On This Day /

Important events in history
on May 16 th

Events

  1. 2014

    1. At least 12 people were killed and 70 others injured when two bombs exploded in a market in Nairobi, Kenya.

      1. 2014 IED explosions at the Gikomba market in Nairobi, Kenya

        Gikomba bombings

        On May 16, 2014, two improvised explosive devices were detonated simultaneously in the Gikomba market in Nairobi, Kenya, killing at least 12 people and injuring 70. The first blast came from a minibus and the second from within the market. Two people were reportedly arrested at the site of the explosions. Shortly after the attacks, hundreds of people swarmed onto the crime scene despite police efforts to stop them.

      2. Capital and largest city of Kenya

        Nairobi

        Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nairobi, which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper had a population of 4,397,073 in the 2019 census, while the metropolitan area has a projected population in 2022 of 10.8 million. The city is commonly referred to as the Green City in the Sun.

    2. Twelve people are killed in two explosions in the Gikomba market area of Nairobi, Kenya.

      1. 2014 IED explosions at the Gikomba market in Nairobi, Kenya

        Gikomba bombings

        On May 16, 2014, two improvised explosive devices were detonated simultaneously in the Gikomba market in Nairobi, Kenya, killing at least 12 people and injuring 70. The first blast came from a minibus and the second from within the market. Two people were reportedly arrested at the site of the explosions. Shortly after the attacks, hundreds of people swarmed onto the crime scene despite police efforts to stop them.

      2. Capital and largest city of Kenya

        Nairobi

        Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nairobi, which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper had a population of 4,397,073 in the 2019 census, while the metropolitan area has a projected population in 2022 of 10.8 million. The city is commonly referred to as the Green City in the Sun.

  2. 2011

    1. STS-134 (ISS assembly flight ULF6), launched from the Kennedy Space Center on the 25th and final flight for Space Shuttle Endeavour.

      1. 2011 American crewed spaceflight to the ISS and final flight of Space Shuttle Endeavour

        STS-134

        STS-134 was the penultimate mission of NASA's Space Shuttle program and the 25th and last spaceflight of Space Shuttle Endeavour. This flight delivered the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and an ExPRESS Logistics Carrier to the International Space Station. Mark Kelly served as the mission commander. STS-134 was expected to be the final Space Shuttle mission if STS-135 did not receive funding from Congress. However, in February 2011, NASA stated that STS-135 would fly "regardless" of the funding situation. STS-135, flown by Atlantis, took advantage of the processing for STS-335, the Launch on Need mission that would have been necessary if the STS-134 crew became stranded in orbit.

      2. Process of assembling the International Space Station

        Assembly of the International Space Station

        The process of assembling the International Space Station (ISS) has been under way since the 1990s. Zarya, the first ISS module, was launched by a Proton rocket on 20 November 1998. The STS-88 Space Shuttle mission followed two weeks after Zarya was launched, bringing Unity, the first of three node modules, and connecting it to Zarya. This bare 2-module core of the ISS remained uncrewed for the next one and a half years, until in July 2000 the Russian module Zvezda was launched by a Proton rocket, allowing a maximum crew of three astronauts or cosmonauts to be on the ISS permanently.

      3. United States space launch site in Florida

        Kennedy Space Center

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

      4. Partially reusable launch system and spaceplane

        Space Shuttle

        The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program name was Space Transportation System (STS), taken from a 1969 plan for a system of reusable spacecraft where it was the only item funded for development. The first (STS-1) of four orbital test flights occurred in 1981, leading to operational flights (STS-5) beginning in 1982. Five complete Space Shuttle orbiter vehicles were built and flown on a total of 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. They launched from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. Operational missions launched numerous satellites, interplanetary probes, and the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), conducted science experiments in orbit, participated in the Shuttle-Mir program with Russia, and participated in construction and servicing of the International Space Station (ISS). The Space Shuttle fleet's total mission time was 1,323 days.

      5. Space Shuttle orbiter

        Space Shuttle Endeavour

        Space Shuttle Endeavour is a retired orbiter from NASA's Space Shuttle program and the fifth and final operational Shuttle built. It embarked on its first mission, STS-49, in May 1992 and its 25th and final mission, STS-134, in May 2011. STS-134 was expected to be the final mission of the Space Shuttle program, but with the authorization of STS-135 by the United States Congress, Atlantis became the last shuttle to fly.

  3. 2005

    1. Kuwait permits women's suffrage in a 35–23 National Assembly vote.

      1. Country in Western Asia

        Kuwait

        Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the north and Saudi Arabia to the south. Kuwait also shares maritime borders with Iran. Kuwait has a coastal length of approximately 500 km (311 mi). Most of the country's population reside in the urban agglomeration of the capital city Kuwait City. As of 2022, Kuwait has a population of 4.67 million people of which 1.45 million are Kuwaiti citizens while the remaining 2.8 million are foreign nationals from over 100 countries.

      2. Women's rights in Kuwait

        Women's suffrage in Kuwait

        The first bill which would have given women the right to vote in Kuwait was put to the parliament in 1963. It was ultimately overturned due to pressure from conservatives. Bills continued to be denied through 1985 and 1986. Kuwait then became heavily involved in the Iraq-Iran war, and women began demanding recognition for their efforts in keeping their families and society functional. The parliament agreed and the first woman was finally appointed as the ambassador of the Persian Gulf in 1993. In 1996, 500 women stopped working for an hour to show solidarity in their right for suffrage, and demonstrations continued throughout the next 6 years. In May 1999 a decree that allowed women the right to vote and run for office was issued by the emir, however it was overruled again by the parliament 6 months later.

      3. Unicameral legislature of Kuwait

        National Assembly (Kuwait)

        The National Assembly is the unicameral legislature of Kuwait. The National Assembly meets in Kuwait City. Political parties are illegal in Kuwait, candidates run as independents. The National Assembly is made up of 50 elected members and 16 appointed government ministers.

  4. 2003

    1. In Morocco, 33 civilians are killed and more than 100 people are injured in the Casablanca terrorist attacks.

      1. Country in North Africa

        Morocco

        Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to the east, and the disputed territory of Western Sahara to the south. Mauritania lies to the south of Western Sahara. Morocco also claims the Spanish exclaves of Ceuta, Melilla and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, and several small Spanish-controlled islands off its coast. It spans an area of 446,300 km2 (172,300 sq mi) or 710,850 km2 (274,460 sq mi), with a population of roughly 37 million. Its official and predominant religion is Islam, and the official languages are Arabic and Berber; the Moroccan dialect of Arabic and French are also widely spoken. Moroccan identity and culture is a mix of Arab, Berber, and European cultures. Its capital is Rabat, while its largest city is Casablanca.

      2. 2003 series of suicide bombings by Salafi Jihadist militants in Casablanca, Morocco

        2003 Casablanca bombings

        The 2003 Casablanca bombings were a series of suicide bombings on May 16, 2003, in Casablanca, Morocco. The attacks were the deadliest terrorist attacks in the country's history. Forty-five people were killed in the attacks. The suicide bombers came from the shanty towns of Sidi Moumen, a poor suburb of Casablanca. That same year, Adil Charkaoui, a Casablanca-based resident who was issued a Security Certificate in Montreal, Canada, was charged with supporting terrorism, and rumours allege he may have played a financial role in the bombings.

  5. 1997

    1. Mobutu Sese Seko, the President of Zaire, flees the country.

      1. President of Zaire from 1965 to 1997

        Mobutu Sese Seko

        Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu Wa Za Banga was a Congolese politician and military officer who was the president of Zaire from 1965 to 1997. He also served as Chairman of the Organisation of African Unity from 1967 to 1968. During the Congo Crisis, Mobutu, serving as Chief of Staff of the Army and supported by Belgium and the United States, deposed the democratically elected government of left-wing nationalist Patrice Lumumba in 1960. Mobutu installed a government that arranged for Lumumba's execution in 1961, and continued to lead the country's armed forces until he took power directly in a second coup in 1965.

      2. Country in Central Africa from 1971 to 1997

        Zaire

        Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa, and the 11th-largest country in the world. With a population of over 23 million inhabitants, Zaire was the most-populous officially Francophone country in Africa, as well as one of the most populous in Africa.

  6. 1991

    1. Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom addresses a joint session of the United States Congress. She is the first British monarch to address the U.S. Congress.

      1. Queen of the United Kingdom from 1952 to 2022

        Elizabeth II

        Elizabeth II was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during her lifetime, and was head of state of 15 realms at the time of her death. Her reign of 70 years and 214 days was the longest of any British monarch and the longest verified reign of any female monarch in history.

      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.

  7. 1988

    1. A report by the Surgeon General of the United States C. Everett Koop states that the addictive properties of nicotine are similar to those of heroin and cocaine.

      1. Head of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps

        Surgeon General of the United States

        The surgeon general of the United States is the operational head of the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHSCC) and thus the leading spokesperson on matters of public health in the federal government of the United States. The Surgeon General's office and staff are known as the Office of the Surgeon General (OSG), which is housed within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health.

      2. American pediatric surgeon and public health administrator (1916–2013)

        C. Everett Koop

        Charles Everett Koop was an American pediatric surgeon and public health administrator. He was a vice admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and served as the 13th Surgeon General of the United States under President Ronald Reagan from 1982 to 1989. According to the Associated Press, "Koop was the only surgeon general to become a household name" due to his frequent public presence around the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s.

      3. Continual use of drugs (including alcohol) despite detrimental consequences

        Substance use disorder

        Substance use disorder (SUD) is the persistent use of drugs despite substantial harm and adverse consequences as a result of their use. Substance use disorders are characterized by an array of mental/emotional, physical, and behavioral problems such as chronic guilt; an inability to reduce or stop consuming the substance(s) despite repeated attempts; driving while intoxicated; and physiological withdrawal symptoms. Drug classes that are involved in SUD include: alcohol; cannabis; phencyclidine and other hallucinogens, such as arylcyclohexylamines; inhalants; opioids; sedatives, hypnotics, or anxiolytics; stimulants; tobacco; and other or unknown substances.

      4. Mild chemical stimulant naturally found in some plants

        Nicotine

        Nicotine is a naturally produced alkaloid in the nightshade family of plants and is widely used recreationally as a stimulant and anxiolytic. As a pharmaceutical drug, it is used for smoking cessation to relieve withdrawal symptoms. Nicotine acts as a receptor agonist at most nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), except at two nicotinic receptor subunits where it acts as a receptor antagonist.

      5. Opioid used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects

        Heroin

        Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brown powders sold illegally around the world as heroin have variable "cuts". Black tar heroin is a variable admixture of morphine derivatives—predominantly 6-MAM (6-monoacetylmorphine), which is the result of crude acetylation during clandestine production of street heroin. Heroin is used medically in several countries to relieve pain, such as during childbirth or a heart attack, as well as in opioid replacement therapy.

      6. Tropane alkaloid and stimulant drug

        Cocaine

        Cocaine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South America, Erythroxylum coca and Erythroxylum novogranatense. After extraction from coca leaves and further processing into cocaine hydrochloride, the drug is often snorted, applied topically to the mouth, or dissolved and injected into a vein. It can also then be turned into free base form, in which it can be heated until sublimated and then the vapours can be inhaled. Cocaine stimulates the reward pathway in the brain. Mental effects may include an intense feeling of happiness, sexual arousal, loss of contact with reality, or agitation. Physical effects may include a fast heart rate, sweating, and dilated pupils. High doses can result in high blood pressure or high body temperature. Effects begin within seconds to minutes of use and last between five and ninety minutes. As cocaine also has numbing and blood vessel constriction properties, it is occasionally used during surgery on the throat or inside of the nose to control pain, bleeding, and vocal cord spasm.

  8. 1977

    1. The first Chuck E. Cheese location, the first family restaurant to integrate food, animated entertainment (example pictured), and an indoor arcade, opened in San Jose, California.

      1. US arcade / themed pizza restaurant chain

        Chuck E. Cheese

        Chuck E. Cheese is an American family entertainment center and pizza restaurant chain founded in 1977 by Atari's co-founder Nolan Bushnell. Headquartered in Irving, Texas, each location features arcade games, amusement rides, and character stage shows in addition to serving pizza and other food items; former mainstays included ball pits, crawl tubes, and animatronic shows. The chain's name is taken from its main character and mascot, Chuck E. Cheese. The first location opened as Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre in San Jose, California. It was the first family restaurant to integrate food with arcade games and animated entertainment.

      2. Based upon menu style, preparation methods and pricing, as well by how the food is served

        Types of restaurants

        Restaurants fall into several industry classifications, based upon menu style, preparation methods and pricing, as well as the means by which the food is served to the customer. This article mainly describes the situation in the USA, while categorisation differs widely around the world.

      3. Mechatronic puppets

        Animatronics

        Animatronics refers to mechatronic puppets. They are a modern variant of the automaton and are often used for the portrayal of characters in films and in theme park attractions.

      4. Venue where people play arcade games

        Amusement arcade

        An amusement arcade is a venue where people play arcade games, including arcade video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, merchandisers, or coin-operated billiards or air hockey tables. In some countries, some types of arcades are also legally permitted to provide gambling machines such as slot machines or pachinko machines. Games are usually housed in cabinets. The term used for ancestors of these venues in the beginning of the 20th century was penny arcades.

      5. City in California, United States

        San Jose, California

        San Jose, officially San José, is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 population of 1,013,240, it is the most populous city in both the Bay Area and the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland Combined Statistical Area, which contain 7.7 million and 9.7 million people respectively, the third-most populous city in California, and the tenth-most populous in the United States. Located in the center of the Santa Clara Valley on the southern shore of San Francisco Bay, San Jose covers an area of 179.97 sq mi (466.1 km2). San Jose is the county seat of Santa Clara County and the main component of the San Jose–Sunnyvale–Santa Clara Metropolitan Statistical Area, with an estimated population of around two million residents in 2018.

  9. 1975

    1. Japanese climber Junko Tabei became the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

      1. 20th-century Japanese mountain climber

        Junko Tabei

        Junko Tabei was a Japanese mountaineer, author and a teacher. She was the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest and the first woman to ascend the Seven Summits, climbing the highest peak on every continent.

      2. Earth's highest mountain, part of the Himalaya between Nepal and Tibet

        Mount Everest

        Mount Everest is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation of 8,848.86 m (29,031.7 ft) was most recently established in 2020 by the Chinese and Nepali authorities.

    2. Based on the results of a referendum held about one month earlier, the Kingdom of Sikkim (flag pictured) abolished its monarchy and was annexed to become the 22nd state of India.

      1. Kingdom in South Asia (1642–1975)

        Kingdom of Sikkim

        The Kingdom of Sikkim, officially Dremoshong until the 1800s, was a hereditary monarchy in the Eastern Himalayas which existed from 1642 to 16 May 1975, when it merged with the Republic of India. It was ruled by Chogyals of the Namgyal dynasty.

      2. State in Northeastern India

        Sikkim

        Sikkim is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Siliguri Corridor, which borders Bangladesh. Sikkim is the least populous and second smallest among the Indian states. Situated in the Eastern Himalaya, Sikkim is notable for its biodiversity, including alpine and subtropical climates, as well as being a host to Kangchenjunga, the highest peak in India and third highest on Earth. Sikkim's capital and largest city is Gangtok. Almost 35% of the state is covered by Khangchendzonga National Park – a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

    3. Junko Tabei from Japan becomes the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

      1. 20th-century Japanese mountain climber

        Junko Tabei

        Junko Tabei was a Japanese mountaineer, author and a teacher. She was the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest and the first woman to ascend the Seven Summits, climbing the highest peak on every continent.

      2. Island country in East Asia

        Japan

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

      3. Earth's highest mountain, part of the Himalaya between Nepal and Tibet

        Mount Everest

        Mount Everest is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation of 8,848.86 m (29,031.7 ft) was most recently established in 2020 by the Chinese and Nepali authorities.

  10. 1974

    1. Josip Broz Tito is elected president for life of Yugoslavia.

      1. President of Yugoslavia from 1953 to 1980

        Josip Broz Tito

        Josip Broz, commonly known as Tito, was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman, serving in various positions from 1943 until his death in 1980. During World War II, he was the leader of the Yugoslav Partisans, often regarded as the most effective resistance movement in German-occupied Europe. He also served as the president of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 14 January 1953 until his death on 4 May 1980.

      2. Title assumed by leaders to retain power

        President for life

        President for life is a title assumed by or granted to some presidents to extend their tenure up until their death. The title sometimes confers on the holder the right to nominate or appoint a successor. The usage of the title of "president for life" rather than a traditionally autocratic title, such as that of a monarch, implies the subversion of liberal democracy by the titleholder. Indeed, sometimes a president for life can proceed to establish a self-proclaimed monarchy, such as Jean-Jacques Dessalines and Henry Christophe in Haiti.

      3. Former European country (1945–1992)

        Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

        The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yugoslavia occurring as a consequence of the Yugoslav Wars. Spanning an area of 255,804 square kilometres (98,766 sq mi) in the Balkans, Yugoslavia was bordered by the Adriatic Sea and Italy to the west, by Austria and Hungary to the north, by Bulgaria and Romania to the east, and by Albania and Greece to the south. It was a one-party socialist state and federation governed by the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, and had six constituent republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia. Within Serbia was the Yugoslav capital city of Belgrade as well as two autonomous Yugoslav provinces: Kosovo and Vojvodina.

  11. 1969

    1. Venera program: Venera 5, a Soviet space probe, lands on Venus.

      1. Soviet program that explored Venus with multiple probes

        Venera

        The Venera program was the name given to a series of space probes developed by the Soviet Union between 1961 and 1984 to gather information about the planet Venus. Ten probes successfully landed on the surface of the planet, including the two Vega program and Venera-Halley probes, while thirteen probes successfully entered the Venusian atmosphere. Due to the extreme surface conditions on Venus, the probes could only survive for a short period on the surface, with times ranging from 23 minutes to two hours.

      2. Soviet space probe to Venus in 1969

        Venera 5

        Venera 5 was a space probe in the Soviet space program Venera for the exploration of Venus.

      3. Unmanned spacecraft that doesn't orbit the Earth, but, instead, explores further into outer space

        Space probe

        A space probe is an artificial satellite that travels through space to collect scientific data. A space probe may orbit Earth; approach the Moon; travel through interplanetary space; flyby, orbit, or land or fly on other planetary bodies; or enter interstellar space.

      4. Second planet from the Sun

        Venus

        Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus appears in Earth's sky never far from the Sun, either as morning star or evening star. Aside from the Sun and Moon, Venus is the brightest natural object in Earth's sky, capable of casting visible shadows on Earth at dark conditions and being visible to the naked eye in broad daylight.

  12. 1966

    1. The Chinese Communist Party issues the "May 16 Notice", marking the beginning of the Cultural Revolution.

      1. Founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China

        Chinese Communist Party

        The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil War against the Kuomintang, and in 1949 Mao proclaimed the establishment of the People's Republic of China. Since then, the CCP has governed China with eight smaller parties within its United Front and has sole control over the People's Liberation Army (PLA). Each successive leader of the CCP has added their own theories to the party's constitution, which outlines the ideological beliefs of the party, collectively referred to as socialism with Chinese characteristics. As of 2022, the CCP has more than 96 million members, making it the second largest political party by party membership in the world after India's Bharatiya Janata Party. The Chinese public generally refers to the CCP as simply "the Party".

      2. Document of the Cultural Revolution

        May 16 Notification

        The May 16 Notification or Circular of May 16, officially Notification, was the first major political declaration of the Chinese Cultural Revolution. It was issued at a May 1966 expanded session of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party. The May 16 Notification ended a political dispute within the CCP stemming from the Beijing Opera play Hai Rui Dismissed from Office by dissolving the top level of the party's cultural apparatus and encouraging mass political movement to oppose rightists within the party. The result was a political victory for Mao Zedong. The Notification is often viewed as the beginning of the Cultural Revolution.

      3. 1966–1976 Maoist sociopolitical movement in China

        Cultural Revolution

        The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal was to preserve Chinese communism by purging remnants of capitalist and traditional elements from Chinese society. The Revolution marked the effective commanding return of Mao –who was still the Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)– to the centre of power, after a period of self-abstention and ceding to less radical leadership in the aftermath of the Mao-led Great Leap Forward debacle and the Great Chinese Famine (1959–1961). The Revolution failed to achieve its main goals.

  13. 1961

    1. Led by Park Chung-hee, the Military Revolution Committee carried out a bloodless coup against the government of Yun Posun in Seoul, ending the Second Republic of Korea.

      1. Leader of South Korea from 1961 to 1979

        Park Chung-hee

        Park Chung-hee was a South Korean politician and army general who served as the dictator of South Korea from 1961 until his assassination in 1979; ruling as an unelected military strongman from 1961 to 1963, then as the third President of South Korea from 1963 to 1979.

      2. 1961 military coup which installed Park Chung-hee as dictator of South Korea

        May 16 coup

        The May 16 military coup d'état was a military coup d'état in South Korea in 1961, organized and carried out by Park Chung-hee and his allies who formed the Military Revolutionary Committee, nominally led by Army Chief of Staff Chang Do-yong after the latter's acquiescence on the day of the coup. The coup rendered powerless the democratically elected government of Prime Minister Chang Myon and President Yun Posun, and ended the Second Republic, installing a reformist military Supreme Council for National Reconstruction effectively led by Park, who took over as chairman after General Chang's arrest in July.

      3. President of South Korea from 1960 to 1962

        Yun Posun

        Yun Po-sun was a South Korean politician and activist who served as the second president of South Korea from 1960 to 1962. He was the only president of the parliamentary Second Republic of Korea.

      4. Government of South Korea from 1960 to 1961

        Second Republic of Korea

        The second Republic of Korea was the government of South Korea from April 1960 to May 1961.

    2. Park Chung-hee leads a coup d'état to overthrow the Second Republic of South Korea.

      1. Leader of South Korea from 1961 to 1979

        Park Chung-hee

        Park Chung-hee was a South Korean politician and army general who served as the dictator of South Korea from 1961 until his assassination in 1979; ruling as an unelected military strongman from 1961 to 1963, then as the third President of South Korea from 1963 to 1979.

      2. 1961 military coup which installed Park Chung-hee as dictator of South Korea

        May 16 coup

        The May 16 military coup d'état was a military coup d'état in South Korea in 1961, organized and carried out by Park Chung-hee and his allies who formed the Military Revolutionary Committee, nominally led by Army Chief of Staff Chang Do-yong after the latter's acquiescence on the day of the coup. The coup rendered powerless the democratically elected government of Prime Minister Chang Myon and President Yun Posun, and ended the Second Republic, installing a reformist military Supreme Council for National Reconstruction effectively led by Park, who took over as chairman after General Chang's arrest in July.

      3. Government of South Korea from 1960 to 1961

        Second Republic of Korea

        The second Republic of Korea was the government of South Korea from April 1960 to May 1961.

  14. 1960

    1. American physicist Theodore Maiman operated the first working laser at Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, California.

      1. American physicist (1927–2007); inventor of the first working laser

        Theodore Maiman

        Theodore Harold Maiman was an American engineer and physicist who is widely credited with the invention of the laser. Maiman's laser led to the subsequent development of many other types of lasers. The laser was successfully fired on May 16, 1960. In a July 7, 1960 press conference in Manhattan, Maiman and his employer, Hughes Aircraft Company, announced the laser to the world. Maiman was granted a patent for his invention, and he received many awards and honors for his work. His experiences in developing the first laser and subsequent related events are recounted in his book, The Laser Odyssey, republished recently under a new title The Laser Inventor: Memoirs of Theodore H. Maiman.

      2. Device which emits light via optical amplification

        Laser

        A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The first laser was built in 1960 by Theodore H. Maiman at Hughes Research Laboratories, based on theoretical work by Charles Hard Townes and Arthur Leonard Schawlow.

      3. Research facility in California, USA

        HRL Laboratories

        HRL Laboratories is a research center in Malibu, California, established in 1960. Formerly the research arm of Hughes Aircraft, HRL is currently owned by General Motors Corporation and Boeing. The research facility is housed in two large, white multi-story buildings overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

      4. City in California, United States

        Malibu, California

        Malibu is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, situated about 30 miles (48 km) west of Downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate and its 21-mile (34 km) strip of the Malibu coast, incorporated in 1991 into the City of Malibu. The exclusive Malibu Colony has been historically home to Hollywood celebrities. People in the entertainment industry and other affluent residents live throughout the city, yet many residents are middle class. Most Malibu residents live from a half-mile to within a few hundred yards of Pacific Coast Highway, which traverses the city, with some residents living up to one mile away from the beach up narrow canyons. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 10,654.

    2. Theodore Maiman operates the first optical laser (a ruby laser), at Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, California.

      1. American physicist (1927–2007); inventor of the first working laser

        Theodore Maiman

        Theodore Harold Maiman was an American engineer and physicist who is widely credited with the invention of the laser. Maiman's laser led to the subsequent development of many other types of lasers. The laser was successfully fired on May 16, 1960. In a July 7, 1960 press conference in Manhattan, Maiman and his employer, Hughes Aircraft Company, announced the laser to the world. Maiman was granted a patent for his invention, and he received many awards and honors for his work. His experiences in developing the first laser and subsequent related events are recounted in his book, The Laser Odyssey, republished recently under a new title The Laser Inventor: Memoirs of Theodore H. Maiman.

      2. Device which emits light via optical amplification

        Laser

        A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The first laser was built in 1960 by Theodore H. Maiman at Hughes Research Laboratories, based on theoretical work by Charles Hard Townes and Arthur Leonard Schawlow.

      3. Solid-state laser

        Ruby laser

        A ruby laser is a solid-state laser that uses a synthetic ruby crystal as its gain medium. The first working laser was a ruby laser made by Theodore H. "Ted" Maiman at Hughes Research Laboratories on May 16, 1960.

      4. Research facility in California, USA

        HRL Laboratories

        HRL Laboratories is a research center in Malibu, California, established in 1960. Formerly the research arm of Hughes Aircraft, HRL is currently owned by General Motors Corporation and Boeing. The research facility is housed in two large, white multi-story buildings overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

      5. City in California, United States

        Malibu, California

        Malibu is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, situated about 30 miles (48 km) west of Downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate and its 21-mile (34 km) strip of the Malibu coast, incorporated in 1991 into the City of Malibu. The exclusive Malibu Colony has been historically home to Hollywood celebrities. People in the entertainment industry and other affluent residents live throughout the city, yet many residents are middle class. Most Malibu residents live from a half-mile to within a few hundred yards of Pacific Coast Highway, which traverses the city, with some residents living up to one mile away from the beach up narrow canyons. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 10,654.

  15. 1959

    1. The Tritons' Fountain in Valletta, one of Malta's most important Modernist landmarks, was turned on for the first time.

      1. Public fountain outside the City Gate of Valletta, Malta

        Tritons' Fountain

        The Tritons’ Fountain is a fountain located just outside the City Gate of Valletta, Malta. It consists of three bronze Tritons holding up a large basin, balanced on a concentric base built out of concrete and clad in travertine slabs. The fountain is one of Malta's most important Modernist landmarks.

      2. Capital of Malta

        Valletta

        Valletta is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 was 6,444. According to the data from 2020 by Eurostat, the Functional Urban Area and metropolitan region covered the whole island and has a population of 480,134. Valletta is the southernmost capital of Europe, and at just 0.61 square kilometres (0.24 sq mi), it is the European Union's smallest capital city.

      3. Philosophical and art movement

        Modernism

        Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, and social organization which reflected the newly emerging industrial world, including features such as urbanization, architecture, new technologies, and war. Artists attempted to depart from traditional forms of art, which they considered outdated or obsolete. The poet Ezra Pound's 1934 injunction to "Make it New" was the touchstone of the movement's approach.

    2. The Triton Fountain in Valletta, Malta is turned on for the first time.

      1. Public fountain outside the City Gate of Valletta, Malta

        Tritons' Fountain

        The Tritons’ Fountain is a fountain located just outside the City Gate of Valletta, Malta. It consists of three bronze Tritons holding up a large basin, balanced on a concentric base built out of concrete and clad in travertine slabs. The fountain is one of Malta's most important Modernist landmarks.

      2. Capital of Malta

        Valletta

        Valletta is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 was 6,444. According to the data from 2020 by Eurostat, the Functional Urban Area and metropolitan region covered the whole island and has a population of 480,134. Valletta is the southernmost capital of Europe, and at just 0.61 square kilometres (0.24 sq mi), it is the European Union's smallest capital city.

  16. 1958

    1. The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, a supersonic interceptor aircraft, set a world flight airspeed record of 1,404.012 mph (2,259.538 km/h).

      1. 1956 fighter aircraft family by Lockheed

        Lockheed F-104 Starfighter

        The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is an American single-engine, supersonic air superiority fighter which was extensively deployed as a fighter-bomber during the Cold War. Created as a day fighter by Lockheed as one of the "Century Series" of fighter aircraft for the United States Air Force (USAF), it was developed into an all-weather multirole aircraft in the early 1960s and produced by several other nations, seeing widespread service outside the United States.

      2. Fighter aircraft classification; tasked with defensive interception of enemy aircraft

        Interceptor aircraft

        An interceptor aircraft, or simply interceptor, is a type of fighter aircraft designed specifically for the defensive interception role against an attacking enemy aircraft, particularly bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. Aircraft that are capable of being or are employed as both ‘standard’ air superiority fighters and as interceptors are sometimes known as fighter-interceptors. There are two general classes of interceptor: light fighters, designed for high performance over short range; and heavy fighters, which are intended to operate over longer ranges, in contested airspace and adverse meteorological conditions. While the second type was exemplified historically by specialized night fighter and all-weather interceptor designs, the integration of mid-air refueling, satellite navigation, on-board radar and beyond visual range (BVR) missile systems since the 1960s has allowed most frontline fighter designs to fill the roles once reserved for specialised night/all-weather fighters.

      3. Flight airspeed record

        An air speed record is the highest airspeed attained by an aircraft of a particular class. The rules for all official aviation records are defined by Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), which also ratifies any claims. Speed records are divided into multiple classes with sub-divisions. There are three classes of aircraft: landplanes, seaplanes, and amphibians; then within these classes, there are records for aircraft in a number of weight categories. There are still further subdivisions for piston-engined, turbojet, turboprop, and rocket-engined aircraft. Within each of these groups, records are defined for speed over a straight course and for closed circuits of various sizes carrying various payloads.

  17. 1951

    1. The first regularly scheduled transatlantic flights begin between Idlewild Airport (now John F Kennedy International Airport) in New York City and Heathrow Airport in London, operated by El Al Israel Airlines.

      1. Flight of an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean

        Transatlantic flight

        A transatlantic flight is the flight of an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean from Europe, Africa, South Asia, or the Middle East to North America, Central America, or South America, or vice versa. Such flights have been made by fixed-wing aircraft, airships, balloons and other aircraft.

      2. Major U.S. airport in New York City

        John F. Kennedy International Airport

        John F. Kennedy International Airport is the main international airport serving New York City. The airport is the busiest of the seven airports in the New York airport system, the 13th-busiest airport in the United States, and the busiest international air passenger gateway into North America. Over 90 airlines operate from the airport, with nonstop or direct flights to destinations in all six inhabited continents.

      3. Main airport serving London, England, United Kingdom

        Heathrow Airport

        Heathrow Airport, called London Airport until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow, is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports serving Greater London. The airport facility is owned and operated by Heathrow Airport Holdings. In 2021, it was the seventh-busiest airport in the world by international passenger traffic and eighth-busiest in Europe by total passenger traffic. Late 2022, airport started to operate part time only, closing down its check in, connecting flights gates, lounges at 10 pm and opening at 4:30 am. Excuses presented varied from lack of manpower, cost cutting, noise limitation, etc.

      4. Flag-carrier airline of Israel

        El Al

        El Al Israel Airlines Ltd., trading as El Al, is the flag carrier of Israel. Since its inaugural flight from Geneva to Tel Aviv in September 1948, the airline has grown to serve over 50 destinations, operating scheduled domestic and international services and cargo flights within Israel, and to Europe, the Middle East, the Americas, Africa, and the Far East, from its main base in Ben Gurion Airport.

  18. 1943

    1. Second World War: The Royal Air Force's "Dambusters" squadron embarked on an attack on German dams using bouncing bombs designed by Barnes Wallis.

      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. Aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces

        Royal Air Force

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

      3. Flying squadron of the Royal Air Force

        No. 617 Squadron RAF

        Number 617 Squadron is a Royal Air Force aircraft squadron, originally based at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire and currently based at RAF Marham in Norfolk. It is commonly known as "The Dambusters", for its actions during Operation Chastise against German dams during the Second World War. In the early 21st century it operated the Panavia Tornado GR4 in the ground attack and reconnaissance role until being disbanded on 28 March 2014. The Dambusters reformed on 18 April 2018, and was equipped at RAF Marham in June 2018 with the Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning, becoming the first squadron to be based in the UK with this advanced V/STOL type. The unit is composed of both RAF and Royal Navy personnel, and operates from the Royal Navy's Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers.

      4. 1943 attack on German dams by Royal Air Force

        Operation Chastise

        Operation Chastise or commonly known as the Dambusters Raid was an attack on German dams carried out on the night of 16/17 May 1943 by 617 Squadron RAF Bomber Command, later called the Dam Busters, using special "bouncing bombs" developed by Barnes Wallis. The Möhne and Edersee dams were breached, causing catastrophic flooding of the Ruhr valley and of villages in the Eder valley; the Sorpe Dam sustained only minor damage. Two hydroelectric power stations were destroyed and several more damaged. Factories and mines were also damaged and destroyed. An estimated 1,600 civilians – about 600 Germans and 1,000 forced labourers, mainly Soviet – were killed by the flooding. Despite rapid repairs by the Germans, production did not return to normal until September. The RAF lost 53 aircrew killed and 3 captured, with 8 aircraft destroyed.

      5. Bomb designed to bounce to a target across water in a calculated manner to avoid obstacles

        Bouncing bomb

        A bouncing bomb is a bomb designed to bounce to a target across water in a calculated manner to avoid obstacles such as torpedo nets, and to allow both the bomb's speed on arrival at the target and the timing of its detonation to be pre-determined, in a similar fashion to a regular naval depth charge. The inventor of the first such bomb was the British engineer Barnes Wallis, whose "Upkeep" bouncing bomb was used in the RAF's Operation Chastise of May 1943 to bounce into German dams and explode under water, with effect similar to the underground detonation of the Grand Slam and Tallboy earthquake bombs, both of which he also invented.

      6. English engineer and inventor (1887–1979)

        Barnes Wallis

        Sir Barnes Neville Wallis was an English engineer and inventor. He is best known for inventing the bouncing bomb used by the Royal Air Force in Operation Chastise to attack the dams of the Ruhr Valley during World War II.

    2. The Holocaust: The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising ends.

      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. Jewish insurgency against Nazi Germany in German-occupied Poland during World War II

        Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

        The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was the 1943 act of Jewish resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto in German-occupied Poland during World War II to oppose Nazi Germany's final effort to transport the remaining ghetto population to Majdanek and Treblinka death camps.

    3. Operation Chastise is undertaken by RAF Bomber Command with specially equipped Avro Lancasters to destroy the Mohne, Sorpe, and Eder dams in the Ruhr valley.

      1. 1943 attack on German dams by Royal Air Force

        Operation Chastise

        Operation Chastise or commonly known as the Dambusters Raid was an attack on German dams carried out on the night of 16/17 May 1943 by 617 Squadron RAF Bomber Command, later called the Dam Busters, using special "bouncing bombs" developed by Barnes Wallis. The Möhne and Edersee dams were breached, causing catastrophic flooding of the Ruhr valley and of villages in the Eder valley; the Sorpe Dam sustained only minor damage. Two hydroelectric power stations were destroyed and several more damaged. Factories and mines were also damaged and destroyed. An estimated 1,600 civilians – about 600 Germans and 1,000 forced labourers, mainly Soviet – were killed by the flooding. Despite rapid repairs by the Germans, production did not return to normal until September. The RAF lost 53 aircrew killed and 3 captured, with 8 aircraft destroyed.

      2. World War II British heavy bomber aircraft

        Avro Lancaster

        The Avro Lancaster is a British Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the Short Stirling, all three aircraft being four-engined heavy bombers adopted by the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the same wartime era.

  19. 1929

    1. The 1st Academy Awards ceremony was held at The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles.

      1. Award ceremony for films of 1927 and 1928

        1st Academy Awards

        The 1st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) and hosted by AMPAS president Douglas Fairbanks, honored the best films from 1 August 1927 to 31 July 1928 and took place on May 16, 1929, at a private dinner held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles, California. Tickets cost $5 ; 270 people attended the event, which lasted 15 minutes. It is the only Academy Awards ceremony not broadcast on either radio or television; a radio broadcast was introduced for the 2nd Academy Awards.

      2. Hotel in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California

        The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel

        The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel is a historic hotel located at 7000 Hollywood Boulevard in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California. It opened on May 15, 1927, and is the oldest continually operating hotel in Los Angeles.

    2. In Hollywood, the first Academy Awards ceremony takes place.

      1. Neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, United States

        Hollywood, Los Angeles

        Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, Walt Disney Studios, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros., and Universal Pictures, are located near or in Hollywood.

      2. Award ceremony for films of 1927 and 1928

        1st Academy Awards

        The 1st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) and hosted by AMPAS president Douglas Fairbanks, honored the best films from 1 August 1927 to 31 July 1928 and took place on May 16, 1929, at a private dinner held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles, California. Tickets cost $5 ; 270 people attended the event, which lasted 15 minutes. It is the only Academy Awards ceremony not broadcast on either radio or television; a radio broadcast was introduced for the 2nd Academy Awards.

      3. Annual awards for cinematic achievements

        Academy Awards

        The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment industry worldwide. Given annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), the awards are an international recognition of excellence in cinematic achievements, as assessed by the Academy's voting membership. The various category winners are awarded a copy of a golden statuette as a trophy, officially called the "Academy Award of Merit", although more commonly referred to by its nickname, the "Oscar". The statuette, depicting a knight rendered in the Art Deco style, was originally sculpted by Los Angeles artist George Stanley from a design sketch by art director Cedric Gibbons.

  20. 1925

    1. The first modern performance of Claudio Monteverdi's opera Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria occurred in Paris.

      1. Italian composer (1567–1643)

        Claudio Monteverdi

        Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string player. A composer of both secular and sacred music, and a pioneer in the development of opera, he is considered a crucial transitional figure between the Renaissance and Baroque periods of music history.

      2. 1639 opera by Claudio Monteverdi

        Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria

        Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria is an opera consisting of a prologue and five acts, set by Claudio Monteverdi to a libretto by Giacomo Badoaro. The opera was first performed at the Teatro Santi Giovanni e Paolo in Venice during the 1639–1640 carnival season. The story, taken from the second half of Homer's Odyssey, tells how constancy and virtue are ultimately rewarded, treachery and deception overcome. After his long journey home from the Trojan Wars Ulisse, king of Ithaca, finally returns to his kingdom where he finds that a trio of villainous suitors are importuning his faithful queen, Penelope. With the assistance of the gods, his son Telemaco and a staunch friend Eumete, Ulisse vanquishes the suitors and recovers his kingdom.

    2. The first modern performance of Claudio Monteverdi's opera Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria occurred in Paris.

      1. Italian composer (1567–1643)

        Claudio Monteverdi

        Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string player. A composer of both secular and sacred music, and a pioneer in the development of opera, he is considered a crucial transitional figure between the Renaissance and Baroque periods of music history.

      2. 1639 opera by Claudio Monteverdi

        Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria

        Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria is an opera consisting of a prologue and five acts, set by Claudio Monteverdi to a libretto by Giacomo Badoaro. The opera was first performed at the Teatro Santi Giovanni e Paolo in Venice during the 1639–1640 carnival season. The story, taken from the second half of Homer's Odyssey, tells how constancy and virtue are ultimately rewarded, treachery and deception overcome. After his long journey home from the Trojan Wars Ulisse, king of Ithaca, finally returns to his kingdom where he finds that a trio of villainous suitors are importuning his faithful queen, Penelope. With the assistance of the gods, his son Telemaco and a staunch friend Eumete, Ulisse vanquishes the suitors and recovers his kingdom.

      3. Capital and largest city of France

        Paris

        Paris is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km², making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Since the 17th century, Paris has been one of the world's major centres of finance, diplomacy, commerce, fashion, gastronomy, and science. For its leading role in the arts and sciences, as well as its very early system of street lighting, in the 19th century it became known as "the City of Light". Like London, prior to the Second World War, it was also sometimes called the capital of the world.

  21. 1920

    1. In Rome, Pope Benedict XV canonizes Joan of Arc.

      1. Head of the Catholic Church from 1914 to 1922

        Pope Benedict XV

        Pope Benedict XV, born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His pontificate was largely overshadowed by World War I and its political, social, and humanitarian consequences in Europe.

      2. Mass of granting sainthood to Joan of Arc

        Canonization of Joan of Arc

        Joan of Arc (1412–1431) was formally canonized as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church on 16 May 1920 by Pope Benedict XV in his bull Divina disponente, which concluded the canonization process that the Sacred Congregation of Rites instigated after a petition of 1869 of the French Catholic hierarchy. Although pro-English clergy had Joan burnt at the stake for heresy in 1431, she was rehabilitated in 1456 after a posthumous retrial. Subsequently, she became a folk saint among French Catholics and soldiers inspired by her story of being commanded by God to fight for France against England. Many French regimes encouraged her cult, and the Third Republic was sympathetic to the canonization petition prior to the 1905 separation of church and state.

  22. 1919

    1. A naval Curtiss NC-4 aircraft commanded by Albert Cushing Read leaves Trepassey, Newfoundland, for Lisbon via the Azores on the first transatlantic flight.

      1. Curtiss NC-4

        The NC-4 was a Curtiss NC flying boat that was the first aircraft to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, albeit not non-stop. The NC designation was derived from the collaborative efforts of the Navy (N) and Curtiss (C). The NC series flying boats were designed to meet wartime needs, and after the end of World War I they were sent overseas to validate the design concept.

      2. United States Navy admiral

        Albert Cushing Read

        Albert Cushing Read, Sr. was an aviator and Rear Admiral in the United States Navy. He and his crew made the first transatlantic flight in the NC-4, a Curtiss NC flying boat.

      3. Town in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

        Trepassey

        Trepassey is a small fishing community located in Trepassey Bay on the south eastern corner of the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland and Labrador. It was in Trepassey Harbour where the flight of the Friendship took off, with Amelia Earhart on board, the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean.

      4. Province of Canada

        Newfoundland and Labrador

        Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of 405,212 square kilometres. In 2021, the population of Newfoundland and Labrador was estimated to be 521,758. The island of Newfoundland is home to around 94 per cent of the province's population, with more than half residing in the Avalon Peninsula. Labrador borders the province of Quebec, and the French overseas collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon lies about 20 km east of the Burin Peninsula.

      5. 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.

      6. Portuguese archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean

        Azores

        The Azores, officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores, is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal. It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atlantic Ocean, about 1,400 km (870 mi) west of Lisbon, about 1,500 km (930 mi) northwest of Morocco, and about 1,930 km (1,200 mi) southeast of Newfoundland, Canada.

      7. Flight of an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean

        Transatlantic flight

        A transatlantic flight is the flight of an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean from Europe, Africa, South Asia, or the Middle East to North America, Central America, or South America, or vice versa. Such flights have been made by fixed-wing aircraft, airships, balloons and other aircraft.

  23. 1918

    1. The Sedition Act was passed in the United States, forbidding Americans from using "disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language" about the government, flag, or armed forces during the ongoing World War I.

      1. Amendment to the 1917 Espionage Act allowing the U.S. Gov. to suppress wartime dissent

        Sedition Act of 1918

        The Sedition Act of 1918 was an Act of the United States Congress that extended the Espionage Act of 1917 to cover a broader range of offenses, notably speech and the expression of opinion that cast the government or the war effort in a negative light or interfered with the sale of government bonds.

      2. Common government of the United States

        Federal government of the United States

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

      3. National flag

        Flag of the United States

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

      4. Military forces of the United States

        United States Armed Forces

        The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and forms military policy with the Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS), both federal executive departments, acting as the principal organs by which military policy is carried out. All six armed services are among the eight uniformed services of the United States.

    2. The Sedition Act of 1918 is passed by the U.S. Congress, making criticism of the government during wartime an imprisonable offense. It will be repealed less than two years later.

      1. Amendment to the 1917 Espionage Act allowing the U.S. Gov. to suppress wartime dissent

        Sedition Act of 1918

        The Sedition Act of 1918 was an Act of the United States Congress that extended the Espionage Act of 1917 to cover a broader range of offenses, notably speech and the expression of opinion that cast the government or the war effort in a negative light or interfered with the sale of government bonds.

  24. 1916

    1. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the French Third Republic sign the secret wartime Sykes-Picot Agreement partitioning former Ottoman territories such as Iraq and Syria.

      1. Historical sovereign state (1801–1922)

        United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

        The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was a sovereign state in the British Isles that existed between 1801 and 1922, when it included all of Ireland. It was established by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into a unified state. The establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922 led to the remainder later being renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in 1927.

      2. Nation of France from 1870 to 1940

        French Third Republic

        The French Third Republic was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940, after the Fall of France during World War II led to the formation of the Vichy government.

      3. Secret 1916 agreement between the United Kingdom and France

        Sykes–Picot Agreement

        The Sykes–Picot Agreement was a 1916 secret treaty between the United Kingdom and France, with assent from the Russian Empire and the Kingdom of Italy, to define their mutually agreed spheres of influence and control in an eventual partition of the Ottoman Empire.

      4. Division of Ottoman territory after World War I

        Partition of the Ottoman Empire

        The partition of the Ottoman Empire was a geopolitical event that occurred after World War I and the occupation of Constantinople by British, French and Italian troops in November 1918. The partitioning was planned in several agreements made by the Allied Powers early in the course of World War I, notably the Sykes–Picot Agreement, after the Ottoman Empire had joined Germany to form the Ottoman–German Alliance. The huge conglomeration of territories and peoples that formerly comprised the Ottoman Empire was divided into several new states. The Ottoman Empire had been the leading Islamic state in geopolitical, cultural and ideological terms. The partitioning of the Ottoman Empire after the war led to the domination of the Middle East by Western powers such as Britain and France, and saw the creation of the modern Arab world and the Republic of Turkey. Resistance to the influence of these powers came from the Turkish National Movement but did not become widespread in the other post-Ottoman states until the period of rapid decolonization after World War II.

      5. Country in Western Asia

        Iraq

        Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and Kuwait to the southeast, Saudi Arabia to the south, Jordan to the southwest and Syria to the west. The capital and largest city is Baghdad. Iraq is home to diverse ethnic groups including Iraqi Arabs, Kurds, Turkmens, Assyrians, Armenians, Yazidis, Mandaeans, Persians and Shabakis with similarly diverse geography and wildlife. The vast majority of the country's 44 million residents are Muslims – the notable other faiths are Christianity, Yazidism, Mandaeism, Yarsanism and Zoroastrianism. The official languages of Iraq are Arabic and Kurdish; others also recognised in specific regions are Neo-Aramaic, Turkish and Armenian.

      6. Country in Western Asia

        Syria

        Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a Western Asian country located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It is a unitary republic that consists of 14 governorates (subdivisions), and is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east and southeast, Jordan to the south, and Israel and Lebanon to the southwest. Cyprus lies to the west across the Mediterranean Sea. A country of fertile plains, high mountains, and deserts, Syria is home to diverse ethnic and religious groups, including the majority Syrian Arabs, Kurds, Turkmens, Assyrians, Armenians, Circassians, Albanians, and Greeks. Religious groups include Muslims, Christians, Alawites, Druze, and Yazidis. The capital and largest city of Syria is Damascus. Arabs are the largest ethnic group, and Muslims are the largest religious group.

  25. 1891

    1. The International Electrotechnical Exhibition opened in Frankfurt, Germany, featuring the world's first long-distance transmission of high-power, three-phase electric current (the most common form today).

      1. 1891 trade show in Frankfurt am Main, Germany

        International Electrotechnical Exhibition

        The 1891 International Electrotechnical Exhibition was held between 16 May and 19 October on the disused site of the three former Westbahnhöfe in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The exhibition featured the first long-distance transmission of high-power, three-phase electric current, which was generated 175 km away at Lauffen am Neckar. As a result of this successful field trial, three-phase current became established for electrical transmission networks throughout the world.

      2. Largest city in Hesse, Germany

        Frankfurt

        Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main, is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 763,380 inhabitants as of 31 December 2019 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its namesake Main River, it forms a continuous conurbation with the neighboring city of Offenbach am Main and its urban area has a population of over 2.3 million. The city is the heart of the larger Rhine-Main metropolitan region, which has a population of more than 5.6 million and is Germany's second-largest metropolitan region after the Rhine-Ruhr region. Frankfurt's central business district, the Bankenviertel, lies about 90 km (56 mi) northwest of the geographic center of the EU at Gadheim, Lower Franconia. Like France and Franconia, the city is named after the Franks. Frankfurt is the largest city in the Rhine Franconian dialect area.

      3. Common electrical power generation, transmission and distribution method for alternating currents

        Three-phase electric power

        Three-phase electric power is a common type of alternating current used in electricity generation, transmission, and distribution. It is a type of polyphase system employing three wires and is the most common method used by electrical grids worldwide to transfer power.

  26. 1888

    1. Nikola Tesla delivers a lecture describing the equipment which will allow efficient generation and use of alternating currents to transmit electric power over long distances.

      1. Serbian-American inventor (1856–1943)

        Nikola Tesla

        Nikola Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, and futurist best known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current (AC) electricity supply system.

      2. Electric current that periodically reverses direction

        Alternating current

        Alternating current (AC) is an electric current which periodically reverses direction and changes its magnitude continuously with time in contrast to direct current (DC) which flows only in one direction. Alternating current is the form in which electric power is delivered to businesses and residences, and it is the form of electrical energy that consumers typically use when they plug kitchen appliances, televisions, fans and electric lamps into a wall socket. A common source of DC power is a battery cell in a flashlight. The abbreviations AC and DC are often used to mean simply alternating and direct, as when they modify current or voltage.

      3. Bulk movement of electrical energy from a generating site to an electrical substation

        Electric power transmission

        Electric power transmission is the bulk movement of electrical energy from a generating site, such as a power plant, to an electrical substation. The interconnected lines that facilitate this movement form a transmission network. This is distinct from the local wiring between high-voltage substations and customers, which is typically referred to as electric power distribution. The combined transmission and distribution network is part of electricity delivery, known as the electrical grid.

  27. 1877

    1. The 16 May 1877 crisis occurs in France, ending with the dissolution of the National Assembly 22 June and affirming the interpretation of the Constitution of 1875 as a parliamentary rather than presidential system. The elections held in October 1877 led to the defeat of the royalists as a formal political movement in France.

      1. Constitutional crisis in the French Third Republic

        16 May 1877 crisis

        The 16 May 1877 crisis was a constitutional crisis in the French Third Republic concerning the distribution of power between the president and the legislature. When the royalist president Patrice MacMahon dismissed the Opportunist Republican prime minister Jules Simon, the parliament on 16 May 1877 refused to support the new government and was dissolved by the president. New elections resulted in the royalists increasing their seat totals, but nonetheless resulted in a majority for the Republicans. Thus, the interpretation of the 1875 Constitution as a parliamentary system prevailed over a presidential system. The crisis ultimately sealed the defeat of the royalist movement, and was instrumental in creating the conditions of the longevity of the Third Republic.

      2. Nation of France from 1870 to 1940

        French Third Republic

        The French Third Republic was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940, after the Fall of France during World War II led to the formation of the Vichy government.

      3. Bicameral legislature of the French Republic

        French Parliament

        The French Parliament is the bicameral legislature of the French Republic, consisting of the Senate and the National Assembly. Each assembly conducts legislative sessions at separate locations in Paris: the Senate meets in the Palais du Luxembourg and the National Assembly convenes at Palais Bourbon.

      4. Fundamental laws of France during the Third Republic and Vichy periods (1875-1946)

        French Constitutional Laws of 1875

        The Constitutional Laws of 1875 were the laws passed in France by the National Assembly between February and July 1875 which established the Third French Republic.

      5. Form of government

        Parliamentary system

        A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the legislature, typically a parliament, to which it is accountable. In a parliamentary system, the head of state is usually a person distinct from the head of government. This is in contrast to a presidential system, where the head of state often is also the head of government and, most importantly, where the executive does not derive its democratic legitimacy from the legislature.

      6. Form of government

        Presidential system

        A presidential system, or single executive system, is a form of government in which a head of government, typically with the title of president, leads an executive branch that is separate from the legislative branch in systems that use separation of powers. This head of government is in most cases also the head of state. In a presidential system, the head of government is directly or indirectly elected by a group of citizens and is not responsible to the legislature, and the legislature cannot dismiss the president except in extraordinary cases. A presidential system contrasts with a parliamentary system, where the head of government comes to power by gaining the confidence of an elected legislature.

      7. Monarchism in France

        Monarchism in France is the advocacy of restoring the monarchy in France, which was abolished after the 1870 defeat by Prussia, arguably before that in 1848 with the establishment of the French Second Republic. The French monarchist movements are roughly divided today in three groups:The Legitimists for the royal House of Bourbon, the Orléanists for the cadet branch of the House of Orléans, and the Bonapartists for the imperial House of Bonaparte

  28. 1874

    1. A flood on the Mill River in Massachusetts destroys much of four villages and kills 139 people.

      1. Tributary of the Connecticut River in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, USA

        Mill River (Northampton, Massachusetts)

        The Mill River is a 13.5-mile-long (21.7 km) tributary of the Connecticut River arising in the western hilltowns of Hampshire County, Massachusetts. It is notable for dropping in elevation, along with its West Branch, more than 700 feet (210 m) over 15 miles (24 km).

      2. U.S. state

        Massachusetts

        Massachusetts, officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders on the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Maine to the east, Connecticut and Rhode Island to the south, New Hampshire and Vermont to the north, and New York to the west. The state's capital and most populous city, as well as its cultural and financial center, is Boston. Massachusetts is also home to the urban core of Greater Boston, the largest metropolitan area in New England and a region profoundly influential upon American history, academia, and the research economy, Originally dependent on agriculture, fishing, and trade. Massachusetts was transformed into a manufacturing center during the Industrial Revolution. During the 20th century, Massachusetts's economy shifted from manufacturing to services. Modern Massachusetts is a global leader in biotechnology, engineering, higher education, finance, and maritime trade.

  29. 1868

    1. The United States Senate fails to convict President Andrew Johnson by one vote.

      1. Upper house of the United States Congress

        United States Senate

        The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.

      2. 1868 impeachment of Andrew Johnson, 17th US president

        Impeachment of Andrew Johnson

        The impeachment of Andrew Johnson was initiated on February 24, 1868, when the United States House of Representatives passed a resolution to impeach Andrew Johnson, the 17th president of the United States, for "high crimes and misdemeanors". The alleged high crimes and misdemeanors were afterwards specified in eleven articles of impeachment adopted by the House on March 2 and 3, 1868. The primary charge against Johnson was that he had violated the Tenure of Office Act. Specifically, that he had acted to remove from office Edwin Stanton and to replace him with Brevet Major General Lorenzo Thomas as secretary of war ad interim. The Tenure of Office had been passed by Congress in March 1867 over Johnson's veto with the primary intent of protecting Stanton from being fired without the Senate's consent. Stanton often sided with the Radical Republican faction and did not have a good relationship with Johnson.

      3. President of the United States from 1865 to 1869

        Andrew Johnson

        Andrew Johnson was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a Democrat who ran with Lincoln on the National Union ticket, coming to office as the Civil War concluded. He favored quick restoration of the seceded states to the Union without protection for the newly freed people who were formerly enslaved. This led to conflict with the Republican-dominated Congress, culminating in his impeachment by the House of Representatives in 1868. He was acquitted in the Senate by one vote.

  30. 1866

    1. The United States Congress authorized the minting of the Shield nickel (example pictured), the country's first five-cent piece to be made of a copper–nickel alloy.

      1. First US five cent piece to be made out of copper-nickel

        Shield nickel

        The Shield nickel was the first United States five-cent piece to be made out of copper-nickel, the same alloy of which American nickels are struck today. Designed by James B. Longacre, the coin was issued from 1866 until 1883, when it was replaced by the Liberty Head nickel. The coin takes its name from the motif on its obverse, and was the first five-cent coin referred to as a "nickel"—silver pieces of that denomination had been known as half dimes.

      2. Current denomination of United States currency

        Nickel (United States coin)

        A nickel is a five-cent coin struck by the United States Mint. Composed of cupronickel, the piece has been issued since 1866. Its diameter is 0.835 inches (21.21 mm) and its thickness is 0.077 inches (1.95 mm).

      3. Alloy of copper containing nickel

        Cupronickel

        Cupronickel or copper-nickel (CuNi) is an alloy of copper that contains nickel and strengthening elements, such as iron and manganese. The copper content typically varies from 60 to 90 percent.

    2. The United States Congress establishes the nickel.

      1. 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.

      2. Current denomination of United States currency

        Nickel (United States coin)

        A nickel is a five-cent coin struck by the United States Mint. Composed of cupronickel, the piece has been issued since 1866. Its diameter is 0.835 inches (21.21 mm) and its thickness is 0.077 inches (1.95 mm).

  31. 1842

    1. The first major wagon train heading for the Pacific Northwest sets out on the Oregon Trail from Elm Grove, Missouri, with 100 pioneers.

      1. Group of wagons travelling together

        Wagon train

        A wagon train is a group of wagons traveling together. Before the extensive use of military vehicles, baggage trains followed an army with supplies and ammunition.

      2. Region of northwestern North America in Canada and the United States

        Pacific Northwest

        The Pacific Northwest is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common conception includes the U.S. states of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, and the Canadian province of British Columbia. Some broader conceptions reach north into Alaska and Yukon, south into northern California, and east into western Montana. Other conceptions may be limited to the coastal areas west of the Cascade and Coast mountains. The variety of definitions can be attributed to partially overlapping commonalities of the region's history, culture, geography, society, ecosystems, and other factors.

      3. Historic route connecting the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon

        Oregon Trail

        The Oregon Trail was a 2,170-mile (3,490 km) east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what is now the state of Kansas and nearly all of what are now the states of Nebraska and Wyoming. The western half of the trail spanned most of the current states of Idaho and Oregon.

  32. 1834

    1. The Battle of Asseiceira is fought; it was the final and decisive engagement of the Liberal Wars in Portugal.

      1. 1834 decisive final battle of the Portuguese Civil War

        Battle of Asseiceira

        The Battle of Asseiceira, fought on 16 May, 1834, was the last and decisive engagement of the Portuguese Civil War, or "War of the Two Brothers", between Dom Pedro, ex-Emperor of Brazil and the usurper Dom Miguel. Dom Miguel's rebel forces were defeated.

      2. Civil war in the Kingdom of Portugal (1828–1834)

        Liberal Wars

        The Liberal Wars, also known as the Portuguese Civil War, the War of the Two Brothers or Miguelite War, was a war between liberal constitutionalists and conservative absolutists in Portugal over royal succession that lasted from 1828 to 1834. Embroiled parties included the Kingdom of Portugal, Portuguese rebels, the United Kingdom, France, the Catholic Church, and Spain.

  33. 1832

    1. Prospector Juan Godoy discovered a silver outcrop in Chañarcillo, sparking the Chilean silver rush.

      1. Chilean miner

        Juan Godoy

        Juan Godoy was a Chilean farmer and miner who in 1832 discovered an outcrop (reventón) of silver 50 km (31 mi) south of Copiapó in Chañarcillo sparking the Chilean silver rush.

      2. Visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth

        Outcrop

        An outcrop or rocky outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth.

      3. Mining town in Atacama Region, Chile

        Chañarcillo

        Chañarcillo is a town and mine in the Atacama Desert of Copiapó Province, Atacama Region, Chile, located near Vallenar and 60 km from Copiapó. It is noted for its silver mining. The town grew up after the Chañarcillo silver mine was discovered on May 16, 1832, by Juan Godoy. This event sparkled the Chilean silver rush. It grew in prominence in the second half of the nineteenth century and became important in the Atacama mining industry and one of the most important mines to the Chilean economy. It was connected by railway before 1862. Today the settlement is largelly in ruins.

      4. Silver rush in Chile (1830–1850)

        Chilean silver rush

        Between 1830 and 1850 Chilean silver mining grew at an unprecedented pace which transformed mining into one of the country's principal sources of wealth. The rush caused rapid demographic, infrastructural, and economic expansion in the semi-arid Norte Chico mountains where the silver deposits lay. A number of Chileans made large fortunes in the rush and made investments in other areas of the economy of Chile. By the 1850s the rush was in decline and lucrative silver mining definitively ended in the 1870s. At the same time mining activity in Chile reoriented to saltpetre operations.

    2. Juan Godoy discovers the rich silver outcrops of Chañarcillo sparking the Chilean silver rush.

      1. Chilean miner

        Juan Godoy

        Juan Godoy was a Chilean farmer and miner who in 1832 discovered an outcrop (reventón) of silver 50 km (31 mi) south of Copiapó in Chañarcillo sparking the Chilean silver rush.

      2. Mining town in Atacama Region, Chile

        Chañarcillo

        Chañarcillo is a town and mine in the Atacama Desert of Copiapó Province, Atacama Region, Chile, located near Vallenar and 60 km from Copiapó. It is noted for its silver mining. The town grew up after the Chañarcillo silver mine was discovered on May 16, 1832, by Juan Godoy. This event sparkled the Chilean silver rush. It grew in prominence in the second half of the nineteenth century and became important in the Atacama mining industry and one of the most important mines to the Chilean economy. It was connected by railway before 1862. Today the settlement is largelly in ruins.

      3. Silver rush in Chile (1830–1850)

        Chilean silver rush

        Between 1830 and 1850 Chilean silver mining grew at an unprecedented pace which transformed mining into one of the country's principal sources of wealth. The rush caused rapid demographic, infrastructural, and economic expansion in the semi-arid Norte Chico mountains where the silver deposits lay. A number of Chileans made large fortunes in the rush and made investments in other areas of the economy of Chile. By the 1850s the rush was in decline and lucrative silver mining definitively ended in the 1870s. At the same time mining activity in Chile reoriented to saltpetre operations.

  34. 1822

    1. Greek War of Independence: The Turks capture the Greek town of Souli.

      1. Greek Revolution, 1821–1832

        Greek War of Independence

        The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1832. The Greeks were later assisted by the British Empire, Kingdom of France, and the Russian Empire, while the Ottomans were aided by their North African vassals, particularly the eyalet of Egypt. The war led to the formation of modern Greece. The revolution is celebrated by Greeks around the world as independence day on 25 March.

      2. Country straddling Western Asia and Southeastern Europe

        Turkey

        Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in Southeast Europe. It shares borders with the Black Sea to the north; Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iran to the east; Iraq to the southeast; Syria and the Mediterranean Sea to the south; the Aegean Sea to the west; and Greece and Bulgaria to the northwest. Cyprus is located off the south coast. Turks form the vast majority of the nation's population and Kurds are the largest minority. Ankara is Turkey's capital, while Istanbul is its largest city and financial centre.

      3. Place in Greece

        Souli

        Souli is a municipality in Epirus, northwestern Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town of Paramythia.

  35. 1812

    1. Imperial Russia signs the Treaty of Bucharest, ending the Russo-Turkish War. The Ottoman Empire cedes Bessarabia to Russia.

      1. Empire spanning Europe and Asia from 1721 to 1917

        Russian Empire

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

      2. Peace treaty which ended the Russo-Turkish War of 1806–1812

        Treaty of Bucharest (1812)

        The Treaty of Bucharest between the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire, was signed on 28 May 1812, in Manuc's Inn in Bucharest, and ratified on 5 July 1812, at the end of the Russo-Turkish War of 1806–1812. The Ottomans had done poorly in the war. The Sublime Porte above all wanted to stay out of the impending conflict between Napoleon's France and Russia. The Russians didn't want a war on two fronts, thus they made peace in order to be free for the upcoming war with France. The Ottomans had extricated themselves from a potentially disastrous war with a slight loss of territory. This treaty became the basis for future Russo-Ottoman relations.

      3. 1806–12 conflict between the Russian and Ottoman Empires

        Russo-Turkish War (1806–1812)

        The Russo-Turkish War (1806–1812) between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire was one of the Russo-Ottoman Wars. Russia prevailed, but both sides wanted peace as they feared Napoleon's moves to the east.

      4. Empire existing from c. 1299 to 1922

        Ottoman Empire

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

      5. Historical region in present-day Moldavia and Ukraine

        Bessarabia

        Bessarabia is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Ukrainian Budjak region covering the southern coastal region and part of the Ukrainian Chernivtsi Oblast covering a small area in the north.

  36. 1811

    1. Peninsular War: Allied British, Spanish, and Portuguese forces clashed with French troops at the Battle of Albuera fought south of Badajoz, Spain.

      1. Part of the Napoleonic Wars (1807–1814)

        Peninsular War

        The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain, it is considered to overlap with the Spanish War of Independence. The war started when the French and Spanish armies invaded and occupied Portugal in 1807 by transiting through Spain, and it escalated in 1808 after Napoleonic France occupied Spain, which had been its ally. Napoleon Bonaparte forced the abdications of Ferdinand VII and his father Charles IV and then installed his brother Joseph Bonaparte on the Spanish throne and promulgated the Bayonne Constitution. Most Spaniards rejected French rule and fought a bloody war to oust them. The war on the peninsula lasted until the Sixth Coalition defeated Napoleon in 1814, and is regarded as one of the first wars of national liberation. It is also significant for the emergence of large-scale guerrilla warfare.

      2. 1811 battle in the Peninsular War

        Battle of Albuera

        The Battle of Albuera was a battle during the Peninsular War. A mixed British, Spanish and Portuguese corps engaged elements of the French Armée du Midi at the small Spanish village of Albuera, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) south of the frontier fortress-town of Badajoz, Spain.

      3. Municipality in Extremadura, Spain

        Badajoz

        Badajoz is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. It is situated close to the Portuguese border, on the left bank of the river Guadiana. The population in 2011 was 151,565.

    2. Peninsular War: The allies Spain, Portugal and United Kingdom fight an inconclusive battle against the French at the Albuera. It is, in proportion to the numbers involved, the bloodiest battle of the war.

      1. Part of the Napoleonic Wars (1807–1814)

        Peninsular War

        The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain, it is considered to overlap with the Spanish War of Independence. The war started when the French and Spanish armies invaded and occupied Portugal in 1807 by transiting through Spain, and it escalated in 1808 after Napoleonic France occupied Spain, which had been its ally. Napoleon Bonaparte forced the abdications of Ferdinand VII and his father Charles IV and then installed his brother Joseph Bonaparte on the Spanish throne and promulgated the Bayonne Constitution. Most Spaniards rejected French rule and fought a bloody war to oust them. The war on the peninsula lasted until the Sixth Coalition defeated Napoleon in 1814, and is regarded as one of the first wars of national liberation. It is also significant for the emergence of large-scale guerrilla warfare.

      2. 1811 battle in the Peninsular War

        Battle of Albuera

        The Battle of Albuera was a battle during the Peninsular War. A mixed British, Spanish and Portuguese corps engaged elements of the French Armée du Midi at the small Spanish village of Albuera, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) south of the frontier fortress-town of Badajoz, Spain.

  37. 1771

    1. The Battle of Alamance, a pre-American Revolutionary War battle between local militia and a group of rebels called The "Regulators", occurs in present-day Alamance County, North Carolina.

      1. Final battle of the Regulator Movement

        Battle of Alamance

        The Battle of Alamance, which took place on May 16, 1771, was the final battle of the Regulator Movement, a rebellion in colonial North Carolina over issues of taxation and local control, considered by some to be the opening salvo of the American Revolution. Named for nearby Great Alamance Creek, the battle took place in what was then Orange County and has since become Alamance County in the central Piedmont area, about 6 miles (9.7 km) south of present-day Burlington, North Carolina.

      2. 1765–1791 period establishing the USA

        American Revolution

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

      3. Force of non-professional soldiers

        Militia

        A militia is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of regular, full-time military personnel; or, historically, to members of a warrior-nobility class. Generally unable to hold ground against regular forces, militias commonly support regular troops by skirmishing, holding fortifications, or conducting irregular warfare, instead of undertaking offensive campaigns by themselves. Local civilian laws often limit militias to serve only in their home region, and to serve only for a limited time; this further reduces their use in long military campaigns.

      4. Social and political rebellion in North Carolina

        Regulator Movement

        The Regulator Movement, also known as the Regulator Insurrection, War of Regulation, and War of the Regulation, was an uprising in Provincial North Carolina from 1766 to 1771 in which citizens took up arms against colonial officials, whom they viewed as corrupt. Though the rebellion did not change the power structure, some historians consider it a catalyst to the American Revolutionary War. Others like John Spencer Bassett take the view that the Regulators did not wish to change the form or principle of their government, but simply wanted to make the colony's political process more equal. They wanted better economic conditions for everyone, instead of a system that heavily benefited the colonial officials and their network of plantation owners mainly near the coast. Bassett interprets the events of the late 1760s in Orange and surrounding counties as "...a peasants' rising, a popular upheaval."

      5. County in North Carolina, United States

        Alamance County, North Carolina

        Alamance County is a county in North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 171,415. Its county seat is Graham. Formed in 1849 from Orange County to the east, Alamance County has been the site of significant historical events, textile manufacturing, and agriculture.

  38. 1770

    1. The 14-year-old Marie Antoinette marries 15-year-old Louis-Auguste, who later becomes king of France.

      1. Queen of France from 1774 to 1792

        Marie Antoinette

        Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child and youngest daughter of Empress Maria Theresa and Emperor Francis I. She became dauphine of France in May 1770 at age 14 upon her marriage to Louis-Auguste, heir apparent to the French throne. On 10 May 1774, her husband ascended the throne as Louis XVI and she became queen.

      2. King of France from 1774 to 1792

        Louis XVI

        Louis XVI was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as Citizen Louis Capet during the four months just before he was executed by guillotine. He was the son of Louis, Dauphin of France, son and heir-apparent of King Louis XV, and Maria Josepha of Saxony. When his father died in 1765, he became the new Dauphin. Upon his grandfather's death on 10 May 1774, he became King of France and Navarre, reigning as such until 4 September 1791, when he received the title of King of the French, continuing to reign as such until the monarchy was abolished on 21 September 1792.

      3. History of France during the early modern era

        Early modern France

        The Kingdom of France in the early modern period, from the Renaissance to the Revolution (1789–1804), was a monarchy ruled by the House of Bourbon. This corresponds to the so-called Ancien Régime. The territory of France during this period increased until it included essentially the extent of the modern country, and it also included the territories of the first French colonial empire overseas.

  39. 1739

    1. The Battle of Vasai concludes as the Marathas defeat the Portuguese army.

      1. 1739 conflict between the Portuguese and Maratha Empires in Vasai, India

        Battle of Vasai

        The Battle of Vasai or the Battle of Bassein was fought between the Marathas and the Portuguese rulers of Vasai, a town lying near Mumbai (Bombay) in the Konkan region of present-day state of Maharashtra, India. The Marathas were led by Chimaji Appa, a brother of Peshwa Baji Rao I.

      2. 1674–1818 empire in the Indian subcontinent

        Maratha Empire

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

      3. Colonial empire of Portugal (1415–1999)

        Portuguese Empire

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

  40. 1584

    1. Santiago de Vera becomes sixth Governor-General of the Spanish colony of the Philippines.

      1. Spanish colonial governor of the Philippines from 1584 to 1590

        Santiago de Vera

        Santiago de Vera was a native of Alcalá de Henares, Spain and the sixth Spanish governor of the Philippines, from May 16, 1584, until May 1590.

      2. Archipelagic country in Southeast Asia

        Philippines

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

  41. 1568

    1. Mary, Queen of Scots, flees to England.

      1. Queen of Scotland (r. 1542-67) and Dowager Queen of France

        Mary, Queen of Scots

        Mary, Queen of Scots, also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567.

  42. 1532

    1. Sir Thomas More resigns as Lord Chancellor of England.

      1. English statesman and philosopher (1478–1535)

        Thomas More

        Sir Thomas More, venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VIII as Lord High Chancellor of England from October 1529 to May 1532. He wrote Utopia, published in 1516, which describes the political system of an imaginary island state.

      2. Highest-ranking regularly-appointed Great Officer of State of the United Kingdom

        Lord Chancellor

        The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. The lord chancellor is appointed by the sovereign on the advice of the prime minister. Prior to their Union into the Kingdom of Great Britain, there were separate lord chancellors for the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland; there were lord chancellors of Ireland until 1922.

      3. Historic kingdom on the British Isles

        Kingdom of England

        The Kingdom of England was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from 12 July 927, when it emerged from various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain.

  43. 1527

    1. The Florentines drive out the Medici for a second time and Florence re-establishes itself as a republic.

      1. Italian banking family and political dynasty

        House of Medici

        The House of Medici was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici, in the Republic of Florence during the first half of the 15th century. The family originated in the Mugello region of Tuscany, and prospered gradually until it was able to fund the Medici Bank. This bank was the largest in Europe during the 15th century and facilitated the Medicis' rise to political power in Florence, although they officially remained citizens rather than monarchs until the 16th century.

      2. Capital and most populated city of the Italian region of Tuscany

        Florence

        Florence is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.

      3. City-state on the Apennine Peninsula between 1115 and 1569

        Republic of Florence

        The Republic of Florence, officially the Florentine Republic, was a medieval and early modern state that was centered on the Italian city of Florence in Tuscany. The republic originated in 1115, when the Florentine people rebelled against the Margraviate of Tuscany upon the death of Matilda of Tuscany, who controlled vast territories that included Florence. The Florentines formed a commune in her successors' place. The republic was ruled by a council known as the Signoria of Florence. The signoria was chosen by the gonfaloniere, who was elected every two months by Florentine guild members.

  44. 1426

    1. Mohnyin Thado captured Sagaing to become the King of Ava.

      1. King of Ava (1426–1439), and founder of the Mohnyin dynasty of Ava

        Mohnyin Thado

        Mohnyin Thado was king of Ava from 1426 to 1439. He is also known in Burmese history as Mohnyin Min Taya after his longtime tenure as the sawbwa of Mohnyin, a Shan-speaking frontier state. He founded the royal house of Mohnyin that would rule the kingdom until 1527.

      2. City in Sagaing Region, Myanmar

        Sagaing

        Sagaing is the former capital of the Sagaing Region of Myanmar. It is located in the Irrawaddy River, 20 km (12 mi) to the south-west of Mandalay on the opposite bank of the river. Sagaing with numerous Buddhist monasteries is an important religious and monastic centre. The pagodas and monasteries crowd the numerous hills along the ridge running parallel to the river. The central pagoda, Soon U Ponya Shin Pagoda, is connected by a set of covered staircases that run up the 240 m (790 ft) hill.

      3. Polity in upper Myanmar (1365–1555)

        Kingdom of Ava

        The Kingdom of Ava was the dominant kingdom that ruled upper Burma (Myanmar) from 1364 to 1555. Founded in 1365, the kingdom was the successor state to the petty kingdoms of Myinsaing, Pinya and Sagaing that had ruled central Burma since the collapse of the Pagan Empire in the late 13th century.

    2. Gov. Thado of Mohnyin becomes king of Ava.

      1. King of Ava (1426–1439), and founder of the Mohnyin dynasty of Ava

        Mohnyin Thado

        Mohnyin Thado was king of Ava from 1426 to 1439. He is also known in Burmese history as Mohnyin Min Taya after his longtime tenure as the sawbwa of Mohnyin, a Shan-speaking frontier state. He founded the royal house of Mohnyin that would rule the kingdom until 1527.

      2. Polity in upper Myanmar (1365–1555)

        Kingdom of Ava

        The Kingdom of Ava was the dominant kingdom that ruled upper Burma (Myanmar) from 1364 to 1555. Founded in 1365, the kingdom was the successor state to the petty kingdoms of Myinsaing, Pinya and Sagaing that had ruled central Burma since the collapse of the Pagan Empire in the late 13th century.

  45. 1364

    1. Hundred Years' War: Bertrand du Guesclin and a French army defeat the Anglo-Navarrese army of Charles the Bad at Cocherel.

      1. Anglo-French conflicts, 1337–1453

        Hundred Years' War

        The Hundred Years' War was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of England and France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French throne between the English House of Plantagenet and the French royal House of Valois. Over time, the war grew into a broader power struggle involving factions from across Western Europe, fuelled by emerging nationalism on both sides.

      2. Constable of France

        Bertrand du Guesclin

        Bertrand du Guesclin, nicknamed "The Eagle of Brittany" or "The Black Dog of Brocéliande", was a Breton knight and an important military commander on the French side during the Hundred Years' War. From 1370 to his death, he was Constable of France for King Charles V. Well known for his Fabian strategy, he took part in seven pitched battles and won the five in which he held command.

      3. King of Navarre

        Charles II of Navarre

        Charles II, called Charles the Bad, was King of Navarre 1349–1387 and Count of Évreux 1343–1387.

      4. 14th century battle

        Battle of Cocherel

        The Battle of Cocherel was a battle fought on 16 May 1364 between the forces of Charles V of France and the forces of Charles II of Navarre, over the succession to the dukedom of Burgundy. The result was a French victory.

  46. 1204

    1. Baldwin IX, Count of Flanders is crowned as the first Emperor of the Latin Empire.

      1. Latin Emperor of Constantinople (1172 – c.1205)

        Baldwin I, Latin Emperor

        Baldwin I was the first Emperor of the Latin Empire of Constantinople; Count of Flanders from 1194 to 1205 and Count of Hainaut from 1195-1205. Baldwin was one of the most prominent leaders of the Fourth Crusade, which resulted in the sack of Constantinople in 1204, the conquest of large parts of the Byzantine Empire, and the foundation of the Latin Empire. He lost his final battle to Kaloyan, the emperor of Bulgaria, and spent his last days as his prisoner.

      2. Type of monarch

        Emperor

        An emperor is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife, mother, or a woman who rules in her own right and name. Emperors are generally recognized to be of the highest monarchic honor and rank, surpassing kings. In Europe, the title of Emperor has been used since the Middle Ages, considered in those times equal or almost equal in dignity to that of Pope due to the latter's position as visible head of the Church and spiritual leader of the Catholic part of Western Europe. The Emperor of Japan is the only currently reigning monarch whose title is translated into English as "Emperor".

      3. Crusader state on the lands of the former Byzantine Empire (1204–1261)

        Latin Empire

        The Latin Empire, also referred to as the Latin Empire of Constantinople, was a feudal Crusader state founded by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade on lands captured from the Byzantine Empire. The Latin Empire was intended to replace the Byzantine Empire as the Western-recognized Roman Empire in the east, with a Catholic emperor enthroned in place of the Eastern Orthodox Roman emperors.

  47. 946

    1. Emperor Suzaku abdicates the throne in favor of his brother Murakami who becomes the 62nd emperor of Japan.

      1. 61st Emperor of Japan (r. 930–946)

        Emperor Suzaku

        Emperor Suzaku was the 61st emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.

      2. 62nd Emperor of Japan (r. 946–967)

        Emperor Murakami

        Emperor Murakami was the 62nd emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.

      3. Island country in East Asia

        Japan

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

Births & Deaths

  1. 2021

    1. Bruno Covas, Brazilian lawyer, politician (b. 1980) deaths

      1. Former mayor of São Paulo, Brazil

        Bruno Covas

        Bruno Covas Lopes was a Brazilian lawyer, economist, and politician who was a member of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB) and served as the mayor of São Paulo from 2018 until his death in 2021.

  2. 2019

    1. Piet Blauw, Dutch politician (b. 1937) deaths

      1. Dutch politician (1937–2019)

        Piet Blauw

        Pieter Marinus "Piet" Blauw was a Dutch politician for the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). He was born in Alkmaar, North Holland and was a farmer by profession. Blauw was elected to the House of Representatives in 1981, serving until 1998.

    2. Bob Hawke, Australian politician, 23rd Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1929) deaths

      1. Prime Minister of Australia from 1983 to 1991

        Bob Hawke

        Robert James Lee Hawke was an Australian politician and union organiser who served as the 23rd prime minister of Australia from 1983 to 1991, holding office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). Previously he served as the president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions from 1969 to 1980 and president of the Labor Party national executive from 1973 to 1980.

      2. Head of Government of Australia

        Prime Minister of Australia

        The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister heads the executive branch of the federal government of Australia and is also accountable to federal parliament under the principles of responsible government. The current prime minister is Anthony Albanese of the Australian Labor Party, who became prime minister on 23 May 2022.

    3. I. M. Pei, Chinese-American architect (b. 1917) deaths

      1. Chinese-American architect (1917–2019)

        I. M. Pei

        Ieoh Ming Pei was a Chinese-American architect. Raised in Shanghai, Pei drew inspiration at an early age from the garden villas at Suzhou, the traditional retreat of the scholar-gentry to which his family belonged. In 1935, he moved to the United States and enrolled in the University of Pennsylvania's architecture school, but he quickly transferred to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was unhappy with the focus at both schools on Beaux-Arts architecture, and spent his free time researching emerging architects, especially Le Corbusier. After graduating, he joined the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) and became a friend of the Bauhaus architects Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer. In 1948, Pei was recruited by New York City real estate magnate William Zeckendorf, for whom he worked for seven years before establishing an independent design firm in 1955, I. M. Pei & Associates. In 1966 that became I. M. Pei & Partners, and in 1989 became Pei Cobb Freed & Partners. Pei retired from full-time practice in 1990. In his retirement, he worked as an architectural consultant primarily from his sons' architectural firm Pei Partnership Architects.

  3. 2015

    1. Prashant Bhargava, American director and producer (b. 1973) deaths

      1. American film director

        Prashant Bhargava

        Prashant Bhargava was an Indian-American filmmaker and designer. He died of a heart attack from a history of heart trouble. Bhargava's short film Sangam, described by Greg Tate of the Village Voice as "an elegant and poetic evocation of immigrant angst, memory and haunted spirituality", premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and PBS. His other directorial efforts include the documentary portrait of his grandmother Ammaji, experimental Super 8 short Backwaters and the poignant and meditative Kashmir, an audiovisual performance with band Dawn of Midi

    2. Moshe Levinger, Israeli rabbi and author (b. 1935) deaths

      1. Israeli Religious Zionist rabbi (1935–2015)

        Moshe Levinger

        Moshe Levinger was an Israeli Religious Zionist activist and an Orthodox Rabbi who, since 1967, had been a leading figure in the movement to settle Jews in the territories occupied by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War. He is especially known for leading Jewish settlement in Hebron in 1968, and for being one of the principals of the now defunct settler movement Gush Emunim, founded in 1974, among whose ranks he assumed legendary status. Levinger was reportedly involved in violent acts against Palestinians.

    3. Flora MacNeil, Scottish Gaelic singer (b. 1928) deaths

      1. Flora MacNeil

        Flora MacNeil, MBE was a Scottish Gaelic Traditional singer. MacNeil gained prominence after meeting Alan Lomax and Hamish Henderson during the early 1950s, and continued to perform into her later years.

  4. 2014

    1. Chris Duckworth, Zimbabwean-South African cricketer (b. 1933) deaths

      1. Rhodesian cricketer

        Chris Duckworth

        Christopher Anthony Russell Duckworth was a Rhodesian cricketer who played in two Tests for South Africa in 1957.

    2. Vito Favero, Italian cyclist (b. 1932) deaths

      1. Italian cyclist

        Vito Favero

        Vito Favero was an Italian road racing cyclist. He was professional from 1956 to 1962. In the 1958 Tour de France, he finished second. Stage 14 of the 1958 Tour was won by Federico Bahamontes but Favero took over the Yellow Jersey. At that point he was already the 8th different rider to lead the race and he would hold his lead for four stages when Charly Gaul won stage 18 and Raphaël Géminiani took over as the 9th different rider to lead the race. Géminiani would hold the lead for three stages but in stage 21 Favero retook the lead as Gaul added another stage win. Favero would remain in Yellow for another two stages until Gaul won the final time trial and became the record setting eleventh rider to wear the Maillot Jaune in a single edition of the Tour.

    3. Bud Hollowell, American baseball player and manager (b. 1943) deaths

      1. American baseball player (1943–2014)

        Bud Hollowell

        Buddy Ryan "Bud" Hollowell was an American professional baseball player and minor league manager. After his athletic career, he became an educator and author.

    4. Clyde Snow, American anthropologist and author (b. 1928) deaths

      1. American forensic anthropologist (1928–2014)

        Clyde Snow

        Clyde Snow was an American forensic anthropologist. Some of his skeletal confirmations include John F. Kennedy, victims of John Wayne Gacy, King Tutankhamun, victims of the Oklahoma City bombing, and Nazi doctor Josef Mengele.

  5. 2013

    1. Angelo Errichetti, American politician (b. 1928) deaths

      1. American politician

        Angelo Errichetti

        Angelo Joseph Errichetti was an American Democratic Party politician who served as Mayor of Camden, New Jersey, and in the New Jersey Senate before being indicted during Abscam.

    2. Bryan Illerbrun, Canadian football player (b. 1957) deaths

      1. Bryan Illerbrun

        Bryan Illerbrun was a professional Canadian football offensive lineman who played fourteen seasons in the Canadian Football League for three teams. He was a part of the BC Lions' Grey Cup victory in 1985 and the Saskatchewan Roughriders' Grey Cup victory in 1989.

    3. Frankie Librán, Puerto Rican-American baseball player (b. 1948) deaths

      1. Puerto Rican baseball player

        Frankie Librán

        Francisco Librán Rosas was a Puerto Rican athlete who distinguished himself for performing professionally on all three major sports in the island. Most notably, Librán played as an infielder in Major League Baseball during the late 60s. He batted and threw right-handed, and was listed at 6 ft (1.8 m) tall and 168 lb (76 kg). Librán also practiced track and field, and softball. Because of his versatility, he is usually referred to as "the most complete Puerto Rican athlete". He is survived by his two daughters Yeidie J. Librán and Yara E. Librán.

    4. Heinrich Rohrer, Swiss physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1933) deaths

      1. Swiss physicist

        Heinrich Rohrer

        Heinrich Rohrer was a Swiss physicist who shared half of the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physics with Gerd Binnig for the design of the scanning tunneling microscope (STM). The other half of the Prize was awarded to Ernst Ruska. The Heinrich Rohrer Medal is presented triennially by the Surface Science Society of Japan with IBM Research – Zurich, Swiss Embassy in Japan, and Ms. Rohrer in his memory. The medal is not to be confused with the Heinrich Rohrer Award presented at the Nano Seoul 2020 conference.

      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.

    5. Dick Trickle, American race car driver (b. 1941) deaths

      1. American racing driver

        Dick Trickle

        Richard Leroy Trickle was an American race car driver. He raced for decades around the short tracks of Wisconsin, winning many championships along the way. Trickle competed in the ASA, ARTGO, ARCA, All Pro, IMCA, NASCAR, and USAC.

    6. Bernard Waber, American author and illustrator (b. 1921) deaths

      1. American writer

        Bernard Waber

        Bernard Waber was an American children's author most famous for the books The House on East 88th Street (1962), Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile (1965) and the subsequent books in the Lyle series.

  6. 2012

    1. Patricia Aakhus, American author and academic (b. 1952) deaths

      1. American novelist and academic (1952-2012)

        Patricia Aakhus

        Patricia "Patty" Aakhus, also known by her maiden name and pseudonym Patricia McDowell, was an American novelist and director of International Studies at the University of Southern Indiana. She specialized in Irish themes and won Readercon's Best Imaginative Literature Award in 1990 and the Cahill Award for The Voyage of Mael Duin's Curragh.

    2. James Abdnor, American soldier and politician (b. 1923) deaths

      1. American politician

        James Abdnor

        Ellis James Abdnor was an American politician who served as a member of the United States Senate from South Dakota. He was also the 15th Administrator of the Small Business Administration under presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush.

    3. Chuck Brown, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1936) deaths

      1. American musician and singer, founder of go-go music

        Chuck Brown

        Charles Louis Brown was an American guitarist, bandleader and singer known as "The Godfather of Go-Go". Go-go is a subgenre of funk music developed around the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area in the mid-1970s. While its musical classification, influences, and origins are debated, Brown is regarded as the fundamental force behind the creation of go-go music.

    4. Ernie Chan, Filipino-American illustrator (b. 1940) deaths

      1. Chinese-American comic book artist

        Ernie Chan

        Ernesto Chan, born and sometimes credited as Ernie Chua, was a [-Filipino]-American comics artist, known for work published by Marvel Comics and DC Comics, including many Marvel issues of series featuring Conan the Barbarian. Chan also had a long tenure on Batman and Detective Comics. Other than his work on Batman, Chan primarily focused on non-superhero characters, staying mostly in the genres of horror, war, and sword and sorcery.

    5. Kevin Hickey, American baseball player (b. 1956) deaths

      1. American baseball player (1956-2012)

        Kevin Hickey

        Kevin John Hickey was an American left-handed pitcher who spent six seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Chicago White Sox (1981–1983) and Baltimore Orioles (1989–1991). It was with the White Sox that he was a reliever with the American League (AL) West titlist in 1983 and a batting practice pitcher for the 2005 World Series Champions.

  7. 2011

    1. Ralph Barker, English author (b. 1917) deaths

      1. English writer

        Ralph Barker

        Ralph Hammond Cecil Barker was an English non-fiction author with over twenty-five books to his credit. He wrote mainly about the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and Royal Air Force (RAF) operations in the First and Second World Wars, and about cricket.

    2. Bob Davis, Australian footballer and coach (b. 1928) deaths

      1. Australian rules footballer, born 1928

        Bob Davis (Australian rules footballer)

        Robert "Bob" Davis was an Australian rules footballer who played in the Victorian Football League (VFL).

    3. Edward Hardwicke, English actor (b. 1932) deaths

      1. English actor (1932–2011)

        Edward Hardwicke

        Edward Cedric Hardwicke was an English actor, who had a distinguished career on the stage and on-screen. He was best known for playing Captain Pat Grant in Colditz (1972-73), and Dr. Watson in Granada Television's Sherlock Holmes (1986-94).

    4. Kiyoshi Kodama, Japanese actor (b. 1934) deaths

      1. Japanese actor

        Kiyoshi Kodama

        Kiyoshi Kodama was a Japanese TV personality and actor. He hosted the Asahi Broadcasting Corporation quiz show Panel Quiz Attack 25 continuously for thirty-six years from its start in April 1975 until he was forced to step down due to poor health at the end of March 2011. His signature catchphrase on the show is "Attack Chance!"

  8. 2010

    1. Ronnie James Dio, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1942) deaths

      1. American heavy metal singer (1942–2010)

        Ronnie James Dio

        Ronald James Padavona, known professionally as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal singer. He fronted and founded numerous bands throughout his career, including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and Heaven & Hell.

    2. Hank Jones, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1918) deaths

      1. American jazz musician

        Hank Jones

        Henry Jones Jr. was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer. Critics and musicians described Jones as eloquent, lyrical, and impeccable. In 1989, The National Endowment for the Arts honored him with the NEA Jazz Masters Award. He was also honored in 2003 with the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) Jazz Living Legend Award. In 2008, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts. On April 13, 2009, the University of Hartford presented Jones with an honorary Doctorate of Music for his musical accomplishments.

  9. 2008

    1. Robert Mondavi, American winemaker, co-founded the Opus One Winery (b. 1913) deaths

      1. American winemaker

        Robert Mondavi

        Robert Gerald Mondavi was an American winemaker. His technical and marketing strategies brought worldwide recognition for the wines of the Napa Valley in California. From an early period, Mondavi promoted labeling wines varietally rather than generically, which became the standard for New World wines. The Robert Mondavi Institute (RMI) for Wine and Food Science at the University of California, Davis opened in October 2008 in his honor.

      2. Opus One Winery

        Opus One Winery is a winery in Oakville, California, United States. The wine was called napamedoc until 1982 when it was named Opus One. The winery was founded as a joint venture between Baron Philippe de Rothschild of Château Mouton Rothschild and Robert Mondavi to create a single Bordeaux style blend based upon Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. It is located across State Route 29 from the Robert Mondavi Winery. The creation of this winery venture in 1980 was big news in the wine industry; de Rothschild's involvement added an air of respectability to the burgeoning Napa wine region. The first vintage, 1979 was released in 1984 at the same time as the 1980 vintage. For a while it was the most expensive Californian wine, and to date still ranks among the most expensive red wines produced in the Napa Valley, with the 2014 vintage retailing for $325 per bottle. In 1989 a new winery was built just down the road, the first vintage from the new winery was from 1991 and was released in 1994.

  10. 2005

    1. Andrew Goodpaster, American general (b. 1915) deaths

      1. US Army general

        Andrew Goodpaster

        Andrew Jackson Goodpaster was an American Army General. He served as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (SACEUR), from July 1, 1969, and Commander in Chief of the United States European Command (CINCEUR) from May 5, 1969, until his retirement December 17, 1974. As such, he was the commander of all NATO (SACEUR) and United States (CINCEUR) military forces stationed in Europe and the surrounding regions.

  11. 2003

    1. Mark McCormack, American lawyer and sports agent, founded IMG (b. 1930) deaths

      1. American lawyer, sports agent and writer

        Mark McCormack

        Mark Hume McCormack was an American lawyer, sports agent and writer. He was the founder and chairman of International Management Group, now IMG, an international management organization serving sports figures and celebrities.

      2. Global sports, events and talent management company

        IMG (company)

        IMG, originally known as the International Management Group, is a global sports, events and talent management company headquartered in New York City. It has been owned by Endeavor since 2013. Trans World International (TWI) is an event and production company of IMG.

  12. 2002

    1. Alec Campbell, Australian soldier (b. 1899) deaths

      1. Alec Campbell

        Alexander William Campbell was the final surviving Australian participant of the Gallipoli campaign during the First World War. Campbell joined the Australian Army at the age of 16 in 1915, and served as a stores carrier for two months during the fighting at Gallipoli. He was invalided home and discharged in 1916. He later worked in large number of roles, was twice married and had nine children. He is the great-grandfather of actress, singer and model Ruby Rose.

  13. 2000

    1. Luis Garcia, Dominican-American baseball player births

      1. Dominican-American baseball player

        Luis García (infielder, born 2000)

        Luis Victoriano García is a Dominican American professional baseball infielder for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB).

  14. 1997

    1. Elbridge Durbrow, American diplomat (b. 1903) deaths

      1. Elbridge Durbrow

        Elbridge Durbrow was a Foreign Service officer and diplomat who served as the Counselor of Embassy and Deputy Chief of Mission in Moscow in the late 1940s and then as the US ambassador to South Vietnam from March 14, 1957, to April 16, 1961. He supported the Diem regime until late 1960, when he reported that the situation was deteriorating and that unless steps were taken to reform the government, Diem would be likely overthrown in a coup, or lose the country to the Viet Cong. Diem and his American supporters worked to get Durbrow transferred, and he was recalled by President John F. Kennedy in 1961, and sent to a diplomatic role with NATO in Europe.

  15. 1996

    1. Louisa Chirico, American tennis player births

      1. American tennis player

        Louisa Chirico

        Louisa Chirico is an American tennis player. She is of Korean descent through her mother.

    2. Jeremy Michael Boorda, American admiral (b. 1939) deaths

      1. United States Navy admiral (1939–1996)

        Michael Boorda

        Jeremy Michael Boorda was a United States Navy admiral who served as the 25th Chief of Naval Operations. Boorda is notable as the first person to have risen from the enlisted ranks to become Chief of Naval Operations, the highest-ranking billet in the United States Navy.

  16. 1995

    1. Elizabeth Ralston, Australian footballer births

      1. Australian soccer player

        Elizabeth Ralston

        Elizabeth Rose "Liz" Ralston is an Australian football (soccer) player, who plays for Western Sydney Wanderers in the Australian W-League. She has previously played for Sydney FC. She also works as a physiotherapist.

  17. 1994

    1. Kathinka von Deichmann, Liechtenstein tennis player births

      1. Liechtenstein tennis player

        Kathinka von Deichmann

        Kathinka von Deichmann is a professional tennis player from Liechtenstein.

    2. Alain Cuny, French actor (b. 1908) deaths

      1. French actor (1908-1994)

        Alain Cuny

        René Xavier Marie Alain Cuny was a French actor of stage and screen. He was closely linked with the works of Paul Claudel and Antonin Artaud, and for his performances for the Théâtre national populaire and Odéon-Théâtre de France.

  18. 1993

    1. Johannes Thingnes Bø, Norwegian biathlete births

      1. Norwegian biathlete

        Johannes Thingnes Bø

        Johannes Thingnes Bø is a Norwegian biathlete. He represents Markane IL and is the younger brother of biathlete Tarjei Bø. At the Olympic Games in Beijing 2022 they became the first siblings to have individual medals in the same biathlon event. Thingnes Bø has won the Biathlon World Cup in 2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21. Thingnes Bø is described as being powerful on his skis and is the third most successful male biathlete of all time in the World Cup with 57 individual World Cup victories including victories at the Winter Olympic Games.

    2. Karol Mets, Estonian footballer births

      1. Estonian footballer

        Karol Mets

        Karol Mets is an Estonian professional footballer who plays as a centre back or defensive midfielder for Swiss club Zürich and the Estonia national team.

    3. IU, Korean singer-songwriter and actress births

      1. South Korean singer and actress

        IU (singer)

        Lee Ji-eun, also known by her stage name IU (Korean: 아이유), is a South Korean singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. She signed with LOEN Entertainment in 2007 as a trainee and debuted as a singer at the age of fifteen with her first extended play (EP) Lost and Found (2008). Although her follow-up albums, Growing Up and IU...IM, brought mainstream success, it was only after the release of "Good Day", the lead single from her 2010 album Real, that she achieved national stardom. "Good Day" went on to spend five consecutive weeks at the top of South Korea's Gaon Digital Chart, and in 2019, it was ranked number one on Billboard's "100 Greatest K-Pop Songs of the 2010s" list.

    4. Marv Johnson, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1938) deaths

      1. American singer and songwriter (1938–1993)

        Marv Johnson

        Marvin Earl Johnson was an American R&B singer, songwriter and pianist. He was influential in the development of the Motown style of music, primarily for the song "Come to Me," which was the first record issued by Tamla Records, the precursor to the famous label.

  19. 1992

    1. Jeff Skinner, Canadian ice hockey player births

      1. Canadian ice hockey player

        Jeff Skinner

        Jeffrey Scott Skinner is a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger for the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played for the Carolina Hurricanes for eight seasons, and was an alternate captain of the Hurricanes from 2016 to 2018.

    2. Kirstin Maldonado, American singer and songwriter births

      1. American singer and songwriter (born 1992)

        Kirstin Maldonado

        Kirstin Taylor Maldonado is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She is best known as the mezzo-soprano of the a cappella group Pentatonix. With the group, she has released seven studio albums, won three Grammy Awards, and sold over six million albums.

  20. 1991

    1. Grigor Dimitrov, Bulgarian tennis player births

      1. Bulgarian tennis player

        Grigor Dimitrov

        Grigor Dimitrov is a Bulgarian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 3 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he first achieved on 20 November 2017, making him the highest-ranked Bulgarian player in history. Dimitrov achieved the ranking after winning the biggest title of his career at the season-ending ATP Finals. He has won eight ATP Tour singles titles to date.

    2. Joey Graceffa, American internet celebrity births

      1. American YouTuber (born 1991)

        Joey Graceffa

        Joseph Michael Graceffa Jr. is an American YouTuber, vlogger, actor, author, and producer. He runs four active YouTube channels, all named after him. His main channel is dedicated to vlogging, while the second features video gaming content. The third is for daily vlogs, and the fourth is a react channel. His channels have a combined total of more than 2.9 billion views. He was a contestant on the 22nd and 24th seasons of The Amazing Race, and has appeared in a handful of short films as well as creating and hosting Escape the Night, an unscripted, unrehearsed web series, distributed by YouTube via its paid-subscription service YouTube Premium. He appears in all four of the seasons with several other YouTubers, including Liza Koshy, Shane Dawson, Colleen Ballinger, and Rosanna Pansino.

    3. Ashley Wagner, American figure skater births

      1. American figure skater (born 1991)

        Ashley Wagner

        Ashley Elisabeth Wagner is an American former figure skater. She is the 2016 World silver medalist, a 2014 Olympic bronze medalist in the team event, the 2012 Four Continents champion, a three-time Grand Prix Final medalist, winner of five Grand Prix events, and a three-time U.S. national champion.

  21. 1990

    1. Amanda Carreras, Gibraltarian tennis player births

      1. British tennis player

        Amanda Carreras

        Amanda Carreras is a British tennis player from Gibraltar.

    2. Thomas Brodie-Sangster, English actor births

      1. English actor (born 1990)

        Thomas Brodie-Sangster

        Thomas Brodie-Sangster, also credited as Thomas Sangster, is an English actor. He is known for playing Sam in Love Actually (2003), Simon in Nanny McPhee (2005), Ferb in Phineas and Ferb (2007–2015), Jojen Reed in Game of Thrones (2013–2014), Newt in the Maze Runner film series (2014–2018), and Benny Watts in the Netflix miniseries The Queen's Gambit (2020), for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie.

    3. Darko Šarović, Serbian sprinter births

      1. Serbian medical doctor and athlete (born 1990)

        Darko Šarović

        Darko Šarović is a Serbian medical doctor, Bachelor of psychology, and former professional athlete who specialised in the short sprint events. He is the fifth fastest serb of all time, and the Serbian record holder U23 in the 100 m. Sarovic is a Balkan 100 m Champion, and 60 m and 4 × 100 m bronze medallist. He is also the Serbian Champion in the 100 m, 200 m (twice) and the pole vault events and Serbian U23 Champion in the 100 m, 400 m and 4 × 100 m. Sarovic represented the Serbian National Athletics Team in the 60 m, 100 m, 200 m, and 4 × 100 m. He currently represents the Swedish National Dodgeball Team in the men's and mixed categories, having won a silver medal at the Central European Dodgeball Championships in 2019. He is the Medical Director for the World Dodgeball Federation.

    4. Omar Strong, American basketball player births

      1. American basketball player

        Omar Strong

        Omar Strong Sr. is an American professional basketball player for the Windsor Express of the NBL Canada. In 2012–13, he was a senior at Texas Southern University and was named the Southwestern Athletic Conference Player of the Year.

    5. Sammy Davis Jr., American singer, dancer, and actor (b. 1925) deaths

      1. American singer and actor (1925–1990)

        Sammy Davis Jr.

        Samuel George Davis Jr. was an American singer, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director.

    6. Jim Henson, American puppeteer, director, producer, and screenwriter, created The Muppets (b. 1936) deaths

      1. American puppeteer (1936–1990)

        Jim Henson

        James Maury Henson was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notice as the creator of The Muppets and Fraggle Rock (1983–1987) and director of The Dark Crystal (1982) and Labyrinth (1986). He was born in Greenville, Mississippi, and raised in both Leland, Mississippi and University Park, Maryland.

      2. Puppet characters created by Jim Henson

        The Muppets

        The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an absurdist, burlesque, and self-referential style of variety-sketch comedy. Created by Jim Henson in 1955, they are the focus of a media franchise that encompasses television, film, music, and other media associated with the characters. Originally owned by The Jim Henson Company for nearly five decades, the franchise was purchased by The Walt Disney Company in 2004.

  22. 1989

    1. Behati Prinsloo, Namibian model births

      1. Namibian model (born 1988)

        Behati Prinsloo

        Behati Prinsloo is a Namibian model. In 2008, she became a Pink contract model, and moved on to become a Victoria's Secret Angel in 2009. She walked in ten Victoria's Secret Fashion Shows, and opened consecutive Victoria's Secret Fashion shows in 2014 and 2015.

    2. Leila Kasra, Iranian poet and songwriter (b. 1939) deaths

      1. Musical artist

        Leila Kasra

        Leila Kasra also known as Hedieh, was a prominent Iranian contemporary poet and lyricist who has written lyrics for notable artists including Ebi, Dariush, Sattar, Vigen, Moein, Mahasti, Andy, Homeyra, Morteza, Hassan Shamaizadeh, Siavash Shams and many more. She was best known for writing more than 30 songs for Hayedeh.

  23. 1988

    1. Jesús Castillo, Mexican footballer births

      1. Mexican footballer

        Jesús Castillo (Mexican footballer)

        Jesús Castillo Ugarte is a former defender who last played for the Celaya on loan from Monarcas Morelia, in the Ascenso MX.

    2. Martynas Gecevičius, Lithuanian basketball player births

      1. Lithuanian basketball player

        Martynas Gecevičius

        Martynas "Marty" Gecevičius is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for Juventus Utena of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL). Standing at 1.93 m, he primarily plays at the shooting guard position.

    3. Jaak Põldma, Estonian tennis player births

      1. Estonian tennis player

        Jaak Põldma

        Jaak Põldma is an Estonian tennis player.

  24. 1987

    1. Tom Onslow-Cole, English race car driver births

      1. British auto racing driver (born 1987)

        Tom Onslow-Cole

        Thomas Michael Onslow-Cole is a British auto racing driver. He won the International GT Open in Pro-Am category in 2018 and in 2019 and the 24H Series in 2015.

  25. 1986

    1. Megan Fox, American actress births

      1. American actress (born 1986)

        Megan Fox

        Megan Denise Fox is an American actress. She made her acting debut in the family film Holiday in the Sun (2001), which was followed by numerous supporting roles in film and television, such as the teen musical comedy Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (2004), as well as a starring role in the ABC sitcom Hope & Faith (2004–2006). Her breakout role was as Mikaela Banes in the blockbuster action film Transformers (2007), which she reprised in its sequel Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009). She also portrayed the titular character in the horror comedy Jennifer's Body (2009), starred as April O'Neil in the superhero action film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014) and its sequel Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (2016), and starred as Reagan Lucas in the fifth and sixth seasons of the Fox sitcom New Girl (2016–2017).

    2. Andy Keogh, Irish footballer births

      1. Irish footballer

        Andy Keogh

        Andrew Declan Keogh is a former Irish professional footballer who last played as a striker for A-League club Perth Glory. Born in Dublin, Keogh played the first several years of his professional career playing for a number of clubs in England, including Wolverhampton Wanderers, for whom he made over 100 appearances. In 2014, Keogh moved to Australia to play for Perth Glory. He left the Glory for one year to play in the Thai Premier League for Ratchaburi before returning in early 2016, and again in 2020 after leaving in 2019 for Al-Qadsiah.

    3. Shamcey Supsup, Filipino model and architect births

      1. Filipino architect, businesswoman, model, beauty queen and Binibining Pilipinas — Universe 2011

        Shamcey Supsup-Lee

        Shamcey Gurrea Supsup-Lee is a Filipino architect, beauty pageant titleholder and pageant director. She was crowned as Binibining Pilipinas Universe 2011. She represented her country at the Miss Universe 2011 pageant in São Paulo, Brazil where she finished as 3rd Runner-Up.

  26. 1985

    1. Anja Mittag, German footballer births

      1. German footballer (born 1985)

        Anja Mittag

        Anja Mittag is a German football coach and player who plays as a striker. Mittag is currently a player-coach for RB Leipzig.

    2. Rodrigo Peters Marques, Brazilian footballer births

      1. Brazilian footballer

        Café (footballer)

        Rodrigo Peters Marques, known as Café, is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a goalkeeper.

    3. Corey Perry, Canadian ice hockey player births

      1. Canadian ice hockey player (born 1985)

        Corey Perry

        Corey Perry is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL). He played the first 14 years of his career with the Anaheim Ducks. He then played for the Dallas Stars and Montreal Canadiens. During his two campaigns with Dallas and Montreal, Perry lost consecutive Stanley Cup Finals to the Tampa Bay Lightning, before joining them in that offseason, where he proceeded to lose a third straight Stanley Cup Final. Perry is known for his goal-scoring ability and an abrasive playing style with an ability to get under his opponent's skin; the former earned him the affectionate nickname "Scorey Perry", the latter the less affectionate "the Worm".

    4. Margaret Hamilton, American actress (b. 1902) deaths

      1. American film actress (1902–1985)

        Margaret Hamilton (actress)

        Margaret Brainard Hamilton was an American actress. She was best known for her portrayal of the Wicked Witch of the West, and her Kansas counterpart Almira Gulch, in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's film The Wizard of Oz (1939).

  27. 1984

    1. Darío Cvitanich, Argentinian footballer births

      1. Argentine footballer

        Darío Cvitanich

        Darío Cvitanich is a retired Argentine professional footballer who played as a striker.

    2. Tomáš Fleischmann, Czech ice hockey player births

      1. Czech ice hockey player

        Tomáš Fleischmann

        Tomáš Fleischmann is a Czech former professional ice hockey winger. He most notably played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with several teams, including stints with the Washington Capitals and Florida Panthers.

    3. Jensen Lewis, American baseball player births

      1. American baseball player

        Jensen Lewis

        Jensen Daniel Lewis is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Cleveland Indians from 2007 to 2010 and is currently a baseball analyst with Bally Sports.

    4. Rick Rypien, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2011) births

      1. Canadian ice hockey player

        Rick Rypien

        Richard Joseph Rypien was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who spent parts of six seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Vancouver Canucks. After a major junior career of four years with the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League (WHL), he was signed to a professional contract by the minor league Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League (AHL) in 2005. The following season, he signed with the Canucks. He spent six years with the organization, splitting time between the Canucks and Moose, their AHL affiliate. A fourth-line player in the NHL, he was known for his hitting and fighting abilities, though his size was not typical of an enforcer.

    5. Andy Kaufman, American actor, comedian, and screenwriter (b. 1949) deaths

      1. American entertainer (1949–1984)

        Andy Kaufman

        Andrew Geoffrey Kaufman was an American entertainer and performance artist. While often called a "comedian", Kaufman preferred to describe himself instead as a "song and dance man". He has sometimes been called an "anti-comedian". He disdained telling jokes and engaging in comedy as it was traditionally understood, once saying in an interview, "I am not a comic, I have never told a joke. The comedian's promise is that he will go out there and make you laugh with him. My only promise is that I will try to entertain you as best I can."

    6. Irwin Shaw, American playwright, screenwriter, novelist, and short story writer (b. 1913) deaths

      1. American writer

        Irwin Shaw

        Irwin Shaw was an American playwright, screenwriter, novelist, and short-story author whose written works have sold more than 14 million copies. He is best known for two of his novels: The Young Lions (1948), about the fate of three soldiers during World War II, which was made into a film of the same name starring Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift, and Rich Man, Poor Man (1970), about the fate of two brothers and a sister in the post-World War II decades, which in 1976 was made into a popular miniseries starring Peter Strauss, Nick Nolte, and Susan Blakely.

  28. 1983

    1. Daniel Kerr, Australian footballer births

      1. Australian rules footballer, born 1983

        Daniel Kerr

        Daniel Alan Kerr is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL). He played 220 games for the club between 2001 and 2013, as a hard-running inside midfielder.

    2. Kyle Wellwood, Canadian ice hockey player births

      1. Canadian ice hockey player

        Kyle Wellwood

        Kyle Wellwood is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played the majority of his career in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was originally selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs 134th overall in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, playing his first three seasons in the NHL with Toronto before joining the Vancouver Canucks in 2008.

  29. 1982

    1. Łukasz Kubot, Polish tennis player births

      1. Polish tennis player

        Łukasz Kubot

        Łukasz Kubot is a Polish professional tennis player who is a former world No. 1 in doubles.He is a two-time Grand Slam champion in doubles, having won the 2014 Australian Open with Robert Lindstedt, as well as the 2017 Wimbledon Championships with Marcelo Melo. Kubot has won 27 doubles titles on the ATP Tour, including four at Masters 1000 level, all alongside Melo. The pair also finished runners-up at the 2018 US Open and 2017 ATP Finals. In January 2018 he became world No. 1 for the first time, the first Polish player ever to do so in singles or doubles.Kubot has also had success in singles, achieving a career-high ranking of world No. 41 in April 2010 and reaching the quarterfinals of the 2013 Wimbledon Championships. He also reached the final at the 2009 Serbia Open and the 2010 Brasil Open. Kubot has represented Poland in the Davis Cup since 2001, also competing at three editions of the Summer Olympics. In 2013 he was awarded the Gold Cross of Merit by Polish President Bronisław Komorowski.

  30. 1981

    1. Ricardo Costa, Portuguese footballer births

      1. Portuguese footballer

        Ricardo Costa (footballer, born 1981)

        Ricardo Miguel Moreira da Costa is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played mainly as a central defender but occasionally as a full-back.

    2. Ernie Freeman, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1922) deaths

      1. Jazz musician and performer

        Ernie Freeman

        Ernest Aaron Freeman was an American pianist, organist, bandleader, and arranger. He was responsible for arranging many successful rhythm and blues and pop records from the 1950s to the 1970s.

    3. Willy Hartner, German physician and academic (b. 1905) deaths

      1. German scientist and polymath

        Willy Hartner

        Willy Hartner was a German scientist and polymath. He studied at Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, where he obtained his PhD in physics in 1928 and where he later served as professor from 1940, as ordinary professor [German academic terminology] from 1946.

  31. 1980

    1. Nuria Llagostera Vives, Spanish tennis player births

      1. Spanish tennis player

        Nuria Llagostera Vives

        Nuria Llagostera Vives is a retired Spanish tennis player. In June 2005, Llagostera Vives reached her best singles ranking of world No. 35. In November 2009, she peaked at No. 5 in the WTA doubles rankings.

  32. 1979

    1. A. Philip Randolph, American union leader and activist (b. 1889) deaths

      1. American civil rights activist (1889–1979)

        A. Philip Randolph

        Asa Philip Randolph was an American labor unionist and civil rights activist. In 1925, he organized and led the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first successful African-American led labor union. In the early Civil Rights Movement and the Labor Movement, Randolph was a prominent voice. His continuous agitation with the support of fellow labor rights activists against racist unfair labor practices, eventually helped lead President Franklin D. Roosevelt to issue Executive Order 8802 in 1941, banning discrimination in the defense industries during World War II. The group then successfully maintained pressure, so that President Harry S. Truman, proposed a new Civil Rights Act, and issued Executive Orders 9980 and 9981 in 1948, promoting fair employment, anti-discrimination policies in federal government hiring, and ending racial segregation in the armed services.

  33. 1978

    1. Scott Nicholls, English motorcycle racer births

      1. British speedway rider

        Scott Nicholls

        Scott Karl Nicholls is a British speedway rider, who has won the British Championship seven times, and was a full participant in the Speedway Grand Prix series between 2002 and 2008. He is also a speedway commentator.

    2. Lionel Scaloni, Argentinian footballer births

      1. Argentine footballer and manager

        Lionel Scaloni

        Lionel Sebastián Scaloni is an Argentine professional football manager and former player who is the coach of the Argentina national team. A player of wide range, he operated as a right-back or right midfielder.

  34. 1977

    1. Melanie Lynskey, New Zealand actress births

      1. New Zealand actress

        Melanie Lynskey

        Melanie Jayne Lynskey is a New Zealand actress. Known for her portrayals of complex women and her command of American dialects, she works predominantly in independent films. Lynskey is the recipient of two Critics' Choice Awards, a HCA Award, a Gracie, a New Zealand Film Award, and a Sundance Special Jury Award, as well as Gotham, Golden Nymph, Satellite, Screen Actors Guild, and Primetime Emmy Award nominations.

    2. Emilíana Torrini, Icelandic singer-songwriter births

      1. Icelandic singer and songwriter

        Emilíana Torrini

        Emilíana Torrini is an Icelandic singer and songwriter. She is best known for her 2009 single "Jungle Drum", her 1999 album Love in the Time of Science, and her performance of "Gollum's Song" for the 2002 film The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.

    3. Modibo Keïta, Malian politician, 1st President of Mali (b. 1915) deaths

      1. First President of Mali from 1960 to 1968

        Modibo Keïta

        Modibo Keïta was the first President of Mali (1960–1968) and the Prime Minister of the Mali Federation. He espoused a form of African socialism.

      2. List of heads of state of Mali

        This is a list of heads of state of Mali since the country gained independence from France in 1960 to the present day.

  35. 1976

    1. Dirk Nannes, Australian-Dutch cricketer births

      1. Australian cricketer

        Dirk Nannes

        Dirk Peter Nannes is an Australian-Dutch cricket commentator and former cricketer who has played internationally for both Australia and the Netherlands, one of the few players to represent multiple international teams.

  36. 1975

    1. Tony Kakko, Finnish musician, composer, and vocalist births

      1. Musical artist

        Tony Kakko

        Toni Kristian "Tony" Kakko is a Finnish musician, composer and vocalist. He is known as the vocalist, primary songwriter, and creative lead of the band Sonata Arctica since 1996.

    2. Simon Whitfield, Canadian triathlete births

      1. Canadian triathlete

        Simon Whitfield

        Simon St. Quentin Whitfield is a retired Olympic triathlon champion from Canada. Whitfield won 10 consecutive Canadian Triathlon Championships titles and carried the Canadian national flag during the 2000 Summer Olympics closing ceremony in Sydney, where he had won his gold medal, and the opening ceremony at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, making him one of few Canadian athletes to be honoured twice as Olympic flag bearer.

  37. 1974

    1. Laura Pausini, Italian singer-songwriter and producer births

      1. Italian singer (born 1974)

        Laura Pausini

        Laura Pausini is an Italian singer. She rose to fame in 1993, winning the newcomer artists' section of the 43rd Sanremo Music Festival with her debut single "La solitudine", which became an Italian standard and an international hit. Her self-titled debut album was released in Italy on 23 April 1993 and later became an international success, selling two million copies worldwide. Its follow-up, Laura, was released in 1994 and confirmed her international success, selling three million copies worldwide.

    2. Sonny Sandoval, American singer-songwriter and rapper births

      1. American musician

        Sonny Sandoval

        Paul Joshua "Sonny" Sandoval is an American singer, rapper, and songwriter. He is best known as co-founder and the lead vocalist of metal band P.O.D.

  38. 1973

    1. Tori Spelling, American actress, reality television personality, and author births

      1. American heiress, actress, and author

        Tori Spelling

        Victoria Davey Spelling is an American actress and author. Her first major role was Donna Martin on Beverly Hills, 90210, beginning in 1990. She has appeared in made for television films, including A Friend to Die For (1994), A Carol Christmas (2003), The Mistle-Tones (2012), both versions of Mother, May I Sleep with Danger? and The Last Sharknado: It's About Time (2018). She has also starred in several independent films including The House of Yes (1997), Trick (1999), Scary Movie 2 (2001), Cthulhu (2007), Kiss the Bride (2007) and Izzie's Way Home (2016). She reprised her role of Donna Martin in Beverly Hills, 90210's spin-off, BH90210, in 2019.

  39. 1972

    1. Christian Califano, French rugby player births

      1. Rugby player

        Christian Califano

        Christian Califano is a former French rugby union player who finished his career at Gloucester Rugby.

    2. Matthew Hart, New Zealand cricketer births

      1. New Zealand cricketer

        Matthew Hart

        Matthew Norman Hart is a former New Zealand cricketer. Hart, a left-arm orthodox spinner, played in 14 Tests between 1994 and 1996, claiming 29 wickets including one five-wicket haul against South Africa.

  40. 1971

    1. Phil Clarke, English rugby league player and sportscaster births

      1. Rugby league TV broadcaster and former GB & England international rugby league footballer

        Phil Clarke

        Philip Clarke is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. A Great Britain and England international representative back-rower or stand-off, he played his club rugby league in England for Wigan, and in Australia for the Sydney City Roosters.

    2. Rachel Goswell, English singer-songwriter and guitarist births

      1. British singer-songwriter

        Rachel Goswell

        Rachel Ann Goswell is an English singer-songwriter and musician who rose to prominence as vocalist and guitarist of the shoegaze band Slowdive, which formed in 1989. Goswell, along with Neil Halstead, Ian McCutcheon and former Chapterhouse member Simon Rowe became Mojave 3 when Slowdive transitioned to a more country/folk rock style. She released a solo album in 2004, titled Waves Are Universal on 4AD Records.

  41. 1970

    1. Gabriela Sabatini, Argentinian tennis player births

      1. Argentine tennis player

        Gabriela Sabatini

        Gabriela Beatriz Sabatini is an Argentine-Italian former professional tennis player. A former world No. 3 in both singles and doubles, Sabatini was one of the leading players from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, amassing 41 titles. In singles, Sabatini won the 1990 US Open, the Tour Finals in 1988 and 1994, and was runner-up at Wimbledon 1991, the 1988 US Open, and the silver medalist at the 1988 Olympics. In doubles, Sabatini won Wimbledon in 1988 partnering Steffi Graf, and reached three French Open finals. Among Open era players who did not reach the world No. 1 ranking, Sabatini has the most wins over reigning world No. 1 ranked players. In 2006, she was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame and in 2018 Tennis Magazine ranked her as the 20th-greatest female player of the preceding 50 years.

    2. Danielle Spencer, Australian singer-songwriter and actress births

      1. Australian actress and singer-songwriter

        Danielle Spencer (Australian actress)

        Danielle Spencer is an Australian actress, singer and songwriter.

  42. 1969

    1. David Boreanaz, American actor births

      1. American actor

        David Boreanaz

        David Boreanaz is an American actor, television producer, and director known for playing the roles of vampire-turned-private investigator Angel on The WB/UPN Buffy the Vampire Slayer supernatural drama (1997–2003) and its spinoff Angel (1999–2004); FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth, a homicide investigator, on the Fox television crime procedural comedy-drama series Bones (2005–2017); and United States Navy SEAL Master Chief Special Warfare Operator Jason Hayes in the CBS/Paramount+ military drama series SEAL Team (2017–present).

    2. Tucker Carlson, American journalist, co-founded The Daily Caller births

      1. American political commentator (born 1969)

        Tucker Carlson

        Tucker Swanson McNear Carlson is an American television host, conservative political commentator and writer who has hosted the nightly political talk show Tucker Carlson Tonight on Fox News since 2016.

      2. Right-wing news and opinion website based in Washington, D.C.

        The Daily Caller

        The Daily Caller is a right-wing news and opinion website based in Washington, D.C. It was founded by now-Fox News host Tucker Carlson and political pundit Neil Patel in 2010. Launched as a "conservative answer to The Huffington Post", The Daily Caller quadrupled its audience and became profitable by 2012, surpassing several rival websites by 2013. In 2020, the site was described by The New York Times as having been "a pioneer in online conservative journalism". The Daily Caller is a member of the White House press pool.

    3. Steve Lewis, American sprinter births

      1. Steve Lewis (sprinter)

        Steven Earl Lewis is a former American track and field athlete, winner of three gold medals at the 1988 Summer Olympics and 1992 Summer Olympics.

  43. 1968

    1. Ralph Tresvant, American singer and producer births

      1. Musical artist

        Ralph Tresvant

        Ralph Edward Tresvant is an American singer, songwriter, actor and record producer, best known as the lead singer of R&B group New Edition. As a solo artist, Tresvant released the album Ralph Tresvant (1990). In 2008, he began touring with Bobby Brown and Johnny Gill in a new group named Heads of State.

  44. 1967

    1. Doug Brocail, American baseball player and coach births

      1. American baseball player and coach (born 1967)

        Doug Brocail

        Douglas Keith Brocail is an American professional baseball pitcher and pitching coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, Houston Astros, Detroit Tigers, and Texas Rangers. He has coached in MLB for the Astros, Rangers, and the Orioles.

    2. Susan Williams, Baroness Williams of Trafford, British politician births

      1. British Conservative politician

        Susan Williams, Baroness Williams of Trafford

        Susan Frances Maria Williams, Baroness Williams of Trafford is a Conservative life peer serving as the Chief Whip of the House of Lords and Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms. In March 2022 she was made a member of the Privy Council. She held the position of Minister of State for six years, thus she holds the record of being a mid-level minister for the longest time.

  45. 1966

    1. Janet Jackson, American singer-songwriter actress births

      1. American singer (born 1966)

        Janet Jackson

        Janet Damita Jo Jackson is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreography became a catalyst in the growth of MTV, enabling her to rise to prominence while breaking gender and racial barriers in the process. Lyrical content which focused on social issues and lived experiences set her reputation as a role model for youth.

    2. Scott Reeves, American singer-songwriter and actor births

      1. American actor and country music singer (born 1966)

        Scott Reeves

        Gregory Scott Reeves is an American actor and country music singer. His best known roles include Noel Laughlin on ABC's Nashville, Ryan McNeil on The Young and the Restless, and Steven Webber on General Hospital.

    3. Thurman Thomas, American football player births

      1. American football player (born 1966)

        Thurman Thomas

        Thurman Lee Thomas is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for thirteen seasons, primarily with the Buffalo Bills. He was selected by the Bills in the second round of the 1988 NFL Draft, where he spent all but one season of his professional career. Thomas spent his final NFL year as a member of the Miami Dolphins in 2000.

  46. 1965

    1. Krist Novoselic, American bass player, songwriter, author, and activist births

      1. American rock musician

        Krist Novoselic

        Krist Anthony Novoselic is an American musician and activist. He was the bassist and co-founder of the rock band Nirvana.

    2. Tanel Tammet, Estonian computer scientist, engineer, and academic births

      1. Estonian computer scientist

        Tanel Tammet

        Tanel Tammet is an Estonian computer scientist, professor, software engineer, and computer programmer. He was also one of the founding members of the Estonian Greens party, and helped found the IT College in Tallinn.

  47. 1964

    1. John Salley, American basketball player and actor births

      1. American basketball player

        John Salley

        John Thomas Salley is an American former professional basketball player, talk show host, and actor. He was the first player in NBA history to win championships with three franchises, as well as the first player in the NBA to win a championship in three different decades.

    2. Boyd Tinsley, American singer-songwriter and violinist births

      1. American musician

        Boyd Tinsley

        Boyd Calvin Tinsley is an American violinist and mandolinist who is best known for having been a member of the Dave Matthews Band.

    3. Milton Jones, English comedian, actor, and screenwriter births

      1. English comedian

        Milton Jones

        Milton Hywel Jones is an English comedian. His style of humour is based on one-liners involving puns delivered in a deadpan and slightly neurotic style. Jones has had various shows on BBC Radio 4 and is a recurring guest panellist on Mock the Week. He won the Perrier comedy award for best newcomer in 1996, and in 2012, Another Case of Milton Jones was awarded silver in the 'Best Comedy' category at the 30th Sony Radio Academy awards. Jones tours the UK periodically and is a regular performer at The Comedy Store in London and Manchester.

  48. 1963

    1. Rachel Griffith, Anglo-American economist births

      1. British economist (born 1963)

        Rachel Griffith

        Dame Rachel Susan Griffith is a British-American academic and educator. She is professor of economics at the University of Manchester and a research director at the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

    2. David Wilkinson, English theologian and academic births

      1. British theologian

        David Wilkinson (theologian)

        David Adam Wilkinson, FRAS is a British Methodist minister, theologian, astrophysicist and academic. He is the current Principal of St John's College, Durham, and a professor in the Department of Theology and Religion at Durham University. He is the author of several books on the relationship between science and religion, and a regular contributor to Thought for the Day on BBC Radio 4. He has a PhD in astrophysics and is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society.

  49. 1962

    1. Helga Radtke, German long jumper births

      1. German track and field athlete (born 1962)

        Helga Radtke

        Helga Radtke is a German track and field athlete. She competed from 1979 to the 1990s in the long and triple jumps. Until 1990 she represented East Germany. She won the bronze medal in the long jump at the 1990 European championship and was successful in many more indoor world and European championships

  50. 1961

    1. Kevin McDonald, Canadian actor and screenwriter births

      1. Canadian actor and comedian

        Kevin McDonald

        Kevin Hamilton McDonald is a Canadian actor, voice actor and comedian. He is a member of the comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall, who have appeared together in a number of stage, television and film productions, most notably the 1988–1995 TV series The Kids in the Hall. He played Pastor Dave in That '70s Show, and also starred as a co-pilot in the 2011 web comedy series Papillon. He also does voice work in animation, most notably for providing the voices of Agent Wendy Pleakley in the Lilo & Stitch franchise, Waffle in Catscratch, and the Almighty Tallest Purple in Invader Zim.

    2. Charles Wright, American wrestler births

      1. American professional wrestler (born 1961)

        The Godfather (wrestler)

        Charles Wright, better known under his ring name The Godfather, is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure with the World Wrestling Federation throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, and underwent several gimmick changes; the most notable were Papa Shango, Kama, Kama Mustafa, The Godfather and The Goodfather.

    3. George A. Malcolm, American lawyer and jurist (b. 1881) deaths

      1. George A. Malcolm

        George Arthur Malcolm was an American lawyer who emerged as an influential figure in the development of the practice of law in the Philippines in the 20th century. Constitutional scholar and academic Joaquin Bernas described Malcolm as "the man who more than any single American contributed most to early constitutional development in the Philippines." At age 35, he was appointed Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, where he would serve for 19 years. His most enduring legacy perhaps lies in his role in the establishment of the College of Law at the University of the Philippines.

  51. 1960

    1. Landon Deireragea, Nauruan politician, Nauruan Speaker of Parliament births

      1. Nauruan politician

        Landon Deireragea

        Landon Deireragea is a Nauruan politician.

      2. List of speakers of the Parliament of Nauru

        The Speaker of the Parliament of Nauru is the presiding officer of that legislature in the Republic of Nauru. The Speaker is elected by the members in the Parliament of Nauru.

    2. Bruce Norris, playwright births

      1. American dramatist

        Bruce Norris (playwright)

        Bruce Norris is an American character actor and playwright associated with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company of Chicago. His play Clybourne Park won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

    3. S. Shanmuganathan, Sri Lankan commander and politician (d. 1998) births

      1. Sri Lankan Tamil politician and MP

        S. Shanmuganathan (Sri Lankan politician)

        Sarawanabavanandan Shanmuganathan was a Sri Lankan Tamil militant, politician and Member of Parliament.

  52. 1959

    1. Mitch Webster, American baseball player births

      1. American baseball player

        Mitch Webster

        Mitchell Dean Webster is a former outfielder in Major League Baseball who played from 1983 through 1995 for the Toronto Blue Jays, Montreal Expos, Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, Pittsburgh Pirates and Los Angeles Dodgers. Listed at 6' 0", 185 lb., he was a switch hitter and threw left handed.

    2. Mare Winningham, American actress and singer-songwriter births

      1. American actress and singer-songwriter (born 1959)

        Mare Winningham

        Mary "Mare" Megan Winningham is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She is the recipient of two Primetime Emmy Awards and has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards and two Tony Awards.

  53. 1957

    1. Joan Benoit, American runner births

      1. American distance runner

        Joan Benoit

        Joan Benoit Samuelson is an American marathon runner who was the first women's Olympic Games marathon champion, winning the gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. She held the fastest time for an American woman at the Chicago Marathon for 32 years after winning the race in 1985. Her time at the Boston Marathon was the fastest time by an American woman at that race for 28 years. She was inducted into the Maine Women's Hall of Fame in 2000.

    2. Benjamin Mancroft, 3rd Baron Mancroft, English politician births

      1. British politician and businessman (born 1957)

        Benjamin Mancroft, 3rd Baron Mancroft

        Benjamin Lloyd Stormont Mancroft, 3rd Baron Mancroft, is a British peer, businessman and Conservative Party politician.

    3. Yuri Shevchuk, Russian singer-songwriter and guitarist births

      1. Musical artist

        Yuri Shevchuk

        Yuri Yulianovich Shevchuk is a Soviet and Russian rock musician and singer/songwriter who leads the rock band DDT, which he founded with Vladimir Sigachyov in 1980.

    4. Anthony St John, 22nd Baron St John of Bletso, English lawyer and businessman births

      1. Anthony St John, 22nd Baron St John of Bletso

        Anthony Tudor St John, 22nd Baron St John of Bletso is a British peer, politician, businessman and solicitor. He is one of the ninety hereditary peers elected to remain in the House of Lords after the House of Lords Act 1999. He speaks on African affairs, deregulation, financial services and information technology. Rather than aligning with a particular political party, he remains a crossbencher.

    5. Bob Suter, American ice hockey player and coach (d. 2014) births

      1. American ice hockey player

        Bob Suter

        Robert Allen Suter was an American professional ice hockey defenseman and member of the Miracle on Ice 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team who won the gold medal.

    6. Eliot Ness, American federal agent (b. 1903) deaths

      1. American Prohibition agent (1903–1957)

        Eliot Ness

        Eliot Ness was an American Prohibition agent known for his efforts to bring down Al Capone and enforce Prohibition in Chicago. He was the leader of a team of law enforcement agents, nicknamed The Untouchables. His co-authorship of an autobiography, The Untouchables, which was released shortly after his death, launched several television and motion picture portrayals establishing Ness's posthumous fame as an incorruptible crime fighter.

  54. 1956

    1. Loretta Schrijver, Dutch television host, news anchor births

      1. Dutch television host

        Loretta Schrijver

        Loretta Maxine Schrijver is a Dutch television host.

    2. H. B. Reese, American candy-maker and businessman, created Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (b. 1876) deaths

      1. American businessman and inventor

        H. B. Reese

        Harry Burnett "H. B." Reese Sr was an American inventor and businessman known for creating the number one-selling candy brand in the United States Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and founding the H.B. Reese Candy Company. In 2009, he was posthumously inducted into the Candy Hall of Fame.

      2. American candy made by The Hershey Company

        Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

        Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are an American candy consisting of a chocolate cup filled with peanut butter, marketed by The Hershey Company. They were created on November 15, 1928, by H. B. Reese, a former dairy farmer and shipping foreman for Milton S. Hershey. Reese left his job with Hershey to start his own candy business. Reese's generates more than $2 billion in annual sales for The Hershey Company, and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are number one on the list of top-selling candy brands.

  55. 1955

    1. Olga Korbut, Soviet gymnast births

      1. Soviet gymnast

        Olga Korbut

        Olga Valentinovna Korbut is a former gymnast who competed for the Soviet Union. Nicknamed the "Sparrow from Minsk", she won four gold medals and two silver medals at the Summer Olympic Games, in which she competed in 1972 and 1976 for the Soviet team, and was the inaugural inductee to the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1988.

    2. Jack Morris, American baseball player and sportscaster births

      1. American baseball pitcher

        Jack Morris

        John Scott Morris is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1977 and 1994, mainly for the Detroit Tigers. Morris won 254 games throughout his career.

    3. Hazel O'Connor, English-born Irish singer-songwriter and actress births

      1. English singer-songwriter and actress

        Hazel O'Connor

        Hazel Thereasa O'Connor is a British singer-songwriter and actress. She became famous in the early 1980s with hit singles "Eighth Day", "D-Days" and "Will You?" She also starred in the 1980 film Breaking Glass.

    4. Páidí Ó Sé, Irish footballer and manager (d. 2012) births

      1. Irish Gaelic footballer and manager (1955–2012)

        Páidí Ó Sé

        Páidí Ó Sé was an Irish Gaelic football manager and player, whose league and championship career at senior level with the Kerry county team spanned fifteen seasons from 1974 to 1988. Ó Sé is widely regarded as one of the greatest defenders of his generation.

    5. Debra Winger, American actress births

      1. American actress (born 1955)

        Debra Winger

        Debra Lynn Winger is an American actress. She starred in the films An Officer and a Gentleman (1982), Terms of Endearment (1983), and Shadowlands (1993), each of which earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Winger won the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress for Terms of Endearment, and the Tokyo International Film Festival Award for Best Actress for A Dangerous Woman (1993). Her other film roles include Urban Cowboy (1980), Legal Eagles (1986), Black Widow (1987), Betrayed (1988), The Sheltering Sky (1990), Forget Paris (1995), and Rachel Getting Married (2008). In 2012, she made her Broadway debut in the original production of David Mamet's play The Anarchist. In 2014, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Transilvania International Film Festival.

    6. James Agee, American novelist, screenwriter, and critic(b. 1909) deaths

      1. American writer (1909–1955)

        James Agee

        James Rufus Agee was an American novelist, journalist, poet, screenwriter and film critic. In the 1940s, writing for Time Magazine, he was one of the most influential film critics in the United States. His autobiographical novel, A Death in the Family (1957), won the author a posthumous 1958 Pulitzer Prize. Agee is also known as a co-writer of the book Let Us Now Praise Famous Men and as the screenwriter of the film classics The African Queen and The Night of the Hunter.

    7. Manny Ayulo, American race car driver (b. 1921) deaths

      1. American racecar driver

        Manny Ayulo

        Manuel Leaonedas Ayulo was an American racecar driver. His efforts, along with those of friend and teammate Jack McGrath, helped establish track roadsters as viable race cars. Ayulo was killed in practice for the 1955 Indianapolis 500 when his car crashed straight into a concrete wall. He was found to have not been wearing a seat belt and his pockets "were filled with wrenches".

  56. 1954

    1. Dafydd Williams, Canadian physician and astronaut births

      1. Canadian physician, public speaker and retired CSA astronaut

        Dafydd Williams

        Dafydd Rhys Williams OC OOnt CCFP FCFP FRCPC FRCP FRCGS is a Canadian physician, public speaker, CEO, author and a retired CSA astronaut. Williams was a mission specialist on two Space Shuttle missions. His first spaceflight, STS-90 in 1998, was a 16-day mission aboard Space Shuttle Columbia dedicated to neuroscience research. His second flight, STS-118 in August 2007, was flown by Space Shuttle Endeavour to the International Space Station. During that mission he performed three spacewalks, becoming the third Canadian to perform a spacewalk and setting a Canadian record for total number of spacewalks. These spacewalks combined for a total duration of 17 hours and 47 minutes.

    2. Clemens Krauss, Austrian conductor and manager (b. 1893) deaths

      1. Clemens Krauss

        Clemens Heinrich Krauss was an Austrian conductor and opera impresario, particularly associated with the music of Richard Strauss, Johann Strauss and Richard Wagner.

  57. 1953

    1. Pierce Brosnan, Irish-American actor and producer births

      1. Irish actor and film producer (born 1953)

        Pierce Brosnan

        Pierce Brendan Brosnan is an Irish actor and film producer. He is best known as the fifth actor to play secret agent James Bond in the Bond film series, starring in four films from 1995 to 2002 and in multiple video games.

    2. Peter Onorati, American actor births

      1. American actor

        Peter Onorati

        Peter Onorati is an American actor. He is known for his TV roles as Charlie Howell on Civil Wars (1991–1993), Mr. Scotto on Murder One (1995–1997), Stanley Pearson on This Is Us (2017–2022), and Jeff Mumford on S.W.A.T. (2017–2019), and his movie roles in Goodfellas (1990), and Fallen Arches (1998).

    3. Richard Page, American singer-songwriter and bass player births

      1. Musical artist

        Richard Page (musician)

        Richard James Page is an American musician who is best known as the lead singer and bassist of 1980s band Mr. Mister. The band's hits include "Broken Wings" and "Kyrie". Page has also sung in other bands, been a solo artist, written songs for other artists, and worked as a background singer for other artists.

    4. Kitanoumi Toshimitsu, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 55th Yokozuna (d. 2015) births

      1. Japanese sumo wrestler

        Kitanoumi Toshimitsu

        Kitanoumi Toshimitsu , born Toshimitsu Obata , was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler. He was the dominant wrestler in the sport during the 1970s. Kitanoumi was promoted to yokozuna at the age of 21, becoming the youngest ever to achieve sumo's top rank. He won 24 tournament championships during his career and was one of a series of truly great yokozuna who came from Hokkaido, the largest and northernmost prefecture of Japan. At the time of his death he still held the records for most tournaments at yokozuna (63) and most bouts won as a yokozuna (670), but they have since been surpassed. Following his retirement in 1985 he established the Kitanoumi stable. He was chairman of the Japan Sumo Association from 2002 until 2008, and again from 2012 until his death.

      2. Highest-ranking of the six divisions of professional sumo

        Makuuchi

        Makuuchi (幕内), or makunouchi (幕の内), is the top division of the six divisions of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers (rikishi), ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments.

    5. David Maclean, Scottish politician births

      1. United Kingdom Conservative Party politician (born 1953)

        David Maclean

        David John Maclean, Baron Blencathra, is a Conservative Party life peer. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Penrith and The Border from 1983 to 2010.

    6. Stephen Woolman, Lord Woolman, Scottish judge and academic births

      1. Stephen Woolman, Lord Woolman

        Stephen Errol Woolman, Lord Woolman,, is a Scottish legal academic, and a Senator of the College of Justice, a judge of the country's Supreme Courts.

    7. Django Reinhardt, Belgian guitarist and composer (b. 1910) deaths

      1. Romani-French jazz musician (1910–1953)

        Django Reinhardt

        Jean Reinhardt, known by his Romani nickname Django, was a Romani-French jazz guitarist and composer. He was one of the first major jazz talents to emerge in Europe and has been hailed as one of its most significant exponents.

  58. 1951

    1. Christian Lacroix, French fashion designer births

      1. French fashion designer (born 1951)

        Christian Lacroix

        Christian Marie Marc Lacroix is a French fashion designer. The name may also refer to the company he founded.

    2. Jonathan Richman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist births

      1. American singer, songwriter and guitarist

        Jonathan Richman

        Jonathan Michael Richman is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. In 1970, he founded the Modern Lovers, an influential proto-punk band. Since the mid-1970s, Richman has worked either solo or with low-key acoustic and electric backing. He now plays only acoustic to protect his hearing. He is known for his wide-eyed, unaffected, and childlike outlook, and music that, while rooted in rock and roll, is influenced by music from around the world.

    3. Janet Soskice, Canadian philosopher and theologian births

      1. Janet Soskice

        Janet Martin Soskice is a Canadian-born English Roman Catholic theologian and philosopher. Soskice is educated at Somerville College, Oxford. She is professor of philosophical theology and a fellow of Jesus College at the University of Cambridge. Her theological and philosophical work has dealt with the role of women in Christianity, religious language, the relationship between science and religion.

  59. 1950

    1. Georg Bednorz, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate births

      1. German physicist

        Georg Bednorz

        Johannes Georg Bednorz is a German physicist who, together with K. Alex Müller, discovered high-temperature superconductivity in ceramics, for which they shared the 1987 Nobel Prize in Physics.

      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.

    2. Ray Condo, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2004) births

      1. Musical artist

        Ray Condo

        Ray Condo, born Ray Tremblay, was a Canadian rockabilly singer, saxophonist, and guitarist.

    3. Bruce Coville, American author births

      1. American novelist

        Bruce Coville

        Bruce Farrington Coville is an author of young adult fiction. Coville was first published in 1977 and has written over 100 books.

  60. 1949

    1. Rick Reuschel, American baseball player births

      1. American baseball player

        Rick Reuschel

        Ricky Eugene Reuschel is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from 1972 to 1991, winning 214 games with a career 3.37 ERA. His nickname was "Big Daddy" because his speed belied his portly physique. He was known for his deceptive style of pitching, which kept hitters off balance by constantly varying the speeds of his pitches.

  61. 1948

    1. Jesper Christensen, Danish actor, director, and producer births

      1. Danish actor

        Jesper Christensen

        Jesper Christensen is a Danish actor. A veteran of European cinema, he has more recently made the transition to English language projects, including The Interpreter and Revelations. He has also appeared as the mysterious villain Mr. White in the James Bond films Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, and Spectre.

    2. Judy Finnigan, English talk show host and author births

      1. English television presenter and writer

        Judy Finnigan

        Judith Adele Finnigan is an English television presenter and writer. She co-presented ITV's This Morning and the Channel 4 chat show, Richard & Judy (2001–2008) alongside her husband Richard Madeley. Her debut novel Eloise, published in 2012, was a Sunday Times bestseller. Her second novel, I Do Not Sleep, was published in 2015.

    3. Enrico Fumia, Italian automobile and product designer births

      1. Italian automobile and product designer (born 1948)

        Enrico Fumia

        Enrico Fumia is an Italian automobile and product designer. He is widely known for his work with the car design firm Pininfarina, helping to design and package a new sports car version of the Alfa Romeo, which included front-wheel drive and traversely-mounted engines. Today he runs Fumia Design Studio.

    4. Jimmy Hood, Scottish engineer and politician (d. 2017) births

      1. British politician

        Jimmy Hood

        James Hood was a Scottish Labour Party politician, who served as a Member of Parliament from 1987 until being defeated in 2015. He represented the Clydesdale constituency until 2005, and the Lanark and Hamilton East constituency thereafter. Hood, a National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) trade union official during the miners' strike of 1984–85, remained a backbencher throughout his parliamentary career.

    5. Emma Georgina Rothschild, English historian and academic births

      1. English historian

        Emma Rothschild

        Emma Georgina Rothschild is a British economic historian, a professor of history at Harvard University. She is director of the Joint Centre for History and Economics at Harvard, and an honorary Professor of History and Economics at the University of Cambridge. She formerly served as board member of United Nations Foundation and as a professor at the École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS) in Paris.

    6. Staf Van Roosbroeck, Belgian cyclist births

      1. Belgian cyclist

        Gustaaf Van Roosbroeck

        Gustaf Van Roosbroeck is a retired Belgian professional road bicycle racer who competed in the 1970s.

  62. 1947

    1. Cheryl Clarke, American writer births

      1. American lesbian poet, essayist, educator and a Black feminist community activist

        Cheryl Clarke

        Cheryl L. Clarke is an American lesbian poet, essayist, educator and a Black feminist community activist who continues to dedicate her life to the recognition and advancement of Black and Queer people. Her scholarship focuses on African-American women's literature, black lesbian feminism, and the Black Arts Movement in the United States. For over 40 years, Cheryl Clarke worked at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, and maintains a teaching affiliation with the Graduate Faculty of the Department of Women and Gender Studies, though retired. In addition, Clarke serves on the board of the Newark Pride Alliance. She currently lives in Hobart, N.Y., the Book Village of the Catskills, after having spent much of her life in New Jersey. With her life partner, Barbara Balliet, she is co-owner of Bleinheim Hill Books, a new, used, and rare bookstore in Hobart. Actively involved in her community, Clarke along with her sister Breena Clarke, a novelist, organize the Hobart Festival of Women Writers each September

    2. Darrell Sweet, Scottish drummer (d. 1999) births

      1. Musical artist

        Darrell Sweet (musician)

        Darrell Antony Sweet was an English drummer for the Scottish hard rock band Nazareth. He was a co-founder of Nazareth, which was formed in 1968.

    3. Roch Thériault, Canadian religious leader (d. 2011) births

      1. Canadian cult leader and murderer (1947–2011)

        Roch Thériault

        Roch Thériault was a Canadian cult leader and convicted murderer. Thériault, a self-proclaimed prophet under the name Moïse [mɔ.iz], founded the Ant Hill Kids in 1977. They were a doomsday cult whose beliefs were based on Seventh-day Adventist Church beliefs. In 1978, Thériault was removed from Seventh-day Adventist Church. Thériault maintained multiple wives and concubines, impregnating all female members as a religious requirement, and fathering 26 children. Thériault's followers, including 12 adults and 22 children, lived under his totalitarian rule at the commune and were subject to severe physical and sexual abuse.

    4. Frederick Gowland Hopkins, English biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1861) deaths

      1. English biochemist

        Frederick Gowland Hopkins

        Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins was an English biochemist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1929, with Christiaan Eijkman, for the discovery of vitamins, even though Casimir Funk, a Polish biochemist, is widely credited with discovering vitamins. He also discovered the amino acid tryptophan, in 1901. He was President of the Royal Society from 1930 to 1935.

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

        Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

        The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's 1895 will, are awarded "to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind". Nobel Prizes are awarded in the fields of Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace.

    5. Zhang Lingfu, Chinese general (b. 1903) deaths

      1. Zhang Lingfu

        Zhang Lingfu was a high-ranking general of the Chinese National Revolutionary Army. He successfully fought against the Communists and the Imperial Japanese Army. In 1947, his unit was surrounded by Chinese communist forces commanded by Field Marshal Chen Yi and General Su Yu. Zhang was unable to breakout from the communist encirclement because the relief efforts headed by his nationalist colleagues did not arrive in time, and he was killed in action in the Menglianggu Campaign on May 16, 1947.

  63. 1946

    1. John Law, English sociologist and academic births

      1. John Law (sociologist)

        John Law, is a sociologist and science and technology studies scholar, currently on the Faculty of Social Sciences at the Open University and key proponent of Actor-network theory. Actor-network theory, sometimes abbreviated to ANT, is a social science approach for describing and explaining social, organisational, scientific and technological structures, processes and events. It assumes that all the components of such structures form a network of relations that can be mapped and described in the same terms or vocabulary.

    2. Robert Fripp, English guitarist, songwriter and producer births

      1. British guitarist, composer, record producer, and author

        Robert Fripp

        Robert Fripp is a British musician, songwriter, record producer, and author, best known as the guitarist, founder and longest-lasting member of the progressive rock band King Crimson. He has worked extensively as a session musician and collaborator, notably with David Bowie, Blondie, Brian Eno, Peter Gabriel, Daryl Hall, Midge Ure, Talking Heads, and David Sylvian. He also composed the startup sound of Windows Vista operating system, in collaboration with Tucker Martine and Steve Ball. His discography includes contributions to over 700 official releases.

    3. Bruno Tesch, German chemist and businessman (b. 1890) deaths

      1. Bruno Tesch

        Bruno Emil Tesch was a German chemist and entrepreneur. Together with Gerhard Peters and Walter Heerdt, he invented the insecticide Zyklon B. He was the owner of Tesch & Stabenow, a pest control company he co-founded in 1924 with Paul Stabenow in Hamburg, Germany.

  64. 1944

    1. Billy Cobham, Panamanian-American drummer, composer, and bandleader births

      1. American jazz drummer

        Billy Cobham

        William Emanuel Cobham Jr. is a Panamanian–American jazz drummer who came to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s with trumpeter Miles Davis and then with the Mahavishnu Orchestra.

    2. Antal Nagy, Hungarian footballer births

      1. Hungarian footballer

        Antal Nagy (footballer, born 1944)

        Antal Nagy is a Hungarian former professional footballer who played as a striker He represented Hungary at the 1966 FIFA World Cup.

    3. Danny Trejo, American actor births

      1. American actor

        Danny Trejo

        Danny Trejo is an American actor. He has appeared in films including Desperado, Heat, and the From Dusk Till Dawn film series. With frequent collaborator and his second cousin Robert Rodriguez, he portrayed the character of Isador "Machete" Cortez, which was originally developed for the Spy Kids series and was later expanded into its own franchise of the same name.

    4. George Ade, American journalist, author, and playwright (b. 1866) deaths

      1. American writer, newspaper columnist, and playwright

        George Ade

        George Ade was an American writer, syndicated newspaper columnist, and playwright who gained national notoriety at the turn of the 20th century with his "Stories of the Streets and of the Town", a column that used street language and slang to describe daily life in Chicago, and a column of his fables in slang, which were humorous stories that featured vernacular speech and the liberal use of capitalization in his characters' dialog.

    5. Filip Mișea, Aromanian activist, physician and politician (b. 1873) deaths

      1. Aromanian activist, physician and politician

        Filip Mișea

        Filip Mișea was an Aromanian activist, physician and politician. Mișea became an Ottoman deputy, with him and Nicolae Constantin Batzaria being the only Aromanians to ever enter the Ottoman parliament. He would later move to Romania and devote himself to medicine there.

  65. 1943

    1. Kay Andrews, Baroness Andrews, English politician births

      1. British Labour politician and life peer

        Kay Andrews, Baroness Andrews

        Elizabeth Kay Andrews, Baroness Andrews, is a British Labour politician and life peer. She was Chair of English Heritage from July 2009 to July 2013.

    2. Dan Coats, American politician and diplomat, 29th United States Ambassador to Germany births

      1. Former United States Senator from Indiana; 5th Director of National Intelligence

        Dan Coats

        Daniel Ray Coats is an American politician, attorney, and former diplomat. From 2017 to 2019, he served as the Director of National Intelligence in the Trump administration. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a United States Senator from Indiana from 1989 to 1999 and again from 2011 to 2017. He was the United States Ambassador to Germany from 2001 to 2005, and a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1981 to 1989. Coats served on the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence while in the U.S. Senate.

      2. List of ambassadors of the United States to Germany

        The United States has had diplomatic relations with the nation of Germany and its principal predecessor nation, the Kingdom of Prussia, since 1835. These relations were broken twice while Germany and the United States were at war and for a continuation interval afterwards.

    3. Wieteke van Dort, Dutch actress, comedian, singer, writer and artist births

      1. Wieteke van Dort

        Louisa Johanna Theodora van Dort is a Dutch actress, comedian, singer, writer and artist of Indo (Eurasian) descent. On April 29, 1999, Queen Beatrix appointed her Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau.

    4. Alfred Hoche, German psychiatrist and academic (b. 1865) deaths

      1. German psychiatrist

        Alfred Hoche

        Alfred Erich Hoche was a German psychiatrist known for his writings about eugenics and euthanasia.

  66. 1942

    1. David Penry-Davey, English lawyer and judge (d. 2015) births

      1. David Penry-Davey

        Sir David Herbert Penry-Davey was a judge of the High Court of England and Wales.

  67. 1941

    1. Denis Hart, Australian archbishop births

      1. Catholic archbishop of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

        Denis Hart

        Denis James Hart is a retired Australian prelate of the Catholic Church. He was Archbishop of Melbourne from 2001 to 2018.

  68. 1939

    1. Mario Segni, Italian professor and politician births

      1. Italian politician

        Mario Segni

        Mariotto Segni is an Italian politician and professor of civil law. He founded several parties, which focused on fighting for electoral reform through referendums. He is the son of the politician Antonio Segni, one time President of the Republic of Italy.

  69. 1938

    1. Stuart Bell, English lawyer and politician (d. 2012) births

      1. British Labour Party politician

        Stuart Bell

        Sir Stuart Bell was a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Middlesbrough from the 1983 general election until his death in 2012. He was known as the longest serving Second Church Estates Commissioner, serving in this role during the entire period of Labour government from 1997-2010.

    2. Ivan Sutherland, American computer scientist and academic births

      1. American computer scientist and Internet pioneer

        Ivan Sutherland

        Ivan Edward Sutherland is an American computer scientist and Internet pioneer, widely regarded as a pioneer of computer graphics. His early work in computer graphics as well as his teaching with David C. Evans in that subject at the University of Utah in the 1970s was pioneering in the field. Sutherland, Evans, and their students from that era developed several foundations of modern computer graphics. He received the Turing Award from the Association for Computing Machinery in 1988 for the invention of Sketchpad, an early predecessor to the sort of graphical user interface that has become ubiquitous in personal computers. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, as well as the National Academy of Sciences among many other major awards. In 2012 he was awarded the Kyoto Prize in Advanced Technology for "pioneering achievements in the development of computer graphics and interactive interfaces".

    3. Marco Aurelio Denegri, Peruvian television host and sexologist (d. 2018) births

      1. Marco Aurelio Denegri

        Marco Aurelio Denegri Santagadea was a Peruvian intellectual, literary critic, television host and sexologist.

    4. Joseph Strauss, American engineer, co designed The Golden Gate Bridge (b. 1870) deaths

      1. American structural engineer

        Joseph Strauss (engineer)

        Joseph Baermann Strauss was an American structural engineer who revolutionized the design of bascule bridges. He was the chief engineer of the Golden Gate Bridge, a suspension bridge.

      2. San Francisco Bay suspension bridge

        Golden Gate Bridge

        The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the one-mile-wide (1.6 km) strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. The structure links the U.S. city of San Francisco, California—the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula—to Marin County, carrying both U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1 across the strait. It also carries pedestrian and bicycle traffic, and is designated as part of U.S. Bicycle Route 95. Being declared one of the Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers, the bridge is one of the most internationally recognized symbols of San Francisco and California. It was initially designed by engineer Joseph Strauss in 1917. The bridge was named for the Golden Gate strait, the channel that it spans.

  70. 1937

    1. Yvonne Craig, American ballet dancer and actress (d. 2015) births

      1. American actress and ballerina (1937–2015)

        Yvonne Craig

        Yvonne Joyce Craig was an American actress and ballerina, who was best known for her role as Batgirl in the 1960s television series Batman. Other notable roles in her career include Dorothy Johnson in the 1963 movie It Happened at the World's Fair, Azalea Tatum in the 1964 movie Kissin' Cousins and as the green-skinned Orion Marta in the Star Trek episode "Whom Gods Destroy" (1969).

  71. 1936

    1. Karl Lehmann, German cardinal (d. 2018) births

      1. Karl Lehmann

        Karl Lehmann was a German Cardinal prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Mainz from 1983 to 2016, being elevated to Cardinal in 2001. He also served as Chairman of the Conference of the German Bishops from 1987 to 2008, being considered one of the most influential prelates in Germany in these years and a leading proponent of liberal stances within the Church. Before he became a bishop, he worked as professor of theology at the University of Mainz and the University of Freiburg.

    2. Leonidas Paraskevopoulos, Greek general and politician (b. 1860) deaths

      1. Leonidas Paraskevopoulos

        Leonidas Paraskevopoulos was a senior officer of the Hellenic Army and politician. He played a major role in Greece's war effort during World War I, and was the commander-in-chief of the Army of Asia Minor in 1919–20. In later life he was a member of the Greek Senate and served as its speaker in 1930–32.

  72. 1935

    1. Floyd Smith, Canadian ice hockey player and coach births

      1. Canadian ice hockey player and coach

        Floyd Smith

        Floyd Robert Donald Smith is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre and coach.

  73. 1934

    1. Kenneth O. Morgan, Welsh historian and author births

      1. Welsh historian and author

        Kenneth O. Morgan

        Kenneth Owen Morgan, Baron Morgan, is a Welsh historian and author, known especially for his writings on modern British history and politics and on Welsh history. He is a regular reviewer and broadcaster on radio and television. He has been an influential intellectual resource in the Labour Party.

    2. Antony Walker, English general births

      1. British Army general

        Antony Walker

        General Sir Antony Kenneth Frederick Walker, is a former British Army officer who served as Commandant of the Royal College of Defence Studies from 1990 to 1992.

  74. 1931

    1. Vujadin Boškov, Serbian footballer, coach, and manager (d. 2014) births

      1. Serbian footballer and manager

        Vujadin Boškov

        Vujadin Boškov was a Serbian footballer and manager.

    2. Hana Brady, Jewish-Czech Holocaust victim (d.1944) births

      1. Czech Holocaust victim

        Hana Brady

        Hanička "Hana" Brady was a Czechoslovak Jewish girl murdered in the gas chambers at German concentration camp at Auschwitz, located in the occupied territory of Poland, during the Holocaust. She is the subject of the 2002 non-fiction children's book Hana's Suitcase, written by Karen Levine.

    3. K. Natwar Singh, Indian scholar and politician, Indian Minister of External Affairs births

      1. Indian politician

        Natwar Singh

        Kunwar Natwar Singh, IFS is an Indian diplomat and politician who served as the Minister of External Affairs from May 2004 to December 2005.

      2. Head of the Ministry of External Affairs

        Minister of External Affairs (India)

        The Minister of External Affairs is the head of the Ministry of External Affairs of the Government of India. One of the senior-most offices in the Union Cabinet, the chief responsibility of the Foreign Minister is to represent India and its government in the international community. The Foreign Minister also plays an important role in determining Indian foreign policy. Occasionally, the Foreign Minister is assisted by a Minister of State for External Affairs or the lower-ranked Deputy Minister of External Affairs.

    4. Lowell P. Weicker, Jr., American soldier and politician, 85th Governor of Connecticut births

      1. American politician from Connecticut

        Lowell Weicker

        Lowell Palmer Weicker Jr. is an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, and the 85th Governor of Connecticut. He unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for president in 1980. He was known as a Rockefeller Republican in Congress, causing conservative-leaning Republicans to endorse his opponent Joe Lieberman, a New Democrat, in the 1988 Senate election which he subsequently lost. Weicker later left the Republican Party, and became one of the few third-party candidates to be elected to a state governorship in the United States in recent years, doing so on the ticket of A Connecticut Party.

      2. List of governors of Connecticut

        The governor of Connecticut is the head of government of Connecticut, and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Connecticut General Assembly and to convene the legislature. Unusual among U.S. governors, the Governor of Connecticut has no power to pardon. The Governor of Connecticut is automatically a member of the state's Bonding Commission. He is an ex-officio member of the board of trustees of the University of Connecticut and Yale University.

  75. 1930

    1. Friedrich Gulda, Austrian pianist and composer (d. 2000) births

      1. Austrian pianist and composer (1930–2000)

        Friedrich Gulda

        Friedrich Gulda was an Austrian pianist and composer who worked in both the classical and jazz fields.

  76. 1929

    1. Betty Carter, American singer-songwriter (d. 1998) births

      1. American jazz singer-songwriter

        Betty Carter

        Betty Carter was an American jazz singer known for her improvisational technique, scatting and other complex musical abilities that demonstrated her vocal talent and imaginative interpretation of lyrics and melodies. Vocalist Carmen McRae once remarked: "There's really only one jazz singer—only one: Betty Carter."

    2. John Conyers, American lawyer and politician (d. 2019) births

      1. American politician from Michigan (1929–2019)

        John Conyers

        John James Conyers Jr. was an American politician of the Democratic Party who served as a U.S. representative from Michigan from 1965 to 2017. The districts he represented always included part of western Detroit. During his final three terms, his district included many of Detroit's western suburbs, as well as a large portion of the Downriver area.

    3. Claude Morin, Canadian academic and politician births

      1. Canadian politician

        Claude Morin (PQ politician)

        Claude Morin is a former politician from Quebec, Canada and was the Parti Québécois Member of the National Assembly for the electoral district of Louis-Hébert, from 1976 to 1981. He became embroiled in controversy in 1992 when the affaire Morin came to light.

    4. Adrienne Rich, American poet, essayist, and feminist (d. 2012) births

      1. American poet, essayist and feminist

        Adrienne Rich

        Adrienne Cecile Rich was an American poet, essayist and feminist. She was called "one of the most widely read and influential poets of the second half of the 20th century", and was credited with bringing "the oppression of women and lesbians to the forefront of poetic discourse". Rich criticized rigid forms of feminist identities, and valorized what she coined the "lesbian continuum", which is a female continuum of solidarity and creativity that impacts and fills women's lives.

  77. 1928

    1. Billy Martin, American baseball player and coach (d. 1989) births

      1. American baseball player and manager (1928–1989)

        Billy Martin

        Alfred Manuel Martin Jr., commonly called "Billy", was an American Major League Baseball second baseman and manager who, in addition to leading other teams, was five times the manager of the New York Yankees. First known as a scrappy infielder who made considerable contributions to the championship Yankee teams of the 1950s, he then built a reputation as a manager who would initially make bad teams good, before ultimately being fired amid dysfunction. In each of his stints with the Yankees he managed them to winning records before being fired by team owner George Steinbrenner or resigning under fire, usually amid a well-publicized scandal such as Martin's involvement in an alcohol-fueled fight.

  78. 1926

    1. Mehmed VI, the 36th and last Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1861) deaths

      1. 36th and last Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1918 to 1922

        Mehmed VI

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

  79. 1925

    1. Nancy Roman, American astronomer (d. 2018) births

      1. American astronomer (1925–2018)

        Nancy Roman

        Nancy Grace Roman was an American astronomer who made important contributions to stellar classification and motions. The first female executive at NASA, Roman served as NASA's first Chief of Astronomy throughout the 1960s and 1970s, establishing her as one of the "visionary founders of the US civilian space program". She created NASA's space astronomy program and is known to many as the "Mother of Hubble" for her foundational role in planning the Hubble Space Telescope. Throughout her career, Roman was also an active public speaker and educator, and an advocate for women in the sciences.

    2. Ola Vincent, Nigerian banker and economist (d. 2012) births

      1. Ola Vincent

        Olatunde Olabode Vincent was a Nigerian economist and banker who was Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria between 1977 and 1982.

    3. Nílton Santos, Brazilian footballer (d. 2013) births

      1. Brazilian footballer (1925–2013)

        Nílton Santos

        Nílton dos Santos was a Brazilian footballer who primarily played as a wingback. At international level, he was a member of the Brazil squads that won the 1958 and 1962 World Cups.

  80. 1924

    1. Barbara Bachmann, American microbiologist (d. 1999) births

      1. American lecturer

        Barbara Bachmann

        Barbara Joyce Bachmann was a lecturer at Yale University, UC Berkeley, Columbia and NYU, and is best known as director of the E. coli Genetic Stock Center and for publishing editions of the standard E. coli K-12 genetic linkage map.

    2. Dawda Jawara, 1st President of the Gambia (d. 2019) births

      1. 1st President of The Gambia (1970-94)

        Dawda Jawara

        Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara was a Gambian politician who served as Prime Minister from 1962 to 1970, and then as the first President of the Gambia from 1970 to 1994.

  81. 1923

    1. Victoria Fromkin, American linguist and academic (d. 2000) births

      1. American linguist

        Victoria Fromkin

        Victoria Alexandra Fromkin was an American linguist who taught at UCLA. She studied slips of the tongue, mishearing, and other speech errors, which she applied to phonology, the study of how the sounds of a language are organized in the mind.

    2. Merton Miller, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2000) births

      1. American economist

        Merton Miller

        Merton Howard Miller was an American economist, and the co-author of the Modigliani–Miller theorem (1958), which proposed the irrelevance of debt-equity structure. He shared the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1990, along with Harry Markowitz and William F. Sharpe. Miller spent most of his academic career at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business.

      2. Economics award

        Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences

        The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, officially the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, is an economics award administered by the Nobel Foundation.

    3. Peter Underwood, English parapsychologist and author (d. 2014) births

      1. British parapsychologist (1923–2014)

        Peter Underwood (parapsychologist)

        Peter Underwood, was an English author, broadcaster and parapsychologist. Underwood was born in Letchworth, Hertfordshire. Described as "an indefatigable ghost hunter", he wrote many books which surveyed alleged hauntings within the United Kingdom - beginning the trend of comprehensive regional 'guides' to (purportedly) haunted places. One of his well-known investigations concerned Borley Rectory, which he also wrote about.

  82. 1921

    1. Harry Carey, Jr., American actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012) births

      1. American actor (1921–2012)

        Harry Carey Jr.

        Henry George Carey Jr. was an American actor. He appeared in more than 90 films, including several John Ford Westerns, as well as numerous television series.

  83. 1920

    1. Martine Carol, French actress (d. 1967) births

      1. French actress (1920–1967)

        Martine Carol

        Martine Carol was a French film actress.

    2. Levi P. Morton, American politician, 22nd United States Vice President (b. 1824) deaths

      1. Vice president of the United States from 1889 to 1893

        Levi P. Morton

        Levi Parsons Morton was the 22nd vice president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He also served as United States ambassador to France, as a U.S. representative from New York, and as the 31st Governor of New York.

      2. Second-highest constitutional office in the United States

        Vice President of the United States

        The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice president is also an officer in the legislative branch, as the president of the Senate. In this capacity, the vice president is empowered to preside over Senate deliberations at any time, but may not vote except to cast a tie-breaking vote. The vice president is indirectly elected together with the president to a four-year term of office by the people of the United States through the Electoral College.

  84. 1919

    1. Liberace, American pianist and entertainer (d. 1987) births

      1. American pianist, singer, and actor (1919–1987)

        Liberace

        Władziu Valentino Liberace was an American pianist, singer, and actor. A child prodigy born in Wisconsin to parents of Italian and Polish origin, he enjoyed a career spanning four decades of concerts, recordings, television, motion pictures, and endorsements. At the height of his fame from the 1950s to 1970s, he was the highest-paid entertainer in the world with established concert residencies in Las Vegas and an international touring schedule. He embraced a lifestyle of flamboyant excess both on and off stage.

    2. Ramon Margalef, Spanish ecologist and biologist (d. 2004) births

      1. Spanish biologist (1919–2004)

        Ramon Margalef

        Ramon Margalef i López was a Spanish biologist and ecologist. He was Emeritus Professor of Ecology at the Faculty of Biology of the University of Barcelona. Margalef, one of the most prominent scientists that Spain has produced, worked at the Institute of Applied Biology (1946–1951), and at the Fisheries Research Institute, which he directed during 1966-1967. He created the Department of Ecology of the University of Barcelona, from where he trained a huge number of ecologists, limnologists and oceanographers. In 1967 he became Spain's first professor of ecology.

  85. 1918

    1. Wilf Mannion, English footballer and manager (d. 2000) births

      1. English footballer

        Wilf Mannion

        Wilfrid James Mannion was an English professional footballer who played as an inside forward, making over 350 senior appearances for Middlesbrough. He also played international football for England. With his blonde hair, he was nicknamed "The Golden Boy".

  86. 1917

    1. Ben Kuroki, American sergeant and pilot (d. 2015) births

      1. United States Army Air Forces soldier

        Ben Kuroki

        Ben Kuroki was the only American of Japanese descent in the United States Army Air Forces to serve in combat operations in the Pacific theater of World War II. He flew a total of 58 combat missions over Europe, North Africa, and Japan during World War II.

    2. James C. Murray, American lawyer and politician (d. 1999) births

      1. American politician

        James C. Murray

        James Cunningham Murray was a U.S. Representative from Illinois from 1955-1957. He graduated from De Paul University Law School in 1940, and subsequently worked as a lawyer. He served in the United States Army Air Forces from 1942 to 1945.

    3. Juan Rulfo, Mexican author and photographer (d. 1986) births

      1. Mexican writer (1917–1986)

        Juan Rulfo

        Juan Nepomuceno Carlos Pérez Rulfo Vizcaíno, best known as Juan Rulfo, was a Mexican writer, screenwriter, and photographer. He is best known for two literary works, the 1955 novel Pedro Páramo, and the collection of short stories El Llano en llamas (1953). This collection includes the popular tale "¡Diles que no me maten!".

  87. 1916

    1. Ephraim Katzir, Israeli biophysicist and politician, 4th President of Israel (d. 2009) births

      1. Israeli biophysicist and politician

        Ephraim Katzir

        Ephraim Katzir was an Israeli biophysicist and Labor Party politician. He was the fourth President of Israel from 1973 until 1978.

      2. Head of state of Israel

        President of Israel

        The president of the State of Israel is the head of state of Israel. The position is largely a ceremonial role, with executive power vested in the cabinet led by the prime minister. The incumbent president is Isaac Herzog, who took office on 7 July 2021. Presidents are elected by the Knesset for a single seven-year term.

  88. 1915

    1. Mario Monicelli, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 2010) births

      1. Italian film director and screenwriter

        Mario Monicelli

        Mario Alberto Ettore Monicelli was an Italian film director and screenwriter and one of the masters of the Commedia all'Italiana. He was nominated six times for an Oscar, and was awarded the Golden Lion for his career.

  89. 1914

    1. Edward T. Hall, American anthropologist and author (d. 2009) births

      1. American anthropologist

        Edward T. Hall

        Edward Twitchell Hall, Jr. was an American anthropologist and cross-cultural researcher. He is remembered for developing the concept of proxemics and exploring cultural and social cohesion, and describing how people behave and react in different types of culturally defined personal space. Hall was an influential colleague of Marshall McLuhan and Buckminster Fuller.

  90. 1913

    1. Gordon Chalk, Australian politician, 30th Premier of Queensland (d. 1991) births

      1. Australian politician

        Gordon Chalk

        Sir Gordon William Wesley Chalk, was Premier of Queensland for a week, from 1 to 8 August 1968. He was the first and only Queensland Premier from the post-war Liberal Party.

      2. Premier of Queensland

        The premier of Queensland is the head of government in the Australian state of Queensland.

    2. Woody Herman, American singer, saxophonist, and clarinet player (d. 1987) births

      1. American jazz musician and bandleader (1913–1987)

        Woody Herman

        Woodrow Charles Herman was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading groups called "The Herd", Herman came to prominence in the late 1930s and was active until his death in 1987. His bands often played music that was cutting edge and experimental; their recordings received numerous Grammy nominations.

    3. Louis Perrier, Swiss architect and politician (b. 1849) deaths

      1. Louis Perrier

        Frédéric-François-Louis Perrier was a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council (1912–1913). As of 2009, he is the member with the shortest time in office.

  91. 1912

    1. Studs Terkel, American historian and author (d. 2008) births

      1. American author, historian and broadcaster (1912–2008)

        Studs Terkel

        Louis "Studs" Terkel was an American writer, historian, actor, and broadcaster. He received the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1985 for The Good War and is best remembered for his oral histories of common Americans, and for hosting a long-running radio show in Chicago.

  92. 1910

    1. Olga Bergholz, Russian poet and author (d. 1975) births

      1. Soviet poet

        Olga Bergholz

        Olga Fyodorovna Bergholz was a Soviet and Russian poet, writer, playwright and journalist. She is most famous for her work on the Leningrad radio during the city's blockade, when she became the symbol of city's strength and determination.

    2. Higashifushimi Kunihide, Japanese monk and educator (d. 2014) births

      1. Uncle of Emperor Akihito

        Higashifushimi Kunihide

        Count Higashifushimi Kunihide was the titular head of the Higashifushimi-no-miya, an extinct branch of the Imperial House of Japan, and a Buddhist monk. He was the youngest brother of Empress Kōjun and was the maternal uncle of Emperor Emeritus Akihito. If he had kept his imperial status, at the time of his death he would have been the oldest-ever member of the Japanese imperial family. His Dharma name was Jigō (慈洽).

    3. Aleksandr Ivanovich Laktionov, Russian painter and educator (d. 1972) births

      1. Russian painter

        Aleksandr Ivanovich Laktionov

        Aleksandr Ivanovich Laktionov was a Socialist realism painter in the post-war Soviet Union. His meticulous and almost photo-real style was popular, but courted controversy among art critics and other artists.

    4. Henri-Edmond Cross, French Neo-Impressionist painter (b. 1856) deaths

      1. French Neo-Impressionist painter (1856–1910)

        Henri-Edmond Cross

        Henri-Edmond Cross, born Henri-Edmond-Joseph Delacroix, was a French painter and printmaker. He is most acclaimed as a master of Neo-Impressionism and he played an important role in shaping the second phase of that movement. He was a significant influence on Henri Matisse and many other artists. His work was instrumental in the development of Fauvism.

  93. 1909

    1. Margaret Sullavan, American actress and singer (d. 1960) births

      1. American actress

        Margaret Sullavan

        Margaret Brooke Sullavan was an American stage and film actress.

    2. Luigi Villoresi, Italian race car driver (d. 1997) births

      1. Italian racing driver

        Luigi Villoresi

        Luigi Villoresi was an Italian Grand Prix motor racing driver who continued racing on the Formula One circuit at the time of its inception.

  94. 1907

    1. Bob Tisdall, Irish hurdler (d. 2004) births

      1. Bob Tisdall

        Robert Morton Newburgh Tisdall was an Irish athlete who won a gold medal in the 400-metre hurdles at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

  95. 1906

    1. Ernie McCormick, Australian cricketer (d. 1991) births

      1. Australian cricketer

        Ernie McCormick

        Ernest Leslie McCormick was an Australian cricketer who played in 12 Test matches from 1935 to 1938.

    2. Alfred Pellan, Canadian painter and educator (d. 1988) births

      1. Canadian artist

        Alfred Pellan

        Alfred Pellan was an important figure in twentieth-century Canadian painting.

    3. Arturo Uslar Pietri, Venezuelan lawyer, journalist, and author (d. 2001) births

      1. Venezuelan writer

        Arturo Uslar Pietri

        Arturo Uslar Pietri was a Venezuelan intellectual, historian, writer, television producer, and politician.

    4. Margret Rey, German author and illustrator (d. 1996) births

      1. German-born American writer and illustrator

        Margret Rey

        Margret Elizabeth Rey was a German-born American writer and illustrator, known best for the Curious George series of children's picture books that she and her husband H. A. Rey created from 1939 to 1966.

  96. 1905

    1. Henry Fonda, American actor (d. 1982) births

      1. American actor (1905–1982)

        Henry Fonda

        Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor who had a career that spanned five decades on Broadway and in Hollywood. Fonda cultivated an everyman screen image in several films considered to be classics.

  97. 1903

    1. Charles F. Brannock, American inventor and manufacturer (d. 1992) births

      1. Charles F. Brannock

        Charles F. Brannock was the inventor and manufacturer of the Brannock Device for measuring overall length, width, and heel-to-ball length of the foot.

  98. 1898

    1. Tamara de Lempicka, Polish-American painter (d. 1980) births

      1. Polish painter (1898–1980)

        Tamara de Lempicka

        Tamara Łempicka, better known as Tamara de Lempicka, was a Polish painter who spent her working life in France and the United States. She is best known for her polished Art Deco portraits of aristocrats and the wealthy, and for her highly stylized paintings of nudes.

    2. Desanka Maksimović, Serbian poet and academic (d. 1993) births

      1. Twentieth-century Serbian poet

        Desanka Maksimović

        Desanka Maksimović was a Serbian poet, writer and translator. Her first works were published in the literary journal Misao in 1920, while she was studying at the University of Belgrade. Within a few years, her poems appeared in the Serbian Literary Herald, Belgrade's most influential literary publication. In 1925, Maksimović earned a French Government scholarship for a year's study at the University of Paris. Upon her return, she was appointed a professor at Belgrade's elite First High School for Girls, a position she would hold continuously until World War II.

    3. Kenji Mizoguchi, Japanese director and screenwriter (d. 1956) births

      1. Japanese film director and screenwriter

        Kenji Mizoguchi

        Kenji Mizoguchi was a Japanese film director and screenwriter, who directed about one hundred films during his career between 1923 and 1956. His most acclaimed works include The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums (1939), The Life of Oharu (1952), Ugetsu (1953), and Sansho the Bailiff (1954), with the latter three all being awarded at the Venice International Film Festival. A recurring theme of his films was the oppression of women in historical and contemporary Japan. Together with Akira Kurosawa and Yasujirō Ozu, Mizoguchi is seen as a representative of the "golden age" of Japanese cinema.

  99. 1897

    1. Zvi Sliternik, Israeli entomologist and academic (d. 1994) births

      1. Israeli entomologist

        Zvi Sliternik

        Zvi Saliternik was an Israeli entomologist.

  100. 1894

    1. Walter Yust, American journalist and writer (d. 1960) births

      1. American journalist and writer

        Walter Yust

        Walter M. Yust was an American journalist and writer. Yust was the American editor-in-chief of the Encyclopædia Britannica from 1938 to 1960.

  101. 1892

    1. Osgood Perkins, American actor (d. 1937) births

      1. American actor

        Osgood Perkins

        James Ridley Osgood Perkins was an American actor.

  102. 1891

    1. Ion C. Brătianu, Romanian politician, 14th Prime Minister of Romania (b. 1821) deaths

      1. Romanian politician

        Ion C. Brătianu

        Ion Constantin Brătianu was one of the major political figures of 19th-century Romania. He was the son of Dincă Brătianu and the younger brother of Dimitrie, as well as the father of Ionel, Dinu, and Vintilă Brătianu. He also was the grandfather of poet Ion Pillat.

      2. Head of the Government of Romania

        Prime Minister of Romania

        The prime minister of Romania, officially the prime minister of the Government of Romania, is the head of the Government of Romania. Initially, the office was styled President of the Council of Ministers, when the term "Government" included more than the Cabinet, and the Cabinet was called the Council of Ministers. The title was officially changed to Prime Minister by the 1965 Constitution of Romania during the communist regime.

  103. 1890

    1. Edith Grace White, American ichthyologist (d. 1975) births

      1. American zoologist

        Edith Grace White

        Edith Grace White was an American zoologist known for her studies of elasmobranchs. She was a professor of biology at Wilson College, and was a research associate of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

    2. Mihkel Veske, Estonian poet, linguist and theologist (b. 1843) deaths

      1. Estonian poet and linguist

        Mihkel Veske

        Mihkel Veske was an Estonian poet and linguist.

  104. 1888

    1. Royal Rife, American microbiologist and instrument maker (d. 1971) births

      1. American inventor (1888–1971)

        Royal Rife

        Royal Raymond Rife was an American inventor and early exponent of high-magnification time-lapse cine-micrography.

  105. 1887

    1. Maria Lacerda de Moura, Brazilian teacher and anarcha-feminist (d. 1945) births

      1. Brazilian anarcho-feminist journalist (1887–1945)

        Maria Lacerda de Moura

        Maria Lacerda de Moura was a Brazilian teacher, writer and anarcha-feminist. The daughter of spiritist and anti-clerical parents, she grew up in the city of Barbacena, in the interior of Minas Gerais, where she graduated as a teacher at the Escola Normal Municipal de Barbacena and participated in official efforts to tackle social inequality through national literacy campaigns and educational reforms.

  106. 1883

    1. Celâl Bayar, Turkish politician, 3rd President of Turkey (d. 1986) births

      1. President of Turkey from 1950 to 1960

        Celâl Bayar

        Mahmud Celâleddin "Celâl" Bayar was a Turkish economist and politician who was the third President of Turkey from 1950 to 1960; previously he was Prime Minister of Turkey from 1937 to 1939.

      2. Head of state and head of government of Turkey

        President of Turkey

        The president of Turkey, officially the president of the Republic of Türkiye, is the head of state and head of government of Turkey. The president directs the executive branch of the national government and is the commander-in-chief of the Turkish military. The president also heads the National Security Council.

  107. 1882

    1. Simeon Price, American golfer (d. 1945) births

      1. American golfer

        Simeon Price

        Simeon Taylor Price, Jr. was an American golfer who competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics. He was born in Maine and died in Washington, D.C. In 1904 he was part of the American team which won the bronze medal. He finished 20th in this competition. In the individual competition he finished 19th in the qualification and was eliminated in the first round of the match play.

    2. Reuben Chapman, American lawyer and politician, 13th Governor of Alabama (b. 1799) deaths

      1. American politician

        Reuben Chapman

        Reuben Chapman was an American lawyer and politician.

      2. List of governors of Alabama

        The governor of Alabama is the head of government of the U.S. state of Alabama. The governor is the head of the executive branch of Alabama's state government and is charged with enforcing state laws.

  108. 1879

    1. Pierre Gilliard, Swiss author and academic (d. 1962) births

      1. 20th-century Swiss tutor to the Russian imperial family

        Pierre Gilliard

        Pierre Gilliard was a Swiss academic and author, best known as the French language tutor to the five children of Emperor Nicholas II of Russia from 1905 to 1918. In 1921, after the Russian Revolution of 1917, he published a memoir, Thirteen Years at the Russian Court, about his time with the family. In his memoirs, Gilliard described Tsarina Alexandra's torment over her son's hemophilia and her faith in the ability of starets Grigori Rasputin to heal the boy.

  109. 1876

    1. Fred Conrad Koch, American biochemist and endocrinologist (d. 1948) births

      1. Fred Conrad Koch

        Frederick Conrad Koch was an American biochemist and endocrinologist. Born in Chicago, Illinois, Koch graduated from the University of Illinois in 1899. He was affiliated with the University of Chicago from 1912 to 1941, serving as chairman of the department of biochemistry from 1936 to 1941. He retired as professor emeritus, and was director of biomedical research at Armour and Company. He was known primarily for his work on male sex hormones and testicular function. He served as the 19th president of the Endocrine Society, which in 1957 established the Fred Conrad Koch Lifetime Achievement Award, the society's highest honor.

  110. 1862

    1. Margaret Fountaine, English lepidopterist and diarist (d.1940) births

      1. British entomologist, scientific illustrator and diarist

        Margaret Fountaine

        Margaret Elizabeth Fountaine, was a Victorian lepidopterist, natural history illustrator, diarist, and traveller who published in The Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation. She is also known for her personal diaries, which were edited into two volumes by W.F. Cater for the popular market and published posthumously.

      2. Branch of entymology that studies moths and butterflies

        Lepidopterology

        Lepidopterology is a branch of entomology concerning the scientific study of moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies. Someone who studies in this field is a lepidopterist or, archaically, an aurelian.

    2. Edward Gibbon Wakefield, English politician (b. 1796) deaths

      1. English statesman and colonial theorist (1796–1862)

        Edward Gibbon Wakefield

        Edward Gibbon Wakefield is considered a key figure in the establishment of the colonies of South Australia and New Zealand. He also had significant interests in British North America, being involved in the drafting of Lord Durham's Report and being a member of the Parliament of the Province of Canada for a short time.

  111. 1859

    1. Horace Hutchinson, English golfer (d. 1932) births

      1. English golfer (1859–1932)

        Horace Hutchinson

        Horatio Gordon "Horace" Hutchinson was an English amateur golfer who played in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Hutchinson won the 1886 and 1887 Amateur Championships. He had three top-10 finishes in the Open Championship, his best result being sixth in the 1890 Open Championship.

  112. 1831

    1. David Edward Hughes, Welsh-American physicist, co-invented the microphone (d. 1900) births

      1. Welsh-American scientist and musician

        David Edward Hughes

        David Edward Hughes, was a British-American inventor, practical experimenter, and professor of music known for his work on the printing telegraph and the microphone. He is generally considered to have been born in London but his family moved around that time so he may have been born in Corwen, Wales. His family moved to the U.S. while he was a child and he became a professor of music in Kentucky. In 1855 he patented a printing telegraph. He moved back to London in 1857 and further pursued experimentation and invention, coming up with an improved carbon microphone in 1878. In 1879 he identified what seemed to be a new phenomenon during his experiments: sparking in one device could be heard in a separate portable microphone apparatus he had set up. It was most probably radio transmissions but this was nine years before electromagnetic radiation was a proven concept and Hughes was convinced by others that his discovery was simply electromagnetic induction.

      2. Device that converts sound into an electrical signal

        Microphone

        A microphone, colloquially called a mic or mike, is a transducer that converts sound into an electrical signal. Microphones are used in many applications such as telephones, hearing aids, public address systems for concert halls and public events, motion picture production, live and recorded audio engineering, sound recording, two-way radios, megaphones, and radio and television broadcasting. They are also used in computers for recording voice, speech recognition, VoIP, and for other purposes such as ultrasonic sensors or knock sensors.

  113. 1830

    1. Joseph Fourier, French mathematician and physicist (b. 1768) deaths

      1. French mathematician and physicist (1768–1830)

        Joseph Fourier

        Jean-Baptiste Joseph Fourier was a French mathematician and physicist born in Auxerre and best known for initiating the investigation of Fourier series, which eventually developed into Fourier analysis and harmonic analysis, and their applications to problems of heat transfer and vibrations. The Fourier transform and Fourier's law of conduction are also named in his honour. Fourier is also generally credited with the discovery of the greenhouse effect.

  114. 1827

    1. Pierre Cuypers, Dutch architect, designed the Amsterdam Centraal railway station and Rijksmuseum (d. 1921) births

      1. Dutch architect

        Pierre Cuypers

        Petrus Josephus Hubertus "Pierre" Cuypers was a Dutch architect. His name is most frequently associated with the Amsterdam Central Station (1881–1889) and the Rijksmuseum (1876–1885), both in Amsterdam. More representative for his oeuvre, however, are numerous churches, of which he designed more than 100. Moreover, he restored many monuments.

      2. Central railway station of Amsterdam, Netherlands

        Amsterdam Centraal station

        Amsterdam Centraal Station is the largest railway station in Amsterdam, North Holland, the Netherlands. A major international railway hub, it is used by 192,000 passengers a day, making it the second busiest railway station in the country after Utrecht Centraal and the most visited Rijksmonument of the Netherlands.

      3. National museum in Amsterdam, Netherlands

        Rijksmuseum

        The Rijksmuseum is the national museum of the Netherlands dedicated to Dutch arts and history and is located in Amsterdam. The museum is located at the Museum Square in the borough of Amsterdam South, close to the Van Gogh Museum, the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, and the Concertgebouw.

  115. 1824

    1. Levi P. Morton, American banker and politician, 22nd United States Vice President (d. 1920) births

      1. Vice president of the United States from 1889 to 1893

        Levi P. Morton

        Levi Parsons Morton was the 22nd vice president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He also served as United States ambassador to France, as a U.S. representative from New York, and as the 31st Governor of New York.

      2. Second-highest constitutional office in the United States

        Vice President of the United States

        The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice president is also an officer in the legislative branch, as the president of the Senate. In this capacity, the vice president is empowered to preside over Senate deliberations at any time, but may not vote except to cast a tie-breaking vote. The vice president is indirectly elected together with the president to a four-year term of office by the people of the United States through the Electoral College.

    2. Edmund Kirby Smith, American general (d. 1893) births

      1. Confederate States Army general

        Edmund Kirby Smith

        General Edmund Kirby Smith was a senior officer of the Confederate States Army who commanded the Trans-Mississippi Department from 1863 to 1865. Prior to the American Civil War, Smith served as an officer of the United States Army.

  116. 1823

    1. Grace Elliott, Scottish courtesan and spy (b. c.1754) deaths

      1. Scottish socialite, courtesan and memoirist

        Grace Elliott

        Grace Dalrymple Elliott was a Scottish courtesan, writer and spy resident in Paris during the French Revolution. She was an eyewitness to events detailed in her memoirs, Journal of my life during the French Revolution published posthumously in 1859. She was mistress to the Duke of Orléans and to the future George IV, by whom she is said to have borne an illegitimate daughter. Elliott trafficked correspondence and hid French aristocrats escaping from the French Revolution. She was arrested several times but managed to avoid the guillotine, and was released after the death of Robespierre.

  117. 1821

    1. Pafnuty Chebyshev, Russian mathematician and statistician (d. 1894) births

      1. Russian mathematician (1821–1894)

        Pafnuty Chebyshev

        Pafnuty Lvovich Chebyshev was a Russian mathematician and considered to be the founding father of Russian mathematics.

  118. 1819

    1. Johann Voldemar Jannsen, Estonian journalist and poet (d. 1890) births

      1. Estonian journalist and poet

        Johann Voldemar Jannsen

        Johann Voldemar Jannsen was an Estonian journalist and poet active in Livonia.

  119. 1818

    1. Matthew Lewis, English author and playwright (b. 1775) deaths

      1. English Gothic writer (1775–1818)

        Matthew Gregory Lewis

        Matthew Gregory Lewis was an English novelist and dramatist, whose writings are often classified as "Gothic horror". He was frequently referred to as "Monk" Lewis, because of the success of his 1796 Gothic novel The Monk. He also worked as a diplomat, politician and an estate owner in Jamaica.

  120. 1804

    1. Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, American educator who founded the first U.S. kindergarten (d. 1894) births

      1. American educator

        Elizabeth Peabody

        Elizabeth Palmer Peabody was an American educator who opened the first English-language kindergarten in the United States. Long before most educators, Peabody embraced the premise that children's play has intrinsic developmental and educational value.

  121. 1801

    1. William H. Seward, American lawyer and politician, 24th United States Secretary of State (d. 1872) births

      1. United States Secretary of State from 1861 to 1869

        William H. Seward

        William Henry Seward was an American politician who served as United States Secretary of State from 1861 to 1869, and earlier served as governor of New York and as a United States Senator. A determined opponent of the spread of slavery in the years leading up to the American Civil War, he was a prominent figure in the Republican Party in its formative years, and was praised for his work on behalf of the Union as Secretary of State during the Civil War. He also negotiated the treaty for the United States to purchase the Alaskan Territory.

      2. Head of the United States Department of State

        United States Secretary of State

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

  122. 1790

    1. Philip Yorke, 2nd Earl of Hardwicke, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire (b. 1720) deaths

      1. British politician

        Philip Yorke, 2nd Earl of Hardwicke

        Philip Yorke, 2nd Earl of Hardwicke, PC, FRS, styled Viscount Royston between 1754 and 1764, was an English politician and writer.

      2. Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire

        This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire. The title Lord Lieutenant is given to the British monarch's personal representative in the counties of the United Kingdom. Lord Lieutenants are supported by an appointed Vice Lord Lieutenant and Deputy Lieutenants. Since 1715, all Lord Lieutenants have also been Custos Rotulorum of Cambridgeshire.

  123. 1788

    1. Friedrich Rückert, German poet and translator (d. 1866) births

      1. German poet, translator, and professor of Oriental languages

        Friedrich Rückert

        Friedrich Rückert was a German poet, translator, and professor of Oriental languages.

  124. 1778

    1. Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness, English politician, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (b. 1718) deaths

      1. British diplomat

        Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness

        Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness,, known before 1721 as Lord Darcy and Conyers, was a British diplomat and politician.

      2. Former British political position

        Secretary of State for the Southern Department

        The Secretary of State for the Southern Department was a position in the cabinet of the government of the Kingdom of Great Britain up to 1782, when the Southern Department became the Home Office.

  125. 1763

    1. Louis Nicolas Vauquelin, French pharmacist and chemist (d. 1829) births

      1. French pharmacist and chemist (1763–1829)

        Louis Nicolas Vauquelin

        Prof Louis Nicolas Vauquelin FRS(For) HFRSE was a French pharmacist and chemist. He was the discoverer of both chromium and beryllium.

  126. 1718

    1. Maria Gaetana Agnesi, Italian mathematician and philosopher (d. 1799) births

      1. Italian mathematician and philanthropist

        Maria Gaetana Agnesi

        Maria Gaetana Agnesi was an Italian mathematician, philosopher, theologian, and humanitarian. She was the first woman to write a mathematics handbook and the first woman appointed as a mathematics professor at a university.

  127. 1710

    1. William Talbot, 1st Earl Talbot, English politician, Lord Steward of the Household (d. 1782) births

      1. William Talbot, Earl Talbot

        William Talbot, Earl Talbot, PC, known as the Lord Talbot from 1737 to 1761, was a British politician. Talbot was a notable figure among opposition Whig politicians during the reign of King George II before later coming to Court during the reign of his grandson, taking the office of Lord Steward of the Household.

      2. Official of the British Royal Household

        Lord Steward

        The Lord Steward or Lord Steward of the Household is an official of the Royal Household in England. He is always a peer. Until 1924, he was always a member of the Government. Until 1782, the office was one of considerable political importance and carried Cabinet rank.

  128. 1703

    1. Charles Perrault, French author and academic (b. 1628) deaths

      1. French author

        Charles Perrault

        Charles Perrault was an iconic French author and member of the Académie Française. He laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, with his works derived from earlier folk tales, published in his 1697 book Histoires ou contes du temps passé. The best known of his tales include Le Petit Chaperon Rouge, Cendrillon ("Cinderella"), Le Maître chat ou le Chat botté, La Belle au bois dormant, and Barbe Bleue ("Bluebeard").

  129. 1696

    1. Mariana of Austria, Queen consort of Spain (b. 1634) deaths

      1. Queen consort of Spain

        Mariana of Austria

        Mariana of Austria or Maria Anna was Queen of Spain as the second wife of her uncle Philip IV of Spain from their marriage in 1649 until Philip died in 1665. She was then appointed regent for their three-year-old son Charles II, and due to his ill health remained an influential figure until her own death in 1696.

  130. 1691

    1. Jacob Leisler, German-American politician, 8th Colonial Governor of New York (b. 1640) deaths

      1. Jacob Leisler

        Jacob Leisler was a German-born colonist who served as a politician in the Province of New York. He gained wealth in New Amsterdam in the fur trade and tobacco business. In what became known as Leisler's Rebellion following the English Revolution of 1688, he took control of the city, and ultimately the entire province, from appointees of deposed King James II, in the name of the Protestant accession of William III and Mary II.

      2. List of colonial governors of New York

        The territory which would later become the state of New York was settled by European colonists as part of the New Netherland colony under the command of the Dutch West India Company in the Seventeenth Century. These colonists were largely of Dutch, Flemish, Walloon, and German stock, but the colony soon became a "melting pot." In 1664, at the onset of the Second Anglo-Dutch War, English forces under Richard Nicolls ousted the Dutch from control of New Netherland, and the territory became part of several different English colonies. Despite one brief year when the Dutch retook the colony (1673–1674), New York would remain an English and later British possession until the American colonies declared independence in 1776.

  131. 1669

    1. Pietro da Cortona, Italian painter and architect, designed the Santi Luca e Martina (b. 1596) deaths

      1. Italian painter and architect of the High Baroque (1596–1669)

        Pietro da Cortona

        Pietro da Cortona was an Italian Baroque painter and architect. Along with his contemporaries and rivals Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Francesco Borromini, he was one of the key figures in the emergence of Roman Baroque architecture. He was also an important designer of interior decorations.

      2. Church in Rome, Italy

        Santi Luca e Martina

        Santi Luca e Martina is a church in Rome, Italy, situated between the Roman Forum and the Forum of Caesar and close to the Arch of Septimus Severus.

  132. 1667

    1. Thomas Wriothesley, 4th Earl of Southampton, English politician, Lord High Treasurer (b. 1607) deaths

      1. English politician

        Thomas Wriothesley, 4th Earl of Southampton

        Thomas Wriothesley, 4th Earl of Southampton, KG, styled Lord Wriothesley before 1624, was an English statesman, a staunch supporter of King Charles II who after the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660 rose to the position of Lord High Treasurer, which term began with the assumption of power by the Clarendon Ministry. He "was remarkable for his freedom from any taint of corruption and for his efforts in the interests of economy and financial order", a noble if not a completely objective view of his work as the keeper of the nation's finances. He died before the impeachment of Lord Clarendon, after which the Cabal Ministry took over government.

      2. English government position

        Lord High Treasurer

        The post of Lord High Treasurer or Lord Treasurer was an English government position and has been a British government position since the Acts of Union of 1707. A holder of the post would be the third-highest-ranked Great Officer of State in England, below the Lord High Steward and the Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain.

  133. 1657

    1. Andrew Bobola, Polish missionary and martyr (b. 1591) deaths

      1. Polish Catholic priest and saint (1591–1657)

        Andrew Bobola

        Andrew Bobola, SJ was a Polish missionary and martyr of the Society of Jesus, known as the Apostle of Lithuania and the "hunter of souls". He was beaten and tortured to death during the Khmelnytsky Uprising. He was canonized in 1938 by Pope Pius XI.

  134. 1641

    1. Dudley North, English economist and politician (d. 1691) births

      1. Dudley North (economist)

        Sir Dudley North was an English merchant, politician, economist and writer on free trade. He was also a member of the North family.

  135. 1620

    1. William Adams, English sailor and navigator (b. 1564) deaths

      1. English navigator who travelled to Japan (1564–1620)

        William Adams (pilot)

        William Adams , better known in Japanese as Miura Anjin , was an English navigator who, in 1600, was the first Englishman to reach Japan in a ship called 'de Liefde' under the leadership of Jacob Quaeckernaeck, the only surviving ship of a five-ship expedition launched by a Rotterdam East India company(which would later be amalgamated into the United East India Company, the VOC). Of the few survivors of the only ship that reached Japan, Adams and his second mate Jan Joosten were not allowed to leave the country while Jacob Quaeckernaeck and Melchior van Santvoort were permitted to go back to the Dutch Republic to invite them to trade.

  136. 1611

    1. Pope Innocent XI (d. 1689) births

      1. Head of the Catholic Church from 1676 to 1689

        Pope Innocent XI

        Pope Innocent XI, born Benedetto Odescalchi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 21 September 1676 to his death on August 12, 1689.

  137. 1606

    1. John Bulwer, British doctor (d. 1656) births

      1. English physician and philosopher

        John Bulwer

        John Bulwer was an English physician and early Baconian natural philosopher who wrote five works exploring the Body and human communication, particularly by gesture. He was the first person in England to propose educating deaf people, the plans for an Academy he outlines in Philocophus and The Dumbe mans academie.

  138. 1561

    1. Jan Tarnowski, Polish noble and statesman (b. 1488) deaths

      1. Polish noble, military commander and theoretician, and statesman

        Jan Tarnowski

        Jan Amor Tarnowski was a Polish nobleman, knight, military commander, military theoretician, and statesman of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland. He was Grand Crown Hetman from 1527, and was the founder of the city of Tarnopol, where he built the Ternopil Castle and the Ternopil Pond.

  139. 1542

    1. Anna Sibylle of Hanau-Lichtenberg, German noblewoman (d. 1580) births

      1. Anna Sibylle of Hanau-Lichtenberg

        Countess Anna Sibylle of Hanau-Lichtenberg was a German noblewoman. She was born in Lichtenberg, the eldest surviving daughter of Count Philipp IV and his wife, Countess Eleonore of Fürstenberg.

  140. 1455

    1. Wolfgang I of Oettingen, German count (d. 1522) births

      1. Wolfgang I of Oettingen

        Wolfgang I of Oettingen was a Count of Oettingen-Oettingen.

  141. 1418

    1. John II of Cyprus, King of Cyprus and Armenia and also titular King of Jerusalem from 1432 to 1458 (probable; d. 1458) births

      1. King of Cyprus

        John II of Cyprus

        John II or III of Cyprus was the King of Cyprus and Armenia and also titular King of Jerusalem from 1432 to 1458. He was previously a titular Prince of Antioch.

  142. 1412

    1. Gian Maria Visconti, Duke of Milan (b. 1388) deaths

      1. Duke of Milan (1388–1412)

        Gian Maria Visconti

        Gian Maria Visconti was the second Visconti Duke of Milan, the son of Gian Galeazzo Visconti and Caterina Visconti. He was known to be cruel and was eventually assassinated. He had no children.

  143. 1375

    1. Liu Bowen, Chinese military strategist, officer, statesman and poet (b. 1311) deaths

      1. Chinese philosopher and military personnel/politician (1311–1375)

        Liu Bowen

        Liu Ji, courtesy name Bowen, better known as Liu Bowen, was a Chinese military strategist, philosopher, and politician who lived in the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties. He was born in Qingtian County. He served as a key advisor to Zhu Yuanzhang, the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming dynasty, in the latter's struggle to overthrow the Yuan dynasty and unify China proper under his rule. Liu is also known for his prophecies and has been described as the "Divine Chinese Nostradamus". He and Jiao Yu co-edited the military treatise known as the Huolongjing.

  144. 1265

    1. Simon Stock, English-French saint (b. 1165) deaths

      1. 13th-century English saint; Carmelite Prior

        Simon Stock

        Simon Stock, O.Carm was an English Catholic priest and saint who lived in the 13th century and was an early prior of the Carmelite order. The Blessed Virgin Mary is traditionally said to have appeared to him and given him the Carmelite habit, the Brown Scapular. Thus, popular devotion to Stock is usually associated with devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

  145. 1182

    1. John Komnenos Vatatzes, Byzantine general (b. 1132) deaths

      1. 12th-century Byzantine general

        John Komnenos Vatatzes

        John Komnenos Vatatzes,, or simply John Komnenos or John Vatatzes in the sources, was a major military and political figure in the Byzantine Empire during the reigns of Manuel I Komnenos and Alexios II Komnenos. He was born c. 1132, and died of natural causes during a rebellion he raised against Andronikos I Komnenos in 1182.

  146. 995

    1. Fujiwara no Michitaka, Japanese nobleman (b. 953) deaths

      1. Fujiwara no Michitaka

        Fujiwara no Michitaka , the first son of Kaneie, was a Kugyō of the Heian period. He served as regent (Sesshō) for the Emperor Ichijō, and later as Kampaku. Ichijō married Michitaka's daughter Teishi (Sadako), thus continuing the close ties between the Imperial family and the Fujiwara.

  147. 934

    1. Meng Hanqiong, eunuch official of Later Tang deaths

      1. Meng Hanqiong

        Meng Hanqiong, was a eunuch of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period state Later Tang. He became powerful late in the reign of its second emperor Li Siyuan, in association with Li Siyuan's favorite concubine Consort Wang, and continued to be during the reign of Li Siyuan's son and successor Li Conghou. He was killed by Li Conghou's adoptive brother Li Congke, who overthrew Li Conghou.

  148. 895

    1. Qian Kuan, Chinese nobleman deaths

      1. Father of warlord Qian Liu (c. 835-895)

        Qian Kuan

        Qian Kuan, courtesy name Hongdao, was the father of the warlord Qian Liu who founded the Wuyue kingdom.

  149. 290

    1. Emperor Wu of Jin, Chinese emperor (b. 236) deaths

      1. Emperor of the Jin Dynasty from 266 to 290

        Emperor Wu of Jin

        Emperor Wu of Jin, personal name Sima Yan, courtesy name Anshi (安世), was the grandson of Sima Yi, nephew of Sima Shi and son of Sima Zhao. He became the first emperor of the Jin dynasty after forcing Cao Huan, last emperor of the state of Cao Wei, to abdicate to him. He reigned from 266 to 290, and after conquering the state of Eastern Wu in 280, was the emperor of a reunified China. Emperor Wu was also known for his extravagance and sensuality, especially after the unification of China; legends boasted of his incredible potency among ten thousand concubines.

Holidays

  1. Christian feast day: Aaron (Coptic Church)

    1. Aaron (Copt)

      Aaron was a Miaphysite Coptic saint. His apocryphal legend says of him, "When he was sick, he made roasted pigeons fly into his mouth." He has a feast in the Coptic Calendar of saints on May 16. There is no reference to this saint on this day in the Coptic Synaxarium, nor is "May" to be found on the Coptic calendar.

    2. Oriental Orthodox Christian church

      Coptic Orthodox Church

      The Coptic Orthodox Church, also known as the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, is an Oriental Orthodox Christian church based in Egypt, servicing Africa and the Middle East. The head of the church and the See of Alexandria is the Pope of Alexandria on the Holy Apostolic See of Saint Mark, who also carries the title of Father of fathers, Shepherd of Shepherds, Ecumenical Judge and the thirteenth among the Apostles. The See of Alexandria is titular, and today, the Coptic Pope presides from Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in the Abbassia District in Cairo. The church follows the Coptic Rite for its liturgy, prayer and devotional patrimony. The church has approximately 25 million members worldwide and is Egypt's largest Christian denomination.

  2. Christian feast day: Abda and Abdjesus, and companions: Abdas of Susa

    1. Abdas of Susa

      Abdas, was bishop of Susa in Iran. Socrates of Constantinople calls him "bishop of Persia". He was executed under the orders of shah Yazdegerd I after to refusing to rebuild a Zoroastrian fire temple that he had destroyed.

  3. Christian feast day: Andrew Bobola

    1. Polish Catholic priest and saint (1591–1657)

      Andrew Bobola

      Andrew Bobola, SJ was a Polish missionary and martyr of the Society of Jesus, known as the Apostle of Lithuania and the "hunter of souls". He was beaten and tortured to death during the Khmelnytsky Uprising. He was canonized in 1938 by Pope Pius XI.

  4. Christian feast day: Brendan the Navigator (Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Communion, Eastern Orthodox Church)

    1. Irish monastic saint

      Brendan the Navigator

      Brendan of Clonfert, is one of the early Irish monastic saints and one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland. He is also referred to as Brendan the Navigator, Brendan the Voyager, Brendan the Anchorite, Brendan the Bold. The Irish translation of his name is Naomh Bréanainn or Naomh Breandán. He is mainly known for his legendary voyage to find the “Isle of the Blessed” which is sometimes referred to as “Saint Brendan’s Island”. The written narrative of his journey comes from the immram The Navigatio Sancti Brendani Abbatis,.

    2. Largest Christian church, led by the pope

      Catholic Church

      The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2019. As the world's oldest and largest continuously functioning international institution, it has played a prominent role in the history and development of Western civilization. The church consists of 24 sui iuris churches, including the Latin Church and 23 Eastern Catholic Churches, which comprise almost 3,500 dioceses and eparchies located around the world. The pope, who is the bishop of Rome, is the chief pastor of the church. The bishopric of Rome, known as the Holy See, is the central governing authority of the church. The administrative body of the Holy See, the Roman Curia, has its principal offices in Vatican City, a small enclave of the Italian city of Rome, of which the pope is head of state.

    3. International association of churches

      Anglican Communion

      The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The traditional origins of Anglican doctrine are summarised in the Thirty-nine Articles (1571). The Archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, recognised as primus inter parescode: lat promoted to code: la , but does not exercise authority in Anglican provinces outside of the Church of England. Most, but not all, member churches of the communion are the historic national or regional Anglican churches.

    4. Second-largest Christian church

      Eastern Orthodox Church

      The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via local synods. The church has no central doctrinal or governmental authority analogous to the head of the Roman Catholic Church—the Pope—but the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople is recognized by them as primus inter pares, which may be explained as a representative of the church. As one of the oldest surviving religious institutions in the world, the Eastern Orthodox Church has played a prominent role in the history and culture of Eastern and Southeastern Europe. The Eastern Orthodox Church officially calls itself the Orthodox Catholic Church.

  5. Christian feast day: Caroline Chisholm (Church of England)

    1. English-born Australian humanitarian (1808–1877)

      Caroline Chisholm

      Caroline Chisholm was a 19th-century English humanitarian known mostly for her support of immigrant female and family welfare in Australia. She is commemorated on 16 May in the calendar of saints of the Church of England. Her path to sainthood within the Catholic Church has commenced; she had converted to Catholicism around the time of her marriage and reared her children as Catholic.

    2. Anglican state church of England

      Church of England

      The Church of England is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain by the 3rd century and to the 6th-century Gregorian mission to Kent led by Augustine of Canterbury.

  6. Christian feast day: Gemma Galgani (Passionists Calendar)

    1. Italian mystic and Catholic saint

      Gemma Galgani

      Maria Gemma Umberta Galgani, also known as Saint Gemma of Lucca, was an Italian mystic, venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church since 1940. She has been called the "Daughter of the Passion" because of her profound imitation of the Passion of Christ. She is especially venerated in the Congregation of the Passion (Passionists).

    2. Catholic religious order

      Passionists

      The Passionists, officially named Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ, abbreviated CP, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men, founded by Paul of the Cross in 1720 with a special emphasis on and devotion to the Passion of Jesus Christ. A known symbol of the congregation is the labeled emblem of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, surmounted by a cross and is often sewn into the attire of its congregants.

  7. Christian feast day: Germerius

    1. Germerius

      Saint Germerius was bishop of Toulouse from 510 to 560 AD. There is some question as to whether he actually existed. He is the patron saint of the abbey of Lézat.

  8. Christian feast day: Honoratus of Amiens

    1. Honoratus of Amiens

      Saint Honoratus of Amiens was the seventh bishop of Amiens. His feast day is May 16.

  9. Christian feast day: John of Nepomuk

    1. 14th-century Czech priest and saint

      John of Nepomuk

      John of Nepomuk was the saint of Bohemia who was drowned in the Vltava river at the behest of Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia. Later accounts state that he was the confessor of the queen of Bohemia and refused to divulge the secrets of the confessional. On the basis of this account, John of Nepomuk is considered the first martyr of the Seal of the Confessional, a patron against calumnies and, because of the manner of his death, a protector from floods and drowning.

  10. Christian feast day: Margaret of Cortona

    1. Italian penitent

      Margaret of Cortona

      Margaret of Cortona was an Italian penitent of the Third Order of Saint Francis. She was born in Laviano, near Perugia, and died in Cortona. She was canonized in 1728.

  11. Christian feast day: Peregrine of Auxerre

    1. Peregrine of Auxerre

      Peregrine (Peregrinus) of Auxerre is venerated as the first bishop of Auxerre and the builder of its first cathedral. A strong local tradition states that he was a priest of Rome appointed by Pope Sixtus II to evangelize this area at the request of the Christians resident in that part of Gaul. He preached at Marseilles, Lyon, and converted most of the inhabitants of Auxerre to Christianity.

  12. Christian feast day: Simon Stock

    1. 13th-century English saint; Carmelite Prior

      Simon Stock

      Simon Stock, O.Carm was an English Catholic priest and saint who lived in the 13th century and was an early prior of the Carmelite order. The Blessed Virgin Mary is traditionally said to have appeared to him and given him the Carmelite habit, the Brown Scapular. Thus, popular devotion to Stock is usually associated with devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

  13. Christian feast day: Ubald (see Saint Ubaldo Day)

    1. Ubald

      Ubald of Gubbio was a medieval bishop of Gubbio, in Umbria, today venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church. Saint Ubaldo Day is still celebrated at the Basilica of Sant'Ubaldo in Gubbio in his honor, as well as at Jessup, Pennsylvania.

    2. Saint Ubaldo Day

      Saint Ubaldo Day or Festa dei Ceri is an event celebrated on 15 May in the Italian town of Gubbio. It honors the life of Bishop Ubaldo Baldassini who was canonized as protector of Gubbio. It is also celebrated in the American town of Jessup, Pennsylvania

  14. Martyrs of Sudan (Episcopal Church (USA))

    1. Aspect of history

      Christianity in Sudan

      Christianity has a long history in the region that is now Sudan and South Sudan. Ancient Nubia was reached by Coptic Christianity by the 2nd century. The Coptic Church was later influenced by Greek Christianity, particularly during the Byzantine era. From the 7th century, the Christian Nubian kingdoms were threatened by the Islamic expansion, but the southernmost of these kingdoms, Alodia, survived until 1504.

    2. Anglican denomination in the United States

      Episcopal Church (United States)

      The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine provinces. The presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church is Michael Bruce Curry, the first African-American bishop to serve in that position.

  15. Mass Graves Day (Iraq)

    1. Mass graves in Iraq

      Mass graves in Iraq have become well known since the 2003 invasion of Iraq toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein. International Experts estimated that 300,000 victims could be in these mass graves alone. The mass graves mostly included the remains of Shia Muslims and ethnic Kurds, who were killed for opposing the regime between 1983 and 1991.

    2. Country in Western Asia

      Iraq

      Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and Kuwait to the southeast, Saudi Arabia to the south, Jordan to the southwest and Syria to the west. The capital and largest city is Baghdad. Iraq is home to diverse ethnic groups including Iraqi Arabs, Kurds, Turkmens, Assyrians, Armenians, Yazidis, Mandaeans, Persians and Shabakis with similarly diverse geography and wildlife. The vast majority of the country's 44 million residents are Muslims – the notable other faiths are Christianity, Yazidism, Mandaeism, Yarsanism and Zoroastrianism. The official languages of Iraq are Arabic and Kurdish; others also recognised in specific regions are Neo-Aramaic, Turkish and Armenian.

  16. National Day, declared by Salva Kiir Mayardit (South Sudan)

    1. Designated date on which celebrations mark the nationhood of a nation

      National day

      A National Day is a day on which celebrations mark the nationhood of a nation or state. It may be the date of independence, of becoming a republic, of becoming a federation, or a significant date for a patron saint or a ruler. The National Day is often a public holiday. Many countries have more than one national day. Denmark and the United Kingdom are the only two countries without a National Day. National days emerged with the age of Age of Nationalism, with most appearing during the 19th and 20th century.

    2. President of South Sudan since 2011

      Salva Kiir Mayardit

      Salva Kiir Mayardit, also known as Salva Kiir, is a South Sudanese politician who has been the President of South Sudan since its independence on 9 July 2011. Prior to independence, he was the President of the Government of Southern Sudan, as well as First Vice President of Sudan, from 2005 to 2011. He was named Commander-in-Chief of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) in 2005, following the death of Dr. John Garang.

    3. Country in Central Africa

      South Sudan

      South Sudan, officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya. Its population was estimated as 12,778,250 in 2019. Juba is the capital and largest city.

  17. Teachers' Day (Malaysia)

    1. Day for appreciating teachers

      List of Teachers' Days

      Teachers' Day is a special day for the appreciation of teachers, and may include celebrations to honor them for their special contributions in a particular field area, or the community tone in education. This is the primary reason why countries celebrate this day on different dates, unlike many other International Days. For example, Argentina has commemorated Domingo Faustino Sarmiento's death on 11 September as Teachers' Day since 1915. In India the birthday of the second president Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, 5 September, is celebrated as Teachers' Day since 1962, while Guru Purnima has been traditionally observed as a day to worship teachers/gurus by Hindus. Many countries celebrate their Teachers' Day on 5 October in conjunction with World Teachers' Day, which was established by UNESCO in 1994.

    2. Country in Southeast Asia

      Malaysia

      Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions, Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Malaysia. Peninsular Malaysia shares a land and maritime border with Thailand and maritime borders with Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia. East Malaysia shares land and maritime borders with Brunei and Indonesia and a maritime border with the Philippines and Vietnam. Kuala Lumpur is the national capital, largest city and the seat of the legislative branch of the federal government. The nearby planned capital of Putrajaya is the administrative capital, which represents the seat of both the executive branch and the judicial branch of the federal government. With a population of over 32 million, Malaysia is the world's 45th-most populous country. The southernmost point of continental Eurasia is in Tanjung Piai. In the tropics, Malaysia is one of 17 megadiverse countries, home to numerous endemic species.