Events

• 421 – Italian city Venice is founded with the dedication of the first church, that of San Giacomo di Rialto on the islet of Rialto.
• 919 – Romanos Lekapenos seizes the Boukoleon Palace in Constantinople and becomes regent of the Byzantine emperor Constantine VII.
• 1000 – Fatimid caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah assassinates the eunuch chief minister Barjawan and assumes control of the government.
• 1306 – Robert the Bruce becomes King of Scots (Scotland).
• 1519 – Hernando Cortes, entering province of Tabasco, defeats Tabascan Indians.
• 1584 – Sir Walter Raleigh is granted a patent to colonise Virginia.
• 1708 – A French fleet anchors nears Fife Ness as part of the planned French invasion of Britain.
• 1802 – The Treaty of Amiens is signed as a “Definitive Treaty of Peace” between France and the United Kingdom.
• 1807 – The Swansea and Mumbles Railway, then known as the Oystermouth Railway, becomes the first passenger-carrying railway in the world.
• 1821 – Traditional date of the start of the Greek War of Independence.
  • The war had actually begun on 23 February 1821 (Julian calendar).
• 1845 – New Zealand Legislative Council pass the first Militia Act constituting the New Zealand Army.
  • NZ Army Day.
• 1865 – American Civil War: In Virginia, Confederate forces temporarily capture Fort Stedman from the Union.
• 1894 – Coxey’s Army, the first significant American protest march, departs Massillon, Ohio for Washington, D.C.
• 1918 – The Belarusian People’s Republic is established.
• 1924 – On the anniversary of Greek Independence, Alexandros Papanastasiou proclaims the Second Hellenic Republic.
• 1941 – The Kingdom of Yugoslavia joins the Axis powers with the signing of the Tripartite Pact.
• 1948 – The first successful tornado forecast predicts that a tornado will strike Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma.
• 1957 – The European Economic Community (EEC) is established with West Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg as the first members.
• 1971 – The Army of the Republic of Vietnam abandon an attempt to cut off the Ho Chi Minh trail in Laos.
• 2018 – Syrian civil war: Following the completion of the Afrin offensive, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) initiate an insurgency against the Turkish occupation of the Afrin District.
• Medal of Honour Day (United States).

People (Births)

• 1404 – John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset, English military leader (d. 1444).
• 1661 – Paul de Rapin, French soldier and historian (d. 1725).
• 1745 – John Barry, American naval officer and father of the American navy (d. 1803).
• 1767 – Joachim Murat, French general (d. 1815).
• 1840 – Myles Keogh, Irish-American colonel (d. 1876).
• 1879 – Amedee Reyburn, American swimmer and water polo player (d. 1920).
• 1893 – Johannes Villemson, Estonian runner (d. 1971).
• 1895 – Siegfried Handloser, German general and physician (d. 1954).
• 1905 – Albrecht Mertz von Quirnheim, German colonel (d. 1944).
• 1918 – Howard Cosell, American soldier, journalist, and author (d. 1995).
• 1920 – Usha Mehta, Gandhian and freedom fighter of India (d. 2000).
• 1923 – Wim van Est, Dutch cyclist (d. 2003).
• 1928 – Jim Lovell, American captain, pilot, and astronaut.
• 1928 – Gunnar Nielsen, Danish runner and typographer (d. 1985).
• 1932 – Wes Santee, American runner (d. 2010).
• 1936 – Carl Kaufmann, American-German sprinter (d. 2008).
• 1952 – Stephen Dorrell, English soldier and politician, Secretary of State for Health.
• 1957 – Christina Boxer, English runner and journalist.
• 1957 – Aleksandr Puchkov, Russian hurdler.
• 1976 – Lars Figura, German sprinter.
• 1977 – Andrew Lindsay, Scottish rower.
• 1979 – Muriel Hurtis-Houairi, French sprinter.

People (Deaths)

• 908 – Li Kening, Chinese general.
• 940 – Taira no Masakado, Japanese samurai.
• 1351 – Kō no Moronao, Japanese samurai.
• 1351 – Kō no Moroyasu, Japanese samurai.
• 1392 – Hosokawa Yoriyuki, Japanese samurai.
• 1603 – Ikoma Chikamasa, Japanese daimyō (b. 1526).
• 1918 – Peter Martin, Australian footballer and soldier (b. 1875).
• 1978 – Thomas Woodrooffe, British naval officer and radio commentator.
• 1979 – Robert Madgwick, Australian colonel and academic (b. 1905).
• 2013 – Jean Pickering, English runner and long jumper (b. 1929).