Today November 3rd 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
644 – Umar ibn al-Khattab, the second Muslim caliph, is killed by a Persian slave in Medina.
1468 – Liège is sacked by Charles I of Burgundy s troops.
1493 – Christopher Columbus first sights the island of Dominica in the Caribbean Sea.
1783 – John Austin, a highwayman, is the last person to be publicly hanged at London s Tyburn gallows.
1783 – The American Continental Army is disbanded.
1793 – French playwright, journalist and feminist Olympe de Gouges is guillotined.
1812 – Napoleon s armies are defeated at Vyazma
1817 – The Bank of Montreal, Canada s oldest chartered bank, opens in Montreal, Quebec.
1838 – The Times of India, the world s largest circulated English language daily broadsheet newspaper is founded as The Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce.
1848 – A greatly revised constitution, drafted by Johan Rudolf Thorbecke, severely limiting the powers of the Dutch monarchy, and strengthening the powers of the parliament and the ministers, is proclaimed. This constitution is still in effect today.
1883 – American Old West: Self-described Black Bart the poet gets away with his last stagecoach robbery, but leaves an incriminating clue that eventually leads to his capture.
1887 – Coimbra Academic Association, the oldest students union in Portugal, is founded.
1903 – With the encouragement of the United States, Panama proclaims itself independent from Colombia. US President Theodore Roosevelt had wanted the United States to build the Panama Canal, but was not willing to pay what Colombia asked.
1905 – Czar Nicholas II of Russia signs a document of amnesty for the political prisoners.
1911 – Chevrolet officially enters the automobile market in competition with the Ford Model T.
1913 – The United States introduces an income tax.
1918 – Austria-Hungary enters into an armistice with the Allies, and the Habsburg-ruled empire dissolves.
1918 – Poland declares its independence from Russia.
1930 – Getúlio Dornelles Vargas becomes Head of the Provisional Government in Brazil after a bloodless coup on October 24.
1935 – George II of Greece regains his throne through a popular plebiscite.
1942 – World War II: Second Battle of El Alamein ends – German forces under Erwin Rommel are forced to retreat during the night.
1942 – World War II: The Koli Point action begins during the Guadalcanal Campaign and ends on November 12.
1943 – World War II: 500 aircraft of the U.S. 8th Air Force devastate Wilhelmshafen harbor in Germany.
1944 – World War II: Two supreme commanders of the Slovak National Uprising, Generals Ján Golian and Rudolf Viest are captured, tortured and later executed by German forces.
1957 – Sputnik program: The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 2. On board is the first animal to enter orbit, a dog named Laika.
1964 – Washington D.C. residents are able to vote in a presidential election for the first time.
1967 – Vietnam War: The Battle of Dak To begins.
1969 – Vietnam War: U.S. President Richard M. Nixon addresses the nation on television and radio, asking the silent majority to join him in solidarity on the Vietnam War effort and to support his policies.
1973 – Mariner program: NASA launches the Mariner 10 toward Mercury. On March 29, 1974, it becomes the first space probe to reach that planet.
1978 – Dominica gains its independence from the United Kingdom.
1979 – Greensboro massacre: Five members of the Communist Workers Party are shot dead and seven are wounded by a group of Klansmen and neo-Nazis during a Death to the Klan rally.
1982 – The Salang tunnel fire in Afghanistan kills up to 2,000+ people.
1986 – Iran-Contra Affair: The Lebanese magazine Ash-Shiraa reports that the United States has been secretly selling weapons to Iran in order to secure the release of seven American hostages held by pro-Iranian groups in Lebanon.
1986 – The Federated States of Micronesia gain independence from the United States of America.
1988 – Sri Lankan Tamil mercenaries try to overthrow the Maldivian government. At President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom s request, the Indian military suppresses the coup attempt within 24 hours.
1996 – Death of Abdullah Çatli, leader of the Turkish ultra-nationalist organisation Grey Wolves in the Susurluk car-crash, which leads to the resignation of the Turkish Interior Minister, Mehmet Agar (a leader of the True Path Party, DYP).
2007 – Pervez Musharraf declares emergency rule across Pakistan. He suspends the Constitution, imposes a State of Emergency, and fires the chief justice of the Supreme Court.
Births
39 – Lucan, Roman poet (d. 65)
1500 – Benvenuto Cellini, Italian artist (d. 1571)
1558 – Thomas Kyd, English author (d. 1594)
1560 – Annibale Carracci, Italian painter (d. 1609)
1587 – Samuel Scheidt, German composer (d. 1654)
1604 – Osman II, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1622)
1618 – Aurangzeb, Mughal Emperor of India (d. 1707)
1633 – Bernardino Ramazzini, Italian physician (d. 1714)
1718 – John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, English statesman (d. 1792)
1749 – Daniel Rutherford, Scottish chemist and physician (d. 1819)
1793 – Stephen F. Austin, American pioneer (d. 1836)
1794 – William Cullen Bryant, American poet and journalist (d. 1878)
1799 – William Sprague III, American politician (d. 1856)
1801 – Karl Baedeker, German author and publisher (d. 1859)
1801 – Vincenzo Bellini, Italian composer (d. 1835)
1815 – John Mitchel, Irish nationalist (d. 1875)
1816 – Jubal Early, American Confederate general (d. 1894)
1816 – Calvin Fairbank, American abolitionist minister (d. 1898)
1845 – Edward Douglass White, 9th Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1921)
1852 – Meiji Emperor, Japanese emperor (d. 1912)
1856 – Jim McCormick, American baseball player (d. 1918)
1857 – Mikhail Alekseev, Russian general (d. 1918)
1862 – Henry George, Jr., American politician (d. 1916)
1871 – Albert Goldthorpe, English rugby league footballer (d. 1943)
1876 – Stephen Peter Alencastre, Roman Catholic prelate (d. 1940)
1877 – Carlos Ibáñez del Campo, Chilean president. (d. 1960)
1887 – Samuil Marshak, Russian writer and children s poet (d. 1964)
1890 – Eustaquio van Lieshout, Dutch priest (d. 1943)
1893 – Edward Adelbert Doisy, American biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1986)
1895 – Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia (d. 1918)
1896 – Gustaf Tenggren, Swedish illustrator (d. 1970)
1899 – Gleb Wataghin, Ukrainian-born Italian physicist (d. 1986)
1900 – Adolf Dassler, German sporting goods executive (d. 1978)
1901 – Leopold III of Belgium (d. 1983)
1901 – André Malraux, French writer (d. 1976)
1903 – Walker Evans, American photographer (d. 1975)
1908 – Bronko Nagurski, American football player (d. 1990)
1909 – James Reston, American journalist (d. 1995)
1910 – Richard Hurndall, British actor (d. 1984)
1912 – Alfredo Stroessner, Paraguayan politician (d. 2006)
1918 – Bob Feller, American baseball player
1918 – Elizabeth P. Hoisington, American Brigadier General (d. 2007)
1918 – Russell B. Long, American politician (d. 2003)
1918 – Dean Riesner, American film and television writer (d. 2002)
1919 – Jesús Blasco, Spanish comic book author (d. 1995)
1920 – Oodgeroo Noonuccal, Australian writer (d. 1993)
1921 – Charles Bronson, American actor (d. 2003)
1923 – Tomás Cardinal Ó Fiaich, Irish clergyman (d. 1990)
1924 – Samuel Ruiz García, Mexican Roman Catholic bishop
1926 – Valdas Adamkus, Lithuanian politician
1926 – Maurice Couture, French-Canadian Roman Catholic archbishop
1928 – Osamu Tezuka, Japanese manga artist (d. 1989)
1930 – D. James Kennedy, American theologian (d. 2007)
1930 – Peggy McCay, American actress
1930 – Brian Robinson, British cyclist
1930 – Lois Smith, American actress
1930 – Frits Staal, Dutch-American scholar (b. 1930)
1931 – Yon Hyong-muk, North Korean politician (d. 2005)
1931 – Monica Vitti, Italian actress
1931 – Michael Fu Tieshan, Chinese bishop (d. 2007)
1933 – Ken Berry, American actor
1933 – John Barry, English composer
1933 – Jeremy Brett, English actor (d. 1995)
1933 – Aneta Corsaut, American actress (d. 1995)
1933 – Michael Dukakis, American politician
1933 – Amartya Sen, Indian economist, Nobel Prize laureate
1934 – Ruma Guha Thakurta, Indian singer and actress
1936 – Roy Emerson, Australian tennis player
1938 – Martin Dunwoody, British mathematician
1938 – Jean Rollin, French director and screenwriter
1941 – Brian Poole, English musician (The Tremeloes)
1943 – Bert Jansch, Scottish folk musician
1945 – Ken Holtzman, American baseball player and manager
1945 – Gerd Müller, German footballer
1945 – J. D. Souther, American country-rock singer
1946 – Tom Savini, American actor
1947 – Mazie Hirono, American politician
1948 – Lulu, British actress and singer
1948 – Helmut Koinigg, Austrian racing driver (d. 1974)
1949 – Larry Holmes, American boxer
1949 – Anna Wintour, English-born American magazine editor
1949 – Mike Evans, American actor (d. 2006)
1950 – Joe Queenan, American writer
1950 – Massimo Mongai, Italian writer
1951 – Ed Murawinski, American cartoonist
1951 – Dwight Evans, American baseball player
1952 – Roseanne Barr, American actress and comedian
1952 – Jim Cummings, American voice actor
1952 – David Ho, Taiwanese-American AIDS researcher
1953 – Kate Capshaw, American actress
1953 – Helios Creed, American musician (Chrome)
1953 – Larry Herndon, American baseball player
1953 – Dennis Miller, American comedian
1954 – Adam Ant, English singer
1955 – Phil Simms, American football player
1956 – Kevin Murphy, American actor and puppeteer
1956 – Gary Ross, American film director
1957 – Dolph Lundgren, Swedish actor
1959 – Hal Hartley, American film director and writer
1960 – Karch Kiraly, American volleyball player
1962 – Jacqui Smith English cabinet member
1963 – Ian Wright, English footballer
1963 – Shigeaki Hattori, Japanese racing driver
1964 – Paprika Steen, Danish actress
1966 – Joe Hachem, Lebanese-born Australian poker player
1967 – John Tomac, American cyclist
1967 – Steven Wilson, English musician (Porcupine Tree)
1967 – Mike O Neill, Canadian hockey player
1969 – Robert Miles, Swiss record producer and musician
1971 – Dylan Moran, Irish comedian
1971 – Diego Alessi, Italian race car driver
1973 – Kirk Jones, American musician
1973 – Nemone, athlete and broadcaster
1973 – Mick Thomson, American guitarist (Slipknot)
1974 – Tariq Abdul-Wahad, French basketball player
1974 – Sonali Kulkarni, Indian actress
1975 – Darren Sharper, American football player
1976 – Guillermo Franco, Argentine-born Mexican footballer
1977 – Aria Giovanni, American model
1978 – Julia Taylor, European adult film actress
1979 – Beau McDonald, Australian footballer
1979 – Pablo Aimar, Argentine footballer
1979 – Tim McIlrath, American musician (Rise Against)
1981 – Sten Pentus, Estonian racing car driver
1982 – Evgeny Plushenko, Russian figure skater
1983 – Suzane von Richthofen, Brazilian murderess
1984 – Ryo Nishikido, Japanese idol (NEWS, Kanjani8)
1984 – Christian Bakkerud, Danish racing driver
1987 – Felix Schütz, German ice hockey player
1987 – Gemma Ward, Australian model
1987 – Colin Kaepernick, American football player
1987 – Elizabeth A. Smart, American kidnapping victim
1988 – Angus McLaren, Australian actor
1989 – Paula DeAnda, American singer
1990 – Ellyse Perry, Australian footballer and cricketer
Deaths
361 – Constantius II, Roman Emperor (b. 317)
753 – Pirminius, German saint (b. 753)
1254 – John III Doukas Vatatzes, Byzantine Emperor (b. 1193)
1428 – Thomas Montacute, 4th Earl of Salisbury, English military leader (mortally wounded in battle) (b. 1388)
1580 – Jeronimo Zurita y Castro, Spanish historian (b. 1512)
1584 – Charles Borromeo, Italian Roman Catholic cardinal (b. 1538)
1600 – Richard Hooker, English theologian (b. 1554)
1643 – John Bainbridge, English astronomer (b. 1582)
1643 – Paul Guldin, Swiss astronomer and mathematician (b. 1577)
1711 – John Ernest Grabe, German-born Anglican theologian (b. 1666)
1787 – Robert Lowth, British bishop and grammarian (b. 1710)
1793 – Olympe de Gouges, French feminist and revolutionary (b. 1748)
1794 – François-Joachim de Pierre de Bernis, French cardinal and statesman (b. 1715)
1869 – Andreas Kalvos, Greek poet (b. 1792)
1890 – Ulrich Ochsenbein, Swiss Federal Councilor (b. 1811)
1891 – Louis Lucien Bonaparte, French politician and linguist (b. 1813)
1917 – Léon Bloy, French novelist and essayist (b. 1846)
1918 – Aleksandr Mikhailovich Lyapunov, Russian scientist (b. 1857)
1926 – Annie Oakley, American sharp-shooter (b. 1860)
1927 – Karel Matej Capek-Chod, Czech journalist (b. 1860)
1929 – Olav Aukrust, Norwegian poet (b. 1883)
1933 – Emile Roux, French scientist (b. 1853)
1939 – Charles Tournemire, French composer and organist (b. 1870)
1949 – Solomon R. Guggenheim, American art collector and philanthropist (b. 1861)
1954 – Henri Matisse, French artist (b. 1869)
1957 – Wilhelm Reich, Austrian psychotherapist (b. 1897)
1960 – Paul Willis, American actor (b. 1901)
1964 – John Henry Barbee, American guitarist and singer (b. 1905)
1970 – Peter II of Yugoslavia (b. 1923)
1973 – Marc Allégret, French director and screenwriter (b. 1900)
1983 – Alfredo Antonini, American conductor and composer (b. 1901)
1984 – Richard Hurndall, British actor (b. 1910)
1990 – Mary Martin, American actress (b. 1913)
1991 – Mort Shuman, American singer and songwriter (b. 1936)
1993 – Leon Theremin, Russian inventor (b. 1895)
1995 – Gordon S. Fahrni, physician and president of the Canadian Medical Association (b. 1887)
1995 – John Orchard, British actor (b. 1928)
1996 – Abdullah Çatli, a Turkish nationalist and neofascist activist (b. 1956)
1996 – Jean-Bédel Bokassa, President of the Central African Republic (b. 1921)
1998 – Bob Kane, comic artist and Batman co-creator (b. 1915)
1999 – Ian Bannen, Scottish actor (b. 1928)
2001 – Ernst Gombrich, Austrian art historian (b. 1909)
2002 – Lonnie Donegan, Scottish musician (b. 1931)
2002 – Jonathan Harris, American actor (b. 1914)
2003 – Rasul Gamzatov, Russian poet (b. 1923)
2004 – Sergei Zholtok, Latvian hockey player (b. 1972)
2006 – Paul Mauriat, French musician (b. 1925)
2006 – Alberto Spencer, Ecuadorean footballer (b. 1937)
2006 – Marie Rudisill, American author and Fruitcake Lady (b. 1911)
2007 – Martin Meehan, Irish republican (b. 1945)
Holidays and observances
Independence Day in Panama (1903, from Colombia), Dominica (1978, from Britain) and Federated States of Micronesia (1986, from United States)
Japan – Culture Day (originally celebrated as Emperor s Birthday until the Meiji Emperor s death in 1912)
Day of resurrection of the god Osiris during the pagan celebration the Discovery of Osiris (Inventio Osiridis).
Christian feast days:
Acepsimas of Hnaita and companions
St. Germanus
St. Hubert
St. Malachy O More
St. Martin de Porres
St. Winifred
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