Events

• 1655 – Second Northern War/the Deluge: Monks at the Jasna Góra Monastery in Częstochowa are successful in fending off a month-long siege.
• 1703 – Portugal and England sign the Methuen Treaty which gives preference to Portuguese imported wines into England.
• 1814 – War of 1812: The American schooner USS Carolina is destroyed. It was the last of Commodore Daniel Patterson’s makeshift fleet that fought a series of delaying actions that contributed to Andrew Jackson’s victory at the Battle of New Orleans.
• 1831 – Charles Darwin embarks on his journey aboard HMS Beagle, during which he will begin to formulate his theory of evolution.
• 1918 – The Great Poland Uprising against the Germans begins.
• 1918 – Ukrainian War of Independence: The Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine occupies Yekaterinoslav and seizes 7 airplanes from the UPRAF, establishing an Insurgent Air Fleet.
• 1922 – Japanese aircraft carrier Hōshō becomes the first purpose built aircraft carrier to be commissioned in the world.
• 1939 – Winter War: Finland holds off a Soviet attack in the Battle of Kelja.
• 1949 – Indonesian National Revolution: The Netherlands officially recognises Indonesian independence.
  • End of the Dutch East Indies.
• 1978 – Spain becomes a democracy after 40 years of fascist dictatorship.
• 1996 – Taliban forces retake the strategic Bagram Airfield which solidifies their buffer zone around Kabul, Afghanistan.
• 1997 – Protestant paramilitary leader Billy Wright is assassinated in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom.
• 2008 – Operation Cast Lead: Israel launches 3-week operation on Gaza.

People (Births)

• 1715 – Philippe de Noailles, French general (d. 1794).
• 1761 – Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly, Russian field marshal and politician, Governor-General of Finland (d. 1818).
• 1776 – Nikolay Kamensky, Russian general (d. 1811).
• 1892 – Alfred Edwin McKay, Canadian captain and pilot (d. 1917).
• 1896 – Maurice De Waele, Belgian cyclist (d. 1952).
• 1916 – Werner Baumbach, German pilot (d. 1953).
• 1917 – Onni Palaste, Finnish soldier and author (d. 2009).
• 1919 – Charles Sweeney, American general and pilot (d. 2004).
• 1924 – James A. McClure, American soldier, lawyer, and politician (d. 2011).
• 1936 – Eve Uusmees, Estonian swimmer and coach.
• 1947 – Osman Pamukoğlu, Turkish general and politician.
• 1947 – Willy Polleunis, Belgian runner.
• 1956 – Doina Melinte, Romanian runner.
• 1975 – Aigars Fadejevs, Latvian race walker and therapist.
• 1981 – Moise Joseph, American-Haitian runner.

People (Deaths)

• 1704 – Hans Albrecht von Barfus, Prussian field marshal and politician (b. 1635).
• 1776 – Johann Rall, Hessian colonel (b. c. 1726).
• 1836 – Stephen F. Austin, American soldier and politician (b. 1793).
• 1900 – William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong, English engineer and businessman, founded Armstrong Whitworth (built armaments and ships among others) (b. 1810).
• 1943 – Ants Kurvits, Estonian general and politician, 10th Estonian Minister of War (b. 1887).
• 1953 – Şükrü Saracoğlu, Turkish soldier and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1887).
• 1955 – Alfred Carpenter, English admiral, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1881).
• 1978 – Houari Boumediene, Algerian colonel and politician, 2nd President of Algeria (b. 1932).
• 1982 – Jack Swigert, USAF pilot, astronaut, and politician (b. 1931).
• 2011 – Michael Dummett, English soldier, philosopher, and academic (b. 1925).
• 2012 – Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr., American general and engineer (b. 1934).
• 2013 – John Matheson, Canadian colonel, lawyer, and politician (b. 1917).
• 2018 – Frank Blaichman, Polish resistance fighter (b. 1922).