Events Pre-1600 537 – The second Hagia Sophia in Constantinople is consecrated. 1512 – The Spanish Crown issues the Laws of Burgos, governing the conduct of settlers with regard to native Indians in the New World. 1521 – The Zwickau prophets arrive in Wittenberg, disturbing the peace and preaching the Apocalypse.
1601–1900 1655 – Second Northern War/the Deluge: Monks at the Jasna Góra Monastery in Częstochowa are successful in fending off a month-long siege. 1657 – The Flushing Remonstrance articulates for the first time in North American history that freedom of religion is a fundamental right. 1703 – Portugal and England sign the Methuen Treaty which allows Portugal to export wines to England on favorable trade terms. 1814 – War of 1812: The destruction of the schooner brings to an end Commodore Daniel Patterson's makeshift fleet, which fought a series of delaying actions that contributed to Andrew Jackson's victory at the Battle of New Orleans. 1831 – Charles Darwin embarks on his journey aboard , during which he will begin to formulate his theory of evolution. 1836 – The worst ever avalanche in England occurs at Lewes, Sussex, killing eight people. 1845 – Ether anesthetic is used for childbirth for the first time by Dr. Crawford Long in Jefferson, Georgia. 1845 – Having coined the phrase "manifest destiny" the previous July, journalist John L. O'Sullivan argued in his newspaper New York Morning News that the United States had the right to claim the entire Oregon Country.;
1901–present 1911 – "Jana Gana Mana", the national anthem of India, is first sung in the Calcutta Session of the Indian National Congress. 1918 – The Great Poland Uprising against the Germans begins. 1918 – Ukrainian War of Independence: The Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine occupies Yekaterinoslav and seizes seven airplanes from the UPRAF, establishing an Insurgent Air Fleet. 1922 – becomes the first purpose-built aircraft carrier to be commissioned in the world. 1927 – Kern and Hammerstein's musical play Show Boat, considered to be the first true American musical play, opens at the Ziegfeld Theatre on Broadway. 1929 – Soviet General Secretary Joseph Stalin orders the "liquidation of the kulaks as a class". 1932 – Radio City Music Hall, "Showplace of the Nation", opens in New York City. 1935 – Regina Jonas is ordained as the first female rabbi in the history of Judaism. 1939 – The 7.8 Erzincan earthquake shakes eastern Turkey with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme). At least 32,700 people were killed. 1939 – Winter War: Finland holds off a Soviet attack in the Battle of Kelja. 1945 – The International Monetary Fund is created with the signing of an agreement by 29 nations. 1949 – Indonesian National Revolution: The Netherlands officially recognizes Indonesian independence. End of the Dutch East Indies. 1966 – The Cave of Swallows, the largest known cave shaft in the world, is discovered in Aquismón, San Luis Potosí, Mexico. 1968 – Apollo program: Apollo 8 splashes down in the Pacific Ocean, ending the first orbital crewed mission to the Moon. 1968 – North Central Airlines Flight 458 crashes at O'Hare International Airport, killing 28. - Copy at Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University 1978 – Spain becomes a democracy after 40 years of fascist dictatorship. 1983 – Pope John Paul II visits Mehmet Ali Ağca in Rebibbia's prison and personally forgives him for the 1981 attack on him in St. Peter's Square. 1985 – Palestinian guerrillas kill eighteen people inside the airports of Rome, Italy, and Vienna, Austria. 1989 – The Romanian Revolution concludes, as the last minor street confrontations and stray shootings abruptly end in the country's capital, Bucharest. 1991 – Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 751 crashes in Gottröra in the Norrtälje Municipality in Sweden, injuring 92. 1996 – Taliban forces retake the strategic Bagram Airfield which solidifies their buffer zone around Kabul, Afghanistan. 1997 – Protestant paramilitary leader Billy Wright is assassinated in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. 1999 – Burger King and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission order a recall of plastic Poké Ball containers after they are determined to be a choking hazard. 2002 – Two truck bombs kill 72 and wound 200 at the pro-Moscow headquarters of the Chechen government in Grozny, Chechnya, Russia. 2004 – Radiation from an explosion on the magnetar SGR 1806-20 reaches Earth. It is the brightest extrasolar event known to have been witnessed on the planet. 2007 – Former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto is assassinated in a shooting incident. 2007 – Riots erupt in Mombasa, Kenya, after Mwai Kibaki is declared the winner of the presidential election, triggering a political, economic, and humanitarian crisis. 2008 – Operation Cast Lead: Israel launches three-week operation on Gaza. 2009 – Iranian election protests: On the Day of Ashura in Tehran, Iran, government security forces fire upon demonstrators. 2019 – Bek Air Flight 2100 crashes during takeoff from Almaty International Airport in Almaty, Kazakhstan, killing 13. 2025 – An estimated were stolen from a Sparkasse bank in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.
Births Pre-1600 1350 – John I of Aragon (died 1395) 1390 – Anne de Mortimer, claimant to the English throne (died 1411) 1459 – John I Albert, King of Poland (died 1501) 1481 – Casimir, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth, Margrave of Bayreuth (died 1527) 1493 – Johann Pfeffinger, German theologian (died 1573) 1566 – Jan Jesenius, Bohemian physician, politician and philosopher (died 1621)Kachlik, D., Vichnar, D., Kachlikova, D., Musil, V., Szabo, K., & Stingl, J. (2013). The life and work of Jan Jesensky (1566–1621), the physician of a dying time. Journal of Medical Biography, 21(3), 153–163. 1571 – Johannes Kepler, German mathematician, astronomer, and astrologer (died 1630) 1572 – Johannes Vodnianus Campanus, Czech poet, playwright, and composer (died 1622) 1584 – Philipp Julius, Duke of Pomerania (died 1625) 1595 – Bohdan Khmelnytsky, hetman of Ukraine (died 1657)
1601–1900 1622 – Teofil Rutka, Polish philosopher (died 1700) 1633 – Jean de Lamberville, French missionary (died 1714)Jaenen, C. J., "Lamberville, Jean de", Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 2, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003 1636 – William Whitelock, English gentleman, Member of Parliament (died 1717) 1637 – Petar Kanavelić, Venetian writer (died 1719) 1645 – Giovanni Antonio Viscardi, Swiss architect (died 1713)Fleming, John, et al. (1972) The Penguin Dictionary of Architecture; 2nd ed. Harmondsworth: Penguin; p. 301 1655 – Abstrupus Danby, English politician (died 1727) 1660 – Veronica Giuliani, Italian Capuchin mystic (died 1727)Pope Benedict XVI, "Saint Veronica Giuliani", General audience, December 15, 2010 w2.vatican.va, accessed 17 November 2019 1663 – Johann Melchior Roos, German painter (died 1731) 1683 – Conyers Middleton, English priest and theologian (died 1750) 1689 – Jacob August Franckenstein, Encyclopedia editor, professor (died 1733) (baptised) 1692 – Francis Blake Delaval, British Royal Navy officer and Member of Parliament (died 1752) 1697 – Sollom Emlyn, Irish legal writer (died 1754) 1705 – Prince Frederick Henry Eugen of Anhalt-Dessau, German prince of the House of Ascania (died 1781) 1713 – Giovanni Battista Borra, Italian architect and engineer (died 1770) 1714 – George Whitefield, English preacher and saint (died 1770) 1715 – Philippe de Noailles, French general (died 1794) 1721 – François Hemsterhuis, Dutch philosopher and author (died 1790) (baptised) 1761 – Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly, Russian field marshal and politician, Governor-General of Finland (died 1818)The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Lithuania 1773 – George Cayley, English engineer and politician (died 1857) 1776 – Nikolay Kamensky, Russian general (died 1811) 1797 – Ghalib, Indian poet (died 1869) 1797 – Charles Hodge, American theologian (died 1878) 1803 – François-Marie-Thomas Chevalier de Lorimier, Canadian activist (died 1839)Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online 1809 – Alexandros Rizos Rangavis, Greek poet and politician, Foreign Minister of Greece (died 1892) 1822 – Louis Pasteur, French chemist and microbiologist (died 1895) 1823 – Mackenzie Bowell, English-Canadian journalist and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Canada (died 1917) 1827 – Stanisław Mieroszewski, Polish-born politician, writer, historian and member of the Imperial Council of Austria (died 1900) 1832 – Pavel Tretyakov, Russian businessman and philanthropist, founded the Tretyakov Gallery (died 1897) 1838 – Lars Oftedal, Norwegian priest, social reformer, politician, and newspaper editor (died 1900) 1858 – Juan Luis Sanfuentes, Chilean lawyer and politician, 17th President of Chile (died 1930) 1863 – Louis Lincoln Emmerson, American lawyer and politician, 27th Governor of Illinois (died 1941) 1864 – Hermann-Paul, French painter and illustrator (died 1940) 1878 – Kalle Korhonen, Finnish politician (died 1938) 1879 – Sydney Greenstreet, English-American actor (died 1954) 1882 – Mina Loy, British modernist poet and artist (died 1966) 1883 – Cyrus S. Eaton, Canadian-American businessman and philanthropist (died 1979) 1888 – Thea von Harbou, German actress, director, and screenwriter (died 1954) 1892 – Alfred Edwin McKay, Canadian captain and pilot (died 1917)Broad, G. (2017). One in a Thousand: The Life and Death of Captain Eddie McKay, Royal Flying Corps. Canada: University of Toronto Press. 1896 – Louis Bromfield, American author and theorist (died 1956) 1896 – Maurice De Waele, Belgian cyclist (died 1952) 1896 – Carl Zuckmayer, German author and playwright (died 1977) 1898 – Inejiro Asanuma, Japanese politician (died 1960) 1900 – Hans Stuck, German racing driver (died 1978)
1901–present 1901 – Marlene Dietrich, German-American actress and singer (died 1992) 1901 – Irene Handl, English actress (died 1987) 1904 – René Bonnet, French racing driver and engineer (died 1983) 1905 – Cliff Arquette, American actor and comedian (died 1974) 1906 – Oscar Levant, American pianist, composer, and actor (died 1972) 1907 – Asaf Halet Çelebi, Turkish poet (died 1958) 1907 – Sebastian Haffner, German journalist and author (died 1999) 1907 – Mary Howard, English author (died 1991) 1907 – Conrad L. Raiford, American baseball player and activist (died 2002) 1907 – Willem van Otterloo, Dutch conductor and composer (died 1978) 1909 – James Riddell, English skier and author (died 2000) 1910 – Charles Olson, American poet and educator (died 1970) 1911 – Anna Russell, English-Canadian singer and actress (died 2006) 1913 – Elizabeth Smart, Canadian poet and novelist (died 1986) 1915 – William Masters, American gynecologist, author, and academic (died 2001) 1915 – Gyula Zsengellér, Hungarian-Cypriot footballer and manager (died 1999) 1916 – Werner Baumbach, German pilot (died 1953) 1916 – Cathy Lewis, American actress (died 1968) 1917 – Buddy Boudreaux, American saxophonist and clarinet player (died 2015) 1917 – T. Nadaraja, Sri Lankan lawyer and academic (died 2004) 1917 – Onni Palaste, Finnish soldier and author (died 2009) 1918 – John Celardo, American captain and illustrator (died 2012) 1919 – Charles Sweeney, American general and pilot (died 2004) 1920 – Bruce Hobbs, American jockey and trainer (died 2005) 1921 – John Whitworth, English countertenor (died 2013) 1923 – Bruno Bobak, Polish-Canadian painter and educator (died 2012) 1923 – Lucas Mangope, South African politician (died 2018) 1924 – Jean Bartik, American computer scientist and engineer (died 2011) 1924 – James A. McClure, American soldier, lawyer, and politician (died 2011) 1925 – Michel Piccoli, French actor, singer, director, and producer (died 2020) 1926 – Jerome Courtland, American actor, director, and producer (died 2012) 1927 – Antony Gardner, English engineer and politician (died 2011)