EVENTS OF THIS DAY IN THE PAST 2/7

• 437 – Emperor Valentinian III begins his reign over the Western Roman Empire. His mother Galla Placidia ends her regency, but continues to exercise political influence at the court in Rome.
• 626 – Li Shimin, the future Emperor Taizong of Tang, ambushes and kills his rival brothers Li Yuanji and Li Jiancheng in the Xuanwu Gate Incident.
• 706 – In China, Emperor Zhongzong of Tang inters the bodies of relatives in the Qianling Mausoleum, located on Mount Liang outside Chang'an.
• 963 – The imperial army proclaims Nicephorus Phocas Emperor of the Romans on the plains outside Cappadocian Caesarea.
• 1298 – The Battle of Göllheim is fought between Albert I of Habsburg and Adolf of Nassau-Weilburg.
• 1494 – The Treaty of Tordesillas is ratified by Spain.
• 1504 – Bogdan III the One-Eyed becomes Voivode of Moldavia.
• 1555 – The Ottoman Admiral Turgut Reis sacks the Italian city of Paola.
• 1561 – Menas, Emperor of Ethiopia, defeats a revolt in Emfraz.
• 1582 – Battle of Yamazaki: Toyotomi Hideyoshi defeats Akechi Mitsuhide.
• 1613 – The first English expedition from Massachusetts against Acadia led by Samuel Argall takes place.
• 1644 – English Civil War: Battle of Marston Moor.
• 1698 – Thomas Savery patents the first steam engine.
• 1776 – The Continental Congress adopts a resolution severing ties with the Kingdom of Great Britain although the wording of the formal Declaration of Independence is not approved until July 4.
• 1777 – Vermont becomes the first American territory to abolish slavery.
• 1816 – The French frigate Méduse struck the Bank of Arguin and 151 people on board had to be evacuated on an improvised raft, a case immortalised by Géricault's painting Raft of the Medusa.
• 1822 – Thirty-five slaves are hanged in South Carolina, including Denmark Vesey, after being accused of organizing a slave rebellion.
• 1823 – Bahia Independence Day: The end of Portuguese rule in Brazil, with the final defeat of the Portuguese crown loyalists in the province of Bahia.
• 1839 – Twenty miles off the coast of Cuba, 53 rebelling African slaves led by Joseph Cinqué take over the slave ship Amistad.
• 1839 – Abdülmecid I became Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and Caliph of Islam.
• 1853 – The Russian Army crossed the Pruth river into the Danubian Principalities, Moldavia and Wallachia—providing the spark that set off the Crimean War.
• 1871 – Victor Emmanuel II of Italy enters Rome after having conquered it from the Papal States.
• 1881 – Charles J. Guiteau shoots and fatally wounds U.S. President James Garfield, who eventually dies from an infection on September 19.
• 1890 – The U.S. Congress passes the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.
• 1897 – Italian scientist Guglielmo Marconi obtains a patent for radio in London.
• 1900 – The first Zeppelin flight takes place on Lake Constance near Friedrichshafen, Germany.
• 1900 – Jean Sibelius' Finlandia receives its première performance in Helsinki with the Helsinki Philharmonic Society conducted by Robert Kajanus.
• 1917 – The East St. Louis Riots end.
• 1921 – World War I: U.S. President Warren G. Harding signs the Knox–Porter Resolution formally ending the war between the United States and Imperial Germany.
• 1934 – The Night of the Long Knives ends with the death of Ernst Röhm.
• 1937 – Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan are last heard from over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to make the first equatorial round-the-world flight.
• 1940 – Indian independence leader Subhas Chandra Bose is arrested and detained in Calcutta.
• 1950 – The Golden Pavilion at Kinkaku-ji in Kyoto, Japan burns down.
• 1962 – The first Wal-Mart store opens for business in Rogers, Arkansas.
• 1964 – U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964 meant to prohibit segregation in public places.
• 1966 – The French military explodes a nuclear test bomb codenamed Aldébaran in Mururoa, their first nuclear test in the Pacific.
• 1976 – Fall of the Republic of Vietnam; Communist North Vietnam declares their union to form the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
• 1986 – Rodrigo Rojas and Carmen Gloria Quintana were burnt alive during a street demonstration against the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet in Chile.
• 2000 – Vicente Fox Quesada is elected the first President of México from an opposition party, the Partido Acción Nacional, after more than 70 years of continuous rule by the Partido Revolucionario Institucional.
• 2001 – The AbioCor self-contained artificial heart is first implanted.
• 2002 – Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly solo around the world nonstop in a balloon.
• 2005 – The Live 8 benefit concerts takes place in the G8 states and in South Africa, More than 1,000 musicians performed and are broadcast on 182 television networks and 2,000 radio networks.
• 2013 – The International Astronomical Union names Pluto's fourth and fifth moons, Kerberos and Styx.

Births[edit]

• 419 – Valentinian III, Roman emperor (d. 455)
• 1363 – Maria, Queen of Sicily (d. 1401)
• 1489 – Thomas Cranmer, English archbishop (d. 1556)
• 1492 – Elizabeth Tudor, English daughter of Henry VII of England (d. 1495)
• 1647 – Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham, English politician, Lord President of the Council (d. 1730)
• 1648 – Arp Schnitger, German organ builder (d. 1719)
• 1665 – Samuel Penhallow, English-American soldier and historian (d. 1726)
• 1667 – Pietro Ottoboni, Italian cardinal (d. 1740)
• 1698 – Francesco III d'Este, Duke of Modena (d. 1780)
• 1714 – Christoph Willibald Gluck, German composer (d. 1787)
• 1724 – Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock, German poet (d. 1803)
• 1750 – Thomas Spence, English author (d. 1814)
• 1819 – Charles-Louis Hanon, French pianist and composer (d. 1900)
• 1820 – George Law Curry, American publisher and politician, and 5th Governor of the Oregon Territory (d. 1878)
• 1821 – Charles Tupper, Canadian politician, 6th Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1915)
• 1849 – Maria Theresa of Austria-Este (d. 1919)
• 1855 – Louis Maxson, American archer (d. 1916)
• 1862 – William Henry Bragg, English physicist, chemist, and mathematician Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1942)
• 1865 – Lily Braun, German author (d. 1916)
• 1869 – Liane de Pougy, French dancer (d. 1950)
• 1876 – Harriet Brooks, Canadian physicist (d. 1933)
• 1876 – Wilhelm Cuno, German politician, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1933)
• 1877 – Hermann Hesse, German-Swiss author and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1962)
• 1884 – Alfons Maria Jakob, German neurologist (d. 1931)
• 1886 – Frank Strahan, Australian public servant (d. 1976)
• 1893 – Ralph Hancock, Welsh gardener and author (d. 1950)
• 1896 – Lydia Mei, Estonian painter (d. 1965)
• 1900 – Tyrone Guthrie, English actor and director (d. 1971)
• 1902 – K. Kanapathypillai, Ceylon academic and author (d. 1968)
• 1902 – Germaine Thyssens-Valentin, Dutch pianist (d. 1987)
• 1903 – Alec Douglas-Home, English politician, 66th Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1995)
• 1903 – Olav V of Norway (d. 1991)
• 1904 – René Lacoste, French tennis player and businessman, created the polo shirt (d. 1996)
• 1906 – Hans Bethe, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2005)
• 1906 – Séra Martin, French runner (d. 1993)
• 1906 – Christos Tsaganeas, Romanian-Greek actor and cinematographer (d. 1976)
• 1908 – Thurgood Marshall, American jurist, 32nd United States Solicitor General (d. 1993)
• 1911 – Reg Parnell, English race car driver and manager (d. 1964)
• 1913 – Max Beloff, Baron Beloff, English historian and academic (d. 1999)
• 1914 – Frederick Fennell, American conductor and educator (d. 2004)
• 1914 – Mário Schenberg, Brazilian physicist and engineer (d. 1990)
• 1914 – Erich Topp, German admiral (d. 2005)
• 1915 – Arthur Valerian Wellesley, 8th Duke of Wellington, Italian-English soldier and politician (d. 2014)
• 1916 – Ken Curtis, American actor and singer (d. 1991)
• 1916 – Hans-Ulrich Rudel, German colonel and pilot (d. 1982)
• 1918 – Wim Boost, Dutch cartoonist (d. 2005)
• 1919 – Jean Craighead George, American writer (d. 2012)
• 1920 – John Kneubuhl, Samoan-American historian, screenwriter, and playwright (d. 1992)
• 1920 – Annette Kerr, Scottish-English actress (d. 2013)
• 1922 – Pierre Cardin, Italian-French fashion designer
• 1923 – Cyril M. Kornbluth, American author (d. 1958)
• 1923 – Wisława Szymborska, Polish poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2012)
• 1925 – Medgar Evers, American soldier and activist (d. 1963)
• 1925 – Patrice Lumumba, Congolese politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (d. 1961)
• 1925 – Marvin Rainwater, American singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
• 1926 – Octavian Paler, Romanian journalist and politician (d. 2007)
• 1927 – James Mackay, Baron Mackay of Clashfern, Scottish lawyer and politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain
• 1927 – Brock Peters, American actor, singer, and producer (d. 2005)
• 1928 – Line Renaud, French actress and singer
• 1929 – Abraham Avigdorov, Israeli soldier (d. 2012)
• 1929 – John A. Cade, American politician (d. 1996)
• 1929 – Daphne Hasenjager, South African sprinter
• 1929 – Imelda Marcos, Filipino politician, 10th First Lady of the Philippines
• 1930 – Ahmad Jamal, American pianist, composer, and educator
• 1930 – Carlos Menem, Argentinian lawyer and politician, 50th President of Argentina
• 1933 – Peter Desbarats, Canadian journalist, author, and playwright
• 1936 – Gilbert Kalish, American pianist
• 1936 – Omar Suleiman, Egyptian politician, 16th Vice President of Egypt (d. 2012)
• 1937 – Polly Holliday, American actress
• 1937 – Richard Petty, American race car driver
• 1938 – David Owen, English physician and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
• 1939 – Ferdinand Mount, English journalist and author
• 1939 – Alexandros Panagoulis, Greek poet and politician (d. 1976)
• 1939 – John H. Sununu, American engineer and politician, 14th White House Chief of Staff
• 1939 – Paul Williams, American singer and choreographer (The Temptations) (d. 1973)
• 1940 – Kenneth Clarke, English politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain
• 1941 – Wendell Mottley, Trinidadian sprinter, economist, and politician
• 1941 – Stéphane Venne, Canadian songwriter and composer
• 1942 – John Eekelaar, South African-English lawyer and scholar
• 1942 – Vicente Fox, Mexican businessman and politician, 35th President of Mexico
• 1943 – Ivi Eenmaa, Estonian politician
• 1943 – Walter Godefroot, Belgian cyclist
• 1946 – Richard Axel, American neuroscientist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1946 – Ricky Bruch, Swedish discus thrower (d. 2011)
• 1946 – Ron Silver, American actor (d. 2009)
• 1947 – Larry David, American actor, screenwriter, and producer
• 1947 – Ann Taylor, Baroness Taylor of Bolton, English politician, Minister for International Security Strategy
• 1948 – Mutula Kilonzo, Kenyan lawyer and politician (d. 2013)
• 1948 – Gene McFadden, American singer-songwriter and producer (McFadden & Whitehead) (d. 2006)
• 1948 – Saul Rubinek, Canadian actor and director
• 1949 – Roy Bittan, American keyboardist
• 1949 – Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu, French actor (d. 2010)
• 1949 – Robert Paquette, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1949 – Hanno Pöschl, Austrian actor
• 1949 – Nancy Stephens, American actress and producer
• 1950 – Lynne Brindley, English librarian and academic
• 1950 – Jon Trickett, English politician
• 1951 – Elisabeth Brooks, Canadian-American actress and singer (d. 1997)
• 1951 – Jack Gantos, American author
• 1951 – Michele Santoro, Italian journalist
• 1952 – Johnny Colla, American guitarist and songwriter (Huey Lewis and the News)
• 1952 – Anatoliy Solomin, Ukrainian race walker
• 1953 – Sharifah Aini, Malaysian singer (d. 2014)
• 1953 – Tony Armas, Venezuelan baseball player and coach
• 1953 – Jean-Claude Borelly, French trumpet player and composer
• 1954 – Pete Briquette, Irish bass player, songwriter, and producer (The Boomtown Rats)
• 1954 – Chris Huhne, English journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change
• 1954 – Wendy Schaal, American actress
• 1955 – Kim Carr, Australian educator and politician, 31st Australian Minister for Human Services
• 1955 – Andrew Divoff, Venezuelan-American actor and producer
• 1956 – Jerry Hall, American model and actress
• 1957 – Bret Hart, Canadian wrestler and actor
• 1957 – Jüri Raidla, Estonian lawyer and politician, Estonian Minister of Justice
• 1957 – Purvis Short, American basketball player
• 1958 – Đặng Thái Sơn, Vietnamese-Canadian pianist
• 1960 – Terry Rossio, American screenwriter and producer
• 1960 – Maria Lourdes Sereno, Filipino lawyer and jurist, 24th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines
• 1961 – Clark Kellogg, American basketball player and sportscaster
• 1961 – Samy Naceri, French actor
• 1964 – Stéphan Bureau, Canadian journalist and producer
• 1964 – Jose Canseco, Cuban-American baseball player and mixed martial artist
• 1964 – Ozzie Canseco, Cuban-American baseball player, coach, and manager
• 1964 – Hisakatsu Oya, Japanese wrestler
• 1964 – Charles Robinson, American wrestler and referee
• 1965 – Brian Pariani, American football coach
• 1965 – Norbert Röttgen, German politician
• 1966 – Jean-François Richet, French director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1969 – Jenni Rivera, American singer-songwriter and actress (d. 2012)
• 1970 – Derrick Adkins, American hurdler
• 1970 – Yancy Butler, American actress
• 1970 – Colin Edwin, Australian bass player (Porcupine Tree and Henry Fool)
• 1970 – Scotty 2 Hotty, American wrestler and firefighter
• 1970 – Monie Love, English-American rapper (Native Tongues)
• 1970 – Steve Morrow, Irish footballer and manager
• 1971 – Evelyn Lau, Canadian poet and author
• 1972 – Darren Shan, English-Irish author
• 1973 – Peter Kay, English comedian, actor, director, and producer
• 1974 – Sean Casey, American baseball player and sportscaster
• 1974 – Tim Christensen, Danish singer-songwriter and guitarist (Dizzy Mizz Lizzy)
• 1974 – Matthew Reilly, Australian author
• 1974 – Moon So-ri, South Korean actress
• 1975 – Éric Dazé, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1975 – Daniel Kowalski, Australian swimmer
• 1975 – Kristen Michal, Estonian lawyer and politician
• 1975 – Erik Ohlsson, Swedish singer and guitarist (Millencolin)
• 1975 – Stefan Terblanche, South African rugby player
• 1976 – Krisztián Lisztes, Hungarian footballer
• 1976 – Mihkel Tüür, Estonian architect
• 1976 – Tomáš Vokoun, Czech-American ice hockey player
• 1978 – Diana Gurtskaya, Georgian singer-songwriter
• 1978 – Jüri Ratas, Estonian politician, 42nd Mayor of Tallinn
• 1979 – Walter Davis, American triple jumper
• 1979 – Sam Hornish, Jr., American race car driver
• 1979 – Joe Thornton, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1981 – Angel Pagán, Puerto Rican baseball player
• 1981 – Aaron Voros, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1983 – Michelle Branch, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress (The Wreckers)
• 1983 – Sammy J, Australian comedian, actor, and screenwriter
• 1984 – Vanessa Lee Chester, American actress
• 1984 – Thomas Kortegaard, Danish footballer
• 1984 – Johnny Weir, American figure skater
• 1985 – Rhett Bomar, American football player
• 1985 – Chad Henne, American football player
• 1985 – Jürgen Roelandts, Belgian cyclist
• 1985 – Ashley Tisdale, American actress and singer
• 1986 – Brett Cecil, American baseball player
• 1986 – Lindsay Lohan, American actress and singer
• 1987 – Esteban Granero, Spanish footballer
• 1987 – Ruslana Korshunova, Kazakh model (d. 2008)
• 1988 – Porta, Spanish rapper
• 1988 – Lee Chung-Yong, South Korean footballer
• 1989 – Dev, American singer-songwriter
• 1989 – Ivan Dobronravov, Russian actor
• 1989 – Nadezhda Grishaeva, Russian basketball player
• 1989 – Alex Morgan, American soccer player
• 1990 – Roman Lob, German singer-songwriter
• 1990 – Margot Robbie, Australian actress
• 1990 – Danny Rose, English footballer
• 1996 – Julia Grabher, Austrian tennis player

Deaths[edit]

• 626 – Li Jiancheng, Chinese prince (b. 589)
• 626 – Li Yuanji, Chinese prince (b. 603)
• 649 – Li Jing, Chinese general (b. 571)
• 862 – Swithun, English bishop and saint (b. 789)
• 866 – Robert the Strong, Margrave of Neustria (b. 820)
• 943 – Henry the Fowler, King of Germany (b. 876)
• 1298 – Adolf, King of Germany (b. 1220)
• 1504 – Stephen III of Moldavia (b. 1434)
• 1566 – Nostradamus, French astrologer and author (b. 1503)
• 1591 – Vincenzo Galilei, Italian lute player and composer (b. 1520)
• 1621 – Thomas Harriot, English astronomer, mathematician, and ethnographer (b. 1560)
• 1656 – François-Marie, comte de Broglie, Italian-French general (b. 1611)
• 1674 – Eberhard III, Duke of Württemberg (b. 1614)
• 1743 – Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1673)
• 1746 – Thomas Baker, English antiquarian and author (b. 1656)
• 1778 – Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Swiss philosopher and composer (b. 1712)
• 1778 – Bathsheba Spooner, American murderer (b. 1746)
• 1822 – Denmark Vesey, American slave (b. 1767)
• 1833 – Gervasio Antonio de Posadas, Argentinian lawyer and politician, 1st Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (b. 1757)
• 1843 – Samuel Hahnemann, German physician and academic (b. 1755)
• 1850 – Robert Peel, English lieutenant and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1788)
• 1857 – Carlo Pisacane, Italian soldier and philosopher (b. 1818)
• 1903 – Ed Delahanty, American baseball player (b. 1867)
• 1914 – Joseph Chamberlain, English businessman and politician, Secretary of State for the Colonies (b. 1836)
• 1915 – Porfirio Díaz, Mexican general and politician, 29th President of Mexico (b. 1830)
• 1916 – Louis Maxson, American archer (b. 1855)
• 1926 – Émile Coué, French psychologist and pharmacist (b. 1857)
• 1929 – Gladys Brockwell, American actress (b. 1893)
• 1932 – Manuel II of Portugal (b. 1889)
• 1934 – Ernst Röhm, German SA officer (b. 1887)
• 1950 – Thomas William Burgess, English swimmer (b. 1872)
• 1961 – Ernest Hemingway, American journalist and author, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1899)
• 1963 – Alicia Patterson, American publisher, co-founded Newsday (b. 1906)
• 1964 – Fireball Roberts, American race car driver (b. 1929)
• 1966 – Jan Brzechwa, Polish poet and author (b. 1900)
• 1972 – Joseph Fielding Smith, American religious leader, 10th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1876)
• 1973 – Betty Grable, American actress, singer, and dancer (b. 1916)
• 1973 – Ferdinand Schörner, German field marshal (b. 1892)
• 1975 – James Robertson Justice, English actor (b. 1907)
• 1977 – Vladimir Nabokov, Russian-Swiss author and academic (b. 1899)
• 1978 – Aris Alexandrou, Greek author and poet (b. 1922)
• 1984 – Paul Dozois, Canadian politician (b. 1908)
• 1988 – Vibert Douglas, Canadian astronomer (b. 1894)
• 1989 – Andrei Gromyko, Belarusian-Russian politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Soviet Union (b. 1909)
• 1989 – Franklin J. Schaffner, Japanese-American director and producer (b. 1920)
• 1991 – Lee Remick, American actress (b. 1935)
• 1992 – Camarón de la Isla, Spanish singer and guitarist (b. 1950)
• 1993 – Fred Gwynne, American actor and singer (b. 1926)
• 1994 – Andrés Escobar, Colombian footballer (b. 1967)
• 1995 – Lloyd MacPhail, Canadian politician, 23rd Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island (b. 1920)
• 1997 – James Stewart, American actor and singer (b. 1908)
• 1999 – Mario Puzo, American author and screenwriter (b. 1920)
• 2000 – Joey Dunlop, Irish motorcycle racer (b. 1952)
• 2002 – Ray Brown, American bassist and composer (b. 1926)
• 2003 – Briggs Cunningham, American entrepreneur, racing car constructor, driver, and team owner (b. 1907)
• 2004 – Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen, Portuguese poet and author (b. 1919)
• 2004 – Mochtar Lubis, Indonesian journalist and author (b. 1922)
• 2005 – Ernest Lehman, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1915)
• 2007 – Beverly Sills, American soprano and actress (b. 1929)
• 2008 – Natasha Shneider, Russian-American singer, keyboard player, and actress (Eleven) (b. 1956)
• 2008 – Elizabeth Spriggs, English actress and screenwriter (b. 1929)
• 2010 – Beryl Bainbridge, English actress, screenwriter, and author (b. 1932)
• 2011 – Itamar Franco, Brazilian politician, 33rd President of Brazil (b. 1930)
• 2011 – Chaturanan Mishra, Indian politician (b. 1925)
• 2012 – Maurice Chevit, French actor (b. 1923)
• 2012 – Tsutomu Koyama, Japanese volleyball player (b. 1936)
• 2012 – Angelo Mangiarotti, Italian architect and academic (b. 1921)
• 2013 – Douglas Engelbart, American computer scientist, invented the computer mouse (b. 1925)
• 2013 – Fawzia Fuad of Egypt (b. 1921)
• 2013 – Anthony Llewellyn, Welsh-American chemist, academic, and astronaut (b. 1933)
• 2014 – Emilio Álvarez Montalván, Nicaraguan ophthalmologist and politician (b. 1919)
• 2014 – Chad Brown, American poker player and actor (b. 1961)
• 2014 – Manuel Cardona, Spanish physicist and academic (b. 1934)
• 2014 – Harold W. Kuhn, American mathematician and academic (b. 1925)
• 2014 – Louis Zamperini, American distance runner and war hero (b. 1917)