Events

Up to 1900 
 1258 – Baghdad falls to the Mongols.
 1306 – In Dumfries, Robert the Bruce kills John Comyn, Lord of Badenoch.
 1355 – St. Scholastica's Day riot: Two days of rioting in Oxford leaves 63 scholars and probably 30 locals dead.
 1567 – An Explosion destroys the Kirk o' Field building in Edinburgh and Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley is found dead, most probably in an assassination.
 1763 - In the Treaty of Paris, France has to give Quebec to Great Britain.
 1814 - Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Champaubert ends in French victory over the Russians and Prussians.
 1840 – Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Albert, Prince Consort, marry.
 1861 - Jefferson Davis is informed by telegraph of his election as provisional President of the Confederate States of America.
 1863 – The fire extinguisher is patented.
 1870 – The YWCA (Young Woman's Christian Association) is founded in New York City.
 1881 - French opera Les contes d'Hoffmann is first performed in Paris.

1901  2000 
 1904 - Russo-Japanese War: Japan declares war on Russia.
 1906 – The battleship HMS Dreadnought is launched in Portsmouth.
 1910 - Off Minorca, French passenger ship General Chanzy is tossed against a reef in a storm, causing it to sink. Only 1 of the 156 people on board survives.
 1920 – North Schleswig votes to become part of Denmark.
 1933 –  Round 13 of Boxing Match in New York City's Madison Square Garden: Primo Carnera  knocks down Ernie Schaaf, who dies four days later as a result of his injuries.
 1939 - Spanish Civil War: Nationalists finish their conquest of Catalonia and seal Spain's border with France.
 1940 – The Soviet Union begins mass deportations of Polish citizens from occupied Eastern Poland to Siberia.
 1942 – A Japanese submarine bombs Midway Atoll.
 1945 - German passenger ship Steuben with 4,000 refugees on board off the Pomeranian Baltic Sea coast, is torpedoed by a Soviet U-boat and sinks, killing 3,500.
 1947 - Italy cedes most of Venezia-Giulia to Yugoslavia.
 1949 – The play Death of a Salesman is performed for the first time in Broadway. Its writer, Arthur Miller, dies on the same date 56 years later.
 1952 – Jawaharlal Nehru wins India's first election.
 1954 – Dwight D. Eisenhower warns against intervention in Vietnam.
 1957 – In Sudan, football's Africa Cup of Nations is held for the first time.
 1962 – Captured American pilot Gary Powers is exchanged for captured Soviet spy Rudolf Abel.
 1964 - Aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne collides with destroyer HMAS Voyager off the coast of New South Wales, Australia.
 1967 – The 25th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified.
 1972 - The remote North Atlantic rock of Rockall is fully integrated as part of Scotland.
 1981 - A fire at the Las Vegas hotel-casino kills 8 people.
 1990 - Mikhail Gorbachev and Helmut Kohl meet for talks.
 1996 – The computer Deep Blue first defeats Garry Kasparov in a game of chess.
 1998 – Voters in Maine repeal a Gay rights law.

From 2001 
 2003 – France and Belgium break the NATO procedure of silent approval, concerning protective measures for Turkey in the event of a war in Iraq.
 2005 – North Korea announces that it is developing nuclear weapons.
 2005 – A dam break in Shadi Kor, Pakistan, kills between 140 and 500 people.
 2005 – It is announced that Charles, Prince of Wales will marry Camilla Parker-Bowles.
 2006 – XX Olympic Winter Games opened in Turin, Italy.
 2007 – Barack Obama announces his intention to run for President of the United States.
 2009 – Communication satellites Iridium 33 and Kosmos 2251 collide in orbit.
 2013 - The Nigeria national football team wins the Africa Cup of Nations, defeating the Burkina Faso national football team 1-0 in the final.
 2013 - A stampede at the Kumbh Mela festival in Allahabad, India, kills 36 people.
 2015 - It is announced that Australia will make a one-off appearance at the 60th Eurovision Song Contest. They are later invited to take part in 2016, 2017 and 2018 as well.

Births

Up to 1900 
 1499 – Thomas Platter, Swiss humanist (d. 1582)
 1524 - Albrecht Giese, German politician and diplomat (d. 1580)
 1606 – Christine Marie of France, regent of Savoy (d. 1663)
 1609 - John Suckling, English poet (d. 1642)
 1685 – Aaron Hill, English writer (d. 1750)
 1686 – Hans Egede, Norwegian pastor and missionary in Greenland (d. 1758)
 1720 - Charles De Geer, Swedish industrialist and scientist (d. 1778)
 1744 - William Cornwallis, English Royal Navy admiral (d. 1819)
 1783 – Fyodor Petrovich Tolstoy, Russian painter (d. 1873)
 1785 - Claude-Louis Navier, French physicist (d. 1836)
 1788 - Robert P. Letcher, American politician, 15th Governor of Kentucky (d. 1861)
 1795 - Ary Scheffer, French painter (d. 1858)
 1806 - Orville Hickman Browning, 9th United States Secretary of the Interior (d. 1881)
 1815 - Constantin Bosianu, Prime Minister of Romania (d. 1882)
 1818 - Isham G. Harris, American politician, 18th Governor of Tennessee (d. 1897) 
 1824 – Samuel Plimsoll, British politician and social reformer (d. 1898)
 1842 - Agnes Mary Clerke, Irish astronomer (d. 1907)
 1846 - Ira Remsen, American chemist (d. 1927)
 1847 - Nabinchandra Sen, Bengali poet (d. 1909)
 1859 – Alexandre Millerand, President of France (d. 1943)
 1878 – Zdenek Nejedly, Czech intellectual and politician (d. 1962)
 1881 - Pauline Brunius, Swedish stage and movie actress, and director (d. 1954)
 1881 - Ken McArthur, South African marathon runner (d. 1960)
 1884 - Frederick Hawksworth, English engineer (d. 1976)
 1888 - Harry Beaumont, American movie director (d. 1966)
 1888 - Alexander Cudmore, American soccer player (d. 1944)
 1888 - Alfredo Pacini, Italian cardinal (d. 1967)
 1888 - Giuseppe Ungaretti, Egyptian-Italian soldier, journalist and writer (d. 1970)
 1890 – Fanny Kaplan, Russian revolutionary, believed to be the attempted assassin of Vladimir Lenin (d. 1918)
 1890 – Boris Pasternak, Russian writer (d. 1960)
 1892 – Alan Hale Sr., American actor (d. 1950)
 1893 – Bill Tilden, American tennis player (d. 1953)
 1893 - Jimmy Durante, American actor and comedian (d. 1980)
 1894 – Harold Macmillan, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1986)
 1897 – Judith Anderson, Australian actress (d. 1992)
 1897 – John Franklin Enders, American scientist (d. 1985)
 1898 – Bertolt Brecht, German writer and playwright (d. 1956)
 1898 - Joseph Kessel, French journalist and novelist (d. 1979)
 1899 - Cevdet Sunay, 5th President of Turkey (d. 1982)

1901  1950 
 1901 – Stella Adler, American actress (d. 1992)
 1902 – Walter Houser Brattain, American physicist (d. 1987)
 1903 - Matthias Sindelar, Austrian footballer (d. 1939)
 1903 - Waldemar Hoven, German Nazi physician (d. 1948)
 1904 - John Farrow, Australian-American director, father of Mia Farrow (d. 1963)
 1905 - Walter A. Brown, American businessman (d. 1964)
 1906 – Lon Chaney, Jr., American actor (d. 1973)
 1910 – Dominique Pire, Belgian friar (d. 1969)
 1910 - Sofia Vembo, Greek singer and actress (d. 1978)
 1913 - Douglas Slocombe, English cinematographer (d. 2016)
 1914 – Larry Adler, American musician (d. 2001)
 1915 - Vladimir Zeldin, Russian actor (d. 2016)
 1922 – Arpad Goncz, former President of Hungary (d. 2015)
 1922 - Harold Hughes, American politician, Governor of Iowa (d. 1996)
 1923 – Ahti Karjalainen, Prime Minister of Finland (d. 1990)
 1923 – Cesare Siepi, Italian operatic tenor (d. 2010)
 1925 - Pierre Mondy, French actor and director (d. 2012)
 1926 – Danny Blanchflower, Northern Irish footballer (d. 1993)
 1927 - Alma Adamkiene, former First Lady of Lithuania
 1927 – Leontyne Price, American singer
 1927 - Brian Priestman, British conductor (d. 2014)
 1929 - Hallgeir Brenden, Norwegian skier (d. 2007)
 1929 - Jerry Goldsmith, American composer and conductor (d. 2004)
 1929 - Jim Whittaker, American mountaineer
 1929 - Lou Whittaker, American mountaineer
 1930 – Robert Wagner, American actor
 1931 - Doug Young, American voice actor
 1932 – Barrie Ingham, English actor (d. 2015)
 1934 - Kirk Fordice, American politician, Governor of Mississippi (d. 2004)
 1937 - Yuriy Poyarkov, Ukrainian volleyball player (d. 2017)
 1939 – Roberta Flack, American singer
 1939 – Adrienne Clarkson, former Governor General of Canada
 1939 – Peter Purves, British actor and television presenter
 1940 - Mary Rand, British sprinter and long jumper
 1940 - Kathryn Mullen, American puppeteer, actress and voice actress
 1941 – Michael Apted, British movie director
 1942 - Lawrence Weiner, American conceptual artist
 1944 – Frank Keating, 25th Governor of Oklahoma
 1944 - Peter Allen, American singer and actor
 1946 - Muntaka Connmassie, Nigerian jurist (d. 2017)
 1947 - Louise Arbour, Canadian diplomat, former United Nations Commissioner for Human rights
 1947 - Nicholas Owen, English journalist
 1948 - Luis Donaldo Colosio, Mexican politician (d. 1994)
 1949 - Harold Sylvester, American actor, director, producer and screenwriter
 1950 – Mark Spitz, American swimmer

1951  1975 
 1951 - Robert Iger, American entertainment executive
 1952 – Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister of Singapore
 1953 - John Shirley, American science fiction author
 1954 - Peter Ramsauer, German politician
 1955 – Greg Norman, Australian golfer
 1955 - Jim Cramer, American television personality
 1956 - Enele Sopoaga, 12th Prime Minister of Tuvalu
 1959 - John Calipari, American basketball player
 1961 - Alexander Payne, American movie director
 1961 – George Stephanopoulos, American television journalist
 1962 – Cliff Burton, American musician (Metallica) (d. 1986)
 1963 – Philip Glenister, English actor
 1964 – Glenn Beck, American broadcaster
 1964 - Arthur Lenk, Israeli diplomat
 1964 – Francesca Neri, Italian actress
 1964 - Sam Graddy, American athlete
 1964 – Victor Davis, Canadian swimmer (d. 1989)
 1966 - Ji Suk-jin, South Korean comedian, actor and singer
 1966 - Natalie Bennett, Australian-English journalist and politician, former leader of the Green Party of England and Wales
 1967 – Laura Dern, American actress
 1967 - Vince Gilligan, American writer and executive producer
 1968 – Matthias Hamann, German footballer
 1968 - Peter Popovic, Swedish ice hockey player
 1968 - Garrett Reisman, American engineer and astronaut
 1970 – Asne Seierstad, Norwegian writer and journalist
 1970 - Noureddine Naybet, Moroccan footballer and manager
 1973 - Ajdar, Turkish singer-songwriter and engineer
 1973 - Martha Lane Fox, Baroness Lane-Fox of Soho, English businesswoman and philanthropist
 1974 – Elizabeth Banks, American actress
 1975 – Kool Savas, German rapper
 1975 - Hiroki Kuroda, Japanese baseball player

From 1976 
 1976 – Keeley Hawes, English actress
 1976 – Carlos Jimenez Sanchez, Spanish basketball player
 1980 – Riki Flutey, New Zealand-born English rugby player
 1980 – Enzo Maresca, Italian footballer
 1980 - Mike Ribeiro, Canadian ice hockey player
 1980 - Bruno Sundov, Croatian basketball player
 1981 – Andrew Johnson, English footballer
 1981 – Holly Willoughby, English television presenter
 1981 - Ozo Aduba, American actress and singer
 1982 – Justin Gatlin, American athlete
 1983 - Ricardo Clark, American soccer player
 1984 - Jemma Simpson, British athlete
 1985 - Anette Sagen, Norwegian skier
 1986 – Radamel Falcao, Colombian footballer
 1986 – Viktor Troicki, Serbian tennis player
 1986 - Josh Akognon, Nigerian-American basketball player
 1986 - Yui Ichikawa, Japanese actress and model
 1987 - Choi Siwon, South Korean singer
 1987 - Facundo Roncaglia, Argentine footballer
 1988 - Jade Ramsey, English actress
 1989 - Neelofa, Malaysian actress, television host and model
 1990 – Sooyoung, South Korean singer (Girls' Generation)
 1991 – Emma Roberts, American actress
 1992 - Misha B, American rapper and singer
 1992 - Haruka Nakagawa, Japanese singer
 1992 - Reinhold Yabo, German footballer
 1993 - Max Kepler, German baseball player
 1994 - Son Na-eun, South Korean singer and actress
 1994 - Kang Seul-gi, South Korean singer
 1994 - Mackenzie Vega, American actress
 1995 - Haruna Kawaguchi, Japanese model and actress
 1996 - Christina Parie, Australian singer-songwriter
 1997 - Chloe Moretz, American actress
 1998 - Candy Hsu, Taiwanese singer-songwriter, actress and record producer
 2000 - Yara Shahidi, Iranian-American actress

Deaths

Up to 1900 
 547 - Scholastica, Christian nun
 1126 – William IX, Duke of Aquitaine (b. 1071)
 1162 – King Baldwin III of Jerusalem (b. 1130)
 1242 – Emperor Shijo of Japan (b. 1231)
 1278 - Margaret II of Flanders (b. 1202)
 1306 – John Comyn, Lord of Badenoch, Scottish nobleman
 1307 – Temur Khan, Emperor Chengzong of Yuan, Emperor of China (b. 1265)
 1543 - Johannes Eck, German theologian (b. 1486)
 1567 – Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley (b. 1546)
 1755 – Montesquieu, French writer (b. 1689)
 1758 - Thomas Ripley, English architect (b. 1682)
 1782 - Christian Christoph Oetinger, German theologian (b. 1702)
 1829 – Pope Leo XII (b. 1760)
 1837 – Alexander Pushkin, Russian writer (b. 1799)
 1854 - Jose Joaquin de Herrera, President of Mexico (b. 1792)
 1857 – David Thompson, Canadian explorer (b. 1770)
 1865 - Heinrich Lenz, German physicist (b. 1804)
 1891 – Sofia Kovalevskaya, Russian mathematician (b. 1850)

1901  2000 
 1904 - John A. Roche, American politician (b. 1844)
 1912 – Joseph Lister, British surgeon (b. 1827)
 1913 – Konstantinos Tsiklitiras, Greek athlete and Olympic champion (b. 1888)
 1917 – John William Waterhouse, Italian-born artist (b. 1849)
 1918 - Abdul Hamid II, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1842)
 1918 – Ernesto Teodoro Moneta, Italian pacifist (b. 1833)
 1923 – Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen, German scientist (b. 1845)
 1932 – Edgar Wallace, English novelist and screenwriter (b. 1875)
 1939 – Pope Pius XI (b. 1857)
 1944 - E. M. Antoniadi, Greek-French astronomer and chess player (b. 1870)
 1956 - Emmanouil Tsouderos, 132nd Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1882)
 1957 – Laura Ingalls Wilder, American writer (b. 1867)
 1958 - Aleksander Klumberg, Estonian athlete (b. 1899)
 1960 - Aloysius Stepinac, Croatian cardinal (b. 1898)
 1964 – Eugen Saenger, Austrian aerospace engineer (b. 1905)
 1966 - Billy Rose, American composer (b. 1898)
 1975 - Nikos Kavvadias, Greek poet and writer (b. 1910)
 1979 - Edvard Kardelj, Yugoslav Communist leader (b. 1910)
 1985 - Johnny Mokan, American baseball player (b. 1895)
 1990 - Bill Sherwood, American producer and composer (b. 1952)
 1992 – Alex Haley, American writer (b. 1921)
 2000 – Jim Varney, American actor (b. 1949)

From 2001 
 2001 – Abraham D. Beame, American politician and Mayor of New York City (b. 1906)
 2002 - Dave Van Ronk, American musician (b. 1936)
 2002 – Traudl Junge, Adolf Hitler's press secretary (b. 1920)
 2005 – Arthur Miller, American playwright (b. 1915)
 2008 – Roy Scheider, American actor (b. 1932)
 2009 - Jeremy Lusk, American motocross racer (b. 1984)
 2010 – Charles Wilson, American politician (b. 1933)
 2014 - Stuart Hall, Jamaican-British sociologist and cultural theorist (b. 1932)
 2014 - Doug Jarrett, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1944)
 2014 - Ronnie Masterson, Irish actress (b. 1926)
 2014 - Shirley Temple, American actress and diplomat (b. 1928)
 2015 - Deng Liqun, Chinese politician (b. 1915)
 2015 - Naseer Aruri, Palestinian scholar and activist (b. 1934)
 2015 - Karl Josef Becker, German theologian and cardinal (b. 1928)
 2016 - Phil Gartside, English businessman (b. 1952)
 2016 - Leo Ehlen, Dutch footballer (b. 1953)
 2016 - Andrew L. Lewis, Jr., American business executive and politician (b. 1931)
 2016 - Eliseo Prado, Argentine footballer (b. 1929)
 2016 - Günter Schröter, German footballer (b. 1927)
 2016 - Claude Jeancolas, French writer, artist and journalist (b. 1949)
 2017 - Edward Bryant, American writer (b. 1945)
 2017 - Mike Ilitch, American businessman and sports owner (b. 1929)
 2017 - Piet Keizer, Dutch footballer (b. 1943)
 2017 - Yuriy Poyarkov, Ukrainian volleyball player (b. 1937)
 2017 - Hal Moore, American general and author (b. 1922)
 2017 - Tsuyoshi Yamanaka, Japanese swimmer (b. 1939)
 2018 - Jeff Bell, American politician (b. 1943)
 2018 - Bevan Congdon, New Zealand cricketer (b. 1938)

Observances 
 Feast of Saint Paul's Shipwreck (Malta)
 Fenkil Day (Eritrea)

Days of the year