< Back 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Next >

1991–Jazz trumpeter, Miles Davis, dies of pneumonia, respiratory failure, and a stroke in Santa Monica, California, at age 65. He was considered the most famous trumpeter of his generation and the innovator of more styles than any other jazz musician.


BC 48–Pompey the Great is assassinated on the orders of King Ptolemy of Egypt, after landing in Egypt.

BC 551–Chinese philosopher, Confucius, is born Kong Qiu in Zou, Lu state (present-day Nanxinzhen, Qufu, Shandong, China). He was a Chinese teacher, editor, politician of the Spring and Autumn period of Chinese history. The philosophy of Confucius, also known as Confucianism, emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice, and sincerity. Throughout mankind's history, Confucius is widely considered as one of the most important and influential individuals in affecting the lives of humanity. His teaching and philosophy has greatly impacted people around the world and still lingers in today's society.

29–Livia, Roman wife of Augustus, dies in Rome, Italy, at age 87. She was the mother of Emperor Tiberius, paternal grandmother of Emperor Claudius, paternal great-grandmother of Emperor Caligula, and maternal great-great-grandmother of Emperor Nero.

235–Pope Pontian resigns. He and Hippolytus, church leader of Rome, are exiled to the mines of Sardinia.

351–In the Battle of Mursa Major, Roman Rmperor Constantius II defeats the usurper, Magnentius.

365–Roman usurper, Procopius, bribes two legions passing by Constantinople, and proclaims himself Roman emperor.

935–Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia, is murdered by his brother, Boleslaus I, Duke of Bohemia.

995–Members of the Slavnik dynasty: Spytimir, Pobraslav, Porej, and Caslav, are murdered by Boleslaus's son, Boleslaus II the Pious.

1066–William the Conqueror invades England, beginning the Norman conquest of England.

1106–In the Battle of Tinchebray, Henry I of England defeats his brother, Robert Curthose.

1197–Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor, dies of malaria in Messina, Sicily, at age 31.

1238–Muslim Valencia surrenders to the besieging King James I of Aragon the Conqueror.

1322–Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor, defeats Frederick I of Austria in the Battle of Mühldorf.

1330–Elizabeth of Bohemia dies of tuberculosis in Bohemia, at age 38.

1538–In the Ottoman-Venetian War, the Ottoman Navy scores a decisive victory over a Holy League fleet in the Battle of Preveza.

1542–Navigator, Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo of Portugal, arrives at what is now San Diego, California.

1573–Renaissance painter, Michelangelo, is born Michelangelo Merisi da Carvaggio, in Italy. His breakthroughs in the use of light were a great influence on later painters such as Rembrandt and Rubens.

1779–During the American Revolution, Samuel Huntington is elected President of the Continental Congress, succeeding John Jay.

1781–American forces, backed by a French fleet, begin the siege of Yorktown, Virginia, during the American Revolutionary War.

1787–The newly completed United States Constitution is voted on by the U.S. Congress to be sent to the state legislatures for approval.

1791–France becomes the first country to emancipate its Jewish population.

1821–The Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire is drafted. It will be made public on October 13th.

1844–Oscar I of Sweden-Norway is crowned King of Sweden.

1867–Toronto becomes the capital of Ontario, Canada.

1868–The Battle of Alcolea causes Queen Isabella II of Spain to flee to France.

1871–The Brazilian Parliament passes the Law of the Free Womb, granting freedom to all new children born to slaves, the first major step in the eradication of slavery in Brazil.

1889–The first General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) defines the length of a meter as the distance between two lines on a standard bar of an alloy of platinum with 10 percent iridium, measured at the melting point of ice.

1891–Author and poet, Herman Melville, dies of cardiac dilation in New York, New York, at age 72. Most of his writings were published between 1846 and 1857. He is best known for his sea adventure, Typee, and his whaling novel, Moby-Dick.

1892–The first night game for American football takes place in a contest between Wyoming Seminary and Mansfield State Normal.

1895–Chemist and microbiologist, Louis Pasteur, dies from a series of strokes in Marnes-la-Coquette, France, at age 72. He is renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, microbial fermentation, and pasteurization. He created the first vaccines for rabies and anthrax. Pasteur is regarded as one of the three main founders of bacteriology, together with Ferdinand Cohn and Robert Koch, and is popularly known as the "father of microbiology."

1901–In the Philippine-American War, Filipino guerrillas kill more than 40 American soldiers, while losing 28 of their own, in a surprise attack in Balangiga, Eastern Samar.

1901–William S. Paley, Founder and Chairman of the CBS Television Network, is born William Samuel Paley in Chicago, Illinois.

1902–Newspaper columnist and TV show host, Ed Sullivan, is born Edward Vincent Sullivan in Harlem, New York, New York. A longtime syndicated columnist for the New York Daily News and the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate. He is principally remembered as the creator and host of the television variety program The Toast of the Town, later renamed The Ed Sullivan Show. Broadcast for 23 years from 1948 to 1971, it set a record as the longest-running variety show in U.S. broadcast history. In the 1950s and 1960s, Sullivan was a respected starmaker because of the number of performers who became household names after appearing on the show. He had a knack for identifying and promoting top talent and paid a great deal of money to secure that talent for his show. Among his discoveries were Elvis Presley and The Beatles.

1909–Cartoonist, Al Capp, is born Alfred Gerald Caplin in New Haven, Connecticut. He is best known for his comic strip "Li’l Abner."

1912–The Ulster Covenant is signed by 500,000 Ulster Protestant Unionists in opposition to the Third Irish Home Rule Bill.

1912–Corporal Frank S. Scott of the U.S. Army becomes the first enlisted man to die in an airplane crash. He and pilot, Lt. Lewis C. Rockwell, are killed in the crash of an Army Wright Model B at College Park, Maryland.

1914–Businessman, Richard Warren Sears, dies of Bright's disease in Waukesha, Wisconsin, at age 50. He was the founder of Sears, Roebuck and Company with his partner, Alvah Curtis Roebuck. The first Sears catalog was published in 1893, and offered only watches. By 1897, items such as men’s and women’s clothing, plows, silverware, bicycles, and athletic equipment had been added. The 500-page catalog was sent to 300,000 homes. Sears is one of America's oldest operating retailers.

1916–Actor, Peter Finch, is born Frederick George Peter Ingle Finch in South Kensington, London, England. He is best remembered for the role of "crazed" television anchorman, Howard Beale, in the film Network. He also appreared in the films The Power and the Glory, The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men, Elephant Walk, Passage Home, A Town Like Alice, Kidnapped, The Nun’s Story, The Trials of Oscar Wilde, The Sins of Rachael Cade, No Love for Johnnie, I Thank a Fool, In the Cool of the Day, The Pumpkin Eater, Girl with Green Eyes, The Flight of the Phoenix, Far from the Madding Crowd, The Legend of Lylah Clare, Sunday Bloody Sunday, and Lost Horizon.

1918–In World War I, the Fifth Battle of Ypres begins.

1919–Race riots begin in Omaha, Nebraska.

1919–Actress, Doris Singleton, is born Dorthea Singleton in New York, New York. She is best known for the role of Lucy Ricardo's nemesis or frenemy, Carolyn Appleby, on the TV sitcom I Love Lucy. She was also seen the the TV shows The Loretta Young Show, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Make Room for Daddy, Perry Mason, Gunsmoke, The Twilight Zone, The Dick Van Dyke Show, and My Three Sons. She appeared in the films Terror at Midnight, Affair in Reno, and Voice in the Mirror.

1924–Actor, Marcello Mastroianni, is born Marcello Vincenzo Domenico Mastroianni in Fontana Liri, Lazio, Italy. He appeared in the films Marionette, La Dolce Vita, Divorce Italian Style, Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, 8-1/2, A Special Day, Casanova 70, City of Women, The Pizza Triangle, The Priest’s Wife, Henry IV, Used People, and Prêt-à-Porter. Mastroianni's lovers included actresses Catherine Deneuve, Lauren Hutton, Ursula Andress, Anouk Aimee, and Claudia Cardinale. He was married to actress, Flora Carabella. His brother was film editor, Ruggero Mastroianni.

1928–Sir Alexander Fleming notices a bacteria-killing mold growing in his laboratory, discovering what later becomes known as penicillin.

1928–The U.K. passes the Dangerous Drugs Act, outlawing cannabis.

1934–Sex kitten and actress, Brigitte (Anne-Marie) Bardot, is born in Paris, France. Bardot retired from the entertainment industry in 1973. During her career in show business, she starred in 47 films, performed in several musical shows and recorded over 60 songs. After her retirement, she established herself as an animal rights activist. She appeared in the films Manina: the Girl in the Bikini, Act of Love, School for Love, Doctor at Sea, The Light Across the Street, Naughty Girl, Plucking the Daisy, And God Created Woman, and The Truth. She was married to film director, Roger Vadim.

1938–Singer, Ben E. King, is born Benjamin Earl Nelson in Henderson, North Carolina. He was one of the lead singers with The Drifters, who had hits with There Goes My Baby, This Magic Moment, and Save the Last Dance for Me. His had solo hits with Spanish Harlem and Stand By Me.

1939–Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union agree on a division of Poland after their invasion during World War II.

1941–The Drama uprising, against the Bulgarian occupation in northern Greece, begins.

1943–Nick St. Nicholas, of Steppenwolf, is born Klaus Karl Kassbaum in Plön, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.

1944–Soviet Army troops liberate the Klooga concentration camp in Klooga, Estonia.

1946–Singer, Helen (Kate) Shapiro, is born in Bethnal Green, London, England. She was a very popular teenage performer in the early 1960s, with many hit records. She is best known for her chart toppers You Don't Know and Walkin' Back to Happiness. She appeared in the films Play It Cool, It’s Trad, Dad!, and Pop Go the Sixties. The Beatles were a part of the “Helen Shapiro Tour” in the early phase of building their soon-to-be enormous success in the U.K.

1951–CBS makes the first color televisions available for sale to the general public, but the product is discontinued less than a month later.

1952–Actress, Sylvia (Maria) Kristel, is born in Utrecht, Netherlands. She appeared in the films Emmanuelle, Goodbye Emmanuelle, The Fifth Musketeer, The Concorde... Airport '79, Lady Chatterley's Lover, Private Lessons, Private School, and Red Heat.

1953–Keni Burke, of Sly & the Family Stone, is born in Chicago, Illinois.

1956–Engineer and aviation pioneer, William Boeing, dies a heart attack aboard his yacht in Seattle, Washington, at age 74. He founded the Boeing Company.

1957–Cajun and Creole musician, C.J. Chenier, is born Clayton Joseph Thompson in Port Arthur, Texas. He is the son of Grammy Award winning Louisiana musician, Clifton Chenier. Following the death of Clifton in 1987, C.J. led his father's band, The Red Hot Louisiana Band, playing accordion and singing a blend of Cajun and Creole music. The band has played the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and The Chicago Blues Festival.

1958–France ratifies a new Constitution of France. The French Fifth Republic is then formed upon the formal adoption of the new constitution on October 4th. Guinea rejects the new constitution, voting for independence instead.

1958–The first big hit for record producer, Phil Spector, is released. It is To Know Him Is To Love Him by The Teddy Bears. This #1 single launches the career of the composer, singer, and arranger, then just 18 years old.

1960–Mali and Senegal join the United Nations.

1961–A military coup in Damascus effectively ends the United Arab Republic, the union between Egypt and Syria.

1964–Harpo Marx, of the Marx Brothers, dies of a heart attack in Los Angeles, California, at age 75.

1966–Artist, André Breton, dies of respiratory failure in Paris, France, at age 70. He was the founder of the Surrealist movement.

1966–Actor, Eric Fleming, dies from drowning in Tingo María, Peru, at age 41. He is best known for his starring role on the TV Western Rawhide. He appeared in the films Conquest of Space, Fright, Queen of Outer Space, Curse of the Undead, and The Glass Bottom Boat.

1968–Janis Joplin’s manager announces that she has left Big Brother and the Holding Company to pursue a solo career.

1968–A chart topper: Hey Jude/Revolution by The Beatles.

1968–Moon Unit Zappa is born in New York, New York. She is the daughter of rocker, Frank Zappa. Her younger siblings are Dweezil Zappa, Ahmet Zappa, and Diva Zappa. Zappa first came to public attention in 1982, at the age of 14, appearing on her father's hit single Valley Girl. The song featured Moon's monologue in "valleyspeak," slang terms popular with teenage girls in the San Fernando Valley near Los Angeles, California.

1970–Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser dies of a heart attack in Cairo. Anwar Sadat is named as Nasser's temporary successor, and will later become the permanent successor.

1971–The Parliament of the United Kingdom passes the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, banning the medicinal use of cannabis.

1972–Paul Henderson scores the series-winning goal for Canada in the final minute of the final game of the ice hockey Summit Series between Canada and the Soviet Union.

1973–The ITT Building in New York City is bombed in protest at ITT's alleged involvement in the coup d'état in Chile on September 11, 1973.

1973–Poet W.H. Auden, dies of a heart attack in his hotel room in Vienna, Austria, at age 66. Earlier in the day, he had giving a poetry reading. He was a prolific poet and writer, as well as a patron of poetry. From 1946 to 1958, Auden served as judge and editor of The Yale Series of Younger Poets, which each year publishes the first book of a promising young poet.

1975–The Spaghetti House siege, in which nine people are taken hostage, takes place in London, England.

1976–George Harrison is sued by A&M Records for $10 million for failing to comply with the terms of his contract, which required him to have an album completed by July 26th. The case is resolved when both parties agree to end the contract, and Harrison later will reach an agreement with Warner Brothers for distribution of his Dark Horse records.

1978–Political commentator, author, and libertarian, Dana Loesch, is born in St. Louis, Missouri. She is the host of the nationally syndicated daily radio show The Dana Show: The Conservative Alternative on Radio America. Loesch also hosts a daily political commentary TV show on The Blaze. She is the author of Hands Off My Gun: Defeating the Plot to Disarm America.

1978–Pope John Paul I dies of a heart attack in Apostolic Palace, Vatican City, at age 65. He was found dead lying in his bed with a book opened beside him and the reading light on.

1986–The Democratic Progressive Party is established under the martial law in Taiwan, becoming the first opposition party in Taiwan.

1986–Stevie Ray Vaughan collapses while on tour in Europe, and the remaining 13 dates of the tour are canceled.

1991–SAC stands down from alert all ICBMs scheduled for deactivation under START I, as well as its strategic bomber force.

1991–Jazz trumpeter, Miles Davis, dies of pneumonia, respiratory failure, and a stroke in Santa Monica, California, at age 65. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music. He has been described as one of the great innovators in jazz, and has been given the titles The Prince of Darkness and The Picasso of Jazz. His LP, Kind of Blue, remains the best selling jazz album of all time.

1992–A Pakistan International Airlines Airbus A300 crashes on a hill in Kathmandu, Nepal, killing all 167 passengers and crew.

1994–The cruise ferry, MS Estonia, sinks in the Baltic Sea, killing 852 people.

1995–Bob Denard and a group of mercenaries take the islands of the Comoros in a coup.

1995–Israeli Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin, and PLO Chairman, Yasser Arafat, sign the Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

1996–Former president of Afghanistan, Mohammad Najibullah, is tortured and brutally murdered by the Taliban.

1997–At the 103rd convention of the Audio Engineering Society (AES), in New York City, the official debut of the DVD (Digital Video Disc) format is featured.

2000–Ariel Sharon visits Al-Aqsa Mosque, known to Jews as the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

2000–Former Canadian Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau, dies in Montreal, Canada, at age 80. He was first elected Prime Minister in 1968, and led the country for 16 years.

2003–Film director, Elia Kazan, dies of natural causes at his apartment in Manhattan, New York, at age 94. He became an actor in the Group Theater in New York, and joined the Communist Party, which he quit shortly thereafter. Kazan became an acclaimed Broadway director in the 1940s for such productions as Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman and Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. His films include A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Gentleman's Agreement, Pinky, Panic in the Streets, A Streetcar Named Desire, On the Waterfront, East of Eden, Baby Doll, A Face in the Crowd, Wild River, and Splendor in the Grass.

2004–Fashion designer, Geoffrey Beene, dies of cancer in New York, New York, at age 77. He was one of New York's most famous fashion designers, recognized for his artistic and technical skills and for creating simple, comfortable, and dressy women's wear.

2004–Disc jockey, Scott Muni, dies in New York, New York, at age 74. He worked in radio during the heyday of the AM “Top 40” format, and then became a pioneer of FM progressive rock radio. Muni was close to John Lennon and his family, and after Lennon's murder he vowed to always open his show with a Lennon or Beatles record, a pledge that he kept for the balance of his career.

2007–Businessman, Wally Parks, dies of pneumonia in Burbank, California, at age 94. He founded the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA). He was instrumental in establishing drag racing as a legitimate amateur and professional motorsport. Parks was co-founder and the first editor of Hot Rod magazine and was instrumental in the founding of Motor Trend magazine in the late 1940s.

2008–SpaceX launches the first private spacecraft, the Falcon 1, into orbit.

2009–The military junta leading Guinea, headed by Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, rapes, kills, and wounds protesters during a protest rally.

2009–Politician, Guillermo Endara, dies of a heart attack in Panama City, Panama, at age 73. He was the 32nd President of Panama.

2008–SpaceX launches the first private spacecraft, the Falcon 1, into orbit.

2010–Film director, Arthur Penn, dies of congestive heart failure in New York, New York, at age 88. His films include The Left Handed Gun, The Miracle Worker, The Chase, Bonnie and Clyde, Alice’s Restaurant, Little Big Man, and The Missouri Breaks.

2012–Somali and African Union forces launch a coordinated assault on the Somali port city of Kismayo, to take back the city from al-Shabaab militants.

2012–A Dornier Do 228 light aircraft crashes on the outskirts of the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu, killing 19 people.

2014–Benny Tai announces that Occupy Central has launched, as Hong Kong's government headquarters is being occupied by thousands of protesters. Hong Kong police resort to tear gas to disperse protesters, but thousands remain.

2016–The U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives override the veto of President Barack Obama in regards to the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act. The act narrows the scope of the legal doctrine of foreign sovereign immunity, specifically, in this instance against the sovereign nation of Saudi Arabia. The action is the first such congressional veto override of Obama during his two terms in office.

2016–A 14-year-old boy kills his father, and then begins a shooting at an elementary school in Townville, South Carolina, injuring at least two students and one teacher. Police take the shooter into custody.

2016–Indonesia authorities evacuate over 1,000 tourists from the island of Lombok, after Mount Barujari erupts.

2016–The state of South Australia suffers widespread blackouts triggered by severe weather conditions.

2016–Former President and Prime Minister of Israel, Shimon Peres, dies from a stroke at Sheba Medical Center, Tel HaShomer, Ramat Gan, Israel, at age 93. At the time of his retirement in 2014, he was the world's oldest head of state. He was considered the last link to Israel's founding generation.

2016–Television director and writer, Agnes Nixon, dies in Haverford, Pennsylvania, at age 93. She is best known as the Emmy-winning creator of the soap operas One Life to Live, All My Children, and Loving. She was often referred to as the "Queen" of the modern soap opera.

2017–The Mount Agung volcano on the island of Bali, Indonesia, continues to release smoke, although there is no certainty about whether it will erupt.


PHOTOS TOP TO BOTTOM: Confucius; Michelangelo; Toronto, Canada; Ed Sullivan; Marcello Mastroianni; Helen Shapiro; Eric Fleming; Dana Loesch; Elia Kazan; Wally Parks; and Agnes Nixon.
< Back 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Next >