Events

Pre-1600

  • 54 – Roman emperor Claudius dies from poisoning under mysterious circumstances. He is succeeded by his adopted son Nero, rather than by Britannicus, his son with Messalina.
  • 409 – Vandals and Alans cross the Pyrenees and appear in Hispania.
  • 1269 – The present church building at Westminster Abbey is consecrated.
  • 1307 – Hundreds of the Knights Templar in France are arrested at dawn by King Philip the Fair, and later confess under torture to heresy.
  • 1332 – Rinchinbal Khan becomes the Khagan of the Mongols and Emperor of the Yuan dynasty, reigning for only 53 days.
  • 1399 – Coronation of Henry IV of England at Westminster Abbey.

1601–1900

  • 1644 – A Swedish–Dutch fleet defeats the Danish fleet at Fehmarn and captures about 1,000 prisoners.
  • 1710 – Port Royal, the capital of French Acadia, falls in a siege by British forces.
  • 1775 – The Continental Congress establishes the Continental Navy (predecessor of the United States Navy).
  • 1792 – In Washington, D.C., the cornerstone of the United States Executive Mansion (known as the White House since 1818) is laid.
  • 1793 – French Revolutionary Wars: Austro-Prussian victory over Republican France at the First Battle of Wissembourg.
  • 1812 – War of 1812: Sir Isaac Brock's British and native forces repel an invasion of Canada by General Rensselaer's United States forces.
  • 1821 – The Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire is publicly proclaimed.
  • 1843 – In New York City, B'nai B'rith, the oldest Jewish service organization in the world, is founded.
  • 1881 – First known conversation in modern Hebrew by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda and friends.
  • 1885 – The Georgia Institute of Technology is founded in Atlanta, Georgia.
  • 1892 – Edward Emerson Barnard is first to discover a comet by photographic means.

1901–present

  • 1903 – The Boston Red Sox win the first modern World Series, defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates in the eighth game.
  • 1908 – Margaret Travers Symons bursts into the UK parliament and becomes the first woman to speak there.
  • 1911 – Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, becomes the first Governor General of Canada of royal descent.
  • 1915 – First World War: The Battle of the Hohenzollern Redoubt marks the end of the Battle of Loos.
  • 1917 – The "Miracle of the Sun" is witnessed by an estimated 70,000 people in the Cova da Iria in Portugal.
  • 1921 – Soviet republics sign the Treaty of Kars to formalize the borders between Turkey and the South Caucasus states.
  • 1923 – Ankara becomes the capital of Turkey.
  • 1943 – World War II: Marshal Pietro Badoglio announces that Italy has officially declared war on Germany.
  • 1944 – World War II: The Soviet Riga Offensive captures the city.
  • 1946 – France adopts the constitution of the Fourth Republic.
  • 1962 – The Pacific Northwest experiences a cyclone the equal of a Category 3 hurricane, with winds above 150 mph. Forty-six people die.
  • 1972 – Aeroflot Flight 217 crashes outside Moscow, killing 174.
  • 1972 – Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crashes in the Andes mountains. Twenty-eight survive the crash. All but 16 succumb before rescue on December 23.
  • 1972 – The flag of Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, was officially adopted.
  • 1976 – The first electron micrograph of an Ebola virus is taken at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by Dr. F. A. Murphy.
  • 1976 – A Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano Boeing 707 crashes after takeoff from El Trompillo Airport in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, killing 91.
  • 1977 – Hijacking of Lufthansa Flight 181 by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
  • 1983 – Ameritech Mobile Communications launches the first US cellular network in Chicago.
  • 1990 – Syrian forces attack free areas of Lebanon, removing General Michel Aoun from the presidential palace.
  • 1993 – At least 60 people die in eastern Papua New Guinea when a series of earthquakes rock the Finisterre Range, triggering massive landslides.
  • 2010 – The mining accident in Copiapó, Chile ends as all 33 trapped miners arrive at the surface after a record 69 days underground.
  • 2013 – A stampede occurs in India during the Hindu festival Navratri, killing 115 and injuring more than 110.
  • 2016 – The Maldives announces its decision to withdraw from the Commonwealth of Nations.
  • 2019 – Kenyan Brigid Kosgei sets a new world record for a woman runner with a time of 2:14:04 at the 2019 Chicago Marathon.

Births

Pre-1600

  • 467 – Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei, emperor of Northern Wei (died 499)
  • 1381 – Thomas FitzAlan, 12th Earl of Arundel, English politician, Lord High Treasurer of England (died 1415)
  • 1453 – Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales, son and heir of Henry VI of England (died 1471)
  • 1474 – Mariotto Albertinelli, Italian painter and educator (died 1515)
  • 1499 – Claude of France (died 1524)
  • 1563 – Francis Caracciolo, Italian Catholic priest (died 1608)
  • 1566 – Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork, Irish politician, Lord High Treasurer of Ireland (died 1643)

1601–1900

  • 1613 – Luisa de Guzmán, Spanish-Portuguese wife of John IV of Portugal (died 1666)
  • 1696 – John Hervey, 2nd Baron Hervey, English courtier and politician, Lord Privy Seal (died 1743)
  • 1703 – Andrea Belli, Maltese architect and businessman (died 1772)
  • 1713 – Allan Ramsay, Scottish-English painter (died 1784)
  • 1756 – James Gambier, 1st Baron Gambier, English admiral and politician, 36th Commodore Governor of Newfoundland (died 1833)
  • 1768 – Jacques Félix Emmanuel Hamelin, French admiral and explorer (died 1839)
  • 1820 – John William Dawson, Canadian geologist and academic (died 1899)
  • 1821 – Rudolf Virchow, German physician, biologist, and politician (died 1902)
  • 1825 – Charles Frederick Worth, English fashion designer, founded House of Worth (died 1895)
  • 1844 – Ernest Myers, English poet and author (died 1921)
  • 1853 – Lillie Langtry, English actress and singer (died 1929)
  • 1862 – Mary Kingsley, English explorer and author (died 1900)
  • 1867 – Jacques Inaudi, Italian calculating prodigy (died 1950)
  • 1870 – Albert Jay Nock, American theorist, author, and critic (died 1945)
  • 1872 – Leon Leonwood Bean, American hunter, businessman, and author, founded L.L.Bean (died 1967)
  • 1873 – Georgios Kafantaris, Greek politician and Prime Minister of Greece (died 1946)
  • 1874 – József Klekl, Slovene-Hungarian priest and politician (died 1948)
  • 1876 – Rube Waddell, American baseball player (died 1914)
  • 1878 – Patrick Joseph Hartigan, Australian priest and author (died 1952)
  • 1879 – Edward Hennig, American gymnast (died 1960)
  • 1880 – Sasha Chorny, Russian poet and author (died 1932)
  • 1887 – Jozef Tiso, Slovak priest and politician, President of Slovakia (died 1947)
  • 1890 – Conrad Richter, American journalist and novelist (died 1968)
  • 1891 – Irene Rich, American actress (died 1988)
  • 1893 – Kurt Reidemeister, German mathematician connected to the Vienna Circle (died 1971)
  • 1895 – Mike Gazella, American baseball player and manager (died 1978)
  • 1899 – Piero Dusio, Italian footballer, businessman and racing driver (died 1975)
  • 1900 – Gerald Marks, American composer (died 1997)

1901–present

  • 1902 – Arna Bontemps, American librarian, author, and poet (died 1973)
  • 1902 – Karl Leichter, Estonian musicologist and academic (died 1987)
  • 1904 – Wilfred Pickles, English actor and radio host (died 1978)
  • 1905 – Yves Allégret, French director and screenwriter (died 1987)
  • 1905 – John Rinehart Blue, American military officer, educator, businessperson, and politician (died 1965)
  • 1905 – Coloman Braun-Bogdan, Romanian footballer and manager (died 1983)
  • 1909 – Herblock, American author and illustrator (died 2001)
  • 1909 – Art Tatum, American jazz pianist (died 1956)
  • 1911 – Ashok Kumar, Indian film actor (died 2001)
  • 1911 – Millosh Gjergj Nikolla, Albanian poet and author (died 1938)
  • 1912 – Cornel Wilde, Slovak-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1989)
  • 1913 – Igor Torkar, Slovenian poet and playwright (died 2004)
  • 1915 – Terry Frost, English painter and academic (died 2003)
  • 1917 – Reed Erickson, American philanthropist (died 1992)
  • 1917 – George Osmond, American talent manager (died 2007)
  • 1918 – Robert Walker, American actor (died 1951)
  • 1920 – Laraine Day, American actress (died 2007)
  • 1921 – Yves Montand, Italian-French actor and singer (died 1991)
  • 1922 – Nathaniel Clifton, American athlete (died 1990)
  • 1922 – Gilberto Mendes, Brazilian composer (died 2016)
  • 1923 – John C. Champion, American screenwriter and producer (died 1994)
  • 1923 – Rosemary Anne Sisson, English author and playwright (died 2017)
  • 1923 – Faas Wilkes, Dutch footballer (died 2006)
  • 1924 – Terry Gibbs, American vibraphone player and bandleader
  • 1924 – Moturu Udayam, Indian activist and politician (died 2002)
  • 1924 – Roberto Eduardo Viola, Argentinian general and politician, 44th President of Argentina (died 1994)
  • 1925 – Lenny Bruce, American comedian and actor (died 1966)
  • 1925 – Armand Mouyal, Algerian-French fencer and police officer (died 1988)
  • 1925 – Margaret Thatcher, English chemist and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 2013)
  • 1925 – Gustav Winckler, Danish singer-songwriter (died 1979)
  • 1926 – Ray Brown, American bassist and cellist (died 2002)
  • 1926 – Killer Kowalski, American wrestler (died 2008)
  • 1926 – Tommy Whittle, Scottish-English saxophonist (died 2013)
  • 1926 – Eddie Yost, American baseball player and coach (died 2012)
  • 1927 – Anita Kerr, American singer and arranger (died 2022)
  • 1927 – Lee Konitz, American saxophonist and composer (died 2020)
  • 1927 – Turgut Özal, Turkish engineer and politician, 8th President of Turkey (died 1993)
  • 1929 – Richard Howard, American poet, critic, and translator (died 2022)
  • 1929 – Walasse Ting, Chinese-American painter and poet (died 2010)
  • 1930 – Bruce Geller, American screenwriter and producer (died 1978)
  • 1931 – Raymond Kopa, French footballer (died 2017)
  • 1931 – Eddie Mathews, American baseball player and manager (died 2001)
  • 1932 – Johnny Lytle, American vibraphone player and drummer (died 1995)
  • 1932 – Liliane Montevecchi, French-Italian actress, dancer and singer (died 2018)
  • 1933 – Thomas Bingham, Baron Bingham of Cornhill, English lawyer and judge, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales (died 2012)
  • 1933 – Raynald Fréchette, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician (died 2007)
  • 1934 – Nana Mouskouri, Greek singer and politician
  • 1935 – Etterlene DeBarge, American singer-songwriter (died 2024)
  • 1935 – Bruce Morrow, American radio host and actor
  • 1936 – Chitti Babu, Indian veena player and composer (died 1996)
  • 1938 – Shirley Caesar, American gospel singer-songwriter
  • 1938 – Hugo Young, English journalist and author (died 2003)
  • 1939 – Larry Bowie, American football player (died 2012)
  • 1939 – Melinda Dillon, American actress (died 2023)
  • 1941 – Paul Simon, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1941 – John Snow, English cricketer
  • 1942 – Rutanya Alda, Latvian-American actress
  • 1942 – Bob Bailey, American baseball player and manager (died 2018)
  • 1942 – Jerry Jones, American businessman
  • 1945 – Poure Puobe VII Paramount Chief of Nandom in the Upper East Region of Ghana (died 2019)
  • 1946 – Levon Ananyan, Armenian journalist and author (died 2013)
  • 1946 – Edwina Currie, English politician
  • 1946 – Lacy J. Dalton, American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1961 – Doc Rivers, American basketball player and coach
  • 1962 – T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh, American actress and author
  • 1964 – Nie Haisheng, Chinese general, pilot, and astronaut
  • 1964 – Christopher Judge, American actor and producer
  • 1967 – Scott Cooper, American baseball player
  • 1967 – Trevor Hoffman, American baseball player
  • 1967 – Javier Sotomayor, Cuban high jumper
  • 1980 – Magne Hoseth, Norwegian footballer
  • 1980 – Scott Parker, English footballer
  • 1981 – Taylor Buchholz, American baseball player
  • 1981 – Kele Okereke, English singer, songwriter, and musician
  • 1982 – Antonio Pavanello, Italian rugby player
  • 1982 – Ian Thorpe, Australian swimmer
  • 1985 – Brian Hoyer, American football player
  • 1985 – Andrej Meszároš, Slovak ice hockey player
  • 1986 – Gabriel Agbonlahor, English footballer
  • 1986 – Sergio Pérez Moya, Mexican footballer
  • 1987 – Adrian Poparadu, Romanian footballer
  • 1987 – Tochinoshin Tsuyoshi, Georgian sumo wrestler
  • 1988 – Norris Cole, American basketball player
  • 1988 – Scott Jamieson, Australian footballer
  • 1989 – Brace Belden, American communist and trade union activist, volunteer in the People's Protection Units
  • 1989 – Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, American politician
  • 1989 – Clive Rose, Australian cricketer
  • 1990 – Andrej Rendla, Slovak footballer
  • 1990 – Adrián Sardinero, Spanish footballer
  • 1990 – Jakob Silfverberg, Swedish ice hockey player
  • 1992 – Igor Ozhiganov, Russian ice hockey player
  • 1992 – Shelby Rogers, American tennis player
  • 1993 – Tiffany Trump, American socialite
  • 1994 – Ryan Matterson, Australian rugby league player
  • 1994 – Yuta Watanabe, Japanese basketball player
  • 1995 – Jimin, South Korean singer
  • 1996 – Joshua Wong, Hong Kong pro-democracy activist
  • 1999 – Andrew Capobianco. American diver
  • 2001 – Caleb McLaughlin, American actor
  • 2001 – De'Von Achane, American football player

Deaths

Pre-1600

  • 54 – Claudius, Roman emperor (born 10 BC)
  • 1812 – Isaac Brock, English general and politician, Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada (born 1769)
  • 1815 – Joachim Murat, French general (born 1767)
  • 1822 – Antonio Canova, Italian sculptor (born 1757)
  • 1825 – Maximilian I Joseph, king of Bavaria (born 1756)
  • 1841 – Patrick Campbell, Scottish admiral (born 1773)
  • 1869 – Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve, French poet, author, and critic (born 1804)
  • 1882 – Arthur de Gobineau, French philosopher and author (born 1816)
  • 1890 – Samuel Freeman Miller, American lawyer and jurist (born 1816)

1901–present

  • 1904 – Pavlos Melas, French-Greek captain (born 1870)
  • 1905 – Henry Irving, English actor and manager (born 1838)
  • 1909 – Francesc Ferrer i Guàrdia, Spanish philosopher and academic (born 1849)
  • 1911 – Sister Nivedita, Irish-Indian social worker, author, and educator (born 1867)
  • 1917 – Florence La Badie, American actress (born 1888)
  • 1919 – Karl Adolph Gjellerup, Danish author and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1857)
  • 1926 – Hans E. Kinck, Norwegian philologist and author (born 1865)
  • 1930 – T. Alexander Harrison, American painter and educator (born 1853)
  • 1931 – Ernst Didring, Swedish author (born 1868)
  • 1938 – E. C. Segar, American cartoonist, created Popeye (born 1894)
  • 1945 – Milton S. Hershey, American businessman, founded The Hershey Company (born 1857)
  • 1950 – Ernest Haycox, American soldier and author (born 1899)
  • 1955 – Manuel Ávila Camacho, Mexican general and politician, 45th President of Mexico (born 1897)
  • 1956 – Cahit Sıtkı Tarancı, Turkish poet and author (born 1910)
  • 1961 – Prince Louis Rwagasore, Burundi politician, Prime Minister of Burundi (born 1932)
  • 1966 – Clifton Webb, American actor and dancer (born 1889)
  • 1968 – Bea Benaderet, American actress and voice artist (born 1906)
  • 1973 – Cevat Şakir Kabaağaçlı, Turkish ethnographer and author (born 1886)
  • 1973 – Albert Mandler, Austrian-Israeli general (born 1929)
  • 1974 – Otto Binder, American author (born 1911)
  • 1974 – Anatoli Kozhemyakin, Soviet footballer (born 1953)
  • 1974 – Ed Sullivan, American journalist and talk show host (born 1901)
  • 1979 – Rebecca Clarke, English viola player and composer (born 1886)
  • 1981 – Antonio Berni, Argentinian painter, illustrator, and engraver (born 1905)
  • 1985 – Tage Danielsson, Swedish author, actor, and director (born 1928)
  • 1987 – Walter Houser Brattain, American physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1902)
  • 1987 – Kishore Kumar, Indian singer-songwriter, producer, actor, and director (born 1929)
  • 1987 – Nilgün Marmara, Turkish poet and author (born 1958)
  • 1990 – Hans Namuth, German-American photographer (born 1915)
  • 1990 – Lê Đức Thọ, Vietnamese general and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1911)
  • 1992 – James Marshall, American author and illustrator (born 1942)
  • 1993 – Otmar Gutmann, German filmmaker (born 1937)
  • 1996 – Beryl Reid, English actress (born 1919)
  • 1998 – Dmitry Nikolayevich Filippov, Russian businessman and politician (born 1944)
  • 1999 – Michael Hartnett, Irish poet (born 1941)
  • 2000 – Jean Peters, American actress (born 1926)
  • 2001 – Peter Doyle, Australian singer-songwriter (born 1949)
  • 2002 – Stephen Ambrose, American historian and author (born 1936)
  • 2002 – Keene Curtis, American actor (born 1923)
  • 2003 – Bertram Brockhouse, Canadian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1918)
  • 2004 – Enrique Fernando, Filipino lawyer and jurist, 13th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines (born 1915)
  • 2004 – Bernice Rubens, Welsh author (born 1928)
  • 2005 – Vivian Malone Jones, American activist (born 1942)
  • 2006 – Wang Guangmei, Chinese philanthropist and politician, 2nd Spouse of the President of the People's Republic of China (born 1921)
  • 2007 – Bob Denard, French soldier and academic (born 1929)
  • 2008 – Alexei Cherepanov, Russian ice hockey player (born 1989)
  • 2009 – Stephen Barnett, American scholar and academic (born 1935)
  • 2010 – Vernon Biever, American photographer (born 1923)
  • 2011 – Barbara Kent, Canadian-born American actress (born 1907)
  • 2012 – Stuart Bell, English lawyer and politician (born 1938)
  • 2012 – Gary Collins, American actor (born 1938)
  • 2012 – Tomonobu Imamichi, Japanese philosopher and academic (born 1922)
  • 2013 – Martin Drewes, German soldier and pilot (born 1918)
  • 2013 – Joe Meriweather, American basketball player and coach (born 1953)
  • 2013 – Tommy Whittle, Scottish-English saxophonist (born 1926)
  • 2013 – Takashi Yanase, Japanese poet and illustrator, created Anpanman (born 1919)
  • 2014 – John Bradfield, English biologist and businessman, founded Cambridge Science Park (born 1925)
  • 2014 – Antonio Cafiero, Argentinian accountant and politician, Governor of Buenos Aires Province (born 1922)
  • 2014 – Margaret Hillert, American author and poet (born 1920)
  • 2014 – Mohammad Sarengat, Indonesian sprinter (born 1939)
  • 2014 – Pontus Segerström, Swedish footballer (born 1981)
  • 2015 – Rosalyn Baxandall, American historian, author, and academic (born 1939)
  • 2015 – Bruce Hyde, American academic and actor (born 1941)
  • 2015 – Michael J. H. Walsh, English general (born 1927)
  • 2016 – Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX), King of Thailand (born 1927)
  • 2016 – Dario Fo, Italian playwright, actor, director, and composer Nobel Prize laureate (born 1926)
  • 2016 – Jim Prentice, Canadian lawyer and politician, 16th Premier of Alberta (born 1956)
  • 2017 – Albert Zafy, Malagasy politician (born 1927)
  • 2018 – Annapurna Devi, Indian surbahar (bass sitar) player (born 1927)
  • 2023 – Louise Glück, American poet and essayist (born 1943)
  • 2024 – Mayra Gómez Kemp, Cuban-Spanish television host and actress (born 1948)
  • 2024 – Donal Murray, Irish Catholic bishop (born 1940)

Holidays and observances

  • Azerbaijani Railway Day (Azerbaijan)
  • Christian feast day:
  • Blessed Alexandrina of Balasar
  • Daniel and companions, of Ceuta
  • Edward the Confessor (translation)
  • Gerald of Aurillac
  • Blessed Maddalena Panattieri (OP)
  • Theophilus of Antioch
  • October 13 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Doi taikomatsuri October 13–15 (Shikokuchūō, Ehime, Japan)
  • International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction (international)
  • Paramedics' Day (Poland)
  • Rwagasore Day (Burundi)

References