Events

• 475 – The Roman general Orestes forces western Roman Emperor Julius Nepos to flee his capital city, Ravenna.

• 489 – Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths defeats Odoacer at the Battle of Isonzo, forcing his way into Italy.

• 1189 – Third Crusade: the Crusaders begin the Siege of Acre under Guy of Lusignan

• 1349 – 6,000 Jews are killed in Mainz, accused of being the cause of the plague.

• 1511 – The Portuguese conquer Malacca.

• 1521 – The Ottoman Turks occupy Belgrade.

• 1542 – Turkish-Portuguese War (1538-1557) – Battle of Wofla: the Portuguese are scattered, their leader Christovão da Gama is captured and later executed.

• 1609 – Henry Hudson discovers Delaware Bay.

• 1619 – Ferdinand II is elected emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.

• 1640 – Second Bishop's War: King Charles I's English army loses to a Scottish Covenanter force at the Battle of Newburn.

• 1789 – William Herschel discovers a new moon of Saturn.

• 1810 – Battle of Grand Port – the French accept the surrender of a British Navy fleet.

• 1830 – The Tom Thumb presages the first railway service in the United States.

• 1845 – The first issue of Scientific American magazine is published.

• 1849 – After a month-long siege, Venice, which had declared itself independent, surrenders to Austria.

• 1859 – A geomagnetic storm causes the Aurora Borealis to shine so brightly that it is seen clearly over parts of USA, Europe, and even as far away as Japan.

• 1862 – American Civil War: Second Battle of Bull Run, also known as the Battle of Second Manassas.

• 1867 – The United States takes possession of the, at this point unoccupied, Midway Atoll.

• 1879 – Cetshwayo, last king of the Zulus, is captured by the British.

• 1898 – Caleb Bradham renames his carbonated soft drink "Pepsi-Cola".

• 1901 – Silliman University is founded in the Philippines. The first Protestant and American school to be founded in Asia.

• 1913 – Queen Wilhelmina opens the Peace Palace in The Hague.

• 1914 – World War I: the Royal Navy defeats the German fleet in the Battle of Heligoland Bight.

• 1914 – World War I: German troops conquer Namur.

• 1916 – World War I: Germany declares war on Romania.

• 1916 – World War I: Italy declares war on Germany.

• 1917 – Ten Suffragettes are arrested while picketing the White House.

• 1924 – The Georgian opposition stages the August Uprising against the Soviet Union.

• 1931 – France and Soviet Union sign a treaty of non-aggression.

• 1937 – Toyota Motors becomes an independent company.

• 1943 – World War II: in Denmark, a general strike against the Nazi occupation is started.

• 1944 – World War II: Marseille and Toulon are liberated.

• 1953 – Nippon Television broadcasts Japan's first television show, including its first TV advertisement.

• 1955 – Black teenager Emmett Till is murdered in Mississippi, galvanizing the nascent American Civil Rights Movement.

• 1961 – Motown releases what would be its first #1 hit, "Please Mr. Postman" by The Marvelettes.

• 1963 – March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom: Martin Luther King, Jr. gives his I Have a Dream speech.

• 1964 – The Philadelphia race riot begins.

• 1968 – Riots in Chicago, Illinois, during the Democratic National Convention.

• 1979 – An IRA bomb explodes on the Grand Place in Brussels.

• 1981 – The National Centers for Disease Control announce a high incidence of pneumocystis and Kaposi's sarcoma in gay men. These will soon be recognized as symptoms of an immune disorder, which will be called AIDS.

• 1986 – United States Navy officer Jerry A. Whitworth is sentenced to 365 years imprisonment for espionage for the Soviet Union.

• 1988 – Ramstein airshow disaster: three aircraft of the Frecce Tricolori demonstration team collide and the wreckage falls into the crowd. 75 are killed and 346 seriously injured.

• 1990 – Iraq declares Kuwait to be its newest province.

• 1990 – The Plainfield Tornado: an F5 tornado hits in Plainfield, Illinois, and Joliet, Illinois, killing 28 people.

• 1991 – Collapse of the Soviet Union: Ukraine declares its independence from the Soviet Union.

• 1991 – Collapse of the Soviet Union – Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party.

• 1996 – Charles, Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales divorce.

• 1998 – Pakistan's National Assembly passes a constitutional amendment to make the "Qur'an and Sunnah" the "supreme law" but the bill is defeated in the Senate.

• 2003 – An electricity blackout cuts off power to around 500,000 people living in south east England and brings 60% of London's underground rail network to a halt.

Births

• 1025 – Emperor Go-Reizei of Japan (d. 1068)

• 1582 – Taichang Emperor, of the Ming dynasty of China (d. 1620)

• 1592 – George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, English statesman (d. 1628)

• 1612 – Marcus Zuerius van Boxhorn, Dutch scholar (d. 1653)

• 1667 – Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, queen of Denmark and Norway (d. 1721)

• 1691 – Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Holy Roman Empire Empress (d. 1750)

• 1714 – Anthony Ulrich II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (d. 1774)

• 1749 – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German writer and scientist (d. 1832)

• 1774 – Elizabeth Ann Seton, American-born Catholic saint (d. 1821)

• 1789 – Stéphanie de Beauharnais, Grand Duchess of Baden (d. 1860)

• 1801 – Antoine Augustin Cournot, French mathematician (d. 1877)

• 1814 – Sheridan le Fanu, Irish writer (d. 1873)

• 1827 – Grand Duchess Catherine Mikhailovna of Russia (d. 1894)

• 1828 – Leo Tolstoy, Russian author (birthdate according to O.S.) (d. 1910)

• 1840 – Alexander Cameron Sim, Scottish merchant (d. 1900)

• 1853 – Vladimir Shukhov, Russian engineer and inventor (d. 1939)

• 1859 – Vittorio Sella, Italian photographer (d. 1943)

• 1867 – Umberto Giordano, Italian composer (d. 1948)

• 1878 – George Whipple, American doctor and Nobel laureate (d. 1976)

• 1885 – Vance Palmer, Australian author (d. 1959)

• 1894 – Karl Böhm, Austrian conductor (d. 1981)

• 1898 – Charlie Grimm, American baseball player (d. 1983)

• 1899 – Charles Boyer, French actor (d. 1978)

• 1903 – Bruno Bettelheim, American psychologist (d. 1990)

• 1904 – Secondo Campini, Italian jet engine pioneer (d. 1980)

• 1905 – Cyril Walters, England cricketer (d. 1992)

• 1906 – John Betjeman, English poet (d. 1984)

• 1908 – Roger Tory Peterson, American ornithologist (d. 1996)

• 1910 – Tjalling Koopmans, Dutch-born economist Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1985)

• 1911 – Joseph Luns, Dutch politician (d. 2002)

• 1913 – Robertson Davies, Canadian writer (d. 1995)

• 1913 – Richard Tucker, American tenor (d. 1975)

• 1913 – Terence Reese, British bridge player (d. 1996)

• 1913 – Boris Pahor, Slovenian writer

• 1913 – Lindsay Hassett, Australian cricketer (d. 1993)

• 1915 – Max Robertson, British sports commentator

• 1915 – Tasha Tudor, American illustrator (d. 2008)

• 1916 – Jack Vance, American author

• 1916 – Hélène Baillargeon, Quebec singer and folklorist (d. 1997)

• 1917 – Jack Kirby, American comic book artist (d. 1994)

• 1919 – Godfrey Hounsfield, English electrical engineer Nobel Laureate (d. 2004)

• 1920 – Frits Bernard, pedophile activist (d. 2006)

• 1921 – Fernando Fernán Gómez, Spanish actor, director, academic and playwright (d. 2007)

• 1921 – Nancy Kulp, American actress (d. 1991)

• 1924 – Janet Frame, New Zealand author (d. 2004)

• 1924 – Peggy Ryan, American actress (d. 2004)

• 1924 – Tony MacGibbon, New Zealand cricketer

• 1925 – Donald O'Connor, American singer, dancer, and actor (d. 2003)

• 1925 – Billy Grammer, American country music singer and guitarist

• 1928 – F. William Free, American advertising executive (d. 2003)

• 1929 – István Kertész, Hungarian conductor (d. 1973)

• 1929 – Ken Gampu, South African actor (d. 2003)

• 1930 – Windsor Davies, British actor

• 1930 – Ben Gazzara, American actor

• 1931 – John Shirley-Quirk, English bass-baritone

• 1931 – Tito Capobianco, Argentinian stage impresario and director

• 1932 – Andy Bathgate, Canadian ice hockey player

• 1935 – Gilles Rocheleau, French Canadian politician (d. 1998)

• 1936 – Don Denkinger, American baseball umpire

• 1938 – Paul Martin, Canadian politician

• 1938 – Maurizio Costanzo, Italian television journalist

• 1940 – Ken Jenkins, American actor

• 1940 – Roger Pingeon, French cylist

• 1940 – Nik Turner, English musician (Hawkwind)

• 1941 – Sybille de Selys Longchamps, Belgian aristocrat

• 1941 – Paul Plishka, American opera singer

• 1942 – Sterling Morrison, American guitarist (The Velvet Underground) (d. 1995)

• 1943 – David Soul, American actor

• 1943 – Lou Piniella, American baseball manager

• 1943 – Surayud Chulanont, Thai 24th Prime Minister (former)

• 1944 – Marianne Heemskerk, Dutch swimmer

• 1945 – Robert Greenwald, American film director/producer

• 1945 – Bob Segarini, American musician

• 1944 – Melvin Dummar, American claimant to the Howard Hughes estate

• 1947 – Liza Wang, Hong Kong actress

• 1947 – Shoto Tanemura, Japanese martial artist

• 1948 – Danny Seraphine, American musician (Chicago)

• 1948 – Murray Parker, New Zealand cricketer

• 1948 – Heather Reisman, Canadian businesswoman

• 1949 – Hugh Cornwell, British musician (The Stranglers)

• 1949 – Svetislav Pešić, Serbian basketball player and coach

• 1951 – Keiichi Suzuki, Japanese composer

• 1951 – Wayne Osmond, American singer (The Osmonds)

• 1952 – Rita Dove, American poet

• 1952 – Wendelin Wiedeking, German businessman

• 1952 – Guy Nadon, Canadian actor

• 1952 – Jacques Chagnon, Canadian politician

• 1954 – George Church, American geneticist

• 1956 – Luis Guzmán, Puerto Rican actor

• 1957 – Daniel Stern, American actor

• 1957 – Rick Rossovich, American actor

• 1958 – Scott Hamilton, American figure skater

• 1960 – Emma Samms, English actress

• 1961 – Kim Appleby, English singer

• 1961 – Cliff Benson, American football player

• 1962 – Paul Allen, English footballer

• 1962 – David Fincher, American music video and film director

• 1963 – Jennifer Coolidge, American actress

• 1963 – Regina Jacobs, American athlete

• 1965 – Satoshi Tajiri, founder of Game Freak

• 1965 – Amanda Tapping, Canadian actress

• 1965 – Shania Twain, Canadian singer

• 1965 – Myke Hawke, American Survivalist

• 1966 – Priya Dutt, Indian social worker and politician

• 1967 – Frederick Kesner, Philippine-born Australian poet

• 1968 – Billy Boyd, Scottish actor

• 1969 – Jason Priestley, Canadian-born actor

• 1969 – Jack Black, American actor

• 1969 – Mary McCartney, English photographer

• 1969 – Pierre Turgeon, French Canadian ice hockey player

• 1970 – Sherrié Austin, Australian actress/singer

• 1970 – Rick Recht, Jewish singer

• 1971 – Todd Eldredge, American figure skater

• 1971 – Janet Evans, American swimmer

• 1971 – Raul Marquez, Mexican-born American boxer

• 1971 – Shane Andrews, American baseball player

• 1972 – Jay Witasick, American baseball player

• 1972 – Ravindu Shah, Kenyan cricketer

• 1973 – Matthew John Armstrong, American actor

• 1973 – DJ Assault, American musician

• 1974 – Johan Andersson, Swedish game programmer

• 1974 – Carsten Jancker, German footballer

• 1974 – Takahito Eguchi, Japanese composer

• 1975 – Jamie Cureton, English footballer

• 1975 – Gareth Farrelly, Irish footballer

• 1975 – Vera Jordanova, Finnish actress and model

• 1976 – Federico Magallanes, Uruguayan footballer

• 1978 – Jess Margera, American drummer (CKY)

• 1979 – Robert Hoyzer, German football referee

• 1979 – Shaila Durcal, Spanish singer

• 1979 – Kristen Hughes, Australian netballer

• 1979 – Markus Pröll, German footballer

• 1979 – Ruth Riley, American basketball player

• 1981 – Martin Erat, Czech hockey player

• 1981 – Daniel Gygax, Swiss footballer

• 1981 – Vaggelis Moras, Greek footballer

• 1981 – Agata Wróbel, Polish weightlifter

• 1981 – Raphael Matos, Brazilian racing driver

• 1982 – Anderson Silva de França, Brazilian footballer

• 1982 – LeAnn Rimes, American singer

• 1982 – Kevin McNaughton, Scottish footballer

• 1982 – Thiago Motta, Brazilian footballer

• 1983 – Lasith Malinga, Sri Lankan cricketer

• 1983 – Alfonso Herrera, Mexican actor and singer (RBD)

• 1986 – Gilad Shalit, Israeli soldier

• 1990 – Bojan Krkić, Spanish footballer

• 1999 – Prince Nikolai of Denmark

Deaths

• 388 – Magnus Maximus, Roman usurper

• 430 – Augustine of Hippo, North African saint and theologian (b. 354)

• 1341 – King Leo V of Armenia (b. 1309)

• 1481 – King Afonso V of Portugal (b. 1432)

• 1645 – Hugo Grotius, Dutch philosopher and writer (b. 1583)

• 1654 – Axel Oxenstierna, Lord High Chancellor of Sweden (b. 1583)

• 1678 – John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton, English soldier (b. 1602)

• 1757 – David Hartley, English philosopher (b. 1705)

• 1784 – Junípero Serra, Spanish missionary (b. 1713)

• 1785 – Jean-Baptiste Pigalle, French sculptor (b. 1714)

• 1793 – Adam Philippe, Comte de Custine, French general (executed) (b. 1740)

• 1805 – Alexander Carlyle, Scottish church leader (b. 1722)

• 1818 – Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable, founder of Chicago

• 1820 – Andrew Ellicott, American surveyor (b. 1754)

• 1839 – William Smith, English geologist (b. 1769)

• 1900 – Henry Sidgwick, English philosopher (b. 1838)

• 1903 – Frederick Law Olmsted, American landscape architect (b. 1822)

• 1933 – Helen Dunbar, American actress (b. 1863)

• 1943 – King Boris III of Bulgaria (b. 1894)

• 1947 – Manolete, Spanish bullfighter (b. 1917)

• 1955 – Emmett Till, American civil rights movement icon (b. 1941)

• 1959 – Bohuslav Martinů, Czech composer (b. 1890)

• 1965 – Giulio Racah, Israeli physicist (b. 1909)

• 1975 – Fritz Wotruba, Austrian sculptor (b. 1907)

• 1976 – Anissa Jones, American actress (b. 1958)

• 1978 – Robert Shaw, English actor and writer (b. 1927)

• 1981 – Béla Guttman, Hungarian footballer (b. 1900)

• 1982 – Geoff Chubb, South African cricketer (b. 1911)

• 1985 – Ruth Gordon, American actress (b. 1896)

• 1987 – John Huston, American movie director (b. 1906)

• 1988 – Jean Marchand, French Canadian union leader and politician (b. 1918)

• 1990 – Willy Vandersteen, Belgian cartoonist (b. 1913)

• 1993 – William Stafford, American poet (b. 1914)

• 1995 – Earl Bascom, American rodeo pioneer (b. 1906)

• 2003 – Brian Douglas Wells, American criminal (failed) (b. 1956)

• 2005 – Jacques Dufilho, French actor (b. 1914)

• 2005 – Esther Szekeres, Hungarian mathematician (b. 1910)

• 2005 – George Szekeres, Hungarian mathematician (b. 1911)

• 2006 – Benoît Sauvageau, French Canadian politician (b. 1963)

• 2006 – Melvin Schwartz, American physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1932)

• 2007 – Arthur Jones, American inventor of the Nautilus exercise machines (b. 1926)

• 2007 – Hilly Kristal, American musician (b. 1932)

• 2007 – Paul B. MacCready, Jr., American aeronautical engineer (b. 1925)

• 2007 – Antonio Puerta, Spanish footballer (b. 1984)

• 2007 – Francisco Umbral, Spanish journalist, novelist, biographer and essayist (b. 1935)

• 2007 – Miyoshi Umeki, Japanese-born American actress (b. 1929)

• 2007 – Nikola Nobilo, New Zealand winemaker (b. 1913)

• 2008 – Phil Hill, American race car driver and one-time F1 world champion (b. 1927)

• 2009 – Adam Goldstein, American DJ also known as DJ AM (b. 1973)

Holidays and observances

• In Eastern Orthodox Churches using the Julian calendar: Feast day of the Assumption of Mary, the mother of Jesus, public holiday in the Republic of Macedonia, Serbia, Georgia

• Many Christian churches: feast day of Saint Augustine of Hippo.