Events

• 711 – Battle of Guadalete: Umayyad forces under Tariq ibn Ziyad defeat the Visigoths led by their king Roderic.

• 1333 – Wars of Scottish Independence: Battle of Halidon Hill – The English win a decisive victory over the Scots.

• 1544 – Italian War of 1542: The Siege of Boulogne began.

• 1545 – The Tudor warship Mary Rose sinks off Portsmouth.

• 1553 – Lady Jane Grey is replaced by Mary I of England as Queen of England after having that title for just nine days.

• 1588 – Anglo-Spanish War: Battle of Gravelines – The Spanish Armada sighted in the English Channel.

• 1692 – Salem Witch Trials: Five women are hanged for witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts.

• 1760 – The formal request to found the later city of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico is filed by its founders.

• 1799 – A group of Napoleon Bonaparte's soldiers discover what is now known as The Rosetta Stone, enabling the translation of hieroglyphics for the first time.

• 1843 – Brunel's steamship the SS Great Britain is launched, becoming the first ocean-going craft with an iron hull or screw propeller and also becoming the largest vessel afloat in the world.

• 1848 – Women's rights: The two day Women's Rights Convention opens in Seneca Falls, New York and the "Bloomers" are introduced at the feminist convention.

• 1863 – American Civil War: Morgan's Raid – At Buffington Island in Ohio, Confederate General John Hunt Morgan's raid into the north is mostly thwarted when a large group of his men are captured while trying to escape across the Ohio River.

• 1864 – Third Battle of Nanking, determined battle at last.

• 1870 – Franco-Prussian War: France declares war on Prussia.

• 1879 – Doc Holliday kills for the first time after a man shoots up his New Mexico saloon.

• 1912 – A meteorite with an estimated mass of 190 kg explodes over the town of Holbrook in Navajo County, Arizona causing approximately 16,000 pieces of debris to rain down on the town.

• 1916 – Battle of Fromelles

• 1919 – Following Peace Day celebrations marking the end of World War I, ex-servicemen rioted and burnt down Luton Town Hall.

• 1940 – World War II: Battle of Cape Spada – The Royal Navy and the Regia Marina clash; the Italian light cruiser Bartolomeo Colleoni sinks, with 121 casualties.

• 1940 – World War II: Army order 112 forms the Intelligence Corps of the British Army.

• 1942 – World War II: Battle of the Atlantic – German Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz orders the last U-boats to withdraw from their United States Atlantic coast positions in response to the effective American convoy system.

• 1947 – Prime minister of shadow Burma government, Bogyoke Aung San and 6 of his cabinet and 2 non-cabinet members are assassinated by Galon U Saw, which resulted in the political chaos in the country lasting until now.

• 1963 – Joe Walker flies a North American X-15 to a record altitude of 106,010 metres (347,800 feet) on X-15 Flight 90. Exceeding an altitude of 100 km, this flight qualifies as a human spaceflight under international convention.

• 1964 – Vietnam War: At a rally in Saigon, South Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Khanh calls for expanding the war into North Vietnam.

• 1976 – Sagarmatha National Park in Nepal is created.

• 1979 – The Sandinista rebels overthrow the government of the Somoza family in Nicaragua.

• 1983 – The first three-dimensional reconstruction of a human head in a CT is published.

• 1985 – The Val di Stava Dam collapse killing 268 people in Val di Stava, Italy.

• 1989 – United Airlines flight 232 crashes in Sioux City, Iowa killing 112 of the 296 passengers.

• 1992 – Anti-Mafia Judge Paolo Borsellino is killed by a Mafia car bomb in Palermo, together with five police officers.

Births

• 1670 – Richard Leveridge, English bass and composer (d. 1758)

• 1688 – Giuseppe Castiglione, Italian missionary to China (d. 1766)

• 1744 – Heinrich Christian Boie, German author (d. 1806)

• 1759 – Seraphim of Sarov, Russian Orthodox Saint (d. 1833)

• 1789 – John Martin, English painter (d. 1854)

• 1800 – Juan José Flores, military and first President of Ecuador (d. 1864)

• 1814 – Samuel Colt, American firearms inventor (d. 1862)

• 1819 – Gottfried Keller, Swiss writer (d. 1890)

• 1822 – Augusta of Cambridge, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (d. 1916)

• 1827 – Mangal Pandey, Indian freedom fighter (d. 1857)

• 1834 – Edgar Degas, French painter (d. 1917)

• 1849 – Ferdinand Brunetière, French writer and critic (d. 1906)

• 1860 – Lizzie Borden, American accused murderer (d. 1927)

• 1865 – Charles Horace Mayo, American surgeon and founder of the Mayo Clinic (d. 1939)

• 1876 – Joseph Fielding Smith, 10th president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (d. 1972)

• 1876 – John Gunn, Former England cricketer (d. 1963)

• 1877 – Arthur Fielder, English cricketer (d. 1949)

• 1883 – Max Fleischer, Austrian animator and film producer (d. 1972)

• 1892 – Dick Irvin, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1957)

• 1893 – Vladimir Mayakovsky, Russian poet (d. 1930)

• 1894 – Khawaja Nazimuddin, 2nd Prime Minister of Pakistan (d. 1965)

• 1894 – Aleksandr Yakovlevich Khinchin, Russian mathematician (d. 1959)

• 1895 – Xu Beihong, Chinese painter (d. 1953)

• 1896 – A. J. Cronin, Scottish writer (d. 1981)

• 1896 – Bob Meusel, American baseball player (d. 1977)

• 1898 – Herbert Marcuse, German-born philosopher (d. 1979)

• 1904 – Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith, Last Lincoln descendant (d. 1985)

• 1907 – Isabel Jewell, American actress (d. 1972)

• 1912 – Norman Carr, British conservationist (d. 1997)

• 1914 – Marius Russo, baseball player (d. 2005)

• 1917 – William Scranton, American politician

• 1919 – Miltos Sachtouris, Greek poet (d. 2005)

• 1919 – Dallas McKennon, American actor (d. 2009)

• 1921 – Rosalyn Yalow, American physicist, Nobel laureate

• 1922 – Harold Camping, American evangelist, founder of Family Radio

• 1922 – George McGovern, American politician

• 1923 – William A. Rusher, American columnist

• 1924 – Stanley K. Hathaway, American politician (d. 2005)

• 1924 – Pat Hingle, American actor (d. 2009)

• 1924 – Arthur Rankin, Jr., American writer, producer and director

• 1925 – Sue Thompson, American pop and country music singer

• 1926 – Helen Gallagher, American actress

• 1932 – Jan Lindblad, Swedish naturalist, writer, photografer (d. 1987)

• 1934 – Francisco Sá Carneiro, Prime Minister of Portugal (d. 1980)

• 1935 – Vasily Livanov, Russian and Soviet film actor

• 1937 – George Hamilton IV, American country singer

• 1938 – Jayant Narlikar, Indian astrophysicist

• 1938 – Nicholas Bethell, British historian (d. 2007)

• 1938 – Richard Jordan, American actor (d. 1993)

• 1940 – Dennis Cole, American actor

• 1941 – Vikki Carr, American singer

• 1941 – Neelie Kroes, Dutch EU Commissioner for Competition

• 1943 – Han Sai Por, Singaporean sculptor

• 1946 – Alan Gorrie, Scottish musician (Average White Band)

• 1946 – Ilie Năstase, Romanian tennis player

• 1947 – Hans-Jürgen Kreische, East German footballer

• 1947 – Brian May, English musician (Queen)

• 1948 – Beverly Archer, American actress

• 1948 – Keith Godchaux, American musician (Grateful Dead) (d. 1980)

• 1949 – Ivar Kants, Australian actor

• 1950 – Per-Kristian Foss, Norwegian Minister of Finance

• 1950 – Freddy Moore, American songwriter

• 1951 – Abel Ferrara, American filmmake

• 1951 – Jayson Stark, American sportswriter

• 1952 – Allen Collins, American musician (Lynyrd Skynyrd) (d. 1990)

• 1952 – Robert A. Ficano, American politician

• 1952 – John Griesheimer, American politician

• 1954 – Srđa Trifković, Serbian-American journalist

• 1955 – Roger Binny, Indian cricketer

• 1956 – Nikki Sudden, English musician (d. 2006)

• 1956 – Joe Mohen, American Internet Entrepreneur

• 1956 – Yoshiaki Yatsu, Japanese professional wrestler

• 1958 – Robert Gibson, American professional wrestler

• 1958 – David Robertson, American symphony orchestra conductor

• 1960 – Atom Egoyan, Canadian filmmaker

• 1961 – Maria Filatova, Soviet gymnast

• 1961 – Hideo Nakata, Japanese film director

• 1961 – Campbell Scott, American actor

• 1961 – Benoît Mariage, Belgian film director

• 1962 – Anthony Edwards, American actor

• 1962 – Aya Kitō, Japanese Writer (d. 1988)

• 1963 – Garth Nix, Australian author

• 1964 – André Action Diakité Jackson, founder African Diamond Producers Association

• 1964 – Masahiko Kondo, Japanese singer, actor and racing driver

• 1965 – Evelyn Glennie, Scottish percussionist

• 1965 – Stuart Scott, American sportscaster

• 1966 – Nancy Walls, American actress

• 1966 – David Segui, American baseball player

• 1967 – Yael Abecassis, Israeli actress and model

• 1967 – Stuart Howe, Canadian Operatic Tenor

• 1968 – Robert Flynn, American musician (Machine Head)

• 1968 – Jim Norton, American comedian and radio personality (The Opie and Anthony Show)

• 1969 – Matthew Libatique, American cinematographer

• 1970 – Bill Chen, American quantitative analyst, poker player, and software designer

• 1971 – Russell Allen, American musician (Symphony X)

• 1971 – Urs Bühler, Swiss tenor (Il Divo)

• 1971 – Vitali Klitschko, Ukrainian boxer

• 1971 – Michael Modest, American professional wrestler

• 1972 – Naohito Fujiki, Japanese actor and singer

• 1972 – Ebbe Sand, Danish footballer

• 1973 – Martin Powell, English musician (Cradle of Filth)

• 1973 – Saïd Taghmaoui, French actor

• 1973 – Scott Walker, Canadian ice hockey player

• 1974 – Rey Bucanero, Mexican professional wrestler

• 1974 – Malcolm O'Kelly, Irish rugby union footballer

• 1974 – Preston Wilson, American baseball player

• 1976 – Gonzalo de los Santos, Uruguayan footballer

• 1976 – Vinessa Shaw, American actress

• 1977 – Jean-Sébastien Aubin, Canadian ice hockey player

• 1977 – Tony Mamaluke, American professional wrestler

• 1977 – Haitham Mustafa, Sudanese footballer

• 1977 – Ed Smith, English cricketer

• 1979 – Rick Ankiel, American baseball player

• 1979 – Dilhara Fernando, Sri Lankan cricketer

• 1979 – Michelle Heaton, British pop singer

• 1979 – Luke Young, English footballer

• 1980 – Xavier Malisse, Belgian tennis player

• 1980 – Giorgio Mondini, Italian racing driver

• 1980 – Mark Webber, American actor

• 1981 – David Bernard, Jamaican West Indies cricketer

• 1981 – Jimmy Gobble, American baseball player

• 1981 – Didz Hammond, English bass guitarist (Dirty Pretty Things and The Cooper Temple Clause)

• 1981 – Nenê, Brazilian footballer

• 1981 – Nikki Osborne, Australian actress

• 1982 – Jared Padalecki, American actor

• 1982 – Stuart Parnaby, English footballer

• 1982 – Jess Vanstrattan, Australian soccer player

• 1983 – Helen Skelton, British TV presenter

• 1984 – Alessandra De Rossi, Filipino actress

• 1984 – Lasse Gjertsen, Norwegian animator

• 1984 – Adam Morrison, American basketball player

• 1984 – Lewis Price, Welsh footballer

• 1987 – Marc Murphy, Australian rules footballer

• 1990 – Steven Anthony Lawrence, American actor

Deaths

• 514 – Pope Symmachus, Italian clergy

• 931 – Uda, Emperor of Japan (b. 867)

• 1374 – Petrarch, Italian poet (b. 1304)

• 1415 – Philippa of Lancaster, wife of John I of Portugal (plague) (b. 1359)

• 1543 – Lady Mary Boleyn, mistress of King Henry VIII of England

• 1631 – Cesare Cremonini, Italian philosopher (b. 1550)

• 1687 – Laura Martinozzi, Duchess of Modena (b. 1637)

• 1692 – Sarah Good, Susannah Martin, hanged for witchcraft as a result of the Salem Witch Trials (b. 1653, 1621)

• 1742 – William Somervile, English poet (b. 1675)

• 1810 – Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Queen of Prussia (b. 1776)

• 1814 – Captain Matthew Flinders, English explorer of Australia (b. 1774)

• 1838 – Pierre Louis Dulong, French physicist (b. 1785)

• 1850 – Margaret Fuller, American writer (b. 1810)

• 1857 – Stefano Franscini, Swiss Federal Councilor (b. 1796)

• 1868 – Soji Okita, Japanese samurai

• 1896 – Abraham H. Cannon, American Mormon apostle (b. 1859)

• 1913 – Clímaco Calderón, President of Colombia (b. 1852)

• 1939 – Rose Hartwick Thorpe, American poet (b. 1850)

• 1943 – Yekaterina Budanova, Soviet female flying ace (b. 1916)

• 1947 – Aung San, Burmese nationalist (assassinated) (b. 1915)

• 1947 – U Razak, Burmese politician (b. 1898)

• 1965 – Syngman Rhee, first President of South Korea (b. 1875)

• 1974 – Joe Flynn, American actor (b. 1924)

• 1974 – Erno Schwarz, Hungarian American soccer player (b. 1904)

• 1975 – Lefty Frizzell, American country music singer and songwriter (b. 1928)

• 1980 – Nihat Erim, Prime Minister of Turkey (assassinated) (b. 1912)

• 1981 – Roger Doucet, French Canadian tenor (b. 1919)

• 1982 – John Harvey, stage and film actor (b. 1911)

• 1984 – Faina Ranevskaya, Russian actress (b. 1896)

• 1985 – Janusz A. Zajdel, Polish writer (b. 1938)

• 1989 – Kazimierz Sabbat, Polish president (b. 1913)

• 1990 – Eddie Quillan, American actor (b. 1907)

• 1992 – Paolo Borsellino, Italian magistrate, martyr of mafia (b. 1940)

• 1998 – Elmer Valo, baseball player (b. 1921)

• 2002 – Alan Lomax, American folksong collector (b. 1915)

• 2003 – Bill Bright, American evangelist (b. 1921)

• 2003 – Pierre Graber, Swiss Federal Councilor (b. 1908)

• 2004 – Reverend Francis Marzen, American Catholic prelate (b. 1924)

• 2004 – Zenko Suzuki, Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1911)

• 2005 – John Tyndall, British politician (b. 1934)

• 2005 – Edward Bunker, American writer (b. 1933)

• 2006 – Jack Warden, American actor (b. 1920)

• 2007 – Roberto Fontanarrosa, Argentine cartoonist (b. 1944)

• 2007 – A. K. Faezul Huq, Lawyer, politician, and freelance journalist (b. 1945)

• 2008 – Dercy Gonçalves, Brazilian comedienne (b. 1907)

• 2008 – Anastasia Blue, American porn actress (b. 1980)

• 2009 – Frank McCourt, Irish-American author. (b. 1930)

• 2009 – Henry Surtees, British racing driver. (b. 1991)

Holidays and observances

• Burma – Burmese Martyrs' Day.

• Saint Arsenius in the Roman Catholic Church

• Bernold, Bishop of Utrecht

• Saint Symmachus, pope

• Saint Kirdjun, converted thief and martyr

• Saint Macrina, Sister of St. Basil the Great

• Justa and Rufina