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871 - Battle of Ashdown - Ethelred of Wessex defeats a Danish invasion army.

1198 - Innocent III becomes Pope.

1297 - Monaco gains its independence.

1499 - Louis XII of France marries Anne of Brittany.

1734 - Premiere of George Frideric Handel's Ariodante at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

1746 - Bonnie Prince Charlie occupies Stirling.

1790 - George Washington delivers the first State of the Union Address address in New York City.

1806 - Cape Colony becomes a British colony.

1811 - Unsuccessful slave revolt led by Charles Deslandes in St. Charles and St. James, Louisiana.

1815 - War of 1812: Battle of New Orleans - Andrew Jackson leads American forces in victory over the British.

1838 - Alfred Vail demonstrates a telegraph using dots and dashes (this is the forerunner of Morse code).

1863 - American Civil War: Second Battle of Springfield

1863 - Yorkshire County Cricket Club is founded at the Adelphi Hotel in Sheffield, England.

1867 - African American men granted the right to vote in the District of Columbia.

1877 - Crazy Horse and his warriors fight their last battle with the United States Cavalry (Montana).

1889 - Herman Hollerith receives a patent for his electric tabulating machine.

1900 - United States President William McKinley places Alaska under military rule.

1906 - A landslide in Haverstraw, New York, kills 20 people due to the excavation of clay along the Hudson River.

1908 - A train collision occurs in the Park Avenue Tunnel in New York City killing 17 people, injuring 38 and leading to increased demand for electric trains.

1912 - The African National Congress was founded.

1916 - World War I: Allied forces withdraw from Gallipoli.

1918 - President Woodrow Wilson announces his "Fourteen Points" for the aftermath of World War I.

1920 - The Czechoslovak Hussite Church was founded by Dr. Karel Farský.

1922 - The Social Democratic Youth League of Norway is founded.

1926 - Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud becomes the King of Hejaz and renames it Saudi Arabia.

1935 - Arthur C. Hardy patents the spectrophotometer.

1953 - René Mayer becomes Prime Minister of France.

1956 - Operation Auca: Five U.S. missionaries are killed by the Huaorani of Ecuador shortly after making contact with them.

1958 - Fourteen-year-old Bobby Fischer wins the United States Chess Championship.

1959 - Conquest of Cuba by Fidel Castro is completed with the conquest of Santiago de Cuba.

1959 - Michel Debré becomes Prime Minister of France.

1962 - Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa is exhibited in the United States for the first time (National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.).

1962 - Harmelen train disaster kills 93 people in The Netherlands.

1964 - President Lyndon B. Johnson declares a "War on Poverty" in the United States.

1973 - Watergate scandal: The trial of seven men accused of placing bugs in Democratic Party headquarters at Watergate begins.

1975 - Ella Grasso becomes Governor of Connecticut, becoming the first woman to serve as a Governor in the United States who did not succeed her husband.

1977 - Soviet space mission Luna 21 is launched.

1979 - The tanker Betelgeuse explodes in Bantry Bay, Ireland (The Betelgeuse incident).

1982 - AT&T agrees to divest itself of twenty-two subdivisions.

1987 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average gains 8.30 to close at 2,002.25 -- The Dow's first close above 2,000.

1989 - Kegworth air disaster kills 47 people in Great Britain.

1989 - Beginning of Japanese Heisei era.

1994 - Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov on Soyuz TM-18 leaves for Mir. He will stay on the space station until March 22, 1995, for a record 437 days in space.

1996 - An Antonov 32 cargo jet crashes into the central market in Kinshasa, Zaire killing more than 350 people.

2004 - RMS Queen Mary 2, the largest passenger ship ever built, was christened by her namesake's granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II.

2006 - A magnitude 6.9 earthquake epicentered just off the Greek island of Kythira hits much of the country and is felt throughout the entire eastern Mediterranean Sea.

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1556 - Uesugi Kagekatsu, Japanese samurai and warlord (d. 1623)

1583 - Simon Episcopius, Dutch theologian (d. 1643)

1601 - Baltasar Gracián y Morales, Spanish writer (d. 1658)

1628 - François Henri de Montmorency-Bouteville, duc de Luxembourg, French general (d. (1695)

1632 - Samuel Pufendorf, German jurist (d. 1694)

1635 - Luis Manuel Fernández de Portocarrero, Spanish Archbishop of Toledo (d. 1709)

1735 - John Carroll (priest), first American Catholic archbishop (d. 1815)

1763 - Edmond Charles Genêt, French ambassador to the United States (d. 1834)

1786 - Nicholas Biddle, President of the Second Bank of the United States (d. 1844)

1788 - Pavel Kiselyov, Russian general and politician (d. 1874)

1792 - Lowell Mason, American composer (d. 1872)

1805 - John Bigler, Governor of California (d. 1871)

1805 - Orson Hyde, American religious leader (d. 1878)

1817 - Sir Theophilus Shepstone, South African statesman (d. 1893)

1821 - James Longstreet, American Confederate general (d. 1904)

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

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

1824 - Francisco González Bocanegra, Mexican poet (d. 1861)

1824 - Wilkie Collins, British novelist (d. 1889)

1836 - Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Dutch artist (d. 1912)

1843 - Frederick Abberline, British police investigator (d. 1929)

1852 - James Milton Carroll, was a Baptist pastor, leader, historian, and author (d. 1931)

1860 - Emma Booth, the fourth child of William and Catherine Booth (d. 1903)

1867 - Emily Greene Balch, American writer and pacifist, Nobel Peace Prize laureate (d. 1961)

1870 - Miguel Primo de Rivera, dictator of Spain (d. 1930)

1871 - James Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon, first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland (d. 1940)

1873 - Iuliu Maniu, Romanian politician (d. 1953)

1881 - Henrik Shipstead, U.S. Senator from Minnesota (d. 1960)

1883 - Patrick J. Hurley, U.S. Secretary of War (d. 1963)

1883 - Pavel Filonov, Russian painter (d. 1941)

1885 - John Curtin, fourteenth Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1945)

1885 - A. J. Muste, Dutch-born civil rights activist and pacifist (d. 1967)

1888 - Matthew Moore, Irish actor (d. 1960)

1891 - Walther Bothe, German physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics laureate (d. 1957)

1891 - Bronislava Nijinska, Russian choreographer (d. 1972)

1896 - Arthur Ford, American psychic spiritual medium (d. 1971)

1897 - Dennis Wheatley, British author (d. 1977)

1902 - Carl Rogers, American psychologist (1883)

1903 - Igor Kurchatov, Russian physicist (d. 1960)

1904 - Karl Brandt, Nazi war ciminal (d. 1948)

1905 - Franjo Cardinal Seper, Croatian Catholic cardinal (d. 1981)

1905 - Giacinto Scelsi, Italian composer (d. 1988)

1908 - William Hartnell, British actor (d. 1975)

1909 - Willy Millowitsch, German actor (d. 1999)

1909 - José Ferrer, Puerto Rican actor (d. 1992)

1909 - Evelyn Wood, American educator (d. 1995)

1910 - Galina Sergeyevna Ulanova, Russian ballerina (d. 1988)

1915 - Walker Cooper, baseball player (d. 1991)

1923 - Larry Storch, American actor

1923 - Johnny Wardle, English cricketer (d. 1985)

1923 - Joseph Weizenbaum, German-born computer scientist

1924 - Ron Moody, English actor

1926 - Evelyn Lear, American soprano

1926 - Hanae Mori, Japanese fashion designer

1926 - Soupy Sales, American comedian

1931 - Bill Graham, German-born American music promoter (d. 1991)

1933 - Charles Osgood, American journalist and commentator

1934 - Jacques Anquetil, French cyclist (d. 1987)

1934 - Roy Kinnear, English actor (d. 1988)

1934 - Alexandra Ripley, American writer (d. 2004)

1934 - Gene Freese, baseball player

1935 - Elvis Presley, American singer and guitarist (d. 1977)

1937 - Shirley Bassey, Welsh singer

1937 - John Hume, Irish politician

1938 - Bob Eubanks, American game show host

1941 - Graham Chapman, British comedian (d. 1989)

1941 - Boris Vallejo, Peruvian illustrator

1942 - Stephen Hawking, English physicist and author

1942 - Junichiro Koizumi, Prime Minister of Japan

1942 - Yvette Mimieux, American actress

1944 - Terry Brooks American writer

1946 - Robby Krieger, American musician (The Doors)

1947 - David Bowie, English musician

1947 - Samuel Schmid, Swiss Federal Councilor

1951 - Kenny Anthony, Prime Minister of Saint Lucia

1953 - Bruce Sutter, baseball player

1955 - Mike Reno, Canadian musician (Loverboy)

1958 - Rey Misterio, Sr., Mexican professional wrestler

1959 - Paul Hester, Australian drummer (Crowded House) (d. 2005)

1961 - Calvin Smith, American athlete

1967 - Michelle Forbes, American actress

1967 - R. Kelly, American singer

1969 - Ami Dolenz, American actress

1969 - Jeff Abercrombie, American musician (Fuel (band))

1970 - Dave Eggers, American writer and publisher

1971 - Jason Giambi, baseball player

1971 - Pascal Zuberbühler, Swiss football (soccer) goalkeeper

1973 - Mark Knight, English video game composer, sound designer, and electric violin player

1973 - Sean Paul, Jamaican singer

1973 - Jason Stevens, Australian rugby league player

1975 - DJ Clue, American DJ and producer

1976 - Jenny Lewis, American actress and musician (Rilo Kiley)

1977 - Amber Benson, American actress

1977 - Lee Yoo-jin, Korean actress

1978 - Marco Fu, Hong Kong snooker player

1979 - Adrian Mutu, Romanian soccer player

1979 - Sarah Polley, Canadian actress

1980 - Rachel Nichols, American actress

1981 - Jeff Francis, Canadian baseball player

1982 - Gaby Hoffmann, American actress

1983 - Chris Mordetsky, American professional wrestler

1985 - Rachael Lampa, American singer

1986 - Jaclyn Linetsky, Canadian actress (d. 2003)

1991 - Asuka Hinoi, Japanese singer

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482 - Saint Severinus

1100 - Antipope Clement III (bc. 1029)

1107 - Edgar of Scotland (b. 1074)

1198 - Pope Celestine III (bc. 1106)

1324 - Marco Polo, Italian explorer (b. 1254)

1337 - Giotto di Bondone, Italian artist (b. 1267)

1464 - Thomas Ebendorfer, Austrian historian (b. 1385)

1557 - Albert the Warlike, Prince of Bayreuth (b. 1522)

1570 - Philibert de l'Orme, French architect (bc. 1510)

1642 - Galileo Galilei, Italian astronomer (b. 1564)

1707 - John Dalrymple, 1st Earl of Stair, Scottish politician (b. 1648)

1713 - Arcangelo Corelli, Italian composer (b. 1653)

1775 - John Baskerville, English printer (b. 1706)

1789 - Jack Broughton, English boxer (bc. 1703)

1794 - Justus Möser, German statesman (b. 1720)

1815 - Edward Pakenham, British general (killed in battle) (b. 1778)

1825 - Eli Whitney, American inventor (b. 1765)

1854 - William Carr Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford, British general and politician (b. 1768)

1865 - Aimé, duc de Clermont-Tonnerre, French general (b. 1779)

1874 - Charles Etienne Brasseur de Bourbourg, French writer and historian (b. 1814)

1878 - Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov, Russian poet (b. 1821)

1880 - Joshua A. Norton, "Emperor Norton I of the United States" (b. 1811)

1896 - William Raine Marshall, Governor of Minnesota (b. 1825)

1896 - Paul Verlaine, French poet (b. 1844)

1901 - John Barry, Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross (b. 1873)

1916 - Ada Rehan, actress (b. 1860)

1932 - Eurosia Fabris, Italian Catholic (b. 1866)

1934 - Andrei Bely, Russian writer (b. 1880)

1941 - Robert Baden-Powell, English founder of scouting (b. 1857)

1942 - Joseph Franklin Rutherford, American religious publisher (b. 1869)

1944 - William Kissam Vanderbilt II, member of the Vanderbilt family (b. 1878)

1948 - Kurt Schwitters, German painter (b. 1887)

1950 - Joseph Schumpeter, Austrian economist (b. 1883)

1956 - Jim Elliot, American Christian missionary (b. 1928)

1958 - Paul Pilgrim, American athlete (b. 1883)

1963 - Kay Sage, American artist and poet (b. 1898)

1969 - Albert Hill, British athlete (b. 1889)

1970 - Georges Guibourg, French performer (b. 1891)

1972 - Kenneth Patchen, American poet (b. 1911)

1975 - Richard Tucker, American tenor (b. 1913)

1976 - Zhou Enlai, Premier of the People's Republic of China (b. 1898)

1976 - Robert Forgan, British fascist (b. 1891)

1979 - Sara Carter, American country musician (b. 1898)

1980 - John Mauchly, American physicist (b. 1907)

1981 - Matthew "Stymie" Beard, American actor (b. 1925)

1983 - Tom McCall, Governor of Oregon (b. 1913)

1986 - Pierre Fournier, French cellist (b. 1906)

1989 - Bruce Chatwin, English novelist (b. 1940)

1990 - Terry-Thomas, British actor, comedian (b. 1911)

1991 - Steve Clark, English guitarist (Def Leppard) (b. 1960)

1993 - Eleanor Hibbert, British author (b. 1906)

1994 - Pat Buttram, American actor (b. 1915)

1994 - Harvey Haddix, baseball player (b. 1925)

1995 - Carlos Monzon, Argentinian boxer (b. 1942)

1996 - François Mitterrand, President of France (b. 1916)

1997 - Melvin Calvin, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1911)

1998 - Michael Tippett, English composer (b. 1905)

2000 - Fritz Thiedemann, German equestrianist (b. 1918)

2002 - Alexander Prochorow, Nobel Prize in Physics laureate (b. 1916)

2002 - Dave Thomas, American fast food entrepreneur (b. 1932)

2003 - Ron Goodwin, British composer and conductor (b. 1925)

2004 - John A. Gambling, American radio talk-show host (b. 1930)

2005 - Campbell McComas, Australian impersonator and broadcaster (b. 1952)

2005 - Warren Spears, American choreographer and dancer

2005 - Michel Thomas, Polish linguist (b. 1914)

2006 - Tony Banks, British politician (b. 1943)

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Commonwealth Day is celebrated in Northern Mariana Islands.

The feast day of Our Lady of Prompt Succor in the Roman Catholic Church