Events
- 1248 - The Dutch city of Ommen receives city rights and fortification rights from Otto III, the Archbishop of Utrecht.
- 1537 - The Honourable Artillery Company, the oldest surviving regiment in the British Army, and the second most senior, is formed.
- 1580 - Battle of Alcântara. Spain defeats Portugal.
- 1609 - Galileo Galilei demonstrates his first telescope to Venetian lawmakers.
- 1758 - Seven Years' War: Frederick II of Prussia defeats the Russian army at the Battle of Zorndorf.
- 1768 - James Cook begins his first voyage.
- 1814 - Washington, D.C. is burned and White House is destroyed by British forces during the War of 1812.
- 1825 - Uruguay declares its independence from Brazil.
- 1830 - The Belgian Revolution begins.
- 1835 - The New York Sun perpetrates the Great Moon Hoax.
- 1894 - Shibasaburo Kitasato discovers the infectious agent of the bubonic plague and publishes his findings in The Lancet.
- 1910 - Yellow Cab is founded.
- 1912 - The Kuomintang, the Chinese nationalist party, is founded.
- 1916 - The United States National Park Service is created.
- 1920 - Polish-Soviet War: Battle of Warsaw, started on August 13, now ends. The Red Army is defeated.
- 1921 - The first skirmishes of the Battle of Blair Mountain occur.
- 1933 - Diexi earthquake shook Mao County, Sichuan, China and killed 9,000 people.
- 1942 - World War II: Battle of Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea.
- 1942 - World War II: Second day of the Battle of the Eastern Solomons. A Japanese naval transport convoy headed towards Guadalcanal is turned-back by Allied air attack, losing one destroyer and one transport sunk, and one light cruiser heavily damaged.
- 1944 - World War II: Paris is liberated by the Allies.
- 1945 - Ten days after World War II ended with Japan announcing its surrender, armed supporters of the Communist Party of China killed Baptist missionary John Birch, regarded by a portion of the American right as the first victim of the Cold War.
- 1948 - House Un-American Activities Committee holds first-ever televised congressional hearing: "Confrontation Day" between Whittaker Chambers and Alger Hiss.
- 1950 - President Harry Truman orders the US Army to seize control of the nation's railroads to avert a strike.
- 1981 - Voyager 2 spacecraft makes its closest approach to Saturn
- 1989 - Tadeusz Mazowiecki chosen as the first non-communist Prime Minister in Central and Eastern Europe.
- 1989 - Voyager 2 spacecraft makes its closest approach to Neptune, the outermost planet in the Solar System.
- 1989 - Mayumi Moriyama becomes Japan's first female cabinet secretary.
- 1991 - Belarus declares independence from the Soviet Union
- 1997 - Egon Krenz, the former East German leader, was convicted of a shoot-to-kill Berlin Wall policy.
- 2003 - The Tli Cho land claims agreement is signed between the Dogrib First Nations and the Canadian federal government in Rae-Edzo (now called Behchoko).
- 1530 - Tsar Ivan IV of Russia (d. 1584)
- 1561 - Philippe van Lansberge, Dutch astronomer (d. 1632)
- 1624 - François de la Chaise, French confessor of Louis XIV of France (d. 1709)
- 1662 - John Leverett the Younger, American educator (d. 1724)
- 1719 - Charles-Amédée-Philippe van Loo, French painter (d. 1795)
- 1724 - George Stubbs, British painter (d. 1806)
- 1741 - Karl Friedrich Bahrdt, German theologian (d. 1792)
- 1744 - Johann Gottfried Herder, German writer (d. 1803)
- 1767 - Antoine Louis Léon de Richebourg de Saint-Just, French revolutionary and writer (d. 1794)
- 1786 - King Ludwig I of Bavaria (d. 1868)
- 1796 - James Lick, American land baron (d. 1876)
- 1802 - Nikolaus Lenau, Austrian poet (d. 1850)
- 1803 - LuÃs Alves de Lima e Silva, the Duque de Caxias, Brazilian military leader
- 1819 - Allan Pinkerton, American private detective (d. 1884)
- 1836 - Bret Harte, American writer (d. 1902)
- 1841 - Emil Theodor Kocher, Swiss medical researcher; Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1917)
- 1845 - King Ludwig II of Bavaria (d. 1886)
- 1867 - James W. Gerard, American jurist and diplomat (d. 1951)
- 1868 - Nikolaos Levidis, Greek shooter
- 1882 - Seán T. O'Kelly, Irish politician (d. 1966)
- 1893 - Henry Trendley Dean, American dental researcher (d. 1962)
- 1898 - Helmut Hasse, German mathematician (d. 1975)
- 1900 - Hans Adolf Krebs, German physician and biochemist; Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1981)
- 1902 - Stefan Wolpe, German-born composer (d. 1972)
- 1903 - Arpad Elo, American chess writer (d. 1992)
- 1905 - Faustina Kowalska, Polish mystic (d. 1938)
- 1909 - Ruby Keeler, Canadian singer and actress (d. 1993)
- 1909 - Michael Rennie, English actor (d. 1971)
- 1911 - Vo Nguyen Giap (Võ Nguyên Giáp), Vietnamese general and statesman
- 1912 - Erich Honecker, East German politician (d. 1994)
- 1913 - Walt Kelly, American cartoonist (d. 1973)
- 1913 - Don DeFore, American actor (d. 1993)
- 1915 - Walter Trampler, American violist (d. 1997)
- 1916 - Van Johnson, American actor
- 1916 - Frederick Chapman Robbins, American pediatrician and virologist; Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2003)
- 1916 - Saburo Sakai, Japanese aviator (d. 2000)
- 1917 - Mel Ferrer, Cuban-American actor, film director and film producer (d. 2008)
- 1918 - Leonard Bernstein, American conductor and composer (d. 1990)
- 1918 - Richard Greene, English actor (d. 1985)
- 1919 - George Wallace, American politician (d. 1998)
- 1921 - Monty Hall, Canadian-born game show host
- 1921 - Brian Moore, Irish-born writer (d. 1999)
- 1921 - Bryce Mackasey, Canadian politician (d. 1999)
- 1925 - Thea Astley, Australian writer, (d. 2004)
- 1927 - Althea Gibson, American tennis player (d. 2003)
- 1928 - Herbert Kroemer, German-born physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1928 - Darrell Johnson, American baseball player (d. 2004)
- 1930 - Sean Connery, Scottish actor
- 1930 - Graham Jarvis, Canadian actor (d. 2003)
- 1930 - Bruce Allpress, New Zealand actor
- 1931 - Hal Fishman, Los Angeles based local news anchor. (d. 2007)
- 1931 - Regis Philbin, American television host
- 1933 - Wayne Shorter, American jazz musician
- 1933 - Tom Skerritt, American actor
- 1934 - Lise Bacon, French Canadian politician
- 1934 - Eddie Ilarde, Filipino disk jockey, television host, and Senator
- 1935 - Charles Wright, American poet
- 1938 - David Canary, American actor
- 1938 - Frederick Forsyth, English author
- 1939 - John Badham, American film director
- 1940 - José Van Dam, Belgian baritone
- 1944 - Anthony Heald, American actor
- 1944 - Conrad Black, newspaper magnate
- 1944 - Jacques Demers, Canadian hockey coach
- 1946 - Rollie Fingers, American baseball player
- 1946 - Charles Ghigna (Father Goose), American poet and Children's Author
- 1946 - Charlie Sanders, American football player
- 1949 - Martin Amis, English novelist
- 1949 - John Savage, American actor
- 1949 - Gene Simmons, Israeli-born musician (Kiss)
- 1949 - Fariborz Lachini, Canadian-Iranian composer
- 1950 - Charles Fambrough, American jazz musician
- 1951 - Rob Halford, English singer (Judas Priest)
- 1951 - Bill Handel, American radio personality
- 1952 - Geoff Downes, English keyboardist (Buggles, Yes, Asia)
- 1954 - Elvis Costello, English musician
- 1956 - Henri Toivonen, Finnish rally driver (d.1986)
- 1958 - Tim Burton, American film director
- 1958 - Christian LeBlanc, American actor
- 1960 - Ashley Crow, American actress
- 1961 - Billy Ray Cyrus, American singer and actor
- 1961 - Joanne Whalley, British actress
- 1962 - David Packer, American actor
- 1962 - Vivian Campbell, Irish musician (Def Leppard, Whitesnake, Dio)
- 1964 - Maxim Kontsevich, Russian mathematician
- 1964 - Blair Underwood, American actor
- 1964 - Vassilios Kotronias, Greek chess grandmaster
- 1964 - Marti Noxon, American television writer and producer
- 1965 - Mia Zapata, American singer (The Gits) (d. 1993)
- 1966 - Albert Belle, American Major League Baseball player
- 1966 - Derek Sherinian, American keyboardist
- 1966 - Robert Maschio, American Actor ("The Todd" in Scrubs)
- 1967 - Jeff Tweedy, American singer (Wilco)
- 1968 - Rafet El Roman, Turkish singer and composer
- 1968 - Yuri Mitsui, Japanese actress, model and racing driver
- 1968 - Stuart Murdoch, Scottish musician (Belle & Sebastian)
- 1968 - Takeshi Ueda, Japanese singer and composer
- 1968 - Rachael Ray, American chef and television personality
- 1968 - Spider One, American musician (Powerman 5000)
- 1969 - Cameron Mathison, Canadian actor
- 1970 - Robert Horry, American basketball player
- 1970 - Jo Dee Messina, American country music singer
- 1970 - Claudia Schiffer, German model
- 1971 - Mike Lockwood, professional wrestler (d. 2003)
- 1971 - Thalia Sodi, Mexican actress and singer
- 1972 - Marvin Harrison, American football player
- 1973 - Fatih Akin, Turkish-German film director
- 1973 - Olavi Mikkonen, Swedish heavy metal guitarist (Amon Amarth)
- 1974 - Eric Millegan, American actor
- 1974 - Dave Luza, Dutch comedian
- 1974 - Pablo Ozuna, Dominican baseball player
- 1975 - Jeremy Horn, American MMA Fighter
- 1976 - Alexander Skarsgård, Swedish actor
- 1977 - Sophie Cadieux, Quebec actress
- 1977 - Diego Corrales, American boxer (d. 2007)
- 1977 - Jonathan Togo, American actor
- 1978 - Kel Mitchell, American actor
- 1979 - Marlon Harewood, English footballer
- 1980 - Neal Musser, American baseball player
- 1981 - Rachel Bilson, American actress
- 1981 - Clare Oliver, Australian cancer activist (d. 2007)
- 1983 - James Righton, Musician (Klaxons)
- 1983 - James Rossiter, British racing driver
- 1983 - Janet Chow, Miss Hong Kong 2006 Runner-Up
- 1987 - Stacey Farber, Canadian actress
- 1987 - Blake Lively, American actress
- 1987 - Justin Upton, American baseball player
- 1987 - James Wesolowski, Australian soccer player
- 1987 - Liu Yifei, Chinese actress and singer
- 1988 - Angela Park, Brazilian golfer
- 1988 - Raymond Quinn, English singer
- 1992 - Miyabi Natsuyaki, Japanese singer
- 1994 - Josh Flitter, American actor
- 1997 - Holly Gibbs, English child actor
- 1998 - China Anne McClain, American actress
- 383 - Gratian, Roman Emperor
- 471 - Gennadius I, Patriarch of Constantinople
- 1192 - Hugh III, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1142)
- 1270 - King Louis IX of France (b. 1214)
- 1282 - Thomas Cantilupe, English saint
- 1330 - Sir James Douglas, Scottish soldier (b. 1286)
- 1482 - Margaret of Anjou, queen of Henry VI of England (b. 1429)
- 1554 - Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, English politician (b. 1473)
- 1632 - Thomas Dekker, English dramatist
- 1650 - Richard Crashaw, English poet
- 1688 - Henry Morgan, Welsh privateer
- 1699 - King Christian V of Denmark (b. 1646)
- 1711 - Edward Villiers, 1st Earl of Jersey, English politician
- 1742 - Carlos Seixas, Portuguese composer (b. 1704)
- 1774 - Niccolò Jommelli, Italian composer (b. 1714)
- 1776 - David Hume, Scottish philosopher and historian (b. 1711)
- 1792 - Jacques Cazotte, French writer (b. 1719)
- 1822 - William Herschel, German-born astronomer (b. 1738)
- 1867 - Michael Faraday, English scientist (b. 1791)
- 1900 - Friedrich Nietzsche, German philosopher (b. 1844)
- 1900 - Kuroda Kiyotaka, Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1840)
- 1904 - Henri Fantin-Latour, French painter (b. 1836)
- 1904 - William Hall, Canadian Royal Naval sailor (b. 1827)
- 1908 - Henri Becquerel, French physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1852)
- 1924 - Mariano Ãlvarez, Filipino general (b. 1818)
- 1925 - Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf, Austro-Hungarian field marshal (b. 1852)
- 1938 - Aleksandr Kuprin, Russian writer (b. 1870)
- 1939 - Babe Siebert, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1904)
- 1942 - George Edward Alexander Windsor, Duke of Kent (b. 1902)
- 1945 - John Birch, American intelligence officer and missionary (b. 1918)
- 1950 - Earl Caddock, professional wrestler (b. 1888)
- 1956 - Alfred Kinsey, American research biologist (b. 1894)
- 1965 - Moonlight Graham, American baseball player
- 1967 - Stanley Bruce, eighth Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1883)
- 1967 - Paul Muni, Polish actor (b. 1895)
- 1967 - George Lincoln Rockwell, American Nazi Party leader (b. 1918)
- 1971 - Ted Lewis, American musician and entertainer (b. 1890)
- 1976 - Eyvind Johnson, Swedish writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1900)
- 1979 - Stan Kenton, American musician and bandleader (b. 1911)
- 1980 - Gower Champion, American dancer, actor, and choreographer (b. 1919)
- 1984 - Truman Capote, American author (b. 1924)
- 1984 - Waite Hoyt, American baseball player (b. 1899)
- 1984 - Viktor Chukarin, Soviet gymnast (b. 1921)
- 1985 - Samantha Smith, American social activist (b. 1972)
- 1990 - Morley Callaghan, Canadian writer (b. 1903)
- 1999 - Rob Fisher, English musician (b. 1956)
- 2000 - Carl Barks, American cartoonist (b. 1901)
- 2000 - Jack Nitzsche, American record producer (b. 1937)
- 2001 - Aaliyah, American singer and actress (b. 1979)
- 2001 - Carl Brewer, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1938)
- 2001 - Ken Tyrrell, former race driver and founder of Tyrrell Racing (b. 1924)
- 2001 - Philippe Léotard, French actor and singer (b. 1940)
- 2002 - Dorothy Hewett, Australian writer (b. 1923)
- 2005 - Peter Glotz, German politician (b. 1939)
- 2007 - Ray Jones, English professional footballer (b. 1988)
- Roman festivals - Opiconsivia held in honor of Ops.
- Roman Catholic Saints - Genesius of Arles, Saint Louis IX of France, Saint Joseph Calasanz.
- Uruguay - National Day (independence from Brazil in 1825).
