EVENTS OF THIS DAY IN THE PAST 2/7

[edit]

• 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.
• 866 – Battle of Brissarthe: The Franks led by Robert the Strong are defeated by a joint Breton-Viking army.
• 963 – The imperial army proclaims Nikephoros II Phokas 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 – 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 Virginia) against Acadia led by Samuel Argall takes place.
• 1644 – English Civil War: Battle of Marston Moor.
• 1645 – Battle of Alford: Wars of the Three Kingdoms.
• 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.
• 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 The 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.
• 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 would die of complications from his wounds on September 19).
• 1890 – The U.S. Congress passes the Sherman Antitrust Act.
• 1897 – British-Italian engineer 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.
• 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.
• 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 code-named Aldébaran in Moruroa, 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 are 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 perform and are broadcast on 182 television networks and 2,000 radio networks.
• 2008 – Íngrid Betancourt, a member of the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia, is released from captivity after being held for six and a half years by FARC.
• 2010 – The South Kivu tank truck explosion in the Democratic Republic of the Congo kills at least 230 people.
• 2013 – The International Astronomical Union names Pluto's fourth and fifth moons, Kerberos and Styx.
• 2013 – A magnitude 6.1 earthquake strikes Aceh, Indonesia, killing at least 42 people and injuring 420 others.

Births[edit]

• 419 – Valentinian III, Roman emperor (d. 455)
• 1363 – Maria, Queen of Sicily (d. 1401)
• 1478 – Louis V, Elector Palatine (d. 1544)
• 1486 – Jacopo Sansovino, Italian sculptor and architect (d. 1570)
• 1489 – Thomas Cranmer, English archbishop, theologian, and saint (d. 1556)
• 1492 – Elizabeth Tudor, English daughter of Henry VII of England (d. 1495)
• 1500 – Federico Cesi (cardinal), Italian cardinal (d. 1565)
• 1575 – Elizabeth de Vere, Countess of Derby, British businessman (d. 1627)
• 1597 – Theodoor Rombouts, Flemish painter (d. 1637)
• 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 and art collector (d. 1740)
• 1714 – Christoph Willibald Gluck, German composer (d. 1787)
• 1724 – Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock, German poet and author (d. 1803)
• 1819 – Charles-Louis Hanon, French pianist and composer (d. 1900)
• 1820 – George Law Curry, American publisher and politician, 5th Governor of the Oregon Territory (d. 1878)
• 1821 – Charles Tupper, Canadian physician and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1915)
• 1834 – Hendrick Peter Godfried Quack, Dutch economist and historian (d. 1917)
• 1849 – Maria Theresa of Austria-Este (d. 1919)
• 1862 – William Henry Bragg, English physicist, chemist, and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1942)
• 1865 – Lily Braun, German author and publicist (d. 1916)
• 1869 – Liane de Pougy, French-Swiss dancer and author (d. 1950)
• 1876 – Harriet Brooks, Canadian physicist and academic (d. 1933)
• 1876 – Wilhelm Cuno, German businessman and politician, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1933)
• 1877 – Hermann Hesse, German-born Swiss poet, novelist, and painter, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1962)
• 1877 – Rinaldo Cuneo, American artist ("the painter of San Francisco") (d. 1939)
• 1881 – Royal Hurlburt Weller, American lawyer and politician (d. 1929)
• 1884 – Alfons Maria Jakob, German neurologist and author (d. 1931)
• 1893 – Ralph Hancock, Welsh gardener and author (d. 1950)
• 1900 – Tyrone Guthrie, English actor and director (d. 1971)
• 1902 – K. Kanapathypillai, Sri Lankan author and academic (d. 1968)
• 1902 – Germaine Thyssens-Valentin, Dutch-French pianist (d. 1987)
• 1903 – Alec Douglas-Home, English cricketer and 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)
• 1908 – Thurgood Marshall, American lawyer and jurist, 32nd Solicitor General of the United States (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 – Ethelreda Leopold, American actress (d. 1988)
• 1914 – Mário Schenberg, Brazilian physicist and engineer (d. 1990)
• 1914 – Erich Topp, German admiral (d. 2005)
• 1915 – Valerian Wellesley, 8th Duke of Wellington, British peer, politician and soldier (d. 2014)
• 1916 – Ken Curtis, American actor and singer (d. 1991)
• 1916 – Hans-Ulrich Rudel, German colonel and pilot (d. 1982)
• 1917 – Leonard J. Arrington, American author and academic, founded the Mormon History Association (d. 1999)
• 1919 – Jean Craighead George, American author (d. 2012)
• 1920 – John Kneubuhl, Samoan-American historian, screenwriter, and playwright (d. 1992)
• 1922 – Pierre Cardin, Italian-French fashion designer
• 1923 – Cyril M. Kornbluth, American soldier and author (d. 1958)
• 1923 – Wisława Szymborska, Polish poet and translator, 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 – Lee Allen, American saxophone player (d. 1994)
• 1927 – James Mackay, Baron Mackay of Clashfern, Scottish lawyer and politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain
• 1927 – Brock Peters, American actor (d. 2005)
• 1929 – Avraham Avigdorov, Israeli soldier (d. 2012)
• 1929 – Imelda Marcos, widow of Ferdinand Marcos, the 10th president of the Philippines
• 1930 – Ahmad Jamal, American pianist, composer, and educator
• 1930 – Carlos Menem, Argentinian lawyer and politician, 50th President of Argentina
• 1932 – Dave Thomas, American businessman and philanthropist, founded Wendy's (d. 2002)
• 1933 – Peter Desbarats, Canadian journalist, author, and playwright
• 1933 – Kenny Wharram, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1934 – Tom Springfield, English singer-songwriter and producer
• 1935 – Gilbert Kalish, American pianist and educator
• 1936 – Omar Suleiman, Egyptian general and politician, 16th Vice President of Egypt (d. 2012)
• 1937 – Polly Holliday, American actress
• 1937 – Richard Petty, American race car driver and sportscaster
• 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 (d. 1973)
• 1940 – Kenneth Clarke, English politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain
• 1941 – William Guest, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2015)
• 1941 – Wendell Mottley, Trinidadian sprinter, economist, and politician
• 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, 36th Mayor of Tallinn
• 1943 – Larry Lake, American-Canadian trumpet player and composer (d. 2013)
• 1946 – Richard Axel, American neuroscientist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1946 – Ron Silver, American actor, director, and political activist (d. 2009)
• 1947 – Larry David, American actor, comedian, producer, and screenwriter
• 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 (d. 2006)
• 1949 – Roy Bittan, American keyboard player and songwriter
• 1949 – Greg Brown, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1949 – Robert Paquette, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1950 – Lynne Brindley, English librarian and academic
• 1950 – Jon Trickett, English politician
• 1951 – Joe Puerta, American singer-songwriter and bass player (Ambrosia)
• 1952 – Johnny Colla, American guitarist, saxophonist, and songwriter
• 1952 – Anatoliy Solomin, Ukrainian race walker and coach
• 1953 – Jean-Claude Borelly, French trumpet player and composer
• 1953 – Mark Hart, American guitarist and keyboard player
• 1954 – Pete Briquette, Irish bass player, songwriter, and producer
• 1954 – Chris Huhne, English journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change
• 1955 – Kim Carr, Australian educator and politician, 31st Australian Minister for Human Services
• 1956 – Jerry Hall, American model and actress
• 1957 – Bret Hart, Canadian wrestler
• 1957 – Jüri Raidla, Estonian lawyer and politician, Estonian Minister of Justice
• 1957 – Purvis Short, American basketball player
• 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
• 1962 – Neil Williams, English cricketer (d. 2006)
• 1963 – Mark Kermode, English bassist and critic
• 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 – Joe Magrane, American baseball player and sportscaster
• 1964 – Alan Tait, English-Scottish rugby player and coach
• 1965 – Norbert Röttgen, German lawyer and politician
• 1966 – Jean-François Richet, French director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1969 – Tim Rodber, English rugby player
• 1970 – Derrick Adkins, American hurdler
• 1970 – Colin Edwin, Australian bass player
• 1970 – Steve Morrow, Northern Irish footballer and manager
• 1971 – Troy Brown, American football player and actor
• 1971 – Evelyn Lau, Canadian poet and author
• 1971 – Bryan Redpath, Scottish rugby player and coach
• 1972 – Darren Shan, English author
• 1973 – Peter Kay, English comedian, actor, director, and producer
• 1974 – Sean Casey, American baseball player and sportscaster
• 1975 – Éric Dazé, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1975 – Kristen Michal, Estonian lawyer and politician
• 1975 – Erik Ohlsson, Swedish singer and guitarist
• 1975 – Stefan Terblanche, South African rugby player
• 1976 – Kon Arimura, Japanese radio personality and critic
• 1976 – Krisztián Lisztes, Hungarian footballer
• 1976 – Tomáš Vokoun, Czech-American ice hockey player
• 1977 – Deniz Barış, Turkish footballer
• 1978 – Jüri Ratas, Estonian politician, 42nd Mayor of Tallinn
• 1978 – Owain Yeoman, Welsh actor
• 1979 – Walter Davis, American triple jumper
• 1979 – Sam Hornish Jr., American race car driver
• 1979 – Joe Thornton, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1980 – Nicole Briscoe, American model and journalist
• 1980 – Nyjer Morgan, American baseball player
• 1981 – Nathan Ellington, English footballer
• 1981 – Ángel Pagán, Puerto Rican-American baseball player
• 1981 – Carlos Rogers, American football player
• 1983 – Michelle Branch, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 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
• 1986 – Brett Cecil, American baseball player
• 1986 – Lindsay Lohan, American actress and singer
• 1987 – Esteban Granero, Spanish footballer
• 1988 – Lee Chung-yong, South Korean footballer
• 1989 – Nadezhda Grishaeva, Russian basketball player
• 1989 – Alex Morgan, American soccer player
• 1990 – Margot Robbie, Australian actress and producer
• 1990 – Danny Rose, English footballer
• 1992 – Madison Chock, American ice dancer
• 1995 – Ryan Murphy, American swimmer
• 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, Frankish nobleman
• 943 – Henry the Fowler, German king (b. 876)
• 1215 – Eisai, Japanese Buddhist priest (b. 1141)
• 1298 – Adolf of Germany (b. 1220)
• 1504 – Stephen III of Moldavia (b. 1434)
• 1566 – Nostradamus, French astrologer and author (b. 1503)
• 1578 – Thomas Doughty, English explorer
• 1582 – Akechi Mitsuhide, Japanese samurai and warlord (b. 1528)
• 1591 – Vincenzo Galilei, Italian lute player and composer (b. 1520)
• 1619 – Francis II, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (b. 1547)
• 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 lawyer and 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)
• 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)
• 1912 – Tom Richardson, English cricketer (b. 1870)
• 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)
• 1920 – William Louis Marshall, American general and engineer (b. 1846)
• 1926 – Émile Coué, French psychologist and pharmacist (b. 1857)
• 1929 – Gladys Brockwell, American actress (b. 1894)
• 1932 – Manuel II of Portugal (b. 1889)
• 1950 – Thomas William Burgess, English swimmer and water polo player (b. 1872)
• 1955 – Edward Lawson, English soldier, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1873)
• 1961 – Ernest Hemingway, American novelist, short story writer, and journalist, 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 – Chick Hafey, American baseball player (b. 1903)
• 1973 – George McBride, American baseball player and manager (b. 1880)
• 1973 – Ferdinand Schörner, German field marshal (b. 1892)
• 1975 – James Robertson Justice, English actor (b. 1907)
• 1977 – Vladimir Nabokov, Russian-born novelist and critic (b. 1899)
• 1978 – Aris Alexandrou, Greek author and poet (b. 1922)
• 1986 – Peanuts Lowrey, American baseball player and manager (b. 1917)
• 1988 – Vibert Douglas, Canadian astronomer and astrophysicist (b. 1894)
• 1989 – Andrei Gromyko, Soviet economist and politician, Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1909)
• 1990 – Snooky Lanson, American singer (b. 1914)
• 1991 – Lee Remick, American actress (b. 1935)
• 1993 – Fred Gwynne, American actor (b. 1926)
• 1994 – Andrés Escobar, Colombian footballer (b. 1967)
• 1995 – Lloyd MacPhail, Canadian businessman and politician, 23rd Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island (b. 1920)
• 1997 – James Stewart, American actor (b. 1908)
• 1999 – Mario Puzo, American author and screenwriter (b. 1920)
• 2000 – Joey Dunlop, Northern Irish motorcycle racer (b. 1952)
• 2002 – Ray Brown, American bassist and composer (b. 1926)
• 2003 – Briggs Cunningham, American race car driver and businessman (b. 1907)
• 2004 – Mochtar Lubis, Indonesian journalist and author (b. 1922)
• 2005 – Ernest Lehman, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1915)
• 2005 – Norm Prescott, American actor, composer, and producer, co-founded Filmation Studios (b. 1927)
• 2006 – Jan Murray, American comedian, actor, and game show host (b. 1916)
• 2007 – Beverly Sills, American operatic soprano and television personality (b. 1929)
• 2008 – Natasha Shneider, Russian-American singer, keyboard player, and actress (b. 1956)
• 2008 – Elizabeth Spriggs, English actress and screenwriter (b. 1929)
• 2010 – Beryl Bainbridge, English screenwriter and author (b. 1932)
• 2011 – Itamar Franco, Brazilian engineer and politician, 33rd President of Brazil (b. 1930)
• 2012 – Maurice Chevit, French actor and screenwriter (b. 1923)
• 2012 – Julian Goodman, American journalist (b. 1922)
• 2012 – Angelo Mangiarotti, Italian architect and academic (b. 1921)
• 2012 – Betty Meggers, American archaeologist and academic (b. 1921)
• 2012 – Ed Stroud, American baseball player (b. 1939)
• 2013 – Fawzia Fuad of Egypt, Queen of Iran (b. 1921)
• 2013 – Anthony G. Bosco, American bishop (b. 1927)
• 2013 – Douglas Engelbart, American computer scientist, invented the computer mouse (b. 1925)
• 2013 – Armand Gaudreault, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1921)
• 2013 – Anthony Llewellyn, Welsh-American chemist, academic, and astronaut (b. 1933)
• 2014 – Emilio Álvarez Montalván, Nicaraguan ophthalmologist and politician (b. 1919)
• 2014 – Manuel Cardona, Spanish physicist and academic (b. 1934)
• 2014 – Mary Innes-Ker, Duchess of Roxburghe (b. 1915)
• 2014 – Harold W. Kuhn, American mathematician and academic (b. 1925)
• 2014 – Louis Zamperini, American runner and captain (b. 1917)
• 2015 – Ronald Davison, New Zealand lawyer and judge, 10th Chief Justice of New Zealand (b. 1920)
• 2015 – Charlie Sanders, American football player and sportscaster (b. 1946)
• 2015 – Jim Weaver, American football player and coach (b. 1945)
• 2015 – Jacobo Zabludovsky, Mexican journalist (b. 1928)
• 2016 – Caroline Aherne, English actress and comedian (b. 1963)
• 2016 – Michael Cimino, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1939)
• 2016 – Patrick Manning, 4th & 6th Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago (b. 1946)
• 2016 – Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor, activist, and author (b. 1928)