Events

• 1607 – Eighty Years' War: The Dutch fleet destroys the anchored Spanish fleet at Gibraltar.

• 1707 – The Habsburg army is defeated by Bourbon army at Almansa (Spain) in the War of the Spanish Succession.

• 1792 – Highwayman Nicolas J. Pelletier becomes the first person executed by guillotine.

• 1792 – La Marseillaise (French national anthem) is composed by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle.

• 1829 – Charles Fremantle arrives in the HMS Challenger off the coast of modern-day Western Australia prior to declaring the Swan River Colony for the United Kingdom.

• 1846 – Thornton Affair: Open conflict begins over the disputed border of Texas, triggering the Mexican-American War.

• 1847 – The last survivors of the Donner Party are out of the wilderness.

• 1849 – The Governor General of Canada, Lord Elgin, signs the Rebellion Losses Bill, outraging Montreal's English population and triggering the Montreal Riots.

• 1859 – British and French engineers break ground for the Suez Canal.

• 1861 – American Civil War: The Union Army arrives in Washington, D.C.

• 1862 – American Civil War: Forces under Union Admiral David Farragut capture the Confederate city of New Orleans, Louisiana.

• 1864 – American Civil War: The Battle of Marks' Mills.

• 1898 – Spanish-American War: The United States declares war on Spain.

• 1901 – New York becomes the first U.S. state to require automobile license plates.

Anzac Beach – Australian and New Zealand forces invade Turkey

• 1915 – World War I: The Battle of Gallipoli begins—The invasion of the Turkish Gallipoli Peninsula by Australian, British, French and New Zealand troops begins with landings at Anzac Cove and Cape Helles.

• 1916 – Easter Rebellion: The United Kingdom declare martial law in Ireland.

• 1916 – Anzac Day commemorated for the first time, on the first anniversary of the landing at Anzac Cove.

• 1932 – Foundation of the Korean People's Army of North Korea. "4.25" appears on the flags of the KPA Ground Force and the KPA Naval Force.

• 1938 – U.S. Supreme Court delivers opinion in Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins and overturns a century of federal common law.

• 1939 – DC Comics publishes its second major superhero in Detective Comics #27; he is Batman, one of the most popular comic book superheroes of all time.

• 1943 – The Demyansk Shield for German troops in commemoration of Demyansk Pocket is instituted.

• 1944 – The United Negro College Fund is incorporated.

• 1945 – Elbe Day: United States and Soviet troops meet in Torgau along the River Elbe, cutting the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany in two, a milestone in the approaching end of World War II in Europe.

• 1945 – The Nazi occupation army surrenders and leaves Northern Italy after a general partisan insurrection by the Italian resistance movement; the puppet fascist regime dissolves and Mussolini tries to escape. This day is taken as symbolic of the Liberation of Italy.

• 1945 – Fifty nations gather in San Francisco, California to begin the United Nations Conference on International Organizations.

• 1945 – Last German troops retreat from Finland's soil in Lapland, ending the Lapland War. Military acts of Second World War end in Finland.

• 1953 – Francis Crick and James D. Watson publish Molecular structure of nucleic acids: a structure for deoxyribose nucleic acid describing the double helix structure of DNA.

• 1959 – The St. Lawrence Seaway, linking the North American Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean, officially opens to shipping.

• 1961 – Robert Noyce is granted a patent for an integrated circuit.

• 1966 – The city of Tashkent is destroyed by a huge earthquake.

• 1972 – Vietnam War: Nguyen Hue Offensive – The North Vietnamese 320th Division forces 5,000 South Vietnamese troops to retreat and traps about 2,500 others northwest of Kontum.

• 1974 – Carnation Revolution: A leftist military coup in Portugal restores democracy after more than forty years as a corporate authoritarian state.

• 1975 – As North Vietnamese forces close in on the South Vietnamese capital Saigon, the Australian Embassy is closed and evacuated, almost ten years to the day since the first Australian troop commitment to South Vietnam.

• 1981 – More than 100 workers are exposed to radiation during repairs of a nuclear power plant in Tsuruga, Japan.

• 1982 – Israel completes its withdrawal from the Sinai peninsula per the Camp David Accords.

• 1983 – American schoolgirl Samantha Smith is invited to visit the Soviet Union by its leader Yuri Andropov after he read her letter in which she expressed fears about nuclear war.

• 1983 – Pioneer 10 travels beyond Pluto's orbit.

• 1986 – Mswati III is crowned King of Swaziland, succeeding his father Sobhuza II.

• 1988 – In Israel, John Demjanuk is sentenced to death for war crimes committed in World War II.

• 1990 – The Hubble Telescope is deployed into orbit from the Space Shuttle Discovery.

• 2003 – The Human Genome Project comes to an end 2.5 years before first anticipated.

• 2005 – The final piece of the Obelisk of Axum is returned to Ethiopia after being stolen by the invading Italian army in 1937.

• 2005 – Bulgaria and Romania sign accession treaties to join the European Union.

• 2005 – 107 die in Amagasaki rail crash in Japan.

• 2007 – Boris Yeltsin's funeral – the first to be sanctioned by the Russian Orthodox Church for a head of state since the funeral of Emperor Alexander III in 1894.

• 2007 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above the 13,000 mark (13,089.89) for the first time ever.

Births

• 32 – Marcus Salvius Otho, Roman Emperor (d. 69)

• 1214 – King Louis IX of France (d. 1270)

• 1228 – Conrad IV of Germany (d. 1254)

• 1284 – King Edward II of England (d. 1327)

• 1287 – Roger de Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, de facto ruler of England (d. 1330)

• 1502 – Georg Major, German Protestant theologian (d. 1574)

• 1599 – Oliver Cromwell, English statesman (d. 1658)

• 1608 – Gaston, Duke of Orléans, French politician (d. 1660)

• 1621 – Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery, British soldier, statesman, and dramatist (d. 1679)

• 1694 – Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, English architect (d. 1753)

• 1710 – James Ferguson, Scottish astronomer (d. 1776)

• 1725 – Augustus Keppel, 1st Viscount Keppel, British admiral (d. 1786)

• 1767 – Nicolas Oudinot, French marshal (d. 1847)

• 1770 – Georg Sverdrup, Norwegian philologist (d. 1850)

• 1775 – Charlotte of Spain, Spanish Infanta and queen of Portugal (d. 1830)

• 1776 – Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh (d. 1857)

• 1843 – Alice of the United Kingdom, Grand Duchess of Hesse (d. 1878)

• 1849 – Felix Klein, German mathematician (d. 1925)

• 1850 – Luise Adolpha Le Beau, German composer (d. 1927)

• 1851 – Leopoldo Alas y Ureña, a.k.a. "Clarín", Spanish novelist (d. 1901)

• 1862 – Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon, British politician (d. 1933)

• 1868 – John Bevins Moisant, American aviator (d. 1910)

• 1873 – Walter de la Mare, English poet (d. 1956)

• 1874 – Guglielmo Marconi, Italian inventor, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics (d. 1937)

• 1897 – Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood (d. 1965)

• 1898 – Fred Haney, baseball player (d. 1977)

• 1900 – Wolfgang Ernst Pauli, Austrian-born physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1958)

• 1902 – Werner Heyde, German psychiatrist (d. 1964)

• 1903 – Andrey Nikolayevich Kolmogorov, Russian mathematician (d. 1987)

• 1905 – George Nepia, New Zealand rugby player (d. 1986)

• 1906 – William J. Brennan, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (d. 1997)

• 1908 – Edward R. Murrow, American journalist (d. 1965)

• 1909 – William Pereira, American architect (d. 1985)

• 1914 – Ross Lockridge, Jr., American writer (d. 1948)

• 1917 – Ella Fitzgerald, American singer (d. 1996)

• 1918 – Gerard Henri de Vaucouleurs, French astronomer (d. 1995)

• 1918 – Astrid Varnay, Swedish-born soprano (d. 2006)

• 1921 – Karel Appel, Dutch painter (d. 2006)

• 1923 – Melissa Hayden, American ballerina (d. 2006)

• 1923 – Albert King, American musician (d. 1992)

• 1924 – Franco Mannino, Italian composer (d. 2005)

• 1925 – Sammy Drechsel, German journalist, film director, and cabaret performer (d. 1986)

• 1925 – Kay E. Kuter, American actor (d. 2003)

• 1926 – Gertrude Fröhlich-Sandner, Austrian politician (d. 2008)

• 1927 – Albert Uderzo, French cartoonist

• 1927 – Corín Tellado, Spanish romance novelist (d. 2009)

• 1929 – Yvette Williams First New Zealander to go to Olympics

• 1930 – Paul Mazursky, American film director and writer

• 1931 – Felix Berezin, Russian mathematician (d. 1980)

• 1932 – William Roache, British television actor (Coronation Street)

• 1932 – Meadowlark Lemon, American basketball player

• 1933 – Jerry Leiber, American composer

• 1934 – Peter McParland, Northern Irish footballer

• 1935 – April Ashley, English model

• 1938 – Ton Schulten, Dutch artist

• 1939 – Ted Kooser, American poet and US Poet Laureate

• 1940 – Al Pacino, American actor

• 1941 – Bertrand Tavernier, French director, screenwriter and actor

• 1941 – Princess Muna al-Hussein, of Jordan

• 1942 – Jon Kyl, American politician, junior senator of Arizona

• 1942 – Katsuji Adachi, Japanese professional wrestler

• 1945 – Björn Ulvaeus, Swedish singer and songwriter (ABBA)

• 1945 – Stu Cook, American rock bassist (Creedence Clearwater Revival)

• 1946 – Talia Shire, American actress

• 1946 – Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Russian politician

• 1947 – Johan Cruijff, Dutch footballer

• 1947 – Jeffrey DeMunn, American actor

• 1948 – Yu Shyi-kun, former Premier of Taiwan

• 1949 – Dominique Strauss-Kahn, French economist, lawyer, and politician

• 1949 – Vicente Pernía, Argentine footballer

• 1949 – James Fenton, British poet

• 1950 – Steve Ferrone, British drummer

• 1950 – Peter Jurasik, American actor

• 1951 – Ian McCartney, British Member of Parliament

• 1952 – Ketil Bjørnstad, Norwegian pianist

• 1952 – Vladislav Tretiak, Soviet ice hockey player

• 1953 – Ron Clements, American animation director

• 1955 – Parviz Parastui, Iranian actor

• 1955 – Américo Gallego, Argentine footballer

• 1955 – Christopher Tyng, American composer

• 1956 – Jaroslava Schallerová, Hungarian actress

• 1958 – Fish, Scottish singer and lyricist (ex-Marillion)

• 1959 – Dominique Blanc, French actress

• 1960 – Bruce Redman, Australian film producer

• 1961 – Dinesh D'Souza, American author

• 1963 – David Moyes, Everton Football Club, Manager

• 1964 – Hank Azaria, American actor and voice actor

• 1964 – Andy Bell, British singer and songwriter (Erasure)

• 1965 – Eric Avery, American musician (Jane's Addiction, Deconstruction, Polar Bear)

• 1965 – Simon Fowler, English musician (Ocean Colour Scene)

• 1965 – Mark Bryant, American basketball player

• 1966 – James Stacy Barbour, American actor and singer

• 1969 – Joe Buck, American sports broadcaster

• 1969 – Gina Torres, American actress

• 1969 – Darren Woodson, American football player

• 1969 – Renée Zellweger, American actress

• 1970 – Jason Lee, American actor

• 1970 – Jason Wiles, American actor

• 1971 – Tomoko Kawakami, (Voice Actress), Japanese Seiyuu

• 1972 – Sara Baras, Spanish ballerina

• 1973 – Fredrik Larzon, Swedish drummer (Millencolin)

• 1974 – Dean Phoenix American Gay Pornographic Actor

• 1975 – Emily Bergl, English-American actress

• 1975 – Jacque Jones, American baseball player

• 1975 – Chris Lilley, Australian actor, comedian, and writer

• 1976 – Tim Duncan, American basketball player

• 1976 – Rainer Schüttler, German tennis player

• 1976 – Gilberto, Brazilian footballer

• 1977 – Constantinos Christoforou, Cypriot singer

• 1977 – Marguerite Moreau, American actress

• 1977 – Matthew West, American Christian singer

• 1977 – Ilias Kotsios, Greek footballer

• 1977 – Paavo Siljamäki, Finnish musician

• 1977 – Kim Jong Kook, South Korean singer

• 1978 – Letícia Birkheuer, Brazilian model

• 1978 – Matt Walker, British Paralympic swimmer

• 1980 – Alejandro Valverde, Spanish cyclist

• 1980 – Daniel MacPherson, Australian actor

• 1980 – Bruce Martin, New Zealand cricketer

• 1980 – Kazuhito Tadano, Japanese baseball player

• 1981 – Dwone Hicks, American football player

• 1981 – Felipe Massa, Brazilian Formula One driver

• 1981 – John McFall, British Paralympic sprinter

• 1981 – Anja Pärson, Swedish skier

• 1982 – Monty Panesar, English cricketer

• 1982 – Brian Barton, American baseball player

• 1983 – DeAngelo Williams, American football player

• 1983 – J.P. Howell, American baseball player

• 1983 – Joanne Peh, Singaporean actress

• 1984 – Robert Andino, American baseball player

• 1984 – Melonie Diaz, American Actress

• 1984 – Andre' Woodson, American football player

• 1985 – Giedo van der Garde, Dutch racing driver

• 1985 – Jadyn Maria, Singer & songwriter

• 1987 – Johann Smith, American soccer player

• 1988 – Sara Paxton, American actress

• 1988 – James Sheppard, Canadian ice hockey player

• 1989 – Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, 11th Panchen Lama

• 1996 – Allisyn Ashley Arm, American child actress

Deaths

• 68 – Saint Mark, the first Pope of Alexandria and the founder of Christianity in Africa

• 1077 – Géza I of Hungary (b. 1040)

• 1185 – Emperor Antoku of Japan (b. 1178)

• 1265 – Roger de Quincy, 2nd Earl of Winchester, English crusader

• 1295 – King Sancho IV of Castile

• 1472 – Leon Battista Alberti, Italian artist, poet, and philosopher (b. 1404)

• 1516 – John Yonge, English diplomat (b. 1467)

• 1566 – Diane de Poitiers, mistress of King Henry II of France (b. 1499)

• 1566 – Louise Labé, French poet

• 1595 – Torquato Tasso, Italian poet (b. 1544)

• 1605 – Naresuan, King of Siam (b. 1555)

• 1644 – Chongzhen Emperor, Emperor of China (b. 1611)

• 1660 – Henry Hammond, English churchman (b. 1605)

• 1690 – David Teniers the Younger, Flemish artist (b. 1610)

• 1740 – Shrimant Baji Rao Vishwanath Bhat, also known as Baji Rao I, a general and Peshwa (b. 1699)

• 1744 – Anders Celsius, Swedish astronomer (b. 1701)

• 1770 – Jean-Antoine Nollet, French abbot and physicist (b. 1700)

• 1800 – William Cowper, English poet (b. 1731)

• 1840 – Siméon-Denis Poisson, French mathematician (b. 1781)

• 1878 – Anna Sewell, English author (b. 1820)

• 1891 – Nathaniel Woodard, English educationalist (b. 1811)

• 1892 – Henri Duveyrier, French explorer (b. 1840)

• 1906 – John Knowles Paine, American composer (b. 1839)

• 1911 – Emilio Salgari, Italian novelist (b. 1862)

• 1915 – Frederick William Seward, United States Assistant Secretary of State (b. 1830)

• 1919 – Augustus D. Juilliard, music patron (b. 1836)

• 1923 – Louis-Olivier Taillon, Quebec politician (b. 1840)

• 1928 – Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel, Russian counter-revolutionary (b. 1878)

• 1937 – Michał Drzymała, Polish rebel (b. 1857)

• 1943 – Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, Russian theatre director (b. 1858)

• 1944 – George Herriman, cartoonist (b. 1880)

• 1944 – Tony Mullane, Irish-born American baseball player (b. 1859)

• 1968 – John Tewksbury, American athlete (b. 1876)

• 1972 – George Sanders, British actor (b. 1906)

• 1973 – Olga Grey, Hungarian-born American silent actress (b. 1896)

• 1975 – Mike Brant, Israeli singer (b. 1947)

• 1976 – Carol Reed, British film producer and director (b. 1906)

• 1978 – Lee Kim Lai, Singaporean police officer (b. 1960)

• 1980 – Katia Mann, wife of German writer Thomas Mann (b. 1883)

• 1982 – John Cardinal Cody, American cardinal (b. 1907)

• 1988 – Valerie Solanas, American radical feminist (b. 1936)

• 1990 – Dexter Gordon, American saxophonist (b. 1923)

• 1992 – Yutaka Ozaki, Japanese singer-songwriter (b. 1965)

• 1995 – Art Fleming, American game show host (b. 1925)

• 1995 – Ginger Rogers, American actress and dancer (b. 1911)

• 1996 – Saul Bass, American graphics designer (b. 1920)

• 1998 – Wright Morris, American writer (b. 1910)

• 1998 – Christian Mortensen, Danish-American supercentenarian (b. 1882)

• 1999 – Roger Troutman, American musician (b. 1951)

• 1999 – Larry Troutman, American musician (b. 1944)

• 1999 – Lord Killanin, Irish International Olympic Committee president (b. 1914)

• 2000 – David Merrick, American theatrical producer (b. 1911)

• 2000 – Lucien le Cam, French mathematician (b. 1924)

• 2001 – Michele Alboreto, Italian race car driver (b. 1956)

• 2002 – Indra Devi, yoga teacher (b. 1899)

• 2002 – Lisa Lopes, American rapper (TLC) (b. 1971)

• 2002 – Athanasios Papoulis, Greek-American engineer and applied mathematician (b. 1921)

• 2003 – Samson Kitur, Kenyan athlete (b. 1966)

• 2004 – Thom Gunn, British poet (b. 1929)

• 2005 – Swami Ranganathananda, Indian monk (b. 1908)

• 2006 – Jane Jacobs, American-born Canadian urbanist (b. 1916)

• 2007 – Alan Ball, English footballer (b. 1945)

• 2007 – Bobby "Boris" Pickett, American singer and songwriter (b. 1938)

• 2007 – Arthur Milton, English footballer and cricketer (b. 1928)

• 2008 – Humphrey Lyttelton, Jazz musician and broadcaster, (b. 1921)

• 2009 – Beatrice Arthur, American comedienne, actress, and singer, (b. 1922)

• 2009 – John Marchi, American politician (b. 1921)

Holidays and observances

• ANZAC Day (Australia, New Zealand) – Main day of remembrance for soldiers who died in war.

• Faroe Islands – National Flag Day.

• Official Red Hat Society day.

• Portugal – Freedom Day

• Roman Empire – Robigalia in honor of Robigus.

• Saint Mark the Evangelist

• Saint Anianus

• Saints Philo and Agathopodes

• Egypt - Sinai's Liberation Day.

• Liberation from Nazism of Italy (1945)

• DNA Day – commemorates the day in 1953 when James Watson and Francis Crick's article on the structure of DNA was published.

• Malaria Awareness Day