Events

• 49 BC – Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon, signalling the start of civil war.
• 9 – The Western Han dynasty ends when Wang Mang claims that the divine Mandate of Heaven called for the end of the dynasty and the beginning of his own, the Xin dynasty.
• 1072 – Robert Guiscard conquers Palermo in Sicily for the Normans.
• 1430 – Philip the Good, the Duke of Burgundy, establishes the Order of the Golden Fleece, the most prestigious, exclusive, and expensive order of chivalry in the world.
• 1475 – Stephen III of Moldavia defeats the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Vaslui.
• 1645 – Archbishop William Laud is beheaded for treason at the Tower of London.
• 1776 – American Revolution: Thomas Paine publishes his pamphlet Common Sense.
• 1791 – The Siege of Dunlap’s Station begins near Cincinnati during the Northwest Indian War.
• 1861 – American Civil War: Florida becomes the third state to secede from the Union.
• 1916 – World War I: Imperial Russia begins the Erzurum Offensive, leading to the defeat of the Ottoman Empire’s Third Army.
• 1920 – The Treaty of Versailles takes effect, officially ending World War I for all combatant nations except the United States.
• 1920 – League of Nations Covenant automatically enters into force after the Treaty of Versailles is ratified by Germany.
• 1941 – World War II: The Greek army captures Kleisoura.
• 1946 – The United States Army Signal Corps successfully conducts Project Diana, bouncing radio waves off the Moon and receiving the reflected signals.
• 1966 – Tashkent Declaration, a peace agreement between India and Pakistan signed that resolved the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.
• 1972 – Sheikh Mujibur Rahman returns to the newly independent Bangladesh as president after spending over nine months in prison in Pakistan.
• 1981 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensive, gaining control of most of Morazán and Chalatenango departments.
• 1985 – Sandinista Daniel Ortega becomes president of Nicaragua and vows to continue the transformation to socialism and alliance with the Soviet Union and Cuba; American policy continues to support the Contras in their revolt against the Nicaraguan government.

People (Births)

• 1644 – Louis François, duc de Boufflers, French general (d. 1711).
• 1769 – Michel Ney, French general (d. 1815).
• 1843 – Frank James, American soldier and criminal (d. 1915).
• 1854 – Ramón Corral, Mexican general and politician, 6th Vice President of Mexico (d. 1912).
• 1873 – George Orton, Canadian runner and hurdler (d. 1958).
• 1878 – John McLean, American hurdler, football player, and coach (d. 1955).
• 1892 – Melchior Wańkowicz, Polish soldier, journalist, and author (d. 1974).
• 1893 – Albert Jacka, Australian captain, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1932).
• 1913 – Mehmet Shehu, Albanian soldier and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Albania (d. 1981).
• 1920 – Roberto M. Levingston, Argentinian general and politician, 36th President of Argentina (d. 2015).
• 1948 – Bernard Thévenet, French cyclist and sportscaster.
• 1987 – César Cielo, Brazilian swimmer.
• 1988 – Leonard Patrick Komon, Kenyan runner.

People (Deaths)

• 1761 – Edward Boscawen, English admiral and politician (b. 1711).
• 1843 – Dimitrie Macedonski, Greek-Romanian captain and politician (b. 1780).
• 1851 – Karl Freiherr von Müffling, Prussian field marshal (b. 1775).
• 1862 – Samuel Colt, American engineer and businessman, founded Colt’s Manufacturing Company (b. 1814).
• 1901 – James Dickson, English-Australian businessman and politician, 1st Australian Minister for Defence (b. 1832).
• 1917 – Buffalo Bill, American soldier and hunter (b. 1846).
• 1917 – Feliks Leparsky, Russian fencer and captain (b. 1875).
• 1968 – Ali Fuat Cebesoy, Turkish general and politician, 6th Speaker of the Parliament of Turkey (b. 1882).
• 1970 – Pavel Belyayev, Russian pilot and astronaut (b. 1925).