EVENTS
1714 - René Nicolas Charles Augustin de Maupeou, Chancellor of France (d. 1792)
1714 - Sir Hyde Parker, 5th Baronet, British admiral (d. 1782)
1725 - Karl Wilhelm Ramler, German poet (d. 1798)
1752 - John Graves Simcoe, first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada (d. 1806)
1778 - José de San Martín, Argentine general and liberator of South America (d. 1850)
1841 - Pierre-Auguste Renoir, French painter, graphic artist and sculptor (d. 1919)
1842 - Karl May, German writer (d. 1912)
1845 - George Reid, fourth Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1918)
1855 - George Bonnor, Australian cricketer (d. 1912)
1855 - Cesário Verde, Portuguese poet (d. 1886)
1860 - Sir William Ashley, economic historian (d. 1927)
1866 - Benedetto Croce, Italian philosopher (d. 1952)
1873 - Enrico Caruso, Italian tenor (d. 1921)
1877 - Erich von Hornbostel, Austrian musicologist (d. 1935)
1883 - Princess Alice of Albany, Countess of Athlone (d. 1981)
1888 - John Foster Dulles, U.S. Secretary of State (d. 1959)
1889 - Homer S. Ferguson, United States Senator (d. 1982)
1890 - Dame Myra Hess, English pianist (d. 1965)
1890 - Vyacheslav Molotov, Soviet politician (d. 1986)
1894 - Meher Baba, Indian spiritual leader (d. 1969)
1895 - Lew Andreas, American basketball coach (d. 1984)
1901 - Zeppo Marx, American actor (d. 1979)
1903 - King Clancy, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1986)
1908 - Frank G. Slaughter, American novelist (d. 2001)
1910 - Millicent Fenwick, American fashion editor and politician (d. 1992)
1912 - Brenda Joyce, American actress
1913 - Jim Backus, American actor (d. 1989)
1913 - Gert Fröbe, German actor (d. 1988)
1914 - John Arlott, English cricket journalist (d. 1991)
1916 - Reinhard Bendix, German sociologist (d. 1991)
1917 - Anthony Burgess, English author (d. 1993)
1918 - Barney Ewell, American athlete (d. 1996)
DEATHS
1899 - Paul Julius Reuter, German-born journalist (b. 1816)
1912 - Guillaume IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg (b. 1852)
1919 - Josef Christiaens, Belgian racing driver (b. 1879)
1922 - Henri Désiré Landru, French serial killer (b. 1869)
1934 - John McGraw, American baseball player and manager (b. 1873)
1945 - Mário de Andrade, Brazilian writer and photographer (b. 1893)
1950 - George Minot, American physician, Nobel laureate (b. 1885)
1953 - Sergei Winogradsky, Russian scientist (b. 1856)
1957 - George "Bugs" Moran, American gangster (b. 1893)
1964 - Grace Metalious, American writer (b. 1924)
1966 - James D. Norris, American sports businessman (b. 1906)
1970 - Mark Rothko, American painter (b. 1903)
1971 - Theodor Svedberg, Swedish chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1884)
1975 - Elijah Muhammad, American Black Muslim leader (b. 1897)
1978 - Daniel "Chappie" James Jr., American general (b. 1920)
1983 - Tennessee Williams, American playwright (b. 1911)
1987 - James Coco, American actor (b. 1930)
1993 - Eddie Constantine, American-born actor and singer (b. 1917)
1994 - Baruch Goldstein, American-born mass killer (b. 1956)
1994 - Jersey Joe Walcott, American boxer (b. 1914)
1996 - Haing S. Ngor, Cambodian-born actor (b. 1940)
1999 - Glenn T. Seaborg, American chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1912)
2001 - Sir Donald Bradman, Australian cricketer (b. 1908)
2003 - Tom O'Higgins, Irish Chief Justice (b. 1916)
2003 - Alberto Sordi, Italian actor (b. 1920)
2004 - Donald Hings, Canadian inventor (b. 1907)
2005 - Peter Benenson, English founder of Amnesty International (b. 1921)
2006 - Darren McGavin, American actor (b. 1922)
2006 - Charlie Wayman, English footballer (b. 1922)
2007 - William R. Anderson, c/o USS Nautilus submarine, US Congressman (b. 1921)
2007 - Mark Spoelstra, American singer/songwriter (b. 1940)
- 138 - The Emperor Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius, effectively making him his successor.
- 1570 - Pope Pius V excommunicates Queen Elizabeth I of England.
- 1793 - George Washington holds the first Cabinet meeting as President of the United States.
- 1797 - Colonel William Tate and his force of 1000-1500 soldiers surrender after the Last Invasion of Britain
- 1836 - Samuel Colt receives an American patent for the Colt revolver.
- 1836 - US Showman Phineas Taylor Barnum exhibits African American slave Joice Heth.
- 1837 - The first practical electric motor in the US is patented by Thomas Davenport.
- 1870 - Hiram Rhodes Revels, a Republican from Mississippi, is sworn into the United States Senate, becoming the first African American ever to sit in the U.S. Congress.
- 1901 - J.P. Morgan incorporates the United States Steel Corporation.
- 1912 - Marie-Adélaïde, the eldest of six daughters of Guillaume IV, becomes the first reigning Grand Duchess of Luxembourg.
- 1919 - Oregon places a 1 cent per U.S. gallon tax on gasoline, becoming the first U.S. state to levy a gasoline tax.
- 1921 - Tbilisi, capital of the Democratic Republic of Georgia, occupied by Bolshevist Russia.
- 1925 - Glacier Bay National Monument (now Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve) is established in Alaska.
- 1925 - The diplomatic relations between Japan and the Soviet Union were established.
- 1928 - Charles Jenkins Laboratories of Washington, DC becomes the first holder of a television license from the Federal Radio Commission.
- 1932 - Adolf Hitler obtains German citizenship by naturalization, which allows him to run in the 1932 election for Reichspräsident.
- 1933 - The USS Ranger is launched, becoming the first custom-built aircraft carrier.
- 1941 - February strike: First general & physical protest against Nazi anti-Jewish behaviour & -laws (Amsterdam)
- 1945 - World War II: Turkey declares war on Germany.
- 1948 - The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia takes control of government in Czechoslovakia and the period of the Third Republic ends.
- 1951 - The first Pan American Games are held in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- 1954 - Gamal Abdul Nasser is made premier of Egypt.
- 1956 - In his speech On the Personality Cult and its Consequences Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev denounces the actions of Joseph Stalin.
- 1969 - Germany gives $5 million to an Arab terrorist as ransom for the passengers and crew of a hijacked jumbo jet.
- 1971 - The first unit of the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station, first commercial nuclear power station in Canada, goes online.
- 1980 - The Suriname government ( elected after gaining independance from the Netherlands in 1975 ) was overthrown by a military coup which was initiated with the bombing of the police station from an army ship of the coast of the nations capital; Paramaribo
- 1986 - People Power Revolution: President Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines flees the nation after 20 years of rule; Corazon Aquino becomes the first Filipino woman president.
- 1991 - Gulf War: An Iraqi Scud missile hits an American military barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia killing 28 U.S. Army Reservists from Pennsylvania.
- 1992 - Khojaly massacre: about 613 civilians killed by Armenian armed forces during the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan
- 1994 - Mosque of Abraham massacre: In the Cave of the Patriarchs in the West Bank city of Hebron, Dr. Baruch Kappel Goldstein opens fire with an automatic rifle, killing 29 Palestinian worshippers and injuring 125 more before being subdued and beaten to death by survivors. Subsequent rioting kills 26 more Palestinians and 9 Israelis.
- 2000 - The Swedish political party New Democracy is declared financially bankrupt.
- 2006 - The world's estimated population reaches 6.5 billion.
1714 - René Nicolas Charles Augustin de Maupeou, Chancellor of France (d. 1792)
1714 - Sir Hyde Parker, 5th Baronet, British admiral (d. 1782)
1725 - Karl Wilhelm Ramler, German poet (d. 1798)
1752 - John Graves Simcoe, first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada (d. 1806)
1778 - José de San Martín, Argentine general and liberator of South America (d. 1850)
1841 - Pierre-Auguste Renoir, French painter, graphic artist and sculptor (d. 1919)
1842 - Karl May, German writer (d. 1912)
1845 - George Reid, fourth Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1918)
1855 - George Bonnor, Australian cricketer (d. 1912)
1855 - Cesário Verde, Portuguese poet (d. 1886)
1860 - Sir William Ashley, economic historian (d. 1927)
1866 - Benedetto Croce, Italian philosopher (d. 1952)
1873 - Enrico Caruso, Italian tenor (d. 1921)
1877 - Erich von Hornbostel, Austrian musicologist (d. 1935)
1883 - Princess Alice of Albany, Countess of Athlone (d. 1981)
1888 - John Foster Dulles, U.S. Secretary of State (d. 1959)
1889 - Homer S. Ferguson, United States Senator (d. 1982)
1890 - Dame Myra Hess, English pianist (d. 1965)
1890 - Vyacheslav Molotov, Soviet politician (d. 1986)
1894 - Meher Baba, Indian spiritual leader (d. 1969)
1895 - Lew Andreas, American basketball coach (d. 1984)
1901 - Zeppo Marx, American actor (d. 1979)
1903 - King Clancy, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1986)
1908 - Frank G. Slaughter, American novelist (d. 2001)
1910 - Millicent Fenwick, American fashion editor and politician (d. 1992)
1912 - Brenda Joyce, American actress
1913 - Jim Backus, American actor (d. 1989)
1913 - Gert Fröbe, German actor (d. 1988)
1914 - John Arlott, English cricket journalist (d. 1991)
1916 - Reinhard Bendix, German sociologist (d. 1991)
1917 - Anthony Burgess, English author (d. 1993)
1918 - Barney Ewell, American athlete (d. 1996)
DEATHS
1899 - Paul Julius Reuter, German-born journalist (b. 1816)
1912 - Guillaume IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg (b. 1852)
1919 - Josef Christiaens, Belgian racing driver (b. 1879)
1922 - Henri Désiré Landru, French serial killer (b. 1869)
1934 - John McGraw, American baseball player and manager (b. 1873)
1945 - Mário de Andrade, Brazilian writer and photographer (b. 1893)
1950 - George Minot, American physician, Nobel laureate (b. 1885)
1953 - Sergei Winogradsky, Russian scientist (b. 1856)
1957 - George "Bugs" Moran, American gangster (b. 1893)
1964 - Grace Metalious, American writer (b. 1924)
1966 - James D. Norris, American sports businessman (b. 1906)
1970 - Mark Rothko, American painter (b. 1903)
1971 - Theodor Svedberg, Swedish chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1884)
1975 - Elijah Muhammad, American Black Muslim leader (b. 1897)
1978 - Daniel "Chappie" James Jr., American general (b. 1920)
1983 - Tennessee Williams, American playwright (b. 1911)
1987 - James Coco, American actor (b. 1930)
1993 - Eddie Constantine, American-born actor and singer (b. 1917)
1994 - Baruch Goldstein, American-born mass killer (b. 1956)
1994 - Jersey Joe Walcott, American boxer (b. 1914)
1996 - Haing S. Ngor, Cambodian-born actor (b. 1940)
1999 - Glenn T. Seaborg, American chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1912)
2001 - Sir Donald Bradman, Australian cricketer (b. 1908)
2003 - Tom O'Higgins, Irish Chief Justice (b. 1916)
2003 - Alberto Sordi, Italian actor (b. 1920)
2004 - Donald Hings, Canadian inventor (b. 1907)
2005 - Peter Benenson, English founder of Amnesty International (b. 1921)
2006 - Darren McGavin, American actor (b. 1922)
2006 - Charlie Wayman, English footballer (b. 1922)
2007 - William R. Anderson, c/o USS Nautilus submarine, US Congressman (b. 1921)
2007 - Mark Spoelstra, American singer/songwriter (b. 1940)
