Today in History

Historical Events

1795 - Hedges Treaty: Bataafse Republic becomes French vassal state
1968 - Earthquake kills 47 in Japan
1974 - USSR performs nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan
2019 - British people get drunk more than any other nation, 51 times a year according to the Global Drug Survey, with English-speaking countries drinking the most
2020 - 118-year old American department store JC Penney files for bankruptcy

More Historical Events »

Famous Birthdays

1782 - John Sell Cotman, English water color artist, born in Norwich, England (d. 1842)
1887 - Jakob van Hoddis [Hans Davidsohn], German Jewish expressionist poet, born in Berlin, Germany (d. 1942)
1964 - John Salley, NBA star (Detroit Pistons)
1968 - Chingmy Yau, Hong Kong actress (Naked Killer), born in Hong Kong
1977 - Emilíana Torrini, Icelandic singer and songwriter ("Jungle Drum"; "Gollum's Song"), born in Kópavogur, Iceland

More Famous Birthdays »

Famous Deaths

1620 - William Adams, English navigator, first ever Western Samurai who life was the basis for novel "Shōgun", dies in Japan at 55
1955 - James Agee, American author (African Queen, Death in Family), dies at 45
1977 - Edouard Van Remoortel, Belgian conductor (St Louis Symphony, 1958-...