Events Pre-1600 54 – Roman emperor Claudius dies from poisoning under mysterious circumstances. He is succeeded by his adopted son Nero, rather than by Britannicus, his son with Messalina. 409 – Vandals and Alans cross the Pyrenees and appear in Hispania. 1259 – The Provisions of Westminster, a law reform programme resulting out of the conflict of king Henry III of England and his barons, are approved. 1269 – The present church building at Westminster Abbey is consecrated. 1307 – Hundreds of the Knights Templar in France are arrested at dawn by King Philip the Fair, and later confess under torture to heresy. 1332 – Rinchinbal Khan becomes the Khagan of the Mongols and Emperor of the Yuan dynasty, reigning for only 53 days. 1399 – Coronation of Henry IV of England at Westminster Abbey. 1479 – Hunargian forces under Stephen V Báthory deceisively defeat an invading Ottoman army in the battle of Breadfield.
1601–1900 1644 – A Swedish–Dutch fleet defeats the Danish fleet at Fehmarn and captures about 1,000 prisoners. 1710 – Port Royal, the capital of French Acadia, falls in a siege by British forces. 1775 – The Continental Congress establishes the Continental Navy (predecessor of the United States Navy). 1792 – In Washington, D.C., the cornerstone of the United States Executive Mansion (known as the White House since 1818) is laid. 1793 – French Revolutionary Wars: Austro-Prussian victory over Republican France at the First Battle of Wissembourg. 1812 – War of 1812: Sir Isaac Brock's British and native forces repel an invasion of Canada by General Rensselaer's United States forces. 1821 – The Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire is publicly proclaimed. 1843 – In New York City, B'nai B'rith, the oldest Jewish service organization in the world, is founded. 1881 – First known conversation in modern Hebrew by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda and friends. 1885 – The Georgia Institute of Technology is founded in Atlanta, Georgia. 1892 – Edward Emerson Barnard is first to discover a comet by photographic means.
1901–present 1903 – The Boston Red Sox win the first modern World Series, defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates in the eighth game. 1908 – Margaret Travers Symons bursts into the UK parliament and becomes the first woman to speak there. 1911 – Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, becomes the first Governor General of Canada of royal descent. 1915 – First World War: The Battle of the Hohenzollern Redoubt marks the end of the Battle of Loos. 1917 – The "Miracle of the Sun" is witnessed by an estimated 70,000 people in the Cova da Iria in Portugal. 1921 – Soviet republics sign the Treaty of Kars to formalize the borders between Turkey and the South Caucasus states. 1923 – Ankara becomes the capital of Turkey. 1943 – World War II: Marshal Pietro Badoglio announces that Italy has officially declared war on Germany. 1944 – World War II: The Soviet Riga Offensive captures the city. 1946 – France adopts the constitution of the Fourth Republic. 1962 – The Pacific Northwest experiences a cyclone the equal of a Category 3 hurricane, with winds above 150 mph. Forty-six people die. 1972 – Aeroflot Flight 217 crashes outside Moscow, killing 174. 1972 – Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crashes in the Andes mountains. Twenty-eight survive the crash. All but 16 succumb before rescue on December 23. 1972 – The flag of Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, was officially adopted. 1976 – The first electron micrograph of an Ebola virus is taken at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by Dr. F. A. Murphy. 1976 – A Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano Boeing 707 crashes after takeoff from El Trompillo Airport in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, killing 91. 1977 – Hijacking of Lufthansa Flight 181 by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. 1983 – Ameritech Mobile Communications launches the first US cellular network in Chicago. 1990 – Syrian forces attack free areas of Lebanon, removing General Michel Aoun from the presidential palace. 1993 – At least 60 people die in eastern Papua New Guinea when a series of earthquakes rock the Finisterre Range, triggering massive landslides. 2010 – The mining accident in Copiapó, Chile ends as all 33 trapped miners arrive at the surface after a record 69 days underground. 2013 – A stampede occurs in India during the Hindu festival Navratri, killing 115 and injuring more than 110. 2016 – The Maldives announces its decision to withdraw from the Commonwealth of Nations. 2019 – Kenyan Brigid Kosgei sets a new world record for a woman runner with a time of 2:14:04 at the 2019 Chicago Marathon.
Births Pre-1600 467 – Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei, emperor of Northern Wei (died 499) 1381 – Thomas FitzAlan, 12th Earl of Arundel, English politician, Lord High Treasurer of England (died 1415) 1453 – Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales, son and heir of Henry VI of England (died 1471) 1474 – Mariotto Albertinelli, Italian painter and educator (died 1515) 1499 – Claude of France (died 1524) 1563 – Francis Caracciolo, Italian Catholic priest (died 1608) 1566 – Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork, Irish politician, Lord High Treasurer of Ireland (died 1643)
1601–1900 1613 – Luisa de Guzmán, Spanish-Portuguese wife of John IV of Portugal (died 1666) 1696 – John Hervey, 2nd Baron Hervey, English courtier and politician, Lord Privy Seal (died 1743) 1703 – Andrea Belli, Maltese architect and businessman (died 1772) 1713 – Allan Ramsay, Scottish-English painter (died 1784) 1756 – James Gambier, 1st Baron Gambier, English admiral and politician, 36th Commodore Governor of Newfoundland (died 1833) 1768 – Jacques Félix Emmanuel Hamelin, French admiral and explorer (died 1839) 1820 – John William Dawson, Canadian geologist and academic (died 1899) 1821 – Rudolf Virchow, German physician, biologist, and politician (died 1902) 1825 – Charles Frederick Worth, English fashion designer, founded House of Worth (died 1895) 1844 – Ernest Myers, English poet and author (died 1921) 1853 – Lillie Langtry, English actress and singer (died 1929) 1862 – Mary Kingsley, English explorer and author (died 1900) 1867 – Jacques Inaudi, Italian calculating prodigy (died 1950)Cnum.cnam.fr 1870 – Albert Jay Nock, American theorist, author, and critic (died 1945) 1872 – Leon Leonwood Bean, American hunter, businessman, and author, founded L.L.Bean (died 1967) 1873 – Georgios Kafantaris, Greek politician and Prime Minister of Greece (died 1946) 1874 – József Klekl, Slovene-Hungarian priest and politician (died 1948) 1876 – Rube Waddell, American baseball player (died 1914) 1878 – Patrick Joseph Hartigan, Australian priest and author (died 1952) 1879 – Edward Hennig, American gymnast (died 1960) 1880 – Sasha Chorny, Russian poet and author (died 1932) 1887 – Jozef Tiso, Slovak priest and politician, President of Slovakia (died 1947) 1890 – Conrad Richter, American journalist and novelist (died 1968) 1891 – Irene Rich, American actress (died 1988) 1893 – Kurt Reidemeister, German mathematician connected to the Vienna Circle (died 1971) 1895 – Mike Gazella, American baseball player and manager (died 1978) 1899 – Piero Dusio, Italian footballer, businessman and racing driver (died 1975) 1900 – Gerald Marks, American composer (died 1997)
1901–present 1902 – Arna Bontemps, American librarian, author, and poet (died 1973) 1902 – Karl Leichter, Estonian musicologist and academic (died 1987) 1904 – Wilfred Pickles, English actor and radio host (died 1978) 1905 – Yves Allégret, French director and screenwriter (died 1987) 1905 – John Rinehart Blue, American military officer, educator, businessperson, and politician (died 1965) 1905 – Coloman Braun-Bogdan, Romanian footballer and manager (died 1983) 1909 – Herblock, American author and illustrator (died 2001) 1909 – Art Tatum, American jazz pianist (died 1956) 1911 – Ashok Kumar, Indian film actor (died 2001) 1911 – Millosh Gjergj Nikolla, Albanian poet and author (died 1938) 1912 – Cornel Wilde, Slovak-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1989) 1913 – Igor Torkar, Slovenian poet and playwright (died 2004) 1915 – Terry Frost, English painter and academic (died 2003) 1917 – Reed Erickson, American philanthropist (died 1992) 1917 – George Osmond, American talent manager (died 2007) 1918 – Robert Walker, American actor (died 1951) 1920 – Laraine Day, American actress (died 2007) 1921 – Yves Montand, Italian-French actor and singer (died 1991) 1922 – Nathaniel Clifton, American athlete (died 1990) 1922 – Gilberto Mendes, Brazilian composer (died 2016) 1923 – John C. Champion, American screenwriter and producer (died 1994) 1923 – Rosemary Anne Sisson, English author and playwright (died 2017) 1923 – Faas Wilkes, Dutch footballer (died 2006) 1924 – Terry Gibbs, American vibraphone player and bandleader 1924 – Moturu Udayam, Indian activist and politician (died 2002) 1924 – Roberto Eduardo Viola, Argentinian general and politician, 44th President of Argentina (died 1994) 1925 – Lenny Bruce, American comedian and actor (died 1966) 1925 – Armand Mouyal, Algerian-French fencer and police officer (died 1988) 1925 – Margaret Thatcher, English chemist and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 2013) 1925 – Gustav Winckler, Danish singer-songwriter (died 1979) 1926 – Ray Brown, American bassist and cellist (died 2002) 1926 – Killer Kowalski, American wrestler (died 2008) 1926 – Tommy Whittle, Scottish-English saxophonist (died 2013) 1926 – Eddie Yost, American baseball player and coach (died 2012) 1927 – Anita Kerr, American singer and arranger (died 2022) 1927 – Lee Konitz, American saxophonist and composer (died 2020) 1927 – Turgut Özal, Turkish engineer and politician, 8th President of Turkey (died 1993) 1929 – Richard Howard, American poet, critic, and translator (died 2022) 1929 – Walasse Ting, Chinese-American painter and poet (died 2010) 1930 – Bruce Geller, American screenwriter and producer (died 1978) 1931 – Raymond Kopa, French footballer (died 2017) 1931 – Eddie Mathews, American baseball player and manager (died 2001) 1932 – Johnny Lytle, American vibraphone player and drummer (died 1995) 1932 – Liliane Montevecchi, French-Italian actress, dancer and singer (died 2018) 1933 – Thomas Bingham, Baron Bingham of Cornhill, English lawyer and judge, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales (died 2012) 1933 – Raynald Fréchette, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician (died 2007) 1934 – Nana Mouskouri, Greek singer and politician 1935 – Etterlene DeBarge, American singer-songwriter (died 2024) 1935 – Bruce Morrow, American radio host and actor 1936 – Chitti Babu, Indian veena player and composer (died 1996) 1938 – Shirley Caesar, American gospel singer-songwriter 1938 – Hugo Young, English journalist and author (died 2003) 1939 – Larry Bowie, American football player (died 2012) 1939 – Melinda Dillon, American actress (died 2023) 1940 – Chris Farlowe, English rock, blues, and soul singer 1940 – Pharoah Sanders, American saxophonist and bandleader (died 2022) 1941 – Neil Aspinall, Welsh-English record producer and manager (died 2008) 1941 – Jim Price, American baseball player (died 2023) 1941 – Paul Simon, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer 1941 – John Snow, English cricketer 1942 – Rutanya Alda, Latvian-American actress 1942 – Bob Bailey, American baseball player and manager (died 2018) 1942 – Jerry Jones, American businessman 1942 – Walter McGowan, Scottish boxer (died 2016) 1943 – Peter Sauber, Swiss businessman, founded the Sauber F1 Team 1944 – Robert Lamm, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer 1945 – Dési Bouterse, Surinamese general and politician, 9th President of Suriname (died 2024) 1945 – Poure Puobe VII Paramount Chief of Nandom in the Upper East Region of Ghana (died 2019) 1946 – Levon Ananyan, Armenian journalist and author (died 2013) 1946 – Edwina Currie, English politician