Events

* 406 – Vandals, Alans and Suebians cross the Rhine, beginning an invasion of Gallia.

* 535 – Byzantine General Belisarius completes the conquest of Sicily, defeating the Ostrogothic garrison of Syracuse, and ending his consulship for the year.

* 1229 – James I of Aragon the Conqueror enters Medina Mayurqa (now known as Palma de Mallorca, Spain) thus consummating the Christian conquest of the island of Mallorca.

* 1599 – British East India Company is chartered.

* 1660 – James II of England is named Duke of Normandy by Louis XIV of France.

* 1687 – The first Huguenots set sail from France to the Cape of Good Hope.

* 1695 – A window tax is imposed in England, causing many shopkeepers to brick up their windows to avoid the tax.

* 1775 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of Quebec British forces repulse an attack by Continental Army generals Richard Montgomery and Benedict Arnold.

* 1831 – Gramercy Park is needed to New York City.

* 1857 – Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom chooses Ottawa, Ontario, as the capital of Canada.

* 1862 – American Civil War: Abraham Lincoln signs an act that admits West Virginia to the Union, thus dividing Virginia in two.

* 1862 – American Civil War: The Battle of Stones River is fought near Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

* 1879 – Thomas Edison demonstrates incandescent lighting to the public for the first time.

* 1891 – A new immigration depot was opened on Ellis Island, New York.

* 1904 – The first New Year’s Eve celebration is held in Times Square, then known as Longacre Square, in New York, New York.

* 1909 – Manhattan Bridge opens.

* 1923 – The chimes of Big Ben are broadcast on radio for the first time by the BBC.

* 1944 – World War II: Hungary declares war on Germany.

* 1946 – President Harry Truman officially proclaims the end of hostilities in World War II.

* 1955 – The General Motors Corporation becomes the first U.S. corporation to make over $1 billion USD in a year.

* 1960 – The farthing coin ceases to be legal tender in the United Kingdom.

* 1961 – The Marshall Plan expires after distributing more than $12 billion USD in foreign aid to rebuild Europe.

* 1963 – The Central African Federation officially collapses and splits into Zambia, Malawi and Rhodesia.

* 1981 – Coup d’état in Ghana removes President Hilla Limann’s PNP government and replaces it with the Provisional National Defence Council led by Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings.

* 1983 – The AT&T Bell System is broken up by the United States Government.

* 1987 – Robert Mugabe assumes office as President of Zimbabwe.

* 1986 – A fire at the Dupont Plaza Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico, kills 97 and injures 140.

* 1991 – The Soviet Union is officially dissolved.

* 1994 – This date is skipped altogether in Kiribati as the Phoenix Islands and Line Islands change time zones from UTC-11 to UTC+13 and UTC-10 to UTC+14, respectively.

* 1997 – Quaker Oats settles a lawsuit involving the immoral use of child subjects in radioactivity experiments from around 1945-1956.

* 1998 – Exchange rates between the euro and legacy currencies in the Eurozone become fixed.

* 1999 – Boris Yeltsin resigns as President of Russia, leaving Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as the acting President.

* 1999 – Five hijackers, who had been holding 155 hostages on an Indian Airlines plane, leave the plane with two Islamic clerics that they had demanded be freed.

* 1999 – The United States Government hands Panama Canal control over to Panama as well all the adjacent land to the canal known as the Panama Canal Zone. This act complied with the signing of the 1977 Torrijos-Carter Treaties.

* 2004 – The official opening of Taipei 101, the current tallest skyscraper in the world, standing at a height of 509 metres (1,670 feet).

* 2007 – December 2007 Bocaue Fire. Seven people injured when a fire razed several fireworks stores in the Municipality of Bocaue, Bulacan, Philippines.

* 2007 – The Massive Big Dig construction project in Boston, Massachusetts ends.

Births

* 1378 – Pope Callixtus III (d. 1458)

* 1491 – Jacques Cartier, French explorer (d. 1557)

* 1514 – Andreas Vesalius, Flemish anatomist (d. 1564)

* 1572 – Emperor Go-Yozei of Japan, (d. 1617)

* 1668 – Herman Boerhaave, Dutch humanist and physician (d. 1738)

* 1720 – Charles Edward Stuart, pretender to the British throne (d. 1788)

* 1738 – Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, British general (d. 1805)

* 1741 – Isabella Maria of Parma, empress of Germany (d. 1763)

* 1763 – Pierre-Charles Villeneuve, French admiral (d. 1806)

* 1815 – George G. Meade, American Civil War general (d. 1872)

* 1830 – Isma’il Pasha, Governor of Egypt (d. 1895)

* 1857 – King Kelly, American baseball player (d. 1894)

* 1860 – Joseph S. Cullinan, American oil industrialist (d. 1937)

* 1869 – Henri Matisse, French painter (d. 1954)

* 1877 – Lawrence Beesley, English journalist and author (d. 1967)

* 1878 – Elizabeth Arden, Canadian businesswoman (d. 1966)

* 1878 – Horacio Quiroga, Uruguayan-Argentinian writer (d. 1937)

* 1880 – George C. Marshall, United States Secretary of State, Nobel Laureate (d. 1959)

* 1880 – Fred Beebe, American baseball player (d. 1957)

* 1881 – Max Pechstein, German painter (d. 1955)

* 1882 – Martin O’Meara, Australian soldier (d. 1935)

* 1884 – Bobby Byrne, American baseball player (d. 1964)

* 1885 – Princess Victoria Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein (d. 1970)

* 1894 – Pola Negri, Polish actress (d. 1987)

* 1899 – Silvestre Revueltas, Mexican composer (d. 1940)

* 1902 – Lionel Daunais, Quebec singer and composer (d. 1982)

* 1903 – Nathan Milstein, Ukrainian violinist (d. 1992)

* 1905 – Jule Styne, English-born composer (d. 1994)

* 1908 – Simon Wiesenthal, Austrian Holocaust survivor (d. 2005)

* 1909 – Jonah Jones, American jazz trumpeter (d. 2000)

* 1910 – Carl Dudley, American film director (d. 1973)

* 1912 – Maj-Gen John Frost, British para commander (d. 1993)

* 1919 – Tommy Byrne, American baseball player

* 1920 – Rex Allen, American actor, singer, and songwriter (d. 1999)

* 1924 – Taylor Mead, American actor

* 1928 – Siné, French cartoonist

* 1930 – Odetta, American singer

* 1931 – Bob Shaw, Irish writer (d. 1996)

* 1933 – Edward Bunker, American author and actor (d. 2005)

* 1934 – Akram Awan, Islamic scholar

* 1937 – Avram Hershko, Israeli biologist, Nobel laureate

* 1937 – Sir Anthony Hopkins, Welsh actor

* 1938 – Rosalind Cash, American actress (d. 1995)

* 1940 – Mani Neumeier, German musician (Guru Guru)

* 1941 – Sir Alex Ferguson, Scottish football manager

* 1941 – Sarah Miles, English actress

* 1942 – Andy Summers, British guitarist (The Police)

* 1943 – John Denver, American singer and songwriter (d. 1997)

* 1943 – Sir Ben Kingsley, English actor

* 1943 – Pete Quaife, English bassist (The Kinks)

* 1944 – Taylor Hackford, American producer and director

* 1945 – Diane von Fürstenberg, Belgian-born fashion designer

* 1945 – Barbara Carrera, Nicaraguan actress and model

* 1945 – Connie Willis, American writer

* 1946 – Pius Ncube, Zimbabwean human rights advocate

* 1947 – Burton Cummings, Canadian keyboardist (The Guess Who)

* 1947 – Tim Matheson, American actor

* 1947 – Rita Lee, Brazilian Rock Star

* 1948 – Donna Summer, American singer

* 1948 – René Robert, National Hockey League player

* 1949 – Ellen Datlow, American editor

* 1949 – Susan Shwartz, American writer

* 1951 – George Thorogood, American musician

* 1951 – Tom Hamilton, American bassist (Aerosmith)

* 1953 – James Remar, American actor

* 1953 – Jane Badler, American actress

* 1954 – Alex Salmond, Scottish politician

* 1954 – Hermann Tilke, German racing circuit architect

* 1954 - Cindy Hensley McCain, wife of John McCain

* 1955 – Dawood Ibrahim, Indian crime boss

* 1956 – Steve Rude, American comics artist

* 1958 – Bebe Neuwirth, American actress

* 1959 – Phill Kline, American politician

* 1959 – Val Kilmer, American actor

* 1959 – Paul Westerberg, American musician (The Replacements)

* 1960 – John Allen Muhammad, American serial killer

* 1960 – Steve Bruce, English football player & manager

* 1961 – Rick Aguilera, American baseball player

* 1961 – Nina Li Chi, Chinese actress

* 1962 – Heather McCartney, British activist

* 1963 – Scott Ian, American guitarist (Anthrax)

* 1963 – Konishiki, American sumo wrestler

* 1964 – Michael McDonald, American actor-comedian

* 1964 – Allen D’Nulderf, American stuntman

* 1964 – Lowri Turner, British TV presenter

* 1965 – Gong Li, Chinese actress

* 1965 – Nicholas Sparks, American author

* 1966 – Lisa Joyner, American entertainment reporter

* 1968 – Gerry Dee, Canadian comedian and actor

* 1969 – Kate Beahan, Australian actress

* 1969 – Dominik Diamond, Scittish presenter and newspaper columnist

* 1970 – Carlos Morales Quintana, husband of Princess Alexia of Greece and Denmark

* 1970 – Bryon Russell, American basketball player

* 1971 – Brent Barry, American basketball player

* 1971 – Esteban Loaiza, Mexican Major League Baseball player

* 1971 – Ricardo López Felipe, Spanish footballer

* 1972 – Joe McIntyre, American singer (New Kids on the Block)

* 1973 – Shandon Anderson, American basketball player

* 1973 – Malcolm Middleton, Scottish musician (Arab Strap)

* 1974 – Ryan Sakoda, Japanese American professional wrestler

* 1974 – Tony Kanaan, Brazilian racing driver

* 1975 – Toni Kuivasto, Finnish footballer

* 1977 – Wardy Alfaro, Costa Rican footballer

* 1977 – Donald Trump Jr., son of Donald Trump and Ivana Trump

* 1978 – Papoose, American rapper

* 1979 – Bob Bryar, American drummer (My Chemical Romance, Gerardolopoly)

* 1979 – Elaine Cassidy, Irish actress

* 1980 – Richie McCaw, New Zealand rugby player

* 1980 – Matt Cross, American professional wrestler

* 1981 – Jason Campbell, American football player

* 1981 – Matthew Pavlich, Australian football player

* 1982 – Julio DePaula, Dominican baseball player

* 1982 – Craig Gordon, Scottish footballer

* 1982 – Luke Schenscher, Australian basketball player

* 1987 – Javaris Crittenton, American basketball player

* 1987 – Émilie Le Pennec, French gymnast

Deaths

* 192 – Commodus, Roman Emperor (b. 161)

* 335 – St. Silvester, Pope

* 1164 – Margrave Ottokar III of Styria (b. 1124)

* 1194 – Duke Leopold V of Austria (killed at a tournament) (b. 1157)

* 1297 – Humphrey de Bohun, 3rd Earl of Hereford, English soldier (b. 1249)

* 1302 – Frederick III, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1238)

* 1384 – John Wycliffe, English theologian and Bible translator

* 1424 – Thomas Beaufort, 1st Duke of Exeter, English military leader

* 1460 – Edmund, Earl of Rutland, brother of Kings Edward IV of England and Richard III of England (executed) (b. 1443)

* 1460 – Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury, English politician (b. 1400)

* 1510 – Bianca Maria Sforza, wife of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1472)

* 1535 – William Skeffington, Lord Deputy of Ireland (b. 1465)

* 1568 – Shimazu Tadayoshi, Japanese warlord (b. 1493)

* 1575 – Pierino Belli, Italian soldier and jurist (b. 1502)

* 1583 – Thomas Erastus, Swiss theologian (b. 1524)

* 1610 – Ludolph van Ceulen, German mathematician (b. 1540)

* 1650 – Dorgon, Chinese emperor (b. 1612)

* 1673 – Oliver St John, English statesman and judge

* 1679 – Giovanni Alfonso Borelli, Italian physiologist and physicist (b. 1608)

* 1691 – Dudley North, English economist (b. 1641)

* 1719 – John Flamsteed, English astronomer (b. 1646)

* 1742 – Karl III Philip, Elector Palatine (b. 1661)

* 1799 – Jean-François Marmontel, French historian and writer (b. 1723)

* 1872 – Aleksis Kivi, Finnish author (b. 1834)

* 1877 – Gustave Courbet, French painter (b. 1819)

* 1888 – Samson Raphael Hirsch, German rabbi (b. 1808)

* 1889 – Ion Creang?, Romanian writer (b. 1837 or 1839)

* 1890 – Pancha Carrasco, Costa Rican war heroine (b. 1826)

* 1894 – Thomas Joannes Stieltjes, Dutch mathematician (b. 1856)

* 1905 – Alexander Popov, Russian physicist (b. 1859)

* 1910 – John Moisant, American aviator (b. 1868)

* 1910 – Arch Hoxsey, American aviator (b. 1884)

* 1921 – Boies Penrose, U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania (b. 1860)

* 1936 – Miguel de Unamuno, Spanish writer and philosopher (b. 1864)

* 1948 – Malcolm Campbell, English race car driver (b. 1885)

* 1952 – Hank Williams, American singer, guitarist, and songwriter (b.1923)

* 1953 – Albert Plesman, Dutch aviation pioneer (b. 1889)

* 1964 – Ólafur Thors, Prime Minister of Iceland (b. 1892)

* 1964 – Bobby Byrne, baseball player (b. 1884)

* 1969 – George Lewis, American clarinetist (b. 1900)

* 1971 – Pete Duel American actor (b. 1940)

* 1971 – Marin Sais, American actress (b. 1890)

* 1971 – Vikram Sarabhai, Indian physicist (b. 1919)

* 1972 – Roberto Clemente, Puerto Rican baseball player (b. 1934)

* 1977 – Sabah III Al-Salim Al-Sabah, ruler of Kuwait (b. 1924)

* 1980 – Marshall McLuhan, Canadian writer (b. 1911)

* 1980 – Raoul Walsh, American film director (b. 1887)

* 1985 – Rick Nelson, American singer (b. 1940)

* 1986 – Lloyd Haynes, American actor (b. 1934)

* 1990 – Vasili Lazarev, Soviet cosmonaut (b. 1928)

* 1990 – George Allen, American football coach

* 1993 – Maj-Gen John Frost, British para commander, Operation Market-Garden (b. 1912)

* 1993 – Zviad Gamsakhurdia, first President of Georgia (b. 1939)

* 1993 – Brandon Teena, Transsexual, murdered (b. 1972)

* 1994 – Woody Strode, American actor and decathlete (b. 1914)

* 1997 – Floyd Cramer, American musician (b. 1933)

* 1997 – Billie Dove, American actress (b. 1903)

* 1997 – Michael Kennedy, American politician (b. 1958)

* 1999 – Elliot Richardson, American politician (b. 1920)

* 2000 – Alan Cranston, American politician (b. 1914)

* 2000 – José Greco, Italian-born American flamenco dancer and choreographer (b. 1918)

* 2001 – Eileen Heckart, American actress (b. 1919)

* 2002 – Kevin MacMichael, American guitarist (Cutting Crew) (b. 1951)

* 2003 – Arthur R. von Hippel German-born physicist (b. 1898)

* 2004 – Gerard Debreu, French-born economist, Bank of Sweden Prize laureate (b. 1921)

* 2005 – Phillip Whitehead, British politician (b. 1937)

* 2005 – Enrico di Giuseppe, American tenor (b. 1932)

* 2006 – George Sisler, Jr., baseball executive (b. 1917)

* 2007 – Tommy Dickson, British footballer (b. 1929)

* 2007 – Tony Elliott, American football player (b. 1959)

* 2007 – Michael Goldberg, American painter (b. 1924)

* 2007 – Bill Idelson, American actor (b. 1919)

* 2007 – Kathryn Ish, American actress (b. 1936)

* 2007 – Milton L. Klein, Canadian politician (b. 1910)

* 2007 – Markku Peltola, Finnish actor and musician (b. 1956)

* 2007 – Ettore Sottsass, Italian architect and designer (b. 1917)

Holidays and observances

* New Year’s Eve on the Gregorian Calendar.

* Hogmanay in Scotland.

* Last Day of the Year Celebration, special non-working holiday in the Philippines.

Events

* 1492 - The Ensisheim Meteorite, the oldest meteorite with a known date of impact, strikes the earth around noon in a wheat field outside the village of Ensisheim, Alsace, France.

* 1665 - The London Gazette, the oldest surviving journal, is first published.

* 1786 - The oldest musical organization in the United States is founded as the Stoughton Musical Society.

* 1811 - Tecumseh’s War: The Battle of Tippecanoe is fought near present-day Battle Ground, Indiana, United States.

* 1837 - In Alton, Illinois, abolitionist printer Elijah P. Lovejoy is shot dead by a mob while attempting to protect his printing shop from being destroyed a third time.

* 1861 - American Civil War: Battle of Belmont: In Belmont, Missouri, Union forces led by General Ulysses S. Grant overrun a Confederate camp but are forced to retreat when Confederate reinforcements arrive.

* 1874 - A cartoon by Thomas Nast in Harper’s Weekly, is considered the first important use of an elephant as a symbol for the United States Republican Party.

* 1885 - In Craigellachie, British Columbia, construction ends on the Canadian Pacific Railway railway extending across Canada.

* 1893 - Women in the U.S. state of Colorado are granted the right to vote.

* 1900 - Battle of Leliefontein, a battle during which the Royal Canadian Dragoons win three Victoria Crosses.

* 1907 - Delta Sigma Pi was founded at New York University.

* 1910 - The first air freight shipment (from Dayton, Ohio, to Columbus, Ohio) is undertaken by the Wright Brothers and department store owner Max Moorehouse.

* 1912 - The Deutsche Opernhaus (now Deutsche Oper Berlin) opens in the Berlin neighborhood of Charlottenburg, with a production of Beethoven’s Fidelio.

* 1914 - The first issue of The New Republic magazine is published.

* 1914 - The German colony of Kiaochow Bay and its centre at Tsingtao are captured by Japanese forces.

* 1916 - Jeannette Rankin is the first woman elected to the United States Congress.

* 1917 - Russian Revolution: In Petrograd, Russia, Bolshevik leaders Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky lead revolutionaries in overthrowing the Provisional Government (As Russia was still using the Julian Calendar, subsequent period references show the date as October 25).

* 1917 - World War I: Third Battle of Gaza ends: British forces capture Gaza from the Ottoman Empire.

* 1918 - The 1918 influenza epidemic spreads to Western Samoa, killing 7,542 (about 20% of the population) by the end of the year.

* 1918 - Kurt Eisner overthrows the Wittelsbach dynasty in the Kingdom of Bavaria.

* 1921 - The Partito Nazionale Fascista (PNF), National Fascist Party, comes into existence.

* 1929 - In New York City, the Museum of Modern Art opens to the public.

* 1931 - The Chinese Soviet Republic is proclaimed on the anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution.

* 1933 - Fiorello H. LaGuardia is elected the 99th mayor of New York City.

* 1940 - In Tacoma, Washington, the middle section of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge (”Galloping Gertie”) collapses in a windstorm, a mere four months after the bridge’s completion.

* 1941 - World War II: Soviet hospital ship Armenia was sunk by German planes while evacuating refugees and wounded military and staff of several Crimea’s hospitals. It is estimated that over 5,000 people died in the sinking.

* 1941 - Holocaust: In Nemyriv, Ukraine, German fascists murder 2580 Jews.

* 1944 - A passenger train derails in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico from excessive speed when descending a hill. 16 people were killed and 50 were injured.

* 1956 - Suez Crisis: The United Nations General Assembly adopts a resolution calling for the United Kingdom, France and Israel to immediately withdraw their troops from Egypt.

* 1957 - Cold War: The Gaither Report calls for more American missiles and fallout shelters.

* 1963 - Wunder von Lengede: In Germany, eleven miners are rescued from a collapsed mine after 14 days.

* 1967 - Carl B. Stokes is elected as Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, becoming the first African American mayor of a major American city.

* 1967 - US President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, establishing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

* 1973 - The U.S. Congress overrides President Richard M. Nixon’s veto of the War Powers Resolution, which limits presidential power to wage war without congressional approval.

* 1983 - 1983 United States Senate bombing: a bomb explodes inside the U.S. Capitol Building.

* 1987 - In Tunisia, president Habib Bourguiba is overthrown and replaced by Prime Minister Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

* 1989 - Douglas Wilder wins the governor’s seat in Virginia, becoming the first elected African American governor in the United States.

* 1989 - David Dinkins becomes the first African American mayor of New York City.

* 1989 - East German Prime Minister Willi Stoph, along with his entire cabinet, is forced to resign after huge anti-government protests.

* 1990 - Mary Robinson becomes the first woman to be elected President of the Republic of Ireland.

* 1991 - Magic Johnson announces that he is infected with HIV and retires from the NBA.

* 1996 - NASA launches the Mars Global Surveyor.

* 1996 - A Nigerian Boeing 727 crashes into a lagoon 40 miles southeast of Lagos, killing 143.

* 2000 - Hillary Rodham Clinton is elected to the United States Senate, becoming the first former First Lady to win public office in the United States, although actually she still was the First Lady.

* 2000 - The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration discovers one of the country’s largest LSD labs inside a converted military missile silo in Wamego, Kansas.

* 2001 - The supersonic commercial aircraft Concorde resumes flying after a 15-month hiatus.

* 2002 - Iran bans advertising of United States products.

* 2004 - War in Iraq: The interim government of Iraq calls for a 60-day “state of emergency” as U.S. forces storm the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah.

* 2007 - Jokela school shooting in Tuusula, Finland, resulting in the death of nine people.

Births

* 630 - Constans II, Byzantine emperor (d. 668)

* 994 - Ibn Hazm, Arab philosopher (d. 1069)

* 1598 - Francisco Zurbarán, Spanish painter (d. 1664)

* 1619 - Gédéon Tallemant des Réaux, French writer (d. 1692)

* 1650 - John Robinson, English diplomat (d. 1723)

* 1687 - William Stukeley, English archaeologist (d. 1765)

* 1750 - Friedrich Leopold Graf zu Stolberg, German poet (d. 1819)

* 1805 - Thomas Brassey, English civil engineering contractor (d. 1870)

* 1818 - Emil du Bois-Reymond, German physician (d. 1896)

* 1832 - Andrew Dickson White, American co-founder and first president of Cornell University (d. 1918)

* 1838 - Auguste Villiers de l’Isle-Adam, French writer (d. 1889)

* 1846 -strian pianist Ignaz Brüll, Au (d. 1907)

* 1851 - Chris von der Ahe, German born entrepreneur (d. 1913)

* 1858 - Bipin Chandra Pal, Indian freedom fighter, (d. 1932)

* 1860 - Jean-Baptiste Eugène Estienne, French general (d. 1936)

* 1861 - Jeff Milton, American lawman (d. 1947)

* 1867 - Maria Sklodowska-Curie, Polish-born chemist and physicist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in physics and in chemistry (d. 1934)

* 1875 - Mikhail Kalinin, Soviet politician (d. 1946)

* 1876 - Charlie Townsend, English cricketer (d. 1958)

* 1879 - King Baggot, American actor (d. 1948)

* 1879 - Leon Trotsky, Russian revolutionary (d. 1940)

* 1886 - Aron Nimzowitsch, Latvian-born chess player (d. 1935)

* 1888 - Sir C. V. Raman, Indian physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1970)

* 1893 - Leatrice Joy, American actress (d. 1985)

* 1896 - Esdras Minville, Quebec writer, economist and sociologist (d. 1975)

* 1897 - Herman J. Mankiewicz, American writer, director, and producer (d. 1953)

* 1898 - Raphaël Salem, Greek mathematician (d. 1963)

* 1901 - Norah McGuinness, Northern Irish painter and illustrator (d. 1980)

* 1903 - Dean Jagger, American actor (d. 1991)

* 1903 - Konrad Lorenz, Austrian zoologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1989)

* 1903 - Grace Stafford, American actress (d. 1992)

* 1905 - William Alwyn, English composer (d. 1985)

* 1913 - Albert Camus, French writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1960)

* 1914 - Archie Campbell, American comedian, writer (d. 1987)

* 1915 - Philip Morrison, American scientist (d. 2005)

* 1918 - Billy Graham, American evangelist

* 1918 - Maria Teresa de Noronha, Portuguese Fado singer

* 1918 - Paul Aussaresses, French general

* 1922 - Al Hirt, American trumpeter (d. 1999)

* 1926 - Dame Joan Sutherland, Australian operatic soprano

* 1927 - Hiroshi Yamauchi, Japanese computer game executive

* 1927 - Ivor Emmanuel, Welsh singer and actor (d. 2007)

* 1929 - Eric R. Kandel, Austrian-born neuroscientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

* 1929 - Jesús de Polanco, Spanish businessman and media tycoon (d. 2007)

* 1936 - Dame Gwyneth Jones, Welsh soprano

* 1937 - Mary Travers, American folk singer (Peter, Paul & Mary)

* 1938 - Jim Kaat, American baseball player

* 1938 - Dee Clark, American singer (d. 1990)

* 1942 - Johnny Rivers, American singer and composer

* 1942 - Jean Shrimpton, British supermodel and actress

* 1943 - Michael Byrne, English actor

* 1943 - Stephen Greenblatt, American literary critic

* 1943 - Boris Gromov, Russian general

* 1943 - Joni Mitchell, Canadian musician

* 1943 - Michael Spence, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate

* 1944 - Joe Niekro, American baseball player (d. 2006)

* 1944 - Luigi Riva, Italian footballer

* 1944 - Ken Patera, American professional wrestler

* 1947 - Bob Anderson, English darts player

* 1947 - Yutaka Fukumoto, Japanese professional baseball player

* 1948 - Alex Ribeiro, Brazilian racing driver

* 1949 - Steven Stucky, American composer

* 1949 - Judy Tenuta, American comedian

* 1952 - David Petraeus, Commanding General of Multinational Force Iraq

* 1954 - Kamal Haasan, Indian actor

* 1955 - Detlef Ultsch, German judoka

* 1957 - Christopher Knight, American actor

* 1958 - Lori Saldaña, American politician

* 1959 - Billy Gillispie, American basketball coach

* 1959 - Alexandre Guimarães, Costa Rican football manager

* 1960 - Tommy Thayer, American guitarist (Kiss)

* 1962 - Tracie Savage, American actress and journalist

* 1963 - John Barnes, English footballer

* 1964 - Dana Plato, American actress (d. 1999)

* 1964 - Gill Holland, American producer

* 1965 - Sigrun Wodars, German athlete

* 1967 - Sharleen Spiteri Scottish singer and songwriter (Texas)

* 1967 - Steve Digiorgio, American musician. Bass from Sadus, Testament and Death

* 1968 - Greg Tribbett, American musician (Mudvayne)

* 1968 - Mark Preston, Australian engineer

* 1969 - Hélène Grimaud, French pianist

* 1969 - Michelle Clunie, American actress

* 1970 - Neil Hannon, Northern Irish musician (The Divine Comedy)

* 1970 - Andy Houston, American NASCAR driver

* 1970 - Marc Rosset, Swiss tennis player

* 1970 - Morgan Spurlock, American director and producer

* 1971 - Jamie Drummond, Scottish/Canadian Sommelier

* 1971 - Robin Finck, American musician

* 1972 - Jason London & Jeremy London, American actors

* 1972 - Danny Grewcock, English rugby union player

* 1972 - Christopher Daniel Barnes, American actor

* 1972 - Mike Goldman, Australian media personality

* 1972 - Marcus Stewart, English football player

* 1973 - Yunjin Kim, South Korean actress

* 1973 - Martín Palermo, Argentine footballer

* 1974 - Kris Benson, American baseball player

* 1974 - Chris Summers, Norwegian drummer (Turbonegro)

* 1975 - Stephen Alexander, American football tight end

* 1976 - Mark Philippoussis, Australian tennis player

* 1976 - Melyssa Ford, Canadian model and actress

* 1976 - One Be Lo, hip-hop artist

* 1978 - Rio Ferdinand, English footballer

* 1978 - Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, Dutch footballer

* 1978 - Tomoya Nagase, Japanese actor and singer (TOKIO)

* 1979 - Will Demps, American football player

* 1979 - Joey Ryan, American professional wrestler

* 1979 - Jon Peter Lewis, American singer

* 1979 - Mike Commodore, American professional hockey player

* 1979 - Danny Fonseca, Costa Rican footballer

* 1979 - Barney Harwood, CBBC presenter

* 1980 - Gervasio Deferr, Spanish gymnast

* 1980 - James Franklin, New Zealand Cricket player

* 1980 - Luciana Salazar, Argentine model and actress

* 1981 - Lily Thai, Asian porn star

* 1981 - Muhammad Hassan, professional wrestler

* 1981 - Anthony Moffat, Scottish musician, writer and film-maker

* 1981 - Anushka Shetty, Tollywood Film Actress

* 1986 - Sol Aranza, Mexican voice actress

* 1990 - Matt Corby, Australian singer

Deaths

* 644 - Umar ibn al-Khatt?b, Second caliph of Islam

* 1225 - Engelbert II of Berg, Archbishop of Cologne

* 1550 - Jon Arason, the last Roman Catholic bishop of Iceland prior to the reformation, beheaded in Skalholt with his two sons Are and Bjorn. (b. 1484)

* 1574 - Solomon Luria, Maharshal (b. 1510)

* 1581 - Richard Davies, Welsh bishop and scholar

* 1599 - Gasparo Tagliacozzi, Italian surgeon (b. 1546)

* 1620 - Hetman Stanis?aw ?ólkiewski polish commander in the Battle of ?u?ora (1620) (b. 1547)

* 1633 - Cornelius Jacobszoon Drebbel, Dutch inventor (b. 1572)

* 1639 - Thomas Arundell, 1st Baron Arundell of Wardour, English politician

* 1642 - Henry Montagu, 1st Earl of Manchester, English politician

* 1713 - Elizabeth Barry, English actress (b. 1658)

* 1837 - Elijah P. Lovejoy, American abolitionist (b. 1809)

* 1872 - Alfred Clebsch, German mathematician (b. 1833)

* 1881 - John MacHale, Irish Archbishop (Tuam) and writer (b. 1791)

* 1906 - Heinrich Seidel, German engineer, poet and writer (b. 1842)

* 1910 (O.S.) - Leo Tolstoy, Russian novelist (b. 1828)

* 1913 - Alfred Russel Wallace, British naturalist and biologist (b. 1823)

* 1919 - Hugo Haase, German politician and jurist (b. 1863)

* 1922 - Sam Thompson, baseball player (b. 1860)

* 1943 - Dwight Frye, American actor (b. 1899)

* 1944 - Richard Sorge, Soviet spy (b. 1895)

* 1944 - Hannah Szenes, Jewish woman who parachuted into Yugoslavia during World War II to help save the Jews of Hungary (b. 1921)

* 1959 - Victor McLaglen, British-born actor (b. 1883

* 1962 - Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady of the United States (b. 1884)

* 1966 - Rube Bressler, Baseball player (b. 1894)

* 1967 - John Nance Garner, U.S. Congressman and Vice President (b. 1868)

* 1968 - Alexander Gelfond, Russian mathematician (b. 1906)

* 1974 - Eric Linklater, British author (b. 1899)

* 1978 - Gene Tunney, heavyweight boxing champion (b. 1897)

* 1980 - Steve McQueen, American actor (b. 1930)

* 1983 - Germaine Tailleferre, French composer (b. 1892)

* 1986 - Tracy Pew, Australian musician (The Birthday Party) (b. 1957)

* 1991 - Carter Cornelius, American R&B musician (Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose) (b. 1948)

* 1991 - Tom of Finland, Finnish fetish artist (b. 1920)

* 1992 - Alexander Dub?ek, Slovakian politician (b. 1921)

* 1992 - Jack Kelly, American actor (b. 1927)

* 1994 - Shorty Rogers, American jazz musician (b. 1924)

* 1996 - Jaja Wachuku, Nigerian Lawyer and First Foreign Affairs Minister (b. 1918)

* 1996 - Claude Ake, Nigerian political scientist

* 2000 - C Subramaniam, Indian politician (b. 1910)

* 2000 - Queen Ingrid, Queen Dowager of Denmark (b. 1910)

* 2001 - Nida Blanca, Filipino actress (b. 1936)

* 2002 - Rudolf Augstein, German publisher (b. 1923)

* 2004 - Howard Keel, American actor (b. 1919)

* 2005 - Anthony Sawoniuk, Belarusian-born Nazi war criminal (b. 1921)

* 2005 - Harry Thompson, English-born comedian and novelist (b. 1960)

* 2006 - Bryan Pata, American football defensive tackle (University of Miami) (murdered) (b. 1981)

* 2006 - Johnny Sain, American baseball pitcher (b. 1917)

* 2006 - Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber, French journalist (b. 1924)

* 2007 - Earl Dodge, American politician (Prohibition Party) (b. 1932)

Holidays and observances

* Christianity - Saint Willibrord, Prosdocimus, Herculanus of Perugia, Vicente Liem de la Paz

* Also see November 7 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

* Northern Catalonia - National Day, after Treaty of Pyrenees.

* Day of the October Revolution (1917) in the Gregorian Calendar, an official holiday in the Soviet Union; unofficially commemorated in modern Russia.

Events

* 1256 - Augustinian monastic order constituted at Lecceto Monastery when Pope Alexander IV issues a papal bull Licet ecclesiae catholicae

* 1415 - Religious reformers John Wycliffe and Jan Hus were condemned as heretics at the Council of Constance.

* 1471 - Wars of the Roses: The Battle of Tewkesbury – Edward IV defeats a Lancastrian Army and kills Edward, Prince of Wales.

*  1493 - Pope Alexander VI divides the New World between Spain and Portugal along the Demarcation Line.

* 1494 - Christopher Columbus lands in Jamaica.

* 1626 - Dutch explorer Peter Minuit arrives in New Netherland (present day Manhattan Island) aboard the See Meeuw.

* 1675 - King Charles II of England orders the construction of the Royal Greenwich Observatory.

* 1686 - Municipality of Ilagan was founded in the Philippines.

* 1799 - Fourth Anglo-Mysore War: The Battle of Seringapatam – The siege of Seringapatam ends when the city is assaulted and the Tipu Sultan killed by the besieging British army, under the command of General George Harris.

* 1814 - Emperor Napoleon I of France arrives at Portoferraio on the island of Elba to begin his exile.

* 1814 - King Ferdinand VII of Spain signs the Decrete of the 4th of May, returning Spain to absolutism.

* 1855 - American adventurer William Walker departs from San Francisco with about 60 men to conquer Nicaragua.

* 1859 - Cornwall Railway opened across the Royal Albert Bridge linking the counties of Devon and Cornwall in England.

*   1863 - American Civil War: Battle of Chancellorsville – The battle ends with a Union retreat.

* 1869 - The Naval Battle of Hakodate takes place in Japan.

* 1871 - The National Association, the first professional baseball league, opens its first season in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

* 1886 - Haymarket Square Riot: A bomb is thrown at policemen trying to break up a labor rally in Chicago, Illinois, United States, killing eight and wounding 60. The police fire into the crowd.

* 1904 - Construction begins by the United States on the Panama Canal.

* 1904 - German football club FC Schalke 04 was founded

* 1904 - Charles Stewart Rolls met Frederick Henry Royce at the Midland Hotel in Manchester England.

* 1910 - The Royal Canadian Navy is created.

* 1912 - Italy occupies the Greek island of Rhodes.

* 1919 - May Fourth Movement: Student demonstrations take place in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, protesting the Treaty of Versailles, which transferred Chinese territory to Japan.

* 1924 - The 1924 Summer Olympics open in Paris, France.

* 1930 - British police arrest Mahatma Gandhi and place him in Yeravda Central Prison.

* 1932 - In Atlanta, Georgia, mobster Al Capone begins serving an eleven-year prison sentence for tax evasion.

* 1942 - World War II: Battle of the Coral Sea – The battle begins with an attack by aircraft from the United States aircraft carrier Yorktown on Japanese naval forces at Tulagi Island in the Solomon Islands. The Japanese forces had invaded Tulagi the day before.

* 1945 - World War II: Liberation of the Neuengamme concentration camp near Hamburg by the British Army.

* 1945 - World War II: Surrender of the North Germany Army to Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery.

* 1946 - In San Francisco Bay, US Marines from the Treasure Island Marine Barracks stop a two-day riot at Alcatraz federal prison. Five people are killed in the riot.

* 1949 - The entire Torino football (soccer) team (except for one player who did not take the trip due to an injury) is killed in a plane crash at the Superga hill at the edge of Turin, Italy.

* 1953 - Ernest Hemingway is awarded the Pulitzer Prize for The Old Man and the Sea.

* 1961 - American civil rights movement: The “Freedom Riders” begin a bus trip through the South.

* 1970 - Vietnam War: Kent State shootings – The Ohio National Guard, sent to Kent State University after the ROTC building was burnt down, opens fire killing four students and wounding nine others. The students were protesting the United States’ invasion of Cambodia.

* 1972 - The Don’t Make A Wave Committee, a fledgling environmental organization founded in Canada in 1971, officially changes its name to “Greenpeace Foundation”.

* 1974 - An all-female Japanese team reaches the summit of Manaslu, becoming the first women to climb an 8,000-meter peak.

* 1979 - Margaret Thatcher becomes the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

* 1980 - President Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia dies in Ljubljana at the age of 87.

* 1982 - 20 sailors are killed when the British Type 42 destroyer HMS Sheffield (D80) is hit by an Argentinian Exocet missile during the Falklands War.

* 1988 - The PEPCON disaster rocked Henderson, Nevada, as tons of space shuttle fuel detonated during a fire.

* 1989 - Iran-Contra Affair: Former White House aide Oliver North is convicted of three crimes and was acquitted of nine other charges. The convictions, however, are later overturned on appeal.

* 1990 - Latvia proclaims renewal of its independence after the Soviet occupation.

* 1994 - Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat sign a peace accord regarding Palestinian autonomy granting self-rule in the Gaza Strip and Jericho.

* 1998 - A federal judge in Sacramento, California, gives “Unabomber” Theodore Kaczynski four life sentences plus 30 years after Kaczynski accepted a plea agreement sparing him from the death penalty.

* 2000 - Ken Livingstone becomes the first Mayor of London.

* 2001 - Pope John Paul II follows Saint Paul’s footsteps across the Mediterranean, from Greece to Syria to Malta.

* 2001 - The Milwaukee Art Museum addition, the first Santiago Calatrava-designed structure in the United States, opens to the public.

*  2002 - An EAS Airlines BAC 1-11-500 crashes in a suburb of Kano, Nigeria shortly after takeoff killing more than 148 people.

Births

* 1008 - Khajeh Abdollah Ansari, The Persian Sufi (d. 1088)

* 1008 - King Henry I of France (d. 1060)

* 1654 - Kangxi Emperor of China (d. 1722)

* 1655 - Bartolomeo Cristofori, Italian maker of musical instruments (d. 1731)

* 1715 - Richard Graves, English writer (d. 1804)

* 1733 - Jean-Charles de Borda, French mathematician, physicist, political scientist, and sailor (d. 1799)

* 1752 - John Brooks, 11th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1825)

* 1767 - Tyagaraja, Composer of Indian classical Carnatic music (d. 1847)

* 1772 - Friedrich Arnold Brockhaus, German publisher (d. 1823)

* 1781 - Karl Christian Friedrich Krause, German philosopher (d. 1832)

* 1796 - Horace Mann, American educator (d. 1859)

* 1796 - William H. Prescott, American historian (d. 1859)

* 1820 - Julia Tyler, First Lady of the United States (d. 1889)

* 1822 - Charles Boucher de Boucherville, Quebec politician (d. 1915)

* 1825 - Thomas Henry Huxley, English scientist (d. 1895)

* 1825 - Augustus Le Plongeon, French antiquitarian (d. 1908)

* 1826 - Frederic Edwin Church, American painter (d. 1900)

* 1827 - John Hanning Speke, British explorer (d. 1864)

* 1852 - Alice Pleasance Liddell, English schoolgirl model for Alice in Wonderland (d. 1934)

* 1864 - Marie Booth, the third daughter of William and Catherine Booth (d. 1937)

* 1870 - Alexandre Benois, Russian artist (d. 1960)

* 1873 - Joe De Grasse, Canadian film director (d. 1940)

* 1889 - Francis Cardinal Spellman, American religious leader (d. 1967)

* 1903 - Luther Adler, American stage actor (d. 1984)

* 1904 - Umm Kulthum, Egyptian singer (official Date of Birth) (d. 1975)

* 1908 - Giovannino Guareschi, Italian journalist (d. 1968)

* 1913 - Lady Katherine Brandram, née Princess of Greece and Denmark

* 1916 - Jane Jacobs, Canadian author and activist (d. 2006)

* 1918 - Tanaka Kakuei, Japanese political leader (d. 1993)

* 1918 - Thomas Mead, Australian politician and journalist (d. 2004)

* 1919 - Dory Funk, Professional wrestler (d. 1973)

* 1921 - Edo Murti?, Croatian painter (d. 2005)

* 1923 - Ed Cassidy, American musician (Spirit)

* 1923 - Eric Sykes, British actor and comedian

* 1923 - Godfrey Quigley, British actor (d. 1994)

* 1923 - Assi Rahbani, Lebanese composer and author

* 1925 - Maurice R. Greenberg, American businessman

* 1928 - Maynard Ferguson, Canadian musician (d. 2006)

* 1928 - Hosni Mubarak, President of Egypt

* 1928 - Wolfgang von Trips, German racing driver (d. 1961)

* 1929 - Audrey Hepburn, Anglo-Dutch actress (d. 1993)

* 1929 - Sidney Lamb, American linguist

* 1930 - Roberta Peters, American soprano

* 1931 - Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Russian conductor

* 1931 - Thomas Stuttaford, British doctor and writer

* 1933 - J. Fred Duckett, Texan sports announcer and teacher

* 1936 - El Cordobés, Spanish matador

* 1937 - Ron Carter, American jazz bassist

* 1937 - Dick Dale, American guitarist

* 1937 - Mr. Fuji, Former professional wrestler

* 1938 - Tyrone Davis, American soul singer (d. 2005)

* 1938 - Carlos Monsiváis, Mexican writer

* 1939 - Paul Gleason, American actor (d. 2006)

* 1939 - Amos Oz, Israeli writer, novelist, and journalist

* 1940 - Robin Cook, American novelist

* 1941 - George Will, American writer

* 1942 - Nickolas Ashford, American record producer, songwriter, and musician (Ashford and Simpson)

* 1943 - Mikhail Chemiakin, Russian painter

* 1944 - Roger Rees, British-born actor

* 1945 - Narasimhan Ram, Indian journalist

* 1946 - John Watson, Northern Irish racecar driver

* 1948 - Hurley Haywood, American race car driver, and three-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans

* 1949 - John Force, American race car driver

* 1949 - Stella Parton, American country music singer

* 1949 - Graham Swift, British author

* 1950 - Darryl Hunt, English musician (The Pogues)

* 1951 - Colin Bass, British bassist (Camel)

* 1951 - Jackie Jackson, American singer and musician (The Jackson 5)

* 1951 - Gérard Jugnot, French actor, film director, screenwriter and producer

* 1951 - Mick Mars, American guitarist (Mötley Crüe)

* 1952 - Michael Barrymore, English comedian, actor, quiz master and entertainer

* 1954 - Pia Zadora, American actress

* 1955 - Robert Ellis Orrall, American singer

* 1956 - David Guterson, American author

* 1956 - Ulrike Meyfarth, German athlete

* 1956 - Ken Oberkfell, American baseball player

* 1958 - Delbert Fowler, American and Canadian professional football player

* 1958 - Keith Haring, American graphical artist (d. 1990)

* 1959 - Scott Armstrong, American professional wrestling referee

* 1959 - Randy Travis, American musician

* 1961 - Luis Herrera, Colombian cyclist

* 1961 - Ishita Bhaduri, Indian (Bengali) Poet

* 1962 - Oleta Adams, American singer

* 1964 - Mónica Bardem, Spanish actress

* 1964 - Zsuzsa Mathe, Hungarian painter and visual artist, founder of transrealism

* 1964 - Rocco Siffredi, Italian porn actor

* 1967 - Ana Gasteyer, American actress

* 1968 - Julian Barratt, English comedian and musician, one half of The Mighty Boosh

* 1968 - Kate Garraway, English GMTV Presenter

* 1969 - Micah Aivazoff, Canadian ice hockey player

* 1969 - Ryan Shamrock, American wrestling valet

* 1970 - Gregg Alexander, American musician (New Radicals)

* 1971 - Joe Borowski, American baseball player

* 1971 - Luiz Garcia, Jr., Brazilian racing driver

* 1972 - Manny Aybar, Dominican baseball player

* 1972 - Mike Dirnt, American musician (Green Day)

* 1973 - Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Argentine footballer

* 1973 - John Madden, Canadian ice hockey player

* 1974 - Miguel Cairo, Venezuelan baseball player

* 1975 - Laci Peterson, American murder victim (d. 2002)

* 1976 - Ben Grieve, American baseball player

* 1976 - Jason Michaels, American baseball player

* 1977 - Emily Perkins, Canadian actress

* 1977 - Mariano Pernía, Argentine-Spanish footballer

* 1979 - Lance Bass, American singer (*NSYNC)

* 1979 - Wes Butters, British broadcaster

* 1979 - Lesley Vainikolo, Tongan born rugby union and rugby league player

* 1980 - Andrew Raycroft, NHL goalie

* 1981 - Eric Djemba-Djemba, Cameroon footballer

* 1982 - Kleopas Giannou, Greek footballer

* 1982 - Hector King, Mexican singer-songwriter

* 1982 - Markus Rogan, Austrian swimmer

* 1982 - Rasheeda,American hiphop singer

* 1983 - Trisha Krishnan, Indian actress

* 1983 - Derek Roy, Canadian ice hockey player

* 1984 - Manjural Islam, Bangladeshi test cricket player (d. 2007)

* 1984 - Kevin Slowey, American baseball player

* 1984 - Montell Owens, American football player

* 1985 - Anthony Fedorov, American singer

* 1985 - Ravinder Bopara, English cricketer

* 1987 - Cesc Fàbregas, Spanish footballer

* 1987 - Jorge Lorenzo, Spanish motorcycle racer

* 1987 - Anjeza Shahini, Albanian singer

* 1994 - Pauline Ducruet, daughter of HSH Princess Stéphanie of Monaco

* 1994 - Alexander Gould, American actor

Deaths

* 1436 - Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson, Swedish statesman (b. 1390s)

* 1471 - Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales (killed in battle) (b. 1453)

* 1471 - Edmund Beaufort, 4th Duke of Somerset, English military commander (executed)

* 1506 - Husayn Bayqarah, ruler of Herat (b. 1438)

* 1519 - Lorenzo II de’ Medici, Duke of Urbino (b. 1492)

* 1566 - Luca Ghini, Italian physician and botanist (b. 1490)

* 1615 - Adriaan van Roomen, Flemish mathematician (b. 1561)

* 1626 - Arthur Lake, Bishop of Bath and Wells, English bishop and Bible translator (b. 1569)

* 1677 - Isaac Barrow, English mathematician (b. 1630)

* 1684 - John Nevison, English highwayman (b. 1639)

* 1729 - Louis-Antoine, Cardinal de Noailles, French cardinal (b. 1651)

* 1734 - James Thornhill, English painter

* 1737 - Eustace Budgell, English writer (b. 1686)

* 1774 - Anthony Ulrich II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (b. 1714)

* 1776 - Jacques Saly, French sculptor (b. 1717)

* 1790 - Matthew Tilghman, American delegate to the Continental Congress (b. 1718)

* 1799 - Tipu Sultan, Indian military leader (b. 1750)

* 1811 - Nikolay Kamensky, Russian general (b. 1776)

* 1824 - Joseph Joubert, French essayist and moralist (b. 1754)

* 1849 - Hokusai, Japanese artist (b. 1760)

* 1858 - Aimé Bonpland, French explorer and botanist (b. 1773)

* 1859 - Joseph Diaz Gergonne, French mathematician (b. 1771)

* 1880 - Edward Clark, Governor of Texas (b. 1815)

* 1901 - John Jones Ross, Canadian politician (b. 1831)

*1903- Goce Delchev, a revolutionary from the Balkans - leader of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (b. 1872)

* 1916 - Joseph Mary Plunkett, Irish revolutionary (b. 1887)

* 1919 - Milan Rastislav Štefánik, Slovak politician, French general and astronomer (b. 1880)

* 1922 - Viktor Kingissepp, Estonian Bolshevik politician (b. 1888)

* 1937 - Noel Rosa, Brazilian songwriter (b. 1910)

* 1938 - Carl von Ossietzky, German pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1889)

* 1945 - Fedor von Bock, German field marshal (b. 1880)

* 1955 - George Enescu, Romanian composer (b. 1881)

* 1961 - Anita Stewart, American film actress (b. 1895)

* 1969 - Osbert Sitwell, English writer (b. 1892)

* 1970 - Kent State victims:

o Allison Krause (b. 1951)

o Jeffrey Miller (b. 1950)

o Sandra Scheuer (b. 1949)

o William Schroeder (b. 1950)

* 1971 - Seamus Elliott, Irish cyclist (b. 1934)

* 1972 - Edward Calvin Kendall, American chemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1886)

* 1973 - Jane Bowles, American writer and playwright (b. 1917)

* 1975 - Moe Howard, American actor and comedian (b. 1897)

* 1980 - Josip Broz Tito, President of Yugoslavia (b. 1892)

* 1984 - Bob Clampett, American cartoonist (b. 1913)

* 1984 - Diana Dors, British actress (b. 1931)

* 1985 - Clarence Wiseman, the 10th General of The Salvation Army (b. 1907)

* 1987 - Paul Butterfield, American blues harmonica player (b. 1942)

* 1992 - Gregor Mackenzie, Labour Party (UK) politician (b. 1927)

* 2001 - Bonnie Lee Bakley, American murder victim (b. 1956)

* 2005 - David Hackworth, U.S. Army officer and military journalist (b. 1930)

Holidays and observances

* International Firefighters’ Day.

* The Netherlands - Remembrance of the Dead.

* People’s Republic of China - Youth Day (???, commemorating May Fourth Movement).

* Republic of China - Literary Day (???, commemorating May Fourth Movement).