Events

Up to 1900 
 502 - King Gundobad issues a new legal code (Lex Burgundionum) at Lyon that makes Gallo-Romans and Burgundians  subject to the same laws.
 1430 - The Ottoman Empire under Murad II captures the Byzantine city of Thessalonica.
 1461 - Wars of the Roses: In the Battle of Towton, Edward of York defeats Margaret of Anjou to become King Edward IV of England.
 1549 - The city of Salvador, Bahia, northeastern Brazil, is founded.
 1632 - The Treaty of Saint-Germain is signed, returning Quebec to French control after the English had seized it in 1629.
 1638 - Swedish colonists create the first European settlement in Delaware, naming it New Sweden.
 1792 – King Gustav III of Sweden dies, after being shot at a masquerade ball.
 1809 – Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden abdicates, and the Grand Duchy of Finland goes to Russian control.
 1847 - Mexican-American War: US forces led by General Winfield Scott take Veracruz, Mexico, after a siege.
 1848 – Niagara Falls stop flowing for 30 hours, due to ice.
 1849 – The United Kingdom annexes the Punjab.
 1865 - American Civil War: Federal forces under Major General Philip Sheridan move to flank Confederate forces under Robert E. Lee as the Appomattox Campaign begins.
 1867 - Queen Victoria gives Royal Assent to the British North America Act which creates the Dominion of Canada on July 1, 1867.
 1871 - The Royal Albert Hall in London is opened by Queen Victoria.
 1879 - Anglo-Zulu War: Battle of Kambula - British forces defeat an army of 20,000 Zulus.
 1886 – John Pemberton brews the first Coca-Cola in Atlanta.
 1886 - Wilhelm Steinitz becomes the first world champion in chess, after defeating Johannes Zukertort.

1901  2000 
 1930 - Heinrich Brüning becomes Chancellor of Germany during the time of the Weimar Republic.
 1941 - World War II: British Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy forces defeat those of the Italian Regia Marina off the Peloponnesian coast of Greece in the Battle of Cape Matapan.
 1942 - World War II: RAF Bomber Command carries out a bombing raid on the city of Luebeck in northern Germany.
 1945 - World War II: Last day of V-1 flying bomb attacks on England.
 1945 - World War II: The German 4th Army is almost destroyed by the Soviet Red Army.
 1946 - The Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico, one of Mexico's leading universities, is founded.
 1947 - Uprising in Madagascar against French colonial rule.
 1951 – Ethel Rosenberg and Julius Rosenberg are convicted of spying for the Soviet Union.
 1957 - The New York, Ontario and Western Railway is abandoned in its entirety.
 1959 - First showing of the movie Some Like It Hot.
 1961 - The 23rd Amendment to the Constitution of the United States gives people living in Washington, DC the right to vote in Presidential elections.
 1962 - President of Argentina Arturo Frondizi is overthrown in a military coup by the Argentine Armed Forces, after an 11-day constitutional crisis.
 1971 – My Lai massacre: Lieutenant William Calley is found guilty of premeditated murder.
 1973 – The last US combat soldiers leave Vietnam.
 1974 – The Mariner 10 space probe passes by the planet Mercury, sending 2,000 photographs back to Earth.
 1974 - Local farmers near Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China, discover the Terracotta Army that was buried with Qin Shi Huang, the first Chinese Emperor, in the 3rd century BC.
 1976 – The last British troops leave the Maldives.
 1981 – The first London Marathon takes place.
 1982 - Elizabeth II approves the Canada Act.
 1985 – The first Care Bears Movie is released.
 1990 - In Czechoslovakia the parliament fails to agree on the country's name after the fall of Communism.
 1990 - A magnitude 6.8 earthquake hits Chamoli district in Uttar Pradesh, India, killing 103 people.
 1993 - Catherine Callbeck becomes Premier of Prince Edward Island, becoming the first woman to take this role in a Canadian province.
 1998 - The Vasco da Gama Bridge, 17 kilometers long, is opened, crossing the Tagus in Lisbon, Portugal.
 1999 - A magnitude 6.8 earthquake strikes Chamoli district in Uttar Pradesh, India, killing 103 people.
 1999 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes at 10006.78 – above the 10,000 mark for the first time ever.

From 2001 
 2002 - In response to the Passover massacre, Israel launches Operation Defensive Shield against Palestinian militants.
 2004 – The Republic of Ireland bans smoking in restaurants, pubs and bars.
 2004 – Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia join NATO.
 2006 – A Solar eclipse is seen over the Atlantic Ocean, Africa, Europe and Asia.
 2008 – The first Earth Hour is observed.
 2010 – Two female suicide bombers blow themselves up on the Moscow Metro, killing 39 people.
 2014 - The first Same-sex marriages in England and Wales take place, with the first ones in Scotland taking place on December 31 of the same year.
 2015 - The Australia national cricket team wins the Cricket World Cup, defeating the New Zealand national cricket team at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
 2017 - British Prime Minister Theresa May triggers Article 50 of the European Union treaty, to start the process of Brexit (the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union).

Births

Up to 1900 
 1602 - John Lightfoot, English churchman (d. 1675)
 1629 - Tsar Alexis of Russia (d. 1676)
 1713 - John Ponsonby, Irish politician (d. 1789)
 1746 – Carlo Buonaparte, father of Napoleon Bonaparte (d. 1785)
 1747 - Johann Wilhelm Hassler, German composer, organist and pianist (d. 1822)
 1751 - Supply Belcher, American composer and singer (d. 1836)
 1769 - Nicolas Jean-de-Dieu Soult, French general and politician (d. 1851)
 1790 – John Tyler, 10th President of the United States (d. 1862)
 1799 – Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1869)
 1813 - John Letcher, Governor of Virginia (d. 1884)
 1815 - Costache Caragiale, Romanian actor, writer and theatre director (d. 1877)
 1816 - Tsultrim Gyatso, 10th Dalai Lama (d. 1837)
 1824 - Ludwig Büchner, German philosopher and physician (d. 1899)
 1826 – Wilhelm Liebknecht, German journalist and politician (d. 1900)
 1830 - Eli C. D. Shortridge, Governor of North Dakota (d. 1908)
 1853 - Elihu Thomson, British-American engineer, inventor and businessman (d. 1937)
 1867 – Cy Young, American baseball player (d. 1955)
 1869 - Edwin Lutyens, British architect (d. 1944)
 1870 - Pavlo Melas, Greek officer (d. 1904)
 1873 - Tullio Levi-Civita, Italian mathematician (d. 1941) 
 1874 – Lou Henry Hoover, First Lady of the United States (d. 1944)
 1876 - Friedrich Traun, German athlete and tennis player (d. 1908)
 1887 - Phraya Phahon Phonphayuhasena, Prime Minister of Thailand (d. 1947)
 1888 - Enea Bossi, Italian-American engineer and aviation pioneer (d. 1963)
 1889 - Warner Baxter, American actor (d. 1951)
 1890 - Harold Spencer Jones, English astronomer (d. 1960)
 1891 - Alfred Neubauer, German racing team manager (d. 1980)
 1892 - Jozsef Mindszenty, Hungarian cardinal (d. 1975)
 1895 - Ernst Jünger, German writer (d. 1998)
 1899 - Lavrenty Beria, Georgian-Soviet politician (d. 1953)
 1900 – John McEwen, eighteenth Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1980)

1901  1950 
 1902 - William Walton, British composer (d. 1983)
 1907 - Braguinha, Brazilian singer and songwriter (d. 2006)
 1911 - Freya von Moltke, German resistance activist (d. 2010)
 1913 - R. S. Thomas, Welsh poet and Anglican priest (d. 2000)
 1914 - Phil Foster, American actor (d. 1985)
 1914 - Chapman Pincher, British journalist, historian and author (d. 2014)
 1916 - Peter Geach, British philosopher (d. 2013)
 1916 – Eugene McCarthy, American politician (d. 2005)
 1918 – Pearl Bailey, American singer and actress (d. 1990)
 1918 – Sam Walton, American businessman (d. 1992)
 1920 - Pierre Moinot, French writer (d. 2007)
 1923 - Geoff Duke, British motorcycle racer (d. 2015)
 1926 - Moshe Sanbar, Hungarian-born Israeli economist (d. 2012)
 1927 – John Robert Vane, English pharmacologist (d. 2004)
 1927 - John McLaughlin, American television personality and political commentator (d. 2016)
 1929 - Sheila Kitzinger, English childbirth activist (d. 2015)
 1929 - Lennart Meri, Estonian statesman and 2nd President of Estonia (d. 2006)
 1929 - Richard Lewontin, American biologist and philosopher
 1930 – Anerood Jugnauth, President of Mauritius
 1931 - Aleksei Gubarev, Soviet cosmonaut (d. 2015)
 1931 – Norman Tebbit, English politician
 1931 - Stefan Andrei, Romanian politician (d. 2014)
 1933 - Edvard Grimstad, Norwegian politician (d. 2014)
 1935 - Ruby Murray, English actress and singer (d. 1996)
 1936 - Richard Rodney Bennett, English composer (d. 2012)
 1936 - John A. Durkin, American politician
 1936 - Joseph P. Teasdale, former Governor of Missouri (d. 2014)
 1936 - Judith Guest, American writer
 1937 - Smarck Michel, 6th Prime Minister of Haiti (d. 2012)
 1937 – Bruno Mora, Italian footballer (d. 1986)
 1939 - Terence Hill, Italian actor
 1940 - Ray Davis, American singer and musician
 1940 - Astrud Gilberto, Brazilian singer-songwriter
 1940 - John Suchet, British journalist
 1941 – Joseph Hooton Taylor, Jr., American astrophysicist
 1941 - Violeta Andrei, Romanian actress
 1942 - Larry Pressler, American politician
 1943 – Eric Idle, English actor and comedian
 1943 – John Major, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
 1943 – Vangelis, Greek musician and musician
 1944 - Nana Akufo-Addo, President of Ghana
 1944 – Terry Jacks, Canadian musician, songwriter, and activist
 1945 – Walt Frazier, American basketball player
 1946 - Billy Thorpe, Australian singer (d. 2007)
 1946 - Robert J. Shiller, American economist
 1947 - Bobby Kimball, American singer
 1948 - Bud Cort, American movie and stage actor, director and writer
 1949 - Michael Brecker, American jazz saxophonist and composer (d. 2007)
 1949 – Dave Greenfield, English musician (The Stranglers)
 1949 - Pauline Marois, 30th Premier of Quebec
 1949 - Kayahan, Turkish singer-songwriter (d. 2015)
 1949 - Keith Simpson, British politician
 1950 - Mory Kanté, Guinean musician

1951  1975 
 1952 - Teofilo Stevenson, Cuban boxer (d. 2012)
 1954 - Dianne Kay, American actress
 1955 – Rolf Lassgard, Swedish actor
 1955 - Brendan Gleeson, Irish actor and director
 1955 - Henry Bellingham, English politician
 1955 - Christopher Lawford, American actor
 1957 – Christopher Lambert, French actor
 1958 - Pedro Bial, Brazilian producer, director, writer, journalist and television presenter
 1958 - Marc Silvestri, American comics artist and publisher
 1959 – Brad McCrimmon, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2011)
 1960 – Jo Nesbo, Norwegian writer and musician
 1960 - Annabella Sciorra, American actress
 1961 – Amy Sedaris, American actress
 1961 - Michael Winterbottom, British movie director
 1963 - Voula Patoulidou, Greek athlete
 1963 - Joan Garriga, Spanish motorcycle road racer (d. 2015)
 1964 – Elle Macpherson, Australian model
 1965 - Jill Goodacre, American actress and model
 1965 - Dominic Littlewood, English television presenter
 1965 - William Ofelein, American astronaut
 1966 - Jeroen Dijsselbloem, Dutch politician
 1967 - Michel Hazanavicius, French movie director, producer and screenwriter
 1968 – Lucy Lawless, New Zealand actress
 1971 – Robert Gibbs, former US Press Secretary
 1972 - Michel Ancel, French game designer
 1972 - Priti Patel, English politician
 1972 – Rui Costa, Portuguese footballer
 1973 – Marc Overmars, Dutch footballer

From 1976 
 1976 – Jennifer Capriati, American tennis player
 1979 - Estela Giménez, Spanish rhythmic gymnast
 1979 - Tomoe Shinohara, Japanese actress, singer, fashion designer and producer
 1980 - Kim Tae-hee, South Korean actress
 1980 - Prince Hamzah bin Al Hussein of Jordan
 1981 - Megan Hilty, American actress and singer
 1981 - Jlloyd Samuel, Trinidad and Tobago footballer
 1982 - Hideaki Takizawa, Japanese actor and singer
 1983 - Jeremie Aliadiere, French footballer
 1984 – Mohamed Bouazizi, Tunisian fruit seller (d. 2011)
 1984 – Roman Kienast, Austrian footballer
 1984 - Juan Monaco, Argentine tennis player
 1985 – Maxim Lapierre, Canadian ice hockey player
 1986 – Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, English footballer
 1986 - Luke Eberl, American actor and director
 1987 - Dimitri Payet, French footballer
 1989 - Arnold Peralta, Honduran footballer (d. 2015)
 1990 - Teemu Pukki, Finnish footballer
 1990 - Lyle Taylor, British footballer
 1991 - Irene, South Korean singer, television host and actress
 1991 - Hayley McFarland, American actress
 1991 - Fabio Borini, Italian footballer
 1991 - N'Golo Kanté, French footballer
 1992 - Chris Massoglia, American actor
 1994 - Sulli, South Korean actress, singer and dancer
 1995 - Marc Musso, American actor
 2012 - Isla Elizabeth Phillips, great-granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II

Deaths

Up to 1900 
 87 BC - Emperor Wu of Han of China (b. 156 BC)
 57 - Emperor Gwangwu of Han of China (b. 5)
 1058 – Pope Stephen IX (b. 1020)
 1368 - Emperor Go-Murakami of Japan (b. 1328)
 1461 - Henry Percy, 3rd Duke of Northumberland, English politician (b. 1421)
 1578 - Louis I, Cardinal of Guise, French cardinal (b. 1527)
 1625 – Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas, Spanish historian (b. 1549)
 1772 – Emanuel Swedenborg, Swedish philosopher and mathematician (b. 1688)
 1792 – King Gustav III of Sweden (b. 1746)
 1826 - Johann Heinrich Voss, German poet (b. 1751)
 1829 - Cornelio Saavedra, Argentine military officer (b. 1759)
 1848 – John Jacob Astor, German-American businessman (b. 1763)
 1855 - Henri Druey, Swiss politician (b. 1799)
 1873 - Francesco Zantedeschi, Italian physicist (b. 1797)
 1877 - Inazuma Raigoro, Japanese sumo wrestler (b. 1802)
 1888 – Charles-Valentin Alkan, French composer (b. 1813)
 1891 – Georges Seurat, French painter (b. 1859)

1901  2000 
 1911 - Alexandre Guilmant, French organist and composer (b. 1837)
 1912 – Henry Robertson Bowers, English explorer (b. 1883)
 1912 – Robert Falcon Scott, English explorer (b. 1868)
 1912 – Edward Adrian Wilson, English explorer (b. 1872)
 1934 - Otto Hermann Kahn, German millionaire (b. 1867)
 1937 – Karol Szymanowski, Polish composer (b. 1882)
 1939 - Gerardo Machado, 5th President of Cuba (b. 1871)
 1940 – Alexander Obolensky, Russian prince and England rugby player (b. 1916)
 1948 - Olev Siinmaa, Estonian architect (b. 1881)
 1956 – Infante Alfonso of Spain (b. 1941)
 1959 – Barthélemy Boganda, President of the Central African Republic (b. 1910)
 1972 - J. Arthur Rank, 1st Baron Rank, English businessman (b. 1888)
 1980 - Mantovani, Italian-born conductor (b. 1905)
 1981 – Eric Williams, 1st Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago (b. 1911)
 1982 – Carl Orff, German composer (b. 1895)
 1982 - Walter Hallstein, German educator and politician (b. 1901)
 1985 – Jeanine Deckers, Belgian nun and singer (b. 1933)
 1985 - Luther Terry, Surgeon General of the United States (b. 1911)
 1986 - Harry Ritz, Austrian-American actor (b. 1907)
 1988 - Maurice Blackburn, Canadian composer, conductor and sound editor (b. 1914)
 1991 - Lee Atwater, American political advisor (b. 1951)
 1994 - Bill Travers, English actor, director and screenwriter (b. 1922)

From 2001 
 2001 – Helge Ingstad, Norwegian explorer and archaeologist (b. 1899)
 2003 - Carlo Urbani, Italian physician (b. 1956)
 2004 - Joel Feinberg, American philosopher (b. 1926)
 2004 - Simone Renant, French actress (b. 1911)
 2009 – Maurice Jarre, French composer (b. 1924)
 2009 - Vladimir Fedotov, Soviet-Russian footballer (b. 1943)
 2009 - Helen Levitt, American photographer (b. 1913)
 2011 - José Alencar, Vice President of Brazil (b. 1931)
 2011 – Robert Tear, Welsh tenor and conductor (b. 1939)
 2013 - Ralph Klein, 12th Premier of Alberta (b. 1942)
 2014 - Karl Spillman Forester, American judge (b. 1940)
 2014 - Birgitta Valberg, Swedish actress (b. 1916)
 2014 - Yosef Hamadani Cohen, Iranian Jewish leader (b. 1916)
 2014 - Marc Platt, American dancer and actor (b. 1913)
 2014 - Hobart Alter, American surfer and boat designer (b. 1933)
 2014 - Dane Witherspoon, American actor (b. 1957)
 2015 - Juan Carlos Maccarone, Argentine Roman Catholic bishop (b. 1940)
 2016 - Patty Duke, American actress (b. 1946)
 2016 - Jean-Pierre Coffe, French television presenter and food critic (b. 1938)
 2017 - Alexei Alexeyevich Abrikosov, Russian-American theoretical physicist (b. 1928)
 2017 - Ken Sparks, American football player and coach (b. 1944)
 2018 - Emiliano Mondonico, Italian footballer (b. 1947)
 2018 - Stephen Reinhardt, American judge (b. 1931)
 2018 - Rusty Staub, American baseball player (b. 1944)

Observances 
 Boganda Day (Central African Republic)
 Youth Day (Republic of China)

Days of the year