Events

• 875 – Charles the Bald, King of the Franks, is crowned as Holy Roman Emperor Charles II.
• 1170 – Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, is assassinated inside Canterbury Cathedral by followers of King Henry II.H
  • He subsequently becomes a saint and martyr in the Anglican Communion and the Catholic Church.
• 1503 – The Battle of Garigliano (1503) was fought between a Spanish army under Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba and a French army commanded by Ludovico II, Marquess of Saluzzo.
• 1508 – Portuguese forces under the command of Francisco de Almeida attack Khambhat at the Battle of Dabul.
• 1778 – American Revolutionary War: Three thousand British soldiers under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Campbell capture Savannah, Georgia.
• 1812 – USS Constitution, under the command of Captain William Bainbridge, captures HMS Java off the coast of Brazil after a three-hour battle.
• 1835 – The Treaty of New Echota is signed, ceding all the lands of the Cherokee east of the Mississippi River to the United States.
• 1845 – In accordance with International Boundary delimitation, the United States annexes the Republic of Texas, following the manifest destiny doctrine.
  • The Republic of Texas, which had been independent since the Texas Revolution of 1836, is thereupon admitted as the 28th US state.
• 1860 – The launch of HMS Warrior, with her combination of screw propeller, iron hull and iron armour, renders all previous warships obsolete.
• 1874 – The military coup of General Martinez Campos in Sagunto ends the failed First Spanish Republic and the monarchy is restored as Prince Alfonso is proclaimed King of Spain.
• 1890 – Wounded Knee Massacre on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, 300 Lakota are killed by the United States 7th Cavalry Regiment.
• 1911 – Mongolia gains independence from the Qing dynasty, enthroning 8th Jebtsundamba Khutughtu as Khagan of Mongolia.
• 1930 – Sir Muhammad Iqbal’s presidential address in Allahabad introduces the two-nation theory and outlines a vision for the creation of Pakistan.
• 1934 – Japan renounces the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 and the London Naval Treaty of 1930.
• 1937 – The Irish Free State is replaced by a new state called Ireland with the adoption of a new constitution.
• 1940 – World War II: In the Second Great Fire of London, the Luftwaffe fire-bombs London, England, killing almost 200 civilians.
• 1996 – Guatemala and leaders of Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity sign a peace accord ending a 36-year civil war.
• 1998 – Leaders of the Khmer Rouge apologise for the 1970s genocide in Cambodia that claimed over one million lives.
• 2006 – The UK settles its Anglo-American loan, post-WWII loan debt.

People (Births)

• 1746 – Saverio Cassar, Maltese priest and rebel leader (d. 1805).
• 1766 – Charles Macintosh, Scottish chemist and the inventor of waterproof fabric (d. 1843).
• 1808 – Andrew Johnson, American general and politician, 17th President of the United States (d. 1875).
• 1859 – Venustiano Carranza, Mexican soldier and politician, 37th President of Mexico (d. 1920).
• 1879 – Billy Mitchell, American general and pilot (d. 1936).
• 1885 – Roman von Ungern-Sternberg, Austrian-Russian general (d. 1921).
• 1886 – Norman Hallows, English runner and captain (d. 1968).
• 1899 – Nie Rongzhen, Chinese general and politician, Mayor of Beijing (d. 1992).
• 1911 – Klaus Fuchs, German physicist and spy (d. 1988).
• 1917 – Tom Bradley, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician, 38th Mayor of Los Angeles (d. 1998).
• 1923 – Shlomo Venezia, Greek-Italian author and Holocaust survivor (d. 2012).
• 1927 – Andy Stanfield, American sprinter (d. 1985).
• 1958 – Nancy J. Currie, American colonel, engineer, and astronaut.
• 1960 – Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, Congolese militia leader, founded the Union of Congolese Patriots.
• 1978 – Angelo Taylor, American athlete.
• 1982 – Brian Hill, Canadian swimmer.

People (Deaths)

• 1944 – Khasan Israilov, Chechen rebel (b. 1910).
• 1959 – Robin Milford, English soldier and composer (b. 1903).
• 1976 – Ivo Van Damme, Belgian runner (b. 1954).
• 1986 – Harold Macmillan, English captain and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1894).
• 2012 – Roland Griffiths-Marsh, Australian soldier and author (b. 1923).
• 2015 – Om Prakash Malhotra, Indian general and politician, 25th Governor of Punjab (b. 1922).