Events

Up to 1900 
 54  Roman Empire emperor Claudius dies after being poisoned by his wife Agrippina. Nero becomes Emperor.
 409  Vandals and Alans cross the Pyrenees and reach Hispania, present-day Spain.
 1307  All Knights Templar in France are simultaneously arrested by agents of Phillip the Fair, to be later tortured into "admitting" heresy.
 1399  Henry IV of England is crowned King. He founds the Royal House of Lancaster.
 1582  Due to the implementation of the Gregorian calendar this day does not exist in this year in Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain.
 1644  A Swedish-Dutch fleet defeats the Danes and captures about 1,000 prisoners.
 1710  Port Royal, capital of French Acadia, falls in a siege to British forces.
 1773  Charles Messier discovers the Whirlpool Galaxy.
 1775  The United States Continental Congress orders the establishment of the Continental Navy (later renamed the United States Navy).
 1792  In Washington, DC, the cornerstone of the United States Executive Mansion (known as the White House since 1818) is laid.
 1803  The first European settlement in Victoria, Australia, is started at Sullivan Bay, Victoria.
 1812  War of 1812: Battle of Queenston Heights – On the Niagara frontier in Ontario, Canada, United States forces under General Stephen Van Rensselaerof are repulsed from invading Canada by British and native troops led by Sir Isaac Brock.
 1825  Ludwig I of Bavaria becomes King.
 1843  In New York City, Henry Jones and 11 others found B'nai B'rith (the oldest Jewish service organization in the world).
 1845  A majority of voters in the Republic of Texas approve a proposed constitution, that if accepted by the U.S. Congress, will make Texas a U.S. state.
 1881  First known conversation in modern Hebrew by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda and a group of his friends.
 1884  Greenwich, London is decided as the place that the 0 degree longitude line will pass through.
 1885  The Georgia Institute of Technology is founded of Atlanta, Georgia.
 1898  British passenger ship Mohegan crashes into a reef off Cornwall, sinking within 12 minutes, killing 106 people.

1901  2000 
 1911  Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn becomes the first British royal to be Governor-General of Canada.
 1914  The Boston Braves complete a 4 games to 0 win over the Philadelphia Athletics at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts in the first such victory in Baseball World Series history.
 1917  "Miracle of the Sun" is said to have been seen by 70,000 people in Fatima, Portugal.
 1918  Talaat Pasha and the Young Turk (C.U.P.) ministry resign and sign an armistice, ending Ottoman participation in World War I.
 1921  The Soviet republics of Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia sign the Treaty of Kars with the Grand National Assembly of Turkey to determine modern borders between Turkey and the Southern Caucasus states.
 1923  Ankara replaces Istanbul as capital city of Turkey.
 1943  World War II: The new government of Italy sides with the Allies and declares war on Germany.
 1944  World War II: Riga, Latvia is occupied by the Red Army.
 1945  The Christian Social Union of Bavaria, the main political party of Bavaria, is founded.
 1946  France adopts the constitution of the Fourth Republic.
 1958  Debut of Paddington Bear fictional character, created by Michael Bond.
 1960  1960 World Series: Baseball player Bill Mazeroski becomes the first person to end a World Series with a home run.
 1962  Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? opens on Broadway.
 1967  The first game of the American Basketball Association is played in Oakland, California, as the Oakland Oaks defeat the Anaheim Amigos 134-129.
 1970  Fiji joins the UN.
 1972  An Aeroflot Ilyushin-62 crashed outside Moscow killing 176
 1972  Andes flight disaster: Fairchild passenger plane transporting a rugby team crashes in Andes. They are found alive December 20 but they have had to resort to cannibalism to survive, as chronicled in the 1993 movie Alive: The Miracle of the Andes.
 1976  A Bolivian Boeing 707 cargo jet crashes in Santa Cruz, Bolivia killing 100 (97, mostly children killed on the ground)
 1976  The first electron micrograph of an Ebola viral particle was obtained by Dr. F.A. Murphy, now at U.C. Davis, who was then working at the C.D.C..
 1977  Four Palestinians hijack a Lufthansa Airlines flight to Somalia and demand release of 11 members of the Red Army Faction.
 1990  End of the Lebanese Civil War: Syrian forces launch an attack on the free areas of Lebanon, removing Michel Aoun from the Presidential Palace.
 1992  An Antonov An-124 operated by Antonov Airlines crashes near Kiev, Ukraine, killing 8 people.
 1995  Microsoft releases Windows 95.
 1999  The United States Senate rejects ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).

From 2001 
 2003  The Public Library of Science commences publication of an open-access scientific journal, PLoS Biology.
 2006  Ban Ki-moon is chosen to succeed Kofi Annan as UN Secretary-General.
 2006  Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank win the Nobel Peace Prize.
 2010  Miracle of Copiapo: 33 miners, who survived for a record 69 days, trapped underground in the San José mine in Chile, are rescued, in a rescue operation that was followed by people around the world.
 2016  Bhumibol Adulyadej, King of Thailand, dies aged 88 after more than 70 years on the throne. He was the world's longest-serving head of state at the time of his death.
 2016  Bob Dylan becomes the first singer-songwriter to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
 2016  The Maldives announce their withdrawal from the Commonwealth of Nations.
 2017  The United States and Israel announce their withdrawal from UNESCO.
 2019  Simone Biles becomes the most-successful ever gymnast at the World Gymnastics Championships.

Births

Up to 1900 
 1162  Leonora of England, Queen of Castile (d. 1214)
 1453  Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales (d. 1471)
 1474  Mariotto Albertinelli, Italian painter (d. 1495)
 1499  Claude of France (d. 1524)
 1566  Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork, Irish politician (d. 1643)
 1613  Luisa of Medina-Sidonia, Queen of Portugal (d. 1666)
 1680  Catherine Opalinska, Queen of Poland (d. 1747)
 1713  Allan Ramsay, Scottish painter (d. 1784)
 1768  Jacques Félix Emmanuel Hamelin, French explorer (d. 1839)
 1816  Benjamin H. Brewster, United States Attorney General (d. 1888)
 1820  John William Dawson, Canadian geologist (d. 1899)
 1821  Rudolf Virchow, German physician, pathologist, biologist and politician (d. 1902)
 1825  Charles Frederick Worth, English fashion designer (d. 1895)
 1844  Ernest Myers, English poet (d. 1921)
 1853  Lillie Langtry, British actress (d. 1929)
 1862  Mary Kingsley, British explorer (d. 1900)
 1867  Ramon Maximiliano Valdés, 7th President of Panama (d. 1918)
 1870  Albert Jay Nock, American writer (d. 1945)
 1872  Blaise Diagne, Senegalese politician (d. 1934)
 1874  Jozsef Klekl, Slovenian politician in Hungary (d. 1948)
 1876  Rube Waddell, American baseball player (d. 1914)
 1877  Theodore G. Bilbo, Governor of Mississippi (d. 1947)
 1878  Stepan Shahumyan, Armenian politician and revolutionary (d. 1918)
 1879  Edward Hennig, American gymnast (d. 1960)
 1880  Sasha Cherny, Russian poet (d. 1932)
 1883  William Dickey, American diver (d. 1950)
 1887  Jozef Tiso, Slovakian politician (d. 1947)
 1890  Conrad Richter, American writer (d. 1968)
 1891  Irene Rich, American actress (d. 1988)
 1893  Kurt Reidemeister, German mathematician (d. 1971)
 1895  Mike Gazella, American baseball player (d. 1978)
 1896  E. Beatrice Riley, Australian supercentenarian (d. 2009)
 1900  Gerald Marks, American composer (d. 1997)

1901  1950 
 1902  Karl Leichter, Estonian musicologist (d. 1987)
 1904  Wilfred Pickles, English actor (d. 1978)
 1905  Coloman Braun-Bogdan, Romanian footballer (d. 1983)
 1905  Yves Allégret, French movie director (d. 1987)
 1908  Steinn Steinarr, Icelandic poet (d. 1958)
 1909  Art Tatum, American jazz musician (d. 1956)
 1911  Ashok Kumar, Indian actor (d. 2001)
 1911  Migjeni, Albanian poet (d. 1938)
 1915  Terry Frost, English artist (d. 2003)
 1915  Wesley Powell, Governor of New Hampshire (d. 1981)
 1917  George Osmond, patriarch of the Osmonds (d. 2007)
 1920  Laraine Day, American actress (d. 2007)
 1921  Yves Montand, French actor and singer (d. 1991)
 1923  Faas Wilkes, Dutch footballer (d. 2006)
 1923  Iona Opie, English folklorist
 1924  Terry Gibbs, American jazz musician
 1924  Charlie Silvera, American baseball player (d. 2019)
 1924  Roberto Eduardo Viola, Argentine military leader (d. 1994)
 1925  Lenny Bruce, American comedian (d. 1966)
 1925  Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 2013)
 1925  Gustav Winckler, Danish singer (d. 1979)
 1926  Killer Kowalski, Canadian professional wrestler (d. 2008)
 1926  Tommy Whittle, British jazz saxophonist (d. 2013)
 1927  Lee Konitz, American jazz saxophonist
 1927  Turgut Ozal, 8th President of Turkey (d. 1993)
 1929  Shivinder Singh Sidhu, Indian politician, Governor of Meghalaya and Goa (d. 2018)
 1931  Raymond Kopa, French footballer (d. 2017)
 1933  Narriman Sadek, Egyptian royal
 1933  Mark Zakharov, Russian director and screenwriter (d. 2019)
 1934  Nana Mouskouri, Greek singer and politician
 1934  Jack Colvin, American actor (d. 2005)
 1938  Christiane Hörbiger, Austrian actress
 1939  Melinda Dillon, American actress
 1940  Pharoah Sanders, American saxophonist
 1940  Chris Farlowe, English rock, blues and soul singer
 1941  Paul Simon, American musician and songwriter
 1942  Rutanya Alda, Latvian-American actress
 1943  Edmund Daukoru, OPEC Secretary-General
 1943  Peter Sauber, Swiss Formula One team principal
 1945  Desi Bouterse, President of Suriname
 1946  Edwina Currie, British politician
 1947  Joe Dolce, American-born Australian singer-songwriter
 1947  Sammy Hagar, American singer
 1949  Raimundo Fagner, Brazilian singer, composer and actor
 1949  Marisol Malaret, Puerto Rican model
 1949  Rick Vito, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Fleetwood Mac)
 1949  Mark Winzenried, American middle-distance runner
 1950  Rolf Rüssmann, German footballer (d. 2009)

1951  1975 
 1952  Mundo Earwood, American country musician and singer-songwriter (d. 2014)
 1954  Haitham bin Tariq, Sultan of Oman
 1954  Mordechai Vanunu, Israeli nuclear technician
 1956  Chris Carter, American TV and movie producer, director and writer
 1958  Maria Cantwell, American politician
 1958  Jamal Khashoggi, Saudi journalist (d. 2018)
 1959  Marie Osmond, American entertainer
 1960  Joey Belladonna, American musician
 1960  Eric Joyce, Scottish politician
 1960  Ari Fleischer, 24th White House Press Secretary
 1960  Peter Keisler, United States Attorney General
 1961  Doc Rivers, American basketball player and coach
 1962  Kelly Preston, American actress
 1962  Jerry Rice, American football player
 1963  Thomas Dörflein, German zookeeper (d. 2008)
 1964  Nie Haisheng, Chinese astronaut
 1964  Christopher Judge, American actor
 1966  John Regis, English athlete
 1967  Trevor Hoffman, American baseball player
 1967  Javier Sotomayor, Cuban athlete
 1967  Kate Walsh, American actress
 1968  Carlos Marin, Spanish baritone (Il Divo)
 1968  Tisha Campbell, American actress
 1969  Nancy Kerrigan, American figure skater
 1970  Mel Jackson, American actor and musician
 1970  Paul Potts, English tenor
 1970  Rob Howley, Welsh rugby player and coach
 1971  Sacha Baron Cohen, English actor and comedian
 1971  Kira Reed, American actress and TV host, writer and producer

From 1976 
 1977  Katrin Wagner-Augustin, German canoeist
 1977  Paul Pierce, American basketball player
 1977  Antonio Di Natale, Italian footballer
 1978  Wes Brown, English footballer
 1978  Markus Heikkinen, Finnish footballer
 1978  Jermaine O'Neal, American basketball player
 1980  Magne Hoseth, Norwegian footballer
 1980  David Haye, English boxer
 1980  Scott Parker, English footballer
 1980  Ashanti, American singer and actress
 1981  Kele Okereke, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Bloc Party)
 1982  Ian Thorpe, Australian swimmer
 1982  Kevin Clifton, English professional dancer
 1982  Denis Buntic, Croatian handball player
 1984  Misono, Japanese singer-songwriter and guitarist
 1984  Frank Simek, American basketball player
 1986  Gabriel Agbonlahor, English footballer
 1986  Sergio Pérez Moya, Mexican footballer
 1987  Ashley Newbrough, American actress
 1988  Scott Jamieson, Australian footballer
 1988  Enrique Pérez, Mexican footballer
 1988  Susan Thorsgaard, Danish handball player
 1989  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, American politician and activist
 1990  Pooja Hegde, Indian model and actress
 1990  Himesh Patel, English actor
 1992  Aaron Dismuke, American voice actor
 1993  Kaito Ishikawa, Japanese voice actor
 1993  D-Pryde, Canadian rapper
 1993  Tiffany Trump, daughter of Donald Trump

Deaths

Up to 1900 
 54  Claudius, Roman Emperor (b. 10 BC)
 1093  Robert I, Count of Flanders
 1282  Nichiren, Japanese monk (b. 1222)
 1687  Geminiano Montanari, Italian astronomer (b. 1633)
 1706  Iyasus the Great, Emperor of Ethiopia (b. 1682)
 1715  Nicolas Malebranche, French philosopher (b. 1638)
 1759  John Henley, English clergyman (b. 1692)
 1812  Sir Isaac Brock, British general (killed in battle) (b. 1769)
 1815  Joachim Murat, King of Naples, Marshal of France (b. 1767)
 1822  Antonio Canova, Venetian sculptor (b. 1757)
 1825  Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria (b. 1756)
 1852  John Lloyd Stephens, American explorer, writer and diplomat (b. 1805)
 1869  Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve, French literary critic (b. 1804)
 1882  Arthur Gobineau, French philosopher (b. 1816)
 1890  Samuel Freeman Miller, U.S. Supreme Court justice (b. 1816)

1901  2000 
 1904  Pavlos Melas, Greek military officer (b. 1870)
 1905  Henry Irving, British actor (b. 1838)
 1909  Francisco Ferrer y Guardia, Spanish free-thinker (b. 1849)
 1911  Sister Nivedita, Irish-Indian social worker, author and educator (b. 1867)
 1917  Florence La Badie, pioneer actress (b. 1888)
 1919  Karl Adolph Gjellerup, Danish writer (born 1857)
 1926  Hans E. Kinck, Norwegian philologist and author (b. 1865)
 1928  Dagmar of Denmark, Empress of Russia (b. 1847)
 1931  Ernst Didring, Swedish writer (b. 1868)
 1938  E.C. Segar, American cartoonist (b. 1892)
 1945  Milton S. Hershey, American chocolate tycoon (b. 1857)
 1955  Manuel Ávila Camacho, President of Mexico (b. 1897)
 1961  Prince Louis Rwagasore, Prime Minister of Burundi (b. 1932)
 1966  Clifton Webb, actor (b. 1889)
 1968  Bea Benaderet, actress (b. 1906)
 1974  Ed Sullivan, American television personality (b. 1901)
 1979  Antonio Berni, Argentine painter, illustrator and engraver (b. 1905)
 1981  Rebecca Clarke, composer and violist (b. 1886)
 1987  Walter Houser Brattain, American physicist (b. 1902)
 1987  Kishore Kumar, Indian singer (b. 1929)
 1989  Merab Kostava, Georgian political activist (b. 1939)
 1990  Le Duc Tho, Vietnamese Nobel Peace Prize recipient (b. 1911)
 1993  Wade Flemons, American singer-songwriter (b. 1940)
 1996  Beryl Reid, English actress (b. 1919)
 1998  Dmitry Filippov, Russian politician (b. 1944)
 2000  Gus Hall, American Communist politician (b. 1910)

From 2001 
 2001  Peter Doyle, Australian singer (b. 1949)
 2002  Stephen Ambrose, American historian and biographer (b. 1936)
 2003  Bertram Brockhouse, Nobel Prize-winning Canadian physicist (b. 1918)
 2006  Dino Monduzzi, Italian cardinal (b. 1922)
 2007  Bob Denard, French mercenary (b. 1929)
 2008  Alexei Cherepanov, Russian ice hockey player (b. 1989)
 2008  Guillaume Depardieu, French actor (b. 1971)
 2009  Al Martino, American musician (b. 1927)
 2010  Vernon Biever, American photographer (b. 1923)
 2010  Mary Malcolm, British television personality (b. 1918)
 2012  Gary Collins, American actor and television host (b. 1938)
 2013  Olga Aroseva, Russian actress (b. 1926)
 2013  Tommy Whittle, British jazz saxophonist (b. 1926)
 2014  Antonio Cafiero, Argentine politician (b. 1922)
 2014  Pontus Segerström, Swedish footballer (b. 1981)
 2015  Sue Lloyd-Roberts, English journalist (b. 1950)
 2016  Dario Fo, Italian writer, playwright, theatre director and actor (b. 1926)
 2016  Bhumibol Adulyadej, King of Thailand (b. 1946)
 2016  Jim Prentice, Canadian politician, 16th Premier of Alberta (b. 1956)
 2017  Satish Chandra, Indian historian (b. 1922)
 2017  Pierre Hanon, Belgian footballer (b. 1936)
 2017  Bo Holmström, Swedish journalist (b. 1938)
 2017  William Lombardy, American chess player (b. 1937)
 2017  Albert Zafy, President of Madagascar (b. 1927)
 2018  Fabien Eboussi Boulaga, Cameroonian philosopher (b. 1934)
 2018  William Coors, American brewer (b. 1916)
 2018  Nikolai Pankin, Russian swimmer (b. 1949)
 2018  Jim Taylor, American football player (b. 1935)
 2018  Robert W. Doran, New Zealand computer scientist (b. 1944)
 2018  Edgar S. Harris Jr., American Air Force lieutenant general (b. 1925)
 2018  Patricia Hollis, Baroness Hollis of Heigham, British politician (b. 1941)
 2019  Scotty Bowers, American author (b. 1923)
 2019  Richard Huckle, British sex offender (b. 1986)
 2019  Charles Jencks, American architect and philanthropist (b. 1939)
 2019  Vasim Mammadiyev, Azerbaijani theologian (b. 1942)
 2019  Adolfo Mexiac, Mexican artist (b. 1927)

Observances 
 National Police Day (Thailand)
 International Day for Disaster Reduction

Days of the year