Events
January
![Boeing 707 of American Airlines at Basle - April 1976](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/Boeing_707_of_American_Airlines_at_Basle_-_April_1976.jpg)
*
January 1
January 1 or 1 January is the first day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 364 days remaining until the end of the year (365 in leap years). This day is also known as New Year's Day since the day marks the beginning of the yea ...
-
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
:
Fulgencio Batista
Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar (; ; born Rubén Zaldívar, January 16, 1901 – August 6, 1973) was a Cuban military officer and politician who served as the elected president of Cuba from 1940 to 1944 and as its U.S.-backed military dictator ...
flees
Havana
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. when the forces of
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...
advance.
*
January 2
Events Pre-1600
* 69 – The Roman legions in Germania Superior refuse to swear loyalty to Galba. They rebel and proclaim Vitellius as emperor.
* 366 – The Alemanni cross the frozen Rhine in large numbers, invading the Roman Empi ...
- Lunar probe
Luna 1
''Luna 1'', also known as ''Mechta'' (russian: Мечта , '' lit.'': ''Dream''), ''E-1 No.4'' and ''First Lunar Rover'', was the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of Earth's Moon, and the first spacecraft to be placed in heliocentric or ...
was the first man-made object to attain
escape velocity
In celestial mechanics, escape velocity or escape speed is the minimum speed needed for a free, non- propelled object to escape from the gravitational influence of a primary body, thus reaching an infinite distance from it. It is typically ...
from Earth. It reached the vicinity of Earth's
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
, and was also the first
spacecraft
A spacecraft is a vehicle or machine designed to fly in outer space. A type of artificial satellite, spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, Earth observation, meteorology, navigation, space colonization, p ...
to be placed in
heliocentric orbit
A heliocentric orbit (also called circumsolar orbit) is an orbit around the barycenter of the Solar System, which is usually located within or very near the surface of the Sun. All planets, comets, and asteroids in the Solar System, and the Sun i ...
.
*
January 3
Events Pre-1600
*AD 69, 69 – The Roman legions on the Rhine refuse to declare their allegiance to Galba, instead proclaiming their legate, Aulus Vitellius, as emperor.
* 250 – Emperor Decius orders everyone in the Roman Empire (ex ...
** The three southernmost atolls of the
Maldive
Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...
archipelago
An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands.
Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...
(
Addu Atoll
Addu Atoll, also known as Seenu Atoll, is the southernmost atoll of the Maldives. Addu Atoll, together with Fuvahmulah, located 40 km north of Addu Atoll, extend the Maldives into the Southern Hemisphere. Addu Atoll is located 540 k ...
,
Huvadhu Atoll
Huvadhu, Suvadive, Suvaidu or Suvadiva is the atoll with most islands in the world. The atoll is located in the Indian Ocean. It is south of the Suvadiva Channel in the Republic of Maldives with a total area of 3152 km2, of which 38.5 ...
and
Fuvahmulah
Fuvahmulah (Dhivehi: ފުވައްމުލައް) is an island (atoll) in the Maldives. It is under Maldives’ administrative divisions of Gnaviyani Atoll or Nyaviyani Atoll. The inhabitants speak a distinctive form of the Dhivehi language, known as ...
island)
declare independence
"Declare Independence" is a song written and recorded by Icelandic singer Björk. The track was released as the third single from her sixth full-length studio album, '' Volta''. The single was released on 1 January 2008. Björk's dedication of ...
.
**
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
is admitted as the 49th U.S. state.
*
January 4
Events Pre-1600
*46 BC – Julius Caesar fights Titus Labienus in the Battle of Ruspina.
* 871 – Battle of Reading: Æthelred of Wessex and his brother Alfred are defeated by a Danish invasion army.
1601–1900
*1649 – Engli ...
** In
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
, rebel troops led by
Che Guevara
Ernesto Che Guevara (; 14 June 1928The date of birth recorded on /upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Ernesto_Guevara_Acta_de_Nacimiento.jpg his birth certificatewas 14 June 1928, although one tertiary source, (Julia Constenla, quoted ...
and
Camilo Cienfuegos
Camilo Cienfuegos Gorriarán (; 6 February 1932 – 28 October 1959) was a Cuban revolutionary born in Havana. Along with Che Guevara, Fidel Castro, Juan Almeida Bosque, and Raúl Castro, he was a member of the 1956 ''Granma (yacht), Granma'' ...
enter the city of
Havana
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. .
**
Léopoldville riots
The Léopoldville riots were an outbreak of civil disorder in Léopoldville (modern-day Kinshasa) in the Belgian Congo which took place in January 1959 and which were an important moment for the Congolese independence movement. The rioting occurre ...
: At least 49 people are killed during clashes between the police and participants of a meeting of the
ABAKO
The Alliance of Bakongo (french: Alliance des Bakongo, or ABAKO) was a Congolese political party, founded by Edmond Nzeza Nlandu, but headed by Joseph Kasa-Vubu, which emerged in the late 1950s as vocal opponent of Belgian colonial rule in what ...
Party in
Léopoldville
Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one o ...
in the
Belgian Congo
The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964.
Colo ...
.
*
January 6
Events Pre-1600
*1066 – Following the death of Edward the Confessor on the previous day, the Witan meets to confirm Harold Godwinson as the new King of England; Harold is crowned the same day, sparking a succession crisis that will eve ...
**
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...
arrives in Havana.
** The
International Maritime Organization
The International Maritime Organization (IMO, French: ''Organisation maritime internationale'') is a specialised agency of the United Nations responsible for regulating shipping. The IMO was established following agreement at a UN conference ...
is inaugurated.
*
January 7
Events Pre-1600
*49 BC – The Senate of Rome says that Caesar will be declared a public enemy unless he disbands his army. This prompts the tribunes who support him to flee to Ravenna, where Caesar is waiting.
* 1325 – Alfonso IV ...
– The United States recognizes the new
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
n government of
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...
.
*
January 8
Events Pre-1600
* 307 – Emperor Huai of Jin, Jin Huaidi becomes emperor of China in succession to his father, Emperor Hui of Jin, Jin Huidi, despite a challenge from his uncle, Sima Ying.
* 871 – Æthelred I, King of Wessex, Æthel ...
–
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...
is inaugurated as the first president of the
French Fifth Republic
The Fifth Republic (french: Cinquième République) is France's current republic, republican system of government. It was established on 4 October 1958 by Charles de Gaulle under the Constitution of France, Constitution of the Fifth Republic.. ...
.
*
January 9
Events Pre-1600
* 681 – Twelfth Council of Toledo: King Erwig of the Visigoths initiates a council in which he implements diverse measures against the Jews in Spain.
*1127 – Jin–Song Wars: Invading Jurchen soldiers from the J ...
– The
Vega de Tera disaster
The Vega de Tera disaster, (also known as the Ribadelago disaster 'Catástrofe de Ribadelago'' was a flood that occurred on the early morning of January 9, 1959 in the Province of Zamora, Spain. The flood was caused by the failure of a dam, ...
in Spain nearly destroy the town of
Ribadelago
Ribadelago is a village located in province of Zamora, Spain. It is in the Galende municipality.
It was partially destroyed in 1959 due to a Vega de Tera disaster, dam failure in Vega de Tera reservoir, which caused 144 deaths.
References
...
and kills 144 residents.
*
January 10
Events Pre-1600
*49 BC – Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon, signalling the start of civil war.
* 9 – The Western Han dynasty ends when Wang Mang claims that the divine Mandate of Heaven called for the end of the dynasty and the be ...
– The
Soviet government
The Government of the Soviet Union ( rus, Прави́тельство СССР, p=prɐˈvʲitʲɪlʲstvə ɛs ɛs ɛs ˈɛr, r=Pravítelstvo SSSR, lang=no), formally the All-Union Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, commonly ab ...
recognizes the new Castro government.
*
January 11
Events Pre-1600
* 532 – Nika riots in Constantinople: A quarrel between supporters of different chariot teams—the Blues and the Greens—in the Hippodrome escalates into violence.
* 630 – Conquest of Mecca: The prophet Muhamma ...
– The
Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques
Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (CMAS) is an international federation that represents underwater activities in underwater sport and underwater sciences, and oversees an international system of recreational snorkel and scuba ...
is founded in
Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
.
*
January 12
Events Pre-1600
* 475 – Byzantine Emperor Zeno is forced to flee his capital at Constantinople, and his general, Basiliscus gains control of the empire.
*1528 – Gustav I of Sweden is crowned King of Sweden, having already reigned s ...
** The
Caves of Nerja
The Caves of Nerja ( es, Cueva de Nerja) are a series of caverns close to the town of Nerja in the Province of Málaga, Spain. Stretching for almost , the caverns are one of Spain's major tourist attractions. Concerts are regularly held in one of ...
are discovered in Spain.
**
Motown Records
Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmant ...
is founded by
Berry Gordy, Jr.
Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), known professionally as Berry Gordy Jr., is a retired American record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record l ...
in
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
.
*
January 13
Events Pre-1600
* 27 BC – Octavian transfers the state to the free disposal of the Roman Senate and the people. He receives Spain, Gaul, and Syria as his province for ten years.
* 532 – The Nika riots break out, during the racing ...
**
Cuban communists
Cuban may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean
* Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent
** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof
* Cuban citizen, a perso ...
execute 71 supporters of
Fulgencio Batista
Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar (; ; born Rubén Zaldívar, January 16, 1901 – August 6, 1973) was a Cuban military officer and politician who served as the elected president of Cuba from 1940 to 1944 and as its U.S.-backed military dictator ...
.
*
January 15
Events Pre-1600
* 69 – Otho seizes power in Rome, proclaiming himself Emperor of Rome, beginning a reign of only three months.
* 1541 – King Francis I of France gives Jean-François Roberval a commission to settle the province of ...
**The
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
conducts its
first census after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
*
January 21
Events Pre-1600
* 763 – Following the Battle of Bakhamra between Alids and Abbasids near Kufa, the Alid rebellion ends with the death of Ibrahim, brother of Isa ibn Musa.
* 1525 – The Swiss Anabaptist Movement is founded when Co ...
– The
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a ...
is established.
*
January 22
Events Pre-1600
* 613 – Eight-month-old Constantine is crowned as co-emperor (''Caesar'') by his father Heraclius at Constantinople.
* 871 – Battle of Basing: The West Saxons led by King Æthelred I are defeated by the Danelaw Vi ...
–
Knox Mine disaster
Knox may refer to:
Places United States
* Fort Knox, a United States Army post in Kentucky
** United States Bullion Depository, a high security storage facility commonly called Fort Knox
* Fort Knox (Maine), a fort located on the Penobscot River i ...
: Water breaches the River Slope Mine in
Port Griffith, Pennsylvania
Port Griffith is an unincorporated community found within the Greater Pittston metropolitan area of Jenkins Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States.
Geography
Port Griffith is located at (41.310914, -75.810472) in the Greater Pitts ...
near
Pittston, Pennsylvania
Pittston is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is situated between Scranton, Pennsylvania, Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Wilkes-Barre in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The city gained prominence in the late 19th an ...
; 12 miners are killed.
*
January 25
Events Pre-1600
* 41 – After a night of negotiation, Claudius is accepted as Roman emperor by the Senate.
* 750 – In the Battle of the Zab, the Abbasid rebels defeat the Umayyad Caliphate, leading to the overthrow of the dynasty ...
** The
Boeing 707
The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 20, ...
airliner
An airliner is a type of aircraft for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an ...
begins service.
**
Pope John XXIII
Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...
announces that the
Second Vatican Council
The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...
will be convened in Rome.
*
January 29
Events
Pre-1600
* 904 – Sergius III is elected pope, after coming out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed antipope Christopher.
* 946 – Caliph Al-Mustakfi is blinded and deposed by Emir Mu'izz al-Dawla, ruler o ...
–
Walt Disney
Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...
releases his 16th animated film, ''
Sleeping Beauty
''Sleeping Beauty'' (french: La belle au bois dormant, or ''The Beauty in the Sleeping Forest''; german: Dornröschen, or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess cu ...
'' in
Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Bev ...
. It is Disney's first animated film to be shown in
70mm
70 mm film (or 65 mm film) is a wide high-resolution film gauge for motion picture photography, with a negative area nearly 3.5 times as large as the standard 35 mm motion picture film format. As used in cameras, the film is wid ...
and modern
6-track stereophonic sound. Also on the program is Disney's new live-action short subject ''
Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon (, yuf-x-yav, Wi:kaʼi:la, , Southern Paiute language: Paxa’uipi, ) is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a m ...
'', which uses the music of
Ferde Grofé
Ferdinand Rudolph von Grofé, known as Ferde Grofé (March 27, 1892 April 3, 1972) (pronounced FUR-dee GROW-fay) was an American composer, arrangement, arranger, pianist and instrumentalist. He is best known for his 1931 five-movement tone poem, ...
's ''
Grand Canyon Suite
The ''Grand Canyon Suite'' is a suite for orchestra by Ferde Grofé, composed between 1929 and 1931. It was initially titled ''Five Pictures of the Grand Canyon''.
It consists of five movements, each an evocation in tone of a particular scene t ...
''. ''Grand Canyon'' wins an
Oscar
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People
* Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms.
* Oscar (Irish mythology), ...
for
Best Documentary Short.
*
January 30
Events Pre-1600
*1018 – Poland and the Holy Roman Empire conclude the Peace of Bautzen.
*1287 – King Wareru founds the Hanthawaddy Kingdom, and proclaims independence from the Pagan Kingdom.
1601–1900
*1607 – An estimated ...
– Danish passenger/cargo ship , returning to
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
after its maiden voyage to
Greenland
Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...
, strikes an iceberg and sinks off the Greenland coast with the loss of all 95 on board.
February
: Technical drawing of Vanguard 2">February 17: Technical drawing of Vanguard 2 ">Vanguard_2.html" ;"title="February 17: Technical drawing of Vanguard 2">February 17: Technical drawing of Vanguard 2
* February 2 – Nine ski hikers mysteriously perish in the northern Ural Mountains in the Dyatlov Pass incident and are all found dead a few weeks later.
* February 3
** A chartered plane transporting musicians
Buddy Holly
Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas ...
,
Ritchie Valens
Richard Steven Valenzuela (May 13, 1941 – February 3, 1959), known professionally as Ritchie Valens, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rock and roll pioneer and a forefather of the Chicano rock movement, Valens was killed i ...
and
The Big Bopper
Jiles Perry "J.P." Richardson Jr. (October 24, 1930 – February 3, 1959), known as The Big Bopper, was an American singer, songwriter and disc jockey. His best-known compositions include "Chantilly Lace" and " White Lightning", the latter of wh ...
with pilot
Roger Peterson goes down in foggy conditions near
Clear Lake, Iowa
Clear Lake is a city in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, United States. The population was 7,687 at the 2020 census. The city is named for the large lake on which it is located. It is the home of a number of marinas, state parks and tourism-related ...
, killing all four on board. The tragedy is later termed "
The Day the Music Died
On February 3, 1959, American rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and "The Big Bopper" J. P. Richardson were all killed in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, together with pilot Roger Peterson. The event later became ...
", popularized in
Don McLean
Donald McLean III (born October 2, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for his 1971 hit song " American Pie", an eight-and-a-half-minute folk rock "cultural touchstone" about the loss of innocence of the early ...
's
1971 *
The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6).
The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history.
Events
Ja ...
song "
American Pie".
**
American Airlines Flight 320
American Airlines Flight 320 was a scheduled flight between Chicago Midway International Airport and New York City's LaGuardia Airport. On February 3, 1959, the Lockheed L-188 Electra performing the flight crashed into the East River during its d ...
, a
Lockheed L-188 Electra
The Lockheed L-188 Electra is an American turboprop airliner built by Lockheed. First flown in 1957, it was the first large turboprop airliner built in the United States. Initial sales were good, but after two fatal crashes that led to expensiv ...
from Chicago crashes into the
East River
The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Queens ...
on approach to New York City's LaGuardia Airport, killing 65 of the 73 people on board.
*
February 6
Events Pre-1600
* 1579 – The Archdiocese of Manila is made a diocese by a papal bull with Domingo de Salazar being its first bishop.
1601–1900
* 1685 – James II of England and VII of Scotland is proclaimed King upon the death of ...
– At
Cape Canaveral, Florida
Cape Canaveral ( es, Cabo Cañaveral, link=) is a city in Brevard County, Florida. The population was 9,912 at the 2010 United States Census. It is part of the Palm Bay–Melbourne– Titusville Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
After t ...
, the first successful test firing of a
Titan intercontinental ballistic missile
Titan was a family of United States expendable rockets used between 1959 and 2005. The Titan I and Titan II were part of the US Air Force's intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) fleet until 1987. The space launch vehicle versions contribute ...
is accomplished.
*
February 9
Events Pre-1600
* 474 – Zeno is crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
* 1003 – Boleslaus III is restored to authority with armed support from Bolesław I the Brave of Poland.
* 1539 – The first recorded race is hel ...
–
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
and
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
set trade relations (not diplomatic ones).
*
February 13
Events Pre-1600
* 962 – Emperor Otto I and Pope John XII co-sign the ''Diploma Ottonianum'', recognizing John as ruler of Rome.
*1322 – The central tower of Ely Cathedral falls on the night of 12th–13th.
*1462 – The ...
–
TAT-2,
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile tel ...
's second
transatlantic telephone cable
A transatlantic telecommunications cable is a submarine communications cable connecting one side of the Atlantic Ocean to the other. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, each cable was a single wire. After mid-century, coaxial cable came into use ...
goes into operation.
*
February 16
Events Pre-1600
* 1249 – Andrew of Longjumeau is dispatched by Louis IX of France as his ambassador to meet with the Khagan of the Mongol Empire.
* 1270 – Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeats the Livonian Order in the Battle of Kar ...
**
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...
becomes Premier of
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
.
** A
blizzard
A blizzard is a severe snowstorm characterized by strong sustained winds and low visibility, lasting for a prolonged period of time—typically at least three or four hours. A ground blizzard is a weather condition where snow is not falling b ...
causes a massive power outage in
Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
.
*
February 17
Events Pre-1600
* 1370 – Northern Crusades: Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Teutonic Knights meet in the Battle of Rudau.
* 1411 – Following the successful campaigns during the Ottoman Interregnum, Musa Çelebi, one of the sons of ...
–
Vanguard 2
Vanguard 2 (or Vanguard 2E before launch) is an Earth-orbiting satellite launched 17 February 1959 at 15:55:02 GMT, aboard a Vanguard SLV-4 rocket as part of the United States Navy's Project Vanguard. The satellite was designed to measure clou ...
, the first
weather satellite
A weather satellite or meteorological satellite is a type of Earth observation satellite that is primarily used to monitor the weather and climate of the Earth. Satellites can be polar orbiting (covering the entire Earth asynchronously), or ge ...
, is launched to measure
cloud cover
Cloud cover (also known as cloudiness, cloudage, or cloud amount) refers to the fraction of the sky obscured by clouds on average when observed from a particular location. Okta is the usual unit for measurement of the cloud cover. The cloud co ...
for the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
.
*
February 18
Events Pre-1600
* 1229 – The Sixth Crusade: Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, signs a ten-year truce with al-Kamil, regaining Jerusalem, Nazareth, and Bethlehem with neither military engagements nor support from the papacy.
* 1268 &ndas ...
**
Jesús Sosa Blanco
Jesús Sosa Blanco (1907/08 – February 18, 1959) was a colonel in the Cuban army under Fulgencio Batista.
After Fidel Castro came to power on February 16, 1959, Sosa was arrested and charged with having committed 108 murders for Batista. H ...
, a colonel in the Cuban army of
Fulgencio Batista
Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar (; ; born Rubén Zaldívar, January 16, 1901 – August 6, 1973) was a Cuban military officer and politician who served as the elected president of Cuba from 1940 to 1944 and as its U.S.-backed military dictator ...
, is executed in
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
after being convicted of committing 108 murders for Batista.
** Women in
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
vote for the first time.
*
February 19
Events Pre-1600
* 197 – Emperor Septimius Severus defeats usurper Clodius Albinus in the Battle of Lugdunum, the bloodiest battle between Roman armies.
* 356 – The anti-paganism policy of Constantius II forbids the worship of pagan ...
– The United Kingdom decides to grant independence to
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
.
*
February 20
Events Pre-1600
*1339 – The Milanese army and the St. George's (San Giorgio) Mercenaries of Lodrisio Visconti clash in the Battle of Parabiago; Visconti is defeated.
*1472 – Orkney and Shetland are pawned by Norway to Scotland ...
– The
Canadian Government
The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown-in-C ...
cancels the
Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow
The Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow was a delta-winged interceptor aircraft designed and built by Avro Canada. The CF-105 held the promise of Mach 2 speeds at altitudes exceeding and was intended to serve as the Royal Canadian Air Force's (RCAF) ...
interceptor aircraft
An interceptor aircraft, or simply interceptor, is a type of fighter aircraft designed specifically for the defensive interception role against an attacking enemy aircraft, particularly bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. Aircraft that are cap ...
project.
*
February 22
Events Pre-1600
* 1076 – Having received a letter during the Lenten synod of 14–20 February demanding that he abdicate, Pope Gregory VII excommunicates Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor.
* 1316 – The Battle of Picotin, between Ferdina ...
–
Lee Petty
Lee Arnold Petty (March 14, 1914 – April 5, 2000) was an American stock car racing driver who competed during the 1950s and 1960s. He was one of the pioneers of NASCAR and one of its first superstars. He was NASCAR's first three-time Cup ch ...
wins the
first Daytona 500 at
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR as well as its season opening event. In addition to NA ...
.
March
![Edge-of-africa-giraffes](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Edge-of-africa-giraffes.jpg)
*
March 1
Events Pre-1600
*509 BC – Publius Valerius Publicola celebrates the first Roman triumph, triumph of the Roman Republic after his victory over the deposed king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus at the Battle of Silva Arsia.
* 293 – Emperor ...
** The , , and are stricken from the United States
Naval Vessel Register
The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from t ...
.
**
Archbishop
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
Makarios Macarius is a Latinized form of the old Greek given name Makários (Μακάριος), meaning "happy, fortunate, blessed"; confer the Latin '' beatus'' and ''felix''. Ancient Greeks applied the epithet ''Makarios'' to the gods.
In other languag ...
returns to
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
from exile.
*
March 2
Events Pre-1600
* 537 – Siege of Rome: The Ostrogoth army under king Vitiges begins the siege of the capital. Belisarius conducts a delaying action outside the Flaminian Gate; he and a detachment of his ''bucellarii'' are almost cut o ...
– Recording sessions for the album ''
Kind of Blue
''Kind of Blue'' is a studio album by American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader Miles Davis. It was recorded on March 2 and April 22, 1959, at Columbia's 30th Street Studio in New York City, and released on August 17 of that year by Co ...
'' by
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...
take place at
Columbia's 30th Street Studio in New York City.
*
March 3
Events Pre-1600
* 473 – Gundobad (nephew of Ricimer) nominates Glycerius as emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
* 724 – Empress Genshō abdicates the throne in favor of her nephew Shōmu who becomes emperor of Japan.
* 1575 &nd ...
– Lunar probe ''
Pioneer 4
Pioneer 4 was an American spin-stabilized uncrewed spacecraft launched as part of the Pioneer program on a lunar flyby trajectory and into a heliocentric orbit making it the first probe of the United States to escape from the Earth's gravity. ...
'' becomes the first American object to escape dominance by Earth's gravity.
*
March 8
Events Pre-1600
* 1010 – Ferdowsi completes his epic poem ''Shahnameh''.
*1126 – Following the death of his mother, queen Urraca of León, Alfonso VII is proclaimed king of León.
* 1262 – Battle of Hausbergen between bour ...
– The
Marx Brothers
The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act that was successful in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in motion pictures from 1905 to 1949. Five of the Marx Brothers' thirteen feature films were selected by the American Film Institute (AFI) ...
make their last television appearance, in ''
The Incredible Jewel Robbery
"The Incredible Jewel Robbery" was an episode of ''General Electric Theater'', broadcast by CBS on March 8, 1959. It was the first appearance of the three Marx Brothers together in the same scene since ''A Night in Casablanca'' in 1946. They had p ...
'', part of
General Electric Theatre
''General Electric Theater'' was an American anthology series hosted by Ronald Reagan that was broadcast on CBS radio and television. The series was sponsored by General Electric's Department of Public Relations.
Radio
After an audition show ...
.
*
March 9
Events Pre-1600
*141 BC – Liu Che, posthumously known as Emperor Wu of Han, assumes the throne over the Han dynasty of China.
*1009 – First known mention of Lithuania, in the annals of the monastery of Quedlinburg.
* 1226 – ...
–
Mattel
Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...
's
Barbie
Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by American toy company Mattel, Inc. and launched on March 9, 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration.
...
doll debuts in the United States.
*
March 10
Events Pre-1600
* 241 BC – First Punic War: Battle of the Aegates: The Romans sink the Carthaginian fleet bringing the First Punic War to an end.
* 298 – Roman Emperor Maximian concludes his campaign in North Africa and makes a t ...
– The
Tibetan uprising erupts in
Lhasa
Lhasa (; Lhasa dialect: ; bo, text=ལྷ་ས, translation=Place of Gods) is the urban center of the prefecture-level city, prefecture-level Lhasa (prefecture-level city), Lhasa City and the administrative capital of Tibet Autonomous Regio ...
when Chinese officials attempt to arrest the
Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current Dal ...
.
*
March 11
Events Pre-1600
* 222 – Roman emperor Elagabalus is murdered alongside his mother, Julia Soaemias. He is replaced by his 14-year old cousin, Severus Alexander.
* 843 – Triumph of Orthodoxy: Empress Theodora II restores the venerati ...
** ''
A Raisin in the Sun
''A Raisin in the Sun'' is a play by Lorraine Hansberry that debuted on Broadway in 1959. The title comes from the poem "Harlem" (also known as "A Dream Deferred") by Langston Hughes. The story tells of a black family's experiences in south Chi ...
'' by
Lorraine Hansberry
Lorraine Vivian Hansberry (May 19, 1930 – January 12, 1965) was a playwright and writer. She was the first African-American female author to have a play performed on Broadway. Her best-known work, the play ''A Raisin in the Sun'', highlig ...
opens on
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
.
** The
Eurovision Song Contest 1959
The Eurovision Song Contest 1959 was the fourth edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest, held on Wednesday 11 March 1959 at the in Cannes, France, and hosted by French television presenter Jacqueline Joubert. Organised by the European B ...
, staged in
Cannes
Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...
, is won for the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
by "
'n Beetje
"n Beetje" (; "A little bit"), spelled in full as "Een beetje", is a song written in Dutch by Willy van Hemert, composed by Dick Schallies and performed by Teddy Scholten as the ' entry and winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 1959. The song ...
" sung by
Teddy Scholten
Dorothea Margaretha "Teddy" Scholten (née van Zwieteren; 11 May 1926 – 8 April 2010) was a Dutch singer and television presenter. She is known for winning the Eurovision Song Contest 1959 with the song "Een beetje", representing the Netherlands ...
(music by Dick Schallies, lyrics by Willy van Hemert).
*
March 17
Events Pre-1600
* 45 BC – In his last victory, Julius Caesar defeats the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the Younger in the Battle of Munda.
* 180 – Commodus becomes sole emperor of the Roman Empire at the age of eigh ...
–
Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
The 14th Dalai Lama (spiritual name Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, known as Tenzin Gyatso (Tibetan: བསྟན་འཛིན་རྒྱ་མཚོ་, Wylie: ''bsTan-'dzin rgya-mtsho''); né Lhamo Thondup), known as ...
escapes
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
and arrives in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
.
*
March 18
Events Pre-1600
* 37 – Roman Senate annuls Tiberius' will and proclaims Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ''(aka Caligula = Little Boots)'' emperor.Tacitus, ''Annals'' V.10.
* 1068 – An earthquake in the Levant and the Ara ...
– American President
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
signs the
Hawaii Admission Act
The Admission Act, formally An Act to Provide for the Admission of the State of Hawaii into the Union () is a statute enacted by the United States Congress and signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower which dissolved the Territory of Haw ...
, granting statehood to
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
.
*
March 19
Events Pre-1600
* 1277 – The Byzantine–Venetian treaty of 1277 is concluded, stipulating a two-year truce and renewing Venetian commercial privileges in the Byzantine Empire.
*1279 – A Mongol victory at the Battle of Yamen ends ...
– Two other islands join
Addu in the
United Suvadive Republic
The United Suvadive Republic (Dhivehi: އެކުވެރި ސުވާދީބު ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ) was a short-lived breakaway state from the Kingdom of Maldives between 1958 and 1963 consisting of the three southern atolls of the Maldive archip ...
(abolished September
1963
Events January
* January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...
), in the Maldives Islands.
*
March 26
Events Pre-1600
* 590 – Emperor Maurice proclaims his son Theodosius as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
* 1021 – On the feast of Eid al-Adha, the death of the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, kept secret for six weeks, is ...
–
Tenor saxophonist
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of br ...
holds initial recording sessions for the album ''
Giant Steps
''Giant Steps'' is the fifth studio album by jazz musician John Coltrane as leader. It was released in February 1960 on Atlantic Records. This was his first album as leader for Atlantic Records, with which he had signed a new contract the previou ...
'' with
Cedar Walton
Cedar Anthony Walton Jr. (January 17, 1934 – August 19, 2013) was an American hard bop jazz pianist. He came to prominence as a member of drummer Art Blakey's band, The Jazz Messengers, before establishing a long career as a bandleader and com ...
and
Lex Humphries
Lex Humphries (August 22, 1936 – July 11, 1994) was an American jazz drummer. He worked with two musicians known for mixing world music with jazz: Sun Ra and Yusef Lateef. As a member of Sun Ra's "Arkestra" he appeared in the film '' Space Is ...
.
*
March 28
Events Pre-1600
* AD 37 – Roman emperor Caligula accepts the titles of the Principate, bestowed on him by the Senate.
* 193 – After assassinating the Roman Emperor Pertinax, his Praetorian Guards auction off the throne to Di ...
– The
Kashag
The Kashag (; ), was the governing council of Tibet during the rule of the Qing dynasty and post-Qing period until the 1950s. It was created in 1721, and set by Qianlong Emperor in 1751 for the Ganden Phodrang in the 13-Article Ordinance for ...
, the government of
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
, is abolished by an order signed by Chinese premier
Zhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 J ...
. The
Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current Dal ...
is replaced in China by the Panchen Lama.
*
March 31
Events Pre-1600
* 307 – After divorcing his wife Minervina, Constantine the Great, Constantine marries Fausta, daughter of the retired Roman emperor Maximian.
*1146 – Bernard of Clairvaux preaches his famous sermon in a field at V ...
** The
Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current Dal ...
is granted asylum in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
.
** The original
Busch Gardens
Busch Gardens is the name of two amusement parks in the United States, owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. The original park is in Tampa, Florida, and the second park is in Williamsburg, Virginia. There were also previously B ...
amusement park opens in
Tampa, Florida
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...
, U.S.
April
*
April 6
Events Pre–1600
*46 BC – Julius Caesar defeats Caecilius Metellus Scipio and Marcus Porcius Cato (Cato the Younger) at the Battle of Thapsus.
* 402 – Stilicho defeats the Visigoths under Alaric in the Battle of Pollentia.
*132 ...
– The
31st Academy Awards
The 31st Academy Awards ceremony was held on April 6, 1959, to honor the best films of 1958. The show's producer, Jerry Wald, started cutting numbers from the show to make sure it ran on time. He cut too much material and the ceremony ended 20 ...
ceremony is held.
*
April 8
Events Pre-1600
* 217 – Roman emperor Caracalla is assassinated and is succeeded by his Praetorian Guard prefect, Marcus Opellius Macrinus.
* 876 – The Battle of Dayr al-'Aqul saves Baghdad from the Saffarids.
*1139 – Ro ...
– The
Inter-American Development Bank
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB or IADB) is an international financial institution headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States of America, and serving as the largest source of development financing for Latin America and the Caribb ...
(IADB) is established.
*
April 9
Events Pre-1600
* 193 – The distinguished soldier Septimius Severus is proclaimed emperor by the army in Illyricum.
* 475 – Byzantine Emperor Basiliscus issues a circular letter (''Enkyklikon'') to the bishops of his empire, s ...
–
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
announces its selection of seven
military pilots to become the first U.S.
astronaut
An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...
s (later known as the ''
Mercury Seven
The Mercury Seven were the group of seven astronauts selected to fly spacecraft for Project Mercury. They are also referred to as the Original Seven and Astronaut Group 1. Their names were publicly announced by NASA on April 9, 1959; these seve ...
'').
*
April 10
Events Pre-1600
* 428 – Nestorius becomes the Patriarch of Constantinople.
* 837 – Halley's Comet makes its closest approach to Earth at a distance equal to 0.0342 AU (5.1 million kilometres/3.2 million miles).
* 1407 ...
– Crown Prince
Akihito
is a member of the Imperial House of Japan who reigned as the 125th emperor of Japan from 7 January 1989 until his abdication on 30 April 2019. He presided over the Heisei era, ''Heisei'' being an expression of achieving peace worldwide.
Bo ...
of Japan marries
Shōda Michiko, the first commoner to marry into the
Imperial House of Japan
The , also referred to as the Imperial Family or the House of Yamato, comprises those members of the extended family of the reigning Emperor of Japan who undertake official and public duties. Under the present Constitution of Japan, the Emperor i ...
.
*
April 22
Events Pre-1600
* 1500 – Portuguese navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral lands in Brazil.
* 1519 – Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés establishes a settlement at Veracruz, Mexico.
* 1529 – Treaty of Zaragoza divides the eastern ...
– Recording sessions for the influential
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
album ''
Kind of Blue
''Kind of Blue'' is a studio album by American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader Miles Davis. It was recorded on March 2 and April 22, 1959, at Columbia's 30th Street Studio in New York City, and released on August 17 of that year by Co ...
'' by
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...
take place at Columbia's 30th Street Studio in New York City.
*
April 25
Events Pre-1600
* 404 BC – Admiral Lysander and King Pausanias of Sparta blockade Athens and bring the Peloponnesian War to a successful conclusion.
* 775 – The Battle of Bagrevand puts an end to an Armenian rebellion against the ...
– The
Saint Lawrence Seaway
The St. Lawrence Seaway (french: la Voie Maritime du Saint-Laurent) is a system of locks, canals, and channels in Canada and the United States that permits oceangoing vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes of North Americ ...
linking the
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...
and the Atlantic Ocean officially opens to shipping.
*
April 27
Events Pre-1600
* 247 – Philip the Arab marks the millennium of Rome with a celebration of the ''ludi saeculares''.
* 395 – Emperor Arcadius marries Aelia Eudoxia, daughter of the Frankish general Flavius Bauto. She becomes one of ...
–
National People's Congress
The National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPC; ), or simply the National People's Congress, is constitutionally the supreme state authority and the national legislature of the People's Republic of China.
With 2, ...
elects
Liu Shaoqi
Liu Shaoqi ( ; 24 November 189812 November 1969) was a Chinese revolutionary, politician, and theorist. He was Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee from 1954 to 1959, First Vice Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party from 1956 to 1966 and C ...
as
Chairman of the People's Republic of China
The president of the People's Republic of China, commonly called the president of China, is the head of state and the second-highest political office of the People's Republic of China. The presidency is constitutionally a largely ceremonial off ...
, as a successor of
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...
.
May
![Miss Baker in her bio-pack](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Miss_Baker_in_her_bio-pack.jpg)
* May
**
Import tariffs
A tariff is a tax imposed by the government of a country or by a supranational union on imports or exports of goods. Besides being a source of revenue for the government, import duties can also be a form of regulation of foreign trade and poli ...
are lifted in the United Kingdom.
** The first
Ten Tors
Ten Tors is an annual weekend hike in early May, on Dartmoor, southwest England. Organised by the British Army, starting in 1960, it brings together teams of six young people each, with the 2,400 young participants hiking to checkpoints on ten ...
event is held on
Dartmoor
Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers .
The granite which forms the uplands dates from the Carboniferous ...
in England.
*
May 2
Events Pre-1600
* 1194 – King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first Royal Charter.
* 1230 – William de Braose is hanged by Prince Llywelyn the Great.
* 1536 – Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, is arrested and impris ...
–
1959 FA Cup Final
The 1959 FA Cup Final was contested by Nottingham Forest and Luton Town at Wembley. Forest won 2–1, with goals from Roy Dwight and Tommy Wilson just four minutes apart. Dave Pacey scored Luton's consolation goal. Forest were playing in their ...
: Nottingham Forest defeats Luton Town 2–1 at
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
.
*
May 4
Events Pre-1600
* 1256 – The Augustinian monastic order is constituted at the Lecceto Monastery when Pope Alexander IV issues a papal bull ''Licet ecclesiae catholicae''.
* 1415 – Religious reformers John Wycliffe and Jan Hus are ...
– Tenor
saxophonist
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of br ...
begins two days of principal recording sessions for his
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
album ''
Giant Steps
''Giant Steps'' is the fifth studio album by jazz musician John Coltrane as leader. It was released in February 1960 on Atlantic Records. This was his first album as leader for Atlantic Records, with which he had signed a new contract the previou ...
''.
*
May 7
Events Pre-1600
* 351 – The Jewish revolt against Constantius Gallus breaks out after his arrival at Antioch.
* 558 – In Constantinople, the dome of the Hagia Sophia collapses, twenty years after its construction. Justinian I imm ...
– English scientist and novelist
C. P. Snow
Charles Percy Snow, Baron Snow, (15 October 1905 – 1 July 1980) was an English novelist and physical chemist who also served in several important positions in the British Civil Service and briefly in the UK government.''The Columbia Encyclope ...
delivers an influential
Rede Lecture
The Sir Robert Rede's Lecturer is an annual appointment to give a public lecture, the Sir Robert Rede's Lecture (usually Rede Lecture) at the University of Cambridge. It is named for Sir Robert Rede, who was Chief Justice of the Common Pleas in th ...
on ''
The Two Cultures
"The Two Cultures" is the first part of an influential 1959 Rede Lecture by United Kingdom, British scientist and novelist C. P. Snow which were published in book form as ''The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution'' the same year. Its the ...
'', concerning a perceived breakdown of communication between the
science
Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe.
Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...
s and
humanities
Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the t ...
, in the
University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
(U.K.)
*
May 8
Events Pre-1600
* 453 BC – Spring and Autumn period: The house of Zhao defeats the house of Zhi, ending the Battle of Jinyang, a military conflict between the elite families of the State of Jin.
* 413 – Emperor Honorius signs a ...
– The first
Little Caesars
Little Caesar Enterprises Inc. (doing business as Little Caesars) is an American multi-national pizza chain. Based on 2020 statistics, Little Caesars is the third-largest pizza chain by total sales in the United States, behind Pizza Hut and Do ...
pizza restaurant is opened, in
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
.
*
May 16
Events Pre-1600
* 946 – Emperor Suzaku abdicates the throne in favor of his brother Murakami who becomes the 62nd emperor of Japan.
*1204 – Baldwin IX, Count of Flanders is crowned as the first Emperor of the Latin Empire.
* 1364 ...
– The
Triton Fountain
Fontana del Tritone (''Triton Fountain'') is a seventeenth-century fountain in Rome, by the Baroque sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Commissioned by his patron, Pope Urban VIII, the fountain is located in the Piazza Barberini, near the entrance to ...
is inaugurated in
Valletta
Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an Local councils of Malta, administrative unit and capital city, capital of Malta. Located on the Malta (island), main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, i ...
,
Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
.
*
May 18
Events Pre-1600
* 332 – Emperor Constantine the Great announces free distributions of food to the citizens in Constantinople.
* 872 – Louis II of Italy is crowned for the second time as Holy Roman Emperor at Rome, at the age of 4 ...
– The
National Liberation Committee of Côte d'Ivoire
The National Liberation Committee of Ivory Coast (french: Comité National de Libération de la Côte d'Ivoire, CNLCI) was an Ivorian opposition group, with its political origins in the Party of the African Rally (PRA). CNLCI was founded in Con ...
is launched in
Conakry, Guinea
Conakry (; ; sus, Kɔnakiri; N’ko: ߞߐߣߊߞߙߌ߫, Fula: ''Konaakiri'' 𞤑𞤮𞤲𞤢𞥄𞤳𞤭𞤪𞤭) is the capital and largest city of Guinea. A port city, it serves as the economic, financial and cultural centre of Guinea. Its ...
.
*
May 21
Events Pre-1600
* 293 – Roman Emperors Diocletian and Maximian appoint Galerius as ''Caesar (title), Caesar'' to Diocletian, beginning the period of four rulers known as the Tetrarchy.
* 878 – Syracuse, Sicily, is Siege of Syracuse ...
– ''
Gypsy: A Musical Fable'', starring
Ethel Merman
Ethel Merman (born Ethel Agnes Zimmermann, January 16, 1908 – February 15, 1984) was an American actress and singer, known for her distinctive, powerful voice, and for leading roles in musical theatre.Obituary ''Variety'', February 22, 1984. ...
in her last new musical, opens on
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
and runs for 702 performances
*
May 24
Events Pre-1600
* 919 – The nobles of Franconia and Saxony elect Henry the Fowler at the Imperial Diet in Fritzlar as king of the East Frankish Kingdom.
* 1218 – The Fifth Crusade leaves Acre for Egypt.
* 1276 – Magnus La ...
– British Empire Day is renamed
Commonwealth Day
Commonwealth Day (formerly Empire Day) is the annual celebration of the Commonwealth of Nations, since 1977 often held on the second Monday in March. It is marked by an Anglican service in Westminster Abbey, normally attended by the monarch a ...
.
*
May 28
Events Pre-1600
* 585 BC – A solar eclipse occurs, as predicted by the Greek philosopher and scientist Thales, while Alyattes is battling Cyaxares in the Battle of the Eclipse, leading to a truce. This is one of the cardinal dates from w ...
–
Jupiter AM-18 rocket launches two primates,
Miss Baker
Miss Baker (1957 – November 29, 1984) was a squirrel monkey who in 1959 became, along with female rhesus macaque Able, one of the first two animals launched into space by the United States who safely returned.
Previous animal flights
Previous ...
and Miss Able, into space from
Cape Canaveral
, image = cape canaveral.jpg
, image_size = 300
, caption = View of Cape Canaveral from space in 1991
, map = Florida#USA
, map_width = 300
, type =Cape
, map_caption = Location in Florida
, location ...
in the United States along with living microorganisms and plant seeds. Successful recovery makes them the first living beings to return safely to Earth after space flight.
June
*
June 3
Events Pre-1600
* 350 – The Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, proclaims himself Roman emperor, entering Rome at the head of a group of gladiators.
* 713 – The Byzantine Empire, Byzantine emperor Philippikos Ba ...
**
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
becomes a self-governing crown colony of Britain with
Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew (16 September 1923 – 23 March 2015), born Harry Lee Kuan Yew, often referred to by his initials LKY, was a Singaporean lawyer and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Singapore between 1959 and 1990, and Secretary-General o ...
as Prime Minister.
**
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid.
Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
beats
Stade Reims
Stade de Reims () is a French professional football club based in Reims. The club was formed in 1910 and plays in Ligue 1, the top level of Football in France, having been promoted from Ligue 2 in 2018. Reims plays home matches at the Stade Aug ...
2–0 at
Neckarstadion
Mercedes-Benz Arena () is a stadium located in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany and home to German Bundesliga club VfB Stuttgart.
Before 1993 it was called Neckarstadion (), named after the nearby river Neckar and between 1993 and July ...
,
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
and wins the
1958–59 European Cup
The 1958–59 European Cup was the fourth season of the European Cup, Europe's premier club football tournament. The competition was won by Real Madrid for the fourth time in a row, who beat Reims 2–0 in the final at Neckarstadion, Stuttgart, on ...
(football).
*
June 5
Events Pre-1600
*1257 – Kraków, in Poland, receives city rights.
*1283 – Battle of the Gulf of Naples: Roger of Lauria, admiral to King Peter III of Aragon, destroys the Neapolitan fleet and captures Charles II of Naples, Charles ...
– A new government of the
State of Singapore is sworn in by Sir William Goode. Two former ministers are re-elected to the Legislative Assembly.
*
June 8
Events Pre-1600
* 218 – Battle of Antioch: With the support of the Syrian legions, Elagabalus defeats the forces of emperor Macrinus.
* 452 – Attila leads a Hun army in the invasion of Italy, devastating the northern provinces ...
– The
USS ''Barbero'' and
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...
attempt the delivery of mail via
Missile Mail
Rocket mail is the delivery of mail by rocket or missile. The rocket lands by deploying an internal parachute upon arrival. It has been attempted by various organizations in many different countries, with varying levels of success. It has nev ...
.
*
June 9
Events Pre-1600
* 411 BC – The Athenian coup succeeds, forming a short-lived oligarchy.
* 53 – The Roman emperor Nero marries Claudia Octavia.
* 68 – Nero dies by suicide after quoting Vergil's ''Aeneid'', thus ending the J ...
– The
USS ''George Washington'' is launched as the first submarine to carry
ballistic missile
A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are guided only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles stay within the ...
s.
*
June 14
Events Pre-1600
* 1158 – The city of Munich is founded by Henry the Lion on the banks of the river Isar.
*1216 – First Barons' War: Prince Louis of France takes the city of Winchester, abandoned by John, King of England, and soo ...
- A 3-front invasion of the
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...
by exile forces backed by
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...
and
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
attempt to overthrow
Rafael Trujillo
Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina ( , ; 24 October 189130 May 1961), nicknamed ''El Jefe'' (, "The Chief" or "The Boss"), was a Dominican dictator who ruled the Dominican Republic from February 1930 until his assassination in May 1961. He ser ...
.
*
June 18
Events Pre-1600
* 618 – Li Yuan becomes Emperor Gaozu of Tang, initiating three centuries of Tang dynasty rule over China.
* 656 – Ali becomes Caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate.
* 860 – Byzantine–Rus' War: A fleet of about ...
– The film ''
The Nun's Story
''The Nun's Story'' is a 1956 novel by Kathryn Hulme. It was a Book of the Month selection and reached #1 on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list.
Hulme wrote the book based partly upon the experiences of her friend, Marie Louise Habets of ...
'', based on the best-selling novel, is released.
Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn (born Audrey Kathleen Ruston; 4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993) was a British actress and humanitarian. Recognised as both a film and fashion icon, she was ranked by the American Film Institute as the AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars, t ...
stars as the title character; she later says that this is her favorite film role. The film is a
box-office
A box office or ticket office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a wicket. By extension, the term is freq ...
hit, and is nominated for several
Oscars
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
.
*
June 23
Events Pre-1600
* 229 – Sun Quan proclaims himself emperor of Eastern Wu.
* 1266 – War of Saint Sabas: In the Battle of Trapani, the Venetians defeat a larger Genoese fleet, capturing all its ships.
* 1280 – The Spanish Re ...
**
Seán Lemass
Seán Francis Lemass (born John Francis Lemass; 15 July 1899 – 11 May 1971) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach and Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1959 to 1966. He also served as Tánaiste from 1957 to 1959, 1951 to 1954 ...
becomes the third
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...
of
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
.
** Convicted
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development undertaking during World War II that produced the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States with the support of the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the project w ...
spy
Klaus Fuchs
Klaus Emil Julius Fuchs (29 December 1911 – 28 January 1988) was a German theoretical physicist and atomic spy who supplied information from the American, British and Canadian Manhattan Project to the Soviet Union during and shortly aft ...
is released after only nine years in a British prison and allowed to emigrate to
Dresden
Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...
,
East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
where he resumes a scientific career.
*
June 25
Events Pre-1600
* 524 – The Franks are defeated by the Burgundians in the Battle of Vézeronce.
* 841 – In the Battle of Fontenay-en-Puisaye, forces led by Charles the Bald and Louis the German defeat the armies of Lothair I of ...
– A
KH-1 ''Corona'', believed to be the first operational reconnaissance satellite, is launched as science mission "
Discoverer 4
Discoverer 4, also known as Corona 9001, was an American optical reconnaissance satellite launched on 25 Jun 1959 at 22:47:45 GMT, the first of ten operational flights of the Corona KH-1 spy satellite series, and the first satellite to be equip ...
" from
Vandenberg Air Force Base Vandenberg may refer to:
* Vandenberg (surname), including a list of people with the name
* USS General Harry Taylor (AP-145), USNS ''General Hoyt S. Vandenberg'' (T-AGM-10), transport ship in the United States Navy, sank as an artificial reef in K ...
aboard a
Thor-Agena
Thor-Agena was a series of orbital launch vehicles. The launch vehicles used the Douglas-built Thor first stage and the Lockheed-built Agena second stages. They are thus cousins of the more-famous Thor-Deltas, which founded the Delta rocket ...
rocket.
*
June 26
Events Pre-1600
* 4 – Augustus adopts Tiberius.
* 221 – Roman emperor Elagabalus adopts his cousin Alexander Severus as his heir and receives the title of Caesar.
* 363 – Roman emperor Julian is killed during the retreat f ...
**
Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
(
Queen of Canada
The monarchy of Canada is Canada's form of government embodied by the Canadian sovereign and head of state. It is at the core of Canada's constitutional federal structure and Westminster-style parliamentary democracy. The monarchy is the foundat ...
) and United States President
Dwight Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
open the
Saint Lawrence Seaway
The St. Lawrence Seaway (french: la Voie Maritime du Saint-Laurent) is a system of locks, canals, and channels in Canada and the United States that permits oceangoing vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes of North Americ ...
.
** ''
Darby O'Gill and the Little People
''Darby O'Gill and the Little People'' is a 1959 American fantasy adventure film produced by Walt Disney Productions, adapted from the ''Darby O'Gill'' stories of Herminie Templeton Kavanagh. Directed by Robert Stevenson and written by Lawrence Ed ...
'', a film based on
H. T. Kavanagh's
short stories
A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...
, is released in the U.S. by
the Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
two days after a
world premiere
A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition.
A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its f ...
in Ireland.
*
June 30
Events Pre-1600
* 296 – Pope Marcellinus begins his papacy.
* 763 – The Byzantine Empire, Byzantine army of emperor Constantine V defeats the First Bulgarian Empire, Bulgarian forces in the Battle of Anchialus (763), Battle of Anc ...
– Twenty-one students are killed and more than a hundred injured when an American North American
F-100 Super Sabre
The North American F-100 Super Sabre is an American supersonic jet fighter aircraft that served with the United States Air Force (USAF) from 1954 to 1971 and with the Air National Guard (ANG) until 1979. The first of the Century Series of ...
jet crashes into Miamori Elementary School on the island of
Okinawa
is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi).
Naha is the capital and largest city ...
. The pilot ejected before the plane struck the school.
July
![Kitchen debate](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Kitchen_debate.jpg)
*
July 1
Events Pre-1600
* 69 – Tiberius Julius Alexander orders his Roman legions in Alexandria to swear allegiance to Vespasian as Emperor.
* 552 – Battle of Taginae: Byzantine forces under Narses defeat the Ostrogoths in Italy, and the ...
– Australia's longest running children's TV series, ''
Mr. Squiggle
''Mr. Squiggle'' (originally also known as ''Mr. Squiggle and Friends'') is an Australian children's television series, and the name of the title character from that ABC show. The show was presented on television in many formats, between its in ...
'', first airs on
ABC Television ABC Television most commonly refers to:
*ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or
*ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia
ABC Television or ABC ...
.
*
July 2
Events Pre-1600
* 437 – Emperor Valentinian III begins his reign over the Western Roman Empire. His mother Galla Placidia ends her regency, but continues to exercise political influence at the court in Rome.
* 626 – Li Shimin, th ...
–
Prince Albert of Belgium marries Italian
Donna
Donna may refer to the short form of the honorific ''nobildonna'', the female form of Don (honorific) in Italian.
People
*Donna (given name); includes name origin and list of people and characters with the name
* Roberto Di Donna (born 1968), Ita ...
Paola Ruffo di Calabria
Paola (born Donna Paola Ruffo di Calabria;AlthougThe Belgian Monarchy websiteattributes the title of "Princess" to Queen Paola prior to marriage, Burke's Peerage 1973, The Descendants of Louis XIII 1999, ''Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels'' 200 ...
.
*
July 4
Events Pre-1600
* 362 BC – Battle of Mantinea: The Thebans, led by Epaminondas, defeated the Spartans.
* 414 – Emperor Theodosius II, age 13, yields power to his older sister Aelia Pulcheria, who reigned as regent and proclaim ...
– With the admission of Alaska as the 49th
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
earlier in the year, the 49-star
flag of the United States
The national flag of the United States, United States of America, often referred to as the ''American flag'' or the ''U.S. flag'', consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rect ...
debuts in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
.
*
July 7
Events Pre-1600
* 1124 – The city of Tyre falls to the Venetian Crusade after a siege of nineteen weeks.
* 1456 – A retrial verdict acquits Joan of Arc of heresy 25 years after her execution.
* 1520 – Spanish ''conquistado ...
– At 14:28 UT
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...
occults the star
Regulus
Regulus is the brightest object in the constellation Leo and one of the brightest stars in the night sky. It has the Bayer designation designated α Leonis, which is Latinized to Alpha Leonis, and abbreviated Alpha Leo or α Leo. Re ...
. The rare event (which will next occur on October 1, 2044) is used to determine the diameter of Venus and the structure of Venus' atmosphere.
*
July 9
Events Pre-1600
*118 – Hadrian, who became emperor a year previously on Trajan's death, makes his entry into Rome.
* 381 – The end of the First Council of Christian bishops convened in Constantinople by the Roman Emperor Theodos ...
– Wing Commander
Michael Beetham
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Michael James Beetham, (17 May 1923 – 24 October 2015) was a Second World War bomber pilot and a high-ranking commander in the Royal Air Force from the 1960s to the 1980s. As Chief of the Air Staff during th ...
flying a
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
Vickers Valiant sets a record of 11 hours 27 minutes for a non-stop London-Cape Town flight.
* July 14 – Groups of Kurdish people, Kurdish and Communism, communist militias rebel in Kirkuk, Kirkuk, Iraq against the central government.
* July 15 – A Steel strike of 1959, strike occurs against the United States' steel industry.
* July 17 – The first skull of ''Australopithecus'' is discovered by Louis Leakey and his wife Mary Leakey, Mary in the Olduvai Gorge of Tanzania.
* July 22 – A Kumamoto University medical research group studying Minamata disease concludes that it is caused by mercury (element), mercury.
* July 24
** At the opening of the American National Exhibition in Moscow, United States Vice President Richard Nixon and Premier of the Soviet Union, USSR Premier Nikita Khrushchev engage in the "Kitchen Debate".
** In Long Beach, United States, Akiko Kojima of Japan is crowned Miss Universe 1959.
* July 25 – The SR.N1 hovercraft crosses the English Channel from Calais to Dover in just over 2 hours, on the 50th anniversary of Louis Blériot's first crossing by heavier-than-air craft.
August
![Morris Mini interior 1959](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Morris_Mini_interior_1959.jpg)
* August 4 – Martial law is declared in Laos.
* August 7
** Explorer program: The United States launches ''Explorer 6'' from the Atlantic Missile Range in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
** United States: The Roseburg blast, Roseburg, Oregon blast kills 14 and causes $12 million worth of damage.
* August 8 – A flood in Taiwan kills 2,000.
* August 14 – ''Explorer 6'' sends the first picture of Earth from orbit.
* August 15 –
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
gains independence.
* August 17
** The 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake in southwest Montana kills 28.
** Columbia Records releases
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...
album ''
Kind of Blue
''Kind of Blue'' is a studio album by American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader Miles Davis. It was recorded on March 2 and April 22, 1959, at Columbia's 30th Street Studio in New York City, and released on August 17 of that year by Co ...
''.
* August 19 – The Central Treaty Organization (CENTO) is established.
* August 21 –
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
is admitted as the 50th
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
.
* August 21 - Canal 13 (Chilean TV channel) is launched in Chile
* August 26 – The original Mini designed by Sir Alec Issigonis is launched.
* August 30 – South Vietnamese opposition figure Phan Quang Dan 1959 South Vietnamese legislative election, was elected to the National Assembly despite Army of the Republic of Vietnam, soldiers being bussed in to vote for President Ngo Dinh Diem's candidate.
* August 31 – Workers' Stadium, Beijing Workers' Stadium, known well for sports venues in China, officially opened.
September
* September 12 – "Bonanza" premieres, first regularly scheduled TV aired in color.
* September 14 – ''Luna 2'' becomes the first man-made object to crash on the
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
.
* September 15 – September 28 – Premier of the Soviet Union, USSR Premier Nikita Khrushchev and his wife tour the United States, at the invitation of U.S. President Dwight David Eisenhower.
* September 16 – The Xerox 914, the first plain paper copier, is introduced to the public.
* September 17
**The first ''Navy Navigation Satellite System'' Transit (satellite), Transit 1A is launched but fails to reach orbit.
**The hypersonic North American X-15 research vehicle, piloted by Scott Crossfield, makes its first powered flight at Edwards Air Force Base, California.
* September 23 – The motor ship, MS ''Princess of Tasmania'', (Australia's first passenger RO/RO Diesel engine, diesel ferry), makes its maiden voyage across the Bass Strait.
* September 25 – Sri Lanka, Ceylon's prime minister S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike is assassinated.
* September 26
**Typhoon Vera hits central Honshū, Japan, as a 160 mph Category 5 storm, killing an estimated 5,098, injuring another 38,921, and leaving 1,533,000 homeless. Most of the victims and damage are centered in the Nagoya area.
** First large unit action of the Vietnam War takes place, when two companies of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, ARVN's 23rd Division (South Vietnam), 23rd Division are ambushed by a well-organized Viet Cong force of several hundred, identified as the "2nd Liberation Battalion".
* September 30 –
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
leader Nikita Khrushchev meets
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...
in Beijing.
October
![Solomon-R-Guggenheim-Museum-Levels](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Solomon-R-Guggenheim-Museum-Levels.jpg)
* October 1 – The 10th anniversary of the People's Republic of China is celebrated with pomp across the country.
* October 2 – Rod Serling's classic anthology series ''The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series), The Twilight Zone'' premieres on CBS.
* October 7 – The U.S.S.R. probe ''Luna 3'' sends back the first ever photos of the far side of the Moon.
* October 12 – At the national Alianza Popular Revolucionaria Americana, APRA Congress in Peru, a group of leftist radicals is expelled from the party; they later form APRA Rebelde.
* October 13 – The United States launches ''Explorer 7''.
* October 16 – Founding of the Boston Patriots, American Football League, AFL American football club.
* October 21 – In New York City, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (designed by Frank Lloyd Wright) opens to the public.
* October 29 – First appearance of Astérix the Gaul.
* October 31 – Riots break out in the
Belgian Congo
The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964.
Colo ...
.
November
![MOSFET Structure](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/MOSFET_Structure.png)
* November 1 – In Rwanda, Hutu politician Dominique Mbonyumutwa is beaten up by Tutsi forces, leading to a period of violence known as the wind of destruction.
* November 2 – At a ceremony near Toddington, Bedfordshire, Toddington, British Secretary of State for Transport, Minister of Transport Ernest Marples opens the first section of the M1 motorway, M1 Motorway, between Watford and Crick, Northamptonshire, Crick, along with two Spur route, spur motorways, the M45 motorway, M45 and M10 motorway (Great Britain), M10. Three decades of large scale motorway construction follow, leading to the rapid expansion of the UK List of motorways in the United Kingdom, motorway network.
* November 12 – The Warner Bros. religious epic ''The Miracle (1959 film), The Miracle'', very loosely based on the 1911 stage pantomime ''Das Mirakel (play), Das Mirakel'', is released. It is a critical and financial bomb.
* November 15 – Clutter family murders, The Clutter family of Holcomb, Kansas is brutally murdered, inspiring Truman Capote's ''In Cold Blood''.
* November 16 – ''The Sound of Music'', written by Rodgers and Hammerstein, premiered on
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre.
* November 18 – Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, MGM releases the widescreen Technicolor version of ''Ben-Hur (1959 film), Ben-Hur'', starring Charlton Heston. The film goes on to win record number of Academy Awards.
* November 19 – ''The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show'' is first broadcast. The cartoon was shown on American Broadcasting Company, ABC at 5:30 each afternoon and was originally called ''Rocky and His Friends'', although Bullwinkle soon became more popular than Rocky.
* November 20 – The Declaration of the Rights of the Child is adopted by the United Nations.
* The MOSFET (metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor), also known as the MOS transistor, was invented by Mohamed Atalla and Dawon Kahng at Bell Labs.
It revolutionized the electronics industry,
and became the fundamental building block of the Digital Revolution. The MOSFET went on to become the most widely manufactured device in history.
December
* December 1 – Cold War – Antarctic Treaty System, Antarctic Treaty: 12 countries, including the United States and the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, sign a landmark treaty that sets aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve and bans military activity on the continent (the first arms control agreement established during the Cold War).
* December 2 – Malpasset Dam in southern France collapses and water flows over the town of Fréjus, killing 412.
* December 8 – The ''RNLB Mona (ON 775), Mona'', a lifeboat based at Broughty Ferry in Scotland, capsizes during a rescue attempt, with the loss of 8 lives.
* December 11 – Charles Robberts Swart is appointed the 11th Governor-General of the Union of South Africa.
* December 14 – Makarios III is selected the first president of Cyprus.
* December 28 – After having been shot two years earlier, Ante Pavelić dies from his wounds in a Spanish hospital.
Date unknown
* The
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR as well as its season opening event. In addition to NA ...
completes construction.
* Nylon tights, popularly called pantyhose or sheer tights, first sold on the open market as 'Panti-Legs' by Glen Raven Knitting Mills.
* The Workers World Party is founded by Sam Marcy.
* The first known human with HIV dies in the Belgian Congo, Congo.
* The current (as of 2006) design of the Japanese 10 yen coin is put into circulation.
* The Caspian tiger becomes extinct in Iran.
* The Henney Kilowatt goes on sale in the United States, becoming the first mass-produced electric car in almost three decades.
* Erving Goffman publishes his seminal study in sociology, ''The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life''.
* The iconic 1959 Cadillac is introduced, with car tailfin, tailfin wars peaking that had begun in 1948.
* Chevy El Camino is introduced.
Births
January
![Linda Blair 2014 Phoenix Comicon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Linda_Blair_2014_Phoenix_Comicon.jpg)
*
January 1
January 1 or 1 January is the first day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 364 days remaining until the end of the year (365 in leap years). This day is also known as New Year's Day since the day marks the beginning of the yea ...
– Azali Assoumani, President of the Comoros
*
January 4
Events Pre-1600
*46 BC – Julius Caesar fights Titus Labienus in the Battle of Ruspina.
* 871 – Battle of Reading: Æthelred of Wessex and his brother Alfred are defeated by a Danish invasion army.
1601–1900
*1649 – Engli ...
– Vanity (singer), Vanity, Canadian singer and actress (d. 2016)
* January 5 – Clancy Brown, American actor and voice actor
*
January 8
Events Pre-1600
* 307 – Emperor Huai of Jin, Jin Huaidi becomes emperor of China in succession to his father, Emperor Hui of Jin, Jin Huidi, despite a challenge from his uncle, Sima Ying.
* 871 – Æthelred I, King of Wessex, Æthel ...
– Paul Hester, Australian musician (d. 2005)
*
January 9
Events Pre-1600
* 681 – Twelfth Council of Toledo: King Erwig of the Visigoths initiates a council in which he implements diverse measures against the Jews in Spain.
*1127 – Jin–Song Wars: Invading Jurchen soldiers from the J ...
** Rigoberta Menchú, Guatemalan recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
** Mark Martin, American NASCAR driver
*
January 10
Events Pre-1600
*49 BC – Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon, signalling the start of civil war.
* 9 – The Western Han dynasty ends when Wang Mang claims that the divine Mandate of Heaven called for the end of the dynasty and the be ...
– Rocky Lockridge, American boxer (d. 2019)
*
January 12
Events Pre-1600
* 475 – Byzantine Emperor Zeno is forced to flee his capital at Constantinople, and his general, Basiliscus gains control of the empire.
*1528 – Gustav I of Sweden is crowned King of Sweden, having already reigned s ...
– Per Gessle, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist (Roxette)
* January 16 – Sade (singer), Sade, Nigerian-English singer
* January 17
** Susanna Hoffs, American rock vocalist
** :de:Reiner M. Sowa, Reiner M. Sowa, German Author
** Momoe Yamaguchi, Japanese singer
*
January 21
Events Pre-1600
* 763 – Following the Battle of Bakhamra between Alids and Abbasids near Kufa, the Alid rebellion ends with the death of Ibrahim, brother of Isa ibn Musa.
* 1525 – The Swiss Anabaptist Movement is founded when Co ...
– Alex McLeish, Nottingham Forest F.C., Nottingham Forest player
*
January 22
Events Pre-1600
* 613 – Eight-month-old Constantine is crowned as co-emperor (''Caesar'') by his father Heraclius at Constantinople.
* 871 – Battle of Basing: The West Saxons led by King Æthelred I are defeated by the Danelaw Vi ...
– Linda Blair, American actress
* January 24 –
** Kevin Magee (basketball), Kevin Magee, American basketball player (d. 2003)
** Vic Reeves, English comedian
* January 26 – Bob Lazar, American physicist and conspiracy theorist
** Salvador Sánchez, Mexican boxer (d. 1982)
* January 27 – Keith Olbermann, American news anchor and sportscaster
*
January 30
Events Pre-1600
*1018 – Poland and the Holy Roman Empire conclude the Peace of Bautzen.
*1287 – King Wareru founds the Hanthawaddy Kingdom, and proclaims independence from the Pagan Kingdom.
1601–1900
*1607 – An estimated ...
– Jody Watley, African-American singer
* January 31 – Kelly Lynch, American model and actress
February
![Kyle McLachlan Cannes 2017 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Kyle_McLachlan_Cannes_2017_2.jpg)
* February 1 – Wade Wilson (American football), Wade Wilson, American football player and coach (d. 2019)
* February 2
** Jari Tervo, Finnish author
** Hella von Sinnen, German TV-entertainer
* February 3 – Tonga Fifita, UliUli Fifita, Tongan professional Wrestler aka(Haku/Meng)
* February 4
** Pamelyn Ferdin, American former child actress; animal rights activist
** Raquel Morell, Mexican actress
** Lawrence Taylor, American football player
* February 5
** Chris Close, Australian rugby league player
** Jennifer Granholm, Canadian-American politician, 47th Governor of Michigan (2003–2011)
*
February 6
Events Pre-1600
* 1579 – The Archdiocese of Manila is made a diocese by a papal bull with Domingo de Salazar being its first bishop.
1601–1900
* 1685 – James II of England and VII of Scotland is proclaimed King upon the death of ...
** Pat Bullard, Canadian game show host, comedian and writer
** Ken Nelson (British record producer), Ken Nelson, English record producer
* February 7 – Vladimír Havlík, Czech action artist
* February 8 – Mauricio Macri, President of Argentina
*
February 9
Events Pre-1600
* 474 – Zeno is crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
* 1003 – Boleslaus III is restored to authority with armed support from Bolesław I the Brave of Poland.
* 1539 – The first recorded race is hel ...
– Joachim Kunz, East German Olympic weightlifter
* February 10
** John Berry (administrator), John Berry, American government official
** Dennis Gentry, American football player
*
February 13
Events Pre-1600
* 962 – Emperor Otto I and Pope John XII co-sign the ''Diploma Ottonianum'', recognizing John as ruler of Rome.
*1322 – The central tower of Ely Cathedral falls on the night of 12th–13th.
*1462 – The ...
Benur Pashayan, Soviet Armenian Greco-Roman wrestler (d. 2019)
* February 14 – Renée Fleming, American soprano
*
February 16
Events Pre-1600
* 1249 – Andrew of Longjumeau is dispatched by Louis IX of France as his ambassador to meet with the Khagan of the Mongol Empire.
* 1270 – Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeats the Livonian Order in the Battle of Kar ...
– John McEnroe, American tennis player
*
February 18
Events Pre-1600
* 1229 – The Sixth Crusade: Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, signs a ten-year truce with al-Kamil, regaining Jerusalem, Nazareth, and Bethlehem with neither military engagements nor support from the papacy.
* 1268 &ndas ...
– Jayne Atkinson, English-born American film, theatre and television actress
*
February 20
Events Pre-1600
*1339 – The Milanese army and the St. George's (San Giorgio) Mercenaries of Lodrisio Visconti clash in the Battle of Parabiago; Visconti is defeated.
*1472 – Orkney and Shetland are pawned by Norway to Scotland ...
– Scott Brayton, American race car driver (d. 1996)
* February 21 – Werner Schünemann, Brazilian actor and film director
*
February 22
Events Pre-1600
* 1076 – Having received a letter during the Lenten synod of 14–20 February demanding that he abdicate, Pope Gregory VII excommunicates Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor.
* 1316 – The Battle of Picotin, between Ferdina ...
– Kyle MacLachlan, American actor
* February 23
** Clayton Anderson, American astronaut
** Ian Liddell-Grainger, British politician
* February 25 – Renee M. Borges, Indian ecologist
* February 26 – Rolando Blackman, Panamanian basketball player
March
![Laura-Chinchilla-cropped](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Laura-Chinchilla-cropped.jpg)
*
March 1
Events Pre-1600
*509 BC – Publius Valerius Publicola celebrates the first Roman triumph, triumph of the Roman Republic after his victory over the deposed king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus at the Battle of Silva Arsia.
* 293 – Emperor ...
– Nick Griffin, British politician
* March 4
** Rick Ardon, Australian news presenter
** Irina Strakhova, Russian race walker
* March 5
** Mike Byster, American mathematician, mental calculator and Mathematics education, math educator
** Vazgen Sargsyan, 8th Prime Minister of Armenia (d. 1999)
* March 6
** Tom Arnold (actor), Tom Arnold, American actor and comedian
** Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala II, Filipino businessman
** Lars Larson, American conservative talk show host
* March 7 – Donna Murphy, American actress and singer
*
March 8
Events Pre-1600
* 1010 – Ferdowsi completes his epic poem ''Shahnameh''.
*1126 – Following the death of his mother, queen Urraca of León, Alfonso VII is proclaimed king of León.
* 1262 – Battle of Hausbergen between bour ...
** Lester Holt, American television journalist and news anchor
** Aidan Quinn, Irish-American actor
*
March 9
Events Pre-1600
*141 BC – Liu Che, posthumously known as Emperor Wu of Han, assumes the throne over the Han dynasty of China.
*1009 – First known mention of Lithuania, in the annals of the monastery of Quedlinburg.
* 1226 – ...
** Giovanni di Lorenzo, German-Italian journalist and talk show host
** Takaaki Kajita, Japanese nuclear physicist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics
*
March 10
Events Pre-1600
* 241 BC – First Punic War: Battle of the Aegates: The Romans sink the Carthaginian fleet bringing the First Punic War to an end.
* 298 – Roman Emperor Maximian concludes his campaign in North Africa and makes a t ...
– Mike Wallace (racing driver), Mike Wallace, American race car driver
*
March 11
Events Pre-1600
* 222 – Roman emperor Elagabalus is murdered alongside his mother, Julia Soaemias. He is replaced by his 14-year old cousin, Severus Alexander.
* 843 – Triumph of Orthodoxy: Empress Theodora II restores the venerati ...
**Nina Hartley, American pornographic actress and director
** Margus Oopkaup, Estonian actor
** Dejan Stojanović, Serbian-American poet, writer, essayist and businessman
* March 13
** Kathy Hilton, American actress and philanthropist
** Bruce Byron, English actor
* March 15
** Harold Baines, American baseball player
** Fabio Lanzoni, Italian fashion model and actor
** Eliot Teltscher, American tennis player
* March 16
** Flavor Flav, American rapper
** Gary Basaraba, Canadian-American actor
** Jens Stoltenberg, 27th Prime Minister of Norway
*
March 17
Events Pre-1600
* 45 BC – In his last victory, Julius Caesar defeats the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the Younger in the Battle of Munda.
* 180 – Commodus becomes sole emperor of the Roman Empire at the age of eigh ...
** Danny Ainge, American basketball player, coach and baseball player
** Ken Lo, Hong Kong actor and member of the Jackie Chan Stunt Team
*
March 18
Events Pre-1600
* 37 – Roman Senate annuls Tiberius' will and proclaims Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ''(aka Caligula = Little Boots)'' emperor.Tacitus, ''Annals'' V.10.
* 1068 – An earthquake in the Levant and the Ara ...
** Luc Besson, French film producer, writer and director
** Irene Cara, American singer and actress (d. 2022)
* March 20
** Sting (wrestler), Steve Borden, American wrestler
** Richard Drummie, English guitarist and composer (Go West (band), Go West)
** Steve McFadden, British actor
* March 21 – Nobuo Uematsu, Japanese composer
* March 22 – Matthew Modine, American actor
* March 23
** Kazue Ikura, Japanese voice actress
** Catherine Keener, American actress
* March 27 – Jun'ichi Sugawara, Japanese voice actor
*
March 28
Events Pre-1600
* AD 37 – Roman emperor Caligula accepts the titles of the Principate, bestowed on him by the Senate.
* 193 – After assassinating the Roman Emperor Pertinax, his Praetorian Guards auction off the throne to Di ...
– Laura Chinchilla, 49th President of Costa Rica
* March 29 – Barry Blanchard, Canadian mountaineer
* March 30 – Andrew Bailey (banker), Andrew Bailey, Executive Director Banking and Chief Cashier at the Bank of England
*
March 31
Events Pre-1600
* 307 – After divorcing his wife Minervina, Constantine the Great, Constantine marries Fausta, daughter of the retired Roman emperor Maximian.
*1146 – Bernard of Clairvaux preaches his famous sermon in a field at V ...
– Markus Hediger, Swiss writer and translator
April
![Stephen-Harper-Cropped-2014-02-18](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/Stephen-Harper-Cropped-2014-02-18.jpg)
* April 2
** Alberto Fernández, President of Argentina
** Badou Ezzaki, Badou Zaki, Moroccan football player and manager
* April 3
** Tejumola Olaniyan, Nigerian academic (d. 2019)
** David Hyde Pierce, American actor
* April 4 – Phil Morris (actor), Phil Morris, American actor
*
April 8
Events Pre-1600
* 217 – Roman emperor Caracalla is assassinated and is succeeded by his Praetorian Guard prefect, Marcus Opellius Macrinus.
* 876 – The Battle of Dayr al-'Aqul saves Baghdad from the Saffarids.
*1139 – Ro ...
- Nell Newman, American entrepreneur
*
April 10
Events Pre-1600
* 428 – Nestorius becomes the Patriarch of Constantinople.
* 837 – Halley's Comet makes its closest approach to Earth at a distance equal to 0.0342 AU (5.1 million kilometres/3.2 million miles).
* 1407 ...
** Joy Viado, Filipino comedian and actress (d. 2016)
** Brian Setzer, American rock guitarist and singer
**Mona Juul (Danish politician), Mona Juul, Norwegian diplomat and politician
* April 11 – Ana María Polo, Cuban-born judge and television personality
* April 14 – Steve Byrnes, American motorsports broadcaster (d. 2015)
* April 15
** Fruit Chan, Hong Kong film director
** Ray Neufeld, Canadian ice hockey player
** John Onoje, Sierra Leonean-born Moldovan activist
** Adriano Ruchini, Italian businessman
** Emma Thompson, English actress
** Thomas F. Wilson, American actor
* April 16
** David Feiss, American animator
** Alison Ramsay, Scottish field hockey player
* April 17 – Sean Bean, British actor
* April 19 – Patricia Charbonneau, American actress
* April 20 – Clint Howard, American actor and producer
* April 21 – Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith, lead vocalist and guitarist of the British rock group The Cure
*
April 22
Events Pre-1600
* 1500 – Portuguese navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral lands in Brazil.
* 1519 – Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés establishes a settlement at Veracruz, Mexico.
* 1529 – Treaty of Zaragoza divides the eastern ...
** Terry Francona, American baseball player and manager
** Ryan Stiles, American-Canadian comedian
* April 23 – Dan Frischman, American actor
* April 24 – Paula Yates, British television presenter (d. 2000)
*
April 25
Events Pre-1600
* 404 BC – Admiral Lysander and King Pausanias of Sparta blockade Athens and bring the Peloponnesian War to a successful conclusion.
* 775 – The Battle of Bagrevand puts an end to an Armenian rebellion against the ...
– Tony Phillips, American baseball player (d. 2016)
*April 26 – Pedro Pierluisi, Puerto Rican politician and lobbyist, Governor-designate
*
April 27
Events Pre-1600
* 247 – Philip the Arab marks the millennium of Rome with a celebration of the ''ludi saeculares''.
* 395 – Emperor Arcadius marries Aelia Eudoxia, daughter of the Frankish general Flavius Bauto. She becomes one of ...
– Sheena Easton, Scottish singer
* April 30 – Stephen Harper, 22nd Prime Minister of Canada
May
![RupertEverett cropped-2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/RupertEverett_cropped-2.jpg)
*
May 2
Events Pre-1600
* 1194 – King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first Royal Charter.
* 1230 – William de Braose is hanged by Prince Llywelyn the Great.
* 1536 – Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, is arrested and impris ...
– Alan Best (filmmaker), Alan Best, Canadian animation director and producer
* May 3
** Uma Bharti, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh
** Ben Elton, British comedian and writer
* May 5
** Peter Molyneux, British game programmer
** Steve Stevens, American guitarist
** Brian Williams, American news anchor
** Gary Dubin, American actor and voice actor (d. 2016)
* May 9
** Christian Bach, Argentine-Mexican actress and producer of telenovelas (d. 2019)
** János Áder, President of Hungary
* May 10 – Victoria Rowell, American actress
* May 12
** Ving Rhames, African-American actor
** Ron Rubin (voice actor), Robin Rubin, Canadian voice actor
* May 14 – Patrick Bruel, French singer
* May 15 – Andrew Eldritch, British singer/songwriter
* May 17 – Marcelo Loffreda, Argentine rugby player and coach
* May 20
** Bronson Pinchot, American actor
** Israel Kamakawiwoʻole, Hawaiian singer (d. 1997)
*
May 21
Events Pre-1600
* 293 – Roman Emperors Diocletian and Maximian appoint Galerius as ''Caesar (title), Caesar'' to Diocletian, beginning the period of four rulers known as the Tetrarchy.
* 878 – Syracuse, Sicily, is Siege of Syracuse ...
** Brian Lenihan Jnr, Brian Lenihan, Irish politician (d. 2011)
** Loretta Lynch, American politician, 83rd United States Attorney General
* May 22
** David Blatt, Israeli-American professional basketball player and coach
** Morrissey, British singer
* May 23 – Bob Mortimer, English comedian
*
May 24
Events Pre-1600
* 919 – The nobles of Franconia and Saxony elect Henry the Fowler at the Imperial Diet in Fritzlar as king of the East Frankish Kingdom.
* 1218 – The Fifth Crusade leaves Acre for Egypt.
* 1276 – Magnus La ...
– Pelle Lindbergh, Swedish-born hockey player (d. 1985)
* May 25 – Julian Clary, English comedian, actor and author
* May 26 – Kevin Gage (actor), Kevin Gage, American actor
* May 27
** Katherine Lanpher, American journalist
** Donna Strickland, Canadian physicist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics
*
May 28
Events Pre-1600
* 585 BC – A solar eclipse occurs, as predicted by the Greek philosopher and scientist Thales, while Alyattes is battling Cyaxares in the Battle of the Eclipse, leading to a truce. This is one of the cardinal dates from w ...
– Steve Strange, Welsh singer (Visage (band), Visage) (d. 2015)
* May 29
** Gretchen (singer), Gretchen, Brazilian singer, reality television personality, actress and businesswoman
** Rupert Everett, British actor
* May 31 – Andrea de Cesaris, Italian race car driver (d. 2014)
June
![Landtag Niedersachsen DSCF7769](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Landtag_Niedersachsen_DSCF7769.JPG)
* June 7 – Mike Pence, 48th Vice President of the United States
*
June 8
Events Pre-1600
* 218 – Battle of Antioch: With the support of the Syrian legions, Elagabalus defeats the forces of emperor Macrinus.
* 452 – Attila leads a Hun army in the invasion of Italy, devastating the northern provinces ...
– Bernard White (actor), Bernard White, Sri Lankan-born American actor, screenwriter and film director
* June 10
** Carlo Ancelotti, Italian football player and manager
** Phillip J. Roth, American film producer, director and screenwriter
** Eliot Spitzer, American politician and former List of Governors of New York, governor of New York
* June 11
** Hugh Laurie, British actor, comedian, and musician
** Magnum T. A., American professional wrestler
* June 12 – John Linnell, American singer-songwriter, half of alternative rock duo They Might Be Giants
* June 13 – Klaus Iohannis, President of Romania
*
June 14
Events Pre-1600
* 1158 – The city of Munich is founded by Henry the Lion on the banks of the river Isar.
*1216 – First Barons' War: Prince Louis of France takes the city of Winchester, abandoned by John, King of England, and soo ...
– Marcus Miller, American bassist
* June 15 – Eileen Davidson, American actress and author
* June 16 – The Ultimate Warrior, American professional wrestler (d. 2014)
* June 17
** Ulrike Richter, German swimmer
** Kazuki Yao, Japanese voice actor
*
June 18
Events Pre-1600
* 618 – Li Yuan becomes Emperor Gaozu of Tang, initiating three centuries of Tang dynasty rule over China.
* 656 – Ali becomes Caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate.
* 860 – Byzantine–Rus' War: A fleet of about ...
** Sione Laumanuʻuli Luani, Tongan politician (d. 2010)
** Joe Ansolabehere, American television screenwriter and producer
* June 19 – Christian Wulff, Federal President of Germany
* June 21
** Guerrinha, Brazilian basketball coach and basketball player
** Demetrio Román Isidoro, Mexican architect and politician
** Marcella Detroit, American soprano vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter
** Louis Febre, Mexican composer
* June 22
** Wayne Federman, American comedian, actor, and author
** Ed Viesturs, American mountaineer
*
June 23
Events Pre-1600
* 229 – Sun Quan proclaims himself emperor of Eastern Wu.
* 1266 – War of Saint Sabas: In the Battle of Trapani, the Venetians defeat a larger Genoese fleet, capturing all its ships.
* 1280 – The Spanish Re ...
** Marc Larose, Seychellois sprinter
** Mariella Valentini, Italian actress
** Steve Joughin, Manx road racing cyclist
* June 24 – Andy McCluskey, English musician and songwriter (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, OMD)
*
June 26
Events Pre-1600
* 4 – Augustus adopts Tiberius.
* 221 – Roman emperor Elagabalus adopts his cousin Alexander Severus as his heir and receives the title of Caesar.
* 363 – Roman emperor Julian is killed during the retreat f ...
** Mark McKinney, Canadian actor and comedian
** :es:Stef Burns, Stef Burns, American guitarist
** Suresh Gopi, Indian actor
* June 27
** Khadja Nin, Burundian singer and musician
** Pétur Pétursson, Icelandic footballer
* June 28 – John Shelley (illustrator), John Shelley, British illustrator
* June 29 – Gina Alajar, Filipino film and television actress and television director
*
June 30
Events Pre-1600
* 296 – Pope Marcellinus begins his papacy.
* 763 – The Byzantine Empire, Byzantine army of emperor Constantine V defeats the First Bulgarian Empire, Bulgarian forces in the Battle of Anchialus (763), Battle of Anc ...
– Vincent D'Onofrio, American actor
July
![Sanjay Dutt at Mumbai Airport, 2018 (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Sanjay_Dutt_at_Mumbai_Airport%2C_2018_%28cropped%29.jpg)
*
July 1
Events Pre-1600
* 69 – Tiberius Julius Alexander orders his Roman legions in Alexandria to swear allegiance to Vespasian as Emperor.
* 552 – Battle of Taginae: Byzantine forces under Narses defeat the Ostrogoths in Italy, and the ...
** Mohamed Lemine Ould Guig, Mauritanian academic and political figure
** Giovanni D'Aleo, Italian long-distance runner
*
July 2
Events Pre-1600
* 437 – Emperor Valentinian III begins his reign over the Western Roman Empire. His mother Galla Placidia ends her regency, but continues to exercise political influence at the court in Rome.
* 626 – Li Shimin, th ...
– Indi Nadarajah, Malaysian actor and comedian
* July 3 – Julie Burchill, British journalist
*
July 4
Events Pre-1600
* 362 BC – Battle of Mantinea: The Thebans, led by Epaminondas, defeated the Spartans.
* 414 – Emperor Theodosius II, age 13, yields power to his older sister Aelia Pulcheria, who reigned as regent and proclaim ...
** Victoria Abril, Spanish actress and singer
** Joe Pannunzio, American football executive and player and coach
* July 5
** María Concepción Navarrete, Mexican politician
** Marc Cohn, American singer-songwriter
** Akari Hibino, Japanese voice actress
** Pablo Helman, Argentine special effects artist
* July 6
** Richard Dacoury, French basketball player
** John Keeble, English pop and rock drummer
*
July 7
Events Pre-1600
* 1124 – The city of Tyre falls to the Venetian Crusade after a siege of nineteen weeks.
* 1456 – A retrial verdict acquits Joan of Arc of heresy 25 years after her execution.
* 1520 – Spanish ''conquistado ...
** Billy Campbell, American actor
** Barbara Krause, German swimmer
** Ben Linder, American engineer (d. 1987)
* July 8
** Pauline Quirke, British actress
** Lori Hallier, Canadian actress
** Robert Knepper, American actor
** Jean-Philippe Écoffey, Swiss actor
** Mikhail Zingarevich, Russian entrepreneur and philanthropist
*
July 9
Events Pre-1600
*118 – Hadrian, who became emperor a year previously on Trajan's death, makes his entry into Rome.
* 381 – The end of the First Council of Christian bishops convened in Constantinople by the Roman Emperor Theodos ...
** Jim Kerr, Scottish rock singer (Simple Minds)
** Kevin Nash, American professional wrestler
* July 10 – Anjani, American singer-songwriter and pianist
* July 11
** Richie Sambora, American musician
** Suzanne Vega, American singer
* July 12
** King Tupou VI of Tonga
** Charlie Murphy (actor), Charlie Murphy, African-American actor and comedian (d. 2017)
* July 13 – Fuziah Salleh, Malaysian politician
* July 14
** M. Manogaran, Malaysian politician
** Paul Haba, Guinean sprinter
** Susana Martinez, American politician, Governor of New Mexico
* July 15
** Vincent Lindon, French actor and filmmaker
** Patrick Timsit, French comedian, writer and film director
* July 16
** Bob Joles, American voice actor and musician
** Gary Anderson (placekicker), Gary Anderson, American football player
** Matthew Bronfman, American businessman, entrepreneur and philanthropist
* July 17 – Margaret Becker, American Christian singer
* July 18 – Mel Purcell, American tennis player
* July 19 – Juan J. Campanella, Argentinian filmmaker
* July 20 – Giovanna Amati, Italian race car driver
* July 21 – Gene Miles, Australian rugby league player
* July 22 – Nigel Findley, American game designer (d. 1995)
* July 25
** Anatoly Onoprienko, Ukrainian serial killer (d. 2013)
** Fyodor Cherenkov, Russian footballer and manager (d. 2014)
* July 26
** Rick Bragg, American journalist
** Kevin Spacey, American actor
** Richard Pearce (British actor), Richard Pearce, British voice artist
* July 27 – Hugh Green (American football), Hugh Green, American football player
* July 29
** Sanjay Dutt, Indian actor
** Ruud Janssen, Dutch artist
* July 30 − Abdullah of Pahang, current Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia
* July 31 – Kim Newman, English fiction writer, journalist, and film critic
August
![David koresh](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/David_koresh.jpg)
* August 1 – Joe Elliott, English singer; lead singer of Def Leppard
* August 2
** Johnny Kemp, Bahamian singer-songwriter (d. 2015)
** Victoria Jackson, American actress, comedian, and singer
* August 3
** John C. McGinley, American actor
** Koichi Tanaka, Japanese scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
* August 4 – Robbin Crosby, American rock guitarist (Ratt) (d. 2002)
* August 5 – Pete Burns, English singer (Dead or Alive (band), Dead or Alive) (d. 2016)
* August 6 – Rajendra Singh (environmentalist), Rajendra Singh, Indian water conservationist, Magsaysay Award (2001)
* August 7 – Koenraad Elst, Belgian Indologist
* August 10 – Rosanna Arquette, American actress
* August 11
** Gustavo Cerati, Argentinian singer (d. 2014)
** Yoshiaki Murakami, Japanese investor
* August 12 – Kerry Boustead, Australian rugby league player
* August 13 – Danny Bonaduce, American actor and disc jockey
* August 14
** Marcia Gay Harden, American actress
** Magic Johnson, African-American basketball player
* August 15 – Scott Altman, American astronaut
* August 17
** Chika Sakamoto, Japanese voice actress and singer
** Jonathan Franzen, American author
** David Koresh, American spiritualist, leader of the Branch Davidian religious cult (d. 1993)
** Brad Wellman, American baseball player
* August 18 – Dorothy Bush Koch, American author and philanthropist
* August 19 – Anthony Sowell, convicted serial killer and rapist
* August 21 – Jim McMahon, American football player
* August 25 – Sönke Wortmann, German film director
* August 26 – Stan Van Gundy, American basketball coach
* August 27
** Juan Fernando Cobo, Colombian artist
**Daniela Romo, Mexican singer, actress and TV hostess
* August 28 – Arthur Holden, Canadian actor and writer
* August 29
** Jeff Adachi, American attorney (d. 2019)
** Rebecca De Mornay, American actress
** Chris Hadfield, Canadian retired astronaut
** Stephen Wolfram, British scientist
* August 30 – Mark Jackson (Australian footballer), Mark Jackson, Australian rules footballer and actor
* August 31 – Tony DeFranco, Canadian singer
September
![Jason Alexander - 2009 (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Jason_Alexander_-_2009_%28cropped%29.jpg)
* September 1 – Kenny Mayne, American sportscaster
* September 2 – Guy Laliberté, Canadian Cirque du Soleil founder
* September 4
** Kevin Harrington (actor), Kevin Harrington, Australian actor
** Armin Kogler, Austrian ski jumper
* September 6 – Gaetano Varcasia, Italian voice actor and theatre director (d. 2014)
* September 7 – Pierre Nanterme, French business executive (d. 2019)
* September 8
** Daler Nazarov, Tajik composer, singer, and actor
** Saeko Shimazu, Japanese voice actress
* September 11 – John Hawkes (actor), John Hawkes, American actor
* September 12 – Sigmar Gabriel, German politician
* September 13
** Kathy Johnson, American artistic gymnast
** Chris Hansen, American journalist
* September 14
** Mary Crosby, American actress
** Morten Harket, Norwegian rock singer (A-ha)
* September 16 – Peter Keleghan, Canadian actor
* September 18
** Ian Bridge, Canadian footballer
** Sérgio Britto, Brazilian singer and keyboardist
**Mark Romanek, American filmmaker
* September 23
** Jason Alexander, American actor and comedian
** Elizabeth Peña, American actress (d. 2014)
* September 24 – Steve Whitmire, American puppeteer
* September 28 – Dantes Tsitsi, Nauruan politician
* September 29 – Benjamin Sehene, Rwandan writer
* September 30 – Ettore Messina, Italian basketball coach
October
![John Magufuli 2015](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/John_Magufuli_2015.png)
* October 1 – Youssou N'Dour, Senegalese singer
* October 2 – Lena Hades, Russian artist
* October 3
** Fred Couples, American golfer
** Greg Proops, American comedian
** Jack Wagner (actor), Jack Wagner, American actor
* October 4 – Chris Lowe, British musician
* October 7
** Simon Cowell, English music producer and television talent show judge
** Lourdes Flores, Peruvian politician
* October 8
** Erik Gundersen, Danish motorcycle racer
** Carlos I. Noriega, Peruvian-American colonel and astronaut
* October 9 – Boris Nemtsov, Russian politician (d. 2015)
* October 10
** Kirsty MacColl, British singer and songwriter (d. 2000)
** Julia Sweeney, American actress and comedian
* October 13 – Marie Osmond, American singer
* October 15
** Emeril Lagasse, American chef and restaurant owner
** Sarah, Duchess of York, British royal and former wife of Prince Andrew, Duke of York
* October 17 – Francisco Flores Pérez, President of El Salvador (d. 2016)
* October 18 – Mauricio Funes, 44th President of El Salvador
* October 20 - Hotman Paris Hutapea, Indonesian lawyer
* October 21 – Ken Watanabe, Japanese actor
* October 22 – Arto Salminen, Finnish writer (d. 2005)
* October 23
** "Weird Al" Yankovic, American singer and parodist
** Sam Raimi, American producer, writer and director
* October 25 – Chrissy Amphlett, Australian rock singer (d. 2013)
* October 26
** François Chau, American actor
** Evo Morales, President of Bolivia
* October 27 – Rick Carlisle, American basketball coach
* October 29 – John Magufuli, 5th President of Tanzania (d. 2021)
* October 31 – Neal Stephenson, American writer
November
![Sean Young LF](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/Sean_Young_LF.JPG)
* November 1 – John Odey, Nigerian politician (d. 2018)
* November 2 – Saïd Aouita, Moroccan athlete
* November 3 – Timothy Patrick Murphy, American actor (d. 1988)
* November 5 – Bryan Adams, Canadian singer and photographer
* November 6 – Nobuo Tobita, Japanese voice actor
* November 7 – Billy Gillispie, American basketball coach
* November 8 – Selçuk Yula, Turkish football player and top scorer
* November 9 – Tony Slattery, British comedian and actor
* November 10
** Linda Cohn, American sports reporter
** Mackenzie Phillips, American actress
** Mike McCarthy, American football coach
* November 11
** Parithi Ilamvazhuthi, Indian politician (d. 2018)
** Christian Schwarzenegger, Swiss legal scientist and professor
* November 14
** Deta Hedman, Jamaican-born English darts player
** Paul McGann, British actor
** Bryan Stevenson, American lawyer and social justice activist
* November 16 – RaeAnn Kelsch, American politician (d. 2018)
* November 17 – William R. Moses, American actor
* November 18
** Jimmy Quinn (footballer, born 1959), Jimmy Quinn, Northern Irish footballer and football manager
** Karla Faye Tucker, American convicted murderer (d. 1998)
* November 19
** Robert Barron (bishop), Robert Barron, American bishop, author, and theologian
** Jo Bonner, American U.S. Representative for Alabama's 1st congressional district
** Allison Janney, American actress
* November 20 – Sean Young, American actress
* November 23 – Dominique Dunne, American actress (d. 1982)
* November 24 – Akio Ōtsuka, Japanese voice actor and actor
* November 25 – Charles Kennedy, British politician (d. 2015)
* November 26 – Dai Davies (politician), Dai Davies Welsh politician and independent Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP)
* November 27 – Viktoria Mullova, Russian violinist
* November 28 – Judd Nelson, American actor
* November 29
** Rahm Emanuel, American politician
** Platon Lebedev, Russian executive
** Neal Broten, American professional ice hockey player
* November 30
** George S. J. Faber, George Faber, British television producer
** Lorraine Kelly, British presenter and journalist
December
![Val Kilmer Cannes](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Val_Kilmer_Cannes.jpg)
* December 1
** Billy Childish, English painter, writer and musician
** Wally Lewis, Australian rugby league player
* December 2 – Hans Kristian Amundsen, Norwegian newspaper editor and politician (d. 2018)
* December 4 – Christa Luding-Rothenburger, German speed skater
* December 5 – Yoshitomo Nara, Japanese artist
* December 6 – Satoru Iwata, Japanese president of Nintendo (d. 2015)
* December 8 – Yun Duk-min, Korean diplomat
* December 9
** Mario Cantone, American comedian, writer, and actor
** Karl Shuker, British zoologist, crypto-zoologist, and author
* December 13 – Johnny Whitaker, American actor
* December 14 – Evan Ziporyn, American composer
* December 16
** Alison LaPlaca, American actress
** Steve Mattsson, American writer
* December 17 – Gregg Araki, American director
* December 19 – Waise Lee, Hong Kong actor
* December 20 – Stephen Chan Chi Wan, general manager of TVB
* December 21 – Florence Griffith Joyner, American athlete (d. 1998)
* December 22 – Bernd Schuster, German footballer and manager
* December 24 – Keith Deller, English darts player
* December 25 – Michael P. Anderson, American astronaut (d. 2003)
* December 27 – Gerina Dunwich, American author
* December 28 – Ana Torroja, Spanish singer
* December 29
** Marco Antonio Solís, Mexican singer
** Patricia Clarkson, American actress
* December 30 – Tracey Ullman, British-American comedian and actress
* December 31
** Val Kilmer, American actor
** Baron Waqa, Nauruan politician and composer, 14th President of Nauru
Date unknown
*Greg Cox (writer), Greg Cox, American novelist
*Tom Grummett, Canadian comics artist
*Jacki Randall, American artist
Deaths
January
![Demille - c1920](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/Demille_-_c1920.JPG)
*
January 2
Events Pre-1600
* 69 – The Roman legions in Germania Superior refuse to swear loyalty to Galba. They rebel and proclaim Vitellius as emperor.
* 366 – The Alemanni cross the frozen Rhine in large numbers, invading the Roman Empi ...
– William D. Francis, Australian botanist (b. 1889)
*
January 3
Events Pre-1600
*AD 69, 69 – The Roman legions on the Rhine refuse to declare their allegiance to Galba, instead proclaiming their legate, Aulus Vitellius, as emperor.
* 250 – Emperor Decius orders everyone in the Roman Empire (ex ...
– Edwin Muir, Scottish poet, novelist and translator (b. 1887)
*
January 6
Events Pre-1600
*1066 – Following the death of Edward the Confessor on the previous day, the Witan meets to confirm Harold Godwinson as the new King of England; Harold is crowned the same day, sparking a succession crisis that will eve ...
– José Enrique Pedreira, Puerto Rican composer (b. 1904)
*
January 8
Events Pre-1600
* 307 – Emperor Huai of Jin, Jin Huaidi becomes emperor of China in succession to his father, Emperor Hui of Jin, Jin Huidi, despite a challenge from his uncle, Sima Ying.
* 871 – Æthelred I, King of Wessex, Æthel ...
– Zhang Xi (PRC politician), Zhang Xi, Chinese politician (b. 1912)
*
January 9
Events Pre-1600
* 681 – Twelfth Council of Toledo: King Erwig of the Visigoths initiates a council in which he implements diverse measures against the Jews in Spain.
*1127 – Jin–Song Wars: Invading Jurchen soldiers from the J ...
– Giuseppe Bottai, Italian Fascist journalist and politician (b. 1895)
*
January 10
Events Pre-1600
*49 BC – Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon, signalling the start of civil war.
* 9 – The Western Han dynasty ends when Wang Mang claims that the divine Mandate of Heaven called for the end of the dynasty and the be ...
– Colin Gregory, Australian tennis player (b. 1903)
* January 14
** Eivind Berggrav, Norwegian Lutheran bishop and reverend (b. 1884)
** G. D. H. Cole, English political theorist, economist and historian (b. 1889)
* January 16 – Eduardo Braun-Menéndez, Argentine physiologist (b. 1903)
* January 19 – Jennie Ross Cobb, American photographer (b. 1881)
* January 20 – Roger Gray (actor), Roger Gray, American actor (b. 1881)
*
January 21
Events Pre-1600
* 763 – Following the Battle of Bakhamra between Alids and Abbasids near Kufa, the Alid rebellion ends with the death of Ibrahim, brother of Isa ibn Musa.
* 1525 – The Swiss Anabaptist Movement is founded when Co ...
** Cecil B. DeMille, American film director (b. 1881)
** Frances Gertrude McGill, Canadian forensic pathologist (b. 1882)
** Carl Switzer, American actor (b. 1927)
*
January 22
Events Pre-1600
* 613 – Eight-month-old Constantine is crowned as co-emperor (''Caesar'') by his father Heraclius at Constantinople.
* 871 – Battle of Basing: The West Saxons led by King Æthelred I are defeated by the Danelaw Vi ...
** Elisabeth Moore, American tennis champion (b. 1876)
** Mike Hawthorn, English race car driver (b. 1929)
*
January 25
Events Pre-1600
* 41 – After a night of negotiation, Claudius is accepted as Roman emperor by the Senate.
* 750 – In the Battle of the Zab, the Abbasid rebels defeat the Umayyad Caliphate, leading to the overthrow of the dynasty ...
– William Flannery, American director (b. 1898)
* January 26
** Margaret Elizabeth Egan, American librarian (b. 1905)
** MacGillivray Milne,
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
Captain (USN), Captain and the 27th Governor of American Samoa (b. 1882)
* January 28 – Walter Beall, American baseball player (b. 1899)
February
![Beatrix Jones Farrand cabinet card est 1890s-1910s](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Beatrix_Jones_Farrand_cabinet_card_est_1890s-1910s.jpg)
* February 1 – Frank Shannon, Irish-born American actor (b. 1874)
* February 3 – The Day the Music Died, Killed in the crash of a private plane:
**
The Big Bopper
Jiles Perry "J.P." Richardson Jr. (October 24, 1930 – February 3, 1959), known as The Big Bopper, was an American singer, songwriter and disc jockey. His best-known compositions include "Chantilly Lace" and " White Lightning", the latter of wh ...
(J.P. Richardson), American rock singer (b. 1930)
**
Buddy Holly
Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas ...
, American rock singer (b. 1936)
**
Ritchie Valens
Richard Steven Valenzuela (May 13, 1941 – February 3, 1959), known professionally as Ritchie Valens, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rock and roll pioneer and a forefather of the Chicano rock movement, Valens was killed i ...
, American rock singer (b. 1941)
* February 3
** Vincent Astor, American philanthropist (b. 1891)
** Herbert Greenwald, American real estate developer (b. 1915)
** Francesco De Robertis, Italian screenwriter, editor and director (b. 1902)
** Beulah Zachary, American television director and producer (Kukla, Fran and Ollie) (b. 1911)
* February 4
** Una O'Connor (actress), Una O'Connor, Irish actress (b. 1880)
** Robert Emerson (scientist), Robert Emerson, American scientist (b. 1903)
* February 7
** Nap Lajoie, American baseball player (Cleveland Indians) and a member of the MLB Hall of Fame (b. 1874)
** D. F. Malan, South African politician, 4th Prime Minister of South Africa (b. 1874)
* February 11 – Marshall Teague (racing driver), Marshall Teague, American race car driver (b. 1921)
* February 12 – George Antheil, American composer (b. 1900)
* February 14 – Baby Dodds, American jazz musician (b. 1898)
* February 15
** Ralph Eastwood, British army officer (b. 1890)
** Owen Willans Richardson, Sir Owen Richardson, British physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1879)
*
February 17
Events Pre-1600
* 1370 – Northern Crusades: Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Teutonic Knights meet in the Battle of Rudau.
* 1411 – Following the successful campaigns during the Ottoman Interregnum, Musa Çelebi, one of the sons of ...
– Luigi Emanueli, Italian engineer (b. 1883)
*
February 18
Events Pre-1600
* 1229 – The Sixth Crusade: Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, signs a ten-year truce with al-Kamil, regaining Jerusalem, Nazareth, and Bethlehem with neither military engagements nor support from the papacy.
* 1268 &ndas ...
– Gago Coutinho, Portuguese aviation pioneer (b. 1869)
*
February 20
Events Pre-1600
*1339 – The Milanese army and the St. George's (San Giorgio) Mercenaries of Lodrisio Visconti clash in the Battle of Parabiago; Visconti is defeated.
*1472 – Orkney and Shetland are pawned by Norway to Scotland ...
** Gregório Bondar, Russian-Brazilian agronomist (b. 1881)
** Laurence Housman, English playwright and writer (b. 1865)
*
February 22
Events Pre-1600
* 1076 – Having received a letter during the Lenten synod of 14–20 February demanding that he abdicate, Pope Gregory VII excommunicates Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor.
* 1316 – The Battle of Picotin, between Ferdina ...
– Helen Parrish, American actress (b. 1924)
* February 23
** Pierre Frieden, Luxembourgish politician and writer, 18th Prime Minister of Luxembourg (b. 1892)
** Luis Palés Matos, Puerto Rican poet (b. 1898)
* February 25 – Klawdziy Duzh-Dushewski, Soviet architect, diplomat and journalist (b. 1891)
* February 26
** Princess Alexandra, 2nd Duchess of Fife, eldest grandchild of King Edward VII (b. 1891)
** Kōtoku Satō, Japanese general (b. 1893)
** Selig Suskin, Russian-born Israeli agronomist and early Zionist (b. 1873)
* February 27 – Shigeyoshi Miwa, Japanese admiral (b. 1892)
* February 28
** Maxwell Anderson, American screenwriter (b. 1888)
** Beatrix Farrand, American gardener and architect (b. 1872)
March
![Abd al-Rahman al-Mahdi Seated](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/Abd_al-Rahman_al-Mahdi_Seated.png)
*
March 1
Events Pre-1600
*509 BC – Publius Valerius Publicola celebrates the first Roman triumph, triumph of the Roman Republic after his victory over the deposed king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus at the Battle of Silva Arsia.
* 293 – Emperor ...
– Mack Gordon, American composer and lyricist (b. 1904)
*
March 2
Events Pre-1600
* 537 – Siege of Rome: The Ostrogoth army under king Vitiges begins the siege of the capital. Belisarius conducts a delaying action outside the Flaminian Gate; he and a detachment of his ''bucellarii'' are almost cut o ...
** Zalman Ben-Ya'akov, Israel politician (b. 1897)
** Eric Blore, English actor (b. 1887)
*
March 3
Events Pre-1600
* 473 – Gundobad (nephew of Ricimer) nominates Glycerius as emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
* 724 – Empress Genshō abdicates the throne in favor of her nephew Shōmu who becomes emperor of Japan.
* 1575 &nd ...
– Lou Costello, American actor and comedian (b. 1906)
* March 4
** Adolphe Danziger De Castro, Israeli scholar (b. 1859)
** Maxie Long, American athlete (b. 1878)
* March 6
** Guido Brignone, Italian actor (b. 1886)
** Fred Stone, American actor (b. 1873)
* March 7 – Ichirō Hatoyama, Japanese politician, 36th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1883)
* March 15
** Shalva Dadiani, Soviet novelist (b. 1874)
** Lester Young, American jazz saxophonist (b. 1909)
*
March 17
Events Pre-1600
* 45 BC – In his last victory, Julius Caesar defeats the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the Younger in the Battle of Munda.
* 180 – Commodus becomes sole emperor of the Roman Empire at the age of eigh ...
– Galaktion Tabidze, Georgian poet (b. 1891)
*
March 19
Events Pre-1600
* 1277 – The Byzantine–Venetian treaty of 1277 is concluded, stipulating a two-year truce and renewing Venetian commercial privileges in the Byzantine Empire.
*1279 – A Mongol victory at the Battle of Yamen ends ...
– Umberto Barbaro, Italian critic (b. 1902)
* March 21 – Edwin Balmer, American science fiction and mystery writer (b. 1883)
* March 23 – Dominick Trcka, Czechoslovak Roman Catholic priest and blessed (b. 1886)
* March 24 – Abd al-Rahman al-Mahdi, Sudanese political figure and religious leader, Imam of the Ansar (Sudan), Ansar and 1st Prime Minister of Sudan (b. 1885)
* March 25 – Billy Mayerl, British pianist and composer (b. 1902)
*
March 26
Events Pre-1600
* 590 – Emperor Maurice proclaims his son Theodosius as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
* 1021 – On the feast of Eid al-Adha, the death of the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, kept secret for six weeks, is ...
– Raymond Chandler, American-born novelist (b. 1888)
* March 27 – Grant Withers, American actor (b. 1905)
*
March 28
Events Pre-1600
* AD 37 – Roman emperor Caligula accepts the titles of the Principate, bestowed on him by the Senate.
* 193 – After assassinating the Roman Emperor Pertinax, his Praetorian Guards auction off the throne to Di ...
– Lyubov Golanchikova, Soviet pilot (b. 1889)
* March 29 – Barthélemy Boganda, 1st Prime Minister of the Central African Republic (b. 1910)
* March 30 – Reginald R. Belknap, United States Navy rear admiral (b. 1871)
April
![Frank Lloyd Wright portrait](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/Frank_Lloyd_Wright_portrait.jpg)
* April 2 – Nicholas Charnetsky, Soviet Eastern Orthodox Church, Orthodox priest, bishop, martyr and blessed (b. 1884)
*
April 6
Events Pre–1600
*46 BC – Julius Caesar defeats Caecilius Metellus Scipio and Marcus Porcius Cato (Cato the Younger) at the Battle of Thapsus.
* 402 – Stilicho defeats the Visigoths under Alaric in the Battle of Pollentia.
*132 ...
– Leo Aryeh Mayer, Israeli professor and scholar of Islamic art (b. 1895)
*
April 8
Events Pre-1600
* 217 – Roman emperor Caracalla is assassinated and is succeeded by his Praetorian Guard prefect, Marcus Opellius Macrinus.
* 876 – The Battle of Dayr al-'Aqul saves Baghdad from the Saffarids.
*1139 – Ro ...
** Mario de Bernardi, Italian aviator (b. 1893)
** Marios Makrionitis, Greek Jesuit prelate and reverend (b. 1913)
** Jonathan Zenneck, German physicist and electrical engineer (b. 1871)
*
April 9
Events Pre-1600
* 193 – The distinguished soldier Septimius Severus is proclaimed emperor by the army in Illyricum.
* 475 – Byzantine Emperor Basiliscus issues a circular letter (''Enkyklikon'') to the bishops of his empire, s ...
– Frank Lloyd Wright, American architect (b. 1867)
* April 12 – James Gleason, American actor, playwright, and screenwriter (b. 1882)
* April 13 – Dagmar Hansen, Danish singer (b. 1871)
* April 15 – Leonard Beyers, South African army general (b. 1894)
* April 16 – Ramón Armando Rodríguez, Venezuelan writer (b. 1895)
* April 17 – Cecil Cunningham, American actress (b. 1888)
* April 18 – Irving Cummings, American actor (b. 1888)
* April 19 – Óscar Únzaga, Bolivian politician (assassinated) (b. 1916)
*
April 25
Events Pre-1600
* 404 BC – Admiral Lysander and King Pausanias of Sparta blockade Athens and bring the Peloponnesian War to a successful conclusion.
* 775 – The Battle of Bagrevand puts an end to an Armenian rebellion against the ...
- Count Michael Mikhailovich of Torby (b. 1898)
* April 28
** Alabert Fogarasi, Hungarian philosopher and politician (b. 1891)
** María Guggiari Echeverría, Paraguayan Roman Catholic religious professed and venerable (b. 1925)
* April 29 – Kenneth Anderson (British Army officer), Sir Kenneth Anderson, British general (b. 1891)
May
![Senator John Foster Dulles (R-NY)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Senator_John_Foster_Dulles_%28R-NY%29.jpg)
* May 3 – Troy Sanders (composer), Troy Sanders, American film score composer (b. 1901)
*
May 4
Events Pre-1600
* 1256 – The Augustinian monastic order is constituted at the Lecceto Monastery when Pope Alexander IV issues a papal bull ''Licet ecclesiae catholicae''.
* 1415 – Religious reformers John Wycliffe and Jan Hus are ...
– William S. Pye, American admiral (b. 1880)
* May 5
** Georges-François-Xavier-Marie Grente, Georges Grente, French Roman Catholic cardinal and eminence (b. 1872)
** Carlos Saavedra Lamas, Argentine politician, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1878)
* May 6 – Maria Dulęba, Polish actress (b. 1881)
*
May 8
Events Pre-1600
* 453 BC – Spring and Autumn period: The house of Zhao defeats the house of Zhi, ending the Battle of Jinyang, a military conflict between the elite families of the State of Jin.
* 413 – Emperor Honorius signs a ...
** Renato Caccioppoli, Italian mathematician (b. 1904)
** Hector Choquette, Canadian politician (b. 1884)
** Ibrahim of Johor, Malaysian sultan (b. 1873)
* May 11 – Marcella Albani, Italian actress (b. 1899)
* May 14 – Sidney Bechet, American musician (b. 1897)
* May 15
** Joe Cook (actor), Joe Cook, American actor (b. 1890)
** Jeanne de Flandreysy, French author (b. 1874)
*
May 16
Events Pre-1600
* 946 – Emperor Suzaku abdicates the throne in favor of his brother Murakami who becomes the 62nd emperor of Japan.
*1204 – Baldwin IX, Count of Flanders is crowned as the first Emperor of the Latin Empire.
* 1364 ...
– Elisha Scott, Irish footballer (b. 1894)
* May 17
** George Albert Smith (film pioneer), George Albert Smith, English film pioneer (b. 1864)
** Judite Teixeira, Portuguese writer (b. 1880)
*
May 18
Events Pre-1600
* 332 – Emperor Constantine the Great announces free distributions of food to the citizens in Constantinople.
* 872 – Louis II of Italy is crowned for the second time as Holy Roman Emperor at Rome, at the age of 4 ...
** Apsley Cherry-Garrard, Antarctic explorer (b. 1886)
** Enrique Guaita, Argentinian footballer (b. 1910)
* May 20 – Alfred Schütz, Austrian sociologist (b. 1899)
* May 22 – Henri Marchand (actor), Henri Marchand, French actor (b. 1898)
*
May 24
Events Pre-1600
* 919 – The nobles of Franconia and Saxony elect Henry the Fowler at the Imperial Diet in Fritzlar as king of the East Frankish Kingdom.
* 1218 – The Fifth Crusade leaves Acre for Egypt.
* 1276 – Magnus La ...
– John Foster Dulles, United States Secretary of State (b. 1888)
* May 29 – Ed Walsh, American baseball player (Chicago White Sox) and a member of the MLB Hall of Fame (b. 1881)
* May 30
** Hesperia (actress), Hesperia, Italian actress (b. 1885)
** Raúl Scalabrini Ortiz, Argentinian journalist (b. 1898)
* May 31 – Ede Zathureczky, Hungarian violinist (b. 1903)
June
![Boris Vian - WIKI retouched](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Boris_Vian_-_WIKI_retouched.jpg)
* June 1 – Sax Rohmer, English author (b. 1883)
*
June 3
Events Pre-1600
* 350 – The Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, proclaims himself Roman emperor, entering Rome at the head of a group of gladiators.
* 713 – The Byzantine Empire, Byzantine emperor Philippikos Ba ...
– Kinahan Cornwallis, Sir Kinahan Cornwallis, British diplomat (b. 1883)
* June 4 – Charles Vidor, American director (b. 1900)
*
June 8
Events Pre-1600
* 218 – Battle of Antioch: With the support of the Syrian legions, Elagabalus defeats the forces of emperor Macrinus.
* 452 – Attila leads a Hun army in the invasion of Italy, devastating the northern provinces ...
– Pietro Canonica, Italian sculptor (b. 1869)
*
June 9
Events Pre-1600
* 411 BC – The Athenian coup succeeds, forming a short-lived oligarchy.
* 53 – The Roman emperor Nero marries Claudia Octavia.
* 68 – Nero dies by suicide after quoting Vergil's ''Aeneid'', thus ending the J ...
** Sonnie Hale, English actor and director (b. 1902)
** Adolf Windaus, German chemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1876)
* June 12 – Clyde E. Elliott, American director, producer and writer (b. 1885)
*
June 14
Events Pre-1600
* 1158 – The city of Munich is founded by Henry the Lion on the banks of the river Isar.
*1216 – First Barons' War: Prince Louis of France takes the city of Winchester, abandoned by John, King of England, and soo ...
– Jerónimo Méndez, Chilean politician, former acting Presidents of Chile, President of the Republic (b. 1887)
* June 15 – Kazimierz Bein, Polish ophthalmologist (b. 1872)
* June 16 – George Reeves, American television actor (b. 1914)
*
June 18
Events Pre-1600
* 618 – Li Yuan becomes Emperor Gaozu of Tang, initiating three centuries of Tang dynasty rule over China.
* 656 – Ali becomes Caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate.
* 860 – Byzantine–Rus' War: A fleet of about ...
**Ethel Barrymore, American stage and screen actress (b. 1879)
** Vincenzo Cardarelli, Italian poet (b. 1887)
* June 20 – Hitoshi Ashida, Japanese politician, 34th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1887)
* June 22
** Félix Guignot, French physician (b. 1882)
** Bruce Harlan, American Olympic diver (b. 1926)
*
June 23
Events Pre-1600
* 229 – Sun Quan proclaims himself emperor of Eastern Wu.
* 1266 – War of Saint Sabas: In the Battle of Trapani, the Venetians defeat a larger Genoese fleet, capturing all its ships.
* 1280 – The Spanish Re ...
** Cesare Maria De Vecchi, Italian soldier (b. 1884)
** Maria Gorczyńska, Polish actress (b. 1899)
** Boris Vian, French writer, poet, singer, and musician (b. 1920)
*
June 25
Events Pre-1600
* 524 – The Franks are defeated by the Burgundians in the Battle of Vézeronce.
* 841 – In the Battle of Fontenay-en-Puisaye, forces led by Charles the Bald and Louis the German defeat the armies of Lothair I of ...
** Farajallah el-Helou, Lebanese militant (b. 1906)
** Charles Starkweather, American spree killer (b. 1938)
* June 27
** Elias, Duke of Parma (b. 1880)
** Giovanni Pastrone, Italian actor, director and screenwriter (b. 1883)
*
June 30
Events Pre-1600
* 296 – Pope Marcellinus begins his papacy.
* 763 – The Byzantine Empire, Byzantine army of emperor Constantine V defeats the First Bulgarian Empire, Bulgarian forces in the Battle of Anchialus (763), Battle of Anc ...
– José Vasconcelos, Mexican politician, writer and philosopher (b. 1882)
July
![Billie Holiday 1947 (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/Billie_Holiday_1947_%28cropped%29.jpg)
*
July 2
Events Pre-1600
* 437 – Emperor Valentinian III begins his reign over the Western Roman Empire. His mother Galla Placidia ends her regency, but continues to exercise political influence at the court in Rome.
* 626 – Li Shimin, th ...
– Sergei Chetverikov, Russian biologist (b. 1880)
* July 3 – Johan Bojer, Norwegian novelist and dramatist (b. 1872)
* July 6 – George Grosz, German artist (b. 1893)
*
July 7
Events Pre-1600
* 1124 – The city of Tyre falls to the Venetian Crusade after a siege of nineteen weeks.
* 1456 – A retrial verdict acquits Joan of Arc of heresy 25 years after her execution.
* 1520 – Spanish ''conquistado ...
** Hermenegildo Anglada Camarasa, Spanish painter (b. 1871)
** Ernest Newman, English music critic (b. 1868)
* July 11 – Charlie Parker (cricketer), Charlie Parker, English cricketer (b. 1882)
* July 14 – Grock, Swiss clown (b. 1880)
* July 15
** Ernest Bloch, Swiss-born American composer (b. 1880)
** Agostino Gemelli, Italian Franciscan friar and reverend (b. 1878)
* July 17 – Billie Holiday, American singer (b. 1915)
* July 20 – William D. Leahy, American admiral (b. 1875)
* July 25
** Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog, Polish-born Chief Rabbi of Ireland, and later of Israel (b. 1888)
** King Mutara III of Rwanda (b. 1911)
* July 26 – Manuel Altolaguirre, Spanish poet (b. 1905)
* July 27 – Aleksandar Tsankov, 21st Prime Minister of Bulgaria (b. 1879)
* July 30
** Heinie Conklin, American actor (b. 1886)
** María Natividad Venegas de la Torre, Mexican Roman Catholic nun and saint (b. 1868)
August
![Blind_Willie_McTell_LOC](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Blind_Willie_McTell_LOC.jpg)
* August 2 – Mary Teresa Norton, American politician (b. 1875)
* August 3
** Herb Byrne, Australian rules footballer (b. 1887)
** Fernando Carpi, Italian tenor (b. 1876)
* August 4 – Ioan Bălan, Romanian Eastern Orthodox Church, Orthodox prelate (b. 1880)
* August 5 – Edgar A. Guest, English poet (b. 1881)
* August 6 – Preston Sturges, American film director and writer (b. 1898)
* August 8
** Albert Namatjira, Australian Aboriginal artist (b. 1902)
** Luigi Sturzo, Italian Roman Catholic priest and politician (b. 1871)
** Henry St. George Tucker (bishop), Henry St. George Tucker, American Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal bishop and reverend (b. 1874)
** Luis Araquistáin, Spanish politician and writer (b. 1886)
* August 9
** Emil František Burian, Czechoslovak poet (b. 1904)
** Noboru Ishizaki, Japanese admiral (b. 1893)
* August 15 – Blind Willie McTell, American Piedmont blues singer and guitarist (b. 1901)
* August 16
**Benny Fields, American singer (b. 1894)
** William Halsey, Jr., American US Navy Fleet admiral (b. 1882)
** Wanda Landowska, Polish harpsichordist (b. 1879)
** José Pessoa Cavalcanti de Albuquerque, Brazilian military officer (b. 1885)
* August 19 – Claude Grahame-White, British aviation pioneer (b. 1879)
* August 20 – Alexander Evreinov, Soviet Eastern Orthodox Church, Orthodox bishop and reverend (b. 1877)
* August 21 – Jacob Epstein, Sir Jacob Epstein, American-born British sculptor (b. 1880)
* August 22
** Marie Luise Droop, German writer, producer and director (b. 1890)
** Allan Aynesworth, English actor and producer (b. 1864)
* August 28
** Raphael Lemkin, international lawyer (b. 1900)
** Bohuslav Martinů, Czech composer (b. 1890)
September
![Edmund Gwenn 1953](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Edmund_Gwenn_1953.jpg)
* September 6
** Edmund Gwenn, English actor (b. 1877)
** Kay Kendall, English actress (b. 1927)
* September 7 – Maurice Duplessis, Premier of Quebec (b. 1890)
* September 9 – Ramón Fonst, Cuban fencer (b. 1883)
* September 11 – Paul Douglas (actor), Paul Douglas, American actor (b. 1907)
* September 14 – Wayne Morris (American actor), Wayne Morris, American actor (b. 1914)
* September 18 – Adolf Ziegler, German painter (b. 1892)
* September 20 – Nikandr Chibisov, Russian commander (b. 1892)
* September 22
** Josef Matthias Hauer, Austrian composer and music theorist (b. 1883)
** Edmund Ironside, 1st Baron Ironside, British field marshal (b. 1880)
* September 24 – Wolfgang Paalen, German-Austrian-Mexican painter, sculptor and art philosopher (b. 1905)
* September 25
** S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, 4th Prime Minister of Ceylon (b. 1899)
** Helen Broderick, American actress (b. 1891)
* September 28
** Rudolf Caracciola, German race car driver (b. 1901)
** Vinnie Richards, American tennis player (b. 1903)
* September 30 – Taylor Holmes, American actor (b. 1878)
October
![George C](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/George_C._Marshall%2C_U.S._Secretary_of_State.jpg)
* October 1 – Enrico De Nicola, Italian jurist, politician and journalist, 1st President of Italy (b. 1877)
* October 6 – Bernard Berenson, American art historian (b. 1865)
* October 7 – Mario Lanza, American tenor (b. 1921)
* October 9 – Shirō Ishii, Japanese microbiologist and lieutenant general of Unit 731 (b. 1892)
* October 11 – Bert Bell, 2nd commissioner of the National Football League (b. 1895)
* October 12
** Edward Keane (actor), Edward Keane, American actor (b. 1884)
** Arnolt Bronnen, Austrian playwright and director (b. 1895)
* October 14 – Errol Flynn, Australian actor (b. 1909)
* October 15 – Stepan Bandera, Ukrainian nationalist leader (b. 1909)
* October 16
** Minor Hall, American jazz musician (b. 1897)
** George C. Marshall, United States Secretary of State, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1880)
* October 18
** Boughera El Ouafi, Algerian athlete (b. 1898)
** Frederick J. Horne, American admiral (b. 1880)
* October 19 – Ebrahim Hakimi, 29th Prime Minister of Iran (b. 1871)
* October 20 – Werner Krauss, German actor (b. 1884)
* October 22 – Joseph Cahill, Australian politician (b. 1891)
* October 25 – Genevieve R. Cline, American jurist (b. 1879)
* October 27 – Juan José Domenchina, Spanish poet (b. 1898)
* October 28
** Lili Árkayné Sztehló, Hungarian painter (b. 1897)
**
Camilo Cienfuegos
Camilo Cienfuegos Gorriarán (; 6 February 1932 – 28 October 1959) was a Cuban revolutionary born in Havana. Along with Che Guevara, Fidel Castro, Juan Almeida Bosque, and Raúl Castro, he was a member of the 1956 ''Granma (yacht), Granma'' ...
, Cuban revolutionary (b. 1932)
November
![Alfonso López Pumarejo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Alfonso_L%C3%B3pez_Pumarejo.jpg)
* November 1
** M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar, Tamil film actor and producer (b. 1910)
** Zhang Jinghui, Chinese general and politician, second and final Prime Minister of Manchukuo (b. 1871)
* November 2
** Michael Considine, Australian politician (b. 1885)
** Federico Tedeschini, Italian Roman Catholic cardinal and eminence (b. 1873)
* November 4
** George (Karslidis) of Drama, George Karslidis, Greek Eastern Orthodox Church, Orthodox priest, elder and saint (b. 1901)
** Friedrich Waismann, Austrian mathematician, physicist and philosopher (b. 1896)
* November 6
** José P. Laurel, Filipino politician and judge, 3rd President of the Philippines (b. 1891)
** Ivan Leonidov, Russian architect (b. 1902)
* November 7
** Muhammad Mahabat Khan III, Nawab of Junagarh (b. 1900)
** Victor McLaglen, English actor and boxer (b. 1886)
* November 8 – Frank S. Land, founder of the Order of DeMolay (b. 1890)
* November 10 – Lupino Lane, British actor (b. 1892)
* November 15 – Charles Thomson Rees Wilson, Scottish physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1869)
* November 17 – Heitor Villa-Lobos, Brazilian composer (b. 1887)
* November 18 – Arthur Q. Bryan, American actor, voice actor, comedian and radio personality (b. 1899)
* November 19 – Joseph Charbonneau, Canadian Roman Catholic prelate and reverend (b. 1892)
* November 21
** Max Baer (boxer), Max Baer, American boxer and actor (b. 1909)
** Olav Meisdalshagen, Norwegian politician, Minister of Finance (Norway), Minister of Finance (b. 1903)
* November 22 – Molla Mallory, American tennis champion (b. 1884)
* November 24
** Stepan Erzia, Russian sculptor (b. 1876)
** Ion Gigurtu, 42nd Prime Minister of Romania (b. 1886)
** Dally Messenger, Australian rugby league player (b. 1883)
* November 25 – Gérard Philipe, French actor (b. 1922)
* November 29 – Hans Henny Jahnn, German playwright and novelist (b. 1894)
* November 30 – Alfonso López Pumarejo, Colombian political figure, 2-time President of Colombia (b. 1886)
December
![Ante Pavelić StAF W 134 Nr](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Ante_Paveli%C4%87_StAF_W_134_Nr._026020_Bild_1_%285-92156-1%29.jpg)
* December 2 – Giuseppe Zucca, Italian screenwriter (b. 1887)
* December 3 – Juozapas Skvireckas, Soviet Eastern Orthodox Church, Orthodox archbishop and reverend (b. 1873)
* December 4 – Hubert Marischka, Austrian film director (b. 1882)
* December 7
** Charlie Hall (actor), Charlie Hall, English actor (b. 1899)
** Prince Kuni Asaakira (b. 1901)
* December 9 – Donald MacDonald (actor), Donald MacDonald, American actor (b. 1898)
* December 11 – Jim Bottomley, American baseball player (St. Louis Cardinals) and a member of the MLB Hall of Fame (b. 1900)
* December 12
** Marcella Craft, American soprano (b. 1874)
** Russell Simpson (actor), Russell Simpson, American actor (b. 1880)
* December 14
** Edna Wallace Hopper, American stage actress (b. 1872)
** Stanley Spencer, British painter (b. 1891)
* December 19 – Andrés Martínez Trueba, 31st President of Uruguay (b. 1884)
* December 22 – Gilda Gray, Polish-born dancer and actress (b. 1901)
* December 23 – Edward Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax, British politician (b. 1881)
* December 24 – Edmund Goulding, American director (b. 1891)
* December 28 – Ante Pavelić, Ante Pavelic, Croatian fascist leader and WWII war criminal (b. 1889)
* December 29 – Juan José Morosoli, Uruguayan writer (b. 1899)
Unknown
* Al-Abbas ibn Ibrahim as-Samlali, Moroccan historian (b. 1877)
* Elena Săcălici, Romanian artistic gymnast (b. 1935)
Nobel Prizes
* Nobel Prize in Physics, Physics – Emilio Gino Segrè, Owen Chamberlain
* Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemistry – Jaroslav Heyrovský
* Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Physiology or Medicine – Severo Ochoa, Arthur Kornberg
* Nobel Prize in Literature, Literature – Salvatore Quasimodo
* Nobel Peace Prize, Peace – Philip Noel-Baker
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:1959
1959,