Events

• 636 – Battle of Yarmouk: Arab forces led by Khalid ibn al-Walid take control of Syria and Palestine away from the Byzantine Empire, marking the first great wave of Muslim conquests and the rapid advance of Islam outside Arabia.

• 917 – Battle of Acheloos: Tsar Simeon I of Bulgaria decisively defeats a Byzantine army.

• 1000 – The foundation of the Hungarian state, Hungary is established as a Christian kingdom by Stephen I of Hungary.

• 1391 – Konrad von Wallenrode becomes the 24th Hochmeister of the Teutonic Order.

• 1672 – Former Grand Pensionary Johan de Witt and his brother Cornelis are brutally murdered by an angry mob in The Hague.

• 1775 – The Spanish establish a presidio (fort) in the town that became Tucson, Arizona.

• 1794 – Battle of Fallen Timbers – American troops force a confederacy of Shawnee, Mingo, Delaware, Wyandot, Miami, Ottawa, Chippewa, and Potawatomi warriors into a disorganized retreat.

• 1804 – Lewis and Clark Expedition: the "Corps of Discovery", exploring the Louisiana Purchase, suffers its only death when sergeant Charles Floyd dies, apparently from acute appendicitis.

• 1858 – Charles Darwin first publishes his theory of evolution in The Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London, alongside Alfred Russel Wallace's same theory.

• 1866 – President Andrew Johnson formally declares the American Civil War over.

• 1882 – Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture debuts in Moscow.

• 1888 – Mutineers imprison Emin Pasha at Dufile.

• 1900 – Japan's primary school law is amended to provide for four years of mandatory schooling.

• 1914 – World War I: German forces occupy Brussels.

• 1920 – The first commercial radio station, 8MK (WWJ), begins operations in Detroit, Michigan.

• 1926 – Japan's public broadcasting company, Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai (NHK) is established.

• 1938 – Lou Gehrig hits his 23rd career grand slam – a record that still stands.

• 1940 – In Mexico City exiled Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky is fatally wounded with an ice axe by Ramon Mercader. He dies the next day.

• 1944 – World War II: the Battle of Romania begins with a major Soviet offensive.

• 1953 – The Soviet Union publicly acknowledges that it had tested a hydrogen bomb.

• 1955 – In Morocco, a force of Berbers from the Atlas Mountains region of Algeria raid two rural settlements and kill 77 French nationals.

• 1960 – Senegal breaks from the Mali federation, declaring its independence.

• 1968 – 200,000 Warsaw Pact troops and 5,000 tanks invade Czechoslovakia to end the "Prague Spring" of political liberalization.

• 1975 – Viking Program: NASA launches the Viking 1 planetary probe toward Mars.

• 1977 – Voyager Program: NASA launches the Voyager 2 spacecraft.

• 1979 – The East Coast Main Line rail route between England and Scotland is restored when the Penmanshiel Diversion opens.

• 1982 – Lebanese Civil War: a multinational force lands in Beirut to oversee the PLO's withdrawal from Lebanon.

• 1986 – In Edmond, Oklahoma, U.S. Postal employee Patrick Sherrill guns down 14 of his co-workers and then commits suicide.

• 1988 – "Black Saturday" of the Yellowstone fire in Yellowstone National Park

• 1988 – Peru becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty.

• 1988 – Iran–Iraq War: a cease-fire is agreed after almost eight years of war.

• 1989 – The pleasure boat Marchioness sinks on the River Thames following a collision, 51 people are killed.

• 1991 – Collapse of the Soviet Union, August Coup: more than 100,000 people rally outside the Soviet Union's parliament building protesting the coup aiming to depose President Mikhail Gorbachev.

• 1991 – Estonia secedes from the Soviet Union.

• 1993 – After rounds of secret negotiations in Norway, the Oslo Peace Accords are signed, followed by a public ceremony in Washington, D.C. the following month.

• 1997 – Souhane massacre in Algeria; over 60 people are killed and 15 kidnapped.

• 1998 – The Supreme Court of Canada rules that Quebec cannot legally secede from Canada without the federal government's approval.

• 1998 – U.S. embassy bombings: the United States military launches cruise missile attacks against alleged al-Qaida camps in Afghanistan and a suspected chemical plant in Sudan in retaliation for the August 7 bombings of American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

• 1999 – Tony Martin confronts two burglars in his farmhouse in Emneth Hungate, Norfolk. Martin shoots both Brendon Fearon and Fred Barras with a pump-action shotgun, with Barras later dying of his injuries.

• 2002 – A group of Iraqis opposed to the regime of Saddam Hussein take over the Iraqi Embassy in Berlin for five hours before releasing their hostages and surrendering.

• 2008 – Spanair Flight 5022, from Madrid to Gran Canaria, skids off the runway and crashes at Barajas Airport. 146 people are killed in the crash, 8 more die afterwards. Only 18 people survive.

Births

• 1517 – Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle, French church leader (d. 1586)

• 1561 – Jacopo Peri, Italian composer (d. 1633)

• 1625 – Thomas Corneille, French dramatist (d. 1709)

• 1632 – Louis Bourdaloue, French Jesuit preacher (d. 1704)

• 1710 – Thomas Simpson, British mathematician (d. 1761)

• 1719 – Charles-François de Broglie, marquis de Ruffec, French soldier and diplomat (d. 1791)

• 1719 – Christian Mayer, Czech astronomer (d. 1783)

• 1778 – Bernardo O'Higgins, South American revolutionary (d. 1842)

• 1779 – Jöns Jakob Berzelius, Swedish chemist (d. 1848)

• 1833 – Benjamin Harrison, 23rd President of the United States (d. 1901)

• 1845 – St. Albert Chmielowski, Polish Catholic Saint (d. 1916)

• 1847 – Andrew Greenwood, England cricketer (d. 1889)

• 1847 – Bolesław Prus, Polish writer (d. 1912)

• 1856 – Jakub Bart-Ćišinski, Sorbian writer (d. 1909)

• 1860 – Raymond Poincaré, French statesman (d. 1934)

• 1865 – Bernard Tancred, South African cricketer (d. 1911)

• 1868 – Ellen Roosevelt, American tennis player (d. 1954)

• 1873 – Gottlieb Eliel Saarinen, Finnish architect (d. 1950)

• 1881 – Edgar Guest, English poet (d. 1959)

• 1886 – Paul Tillich, German-American theologian (d. 1965)

• 1890 – H. P. Lovecraft, American writer (d. 1937)

• 1897 – Tarjei Vesaas, Norwegian writer (d. 1970)

• 1898 – Vilhelm Moberg, Swedish author and historian (d. 1973)

• 1901 – Salvatore Quasimodo, Italian writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1968)

• 1905 – Jean Gebser, German-born author, linguist, and poet (d. 1973)

• 1905 – Jack Teagarden, American musician (d. 1964)

• 1907 – Alan Reed, original voice of Fred Flintstone. (d. 1977)

• 1908 – Al Lopez, American baseball player and manager (d. 2005)

• 1909 – Alby Roberts, New Zealand cricketer (d. 1978)

• 1910 – Eero Saarinen, Finnish architect (d. 1961)

• 1913 – Roger Wolcott Sperry, American neurobiologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1994)

• 1916 – Paul Felix Schmidt, Estonian–German chess player (d. 1984)

• 1918 – Jacqueline Susann, American novelist (d. 1974)

• 1921 – Jack Wilson, Australian cricketer (d. 1985)

• 1923 – Jim Reeves, US country music singer (d.1964)

• 1924 – George Zuverink, American baseball player

• 1923 – Jim Reeves, American singer (d. 1964)

• 1926 – Nobby Wirkowski, American and Canadian football player and coach

• 1927 – Geriatric1927, English video blogger

• 1927 – Yootha Joyce, English actress (d. 1980)

• 1930 – Mario Bernardi, Canadian conductor

• 1931 – Don King, American boxing promoter

• 1932 – Anthony Ainley, British actor (d. 2004)

• 1932 – Vasily Aksyonov, Russian novelist (d. 2009)

• 1932 – Atholl McKinnon, South African cricketer (d. 1983)

• 1933 – George J. Mitchell, former United States Senator

• 1934 – Armi Kuusela, Finnish beauty queen

• 1935 – Ron Paul, US Congressman, 1988 and 2008 presidential candidate

• 1936 – Hideki Shirakawa, Japanese chemist, Nobel Prize laureate

• 1937 – Jim Bowen, English comedian

• 1937 – El Fary, Spanish singer and actor (d. 2007)

• 1937 – Andrei Konchalovsky, Russian film director

• 1938 – Alain Vivien, French politician

• 1939 – Fernando Poe Jr., Filipino actor and politician (d. 2004)

• 1940 – Rubén Hinojosa, American politician

• 1940 – Rex Sellers, Australian cricketer

• 1941 – Dave Brock, British musician and founder of Hawkwind

• 1941 – Rich Brooks, American football coach

• 1941 – Slobodan Milošević, President of Serbia and of Yugoslavia (d. 2006)

• 1941 – Robin Oakley, British journalist

• 1941 – Jo Ramirez, Mexican motor racing team manager and author

• 1942 – Isaac Hayes, American singer, songwriter, and actor (d. 2008)

• 1942 – Fred Norman, American baseball player

• 1943 – Sylvester McCoy, Scottish actor

• 1944 – Rajiv Gandhi, Prime Minister of India (d. 1991)

• 1944 – Graig Nettles, American baseball player

• 1946 – Connie Chung, American journalist

• 1946 – Ralf Hütter, German musician (Kraftwerk)

• 1946 – N.R. Narayana Murthy, Indian businessman

• 1947 – Alan Lee, English conceptual artist

• 1948 – John Noble, Australian actor

• 1948 – Robert Plant, British Musician (Led Zeppelin)

• 1949 – Nikolas Asimos, Greek composer and singer (d. 1988)

• 1949 – Norman Featherstone, South African cricketer

• 1949 – Alan Hardwick, English TV presenter

• 1949 – Phil Lynott, Irish musician (d. 1986)

• 1951 – Greg Bear, American author

• 1952 – John Emburey, English cricketer

• 1952 – Doug Fieger, American musician (The Knack)

• 1952 – John Hiatt, American musician

• 1953 – Gerry Bertier, American wheelchair Olympian (d. 1981)

• 1954 – Tawn Mastrey, American disc jockey (d. 2007)

• 1954 – Al Roker, American television personality

• 1954 – Don Stark, American actor

• 1955 – Agnes Chan, Hong Kong singer and writer

• 1956 – Joan Allen, American actress

• 1956 – Alvin Greenidge, West Indian cricketer

• 1957 – Finlay Calder, Scottish rugby player

• 1958 – Patricia Rozema, Canadian film director and screenwriter

• 1958 – John Stehr, American journalist

• 1961 – Greg Egan, Australian author

• 1961 – Joe Pasquale, English comedian

• 1962 – Sophie Aldred, English actress

• 1962 – James Marsters, American actor

• 1962 – Dong-Wook Song, South Korean tennis player

• 1965 – KRS-One, American rapper

• 1966 – Dimebag Darrell, American guitarist (Pantera and Damageplan) (d. 2004)

• 1967 – Andy Benes, American baseball player

• 1967 – Colin Cunningham, American actor

• 1967 – Terri Poch, American yogini and professional wrestler

• 1968 – Klas Ingesson, Swedish footballer

• 1968 – Yuri Shiratori, Japanese voice actress and singer

• 1969 – Duke Droese, American professional wrestler

• 1970 – Els Callens, Belgian tennis player

• 1970 – John D. Carmack, American computer game programmer

• 1971 – Jonathan Ke Quan, Vietnamese/American actor

• 1971 – Steve Stone, English footballer

• 1971 – David Walliams, British comedian

• 1971 – Fred Durst, American singer (Limp Bizkit)

• 1972 – Chaney Kley, American actor

• 1973 – Todd Helton, American baseball player

• 1974 – Amy Adams, American actress

• 1974 – Big Moe, American rapper (d. 2007)

• 1974 – Szabolcs Sáfár, Hungarian footballer

• 1974 – Andy Strachan, Australian musician (The Living End)

• 1974 – Maxim Vengerov, Russian violinist

• 1975 – Marcus Mastin, American author

• 1976 – Chris Drury, American hockey player

• 1977 – Felipe Contepomi, Argentine rugby player

• 1977 – Manuel Contepomi, Argentine rugby player

• 1977 – Ivar Ingimarsson, Icelandic footballer

• 1977 – Mayra Veronica, Cuban model and actress

• 1977 – James Ormond, England cricketer

• 1979 – Cory Sullivan, American baseball player

• 1979 – Haha, South Korean entertainer

• 1980 – Corey Carrier, American actor

• 1980 – Rochelle Gadd, British actress

• 1981 – Ben Barnes, English actor

• 1981 – Bernard Mendy, French footballer

• 1982 – Cléber Luis Alberti, Brazilian footballer

• 1982 – Youssouf Hersi, Ethiopian footballer

• 1982 – Joshua Kennedy, Australian footballer

• 1982 – Barney Rogers, Zimbabwean cricketer

• 1984 – Mirai Moriyama, Japanese actor

• 1984 – Golan Yosef, Dutch actor

• 1986 – Robert Clark, Canadian actor

• 1987 – Cătălina Ponor, Romanian gymnast

• 1988 – Jerryd Bayless, American basketball player

• 1990 – Ranomi Kromowidjojo, Dutch swimmer

• 1991 – Marko Đoković, Serbian tennis player

• 1992 – Demi Lovato, American actress and singer

• 1995 – Liana Liberato, American actress

• 2003 – Prince Gabriel of Belgium

Deaths

• 535 – Mochta of Louth, disciple of St. Patrick

• 984 – Pope John XIV

• 1384 – Geert Groote, Dutch founder of the Brethren of the Common Life (b. 1340)

• 1572 – Miguel López de Legazpi, Spanish conquistador (b. 1502)

• 1580 – Jeronymo Osorio, Portuguese historian (b. 1506)

• 1611 – Tomás Luis de Victoria, Spanish composer (b. 1548)

• 1639 – Martin Opitz von Boberfeld, German poet (b. 1597)

• 1643 – Anne Hutchinson, English Puritan preacher (b. 1591)

• 1648 – Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury, English diplomat, poet, and philosopher (b. 1583)

• 1672 – Johan de Witt, Dutch politician (b. 1625)

• 1672 – Cornelis de Witt, Dutch politician (b. 1623)

• 1680 – William Bedloe, English informer (b. 1650)

• 1701 – Charles Sedley, English playwright (b. 1639)

• 1707 – Nicolas Gigault, French organist and composer (b. 1627)

• 1773 – Enrique Florez, Spanish historian (b. 1701)

• 1811 – Louis Antoine de Bougainville, French explorer (b. 1729)

• 1823 – Pope Pius VII (b. 1740)

• 1825 – William Waldegrave, 1st Baron Radstock, Governor of Newfoundland (b. 1753)

• 1887 – Jules Laforgue, French poet (b. 1860)

• 1904 – René Waldeck-Rousseau, French statesman (b. 1846)

• 1912 – William Booth, English founder of the Salvation Army (b. 1829)

• 1914 – Pope Pius X (b. 1835)

• 1915 – Paul Ehrlich, German scientist, Nobel laureate (b. 1854)

• 1917 – Adolf von Baeyer, German chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1835)

• 1919 – Greg MacGregor, England cricketer (b. 1869)

• 1930 – Charles Bannerman, Australian cricketer (b. 1851)

• 1959 – William Halsey, Jr, American admiral (b. 1882)

• 1961 – Percy Williams Bridgman, American physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1882)

• 1963 – Joan Voûte, Dutch astronomer (b. 1879)

• 1965 – Jonathan Myrick Daniels, Civil Rights Martyr (b. 1939)

• 1971 – Rashid Minhas, Pakistani Air Force pilot (b. 1951)

• 1980 – Joe Dassin, American singer (b. 1938)

• 1982 – Ulla Jacobsson, Swedish actress (b. 1929)

• 1986 – Milton Acorn, Canadian poet (b. 1923)

• 1989 – George Adamson, India-born English game warden and lion expert (b. 1906)

• 1993 – Bernard Delfgaauw, Dutch philosopher (b. 1912)

• 1996 – Rio Reiser, German rock musician and singer (b. 1950)

• 1997 – Norris Bradbury, American physicist (b. 1909)

• 1997 – Léon Dion, French-Canadian political scientist (b. 1922)

• 1998 – Raquel Rastenni, Danish singer (b. 1915)

• 2001 – Sir Fred Hoyle, English astronomer and science fiction writer (b. 1915)

• 2001 – Kim Stanley, American actress (b. 1925)

• 2005 – Thomas Herrion, American football player (b. 1981)

• 2005 – Krzysztof Raczkowski, Polish drummer (b. 1970)

• 2006 – Claude Blanchard, French-Canadian singer, comedian and actor (b. 1932)

• 2006 – Joe Rosenthal, American photographer (b. 1911)

• 2006 – Cpl Bryan Budd VC, British soldier (Afghanistan) (b. 1977)

• 2007 – Leona Helmsley, American hotel operator and real estate investor (b. 1920)

• 2007 – Larry Hartsell, American martial artist, bodyguard, trainer, student of Bruce Lee and Dan Inosanto (b. 1942)

• 2008 – Hua Guofeng, Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (b. 1921)

• 2008 – Stephanie Tubbs Jones, American politician (b. 1949)

• 2008 – Gene Upshaw, American football player and union leader (b. 1945)

• 2009 – Larry Knechtel, American keyboard player and bassist (b. 1940)

Holidays and observances

• Bahá'í Faith: Feast of Asmá’

• Estonia: Restoration of Independence Day

• Hungary: Saint Stephen’s Day

• Morocco: Revolution of the King and People

• Nepal: Children’s Day

• World Union: World Union Day.

• Roman Catholic saints: Saint Bernard of Clairvaux