Events

• 764 – Tibetan troops occupy Chang'an, the capital of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, for fifteen days.
• 1028 – Future Byzantine empress Zoe marries Romanus Argyrus according to the wishes of the dying Constantine VIII.
• 1439 – Plymouth, England, becomes the first town incorporated by the English Parliament.
• 1555 – The English Parliament re-establishes Catholicism.
• 1793 – Jean Sylvain Bailly, the first Mayor of Paris, is guillotined.
• 1847 – Sir James Young Simpson, a British physician, is the first to use chloroform as an anaesthetic.
• 1892 – William "Pudge" Heffelfinger becomes the first professional American football player on record, participating in his first paid game for the Allegheny Athletic Association.
• 1893 – The treaty of the Durand Line is signed between present day Pakistan and Afghanistan – the Durand Line has gained international recognition as an international border between the two nations.
• 1905 – Norway holds a referendum in favor of monarchy over republic.
• 1912 – The frozen bodies of Robert Scott and his men are found on the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica.
• 1918 – Austria becomes a republic.
• 1920 – Italy and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes sign the Treaty of Rapallo.
• 1922 – The Sigma Gamma Rho sorority is founded on the campus of Butler University in .
• 1927 – Leon Trotsky is expelled from the Soviet Communist Party, leaving Joseph Stalin in undisputed control of the Soviet Union.
• 1933 – Hugh Gray takes the first known photos of the Loch Ness Monster.
• 1936 – In California, the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge opens to traffic.
• 1938 – Hermann Göring proposes plans to make Madagascar the "Jewish homeland", an idea that actually is first considered by 19th century journalist Theodor Herzl.
• 1941 – World War II: Temperatures around Moscow drop to -12 ° C and the Soviet Union launches ski troops for the first time against the freezing German forces near the city.
• 1941 – World War II: The Soviet cruiser Chervona Ukraina is destroyed during the Battle of Sevastopol.
• 1942 – World War II: The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal between Japanese and American forces begins near Guadalcanal. The battle lasts for three days.
• 1944 – World War II: The Royal Air Force launches 29 Avro Lancaster bombers in one of the most successful precision bombing attacks of war and sinks the German battleship Tirpitz, with 12,000 lb Tallboy bombs off Tromsø, Norway.
• 1948 – In Tokyo, an international war crimes tribunal sentences seven Japanese military and government officials, including General Hideki Tojo, to death for their roles in World War II.
• 1956 – Morocco, Sudan and Tunisia join the United Nations.
• 1958 – A team of rock climbers led by Warren Harding completes the first ascent of The Nose on El Capitan in Yosemite Valley.
• 1968 – Equatorial Guinea joins the United Nations.
• 1969 – Vietnam War: My Lai Massacre – Independent investigative journalist Seymour Hersh breaks the My Lai story.
• 1970 – The Oregon Highway Division attempts to destroy a rotting beached Sperm whale with explosives, leading to the now infamous "exploding whale" incident.
• 1970 – The 1970 Bhola cyclone makes landfall on the coast of East Pakistan becoming the deadliest tropical cyclone in history.
• 1971 – Vietnam War: As part of Vietnamization, US President Richard M. Nixon sets February 1, 1972 as the deadline for the removal of another 45,000 American troops from Vietnam.
• 1975 – The Comoros joins the United Nations.
• 1978 – As Bishop of Rome Pope John Paul II takes possession of his Cathedral Church, the Basilica of St. John Lateran.
• 1979 – Iran hostage crisis: In response to the hostage situation in Tehran, US President Jimmy Carter orders a halt to all petroleum imports into the United States from Iran.
• 1980 – The NASA space probe Voyager I makes its closest approach to Saturn and takes the first images of its rings.
• 1981 – Space Shuttle program: Mission STS-2, utilizing the Space Shuttle Columbia, marks the first time a manned spacecraft is launched into space twice.
• 1982 – In the Soviet Union, Yuri Andropov becomes the general secretary of the Soviet Communist Party's Central Committee, succeeding Leonid I. Brezhnev.
• 1982 – Lech Wałęsa, a Solidarity leader, is released from a Polish prison after eleven months.
• 1990 – Crown Prince Akihito is formally installed as Emperor Akihito of Japan, becoming the 125th Japanese monarch.
• 1990 – Tim Berners-Lee publishes a formal proposal for the World Wide Web.
• 1991 – Dili Massacre, Indonesian forces open fire on a crowd of student protesters in Dili, East Timor.
• 1993 – Decree of President of Kazakhstan "About introducing national currency of Republic of Kazakhstan" is issued.
• 1996 – A Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 747 and a Kazakh Ilyushin Il-76 cargo plane collide in mid-air near New Delhi, killing 349. The deadliest mid-air collision to date.
• 1997 – Ramzi Yousef is found guilty of masterminding the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
• 1998 – Vice President Al Gore signs the Kyoto Protocol.
• 1998 – Daimler-Benz completes a merger with Chrysler to form Daimler-Chrysler.
• 1999 – The Düzce earthquake strikes Turkey with a magnitude of 7.2 on the Richter scale.
• 2001 – In New York City, American Airlines Flight 587, an Airbus A300 en route to the Dominican Republic, crashes minutes after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport, killing all 260 on board and five on the ground.
• 2001 – Attack on Afghanistan: Taliban forces abandon Kabul, Afghanistan, ahead of advancing Afghan Northern Alliance troops.
• 2003 – Iraq war: In Nasiriya, Iraq, at least 23 people, among them the first Italian casualties of the 2003 Iraq war, are killed in a suicide bomb attack on an Italian police base.
• 2003 – Shanghai Transrapid sets up a new world speed record ( ) for commercial railway systems.
• 2006 – The region of South Ossetia holds a referendum on independence from Georgia.

Births

• 1493 – Bartolomeo Bandinelli, Italian sculptor (d. 1560)
• 1528 – Qi Jiguang, Chinese general (d. 1588)
• 1547 – Claude of Valois, French princess (d. 1575)
• 1606 – Jeanne Mance, French Canadian settler (d. 1673)
• 1615 – Richard Baxter, English clergyman (d. 1691)
• 1651 – Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Mexican mystic and author (d. 1695)
• 1729 – Louis Antoine de Bougainville, French explorer (d. 1811)
• 1755 – Gerhard von Scharnhorst, Prussian general (d. 1813)
• 1795 – Thaddeus William Harris, American naturalist (d. 1856)
• 1815 – Elizabeth Cady Stanton, American women's rights activist (d. 1902)
• 1817 – Bahá'u'lláh, Prophet Founder of the Bahá'í Faith (d. 1892)
• 1833 – Alexander Borodin, Russian composer and chemist (d. 1887)
• 1840 – Auguste Rodin, French sculptor (d. 1917)
• 1842 – John Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh, English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1919)
• 1848 – Eduard Müller, member of the Swiss Federal Council (d. 1919)
• 1850 – Mikhail Chigorin, Russian chess player (d. 1908)
• 1866 – Sun Yat-sen 孫中山, the Father of China; 1st President of the Republic of China (d. 1925)
• 1881 – Olev Siinmaa, Estonian architect (d. 1948)
• 1881 – Maximilian von Weichs, German field marshal (d. 1954)
• 1886 – Günther Dyhrenfurth, German born geologist, geographer and Himalayan explorer (d. 1975)
• 1886 – Ben Travers, British playwright (d. 1980)
• 1889 – DeWitt Wallace, American magazine publisher (d. 1981)
• 1890 – Lily Kronberger, Hungarian figure skater (d. 1974)
• 1892 – Tudor Davies, Welsh operatic tenor (d. 1958)
• 1896 – Salim Ali, Indian ornithologist (d. 1987)
• 1897 – Karl Marx, German composer (d. 1985)
• 1898 – Leon Štukelj, Slovene gymnast (d. 1999)
• 1903 – Jack Oakie, American actor (d. 1978)
• 1908 – Harry Blackmun, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (d. 1999)
• 1910 – Dudley Nourse, South African cricketer, Wisden COY 1952 (d. 1981)
• 1911 – Buck Clayton, American jazz trumpet player (d. 1991)
• 1915 – Roland Barthes, French critic and writer (d. 1980)
• 1916 – Jean Papineau-Couture, French Canadian composer (d. 2000)
• 1916 – Paul Emery, British racing driver (d. 1993)
• 1916 – Rogelio de la Rosa, Filipino actor and politician (d. 1986)
• 1917 – Jo Stafford, American singer (d. 2008)
• 1920 – Richard Quine, American actor (d. 1989)
• 1922 – Kim Hunter, American actress (d. 2002)
• 1923 – Vicco von Bülow, German film director
• 1924 – Sam Jones, jazz bassist (d. 1981)
• 1927 – Yutaka Taniyama, Japanese mathematician (d. 1958)
• 1928 – Bob Holness, English presenter and actor
• 1929 – Michael Ende, German writer (d. 1995)
• 1929 – Princess Grace of Monaco, American Actress, Royalty (d. 1982)
• 1930 – Ann Flood, American actress
• 1931 – Bob Crewe, American songwriter and producer (The Four Seasons)
• 1933 – Jalal Talabani, President of Iraq
• 1934 – Charles Manson, American cult leader
• 1936 – Mills Lane, American judge and boxing referee
• 1936 – Mort Shuman, American songwriter and singer (d. 1991)
• 1938 – Denis DeJordy, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1939 – Ruby Nash Curtis, American singer (Ruby & the Romantics)
• 1939 – Lucia Popp, Slovakian soprano (d. 1993)
• 1940 – Michel Audet, Quebec economist and politician
• 1940 – Jürgen Todenhöfer, German politician
• 1943 – Brian Hyland, American singer
• 1943 – Wallace Shawn, American actor and playwright
• 1943 – Bjorn Waldegard, Swedish rally driver
• 1943 – Julie Ege, Norwegian/British actress (d. 2008)
• 1944 – Booker T. Jones, American musician and songwriter (Booker T and the MG's)
• 1944 – Al Michaels, American television sportscaster
• 1945 – Tracy Kidder, American journalist and author
• 1945 – Neil Young, Canadian singer and musician
• 1946 – Krister Henriksson, Swedish actor
• 1947 – Ron Bryant, American baseball player
• 1947 – Patrice Leconte, French film director and screenwriter
• 1947 – Buck Dharma, American musician (Blue Öyster Cult)
• 1948 – Errol Brown, English singer (Hot Chocolate)
• 1948 – Cliff Harris, American football player
• 1949 – Ron Lapointe, Canadian ice hockey coach (d. 1992)
• 1949 – Sinyan Shen (沈星扬 or 沈星揚), American physicist and classical composer.
• 1952 – Ronald Burkle, American entrepreneur
• 1953 – Vasilis Karras, Greek singer
• 1955 – Katharine Weber, American novelist
• 1958 – Nick Stellino, Italian-American television chef
• 1958 – Megan Mullally, American actress and singer
• 1959 – Vincent Irizarry, American actor
• 1960 – Ismo Alanko, Finnish musician
• 1960 – Maurane, Belgian singer
• 1961 – Nadia Comăneci, Romanian gymnast
• 1961 – Enzo Francescoli, Uruguayan footballer
• 1961 – Jonathan Nossiter, American film director
• 1961 – Michaela Paetsch, American violinist
• 1962 – Naomi Wolf, American author and feminist
• 1962 – Neal Shusterman, American author
• 1962 – Mark Hunter, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1962 – Brix Smith, American musician and songwriter (The Fall, The Adult Net)
• 1962 – Mariella Frostrup, Norwegian born journalist and television presenter
• 1963 – Susumu Terajima, Japanese actor
• 1963 – Sam Lloyd, Actor and A Capella singer (Scrubs)
• 1964 – David Ellefson, American musician (Megadeth)
• 1965 – Lex Lang, American voice actor
• 1967 – Michael Moorer, American boxer
• 1967 – Grant Nicholas, British singer (Feeder)
• 1968 – Glenn Gilberti, American professional wrestler
• 1968 – Kathleen Hanna, American singer and songwriter
• 1968 – Aya Hisakawa, Japanese voice actress and singer
• 1968 – Sammy Sosa, Dominican baseball player
• 1968 – Aaron Stainthorpe, British singer (My Dying Bride)
• 1969 – Ian Bremmer, American political scientist
• 1969 – Jason Cundy, English footballer and broadcaster
• 1969 – Johnny Gosch, American kidnap victim
• 1970 – Donna Adamo, American professional wrestler
• 1970 – Tonya Harding, American figure skater
• 1970 – Craig Parker, New Zealand actor
• 1970 – Harvey Stephens, British actor
• 1972 – Vassilis Tsiartas, Greek footballer
• 1973 – Mayte Garcia, American dancer
• 1973 – Radha Mitchell, Australian actress
• 1973 – Ethan Zohn, United Soccer Leagues star, winner of Survivor: Africa
• 1974 – Tamala Jones, American actress
• 1975 – Nina Brosh, Israeli model and actress
• 1975 – Angela Watson, American actress
• 1975 – Jason Lezak, American swimmer
• 1976 – Judith Holofernes, German singer (Wir sind Helden)
• 1976 – Richelle Mead, American author
• 1976 – Mirosław Szymkowiak, Polish footballer
• 1977 – Dalene Kurtis, American model
• 1977 – Lee Murray, English mixed martial artist
• 1977 – Benni McCarthy, South African footballer
• 1978 – Andrew Kinlochan, English singer and musician
• 1978 – Alexandra Maria Lara, Romanian/German actress
• 1978 – Ashley Williams, American actress
• 1978 – Lena Yada, American actress, model, surfer, and professional wrestler
• 1979 – Matt Cappotelli, American professional wrestler
• 1979 – Corey Maggette, American basketball player
• 1979 – Cote de Pablo, Chilean/American actress
• 1979 – Crown J, South Korean hip hop singer and rapper
• 1980 – Trent Acid, American professional wrestler
• 1980 – Ryan Gosling, Canadian actor
• 1981 – DJ Campbell, English footballer
• 1982 – Anne Hathaway, American actress
• 1982 – Mikele Leigertwood, English footballer
• 1983 – Carlton Cole, English footballer
• 1983 – Charlie Morton , American baseball player
• 1984 – Sepp De Roover, Belgian footballer
• 1984 – Omarion, American R&B musician
• 1984 – Sandara Park, South Korean actor
• 1984 – Conrad Rautenbach, Zimbabwean rally driver
• 1986 – Evan Yo, Taiwanese pop singer
• 1987 – Bryan Little, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1988 – Russell Westbrook, American basketball player

Deaths

• 607 – Pope Boniface III
• 1035 – Canute the Great
• 1094 – King Duncan II of Scotland (b. 1060)
• 1434 – King Louis III of Naples (b. 1403)
• 1555 – Stephen Gardiner, English statesman (b. 1497)
• 1567 – Anne de Montmorency, Constable of France (b. 1493)
• 1595 – John Hawkins, English shipbuilder and trader (b. 1532)
• 1606 – St. Nicholas Owens (martyr), one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales
• 1667 – Hans Nansen, Danish statesman (b. 1598)
• 1671 – Thomas Fairfax, English Civil War general (b. 1612)
• 1742 – Friedrich Hoffmann, German physician and chemist (b. 1660)
• 1757 – Colley Cibber, English poet (b. 1671)
• 1793 – Jean Sylvain Bailly, first Mayor of Paris (b. 1736)
• 1836 – Juan Ramón Balcarce, Argentine military leader and politician (b. 1773)
• 1865 – Elizabeth Gaskell, English novelist (b. 1810)
• 1916 – Percival Lowell, American amateur astronomer, founder of Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona (b. 1855)
• 1933 – F. Holland Day, American photographer and publisher (b. 1864)
• 1939 – Norman Bethune, Canadian doctor and humanitarian (b. 1890)
• 1941 – Abe "Kid Twist" Reles, American mobster (b. 1907)
• 1944 – Otto Blumenthal, German mathematician (b. 1876)
• 1948 – Umberto Giordano, Italian composer (b. 1867)
• 1955 – Alfréd Hajós, Hungarian swimmer (b. 1878)
• 1965 – Syedna Taher Saifuddin, Bohra Spiritual Leader (b. 1888)
• 1969 – Liu Shaoqi, Former Chairman of the People's Republic of China (b. 1898)
• 1972 – Rudolf Friml, Czech composer of operettas (b. 1879)
• 1976 – Walter Piston, American composer (b. 1894)
• 1976 – Mikhail Iosifovich Gurevich, Russian aircraft designer (b. 1893)
• 1981 – William Holden, American actor (b. 1918)
• 1984 – Chester Himes, American author (b. 1909)
• 1990 – Eve Arden, American actress (b. 1908)
• 1993 – H. R. Haldeman, White House Chief of Staff (b. 1926)
• 1994 – Wilma Rudolph, American runner (b. 1940)
• 1997 – Carlos Surinach, Spanish composer (b. 1915)
• 2000 – Leah Rabin, wife of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, (b. 1928)
• 2000 – Franck Pourcel, French popular orchestra leader (b. 1913)
• 2001 – Tony Miles, English chess player (b. 1955)
• 2003 – Cameron Duncan, New Zealand director (b. 1986)
• 2003 – Kay E. Kuter, American actor (b. 1925)
• 2003 – Penny Singleton, American actress (b. 1908)
• 2003 – Tony Thompson, American drummer (Chic, Power Station) (b. 1954)
• 2003 – Jonathan Brandis, American actor (b. 1976)
• 2005 – William G. Adams, former mayor of St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada (b. 1923)
• 2006 – General Jacob E. Smart, US Air Force leader World War II (b. 1909)
• 2007 – Khanmohammed Ibrahim, Indian cricketer (b. 1919)
• 2007 – Ira Levin, American novelist (b. 1929)
• 2008 – Catherine Baker Knoll, 30th Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania, (b. 1930)
• 2008 – Mitch Mitchell, English musician (b. 1947)

Holidays and observances

• Catholicism: Saint Josaphat Kuntsevych, Saint Patiens
• Bahá'í Faith: Holy Day, Birth of Bahá'u'lláh

• Birth of Sun Yat-Sen (observed in Taiwan)
• Constitution Day in Azerbaijan

External links

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