Events

• 1333 – The River Arno floods causing massive damage in Florence as recorded by the Florentine chronicler Giovanni Villani.

• 1429 – Joan of Arc liberates Saint-Pierre-le-Moûtier.

• 1501 – Catherine of Aragon (later Henry VIII's first wife) meets Arthur Tudor, Henry VIII's older brother – they would later marry.

• 1576 – Eighty Years' War: In Flanders, Spain captures Antwerp (after three days the city is nearly destroyed).

• 1677 – The future Mary II of England marries William, Prince of Orange. They would later jointly reign as William and Mary.

• 1737 – The Teatro di San Carlo is inaugurated.

• 1783 – W.A. Mozart's Symphony No. 36 is performed for the first time in Linz, Austria.

• 1791 – The Western Confederacy of American Indians wins a major victory over the United States in the Battle of the Wabash.

• 1825 – The Erie Canal is completed with Governor DeWitt Clinton performing the Wedding of The Waters ceremony in New York Harbour.

• 1834 – The Delta Upsilon Fraternity is established at Williams College Massachusetts.

• 1839 – The Newport Rising: the last large-scale armed rebellion against authority in mainland Britain.

• 1852 – Count Camillo Benso di Cavour becomes the prime minister of Piedmont-Sardinia, which soon expands to become Italy.

• 1861 – The University of Washington opens in Seattle, Washington as the Territorial University.

• 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Johnsonville – Confederate troops bombard a Union supply base and destroy millions of dollars in material.

• 1889 – Menelek of Shoa obtains the allegiance of a large majority of the Ethiopian nobility, paving the way for him to be crowned emperor.

• 1890 – City & South London Railway: London's first deep-level tube railway opens between King William Street and Stockwell.

• 1903 – Panama adopts its flag one day after it separated from Colombia

• 1918 – World War I: Austria-Hungary surrenders to Italy.

• 1918 – The German Revolution begins when 40,000 sailors take over the port in Kiel.

• 1921 – The Sturmabteilung or SA is formed by Adolf Hitler

• 1921 – Japanese Prime Minister Hara Takashi is assassinated in Tokyo.

• 1921 – The Italian unknown soldier is buried in the Altare della Patria (Fatherland Altar) in Rome.

• 1922 – In Egypt, British archaeologist Howard Carter and his men find the entrance to Pharaoh Tutankhamun's tomb in the Valley of the Kings.

• 1924 – Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming is elected the first female governor in the United States.

• 1939 – World War II: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt orders the United States Customs Service to implement the Neutrality Act of 1939, allowing cash-and-carry purchases of weapons by belligerents.

• 1942 – World War II: Second Battle of El Alamein – Disobeying a direct order by Adolf Hitler, General Field Marshal Erwin Rommel leads his forces on a five-month retreat.

• 1944 – World War II: Bitola Liberation Day

• 1952 – The United States government establishes the National Security Agency.

• 1955 – After being totally destroyed in World War II, the rebuilt Vienna State Opera reopens with a performance of Beethoven's Fidelio.

• 1956 – Soviet troops enter Hungary to end the Hungarian revolution against the Soviet Union, that started on October 23. Thousands are killed, more are wounded, and nearly a quarter million leave the country.

• 1962 – In a test of the Nike-Hercules air defense missile, Shot Dominic-Tightrope is successfully detonated 69,000 feet above Johnston Island. It would also be the last atmospheric nuclear test conducted by the United States.

• 1966 – Two-thirds of Florence, Italy is submerged as the River Arno floods; together with the contemporaneous flood of the Po River in northern Italy, this leads to 113 deaths, 30,000 made homeless, and the destruction of numerous Renaissance artworks and books.

• 1970 – Vietnam War: Vietnamization – The United States turns control of the Binh Thuy Air Base in the Mekong Delta over to South Vietnam.

• 1970 – Genie, a 13-year-old feral child is found in Los Angeles, California having been locked in her bedroom for most of her life.

• 1973 – The Netherlands experiences the first Car Free Sunday caused by the 1973 oil crisis. Highways are deserted and are used only by cyclists and roller skaters.

• 1979 – Iran hostage crisis begins: a group of Iranians, mostly students, invades the US embassy in Tehran and takes 90 hostages (53 of whom are American).

• 1986 – Chief Justice Rose Bird and two colleagues are removed by the electorate from the Supreme Court of California for their opposition to capital punishment.

• 1989 – The congress of the Solidarity Party is inaugurated in Sweden. The congress decides, contrary to the proposal of the central committee, not to disband the party.

• 1989 – The first appearance of Wallace and Gromit in their 30-minute film, "A Grand Day Out" where the pair travel to the moon to obtain cheese, Wallace's favourite food.

• 1993 – A China Airlines Boeing 747 overruns Runway 13 at Hong Kong's Kai Tak International Airport while landing during a typhoon, injuring 22 people.

• 1994 – San Francisco: First conference that focuses exclusively on the subject of the commercial potential of the World Wide Web.

• 1995 – Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin is assassinated by an extremist Orthodox Israeli.

• 2002 – Chinese authorities arrest cyber-dissident He Depu for signing a pro-democracy letter to the 16th Communist Party Congress.

• 2008 – Barack Obama becomes the first African-American to be elected President of the United States.

• 2008 – Proposition 8 passes in California, representing the first ever elimination of an existing right to marry for LGBT couples.

Births

• 1448 – King Alphonso II of Naples (d. 1495)

• 1470 – King Edward V of England, one of the two princes in the Tower (d. 1483)

• 1575 – Guido Reni, Italian painter (d. 1642)

• 1631 – Mary of Orange, eldest daughter of Charles I of England and mother of William III of England (d. 1660)

• 1661 – Karl III Philip, Elector Palatine (d. 1742)

• 1740 – Augustus Montague Toplady, English author of hymn "Rock of Ages" (d. 1778)

• 1765 – Pierre Girard, French mathematician (d. 1836)

• 1809 – Benjamin Robbins Curtis, Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (d. 1874)

• 1816 – Stephen Johnson Field, Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (d. 1899)

• 1836 – Henry J. Lutcher, American businessman (d. 1912)

• 1845 – Vasudeo Balwant Phadke, Indian revolutionary (d. 1883)

• 1868 – Carolina Otero, a.k.a La Belle Otero, Spanish actress, singer and courtesan (d. 1965)

• 1874 – Aleksandr Vasilevich Kolchak, Russian military commander (d. 1920)

• 1879 – Will Rogers, American humorist (d. 1935)

• 1883 – Nikolaos Plastiras, Greek general (d. 1953)

• 1884 – Harry Ferguson, British aviator and inventor (d. 1960)

• 1890 – Alfred Henschke, ps. Klabund, German writer and poet (d. 1928)

• 1896 – Carlos P. Garcia, 8^th President of the Philippines (d. 1971)

• 1899 – Nicolas Frantz, Luxembourgish cyclist (d. 1985)

• 1900 – Lucreţiu Pătrăşcanu, Romanian communist activist and sociologist (d. 1954)

• 1901 – Princess Bang-ja of Korea (d. 1989)

• 1901 – Spyridon Marinatos, Greek archaeologist (d. 1974)

• 1904 – Tadeusz Żyliński, Polish technician and textilist (d. 1967)

• 1907 – Draga Matkovic, German concert pianist

• 1908 – Józef Rotblat, Polish physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 2005)

• 1908 – Stanley Cortez, American cinematographer (d. 1997)

• 1909 – Skeeter Webb, American baseball player (d. 1986)

• 1909 – Bert Patenaude, American soccer player (d. 1974)

• 1909 – Evelyn Johnson, American aviator

• 1912 – Vadim Salmanov, Russian composer (d. 1978)

• 1913 – Gig Young, American actor (d. 1978)

• 1916 – Walter Cronkite, American news broadcaster (d. 2009)

• 1916 – Ruth Handler, American businesswoman and inventor of the Barbie doll (d. 2002)

• 1918 – Art Carney, American actor (d. 2003)

• 1918 – Cameron Mitchell, American actor (d. 1994)

• 1919 – Martin Balsam, American actor (d. 1996)

• 1922 – Benno Besson, Swiss actor (d. 2006)

• 1923 – Freddy Heineken, Dutch businessman (d. 2002)

• 1923 – Howie Meeker, Canadian ice hockey player and politician

• 1928 – Hannah Weiner American experimental poet

• 1929 – Shaike Ophir, Israeli actor (d. 1987)

• 1930 – Doris Roberts, American actress

• 1930 – Dick Groat, American baseball player

• 1930 – John Hahn-Petersen, danish actor (d. 2006)

• 1932 – Thomas Klestil, President of Austria (d. 2004)

• 1933 – Tito Francona, American baseball player

• 1936 – C. K. Williams, American poet

• 1937 – Loretta Swit, American actress

• 1937 – Michael Wilson, Canadian politician

• 1939 – Shakuntala Devi, Indian calculating prodigy

• 1940 – Delbert McClinton, American musician

• 1943 – Marlène Jobert, French actress

• 1943 – Clark Graebner, American tennis player

• 1943 – Bob Wollek, French race car driver (d. 2001)

• 1944 – Scherrie Payne, American singer (The Supremes)

• 1944 – Linda Gary, American voice actress (d. 1995)

• 1946 – Laura Bush, former First Lady of the United States

• 1946 – Frederick Elmes, American cinematographer

• 1946 – Robert Mapplethorpe, American photographer (d. 1989)

• 1950 – Charles Frazier, American author

• 1950 – Markie Post, American actress

• 1951 – Traian Băsescu, President of Romania

• 1951 – Cosey Fanni Tutti, English performance artist (Throbbing Gristle, Chris and Cosey)

• 1953 – Richie Green, Canadian actor

• 1953 – Carlos Gutierrez, American politician

• 1953 – Jacques Villeneuve, Canadian racing driver

• 1953 – Dr. Marvel Williamson, American educator

• 1954 – Chris Difford, English musician and songwriter (Squeeze)

• 1955 – Matti Vanhanen, Prime Minister of Finland

• 1956 – Jordan Rudess, American musician (Dream Theater)

• 1956 – James Honeyman-Scott, English guitarist (The Pretenders) (d. 1982)

• 1958 – Anne Sweeney, American television executive

• 1960 – Marc Awodey, American artist and writer

• 1960 – Frl. Menke, German pop singer of the Neue Deutsche Welle

• 1960 – Kathy Griffin, American comedian

• 1961 – Daron Hagen, American composer

• 1961 – Edward Knight, American composer

• 1961 – Ralph Macchio, American actor

• 1961 – Les Sampou, American musician

• 1961 – Nigel Worthington, Northern Irish footballer

• 1962 – Jeff Probst, American television host

• 1963 – Marc Déry, Canadian singer and guitarist (Zébulon)

• 1963 – Rosario Flores, Spanish singer and actress

• 1963 – Michel Therrien, Canadian ice hockey coach

• 1963 – Lena Zavaroni, Scottish artist and singer (d. 1999)

• 1965 – Malandra Burrows, English actress and singer

• 1965 – Pata, Japanese musician

• 1965 – Jeff Scott Soto, American musician (Yngwie Malmsteen, Journey)

• 1965 – Wayne Static, American musician (Static-X)

• 1966 – H. John Heinz IV, American medieval armor craftsman; son of Teresa Heinz

• 1967 – Eric Karros, American baseball player

• 1968 – Carlos Baerga, Puerto Rican baseball player

• 1969 – Sean "Diddy" Combs, American record producer and rapper

• 1969 – Matthew McConaughey, American actor

• 1970 – Malena Ernman, Swedish Opera singer

• 1970 – Tim DeBoom, American triathlete

• 1972 – Luís Figo, Portuguese footballer

• 1972 – Tabassum Hashmi, Indian actress

• 1974 – Cedric Bixler-Zavala, American musician (At the Drive-In, The Mars Volta)

• 1975 – Éric Fichaud, Canadian ice hockey player

• 1975 – Eduard Kokcharov, Russian handball player

• 1975 – Curtis Stone, Australian chef and television personality

• 1975 – Orlando Pace, American football player

• 1975 – Heather Tom, American actress

• 1976 – Bruno Junqueira, Brazilian racing driver

• 1976 – Mario Melchiot, Dutch footballer

• 1977 – Larry Bigbie, American baseball player

• 1977 – So Ji-sub, South Korean swimmer, model and actor

• 1977 – Tonicha Jeronimo, British actress

• 1978 – Carmen Cali, American baseball player

• 1978 – John Grabow, American baseball player

• 1978 – Danny Salomon, American actor

• 1979 – Jesse Camp, American VJ

• 1979 – Trishelle Cannatella, American reality tv castmember and model

• 1979 – Audrey Hollander, American pornographic actress

• 1980 – Sabrina Colie, Jamaican actress

• 1980 – Jerry Collins, New Zealand rugby union footballer

• 1980 – Richard Owens, American football player

• 1980 – Marcy Rylan, American actress

• 1981 – Vince Wilfork, American football player

• 1982 – Devin Hester, American football player

• 1986 – Alexz Johnson, Canadian singer and actress

• 1986 – Adrian Zaugg, South African racing driver

• 1987 – T.O.P, Korean rapper (Big Bang)

Deaths

• 1411 – Khalil Sultan, ruler of Transoxonia (b. 1384)

• 1652 – Jean-Charles de la Faille, Flemish mathematician (b. 1597)

• 1658 – Antoine Le Maistre, French Jansenist (b. 1608)

• 1669 – Johannes Cocceius, Dutch theologian (b. 1603)

• 1698 – Rasmus Bartholin, Danish physician and mathematician (b. 1625)

• 1702 – John Benbow, English admiral (b. 1653)

• 1704 – Andreas Acoluthus, German orientalist (b. 1654)

• 1781 – Johann Nikolaus Götz, German poet (b. 1721)

• 1801 – William Shippen, American physician and delegate to the Continental Congress (b. 1712)

• 1847 – Felix Mendelssohn, German composer (b. 1809)

• 1856 – Hippolyte Delaroche, French painter (b. 1797)

• 1893 – Pierre Tirard, French politician (b. 1827)

• 1906 – John H. Ketcham, American politician (b. 1832)

• 1918 – Wilfred Owen, English poet (b. 1893)

• 1924 – Gabriel Fauré, French composer (b. 1845)

• 1924 – Richard Conner, American Civil War Medal of Honor Recipient (b. 1843)

• 1928 – Arnold Rothstein, American gambler (b. 1882)

• 1930 – Buddy Bolden, American musician (b. 1877)

• 1931 – Luigi Galleani, Italian anarchist (b. 1861)

• 1950 – Grover Cleveland Alexander, American baseball player (b. 1887)

• 1955 – Cy Young, American baseball player (b. 1867)

• 1957 – Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith (b. 1897)

• 1968 – Michel Kikoine, Belarusian painter (b. 1892)

• 1969 – Carlos Marighella, Brazilian politician (b. 1911)

• 1974 – Bert Patenaude, American soccer player (b. 1909)

• 1975 – Izzat Husrieh, Syrian Journalist, author, and publisher (b. 1914)

• 1980 – Elsie MacGill, Canadian aeronautical engineer (b. 1905)

• 1982 – Dominique Dunne, American actress (b. 1959)

• 1986 – Kurt Hirsch, German mathematician (b. 1906)

• 1992 – George Klein, Canadian inventor (b. 1904)

• 1994 – Fred "Sonic" Smith, American guitar player MC5 (b. 1949)

• 1995 – Yitzhak Rabin, Israeli prime minister; recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1922)

• 1995 – Eddie Egan, actor in The French Connection, New York detective (b. 1930)

• 1995 – Gilles Deleuze, French philosopher (b. 1925)

• 1997 – H. Richard Hornberger, American writer (b. 1924)

• 1999 – Malcolm Marshall, Barbadian West Indies cricketer (b. 1958)

• 2003 – Richard Wollheim, British philosopher (b. 1923)

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

• 2003 – Charles Causley, Cornish writer and poet (b. 1917)

• 2005 – Nadia Anjuman, Afghan poet and journalist (b. 1980)

• 2005 – Sheree North, American actress and singer (b. 1932)

• 2006 – Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, American memoirist (Cheaper by the Dozen) (b. 1908)

• 2006 – Frank Arthur Calder, Canadian politician and Nisga'a Statesman (b. 1915)

• 2007 – Peter Viertel, German-American author and screenwriter (b. 1920)

• 2008 – Michael Crichton, American author (b. 1942)

• 2008 – Juan Camilo Mouriño, Mexican Secretary of the Interior (b. 1971)

Holidays and observances

• Bahá'í Faith – Feast of Qudrat (Power), first day of the 13th month of the Bahá'í calendar

• Egypt- Day of Love

• Italy – Victory Day (celebration of victory in World War I), National Unity Day, Armed Forces Day

• Panama – Flag Day

• Roman Catholic Saints – Feast day of the following Roman Catholic saints:

• *St. Charles Borromeo

• *St. Emeric

• *St. Vitalis

• Roman festivals – start of the Ludi Plebeii

• Russia – Day of People's Unity (or National Unity Day)

• Russian Orthodox Church – Feast of Our Lady of Kazan