Events

Pre-1600

• 1244 Pope Innocent IV arrives at Lyon for the First Council of Lyon.

• 1409 The University of Leipzig opens.

1601–1900

• 1697 St Paul's Cathedral, rebuilt to the design of Sir Christopher Wren following the Great Fire of London, is consecrated.

• 1763 Dedication of the Touro Synagogue, in Newport, Rhode Island, the first synagogue in what will become the United States.

• 1766 Swedish parliament approves the Swedish Freedom of the Press Act and implements it as a ground law, thus being first in the world with freedom of speech.

• 1804 At Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, Napoleon Bonaparte crowns himself Emperor of the French.

• 1805 War of the Third Coalition: Battle of Austerlitz: French troops under Napoleon decisively defeat a joint Russo-Austriann force.

• 1823 Monroe Doctrine: In a State of the Union message, U.S. President James Monroe proclaims American neutrality in future European conflicts, and warns European powers not to interfere in the Americas.

• 1845 Manifest Destiny: In a State of the Union message, U.S. President James K. Polk proposes that the United States should aggressively expand into the West.

• 1848 Franz Joseph I becomes Emperor of Austria.

• 1851 French President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte overthrows the Second Republic.

• 1852 Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte becomes Emperor of the French as Napoleon III.

• 1859 Origins of the American Civil War: Militant abolitionist leader John Brown is hanged for his October raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia).

• 1865 Alabama ratifies the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, followed by North Carolina, then Georgia; U.S. slaves were legally free within two weeks.

• 1867 At Tremont Temple in Boston, British author Charles Dickens gives his first public reading in the United States.

• 1899 Philippine–American War: The Battle of Tirad Pass, known as the "Filipino Thermopylae", is fought.

1901–present

• 1908 Puyi becomes Emperor of China at the age of two.

• 1917 World War I: Russia and the Central Powers sign an armistice at Brest-Litovsk, and peace talks leading to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk begin.

• 1919 Ukrainian War of Independence: Ukrainian Bolsheviks attempt to assassinate Nestor Makhno as part of the Polonsky conspiracy.

• 1927 Following 19 years of Ford Model T production, the Ford Motor Company unveils the Ford Model A as its new automobile.

• 1930 Great Depression: In a State of the Union message, U.S. President Herbert Hoover proposes a $150million public works program to help generate jobs and stimulate the economy.

• 1939 New York City's LaGuardia Airport opens.

• 1942 World War II: During the Manhattan Project, a team led by Enrico Fermi initiates the first artificial self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction.

• 1943 World War II: A Luftwaffe bombing raid on the harbour of Bari, Italy, sinks numerous cargo and transport ships, including the American , which is carrying a stockpile of mustard gas.

• 1947 Jerusalem Riots of 1947: Arabs riot in Jerusalem in response to the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine.

• 1949 Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others is adopted.

• 1950 Korean War: The Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River ends with a decisive Chinese victory and UN forces are completely expelled from North Korea.

• 1954 Cold War: The United States Senate votes 65 to 22 to censure Joseph McCarthy for "conduct that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute".

• 1954 The Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty, between the United States and Taiwan, is signed in Washington, D.C.

• 1956 The Granma reaches the shores of Cuba's Oriente Province. Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and 80 other members of the 26th of July Movement disembark to initiate the Cuban Revolution.

• 1957 United Nations Security Council Resolution 126 relating to the Kashmir conflict is adopted.

• 1961 In a nationally broadcast speech, Cuban leader Fidel Castro declares that he is a Marxist–Leninist and that Cuba will adopt Communism.

• 1962 Vietnam War: After a trip to Vietnam at the request of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield becomes the first American official to comment adversely on the war's progress.

• 1968 Wien Consolidated Airlines Flight 55 crashes into Pedro Bay, Alaska, killing all 39 people on board.

• 1970 The United States Environmental Protection Agency begins operations.

• 1971 Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Fujairah, Sharjah, Dubai, and Umm al-Quwain form the United Arab Emirates.

• 1972 Gough Whitlam is elected the 21st Prime Minister of Australia in the 1972 Australian federal election, defeating William McMahon and leading the Australian Labor Party back into office after 23 years in Opposition.

• 1975 Laotian Civil War: The Pathet Lao seizes the Laotian capital of Vientiane, forces the abdication of King Sisavang Vatthana, and proclaims the Lao People's Democratic Republic.

• 1976 Fidel Castro becomes President of Cuba, replacing Osvaldo Dorticós Torrado.

• 1977 A Tupolev Tu-154 crashes near Benghazi, Libya, killing 59.

• 1980 Salvadoran Civil War: Four American missionaries are raped and murdered by a death squad.

• 1982 At the University of Utah, Barney Clark becomes the first person to receive a permanent artificial heart.

• 1988 Benazir Bhutto is sworn in as Prime Minister of Pakistan, becoming the first woman to head the government of a Muslim-majority state.

• 1988 Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched on STS-27, a classified mission for the United States Department of Defense.

• 1989 The Peace Agreement of Hat Yai is signed and ratified by the Malayan Communist Party (MCP) and the governments of Malaysia and Thailand, ending the over two-decade-long communist insurgency in Malaysia.

• 1990 Space Shuttle Columbia is launched on STS-35, carrying the ASTRO-1 spacelab observatory.

• 1991 Canada and Poland become the first nations to recognize the independence of Ukraine from the Soviet Union.

• 1992 Space Shuttle Discovery is launched on STS-53 for the United States Department of Defense.

• 1993 Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar is shot and killed by police in Medellín.

• 1993 Space Shuttle program: STS-61: NASA launches the Space Shuttle Endeavour on a mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope.

• 1999 The United Kingdom devolves political power in Northern Ireland to the Northern Ireland Executive following the Good Friday Agreement.

• 2001 Enron files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

• 2015 San Bernardino attack: Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik kill 14 people and wound 22 at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, California.

• 2016 Thirty-six people die in a fire at a converted Oakland, California, warehouse serving as an artist collective.

• 2020 Cannabis is removed from the list of most dangerous drugs of the international drug control treaty by the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs.

Births

Pre-1600

• 503 Emperor Jianwen of Liang, emperor of the Chinese Liang dynasty (died 551)

• 1501 Queen Munjeong, Korean queen (died 1565)

• 1578 Agostino Agazzari, Italian composer and theorist (died 1641)

• 1599 Thomas Bruce, 1st Earl of Elgin, Scottish nobleman (died 1663)

1601–1900

• 1629 Wilhelm Egon von Fürstenberg, Catholic cardinal (died 1704)

• 1694 William Shirley, English-American lawyer and politician, Governor of the province of Massachusetts Bay (died 1771)

• 1703 Ferdinand Konščak, Croatian missionary and explorer (died 1759)

• 1738 Richard Montgomery, Irish-American general (died 1775)

• 1754 William Cooper, American judge and politician, founded Cooperstown, New York (died 1809)

• 1759 James Edward Smith, English botanist and mycologist, founded the Linnean Society (died 1828)

• 1760 John Breckinridge, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 5th United States Attorney General (died 1806)

• 1760 Joseph Graetz, German organist, composer, and educator (died 1826)

• 1798 António Luís de Seabra, 1st Viscount of Seabra, Portuguese magistrate and politician (died 1895)

• 1810 Henry Yesler, American businessman and politician, 7th Mayor of Seattle (died 1892)

• 1811 Jean-Charles Chapais, Canadian farmer and politician, 1st Canadian Minister of Agriculture (died 1885)

• 1817 Heinrich von Sybel, German historian, academic, and politician (died 1895)

• 1825 Pedro II of Brazil (died 1891)

• 1827 William Burges, English architect and designer (died 1881)

• 1846 Pierre Waldeck-Rousseau, French lawyer and politician, 68th Prime Minister of France (died 1904)

• 1847 Deacon White, American baseball player and manager (died 1939)

• 1859 Kateryna Melnyk-Antonovych, Ukrainian historian and archaeologist (died 1942)

• 1859 Georges Seurat, French painter (died 1891)

• 1860 Charles Studd, England cricketer and missionary (died 1931)

• 1863 Charles Edward Ringling, American businessman, co-founded the Ringling Brothers Circus (died 1926)

• 1866 Harry Burleigh, American singer-songwriter (died 1949)

• 1876 Yusuf Akçura, Tatar-Turkish activist and ideologue of Turanism (died 1935)

• 1877 Cahir Healy, Northern Irish Anti Partitionist, writer and politician (died 1970)

• 1884 Erima Harvey Northcroft, New Zealand soldier, lawyer, and judge (died 1953)

• 1884 Yahya Kemal Beyatlı, Turkish poet and author (died 1958)

• 1885 George Minot, American physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1950)

• 1891 Otto Dix, German painter and illustrator (died 1969)

• 1891 Charles H. Wesley, American historian and author (died 1987)

• 1894 Warren William, American actor (died 1948)

• 1895 Harriet Cohen, English pianist (died 1967)

• 1897 Ivan Bagramyan, Russian general (died 1982)

• 1897 Rewi Alley, New Zealand writer and political activist (died 1987)

• 1898 Indra Lal Roy, Indian lieutenant and first Indian fighter aircraft pilot (died 1918)

• 1899 John Barbirolli, English cellist and conductor (died 1970)

• 1899 John Cobb, English race car driver and pilot (died 1952)

• 1899 Ray Morehart, American baseball player (died 1989)

• 1900 Elisa Godínez Gómez de Batista, former First Lady of Cuba (died 1993)

• 1900 Herta Hammerbacher, German landscape architect and professor (died 1985)

1901–present

• 1901 Raimundo Orsi, Argentinian-Italian footballer (died 1986)

• 1905 Khan Bahadur Abdul Hakim, Bangladeshi mathematician (died 1985)

• 1906 Peter Carl Goldmark, Hungarian-American engineer (died 1977)

• 1909 Arvo Askola, Finnish runner (died 1975)

• 1909 Walenty Kłyszejko, Estonian–Polish basketball player and coach (died 1987)

• 1909 Joseph P. Lash, American activist and author (died 1987)

• 1910 Russell Lynes, American photographer, historian, and author (died 1991)

• 1910 Taisto Mäki, Finnish runner (died 1979)

• 1911 Meng Qingshu, Chinese politician (died 1983)

• 1912 George Emmett, English cricketer and coach (died 1976)

• 1913 Marc Platt, American actor, singer, and dancer (died 2014)

• 1914 Bill Erwin, American actor (died 2010)

• 1914 Adolph Green, American playwright and composer (died 2002)

• 1915 Takahito, Prince Mikasa of Japan (died 2016)

• 1916 Howard Finster, American minister and painter (died 2001)

• 1917 Sylvia Syms, American singer (died 1992)

• 1921 Carlo Furno, Italian cardinal (died 2015)

• 1922 Iakovos Kambanelis, Greek author, poet, and screenwriter (died 2011)

• 1923 Maria Callas, American-Greek soprano and actress (died 1977)

• 1924 Jonathan Frid, Canadian actor (died 2012)

• 1924 Alexander Haig, American general and politician, 59th United States Secretary of State (died 2010)

• 1924 Else Marie Pade, Danish composer (died 2016)

• 1924 Vilgot Sjöman, Swedish actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2006)

• 1925 Julie Harris, American actress (died 2013)

• 1927 Ralph Beard, American basketball player (died 2007)

• 1928 Guy Bourdin, French photographer (died 1991)

• 1929 Dan Jenkins, American journalist and author (died 2019)

• 1929 Leon Litwack, American historian and author (died 2021)

• 1930 Gary Becker, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2014)

• 1930 David Piper, English race car driver

• 1931 Nigel Calder, English journalist, author, and screenwriter (died 2014)

• 1931 Masaaki Hatsumi, Japanese martial artist and educator, founded Bujinkan

• 1931 Wynton Kelly, American pianist and composer (died 1971)

• 1931 Edwin Meese, American lawyer, 75th United States Attorney General

• 1931 Gareth Wigan, British film studio executive (died 2010)

• 1933 Peter Robin Harding, English marshal and pilot (died 2021)

• 1933 Mike Larrabee, American sprinter and educator (died 2003)

• 1934 Tarcisio Bertone, Italian cardinal

• 1935 David Hackett Fischer, American historian, author, and academic

• 1937 Manohar Joshi, Indian lawyer and politician, 15th Chief Minister of Maharashtra (died 2024)

• 1939 Yael Dayan, Israeli journalist, author, and politician

• 1939 Francis Fox, Canadian lawyer and politician, 48th Secretary of State for Canada (died 2024)

• 1939 Harry Reid, American lawyer and politician, 25th Lieutenant Governor of Nevada (died 2021)

• 1940 Willie Brown, American football player, coach, and manager (died 2019)

• 1941 Mike England, Welsh footballer and manager

• 1941 Tom McGuinness, English guitarist, songwriter, author, and producer

• 1942 Anna G. Jónasdóttir, Icelandic political scientist and academic

• 1943 Wayne Allard, American veterinarian and politician

• 1944 Cathy Lee Crosby, American actress and tennis player

• 1944 Ibrahim Rugova, Kosovan journalist and politician, 1st President of Kosovo (died 2006)

• 1944 Dionysis Savvopoulos, Greek singer-songwriter (died 2025)

• 1944 Botho Strauß, German author and playwright

• 1945 Penelope Spheeris, American director, producer, and screenwriter

• 1945 Alan Thomson, Australian cricketer (died 2022)

• 1946 John Banks, New Zealand businessman and politician, 38th Mayor of Auckland City

• 1946 David Macaulay, English-American author and illustrator

• 1946 Gianni Versace, Italian fashion designer, founded Versace (died 1997)

• 1947 Isaac Bitton, Moroccan-French drummer and songwriter

• 1947 Tommy Jenkins, English footballer and manager

• 1947 Ivan Atanassov Petrov, Bulgarian neurologist and author

• 1948 Elizabeth Berg, American nurse and author

• 1948 T. Coraghessan Boyle, American novelist and short story writer

• 1948 Patricia Hewitt, Australian-English educator and politician, English Secretary of State for Health

• 1948 Toninho Horta, Brazilian guitarist and composer

• 1948 Antonín Panenka, Czech footballer

• 1950 John Wesley Ryles, American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist

• 1950 Amin Saikal, Afghan-Australian political scientist and academic

• 1950 Benjamin Stora, Algerian-French historian and author

• 1950 Paul Watson, Canadian activist, founded the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society

• 1952 Carol Shea-Porter, American social worker, academic, and politician

• 1952 Keith Szarabajka, American actor

• 1953 Pertti Sveholm, Finnish actor

• 1954 Dan Butler, American actor, director, and screenwriter

• 1956 Steven Bauer, Cuban-American actor and producer

• 1957 Dagfinn Høybråten, Norwegian political scientist and politician, Norwegian Minister of Health

• 1958 Randy Gardner, American figure skater

• 1958 Andrew George, English politician

• 1958 Vladimir Parfenovich, Belarusian canoe racer and politician

• 1958 George Saunders, American short story writer and essayist

• 1959 Kelefa Diallo, Guinean general (died 2013)

• 1960 Peter Blakeley, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist

• 1960 Deb Haaland, American politician, 54th United States Secretary of the Interior

• 1960 Razzle, English rock drummer (died 1984)

• 1960 Rick Savage, English singer-songwriter and bass player

• 1960 Silk Smitha, Indian film actress

• 1962 John Dyegh, Nigerian businessman and politician

• 1963 Brendan Coyle, English actor

• 1963 Ann Patchett, American author

• 1963 Rich Sutter, Canadian ice hockey player and scout

• 1963 Ron Sutter, Canadian ice hockey player and coach

• 1965 Shane Flanagan, Australian rugby league player and coach

• 1966 Philippe Etchebest, French chef and television host

• 1966 Jinsei Shinzaki, Japanese wrestler and promoter, co-founded Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling

• 1967 Mary Creagh, English scholar and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Transport

• 1968 David Batty, English footballer

• 1968 Jiří Dopita, Czech ice hockey player

• 1968 Darryl Kile, American baseball player (died 2002)

• 1968 Lucy Liu, American actress and producer

• 1968 Nate Mendel, American singer-songwriter and bass player

• 1968 Rena Sofer, American actress

• 1969 Ulrika Bergquist, Swedish journalist

• 1969 Chris Kiwomya, English footballer

• 1969 Pavel Loskutov, Estonian runner

• 1969 Tanya Plibersek, Australian journalist and politician, 45th Australian Minister of Health

• 1970 Joe Lo Truglio, American actor and comedian

• 1970 Maksim Tarasov, Russian pole vaulter

• 1970 Treach, American rapper and actor

• 1971 Wilson Jermaine Heredia, American actor and singer

• 1971 Rachel McQuillan, Australian tennis player

• 1971 Jüri Reinvere, Estonian-German composer and poet

• 1971 Francesco Toldo, Italian footballer

• 1971 Mine Yoshizaki, Japanese illustrator

• 1972 Alan Henderson, American basketball player

• 1972 Sergei Zholtok, Latvian ice hockey player (died 2004)

• 1973 Graham Kavanagh, Irish footballer and manager

• 1973 Monica Seles, Serbian-American tennis player

• 1973 Lee Steele, English footballer

• 1973 Jan Ullrich, German cyclist

• 1975 Mark Kotsay, American baseball player and manager

• 1976 Masafumi Gotoh, Japanese singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer

• 1977 Siyabonga Nomvethe, South African footballer

• 1978 Jarron Collins, American basketball player and coach

• 1978 Jason Collins, American basketball player (died 2026)

• 1978 Nelly Furtado, Canadian singer-songwriter, producer, and actress

• 1978 Luigi Malafronte, Italian footballer

• 1978 Peter Moylan, Australian baseball player

• 1978 Maëlle Ricker, Canadian snowboarder

• 1978 David Rivas, Spanish footballer

• 1978 Andrew Ryan, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster

• 1978 Christopher Wolstenholme, English singer-songwriter and bass player

• 1979 Yvonne Catterfeld, German singer-songwriter and actress

• 1979 Michael McIndoe, Scottish footballer

• 1979 Abdul Razzaq, Pakistani cricketer

• 1980 Adam Kreek, Canadian rower

• 1980 Darryn Randall, South African cricketer (died 2013)

• 1980 Joel Ward, Canadian ice hockey player

• 1981 Maria Ferekidi, Greek canoe racer

• 1981 Eric Jungmann, American actor

• 1981 Thomas Pöck, Austrian ice hockey player

• 1981 Danijel Pranjić, Croatian footballer

• 1981 Britney Spears, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress

• 1982 Christos Karipidis, Greek footballer

• 1982 Matt Walsh, American basketball player

• 1983 Action Bronson, American rapper, songwriter, chef, and television host

• 1983 Chris Burke, Scottish footballer

• 1983 Bibiana Candelas, Mexican volleyball player

• 1983 Jaime Durán, Mexican footballer

• 1983 Eugene Jeter, American-Ukrainian basketball player, coach, and executive

• 1983 Jana Kramer, American actress and singer

• 1983 Aaron Rodgers, American football player

• 1983 Daniela Ruah, Portuguese-American actress

• 1984 Péter Máté, Hungarian footballer

• 1985 Amaury Leveaux, French swimmer

• 1985 Dorell Wright, American basketball player

• 1986 Song Ha-yoon, South Korean actress

• 1986 Claudiu Keșerü, Romanian footballer

• 1986 Renee Montgomery, American basketball player and executive

• 1986 Tal Wilkenfeld, Australian bass player and composer

• 1988 Alfred Enoch, English actor

• 1988 Stephen McGinn, Scottish footballer

• 1989 Etta Bond, English singer-songwriter

• 1989 Matteo Darmian, Italian footballer

• 1989 Cassie Steele, Canadian singer-songwriter and actress

• 1989 Robert Turbin, American football player

• 1990 Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu, Ghanaian footballer

• 1990 Gastón Ramírez, Uruguayan footballer

• 1991 Chloé Dufour-Lapointe, Canadian skier

• 1991 Brandon Knight, American basketball player

• 1991 Charlie Puth, American singer-songwriter and pianist

• 1992 Sim Bhullar, Canadian basketball player

• 1992 Gary Sánchez, Dominican baseball player

• 1993 Haruka Ishida, Japanese singer and actress

• 1993 Kostas Stafylidis, Greek footballer

• 1994 Zach Cunningham, American football player

• 1994 Aaron Jones, American football player

• 1994 Elias Lindholm, Swedish ice hockey player

• 1994 Fumika Shimizu, Japanese actress and model

• 1994 Tomokaze Yūta, Japanese sumo wrestler

• 1995 Uladzislau Hancharou, Belarusian trampolinist

• 1995 Inori Minase, Japanese actress, voice actress and singer

• 1996 Jake Doran, Australian cricketer

• 1997 De'Andre Hunter, American basketball player

• 1998 Annalise Basso, American actress

• 1998 Anna Kalinskaya, Russian tennis player

• 1998 Juice Wrld, American rapper, singer and songwriter (died 2019)

• 2003 Neil Erasmus, South African-Australian footballer

• 2004 Ilia Malinin, American competitive figure skater

• 2005 Learner Tien, American tennis player

Deaths

Pre-1600

• 537 Pope Silverius

• 930 Ma Yin, Chinese warlord, king of Chu (Ten Kingdoms) (born 853)

• 949 Odo of Wetterau, German nobleman

• 1022 Elvira Menéndez, queen of Alfonso V of Castile (born 996)

• 1255 Muhammad III of Alamut, Nizari Ismaili Imam

• 1340 Geoffrey le Scrope, Chief Justice of King Edward III of England

• 1348 Emperor Hanazono of Japan (born 1297)

• 1381 John of Ruusbroec, Flemish priest and mystic (born 1293)

• 1455 Isabel of Coimbra, queen of Portugal (born 1432)

• 1463 Albert VI, Archduke of Austria (born 1418)

• 1469 Piero di Cosimo de' Medici, Italian banker and politician (born 1416)

• 1510 Muhammad Shaybani, Khan of Bukhara (born 1451)

• 1515 Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, Spanish general (born 1453)

• 1547 Hernán Cortés, Spanish general and explorer (born 1485)

• 1594 Gerardus Mercator, Flemish mathematician, cartographer, and philosopher (born 1512)

1601–1900

• 1615 Louis des Balbes de Berton de Crillon, French general (born 1541)

• 1665 Catherine de Vivonne, marquise de Rambouillet, French author (born 1588)

• 1694 Pierre Puget, French painter, sculptor, and architect (born 1622)

• 1719 Pasquier Quesnel, French theologian and author (born 1634)

• 1723 Philippe II, Duke of Orléans (born 1674)

• 1726 Samuel Penhallow, English-American historian and author (born 1665)

• 1747 Vincent Bourne, English poet and scholar (born 1695)

• 1748 Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset, English politician, Lord President of the Council (born 1662)

• 1774 Johann Friedrich Agricola, German organist and composer (born 1720)

• 1814 Marquis de Sade, French philosopher, author, and politician (born 1740)

• 1844 Eustachy Erazm Sanguszko, Polish general and politician (born 1768)

• 1849 Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, Queen Consort of the United Kingdom and Hanover (born 1792)

• 1859 John Brown, American abolitionist (born 1800)

• 1881 Jenny von Westphalen, German author (born 1814)

• 1885 Allen Wright, Principal chief of the Choctaw Nation (1866–1870); proposed the name "Oklahoma", from Choctaw words okra and umma, meaning "Territory of the Red People". (born 1826)

• 1888 Namık Kemal, Turkish journalist, poet, and playwright (born 1840)

• 1892 Jay Gould, American businessman and financier (born 1836)

• 1899 Gregorio del Pilar, Filipino general and politician, 1st Governor of Bulacan (born 1875)

1901–present

• 1918 Edmond Rostand, French poet and playwright (born 1868)

• 1924 Kazimieras Būga, Lithuanian linguist and philologist (born 1879)

• 1927 Paul Heinrich von Groth, German scientist who systematically classified minerals and founded the journal Zeitschrift für Krystallographie und Mineralogie (born 1843)

• 1931 Vincent d'Indy, French composer and educator (born 1851)

• 1936 John Ringling, American businessman, co-founded Ringling Brothers Circus (born 1866)

• 1943 Nordahl Grieg, Norwegian journalist and author (born 1902)

• 1944 Josef Lhévinne, Russian pianist and educator (born 1874)

• 1944 Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, Egyptian-Italian poet and composer (born 1876)

• 1944 Eiji Sawamura, Japanese baseball player and soldier (born 1917)

• 1950 Dinu Lipatti, Romanian pianist and composer (born 1917)

• 1953 Reginald Baker, Australian rugby player (born 1884)

• 1953 Trần Trọng Kim, Vietnamese historian, scholar, and politician, Prime Minister of Vietnam (born 1883)

• 1957 Harrison Ford, American actor (born 1884)

• 1957 Manfred Sakel, Ukrainian-American neurophysiologist and psychiatrist (born 1902)

• 1966 L. E. J. Brouwer, Dutch mathematician and philosopher (born 1881)

• 1966 Giles Cooper, Irish author, playwright, and screenwriter (born 1918)

• 1967 Francis Spellman, American cardinal (born 1889).

• 1969 José María Arguedas, Peruvian anthropologist, author, and poet (born 1911)

• 1969 Kliment Voroshilov, Ukrainian-Russian marshal and politician, 3rd Head of State of The Soviet Union (born 1881)

• 1974 Sylvi Kekkonen, Finnish writer and wife of President of Finland Urho Kekkonen (born 1900)

• 1974 Max Weber, Swiss lawyer and politician (born 1897)

• 1976 Danny Murtaugh, American baseball player and manager (born 1917)

• 1980 Chaudhry Muhammad Ali, Indian-Pakistani lawyer and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Pakistan (born 1905)

• 1980 Romain Gary, Lithuanian-French author, director, and screenwriter (born 1914)

• 1981 Wallace Harrison, American architect, co-founded Harrison & Abramovitz (born 1895)

• 1982 Marty Feldman, English actor and comedian (born 1934)

• 1982 Giovanni Ferrari, Italian footballer and manager (born 1907)

• 1983 Fifi D'Orsay, Canadian-American actress and singer (born 1904)

• 1985 Philip Larkin, English poet, author, and librarian (born 1922)

• 1986 Desi Arnaz, Cuban-American actor, singer, businessman, and television producer (born 1917)

• 1986 John Curtis Gowan, American psychologist and academic (born 1912)

• 1987 Luis Federico Leloir, French-Argentinian physician and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1906)

• 1987 Yakov Borisovich Zel'dovich, Belarusian physicist, astronomer, and cosmologist (born 1914)

• 1988 Karl-Heinz Bürger, German colonel (born 1904)

• 1988 Tata Giacobetti, Italian singer-songwriter (born 1922)

• 1990 Aaron Copland, American composer and conductor (born 1900)

• 1990 Robert Cummings, American actor, director, and producer (born 1908)

• 1993 Pablo Escobar, Colombian drug lord (born 1949)

• 1995 Robertson Davies, Canadian author, playwright, and critic (born 1913)

• 1995 Roxie Roker, American actress (born 1929)

• 1995 Mária Telkes, Hungarian–American biophysicist and chemist (born 1900)

• 1997 Shirley Crabtree, English wrestler (born 1930)

• 1997 Michael Hedges, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1953)

• 1999 Charlie Byrd, American guitarist (born 1925)

• 2000 Gail Fisher, American actress (born 1935)

• 2002 Ivan Illich, Austrian priest and philosopher (born 1926)

• 2002 Arno Peters, German cartographer and historian (born 1916)

• 2003 Alan Davidson, British soldier, historian, and author (born 1924)

• 2004 Alicia Markova, English ballerina and choreographer (born 1910)

• 2004 Mona Van Duyn, American poet and academic (born 1921)

• 2005 William P. Lawrence, American admiral and pilot (born 1930)

• 2005 Van Tuong Nguyen, Australian convicted drug trafficker (born 1980)

• 2006 Mariska Veres, Dutch singer (born 1947)

• 2007 Jennifer Alexander, Canadian-American ballerina and actress (born 1972)

• 2007 Elizabeth Hardwick, American literary critic, novelist, and short story writer (born 1916)

• 2008 Odetta, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress (born 1930)

• 2008 Henry Molaison, American memory disorder patient (born 1926)

• 2008 Edward Samuel Rogers, Canadian lawyer and businessman (born 1933)

• 2008 Renato de Grandis, Italian composer, musicologist, and writer (born 1927)

• 2009 Foge Fazio, American football player and coach (born 1938)

• 2009 Eric Woolfson, Scottish singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (born 1945)

• 2012 Tom Hendry, Canadian playwright, co-founded the Manitoba Theatre Centre (born 1929)

• 2012 Ehsan Naraghi, Iranian sociologist and author (born 1926)

• 2013 William Allain, American soldier and politician, 58th Governor of Mississippi (born 1928)

• 2013 Jean-Claude Beton, Algerian-French engineer and businessman, founded Orangina (born 1925)

• 2013 Marcelo Déda, Brazilian lawyer and politician (born 1960)

• 2013 Junior Murvin, Jamaican singer-songwriter (born 1946)

• 2014 A. R. Antulay, Indian lawyer and politician, 8th Chief Minister of Maharashtra (born 1929)

• 2014 Jean Béliveau, Canadian ice hockey player (born 1931)

• 2014 Josie Cichockyj, English basketball player and coach (born 1964)

• 2014 Bobby Keys, American saxophonist (born 1943)

• 2014 Don Laws, American figure skater and coach (born 1929)

• 2015 Sandy Berger, American lawyer and politician, 19th United States National Security Advisor (born 1945)

• 2015 Will McMillan, American actor, director, and producer (born 1944)

• 2015 George T. Sakato, American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient (born 1921)

• 2020 Pat Patterson, American wrestler (born 1941)

• 2024 Ed Botterell, Canadian Olympic sailor (born 1931)

• 2024 Helmut Duckadam, Romanian footballer (born 1959)

• 2024 Neale Fraser, Australian tennis player (born 1933)

• 2024 Paul Maslansky, American film producer and writer (born 1933)

• 2024 Debbie Mathers, Mother of Eminem (born 1955)

• 2024 Israel Vázquez, Mexican boxer (born 1977)

Holidays and observances

• Armed Forces Day (Cuba)

Christian feast day:

• Avitus of Rouen

• Bibiana

• Channing Moore Williams (Anglicanism)

• Chromatius

• Habakkuk

• Blessed Ivan Slezyuk

• Blessed Maria Angela Astorch

• December 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

• International Day for the Abolition of Slavery (United Nations)

• Lao National Day

• National Day (United Arab Emirates)

• Chichibu Night Festival

References

External links

• BBC: On This Day

• Historical Events on December 2