Events Pre-1600 1056 – After a sudden gastric illness, Byzantine Empress Theodora dies childless, thus ending the Macedonian dynasty. 1218 – Al-Kamil becomes sultan of the Ayyubid dynasty.; 1302 – Frederick III of Aragon and Charles, Count of Valois sign the Peace of Caltabellotta, which ends the War of the Sicilian Vespers and divides the old Kingdom of Sicily into an island portion and a peninsular portion. 1314 – King Haakon V moves the capital of Norway from Bergen to Oslo. 1420 – The 8.8–9.4 Caldera earthquake shakes Chile's Atacama Region causing tsunami in Chile, Hawaii, and Japan.; 1422 – King Henry V of England dies of dysentery while in France and his son, Henry VI, becomes king at the age of nine months.; 1483 – Under the influence of the Ottoman government, patriarch Symeon I convenes a synod of the Eastern Orthodox Churches in Constantinople which defines the ritual for admitting Catholics to the Eastern Orthodox Churches and condemns the church union of Ferrara-Florence.;
1601–1900 1776 – William Livingston, the first Governor of New Jersey, begins serving his first term. 1795 – War of the First Coalition: The British capture Trincomalee (present-day Sri Lanka) from the Dutch in order to keep it out of French hands.; 1798 – Irish Rebellion: Irish rebels, with French assistance, establish the short-lived Republic of Connacht. 1813 – Peninsular War: Spanish troops repel a French attack in the Battle of San Marcial. 1864 – American Civil War: The Battle of Jonesborough, the culmination of the Atlanta campaign, begins as Union forces under General William T. Sherman clash with Confederate troops under General William J. Hardee south of Atlanta. 1876 – Ottoman Sultan Murad V is deposed and succeeded by his brother, Abdul Hamid II. 1886 – The 7.0 Charleston earthquake strikes southeastern South Carolina with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme), killing 60 people and causing damage worth an estimated at $5 to $6 million. 1888 – Mary Ann Nichols, the first of Jack the Ripper's confirmed victims, is murdered. 1895 – German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin patents his navigable balloon.
1901–present 1907 – Russia and the United Kingdom sign the Anglo-Russian Convention, by which the UK recognizes Russian preeminence in northern Persia, while Russia recognizes British preeminence in southeastern Persia and Afghanistan. Both powers pledge not to interfere in Tibet. 1918 – World War I: Start of the Battle of Mont Saint-Quentin, a successful assault by the Australian Corps during the Hundred Days Offensive. 1920 – Polish–Soviet War: A decisive Polish victory in the Battle of Komarów. 1933 – The Integral Nationalist Group wins the 1933 Andorran parliamentary election, the first election in Andorra held with universal male suffrage. 1935 – In an attempt to stay out of the growing tensions concerning Germany and Japan, the United States passes the first of its Neutrality Acts. 1936 – Radio Prague, now the official international broadcasting station of the Czech Republic, goes on the air. 1939 – Nazi Germany mounts a false flag attack on the Gleiwitz radio station, creating an excuse to attack Poland the following day, thus starting World War II in Europe. 1940 – Pennsylvania Central Airlines Trip 19 crashes near Lovettsville, Virginia. The CAB investigation of the accident is the first investigation to be conducted under the Bureau of Air Commerce act of 1938. 1941 – World War II: Serbian paramilitary forces defeat Germans in the Battle of Loznica. 1943 – , the first U.S. Navy ship to be named after a black person, is commissioned. 1949 – The retreat of the Democratic Army of Greece into Albania after its defeat on Gramos mountain marks the end of the Greek Civil War. 1950 – TWA Flight 903 crashes near Itay El Barud, Egypt, killing all 55 aboard. 1957 – The Federation of Malaya (now Malaysia) gains its independence from the United Kingdom. 1959 – A parcel bomb sent by Ngô Đình Nhu, younger brother and chief adviser of South Vietnamese President Ngô Đình Diệm, fails to kill King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia. 1962 – Trinidad and Tobago becomes independent. 1963 – Crown Colony of North Borneo (now Sabah) achieves self-governance. 1968 – Start of the Congress of Carrara, one of the major 20th century anarchist congresses. 1972 – Aeroflot Flight 558 crashes in the Abzelilovsky District in Bashkortostan, Russia (then the Soviet Union), killing all 102 people aboard. 1986 – Aeroméxico Flight 498 collides with a Piper PA-28 Cherokee over Cerritos, California, killing 67 in the air and 15 on the ground. 1986 – The Soviet passenger liner sinks in the Black Sea after colliding with the bulk carrier Pyotr Vasev, killing 423. 1987 – Thai Airways Flight 365 crashes into the ocean near Ko Phuket, Thailand, killing all 83 aboard. 1988 – Delta Air Lines Flight 1141 crashes during takeoff from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, killing 14. 1988 – CAAC Flight 301 overshoots the runway at Kai Tak Airport and crashes into Kowloon Bay, killing seven people. 1991 – Kyrgyzstan declares its independence from the Soviet Union. 1993 – Russia completes removing its troops from Lithuania. 1994 – Russia completes removing its troops from Estonia. 1994 – Argentina abolishes conscription after months of social backlash over the murder of a conscript. 1996 – Saddam Hussein's troops seize Irbil after the Kurdish Masoud Barzani appealed for help to defeat his Kurdish rival PUK. 1997 – Diana, Princess of Wales, her partner, Dodi Fayed, and driver Henri Paul die in a car crash in Paris. 1999 – The first of a series of bombings in Moscow kills one person and wounds 40 others. 1999 – A LAPA Boeing 737-200 crashes during takeoff from Jorge Newbury Airport in Buenos Aires, killing 65, including two on the ground. 2002 – Typhoon Rusa, the most powerful typhoon to hit South Korea in 43 years, makes landfall, killing at least 236 people. 2005 – The 2005 Al-Aaimmah bridge stampede in Baghdad kills 953 people. 2006 – Edvard Munch's famous painting, The Scream, stolen on August 22, 2004, is recovered in a raid by Norwegian police. 2016 – Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff is impeached and removed from office. 2019 – A sightseeing helicopter crashes in the mountains of Skoddevarre in Alta, Norway, killing all six people on board. 2024 – A helicopter crashes in Kamchatka Krai in the Russian Far East, killing all 22 occupants. 2025 – A landslide in the Darfur region of Sudan kills over 1000 people. 2025 – An earthquake in eastern Afghanistan kills over 1400 people.
Births
Pre-1600 12 – Caligula, Roman emperor (died 41) 161 – Commodus, Roman emperor (died 192) 1018 – Jeongjong II, Korean ruler (died 1046) 1168 – Zhang Zong, Chinese emperor (died 1208) 1542 – Isabella de' Medici, Italian princess (died 1576) 1569 – Jahangir, Mughal emperor (died 1627)
1601–1900 1652 – Ferdinando Carlo Gonzaga, Italian nobleman (died 1708) 1663 – Guillaume Amontons, French physicist and instrument maker (died 1705) 1721 – George Hervey, 2nd Earl of Bristol, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (died 1775) 1741 – Jean-Paul-Égide Martini, French composer and educator (died 1816) 1748 – Jean-Étienne Despréaux, French ballet dancer, choreographer, composer, and playwright (died 1820) 1767 – Henry Joy McCracken, Irish businessman and activist, founded the Society of United Irishmen (died 1798) 1775 – Agnes Bulmer, English poet and author (died 1836) 1797 – Ramón Castilla, Peruvian military leader and politician, President of Peru (died 1867) 1797 – Stephen Geary, English architect, inventor and entrepreneur (died 1854) 1802 – Husein Gradaščević, Ottoman general (died 1834) 1811 – Théophile Gautier, French poet and critic (died 1872) 1821 – Hermann von Helmholtz, German physician and physicist (died 1894) 1823 – Galusha A. Grow, American lawyer and politician, 28th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (died 1907) 1834 – Amilcare Ponchielli, Italian composer and educator (died 1886) 1842 – Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin, American journalist, publisher, and activist (died 1924) 1843 – Georg von Hertling, German academic and politician, 7th Chancellor of the German Empire (died 1919) 1870 – Maria Montessori, Italian physician and educator (died 1952) 1871 – James E. Ferguson, American banker and politician, 26th governor of Texas (died 1944) 1875 – Rosa Lemberg, Namibian-born Finnish American teacher, singer and choral conductor (died 1959) 1878 – Frank Jarvis, American sprinter and lawyer (died 1933) 1879 – Alma Mahler, Austrian-American composer and author (died 1964) 1879 – Taishō, Emperor of Japan (died 1926) 1880 – Wilhelmina, queen of the Netherlands (died 1962) 1883 – Ramón Fonst, Cuban fencer (died 1959) 1884 – George Sarton, Belgian-American historian of science (died 1956) 1885 – DuBose Heyward, American author and playwright (died 1940) 1890 – August Alle, Estonian poet and author (died 1952) 1890 – Nätti-Jussi, Finnish lumberjack and forest laborer (died 1964) 1893 – Lily Laskine, French harp player (died 1988) 1894 – Albert Facey, Australian soldier and author (died 1982) 1896 – Brian Edmund Baker, English Air Marshal (died 1979) 1896 – Félix-Antoine Savard, Canadian priest and author (died 1982) 1897 – Fredric March, American actor (died 1975) 1900 – Gino Lucetti, Italian anarchist, attempted assassin of Benito Mussolini (died 1943)
1901–present 1902 – Géza Révész, Hungarian general and politician, Hungarian Minister of Defence (died 1977) 1903 – Arthur Godfrey, American radio and television host (died 1983) 1903 – Vladimir Jankélévitch, French musicologist and philosopher (died 1985) 1905 – Robert Bacher, American physicist and academic (died 2004) 1905 – Sanford Meisner, American actor and educator (died 1997) 1907 – Valter Biiber, Estonian footballer (died 1977) 1907 – Augustus F. Hawkins, American lawyer and politician (died 2007) 1907 – Ramon Magsaysay, Filipino captain, engineer, and politician, 7th President of the Philippines (died 1957) 1907 – William Shawn, American journalist (died 1992) 1907 – Altiero Spinelli, Italian theorist and politician (died 1986) 1908 – William Saroyan, American novelist, playwright, and short story writer (died 1981) 1909 – Ferenc Fejtő, Hungarian-French journalist and political scientist (died 2008) 1911 – Edward Brongersma, Dutch journalist and politician (died 1998) 1911 – Arsenio Rodríguez, Cuban-American tres player, composer, and bandleader (died 1970) 1913 – Helen Levitt, American photographer and cinematographer (died 2009) 1913 – Bernard Lovell, English physicist and astronomer (died 2012) 1914 – Richard Basehart, American actor (died 1984) 1915 – Pete Newell, American basketball player and coach (died 2008) 1916 – Danny Litwhiler, American baseball player and coach (died 2011) 1916 – Daniel Schorr, American journalist and author (died 2010) 1916 – John S. Wold, American geologist and politician (died 2017) 1918 – Alan Jay Lerner, American songwriter and composer (died 1986) 1919 – Amrita Pritam, Indian poet and author (died 2005) 1921 – Otis G. Pike, American judge and politician (died 2014) 1921 – Raymond Williams, Welsh author and academic (died 1988) 1924 – John Davidson, American physician and politician (died 2012) 1924 – Buddy Hackett, American actor and singer (died 2003) 1924 – Herbert Wise, Austrian-English director and producer (died 2015) 1925 – Ted Blakey, American historian, activist, and businessman (died 2004) 1925 – Moran Campbell, English-Canadian physician and academic, invented the venturi mask (died 2004) 1925 – Maurice Pialat, French actor and director (died 2003) 1928 – James Coburn, American actor (died 2002) 1928 – Jaime Sin, Filipino cardinal (died 2005) 1930 – Big Tiny Little, American pianist (died 2010) 1931 – Jean Béliveau, Canadian ice hockey player (died 2014) 1931 – Rolf Just Nilsen, Norwegian singer and actor (died 1981) 1931 – Noble Willingham, American actor (died 2004)