[edit]

• 29 BC – Octavian holds the second of three consecutive triumphs in Rome to celebrate the victory over the Dalmatian tribes.
• 1040 – King Duncan I is killed in battle against his first cousin and rival Macbeth. The latter succeeds him as King of Scotland.
• 1183 – Taira no Munemori and the Taira clan take the young Emperor Antoku and the three sacred treasures and flee to western Japan to escape pursuit by the Minamoto clan (traditional Japanese date: Twenty-fifth Day of the Seventh Month of the Second Year of Juei).
• 1288 – Count Adolf VIII of Berg grants town privileges to Düsseldorf, the village on the banks of the Düssel.
• 1352 – War of the Breton Succession: Anglo-Bretons defeat the French in the Battle of Mauron.
• 1370 – Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, grants city privileges to Carlsbad which is subsequently named after him.
• 1385 – Portuguese Crisis of 1383–85: Battle of Aljubarrota: Portuguese forces commanded by King John I and his general Nuno Álvares Pereira defeat the Castilian army of King John I.
• 1480 – Battle of Otranto: Ottoman troops behead 800 Christians for refusing to convert to Islam; they are later honored in the Church.
• 1598 – Nine Years' War: Battle of the Yellow Ford: Irish forces under Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, defeats an English expeditionary force under Henry Bagenal.
• 1720 – The Spanish military Villasur expedition is wiped out by Pawnee and Otoe warriors near present-day Columbus, Nebraska.
• 1814 – A cease fire agreement, called the Convention of Moss, ended the Swedish–Norwegian War.
• 1816 – The United Kingdom formally annexes the Tristan da Cunha archipelago, administering the islands from the Cape Colony in South Africa.
• 1842 – American Indian Wars: Second Seminole War ends, with the Seminoles forced from Florida to Oklahoma.
• 1848 – Oregon Territory is organized by act of Congress.
• 1880 – Construction of Cologne Cathedral, the most famous landmark in Cologne, Germany, is completed.
• 1885 – Japan's first patent is issued to the inventor of a rust-proof paint.
• 1888 – An audio recording of English composer Arthur Sullivan's "The Lost Chord", one of the first recordings of music ever made, is played during a press conference introducing Thomas Edison's phonograph in London, England.
• 1893 – France becomes the first country to introduce motor vehicle registration.
• 1900 – The Eight-Nation Alliance occupies Beijing, China, in a campaign to end the bloody Boxer Rebellion in China.
• 1901 – The first claimed powered flight, by Gustave Whitehead in his Number 21.
• 1911 – United States Senate leaders agree to rotate the office of President pro tempore of the Senate among leading candidates to fill the vacancy left by William P. Frye's death.
• 1912 – U.S. Marines invade Nicaragua to support the U.S.-backed government installed there after José Santos Zelaya had resigned three years earlier.
• 1914 – World War I: Start of the Battle of Lorraine, an unsuccessful French offensive designed to recover the lost province of Moselle from Germany.
• 1916 – Romania declares war on Austria-Hungary.
• 1921 – Tannu Uriankhai, later Tuvan People's Republic is established as a completely independent country (which is supported by Soviet Russia).
• 1933 – Loggers cause a forest fire in the Coast Range of Oregon, later known as the first forest fire of the Tillamook Burn; it is not fully extinguished until September 5, after destroying 240,000 acres (970 km²).
• 1935 – Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Social Security Act, creating a government pension system for the retired.
• 1936 – Rainey Bethea is hanged in Owensboro, Kentucky in the last known public execution in the United States.
• 1937 – The beginning of air-to-air combat of the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II in general, when six Japanese bombers are shot down by Chinese fighters while raiding Chinese air bases.
• 1941 – World War II: Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt sign the Atlantic Charter of war stating postwar aims.
• 1945 – Japan accepts the Allied terms of surrender in World War II and the Emperor records the Imperial Rescript on Surrender (August 15 in Japan Standard Time).
• 1945 – The Viet Minh launches August Revolution amid the political confusion and power vacuum engulfing Vietnam.
• 1947 – Pakistan gains Independence from the British Empire and joins the Commonwealth of Nations.
• 1959 – Founding and first official meeting of the American Football League.
• 1967 – UK Marine Broadcasting Offences Act declares participation in offshore pirate radio illegal.
• 1969 – Operation Banner: British troops are deployed in Northern Ireland.
• 1971 – Bahrain declares independence as the State of Bahrain.
• 1972 – An Ilyushin Il-62 airliner crashes near Königs Wusterhausen, East Germany, due to an in-flight fire, killing 156.
• 1973 – The Pakistan Constitution of 1973 comes into effect.
• 1975 – The Rocky Horror Picture Show, the longest-running release in film history, opens in London.
• 1980 – Lech Wałęsa leads strikes at the Gdańsk, Poland shipyards.
• 1994 – Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, also known as "Carlos the Jackal", is captured.
• 1996 – Greek Cypriot refugee Solomos Solomou is murdered by Turkish forces while trying to climb a flagpole in order to remove a Turkish flag from its mast in the United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus.
• 2003 – A widescale power blackout affects the northeast United States and Canada.
• 2005 – Helios Airways Flight 522, en route from Larnaca, Cyprus to Prague, Czech Republic via Athens, crashes in the hills near Grammatiko, Greece, killing 121 passengers and crew.
• 2006 – 61 schoolgirls killed in Chencholai bombing by Sri Lankan Air Force air strike.
• 2007 – The Kahtaniya bombings kills at least 334 people.
• 2013 – Egypt declares a state of emergency as security forces kill hundreds of demonstrators supporting former president Mohamed Morsi.
• 2015 – The US Embassy in Havana, Cuba re-opens after 54 years of being closed when Cuba–United States relations were broken off.

Births[edit]

• 928 – Qian Hongzuo, king of Wuyue (d. 947)
• 1297 – Emperor Hanazono of Japan (d. 1348)
• 1473 – Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury (d. 1541)
• 1479 – Catherine of York (d. 1527)
• 1499 – John de Vere, 14th Earl of Oxford, English politician, Lord Great Chamberlain (d. 1526)
• 1502 – Pieter Coecke van Aelst, Flemish painter (d. 1550)
• 1530 – Giambattista Benedetti, Italian mathematician and physicist (d. 1590)
• 1552 – Paolo Sarpi, Italian writer (d. 1623)
• 1561 – Christopher Heydon, English politician (d. 1623)
• 1575 – Robert Hayman, English-Canadian poet and politician (d. 1629)
• 1586 – William Hutchinson, founder of Rhode Island (d. 1642)
• 1599 – Méric Casaubon, Swiss-English scholar and author (d. 1671)
• 1625 – François de Harlay de Champvallon, French archbishop (d. 1695)
• 1642 – Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1723)
• 1645 – Carlos de Sigüenza y Góngora, Mexican secular priest, scientist, and savant (d. 1700)
• 1653 – Christopher Monck, 2nd Duke of Albemarle, English colonel and politician, Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica (d. 1688)
• 1688 – Frederick William I of Prussia (d. 1740)
• 1714 – Claude Joseph Vernet, French painter (d. 1789)
• 1738 – Leopold Hofmann, Austrian composer and conductor (d. 1793)
• 1740 – Pope Pius VII (d. 1823)
• 1758 – Carle Vernet, French painter and lithographer (d. 1835)
• 1777 – Hans Christian Ørsted, Danish physicist and chemist (d. 1851)
• 1817 – Alexander H. Bailey, American lawyer, judge, and politician (d. 1874)
• 1840 – Richard von Krafft-Ebing, German-Austrian psychologist and author (d. 1902)
• 1847 – Robert Comtesse, Swiss lawyer and politician, President of the Swiss National Council (d. 1922)
• 1848 – Margaret Lindsay Huggins, Anglo-Irish astronomer and author (d. 1915)
• 1851 – Yannoulis Chalepas, Greek sculptor (d. 1938)
• 1851 – Doc Holliday, American dentist and gambler (d. 1887)
• 1857 – Max Wagenknecht, German organist, composer, and educator (d. 1922)
• 1863 – Ernest Thayer, American poet and author (d. 1940)
• 1865 – Guido Castelnuovo, Italian mathematician and academic (d. 1952)
• 1866 – Charles Jean de la Vallée-Poussin, Belgian mathematician and academic (d. 1962)
• 1867 – Cupid Childs, American baseball player (d. 1912)
• 1867 – John Galsworthy, English novelist and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1933)
• 1870 – Nelson McDowell, American actor (d. 1947)
• 1871 – Guangxu Emperor of China (d. 1908)
• 1875 – Mstislav Dobuzhinsky, Russian-Lithuanian-American painter and illustrator (d. 1957)
• 1876 – Alexander I of Serbia (d. 1903)
• 1880 – Fred Alexander, American tennis player (d. 1969)
• 1881 – Francis Ford, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1953)
• 1886 – Arthur Jeffrey Dempster, Canadian-American physicist and academic (d. 1950)
• 1887 – Marija Leiko, Latvian actress (d. 1937)
• 1889 – Otto Tief, Estonian lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Estoria (d. 1976)
• 1890 – Bruno Tesch, German chemist and businessman (d. 1946)
• 1892 – Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji, English pianist, composer, and critic (d. 1988)
• 1893 – Francis Dvornik, Czech priest and academic (d. 1975)
• 1895 – Jack Gregory, Australian cricketer (d. 1973)
• 1896 – Albert Ball, English fighter pilot (d. 1917)
• 1896 – Theodor Luts, Estonian director and cinematographer (d. 1980)
• 1901 – Alice Rivaz, Swiss pianist and author (d. 1998)
• 1903 – Lodewijk Bruckman, Dutch painter and illustrator (d. 1995)
• 1910 – Willy Ronis, French photographer (d. 2009)
• 1910 – Pierre Schaeffer, French composer and producer (d. 1995)
• 1911 – Jan Koetsier, Dutch composer and conductor (d. 2006)
• 1911 – Vethathiri Maharishi, Indian spiritual leader, philosopher, and author (d. 2006)
• 1912 – Frank Oppenheimer, American physicist and academic (d. 1985)
• 1913 – Hector Crawford, Australian director and producer (d. 1991)
• 1913 – Paul Dean, American baseball player (d. 1981)
• 1915 – B. A. Santamaria, Australian political activist and publisher (d. 1998)
• 1916 – Frank and John Craighead, American naturalists (twins, Frank d. 2001, John d. 2016)
• 1916 – Fumio Fujimura, Japanese baseball player and manager (d. 1992)
• 1916 – Wellington Mara, American businessman (d. 2005)
• 1922 – Leslie Marr, English race car driver
• 1923 – Patriarch Diodoros of Jerusalem (d. 2000)
• 1923 – Alice Ghostley, American actress (d. 2007)
• 1924 – Sverre Fehn, Norwegian architect, designed the Hedmark Museum (d. 2009)
• 1924 – Holger Juul Hansen, Danish actor (d. 2013)
• 1924 – Georges Prêtre, French conductor (d. 2017)
• 1924 – Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, 16th Karmapa, Tibetan spiritual leader (d. 1981)
• 1925 – Russell Baker, American critic and essayist
• 1926 – René Goscinny, French author and illustrator (d. 1977)
• 1926 – Buddy Greco, American singer and pianist (d. 2017)
• 1928 – Lina Wertmüller, Italian director and screenwriter
• 1929 – Kinnaird R. McKee, American admiral (d. 2013)
• 1929 – Gene Scott, American pastor and broadcaster (d. 2005)
• 1929 – Dick Tiger, Nigerian boxer (d. 1971)
• 1930 – Earl Weaver, American baseball player and manager (d. 2013)
• 1931 – Frederic Raphael, American journalist, author, and screenwriter
• 1932 – Lee Hoffman, American author (d. 2007)
• 1933 – Richard R. Ernst, Swiss chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1935 – John Brodie, American football player and golfer
• 1940 – Darrell "Dash" Crofts, American singer-songwriter and musician
• 1940 – Galen Hall, American football player and coach
• 1941 – David Crosby, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1941 – Connie Smith, American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1942 – Willie Dunn, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2013)
• 1942 – Lionel Morton, English singer-songwriter, guitarist and television presenter
• 1943 – Ronnie Campbell, English miner and politician
• 1943 – Ben Sidran, American jazz and rock keyboardist, producer, label owner, and music writer
• 1944 – John Dunt, English admiral
• 1945 – Steve Martin, American actor, comedian, musician, producer, and screenwriter
• 1945 – Wim Wenders, German director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1946 – Larry Graham, American soul/funk bass player and singer-songwriter
• 1946 – Susan Saint James, American actress
• 1946 – Tom Walkinshaw, Scottish race car driver and businessman (d. 2010)
• 1947 – Bruce Nash, American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1947 – Maddy Prior, English folk singer
• 1947 – Danielle Steel, American author
• 1947 – Jiro Taniguchi, Japanese author and illustrator
• 1947 – Joop van Daele, Dutch footballer and manager
• 1948 – Terry Adams, American pianist and composer
• 1948 – Bruce Thomas, English bass player and author
• 1949 – Morten Olsen, Danish footballer and coach
• 1950 – Gary Larson, American cartoonist
• 1951 – Slim Dunlap, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1951 – Norbert Hofmann, German footballer and manager
• 1952 – Debbie Meyer, American swimmer
• 1953 – James Horner, American composer and conductor (d. 2015)
• 1954 – Mark Fidrych, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2009)
• 1954 – Stanley A. McChrystal, American general
• 1956 – Sharon Bryant, American R&B singer
• 1956 – Jackée Harry, American actress and television personality
• 1956 – Andy King, English footballer and manager (d. 2015)
• 1956 – Rusty Wallace, American race car driver and sportscaster
• 1956 – Erica Flapan, American mathematician
• 1957 – Peter Costello, Australian lawyer and politician, 35th Treasurer of Australia
• 1958 – Philip Dunne, English farmer and politician, Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology
• 1958 – Bobby Eaton, American wrestler and trainer
• 1959 – Frank Brickowski, American basketball player
• 1959 – Marcia Gay Harden, American actress
• 1959 – Magic Johnson, American basketball player and coach
• 1960 – Sarah Brightman, English singer-songwriter and actress
• 1960 – Fred Roberts, American basketball player and educator
• 1961 – Eddie Gilbert, American wrestler and manager (d. 1995)
• 1962 – Mark Gubicza, American baseball player and sportscaster
• 1962 – Kevin Harris, Canadian skateboarder
• 1962 – Andres Herkel, Estonian academic and politician
• 1962 – Rameez Raja, Pakistani cricketer and sportscaster
• 1963 – Emmanuelle Béart, French actress
• 1963 – José Cóceres, Argentinian golfer
• 1964 – Neal Anderson, American football player and coach
• 1964 – Jason Dunstall, Australian footballer and sportscaster
• 1965 – Paul Broadhurst, English golfer
• 1965 – Terry Richardson, American photographer and director
• 1966 – Halle Berry, American model, actress, and producer, Miss World United States 1986
• 1966 – Karl Petter Løken, Swedish-Norwegian footballer and sportscaster
• 1966 – Tuncay Özkan, Turkish journalist and politician
• 1967 – Erik Gandini, Italian-Swedish director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1968 – Pravin Amre, Indian cricketer and coach
• 1968 – Catherine Bell, English-American actress and producer
• 1968 – Darren Clarke, Northern Irish golfer
• 1968 – Jason Leonard, English rugby player
• 1968 – Medy van der Laan, Dutch politician
• 1969 – Tracy Caldwell Dyson, American chemist and astronaut
• 1969 – Stig Tøfting, Danish footballer and manager
• 1970 – Kevin Cadogan, American rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Third Eye Blind)
• 1971 – Raoul Bova, Italian actor, producer, and screenwriter
• 1971 – Mark Loretta, American baseball player and coach
• 1971 – Pramodya Wickramasinghe, Sri Lankan cricketer
• 1972 – Tamer El Said, Egyptian director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1972 – Laurent Lamothe, Haitian businessman and politician, 15th Prime Minister of Haiti
• 1973 – Jared Borgetti, Mexican footballer
• 1973 – Jay-Jay Okocha, Nigerian footballer
• 1973 – Kieren Perkins, Australian swimmer and sportscaster
• 1974 – Chucky Atkins, American basketball player and coach
• 1975 – Mike Vrabel, American football player and coach
• 1976 – Fabrizio Donato, Italian triple jumper
• 1977 – Ed Harcourt, English singer-songwriter and producer
• 1977 – Juan Pierre, American baseball player
• 1978 – Randika Galhenage, Sri Lankan cricketer
• 1978 – Anastasios Kyriakos, Greek footballer
• 1978 – Greg Rawlinson, South African-New Zealand rugby player
• 1979 – Jérémie Bréchet, French footballer
• 1979 – Paul Burgess, Australian pole vaulter
• 1979 – Yōichirō Morikawa, Japanese actor, director, and screenwriter
• 1980 – Aydın Toscalı, Turkish footballer
• 1980 – Roy Williams, American football player
• 1981 – Earl Barron, American basketball player
• 1981 – Matthew Etherington, English footballer
• 1981 – Paul Gallen, Australian rugby league player
• 1981 – Julius Jones, American football player
• 1981 – Kofi Kingston, Ghanaian-American wrestler
• 1983 – Elena Baltacha, Ukrainian-Scottish tennis player (d. 2014)
• 1983 – Mila Kunis, Ukrainian-born American actress
• 1983 – Juan Oviedo, Dominican baseball player
• 1983 – Spencer Pratt, American television personality
• 1984 – Simon Andrews, English motorcycle racer (d. 2014)
• 1984 – Eva Birnerová, Czech tennis player
• 1984 – Clay Buchholz, American baseball player
• 1984 – Giorgio Chiellini, Italian footballer
• 1984 – Josh Gorges, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1984 – Nick Grimshaw, English radio and television host
• 1984 – Nicola Slater, Scottish tennis player
• 1984 – Robin Söderling, Swedish tennis player
• 1985 – Christian Gentner, German footballer
• 1985 – Shea Weber, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1986 – Cameron Jerome, English footballer
• 1986 – Sam Moa, Tongan-New Zealand rugby league player
• 1986 – Braian Rodríguez, Uruguayan footballer
• 1987 – Tim Tebow, American football and baseball player, television personality and sportscaster
• 1989 – Florian Abel, German footballer
• 1989 – Ander Herrera, Spanish footballer
• 1989 – Kyle Turris, Canadian ice hockey player

Deaths[edit]

• 582 – Tiberius II Constantine, Byzantine emperor (b. 535)
• 902 – Badr al-Mu'tadidi, commander-in-chief of the Abbasid Caliphate under al-Mu'tadid
• 1040 – Duncan I of Scotland (b. 1001)
• 1167 – Rainald of Dassel, Italian archbishop (b. 1120)
• 1204 – Minamoto no Yoriie, Japanese shogun (b. 1182)
• 1297 – Frederick III, Burgrave of Nuremberg (b. c. 1220)
• 1319 – Waldemar, Margrave of Brandenburg-Stendal (b. c. 1280)
• 1388 – James Douglas, 2nd Earl of Douglas
• 1390 – John FitzAlan, 2nd Baron Arundel, English soldier (b. 1364)
• 1433 – John I of Portugal (b. 1357)
• 1464 – Pope Pius II (b. 1405)
• 1573 – Saitō Tatsuoki, Japanese daimyo (b. 1548)
• 1657 – Giovanni Paolo Lascaris, 57th Grandmaster of the Knights Hospitaller (b. 1560)
• 1691 – Richard Talbot, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell, Irish soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1630)
• 1727 – William Croft, English organist and composer (b. 1678)
• 1774 – Johann Jakob Reiske, German physician and scholar (b. 1716)
• 1784 – Nathaniel Hone the Elder, Irish-born English painter and academic (b. 1718)
• 1856 – Constant Prévost, French geologist and academic (b. 1787)
• 1860 – André Marie Constant Duméril, French zoologist and entomologist (b. 1774)
• 1870 – David Farragut, American admiral (b. 1801)
• 1874 – Jonathan Clarkson Gibbs, American minister and politician (b. 1821)
• 1890 – Michael J. McGivney, American priest, founded the Knights of Columbus (b. 1852)
• 1905 – Simeon Solomon, English soldier and painter (b. 1840)
• 1909 – William Stanley, American engineer and philanthropist (b. 1829)
• 1926 – John H. Moffitt, American sergeant and politician, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1843)
• 1928 – Klabund, German author and poet (b. 1890)
• 1938 – Hugh Trumble, Australian cricketer and accountant (b. 1876)
• 1941 – Maximilian Kolbe, Polish martyr and saint (b. 1894)
• 1941 – Paul Sabatier, French chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1854)
• 1943 – Lore Berger, Swiss author and translator (b. 1921)
• 1943 – Joe Kelley, American baseball player and manager (b. 1871)
• 1951 – William Randolph Hearst, American publisher and politician, founded the Hearst Corporation (b. 1863)
• 1954 – Hugo Eckener, German pilot and designer (b. 1868)
• 1954 – Nikos Ploumpidis, Greek activist (b. 1901)
• 1955 – Herbert Putnam, American lawyer and publisher, Librarian of Congress (b. 1861)
• 1956 – Bertolt Brecht, German poet, playwright, and director (b. 1898)
• 1958 – Frédéric Joliot-Curie, French physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1900)
• 1958 – Konstantin von Neurath, German lawyer and politician, Reich Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1873)
• 1963 – Clifford Odets, American director, playwright, and screenwriter (b. 1906)
• 1964 – Johnny Burnette, American singer-songwriter (b. 1934)
• 1965 – Vello Kaaristo, Estonian skier (b. 1911)
• 1966 – Tip Snooke, South African cricketer (b. 1881)
• 1967 – Bob Anderson, English motorcycle racer and race car driver (b. 1931)
• 1972 – Oscar Levant, American actor, pianist, and composer (b. 1906)
• 1972 – Jules Romains, French author and poet (b. 1885)
• 1973 – Fred Gipson, American journalist and author (b. 1908)
• 1978 – Nicolas Bentley, English author and illustrator (b. 1907)
• 1980 – Dorothy Stratten, Canadian-American model and actress (b. 1960)
• 1981 – Karl Böhm, Austrian conductor and director (b. 1894)
• 1981 – Dudley Nourse, South African cricketer (b. 1910)
• 1982 – Mahasi Sayadaw, Burmese monk and philosopher (b. 1904)
• 1984 – Spud Davis, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1904)
• 1984 – J. B. Priestley, English novelist and playwright (b. 1894)
• 1985 – Gale Sondergaard, American actress (b. 1899)
• 1988 – Roy Buchanan, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1939)
• 1988 – Robert Calvert, South African-English singer-songwriter and playwright (b. 1945)
• 1988 – Enzo Ferrari, Italian race car driver and businessman, founded Ferrari (b. 1898)
• 1989 – Ricky Berry, American basketball player (b. 1964)
• 1991 – Alberto Crespo, Argentinian race car driver (b. 1920)
• 1992 – John Sirica, American lawyer and judge (b. 1904)
• 1994 – Elias Canetti, Bulgarian-Swiss novelist, playwright, memoirist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1905)
• 1994 – Alice Childress, American actress, playwright, and author (b. 1912)
• 1996 – Sergiu Celibidache, Romanian conductor and composer (b. 1912)
• 1999 – Pee Wee Reese, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1918)
• 2000 – Alain Fournier, French-Canadian computer scientist and academic (b. 1943)
• 2002 – Larry Rivers, American painter and sculptor (b. 1923)
• 2003 – Helmut Rahn, German footballer (b. 1929)
• 2004 – Czesław Miłosz, Polish-born American novelist, essayist, and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1911)
• 2004 – Trevor Skeet, New Zealand-English lawyer and politician (b. 1918)
• 2006 – Adriaan de Groot, Dutch psychologist and chess player (b. 1914)
• 2006 – Bruno Kirby, American actor (b. 1949)
• 2007 – Pinchas Goldstein, Israeli politician (b. 1939)
• 2007 – Tikhon Khrennikov, Russian pianist and composer (b. 1913)
• 2007 – Kotozakura Masakatsu, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 53rd Yokozuna (b. 1940)
• 2010 – Rallis Kopsidis, Greek painter and author (b. 1929)
• 2010 – Herman Leonard, American soldier and photographer (b. 1923)
• 2011 – Fritz Korbach, German footballer and manager (b. 1945)
• 2012 – Maja Bošković-Stulli, Croatian historian and academic (b. 1922)
• 2012 – Vilasrao Deshmukh, Indian lawyer and politician, 14th Chief Minister of Maharashtra (b. 1945)
• 2012 – Svetozar Gligorić, Serbian chess player and theoretician (b. 1923)
• 2012 – Sergey Kapitsa, English-Russian physicist and demographer (b. 1928)
• 2012 – Phyllis Thaxter, American actress (b. 1919)
• 2013 – Jack Garfinkel, American basketball player and coach (b. 1918)
• 2013 – Jack Germond, American journalist and author (b. 1928)
• 2013 – Paddy Power, Irish educator and politician, 22nd Irish Minister for Defence (b. 1928)
• 2014 – Leonard Fein, American journalist and academic, co-founded Moment Magazine (b. 1934)
• 2014 – George V. Hansen, American soldier and politician (b. 1930)
• 2015 – Agustín Cejas, Argentinian footballer (b. 1945)
• 2015 – Bob Farrell, American businessman, founded Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour (b. 1927)
• 2015 – Bob Johnston, American songwriter and producer (b. 1932)
• 2016 – Philip "Fyuvsh" Finkel, American actor (b. 1922)

Is J Balvin's Mi Gente the new Despacito?

Image copyrightPOLYDOR

Earlier this summer, Luis Fonsi's Despacito became the most-streamed song of all time - an incredible feat for a record that's predominantly in Spanish.

But it increasingly looks like it won't be a one-off. 

Another Latin American song, Mi Gente, has replaced Despacito at the top of Spotify's Global Top 50. Here in the UK, it's just broken into the top 20.

"It's amazing. It's such a blessing," says singer J Balvin, the Colombian artist who's behind the song.

Already a huge star in South America, Balvin has been credited with revitalising reggaeton - a hip-hop-infused blend of reggae and rap that originated in Puerto Rico in the late 1990s.

Over the course of four albums, he's taken the genre once called "reggae en Espanol" and infused it with African, electronic and Caribbean flavours. 

• 
  

More importantly, his lyrics trade reggaeton's gritty, underground roots for a more universal, romantic narrative.

"Mi música no discrimina a nadie," he sings in Mi Gente, meaning "my music doesn't discriminate against anybody".

"Exactly!" says the star, when we reference the lyric. "I'm Latino but I don't do music for Latinos. My music is for everybody in the world. 

"Music has to be a tool to unite people, to get people together. It doesn't matter the race, the language, the culture. So that's what I'm saying when I sing that line."

Image copyrightUNIVERSAL MUSIC LATIN

The global perspective is evident on Mi Gente, which has its roots in a French track - Voodoo Song, by Willy William. That song, with its chopped-up vocals samples and hopscotch drumbeats, provides a bonkers backbone to Balvin's hit (which William also produced and sings on).

"We took a risk to make new music, new colours, new ways," says Balvin. "It's crazy what we created."

So what lies behind this sudden explosion in music from Latin America? Aside from Luis Fonsi and J Balvin's megahits, there are five other Spanish-language songs in the Spotify top 50.

'New creative era'

Sir Lucian Grainge, head of Universal Records, says streaming is the key - giving Latin American artists a platform they would never have received on US (and UK) linguistically conservative radio stations.

"Streaming has changed the face of music discovery and music consumption," he told the BBC last month.

"We're at the forefront of a new creative era [where] anyone who is good can find an audience."

"The beautiful thing about streaming is that people are looking for this stuff," stresses Balvin. "It's like, they really want to play this music. They're looking for it especially. It's the people talking."

Spotify itself has been actively promoting Latin American music in regions outside South America - not least because Mexico and Brazil are two of the streaming service's biggest markets.

"We're proactively trying to push its consumption in countries like Germany, Italy, Switzerland, the UK [and] obviously the US," said Rocio Guerrero, Spotify's head of Latin culture.

"There has been a domino effect," she recently told Billboard magazine. "The more songs that we put on the global chart, people are getting more used to listening to songs in a different language."

'Good faith and hard work'

Balvin has his own take on the phenomenon: "Well, I think right now kids and the whole world is more open minded," he tells the BBC on the phone from Uruguay. 

"People are just more open to listening to good vibes, even though they don't understand the words.

"That's beautiful. That's amazing. It's like we're showing the world this is not luck... This is really down to good faith and hard work."

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES

Balvin has certainly put in the hours since launching his music career 11 years ago.

Born José Álvaro Osorio Balvin, he grew up in Medellin, a striking, hilltop metropolis that was once branded "the most dangerous city on earth" - thanks largely to the cocaine-trafficking cartel run by Pablo Escobar.

The young musician was largely insulated from that seedy side of the city, growing up in a large house with his well-off family - although they fell on hard times when his economist father went bankrupt in his teenage years.

He wasn't particularly aware of reggaeton, sound-tracking his childhood with US rock bands like Metallica and Nirvana. 

"Since I was eight, I started playing guitar and that's how I fell in love with Nirvana," says the star, who has the band's name tattooed on his knee. 

"It's such amazing music. It's a big part of my life."

Hard grind

Aged 18, he went to the US as an exchange student, and discovered hip-hop culture - then spent the next few years bouncing between Medellin, Miami and New York, trying to launch a music career while working illegally in the US as a roofer. 

It wasn't until he settled back in Colombia and joined a production team called Infinity Music that he started to build a reputation locally, tirelessly promoting his music around the country.

"We travelled by bus, ate the cheapest fast food, spent hours and hours outside radio stations," Infinity Music's Juan Pablo Piedrahita recalled to The Fader in 2015.

Image copyrightPOLYDOR

The grind paid off: Balvin was signed to EMI Colombia in 2009 and subsequently set up a 360 deal with Universal subsidiary Capitol Latin.

All four of the singles from his second album La Familia charted in Colombia's top 10, and he was a featured vocalist on the Colombian version of Robin Thicke's hit single Blurred Lines. His break-up ballad Ay Vamos, meanwhile, racked up one billion views on YouTube - the first "urban" Latin track to do so. 

Now Balvin is edging on to the world stage. His last album, Energia featured collaborations with Pitbull, Camilla Cabello and Pharrell Williams, while the star found himself watching Kanye West record last year's Life Of Pablo album.

"I went to the studio the day Kanye was doing Ultralight Beams and it was just amazing to see how he works," the 32-year-old marvels. 

"He would brainstorm with his crew, and they all wanted to find the best idea. It really opened up my mind - I want to apply that to my own work."

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES

One lesson he won't be taking from the famously mercurial Kanye, however, is how to handle his social media accounts.

Balvin is an engaging, witty presence online, posting all of his own messages himself. He's even recorded a song called Snapchat and another, Ginza, which is named after an Instagram filter.

"I can't lie: the phone is like my right hand," he jokes. "But right now the best way to keep connected with people, with your fanbase is through your cell phone.

"I'm on it all the time - but I'll turn it off when I'm going to sleep. I just want to get those frequencies out of my brain, so I turn it off and I take it outside."

When he's not posting photographs from the stage of his current tour, Balvin is "working like crazy" on his next album which, he says, will represent both sides of his musical personality - "the global side and the Latino side". 

And, despite having the world's most listened-to song, his ambition is undiminished.

"I want to go bigger," he says. "Everything started with a dream. I dreamt about having one of the biggest Latin albums, I dreamt I'd be a global artist. 

"And dreams do come true."

Έρευνα αποκαλύπτει το πιο βρώμικο σημείο στα δωμάτια των ξενοδοχείων

[edit]

• 636 – Arab–Byzantine wars: The Battle of Yarmouk between Byzantine Empire and Rashidun Caliphate begins.
• 717 – Arab–Byzantine wars: Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik begins the Second Arab Siege of Constantinople, which will last for nearly a year.
• 718 – Arab–Byzantine wars: Raising of the Second Arab Siege of Constantinople.
• 747 – Carloman, mayor of the palace of Austrasia, renounces his position as majordomo and retires to a monastery near Rome. His brother Pepin the Short becomes the sole ruler (de facto) of the Frankish Kingdom.
• 778 – The Battle of Roncevaux Pass, at which Roland is killed.
• 805 – Noble Erchana of Dahauua grants the Bavarian town of Dachau to the Diocese of Freising
• 927 – The Saracens conquer and destroy Taranto.
• 982 – Holy Roman Emperor Otto II is defeated by the Saracens in the Battle of Capo Colonna, in Calabria
• 1018 – Byzantine general Eustathios Daphnomeles blinds and captures Ibatzes of Bulgaria by a ruse, thereby ending Bulgarian resistance against Emperor Basil II's conquest of Bulgaria.
• 1038 – King Stephen I, the first king of Hungary, dies; his nephew, Peter Orseolo, succeeds him.
• 1057 – King Macbeth is killed at the Battle of Lumphanan by the forces of Máel Coluim mac Donnchada.
• 1070 – The Pavian-born Benedictine Lanfranc is appointed as the new Archbishop of Canterbury in England.
• 1185 – The cave city of Vardzia is consecrated by Queen Tamar of Georgia.
• 1237 – The Battle of the Puig takes place in the context of the Spanish Reconquista pitting the forces of the Taifa of Valencia against the Kingdom of Aragon. The battle resulted in an Aragonese victory.
• 1248 – The foundation stone of Cologne Cathedral, built to house the relics of the Three Wise Men, is laid. (Construction is eventually completed in 1880.)
• 1261 – Michael VIII Palaiologos is crowned Byzantine emperor in Constantinople.
• 1281 – Mongol invasion of Japan: The Mongolian fleet of Kublai Khan is destroyed by a "divine wind" for the second time in the Battle of Kōan.
• 1309 – The city of Rhodes surrenders to the forces of the Knights of St. John, completing their conquest of Rhodes. The knights establish their headquarters on the island and rename themselves the Knights of Rhodes.
• 1430 – Francesco Sforza, lord of Milan, conquers Lucca.
• 1461 – The Empire of Trebizond surrenders to the forces of Sultan Mehmed II. This is regarded by some historians as the real end of the Byzantine Empire. Emperor David is exiled and later murdered.
• 1483 – Pope Sixtus IV consecrates the Sistine Chapel.
• 1511 – Afonso de Albuquerque of Portugal conquers Malacca, the capital of the Malacca Sultanate.
• 1517 – Seven Portuguese armed vessels led by Fernão Pires de Andrade meet Chinese officials at the Pearl River estuary.
• 1519 – Panama City, Panama is founded.
• 1534 – Ignatius of Loyola and six classmates take initial vows, leading to the creation of the Society of Jesus in September 1540.
• 1537 – Asunción, Paraguay is founded.
• 1540 – Arequipa, Peru is founded.
• 1549 – Jesuit priest Francis Xavier comes ashore at Kagoshima (Traditional Japanese date: 22 July 1549).
• 1599 – Nine Years' War: Battle of Curlew Pass: Irish forces led by Hugh Roe O'Donnell successfully ambush English forces, led by Sir Conyers Clifford, sent to relieve Collooney Castle.
• 1695 – French forces end the bombardment of Brussels.
• 1760 – Seven Years' War: Battle of Liegnitz: Frederick the Great's victory over the Austrians under Ernst Gideon von Laudon.
• 1824 – The Marquis de Lafayette, the last surviving French general of the American Revolutionary War, arrives in New York and begins a tour of 24 states.
• 1843 – The Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu, Hawaii is dedicated. Now the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu, it is the oldest Roman Catholic cathedral in continuous use in the United States.
• 1843 – Tivoli Gardens, one of the oldest still intact amusement parks in the world, opens in Copenhagen, Denmark.
• 1863 – The Anglo-Satsuma War begins between the Satsuma Domain of Japan and the United Kingdom (Traditional Japanese date: July 2, 1863).
• 1869 – The Meiji government in Japan establishes six new ministries, including one for Shinto.
• 1893 – Ibadan area becomes a British Protectorate after a treaty signed by Fijabi, the Baale of Ibadan with the British acting Governor of Lagos, George C. Denton.
• 1907 – Ordination in Constantinople of Fr. Raphael Morgan, the first African-American Orthodox priest, "Priest-Apostolic" to America and the West Indies.
• 1914 – A servant of American architect Frank Lloyd Wright murders seven people and sets fire to the living quarters of Wright's Wisconsin home, Taliesin.
• 1914 – The Panama Canal opens to traffic with the transit of the cargo ship SS Ancon.
• 1914 – World War I: The First Russian Army, led by Paul von Rennenkampf, enters East Prussia.
• 1914 – World War I: Beginning of the Battle of Cer, the first Allied victory of World War I.
• 1915 – A story in New York World newspaper reveals that the Imperial German government had purchased excess phenol from Thomas Edison that could be used to make explosives for the war effort and diverted it to Bayer for aspirin production.
• 1920 – Polish–Soviet War: Battle of Warsaw, so-called Miracle at the Vistula.
• 1935 – Will Rogers and Wiley Post are killed after their aircraft develops engine problems during takeoff in Barrow, Alaska.
• 1939 – Thirteen Stukas dive into the ground during a disastrous air-practice at Neuhammer. There are no survivors.
• 1939 – The Wizard of Oz premieres at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Los Angeles, California.
• 1940 – An Italian submarine torpedoes and sinks the Greek cruiser Elli at Tinos harbor during peacetime, marking the most serious Italian provocation prior to the outbreak of the Greco-Italian War in October.
• 1941 – Corporal Josef Jakobs is executed by firing squad at the Tower of London at 07:12, making him the last person to be executed at the Tower for espionage.
• 1942 – World War II: Operation Pedestal: The SS Ohio reaches the island of Malta barely afloat carrying vital fuel supplies for the island's defenses.
• 1943 – World War II: Battle of Trahili: Superior German forces surround Cretan partisans, who manage to escape against all odds.
• 1944 – World War II: Operation Dragoon: Allied forces land in southern France.
• 1945 – Jewel Voice Broadcast by the Emperor Showa following effective surrender of Japan in the World War II, Korea gains Independence from the Empire of Japan.
• 1947 – India gains Independence from British rule after near 190 years of Crown rule and joins the Commonwealth of Nations.
• 1947 – Founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah is sworn in as first Governor-General of Pakistan in Karachi.
• 1948 – The Republic of Korea is established south of the 38th parallel north.
• 1952 – A flash flood drenches the town of Lynmouth, England, killing 34 people.
• 1954 – Alfredo Stroessner begins his dictatorship in Paraguay.
• 1960 – Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville) becomes independent from France.
• 1961 – Border guard Conrad Schumann flees from East Germany while on duty guarding the construction of the Berlin Wall.
• 1962 – James Joseph Dresnok defects to North Korea after running across the Korean Demilitarized Zone. Dresnok still resides in the capital, Pyongyang.
• 1963 – Execution of Henry John Burnett, the last man to be hanged in Scotland.
• 1963 – President Fulbert Youlou is overthrown in the Republic of the Congo, after a three-day uprising in the capital.
• 1965 – The Beatles play to nearly 60,000 fans at Shea Stadium in New York City, an event later regarded as the birth of stadium rock.
• 1969 – The Woodstock Music & Art Fair opens in upstate New York, featuring some of the top rock musicians of the era.
• 1970 – Patricia Palinkas becomes the first woman to play professionally in an American football game.
• 1971 – President Richard Nixon completes the break from the gold standard by ending convertibility of the United States dollar into gold by foreign investors.
• 1971 – Bahrain gains independence from the United Kingdom.
• 1973 – Vietnam War: The United States bombing of Cambodia ends.
• 1974 – Yuk Young-soo, First Lady of South Korea, is killed during an apparent assassination attempt upon President, Park Chung-hee.
• 1975 – Bangladeshi leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is killed along with most members of his family during a military coup.
• 1975 – Takeo Miki makes the first official pilgrimage to Yasukuni Shrine by an incumbent prime minister on the anniversary of the end of World War II.
• 1977 – The Big Ear, a radio telescope operated by Ohio State University as part of the SETI project, receives a radio signal from deep space; the event is named the "Wow! signal" from the notation made by a volunteer on the project.
• 1984 – The Kurdistan Workers' Party in Turkey starts a campaign of armed attacks upon the Turkish military with an attack on police and gendarmerie bases in Şemdinli and Eruh
• 1995 – In South Carolina, Shannon Faulkner becomes the first female cadet matriculated at The Citadel (she drops out less than a week later).
• 1998 – Northern Ireland: Omagh bombing takes place; 29 people (including a woman pregnant with twins) killed and some 220 others injured.
• 1999 – Beni Ounif massacre in Algeria: Some 29 people are killed at a false roadblock near the Moroccan border, leading to temporary tensions with Morocco.
• 2005 – Israel's unilateral disengagement plan to evict all Israelis from the Gaza Strip and from four settlements in the northern West Bank begins.
• 2005 – The Helsinki Agreement between the Free Aceh Movement and the Government of Indonesia was signed, ending almost three decades of fighting.
• 2007 – An 8.0-magnitude earthquake off the Pacific coast devastates Ica and various regions of Peru killing 514 and injuring 1,090.
• 2013 – At least 27 people are killed and 226 injured in an explosion in southern Beirut near a complex used by Lebanon's militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon. A previously unknown Syrian Sunni group claims responsibility in an online video.
• 2013 – The Smithsonian announces the discovery of the olinguito, the first new carnivorous species found in the Americas in 35 years.
• 2015 – North Korea moves its clock back half an hour to introduce Pyongyang Time, 8½ hours ahead of UTC.

Births[edit]

• 1171 – Alfonso IX of León (d. 1230)
• 1195 – Anthony of Padua, Portuguese priest and saint (d. 1231)
• 1385 – Richard de Vere, 11th Earl of Oxford, English commander (d. 1417)
• 1402 – Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham (d. 1460)
• 1432 – Luigi Pulci, Italian poet (d. 1484)
• 1455 – George, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1503)
• 1507 – George III, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau, German prince (d. 1553)
• 1575 – Bartol Kašić, Croatian linguist and lexicographer (d. 1650)
• 1589 – Gabriel Báthory, Prince of Transylvania (d. 1613)
• 1608 – Henry Howard, 22nd Earl of Arundel, English politician (d. 1652)
• 1613 – Gilles Ménage, French lawyer, philologist, and scholar (d. 1692)
• 1615 – Marie de Lorraine, Duchess of Guise (d. 1688)
• 1652 – John Grubb, American politician (d. 1708)
• 1702 – Francesco Zuccarelli, Italian painter and Royal Academician (d. 1788)
• 1717 – Blind Jack, English engineer (d. 1810)
• 1736 – Johann Christoph Kellner, German organist and composer (d. 1803)
• 1740 – Matthias Claudius, German poet and author (d. 1815)
• 1769 – Napoleon, French general and emperor (d. 1821)
• 1771 – Walter Scott, Scottish novelist, playwright, and poet (d. 1832)
• 1785 – Thomas De Quincey, English journalist and author (d. 1859)
• 1798 – Sangolli Rayanna, Indian warrior (d. 1831)
• 1807 – Jules Grévy, French lawyer and politician, 4th President of the French Republic (d. 1891)
• 1824 – John Chisum, American businessman (d. 1884)
• 1839 – Antonín Petrof, Czech piano maker (d. 1915)
• 1844 – Thomas-Alfred Bernier, Canadian journalist, lawyer, and politician (d. 1908)
• 1845 – Walter Crane, English artist and book illustrator (d. 1915)
• 1857 – Albert Ballin, German businessman (d. 1918)
• 1858 – E. Nesbit, English author and poet (d. 1924)
• 1859 – Charles Comiskey, American baseball player and manager (d. 1931)
• 1860 – Florence Harding, American publisher, 31st First Lady of the United States (d. 1924)
• 1863 – Aleksey Krylov, Russian mathematician and engineer (d. 1945)
• 1865 – Mikao Usui, Japanese spiritual leader, founded Reiki (d. 1926)
• 1866 – Italo Santelli, Italian fencer (d. 1945)
• 1872 – Sri Aurobindo, Indian guru, poet, and philosopher (d. 1950)
• 1873 – Ramaprasad Chanda, Indian archaeologist and historian (d. 1942)
• 1875 – Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, English pianist, violinist, and composer (d. 1912)
• 1876 – Stylianos Gonatas, Greek colonel and politician, 111th Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1966)
• 1877 – Tachiyama Mineemon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 22nd Yokozuna (d. 1941)
• 1879 – Ethel Barrymore, American actress (d. 1959)
• 1881 – Alfred Wagenknecht, German-American activist and politician (d. 1956)
• 1882 – Marion Bauer, American composer and critic (d. 1955)
• 1882 – Gisela Richter, English archaeologist and art historian (d. 1972)
• 1883 – Ivan Meštrović, Croatian sculptor and architect (d. 1962)
• 1885 – Edna Ferber, American novelist, short story writer, and playwright (d. 1968)
• 1886 – Bill Whitty, Australian cricketer (d. 1974)
• 1890 – Jacques Ibert, French composer and educator (d. 1962)
• 1892 – Louis de Broglie, French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1987)
• 1893 – Leslie Comrie, New Zealand astronomer and academic (d. 1950)
• 1896 – Gerty Cori, Czech-American biochemist and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1957)
• 1896 – Catherine Doherty, Russian-Canadian activist, founded the Madonna House Apostolate (d. 1985)
• 1896 – Paul Outerbridge, American photographer and educator (d. 1958)
• 1898 – Jan Brzechwa, Polish author and poet (d. 1966)
• 1900 – Jack Tworkov, Polish-American painter and educator (d. 1982)
• 1901 – Arnulfo Arias Madrid, 21st president of the republic of Panamá (d. 1988)
• 1901 – Pyotr Novikov, Russian mathematician and theorist (d. 1975)
• 1902 – Jan Campert, Dutch journalist and critic (d. 1943)
• 1904 – George Klein, Canadian inventor, invented the Motorized wheelchair (d. 1992)
• 1909 – Hugo Winterhalter, American composer and bandleader (d. 1973)
• 1912 – Julia Child, American chef and author (d. 2004)
• 1912 – Wendy Hiller, English actress (d. 2003)
• 1914 – Paul Rand, American graphic designer and art director (d. 1996)
• 1915 – Signe Hasso, Swedish-American actress (d. 2002)
• 1916 – Aleks Çaçi, Albanian journalist and author (d. 1989)
• 1917 – Jack Lynch, Irish footballer and politician, 5th Taoiseach of Ireland (d. 1999)
• 1917 – Óscar Romero, Salvadoran archbishop (d. 1980)
• 1919 – Huntz Hall, American actor (d. 1999)
• 1919 – Benedict Kiely, Irish journalist and author (d. 2007)
• 1920 – Judy Cassab, Austrian-Australian painter (d. 2008)
• 1921 – August Kowalczyk, Polish actor and director (d. 2012)
• 1922 – Leonard Baskin, American sculptor and illustrator (d. 2000)
• 1922 – Giorgos Mouzakis, Greek trumpet player and composer (d. 2005)
• 1922 – Sabino Barinaga, Spanish footballer and manager (d. 1988)
• 1923 – Rose Marie, American actress and singer
• 1924 – Robert Bolt, English playwright and screenwriter (d. 1995)
• 1924 – Hedy Epstein, German-American Holocaust survivor and activist (d. 2016)
• 1924 – Yoshirō Muraki, Japanese production designer, art director, and fashion designer (d. 2009)
• 1924 – Phyllis Schlafly, American lawyer, writer, and political activist (d. 2016)
• 1925 – Mike Connors, American actor and producer (d. 2017)
• 1925 – Rose Maddox, American singer-songwriter and fiddle player (d. 1998)
• 1925 – Oscar Peterson, Canadian pianist and composer (d. 2007)
• 1925 – Bill Pinkney, American singer (The Drifters) (d. 2007)
• 1925 – Erik Schmidt, Swedish-Estonian painter and author (d. 2014)
• 1926 – Julius Katchen, American pianist and composer (d. 1969)
• 1926 – Sami Michael, Iraqi-Israeli author and playwright
• 1926 – John Silber, American philosopher and academic (d. 2012)
• 1926 – Konstantinos Stephanopoulos, Greek lawyer and politician, 6th President of Greece (d. 2016)
• 1927 – Eddie Leadbeater, English cricketer (d. 2011)
• 1927 – Oliver Popplewell, English cricketer and judge
• 1928 – Carl Joachim Classen, German scholar and academic (d. 2013)
• 1928 – Malcolm Glazer, American businessman (d. 2014)
• 1928 – Nicolas Roeg, English director and cinematographer
• 1930 – Jackie Brenston, American singer-songwriter (d. 1979)
• 1931 – Ernest C. Brace, American captain and pilot (d. 2014)
• 1931 – Richard F. Heck, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2015)
• 1932 – Johan Steyn, Baron Steyn, South African-English lawyer and judge
• 1933 – Bobby Helms, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1997)
• 1933 – Stanley Milgram, American social psychologist (d. 1984)
• 1933 – Mike Seeger, American folk musician and folklorist (d. 2009)
• 1934 – Bobby Byrd, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2007)
• 1934 – Reginald Scarlett, Jamaican cricketer and coach
• 1935 – Régine Deforges, French author, playwright, and director (d. 2014)
• 1936 – Rita Shane, American soprano and educator (d. 2014)
• 1938 – Stephen Breyer, American lawyer and judge
• 1938 – Stix Hooper, American jazz drummer (The Crusaders)
• 1938 – Pran Kumar Sharma, Indian cartoonist (d. 2014)
• 1938 – Maxine Waters, American educator and politician
• 1938 – Janusz Zajdel, Polish engineer and author
• 1940 – Gudrun Ensslin, German militant leader, founded Red Army Faction (d. 1977)
• 1941 – Jim Brothers, American sculptor (d. 2013)
• 1941 – Don Rich, American country musician (The Buckaroos) (d. 1974)
• 1942 – Pete York, English rock drummer
• 1943 – Eileen Bell, Northern Irish civil servant and politician, 2nd Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly
• 1944 – Dimitris Sioufas, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister of Health
• 1945 – Khaleda Zia, Bangladeshi politician, 9th Prime Minister of Bangladesh
• 1946 – Jimmy Webb, American singer-songwriter and pianist
• 1948 – Patsy Gallant, Canadian singer-songwriter and actress
• 1948 – Tom Johnston, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1950 – Tommy Aldridge, American drummer
• 1950 – Tom Kelly, American baseball player
• 1950 – Anne, Princess Royal of the United Kingdom
• 1951 – Ann Biderman, American screenwriter and producer
• 1951 – Bobby Caldwell, American singer-songwriter
• 1951 – John Childs, English cricketer
• 1952 – Chuck Burgi, American drummer
• 1953 – Carol Thatcher, English journalist and author
• 1953 – Mark Thatcher, English businessman
• 1954 – Stieg Larsson, Swedish journalist and author (d. 2004)
• 1956 – Lorraine Desmarais, Canadian pianist and composer
• 1956 – Freedom Neruda, Ivorian journalist
• 1956 – Robert Syms, English businessman and politician
• 1957 – Željko Ivanek, Slovenian-American actor
• 1958 – Simon Baron-Cohen, English-Canadian psychiatrist and author
• 1958 – Craig MacTavish, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1958 – Simple Kapadia, Indian actress and costume designer (d. 2009)
• 1958 – Victor Shenderovich, Russian journalist and radio host
• 1959 – Scott Altman, American captain, pilot, and astronaut
• 1961 – Ed Gillespie, American political strategist
• 1961 – Matt Johnson, English singer-songwriter and musician
• 1961 – Gary Kubiak, American football player and coach
• 1961 – Suhasini Maniratnam, Indian actress and screenwriter
• 1962 – Tom Colicchio, American chef and author
• 1962 – Rıdvan Dilmen, Turkish footballer and manager
• 1962 – Vilja Savisaar-Toomast, Estonian lawyer and politician
• 1963 – Alejandro González Iñárritu, Mexican director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1963 – Simon Hart, Welsh soldier and politician
• 1963 – Jack Russell, England cricketer and coach
• 1964 – Jane Ellison, English lawyer and politician
• 1964 – Melinda Gates, American businesswoman and philanthropist, co-founded the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
• 1965 – Rob Thomas, American author, screenwriter, and producer
• 1966 – Scott Brosius, American baseball player and coach
• 1966 – Dimitris Papadopoulos, Greek basketball player and coach
• 1967 – Tony Hand, Scottish ice hockey player and coach
• 1968 – Debra Messing, American actress
• 1969 – Bernard Fanning, Australian singer-songwriter
• 1970 – Anthony Anderson, American comedian, actor, and producer
• 1970 – Ben Silverman, American actor, producer, and screenwriter, founded Electus Studios
• 1971 – Adnan Sami, Indian singer, musician, music composer, pianist and actor
• 1972 – Ben Affleck, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1972 – Jennifer Alexander, Canadian ballerina (d. 2007)
• 1974 – Natasha Henstridge, Canadian model and actress
• 1974 – Tomasz Suwary, Polish footballer
• 1975 – Bertrand Berry, American football player and radio host
• 1975 – Vijay Bharadwaj, Indian cricketer and coach
• 1975 – Brendan Morrison, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1975 – Kara Wolters, American basketball player
• 1976 – Boudewijn Zenden, Dutch footballer and manager
• 1977 – Martin Biron, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1977 – Anthony Rocca, Australian footballer and coach
• 1978 – Tim Foreman, American bass player
• 1978 – Lilia Podkopayeva, Ukrainian gymnast
• 1978 – Stavros Tziortziopoulos, Greek footballer
• 1978 – Kerri Walsh Jennings, American volleyball player
• 1979 – Carl Edwards, American race car driver
• 1979 – Jon Hopkins, English producer and musician
• 1981 – Brendan Hansen, American swimmer
• 1981 – Óliver Pérez, American baseball player
• 1982 – Casey Burgener, American weightlifter
• 1982 – Germán Caffa, Argentine footballer
• 1982 – David Harrison, American basketball player
• 1983 – Siobhan Chamberlain, English association football goalkeeper
• 1984 – Ted Dwane, British musician (Mumford & Sons) and photographer
• 1987 – Ryan D'Imperio, American football player
• 1987 – Michel Kreder, Dutch cyclist
• 1987 – Sean McAllister, English footballer
• 1988 – Oussama Assaidi, Moroccan footballer
• 1989 – Joe Jonas, American singer-songwriter
• 1989 – Ryan McGowan, Australian footballer
• 1989 – Jordan Rapana, New Zealand rugby league player
• 1990 – Jennifer Lawrence, American actress
• 1990 – Nyusha, Russian singer-songwriter and producer
• 1991 – Petja Piiroinen, Finnish snowboarder
• 1992 – Baskaran Adhiban, Indian chess player
• 1993 – Clinton N'Jie, Cameroonian footballer
• 1993 – Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, English footballer
• 1994 – Lasse Vigen Christensen, Danish footballer
• 1994 – Kosuke Hagino, Japanese swimmer

Deaths[edit]

• 398 – Lan Han, official of the Xianbei state Lan Yan
• 423 – Honorius, Roman emperor (b. 384)
• 465 – Libius Severus, Roman emperor (b. 420)
• 778 – Roland, Frankish military leader
• 873 – Yi Zong, Chinese emperor (b. 833)
• 874 – Altfrid, bishop of Hildesheim
• 912 – Han Jian, Chinese warlord (b. 855)
• 932 – Ma Xisheng, Chinese governor and king (b. 899)
• 1022 – Nikephoros Phokas Barytrachelos, Byzantine rebel
• 1038 – Stephen I, Hungarian king (b. 975)
• 1057 – Macbeth, King of Scotland
• 1118 – Alexios I Komnenos, Byzantine emperor (b. 1048)
• 1196 – Conrad II, Duke of Swabia (b. 1173)
• 1257 – Saint Hyacinth
• 1274 – Robert de Sorbon, French theologian and educator, founded the College of Sorbonne (b. 1201)
• 1275 – Lorenzo Tiepolo, Doge of Venice
• 1328 – Yesün Temür, emperor of the Yuan Dynasty (b. 1293)
• 1369 – Philippa of Hainault (b. 1314)
• 1388 – Adalbertus Ranconis de Ericinio, Bohemian theologian and rector of the University of Paris (b. circa 1320)
• 1496 – Infanta Isabella of Portugal, Queen of Castile and León (b. 1428)
• 1506 – Alexander Agricola, Flemish composer (b. c. 1445)
• 1507 – John V, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (b. 1439)
• 1528 – Odet of Foix, Viscount of Lautrec, French general (b. 1485)
• 1552 – Hermann of Wied, German archbishop (b. 1477)
• 1594 – Thomas Kyd, English playwright (b. 1558)
• 1621 – John Barclay, Scottish poet and author (b. 1582)
• 1666 – Johann Adam Schall von Bell, German missionary and astronomer (b. 1591)
• 1714 – Constantin Brâncoveanu, Romanian prince (b. 1654)
• 1728 – Marin Marais, French viol player and composer (b. 1656)
• 1758 – Pierre Bouguer, French mathematician, geophysicist, and astronomer (b. 1698)
• 1799 – Giuseppe Parini, Italian poet and author (b. 1729)
• 1852 – Johan Gadolin, Finnish chemist, physicist, and mineralogist (b. 1760)
• 1859 – Nathaniel Claiborne, American farmer and politician (b. 1777)
• 1907 – Joseph Joachim, Hungarian violinist, composer, and conductor (b. 1831)
• 1909 – Euclides da Cunha, Brazilian sociologist and journalist (b. 1866)
• 1917 – Thomas J. Higgins, American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1831)
• 1925 – Konrad Mägi, Estonian painter and educator (b. 1878)
• 1928 – Anatole von Hügel, Italian ethnologist and academic, co-founded St Edmund's College, Cambridge (b. 1854)
• 1935 – Wiley Post, American pilot (b. 1898)
• 1935 – Will Rogers, American actor, comedian, and screenwriter (b. 1879)
• 1935 – Paul Signac, French painter and author (b. 1863)
• 1936 – Grazia Deledda, Italian novelist and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1871)
• 1942 – Mahadev Desai, Indian activist and author (b. 1892)
• 1945 – Korechika Anami, Japanese general and politician, 54th Japanese Minister of the Army (b. 1887)
• 1945 – Fred Hockley, English lieutenant and pilot (b. 1923)
• 1951 – Artur Schnabel, Polish pianist and composer (b. 1882)
• 1953 – Ludwig Prandtl, German physicist and engineer (b. 1875)
• 1962 – Lei Feng, Chinese soldier (b. 1940)
• 1967 – René Magritte, Belgian painter (b. 1898)
• 1971 – Paul Lukas, Hungarian-American actor (b. 1887)
• 1975 – Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bengali politician, 1st President of Bangladesh (b. 1920)
• 1975 – Clay Shaw, American businessman (b. 1913)
• 1975 – Harun Karadeniz, Turkish political activist and author (b. 1942)
• 1981 – Carol Ryrie Brink, American author (b. 1895)
• 1981 – Jørgen Løvset, Norwegian gynaecologist and academic (b. 1896)
• 1982 – Ernie Bushmiller, American cartoonist (b. 1905)
• 1982 – Jock Taylor, Scottish motorcycle sidecar racer (b. 1954)
• 1982 – Hugo Theorell, Swedish biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903)
• 1989 – Minoru Genda, Japanese general, pilot, and politician (b. 1904)
• 1989 – Thrasyvoulos Tsakalotos, Greek general and diplomat (b. 1897)
• 1992 – Linda Laubenstein, American physician and academic (b. 1947)
• 1994 – Wout Wagtmans, Dutch cyclist (b. 1929)
• 1995 – John Cameron Swayze, American journalist and actor (b. 1906)
• 1997 – Ida Gerhardt, Dutch poet and educator (b. 1905)
• 1999 – Hugh Casson, English architect and interior designer (b. 1910)
• 2001 – Yavuz Çetin, Turkish singer-songwriter (b. 1970)
• 2001 – Richard Chelimo, Kenyan runner (b. 1972)
• 2001 – Kateryna Yushchenko, Ukrainian computer scientist ad academic (b. 1919)
• 2004 – Sune Bergström, Swedish biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1916)
• 2004 – Amarsinh Chaudhary, Indian politician, 8th Chief Minister of Gujarat (b. 1941)
• 2005 – Bendapudi Venkata Satyanarayana, Indian dermatologist and academic (b. 1927)
• 2006 – Te Atairangikaahu, New Zealand queen (b. 1931)
• 2006 – Rick Bourke, Australian rugby league player (b. 1955)
• 2006 – Coenraad Bron, Dutch computer scientist and academic (b. 1937)
• 2006 – Faas Wilkes, Dutch footballer and manager (b. 1923)
• 2007 – Richard Bradshaw, English conductor and director (b. 1944)
• 2007 – John Gofman, American biologist, chemist, and physicist (b. 1918)
• 2007 – Geoffrey Orbell, New Zealand physician (b. 1908)
• 2007 – Sam Pollock, Canadian businessman (b. 1925)
• 2008 – Vic Toweel, South African-Australian boxer (b. 1929)
• 2008 – Jerry Wexler, American journalist and producer (b. 1917)
• 2011 – Rick Rypien, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1984)
• 2012 – Bob Birch, American bass player and saxophonist (b. 1956)
• 2012 – Altamiro Carrilho, Brazilian flute player and composer (b. 1924)
• 2012 – Harry Harrison, American author and illustrator (b. 1925)
• 2013 – Rosalía Mera, Spanish businesswoman, co-founded Inditex and Zara (b. 1944)
• 2013 – Sławomir Mrożek, Polish-French author and playwright (b. 1930)
• 2013 – Marich Man Singh Shrestha, Nepali politician, 28th Prime Minister of Nepal (b. 1942)
• 2014 – Licia Albanese, Italian-American soprano and actress (b. 1909)
• 2015 – Julian Bond, American academic and politician (b. 1940)
• 2015 – Hamid Gul, Pakistani general (b. 1936)

ή ζωή που κάνει η εγγονή του τέως 

Ο Έλληνας γιδοβοσκός που έγινε

 το αφεντικό του Hollywood 

Ο Σπύρος Σκούρας γεννήθηκε το 1893 στο Σκουροχώρι Ηλείας. Ο πατέρας του ήταν βοσκός και η κεφαλή μια 11μελούς οικογένειας. Η οικογένεια δεν μπορούσε να ανταποκριθεί ούτε στις βασικές ανάγκες της και έτσι τα δυο μεγαλύτερα αδέλφια πήραν τον δρόμο της ξενιτιάς για την γη της επαγγελίας, την Αμερική. Απο τύχη πήραν και τον 7χρονο Σπύρο, που σχεδόν μπήκε με το ζόρι στο καράβι.

Στην αρχή δουλέψανε σαν σερβιτόροι σε εστιατόρια ξενοδοχείου και ο μικρός σαν το παιδί για όλες τις δουλειές. Στοιβαγμένοι σε ένα μικρό δωμάτιο, ζούσανε με πολλές δυσκολίες, τρώγανε στο εστιατόριο και τα μόνα τους έξοδα η ταινία της Κυριακής που έβλεπαν στους κινηματογράφους.
Κυριολεκτικά δεν ξόδευαν τίποτα για 4 χρόνια, και κατάφεραν να αποταμιεύσουν 3500 δολάρια. Με αυτά τα λεφτά αγοράζουν μια κινηματογραφικη αίθουσα, το βαφτίζουν Olympia. Μέσα σε 2 χρόνια είχαν όλους τους κινηματογράφους του Saint Louis.

Ποιο ήταν όμως το μυστικό της επιτυχίας τους; Ο κινηματογράφος τότε ήταν βωβός, και ο δαιμόνιος Σπύρος έβαλε ζωντανή ορχήστρα να παίζει την ώρα της ταινίας. Όλες οι αίθουσες ήταν άδειες, και στους κινηματογράφους των Σκούρα σχηματιζόταν ουρές από θεατές.
Άλλοι θα σταματούσαν εκεί, αλλά όχι αυτός ο τρελός Έλληνας όπως τον αποκαλούσαν οι Αμερικάνοι. Η Fox εταιρεία παραγωγής ταινιών, βρίσκεται στα πρόθυρα χρεοκοπίας. Ο Σπύρος αγοράζοντας πάμφθηνα μετοχές της, καταφέρνει να πάρει τον έλεγχο της εταιρείας και δημιουργεί την «20th Century Fox». Υπερσύχρονος κολοσσός στο κινηματογράφο, ταράζει τα νερά του Hollywood, και το όνομα Σκούρας γίνεται μύθος.

Εκείνα τα χρόνια ο κινηματογράφος όμως είχε να αντιμετωπίσει ένα καινούριο εχθρό, την τηλεόραση. Ο Σκούρας διέβλεψε τον κίνδυνο και έκανε ό,τι περνούσε από το χέρι του για να διατηρήσει την αίγλη του σινεμά. Ήρθε σε επαφή με τον Γάλλο εφευρέτη Κρετιέν που είχε δημιουργήσει μια νέα τεχνοτροπία προβολής. Ο Σκούρας τον εμπιστεύτηκε, ρίσκαρε και αγόρασε την αποκλειστικότητα και την ονόμασε «σινεμασκόπ». Παρουσίασε τη νέα τεχνολογία με την πρωτοποριακή για τα μέχρι τότε δεδομένα ταινία «ο Χιτών».
O πρόεδρος της Metrogolden Mayer μόλις έμαθε για την ενέργεια αυτή αναφώνησε: «Πάει τρελάθηκε ο Έλληνας». Η ταινία όμως είχε τεράστια επιτυχία και οι θεατές γύρισαν και πάλι στην αγκαλιά του σινεμά. Το 1963 γύρισε την «Κλεοπάτρα» με την Ελίζαμπεθ Τέιλορ. Ήταν η ακριβότερη ταινία που είχε γυριστεί μέχρι τότε και η δεύτερη ακριβότερη που γυρίστηκε ποτέ. Ωστόσο, λίγο αργότερα, κάτω από αδιευκρίνιστες συνθήκες ο Σκούρας εγκατέλειψε την προεδρία της 20th Century Fox και μακριά από το μεγάλο πανί, μαράζωσε. Πολλοί υποστήριξαν ότι το κόστος της «Κλεοπάτρας» έριξε έξω την εταιρία και πως αυτή ήταν η αιτία που ο Σκούρας εγκατέλειψε τη θέση του. Ό,τι και αν συνέβη, το γεγονός είναι πως ο Σκούρας κατάφερε να κάνει πράξη το αμερικάνικο όνειρο και το όνομά του συγκαταλέγεται μέχρι σήμερα στους «μεγάλους» του Χόλιγουντ.

Άλλος ένα 'Ελληνας που κατέκτησε τον κόσμο, ο Αριστοτέλης Ωνάσης σεβόταν τον Σπύρο Σκούρα και είπε για αυτόν: «Αυτός ο βλάχος στέκεται ψηλότερα από κάθε άλλο Έλληνα που διέπρεψε στη ξενιτιά… ο Τζιμ Λόντος είχε το ταλέντο του παλαιστή, ο Nick the Greek του χαρτοπαίκτη, ο Νιάρχος κι εγώ ξέραμε γράμματα, μιλούσαμε γλώσσες, προερχόμασταν από οικογένειες εμπόρων. Ο Σπύρος και τ’ αδέλφια του έβοσκαν πρόβατα, ήσαν αγράμματοι και ποτέ δεν έμαθαν καλά ούτε ελληνικά, ούτε εγγλέζικα. Και μόνο ότι αυτά τα βαλτοβατραχάκια τα ‘βαλαν με σκυλόψαρα του ωκεανού και νίκησαν, τα λέει όλα».
Μακριά από το κινηματογράφο έχασε το ενδιαφέρον του για τις επιχειρήσεις. Ο μεγιστάνας του Χόλιγουντ άφησε την τελευταία του πνοή στη Νέα Υόρκη στις 16 Αυγούστου του 1971 από καρδιακή προσβολή. Ο τάφος του βρίσκεται στον περίβολο της εκκλησίας  Αγία Σοφία, που έχτισε ο ίδιος και τα αδέλφια του για να εκπληρώσουν το τάμα που είχαν κάνει,  όταν ξεκινούσαν το μεγάλο ταξίδι τους στην Αμερική.