Events Pre-1600 532 – Nika riots in Constantinople: A quarrel between supporters of different chariot teams—the Blues and the Greens—in the Hippodrome escalates into violence. 630 – Conquest of Mecca: Muhammad and his followers conquer the city, and the Quraysh association of clans surrenders.Muhammad: Islam’s First Great General, by Richard A. Gabriel, p.176. 930 – Sack of Mecca by the Qarmatians. 1055 – Theodora is crowned empress of the Byzantine Empire. 1158 – Vladislaus II, Duke of Bohemia becomes King of Bohemia. 1569 – First recorded lottery in England.
1601–1900 1654 – Arauco War: A Spanish army is defeated by local Mapuche-Huilliches as it tries to cross Bueno River in Southern Chile. 1759 – The first American life insurance company, the Corporation for Relief of Poor and Distressed Presbyterian Ministers and of the Poor and Distressed Widows and Children of the Presbyterian Ministers (now part of Unum Group), is incorporated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 1787 – William Herschel discovers Titania and Oberon, two moons of Uranus. 1805 – The Michigan Territory is created. 1820 – The Great Savannah Fire of 1820 destroys over 400 buildings in Savannah, Georgia. 1851 – Taiping Rebellion: Hong Xiuquan proclaims the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, starting the Jintian Uprising.China: A New History, John King Fairbank and Merle Goldman. Harvard, 2006. 1861 – American Civil War: Alabama secedes from the United States. 1863 – American Civil War: The three-day Battle of Arkansas Post concludes as General John McClernand and Admiral David Dixon Porter capture Fort Hindman and secure control over the Arkansas River for the Union. 1863 – American Civil War: encounters and sinks the off Galveston Lighthouse in Texas. 1879 – The Anglo-Zulu War begins.
1901–present 1908 – Grand Canyon National Monument is created. 1912 – Immigrant textile workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts, go on strike when wages are reduced in response to a mandated shortening of the work week. 1914 – The Karluk, flagship of the Canadian Arctic Expedition, sinks after being crushed by ice. 1917 – The Kingsland munitions factory explosion occurs, possibly as a result of German sabotage. 1922 – Leonard Thompson becomes the first person to be injected with insulin. 1923 – Occupation of the Ruhr: Troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area to force Germany to make its World War I reparation payments. 1927 – Louis B. Mayer, head of film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), announces the creation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, at a banquet in Los Angeles, California. 1935 – Amelia Earhart becomes the first person to fly solo from Hawaii to California. 1942 – World War II: Japanese forces capture Kuala Lumpur, the capital of the Federated Malay States. 1942 – World War II: Japanese forces attack Tarakan in Borneo, Netherlands Indies (Battle of Tarakan) 1943 – The Republic of China agrees to the Sino-British New Equal Treaty and the Sino-American New Equal Treaty. 1943 – Italian-American anarchist Carlo Tresca is assassinated in New York City. 1946 – Enver Hoxha, Secretary General of the Communist Party of Albania, declares the People's Republic of Albania with himself as head of state. 1949 – The first "networked" television broadcasts took place as KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania goes on the air connecting the east coast and mid-west programming. 1957 – The African Convention is founded in Dakar, Senegal. 1959 – 36 people are killed when Lufthansa Flight 502 crashes on approach to Rio de Janeiro/Galeão International Airport in Brazil. 1961 – Throgs Neck Bridge over the East River, linking New York City's boroughs of The Bronx and Queens, opens to road traffic. 1962 – Cold War: While tied to its pier in Polyarny, the Soviet submarine B-37 is destroyed when fire breaks out in its torpedo compartment. 1962 – An avalanche on Huascarán in Peru causes around 4,000 deaths. 1964 – Surgeon General of the United States Dr. Luther Terry, M.D., publishes the landmark report Smoking and Health: Report of the Advisory Committee to the Surgeon General of the Public Health Service saying that smoking may be hazardous to health, sparking national and worldwide anti-smoking efforts. 1966 – The Tbilisi Metro is opened. 1972 – East Pakistan renames itself Bangladesh. 1973 – Major League Baseball owners vote in approval of the American League adopting the designated hitter position. 1977 – The first episode of Finnish children's TV show Pikku Kakkonen ("Little Number Two") is aired on Yle TV2. 1983 – United Airlines Flight 2885 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, killing three. - Copy at Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University. 1986 – The Gateway Bridge, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia is officially opened. 1994 – The Irish Government announces the end of a 15-year broadcasting ban on the IRA and its political arm Sinn Féin. 1995 – 51 people are killed in a plane crash in María La Baja, Colombia. 1996 – Space Shuttle program: STS-72 launches from the Kennedy Space Center marking the start of the 74th Space Shuttle mission and the 10th flight of Endeavour. 1998 – Over 100 people are killed in the Sidi-Hamed massacre in Algeria. 2003 – Illinois Governor George Ryan commutes the death sentences of 167 prisoners on Illinois's death row based on the Jon Burge scandal. 2013 – One French soldier and 17 militants are killed in a failed attempt to free a French hostage in Bulo Marer, Somalia. 2020 – COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei: Municipal health officials in Wuhan announce the first recorded death from COVID-19.
Births Pre-1600 347 – Theodosius I, Roman emperor (died 395) 1113 – Wang Chongyang, Chinese religious leader and poet (died 1170) 1209 – Möngke Khan, Mongolian emperor (died 1259) 1322 – Emperor Kōmyō of Japan (died 1380) 1359 – Emperor Go-En'yū of Japan (died 1393) 1395 – Michele of Valois, daughter of Charles VI of France (died 1422) 1503 – Parmigianino, Italian artist (died 1540) 1589 – William Strode, English politician (died 1666) 1591 – Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire (died 1646)
1601–1900 1624 – Bastiaan Govertsz van der Leeuw, Dutch painter (died 1680) 1630 – John Rogers, English-American minister, physician, and academic (died 1684) 1638 – Nicolas Steno, Danish bishop and anatomist (died 1686) 1642 – Johann Friedrich Alberti, German organist and composer (died 1710) 1650 – Diana Glauber, Dutch-German painter (died 1721) 1671 – François-Marie, 1st duc de Broglie, French general and diplomat (died 1745) 1755 – Alexander Hamilton, Nevisian-American general, economist and politician, 1st United States Secretary of the Treasury (died 1804) 1757 – Samuel Bentham, English engineer and architect (died 1831) 1760 – Oliver Wolcott Jr., American lawyer and politician, 2nd United States Secretary of the Treasury, 24th Governor of Connecticut (died 1833) 1777 – Vincenzo Borg, Maltese merchant and rebel leader (died 1837) 1786 – Joseph Jackson Lister, English physicist (died 1869) 1788 – William Thomas Brande, English chemist and academic (died 1866) 1800 – Ányos Jedlik, Hungarian physicist and engineer (died 1895) 1807 – Ezra Cornell, American businessman and philanthropist, founded Western Union and Cornell University (died 1874) 1814 – James Paget, English surgeon and pathologist (died 1899) 1814 – Socrates Nelson, American businessman and politician (died 1867) 1815 – John A. Macdonald, Scottish-Canadian lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Canada (died 1891) 1825 – Bayard Taylor, American poet, author, and critic (died 1878) 1839 – Eugenio María de Hostos, Puerto Rican lawyer, philosopher, and sociologist (died 1903) 1842 – William James, American psychologist and philosopher (died 1910) 1843 – Adolf Eberle, German painter (died 1914) 1845 – Albert Victor Bäcklund, Swedish mathematician and physicist (died 1912) 1850 – Joseph Charles Arthur, American pathologist and mycologist (died 1942) 1852 – Constantin Fehrenbach, German lawyer and politician, 4th Chancellor of Weimar Germany (died 1926) 1853 – Georgios Jakobides, Greek painter and sculptor (died 1932) 1856 – Christian Sinding, Norwegian pianist and composer (died 1941) 1857 – Fred Archer, English jockey (died 1886) 1858 – Harry Gordon Selfridge, American-English businessman, founded Selfridges (died 1947) 1859 – George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, English politician, 35th Governor-General of India (died 1925) 1864 – Thomas Dixon, Jr., American minister, lawyer, and politician (died 1946) 1867 – John Ernest Adamson, English educationalist and Director of Education of the Colony of Transvaal (died 1950) 1867 – Edward B. Titchener, English psychologist and academic (died 1927) 1868 – Cai Yuanpei, Chinese philosopher, academic, and politician (died 1940) 1870 – Alexander Stirling Calder, American sculptor and educator (died 1945) 1872 – G. W. Pierce, American physicist and academic (died 1956) 1873 – John Callan O'Laughlin, American soldier and journalist (died 1949) 1874 – Alfonso Quiñónez Molina, Salvadoran politician, physician, and three-time president of El Salvador (died 1950) 1875 – Reinhold Glière, Russian composer and academic (died 1956) 1876 – Elmer Flick, American baseball player (died 1971) 1876 – Thomas Hicks, American runner (died 1952) 1878 – Theodoros Pangalos, Greek general and politician, President of Greece (died 1952) 1885 – Alice Paul, American activist and suffragist (died 1977) 1886 – George Zucco, British actor (died 1960) 1887 – Aldo Leopold, American ecologist and author (died 1948) 1888 – Joseph B. Keenan, American jurist and politician (died 1954) 1889 – Calvin Bridges, American geneticist and academic (died 1938) 1890 – Max Carey, American baseball player and manager (died 1976) 1890 – Oswald de Andrade, Brazilian poet and critic (died 1954) 1891 – Andrew Sockalexis, American runner (died 1919) 1893 – Ellinor Aiki, Estonian painter (died 1969) 1893 – Charles Fraser, Australian rugby league player and coach (died 1981) 1893 – Anthony M. Rud, American journalist and author (died 1942) 1895 – Laurens Hammond, American engineer and businessman, founded the Hammond Clock Company (died 1973) 1897 – Bernard DeVoto, American historian and author (died 1955) 1897 – August Heissmeyer, German SS officer (died 1979) 1899 – Eva Le Gallienne, English-American actress, director, and producer (died 1991)
1901–present 1901 – Kwon Ki-ok, Korean pilot (died 1988) 1902 – Maurice Duruflé, French organist and composer (died 1986) 1903 – Alan Paton, South African author and activist (died 1988) 1905 – Clyde Kluckhohn, American anthropologist and theorist (died 1960) 1906 – Albert Hofmann, Swiss chemist and academic, discoverer of LSD (died 2008) 1907 – Pierre Mendès France, French lawyer and politician, 142nd Prime Minister of France (died 1982) 1907 – Abraham Joshua Heschel, Polish-American rabbi, theologian, and philosopher (died 1972) 1908 – Lionel Stander, American actor and activist (died 1994) 1910 – Arthur Lambourn, New Zealand rugby player (died 1999) 1910 – Shane Paltridge, Australian soldier and politician (died 1966) 1911 – Tommy Duncan, American singer-songwriter (died 1967) 1911 – Nora Heysen, Australian painter (died 2003) 1911 – Zenkō Suzuki, Japanese politician, 70th Prime Minister of Japan (died 2004) 1912 – Don "Red" Barry, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (died 1980) 1913 – Karl Stegger, Danish actor (died 1980) 1915 – Luise Krüger, German javelin thrower (died 2001) 1915 – Paddy Mayne, British colonel and lawyer (died 1955) 1916 – Bernard Blier, Argentinian-French actor (died 1989) 1917 – John Robarts, Canadian lawyer and politician, 17th Premier of Ontario (died 1982) 1918 – Robert C. O'Brien, American author and journalist (died 1973) 1918 – Spencer Walklate, Australian rugby league player and soldier (died 1945) 1920 – Mick McManus, English wrestler (died 2013)