Events Pre-1600 944 – Caliph al-Muttaqi is blinded and deposed by the Turkish general Tuzun. 1138 – A massive earthquake strikes Aleppo; it is one of the most destructive earthquakes ever.Most Destructive Known Earthquakes on Record in the World , United States Geological Survey 1142 – A peace treaty ends the Jin–Song wars. 1311 – The peerage and clergy restrict the authority of English kings with the Ordinances of 1311. 1531 – The five Catholic cantons defeat the Protestant canton of Zurich in the battle of Kappel.
1601–1900 1614 – The New Netherland Company applies to the States General of the Netherlands for exclusive trading rights in what is now the northeastern United States. 1634 – The Burchardi flood kills around 15,000 in North Friesland, Denmark and Germany. 1643 – A Parliamentarian cavalry force defeats a Royalist cavalry force in the battle of Winceby. 1649 – Cromwell's New Model Army sacks Wexford, killing over 2,000 Irish Confederate troops and 1,500 civilians. 1776 – American Revolution: A fleet of American boats on Lake Champlain is defeated by the Royal Navy, but delays the British advance until 1777. 1797 – The Royal Navy decisively defeats the Batavian Navy at Camperdown during the French Revolutionary Wars. 1811 – The Juliana begins operation as the first steam-powered ferry in New York harbor. 1840 – The Maronite leader Bashir Shihab II surrenders to the Ottoman Empire and later is sent to Malta in exile. 1852 – The University of Sydney, Australia's oldest university, is inaugurated in Sydney. 1862 – American Civil War: Confederate troops conduct a raid on Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. 1865 – Hundreds of black men and women march in Jamaica, starting the Morant Bay rebellion. 1890 – In Washington, D.C., the Daughters of the American Revolution is founded. 1899 – The Second Boer War erupts in South Africa between the British-ruled Cape Colony, and the Boer-ruled Transvaal and Orange Free State.
1901–present 1906 – San Francisco sparks a diplomatic crisis between the United States and Japan by ordering segregated schools for Japanese students. 1910 – Piloted by Arch Hoxsey, Theodore Roosevelt becomes the first U.S. president to fly in an airplane. 1912 – First Balkan War: The day after the Battle of Sarantaporo, Greek troops liberate the city of Kozani. 1918 – The 7.1 San Fermín earthquake shakes Puerto Rico. The quake and resulting tsunami kill up to 116 people. 1937 – The Duke and Duchess of Windsor tour Nazi Germany for 12 days and meet Adolf Hitler on 22 October. 1941 – Beginning of the National Liberation War of Macedonia. 1942 – World War II: Off Guadalcanal, United States Navy ships intercept and defeat a Japanese force. 1944 – The Tuvan People's Republic is annexed by the Soviet Union. 1950 – CBS's field-sequential color system for television is the first to be licensed for broadcast by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. 1954 – In accord with the 1954 Geneva Conference, French troops complete their withdrawal from North Vietnam. 1958 – NASA launches Pioneer 1, its first space probe, although it fails to achieve a stable orbit. 1962 – The Second Vatican Council becomes the first ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church in 92 years. 1968 – NASA launches Apollo 7, the first successful crewed Apollo mission. 1976 – George Washington is posthumously promoted to the grade of General of the Armies. 1982 – The hull of the Mary Rose is recovered, over four hundred years after her sinking during the battle of the Solent. 1984 – Aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger, astronaut Kathryn D. Sullivan becomes the first American woman to perform a space walk. 1984 – Aeroflot Flight 3352 crashes into maintenance vehicles upon landing in Omsk, Russia, killing 178. 1986 – Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev meet in Iceland to continue discussions about scaling back IRBM arsenals in Europe. 1987 – The AIDS Memorial Quilt is first displayed during the Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. 1987 – Start of Operation Pawan by Indian forces in Sri Lanka. Thousands of civilians, insurgents, soldiers die. 1991 – Prof. Anita Hill delivers her televised testimony concerning sexual harassment during the Clarence Thomas Supreme Court nomination. 1999 – Air Botswana pilot Chris Phatswe steals an ATR 42 from Sir Seretse Khama International Airport and later crashes it into two other aircraft at the airport, killing himself. 2000 – NASA launches STS-92, the 100th Space Shuttle mission. 2001 – The Polaroid Corporation files for federal bankruptcy protection. 2002 – A bomb attack in a Myyrmanni shopping mall in Vantaa, Finland kills seven. 2013 – A migrant boat sinks in the Channel of Sicily, with at least 359 people drowning. 2018 – Soyuz MS-10, launching an intended crew for the ISS, suffers an in-flight abort. The crew lands safely.
Births Pre-1600 1492 – Charles Orlando, Dauphin of France, French noble (died 1495) 1552 – Tsarevich Dmitry Ivanovich of Russia, Grand Prince of Moscow (died 1553)
1601–1900 1616 – Andreas Gryphius, German poet and playwright (died 1664) 1661 – Melchior de Polignac, French cardinal and poet (died 1742) 1671 – Frederick IV of Denmark (died 1730) 1672 – Pylyp Orlyk, Ukrainian-Romanian diplomat (died 1742) 1675 – Samuel Clarke, English minister and philosopher (died 1729) 1738 – Arthur Phillip, English admiral and politician, 1st Governor of New South Wales (died 1814) 1739 – Grigory Potemkin, Russian general and politician (died 1791) 1758 – Heinrich Wilhelm Matthias Olbers, German physician and astronomer (died 1840) 1778 – George Bridgetower, British musician and composer (died 1860) 1782 – Steen Steensen Blicher, Danish author and poet (died 1848) 1786 – Stevenson Archer, American judge and politician (died 1848) 1788 – Simon Sechter, Austrian organist, composer, and conductor (died 1867) 1793 – Maria James, Welsh-born American poet, domestic servant (died 1868) 1803 – Gregor von Helmersen, Estonian-Russian general and geologist (died 1885) 1814 – Jean-Baptiste Lamy, French-American archbishop (died 1888) 1815 – Pierre Napoléon Bonaparte, Italian-French politician (died 1881) 1821 – George Williams, English philanthropist, founded the YMCA (died 1905) 1827 – Afzal-ud-Daulah, Asaf Jah V, 5th Nizam of Hyderabad 1835 – Ernst Sars, Norwegian historian (died 1917) 1835 – Theodore Thomas, American conductor, founded the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (died 1905) 1844 – Henry J. Heinz, American businessman, founded the H. J. Heinz Company (died 1919) 1865 – Hans E. Kinck, Norwegian philologist and author (died 1926) 1871 – Johan Oscar Smith, Norwegian evangelist, founded the Brunstad Christian Church (died 1943) 1872 – Emily Davison, English educator and activist (died 1913) 1872 – Harlan F. Stone, American lawyer and jurist, 12th Chief Justice of the United States (died 1946) 1879 – Ernst Mally, Austrian philosopher and academic (died 1944) 1881 – Hans Kelsen, Czech-American jurist and philosopher (died 1973) 1883 – Kristian Welhaven, Norwegian police officer (died 1975) 1884 – Friedrich Bergius, German-Argentinian chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1949) 1884 – Eleanor Roosevelt, American humanitarian and politician, 32nd First Lady of the United States (died 1962) 1884 – Sig Ruman, German-American actor (died 1967) 1885 – François Mauriac, French novelist, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1970) 1890 – A. V. Kulasingham, Sri Lankan journalist, lawyer, and politician (died 1978) 1894 – Julius Kuperjanov, Estonian educator and lieutenant (died 1919) 1896 – Roman Jakobson, Russian-American linguist and theorist (died 1982) 1897 – Nathan Farragut Twining, American general (died 1982) 1899 – Eddie Dyer, American baseball player and manager (died 1964)
1901–present 1901 – Masanobu Tsuji, Japanese colonel and politician (died 1961) 1902 – Jayaprakash Narayan, Indian activist and politician (died 1979) 1905 – Fred Trump, American real estate entrepreneur (died 1999) 1909 – Sir Ken Anderson, Australian politician (died 1985) 1910 – Cahit Arf, Turkish mathematician and academic (died 1997) 1911 – Nello Pagani, Italian motorcycle racer and race car driver (died 2003) 1913 – Joe Simon, American author and illustrator (died 2011) 1915 – T. Llew Jones, Welsh author and poet (died 2009) 1916 – Nanaji Deshmukh, Indian educator and activist (died 2010) 1916 – Ahmad Abd al-Ghafur Attar, Saudi Arabian writer and journalist (died 1991) 1918 – Fred Bodsworth, Canadian journalist and author (died 2012) 1918 – Jerome Robbins, American director, producer, and choreographer (died 1998) 1919 – Art Blakey, American drummer and bandleader (died 1990) 1919 – Douglas Albert Munro, United States Coast Guard signalman, posthumously awarded Medal of Honor (died 1942) 1922 – G. C. Edmondson, American soldier and author (died 1995) 1924 – André Emmerich, German-American art dealer (died 2007) 1924 – Sammy McCrory, Northern Irish footballer (died 2011) 1924 – Mal Whitfield, American athlete (died 2015) 1925 – Elmore Leonard, American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter (died 2013) 1926 – Jean Alexander, English actress (died 2016) 1926 – Yvon Dupuis, Canadian politician (died 2017) 1926 – Thích Nhất Hạnh, Vietnamese monk, author, and poet (died 2022) 1926 – Earle Hyman, American actor (died 2017) 1926 – Neville Wran, Australian lawyer and politician, 35th Premier of New South Wales (died 2014) 1927 – Princess Joséphine Charlotte of Belgium (died 2005) 1927 – Jim Prior, Baron Prior, English soldier and politician, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (died 2016) 1928 – Alfonso de Portago, Spanish race car driver and bobsledder (died 1957) 1928 – Roscoe Robinson Jr., American general (died 1993) 1928 – Geoffrey Tordoff, Baron Tordoff, English businessman and politician (died 2019) 1929 – Curtis Amy, American saxophonist and clarinetist (died 2002) 1930 – Michael Edwardes, South African-English businessman (died 2019) 1930 – LaVell Edwards, American football player and coach (died 2016) 1930 – Sam Johnson, American colonel and politician (died 2020) 1932 – Saul Friedländer, Israeli historian and author 1932 – Barry Jones, Australian lawyer and politician 1932 – Dottie West, American singer-songwriter and actress (died 1991) 1935 – Dan Evins, American businessman, founded Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (died 2012) 1935 – Daniel Quinn, American author and environmentalist (died 2018) 1936 – C. Gordon Fullerton, American colonel, engineer, and astronaut (died 2013) 1936 – Billy Higgins, American drummer and educator (died 2001) 1936 – James M. McPherson, American historian and author 1937 – Bobby Charlton, English footballer and manager (died 2023) 1937 – R. H. W. Dillard, American poet, author, and critic (died 2023) 1937 – Ron Leibman, American actor and screenwriter (died 2019) 1938 – Darrall Imhoff, American basketball player (died 2017) 1938 – Michael Stear, English air marshal (died 2020) 1939 – Maria Bueno, Brazilian tennis player (died 2018) 1939 – Austin Currie, Northern Irish lawyer and SDLP politician (died 2021) 1940 – Lucy Morgan, American newspaper reporter (died 2023) 1941 – Lester Bowie, American trumpet player and composer (died 1999) 1942 – Richard Wilson, Baron Wilson of Dinton, Welsh academic and politician 1942 – Amitabh Bachchan, Indian film actor, producer, television host, and former politician 1943 – Keith Boyce, Barbadian cricketer (died 1996) 1943 – Michael Harloe, English sociologist and academic 1943 – John Nettles, English actor and writer 1943 – Ilmar Reepalu, Swedish lawyer and politician 1943 – Gene Watson, American singer-songwriter and producer 1944 – Rodney Marsh, English footballer, manager, and sportscaster 1945 – Andrew Logan, English sculptor and painter 1946 – Elinor Goodman, English journalist 1946 – Daryl Hall, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer 1946 – Sawao Katō, Japanese gymnast