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1562 - France recognizes the Huguenots under the Edict of Saint-Germain.

1648 - England's Long Parliament passes the Vote of No Address, breaking off negotiations with King Charles I and thereby setting the scene for the second phase of the English Civil War.

1746 - Charles Edward Stuart, "Bonnie Prince Charlie", defeats a Hanoverian army at Falkirk in his ultimately unsuccessful campaign to recover the throne for the Jacobite dynasty.

1772 - Johann Friedrich Struensee and Queen Caroline Matilda are arrested, leading to his execution and her banishment from Denmark.

1773 - Captain James Cook becomes the first explorer to cross the Antarctic Circle.

1781 - American Revolutionary War: Battle of Cowpens - Continental troops under Brigadier General Daniel Morgan defeat British forces under Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton at the battle in South Carolina.

1806 - James Madison Randolph, the grandson of Thomas Jefferson, becomes the first child born in the White House.

1819 - Simón Bolívar proclaims the Republic of Colombia.

1852 - United Kingdom recognizes the independence of the Boer colonies of the Transvaal.

1873 - First Battle of the Stronghold in the US Modoc War.

1885 - A British force defeats a large Dervish army at the Battle of Abu Klea in the Sudan.

1893 - The Citizen's Committee of Public Safety, led by Lorrin A. Thurston overthrows the government of Queen Liliuokalani of the Kingdom of Hawaii.

1899 - The United States takes possession of Wake Island in the Pacific Ocean.

1912 - Sir Robert Falcon Scott (Scott of the Antarctic) reaches the South Pole, one month after Roald Amundsen.

1916 - The Professional Golfers Association (PGA) is formed.

1917 - The United States pays Denmark $25 million for the Virgin Islands.

1929 - Popeye the Sailor Man, a cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar, first appears in the Comic Strip Thimble Theatre.

1941 - Kuomintang forces under the order of Chiang Kai-Shek opened fire at communist force, Chinese Civil War resumes after WWII.(This event is known as 皖南事变).

1945 - Soviet forces capture the almost completely destroyed Polish city of Warsaw.

1945 - The Nazis begin the evacuation of the Auschwitz concentration camp as Soviet forces close in.

1945 - Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg disappears in Hungary while in Soviet custody.

1946 - The UN Security Council holds its first session.

1949 - The Goldbergs, the first sitcom on American television, first airs.

1950 - The Great Brinks Robbery - 11 thieves steal more than $2 million from an armored car Company's offices in Boston, Massachusetts.

1961 - U.S .President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivers a televised farewell address to the nation three days before leaving office, in which he warns against the accumulation of power by the "military-industrial complex."

1966 - Simon and Garfunkel release their second album, ''Sounds of Silence'', on Columbia Records.

1966 - A B-52 bomber collides with a KC-135 Stratotanker over Spain, dropping three 70-kiloton hydrogen bombs near the town of Palomares and another one into the sea.

1966 - Carl Brashear, the first African American United States Navy diver, loses his leg in an accident on a routine mission.

1973 - Ferdinand Marcos becomes "President for Life" of the Philippines.

1974 - Joni Mitchell releases Court and Spark, arguably her most mainstream album.

1975 - Bob Dylan releases Blood on the Tracks, often considered one of his best albums.

1977 - Convicted murderer Gary Gilmore is executed by a firing squad in Utah, ending a ten-year moratorium on the death penalty in the United States.

1982 - "Cold Sunday" in the United States sees temperatures fall to their lowest levels in over 100 years in numerous cities.

1983 - Launch of breakfast television in the United Kingdom with the BBC's Breakfast programme presented by Frank Bough and Selina Scott

1985 - British Telecom announces the retirement of the United Kingdom's famous red telephone boxes.

1991 - Gulf War: Operation Desert Storm began early in the morning. Iraq fires 8 Scud missiles into Israel in an unsuccessful bid to provoke Israeli retaliation.

1991 - Harald V becomes King of Norway on the death of his father, Olav V.

1994 - A magnitude 6.7 earthquake hits Northridge, California; see 1994 Northridge Earthquake.

1995 - A magnitude 7.3 earthquake (known as "the Great Hanshin earthquake") hits near Kobe, Japan, causing extensive property damage and killing 6,433 people.

1996 - The Czech Republic applies for membership of the European Union.

1997 - A Delta 2 carrying a GPS2R satellite explodes 13 seconds after launch, dropping 250 tons of burning rocket remains around the launch pad. *

1998 - Paula Jones accuses President Bill Clinton of sexual harassment.

2002 - Mount Nyiragongo erupts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, displacing an estimated 400,000 people.

2006 - Clarence Ray Allen becomes the oldest condemned inmate executed in California and the second oldest in the United States.

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1463 - Friedrich III, Elector of Saxony (d. 1525)

1484 - George Spalatin, German reformer (d. 1545)

1501 - Leonhart Fuchs, German physician and botanist (d. 1566)

1504 - Pope Pius V (d. 1572)

1560 - Gaspard Bauhin, Swiss botanist (d. 1624)

1600 - Pedro Calderon de la Barca, Spanish playwright (d. 1681)

1612 - Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron, English Civil War general (d. 1671)

1686 - Archibald Bower, Scottish historian (d. 1766)

1706 - Benjamin Franklin American statesman (d. 1790)

1712 - John Stanley, English composer (d. 1786)

1719 - William Vernon, American merchant (d. 1806)

1761 - James Hall, Scottish geologist (d. 1832)

1763 - John Jacob Astor, American entrepreneur (d. 1848)

1789 - August Neander, German theologian (d. 1850)

1820 - Anne Brontë, British author (d. 1849)

1828 - Lewis A. Grant, American Civil War General (d. 1918)

1832 - Henry Martyn Baird, American educationalist (d. 1906)

1851 - A. B. Frost, American illustrator (d. 1928)

1853 - Alva Belmont, American socialite (d. 1933)

1860 - Douglas Hyde, President of Ireland (d. 1949]])

1863 - David Lloyd George, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1945)

1867 - Carl Laemmle, German-born film executive (d. 1939)

1871 - David Earl Beatty British admiral (d. 1936)

1871 - Nicolae Iorga, Romanian writer (d. 1940)

1880 - Mack Sennett, Canadian film director (d. 1960)

1881 - Antoni Łomnicki, Polish mathematician (d. 1941)

1882 - Noah Beery, American actor (d. 1946)

1886 - Glenn L. Martin, American aviation pioneer (d. 1955)

1899 - Al Capone, American gangster (d. 1947)

1899 - Nevil Shute, English author (d. 1960)

1905 - Guillermo Stábile, Argentine footballer (d. 1966)

1905 - Ray Cunningham, baseball player (d. 2005)

1911 - George Joseph Stigler, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1991)

1914 - William Stafford, American poet and essayist (d. 1993)

1921 - Antonio Prohias, Cuban cartoonist (d. 1998)

1922 - Luis Echeverría Álvarez, President of Mexico

1922 - Nicholas Katzenbach, American politician

1922 - Betty White, American actress

1925 - Robert Cormier, American author (d. 2000)

1925 - Abdul Kardar, Pakistani cricketer

1926 - Newton N. Minow, American lawyer and statesman

1926 - Moira Shearer, Scottish actress (d. 2006)

1927 - Eartha Kitt, American actress and singer

1928 - Jean Barraqué, French composer (d. 1973)

1928 - Vidal Sassoon, English cosmetologist

1929 - Jacques Plante, Canadian hockey player (d. 1986)

1930 - Eddie LeBaron, American football quarterback

1931 - James Earl Jones, American actor

1931 - L. Douglas Wilder, 66th Governor of Virginia

1931 - Don Zimmer, baseball coach

1932 - Sheree North, American actress

1933 - Dalida, French singer (d. 1987)

1933 - Prince Sadruddhin Aga Khan, French UN High Commissioner for Refugees (d. 2003)

1933 - Shari Lewis, American ventriloquist (d. 1998)

1935 - Ruth Ann Minner, Governor of Delaware

1937 - Troy Donahue, American actor

1939 - Maury Povich, American talk show host

1940 - Kipchoge Keino, Kenyan runner

1942 - Muhammad Ali, American boxer

1942 - Cus D'Amato, boxing manager (d. 1985)

1942 - Ulf Hoelscher, German violinist

1942 - Nancy Parsons, American actress (d. 2001)

1943 - René Préval, President of Haiti

1944 - Françoise Hardy, French singer

1948 - Davíð Oddsson, former Prime Minister of Iceland

1948 - Mick Taylor, British musician (The Rolling Stones)

1948 - Jim Ladd, American freeform (radio format) Disc Jockey (KLOS)

1949 - Andy Kaufman, American comedian (d. 1984)

1952 - Darrell Porter, American baseball player (d. 2002)

1952 - Ryuichi Sakamoto, Japanese musician

1955 - Steve Earle, American musician

1956 - Paul Young, English musician

1957 - John Crawford, American musician

1959 - Susanna Hoffs, American musician

1959 - Momoe Yamaguchi, Japanese singer and actress

1961 - Brian Helgeland, American writer and film director

1962 - Jim Carrey, Canadian actor and comedian

1962 - Sebastian Junger, American journalist and author

1963 - Kai Hansen, German musician/singer

1964 - Andy Rourke, bass guitarist

1966 - Shabba Ranks, Jamaican singer

1967 - Paul Summers (poet), English poet

1968 - Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer, Dutch writer

1968 - Svetlana Masterkova, Russian athlete

1969 - Lukas Moodysson, Swedish film director

1969 - Naveen Andrews, British actor

1970 - Jeremy Roenick, American hockey player

1970 - Genndy Tartakovsky, Russian-born animator

1970 - James Wattana, Thai snooker player

1971 - Kid Rock, American singer

1971 - Youki Kudoh, Japanese actress

1971 - Ann Wolfe, female boxer

1972 - Ken Hirai, Japanese singer and songwriter

1973 - Cuauhtémoc Blanco, Mexican footballer

1974 - Yang Chen, Chinese footballer

1977 - Kevin Fertig, American professional wrestler

1979 - Brad Miller, American actor

1979 - Chase Stevens, American professional wrestler

1980 - Zooey Deschanel, American actress

1980 - Kimberly Spicer, American model

1981 - Warren Feeney, Northern Irish footballer

1981 - Scott Mechlowicz, American actor

1981 - Ray J, American R&B singer

1982 - Alex Varkatzas, American singer

1982 - Dwyane Wade, American basketball player

1985 - Simone Simons, Dutch singer

1986 - Chloe Rose Lattanzi, Australian actress and singer

2001 - Sophie Delezio, Australian burn victim

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395 - Theodosius I, Roman Emperor

1229 - Albert of Buxhoeveden, German soldier

1369 - King Peter I of Cyprus (murdered) (b. 1328)

1468 - Skanderbeg, Albanian leader (b. 1405)

1617 - Faust Vrančić, Croatian inventor (b. 1551)

1654 - Paulus Potter, Dutch painter (b. 1625)

1705 - John Ray, English naturalist (b. 1627)

1718 - Captain Benjamin Church, Plymouth Colony settler

1737 - Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann, German architect (b. 1662)

1751 - Tomaso Albinoni, Italian composer (b. 1671)

1826 - Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga, Spanish composer (b. 1806)

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

1861 - Lola Montez, Irish-born adventurer (b. 1821)

1863 - Horace Vernet, French painter (b. 1789)

1884 - Hermann Schlegel, German ornithologist (b. 1804)

1886 - Amilcare Ponchielli, Italian composer (b. 1834)

1893 - Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th President of the United States (b. 1822)

1942 - Walther von Reichenau, German field marshal (b. 1884)

1947 - Pyotr Krasnov, Russian counter-revolutionary (d. 1947)

1961 - Patrice Lumumba, Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (b. 1925)

1964 - T.H. White, English author (b. 1906)

1967 - Evelyn Nesbit, American actress (b. 1884)

1972 - Betty Smith, American writer and singer (b. 1896)

1977 - Gary Gilmore, American murderer (executed) (b. 1940)

1983 - Doodles Weaver, American actor (b. 1911)

1987 - Hugo Fregonese, Argentine film director (b. 1908)

1991 - Olav V of Norway (b. 1903)

1993 - Albert Hourani, English historian (b. 1915)

1994 - Helen Stephens, American runner (b. 1918)

1996 - Amber Hagerman, American kidnapping and murder victim, basis of the Amber Alert system (b. 1986)

1996 - Barbara Jordan, American politician (b. 1936)

1997 - Clyde Tombaugh, American astronomer (b. 1906)

1998 - Junior Kimbrough, American bluesman (b. 1930)

2001 - Gregory Corso, American poet (b. 1930)

2001 - Laurent-Desire Kabila, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (b. 1939)

2002 - Bishop Karas, First Coptic Bishop of St. Antony Monastery

2002 - Camilo Jose Cela, Spanish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1916)

2003 - Richard Crenna, American actor (b. 1926)

2004 - Czeslaw Niemen, Polish musician (b. 1939)

2004 - Ray Stark, American stage and film producer (b. 1915)

2004 - Noble Willingham, American actor (b. 1931)

2004 - Ronald Anthony, African American Bishop (b. 1945)

2004 - Harry Brecheen, Baseball player (b. 1914)

2005 - Charlie Bell, American fast food executive (b. 1960)

2005 - Virginia Mayo, American actress (b. 1920)

2005 - Albert Schatz, American microbiologist (b. 1920)

2005 - Zhao Ziyang, Premier of the People's Republic of China (b. 1919)

2006 - Clarence Ray Allen, American murderer (b. 1930)

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Ancient Latvia - Zirgu Diena observed

Catholicism - Feast day of the following saints: St. Anthony and Amelbert

Wassailing at Carhampton, England