Events Pre-1600 1066 – William the Conqueror and his army set sail from the mouth of the Somme river, beginning the Norman conquest of England. 1331 – The Battle of Płowce is fought, between the Kingdom of Poland and the Teutonic Order. The Poles are defeated but their leaders escape capture. 1422 – After the brief Gollub War, the Teutonic Knights sign the Treaty of Melno with Poland and Lithuania. 1529 – The Siege of Vienna begins when Suleiman I attacks the city. 1540 – The Society of Jesus (Jesuits) receives its charter from Pope Paul III.
1601–1900 1605 – The armies of Sweden are defeated by the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the Battle of Kircholm. 1669 – The Venetians surrender the fortress of Candia to the Ottomans, thus ending the 21-year-long Siege of Candia. Crete would remain under Ottoman occupation until 1913. 1777 – American Revolution: Lancaster, Pennsylvania becomes the capital of the United States for one day after Congress evacuates Philadelphia. 1791 – The National Assembly of France votes to award full citizenship to Jews. 1810 – The French army under André Masséna fails to break British forces under the Arthur Wellesley in the battle of Bussaco. 1821 – The Army of the Three Guarantees triumphantly enters Mexico City, led by Agustín de Iturbide. The following day Mexico is declared independent. 1822 – Jean-François Champollion officially informs the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres in France that he has deciphered the Rosetta Stone. 1825 – The world's first public railway to use steam locomotives, the Stockton and Darlington Railway, is ceremonially opened with the engine Locomotion pulling wagons with coal and passengers from Shildon to Darlington to Stockton. 1854 – The paddle steamer , owned by the Collins Line of New York, sinks off the coast of Newfoundland, following a collision with a smaller vessel, the SS Vesta. Only 88 of over 300 people on board survive. About a dozen of the occupants of the Vesta are killed when their lifeboat is hit by the Arctic. 1875 – The merchant sailing ship Ellen Southard is wrecked in a storm at Liverpool.
1901–present 1903 – "Wreck of the Old 97": an American rail disaster, in which 11 people are killed; it later becomes the subject of a popular ballad. 1908 – Production of the Model T automobile begins at the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant in Detroit. 1916 – Iyasu V is proclaimed deposed as ruler of Ethiopia in a palace coup in favor of his aunt Zewditu. 1922 – King Constantine I of Greece abdicates his throne in favor of his eldest son, George II. 1928 – The Republic of China is recognized by the United States. 1930 – Bobby Jones wins the (pre-Masters) Grand Slam of golf. 1938 – The ocean liner Queen Elizabeth is launched in Glasgow. 1940 – World War II: The Tripartite Pact is signed in Berlin by Germany, Japan and Italy. 1941 – World War II: The Greek National Liberation Front is established with Georgios Siantos as acting leader. 1941 – The is launched, becoming the first of more than 2,700 Liberty ships. 1942 – World War II: Last day of the Matanikau action on Guadalcanal as United States Marines barely escape after being surrounded by Japanese forces. 1944 – World War II: The Kassel Mission results in the largest loss by a USAAF group on any mission during the war. 1949 – Zeng Liansong's design is chosen as the flag of the People's Republic of China. 1956 – USAF Captain Milburn G. Apt becomes the first person to exceed Mach 3. Shortly thereafter, the Bell X-2 goes out of control and Captain Apt is killed. 1959 – Typhoon Vera kills nearly 5,000 people in Japan. 1962 – The Yemen Arab Republic is established. 1962 – Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring is published, inspiring an environmental movement and the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 1964 – The British TSR-2 aircraft XR219 makes its maiden flight. 1973 – Texas International Airlines Flight 655 crashes into the Black Fork Mountain Wilderness near Mena, Arkansas, killing all 11 people on board. 1975 – The last use of capital punishment in Spain sparks worldwide protests. 1977 – Japan Airlines Flight 715 crashes on approach to Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang, Malaysia, killing 34 of the 79 people on board. 1988 – The National League for Democracy is formed by Aung San Suu Kyi and others to fight dictatorship in Myanmar. 1992 – Palestinian prisoners went on a 15-day hunger strike. 1993 – The Sukhumi massacre takes place in Abkhazia. 1996 – The Battle of Kabul ends in a Taliban victory; an Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is established. 1996 – Confusion on a tanker ship results in the Julie N oil spill in Portland, Maine. 1998 – The Google internet search engine retroactively claims this date as its birthday. 2001 – In Switzerland, a gunman shoots 18 citizens, killing 14 and then himself. 2003 – The SMART-1 satellite is launched. 2007 – NASA launches the Dawn probe to the asteroid belt. 2008 – CNSA astronaut Zhai Zhigang becomes the first Chinese person to perform a spacewalk. 2012 – In Minneapolis, a gunman shoots eight people, killing six and injuring 2 and then kills himself. 2014 – 63 people are killed in an eruption of Mount Ontake in Japan. 2019 – Over two million people participated in worldwide strikes to protest climate change across 2,400 locations worldwide. 2020 – Second Nagorno-Karabakh War: Azerbaijan launches an offensive against the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, inhabited predominantly by ethnic Armenians. 2024 – Hurricane Helene devastates the Carolinas as a tropical storm, killing hundreds and injuring more.
Births Pre-1600 808 – Ninmyō, Japanese emperor (died 850) 830 – Ermentrude of Orléans, Queen of the Franks (probable year; d. 869) 1271 – Wenceslaus II of Bohemia, King of Bohemia and Poland (died 1305)K. Charvátová, Václav II. Král český a polský, Prague 2007, p. 18. 1275 – John II, Duke of Brabant (died 1312) 1300 – Adolf, Count Palatine of the Rhine (died 1327) 1389 – Cosimo de' Medici, ruler of Florence (died 1464) 1433 – Stanisław Kazimierczyk, Polish canon regular and saint (died 1489) 1442 – John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk (died 1491) 1496 – Hieronymus Łaski, Polish diplomat (died 1542) 1507 – Guillaume Rondelet, French physician (died 1566) 1533 – Stefan Batory, King of Poland (died 1586) 1544 – Takenaka Shigeharu, Japanese samurai (died 1579) 1552 – Flaminio Scala, Italian playwright and stage actor (died 1624) 1598 – Robert Blake, English admiral (died 1657)
1601–1900 1601 – Louis XIII of France (died 1643) 1627 – Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet, French bishop and theologian (died 1704) 1643 – Solomon Stoddard, American pastor and librarian (died 1729) 1657 – Sofia Alekseyevna of Russia (died 1704) 1677 – Giovanni Carlo Maria Clari, Italian violinist and composer (died 1754) 1696 – Alphonsus Maria de' Liguori, Italian bishop and saint (died 1787) 1719 – Abraham Gotthelf Kästner, German mathematician and epigrammatist (died 1800) 1722 – Samuel Adams, American philosopher and politician, fourth Governor of Massachusetts (died 1803) 1729 – Michael Denis, Austrian lepidopterist, author, and poet (died 1800) 1739 – Francis Russell, Marquess of Tavistock, Irish politician (died 1767) 1765 – Antoine Philippe de La Trémoille, French general (died 1794) 1772 – Martha Jefferson Randolph, daughter of Thomas Jefferson who had twelve children (died 1836) 1783 – Agustín de Iturbide, Mexican royalist turned insurgent; first emperor of Mexico (died 1824) 1803 – Samuel Francis Du Pont, American admiral (died 1865) 1805 – George Müller, German-English evangelist and missionary, founded the Ashley Down Orphanage (died 1898) 1818 – Hermann Kolbe, German chemist and academic (died 1884) 1821 – Henri-Frédéric Amiel, Swiss philosopher, poet, and critic (died 1881) 1824 – William "Bull" Nelson, American general (died 1862) 1827 – Hiram R. Revels, First person of color to serve in the United States Senate, and in the whole U.S. Congress (died 1901) 1830 – William Babcock Hazen, American general (died 1887) 1838 – Lawrence Sullivan Ross, American general and politician, 19th Governor of Texas (died 1898) 1840 – Alfred Thayer Mahan, American captain and historian (died 1914) 1840 – Thomas Nast, German-American cartoonist (died 1902) 1842 – Alphonse François Renard, Belgian geologist and petrographer (died 1903) 1843 – Gaston Tarry, French mathematician and academic (died 1913) 1861 – Corinne Roosevelt Robinson, American poet and author (died 1933) 1862 – Louis Botha, first Prime Minister of the self-governing Union of South Africa (died 1919) 1864 – Andrej Hlinka, Slovak priest and politician (died 1938) 1866 – Eurosia Fabris, Italian saint (died 1932) 1871 – Grazia Deledda, Italian novelist and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1936) 1873 – Vithalbhai Patel, Indian legislator and political leader (died 1933) 1879 – Hans Hahn, Austrian mathematician and philosopher (died 1934) 1879 – Frederick Schule, American hurdler and coach (died 1962) 1879 – Cyril Scott, English poet and composer (died 1970) 1882 – Dorothy Greenhough-Smith, English figure skater and tennis player (died 1965) 1885 – Harry Blackstone, Sr., American magician (died 1965) 1885 – Charles Benjamin Howard, Canadian businessman and politician (died 1964) 1892 – George Bambridge, English diplomat (died 1943) 1894 – Lothar von Richthofen, German lieutenant and pilot (died 1922) 1896 – Gilbert Ashton, English cricketer (died 1981) 1896 – Sam Ervin, American soldier and politician (died 1985) 1898 – Vincent Youmans, American composer and producer (died 1946)
1901–present 1904 – Edvard Kocbek, Slovenian poet and politician (died 1981) 1905 – Conrad Heidkamp, German footballer and manager (died 1994) 1906 – William Empson, English poet and critic (died 1984) 1906 – Jim Thompson, American author and screenwriter (died 1977) 1906 – Sergei Varshavsky, Russian art collector and author (died 1980) 1907 – Bernard Miles, English actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1991) 1907 – Bhagat Singh, Indian socialist revolutionary (disputed with 28 September) (died 1931) 1911 – Marcey Jacobson, American-Mexican photographer (died 2009) 1913 – Albert Ellis, American psychologist and author (died 2007) 1916 – S. Yizhar, Israeli academic and politician (died 2006) 1917 – Louis Auchincloss, American novelist and essayist (died 2010) 1917 – Carl Ballantine, American magician and actor (died 2009) 1917 – William T. Orr, American actor and producer (died 2002) 1917 – Benjamin Rubin, American microbiologist (died 2010) 1918 – Martin Ryle, English astronomer and author, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1984) 1918 – Malcolm Shepherd, 2nd Baron Shepherd (died 2001) 1918 – Konstantin Gerchik, Soviet military leader (died 2001) 1919 – Jayne Meadows, American actress and author (died 2015) 1919 – Charles H. Percy, American lieutenant and politician (died 2011) 1919 – James H. Wilkinson, American mathematician and computer scientist (died 1986) 1920 – William Conrad, American actor, director, and producer (died 1994) 1920 – Alan A. Freeman, English record producer (died 1985)General Register Office; United Kingdom; Volume: 15; Page: 284. England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007 [database on-line]. 1921 – Miklós Jancsó, Hungarian director and screenwriter (died 2014) 1921 – Milton Subotsky, American screenwriter and producer, co-founded Amicus Productions (died 1991) 1921 – Bernard Waber, American author and illustrator (died 2013) 1922 – Sammy Benskin, American pianist and bandleader (died 1992) 1922 – Arthur Penn, American director and producer (died 2010) 1924 – Ernest Becker, American-Canadian anthropologist, author, and academic (died 1974) 1924 – Bud Powell, American pianist and composer (died 1966) 1924 – Fred Singer, Austrian-American physicist and academic (died 2020) 1924 – Josef Škvorecký, Czech-Canadian author and publisher (died 2012)