Events

• 447 – A powerful earthquake destroys large portions of the Walls of Constantinople, including 57 towers.
• 1792 – Battle of Jemappes in the French Revolutionary Wars.
• 1860 – Abraham Lincoln is elected the 16th president of the United States with only 40% of the popular vote, defeating John C. Breckinridge, John Bell, and Stephen A. Douglas in a four-way race.
• 1936 – Spanish Civil War: The republican government flees from Madrid to Valencia, leading to the formation of the Madrid Defence Council in its stead.
• 1943 – World War II: The 1st Ukrainian Front liberates Kyiv from German occupation.
• 1963 – Nguyễn Ngọc Thơ is appointed to head the South Vietnamese government by General Dương Văn Minh’s junta, five days after the latter deposed and assassinated President Ngô Đình Diệm (refer to Vietnam War).
• 1971 – The United States Atomic Energy Commission tests the largest US underground hydrogen bomb, code-named Cannikin, on Amchitka Island in the Aleutians.
• 1985 – Colombian conflict, leftist guerrillas of the 19th of April Movement seize control of the Palace of Justice in Bogotá.
• 1986 – Sumburgh disaster: A British International Helicopter Boeing 234LR Chinook crashes 21⁄2 miles east of Sumburgh Airport killing 45 people.
  • It is the deadliest civilian helicopter crash on record.
• 2016 – Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) launch an offensive to capture the city of Raqqa from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
• Gustavus Adolphus Day (in Sweden, Finland and Estonia).
• International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict.

People (Births)

• 1885 – Martin O’Meara, Irish-Australian sergeant, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1935).
• 1926 – Zig Ziglar, American soldier, businessman, and author (d. 2012).
• 1974 – Frank Vandenbroucke, Belgian cyclist (d. 2009).

People (Deaths)

• 1918 – Alan Arnett McLeod, Canadian lieutenant, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1899).
• 1964 – Hugo Koblet, Swiss cyclist (b. 1925).
• 1978 – Heiri Suter, Swiss cyclist (b. 1899).
• 2003 – Rie Mastenbroek, Dutch swimmer and coach (b. 1919).
• 2005 – Anthony Sawoniuk, Belarusian SS officer (b. 1921).
• 2010 – Robert Lipshutz, American soldier and lawyer, 17th White House Counsel (b. 1921).
• 2014 – Tommy Macpherson, Scottish soldier and businessman (b. 1920).
• 2017 – Richard F. Gordon Jr., American naval officer, aviator, test pilot, and NASA astronaut (b. 1929).