom of Italy and remained in force, with changes, until 1948. Charles Albert did not want to grant a Constitutional Charter so he attempted to maintain as much power as he could although the Statute marked the end of his absolute monarchy.

      3. Supreme law of Italy

        Constitution of Italy

        The Constitution of the Italian Republic was enacted by the Constituent Assembly on 22 December 1947, with 453 votes in favour and 62 against. The text, which has since been amended sixteen times, was promulgated in an extraordinary edition of Gazzetta Ufficiale on 27 December 1947. The Constituent Assembly was elected by universal suffrage on 2 June 1946, on the same day as the referendum on the abolition of the monarchy was held, and it was formed by the representatives of all the anti-fascist forces that contributed to the defeat of Nazi and Fascist forces during the Italian Civil War. The election was held in all Italian provinces. The Constitution was drafted in 1946 and came into force on 1 January 1948, one century after the Constitution of the Kingdom of Italy, the Statuto Albertino, had been enacted.

      4. Country in Southern Europe

        Italy

        Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, in Southern Europe; its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical region. Italy is also considered part of Western Europe. A unitary parliamentary republic with Rome as its capital and largest city, the country covers a total area of 301,230 km2 (116,310 sq mi) and shares land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia and the enclaved microstates of Vatican City and San Marino. Italy has a territorial exclave in Switzerland, Campione. With over 60 million inhabitants, Italy is the third-most populous member state of the European Union.

  44. 1837

    1. Chicago, Illinois, was incorporated as a city after its population increased in seven years from 200 to more than 4,000.

      1. Largest city in Illinois, U.S.

        Chicago

        Chicago is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and the third-most populous in the United States, after New York City and Los Angeles. With a population of 2,746,388 in the 2020 census, it is also the most populous city in the Midwestern United States. As the seat of Cook County, the city is the center of the Chicago metropolitan area, one of the largest in the world.

    2. The city of Chicago is incorporated.

      1. Largest city in Illinois, U.S.

        Chicago

        Chicago is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and the third-most populous in the United States, after New York City and Los Angeles. With a population of 2,746,388 in the 2020 census, it is also the most populous city in the Midwestern United States. As the seat of Cook County, the city is the center of the Chicago metropolitan area, one of the largest in the world.

  45. 1824

    1. The Royal National Lifeboat Institution, a charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the British Isles, was founded as the National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck by author and philanthropist William Hillary.

      1. Rescue charity operating in Britain and Ireland

        Royal National Lifeboat Institution

        The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. It is one of several lifeboat services operating in the same area.

      2. Group of islands in north-western Europe

        British Isles

        The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, and over six thousand smaller islands. They have a total area of 315,159 km2 (121,684 sq mi) and a combined population of almost 72 million, and include two sovereign states, the Republic of Ireland, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The Channel Islands, off the north coast of France, are sometimes taken to be part of the British Isles, even though they do not form part of the archipelago.

      3. William Hillary

        Sir William Hillary, 1st Baronet was a British militia officer, author and philanthropist, best known as the founder, in 1824, of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution..

  46. 1814

    1. War of 1812: An American raiding party defeated an attempt by British regulars, volunteers from the Canadian militia and Native Americans to intercept them near present-day Wardville, Ontario.

      1. Conflict between the United States and the British Empire from 1812 to 1815

        War of 1812

        The War of 1812 was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It began when the United States declared war on 18 June 1812 and, although peace terms were agreed upon in the December 1814 Treaty of Ghent, did not officially end until the peace treaty was ratified by Congress on 17 February 1815.

      2. War of 1812 battle

        Battle of Longwoods

        The Battle of Longwoods took place during the Anglo-American War of 1812. On 4 March 1814, a mounted American raiding party defeated an attempt by British regulars, volunteers from the Canadian militia and Native Americans to intercept them near Wardsville, in present-day Southwest Middlesex, Ontario.

      3. Municipality in Ontario, Canada

        Southwest Middlesex, Ontario

        Southwest Middlesex is a municipality in Middlesex County, Ontario, Canada.

    2. Americans defeat British forces at the Battle of Longwoods between London, Ontario and Thamesville, near present-day Wardsville, Ontario.

      1. War of 1812 battle

        Battle of Longwoods

        The Battle of Longwoods took place during the Anglo-American War of 1812. On 4 March 1814, a mounted American raiding party defeated an attempt by British regulars, volunteers from the Canadian militia and Native Americans to intercept them near Wardsville, in present-day Southwest Middlesex, Ontario.

      2. City in Ontario, Canada

        London, Ontario

        London is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximately 200 km (120 mi) from both Toronto and Detroit; and about 230 km (140 mi) from Buffalo, New York. The city of London is politically separate from Middlesex County, though it remains the county seat.

      3. Municipality in Ontario, Canada

        Southwest Middlesex, Ontario

        Southwest Middlesex is a municipality in Middlesex County, Ontario, Canada.

  47. 1813

    1. Cyril VI of Constantinople is elected Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.

      1. Encumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 1813 to 1818

        Cyril VI of Constantinople

        Cyril VI, lay name Konstantinos Serpetzoglou was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople between the years 1813 and 1818.

      2. First among equals of leaders in the Eastern Orthodox Church

        Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople

        The ecumenical patriarch is the archbishop of Constantinople (Istanbul), New Rome and primus inter pares among the heads of the several autocephalous churches which compose the Eastern Orthodox Church. The ecumenical patriarch is regarded as the representative and spiritual leader of many Orthodox Christians worldwide. The term ecumenical in the title is a historical reference to the Ecumene, a Greek designation for the civilised world, i.e. the Roman Empire, and it stems from Canon 28 of the Council of Chalcedon.

  48. 1804

    1. Irish convicts formerly involved at the Battle of Vinegar Hill during the Irish Rebellion of 1798 began an uprising against British colonial authorities in New South Wales, Australia.

      1. Transportation of convicts to Australia

        Convicts in Australia

        Between 1788 and 1868, about 162,000 convicts were transported from Britain and Ireland to various penal colonies in Australia.

      2. 1798 battle of the Irish Rebellion of 1798

        Battle of Vinegar Hill

        The Battle of Vinegar Hill was a military engagement during the Irish Rebellion of 1798 on 21 June 1798 between a force of approximately 13,000 government troops under the command of Gerard Lake and 16,000 United Irishmen rebels led by Anthony Perry. The battle, a major rebel defeat, took place on 21 June 1798 on a large rebel camp on Vinegar Hill and in the streets of Enniscorthy, County Wexford, and marked the last major attempt by the rebels to resist government forces in a pitched battle.

      3. Rebellion during the French Revolutionary Wars

        Irish Rebellion of 1798

        The Irish Rebellion of 1798 was a major uprising against British rule in Ireland. The main organising force was the Society of United Irishmen, a republican revolutionary group influenced by the ideas of the American and French revolutions: originally formed by Presbyterian radicals angry at being shut out of power by the Anglican establishment, they were joined by many from the majority Catholic population.

      4. 1804 rebellion against the British colonial government of New South Wales

        Castle Hill convict rebellion

        The Castle Hill Rebellion was an 1804 convict rebellion in the Castle Hill area of Sydney, against the colonial authorities of the British colony of New South Wales. The rebellion culminated in a battle fought between convicts and the colonial forces of Australia, on 5 March 1804 at Rouse Hill. It was dubbed Australia’s Vinegar Hill after the previous Battle of Vinegar Hill, which had taken place during the Irish Rebellion of 1798. The incident was the first major convict uprising in Australian history to be suppressed under martial law.

      5. State of Australia

        New South Wales

        New South Wales is a state on the east coast of Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria to the south, and South Australia to the west. Its coast borders the Coral and Tasman Seas to the east. The Australian Capital Territory and Jervis Bay Territory are enclaves within the state. New South Wales' state capital is Sydney, which is also Australia's most populous city. In December 2021, the population of New South Wales was over 8 million, making it Australia's most populous state. Just under two-thirds of the state's population, 5.3 million, live in the Greater Sydney area.

    2. Castle Hill Rebellion: Irish convicts rebel against British colonial authority in the Colony of New South Wales.

      1. 1804 rebellion against the British colonial government of New South Wales

        Castle Hill convict rebellion

        The Castle Hill Rebellion was an 1804 convict rebellion in the Castle Hill area of Sydney, against the colonial authorities of the British colony of New South Wales. The rebellion culminated in a battle fought between convicts and the colonial forces of Australia, on 5 March 1804 at Rouse Hill. It was dubbed Australia’s Vinegar Hill after the previous Battle of Vinegar Hill, which had taken place during the Irish Rebellion of 1798. The incident was the first major convict uprising in Australian history to be suppressed under martial law.

      2. State of Australia

        New South Wales

        New South Wales is a state on the east coast of Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria to the south, and South Australia to the west. Its coast borders the Coral and Tasman Seas to the east. The Australian Capital Territory and Jervis Bay Territory are enclaves within the state. New South Wales' state capital is Sydney, which is also Australia's most populous city. In December 2021, the population of New South Wales was over 8 million, making it Australia's most populous state. Just under two-thirds of the state's population, 5.3 million, live in the Greater Sydney area.

  49. 1797

    1. John Adams is inaugurated as the 2nd President of the United States of America, becoming the first President to begin his presidency on March 4.

      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. 3rd United States presidential inauguration

        Inauguration of John Adams

        The inauguration of John Adams as the second president of the United States was held on Saturday, March 4, 1797, in the House of Representatives Chamber of Congress Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The inauguration marked the commencement of the only four-year term of John Adams as president and of Thomas Jefferson as vice president. The presidential oath of office was administered to John Adams by Chief Justice Oliver Ellsworth. Adams was the first president to receive the oath of office from a Chief Justice of the United States, and the first head of state to peacefully and legally succeed to office from a living predecessor since Louis I of Spain in 1724.

      3. 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.

  50. 1794

    1. The 11th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is passed by the U.S. Congress.

      1. 1795 amendment restricting ability to sue states in federal courts

        Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution

        The Eleventh Amendment is an amendment to the United States Constitution which was passed by Congress on March 4, 1794, and ratified by the states on February 7, 1795. The Eleventh Amendment restricts the ability of individuals to bring suit against states in federal court.

      2. Branch of the United States federal government

        United States Congress

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

  51. 1791

    1. The Constitutional Act of 1791 is introduced by the British House of Commons in London which envisages the separation of Canada into Lower Canada (Quebec) and Upper Canada (Ontario).

      1. United Kingdom legislation

        Constitutional Act 1791

        The Clergy Endowments (Canada) Act 1791, commonly known as the Constitutional Act 1791, was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain which passed under George III. The current short title has been in use since 1896.

      2. 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.

      3. 1791–1841 British colony in North America

        Lower Canada

        The Province of Lower Canada was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec and the Labrador region of the current Province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

      4. Province of Canada

        Quebec

        Quebec is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is the largest province by area and the second-largest by population. Much of the population lives in urban areas along the St. Lawrence River, between the most populous city, Montreal, and the provincial capital, Quebec City. Quebec is the home of the Québécois nation. Located in Central Canada, the province shares land borders with Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, New Brunswick to the southeast, and a coastal border with Nunavut; in the south it borders Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York in the United States.

      5. Former British colony in North America

        Upper Canada

        The Province of Upper Canada was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the Province of Quebec since 1763. Upper Canada included all of modern-day Southern Ontario and all those areas of Northern Ontario in the Pays d'en Haut which had formed part of New France, essentially the watersheds of the Ottawa River or Lakes Huron and Superior, excluding any lands within the watershed of Hudson Bay. The "upper" prefix in the name reflects its geographic position along the Great Lakes, mostly above the headwaters of the Saint Lawrence River, contrasted with Lower Canada to the northeast.

      6. Province of Canada

        Ontario

        Ontario is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. Located in Central Canada, it is Canada's most populous province, with 38.3 percent of the country's population, and is the second-largest province by total area. Ontario is Canada's fourth-largest jurisdiction in total area when the territories of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut are included. It is home to the nation's capital city, Ottawa, and the nation's most populous city, Toronto, which is Ontario's provincial capital.

    2. Vermont is admitted to the United States as the fourteenth state.

      1. U.S. state

        Vermont

        Vermont is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the north. Admitted to the union in 1791 as the 14th state, it is the only state in New England not bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. According to the 2020 U.S. census, the state has a population of 643,503, ranking it the second least-populated in the U.S. after Wyoming. It is also the nation's sixth-smallest state in area. The state's capital Montpelier is the least-populous state capital in the U.S., while its most-populous city, Burlington, is the least-populous to be a state's largest.

      2. Process of states joining the United States

        Admission to the Union

        Admission to the Union is provided by the Admissions Clause of the United States Constitution in Article IV, Section 3, Clause 1, which authorizes the United States Congress to admit new states into the Union beyond the thirteen states that already existed when the Constitution came into effect. The Constitution went into effect on June 21, 1788 in the nine states that had ratified it, and the U.S. federal government began operations under it on March 4, 1789, when it was in effect in 11 out of the 13 states. Since then, 37 states have been admitted into the Union. Each new state has been admitted on an equal footing with those already in existence.

      3. 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.

  52. 1790

    1. France is divided into 83 départements, cutting across the former provinces in an attempt to dislodge regional loyalties based on ownership of land by the nobility.

      1. Administrative subdivision in France

        Departments of France

        In the administrative divisions of France, the department is one of the three levels of government under the national level, between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety-six departments are in metropolitan France, and five are overseas departments, which are also classified as overseas regions. Departments are further subdivided into 332 arrondissements, and these are divided into cantons. The last two levels of government have no autonomy; they are the basis of local organisation of police, fire departments and, sometimes, administration of elections.

      2. Subdivisions of the Kingdom of France

        Provinces of France

        The Kingdom of France was organised into provinces until the National Constituent Assembly adopted a more uniform division into departments (départements) and districts in late 1789. The provinces continued to exist administratively until 21 September 1791.

  53. 1789

    1. In New York City, the first Congress of the United States meets, putting the United States Constitution into effect.

      1. 1789-91 meeting of the U.S. Congress, first in New York City and later in Philadelphia

        1st United States Congress

        The 1st United States Congress, comprising the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives, met from March 4, 1789, to March 4, 1791, during the first two years of George Washington's presidency, first at Federal Hall in New York City and later at Congress Hall in Philadelphia. With the initial meeting of the First Congress, the United States federal government officially began operations under the new frame of government established by the 1787 Constitution. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the provisions of Article I, Section 2, Clause 3 of the Constitution. Both chambers had a Pro-Administration majority. Twelve articles of amendment to the Constitution were passed by this Congress and sent to the states for ratification; the ten ratified as additions to the Constitution on December 15, 1791, are collectively known as the Bill of Rights, with an additional amendment ratified more than two centuries later to become the Twenty-seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution.

      2. Branch of the United States federal government

        United States Congress

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

      3. Supreme law of the United States of America

        Constitution of the United States

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

  54. 1776

    1. American Revolutionary War: Using artillery transported from Ticonderoga, the Continental Army occupied Dorchester Heights, forcing the British to abandon Boston two weeks later.

      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. 1775–76 logistical feat during the American Revolutionary War

        Noble train of artillery

        The noble train of artillery, also known as the Knox Expedition, was an expedition led by Continental Army Colonel Henry Knox to transport heavy weaponry that had been captured at Fort Ticonderoga to the Continental Army camps outside Boston during the winter of 1775–76.

      3. Colonial army during the American Revolutionary War

        Continental Army

        The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was established by a resolution of Congress on June 14, 1775. The Continental Army was created to coordinate military efforts of the Colonies in their war for independence against the British, who sought to keep their American lands under control. General George Washington was the commander-in-chief of the army throughout the war.

      4. Military action of the American Revolutionary War

        Fortification of Dorchester Heights

        The Fortification of Dorchester Heights was a decisive action early in the American Revolutionary War that precipitated the end of the siege of Boston and the withdrawal of British troops from that city.

      5. Capital and largest city of Massachusetts, United States

        Boston

        Boston, officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th-most populous city in the country. The city boundaries encompass an area of about 48.4 sq mi (125 km2) and a population of 675,647 as of 2020. It is the seat of Suffolk County. The city is the economic and cultural anchor of a substantially larger metropolitan area known as Greater Boston, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) home to a census-estimated 4.8 million people in 2016 and ranking as the tenth-largest MSA in the country. A broader combined statistical area (CSA), generally corresponding to the commuting area and including Providence, Rhode Island, is home to approximately 8.2 million people, making it the sixth most populous in the United States.

    2. American Revolutionary War: The Continental Army fortifies Dorchester Heights with cannon, leading the British troops to abandon the Siege of Boston.

      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. Colonial army during the American Revolutionary War

        Continental Army

        The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was established by a resolution of Congress on June 14, 1775. The Continental Army was created to coordinate military efforts of the Colonies in their war for independence against the British, who sought to keep their American lands under control. General George Washington was the commander-in-chief of the army throughout the war.

      3. Military action of the American Revolutionary War

        Fortification of Dorchester Heights

        The Fortification of Dorchester Heights was a decisive action early in the American Revolutionary War that precipitated the end of the siege of Boston and the withdrawal of British troops from that city.

      4. United States historic place

        Dorchester Heights

        Dorchester Heights is the central area of South Boston. It is the highest area in the neighborhood and commands a view of both Boston Harbor and downtown.

      5. Large-caliber gun

        Cannon

        A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during the late 19th century. Cannons vary in gauge, effective range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees, depending on their intended use on the battlefield. A cannon is a type of heavy artillery weapon.

      6. Constitutional monarchy in Western Europe (1707–1800)

        Kingdom of Great Britain

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

      7. 1775-76 Continental Army siege of British-held Boston during the American Revolutionary War

        Siege of Boston

        The siege of Boston was the opening phase of the American Revolutionary War. New England militiamen prevented the movement by land of the British Army, which was garrisoned in what was then the peninsular town of Boston, Massachusetts Bay. Both sides had to deal with resource, supply, and personnel issues over the course of the siege. British resupply and reinforcement was limited to sea access, which was impeded by American vessels. The British abandoned Boston after eleven months and transferred their troops and equipment to Nova Scotia.

  55. 1769

    1. Mozart departed Italy after the last of his three tours there.

      1. Classical-era composer (1756–1791)

        Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

        Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition resulted in more than 800 works of virtually every genre of his time. Many of these compositions are acknowledged as pinnacles of the symphonic, concertante, chamber, operatic, and choral repertoire. Mozart is widely regarded as among the greatest composers in the history of Western music, with his music admired for its "melodic beauty, its formal elegance and its richness of harmony and texture".

      2. Overview of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's three journeys to Italy

        Mozart in Italy

        Between 1769 and 1773, the young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his father Leopold Mozart made three Italian journeys. The first, an extended tour of 15 months, was financed by performances for the nobility and by public concerts, and took in the most important Italian cities. The second and third journeys were to Milan, for Wolfgang to complete operas that had been commissioned there on the first visit. From the perspective of Wolfgang's musical development the journeys were a considerable success, and his talents were recognised by honours which included a papal knighthood and memberships in leading philharmonic societies.

    2. Mozart departed Italy after the last of his three tours there.

      1. Classical-era composer (1756–1791)

        Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

        Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition resulted in more than 800 works of virtually every genre of his time. Many of these compositions are acknowledged as pinnacles of the symphonic, concertante, chamber, operatic, and choral repertoire. Mozart is widely regarded as among the greatest composers in the history of Western music, with his music admired for its "melodic beauty, its formal elegance and its richness of harmony and texture".

      2. Overview of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's three journeys to Italy

        Mozart in Italy

        Between 1769 and 1773, the young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his father Leopold Mozart made three Italian journeys. The first, an extended tour of 15 months, was financed by performances for the nobility and by public concerts, and took in the most important Italian cities. The second and third journeys were to Milan, for Wolfgang to complete operas that had been commissioned there on the first visit. From the perspective of Wolfgang's musical development the journeys were a considerable success, and his talents were recognised by honours which included a papal knighthood and memberships in leading philharmonic societies.

  56. 1681

    1. King Charles II of England granted Quaker William Penn a charter for the Pennsylvania Colony.

      1. British monarch from 1660 to 1685

        Charles II of England

        Charles II was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651, and King of England, Scotland and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685.

      2. Family of Christian religious movements

        Quakers

        Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements are generally united by a belief in each human's ability to experience the light within or see "that of God in every one". Some profess a priesthood of all believers inspired by the First Epistle of Peter. They include those with evangelical, holiness, liberal, and traditional Quaker understandings of Christianity. There are also Nontheist Quakers, whose spiritual practice does not rely on the existence of God. To differing extents, the Friends avoid creeds and hierarchical structures. In 2017, there were approximately 377,557 adult Quakers, 49% of them in Africa.

      3. 17th-century British colonizer in North America who founded the Province of Pennsylvania

        William Penn

        William Penn was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy and religious freedom, notable for his good relations and successful treaties with the Lenape Native Americans.

      4. British colony in North America (1681–1776)

        Province of Pennsylvania

        The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was a British North American colony founded by William Penn after receiving a land grant from Charles II of England in 1681. The name Pennsylvania refers to William's father, Admiral Sir William Penn.

    2. Charles II grants a land charter to William Penn for the area that will later become Pennsylvania.

      1. 17th-century British colonizer in North America who founded the Province of Pennsylvania

        William Penn

        William Penn was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy and religious freedom, notable for his good relations and successful treaties with the Lenape Native Americans.

      2. U.S. state

        Pennsylvania

        Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to the southeast, Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, Lake Erie and the Canadian province of Ontario to the northwest, New York to the north, and the Delaware River and New Jersey to the east.

  57. 1675

    1. John Flamsteed (pictured) was appointed the first Astronomer Royal by King Charles II of England.

      1. English astronomer (1646–1719)

        John Flamsteed

        John Flamsteed was an English astronomer and the first Astronomer Royal. His main achievements were the preparation of a 3,000-star catalogue, Catalogus Britannicus, and a star atlas called Atlas Coelestis, both published posthumously. He also made the first recorded observations of Uranus, although he mistakenly catalogued it as a star, and he laid the foundation stone for the Royal Greenwich Observatory.

      2. Position in the Royal Households of the United Kingdom

        Astronomer Royal

        Astronomer Royal is a senior post in the Royal Households of the United Kingdom. There are two officers, the senior being the Astronomer Royal dating from 22 June 1675; the junior is the Astronomer Royal for Scotland dating from 1834.

      3. British monarch from 1660 to 1685

        Charles II of England

        Charles II was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651, and King of England, Scotland and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685.

    2. John Flamsteed is appointed the first Astronomer Royal of England.

      1. English astronomer (1646–1719)

        John Flamsteed

        John Flamsteed was an English astronomer and the first Astronomer Royal. His main achievements were the preparation of a 3,000-star catalogue, Catalogus Britannicus, and a star atlas called Atlas Coelestis, both published posthumously. He also made the first recorded observations of Uranus, although he mistakenly catalogued it as a star, and he laid the foundation stone for the Royal Greenwich Observatory.

      2. Position in the Royal Households of the United Kingdom

        Astronomer Royal

        Astronomer Royal is a senior post in the Royal Households of the United Kingdom. There are two officers, the senior being the Astronomer Royal dating from 22 June 1675; the junior is the Astronomer Royal for Scotland dating from 1834.

  58. 1665

    1. English King Charles II declares war on the Netherlands marking the start of the Second Anglo-Dutch War.

      1. British monarch from 1660 to 1685

        Charles II of England

        Charles II was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651, and King of England, Scotland and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685.

      2. Naval conflict from 1665 to 1667

        Second Anglo-Dutch War

        The Second Anglo-Dutch War or the Second Dutch War was a conflict between England and the Dutch Republic partly for control over the seas and trade routes, where England tried to end the Dutch domination of world trade during a period of intense European commercial rivalry, but also as a result of political tensions. After initial English successes, the war ended in a Dutch victory. It was the second of a series of naval wars fought between the English and the Dutch in the 17th and 18th centuries.

  59. 1628

    1. The Massachusetts Bay Colony is granted a Royal charter.

      1. 1630–1691 English colony in North America

        Massachusetts Bay Colony

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

      2. Document issued by a monarch, granting a right or power to an individual or organisation

        Royal charter

        A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta of 1215, but since the 14th century have only been used in place of private acts to grant a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organisations such as boroughs, universities and learned societies.

  60. 1519

    1. Hernán Cortés arrives in Mexico in search of the Aztec civilization and its wealth.

      1. Spanish conquistador

        Hernán Cortés

        Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquess of the Valley of Oaxaca was a Spanish conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of what is now mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile in the early 16th century. Cortés was part of the generation of Spanish explorers and conquistadors who began the first phase of the Spanish colonization of the Americas.

      2. Ethnic group of central Mexico and its civilization

        Aztecs

        The Aztecs were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica from the 14th to the 16th centuries. Aztec culture was organized into city-states (altepetl), some of which joined to form alliances, political confederations, or empires. The Aztec Empire was a confederation of three city-states established in 1427: Tenochtitlan, city-state of the Mexica or Tenochca; Texcoco; and Tlacopan, previously part of the Tepanec empire, whose dominant power was Azcapotzalco. Although the term Aztecs is often narrowly restricted to the Mexica of Tenochtitlan, it is also broadly used to refer to Nahua polities or peoples of central Mexico in the prehispanic era, as well as the Spanish colonial era (1521–1821). The definitions of Aztec and Aztecs have long been the topic of scholarly discussion ever since German scientist Alexander von Humboldt established its common usage in the early 19th century.

  61. 1493

    1. Explorer Christopher Columbus arrives back in Lisbon, Portugal, aboard his ship Niña from his voyage to what are now The Bahamas and other islands in the Caribbean.

      1. Italian explorer, navigator, and colonizer (1451–1506)

        Christopher Columbus

        Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer and navigator who completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean sponsored by the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, opening the way for the widespread European exploration and colonization of the Americas. His expeditions were the first known European contact with the Caribbean, Central America, and South America.

      2. Governmental Capital and largest city of Portugal

        Lisbon

        Lisbon is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits with a population of around 2.7 million people, being the 11th-most populous urban area in the European Union. About 3 million people live in the Lisbon metropolitan area, making it the third largest metropolitan area in the Iberian Peninsula, after Madrid and Barcelona. It represents approximately 27% of the country's population. It is mainland Europe's westernmost capital city and the only one along the Atlantic coast. Lisbon lies in the western Iberian Peninsula on the Atlantic Ocean and the River Tagus. The westernmost portions of its metro area, the Portuguese Riviera, form the westernmost point of Continental Europe, culminating at Cabo da Roca.

      3. One of the ships in Columbus' voyage to the West Indies

        Niña

        La Niña was one of the three Spanish ships used by Italian explorer Christopher Columbus in his first voyage to the West Indies in 1492. As was tradition for Spanish ships of the day, she bore a female saint's name, Santa Clara. However, she was commonly referred to by her nickname, La Niña, which was probably a pun on the name of her owner, Juan Niño of Moguer. She was a standard caravel-type vessel.

      4. 1492–1504 voyages to the Americas

        Voyages of Christopher Columbus

        Between 1492 and 1504, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus led four Spanish transatlantic maritime expeditions of discovery to the Americas. These voyages led to the widespread knowledge of the New World. This breakthrough inaugurated the period known as the Age of Discovery, which saw the colonization of the Americas, a related biological exchange, and trans-Atlantic trade. These events, the effects and consequences of which persist to the present, are often cited as the beginning of the modern era.

      5. Country in North America

        The Bahamas

        The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is a country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the archipelago's population. The archipelagic state consists of more than 3,000 islands, cays, and islets in the Atlantic Ocean, and is located north of Cuba and northwest of the island of Hispaniola and the Turks and Caicos Islands, southeast of the US state of Florida, and east of the Florida Keys. The capital is Nassau on the island of New Providence. The Royal Bahamas Defence Force describes The Bahamas' territory as encompassing 470,000 km2 (180,000 sq mi) of ocean space.

      6. Region to the east of Central America

        Caribbean

        The Caribbean is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands and the surrounding coasts. The region is southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and the North American mainland, east of Central America, and north of South America.

  62. 1461

    1. Wars of the Roses: Henry VI, the Lancastrian king of England, was deposed by his Yorkist cousin, who succeeded him as Edward IV.

      1. Dynastic civil war in England from 1455 to 1487

        Wars of the Roses

        The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century, fought between supporters of two rival cadet branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: Lancaster and York. The wars extinguished the male lines of the two dynasties, leading to the Tudor family inheriting the Lancastrian claim. Following the war, the Houses of Lancaster and York were united, creating a new royal dynasty, thereby resolving the rival claims. The conflict lasted for over thirty years, with various periods of greater and lesser levels of violent conflict during that period, between various rival contenders for the monarchy of England.

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

        Henry VI of England

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

      3. Cadet branch of the House of Plantagenet

        House of Lancaster

        The House of Lancaster was a cadet branch of the royal House of Plantagenet. The first house was created when King Henry III of England created the Earldom of Lancaster—from which the house was named—for his second son Edmund Crouchback in 1267. Edmund had already been created Earl of Leicester in 1265 and was granted the lands and privileges of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, after de Montfort's death and attainder at the end of the Second Barons' War. When Edmund's son Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster, inherited his father-in-law's estates and title of Earl of Lincoln he became at a stroke the most powerful nobleman in England, with lands throughout the kingdom and the ability to raise vast private armies to wield power at national and local levels. This brought him—and Henry, his younger brother—into conflict with their cousin King Edward II, leading to Thomas's execution. Henry inherited Thomas's titles and he and his son, who was also called Henry, gave loyal service to Edward's son King Edward III.

      4. Cadet branch of the House of Plantagenet

        House of York

        The House of York was a cadet branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet. Three of its members became kings of England in the late 15th century. The House of York descended in the male line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, the fourth surviving son of Edward III. In time, it also represented Edward III's senior line, when an heir of York married the heiress-descendant of Lionel, Duke of Clarence, Edward III's second surviving son. It is based on these descents that they claimed the English crown. Compared with its rival, the House of Lancaster, it had a superior claim to the throne of England according to cognatic primogeniture, but an inferior claim according to agnatic primogeniture. The reign of this dynasty ended with the death of Richard III of England at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. It became extinct in the male line with the death of Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick, in 1499.

      5. King from 1461 to 1470 and 1471 to 1483

        Edward IV of England

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

    2. Wars of the Roses in England: Lancastrian King Henry VI is deposed by his House of York cousin, who then becomes King Edward IV.

      1. Dynastic civil war in England from 1455 to 1487

        Wars of the Roses

        The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century, fought between supporters of two rival cadet branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: Lancaster and York. The wars extinguished the male lines of the two dynasties, leading to the Tudor family inheriting the Lancastrian claim. Following the war, the Houses of Lancaster and York were united, creating a new royal dynasty, thereby resolving the rival claims. The conflict lasted for over thirty years, with various periods of greater and lesser levels of violent conflict during that period, between various rival contenders for the monarchy of England.

      2. Cadet branch of the House of Plantagenet

        House of Lancaster

        The House of Lancaster was a cadet branch of the royal House of Plantagenet. The first house was created when King Henry III of England created the Earldom of Lancaster—from which the house was named—for his second son Edmund Crouchback in 1267. Edmund had already been created Earl of Leicester in 1265 and was granted the lands and privileges of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, after de Montfort's death and attainder at the end of the Second Barons' War. When Edmund's son Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster, inherited his father-in-law's estates and title of Earl of Lincoln he became at a stroke the most powerful nobleman in England, with lands throughout the kingdom and the ability to raise vast private armies to wield power at national and local levels. This brought him—and Henry, his younger brother—into conflict with their cousin King Edward II, leading to Thomas's execution. Henry inherited Thomas's titles and he and his son, who was also called Henry, gave loyal service to Edward's son King Edward III.

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

        Henry VI of England

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

      4. Cadet branch of the House of Plantagenet

        House of York

        The House of York was a cadet branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet. Three of its members became kings of England in the late 15th century. The House of York descended in the male line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, the fourth surviving son of Edward III. In time, it also represented Edward III's senior line, when an heir of York married the heiress-descendant of Lionel, Duke of Clarence, Edward III's second surviving son. It is based on these descents that they claimed the English crown. Compared with its rival, the House of Lancaster, it had a superior claim to the throne of England according to cognatic primogeniture, but an inferior claim according to agnatic primogeniture. The reign of this dynasty ended with the death of Richard III of England at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. It became extinct in the male line with the death of Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick, in 1499.

      5. King from 1461 to 1470 and 1471 to 1483

        Edward IV of England

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

  63. 1386

    1. Jogaila, Grand Duke of Lithuania, was crowned King of Poland as Władysław II Jagiełło, beginning the Jagiellonian dynasty.

      1. European state from the 12th century until 1795

        Grand Duchy of Lithuania

        The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Lithuanians, who were at the time a polytheistic nation born from several united Baltic tribes from Aukštaitija.

      2. List of Polish monarchs

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

      3. Grand Duke of Lithuania (1377–1434); King of Poland (1386–1434)

        Władysław II Jagiełło

        Jogaila, later Władysław II Jagiełło was Grand Duke of Lithuania (1377–1434) and then King of Poland (1386–1434), first alongside his wife Jadwiga until 1399, and then sole ruler of Poland. Born a pagan, he converted to Catholicism in 1386 and was baptized as Władysław in Kraków, married the young Queen Jadwiga, and was crowned King of Poland as Władysław II Jagiełło. In 1387, he converted Lithuania to Catholicism. His own reign in Poland started in 1399, upon the death of Queen Jadwiga, lasted a further thirty-five years, and laid the foundation for the centuries-long Polish–Lithuanian union. He was a member of the Jagiellonian dynasty in Poland that bears his name and was previously also known as the Gediminid dynasty in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The dynasty ruled both states until 1572, and became one of the most influential dynasties in late medieval and early modern Europe. During his reign, the Polish-Lithuanian state was the largest state in the Christian world.

      4. Lithuanian dynasty that ruled Lithuania, Poland, Hungary, and Bohemia

        Jagiellonian dynasty

        The Jagiellonian dynasty, otherwise the Jagiellon dynasty, the House of Jagiellon, or simply the Jagiellons, was the name assumed by a cadet branch of the Lithuanian ducal dynasty of Gediminids upon reception by Jogaila, the Grand Duke of Lithuania, of baptism as Władysław in 1386, which paved the way to his ensuing marriage to the Queen Regnant Jadwiga of Poland, resulting in his ascension to the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland as Władysław II Jagiełło, and the effective promotion of his branch to a royal dynasty. The Jagiellons reigned in several Central European countries between the 14th and 16th centuries. Members of the dynasty were Kings of Poland (1386–1572), Grand Dukes of Lithuania, Kings of Hungary, and Kings of Bohemia and imperial electors (1471–1526).

    2. Władysław II Jagiełło (Jogaila) is crowned King of Poland.

      1. Grand Duke of Lithuania (1377–1434); King of Poland (1386–1434)

        Władysław II Jagiełło

        Jogaila, later Władysław II Jagiełło was Grand Duke of Lithuania (1377–1434) and then King of Poland (1386–1434), first alongside his wife Jadwiga until 1399, and then sole ruler of Poland. Born a pagan, he converted to Catholicism in 1386 and was baptized as Władysław in Kraków, married the young Queen Jadwiga, and was crowned King of Poland as Władysław II Jagiełło. In 1387, he converted Lithuania to Catholicism. His own reign in Poland started in 1399, upon the death of Queen Jadwiga, lasted a further thirty-five years, and laid the foundation for the centuries-long Polish–Lithuanian union. He was a member of the Jagiellonian dynasty in Poland that bears his name and was previously also known as the Gediminid dynasty in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The dynasty ruled both states until 1572, and became one of the most influential dynasties in late medieval and early modern Europe. During his reign, the Polish-Lithuanian state was the largest state in the Christian world.

      2. List of Polish monarchs

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

  64. 1351

    1. Ramathibodi becomes King of Siam.

      1. Monarch of the Ayutthaya Kingdom (present-day Thailand) from 1350-69

        Uthong

        King U-thong or King Ramathibodi I was the first king of the kingdom Ayutthaya, reigning from 1351 to 1369. He was known as Prince U Thong before he ascended to the throne in 1350. There are many theories about Uthong's background, including possibly being a descendant of Mangrai.

      2. Hereditary head of state of Thailand

        Monarchy of Thailand

        The monarchy of Thailand refers to the constitutional monarchy and monarch of the Kingdom of Thailand. The King of Thailand is the head of state and head of the ruling Royal House of Chakri.

  65. 1238

    1. The Battle of the Sit River is fought in the northern part of the present-day Yaroslavl Oblast of Russia between the Mongol hordes of Batu Khan and the Russians under Yuri II of Vladimir-Suzdal during the Mongol invasion of Rus'.

      1. Battle between the invading Mongol Empire and the defending Principality of Vladimir-Suzdal

        Battle of the Sit River

        The Battle of the Sit River was fought in the northern part of the present-day Sonkovsky District of Tver Oblast of Russia, close to the selo of Bozhonka, on March 4, 1238 between the Mongol Hordes of Batu Khan and the Rus' under Grand Prince Yuri II of Vladimir-Suzdal during the Mongol invasion of Rus.

      2. First-level administrative division of Russia

        Yaroslavl Oblast

        Yaroslavl Oblast is a federal subject of Russia, which is located in the Central Federal District, surrounded by Tver, Moscow, Ivanovo, Vladimir, Kostroma, and Vologda oblasts.

      3. Type of organization

        Orda (organization)

        An orda or horde was a historical sociopolitical and military structure found on the Eurasian Steppe, usually associated with the Turkic and Mongol peoples. This form of entity can be seen as the regional equivalent of a clan or a tribe. Some successful ordas gave rise to khanates.

      4. Founder and first khan of the Golden Horde (r. 1227–1255)

        Batu Khan

        Batu Khan, was a Mongol ruler and founder of the Golden Horde, a constituent of the Mongol Empire. Batu was a son of Jochi, thus a grandson of Genghis Khan. His ulus ruled over the Kievan Rus', Volga Bulgaria, Cumania, and the Caucasus for around 250 years.

      5. Grand Prince of Vladimir

        Yuri II of Vladimir

        Yuri II, also known as George II of Vladimir or Georgy II Vsevolodovich, was the fourth Grand Prince of Vladimir who presided over Vladimir-Suzdal at the time of the Mongol invasion of Rus'.

      6. Former East Slavic monarchy

        Vladimir-Suzdal

        Vladimir-Suzdal, also Vladimir-Suzdalian Rus', formally known as the Grand Duchy of Vladimir (1157–1331), was one of the major principalities that succeeded Kievan Rus' in the late 12th century, centered in Vladimir-on-Klyazma. With time the principality grew into a grand duchy divided into several smaller principalities. After being conquered by the Mongol Empire, the principality became a self-governed state headed by its own nobility. A governorship of principality, however, was prescribed by a jarlig issued from the Golden Horde to a Rurikid sovereign.

      7. 1237–42 campaign of the Mongol Empire's invasion of Europe

        Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus'

        The Mongol Empire invaded and conquered Kievan Rus' in the 13th century, destroying numerous southern cities, including the largest cities, Kiev and Chernihiv, with the only major cities escaping destruction being Novgorod and Pskov, located in the north.

  66. 1152

    1. Frederick I Barbarossa is elected King of Germany.

      1. Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 to 1190

        Frederick Barbarossa

        Frederick Barbarossa, also known as Frederick I, was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March 1152. He was crowned King of Italy on 24 April 1155 in Pavia and emperor by Pope Adrian IV on 18 June 1155 in Rome. Two years later, the term sacrum ("holy") first appeared in a document in connection with his empire. He was later formally crowned King of Burgundy, at Arles on 30 June 1178. He was named Barbarossa by the northern Italian cities which he attempted to rule: Barbarossa means "red beard" in Italian; in German, he was known as Kaiser Rotbart, which means "Emperor Redbeard" in English. The prevalence of the Italian nickname, even in later German usage, reflects the centrality of the Italian campaigns to his career.

      2. King of Germany

  67. 938

    1. Translation of the relics of martyr Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia, Prince of the Czechs.

      1. Object of religious significance from the past

        Relic

        In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangible memorial. Relics are an important aspect of some forms of Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, shamanism, and many other religions. Relic derives from the Latin reliquiae, meaning "remains", and a form of the Latin verb relinquere, to "leave behind, or abandon". A reliquary is a shrine that houses one or more religious relics.

      2. Person who suffers persecution

        Martyr

        A martyr is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In the martyrdom narrative of the remembering community, this refusal to comply with the presented demands results in the punishment or execution of an actor by an alleged oppressor. Accordingly, the status of the 'martyr' can be considered a posthumous title as a reward for those who are considered worthy of the concept of martyrdom by the living, regardless of any attempts by the deceased to control how they will be remembered in advance. Insofar, the martyr is a relational figure of a society's boundary work that is produced by collective memory. Originally applied only to those who suffered for their religious beliefs, the term has come to be used in connection with people killed for a political cause.

      3. Duke of Bohemia from 921 until his assassination in 935

        Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia

        Wenceslaus I, Wenceslas I or Václav the Good was the Duke (kníže) of Bohemia from 921 until his death, probably in 935. According to the legend, he was assassinated by his younger brother, Boleslaus the Cruel.

      4. European nation and ethnic group native to the Czech Republic

        Czechs

        The Czechs, or the Czech people, are a West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common ancestry, culture, history, and the Czech language.

  68. 856

    1. Trpimir I, founder of the Trpimirović dynasty of Croatia, issued a document that contained the first known usage of the name "Croats".

      1. 9th-century Duke of Croatia

        Trpimir I of Croatia

        Trpimir I was a duke in Croatia from around 845 until his death in 864. He is considered the founder of the Trpimirović dynasty that ruled in Croatia, with interruptions, from around 845 until 1091. Although he was formally vassal of the Frankish Emperor Lothair I, Trpimir used Frankish-Byzantine conflicts to rule on his own.

      2. Croatian medieval dynasty

        Trpimirović dynasty

        Trpimirović dynasty was a native Croatian dynasty that ruled in the Duchy and later the Kingdom of Croatia, with interruptions by the Domagojević dynasty from 845 until 1091. It was named after Trpimir I, the first member and founder. The most prominent rulers of the Trpimirović Dynasty include Tomislav, Petar Krešimir IV and Demetrius Zvonimir. The house gave four dukes, thirteen kings and a queen.

      3. South Slavic ethnic group

        Croats

        The Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia.

  69. 852

    1. Croatian Knez Trpimir I issues a statute, a document with the first known written mention of the Croats name in Croatian sources.

      1. Template (table) of early Slavic status

        Knyaz

        Knyaz, kniaz or knez is a historical Slavic title, used both as a royal and noble title in different times of history and different ancient Slavic lands. It is usually translated into English as prince or duke, depending on specific historical context and the potentially known Latin equivalents of the title for each bearer of the name. In Latin sources the title is usually translated as princeps, but the word was originally derived from the common Germanic *kuningaz (king).

      2. 9th-century Duke of Croatia

        Trpimir I of Croatia

        Trpimir I was a duke in Croatia from around 845 until his death in 864. He is considered the founder of the Trpimirović dynasty that ruled in Croatia, with interruptions, from around 845 until 1091. Although he was formally vassal of the Frankish Emperor Lothair I, Trpimir used Frankish-Byzantine conflicts to rule on his own.

      3. Formal written document that creates law

        Statute

        A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by legislative bodies; they are distinguished from case law or precedent, which is decided by courts, and regulations issued by government agencies.

      4. South Slavic ethnic group

        Croats

        The Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia.

  70. 306

    1. Roman Herculian guard Adrian of Nicomedia, who had converted to Christianity after being impressed with the faith of Christians that he had been torturing, was martyred.

      1. Imperial guard units under Roman Emperor Diocletian in the late 3rd century AD

        Jovians and Herculians

        The Jovians and Herculians were the senior palatine imperial guard units under the rule of Roman Emperor Diocletian. They continued in existence thereafter as senior units in the field armies of the Western and Eastern Roman Empires.

      2. 3rd-century martyred guard of the Roman emperor Galerius

        Adrian and Natalia of Nicomedia

        Adrian of Nicomedia or Saint Adrian was a Herculian Guard of the Roman Emperor Galerius Maximian. After becoming a convert to Christianity with his wife Natalia (Ναταλία), Adrian was martyred at Nicomedia in Asia-Minor (Turkey). Hadrian was the chief military saint of Northern Europe for many ages, second only to Saint George, and is much revered in Flanders, Germany and the north of France.

      3. Abrahamic monotheistic religion

        Christianity

        Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global population. Its adherents, known as Christians, are estimated to make up a majority of the population in 157 countries and territories and are a minority in all others.

      4. Person who suffers persecution

        Martyr

        A martyr is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In the martyrdom narrative of the remembering community, this refusal to comply with the presented demands results in the punishment or execution of an actor by an alleged oppressor. Accordingly, the status of the 'martyr' can be considered a posthumous title as a reward for those who are considered worthy of the concept of martyrdom by the living, regardless of any attempts by the deceased to control how they will be remembered in advance. Insofar, the martyr is a relational figure of a society's boundary work that is produced by collective memory. Originally applied only to those who suffered for their religious beliefs, the term has come to be used in connection with people killed for a political cause.

    2. Martyrdom of Saint Adrian of Nicomedia.

      1. Person who suffers persecution

        Martyr

        A martyr is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In the martyrdom narrative of the remembering community, this refusal to comply with the presented demands results in the punishment or execution of an actor by an alleged oppressor. Accordingly, the status of the 'martyr' can be considered a posthumous title as a reward for those who are considered worthy of the concept of martyrdom by the living, regardless of any attempts by the deceased to control how they will be remembered in advance. Insofar, the martyr is a relational figure of a society's boundary work that is produced by collective memory. Originally applied only to those who suffered for their religious beliefs, the term has come to be used in connection with people killed for a political cause.

      2. 3rd-century martyred guard of the Roman emperor Galerius

        Adrian and Natalia of Nicomedia

        Adrian of Nicomedia or Saint Adrian was a Herculian Guard of the Roman Emperor Galerius Maximian. After becoming a convert to Christianity with his wife Natalia (Ναταλία), Adrian was martyred at Nicomedia in Asia-Minor (Turkey). Hadrian was the chief military saint of Northern Europe for many ages, second only to Saint George, and is much revered in Flanders, Germany and the north of France.

  71. 51

    1. Nero, later to become Roman emperor, is given the title princeps iuventutis (head of the youth).

      1. Calendar year

        AD 51

        AD 51 (LI) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Caesar and Scipio. The denomination AD 51 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

      2. 5th Roman emperor from AD 54 to 68

        Nero

        Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his death in AD 68. He was adopted by the Roman emperor Claudius at the age of 13 and succeeded him on the throne. Nero was popular with the members of his Praetorian Guard and lower-class commoners in Rome and its provinces, but he was deeply resented by the Roman aristocracy. Most contemporary sources describe him as tyrannical, self-indulgent, and debauched. After being declared a public enemy by the Roman Senate, he committed suicide at age 30.

      3. Ruler of the Roman Empire during the imperial period

        Roman emperor

        The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman Empire during the imperial period. The emperors used a variety of different titles throughout history. Often when a given Roman is described as becoming "emperor" in English it reflects his taking of the title augustus. Another title often used was caesar, used for heirs-apparent, and imperator, originally a military honorific. Early emperors also used the title princeps civitatis. Emperors frequently amassed republican titles, notably princeps senatus, consul, and pontifex maximus.

      4. Ancient Roman title

        Princeps

        Princeps is a Latin word meaning "first in time or order; the first, foremost, chief, the most eminent, distinguished, or noble; the first man, first person". As a title, princeps originated in the Roman Republic wherein the leading member of the Senate was designated princeps senatus. It is primarily associated with the Roman emperors as an unofficial title first adopted by Augustus in 23 BC. Its use in this context continued until the regime of Diocletian at the end of the third century. He preferred the title of dominus, meaning "lord" or "master". As a result, the Roman Empire from Augustus to Diocletian is termed the "principate" (principatus) and from Diocletian onwards as the "dominate" (dominatus). Other historians define the reign of Augustus to Severus Alexander as the Principate, and the period afterwards as the "Autocracy".

Births & Deaths

  1. 2022

    1. Rod Marsh, Australian cricketer and coach (b. 1947) deaths

      1. Australian cricketer (1947–2022)

        Rod Marsh

        Rodney William Marsh was an Australian professional cricketer who played as a wicketkeeper for the Australian national team.

    2. Shane Warne, Australian cricketer, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1969) deaths

      1. Australian cricketer (1969–2022)

        Shane Warne

        Shane Keith Warne was an Australian international cricketer, whose career ran from 1991 to 2007. Warne played as a right-arm leg spin bowler and a right-handed batsman for Victoria, Hampshire and Australia. He is regarded as one of the sport's greatest bowlers; he made 145 Test appearances, taking 708 wickets, and set the record for the most wickets taken by any bowler in Test cricket, a record he held until 2007.

  2. 2020

    1. Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, Peruvian politician and diplomat (b. 1920) deaths

      1. Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1982 to 1991

        Javier Pérez de Cuéllar

        Javier Felipe Ricardo Pérez de Cuéllar de la Guerra was a Peruvian diplomat and politician who served as the fifth Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1982 to 1991. He later served as Prime Minister of Peru from 2000 to 2001.

  3. 2019

    1. Keith Flint, English singer (The Prodigy) (b. 1969) deaths

      1. English dancer and vocalist (1969–2019)

        Keith Flint

        Keith Charles Flint was an English singer and member as well as one of the vocalists of the electronic dance act The Prodigy. Starting out as a dancer, he became the vocalist of the group and performed on the group's two UK number-one singles, "Firestarter" and "Breathe", both released in 1996. He was also the lead singer of his own band, Flint.

      2. English electronic dance music group

        The Prodigy

        The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboard player and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured dancer and singer Keith Flint and dancer and occasional live keyboard player Leeroy Thornhill, dancer Sharky and MC and vocalist Maxim. They were pioneers of the breakbeat-influenced genre big beat, and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s. Howlett's rock-inspired drum rhythms infused with electronic rave music beats/breaks were combined with Maxim's omnipresent mystique, Thornhill's shuffle dancing style, and Flint's later modern punk appearance. The Prodigy describe their style as electronic punk.

    2. Luke Perry, American actor (b. 1966) deaths

      1. American actor (1966–2019)

        Luke Perry

        Coy Luther "Luke" Perry III was an American actor. He became a teen idol for playing Dylan McKay on the Fox television series Beverly Hills, 90210 from 1990 to 1995, and again from 1998 to 2000. He also starred as Fred Andrews on the CW series Riverdale. He had guest roles on notable shows such as Criminal Minds, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, The Simpsons, and Will & Grace, and also starred in several films, including Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992), 8 Seconds (1994), The Fifth Element (1997), and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019), his final feature performance.

  4. 2018

    1. Davide Astori, Italian soccer player (b. 1987) deaths

      1. Italian footballer (1987–2018)

        Davide Astori

        Davide Astori was an Italian professional footballer who played as a central defender.

  5. 2017

    1. Clayton Yeutter, American politician (b. 1930) deaths

      1. American politician

        Clayton Yeutter

        Clayton Keith Yeutter, ONZM was an American politician who served as United States Secretary of Agriculture under President George H. W. Bush from 1989 to 1991 before serving as Counselor to the President in 1992. He served as United States Trade Representative from 1985 to 1989 and as Chairman for the Republican National Committee from 1991 until 1992. Yeutter was employed as a Senior Advisor at the international law firm Hogan Lovells in Washington, D.C.

  6. 2016

    1. Bud Collins, American journalist and sportscaster (b. 1929) deaths

      1. US journalist and sportscaster (1929–2016)

        Bud Collins

        Arthur Worth "Bud" Collins Jr. was an American journalist and television sportscaster, best known for his tennis commentary. Collins was married to photographer Anita Ruthling Klaussen.

    2. Pat Conroy, American author (b. 1945) deaths

      1. American novelist

        Pat Conroy

        Donald Patrick Conroy was an American author who wrote several acclaimed novels and memoirs; his books The Water is Wide, The Lords of Discipline, The Prince of Tides and The Great Santini were made into films, the last two being nominated for Oscars. He is recognized as a leading figure of late-20th-century Southern literature.

    3. P. A. Sangma, Indian lawyer and politician, Speaker of the Lok Sabha (b. 1947) deaths

      1. Former speaker of the Lok Sabha

        P. A. Sangma

        Purno Agitok Sangma was an Indian politician who served as the Chief Minister of Meghalaya from 1988 to 1990 and Speaker of the Lok Sabha from 1996 to 1998. He was the candidate for the 2012 Indian presidential election, supported by BJP and AIADMK, however he lost to Congress politician Shri Pranab Mukherjee. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian award, posthumously in 2017 in the field of Public Affairs and was the first recipient of Padma Vibhushan from Meghalaya.

      2. Presiding member of the lower house of the Parliament of India

        Speaker of the Lok Sabha

        The speaker of the Lok Sabha is the presiding officer and the highest authority of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India. The speaker is elected generally in the first meeting of the Lok Sabha following general elections. Serving for a term of five years, the speaker chosen from sitting members of the Lok Sabha.

    4. Zhou Xiaoyan, Chinese soprano and educator (b. 1917) deaths

      1. Zhou Xiaoyan

        Zhou Xiaoyan was a Chinese vocal pedagogue and classical soprano. Dubbed by The New York Times as "China's First Lady of Opera", she was considered to be the first important instructor of Western opera in China.

  7. 2015

    1. Dušan Bilandžić, Croatian historian and politician (b. 1924) deaths

      1. Croatian historian and politician

        Dušan Bilandžić

        Dušan Bilandžić was a Croatian historian and politician.

    2. Ray Hatton, English-American runner, author, and academic (b. 1932) deaths

      1. Ray Hatton

        Raymond Robert (Ray) Hatton was an English educator, author, and long-distance runner. Born in England, Hatton moved to the United States in 1956 to attend college, earning degrees in education and geography from University of Idaho and the University of Oregon. He was an award-winning college geography professor for many years. Hatton wrote ten books on Oregon geography, history, and climatology. In the 1970s and 1980s, he won numerous Masters level running championships and set American records in several long-distance running events. Ran a Masters WR in the Mile at 4:26.0 in 1972. Hatton was inducted into the USATF Masters Hall of Fame in 2001.

  8. 2014

    1. Mark Freidkin, Russian author and poet (b. 1953) deaths

      1. Mark Freidkin

        Mark Iehielvich Freidkin was a Russian poet, author, translator, and singer.

    2. Elaine Kellett-Bowman, English lawyer and politician (b. 1923) deaths

      1. British politician (1923–2014)

        Elaine Kellett-Bowman

        Dame Mary Elaine Kellett-Bowman, DBE was a British Conservative Party politician, serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of Lancaster for 27 years from 1970 to 1997.

    3. Jack Kinzler, American engineer (b. 1920) deaths

      1. Jack Kinzler

        Jack Kinzler was a NASA engineer, the former chief of the Technical Services Center at NASA's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, known within the agency as Mr. Fix It. He was awarded the NASA Distinguished Service Medal for creating the solar shield that saved Skylab after the original micrometeoroid shield was lost during launch of the station. His other contributions included the flagstaff and plaques used on the Moon for each of the Apollo program Moon landings and the special six iron golf club head with which Apollo 14 astronaut Alan Shepard made his two famous golf drives on the Moon.

    4. Wu Tianming, Chinese director and producer (b. 1939) deaths

      1. Chinese film director and producer

        Wu Tianming

        Wu Tianming was a Chinese film director and producer who was considered one of the leading "Fourth Generation" directors.

  9. 2013

    1. Lillian Cahn, Hungarian-American businesswoman, co-founded Coach, Inc. (b. 1923) deaths

      1. American fashion designer

        Lillian Cahn

        Lillian Cahn was a Hungarian-born American businessperson who co-founded Coach New York with her husband, Miles Cahn. Lillian Cahn also created Coach's first line of handbags, which remains the label's trademark consumer product. She had emigrated to the United States with her family during the Great Depression. After selling Coach in 1985, the Cahns operated a goat farm and cheese-making business in Pine Plains, New York.

      2. American Fashion Holding Company

        Tapestry, Inc.

        Tapestry, Inc. is an American multinational luxury fashion holding company. It is based in New York City and is the parent company of three major brands: Coach New York, Kate Spade New York and Stuart Weitzman. Originally named Coach, Inc., the business changed its name to Tapestry on October 31, 2017.

    2. Mickey Moore, Canadian-American actor and director (b. 1914) deaths

      1. Child actor and film director

        Mickey Moore

        Michael D. Moore was a Canadian-born American film director, second unit director, and child actor, when he was credited as Mickey Moore. He was credited as Michael Moore on all the films and TV shows he directed, and on most of the films on which he was second unit director.

    3. Toren Smith, Canadian businessman, founded Studio Proteus (b. 1960) deaths

      1. Canadian manga translator

        Toren Smith

        Toren V. Smith was a Canadian manga translator and founder of Studio Proteus.

      2. Defunct American manga import and localization company

        Studio Proteus

        Studio Proteus is a Japanese manga import, translation and lettering company, founded in 1986 by Toren Smith and based in San Francisco. Other staff included translators Dana Lewis, Alan Gleason, and Frederik Schodt, letterer Tom Orzechowski and translator/letterer Tomoko Saito. The company worked with many different publishers, including Viz Media, Innovation Publishing and Eclipse Comics, but its main outlets were Dark Horse for mainstream titles and Fantagraphics' imprint Eros Comix for adult (hentai) titles.

  10. 2012

    1. Paul McBride, Scottish lawyer and politician (b. 1965) deaths

      1. Scottish lawyer; Queen's Counsel

        Paul McBride

        Paul McBride QC was a Scottish criminal lawyer based in Edinburgh. He was a board member of the Scottish Legal Aid Board, and a former vice chairman of the Faculty of Advocates Criminal Bar Association. He died suddenly on a trip to Pakistan.

    2. Don Mincher, American baseball player (b. 1938) deaths

      1. American baseball player (1938-2012)

        Don Mincher

        Donald Ray Mincher was an American Major League Baseball first baseman and longtime minor league executive. He played in the majors from 1960–1972 for the "original" Washington Senators and Minnesota Twins, California Angels, Seattle Pilots, Oakland Athletics, and the expansion Washington Senators and Texas Rangers, all of the American League. The native of Huntsville, Alabama, batted left-handed, threw right-handed, and was listed as 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) tall and weighed 205 pounds (93 kg). He was a member of the last editions of each of Washington's two 20th Century American League teams and their first-year squads in their new locales, Minneapolis–Saint Paul (1961) and Dallas–Fort Worth (1972).

  11. 2011

    1. Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, Nepalese journalist and politician, 29th Prime Minister of Nepal (b. 1924) deaths

      1. Nepalese politician

        Krishna Prasad Bhattarai

        Krishna Prasad Bhattarai also known as Kishunji was a Nepalese political leader. He was one of the main leaders involved in transitioning Nepal from an absolute monarchy to a democratic multi-party system.

      2. Head of government of Nepal

        Prime Minister of Nepal

        The Prime Minister of Nepal is the head of government of Nepal. The Prime Minister is the head of the Council of Ministers of Nepal and the chief adviser to the President of Nepal.

    2. Vivienne Harris, English journalist and publisher, co-founded the Jewish Telegraph (b. 1921) deaths

      1. Vivienne Harris (journalist)

        Vivienne Harris was a British businesswoman, newspaper publisher and journalist who co-founded the Jewish Telegraph in December 1950 with her husband, Frank Harris. The couple married in 1949.

      2. British Jewish newspaper

        Jewish Telegraph

        The Jewish Telegraph is a British Jewish newspaper. It was founded in December 1950 by Frank and Vivienne Harris, the parents of the current editor, Paul Harris.

    3. Ed Manning, American basketball player and coach (b. 1943) deaths

      1. American basketball player and coach

        Ed Manning

        Edward R. Manning was an American professional basketball player and college and National Basketball Association (NBA) assistant coach. He was the father of former NBA player and college coach Danny Manning.

    4. Arjun Singh, Indian politician (b. 1930) deaths

      1. 12th Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, India

        Arjun Singh (Madhya Pradesh politician)

        Arjun Singh was an Indian politician from the Indian National Congress, who served twice as the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh in the 1980s. He also served twice as the Union Minister of Human Resource Development, in the Manmohan Singh and P. V. Narasimha Rao ministries.

    5. Alenush Terian, Iranian astronomer and physicist (b. 1920) deaths

      1. Iranian astronomer (1921–2011)

        Alenush Terian

        Ālenush Teriān, was an Iranian-Armenian astronomer and physicist and is called 'Mother of Modern Iranian Astronomy'.

    6. Simon van der Meer, Dutch-Swiss physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1925) deaths

      1. Dutch physicist

        Simon van der Meer

        Simon van der Meer was a Dutch particle accelerator physicist who shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1984 with Carlo Rubbia for contributions to the CERN project which led to the discovery of the W and Z particles, the two fundamental communicators of the weak interaction.

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

        Nobel Prize in Physics

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

  12. 2010

    1. Raimund Abraham, Austrian architect and educator, designed the Austrian Cultural Forum New York (b. 1933) deaths

      1. Austrian architect (1933–2010)

        Raimund Abraham

        Raimund Johann Abraham was an Austrian architect.

      2. Austrian Cultural Forum New York

        The Austrian Cultural Forum New York (ACFNY) is one of Austria's two cultural representation offices in the United States; the other is in Washington, D.C. It is part of the worldwide network of Austrian Cultural Forums overseen by the Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs.

    2. Johnny Alf, Brazilian pianist and composer (b. 1929) deaths

      1. Brazilian musician

        Johnny Alf

        Alfredo José da Silva, popularly known as Johnny Alf, was a Brazilian musician, sometimes known as the "Father of Bossa Nova".

    3. Vladislav Ardzinba, Abkhazian historian and politician, 1st President of Abkhazia (b. 1945) deaths

      1. Soviet-Abkhaz politician; President of Abkhazia (1945-2010)

        Vladislav Ardzinba

        Vladislav Ardzinba was the first de facto President of Abkhazia. A historian by education, Ardzinba led Abkhazia to de facto independence in the 1992–1993 War with Georgia, but its de jure independence from Georgia remained internationally unrecognised during Ardzinba's two terms as President from 1994 to 2005.

      2. Head of state of the de facto independent Republic of Abkhazia

        President of Abkhazia

        The position of president of Abkhazia was created in 1994. Before the office of president was created the head of state position was known as the chairman of Parliament between 1992 and the creation of the 1994 constitution. Before the position of Chairman of Parliament, the highest office in Abkhazia was the chairman of the Supreme Soviet. The post would last from the declaration of sovereignty from the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic on 25 August 1990 until the outright declaration of independence on 23 July 1992.

    4. Fred Wedlock, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1942) deaths

      1. English folk singer

        Fred Wedlock

        Peter Frederick Wedlock was an English folk singer best known for his UK hit single "The Oldest Swinger in Town", which was covered by German comedian Karl Dall as "Der älteste Popper der Stadt". He performed at many venues in Britain and Europe, presented programmes for West Country TV and acted with the Bristol Old Vic, as well as undertaking after-dinner speaking engagements.

  13. 2009

    1. Yvon Cormier, Canadian wrestler (b. 1938) deaths

      1. Canadian professional wrestler

        Yvon Cormier

        Yvon Cormier was a Canadian professional wrestler. Competing primarily under the ring name The Beast, he and his three wrestling brothers made up the Cormier wrestling family. He wrestled in many countries but regularly returned to Canada, where he competed for the Eastern Sports Association (ESA) and the ESA-promoted International Wrestling (IW). He also competed in the Calgary, Alberta-based Stampede Wrestling for many years.

    2. Horton Foote, American playwright and screenwriter (b. 1916) deaths

      1. American playwright and screenwriter (1916-2009)

        Horton Foote

        Albert Horton Foote Jr. was an American playwright and screenwriter. He received Academy Awards for his screenplays for the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, which was adapted from the 1960 novel of the same name by Harper Lee, and his original screenplay for the film Tender Mercies (1983). He was also known for his notable live television dramas produced during the Golden Age of Television.

    3. George McAfee, American football player (b. 1918) deaths

      1. American football player (1918–2009)

        George McAfee

        George Anderson McAfee was an American professional football player who was a back for the Chicago Bears from 1940 to 1941 and 1945 to 1950 in the National Football League (NFL). As an undergraduate at Duke University, McAfee starred in baseball and track and field as well as college football. McAfee was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. As of 2018, he still holds the NFL record for punt return average in a career.

  14. 2008

    1. Gary Gygax, American game designer, co-created Dungeons & Dragons (b. 1938) deaths

      1. American game designer (1938–2008)

        Gary Gygax

        Ernest Gary Gygax was an American game designer and author best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) with Dave Arneson.

      2. Fantasy role-playing game

        Dungeons & Dragons

        Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (TSR). It has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997. The game was derived from miniature wargames, with a variation of the 1971 game Chainmail serving as the initial rule system. D&D's publication is commonly recognized as the beginning of modern role-playing games and the role-playing game industry, and also deeply influenced video games, especially the role-playing video game genre.

    2. Leonard Rosenman, American composer and conductor (b. 1924) deaths

      1. American composer

        Leonard Rosenman

        Leonard Rosenman was an American film, television and concert composer with credits in over 130 works, including East of Eden, Rebel without a Cause, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Beneath the Planet of the Apes, Barry Lyndon and the animated The Lord of the Rings.

  15. 2007

    1. Miya Cech, American actress births

      1. American actress

        Miya Cech

        Miya Cech is an American actress. She made her film debut in The Darkest Minds (2018). She then starred in Rim of the World (2019), the second revival of Are You Afraid of the Dark? (2019), The Astronauts (2020–21) and Marvelous and the Black Hole (2021).

    2. Thomas Eagleton, American lawyer and politician, 38th Lieutenant Governor of Missouri (b. 1929) deaths

      1. American politician

        Thomas Eagleton

        Thomas Francis Eagleton was an American lawyer serving as a United States senator from Missouri, from 1968 to 1987. He was briefly the Democratic vice presidential nominee under George McGovern in 1972. He suffered from bouts of depression throughout his life, resulting in several hospitalizations, which were kept secret from the public. When they were revealed, it humiliated the McGovern campaign and Eagleton was forced to quit the race. He later became adjunct professor of public affairs at Washington University in St. Louis.

      2. Lieutenant Governor of Missouri

        The lieutenant governor of Missouri is the first person in the order of succession of the U.S. state of Missouri's executive branch, thus serving as governor in the event of the death, resignation, removal, impeachment, absence from the state, or incapacity due to illness of the governor of Missouri. The lieutenant governor also serves, ex officio, as president of the Missouri Senate. The lieutenant governor is elected separately from the governor, and therefore may be of a different party than the governor.

    3. Tadeusz Nalepa, Polish singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1934) deaths

      1. Polish musician

        Tadeusz Nalepa

        Tadeusz Nalepa was a Polish composer, guitar player, vocalist, and lyricist.

    4. Ian Wooldridge, English journalist (b. 1932) deaths

      1. British sports journalist

        Ian Wooldridge

        Ian Edmund Wooldridge, OBE was a British sports journalist. He was with the Daily Mail for nearly 50 years.

  16. 2006

    1. John Reynolds Gardiner, American author and engineer (b. 1944) deaths

      1. American novelist

        John Reynolds Gardiner

        John Reynolds Gardiner was a writer best known for writing the book Stone Fox.

    2. Edgar Valter, Estonian author and illustrator (b. 1929) deaths

      1. Estonian writer and illustrator

        Edgar Valter

        Edgar Valter was an Estonian graphic artist, caricaturist, writer and illustrator of children's books, with over 250 books to his name, through 55 years of activity (1950–2005). His most famous work is Pokuraamat.

  17. 2005

    1. Nicola Calipari, Italian general (b. 1953) deaths

      1. Italian major general and SISMI military intelligence officer

        Nicola Calipari

        Nicola Calipari was an Italian major general and SISMI military intelligence officer. Calipari was killed by American soldiers while escorting a recently released Italian hostage, journalist Giuliana Sgrena, to Baghdad International Airport.

    2. Yuriy Kravchenko, Ukrainian police officer and politician (b. 1951) deaths

      1. Yuriy Kravchenko

        Yuriy Fedorovych Kravchenko was a Ukrainian General of Internal Service and statesman, serving as the country's Minister of Internal Affairs (1995—2001). In 2000, while he was serving as the Minister of Internal Affairs, Kravchenko became directly involved in the murder case of Georgiy Gongadze and the subsequent "Cassette Scandal." Kravechenko later was the governor of the Kherson Oblast (2001—2002) and Head of the State Tax Administration of Ukraine (2002—2003).

    3. Carlos Sherman, Uruguayan-Belarusian author and activist (b. 1934) deaths

      1. Uruguayan-born Belarusian-Spanish writer and human rights activist

        Carlos Sherman

        Carlos Sherman was a Uruguay-born Belarusian–Spanish translator, writer, human rights activist and honorary vice-president of the Belarusian PEN Center. He translated from Spanish into Belarusian and Russian.

  18. 2004

    1. Claude Nougaro, French singer-songwriter (b. 1929) deaths

      1. Musical artist

        Claude Nougaro

        Claude Nougaro was a French songwriter and singer.

  19. 2003

    1. Jaba Ioseliani, Georgian playwright, academic, and politician (b. 1926) deaths

      1. Georgian politician, thief, and paramilitary leader (1926-2003)

        Jaba Ioseliani

        Jaba Ioseliani was a Georgian politician, writer, thief-in-law and leader of the paramilitary and criminal Mkhedrioni organisation.

    2. Sébastien Japrisot, French author, screenwriter, and director (b. 1931) deaths

      1. French author, screenwriter and film director

        Sébastien Japrisot

        Sébastien Japrisot was a French author, screenwriter and film director. His pseudonym was an anagram of Jean-Baptiste Rossi, his real name. Renowned for subverting the rules of the crime genre, Japrisot broke down the established formulas "into their component pieces to re-combine them in original and paradoxical ways." Some critics argue that though Japrisot's work may lack the explicit experimental element present in the novels of some of his contemporaries, it shows influences of structuralist theories and the unorthodox techniques of the New Novelists.

  20. 2002

    1. Jacob Hopkins, American actor births

      1. American actor

        Jacob Hopkins

        Jacob Turner Hopkins is an American actor. He is best known for playing the role of Alexander Drew in True Blood, for being the voice of Gumball in The Amazing World of Gumball, after replacing Logan Grove in season 3. During season 5, Hopkins was replaced in the new role of Gumball by Nicolas Cantu, as Hopkins’ voice had changed due to puberty. As of 2021, he made his anime debut as Fushi from To Your Eternity, while also voicing Shun Kamiya from Tribe Nine. Hopkins attended John F. Kennedy High School in the Granada Hills neighbourhood of Los Angeles.

    2. Ugnė Karvelis, Lithuanian author and translator (b. 1935) deaths

      1. Ugnė Karvelis

        Ugnė Karvelis was a writer, a translator and a member of the UNESCO Executive Board from 1997 to 2002.

    3. Elyne Mitchell, Australian skier and author (b. 1913) deaths

      1. Elyne Mitchell

        Elyne Mitchell, OAM was an Australian author noted for the Silver Brumby series of children's novels. Her nonfiction works draw on family history and culture.

    4. Velibor Vasović, Serbian footballer and manager (b. 1939) deaths

      1. Serbian footballer and manager

        Velibor Vasović

        Velibor Vasović was a Serbian footballer and manager, also one of the legendary players of Partizan Belgrade and Ajax and one of greatest defenders of his generation. A sweeper who could play in midfield, Vasović was renowned for his defensive positioning, never-say-die attitude and tactical awareness.

  21. 2001

    1. Freya Anderson, English freestyle swimmer births

      1. British swimmer

        Freya Anderson

        Freya Ann Alexandra Anderson is a British swimmer, known primarily for her achievements as a freestyle sprinter. Anderson achieved nine gold medals at three editions of the European Championships, including 5 golds in a single meet at the 2020 European Championships in Budapest, as well as two bronze medals at the Commonwealth Games and a bronze at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships. In July 2021, she won gold as part of the British team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in mixed 4 × 100 metre medley relay, swimming the freestyle anchor leg in the heat.

    2. Gerardo Barbero, Argentinian chess player (b. 1961) deaths

      1. Argentine chess player

        Gerardo Barbero

        Gerardo Fabián Barbero was an Argentine chess grandmaster. He was born in Lanús, Buenos Aires, and raised in Rosario, Santa Fe.

    3. Jean René Bazaine, French painter and author (b. 1904) deaths

      1. French artist

        Jean René Bazaine

        Jean René Bazaine was a French painter, designer of stained glass windows and writer. He was the great great grandson of the English Court portraitist Sir George Hayter.

    4. Fred Lasswell, American cartoonist (b. 1916) deaths

      1. American cartoonist

        Fred Lasswell

        Fred D. Lasswell was an American cartoonist best known for his decades of work on the comic strip Barney Google and Snuffy Smith.

    5. Jim Rhodes, American businessman and politician, 61st Governor of Ohio (b. 1909) deaths

      1. American politician (1909–2001)

        Jim Rhodes

        James Allen Rhodes was an American Republican politician who served as Governor of Ohio from 1963 to 1971 and again from 1975 to 1983. As of 2022, Rhodes was one of only seven U.S. governors to serve four four-year terms in office. Rhodes is tied for the fourth longest gubernatorial tenure in post-Constitutional U.S. history at 5,840 days. He also served as Mayor of Columbus from 1944 to 1952 and Ohio State Auditor from 1953 to 1963.

      2. List of governors of Ohio

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

    6. Harold Stassen, American educator and politician, 25th Governor of Minnesota (b. 1907) deaths

      1. American politician (1907–2001)

        Harold Stassen

        Harold Edward Stassen was an American politician who was the 25th Governor of Minnesota. He was a leading candidate for the Republican nomination for President of the United States in 1948, considered for a time to be the front-runner. He thereafter regularly continued to run for that and other offices, such that his name became most identified with his status as a perennial candidate.

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

        Governor of Minnesota

        The governor of Minnesota is the head of government of the U.S. state of Minnesota, leading the state's executive branch. Forty people have been governor of Minnesota, though historically there were also three governors of Minnesota Territory. Alexander Ramsey, the first territorial governor, also served as state governor several years later. State governors are elected to office by popular vote, but territorial governors were appointed to the office by the United States president. The current governor of Minnesota is Tim Walz of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL).

  22. 2000

    1. Hermann Brück, German-Scottish physicist and astronomer (b. 1905) deaths

      1. German-born astronomer

        Hermann Brück

        Hermann Alexander Brück CBE FRSE was a German-born astronomer, who spent the great portion of his career in various positions in Britain and Ireland.

    2. Michael Noonan, New Zealand-Australian author and screenwriter (b. 1921) deaths

      1. Michael Noonan (Australian writer)

        Michael John Noonan was an Australian / New Zealand novelist and radio script writer. He also created the Australian TV series Riptide.

    3. Ta-You Wu, Chinese physicist and academic (b. 1907) deaths

      1. Chinese physicist and writer

        Wu Ta-You

        Wu Ta-You was a Chinese physicist and writer who worked in the United States, Canada, mainland China and Taiwan. He has been called the Father of Chinese Physics.

  23. 1999

    1. Harry Blackmun, American lawyer and judge (b. 1908) deaths

      1. US Supreme Court justice from 1970 to 1994

        Harry Blackmun

        Harry Andrew Blackmun was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1970 to 1994. Appointed by Republican President Richard Nixon, Blackmun ultimately became one of the most liberal justices on the Court. He is best known as the author of the Court's opinion in Roe v. Wade.

    2. Del Close, American actor and educator (b. 1934) deaths

      1. American actor, writer, and teacher

        Del Close

        Del Close was an American actor, writer, and teacher who coached many of the best-known comedians and comic actors of the late twentieth century. In addition to an acting career in television and film, he was one of the influences on modern improvisational theater. Close is co-founder of the iO, or iO Chicago,.

    3. Miłosz Magin, Polish pianist and composer (b. 1929) deaths

      1. Polish composer and pianist

        Miłosz Magin

        Miłosz Magin was a Polish composer and pianist.

  24. 1998

    1. Ivan Dougherty, Australian general (b. 1907) deaths

      1. Australian general

        Ivan Dougherty

        Major General Sir Ivan Noel Dougherty, was an Australian Army officer during the Second World War and early Cold War period.

  25. 1997

    1. Joe Baker-Cresswell, English captain (b. 1901) deaths

      1. Royal Navy officer

        Joe Baker-Cresswell

        Captain Addison Joe Baker-Cresswell DSO was a Royal Navy officer, aide-de-camp to King George VI and High Sheriff of Northumberland. He is noted prominently for his role as the commanding officer of HMS Bulldog during the capture of U-110, from which an intact Enigma cipher machine was seized.

    2. Robert H. Dicke, American physicist and astronomer (b. 1916) deaths

      1. American astronomer and physicist (1916–1997)

        Robert H. Dicke

        Robert Henry Dicke was an American astronomer and physicist who made important contributions to the fields of astrophysics, atomic physics, cosmology and gravity. He was the Albert Einstein Professor in Science at Princeton University (1975–1984).

  26. 1996

    1. Lukas Webb, Australian rules footballer births

      1. Australian rules footballer

        Lukas Webb

        Lukas Webb is a professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL).

    2. Minnie Pearl, American entertainer (b. 1912) deaths

      1. American comedian and country singer

        Minnie Pearl

        Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon, known professionally as her stage character Minnie Pearl, was an American comedian who appeared at the Grand Ole Opry for more than 50 years (1940–1991) and on the television show Hee Haw from 1969 to 1991.

    3. John Sauer, American football player, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1925) deaths

      1. American football player, coach, and broadcaster (1925–1996)

        John Sauer

        John Edward Sauer was an American football player, coach, and broadcaster.

  27. 1995

    1. Chlöe Howl, British singer-songwriter births

      1. British singer-songwriter

        Chlöe Howl

        Chlöe Howl, is a British singer-songwriter. She was shortlisted for the BBC Sound of 2014 and the 2014 BRIT Awards: Critics Choice Award.

    2. Bill Milner, English actor births

      1. English actor

        Bill Milner

        William Henry Milner is an English actor. He starred as Will Proudfoot in Son of Rambow (2007), Edward in Is Anybody There? (2008), and the young Erik Lensherr in X-Men: First Class (2011).

    3. Matt Urban, American colonel, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1919) deaths

      1. US Army officer and Medal of Honor recipient (1919–1995)

        Matt Urban

        Matt Louis Urban was a United States Army lieutenant colonel and one of the most decorated American soldiers of World War II. Urban performed valiantly in combat on many occasions despite being wounded in action several times. He received over a dozen personal decorations for combat from the U.S. Army, including seven Purple Hearts. In 1980, he received the Medal of Honor and three other U.S. decorations and one foreign decoration for his actions in France and Belgium in 1944.

      2. Highest award in the United States Armed Forces

        Medal of Honor

        The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. The medal is normally awarded by the president of the United States, but as it is presented "in the name of the United States Congress", it is sometimes erroneously referred to as the "Congressional Medal of Honor".

  28. 1994

    1. Callum Harriott, English footballer births

      1. British footballer (born 1994)

        Callum Harriott

        Callum Kyle Harriott is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for EFL League Two club Gillingham. He is a product of the Charlton Athletic academy. Born in England, he represents the Guyana national football team internationally.

    2. AJ Tracey, British hip-hop artist and record producer births

      1. British rapper and record producer

        AJ Tracey

        Ché Wolton Grant, known professionally as AJ Tracey, is a British rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is from Ladbroke Grove, West London. Tracey rose to popularity in 2016 and was listed by The Guardian in a list of "best new acts to catch at festivals in 2016".

    3. John Candy, Canadian comedian and actor (b. 1950) deaths

      1. Canadian actor and comedian (1950–1994)

        John Candy

        John Franklin Candy was a Canadian actor and comedian known mainly for his work in Hollywood films. Candy rose to fame in the 1970s as a member of the Toronto branch of the Second City and its SCTV series, and through his appearances in comedy films, including Stripes (1981), Splash (1984), Summer Rental (1985), Spaceballs (1987), Uncle Buck (1989) and Cool Runnings (1993), portraying Chester "Chet" Ripley in She's Having a Baby and The Great Outdoors, as well as more dramatic roles in Only the Lonely and JFK. One of his most renowned onscreen performances was as Del Griffith, the talkative shower-curtain ring salesman in the John Hughes comedy film Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987).

    4. George Edward Hughes, Irish-Scottish philosopher and author (b. 1918) deaths

      1. George Edward Hughes

        George Edward Hughes was an Irish-born New Zealand philosopher and logician whose principal scholarly works were concerned with modal logic and medieval philosophy.

  29. 1993

    1. Bobbi Kristina Brown, American singer and actress (d. 2015) births

      1. American television personality (1993–2015)

        Bobbi Kristina Brown

        Bobbi Kristina Houston Brown was an American reality television personality. She was the daughter and only child of singers Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown. Her parents' fame kept Brown in the public eye, as did her appearances on the reality show Being Bobby Brown.

    2. Richard Peniket, English footballer births

      1. English footballer

        Richard Peniket

        Richard James Peniket is a footballer who most recently played for National League North side Kidderminster Harriers, where he played as a forward.

    3. Art Hodes, Ukrainian-American pianist and composer (b. 1904) deaths

      1. Russian Empire-born American pianist

        Art Hodes

        Arthur W. Hodes, was a Russian Empire-born American jazz and blues pianist. He is regarded by many critics as the greatest white blues pianist.

    4. Tomislav Ivčić, Croatian singer-songwriter and politician (b. 1953) deaths

      1. Musical artist

        Tomislav Ivčić

        Tomislav Ivčić was a Croatian pop singer, songwriter and politician. He died in a car accident and is buried in Zagreb at the Mirogoj Cemetery.

    5. Izaak Kolthoff, Dutch chemist and academic (b. 1894) deaths

      1. 20th-century Dutch-American chemist

        Izaak Kolthoff

        Izaak Maurits (Piet) Kolthoff was an analytical chemist and chemistry educator. He is widely considered the father of analytical chemistry for his large volume of published research in diverse fields of analysis, his work to modernize and promote the field, and for advising a large number of students who went on to influential careers of their own.

    6. Nicholas Ridley, Baron Ridley of Liddesdale, English lieutenant and politician, Secretary of State for the Environment (b. 1929) deaths

      1. Nicholas Ridley, Baron Ridley of Liddesdale

        Nicholas Ridley, Baron Ridley of Liddesdale,, was a British Conservative Party politician and government minister. As President of the Selsdon Group, a free-market lobby within the Conservative Party, he was closely aligned with Margaret Thatcher, and became one of her Ministers of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1979. Responsible for the Falkland Islands, he tried to resolve the long-running sovereignty issue with Argentina, which detected Britain's reluctance to defend the territory, and later invaded it.

      2. Former UK cabinet position

        Secretary of State for the Environment

        The Secretary of State for the Environment was a UK cabinet position, responsible for the Department of the Environment (DoE). This was created by Edward Heath as a combination of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Public Building and Works on 15 October 1970. Thus it managed a mixed portfolio of issues: housing and planning, local government, public buildings, environmental protection and, initially, transport – James Callaghan gave transport its own department again in 1976. It has been asserted that during the Thatcher government the DoE led the drive towards centralism, and the undermining of local government. Particularly, the concept of 'inner cities policy', often involving centrally negotiated public-private partnerships and centrally appointed development corporations, which moved control of many urban areas to the centre, and away from their, often left-wing, local authorities. The department was based in Marsham Towers, three separate tower blocks built for the separate pre-merger ministries, in Westminster.

  30. 1992

    1. Nick Castellanos, American baseball player births

      1. American baseball player (born 1992)

        Nick Castellanos

        Nicholas Alexander Castellanos is an American professional baseball right fielder for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Detroit Tigers, Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds.

    2. Erik Lamela, Argentinian international footballer births

      1. Argentine association football player

        Erik Lamela

        Erik Manuel Lamela Cordero is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for La Liga club Sevilla and the Argentina national team.

    3. Bernd Leno, German footballer births

      1. German association football player

        Bernd Leno

        Bernd Leno is a German professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Fulham and the Germany national team.

    4. Karl Mööl, Estonian footballer births

      1. Estonian footballer

        Karl Mööl

        Karl Mööl is an Estonian professional footballer who plays as a right back for Estonian club Paide Linnameeskond and the Estonia national team.

    5. Art Babbitt, American animator and director (b. 1907) deaths

      1. American animator (1907–1992)

        Art Babbitt

        Arthur Harold Babitsky, better known as Art Babbitt, was an American animator, best known for his work at Walt Disney Animation Studios. He received over 80 awards as an animation director and animator, and also developed the character of Goofy. Babbitt worked as an animator or animation director on films such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Fantasia and Dumbo, among others. Outside of Disney, he also animated The Wise Quacking Duck for Leon Schlesinger Productions.

    6. Pare Lorentz, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1905) deaths

      1. Pare Lorentz

        Pare Lorentz was an American filmmaker known for his film work about the New Deal. Born Leonard MacTaggart Lorentz in Clarksburg, West Virginia he was educated at Buckhannon High School, West Virginia Wesleyan College, and West Virginia University. As a young film critic in both New York City and Hollywood, Lorentz spoke out against censorship in the film industry.

  31. 1991

    1. Godfrey Bryan, English cricketer (b. 1902) deaths

      1. English cricketer

        Godfrey Bryan

        Brigadier Godfrey James Bryan was an English army officer and cricketer. A left-handed batsman, he played first-class cricket between 1920 and 1935 for Kent County Cricket Club and the Army cricket team. His brothers Jack and Ronnie also played for Kent, though Godfrey was considered as "possibly the most talented" of the three.

  32. 1990

    1. Andrea Bowen, American actress births

      1. American actress and singer

        Andrea Bowen

        Andrea Bowen is an American actress and singer. She began her career appearing on Broadway musicals, including Les Misérables and The Sound of Music. In 2004, she began playing the role of Julie Mayer on the ABC comedy-drama series Desperate Housewives, a role she played on a regular basis until 2008. She later appeared on a recurring basis until the show ended in 2012. Bowen later went on to star in a number of Lifetime television movies.

    2. Draymond Green, American basketball player births

      1. American basketball player (born 1990)

        Draymond Green

        Draymond Jamal Green Sr. is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Green, who plays primarily at the power forward position, is a four-time NBA champion, a four-time NBA All-Star, a two-time member of the All-NBA Team, a seven-time member of the All-Defensive Team and a two-time Olympic gold medalist. In 2017, he won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award and led the league in steals.

    3. Paddy Madden, Irish footballer births

      1. Irish footballer (born 1990)

        Paddy Madden

        Patrick Stephen Madden is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a striker for EFL League Two club Stockport County.

    4. Fran Mérida, Spanish footballer births

      1. Spanish footballer

        Fran Mérida

        Francisco Mérida Pérez is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Chinese club Tianjin Jinmen Tiger.

    5. Hank Gathers, American basketball player (b. 1967) deaths

      1. American basketball player (1967-1990)

        Hank Gathers

        Eric Wilson "Hank" Gathers Jr. was an American college basketball player for the Loyola Marymount Lions in the West Coast Conference (WCC). As a junior in 1989, he became the second player in NCAA Division I history to lead the nation in scoring and rebounding in the same season. Gathers was a consensus second-team All-American as a senior in 1990. His No. 44 was retired by the Lions, who also placed a statue of him in his honor outside their home arena Gersten Pavilion.

  33. 1989

    1. Benjamin Kiplagat, Ugandan long-distance runner births

      1. Ugandan long-distance runner

        Benjamin Kiplagat

        Benjamin Kiplagat is a Ugandan long-distance runner specializing in the 3000 metres steeplechase.

    2. Tiny Grimes, American guitarist (b. 1916) deaths

      1. American jazz and R&B guitarist

        Tiny Grimes

        Lloyd "Tiny" Grimes was an American jazz and R&B guitarist. He was a member of the Art Tatum Trio from 1943 to 1944, was a backing musician on recording sessions, and later led his own bands, including a recording session with Charlie Parker. He is notable for playing the electric tenor guitar, a four-stringed instrument.

  34. 1988

    1. Gal Mekel, Israeli basketball player births

      1. Israeli basketball player

        Gal Mekel

        Gal Mekel is an Israeli former professional basketball player. He played for the Dallas Mavericks and spent time in Europe and Israel.

    2. Laura Siegemund, German tennis player births

      1. German tennis player (born 1988)

        Laura Siegemund

        Laura Natalie Siegemund is a German professional tennis player.

    3. Adam Watts, English footballer births

      1. English footballer

        Adam Watts (footballer)

        Adam James Watts is an English footballer who plays as a defender and most recently played for Eastbourne Borough.

    4. Beatriz Guido, Argentine author and screenwriter (b. 1924) deaths

      1. Argentine novelist and screenwriter

        Beatriz Guido

        Beatriz Guido was an Argentine novelist and screenwriter.

  35. 1987

    1. Ben McKinley, Australian footballer births

      1. Australian rules footballer

        Ben McKinley

        Benjamin "Ben" McKinley is an Australian rules footballer who previously played for the North Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played for the West Coast Eagles.

    2. Cameron Wood, Australian footballer births

      1. Australian rules footballer

        Cameron Wood

        Cameron Wood is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Brisbane Lions, Collingwood Football Club and Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

    3. Tamzin Merchant, English actress births

      1. English actress

        Tamzin Merchant

        Tamzin Merchant is an English actress and author, best known for her roles as Georgiana Darcy in the film Pride & Prejudice (2005), as Catherine Howard in the Showtime series The Tudors (2009–2010) and as Anne Hale in the WGN America series Salem (2014–2017). She wrote the 2021 children's book The Hatmakers. She was educated at Homerton College, Cambridge, where she studied Education Studies.

    4. Seibo Kitamura, Japanese sculptor (b. 1884) deaths

      1. Japanese sculptor

        Seibo Kitamura

        Seibo Kitamura was a Japanese sculptor. He is known as the sculptor of the 10-meter-tall Peace Statue in Nagasaki Peace Park. He is most often referred to as "Seibo".

  36. 1986

    1. Steven Burke, English road and track cyclist births

      1. English cyclist

        Steven Burke

        Steven James Burke is a former English track and road cyclist, who rode for the now disbanded Team Wiggins Le Col cycling team. He represented Britain at the 2008 Summer Olympics, beating his pre Olympics personal best in the individual pursuit by eleven seconds, to take the bronze medal. He stood on the podium alongside his cycling idol, gold medallist Bradley Wiggins.

    2. Tom De Mul, Belgian footballer births

      1. Belgian footballer

        Tom De Mul

        Tom De Mul is a Belgian former professional footballer who played as a right winger.

    3. Mike Krieger, Brazilian-American computer programmer and businessman, co-founded Instagram births

      1. Brazilian-American entrepreneur and software engineer (born 1986)

        Mike Krieger

        Michel Krieger is a Brazilian-American entrepreneur and software engineer who co-founded Instagram along with Kevin Systrom, and served as its CTO. Instagram expanded from a few million users to 1 billion monthly active users while Krieger served as CTO.

      2. Social media service

        Instagram

        Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can be shared publicly or with preapproved followers. Users can browse other users' content by tag and location, view trending content, like photos, and follow other users to add their content to a personal feed.

    4. Siim Roops, Estonian footballer births

      1. Estonian footballer

        Siim Roops

        Siim Roops is an Estonian footballer.

    5. Bohdan Shust, Ukrainian footballer births

      1. Bohdan Shust

        Bohdan Romanovych Shust is a professional Ukrainian retired footballer.

    6. Manu Vatuvei, New Zealand rugby league player births

      1. NZ & Tonga international rugby league footballer

        Manu Vatuvei

        Manu Mapuhola Mafi-Vatuvei, also known by the nickname "The Beast", is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer and convicted methamphetamine importer who was both a Tonga and New Zealand international representative winger. He previously played for the New Zealand Warriors in the NRL and for the Salford Red Devils in the Super League. Vatuvei was a member of the New Zealand national team that won the 2008 World Cup. He became the Warriors' top try scorer, and the first player in NRL history to score at least 10 tries in 10 consecutive seasons.

    7. Margo Harshman, American actress births

      1. American actress

        Margo Harshman

        Margo Cathleen Harshman is an American actress known for the roles of series regular Tawny Dean on Even Stevens, Sheldon Cooper's assistant Alex Jensen on The Big Bang Theory, and Timothy McGee's wife Delilah Fielding-McGee on NCIS.

    8. Albert L. Lehninger, American biochemist and academic (b. 1917) deaths

      1. American biochemist (1917–1986)

        Albert L. Lehninger

        Albert Lester Lehninger was an American biochemist in the field of bioenergetics. He made fundamental contributions to the current understanding of metabolism at a molecular level. In 1948, he discovered, with Eugene P. Kennedy, that mitochondria are the site of oxidative phosphorylation in eukaryotes, which ushered in the modern study of energy transduction. He is the author of a number of classic texts, including: Biochemistry, The Mitochondrion, Bioenergetics and, most notably, his series Principles of Biochemistry. The latter is a widely used text for introductory biochemistry courses at the college and university levels.

    9. Richard Manuel, Canadian singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1943) deaths

      1. Canadian musician

        Richard Manuel

        Richard George Manuel was a Canadian singer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter, best known as a pianist and one of three lead singers in The Band, for which he was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.

    10. Elizabeth Smart, Canadian poet and author (b. 1913) deaths

      1. Canadian poet and novelist

        Elizabeth Smart (Canadian author)

        Elizabeth Smart was a Canadian poet and novelist. Her best-known work is the novel By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept (1945), an extended prose poem inspired by her romance with the poet George Barker.

  37. 1985

    1. Jake Buxton, English footballer births

      1. English footballer (born 1985)

        Jake Buxton

        Jake Fred Buxton is an English professional footballer and manager who plays as a defender. He was most recently player-manager for EFL League One club Burton Albion.

    2. Chinedum Ndukwe, American football player births

      1. American football player (born 1985)

        Chinedum Ndukwe

        Chinedum "Nedu" Ndukwe from Powell, Ohio is a former American football safety. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the seventh round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football for the University of Notre Dame. He also played for the Oakland Raiders.

    3. Whitney Port, American fashion designer and author births

      1. American actor and fashion designer

        Whitney Port

        Whitney Eve Port-Rosenman is an American television personality, fashion designer and author. In 2006, Port came to prominence after being cast in the reality television series The Hills, which chronicled the personal and professional lives of Port and friends Lauren Conrad, Heidi Montag, and Audrina Patridge. During its production, she held internship positions with Teen Vogue and Kelly Cutrone's People's Revolution.

  38. 1984

    1. Josh Bowman, English actor births

      1. English actor

        Josh Bowman

        Joshua Tobias Bowman is an English actor best known for his role as Daniel Grayson in ABC's Revenge.

    2. Tamir Cohen, Israeli footballer births

      1. Israeli footballer

        Tamir Cohen

        Tamir Cohen is an Israeli former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He is the son of the late Maccabi Tel Aviv and Liverpool player Avi Cohen.

    3. Anders Grøndal, Norwegian racing driver births

      1. Norwegian rally driver

        Anders Grøndal

        Anders Grøndal is a Norwegian rally and hill climb driver. His co-driver is Trond Svendsen.

    4. Spencer Larsen, American football player births

      1. American football player (born 1984)

        Spencer Larsen

        Spencer Larsen is a former American football fullback. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the sixth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Arizona, primarily as a linebacker.

    5. Jeremy Loops, South African singer-songwriter and record producer births

      1. South African singer-songwriter and record producer

        Jeremy Loops

        Jeremy Thomas Hewitt known by his stage name Jeremy Loops, is a South African singer, songwriter, and record producer.

    6. Raven Quinn, American singer-songwriter births

      1. American musician, singer and songwriter

        Raven Quinn

        Raven Quinn is an American musician, singer and songwriter. Her first self-titled album was released March 4, 2010. Quinn released the title track "Not In Vain" from her sophomore album on October 31, 2013, with the full second album Not In Vain seeing release on October 6, 2014. On December 8, 2015, Raven Quinn released The Acoustic EP, containing acoustic versions of songs from her first two albums.

    7. Zak Whitbread, American-English footballer births

      1. American-English footballer

        Zak Whitbread

        Zak Benjamin Whitbread is an American-English retired professional footballer who played as a defender.

  39. 1983

    1. Samuel Contesti, French-Italian figure skater births

      1. French-Italian figure skater

        Samuel Contesti

        Samuel Contesti is a French-Italian former competitive figure skater. He originally competed for France, then switched to Italy after the 2006–07 season. He is the 2009 European silver medalist and a five-time Italian national champion (2008–12).

    2. Adam Deacon, English film actor, rapper, writer and director births

      1. British actor

        Adam Deacon

        Adam Steven Deacon is an English actor, rapper, writer and director. He is known for his lead role in the films Kidulthood, sequel Adulthood and for his directorial debut, Anuvahood.

    3. Jaque Fourie, South African rugby player births

      1. South African rugby union player

        Jaque Fourie

        Jaque Fourie is a South African former professional rugby union player. He was a versatile backline player whose usual position was in the centres. He was a member of the 2007 Rugby World Cup winning team, playing at outside centre for 6 out of 7 matches, including all 80 minutes of the World Cup Final, which South Africa won 15–6.

    4. Drew Houston, American Internet entrepreneur births

      1. Co-founder of Dropbox

        Drew Houston

        Andrew W. Houston is an American Internet entrepreneur, and the co-founder and CEO of Dropbox, an online backup and storage service. According to Forbes, his net worth is about $2.2 billion. Houston held 24.4 percent voting power in Dropbox before filing for IPO in February 2018.

  40. 1982

    1. Landon Donovan, American soccer player and coach births

      1. American soccer player

        Landon Donovan

        Landon Timothy Donovan is an American former professional soccer player. Donovan is also the manager, co-founder, and vice-president of soccer operations for USL Championship side San Diego Loyal SC, and serves as strategic advisor for English side Lincoln City. He was voted as the best U.S. soccer player of all time by a poll conducted by ESPN, along with Major League Soccer having ranked Donovan as the greatest American soccer player of all time.

    2. Cate Edwards, American lawyer and author births

      1. American lawyer

        Cate Edwards

        Catharine Elizabeth Edwards is an American attorney. Edwards is the daughter of former United States Senator John Edwards and Elizabeth Edwards.

    3. Ludmila Ezhova, Russian gymnast births

      1. Russian gymnast

        Ludmila Ezhova

        Ludmila Ezhova Grebenkova is a Russian former competitive gymnast. She won bronze in the team event at the 2004 Summer Olympics and four medals at the World Championships.

    4. Yasemin Mori, Turkish singer births

      1. Turkish alternative rock singer (born 1982)

        Yasemin Mori

        Yasemin Aygün Savgı, better known as Yasemin Mori, is a Turkish alternative rock singer.

  41. 1981

    1. Ariza Makukula, Portuguese footballer births

      1. Portuguese footballer

        Ariza Makukula

        Ariza Makukula is a Portuguese former footballer who played as a centre forward.

    2. Helen Wyman, English cyclist births

      1. Helen Wyman

        Helen Wyman is a British cyclist for the Experza-Footlogix team. She participates in both road cycling and cyclo-cross, and, since she began competing at the age of 14, Wyman has represented her country at many international events including World Cups and World Championships. Except for 2013, she was the British national champion in cyclo-cross from 2006–2015.

    3. Torin Thatcher, American actor (b. 1905) deaths

      1. British actor (1905–1981)

        Torin Thatcher

        Torin Herbert Erskine Thatcher was a British actor who was noted for his flashy portrayals of screen villains.

    4. Karl-Jesko von Puttkamer, German admiral (b. 1900) deaths

      1. Karl-Jesko von Puttkamer

        Karl-Jesko Otto Robert von Puttkamer was a German admiral who was naval adjutant to Adolf Hitler during World War II.

  42. 1980

    1. Rohan Bopanna, Indian tennis player births

      1. Indian professional tennis player (born 1980)

        Rohan Bopanna

        Rohan Bopanna is an Indian professional tennis player. His singles career-high ranking was world No. 213 in 2007 and his career-high ranking in doubles was world No. 3 on 22 July 2013. He has been a member of the Indian Davis Cup team since 2002.

    2. Omar Bravo, Mexican footballer births

      1. Mexican footballer

        Omar Bravo

        Omar Bravo Tordecillas is a Mexican former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is Guadalajara's all-time leading scorer in all matches.

    3. Suzanna Choffel, American singer-songwriter births

      1. American singer-songwriter and musician

        Suzanna Choffel

        Suzanna Choffel is an American singer-songwriter and musician who has appeared on national television and in film. Known for her distinct voice and reggae-inspired guitar technique, her music has been described as "a unique sound equal parts Beat poetry, smoky soul grooves and indie-pop eccentricity."

    4. Giedrius Gustas, Lithuanian basketball player births

      1. Lithuanian basketball player

        Giedrius Gustas

        Giedrius Gustas is a former Lithuanian professional basketball player. At the height of 1.90 m tall and a weight of 86 kg, he mainly played at the point guard position. During his club playing career, as a member of Žalgiris Kaunas, he won the EuroLeague championship in 1999. As a member of the Barons LMT, he won the Europe Cup championship in 2008. He was also a member of the senior Lithuanian national team, and with Lithuania, he won the gold medal at the 2003 EuroBasket and the bronze medal at the 2007 EuroBasket.

    5. Scott Hamilton, New Zealand rugby player and coach births

      1. Rugby player

        Scott Hamilton (rugby union)

        Scott Elliot Hamilton is a New Zealand international rugby union player, who plays both on the wing or at fullback; he played two times for the All Blacks in 2006 and has played for the Crusaders in Super Rugby and Canterbury in his native New Zealand. Hamilton moved to Leicester Tigers in 2008 where he played 142 games in 7 seasons winning three Premiership Rugby titles in 2009, 2010 and 2013.

    6. Jack Hannahan, American baseball player births

      1. American baseball player

        Jack Hannahan

        John Joseph "The Bangladesh Hammer" Hannahan IV is an American former professional baseball utility player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners, Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds.

    7. Michael Henrich, American ice hockey player births

      1. Canadian ice hockey player

        Michael Henrich

        Michael Henrich is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. An NHL first-round draft pick of the Edmonton Oilers in 1998, Henrich played several years of professional hockey in North America before moving to professional hockey in Europe. Henrich is the first Jewish player to be selected in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft, and the only player taken in the first round of the 1998 NHL Entry Draft who did not play a regular season game in the National Hockey League.

    8. Phil McGuire, Scottish footballer and manager births

      1. Scottish footballer and manager

        Phil McGuire (footballer)

        Philip McGuire is a Scottish former professional footballer. He is currently the manager of Carnoustie Panmure in the SJFA East Superleague.

    9. Aja Volkman, American singer-songwriter births

      1. American singer

        Aja Volkman

        Aja Volkman is an American singer and songwriter, best known as the frontwoman of the indie rock band Nico Vega. She has also released an EP titled Egyptian as a duo with her former husband Dan Reynolds under the moniker Egyptian.

    10. Alan Hardaker, English lieutenant and businessman (b. 1912) deaths

      1. English football administrator

        Alan Hardaker

        Alan Hardaker OBE was an English football administrator for the Football League, a wartime Royal Navy officer, and previously an amateur footballer. He was born in Hull, Yorkshire, second son to John and Emma, and younger brother of Ernest.

  43. 1979

    1. Sarah Stock, Canadian wrestler and trainer births

      1. Canadian professional wrestler (born 1979)

        Sarah Stock

        Sarah Stock is a Canadian professional wrestler, who was most recently signed to WWE as women's trainer and producer. Stock began her career in Canada and moved back and forth across the country, working for various promotions, facing both male and female wrestlers. She then moved to Mexico, where she worked under the ring name Dark Angel for Lucha Libre AAA World Wide (AAA) and later for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). She is also known for her time in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where under the ring name Sarita she became the inaugural and two-time TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champion, holding the title the first time with Taylor Wilde and the second time with Rosita. She has also worked in Japan for JDStar and World Wonder Ring Stardom, where she held the Wonder of Stardom Championship.

    2. Willi Unsoeld, American mountaineer and educator (b. 1926) deaths

      1. Willi Unsoeld

        William Francis Unsoeld was an American mountaineer who was a member of the first American expedition to summit Mount Everest. The American Mount Everest Expedition was led by Norman Dyhrenfurth, and included Unsoeld, Jim Whittaker, Lute Jerstad, Barry Bishop and Tom Hornbein. Whittaker, with Sherpa Nawang Gombu, reached the summit on May 1, 1963. Unsoeld, Hornbein, Bishop and Jerstad reached the top on May 22, 1963. Unsoeld and Hornbein's climb was the first ascent from the peak's west ridge, and the first major traverse of a Himalayan peak. His subsequent activities included working as a U.S. Forest Service smokejumper, Peace Corps director in Nepal, speaker for Outward Bound, faculty member at Oregon State University and The Evergreen State College and mountaineering guide. He died on Mount Rainier in an avalanche.

  44. 1978

    1. Pierre Dagenais, Canadian ice hockey player births

      1. Canadian ice hockey player

        Pierre Dagenais

        Pierre Brüno Dagenais is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who most notably played in the National Hockey League (NHL). He last played for the Akwesasne Warriors of the Federal Hockey League.

    2. Denis Dallan, Italian rugby player and singer births

      1. Italian rugby union footballer

        Denis Dallan

        Denis Dallan is an Italian rugby union footballer. His usual position is on the wing. He plays for the Italian club Amatori Milan. Dallan has been capped for the national team and was a part of its squad at the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia.

    3. Jean-Marc Pelletier, American ice hockey player births

      1. American ice hockey player

        Jean-Marc Pelletier

        Jean-Marc Pelletier is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender who played seven National Hockey League (NHL) games over parts of three seasons for the Philadelphia Flyers and Phoenix Coyotes between 1999 and 2004. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1998 to 2010, was mainly spent in the minor leagues.

    4. Wesley Bolin, American businessman and politician, 15th Governor of Arizona (b. 1909) deaths