Events Pre-1600 763 BC – Assyrians record a solar eclipse that is later used to fix the chronology of Mesopotamian history. 844 – Louis II is crowned as king of Italy at Rome by pope Sergius II. 923 – Battle of Soissons: King Robert I of France is killed and King Charles the Simple is arrested by the supporters of Duke Rudolph of Burgundy. 1184 – The naval Battle of Fimreite is won by the Birkebeiner pretender Sverre Sigurdsson. Sigurdsson takes the Norwegian throne and King Magnus V of Norway is killed. 1215 – King John of England puts his seal to Magna Carta. 1219 – Northern Crusades: Danish victory at the Battle of Lindanise (modern-day Tallinn) establishes the Danish Duchy of Estonia. 1246 – With the death of Frederick II, Duke of Austria, the Babenberg dynasty ends in Austria. 1285 – The Byzantine Empire and the Republic of Venice conclude a treaty. Apart from agreeing on a ten year truce, the Venetians are alloted a commercial quarter in Constantinople and are restored to earlier privileges. 1310 – The Tiepolo conspiracy, seeking to seize power in the Republic of Venice, is thwarted after bloody street clashes in Venice. The suppression of the revolt will lead to the creation of the Council of Ten. 1312 – At the Battle of Rozgony, King Charles I of Hungary wins a decisive victory over the family of Palatine Amade Aba. 1389 – The Ottomans under Sultan Murad I defeat a Serb army under Lazar of Serbia in the battle of Kosovo. Both leaders are killed in the battle. 1410 – In a decisive battle at Onon River, the Mongol forces of Oljei Temur were decimated by the Chinese armies of the Yongle Emperor. 1410 – Ottoman Interregnum: Süleyman Çelebi defeats his brother Musa Çelebi outside the Byzantine capital, Constantinople. 1520 – Pope Leo X threatens to excommunicate Martin Luther in Exsurge Domine. 1567 – Mary, Queen of Scots, and her new husband Bothwell are confronted by disgruntled Scottish nobles in the encounter at Carberry Hill. The stand-off ends with the surrender of queen Mary.
1601–1900 1607 – Virginia colonists finish building James's Fort, to defend against Spanish and Native American attacks. 1804 – New Hampshire approves the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratifying the document. 1826 – In the Auspicious Incident, the Janissary mutiny against Sultan Mahmud II is defeated and the Janissary corps is disbanded as a result. 1834 – The looting of Safed commences. 1846 – The Oregon Treaty extends the border between the United States and British North America, established by the Treaty of 1818, westward to the Pacific Ocean. 1859 – Ambiguity in the Oregon Treaty leads to the "Northwestern Boundary Dispute" between American and British/Canadian settlers. 1864 – American Civil War: The Second Battle of Petersburg begins. 1896 – One of the deadliest tsunamis in Japan's history kills more than 22,000 people.
1901–present 1904 – A fire aboard the steamboat in New York City's East River kills 1,000. 1919 – John Alcock and Arthur Brown complete the first nonstop transatlantic flight when they reach Clifden, County Galway, Ireland. 1920 – Following the 1920 Schleswig plebiscites, Northern Schleswig is transferred from Germany to Denmark. 1940 – World War II: Operation Aerial begins: Allied troops start to evacuate France, following Germany's takeover of Paris and most of the nation. 1944 – World War II: The United States invades Saipan, capital of Japan's South Seas Mandate. 1944 – In the Saskatchewan general election, the CCF, led by Tommy Douglas, is elected and forms the first socialist government in North America. 1972 – Cathay Pacific Flight 700Z is destroyed by a bomb over Pleiku, Vietnam (then South Vietnam) and kills 81 people. 1977 – After the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975, the first democratic elections take place in Spain. 1988 – The Ariane 4 rocket is launched on its maiden flight. 1991 – In the Philippines, Mount Pinatubo erupts in the second largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century, killing over 800 people. 1992 – The United States Supreme Court rules in United States v. Álvarez-Machaín that it is permissible for the United States to forcibly extradite suspects in foreign countries and bring them to the United States for trial, without approval from those other countries. 1996 – The Troubles: The Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) detonates a powerful truck bomb in the middle of Manchester, England, devastating the city centre and injuring 200 people. 2013 – A bomb explodes on a bus in the Pakistani city of Quetta, killing at least 25 people and wounding 22 others.
Births Pre-1600 1330 – Edward, the Black Prince of England (died 1376) 1479 – Lisa del Giocondo, Italian model, subject of the Mona Lisa (died 1542) 1519 – Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (died 1536) 1542 – Richard Grenville, English captain and explorer (died 1591) 1549 – Elizabeth Knollys, English noblewoman (died 1605) 1553 – Archduke Ernest of Austria (died 1595)
1601–1900 1605 – Thomas Randolph, English poet and playwright (died 1635) 1623 – Cornelis de Witt, Dutch politician (died 1672) 1624 – Hiob Ludolf, German orientalist and philologist (died 1704) 1640 – Bernard Lamy, French mathematician and theologian (died 1715) 1645 – Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin, English politician (died 1712) 1749 – Georg Joseph Vogler, German organist, composer, and theorist (died 1814) 1754 – Juan José Elhuyar, Spanish chemist and mineralogist (died 1796) 1755 – Antoine François, comte de Fourcroy, French chemist and entomologist (died 1809) 1763 – Franz Danzi, German cellist, composer, and conductor (died 1826) 1763 – Kobayashi Issa, Japanese priest and poet (died 1827) 1765 – Henry Thomas Colebrooke, English orientalist (died 1837) 1767 – Rachel Jackson, American wife of Andrew Jackson (died 1828) 1777 – David Daniel Davis, Welsh physician and academic (died 1841) 1789 – Josiah Henson, American minister, author, and activist (died 1883) 1790 – Charles-Amédée Kohler, Swiss chocolatier (died 1874) 1792 – Thomas Mitchell, Scottish-Australian colonel and explorer (died 1855) 1801 – Benjamin Wright Raymond, American merchant and politician, 3rd Mayor of Chicago (died 1883) 1805 – William B. Ogden, American businessman and politician, 1st Mayor of Chicago (died 1877) 1809 – François-Xavier Garneau, Canadian poet and historian (died 1866) 1822 – Alfonso Corti, Italian anatomist (died 1876) 1835 – Adah Isaacs Menken, American actress, painter, and poet (died 1868) 1843 – Edvard Grieg, Norwegian pianist and composer (died 1907) 1848 – Gheevarghese Mar Gregorios of Parumala, Indian bishop and saint (died 1902) 1872 – Thomas William Burgess, English swimmer and water polo player (died 1950) 1875 – Herman Smith-Johannsen, Norwegian-Canadian skier (died 1987) 1878 – Margaret Abbott, Indian-American golfer (died 1955) 1881 – Kesago Nakajima, Japanese lieutenant general in the Imperial Japanese Army (died 1945) 1884 – Harry Langdon, American actor, director, and screenwriter (died 1944) 1886 – Frank Clement, British racing driver (died 1970) 1888 – Martin D'Arcy, English Jesuit priest (died 1976) 1888 – Ramón López Velarde, Mexican poet and author (died 1921) 1890 – Georg Wüst, German oceanographer and academic (died 1977) 1894 – Robert Russell Bennett, American composer and conductor (died 1981) 1894 – Nikolai Chebotaryov, Ukrainian-Russian mathematician and theorist (died 1947) 1898 – Hubertus Strughold, German-American physiologist and academic (died 1986) 1900 – Gotthard Günther, German philosopher and academic (died 1984) 1900 – Otto Luening, German-American composer and conductor (died 1996)
1901–present 1901 – Elmar Lohk, Russian-Estonian architect (died 1963) 1902 – Erik Erikson, German-American psychologist and psychoanalyst (died 1994) 1906 – Gordon Welchman, English-American mathematician and author (died 1985) 1906 – Léon Degrelle, Belgian SS officer (died 1994) 1907 – James Robertson Justice, English actor and educator (died 1975) 1909 – Elena Nikolaidi, Greek-American soprano and educator (died 2002) 1910 – David Rose, English-American pianist, composer, and conductor (died 1990) 1911 – Wilbert Awdry, English author, created The Railway Series, the basis for Thomas the Tank Engine (died 1997) 1913 – Tom Adair, American songwriter, composer, and screenwriter (died 1988) 1914 – Yuri Andropov, Russian politician (died 1984) 1914 – Saul Steinberg, Romanian-American cartoonist (died 1999) 1914 – Hilda Terry, American cartoonist (died 2006) 1915 – Nini Theilade, Danish ballet dancer, choreographer, and educator (died 2018) 1915 – Thomas Huckle Weller, American biologist and virologist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2008) 1916 – Olga Erteszek, Polish-American fashion designer (died 1989) 1916 – Horacio Salgán, Argentinian pianist, composer, and conductor (died 2016) 1916 – Herbert A. Simon, American political scientist and economist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2001) 1917 – John Fenn, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2010) 1917 – Michalis Genitsaris, Greek singer-songwriter (died 2005) 1917 – Lash LaRue, American actor and producer (died 1996) 1918 – François Tombalbaye, Chadian politician, 1st President of Chad (died 1975) 1920 – Keith Andrews, American race car driver (died 1957) 1920 – Amy Clampitt, American poet (died 1994) 1920 – Alla Kazanskaya, Russian actress (died 2008) 1920 – Sam Sniderman, Canadian businessman, founded Sam the Record Man (died 2012) 1920 – Alberto Sordi, Italian actor, director, and screenwriter (died 2003) 1921 – Erroll Garner, American pianist and composer (died 1977) 1922 – Jaki Byard, American pianist and composer (died 1999) 1923 – Erland Josephson, Swedish actor and director (died 2012) 1923 – Ninian Stephen, English-Australian lieutenant, judge, and politician, 20th Governor-General of Australia (died 2017) 1924 – Hédi Fried, Swedish author and psychologist (died 2022) 1924 – Ezer Weizman, Israeli general and politician, 7th President of Israel (died 2005) 1925 – Richard Baker, English journalist and author (died 2018) 1925 – Attilâ İlhan, Turkish poet, author, and critic (died 2005) 1926 – Alfred Duraiappah, Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer and politician (died 1975) 1927 – Ross Andru, American illustrator (died 1993) 1927 – Ibn-e-Insha, Indian-Pakistani poet and author (died 1978) 1927 – Hugo Pratt, Italian author and illustrator (died 1995) 1930 – Miguel Méndez, American author and academic (died 2013) 1930 – Marcel Pronovost, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (died 2015) 1931 – Joseph Gilbert, English air marshal 1932 – David Alliance, Baron Alliance, Iranian-English businessman and politician (died 2025) 1932 – Mario Cuomo, American lawyer and politician, 52nd Governor of New York (died 2015) 1932 – Zia Fariduddin Dagar, Indian singer (died 2013) 1932 – Bernie Faloney, American-Canadian football player and sportscaster (died 1999) 1933 – Mohammad-Ali Rajai, Iranian politician, 2nd President of Iran (died 1981) 1933 – Predrag Koraksić Corax, Serbian political caricaturist (died 2026) 1934 – Ruby Nash Garnett, American R&B singer 1936 – William Levada, American cardinal (died 2019) 1937 – Pierre Billon, Swiss-Canadian author and screenwriter 1937 – Leon Coates, English composer (died 2023) 1937 – Ray Coleman, former editor-in-chief of Melody Maker, author of several music biographies (died 1996) 1937 – Waylon Jennings, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2002) 1938 – Tony Oxley, British free-jazz and avant-garde drummer (died 2023) 1938 – Billy Williams, American baseball player and coach 1939 – Ward Connerly, American activist and businessman, founded the American Civil Rights Institute 1939 – Brian Jacques, British author (died 2011)) 1941 – Neal Adams, American illustrator (died 2022) 1941 – Harry Nilsson, American singer-songwriter (died 1994)