[edit]

• 585 BC – Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, king of Rome, celebrates a triumph for his victories over the Sabines, and the surrender of Collatia.
• 509 BC – The Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on Rome's Capitoline Hill is dedicated on the ides of September.
• 379 – Yax Nuun Ahiin I is crowned as 15th Ajaw of Tikal
• 533 – Belisarius of the Byzantine Empire defeats Gelimer and the Vandals at the Battle of Ad Decimum, near Carthage, North Africa.
• 1229 – Ögedei Khan is proclaimed Khagan of the Mongol Empire in Kodoe Aral, Khentii: Mongolia.
• 1437 – Battle of Tangier: a Portuguese expeditionary force initiates a failed attempt to seize the Moroccan citadel of Tangier.
• 1501 – Michelangelo begins work on his statue of David.
• 1504 – Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand issue a Royal Warrant for the construction of a Royal Chapel (Capilla Real) to be built.
• 1541 – After three years of exile, John Calvin returns to Geneva to reform the church under a body of doctrine known as Calvinism.
• 1584 – San Lorenzo del Escorial Palace in Madrid is finished.
• 1609 – Henry Hudson reaches the river that would later be named after him – the Hudson River.
• 1645 – Battle of Philiphaugh Covenanters win the day over the royalists.
• 1743 – Great Britain, Austria and the Kingdom of Sardinia sign the Treaty of Worms.
• 1759 – Battle of the Plains of Abraham: the British defeat the French near Quebec City in the Seven Years' War, known in the United States as the French and Indian War.
• 1782 – American Revolutionary War: Franco-Spanish troops launch the unsuccessful "grand assault" during the Great Siege of Gibraltar.
• 1788 – The Philadelphia Convention sets the date for the first presidential election in the United States, and New York City becomes the country's temporary capital.
• 1791 – King Louis XVI of France accepts the new constitution.
• 1808 – Finnish War: In the Battle of Jutas, Swedish forces under Lieutenant General Georg Carl von Döbeln beat the Russians, making von Döbeln a Swedish war hero.
• 1812 – War of 1812: A supply wagon sent to relieve Fort Harrison is ambushed in the Attack at the Narrows.
• 1814 – In a turning point in the War of 1812, the British fail to capture Baltimore. During the battle, Francis Scott Key composes his poem "Defence of Fort McHenry", which is later set to music and becomes the United States' national anthem.
• 1843 – The Greek Army rebels (OS date: September 3) against the autocratic rule of king Otto of Greece, demanding the granting of a constitution.
• 1847 – Mexican–American War: Six teenage military cadets known as Niños Héroes die defending Chapultepec Castle in the Battle of Chapultepec. American troops under General Winfield Scott capture Mexico City in the Mexican–American War.
• 1848 – Vermont railroad worker Phineas Gage survives an iron rod 1 ¹⁄₄ inches (3.2 cm) in diameter being driven through his brain; the reported effects on his behavior and personality stimulate thinking about the nature of the brain and its functions.
• 1850 – First ascent of Piz Bernina, the highest summit of the eastern Alps.
• 1862 – American Civil War: Union soldiers find a copy of Robert E. Lee's battle plans in a field outside Frederick, Maryland. It is the prelude to the Battle of Antietam.
• 1882 – Anglo-Egyptian War: The Battle of Tel el-Kebir is fought.
• 1898 – Hannibal Goodwin patents celluloid photographic film.
• 1899 – Henry Bliss is the first person in the United States to be killed in an automobile accident.
• 1899 – Mackinder, Ollier and Brocherel make the first ascent of Batian (5,199 m – 17,058 ft), the highest peak of Mount Kenya.
• 1900 – Filipino resistance fighters defeat a small American column in the Battle of Pulang Lupa, during the Philippine–American War.
• 1906 – First flight of a fixed-wing aircraft in Europe.
• 1914 – World War I: South African troops open hostilities in German south-west Africa (Namibia) with an assault on the Ramansdrift police station.
• 1914 – World War I: The Battle of Aisne begins between Germany and France.
• 1922 – The final act of the Greco-Turkish War, the Great Fire of Smyrna, commences.
• 1923 – Following a military coup in Spain, Miguel Primo de Rivera takes over, setting up a dictatorship.
• 1933 – Elizabeth McCombs becomes the first woman elected to the New Zealand Parliament.
• 1935 – Rockslide near Whirlpool Rapids Bridge ends the International Railway (New York–Ontario).
• 1942 – World War II: Second day of the Battle of Edson's Ridge in the Guadalcanal Campaign. U.S. Marines successfully defeated attacks by the Imperial Japanese Army with heavy losses for the Japanese forces.
• 1948 – Deputy Prime Minister of India Vallabhbhai Patel orders the Army to move into Hyderabad to integrate it with the Indian Union.
• 1948 – Margaret Chase Smith is elected United States senator, and becomes the first woman to serve in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the United States Senate.
• 1953 – Nikita Khrushchev is appointed General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
• 1956 – The dike around the Dutch polder East Flevoland is closed.
• 1956 – The IBM 305 RAMAC is introduced, the first commercial computer to use disk storage.
• 1964 – South Vietnamese Generals Lâm Văn Phát and Dương Văn Đức fail in a coup attempt against General Nguyễn Khánh.
• 1968 – Albania leaves the Warsaw Pact.
• 1971 – State police and National Guardsmen storm New York's Attica Prison to quell a prison revolt.
• 1971 – Chairman Mao Zedong's second in command and successor Marshal Lin Biao flees the People's Republic of China after the failure of an alleged coup. His plane crashes in Mongolia, killing all aboard.
• 1979 – South Africa grants independence to the "homeland" of Venda (not recognised outside South Africa).
• 1985 – Super Mario Bros. is released in Japan for the NES, which starts the Super Mario series of platforming games.
• 1987 – Goiânia accident: A radioactive object is stolen from an abandoned hospital in Goiânia, Brazil, contaminating many people in the following weeks and causing some to die from radiation poisoning.
• 1988 – Hurricane Gilbert is the strongest recorded hurricane in the Western Hemisphere, later replaced by Hurricane Wilma in 2005 (based on barometric pressure).
• 1989 – Largest anti-Apartheid march in South Africa, led by Desmond Tutu.
• 1993 – Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin shakes hands with Palestine Liberation Organization chairman Yasser Arafat at the White House after signing the Oslo Accords granting limited Palestinian autonomy.
• 2001 – Civilian aircraft traffic resumes in the United States after the September 11 attacks.
• 2007 – The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is adopted by the United Nations General Assembly.
• 2008 – Delhi, India, is hit by a series of bomb blasts, resulting in 30 deaths and 130 injuries.
• 2008 – Hurricane Ike makes landfall on the Texas Gulf Coast of the United States, causing heavy damage to Galveston Island, Houston, and surrounding areas.
• 2013 – Taliban insurgents attack the United States consulate in Herat, Afghanistan, with two members of the Afghan National Police reported dead and about 20 civilians injured.

Births[edit]

• AD 64 – Julia Flavia, Roman daughter of Titus (d. AD 91)
• 678 – K'inich Ahkal Mo' Nahb III, Mayan ruler (d. 730)
• 1087 – John II Komnenos, Byzantine emperor (d. 1143)
• 1475 – Cesare Borgia, Italian cardinal (d. 1507)
• 1502 – John Leland, English poet and historian (d. 1552)
• 1521 – William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, English academic and politician, Lord High Treasurer (d. 1598)
• 1583 – Girolamo Frescobaldi, Italian pianist and composer (d. 1643)
• 1594 – Francesco Manelli, Italian theorbo player and composer (d. 1667)
• 1604 – Sir William Brereton, 1st Baronet, English commander and politician (d. 1661)
• 1755 – Oliver Evans, American inventor, engineer and businessman (d. 1819)
• 1802 – Arnold Ruge, German philosopher and author (d. 1880)
• 1813 – John Sedgwick, American general and educator (d. 1864)
• 1819 – Clara Schumann, German pianist and composer (d. 1896)
• 1830 – Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach, Austrian author (d. 1916)
• 1842 – John H. Bankhead, American soldier and politician (d. 1920)
• 1851 – Walter Reed, American physician and biologist (d. 1902)
• 1857 – Michał Drzymała, Polish rebel and activist (d. 1937)
• 1857 – Milton S. Hershey, American businessman, founded The Hershey Company (d. 1945)
• 1860 – John J. Pershing, American general and lawyer (d. 1948)
• 1865 – William Birdwood, Indian-English field marshal (d. 1951)
• 1872 – Kijūrō Shidehara, Japanese politician and diplomat, 44th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1951)
• 1873 – Constantin Carathéodory, German mathematician and author (d. 1950)
• 1874 – Henry F. Ashurst, American lawyer and politician (d. 1962)
• 1874 – Arnold Schoenberg, Austrian composer and painter (d. 1951)
• 1876 – Sherwood Anderson, American novelist and short story writer (d. 1941)
• 1877 – Wilhelm Filchner, German-Swiss explorer (d. 1957)
• 1877 – Stanley Lord, English captain (d. 1962)
• 1880 – Jesse L. Lasky, American film producer, co-founded Famous Players-Lasky (d. 1958)
• 1882 – Ramón Grau, Cuban physician and politician, 6th President of Cuba (d. 1969)
• 1883 – LeRoy Samse, American pole vaulter (d. 1956)
• 1884 – Petros Voulgaris, Greek admiral and politician, 136th Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1957)
• 1885 – Wilhelm Blaschke, Austrian-German mathematician and academic (d. 1962)
• 1886 – Amelie Beese, German pilot and sculptor (d. 1925)
• 1886 – Robert Robinson, English chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1975)
• 1887 – Leopold Ružička, Croatian-Swiss biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1976)
• 1890 – Antony Noghès, French-Monegasque businessman, founded the Monaco Grand Prix (d. 1978)
• 1891 – Max Pruss, German captain and pilot (d. 1960)
• 1893 – Larry Shields, American clarinet player (d. 1953)
• 1894 – J. B. Priestley, English novelist and playwright (d. 1984)
• 1894 – Julian Tuwim, Polish poet, playwright, and director (d. 1953)
• 1895 – Morris Kirksey, American rugby player and sprinter (d. 1981)
• 1898 – Roger Désormière, French conductor and composer (d. 1963)
• 1898 – C. Sittampalam, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (d. 1964)
• 1899 – Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, Romanian politician (d. 1938)
• 1903 – Claudette Colbert, French-American actress (d. 1996)
• 1904 – Gladys George, American actress (d. 1954)
• 1908 – Chu Berry, American saxophonist (d. 1941)
• 1908 – Karolos Koun, Greek director and playwright (d. 1987)
• 1908 – Sicco Mansholt, Dutch farmer and politician, 4th President of the European Commission (d. 1995)
• 1908 – Mae Questel, American actress and vocal artist (d. 1998)
• 1909 – Ray Bowden, English footballer (d. 1998)
• 1909 – Frits Thors, Dutch journalist and radio host (d. 2014)
• 1911 – Bill Monroe, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1996)
• 1912 – Maurice K. Goddard, American colonel and politician (d. 1995)
• 1912 – Reta Shaw, American actress (d. 1982)
• 1914 – Leonard Feather, English-American pianist, composer, producer, and journalist (d. 1994)
• 1916 – Roald Dahl, British novelist, poet, and screenwriter (d. 1990)
• 1917 – Carol Kendall, American historian and author (d. 2012)
• 1917 – Robert Ward, American soldier, composer, and educator (d. 2013)
• 1918 – Ray Charles, American singer-songwriter and conductor (d. 2015)
• 1918 – Dick Haymes, Argentinian actor and singer (d. 1980)
• 1919 – Mary Midgley, English philosopher and author
• 1919 – George Weidenfeld, Baron Weidenfeld, Austrian-English journalist, publisher, and philanthropist (d. 2016)
• 1920 – Else Holmelund Minarik, Danish-American journalist and author (d. 2012)
• 1922 – Charles Brown, American singer and pianist (d. 1999)
• 1922 – Caroline Duby Glassman, American lawyer and jurist (d. 2013)
• 1923 – Édouard Boubat, French photographer and journalist (d. 1999)
• 1924 – Harold Blair, Australian tenor and educator (d. 1976)
• 1924 – Scott Brady, American actor (d. 1985)
• 1924 – Maurice Jarre, French composer and conductor (d. 2009)
• 1925 – Mel Tormé, American singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1999)
• 1926 – Andrew Brimmer, American economist and academic (d. 2012)
• 1926 – Emile Francis, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager
• 1926 – J. Frank Raley Jr., American soldier and politician (d. 2012)
• 1927 – Tzannis Tzannetakis, Greek soldier and politician, 175th Prime Minister of Greece (d. 2010)
• 1928 – Robert Indiana, American painter and sculptor
• 1930 – Robert Gavron, Baron Gavron, English publisher and philanthropist (d. 2015)
• 1931 – Barbara Bain, American actress
• 1931 – Robert Bédard, Canadian tennis player and sportscaster
• 1931 – Marjorie Jackson-Nelson, Australian sprinter and politician, 33rd Governor of South Australia
• 1931 – Rein Maran, Estonian cinematographer
• 1932 – Fernando González Pacheco, Spanish-Colombian journalist and actor (d. 2014)
• 1932 – Radoslav Brzobohatý, Czech actor (d. 2012)
• 1932 – Bengt Hallberg, Swedish pianist and composer (d. 2013)
• 1933 – Eileen Fulton, American actress
• 1933 – Donald Mackay, Australian businessman and activist (d. 1977)
• 1933 – Lewie Steinberg, American bass player (d. 2016)
• 1934 – Tony Pickard, English tennis player and coach
• 1936 – Stefano Delle Chiaie, Italian activist, founded National Vanguard
• 1937 – Don Bluth, American animator, director, and producer, co-founded Sullivan Bluth Studios and Fox Animation Studios
• 1938 – John Smith, Scottish lawyer and politician, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer (d. 1994)
• 1939 – Arleen Auger, American soprano and educator (d. 1993)
• 1939 – Guntis Ulmanis, Latvian economist and politician, 5th President of Latvia
• 1939 – Joel-Peter Witkin, American photographer
• 1940 – Óscar Arias, Costa Rican politician, President of Costa Rica, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1940 – Kerry Stokes, Australian businessman
• 1941 – Tadao Ando, Japanese architect and academic, designed Piccadilly Gardens
• 1941 – David Clayton-Thomas, English-Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1941 – Ahmet Necdet Sezer, Turkish judge and politician, 10th President of the Republic of Turkey
• 1942 – Michel Côté, Canadian businessman and politician
• 1943 – Mildred D. Taylor, American author
• 1944 – Carol Barnes, English journalist (d. 2008)
• 1944 – Jacqueline Bisset, English actress and producer
• 1944 – Peter Cetera, American singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer
• 1944 – Midget Farrelly, Australian surfer (d. 2016)
• 1944 – Leslie Harvey, Scottish guitarist (d. 1972)
• 1945 – Noël Godin, Belgian actor, director, and screenwriter
• 1945 – Andres Küng, Swedish journalist and politician (d. 2002)
• 1946 – Frank Marshall, American director and producer
• 1946 – Henri Kuprashvili, Georgian Swimmer
• 1948 – Nell Carter, American actress and singer (d. 2003)
• 1948 – Dimitri Nanopoulos, Greek physicist and academic
• 1948 – Sitiveni Rabuka, Fijian general and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Fiji
• 1949 – John W. Henry, American businessman
• 1950 – Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz, Polish lawyer and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Poland
• 1950 – Pat Holland, English footballer and manager
• 1950 – Jeff Lowe, American mountaineer
• 1951 – Anne Devlin, Irish author, playwright, and screenwriter
• 1951 – Salva Kiir Mayardit, South Sudanese politician, 1st President of South Sudan
• 1951 – Jean Smart, American actress
• 1952 – Randy Jones, American pop and disco singer (Village People)
• 1952 – Don Was, American bass player and producer
• 1954 – Steve Kilbey, English-Australian singer-songwriter and bass player
• 1955 – Colin Moynihan, 4th Baron Moynihan, English rower and politician, Minister for Sport and the Olympics
• 1955 – Joe Morris, American guitarist and composer
• 1956 – Alain Ducasse, French-Moroccan chef
• 1956 – Anne Geddes, Australian-New Zealand photographer and fashion designer
• 1956 – Joni Sledge, American singer and songwriter (Sister Sledge) (d. 2017)
• 1957 – Vinny Appice, American rock drummer
• 1957 – Judy Blumberg, American ice dancer and sportscaster
• 1957 – Mal Donaghy, Irish footballer and manager
• 1957 – Brad Hooker, English-American philosopher and academic
• 1957 – Eleanor King, English lawyer and judge
• 1957 – John G. Trueschler, American lawyer and politician
• 1957 – Mark Wiebe, American golfer
• 1957 – Keith Black, American neurosurgeon and academic
• 1958 – Bobby Davro, English comedian and actor
• 1958 – Paweł Przytocki, Polish conductor and academic
• 1958 – Kōji Tamaki, Japanese singer-songwriter and actor
• 1959 – Tatyana Mitkova, Russian journalist
• 1960 – Kevin Carter, South African photojournalist (d. 1994)
• 1961 – Dave Mustaine, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
• 1961 – KK Null, Japanese singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1961 – Peter Roskam, American lawyer and politician
• 1962 – Neal Lancaster, American golfer
• 1963 – Yuri Alexandrov, Russian boxer (d. 2013)
• 1963 – Antony Galione, Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Oxford
• 1963 – Theodoros Roussopoulos, Greek journalist and politician
• 1963 – Robin Smith, South African-English cricketer
• 1964 – Tavis Smiley, American talk show host, journalist, and author
• 1965 – Annie Duke, American poker player and author
• 1965 – Jeff Ross, American comedian, director, and author
• 1965 – Zak Starkey, English drummer
• 1966 – Maria Furtwängler, German physician and actress
• 1966 – Brendan Hall, Australian rugby league player
• 1967 – Michael Johnson, American sprinter and journalist
• 1967 – Tim "Ripper" Owens, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1967 – Stephen Perkins, American drummer and songwriter
• 1968 – Brad Johnson, American football player
• 1968 – Bernie Williams, Puerto Rican-American baseball player and guitarist
• 1969 – Tyler Perry, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1969 – Shane Warne, Australian cricketer, coach, and sportscaster
• 1970 – Lee Abramson, American bass player and composer (d. 2016)
• 1970 – Martín Herrera, Argentinian footballer
• 1970 – Louise Lombard, English actress
• 1971 – Ben Alexander, Australian rugby league player (d. 1992)
• 1971 – Goran Ivanišević, Croatian tennis player and coach
• 1971 – Stella McCartney, English fashion designer
• 1971 – Manabu Namiki, Japanese pianist and composer
• 1973 – Christine Arron, French runner
• 1973 – Fabio Cannavaro, Italian footballer and manager
• 1973 – Olve Eikemo, Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1973 – Carlo Nash, English footballer and photographer
• 1974 – Travis Knight, American basketball player
• 1974 – Éric Lapointe, Canadian football player
• 1974 – Craig Rivet, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1975 – Akihiro Asai, Japanese race car driver
• 1975 – Joe Don Rooney, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1976 – Craig McMillan, New Zealand cricketer, coach, and sportscaster
• 1976 – Elvis Mihailenko, Latvian boxer, trainer, and sportscaster
• 1976 – José Théodore, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
• 1977 – Fiona Apple, American singer-songwriter, producer, and pianist
• 1977 – Ivan De Battista, Maltese actor, singer, director, and producer
• 1977 – Daisuke Tsuda, Japanese singer-songwriter and drummer
• 1978 – Swizz Beatz, American rapper and producer
• 1978 – Peter Sunde, Swedish businessman, co-founded Flattr and The Pirate Bay
• 1979 – Geike Arnaert, Belgian singer
• 1979 – Tony Henry, English footballer
• 1980 – Andreas Biermann, German footballer (d. 2014)
• 1980 – Han Chae-young, South Korean actress
• 1980 – Daisuke Matsuzaka, Japanese baseball player
• 1980 – Evangelos Nastos, Greek footballer
• 1980 – Viren Rasquinha, Indian field hockey player
• 1981 – Koldo Fernández, Spanish cyclist
• 1981 – Angelina Love, Canadian-American wrestler
• 1982 – Nenê, Brazilian basketball player
• 1982 – Lloyd Dyer, English footballer
• 1982 – Rickie Weeks, American baseball player
• 1982 – Colin Marston, American guitarist, bassist, and producer/engineer
• 1982 – Miha Zupan, Slovenian basketball player
• 1983 – James Bourne, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
• 1983 – Molly Crabapple, American illustrator and journalist
• 1983 – Ryan Del Monte, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1983 – Eduard Ratnikov, Estonian footballer
• 1984 – Nabil Abou-Harb, American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1984 – Baron Corbin, American wrestler
• 1985 – David Jordan, English singer-songwriter
• 1985 – Tom Learoyd-Lahrs, Australian rugby league player
• 1986 – Steve Colpaert, Belgian footballer
• 1986 – Derek Hardman, American football player
• 1986 – Kamui Kobayashi, Japanese race car driver
• 1986 – Sean Williams, American basketball player
• 1987 – Edenilson Bergonsi, Brazilian footballer
• 1987 – Jonathan de Guzmán, Canadian-Dutch footballer
• 1987 – Luke Fitzgerald, Irish rugby player
• 1987 – Tsvetana Pironkova, Bulgarian tennis player
• 1988 – Luis Rentería, Panamanian footballer (d. 2014)
• 1988 – Keith Treacy, Irish footballer
• 1989 – Elysée Irié Bi Séhi, Ivorian footballer
• 1989 – Kenny Edwards, New Zealand rugby league player
• 1989 – Jon Mannah, Australian rugby league player (d. 2013)
• 1989 – Thomas Müller, German footballer
• 1989 – William Owusu, Ghanaian footballer
• 1990 – Aoi Nakabeppu, Japanese model and actress
• 1990 – Luciano Narsingh, Dutch footballer
• 1991 – Ksenia Afanasyeva, Russian gymnast
• 1993 – Niall Horan, Irish singer, part of the boyband One Direction
• 1994 – Leonor Andrade, Portuguese singer
• 1995 – Robbie Kay, English actor
• 1995 – Jerry Tollbring, Swedish handball player
• 1995 – João Carlos Almeida Leandro, Portuguese footballer
• 1995 – Shubham Khajuria, Indian cricketer

Deaths[edit]

• AD 81 – Titus, Roman emperor (b. AD 39)
• 413 – Marcellinus of Carthage, martyr and saint
• 864 – Pietro Tradonico, doge of Venice
• 908 – Cormac mac Cuilennáin, king of Munster (Ireland)
• 1313 – Notburga, Austrian saint (b. 1265)
• 1409 – Isabella of Valois, queen consort of England (b. 1387)
• 1488 – Charles II, Duke of Bourbon (b. 1434)
• 1506 – Andrea Mantegna, Italian painter and engraver (b. 1431)
• 1557 – John Cheke, English scholar and politician, Secretary of State for England (b. 1514)
• 1592 – Michel de Montaigne, French philosopher and author (b. 1533)
• 1598 – Philip II of Spain (b. 1526)
• 1612 – Karin Månsdotter, Queen of Sweden (b. 1550)
• 1632 – Leopold V, Archduke of Austria (b. 1586)
• 1759 – James Wolfe, English general (b. 1727)
• 1766 – Benjamin Heath, English scholar and author (b. 1704)
• 1800 – Claude Martin, French-English general and explorer (b. 1735)
• 1806 – Charles James Fox, English soldier and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (b. 1749)
• 1808 – Saverio Bettinelli, Italian poet, playwright, and critic (b. 1718)
• 1813 – Hezqeyas, Ethiopian emperor
• 1847 – Nicolas Oudinot, French general (b. 1767)
• 1871 – İbrahim Şinasi, Turkish journalist, author, and translator (b. 1826)
• 1872 – Ludwig Feuerbach, German anthropologist and philosopher (b. 1804)
• 1881 – Ambrose Burnside, American general and politician, 30th Governor of Rhode Island (b. 1824)
• 1885 – Friedrich Kiel, German composer and educator (b. 1821)
• 1894 – Emmanuel Chabrier, French pianist and composer (b. 1841)
• 1905 – René Goblet, French lawyer and politician, 52nd Prime Minister of France (b. 1828)
• 1910 – Rajanikanta Sen, Bangladeshi poet and composer (b. 1865)
• 1912 – Joseph Furphy, Australian author and poet (b. 1843)
• 1912 – Nogi Maresuke, Japanese general (b. 1849)
• 1913 – Aurel Vlaicu, Romanian pilot and engineer (b. 1882)
• 1915 – Andrew L. Harris, American general and politician, 44th Governor of Ohio (b. 1835)
• 1918 – Frederic Crowninshield, American artist and author (b. 1845)
• 1928 – Italo Svevo, Italian author and playwright (b. 1861)
• 1929 – Jatindra Nath Das, Indian activist (b. 1904)
• 1931 – Lili Elbe, Danish model and painter (b. 1882)
• 1937 – David Robertson, Scottish rugby player and golfer (b. 1869)
• 1941 – Elias Disney, Canadian-American farmer and businessman (b. 1859)
• 1944 – W. Heath Robinson, English cartoonist (b. 1872)
• 1946 – Amon Göth, Austrian captain (b. 1908)
• 1946 – Eugene Lanceray, Russian painter, sculptor, and illustrator (b. 1875)
• 1946 – William Watt, Australian lawyer and politician, 24th Premier of Victoria (b. 1871)
• 1949 – August Krogh, Danish physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1874)
• 1953 – Mary Brewster Hazelton, American painter (b. 1868)
• 1960 – Leó Weiner, Hungarian composer and educator (b. 1885)
• 1967 – Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden, Yemeni-Saudi Arabian businessman, founded Saudi Binladin Group (b. 1903)
• 1967 – Robert George, English air marshal and politician, 24th Governor of South Australia (b. 1896)
• 1967 – Leonard Lord, English businessman (b. 1896)
• 1971 – Lin Biao, Chinese general and politician, 2nd Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China (b. 1907)
• 1973 – Betty Field, American actress (b. 1913)
• 1973 – Sajjad Zaheer, Indian poet and philosopher (b. 1905)
• 1975 – Mudicondan Venkatarama Iyer, Indian singer and musicologist (b. 1897)
• 1976 – Armand Mondou, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1905)
• 1976 – Albert Tessier, Canadian priest, historian, and director (b. 1895)
• 1977 – Leopold Stokowski, English conductor (b. 1882)
• 1982 – Reed Crandall, American illustrator (b. 1917)
• 1985 – Dane Rudhyar, French-American astrologer, composer, and author (b. 1895)
• 1987 – Mervyn LeRoy, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1900)
• 1991 – Robert Irving, English soldier and conductor (b. 1913)
• 1991 – Metin Oktay, Turkish footballer and manager (b. 1936)
• 1991 – Joe Pasternak, Hungarian-American production manager and producer (b. 1901)
• 1993 – Carl Voss, American ice hockey player and referee (b. 1907)
• 1996 – Tupac Shakur, American rapper, producer, and actor (b. 1971)
• 1997 – Georges Guétary, Egyptian-French actor, singer, and dancer (b. 1915)
• 1997 – Georgios Mitsibonas, Greek footballer (b. 1962)
• 1998 – Necdet Calp, Turkish civil servant and politician (b. 1922)
• 1998 – Harry Lumley, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1926)
• 1998 – Frank Renouf, New Zealand businessman (b. 1918)
• 1998 – George Wallace, American sergeant, lawyer, and politician, 45th Governor of Alabama (b. 1919)
• 1999 – Benjamin Bloom, American psychologist and academic (b. 1913)
• 2000 – Betty Jeffrey, Australian nurse and author (b. 1908)
• 2001 – Johnny Craig, American sailor and illustrator (b. 1926)
• 2001 – Jaroslav Drobný, Czech-English ice hockey player and tennis player (b. 1921)
• 2002 – George Stanley, Canadian soldier, historian, and author, designed the Flag of Canada (b. 1907)
• 2003 – Frank O'Bannon, American publisher, lawyer, and politician, 47th Governor of Indiana (b. 1930)
• 2004 – Luis E. Miramontes, Mexican chemist, co-invented the birth-control pill (b. 1925)
• 2005 – Toni Fritsch, Austrian footballer (b. 1945)
• 2005 – Julio César Turbay Ayala, Colombian lawyer and politician, 25th President of Colombia (b. 1916)
• 2006 – Ann Richards, American educator and politician, 45th Governor of Texas (b. 1933)
• 2007 – Whakahuihui Vercoe, New Zealand archbishop (b. 1928)
• 2009 – Paul Burke, American actor (b. 1926)
• 2011 – Walter Bonatti, Italian mountaineer and journalist (b. 1930)
• 2012 – William Duckworth, American composer and author (b. 1943)
• 2012 – Peter Lougheed, Canadian football player, lawyer, and politician, 10th Premier of Alberta (b. 1928)
• 2012 – Edgar Metcalfe, English-Australian actor and director (b. 1933)
• 2012 – Ranganath Misra, Indian lawyer and jurist, 21st Chief Justice of India (b. 1926)
• 2013 – Olusegun Agagu, Nigerian politician, 15th Governor of Ondo State (b. 1948)
• 2013 – Robert J. Behnke, American biologist and academic (b. 1929)
• 2013 – Rick Casares, American football player (b. 1931)
• 2013 – Luiz Gushiken, Brazilian trade union leader and politician (b. 1950)
• 2014 – Benjamin Adekunle, Nigerian general (b. 1936)
• 2014 – Helen Filarski, American baseball player (b. 1924)
• 2014 – Milan Galić, Serbian footballer (b. 1938)
• 2014 – Frank Torre, American baseball player and manager (b. 1931)
• 2015 – Vivinho, Brazilian footballer (b. 1961)
• 2015 – Erma Bergmann, American baseball player (b. 1924)
• 2015 – Brian Close, English cricketer and coach (b. 1931)
• 2015 – Moses Malone, American basketball player and sportscaster (b. 1955)
• 2016 – Jonathan Riley-Smith, British historian (b. 1938)

Hurricane Irma wrecks Sir Richard Branson's Necker Island home

Image copyrightRICHARD BRANSON

Sir Richard Branson says most of the buildings and vegetation on Necker, his Caribbean island, have been destroyed or badly damaged by Hurricane Irma.

Necker is among the 50 British Virgin Islands (BVI). Sir Richard says he has visited the nearest ones to Necker and has seen "first-hand how ferocious and unforgiving this storm was". 

The hurricane killed five people in the territory and the BVI's premier has asked the UK to give long-term support.

Sir Richard and his team are safe.

Dame Kiri Te Kanawa: 

I won't sing in public again

Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, one of opera's most celebrated stars, has told the BBC she will never sing in public again.

Dame Kiri, 73, said she stopped performing a year ago, but had not announced her retirement until now. 

"I don't want to hear my voice," said the soprano, whose career has spanned more than half a century.

"It is in the past. When I'm teaching young singers and hearing beautiful young fresh voices, I don't want to put my voice next to theirs." 

Dame Kiri has appeared at all the world's major opera houses and concert halls. She made her name in 1971 when she was cast as the Countess in The Marriage of Figaro at Covent Garden. At the time she was barely known.

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES

"I've had such an amazing career," the New Zealander said. But she was adamant she wanted to decide "when it was going to be the last note".

However, she admitted it took her five years "to say the goodbye in my own mind", adding: "I've taken that time."

What turned out to be her final performance was a concert in Ballarat near Melbourne in Australia last October. "Before I'd gone on, I said, right, this it. And that was the end." 

Dame Kiri, who is of part-Maori ancestry, said she had no regrets and doesn't miss singing. She said: "Look what I had. The memories are lovely."

She has certainly achieved a level of fame rare for a classical performer. Six hundred million people heard her sing Let the Bright Seraphim by Handel at the wedding of the Prince and Princess of Wales in 1981.

"I was told two or three months before, you will sing this song," she revealed. "Can you imagine holding that inside you for months and months, not being able to mention it to anyone?"

But after the death of the Princess of Wales in 1997, she never sang it again. "I never wanted to," she said. "When she died, I felt that I should put that song away forever."

She has not even listened to the piece again since then. "In sort of respect for her, and the death and everything about it was such a terrible thing that I never wanted to hear it again." 

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES

Dame Kiri was also the first singer to perform the Rugby World Cup anthem World in Union in 1991. Her other career highlights include a guest appearance in ITV's Downton Abbey in 2013.

Her focus now, she said, was training what she called the future stars of opera through her own Foundation. 

And she is being honoured with a lifetime achievement award at the Gramophone Classical Music Awards. "It's very, very special," she said. 

Nonetheless, she thinks it is "self-indulgent" to dwell on the past.

And she insisted that when she did reflect on her career, she never felt completely satisfied. "I never really achieved perfection of the 100% that I would have liked to.

"I never actually came off stage saying, 'I've really nailed it.' Never. I always thought there was a mistake in it.

"I was constantly analysing through the whole of the performance what I'd done."

But, she added with a wry smile: "I did keep trying."

Πότε θα φθάσουν στην Ελλάδα

Στην Αγία Πετρούπολη η εικόνα 

της Παναγίας Σουμελά 

Οι φώκιες συνήθως αναφέρονται ως «σκυλιά του νερού» και αυτό το συναρπαστικό βίντεο καθιστά σαφές το γιατί. Όχι μόνο είναι περίεργες (όπως ο καλύτερος φίλος του ανθρώπου), αλλά επίσης αγαπούν την αγκαλιά με τους ανθρώπους.