Events

• 43 BC - Battle of Forum Gallorum: Mark Antony, besieging Julius Caesar's assassin Decimus Junius Brutus in Mutina, defeats the forces of the consul Pansa, who is killed.
• 69 - Vitellius, commander of the Rhine armies, defeats Emperor Otho in the Battle of Bedriacum and seizes the throne.
• 966 - Christianisation of Poland
• 1028 - Henry III, son of Conrad, is elected king of the Germans.
• 1205 - Battle of Adrianople between Bulgarians and Crusaders.
• 1341 - Sack of Saluzzo (Italy) by Italian-Angevine troops under Manfred V of Saluzzo.
• 1434 - The foundation stone of Cathedral St. Peter and St. Paul in Nantes, France is laid.
• 1471 - In England, the Yorkists under Edward IV defeat the Lancastrians under Warwick at the battle of Barnet; the Earl of Warwick is killed and Edward IV resumes the throne.
• 1699 - Khalsa: Birth of Khalsa, the brotherhood of the Sikh religion, in Northern India in accordance with the Nanakshahi calendar.
• 1775 - The first abolition society in North America is established. The "Society for the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage" is organized in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by Benjamin Franklin and Benjamin Rush.
• 1828 - Noah Webster copyrights the first edition of his dictionary.
• 1831 - Soldiers marching on a bridge in Manchester, England cause it to collapse.
• 1846 - The Donner Party of pioneers departs Springfield, Illinois, for California, on what will become a year-long journey of hardship, cannibalism, and survival.
• 1849 - Hungary declares itself independent of Austria with Louis Kossuth as its leader.
• 1860 - The first Pony Express rider reaches Sacramento, California.
• 1864 - Battle of Dybbøl: A Prussian-Austrian army defeats Denmark and gains control of Schleswig. Denmark surrenders the province in the following peace settlement.
• 1865 - U.S. President Abraham Lincoln is shot in Ford's Theatre by John Wilkes Booth.
• 1865 - U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward and his family are attacked in his home by Lewis Powell.
• 1881 - The Four Dead in Five Seconds Gunfight erupts in El Paso, Texas.
• 1890 - The Pan-American Union is founded by the First International Conference of American States in Washington, D.C.
• 1894 - Thomas Edison demonstrates the kinetoscope, a device for peep-show viewing using photographs that flip in sequence, a precursor to movies.
• 1912 - The British passenger liner RMS Titanic hits an iceberg in the North Atlantic, and sinks the following morning with the loss of 1,503 lives.
• 1915 - The Turks invade Armenia.
• 1927 - The first Volvo car premieres in Gothenburg, Sweden.
• 1931 - Spanish Cortes deposes King Alfonso XIII and proclaims the 2nd Spanish Republic.
• 1935 - "Black Sunday", the worst dust storm of the U.S. Dust Bowl.
• 1940 - World War II: Royal Marines land in Namsos, Norway in preparation for a larger force to arrive two days later.
• 1941 - World War II: The Ustashe, a Croatian far-right organization is put in charge of the Independent State of Croatia by the Axis Powers after the Axis Operation 25 invasion. In addition, Rommel attacks Tobruk.
• 1944 - Bombay Explosion (1944): A massive explosion in the Bombay harbor kills 300 causes economic damage valued then at 20 million pounds.
• 1945 - Osijek, Croatia, is liberated from fascist occupation.
• 1956 - In Chicago, Illinois (U.S.), videotape is first demonstrated.
• 1958 - The Soviet satellite Sputnik 2 falls from orbit after a mission duration of 162 days.
• 1968 - At the U.S. Academy Awards, a tie for the Academy Award for Best Actress is achieved by Katharine Hepburn and Barbra Streisand.
• 1978 - 1978 Tbilisi Demonstrations: Thousands of Georgians demonstrate against Soviet attempts to change the constitutional status of the Georgian language.
• 1981 - STS-1 - The first operational space shuttle, Columbia (OV-102) completes its first test flight.
• 1986 - In retaliation for the April 5 bombing in West Berlin that killed two U.S. servicemen, U.S. president Ronald Reagan orders major bombing raids against Libya, killing 60 people.
• 1986 - 1 kg (2.2 pound) hailstones fall on the Gopalganj district of Bangladesh, killing 92. These are the heaviest hailstones ever recorded.
• 1988 - The USS Samuel B. Roberts strikes a mine in the Persian Gulf during Operation Earnest Will.
• 1988 - In a United Nations ceremony in Geneva, Switzerland, the Soviet Union signs an agreement pledging to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan.
• 1994 - In a U.S. friendly fire incident during Operation Provide Comfort in northern Iraq, two United States Air Force aircraft mistakenly shoot-down two United States Army helicopters, killing 26 people.
• 1999 - NATO mistakenly bombs a convoy of ethnic Albanian refugees - Yugoslav officials say 75 people are killed.
• 1999 - A severe hailstorm strikes Sydney, Australia causing A$1.7 billion in insured damages, the most costly natural disaster in Australian history.
• 2000 - Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich files a lawsuit against P2P sharing phenomenon Napster. This law-suit eventually leads the movement against file-sharing programs.
• 2002 - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez returns to office two days after being ousted and arrested by the country's military.
• 2003 - The Human Genome Project is completed with 99% of the human genome sequenced to an accuracy of 99.99%.
• 2003 - U.S. troops in Baghdad capture Abu Abbas, leader of the Palestinian group that killed an American on the hijacked cruise liner the Achille Lauro in 1985.
• 2005 - The U.S. Oregon Supreme Court nullifies marriage licenses issued to gay couples a year earlier by Multnomah County.
• 2007 - At least 200,000 demonstrators in Ankara, Turkey protest against the possible candidacy of incumbent Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Births

• 1336 - Emperor Go-Kōgon of Japan (d. 1374)
• 1572 - Adam Tanner, Austrian mathematician (d. 1632)
• 1578 - King Philip III of Spain (d. 1621)
• 1629 - Christiaan Huygens, Dutch mathematician (d. 1695)
• 1668 - Magnus Julius De la Gardie, Swedish General (d. 1741)
• 1714 - Adam Gib, Scottish religious leader (d. 1788)
• 1738 - William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1809)
• 1741 - Emperor Momozono of Japan (d. 1762)
• 1773 - Jean-Baptiste de Villèle, French statesman (d. 1854)
• 1788 - David G. Burnet, interim president of the Republic of Texas (d. 1870)
• 1818 - Marie of Saxe-Altenburg, queen of Hanover (d. 1909)
• 1827 - Augustus Pitt Rivers, English archaeologist (d. 1900)
• 1857 - Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom, Youngest daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, Prince Consort (d. 1944)
• 1866 - Anne Sullivan, Helen Keller's teacher (d. 1936)
• 1868 - Peter Behrens, German architect (d. 1940)
• 1870 - Victor Borisov-Musatov, Russian painter (d. 1905)
• 1870 - Syd Gregory, Australian cricketer (d. 1929)
• 1872 - Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Indian-born Islamic scholar and translator (d. 1953)
• 1882 - Moritz Schlick, Austrian philosopher, (d. 1936)
• 1886 - Ernst Robert Curtius, Alsatian philologist (d. 1956)
• 1891 - B. R. Ambedkar, Indian jurist (d.1956)
• 1892 - Vere Gordon Childe, Australian philologist (d. 1957)
• 1897 - Claire Windsor, American actress (d. 1972)
• 1902 - Sylvio Mantha, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1974)
• 1904 - Sir John Gielgud, English actor (d. 2000)
• 1905 - Elizabeth Huckaby, American educator (d. 1999)
• 1907 - François Duvalier, Haitian politician (d. 1971)
• 1917 - Marvin Miller, American labor activist
• 1917 - Valerie Hobson, British actress (d. 1998)
• 1921 - Thomas Schelling, American economist, Nobel laureate
• 1923 - Roberto DeVicenzo, Argentine golf player
• 1924 - Shorty Rogers, American jazz musician (d. 1994)
• 1925 - Gene Ammons, American jazz saxophonist (d. 1974)
• 1925 - Abel Muzorewa, Prime Minister of Zimbabwe
• 1925 - Rod Steiger, American actor (d. 2002)
• 1926 - Frank Daniel, Czech-born writer, director and teacher (d. 1996)
• 1926 - Liz Renay, American actress (d. 2007)
• 1927 - Alan MacDiarmid, New Zealand chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 2007)
• 1927 - Dany Robin, French actress (d. 1995)
• 1929 - Gerry Anderson, English television producer
• 1930 - Bradford Dillman, American actor
• 1931 - Paul Masnick, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1932 - Bob Grant, English actor (d. 2003)
• 1934 - Fredric Jameson, American philosopher, cultural theorist
• 1935 - Loretta Lynn, American singer/songwriter
• 1935 - Erich von Däniken, Swiss writer
• 1936 - Kenneth Mars, American actor
• 1936 - Frank Serpico, American policeman
• 1936 - Bobby Nichols, American professional golfer
• 1941 - Julie Christie, British actress
• 1941 - Pete Rose, American baseball player
• 1942 - Valentin Lebedev, Russian cosmonaut
• 1942 - Björn Rosengren, Swedish politician
• 1945 - Ritchie Blackmore, English guitarist
• 1945 - Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi, 8th Prime Minister of Samoa
• 1948 - Anastasios Papaligouras, Greek lawyer and politician
• 1949 - DeAnne Julius, American/English economist
• 1949 - John Shea, American actor
• 1950 - Francis Collins, American scientist
• 1951 - Julian Lloyd Webber, English cellist
• 1952 - Mickey O'Sullivan, Irish sportsman
• 1953 - David Buss, Evolutionary psychologist
• 1954 - Bruce Sterling, American science fiction author
• 1957 - Lothaire Bluteau, Canadian actor
• 1957 - Richard Jeni, American comedian (d. 2007)
• 1957 - Mikhail Pletnev, Russian pianist, conductor and composer
• 1958 - John D'Aquino, American actor
• 1960 - Brad Garrett, American actor
• 1961 - Robert Carlyle, British actor
• 1964 - Greg Battle, Canadian Football League player
• 1965 - Tom Dey, American film director
• 1966 - David Justice, American baseball player
• 1966 - Greg Maddux, American baseball player
• 1966 - André Boisclair, Quebec politician (Parti Québécois)
• 1967 - Barrett Martin, American drummer and composer
• 1967 - Nicola Berti, Italian International footballer
• 1967 - Alain Côté, French Canadian ice hockey player
• 1968 - Anthony Michael Hall, American actor
• 1969 - Brad Ausmus, American baseball player
• 1969 - Vebjørn Selbekk, Norwegian journalist
• 1969 - Martyn LeNoble, Dutch musician
• 1969 - Mark Macon, American basketball player
• 1970 - Shizuka Kudō, Japanese singer
• 1970 - Emre Altuğ, Turkish singer
• 1971 - Miguel Calero, Colombian footballer
• 1971 - Peter Gibson, American writer
• 1971 - Gregg Zaun, American baseball player
• 1972 - Paul Devlin, England-born Scottish footballer
• 1972 - Roberto Mejia, Dominican baseball player
• 1973 - Roberto Ayala, Argentine footballer
• 1973 - Adrien Brody, American actor
• 1973 - David Miller, American tenor (Il Divo)
• 1974 - Shawntae Harris, American rapper
• 1975 - Amy Dumas, American professional wrestler
• 1975 - Veronika Zemanová, Czech model
• 1975 - Avner Dorman, Israeli composer
• 1975 - Anderson Silva, Brazilian mixed martial artist
• 1976 - Anna DeForge, American basketball player
• 1976 - Jason Wiemer, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1976 - Kyle Farnsworth, American baseball player
• 1976 - Christian Älvestam, Swedish musician (Scar Symmetry)
• 1977 - Sarah Michelle Gellar, American actress
• 1978 - Paul O'Brien, Australian actor
• 1979 - Rebecca DiPietro, American model
• 1979 - Randal McCloy, Survivor of the Sago Mine Disaster
• 1979 - Noé Pamarot, French footballer
• 1980 - Ben Wells, American actor
• 1980 - Win Butler, American/Canadian musician (Arcade Fire)
• 1983 - James McFadden, Scottish footballer
• 1983 - William Yaw Obeng, Arena Football League lineman
• 1983 - Nikoloz Tskitishvili, American basketball player
• 1984 - Adán Sánchez, Mexican-American singer (d. 2004)
• 1986 - Matt Derbyshire, English footballer
• 1986 - Anne Watanabe, Japanese model
• 1993 - Vivien Cardone, an American actress
• 1993 - Graham Phillips (actor), American actor
• 1996 - Abigail Breslin, American child actress

Deaths

• 1132 - Mstislav of Kiev (b. 1076)
• 1279 - Boleslaus of Greater Poland
• 1322 - Bartholomew de Badlesmere, 1st Lord Badlesmere, English soldier (b. 1275)
• 1345 - Richard Aungerville, English bishop and writer (b. 1287)
• 1471 - Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, English kingmaker (b. 1428)
• 1574 - Louis of Nassau, Dutch general (killed in battle) (b. 1538)
• 1578 - James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, consort of Mary I of Scotland
• 1599 - Henry Wallop, English statesman
• 1662 - William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele, English statesman (b. 1582)
• 1682 - Avvakum, Russian priest and writer (b. 1621)
• 1716 - Arthur Herbert, 1st Earl of Torrington, British admiral
• 1721 - Michel Chamillart, French statesman (b. 1652)
• 1759 - George Frideric Handel, German composer (b. 1685)
• 1785 - William Whitehead, English writer (b. 1715)
• 1792 - Maximilian Hell, Slovakian astronomer (b. 1720)
• 1910 - Mikhail Vrubel, Russian painter (b. 1856)
• 1911 - Addie Joss, American baseball player (b. 1880)
• 1911 - Henri Elzéar Taschereau, French Canadian jurist and Chief Justice of Canada (b. 1836)
• 1912 - Henri Brisson, French statesman (b. 1835)
• 1914 - Hubert Bland, English co-founder of the Fabian Society (b. 1855)
• 1917 - Ludovich Lazarus Zamenhof, Polish creator of Esperanto (b. 1859)
• 1925 - John Singer Sargent, English artist (b. 1856)
• 1930 - Vladimir Mayakovsky, Russian writer (b. 1893)
• 1935 - Amalie Emmy Noether, German mathematician (b. 1882)
• 1941 - Guillermo Kahlo, father of Frida Kahlo (b. 1871)
• 1950 - Sri Ramana Maharshi, Indian philosopher (b. 1879)
• 1964 - Tatyana Alexeyevna Afanasyeva, Russian/Dutch mathematician (b. 1876)
• 1964 - Rachel Carson, American environmentalist (b. 1907)
• 1968 - Al Benton, American baseball player (b. 1911)
• 1975 - Fredric March, American actor (b. 1897)
• 1976 - José Revueltas, Mexican writer (b. 1914)
• 1983 - Pete Farndon, English bassist (The Pretenders) (b. 1952)
• 1984 - Dionisis Papagiannopoulos, Greek actor (b. 1912)
• 1985 - Noele Gordon, English actress (b. 1919)
• 1986 - Simone de Beauvoir, French feminist writer (b. 1908)
• 1988 - John Stonehouse, British politician (b. 1925)
• 1990 - Thurston Harris, American singer (b. 1931)
• 1992 - Bertram Vere Dean, Brother of Milvina Dean (Last Titanic Survivor) (b. 1910)
• 1994 - Salimuzzaman Siddiqui, Pakistani scientist and scholar (b. 1897)
• 1995 - Burl Ives, American singer and actor (b. 1909)
• 1999 - Ellen Corby, American actress (b. 1911)
• 1999 - Anthony Newley, British actor and singer (b. 1931)
• 2000 - Frenchy Bordagaray, American baseball player (b. 1910)
• 2000 - Phil Katz, American computer programmer (b. 1962)
• 2000 - Wilf Mannion, English footballer (b. 1918)
• 2001 - Hiroshi Teshigahara, Japanese director (b. 1927)
• 2001 - Jim Baxter, Scottish footballer (b. 1939)
• 2004 - Micheline Charest, French Canadian television producer (b. 1953)
• 2006 - Mahmut Bakalli, Kosovo politician (b. 1936)
• 2007 - June Callwood, Canadian journalist, author and social activist (b. 1924)
• 2007 - Don Ho, American musician (b. 1930)
• 2008 - Tommy Holmes, American baseball player (b. 1918)
• 2008 - Ollie Johnston, the last living member of Disney's Nine Old Men. (b. 1912)
• 2008 - Miguel Galvan, Mexican actor/comedian. (b. 1957)

Holidays and observances

• Astrological New Year (sidreal equinox)- celebrated as new year in South and South East Asia. Namely by Bengalis, Burmese, Cambodians, Laotians, Malayalees, Nepalese (Vaishak Ek) Punjabis, Sinhalese, Tamils and Thais.
• N'Ko Alphabet Day - the anniversary of the day the N'Ko alphabet was completed in 1949.
• Black Day - Informal celebration day for single people in South Korea.
• Youth Day in Angola.
• Mologa Day in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia
• Day of the Georgian language in Georgia
• Ambedkar Jayanti in India
• Sri Rama Navami in India
• Vaisakhi in India
• Rongali Bihu in Assam, India

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada