Events Pre-1600 1076 – The city of Salerno surrenders to Robert Guiscard. Duke Gisulf continues his resistance in the citadel until May of the following year. 1294 – Saint Celestine V resigns the papacy after only five months to return to his previous life as an ascetic hermit. 1545 – The Council of Trent begins as the embodiment of the Counter-Reformation. 1577 – Sir Francis Drake sets sail from Plymouth, England, on his round-the-world voyage.
1601–1900 1623 – The Plymouth Colony establishes the system of trial by 12-men jury in the American colonies. 1636 – The Massachusetts Bay Colony organizes three militia regiments to defend the colony against the Pequot Indians, a date now considered the founding of the National Guard of the United States. 1642 – Abel Tasman is the first recorded European to sight New Zealand. 1643 – English Civil War: The Battle of Alton takes place in Hampshire. 1758 – The English transport ship Duke William sinks in the North Atlantic, killing over 360 people. 1769 – Dartmouth College is founded by the Reverend Eleazar Wheelock, with a royal charter from King George III, on land donated by Royal governor John Wentworth. 1818 – Cyril VI of Constantinople resigns from his position as Ecumenical Patriarch under pressure from the Ottoman Empire. 1862 – American Civil War: At the Battle of Fredericksburg, Confederate General Robert E. Lee repulses attacks by Union Major General Ambrose Burnside on Marye's Heights, inflicting heavy casualties. 1864 – American Civil War: Sherman's March to the Sea: The Second Battle of Fort McAllister ends with the fort being seized by Union forces under General William B. Hazen, threatening the city of Savannah with investment.
1901–present 1937 – Second Sino-Japanese War: Battle of Nanking: The city of Nanjing, defended by the National Revolutionary Army under the command of General Tang Shengzhi, falls to the Japanese. This is followed by the Nanking Massacre, in which Japanese troops rape and slaughter hundreds of thousands of civilians. 1938 – The Holocaust: The Neuengamme concentration camp opens in the Bergedorf district of Hamburg, Germany. 1939 – The Battle of the River Plate is fought off the coast of Uruguay; the first naval battle of World War II. The Kriegsmarine's Deutschland-class cruiser (pocket battleship) Admiral Graf Spee engages with three Royal Navy cruisers: , and . 1943 – World War II: The Massacre of Kalavryta by German occupying forces in Greece. 1949 – The Knesset votes to move the capital of Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. 1957 – The 6.5 Farsinaj earthquake strikes Iran with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII, causing at least 1,119 deaths and damaging over 5,000 homes. 1959 – Archbishop Makarios III becomes the first President of Cyprus. 1960 – While Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia visits Brazil, his Imperial Bodyguard seizes the capital and proclaims him deposed and his son, Crown Prince Asfa Wossen, Emperor. 1962 – NASA launches Relay 1, the first active repeater communications satellite in orbit. 1967 – Constantine II of Greece attempts an unsuccessful counter-coup against the Regime of the Colonels. 1968 – Brazilian President Artur da Costa e Silva issues AI-5 (Institutional Act No. 5), enabling government by decree and suspending habeas corpus. 1972 – Apollo program: Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt begin the third and final extra-vehicular activity (EVA) or "Moonwalk" of Apollo 17. To date they are the last humans to set foot on the Moon. 1974 – Malta becomes a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations. 1974 – In the Vietnam War, the North Vietnamese forces launch their 1975 Spring Offensive (to 30 April 1975), which results in the final capitulation of South Vietnam. 1977 – Air Indiana Flight 216 crashes near Evansville Regional Airport, killing 29, including the University of Evansville basketball team, support staff, and boosters of the team. 1981 – General Wojciech Jaruzelski declares martial law in Poland, largely due to the actions by Solidarity. 1982 – The 6.0 North Yemen earthquake shakes southwestern Yemen with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe), killing 2,800, and injuring 1,500. 1988 – PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat gives a speech at a UN General Assembly meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, after United States authorities refused to grant him a visa to visit UN headquarters in New York. 1989 – The Troubles: Attack on Derryard checkpoint: The Provisional Irish Republican Army launches an attack on a British Army temporary vehicle checkpoint near Rosslea, Northern Ireland. Two British soldiers are killed and two others are wounded. 1994 – Flagship Airlines Flight 3379 crashes in Morrisville, North Carolina, near Raleigh–Durham International Airport, killing 15. 1995 – Banat Air Flight 166 crashes in Sommacampagna near Verona Villafranca Airport in Verona, Italy, killing 49. 2001 – Indian Parliament attack: Sansad Bhavan, the building housing the Indian Parliament, is attacked by five Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists. Twelve people are killed, including the terrorists. 2002 – European Union enlargement: The EU announces that Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia will become members on May 1, 2004. 2003 – Iraq War: Operation Red Dawn: Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is captured near his home town of Tikrit. 2007 – The Treaty of Lisbon is signed by the EU member states to amend both the Treaty of Rome and the Maastricht Treaty which together form the constitutional basis of the EU. The Treaty of Lisbon is effective from 1 December 2009.
Births Pre-1600 1272 – King Frederick III of Sicily (died 1337) 1363 – Jean Gerson, chancellor of the University of Paris (died 1429) 1476 – Lucy Brocadelli, Dominican tertiary and stigmatic (died 1544) 1484 – Paul Speratus, German Lutheran (died 1551) 1491 – Martín de Azpilcueta, Spanish theologian and economist (died 1586) 1499 – Justus Menius, German Lutheran pastor (died 1558) 1521 – Pope Sixtus V (died 1590) 1533 – Eric XIV of Sweden (died 1577) 1553 – Henry IV of France (died 1610) 1560 – Maximilien de Béthune, Duke of Sully, 2nd Prime Minister of France (died 1641) 1585 – William Drummond of Hawthornden, Scottish poet (died 1649)
1601–1900 1640 – Robert Plot, English chemist and academic (died 1696) 1662 – Francesco Bianchini, Italian astronomer and philosopher (died 1729) 1678 – Yongzheng Emperor of China (died 1735) 1720 – Carlo Gozzi, Italian playwright (died 1804) 1724 – Franz Aepinus, German astronomer and philosopher (died 1802) 1769 – James Scarlett Abinger, English judge (died 1844) 1780 – Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner, German chemist, invented the Döbereiner's lamp (died 1849) 1784 – Archduke Louis of Austria (died 1864) 1797 – Heinrich Heine, German journalist, poet, and critic (died 1856) 1804 – Joseph Howe, Canadian journalist and politician, 5th Premier of Nova Scotia (died 1873) 1814 – Ana Néri, Brazilian nurse and philanthropist (died 1880) 1816 – Werner von Siemens, German engineer and businessman, founded Siemens (died 1892) 1818 – Mary Todd Lincoln, 16th First Lady of the United States (died 1882) 1830 – Mathilde Fibiger, Danish feminist, novelist and telegraphist (died 1892) 1836 – Franz von Lenbach, German painter and academic (died 1904) 1854 – Herman Bavinck, Dutch philosopher, theologian, and academic (died 1921) 1856 – Svetozar Boroević, Croatian-Austrian field marshal (died 1920) 1860 – Lucien Guitry, French actor (died 1925) 1864 – Emil Seidel, American woodcarver and politician, 36th Mayor of Milwaukee (died 1947) 1867 – Kristian Birkeland, Norwegian physicist and author (died 1917) 1870 – Edward LeSaint, American actor and director (died 1940) 1871 – Emily Carr, Canadian painter and author (died 1945) 1874 – Josef Lhévinne, Russian pianist and educator (died 1944) 1882 – Jane Edna Hunter, African-American social worker (died 1971) 1883 – Belle da Costa Greene, American librarian and bibliographer (died 1950) 1884 – Aimilios Veakis, Greek actor, director, and playwright (died 1951) 1885 – Annie Dale Biddle Andrews, American mathematician (died 1940) 1887 – George Pólya, Hungarian-American mathematician and academic (died 1985) 1887 – Alvin C. York, American colonel, Medal of Honor recipient (died 1964) 1895 – Lucía Sánchez Saornil, Spanish anarchist feminist (died 1970) 1897 – Albert Aalbers, Dutch architect, designed the Savoy Homann Bidakara Hotel (died 1961) 1897 – Drew Pearson, American journalist and author (died 1969) 1900 – Jonel Perlea, Romanian-American conductor and educator (died 1970)
1901–present 1901 – Olev Roomet, Estonian singer, violinist, and bagpipe player (died 1987) 1902 – Panagiotis Kanellopoulos, Greek philosopher and politician, 138th Prime Minister of Greece (died 1986) 1902 – Talcott Parsons, American sociologist and academic (died 1979) 1903 – Ella Baker, American activist (died 1986) 1903 – Carlos Montoya, Spanish guitarist and composer (died 1993) 1905 – Ann Barzel, American writer and dance critic (died 2007) 1906 – Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark (died 1968) 1906 – Laurens van der Post, South African-English soldier and author (died 1996) 1908 – Elizabeth Alexander, English geologist, academic, and physicist (died 1958) 1908 – Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira, Brazilian historian and activist (died 1995) 1908 – Van Heflin, American film actor (died 1971) 1911 – Trygve Haavelmo, Norwegian economist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1999) 1911 – Kenneth Patchen, American poet and painter (died 1972) 1912 – Luiz Gonzaga, Brazilian singer-songwriter and accordion player (died 1989) 1913 – Archie Moore, American boxer and actor (died 1998) 1914 – Alan Bullock, English historian and author (died 2004) 1914 – Larry Noble, English comedian and actor (died 1993) 1915 – B. J. Vorster, South African lawyer and politician, 4th State President of South Africa (died 1983) 1916 – Leonard Weisgard, American author and illustrator (died 2000) 1919 – Hans-Joachim Marseille, German captain and pilot (died 1942) 1920 – George P. Shultz, American economist and politician, 60th United States Secretary of State (died 2021) 1921 – Turgut Demirağ, Turkish film producer, director and screenwriter (died 1987) 1923 – Philip Warren Anderson, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2020) 1923 – Larry Doby, American baseball player (died 2003) 1925 – Dick Van Dyke, American actor, singer, and dancer 1927 – James Wright, American poet and academic (died 1980) 1928 – Solomon Feferman, American philosopher and mathematician (died 2016) 1929 – Christopher Plummer, Canadian actor and producer (died 2021) 1931 – Ida Vos, Dutch Jewish author of books for children and adults (died 2006) 1933 – Paul Bracq, French automotive designer 1934 – Richard D. Zanuck, American film producer (died 2012) 1935 – Türkan Saylan, Turkish physician and academic (died 2009) 1936 – Prince Karim al-Husayn Shāh, Aga Khan IV, Swiss humanitarian and religious leader (died 2025) 1936 – J. C. Martin, American baseball player 1937 – Ron Taylor, Canadian physician and baseball player (died 2025) 1938 – Gus Johnson, American basketball player (died 1987) 1940 – Sanjaya Lall, Indian economist and academic (died 2005) 1942 – Howard Brenton, English playwright and screenwriter 1942 – Ferguson Jenkins, Canadian baseball player 1945 – Herman Cain, American businessman, politician, and activist (died 2020) 1948 – Jeff Baxter, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer 1948 – Lillian Board, British athlete (died 1970) 1948 – Ted Nugent, American musician 1950 – Wendie Malick, American actress 1952 – Junkyard Dog, American professional wrestler (died 1998) 1952 – Muhsin Kenon, American basketball player 1953 – Ben Bernanke, American economist 1953 – Bob Gainey, Canadian ice hockey player 1956 – Phil Hubbard, American basketball player and coach 1957 – Steve Buscemi, American actor and director