EVENTS OF THIS DAY IN THE PAST

[edit]

• 49 BC – Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon, signaling the start of civil war.
• 9 – The Western Han Dynasty ends when Wang Mang claims that the divine Mandate of Heaven called for the end of the dynasty and the beginning of his own, the Xin Dynasty.
• 69 – Lucius Calpurnius Piso Licinianus is appointed by Galba as deputy Roman Emperor.
• 236 – Pope Fabian succeeds Anterus to become the twentieth pope of Rome.
• 1072 – Robert Guiscard conquers Palermo.
• 1475 – Stephen III of Moldavia defeats the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Vaslui.
• 1645 – Archbishop William Laud is beheaded at the Tower of London.
• 1776 – Thomas Paine publishes his pamphlet Common Sense.
• 1791 – The Siege of Dunlap's Station begins near Cincinnati during the Northwest Indian War.
• 1806 – Dutch settlers in Cape Town surrender to the British.
• 1810 – Napoleon Bonaparte divorces his first wife Joséphine.
• 1861 – American Civil War: Florida secedes from the Union.
• 1863 – The London Underground, the world's oldest underground railway, opens between London Paddington station and Farringdon station.
• 1870 – John D. Rockefeller incorporates Standard Oil.
• 1901 – The first great Texas oil gusher is discovered at Spindletop in Beaumont, Texas.
• 1916 – World War I: In the Erzurum Offensive, Russia defeats the Ottoman Empire.
• 1920 – The Treaty of Versailles takes effect, officially ending World War I.
• 1922 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of the Dáil Éireann.
• 1923 – Lithuania seizes and annexes Memel.
• 1927 – Fritz Lang's futuristic film Metropolis is released in Germany.
• 1929 – The Adventures of Tintin, one of the most popular European comic books, is first published in Belgium.
• 1941 – World War II: The Greek army captures Kleisoura.
• 1946 – The first General Assembly of the United Nations opens in London. Fifty-one nations are represented.
• 1946 – The United States Army Signal Corps successfully conducts Project Diana, bouncing radio waves off the moon and receiving the reflected signals.
• 1954 – BOAC Flight 781, a de Havilland DH.106 Comet 1, explodes and falls into the Tyrrhenian Sea killing 35 people.
• 1962 – Apollo program: NASA announces plans to build the C-5 rocket launch vehicle. It became better known as the Saturn V Moon rocket, which launched every Apollo Moon mission.
• 1972 – Sheikh Mujibur Rahman returns to the newly independent Bangladesh as president after spending over nine months in prison in Pakistan.
• 1981 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensive, gaining control of most of Morazán and Chalatenango departments
• 1984 – Holy See–United States relations: The United States and Holy See (Vatican City) re-establish full diplomatic relations after almost 117 years, overturning the United States Congress's 1867 ban on public funding for such a diplomatic envoy.
• 1985 – Sir Clive Sinclair launches the Sinclair C5 personal electric vehicle, which became a notorious commercial failure and later a cult collector's item.
• 1985 – Sandinista Daniel Ortega becomes president of Nicaragua and vows to continue the transformation to socialism and alliance with the Soviet Union and Cuba; American policy continues to support the Contras in their revolt against the Nicaraguan government.
• 1990 – Time Warner is formed by the merger of Time Inc. and Warner Communications.
• 1999 – Sanjeev Nanda kills three policemen in New Delhi, India with his car, an act for which he was later acquitted, resulting in a sharp drop in public confidence in the Indian legal system.
• 2005 – A mudslide occurs in La Conchita, California, killing 10 people, injuring many more and closing U.S. Route 101, the main coastal corridor between Los Angeles and San Francisco for 10 days.
• 2007 – A general strike begins in Guinea in an eventually successful attempt to get President Lansana Conté to resign.
• 2011 – 2010–2011 Queensland floods: Torrential rain in the Lockyer Valley region of South East Queensland, Australia causes severe flash flooding, killing 9 people.
• 2012 – A bombing in Khyber Agency, Pakistan, kills at least 30 people and 78 others injured.
• 2013 – More than 100 people are killed and 270 injured in several bomb blasts in Pakistan.

Births[edit]

• 1480 – Margaret of Austria, Duchess of Savoy (d. 1530)
• 1538 – Louis of Nassau (d. 1574)
• 1607 – Isaac Jogues, French priest and missionary (d. 1646)
• 1628 – George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, English politician (d. 1687)
• 1644 – Louis François, duc de Boufflers, French general (d. 1711)
• 1654 – Joshua Barnes, English scholar (d. 1712)
• 1702 – Johannes Zick, German painter (d. 1762)
• 1715 – Christian August Crusius, German philosopher and theologian (d. 1775)
• 1729 – Lazzaro Spallanzani, Italian biologist (d. 1799)
• 1741 – Princess Elizabeth of Great Britain (d. 1759)
• 1745 – Isaac Titsingh, Dutch surgeon, scholar, and diplomat (d. 1812)
• 1750 – Thomas Erskine, 1st Baron Erskine, Scottish-English lawyer and politician (d. 1823)
• 1760 – Johann Rudolf Zumsteeg, German composer and conductor (d. 1802)
• 1769 – Michel Ney, French marshal (d. 1815)
• 1776 – George Birkbeck, English doctor and academic, founded Birkbeck, University of London (d. 1841)
• 1780 – Martin Lichtenstein, German physician and explorer (d. 1857)
• 1797 – Eugenio Kincaid, American missionary (d. 1883)
• 1802 – Carl Ritter von Ghega, Albanian engineer (d. 1860)
• 1810 – Ferdinand Barbedienne, French engineer (d. 1892)
• 1810 – Jeremiah S. Black, American jurist and politician, 23rd United States Secretary of State (d. 1883)
• 1812 – Georg Hermann Nicolai, German architect (d. 1881)
• 1828 – Herman Koeckemann, German bishop (d. 1892)
• 1834 – John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton, English historian and politician (d. 1902)
• 1836 – Charles Ingalls, American father of Laura Ingalls Wilder (d. 1902)
• 1840 – Louis-Nazaire Bégin, Canadian cardinal (d. 1925)
• 1842 – Luigi Pigorini, Italian palaeontologist, archaeologist, and ethnographer (d. 1925)
• 1843 – Frank James, American soldier and outlaw (d. 1915)
• 1848 – Reinhold Sadler, American politician, 9th Governor of Nevada (d. 1906)
• 1849 – Robert Crosbie, Canadian theosophist, founded the United Lodge of Theosophists (d. 1919)
• 1850 – John Wellborn Root, American architect, designed the Rookery Building and Monadnock Building (d. 1891)
• 1853 – Jessie Bond, English singer and actress (d. 1942)
• 1858 – Heinrich Zille, German illustrator and photographer (d. 1929)
• 1859 – Francesc Ferrer i Guàrdia, Spanish philosopher (d. 1909)
• 1860 – Charles G. D. Roberts, Canadian poet and author (d. 1943)
• 1864 – Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich of Russia (d. 1931)
• 1865 – Mary Ingalls, American sister of Laura Ingalls Wilder (d. 1928)
• 1873 – Algernon Maudslay, English sailor (d. 1948)
• 1873 – Jack O'Neill, Irish-American baseball player (d. 1935)
• 1873 – George Orton, Canadian runner (d. 1958)
• 1875 – Issai Schur, German mathematician (d. 1941)
• 1878 – John McLean, American athlete (d. 1955)
• 1880 – Manuel Azaña, Spanish politician, 7th President of Spain (d. 1940)
• 1881 – Leslie Rainey, Australian cricketer and footballer (d. 1962)
• 1883 – Francis X. Bushman, American actor (d. 1966)
• 1883 – Oscar Goerke, American cyclist (d. 1934)
• 1883 – Alfred Saalwächter, German admiral (d. 1945)
• 1883 – Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy, Russian author (d. 1945)
• 1887 – Robinson Jeffers, American poet (d. 1962)
• 1889 – Maurice Collis, Irish author (d. 1973)
• 1890 – Grigory Landsberg, Russian physicist (d. 1957)
• 1890 – Pina Menichelli, Italian actress (d. 1984)
• 1891 – Heinrich Behmann, German mathematician (d. 1970)
• 1891 – Ann Shoemaker, American actress (d. 1978)
• 1892 – Dumas Malone, American historian (d. 1986)
• 1892 – Melchior Wańkowicz, Polish journalist (d. 1974)
• 1893 – Albert Jacka, Australian soldier, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1932)
• 1894 – Pingali Lakshmikantam, Indian poet (d. 1972)
• 1898 – Katharine Burr Blodgett, American physicist (d. 1979)
• 1903 – Barbara Hepworth, English sculptor (d. 1975)
• 1903 – Voldemar Väli, Estonian wrestler (d. 1997)
• 1903 – Violet Wilkey, American actress (d. 1976)
• 1904 – Ray Bolger, American actor and dancer (d. 1987)
• 1905 – Albert Arlen, Australian pianist, composer, actor, and playwright (d. 1993)
• 1908 – Paul Henreid, Italian-American actor and director (d. 1992)
• 1908 – Bernard Lee, English actor (d. 1981)
• 1910 – Jean Martinon, French conductor and composer (d. 1976)
• 1911 – Binod Bihari Chowdhury, Bangladeshi activist (d. 2013)
• 1911 – Norman Heatley, English biologist (d. 2004)
• 1912 – Maria Mandel, Austrian SS guard (d. 1948)
• 1913 – Gustáv Husák, Slovak politician, 9th President of Czechoslovakia (d. 1991)
• 1913 – Mehmet Shehu, Albanian politician (d. 1981)
• 1914 – Pierre Cogan, French cyclist (d. 2013)
• 1914 – Yu Kuo-hwa, Chinese politician, 23rd Premier of the Republic of China (d. 2000)
• 1915 – Dean Dixon, American conductor (d. 1976)
• 1915 – Cynthia Freeman, American author (d. 1988)
• 1916 – Sune Bergström, Swedish biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2004)
• 1916 – Eldzier Cortor, American painter
• 1916 – Don Metz, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2007)
• 1917 – Hilde Krahl, Austrian actress (d. 1999)
• 1917 – Jerry Wexler, American record producer and journalist (d. 2008)
• 1918 – Les Bennett, English footballer (d. 1999)
• 1918 – Arthur Chung, Guyanese politician, 1st President of Guyana (d. 2008)
• 1919 – Terukuni Manzō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 38th Yokozuna (d. 1977)
• 1919 – Milton Parker, American businessman, co-founded the Carnegie Deli (d. 2009)
• 1919 – Billy Varga, American wrestler and actor (d. 2013)
• 1919 – Rex Marshall, American actor and radio personality (d. 1983)
• 1920 – Georges Marchal, French actor (d. 1997)
• 1920 – Max Patkin, American baseball player (d. 1999)
• 1921 – Tasso Kavadia, Greek actress (d. 2010)
• 1921 – Rodger Ward, American race car driver (d. 2004)
• 1922 – Billy Liddell, Scottish footballer (d. 2001)
• 1922 – Ester Mägi, Estonian composer
• 1922 – Hannelore Schroth, German actress (d. 1987)
• 1924 – Ludmilla Chiriaeff, Canadian ballerina, choreographer, and director (d. 1996)
• 1924 – Max Roach, American drummer and composer (M'Boom) (d. 2007)
• 1925 – Billie Sol Estes, American businessman (d. 2013)
• 1925 – Günther Knödler, German fencer
• 1926 – Musallam Bseiso, Palestinian journalist and politician
• 1927 – Gisele MacKenzie, Canadian-American singer and actress (d. 2003)
• 1927 – Lee Philips, American actor and director (d. 1999)
• 1927 – Johnnie Ray, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 1990)
• 1927 – Otto Stich, Swiss politician, 140th President of the Swiss Confederation (d. 2012)
• 1928 – Philip Levine, American poet
• 1928 – Peter Mathias, English historian and academic
• 1929 – Derek Hammond-Stroud, English opera singer (d. 2012)
• 1929 – Tony Soper, English ornithologist and author
• 1930 – Elaine Devry, American actress
• 1930 – Roy E. Disney, American businessman (d. 2009)
• 1931 – Peter Barnes, English playwright and screenwriter (d. 2004)
• 1931 – Rosalind Howells, Baroness Howells of St Davids, Grenadian-English academic and politician
• 1931 – Massimo Vignelli, Italian-American graphic designer (d. 2014)
• 1931 – John Zizioulas, Greek metropolitan
• 1933 – Anton Rodgers, English actor and director (d. 2007)
• 1934 – Leonid Kravchuk, Ukrainian politician, 1st President of Ukraine
• 1935 – Ronnie Hawkins, American singer-songwriter and producer
• 1935 – Georg Katzer, German composer
• 1935 – Sherrill Milnes, American opera singer
• 1936 – Stephen E. Ambrose, American historian and author (d. 2002)
• 1936 – Walter Bodmer, German-English geneticist and academic
• 1936 – Burnum Burnum, Australian actor and author (d. 1997)
• 1936 – Al Goldstein, American publisher and pornographer (d. 2013)
• 1936 – Robert Woodrow Wilson, American physicist and astronomer, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1937 – Daniel Walker Howe, American historian
• 1937 – Thomas Penfield Jackson, American judge (d. 2013)
• 1938 – Donald Knuth, American computer scientist and author
• 1938 – Frank Mahovlich, Canadian ice hockey player and politician
• 1938 – Willie McCovey, American baseball player
• 1939 – Jared Carter, American poet
• 1939 – Sonosuke Fujimaki, Japanese fencer
• 1939 – David Horowitz, American activist and author, founded the David Horowitz Freedom Center
• 1939 – William Levy, Dutch author
• 1939 – Scott McKenzie, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2012)
• 1939 – Sal Mineo, American actor (d. 1976)
• 1939 – Bill Toomey, American decathlete
• 1940 – Guy Chevrette, Canadian politician
• 1940 – Harry Gant, American race car driver
• 1940 – Godfrey Hewitt, English geneticist (d. 2013)
• 1940 – Walter Hill, American director, screenwriter, and producer
• 1940 – Ntare VI of Ankole (d. 2011)
• 1940 – K. J. Yesudas, Indian singer-songwriter
• 1941 – Tom Clarke, English politician
• 1942 – Graeme Gahan, Australian footballer
• 1943 – Jim Croce, American singer-songwriter (d. 1973)
• 1943 – Jantzen Derrick, English footballer
• 1943 – Kristiina Elstelä, Finnish actress
• 1944 – Rory Byrne, South African engineer
• 1944 – Bernard Derome, Canadian journalist
• 1944 – William Sanderson, American actor
• 1944 – Frank Sinatra, Jr., American singer-songwriter and actor
• 1945 – Jerome Drayton, Canadian runner
• 1945 – John Fahey, Australian politician, 38th Premier of New South Wales
• 1945 – Gunther von Hagens, German anatomist, inventor of plastination
• 1945 – Jennifer Moss, English actress and singer (d. 2006)
• 1945 – Rod Stewart, English-Scottish singer-songwriter (The Jeff Beck Group, Faces, Shotgun Express, and The Steampacket)
• 1945 – Edward Wiskoski, American wrestler
• 1946 – Aynsley Dunbar, English drummer and songwriter (The Jeff Beck Group, Journey, Jefferson Starship, UFO, The Mojos, and John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers)
• 1946 – Earl McCullouch, American hurdler and football player
• 1946 – Alexis Nihon, Jr., Canadian wrestler (d. 2013)
• 1947 – Arlene Ackerman, American educator (d. 2013)
• 1947 – George Alec Effinger, American author (d. 2002)
• 1947 – Matthew Oakeshott, Baron Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay, English banker and politician
• 1947 – Peer Steinbrück, German politician
• 1947 – Tiit Vähi, Estonian politician, 11th Prime Minister of Estonia
• 1948 – Donald Fagen, American singer-songwriter and pianist (Steely Dan)
• 1948 – Teresa Graves, American actress and singer (d. 2002)
• 1948 – Mischa Maisky, Latvian-Israeli cellist
• 1948 – David Neuberger, Baron Neuberger of Abbotsbury, English lawyer and judge
• 1948 – Bernard Thévenet, French cyclist
• 1949 – Allu Aravind, Indian film producer
• 1949 – Fred Bronson, American journalist and author
• 1949 – George Foreman, American boxer
• 1949 – James Lapine, American director
• 1949 – Linda Lovelace, American porn actress and activist (d. 2002)
• 1949 – Kemal Derviş, Turkish economist and politician, and former head of the United Nations Development Programme
• 1950 – Roy Blunt, American politician
• 1950 – Ernie Wasson, American gardener and author
• 1951 – Paul DiMaggio, American educator
• 1951 – Nicolas Philibert, French actor and director
• 1951 – Pez Whatley, American wrestler (d. 2005)
• 1952 – Scott Thurston, American guitarist and songwriter (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and The Stooges)
• 1953 – Pat Benatar, American singer-songwriter
• 1953 – Dennis Cooper, American author
• 1953 – Guido Kratschmer, German decathlete
• 1953 – Bobby Rahal, American race car driver
• 1954 – John Gidman, English footballer
• 1954 – Greg Towns, Australian footballer
• 1955 – Michael Schenker, German guitarist (UFO, Scorpions, Contraband, and McAuley Schenker Group)
• 1955 – Franco Tancredi, Italian footballer
• 1956 – Shawn Colvin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1956 – Antonio Muñoz Molina, Spanish author
• 1957 – Paula Smith, American tennis player
• 1957 – Greg Walden, American politician
• 1958 – Eddie Cheever, American race car driver
• 1958 – Caroline Langrishe, English actress
• 1958 – Anatoly Pisarenko, Ukrainian weightlifter
• 1959 – Chandra Cheeseborough, American sprinter
• 1959 – Bernhard Hoff, German sprinter
• 1959 – Chris Van Hollen, American politician
• 1959 – Fran Walsh, New Zealand screenwriter and producer
• 1960 – Gurinder Chadha, Kenyan-English director
• 1960 – Brian Cowen, Irish politician, 12th Taoiseach
• 1960 – Claudia Losch, German shot putter
• 1960 – John Mann, English politician
• 1960 – Benoît Pelletier, Canadian lawyer and politician
• 1960 – Samira Said, Moroccan singer-songwriter
• 1961 – Steve Hamilton, American author
• 1961 – Evan Handler, American actor
• 1961 – Janet Jones, American actress
• 1961 – Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Italian-American violinist, author, and educator
• 1962 – Michael Fortier, Canadian lawyer and politician
• 1963 – Malcolm Dunford, New Zealand footballer
• 1963 – Kira Ivanova, Soviet figure skater (d. 2001)
• 1963 – David Dewayne Johnson, American murderer (d. 2000)
• 1963 – Francesco Panetta, Italian long-distance runner
• 1963 – Mark Pryor, American politician, 53rd Arkansas Attorney General
• 1964 – Chitti Babu, Indian actor (d. 2013)
• 1964 – Tony Gardner, English actor
• 1964 – Akifumi Tada, Japanese composer
• 1964 – Brad Roberts, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (Crash Test Dummies)
• 1965 – Wally Bell, American baseball umpire (d. 2013)
• 1965 – Butch Hartman, American animator, voice actor, and singer
• 1966 – Robert Jürjendal, Estonian guitarist and composer
• 1966 – Steve Kramer, American politician
• 1966 – Murali Nair, Indian director and screenwriter
• 1966 – Jeremy Sims, Australian actor and director
• 1967 – Jeremy Cumpston, Australian actor
• 1967 – Johan Laats, Belgian martial artist
• 1967 – Maciej Śliwowski, Polish footballer
• 1969 – Janko Kastelic, Slovene-Canadian conductor
• 1969 – Andreas Reinke, German footballer
• 1970 – Buff Bagwell, American wrestler and actor
• 1970 – Scott Ludlam, Australian politician
• 1970 – Alisa Marić, Serbian chess player
• 1972 – Thomas Alsgaard, Norwegian skier
• 1972 – Mohammed Benzakour, Moroccan-Dutch journalist, poet, and author
• 1972 – Brian Lawler, American wrestler
• 1973 – Jakob Cedergren, Danish actor
• 1973 – Ryan Drummond, American actor and singer
• 1973 – Glenn Robinson, American basketball player
• 1973 – Félix Trinidad, Puerto Rican boxer
• 1974 – Jemaine Clement, New Zealand actor, singer, and guitarist (Flight of the Conchords)
• 1974 – Davide Dionigi, Italian footballer
• 1974 – Akari Kaida, Japanese composer
• 1974 – Andrey Korneyev, Russian swimmer
• 1974 – Steve Marlet, French footballer
• 1974 – Clinton O'Brien, Australian rugby player
• 1974 – Bob Peeters, Belgian footballer
• 1974 – Hrithik Roshan, Indian actor
• 1975 – Jake Delhomme, American football player
• 1976 – Adam Kennedy, American baseball player
• 1976 – Ian Poulter, English golfer
• 1976 – Alec Shelbrooke, English politician
• 1978 – Brent Smith, American singer-songwriter (Shinedown)
• 1978 – Tamina Snuka, American wrestler
• 1978 – Tanel Tein, Estonian basketball player
• 1979 – Simone Cavalli, Italian footballer
• 1979 – Obea Moore, American sprinter
• 1979 – Bodo Sieber, German rugby player
• 1980 – Nelson Cuevas, Paraguayan footballer
• 1980 – Petri Lindroos, Finnish singer and guitarist (Ensiferum and Norther)
• 1980 – Tatjana Mannima, Estonian skier
• 1980 – Aleksandr Pogorelov, Russian decathlete
• 1980 – Sarah Shahi, American actress
• 1981 – James Coppinger, English footballer
• 1981 – Inga Jankauskaitė, Lithuanian actress, singer, and pianist
• 1981 – Brian Joo, American-South Korean singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (Fly to the Sky)
• 1982 – Julien Brellier, French footballer
• 1982 – Josh Ryan Evans, American actor (d. 2002)
• 1982 – Misato Fukuen, Japanese voice actress
• 1983 – Danilo Dirani, Brazilian race car driver
• 1983 – Li Nina, Chinese skier
• 1984 – Marouane Chamakh, Moroccan footballer
• 1984 – Trent Cutler, Australian rugby player
• 1984 – Ariane Friedrich, German high jumper
• 1984 – Nando Rafael, Angolan-German footballer
• 1985 – Abdulkader Dakka, Syrian footballer
• 1985 – Jaroslav Kolbas, Slovak footballer
• 1985 – Craig Lewis, American cyclist
• 1985 – Alex Meraz, American actor
• 1985 – Sofia Yfantidou, Greek heptathlete
• 1986 – Trent Barreta, American wrestler
• 1986 – Chen Jin, Chinese badminton player
• 1986 – Abbey Clancy, English model and television host
• 1986 – Kirsten Flipkens, Belgian tennis player
• 1986 – Hideaki Ikematsu, Japanese footballer
• 1986 – Saleisha Stowers, American model
• 1986 – Kenneth Vermeer, Dutch footballer
• 1987 – César Cielo, Brazilian swimmer
• 1988 – Leonard Patrick Komon, Kenyan long-distance runner
• 1988 – Marvin Martin, French footballer
• 1988 – Vladimir Zharkov, Russian ice hockey player
• 1989 – Emily Meade, American actress
• 1989 – Kyle Reimers, Australian footballer
• 1990 – Mirko Bortolotti, Italian race car driver
• 1990 – Wilhelm Ingves, Finnish footballer
• 1990 – Tao Li, Singaporean swimmer
• 1990 – Stefano Lilipaly, Dutch-Indonesian footballer
• 1990 – César Ruiz, Peruvian footballer
• 1991 – Romain Wattel, French golfer
• 1992 – Emmanuel Frimpong, Ghanaian footballer
• 1994 – Mohammed Aman, Ethiopian middle-distance runner
• 1996 – María Paulina Pérez, Colombian tennis player
• 1996 – Paula Andrea Pérez, Colombian tennis player
• 1998 – Xu Shilin, Chinese tennis player
• 2000 – Sota Yamamoto, Japanese figure skater

Deaths[edit]

• 314 – Pope Miltiades
• 681 – Pope Agatho
• 976 – John I Tzimiskes, Byzantine emperor (b. 925)
• 1094 – Al-Mustansir Billah, Egyptian caliph (b. 1029)
• 1276 – Pope Gregory X (b. 1210)
• 1645 – William Laud, English archbishop (b. 1573)
• 1654 – Nicholas Culpeper, English botanist, physician, and astrologer (b. 1616)
• 1662 – Honoré II, Prince of Monaco (b. 1597)
• 1698 – Louis-Sébastien Le Nain de Tillemont, French historian (b. 1637)
• 1707 – Philibert de Gramont, French soldier (b. 1621)
• 1754 – Edward Cave, English publisher, founded the The Gentleman's Magazine (b. 1691)
• 1761 – Edward Boscawen, English admiral and politician (b. 1711)
• 1777 – Spranger Barry, Irish actor (b. 1719)
• 1778 – Carolus Linnaeus, Swedish botanist (b. 1707)
• 1794 – Georg Forster, German-Polish ethnologist and journalist (d. 1754)
• 1811 – Joseph Chénier, French poet, playwright, and politician (b. 1764)
• 1824 – Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia (b. 1759)
• 1825 – Ioannis Varvakis, Greek sailor and soldier (b. 1745)
• 1828 – François de Neufchâteau, French politician (b. 1750)
• 1829 – Gregorio Funes, Argentinian clergyman, historian, and educator (b. 1749)
• 1833 – Adrien-Marie Legendre, French mathematician (b. 1752)
• 1851 – Karl Freiherr von Müffling, Prussian field marshal (b. 1775)
• 1855 – Mary Russell Mitford, English author and playwright (b. 1787)
• 1862 – Samuel Colt, American businessman, founded the Colt's Manufacturing Company (b. 1814)
• 1863 – Lyman Beecher, American minister, co-founded the American Temperance Society (b. 1775)
• 1866 – Pyotr Pletnyov, Russian poet (b. 1792)
• 1883 – Samuel Mudd, American physician (b. 1833)
• 1895 – Eli Whitney Blake, Jr., American scientist and academic (b. 1836)
• 1895 – Benjamin Godard, French violinist and composer (b. 1849)
• 1901 – James Robert Dickson, Australian politician, 13th Premier of Queensland (b. 1832)
• 1904 – Jean-Léon Gérôme, French painter and sculptor (b. 1824)
• 1905 – Kārlis Baumanis, Latvian composer and songwriter (b. 1835)
• 1917 – Buffalo Bill, American soldier and hunter (b. 1846)
• 1917 – Feliks Leparsky, Russian fencer (b. 1875)
• 1921 – Raymond Thorne, American swimmer (b. 1887)
• 1922 – Frank Tudor, Australian politician (b. 1866)
• 1926 – Eino Leino, Finnish poet (b. 1878)
• 1934 – Marinus van der Lubbe, Dutch anarchist (b. 1909)
• 1935 – Edwin Flack, Australian tennis player (b. 1873)
• 1941 – Frank Bridge, English viola player and composer (b. 1879)
• 1941 – John Lavery, Irish painter (b. 1856)
• 1941 – Joe Penner, Hungarian-American comedian and actor (b. 1904)
• 1941 – Issai Schur, German mathematician (b. 1875)
• 1945 – Osman Cemal Kaygili, Turkish writer and journalist (b. 1890)
• 1949 – Erich von Drygalski, German geographer and geophysicist (b. 1865)
• 1951 – Sinclair Lewis, American author and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1885)
• 1951 – Yoshio Nishina, Japanese physicist (b. 1890)
• 1954 – Oscar Brockmeyer, American soccer player (b. 1883)
• 1954 – Chester Wilmot, American journalist (b. 1911)
• 1957 – Gabriela Mistral, Chilean poet and educator, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1889)
• 1959 – Şükrü Kaya, Turkish politician, who served as government minister, Minister of Interior and Minister of Foreign affairs in several governments (b. 1883)
• 1960 – Jack Laviolette, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1879)
• 1961 – Dashiell Hammett, American author and screenwriter (b. 1894)
• 1965 – Frederick Fleet, English crewman on the RMS Titanic (b. 1887)
• 1968 – Basil Sydney, English actor (b. 1894)
• 1968 – Ali Fuat Cebesoy, Turkish officer, politician and statesman (b. 1882)
• 1969 – John Brownlee, Australian opera singer (b. 1900)
• 1969 – Sampurnanand, Indian activist and politician, 2nd Governor of Rajasthan (b. 1891)
• 1970 – Pavel Belyayev, Russian pilot and astronaut (b. 1925)
• 1971 – Coco Chanel, French fashion designer, founded Chanel (b. 1883)
• 1971 – Ignazio Giunti, Italian racing driver (b. 1941)
• 1972 – Aksel Larsen, Danish politician (b. 1897)
• 1976 – Howlin' Wolf, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1910)
• 1978 – Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal, Nicaraguan journalist (b. 1924)
• 1978 – Don Gillis, American composer and conductor (b. 1912)
• 1980 – Hughie Critz, American baseball player (b. 1900)
• 1980 – George Meany, American union leader (b. 1894)
• 1980 – Bo Rein, American football player and coach (b. 1945)
• 1981 – Katharine Alexander, American actress (b. 1898)
• 1981 – Richard Boone, American actor (b. 1917)
• 1981 – Fawn M. Brodie, American historian and author (b. 1915)
• 1982 – Paul Lynde, American comedian and actor (b. 1926)
• 1984 – Souvanna Phouma, Laotian politician, 8th Prime Minister of Laos (b. 1901)
• 1985 – Anton Karas, Austrian zither player and composer (b. 1906)
• 1986 – Jaroslav Seifert, Czech journalist and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1901)
• 1987 – Marion Hutton, American singer and actress (b. 1919)
• 1987 – David Robinson, English businessman and philanthropist (b. 1904)
• 1989 – Herbert Morrison, American journalist (b. 1905)
• 1989 – Colin Winchester, Australian police officer (b. 1933)
• 1990 – Tochinishiki Kiyotaka, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 44th Yokozuna (b. 1925)
• 1991 – Richard Kuremaa, Estonian footballer (b. 1912)
• 1992 – Roberto Bonomi, Argentine race car driver (b. 1919)
• 1995 – Kathleen Tynan, Canadian-English journalist, author, and screenwriter (b. 1937)
• 1997 – Elspeth Huxley, Kenyan-English journalist and author (b. 1907)
• 1997 – Sheldon Leonard, American actor, producer, and director (b. 1907)
• 1997 – Alexander R. Todd, Baron Todd, Scottish chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1907)
• 1999 – Edward Williams, Australian judge (b. 1921)
• 2000 – Sam Jaffe, American film producer (b. 1901)
• 2001 – Necati Cumalı, Turkish writer of novels, short-stories, essays and poetry (b. 1921)
• 2002 – W. A. Criswell, American pastor and author (b. 1909)
• 2004 – Spalding Gray, American actor and screenwriter (b. 1941)
• 2004 – Alexandra Ripley, American author (b. 1934)
• 2005 – Basil, Ukrainian-Canadian bishop (b. 1909)
• 2005 – Gene Baylos, American comedian (b. 1906)
• 2005 – Margherita Carosio, Italian soprano (b. 1908)
• 2005 – James Forman, American activist (b. 1928)
• 2005 – Kalevi Hämäläinen, Finnish skier (b. 1932)
• 2005 – Erwin Hillier, German-English cinematographer (b. 1911)
• 2005 – Jack Horner, American journalist (b. 1912)
• 2005 – Princess Joséphine Charlotte of Belgium (b. 1927)
• 2005 – Arthur Walworth, American author (b. 1903)
• 2007 – Carlo Ponti, Italian film producer (b. 1912)
• 2007 – Bradford Washburn, American explorer, photographer, and cartographer (b. 1910)
• 2008 – Christopher Bowman, American figure skater (b. 1967)
• 2008 – Mikhail Minin, Russian soldier (b. 1922)
• 2008 – Maila Nurmi, Finnish-American actress (b. 1921)
• 2009 – Bill Stone, English sailor (b. 1900)
• 2011 – John Dye, American actor (b. 1963)
• 2011 – Vivek Shauq, Indian actor (b. 1963)
• 2011 – Margaret Whiting, American singer (b. 1924)
• 2012 – Vince Gibson, American football player and coach (b. 1933)
• 2012 – Kyra T. Inachin, German-American historian and author (b. 1968)
• 2012 – Lila Kaye, English actress (b. 1929)
• 2012 – Jean Pigott, Canadian businesswoman and politician (b. 1924)
• 2012 – Cliff Portwood, English footballer and singer (b. 1937)
• 2012 – Mary Raftery, Irish journalist (b. 1957)
• 2012 – Gevork Vartanian, Russian intelligence agent (b. 1924)
• 2013 – Christel Adelaar, Indonesian-Dutch actress (b. 1935)
• 2013 – Antonino Calderone, Italian mobster (b. 1935)
• 2013 – Evan S. Connell, American author and poet (b. 1924)
• 2013 – George Gruntz, Swiss pianist and composer (b. 1932)
• 2013 – Jay Handlan, American basketball player (b. 1928)
• 2013 – Franz Lehrndorfer, German organist and composer (b. 1928)
• 2013 – Claude Nobs, Swiss businessman, founded the Montreux Jazz Festival (b. 1936)
• 2013 – Lucien Poirier, French general (b. 1918)
• 2013 – Jorge Selarón, Chilean-Brazilian painter (b. 1947)
• 2014 – Sam Berns, an American who suffered from progeria and helped raise awareness about the disease (b. 1996)
• 2014 – Elliot W. Eisner, American academic (b. 1933)
• 2014 – Aram Gharabekian, Armenian conductor (b. 1955)
• 2014 – Petr Hlaváček, Czech shoemaker and academic (b. 1950)
• 2014 – Zbigniew Messner, Polish economist and politician, 9th Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland (b. 1929)
• 2014 – Donald Morton, American oncologist (b. 1934)
• 2014 – Ian Redford, Scottish footballer and manager (b. 1960)
• 2014 – Larry Speakes, American journalist, 16th White House Press Secretary (b. 1939)
• 2014 – Allard van der Scheer, Dutch actor (b. 1928)

Holidays and observances[edit]

• Christian Feast Day:
  • William of Donjeon
  • Obadiah (Coptic Church)
  • Peter Orseolo
  • Pope Agatho (Roman Catholic)
  • William Laud (Anglican Communion)
  • January 10 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Traditional Day (Benin)