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1633 - Bananas on sale in England for the first time.

1741 - War of the Austrian Succession: Prussia defeats Austria in the Battle of Mollwitz.

1790 - United States Patent system established

1815 - Mount Tambora eruption covers several islands with ash in Indonesia.

1816 - The U.S. government approved the creation of a Second Bank of the United States.

1856 - Theta Chi Fraternity Founded at Norwich University

1865 - American Civil War: A day after his surrender to Union forces, Confederate General Robert E. Lee addresses his troops for the last time.

1865 - The last photograph of Abraham Lincoln alive was taken.

1866 - The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is founded in New York City by Henry Bergh.

1906 - The Four Million, O. Henry's second short story collection, is published.

1912 - The RMS ''Titanic'' leaves port in Southampton, England for her first and last voyage.

1916 - The Professional Golfers Association of America (PGA) is created in New York City by 82 charter members.

1919 - Mexican Revolution leader Emiliano Zapata is ambushed and shot dead by government forces in Morelos.

1925 - The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is first published in New York, New York by Charles Scribner's Sons.

1933 - New Deal: The Civilian Conservation Corps is created.

1938 - Édouard Daladier becomes Prime Minister of France.

1941 - World War II: The Axis Powers in Europe establish the Independent State of Croatia from occupied Yugoslavia with Ante Pavelić's Ustase fascist insurgents in power.

1944 - Rudolf Vrba and Alfred Wetzler escape from Birkenau death camp.

1944 - Henry Ford II is named executive vice president of Ford Motor Company.

1957 - The Suez Canal is reopened for all shipping after being closed for three months.

1959 - Akihito, future Emperor of Japan, weds Michiko (née Michiko Shoda), a commoner.

1963 - The submarine USS ''Thresher'' is lost at sea, with all hands (129 officers, crewmen and civilian technicians).

1964- The Polo Grounds are demolished.

1968 - Shipwreck of the Wahine outside Wellington harbour.

1970 - Paul McCartney announces that The Beatles have broken up.

1970 - Vietnam War: 48 percent of the Americans polled in a Gallup Poll approve of U.S. President Richard M. Nixon's Vietnam policy, while 41 percent disapprove

1970 - Paul McCartney quits The Beatles.

1971 - Cold War: In an attempt to thaw relations with the United States, the People's Republic of China host the U.S. table tennis team for a weeklong visit.

1972 - 20 days after he was kidnapped in Buenos Aires, Oberdan Sallustro is executed by communist guerrillas.

1972 - Vietnam War: For the first time since November 1967 American B-52 bombers reportedly begin bombing North Vietnam.

1973 - A British Vanguard turboprop crashes during a snowstorm at Basel, Switzerland killing 104.

1978 - Volkswagen becomes the first non-American automobile manufacturer to build cars in the United States, opening a plant in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, to build the Rabbit economy car. (The plant, which later builds Golfs and Jettas, closes in July 1988.)

1979 - On the day known to meteorologists as "Terrible Tuesday", a tornado hits in Wichita Falls, Texas killing 42 people. (see Red River Valley Tornado Outbreak).

1991 - Italian ferry "Moby Prince" collides with an oil tanker in dense fog off Livorno, Italy killing 140.

1991 - A rare tropical storm develops in the Southern Hemisphere off the coast of Angola; the first of its kind to be documented by satellites.

1998 - The Belfast Agreement is signed.

2006 - Hundreds of thousands protest H.R. 4437 (aka the "Sensenbrenner Bill") in cities across the United States.

2006 - LiveJournal reaches 10 million user accounts.

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1389 - Cosimo de' Medici, ruler of Florence (d. 1464)

1583 - Hugo Grotius, Dutch philosopher and writer (d. 1645)

1647 - John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester, English satirical poet (d. 1680)

1651 - Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus, German mathematician (d. 1708)

1704 - Benjamin Heath, English classical scholar (d. 1766)

1713 - John Whitehurst, English clockmaker and scientist (d. 1788)

1755 - Samuel Hahnemann, German physician (d. 1843)

1762 - Giovanni Aldini, Italian physicist (d. 1834)

1778 - William Hazlitt, English writer (d. 1830)

1783 - Hortense de Beauharnais, wife of Louis Bonaparte (d. 1837)

1794 - Matthew Perry, American commodore (d. 1858)

1829 - William Booth, English founder of the Salvation Army (d. 1912)

1847 - Joseph Pulitzer, American journalist and publisher (d. 1911)

1864 - Eugen d'Albert, German composer (d. 1932)

1867 - George William Russell, Irish nationalist (d. 1935)

1868 - George Arliss, English actor (d. 1946)

1870 (O.S.) - Vladimir Lenin, Premier of the Soviet Union (d. 1924)

1880 - Montague Summers, English writer (d. 1948)

1880 - Mohammed Nadir Shah, Afghan king

1882 - Frances Perkins, American politician (d. 1965)

1887 - Bernardo Houssay, Argentine physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1971)

1894 - Shri Ghanshyam Das Birla, Indian industrialist (d. 1983)

1910 - Eddy Duchin, American musician (d. 1951)

1910 - Paul Sweezy, American economist and editor (d. 2004)

1913 - Stefan Heym, German author (d. 2001)

1915 - Harry Morgan, American actor

1917 - Robert Burns Woodward, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1979)

1921 - Chuck Connors, American actor (d. 1992)

1921 - Sheb Wooley, American actor and singer (d. 2003)

1926 - Junior Samples, American musician (d. 1983)

1927 - Marshall Warren Nirenberg, American scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

1929 - Max von Sydow, Swedish actor

1930 - Claude Bolling, French jazz composer/pianist

1930 - Norma Candal, Puerto Rican actress/comedienne (d. 2006)

1930 - Spede Pasanen, Finnish comedian (d. 2001)

1932 - Omar Sharif, Egyptian actor

1934 - David Halberstam, American writer

1934 - Vladimir Posner, Russian journalist

1936 - John Madden, American football coach and broadcaster

1937 - Bella Akhmadulina, Russian poet

1938 - Don Meredith, American football player and broadcaster

1941 - Paul Theroux, American author

1943 - Andrzej Badeński, Polish athlete

1946 - David Angell, American television producer (d. 2001)

1947 - Bunny Wailer, Jamaican musician

1950 - Ken Griffey, Sr., baseball player

1950 - Eddie Hazel, American guitarist (P-Funk and The Temptations) (d. 1992)

1951 - David Helvarg, American journalist and environmental activist

1951 - Steven Seagal, American actor

1954 - Peter MacNicol, actor

1955 - Lesley Garrett, British soprano

1957 - John M. Ford, American science fiction author and poet (d. 2006)

1957 - Steve Gustafson, American rock bassist (10,000 Maniacs)

1958 - Yefim Bronfman, Russian-born pianist

1958 - Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, American music producer, musician, and film producer

1959 - Brian Setzer, American musician (Stray Cats)

1960 - Afrika Bambaataa, American musician and activist

1960 - Katrina Leskanich, American singer (Katrina and the Waves)

1960 - Steve Bisciotti, owner of the Baltimore Ravens

1962 - Steve Tasker, American football player

1963 - Warren DeMartini, American rock guitarist (Ratt)

1963 - Doris Leuthard, member of the Swiss Federal Council

1965 - Tim Alexander, American musician

1968 - Orlando Jones, American actor and comedian

1969 - Billy Jayne, American actor

1970 - Kenny Lattimore, American singer

1970 - Mike Mushok, American rock guitarist (Staind)

1970 - Q-Tip, American rapper and actor

1973 - Roberto Carlos da Silva, Brazilian footballer

1973 - Christopher Simmons, American designer

1975 - Chris Carrabba, American singer (Dashboard Confessional)

1979 - Shemekia Copeland, American singer

1979 - Rachel Corrie, American activist (d. 2003)

1979 - Tsuyoshi Domoto, Japanese artist

1979 - Sophie Ellis-Bextor, English singer

1979 - Marlena Hall (Troncoso) , American Comic Book Colorist/Web Designer

1980 - Charlie Hunnam, British actor

1980 - Kasey Kahne, American race-car driver

1980 - Bryce Soderberg, American rock bassist (Lifehouse)

1981 - Liz McClarnon, British singer

1981 - Michael Pitt, American actor

1982 - Damián Lanza, Ecuadorian footballer

1983 - Ryan Merriman, American actor

1984 - Mandy Moore, American singer/actress

1986 - Vincent Kompany, Belgian footballer

1986 - Fernando Gago, Argentine footballer

1987 - Hayley Westenra, New Zealand soprano

1988 - Haley Joel Osment, American actor

1990 - Alex Pettyfer, English actor

1991 - Amanda Michalka (AJ), American singer/actress

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879 - Louis the Stammerer, King of the West Franks (b. 846)

1533 - King Frederick I of Denmark (b. 1471)

1545 - Costanzo Festa, Italian composer

1585 - Pope Gregory XIII (b. 1502)

1599 - Gabrielle d'Estrée, mistress of King Henry IV of France (b. 1571)

1601 - Mark Alexander Boyd, Scottish poet (b. 1562)

1640 - Agostino Agazzari, Italian composer (b. 1578)

1646 - Santino Solari, Swiss architect and sculptor (b. 1576)

1704 - William Egon of Fürstenberg, Bishop of Strassburg (b. 1629)

1706 - Arthur Chichester, 3rd Earl of Donegall, Irish soldier (b. 1666)

1756 - Giacomo Antonio Perti, Italian composer (d. 1661)

1760 - Jean Lebeuf, French historian (b. 1687)

1786 - John Byron, British naval officer (b. 1723)

1813 - Joseph-Louis Lagrange, Italian-born mathematician (b. 1736)

1823 - Karl Leonhard Reinhold, Austrian philosopher (b. 1757)

1862 - W.H.L. Wallace, American Union general (b. 1821)

1882 - Dante Gabriel Rossetti, English poet and painter (b. 1828)

1904 - Queen Isabella II of Spain (b. 1830)

1909 - Algernon Charles Swinburne, English poet and critic (b. 1837)

1919 - Emiliano Zapata, Mexican revolutionary (b. 1879)

1920 - Moritz Cantor, German mathematician (b. 1829)

1931 - Khalil Gibran, Lebanese poet and painter (b. 1883)

1945 - Charles Nordhoff, English-born writer (b. 1887)

1945 - H.N. Werkman, Dutch artist and printer (b. 1882)

1954 - Auguste Lumière, French film pioneer (b. 1862)

1954 - Oscar Mathisen, Norwegian speed skater (b. 1888)

1955 - Teilhard de Chardin, French paleontologist and theologian (b. 1881)

1962 - Michael Curtiz, Hungarian-born director (b. 1886)

1962 - Stuart Sutcliffe, English musician (The Beatles) (b. 1940)

1965 - Linda Darnell, American actress (b. 1923)

1966 - Evelyn Waugh, English writer (b. 1903)

1968 - Gustavs Celmins, Latvian politician (b. 1899)

1969 - Harley J. Earl, American automobile designer (b. 1893)

1975 - Marjorie Main, American actress (b. 1890)

1979 - Nino Rota, Italian composer (b. 1911)

1986 - Linda Creed, American songwriter (b. 1949)

1991 - Kevin Peter Hall, American actor (b. 1955)

1991 - Natalie Schafer, American actress (b. 1900)

1992 - Sam Kinison, American comedian (b. 1953)

1993 - Chris Hani, South African activist (b. 1942)

1994 - Sam B. Hall, American politician (b. 1924)

1995 - Morarji Desai, Indian activist (b. 1896)

1997 - Michael Dorris, American author (b. 1945)

1999 - Heinz Fraenkel-Conrat, German-born biochemist (b. 1910)

2000 - Peter Jones, English comedian (b. 1920)

2000 - Larry Linville, American actor (b. 1939)

2000 - Kirsten Rolffes, Danish actress (b. 1928)

2002 - Yuji Hyakutake, Japanese astronomer (b. 1950)

2003 - Little Eva, American singer (b. 1943)

2005 - Norbert Brainin, Austrian violinist (b. 1923)

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Saint Ezechiel

Saint Fulbert of Chartres

Saint Paternus