From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

August 9 is the 221st day of the year (222nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 144 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 48 BC – Caesar's civil war: Battle of Pharsalus – Julius Caesar decisively defeats Pompey at Pharsalus and Pompey flees to Egypt.
• 378 – Gothic War: Battle of Adrianople – A large Roman army led by Emperor Valens is defeated by the Visigoths in present-day Turkey. Valens is killed along with over half of his army.
• 681 – Bulgaria is founded as a Khanate on the south bank of the Danube, after defeating the Byzantine armies of Emperor Constantine IV south of the Danube delta.
• 1173 – Construction of the Tower of Pisa begins, and it takes two centuries to complete.
• 1329 – Quilon the first Indian Diocese is erected by Pope John XXII and Jordanus is appointed the first Bishop
• 1483 – Opening of the Sistine Chapel
• 1810 – Napoleon annexes Westphalia as part of the First French Empire.
• 1814 – Indian Wars: The Creek sign the Treaty of Fort Jackson, giving up huge parts of Alabama and Georgia.
• 1842 – Webster-Ashburton Treaty is signed, establishing the United States-Canada border east of the Rocky Mountains.
• 1854 – Henry David Thoreau published Walden.
• 1862 – American Civil War: Battle of Cedar Mountain – At Cedar Mountain, Virginia, Confederate General Stonewall Jackson narrowly defeats Union forces under General John Pope.
• 1877 – Indian Wars: Battle of Big Hole – A small band of Nez Percé Indians clash with the United States Army.
• 1892 – Thomas Edison receives a patent for a two-way telegraph.
• 1902 – Edward VII and Alexandra of Denmark are crowned King and Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
• 1907 – The first Boy Scout encampment concludes at Brownsea Island in Southern England.
• 1925 – Kakori train robbery took place at Kakori, near Lucknow, India
• 1936 – Summer Olympic Games: Games of the XI Olympiad: Jesse Owens wins his fourth gold medal at the games becoming the first American to win four medals in one Olympiad.
• 1942 – Indian leader, Mahatma Gandhi is arrested in Bombay by British forces, launching the Quit India Movement.
• 1942 – World War II: Battle of Savo Island – Allied naval forces protecting their amphibious forces during the initial stages of the Battle of Guadalcanal are surprised and defeated by an Imperial Japanese Navy cruiser force.
• 1944 – The United States Forest Service and the Wartime Advertising Council release posters featuring Smokey Bear for the first time.
• 1944 – Continuation war: Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive, the largest offensive launched by Soviet Union against Finland during Second World War, ends to strategic stalemate. Both Finnish and Soviet troops at Finnish front dug to defensive positions, and the front remains stable until the end of the war.
• 1945 – World War II: Nagasaki is devastated when an atomic bomb, "Fat Man", is dropped by the United States B-29 Bockscar. 39,000 people are killed outright.
• 1965 – Singapore seceded from Malaysia and gained independence.
• 1965 – A fire at a Titan missile base near Searcy, Arkansas kills 53 construction workers.
• 1969 – Members of a cult led by Charles Manson brutally murder pregnant actress Sharon Tate (wife of Roman Polanski), coffee heiress Abigail Folger, Polish actor Wojciech Frykowski, men's hairstylist Jay Sebring, and recent high-school graduate Steven Parent.
• 1971 – Internment in Northern Ireland: British security forces arrest hundreds of nationalists and detain them without trial in Long Kesh prison. Twenty people die in the riots that follow.
• 1974 – As a direct result of the Watergate scandal, Richard Nixon becomes the first President of the United States to resign from office. His Vice President, Gerald Ford, becomes president.
• 1977 – The military-controlled Government of Uruguay announces that it will return the nation to civilian rule through general elections in 1981 for a President and Congress.
• 1993 – The Liberal Democratic Party of Japan loses a 38-year hold on national leadership.
• 1999 – Russian President Boris Yeltsin fires his Prime Minister, Sergei Stepashin, and for the fourth time fires his entire cabinet.
• 1999 – The Diet of Japan enacts a law establishing the Hinomaru and Kimi Ga Yo as the official national flag and national anthem.
• 2001 – US President George W. Bush announces his support for federal funding of limited research on embryonic stem cells.
• 2007 – Emergence of the Financial crisis of 2007-2008 when a liquidity crisis resulted from the Subprime mortgage crisis

Births

• 232 – Probus, Roman emperor (d. 282)
• 1201 – Arnold Fitz Thedmar, English chronicler (d. 1274)
• 1537 – Francesco Barozzi, Italian mathematician, astronomer and humanist (d. 1604)
• 1544 – Bogislaw XIII, Duke of Pomerania (d. 1606)
• 1593 – Izaak Walton, English angler (d. 1683)
• 1603 – Johannes Cocceius, Dutch theologian
• 1631 – John Dryden, English Poet Laureate (d. 1700)
• 1648 – Johann Michael Bach, German composer (d. 1694)
• 1653 – John Oldham, English poet (d. 1683)
• 1669 – Tsarina Eudoxia Lopukhina of Russia (d. 1731)
• 1674 – František Maxmilián Kaňka, Czech architect (d. 1766)
• 1696 – Joseph Wenzel I, Prince of Liechtenstein (d. 1772)
• 1722 – Augustus William, Prince of Prussia (d. 1758)
• 1726 – Francesco Cetti, Italian Jesuit scientist (d. 1778)
• 1757 – Thomas Telford, Scottish civil engineer (d. 1834)
• 1776 – Amedeo Avogadro, Italian chemist (d. 1856)
• 1783 – Grand Duchess Alexandra Pavlovna of Russia (d. 1801)
• 1788 – Adoniram Judson, American Baptist missionary (d. 1850)
• 1797 – Charles Robert Malden, British naval officer (d. 1855)
• 1805 – Joseph Locke, English railway and civil engineer (d. 1860)
• 1809 – William Barret Travis, American lieutenant colonel in the Battle of the Alamo (d. 1836)
• 1845 – André Bessette, Canadian religious figure (d. 1937)
• 1847 – Queen Maria Victoria al Pozzo della Cisterna of Spain (d. 1876)
• 1871 – Leonid Andreyev, Russian writer (d. 1919)
• 1872 – Archduke Joseph August of Austria, Austrian field marshal (d. 1962)
• 1874 – Charles Fort, American writer and researcher into anomalous phenomena (d. 1932)
• 1874 – Reynaldo Hahn, Venezuelan composer and conductor (d. 1947)
• 1875 – Albert Ketèlbey, English conductor, composer, and pianist (d. 1959)
• 1896 – Erich Hückel, German physicist (d. 1980)
• 1896 – Jean Piaget, Swiss psychologist (d. 1980)
• 1899 – P. L. Travers, Australian author (d. 1996)
• 1901 – Charles Farrell, American actor (d. 1990)
• 1902 – Zino Francescatti, French violinist (d. 1991)
• 1909 – Adam von Trott zu Solz, German diplomat (d. 1944)
• 1911 – William Alfred Fowler, American physicist, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1996)
• 1911 – Eddie Futch, American boxing trainer (d. 2001)
• 1914 – Ferenc Fricsay, Hungarian conductor (d. 1963)
• 1914 – Tove Jansson, Finnish author (Moomins) (d. 2001)
• 1914 – Joe Mercer, English footballer (d. 1990)
• 1919 – Joop den Uyl, Dutch politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1973 until 1977 (d. 1987)
• 1919 – Ralph Houk, American baseball player and manager
• 1920 – Enzo Biagi, Italian journalist and writer (d. 2007)
• 1921 – Ernest Angley, American televangelist
• 1921 – J. James Exon, American politician (d. 2005)
• 1922 – Philip Larkin, English poet (d. 1985)
• 1925 – David A. Huffman, American computer scientist, creator of Huffman coding (d. 1999)
• 1927 – Daniel Keyes, American author
• 1927 – Robert Shaw, English actor (d. 1978)
• 1928 – Bob Cousy, American basketball player
• 1930 – Jacques Parizeau, Quebec economist and politician
• 1931 – Chuck Essegian, American baseball player
• 1931 – Mário Zagallo, Brazilian football coach and player
• 1932 – John Gomery, Canadian jurist
• 1933 – Tetsuko Kuroyanagi, Japanese television personality and children's author
• 1935 – Beverlee McKinsey, American actress (d. 2008)
• 1936 – Julián Javier, American baseball player
• 1936 – Patrick Tse Yin, Hong Kong film director
• 1938 – Leonid Kuchma, Ukrainian politician
• 1938 – Rod Laver, Australian tennis player
• 1938 – Otto Rehhagel, German football manager
• 1939 – Brito, Brazilian footballer
• 1939 – Romano Prodi, Prime Minister of Italy, former President of the European Commission
• 1941 – Way Bandy, American make-up artist (d. 1986)
• 1942 – Tommie Agee, American baseball player (d. 2001)
• 1942 – David Steinberg, Canadian comedian
• 1943 – Ken Norton, American boxer
• 1944 – Sam Elliott, American actor
• 1945 – Posy Simmonds, English cartoonist
• 1946 – Jim Kiick, American football player
• 1947 – Roy Hodgson, English football manager
• 1947 – Barbara Mason, American soul singer
• 1948 – Bill Campbell, American baseball player
• 1949 – Jonathan Kellerman, American writer
• 1952 – Prateep Ungsongtham Hata, Thai politician
• 1954 – Ray Jennings, South African cricketer and coach
• 1955 – Peter Schmuck, American sportswriter
• 1955 – John E. Sweeney, American politician
• 1957 – Melanie Griffith, American actress
• 1958 – Amanda Bearse, American actress
• 1959 – Kurtis Blow, American rapper
• 1959 – Stuart Hughes, Canadian actor
• 1961 – Brad Gilbert, American tennis player
• 1961 – John Key, Prime Minister of New Zealand
• 1961 – Amy Stiller, American actress
• 1962 – Kevin Mack, American football player
• 1962 – Louis Lipps, American football player
• 1962 – John "Hot Rod" Williams, American basketball player
• 1963 – Whitney Houston, American diva and actress
• 1964 – Brett Hull, Canadian-born ice hockey player
• 1964 – Hoda Kotb, American television news anchor
• 1966 – Vinny Del Negro, American basketball player and head coach
• 1967 – Deion Sanders, American football player
• 1968 – Gillian Anderson, American actress
• 1968 – Eric Bana, Australian actor
• 1968 – Sam Fogarino, American musician (Interpol)
• 1968 – Joseph McGinty Nichol, American film producer and director
• 1969 – Divine Brown, American convicted felon
• 1969 – Smaragda Karydi, Greek singer
• 1969 – Troy Percival, American baseball player
• 1970 – Rod Brind'Amour, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1970 – Chris Cuomo, American TV journalist
• 1970 – Thomas Lennon, American actor
• 1970 – Arion Salazar, American musician (Third Eye Blind)
• 1971 – James Kim, American technology reporter (d. 2006)
• 1971 – Davide Rebellin, Italian cyclist
• 1971 – Mack 10, American rapper
• 1972 – Juanes, Colombian singer
• 1972 – A-Mei, Taiwanese singer
• 1973 – Kevin McKidd, Scottish actor
• 1973 – Filippo Inzaghi, Italian footballer
• 1974 – Mahesh Babu, Indian film actor
• 1974 – Derek Fisher, American basketball player
• 1974 – Matt Morris, American baseball player
• 1974 – Kirill Reznik, American politician
• 1974 – Nicola Stapleton, English actress
• 1974 – Stephen Fung, Hong Kong actor, director
• 1975 – Mike Lamb, American baseball player
• 1975 – Robbie Middleby, Australian footballer
• 1976 – Jessica Capshaw, American actress
• 1976 – Aled Jones, British Radio Producer
• 1976 – Rhona Mitra, English actress
• 1976 – Mark Priestley, Australian actor (d. 2008)
• 1977 – Jason Frasor, American baseball player
• 1977 – Chamique Holdsclaw, American basketball player
• 1977 – Adewale Ogunleye, American football player
• 1977 – Mikaël Silvestre, French footballer
• 1978 – Audrey Tautou, French actress
• 1980 – Ryu Seung-beom, South Korean actor
• 1980 – Dominic Tabuna, Nauruan politician
• 1981 – Jarvis Hayes, American basketball player
• 1981 – Li Jiawei, Singaporean Olympic table tennis player
• 1982 – Tyson Gay, American sprinter
• 1983 – Ashley Johnson, American actress
• 1983 – Shane O'Brien, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1984 – Paul Gallagher, Scottish footballer
• 1984 – Saori Horii, Japanese gravure idol
• 1985 – Luca Filippi, Italian racing driver
• 1985 – Anna Kendrick, American actress
• 1985 – Hayley Peirsol, American swimmer
• 1985 – JaMarcus Russell, American football player
• 1989 – Stefano Okaka Chuka, Italian footballer
• 1989 – Jason Heyward, American baseball player
• 1990 – Adelaide Kane, Australian actress
• 1991 – Hansika Motwani, Indian actress

Deaths

• 117 – Trajan, Roman Emperor (b. 53)
• 378 – Valens, Roman Emperor (killed in battle) (b. 328)
• 803 – Byzantine Empress Irene (b. 752)
• 1048 – Pope Damasus II
• 1107 – Emperor Horikawa of Japan (b. 1079)
• 1173 – Najm ad-Din Ayyub, father of Saladin
• 1250 – King Eric IV of Denmark (b. 1216)
• 1534 – Cardinal Cajetan, Italian theologian (b. 1470)
• 1601 – Michael the Brave, Prince of Wallachia (b. 1558)
• 1634 – William Noy, English jurist (b. 1577)
• 1720 – Simon Ockley, English orientalist (b. 1678)
• 1744 – James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos, English patron of the arts (b. 1673)
• 1816 – Johann August Apel, German jurist and writer (b. 1771)
• 1837 – Xavier Sigalon, French painter (b. 1787)
• 1886 – Samuel Ferguson, Northern Irish poet and artist (b. 1810)
• 1910 – Huo Yuan Jia, Chinese martial artist
• 1919 – Ruggiero Leoncavallo, Italian composer (b. 1857)
• 1942 – Edith Stein, (St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross) (executed) (b. 1891)
• 1945 – Harry Hillman, American athlete (b. 1881)
• 1945 – Robert Hampton Gray, last Canadian Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1917)
• 1946 – Bert Vogler, Former South African cricketer (b. 1876)
• 1949 – Edward Thorndike, American psychologist (b. 1874)
• 1957 – Carl Clauberg, Nazi doctor (b. 1898)
• 1962 – Hermann Hesse, German-born writer, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1877)
• 1967 – Joe Orton, English writer (b. 1933)
• 1969 – Cecil Frank Powell, British physicist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1903)
• 1969 – Abigail Folger, American heiress (murdered) (b. 1943)
• 1969 – Wojciech Frykowski, Polish writer (murdered) (b. 1936)
• 1969 – Jay Sebring, American hair stylist (murdered) (b. 1933)
• 1969 – Sharon Tate, American actress (murdered) (b. 1943)
• 1969 – Steven Parent, American student (murdered) (b. 1951)
• 1974 – Bill Chase, American trumpet player and bandleader (b. 1934)
• 1975 – Dmitri Shostakovich, Russian composer (b. 1906)
• 1979 – Walter O'Malley, baseball executive (b. 1903)
• 1979 – Raymond Washington, founder of Los Angeles, California gang, the Crips
• 1980 – Jacqueline Cochran, American aviatrix (b. 1906)
• 1985 – Clive Churchill, Australian rugby league footballer (b. 1927)
• 1988 – Giacinto Scelsi, Italian composer (b. 1905)
• 1988 – Ramón Valdés, Mexican actor, played the character Don Ramón, in the TV Series El Chavo
• 1990 – Joe Mercer, English footballer (b. 1914)
• 1992 – Fereydoun Farrokhzad, Iranian Singer (b. 1938)
• 1995 – Jerry Garcia, American musician (Grateful Dead) (b. 1942)
• 1996 – Sir Frank Whittle, invented the jet engine (b. 1907)
• 1999 – Fouad Serageddin, Egyptian politician (b. 1910)
• 2000 – John Harsanyi, Hungarian-born economist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1920)
• 2000 – Nicholas Markowitz-kidnapped and murdered by Jesse James Hollywood (b. 1984)
• 2002 – Paul Samson, British guitarist (Samson) (b. 1953)
• 2002 – Peter Neville, anarchist, sociologist, and peace activist
• 2009999 – Ray Harford, English footballer and manager (b. 1945)
• 2003 – Gregory Hines, American actor and dancer (b. 1946)
• 2003 – Jacques Deray, French film director (b. 1929)
• 2003 – Chester Ludgin, American baritone (b. 1925)
• 2004 – Robert Lecourt, French politician and president of the European Court of Justice (b. 1908)
• 2004 – Tony Mottola, American guitarist (b. 1918)
• 2004 – David Raksin, American film director (b. 1912)
• 2005 – Matthew McGrory, American actor (b. 1973)
• 2005 – Judith Rossner, American novelist (b. 1935)
• 2006 – James van Allen, American physicist (b. 1914)
• 2006 – Philip E. High, science fiction author (b. 1914)
• 2007 – Joe O'Donnell, American documentary photographer, photojournalist (b. 1922)
• 2008 – Bernie Mac, American comedian, actor (b. 1957)
• 2008 – Mahmoud Darwish, Palestinian prominent poet and writer of prose (b. 1941)

Holidays and observances

• Christian Feast Day
  • Edith Stein
  • Firmus and Rusticus
  • Herman of Alaska (Russian Orthodox Church and related congregations)
  • Jean Vianney
  • Nath Í of Achonry
  • Romanus Ostiarius
  • Secundian, Marcellian and Verian
• Day of Remembrance for Radbod (Ásatrú)
• Frank Zappa Day (Baltimore)
• International Day of the World's Indigenous People (International)
• National Day, celebration the separation from Malaysia in 1965. (Singapore)
• National Peacekeepers' Day (Canada)
• National Women's Day (South Africa)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada

From Wikiquote

Quotes of the day from previous years:

2003

The battle of the sexes will never be won as long as we keep sleeping with the enemy. ~ Emo Phillips

• selected by Nanobug

2004

Long live freedom and damn the ideologies. ~ Robinson Jeffers

• selected by Kalki

2005

TCP implementations will follow a general principle of robustness: be conservative in what you do, be liberal in what you accept from others. ~ Jonathan B. Postel, RFC 793, entire text of section 2.10

• proposed by 121a0012 (initially at 6 August for Postel's birthdate in 1943)

2006

Education, for most people, means trying to lead the child to resemble the typical adult of his society... But for me, education means making creators... You have to make inventors, innovators, not conformists. ~ Jean Piaget

• proposed by Kalki

2007

You do not chop off a section of your imaginative substance and make a book specifically for children, for — if you are honest — you have no idea where childhood ends and maturity begins. It is all endless and all one. ~ P. L. Travers (born 9 August 1899)

• proposed by Kalki

2008

The principal goal of education in the schools should be creating men and women who are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what other generations have done; men and women who are creative, inventive and discoverers, who can be critical and verify, and not accept, everything they are offered. ~ Jean Piaget

• proposed by Kalki

2009

For me there are no answers, only questions, and I am grateful that the questions go on and on. I don't look for an answer, because I don't think there is one. I'm very glad to be the bearer of a question.
~ P. L. Travers

• proposed by Kalki

2010

Suggestions

I am acutely aware that you have not elected me as your president by your ballots, so I ask you to confirm me with your prayers. ~ Gerald Ford, became president on 9 August after Nixon's resignation.

• 3 ~ MosheZadka (Talk) 11:31, 20 July 2005 (UTC)
• 1 don't want to use this if we use Nixon on 8th AllanHainey 12:00, 26 July 2005 (UTC)
• 1 Kalki 17:32, 8 August 2006 (UTC)
• 1 ~ Jeff Q (talk) 03:12, 7 August 2007 (UTC); ditto on "not after Nixon"
• 1 InvisibleSun 23:15, 8 August 2007 (UTC)
• 1 Zarbon 15:18, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Genius is one per cent inspiration and ninety-nine per cent perspiration. - Thomas Edison got telegraph patent today

• 3 AllanHainey 12:00, 26 July 2005 (UTC)
• 2 ~ MosheZadka (Talk) 06:28, 31 July 2005 (UTC)
• 0 This has now already been used, on 21 October 2005. ~ Kalki 17:32, 8 August 2006 (UTC)
• 1 Zarbon 15:18, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

If you are not ready, and did not know what to do, it could hurt you in different ways. It could knock you down, hard, or throw you against a tree or a wall. It is such a big explosion, it can smash in buildings and knock signboards over, and break windows all over town, but if you duck and cover, like Bert [the Turtle], you will be much safer. ~ Duck and Cover (1951), about protecting yourself from an atomic explosion; the last-ever nuclear attack (so far) occurred on this date

• 4 ~ MosheZadka (Talk) 13:59, 2 August 2005 (UTC) (indeed!)
• 1 Kalki 17:32, 8 August 2006 (UTC)
• 4 ~ Jeff Q (talk) 03:12, 7 August 2007 (UTC)
• 2 InvisibleSun 23:15, 8 August 2007 (UTC)
• 1 Zarbon 15:18, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Knowing reality means constructing systems of transformations that correspond, more or less adequately, to reality... Knowledge, then, is a system of transformations that become progressively adequate. ~ Jean Piaget

• 3 Kalki 17:32, 8 August 2006 (UTC)
• 1 ~ Jeff Q (talk) 03:12, 7 August 2007 (UTC)
• 2 InvisibleSun 23:15, 8 August 2007 (UTC)
• 1 Zarbon 15:18, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

What magical trick makes us intelligent? The trick is that there is no trick. The power of intelligence stems from our vast diversity, not from any single, perfect principle. ~ Marvin Minsky

• 2 Zarbon 05:15, 26 May 2008 (UTC)
• 3 Kalki 11:59, 8 August 2008 (UTC)
• 3 InvisibleSun 23:31, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

No man can lose what he never had. ~ Izaak Walton

• 3 Zarbon 05:15, 26 May 2008 (UTC)
• 2 Kalki 11:59, 8 August 2008 (UTC)
• 2 InvisibleSun 23:31, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

Look to your health; and if you have it, praise God, and value it next to a good conscience; for health is the second blessing that we mortals are capable of; a blessing that money cannot buy. ~ Izaak Walton

• 2 Zarbon 05:15, 26 May 2008 (UTC)
• 2 Kalki 11:59, 8 August 2008 (UTC)
• 2 InvisibleSun 23:31, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

Good company and good discourse are the very sinews of virtue. ~ Izaak Walton

• 3 Kalki 11:59, 8 August 2008 (UTC)
• 3 InvisibleSun 23:31, 8 August 2008 (UTC)
• 1 Zarbon 01:34, 9 August 2008 (UTC)

We rarely recognize how wonderful it is that a person can traverse an entire lifetime without making a single really serious mistake — like putting a fork in one's eye or using a window instead of a door. ~ Marvin Minsky

• 3 Kalki 11:59, 8 August 2008 (UTC)
• 3 InvisibleSun 23:31, 8 August 2008 (UTC)
• 2 Zarbon 01:34, 9 August 2008 (UTC)

From StrategyWiki, the free strategy guide and walkthrough wiki

Articles detailing events that are related to August 9. This may include the release of games or systems, the founding of a video game related company or some other important event.

From Wikia Gaming, your source for walkthroughs, games, guides, and more!

Game releases

• 2005
  • Advent Rising for the PC in North America
  • Dragon Ball GT for the Game Boy Advance in North America
  • Gumby vs. the Astrobots for the Game Boy Advance in North America
  • Sacred Underworld for the PC in North America

• 2004
  • Madden NFL 2005

From Familypedia

August 9 is the 221st day of the year (222nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 144 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 48 BC - Caesar's civil war: Battle of Pharsalus - Julius Caesar decisively defeats Pompey at Pharsalus and Pompey flees to Egypt.
• 378 - Gothic War: Battle of Adrianople - A large Roman army led by Emperor Valens is defeated by the Visigoths in present-day Turkey. Valens is killed along with over half of his army.
• 681 - Bulgaria is founded as a Khanate on the south bank of the Danube, after defeating the Byzantine armies of Emperor Constantine IV south of the Danube delta.
• 1048 - Pope Damasus II dies in Rome, after reigning for only 23 days.
• 1173 - Construction of the Tower of Pisa begins, and it takes two centuries to complete.
• 1483 - Opening of the Sistine Chapel
• 1666 - Rear Admiral Robert Holmes leads a raid on the Dutch island of Terschelling, destroying 150 merchant ships in the Vlie estuary, and pillaging the town of West-Terschelling, an act later knkown as "Holmes's Bonfire".
• 1810 - Napoleon annexes Westphalia as part of the First French Empire.
• 1842 - Webster-Ashburton Treaty is signed, establishing the United States-Canada border east of the Rocky Mountains.
• 1862 - American Civil War: Battle of Cedar Mountain - At Cedar Mountain, Virginia, Confederate General Stonewall Jackson narrowly defeats Union forces under General John Pope.
• 1877 - Indian Wars: Battle of Big Hole - A small band of Nez Percé Indians clash with the United States Army.
• 1892 - Thomas Edison receives a patent for a two-way telegraph.
• 1902 - Edward VII is crowned king of the United Kingdom.
• 1907 - The first Boy Scout encampment concludes at Brownsea Island in Southern England.
• 1936 - Summer Olympic Games: Games of the XI Olympiad: Jesse Owens wins his fourth gold medal at the games becoming the first American to win four medals in one Olympiad.
• 1942 - Indian leader, Mahatma Gandhi is arrested in Bombay by British forces, launching the Quit India Movement.
• 1942 - World War II: Battle of Savo Island - Allied naval forces protecting their amphibious forces during the initial stages of the Battle of Guadalcanal are surprised and defeated by an Imperial Japanese Navy cruiser force.
• 1944 - The United States Forest Service and the Wartime Advertising Council release posters featuring Smokey Bear for the first time.
• 1945 - World War II: Nagasaki is devastated when an atomic bomb, "Fat Man", is dropped by the United States B-29 Bockscar. 70,000 people are killed instantly.
• 1965 - Singapore seceded from Malaysia and gained independence.
• 1965 - A fire at a Titan missile base near Little Rock kills 53 construction workers.
• 1969 - Members of a cult led by Charles Manson brutally murder pregnant actress Sharon Tate (wife of Roman Polanski), coffee heiress Abigail Folger, Polish actor Wojciech Frykowski, men's hairstylist Jay Sebring, and recent high-school graduate Steven Parent at 10050 Cielo Drive in Los Angeles.
• 1974 - As a direct result of the Watergate scandal, Richard Nixon becomes the first President of the United States to resign from office. His Vice President, Gerald Ford, becomes president.
• 1983 - Peter Jennings hosts his first broadcast of ABC's World News Tonight as sole anchor.
• 1986 - The Headington Shark is erected in Oxford.
• 1986 - Knebworth Park, Stevenage, United Kingdom sees the final live performance of rock band Queen with lead singer Freddie Mercury.
• 1987 - 9 people are shot dead and 17 more injured as 19-year old Julian Knight opens fire at random in the Hoddle Street Massacre in the Melbourne suburb of Clifton Hill, in Australia.
• 1988 - Baseball's all-day-game era officially came to an end when the Chicago Cubs beat the New York Mets 6-4 in Wrigley Field's first night game.
• 1993 - The Liberal Democratic Party of Japan loses a 38-year hold on national leadership.
• 1993 - King Albert II of Belgium is sworn into office.
• 1999 - Russian President Boris Yeltsin fires his Prime Minister, Sergei Stepashin, and for the fourth time fires his entire cabinet.
• 1999 - The Diet of Japan enacts a law establishing the Hinomaru and Kimi Ga Yo as the official national flag and national anthem.
• 2001 - US President George W. Bush announces his support for federal funding of limited research on embryonic stem cells.
• 2001 - In Jerusalem, 15 people die and 130 are wounded in the Sbarro restaurant suicide bombing.
• 2005 - A chemical plant explosion happened at the EQ Recovery Plant in Romulus, forcing residents within 1 to 1⅓ mile radius from the plant to evacuate.

Births

• 1201 - Arnold Fitz Thedmar, English chronicler (d. 1274)
• 1593 - Izaak Walton, English angler (d. 1683)
• 1631 - John Dryden, English Poet Laureate (d. 1700)
• 1648 - Johann Michael Bach, German composer (d. 1694)
• 1653 - John Oldham, English poet (d. 1683)
• 1674 - František Maxmilián Kaňka, Czech architect (d. 1766)
• 1722 - Augustus William (d. 1758)
• 1726 - Francesco Cetti, Italian Jesuit scientist (d. 1778)
• 1757 - Thomas Telford, Scottish civil engineer (d. 1834)
• 1776 - Amedeo Avogadro, Italian chemist (d. 1856)
• 1797 - Charles Robert Malden, British. naval officer (d. 1855)
• 1805 - Joseph Locke, English railway and civil engineer (d. 1860)
• 1809 - William Barret Travis, commander at Battle of the Alamo
• 1845 - André Bessette, Canadian religious figure (d. 1937)
• 1847 - Maria Victoria al Pozzo della Cisterna, queen consort of Spain (d. 1876)
• 1871 - Leonid Andreyev, Russian writer (d. 1919)
• 1872 - Archduke Joseph August of Austria, Austrian field marshal (d. 1962)
• 1874 - Reynaldo Hahn, Venezuelan composer and conductor (d. 1947)
• 1875 - Albert Ketèlbey, English pianist, conductor and composer (b. 1959)
• 1896 - Jean Piaget, Swiss psychologist (d. 1980)
• 1896 - Lev Vygotsky, Russian psychologist (d. 1934)
• 1896 - Erich Hückel, German physicist (d. 1980)
• 1899 - P. L. Travers, Australian author (d. 1996)
• 1901 - Charles Farrell, American actor (d. 1990)
• 1902 - Zino Francescatti, French violinist (d. 1991)
• 1909 - Adam von Trott zu Solz, German diplomat opposing the Nazi regime (executed) (d. 1944)
• 1911 - William Alfred Fowler, American physicist, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1996)
• 1911 - Eddie Futch, American boxing trainer (d. 2001)
• 1914 - Tove Jansson, Finnish author, the creator of the Moomins (d. 2001)
• 1914 - Ferenc Fricsay, Hungarian conductor (d. 1963)
• 1914 - Joe Mercer, English footballer (d. 1990)
• 1919 - Joop den Uyl, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 1987)
• 1919 - Ralph Houk, American baseball player and manager
• 1920 - Enzo Biagi, Italian journalist and writer
• 1921 - J. James Exon, American politician, (d. 2005)
• 1921 - Ernest Angley, televangelist
• 1922 - Philip Larkin, English poet (d. 1985)
• 1925 - David A. Huffman, creator of Huffman coding (d. 1999)
• 1927 - Daniel Keyes, American author
• 1927 - Robert Shaw, English actor (d. 1978)
• 1928 - Bob Cousy, American. basketball player
• 1930 - Jacques Parizeau, Quebec economist and politician
• 1931 - Mário Zagallo, Brazilian football coach and player
• 1931 - Chuck Essegian, American baseball player
• 1932 - John Gomery, Canadian jurist
• 1933 - Tetsuko Kuroyanagi, Japanese television personality and children's author
• 1936 - Julián Javier, American baseball player
• 1936 - Patrick Tse Yin, Hong Kong film director
• 1938 - Leonid Kuchma, Ukrainian politician
• 1938 - Rod Laver, Australian tennis player
• 1939 - Romano Prodi, Prime Minister of Italy, former President of the European Commission
• 1939 - Brito, Brazilian footballer
• 1940 - Beverlee McKinsey, American actress
• 1942 - Tommie Agee, American baseball player (d. 2001)
• 1942 - David Steinberg, Canadian comedian
• 1943 - Ken Norton, American boxer
• 1944 - Sam Elliott, American actor
• 1945 - Posy Simmonds, English cartoonist
• 1946 - Jim Kiick, American football player
• 1947 - Barbara Mason, American soul singer
• 1948 - Bill Campbell, baseball player
• 1949 - Jonathan Kellerman, American writer
• 1952 - Prateep Ungsongtham Hata, Thai politician
• 1957 - Melanie Griffith, American actress
• 1959 - Kurtis Blow, American rapper
• 1959 - Stuart Hughes, Canadian actor
• 1961 - Brad Gilbert, American tennis player
• 1961 - John Key, Leader of the New Zealand National Party
• 1961 - Amy Stiller, American actress
• 1962 - Kevin Mack, American football player
• 1962 - Louis Lipps, American football player
• 1963 - Whitney Houston, American diva and actress
• 1964 - Brett Hull, Canadian-born hockey player
• 1967 - Deion Sanders, American football player
• 1968 - Gillian Anderson, American actress
• 1968 - Eric Bana, Australian actor
• 1968 - Karyn Parsons, American actress
• 1968 - Sam Fogarino,drummer for New York City-based band Interpol
• 1968 - McG, American film producer and director
• 1969 - Divine Brown, American celebrity
• 1969 - Troy Percival, baseball player
• 1970 - Rod Brind'Amour, hockey player
• 1970 - Chris Cuomo, American TV journalist
• 1970 - Thomas Lennon, American actor
• 1970 - Arion Salazar, American musician (Third Eye Blind)
• 1971 - Davide Rebellin, Italian cyclist
• 1971 - Mack 10, American rapper
• 1971 - James Kim, technology reporter (d. 2006)
• 1972 - Juanes, Colombian singer
• 1972 - A-Mei, Taiwanese singer
• 1973 - Kevin McKidd, Scottish actor
• 1973 - Filippo Inzaghi, Italian footballer
• 1974 - Mahesh Babu, Indian film actor
• 1974 - Matt Morris, baseball player
• 1974 - Derek Fisher, American basketball player
• 1975 - Robbie Middleby, Australian soccer player
• 1976 - Jessica Capshaw, American actress
• 1976 - Rhona Mitra, English actress
• 1977 - Chamique Holdsclaw, American basketball player
• 1977 - Mikael Silvestre, French footballer
• 1977 - Adewale Ogunleye, American football player
• 1977 - Jason Frasor, American baseball player
• 1978 - Audrey Tautou, French actress
• 1978 - Michael Scofield, Fox River Eight Fugitive
• 1980 - Ryu Seung-beom, South Korean actor
• 1982 - Tyson Gay, American sprinter
• 1982 - Danieal Manning, American football player
• 1983 - Ashley Johnson, American actress
• 1983 - Shane O'Brien, Canadian hockey player
• 1984 - Paul Gallagher, Scottish footballer
• 1985 - Hayley Peirsol, American swimmer
• 1985 - Luca Filippi, Italian racing driver
• 1985 - JaMarcus Russell, American football player
• 1986 - Vanessa Morley, American actress
• 1989 - Stefano Okaka Chuka, Italian footballer
• 1990 - Adelaide Kane, Australian actress

Deaths

• 117 - Trajan, Roman Emperor (b. 53)
• 378 - Valens, Roman Emperor (killed in battle) (b. 328)
• 803 - Byzantine Empress Irene (b. 752)
• 1107 - Emperor Horikawa of Japan (b. 1079)
• 1173 - Najm ad-Din Ayyub, father of Saladin
• 1250 - King Eric IV of Denmark (b. 1216)
• 1534 - Cardinal Cajetan, Italian theologian (b. 1470)
• 1601 - Michael the Brave, Prince of Wallachia (b. 1558)
• 1634 - William Noy, English jurist (b. 1577)
• 1720 - Simon Ockley, English orientalist (b. 1678)
• 1744 - James Brydges, English patron of the arts (b. 1673)
• 1816 - Johann August Apel, German jurist and writer (b. 1771)
• 1837 - Xavier Sigalon, French painter (b. 1787)
• 1886 - Samuel Ferguson, Northern Irish poet and artist (b. 1810)
• 1919 - Ruggiero Leoncavallo, Italian composer (b. 1857)
• 1942 - Edith Stein, (St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross) (executed) (b. 1891)
• 1945 - Harry Hillman, American athlete (b. 1881)
• 1945 - Robert Hampton Gray, last Canadian Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1917)
• 1957 - Carl Clauberg, Nazi doctor (b. 1898)
• 1962 - Hermann Hesse, German-born writer, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1877)
• 1967 - Joe Orton, English writer (b. 1933)
• 1969 - Cecil Frank Powell, British physicist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1903)
• 1969 - Abigail Folger, American heiress (murdered) (b. 1943)
• 1969 - Wojciech Frykowski, Polish writer (murdered) (b. 1936)
• 1969 - Jay Sebring, American hair stylist (murdered) (b. 1933)
• 1969 - Sharon Tate, American actress (murdered) (b. 1943)
• 1969 - Steven Parent, American student (murdered) (b. 1951)
• 1974 - Bill Chase, American trumpet player and bandleader (b. 1934)
• 1975 - Dmitri Shostakovich, Russian composer (b. 1906)
• 1979 - Walter O'Malley, baseball executive (b. 1903)
• 1985 - Clive Churchill, Australian rugby league player (b. 1927)
• 1988 - Giacinto Scelsi, Italian composer (b. 1905)
• 1990 - Joe Mercer, English footballer (b. 1914)
• 1995 - Jerry Garcia, American musician (Grateful Dead) (b. 1942)
• 1996 - Sir Frank Whittle, invented the jet engine (b. 1907)
• 1999 - Fouad Serageddin, Egyptian politician (b. 1910)
• 2000 - John Harsanyi, Hungarian-born economist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1920)
• 2000 - Nicholas Markowitz-kidnapped and murder by Jesse James Hollywood (b. 1984)
• 2002 - Paul Samson, British guitarist (Samson) (b. 1953)
• 2002 - Peter Neville, anarchist, sociologist, and peace activist
• 2003 - Ray Harford, English footballer and manager (b. 1945)
• 2003 - Gregory Hines, American actor and dancer (b. 1946)
• 2003 - Jacques Deray, French film director (b. 1929)
• 2003 - Chester Ludgin, American baritone (b. 1925)
• 2004 - Tony Mottola, American guitarist (b. 1918)
• 2004 - David Raksin, American film director (b. 1912)
• 2005 - Matthew McGrory, American actor (b. 1973)
• 2005 - Judith Rossner, American novelist (b. 1935)
• 2006 - James van Allen, American physicist (b. 1914)
• 2006 - Philip E. High, science fiction author (b. 1914)
• 2007 - Joe O'Donnell, American documentary photographer, photojournalist (b. 1922)

Holidays and observances

• Singapore: National Day
• National Women's Day in South Africa
• International Day of the World's Indigenous People
• Baltimore: Official "Frank Zappa Day" in honor of the Baltimore-born composer and musician (born 1940, died 1993).
• Feast day of the great martyr Saint Panteleimon in Russian Orthodox Church

Roman Catholicism

• Saint Auctor, bishop of Metz [Metz]
• Saint Domitian,bishop of Châlons-sur-Marne), confessor [Châlons-sur-Marne]
• Saint Fedlimin/Felimy, bishop of Kilmore
• Saint Firmus and Saint Rusticus
• Saint Herneus, abbot, confessor [Le Mans]
• Saint Jean Vianney
• Saint Lawrence [common]
• Saint Maurilius
• Saint Nathy (David), bishop of Achonry
• Saint Romanus, martyr [common] (Romanus Ostiarius, died 258)
• Saint Secundianus and companions, martyrs [Meaux]
• Blessed Ceferino Jimenez Malla
• Saint Teresia Benedicta of the Cross (née Edith Stein)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day

• On This Day in Canada