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Today February 5th 2009 this day in history Read more below to view events, deaths, births, Holidays observances and video clips. Last database updated: Jan 17th, 2009
Events
1576 – Henry of Navarre converts to Roman Catholicism in order to ensure his right to the throne of France.
1597 – A group of early Japanese Christians are killed by the new government of Japan for being seen as a threat to Japanese society.
1631 – Roger Williams emigrates to Boston.
1778 – South Carolina becomes the first state to ratify the Articles of Confederation.
1782 – Spanish defeat British forces and capture Minorca.
1818 – Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte ascends to the thrones of Sweden and Norway.
1859 – Wallachia and Moldavia are united under Alexander John Cuza as the United Principalities.
1885 – King Léopold II of Belgium establishes the Congo as a personal possession.
1900 – The United States and the United Kingdom sign treaty for Panama Canal
1917 – The current constitution of Mexico is adopted, establishing a federal republic with powers separated into independent executive, legislative, and judicial branches.
1917 – The Congress of the United States passes a law, over President Woodrow Wilson s veto, banning most Asian immigration to the United States.
1918 – Stephen W. Thompson shot down a German airplane. It was the first aerial victory by the U.S. military.
1919 – Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and D.W. Griffith launch United Artists.
1924 – The Royal Greenwich Observatory begin broadcasting the hourly time signals known as the Greenwich Time Signal or the BBC pips.
1945 – World War II: General Douglas MacArthur returns to Manila.
1946 – The Chondoist Chongu Party is founded in North Korea.
1958 – Gamel Abdel Nasser is nominated to be the first president of the United Arab Republic.
1958 – A hydrogen bomb known as the Tybee Bomb is lost by the US Air Force off the coast of Savannah, Georgia, never to be recovered.
1962 – French President Charles De Gaulle calls for allowing Algeria to be an independent nation.
1968 – Vietnam War: Battle of Khe Sanh begins.
1971 – Apollo program: Apollo 14 Mission – Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell aboard LM, Antares land on the Moon at Fra Mauro formation.
1972 – Bob Douglas becomes the first African American elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame.
1974 – John Murtha becomes the first Vietnam War veteran elected to the Congress of the United States.
1988 – Manuel Noriega is indicted on drug smuggling and money laundering charges.
1994 – Byron De La Beckwith is convicted of the 1963 murder of civil rights leader Medgar Evers.
1994 – During the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina more than 60 people are killed and some 200 wounded as a mortar shell slams into a downtown marketplace in Sarajevo.
1997 – The so-called Big Three banks in Switzerland announce the creation of a $71 million fund to aid Holocaust survivors and their families.
2004 – Twenty-three Chinese people drown when a group of 35 cockle-pickers are trapped by rising tides in Morecambe Bay, England. Twenty-one bodies are recovered.
2004 – Rebels from the Revolutionary Artibonite Resistance Front capture the city of Gonaïves, starting the 2004 Haiti rebellion.
2008 – A major tornado outbreak across the Southern United States leaves 57 dead, the most since the May 31, 1985 outbreak that killed 88.
Births
976 – Sanjo, Emperor of Japan (d. 1017)
1505 – Aegidius Tschudi, Swiss historian (d. 1572)
1519 – René of Châlon, (d. 1544)
1534 – Giovanni de Bardi, Italian writer (d. 1612)
1589 – Esteban Manuel de Villegas, Spanish poet (d. 1669)
1608 – Gaspar Schott, German mathematician (d. 1666)
1626 – Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sévigné, French author (d. 1696)
1650 – Anne-Jules, French general (d. 1708)
1703 – Gilbert Tennent, Irish-born religious leader (d. 1764)
1725 – James Otis, American lawyer and patriot (d. 1783)
1744 – John Jeffries, Physician, Surgeon, Balloonist
1784 – Nancy Hanks Lincoln, mother of Abraham Lincoln (d. 1818)
1788 – Robert Peel, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1850)
1795 – Wilhelm Karl Ritter von Haidinger, Austrian mineralogist (d. 1871)
1804 – Johan Ludvig Runeberg, Finnish poet (d. 1877)
1808 – Carl Spitzweg, German painter (d. 1885)
1810 – Ole Bull, Norwegian violinist (d. 1880)
1837 – Dwight L. Moody, American evangelist (d. 1899)
1840 – John Boyd Dunlop, Scottish inventor (d. 1921)
1840 – Hiram Stevens Maxim, American inventor (Maxim gun) (d. 1916)
1848 – Joris-Karl Huysmans, French author (d. 1907)
1848 – Belle Starr, American outlaw (d. 1889)
1848 – Ignacio Carrera Pinto, Chilean war hero (d. 1882)
1878 – André Citroën, French automobile pioneer (d. 1935)
1880 – Gabriel Voisin, French aviation pioneer (d. 1973)
1889 – Ernest Tyldesley, British cricketer (d. 1962)
1900 – Adlai Stevenson, American politician (d. 1965)
1903 – Joan Whitney Payson, American heiress (d. 1975)
1906 – John Carradine, American actor (d. 1988)
1908 – Daisy and Violet Hilton, British conjoined twins (d. 1969)
1910 – Francisco Varallo, Argentine footballer
1910 – Charles Leblond, Canadian Cell Biologist (d. 2007)
1911 – Jussi Björling, Swedish tenor (d. 1960)
1914 – William S. Burroughs, American author (d. 1997)
1914 – Alan Lloyd Hodgkin, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1998)
1915 – Robert Hofstadter, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1990)
1919 – Red Buttons, American actor (d. 2006)
1919 – Andreas Papandreou, Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1996)
1919 – Tim Holt, American actor (d. 1973)
1920 – Frank Muir, British comedian (d. 1998)
1921 – John Pritchard, British conductor (d. 1989)
1922 – Alain de Changy, Belgian racing driver (d. 1994)
1923 – Claude King, American musician
1927 – Ruth Fertel, American entrepreneur (d. 2002)
1928 – Andrew Greeley, American priest and novelist
1929 – Luc Ferrari, French composer (d. 2005)
1929 – Fred Sinowatz, Austrian politician
1929 – Al Worthington, baseball player
1930 – John A. Gambling, American radio show host (d. 2004)
1932 – Cesare Maldini – Italian footballer and manager
1933 – Jörn Donner, Finnish writer/director
1934 – Don Cherry, Canadian hockey commentator
1934 – Hank Aaron, American baseball player
1937 – Stuart Damon, American actor
1937 – Gaston Roelants, Belgian athlete
1937 – Wang Xuan, Chinese scientist (d. 2006)
1940 – H.R. Giger, Swiss artist
1941 – Jane Bryant Quinn, American journalist
1941 – Stephen J. Cannell, American television producer and writer
1941 – David Selby, American actor
1941 – Kaspar Villiger, Swiss Federal Councilor
1942 – Roger Staubach, American football player
1942 – Cory Wells, American singer (Three Dog Night)
1943 – Nolan Bushnell, American video game pioneer
1943 – Michael Mann, American film director
1943 – Craig Morton, American football player
1944 – Al Kooper, American musician
1946 – Charlotte Rampling, British actress
1947 – Darrell Waltrip, American race car driver
1948 – Sven-Göran Eriksson, Swedish football manager
1948 – Christopher Guest, American actor
1948 – Barbara Hershey, American actress
1948 – Errol Morris, American film director
1952 – Daniel Balavoine, French singer and songwriter (d. 1986)
1953 – John Beilein, American basketball coach
1954 – Cliff Martinez, American musician
1955 – Mike Heath, baseball player
1956 – Hector Rebaque, Mexican racing driver
1956 – Betty Ong, flight attendant that died on September 11, 2001, on American Airlines Flight 11
1959 – Jennifer Granholm American Politician
1960 – Aris Christofellis, Greek countertenor
1961 – Savvas Kofidis, Greek footballer and manager
1961 – Tim Meadows, American actor and comedian
1962 – Jennifer Jason Leigh, American actress
1963 – Steven Shainberg, American film director
1964 – Alexia, Cypriot singer
1964 – Laura Linney, American actress
1964 – Duff McKagan, American musician
1965 – Gheorghe Hagi, Romanian footballer
1966 – Rok Petrovic, Slovenian skier (d. 1993)
1966 – Apostolos Nanos, Greek archer
1967 – Chris Parnell, American actor
1967 – Frederick Pitcher, Nauruan politician
1968 – Roberto Alomar, baseball player
1968 – Eyþór Guðjónsson, Icelandic actor
1968 – Nir Kabaretti, Israeli conductor
1969 – Bobby Brown, American singer
1969 – Michael Sheen, Welsh actor
1971 – Sara Evans, American singer
1972 – Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark
1972 – Koriki Choshu, Japanese comedian
1973 – Richard Matvichuk, Canadian ice hockey player
1973 – Trijntje Oosterhuis, Dutch singer
1975 – Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Dutch footballer
1975 – Adam Carson, American musician (AFI)
1976 – Tony Jaa, Thai actor
1976 – Abhishek Bachchan, Indian actor
1976 – John Aloisi, Australian footballer
1976 – Brian Moorman, American football player
1977 – Ben Ainslie, British sailor
1977 – Adam Everett, American baseball player
1977 – Ahmad Merritt, American football player
1978 – Shawn Reaves, American actor
1978 – Brian Russell, American football player
1980 – Brad Fitzpatrick, American programmer
1980 – Prince Peter, American-born Yugoslav royalty
1980 – Jo Swinson, British politician
1980 – Robin Vik, Czech tennis player
1981 – Nora Zehetner, American actress
1981 – Loukas Vyntra, Greek football player
1982 – Aidin Nikkhah Bahrami, Iranian basketball player (d. 2007)
1982 – Rodrigo Palacio, Argentine footballer
1982 – Kevin Everett, American football player
1982 – Tomas Kopecky, Ice hockey player
1984 – Carlos Tévez, Argentinine footballer
1984 – Nate Salley, American football player
1985 – Laurence Maroney, American football player
1985 – Cristiano Ronaldo, Portuguese footballer
1985 – Crystal Hunt, American actress
1985 – Lindsey Cardinale, American singer
1986 – Reed Sorenson, American racecar driver
1986 – Billy Sharp, English footballer
1986 – Manuel Fernandes, Portuguese footballer
1986 – Vedran Corluka Croatian football player
1989 – Cristine Reyes, Filipino actress
1989 – Jeremy Sumpter, American actor
Deaths
995 – William IV, Duke of Aquitaine (b. 937)
1520 – Sten Sture the Younger, regent of Sweden (b. 1493)
1578 – Giambattista Moroni, Italian painter
1705 – Philipp Jakob Spener, German theologian (b. 1635)
1766 – Leopold Josef Graf Daun, Austrian field marshal (b. 1705)
1775 – Eusebius Amort, German Catholic theologian (b. 1692)
1790 – William Cullen, Scottish physician and chemist (b. 1710)
1807 – Pasquale Paoli, Corsican patriot and military leader (b. 1725)
1881 – Thomas Carlyle, Scottish writer and historian (b. 1795)
1892 – Emilie Flygare-Carlén, Swedish novelist (b. 1807)
1915 – Ross Barnes, baseball player (b. 1850)
1917 – Jaber II Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait (b. 1860)
1922 – Slavoljub Eduard Penkala, Croatian inventor (b. 1871)
1922 – Christiaan De Wet, South African general (b. 1854)
1927 – Inayat Khan, Indian sufi
1937 – Lou Andreas-Salome, Russian-born writer (b. 1861)
1938 – Hans Litten, German jurist (b. 1903)
1941 – Banjo Paterson, Australian poet, author of Walzing Matilda (b. 1864)
1946 – George Arliss, English actor (b. 1868)
1948 – Johannes Blaskowitz, German general (b. 1883)
1957 – Sami Ibrahim Haddad, Lebanese surgeon (b. 1890)
1962 – Jacques Ibert, French composer (b. 1890)
1967 – Leon Leonwood Bean, American department store founder (b. 1872)
1969 – Thelma Ritter, American actress (b. 1905)
1970 – Rudy York, American baseball player (b. 1913)
1972 – Marianne Moore, American poet (b. 1887)
1976 – Rudy Pompilli, American musician (Bill Haley and His Comets) (b. 1926)
1977 – Oskar Klein, Swedish physicist (b. 1894)
1981 – Ella Grasso, Governor of Connecticut (b. 1919)
1984 – Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta, Mexican wrestler and film actor (b. 1917)
1985 – Georges-Émile Lapalme, Quebec politician (b. 1907)
1987 – William Collier, American film and stage actor (b. 1902)
1991 – Dean Jagger, American actor (b. 1903)
1992 – Miguel Rolando Covian, Brazilian physiologist (b. 1913)
1993 – Marcel Léger, Quebec politician (b. 1930)
1993 – Joseph L. Mankiewicz, American writer, producer, and director (b. 1909)
1993 – Tip Tipping, British actor and stuntman (parachuting accident) (b. 1958)
1995 – Doug McClure, American actor (b. 1935)
1997 – Pamela Harriman, English-born American diplomat (b. 1920)
1998 – Tim Kelly, American musician (b. 1963)
1999 – Wassily Leontief, Russian economist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1906)
2000 – Claude Autant-Lara, French film director (b. 1901)
2003 – Helge Boes, American Central Intelligence Agency officer
2004 – John Hench, American animator (b. 1908)
2005 – Gnassingbe Eyadema, President of Togo (b. 1937)
2006 – Norma Candal, Puerto Rican actress and comedian (b. 1930)
2006 – Franklin Cover, American actor (b. 1928)
2007 – Alfred Worm, Austrian investigative journalist (b. 1945)
2007 – Leo T. McCarthy, American politician and 43rd Lieutenant Governor of California (1983–1995) (b. 1930)
2008 – Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Indian guru, founder of Transcendental Meditation (b. c. 1917)
Holidays and observances
St. Agatha
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