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Historical Events

Results 1 - 100 of 180

475 - Basiliscus becomes Byzantine Emperor, with a coronation ceremony in the Hebdomon palace in Constantinople.
1493 - Last day for all Jews to leave Sicily
1528 - Gustav I of Sweden crowned king of Sweden.
1552 - Dutch west coast hit by heavy storm, 100s killed
1583 - Holland begins use of Gregorian calendar (yesterday was 1/1/1583)
1598 - Pope Clement VIII seizes duchy of Ferrara on death of Alfonso
1684 - French king Louis XIV marries Madame Maintenon
1701 - Frisia & Groningen begin use of Gregorian calendar
1701 - Parts of Netherlands adopt Gregorian calendar
1723 - Handel's opera "Ottone" premieres, London
1755 - Tsarina Elisabeth establishes 1st Russian University
1773 - 1st US public museum established (Charlestown SC)
1777 - Mission Santa Clara de Asis founded in Calif
1806 - French evacuate Vienna
1807 - Gunpowder-ship explodes in Leiden Neth, 150 die
1808 - The organizational meeting that led to the creation of the Wernerian Natural History Society, a former Scottish learned society, is held in Edinburgh.
1809 - British take Cayenne (French Guiana) from French (until 1814)
1812 - 1st cargo arrives in New Orleans by steam, from Natchez
1816 - France decrees Bonaparte family excluded from the country forever
1820 - Royal Astronomical Society founded in England
1836 - Battle of Wetumka, Fla
1836 - HMS Beagle/Charles Darwin reach Sydney Australia
1839 - Anthracite coal 1st used to smelt iron, Mauch Chunk, Penn
1842 - Franciscan nuns begin missionary work on Netherland Antilles
1861 - FL state troops demand surrender of Ft Pickens
1863 - President Davis delivers his "State of Confederacy" address
1865 - -13] Union fleet bombs Fort Fisher NC
1866 - The Royal Aeronautical Society is formed in London.
1867 - Leo Tolstoy's "Smert Ioonna Groznogo," premieres in St Petersburg
1872 - Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first imperial coronation in that city in over 200 years.
1875 - Kwang-su becomes emperor of China.
1879 - British Zulu War begins: Lt-General Chelmsford invades Zululand
1895 - The National Trust is founded in Britain.
1896 - 1st X-ray photo in US (Dr Henry Smith, Davidson NC)
1898 - Ito Hirobumi begins his third term as Prime Minister of Japan.
1900 - Freeland Colony founded in US
1903 - Harry Houdini performs at Rembrandt theater, Amsterdam
1903 - Rhodes Opera House burns in Boyertown Pa, killing 170
1904 - Southwest-Africa uprising under Samuel Maherero against German garison
1906 - 1st time Dow Jones closes above 100 (100.26)
1906 - Football rules committee legalizes forward pass
1906 - Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman's cabinet (which included amongst its members H.H. Asquith, David Lloyd George, and Winston Churchill) embarks on sweeping social reforms after a Liberal landslide in the British general election.
1907 - Britain grants responsible govt to former colony of Transvaal
1908 - A long-distance radio message is sent from the Eiffel Tower for the first time.
1911 - The University of the Philippines College of Law is formally established; three future Philippine presidents are among the first enrollees.
1912 - -47°F (-44°C), Washta, Iowa (state record)
1915 - House of Reps rejects proposal to give women right to vote
1916 - Britain proclaims Gilbert & Ellice Is colony in Pacific
1918 - Montreal Canadien Joe Malone scores 5 goals beating Ottawa 9-4
1918 - Finland's "Mosaic Confessors" law went into effect, making Finnish Jews full citizens.
1920 - Annual drafting of baseball players from minor leagues to be done in inverse order of the final standings, agreed to
1921 - Kenesaw Mountain Landis becomes 1st commissioner of baseball
1924 - History of Science Society organized at Boston
1925 - John Howard Lawson's "Processional," premieres in NYC
1928 - Philip Barry & Elmer Rice's "Cock Robin," premieres in NYC
1929 - Seatrain (RR cars on ships) service begins, New Orleans-Havana
1930 - NHL's Boston Bruins win then-record 14th consecutive game
1932 - France's Laval govt falls
1932 - Hattie W Caraway elected 1st woman senator (D-Ark)
1932 - Philip Barry's "Animal Kingdom," premieres in NYC
1933 - US Congress recognize independence Philippines
1933 - Uprising of Guardia Civil in Spain, 25 dies
1937 - Plow for laying submarine cable patented
1940 - World War II: Soviets bombs cities in Finland.
1942 - British troops reconquer Sollum
1942 - Dutch troops on Tarakan surrender
1942 - National War Labor Board created
1943 - Frankfurters replaced by Victory Sausages (mix of meat & soy meal)
1944 - Churchill & de Gaulle begin a 2-day wartime conference in Marrakesh
1944 - Failed resistance raid on distribution office of Borgerstraat Amsterd
1945 - German forces in Belgium retreat in Battle of Bulge
1945 - US Task Force 38 destroys 41 Jap ships in Battle of South China Sea
1945 - World War II: The Soviets begin a large offensive against the Nazis in Eastern Europe.
1946 - "Polonaise" closes at Alvin Theater NYC after 113 performances
1946 - Edouardo de Filippo's "Questi Fantasmi!," premieres in Rome
1946 - NFL champs Cleveland Rams given permission to move to LA
1948 - 1st Supermarket in UK opens
1948 - Mahatma Gandhi begins his final fast
1948 - US Supreme Court decision (Sipuel v Oklahoma State Board of Regents)
1949 - "Arthur Godfrey & His Friends" premieres on CBS TV
1949 - Dutch court affirms death sentence against SS chief Hanns Rauter
1950 - Swedish tanker rams British submarine Truculent in Thames, 64 die
1950 - USSR re-introduces death penalty for treason, espionage & sabotage
1951 - Ezzard Charles TKOs Lee Oma in 10 for heavyweight boxing title
1952 - NFL Pro Bowl: N Conf beats A Conf 30-13
1952 - University of Tennessee admits it's 1st black student
1953 - 9 "Jewish" physicians arrested for "terrorist activities" in Moscow
1954 - Austria's worst avalanche-kills 200; 9hrs later 2nd one-kills 115
1954 - Queen Elizabeth II opens NZ parliament
1957 - Southern Christian Leadership Council (SCLC) founded
1958 - Mickey Wright wins LPGA Sea Island Golf Open
1958 - NCAA adds 2 point conversion to football scoring
1958 - NFL Pro Bowl: West beats East 26-7
1958 - Syracuse National Dolph Schayes sets NBA record at 11,770 points
1959 - KOED TV channel 11 in Tulsa, OK (PBS) begins broadcasting
1960 - Sobers & Worrell complete 399 stand for 4th wkt v England
1960 - Syracuse National Dolph Schayes is 1st NBA'er to score 15,000 points
1961 - "Show Girl" opens at Eugene O'Neill Theater NYC for 100 performances
1961 - UN genocide pact goes into effect
1963 - "Go Away Little Girl" by Steve Lawrence peaks at #1

Famous Birthdays

Results 1 - 100 of 288

1483 - Hendrik van Nassau-Dillenburg en Dietz, gov/viceroy of Holland
1483 - Henry III of Nassau-Breda, German noblem (d. 1538)
1492 - Andreas Alicatus, Italian author
1562 - Charles Emanuel I, the great, Duke of Savoy
1576 - Peter Scriverius, Dutch lawyer/historian
1577 - Jan Baptist van Helmont, Flemish chemist (d. 1644)
1580 - Jean Baptiste van Helmont, Belgian chemist, (found boiling pt temp)
1580 - Lord Alexander Ruthven, Scottish nobleman (d. 1600)
1588 - John Winthrop, 1st governor (Mass Bay Colony)
1588 - Jose Ribera [Lo Spagnoletto], Spanish painter
1591 - José Ribera, Spanish painter (d. 1652)
1597 - François Duquesnoy, French sculptor (d. 1643)
1599 - Adrian van Utrecht, Flemish painter
1638 - Ernst R Tarhemberg, Austrian fieldmarshal (Turkish Wars)
1665 - Pierre de Fermat, French lawyer/mathematician
1674 - Reinhard Keiser, composer
1711 - Gaetano Latilla, composer
1715 - Jacques Duphly, composer
1716 - Antonio de Ulloa, Spanish general (d. 1795)
1721 - Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick, Prussian general (d. 1792)
1723 - Samuel Langdon, American college educator (d. 1797)
1729 - Edmund Burke, British author (Philosophy & Inquiry) [OS=Jan 1]
1729 - Lazzaro Spallanzani, Modena Italy, physiologist
1730 - Johann Joachim Christoph Bode, composer
1737 - Brizio Petrucci, composer
1737 - John Hancock, patriot (1st to sign Declaration of Independence)
1746 - Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, Switzerland, educator [OS]
1749 - Ferdinand Trauttmansdorff, Austrian earl/prince/diplomat
1751 - Ferdinand I, king of Sicily & Naples
1751 - Jacob M R Lenz, writer (Das Leidende Weib)
1751 - Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies (d. 1825)
1772 - Count Mikhail Speransky, Russian reformer (d. 1839)
1780 - Wilhelm M L de Wette, German exegetist/theologist
1783 - Erik Gustaf Geijer, Swedish historian/poet (Natthimmelen)
1786 - Sir Robert Inglis, Bt, English politician (d. 1855)
1792 - Robert Patterson, Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1881
1792 - Johan August Arfwedson, Swedish chemist (d. 1841)
1797 - Gideon Brecher, Austrian physician (d. 1873)
1804 - Hippolyte Monpou, composer
1807 - Jan T Beelen, Dutch/Belgian bible expert
1808 - Paul "the Great" Taglioni, Vienna, ballet choreographer
1810 - Ferdinand II, king of Sicily
1814 - Jones Mitchell Withers, Mjr General (Confederate Army), died in 1890
1819 - Zealous Bates Tower, Bvt Major General (Union Army), died in 1900
1821 - Nikolai Afanisev, composer
1822 - Étienne Lenoir, French engineer (d. 1900)
1825 - Joseph Robert Davis, Brig General (Confederate Army), died in 1896
1826 - Charles Cruft, Bvt Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1883
1832 - Richard Waterhouse Jr, Brig General (Confederate Army), died in 1876
1837 - Adolf Jensen, composer
1837 - Carlos Troyer, composer
1842 - Francois Coppee, French poet
1849 - Jean Béraud, French painter (d. 1935)
1852 - Joseph J C Joffre, French fieldmarshal (Indo China, Marne)
1853 - Gregorio Ricci-Curbastro, Italian mathematician (tensor analysis)
1856 - John Singer Sargent, US, portrait painter (Wyndham Sisters)
1860 - Henry Larkin, American baseball player (d. 1942)
1863 - Vivekananda, Calcutta, Hindu religious leader/reformer
1871 - Paul Guthnick, German astronomer
1873 - Spiridon Louis, Greek marathon runner (d. 1940)
1875 - Marika Stiernstedt, Swedish author (Ulla Bella)
1876 - Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, Venice Italy, composer
1876 - Jack London, writer/socialist (Call of the Wild)
1876 - Jack London, American author (d. 1916)
1877 - Frank J. Corr, American politician (d. 1934)
1878 - Ferenc Molnar, Hungarian/US playwright (A Pal Utrai Fiuk)
1879 - Ray Harroun, American race car driver (d. 1968)
1882 - Jakob Jud, Swiss linguist/etymologist
1882 - Milton Sills, American actor (d. 1930)
1884 - Louis Horst, composer
1884 - Texas Guinan, American actress (d. 1933)
1888 - Claude Delvincourt, composer
1890 - Mordecai W Johnson, educator
1892 - Mikhail Gurevich, Russian aircraft designer (d. 1976)
1893 - Hermann Goering, propoganda minister (Nazi Germany)
1893 - Alfred Rosenberg, German Nazi official (d. 1946)
1894 - Billy Gilbert, Louisville KY, actor (Paradise Alley, Safari, Rio)
1896 - Rex Ingram, Ireland, actor/director (Elmer Gantry, God's Little Acre)
1896 - David Wechsler, American psychologist (d.1981)
1897 - Hendrik J Valk, painter/cartoonist/graphic artist
1898 - Jose Forns y Cuadras, composer
1899 - Paul H Muller, Swiss chemist (DDT-Nobel 1948)
1899 - Pierre Bernac, French baritone (d. 1979)
1900 - Vaino Hannikainen, composer
1902 - Ibn Abdul-Aziz Saud, Kuwait, king (Saudi Arabia)
1902 - Ray Teal, Grand Rapids Mich, actor (Sheriff Roy Coffee-Bonanza)
1902 - Simon H Spoor, Dutch gen/intelligence officer for Gen MacArthur
1903 - Igor V Kurtshatov, Russian nuclear physicist (1st Rus nuclear bomb)
1903 - Igor_Kurchatov, Russian physicist , (d. 1960)
1904 - Mississippi Fred McDowell, jazz artist
1905 - James Bennett Griffin, American archaeologist (d. 1997)
1906 - Henny Youngman, England, comedian (Take my wife please...)
1906 - Tex Ritter, Texas, country singer (5 Star Jubilee, Wayward Wind)
1906 - Daniil Kharms, Russian playwright (d. 1942)
1907 - Sergei Korolev, scientist
1907 - Patsy Kelly, American actress (d. 1981)
1908 - Ben Seijes, Dutch historian (WW II)
1908 - Jose Limon, Mexican/US dancer (I, Odysseus)
1908 - Clement Hurd, American illustrator (d. 1988)
1909 - Mauritz Hugo, Sweden, actor (Atomic Blonde, Road Agent)

Famous Deaths

Results 1 - 100 of 112

689 - Benedict Biscop, English saint, dies
1049 - Abu Sa'id ibn Aboa al-Chair, Persian mystic, dies at 81
1167 - Aelred of Hexham/Rievaulx, English abbot/saint, dies at about 56
1321 - Maria of Brabant, wife of Philip III of France (b. 1256)
1390 - Peter van Herenthals, Dutch theologist/church historian, dies at 67
1519 - Maximilian I of Hapsburg, German kaiser, dies
1519 - Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1459)
1537 - Lorenzo di Credi, Italian painter, dies
1665 - Pierre de Fermat, Fr lawyer/mathematician (principle of F), dies at 63
1674 - Giacomo Carissimi, Italian bandmaster/composer (Jephta), dies at 68
1700 - Marguerite Bourgeoys, saint (b. 1620)
1705 - Luca Giordano, Italian artist (b. 1634)
1732 - John Horsley, British archaeologist (b. 1685)
1735 - John Eccles, English composer (b. 1668)
1759 - Anne of Hannover, English princess, dies at 49
1765 - Johann Melchior Molter, composer, dies at 68
1777 - Hugh Mercer, American Revolutionary War officer (mortally wounded in battle) (b. 1726)
1781 - Richard Challoner, English Catholic prelate (b. 1691)
1807 - Adriaan Kluit, Dutch historian, dies at 71
1807 - Joan Lucaz, Dutch scholar/journalist/patriot, dies at 60
1817 - Juan Andres, Spanish Jesuit (b. 1740)
1829 - Friedrich von Schlegel, German cultural philosopher/poet, dies at 56
1829 - Michael Gottard Fischer, composer, dies at 55
1833 - Marie-Antoine Carême, French chef (b. 1784)
1834 - William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1759)
1839 - Joseph A Koch, Aust painter/cartoonist/etcher/illustrator, dies at 70
1851 - Johan Herman Koekkoek, painter, dies at 72
1856 - Ľudovít Štúr, Slovak politician, author of Slovak language, (b. 1815)
1860 - Martinus J Niewindt, bishop on Curacao (christened slaves), dies at 63
1867 - Victor Cousin, French philosopher/minister of Education, dies at 74
1897 - Isaac Pitman, British inventor (Pitman Shorthand) (b. 1813)
1899 - Hiram Walker, American distiller (b. 1816)
1909 - Hermann Minkowski, German mathematician (b. 1864)
1921 - Gervase Elwes, English tenor (b. 1866)
1925 - Oskar Brefeld, German botanist, dies at 85
1926 - Sir Austin Chapman, Australian politician (b. 1864)
1928 - Ruth Snyder, 1st woman to die in electric chair
1933 - Vaclav Suk, composer, dies at 71
1934 - Pawel Kochanski, Polish violinist, composer and arranger (b. 1887)
1938 - Gösta Ekman (senior), Swedish actor (b. 1890)
1940 - Erich R Jaensch, German psychologist (eidetiek), dies at 56
1942 - George Francis, cricketer (WI Test fast-bowler, 23 wkts in 10), dies
1943 - Jan R T Campert, Dutch resistance fighter/poet (18 Dead), dies at 40
1944 - Lance C. Wade, American pilot (b. 1915)
1947 - Jonas Cohn, German/English philosopher (Wertwissenschaft), dies at 77
1950 - Koos van de Griend, composer, dies at 44
1953 - Simeon Roncal, composer, dies at 82
1956 - John Raedecker, Dutch sculptor (WW II Monument Amsterdam), dies at 70
1956 - Norman Kerry, actor (Air Eagles, Phantom of Opera), dies at 61
1958 - Arthur Shepherd, composer, dies at 77
1958 - Charles Mallory Hatfield, U.S. rainmaker (b. 1875)
1960 - Nevil Shute [Norway], Eng/Aust author (Town like Alice), dies at 60
1962 - Ernie Kovacs, comedian (Ernie Kovacs Show), killed in auto crash at 42
1962 - Richard de Guide, composer, dies at 52
1962 - Ariadna Tyrkova-Williams, Russian writer and feminist (b. 1869)
1964 - C R Browne, cricket leg-spinner (WI in 4 Tests, 6 wkts), dies
1965 - Lorraine Hansberry, US playwright, dies in NYC, dies at 34
1965 - Porcupine, in Washington DC zoo, dies at 27; oldest known rodent
1970 - Blanche Stuart Scott, US pilot, dies at 84
1972 - Padraic Colum, Irish poet/writer/founder (Irish Review), dies at 90
1975 - Caryn Campbell, Bundy victim, disappears from Snowmass, Colo
1976 - Agatha Christie, mystery writer (10 Little Indians), dies at 85
1977 - Henri-Georges Clouzot, director (Diabolique, Truth), dies at 69
1978 - Nancy Spungen, stabbed to death by boyfriend Sid Vicious
1980 - Hans Ebeling, cricketer (Vict stalwart, bowled for Aust 1934), dies
1981 - Beulah Bondi, actress (It's a Wonderful Life), dies at 89
1981 - Isobel Elsom, actress (Unseen, Jane Eyre, Illegal), dies at 87
1983 - Rebop Kwaku Baah, Nigerian percussionist (b. 1944)
1986 - Marcel Arland, French author (L'ordre, Lumière du Soir), dies at 86
1988 - Connie Mulder, South African politician (b. 1925)
1990 - Laurence J Peter, author (Peter Princible), dies of a stroke at 70
1990 - Paul Amadeus Pisk, composer, dies at 96
1991 - Keye Luke, actor (Charlie Chan's No 1 Son), dies after a stroke at 86
1991 - Vasco Pratolini, Italy, writer (Ragazze di San Frediano), dies at 77
1992 - Harry van Doorn, Dutch MP (KVP/KRO-chairman/PPR/CRM), dies at 76
1992 - Walt Morey, US children's book writer (Gentle Ben), dies at 84
1993 - Carles Mira, Spanish director (Que Nos Quiten Lo Bailao), dies at 45
1994 - Bob Horen, dies of cancer at 67
1994 - Samuel Bronston, Romanian/US producer (El Cid), dies at 85
1995 - Francis Lopez, songwriter, dies at 77
1995 - George Price, cartoonist (New Yorker), dies at 93
1995 - Marion Herbst, German/Dutch jewelry designer, dies at 50
1996 - Edmund Happold, engineer, dies at 65
1996 - John Howard Purnell, scientist, dies at 70
1996 - Peggy Braithwaite, lighthouse-keeper, dies at 76
1996 - Joachim Nitsche, German mathematician (b. 1926)
1997 - Charles Huggins, surgeon/medical researcher, dies at 95
1997 - Jean Writer-Edern Hallier, dies at 60
1997 - Jill Summers, actress (Agatha Coronation Street), dies at 86
1999 - Betty Lou Gerson, American voice actress (b. 1914)
1999 - Doug Wickenheiser, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1961)
2000 - Marc Davis, American animator (b. 1913)
2000 - Bobby Phills, American basketball player (b. 1969)
2001 - Affirmed, American racehorse (b. 1975)
2001 - Luiz Bonfá, Brazilian guitarist and composer (b. 1922)
2001 - William Hewlett, American engineer and businessman (b. 1913)
2002 - Stanley Unwin, South African comedian (b. 1911)
2002 - Cyrus Vance, 57th U.S. Secretary of State (b. 1917)
2003 - Dean Amadon, American ornithologist (b. 1912)
2003 - Kinji Fukasaku, Japanese director (b. 1930)