/year

December 21 in history

197 sourced entries recorded on December 21, from 624 CE to 2025 CE. Every line is quoted from the revision it came from.

Events

  • 624A group of 1,000 Muslims from Mecca, led by Abu Sufyan ibn Harb, sets out from Mecca to capture Medina, defended by the Banu Khazraj tribe, led by Abd Allah ibn Ubayy. The two forces will fight combat three months later, on March 23, 625, at the Battle of Uhud.source
  • 640Muslim Arabs capture Babylon after a seven-month siege; during a night assault Arab warriors open the city gates. The Thebaid region (Upper Egypt) is annexed by the Rashidun Caliphate.source
  • 1099The Crusaders under Bohemond I and Baldwin arrive at Jerusalem. Four days later, Daimbert, archbishop of Pisa, is installed as the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.source
  • 11241124 papal election: Lamberto Scannabecchi is elected Pope after Teobaldo Boccapecci is rejected. Scannabecchi takes the name Pope Honorius II.source
  • 1140Siege of Weinsberg: Conrad III captures the castle at Weinsberg during the civil war between the Staufers and the Welfs in Germany.source
  • 1237December 16–21 – Siege of Ryazan: The Mongols under Batu Khan lay siege to Ryazan. The townspeople repel the first Mongol attacks but after 5 days the city walls are breached by Chinese catapults. On December 21, the Mongols storm the walls and plunder the capital, killing Yuri Igorevich and all inhabitants. Yuri II of Vladimir stands by and does nothing to intervene while Ryazan burns.source
  • 1319Representatives of England's King Edward II and Scotland's King Robert the Bruce sign a two-year truce. Hostilities are to cease until Christmas Day, 1321, with the Scots to build no new castles in the sheriffdoms of Berwick, Roxburgh, and Dumfries, and the English were to either transfer the Harbottle garrison in Northumberland to Scotland, or to destroy it. A long-term peace is still far off because of Edward's arrogant refusal to relinquish his claims of sovereignty over the Scots.source
  • 1323In further retaliation by the King Charles of France against King Edward of England for the Saint-Sardos incident, Edward's chief advocate in France's parliament, Pons Tournemire, is arrested and imprisoned in the Grand Châtelet.source
  • 1362Constantine IV succeeds his cousin, Constantine III, as King of Armenia.source
  • 1373The Parliament of England ends its session after 20 days and royal assent is given to measures passed therein, including an act setting "the length and breadth of cloth of ray, and cloth of colour", and setting the exchange rate for a Scottish groat as three English pence.source
  • 1400Manuel II Palaiologos becomes the only Byzantine Emperor ever to visit England, and is greeted at Blackheath by King Henry IV, who hosts the Emperor at Eltham Palace during the Christmas holiday.source
  • 1405King Henry IV of England summons the members of the "Long Parliament", the sixth session of the English House of Commons and the House of Lords, to assemble at Westminster on "March 1, 1405", the "old style" date for March 1, 1406.source
  • 1411King Henry IV of England issues pardons to all but two of the Welsh rebels in the Glyndŵr rebellion except for the leaders, Owain Glyndŵr and Thomas of Trumpingtonsource
  • 1421Hussite Wars: At the Battle of Kutná Hora, the Bohemian Hussites led by Jan Zizka, and using the best weapons available, force the exit of the crusaders of the Holy Roman Empire. Among the new wespons developed by Zizka's officers are the "war wagon", a vehicle with reinforced sides and small openings from which guns can be fired.source
  • 1433The Parliament of England closes after six months.source
  • 1461The first English Parliament under King Edward IV adjourns and the King gives royal assent to the Act titled "In eschewing of Ambiguities, Doubts, and Diversities of Opinions which may rise, ensue, or be taken of and upon judicial Acts and Eximplifications of same, made or had in the Time or Times of Henry the Fourth, Henry the Fifth His Son, and Henry the Sixth His Son or any of them, late Kings of England successively, in Deed and not of Right", designating which acts of this three immediate predecessors are repealed and which are renewed.source
  • 1491The Truce of Coldstream secures a five-year peace between Scotland and England.source
  • 1502Lauder is granted a new charter as a royal burgh.source
  • 1507Princess Mary of England, the 11-year-old daughter of King Henry VII, is betrothed to the 7-year-old Duke of Burgundy.source
  • 1507Henry VII arranges a marriage between his younger daughter, Mary Tudor and Habsburg Archduke Charles.source
  • 1511In an impassioned sermon on the fourth Sunday of Advent at Santo Domingo, Dominican friar Antonio de Montesinos openly denounces the Spanish conquistadors' cruelty and abuse of the Taino people practice of Encomienda (forcible enslavement of non-Christian peoples) on the island of Hispanola. and adds that neither he nor any of his missionaries will allow slaveholders to partake in confession.source
  • 1533December 21 (Feast of St Thomas the Apostle) – Hernando de Grijalva and his crew become the first persons discover the uninhabited Revillagigedo Islands, off the Pacific coast of Mexico, reporting the finding of what Grijalva names Isla Santo Tomé, probably Socorro Island.source
  • 1549Ottoman Empire Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent abandons his campaign against Safavid Iran after 21 months, during which he was unable to proceed further than Tabriz.source
  • 1592The city of London begins publishing the Bill of Mortality, the first regular data of deaths from an epidemic, as the government reports its weekly survey of the number of burials in the 113 parishes of London of deaths from bubonic plague. The death statistics continue to be published until December 18, 1595.source
  • 1598Battle of Curalaba: The revolting Mapuche, led by cacique Pelantaro, inflict a major defeat on Spanish troops in southern Chile; all Spanish cities south of the Bío Bío River eventually fall victim to the Destruction of the Seven Cities by the Mapuches, and all conquest of Mapuche territories by Europeans practically ceases, until the later 19th century Occupation of Araucanía.source
  • 1605On behalf of Spain, Portuguese navigator Pedro Fernandes de Queirós begins his expedition to the South Pacific Ocean with 160 men on three ships. Queiros departs from Callao in the Viceroyalty of Peru with his flagship, San Pedro y San Pablo, and San Pedro and Los Tres Reyes.source
  • 1620Plymouth Colony: William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims land near what becomes known as Plymouth Rock, in Plymouth, Massachusetts.source
  • 1638The full moon is in total eclipse from 1:12 to 2:47 UT, and the solstice occurs later in the day, at 16:05 UT.source
  • 1642First English Civil War: After routing Edward Ford's royalist troops at the Battle of Muster Green, William Waller follows Ford's retreating force to Chichester as the Parliamentarians besiege the city, which falls on December 29 after eight days. The inhabitants of Chichester agree to pay the Parliamentarians an additional month's pay to prevent the town from being plundered.source
  • 1661General Wu Sangui of China arrives in Burma with 20,000 troops and demands that the Burmese surrender Yongli, the last of the Ming dynasty rulers of Southern China before the Qing dynasty consolidated its rule. Burma's King Pye Min hands Yongli over to General Wu on January 15, and Yongli is subsequently executed.source
  • 1670The Cabal Ministry in London signs a treaty with France based on June's secret Treaty of Dover but with the conversion clause removed.source
  • 1670John Coventry, MP is maimed for making a joke about the King, resulting in passing of the Maiming Act, making lying in wait to maim anyone a felony.source
  • 1676Sands baronets created in the Baronetage of Ireland.source
  • 1705The Sophia Naturalization Act is passed by the Parliament of England, which naturalizes Sophia of Hanover (next in succession to the British throne) and the Protestant "issue of her body" as British subjects.source
  • 1705The Sophia Naturalization Act is passed by Parliament, which naturalizes Sophia of Hanover (next in succession to the British throne) and the Protestant "issue of her body" as British subjects.source
  • 1713Victor Amadeus, Duke of Savoy is crowned King of Sicily at Palermo, and his wife Anne Marie is crowned as Queen consort. The coronation follows Spain's recognition of Sicilian independence, effective September 22, as part of the Treaty of Utrecht.source
  • 1721Niels Tygesen Knag was ennobled, and given the noble family name Knagenhjelm.source
  • 1768King Prithvi Narayan Shah unifies several small kingdoms to establish modern-day Nepal; this dynasty will end in 2008.source
  • 1771Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 4th Baronet, marries, as his second wife, Charlotte Grenville.source
  • 1776American Revolution: The Royal Colony of North Carolina reorganizes into the State of North Carolina after adopting its own constitution. Richard Caswell becomes the first governor of the newly formed state.source
  • 1776The North Carolina Council of State is formed by the constitutional convention of North Carolina.source
  • 1785the Prince of Wales marries the widowed Catholic Maria Fitzherbert in her London home, secretly, and in contravention of the Royal Marriages Act 1772.source
  • 1811The first Constitution of the Republic of Venezuela, after it declares its independence from Spain, goes into effect.source
  • 1816December 9–21 – The American Colonization Society is established, to support the emigration of free African Americans to Africa.source
  • 1817Lachlan Macquarie recommends the adoption of the name Australia for the continent instead of New Holland.source
  • 1826American settlers in Mexican Texas begin the Fredonian Rebellion, making the first attempt to secede from Mexico. The Republic of Fredonia will survive for less than six weeks.source
  • 1826Fredonian Rebellion: American settlers in Mexican Texas make the first attempt to secede from Mexico, establishing the Republic of Fredonia, which will survive for just over a month.source
  • 1832Battle of Konya: The Egyptians defeat the main Ottoman army in central Anatolia.source
  • 1835The Raleigh and Gaston Railroad is chartered in Raleigh, North Carolina.source
  • 1840Stockport Viaduct is completed in North West England. It is one of the largest brick structures in Europe.source
  • 1843The first total solar eclipse of Saros 139 occurs over southern Asia.source
  • 1844The Rochdale Pioneers commence business at their cooperative in Rochdale, England.source
  • 1844The Rochdale Pioneers, usually considered the first successful cooperative enterprise, open their store in Rochdale, forming the basis for the modern cooperative movement.source
  • 1846Scottish-born surgeon Robert Liston carries out the first operation under anesthesia in Europe, at University College Hospital in London.source
  • 1846Surgeon Robert Liston carries out the first operation under anaesthesia in Britain.source
  • 1847Emir Abdelkader surrenders to the French in Algeria.source
  • 1850Otago News finishes publication. The newspaper started in 1848.source
  • 1860St Mary's Cathedral, Aberdeen (Roman Catholic) is dedicated.source
  • 1865The Kappa Alpha Order is founded at Washington College, Lexington, Virginia.source
  • 1872Challenger expedition: HMS Challenger sails from Portsmouth, England, on the 4-year scientific expedition that lays the foundation for the science of oceanography.source
  • 1872the Challenger expedition sails from Portsmouth on the four year scientific expedition that will lay the foundation for the science of oceanography.source
  • 1873French official Francis Garnier is attacked outside Hanoi by Black Flag mercenaries fighting for the Vietnamese.source
  • 1878Princess Thyra of Denmark is wed to Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover in Copenhagen. The couple continue to Fredensborg Palace after the wedding ceremony.source
  • 1883The Royal Canadian Dragoons and The Royal Canadian Regiment, the first Permanent Force cavalry and infantry regiments of the Canadian Army, are formed.source
  • 1885Natal – Merrivale to Estcourt, 61 mi 50 ch.source
  • 1887Achel Abbey buys the buildings of Rochefort Abbey to restore the monastery theresource
  • 1889The poem "Clancy of the Overflow", by Banjo Paterson, is first published in The Bulletin magazine.source
  • 1890Beginning of a 3-week period of severe winter weather causing deaths and disruption to daily life in many parts of Wales.source
  • 1894Mackenzie Bowell becomes Canada's fifth prime minister.source
  • 1898Prince George of Greece arrives in Crete as its High Commissioner, and is escorted by the flagships of four nations.source
  • 1899Leonard Wood arrives in Havana to become the new Governor-General of Cuba.source
  • 1900Delting disaster: four fishing boats with 22 crew from the Shetland villages of Mossbank and Firth (in the parish of Delting) are lost in a storm.source
  • 1902Newfoundland - Guglielmo Marconi sends wireless messages across the Atlantic.source
  • 1907Santa María School massacresource
  • 1908The Coal Mines Regulation Act 1908 (8 Edw. 7. c. 57) ("Eight Hours Act") limits the amount of time spent by coal miners underground.source
  • 1909British Field Marshal Lord Kitchener arrives in Darwin after an invitation from Alfred Deakin to review Australia's military and defence plans.source
  • 1910Pretoria Pit disaster: a coal mine explosion at the Hulton Colliery Company of Westhoughton in Lancashire, England, kills 344 miners, with just one survivor.source
  • 1910The Pretoria Pit disaster: a massive underground explosion in a colliery belonging to the Hulton Colliery Company at Westhoughton in Lancashire, kills 344, with just one survivor, the second-worst mining accident in England and the third-worst in Britain.source
  • 1918Carlos Meléndez Ramírez resigned as President and was succeeded by Alfonso Quiñónez Molina as Acting President.source
  • 1918French foreign minister Stephen Pichon approves the new demarcation line between the Hungarian and Czechoslovak forces, forwarded to Vixsource
  • 1919The United States deports 249 people, including Emma Goldman, to Russia on the USAT Buford.source
  • 1920December 15–22 – The Brussels Conference establishes a timetable for German war reparations, intended to extend for over 42 years.source
  • 1923The Nepal–Britain Treaty is the first to define the international status of Nepal as an independent sovereign country.source
  • 1928The United States Congress approves the construction of Boulder Dam, later renamed Hoover Dam.source
  • 1930The First Gōdō Bank and Sanyō Bank were merged, that became name for Okayama Chūgoku Bank.source
  • 1937Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the world's first feature-length cel animated film, premieres at the Carthay Circle Theatre in Los Angeles.source
  • 1941The Holocaust: The Stanisławów Ghetto is established in German-occupied Poland, initially with 20,000 Jews crowded inside; by Spring 1943 it will be pronounced Judenfrei (free of Jews).source
  • 1946The Nankai earthquake strikes Wakayama Prefecture, killing at least one thousand people and destroying 36,000 homes.source
  • 1947During the mass migration of Hindus and Muslims between the new states of India and Pakistan, 400,000 are slaughtered.source
  • 1949Chen Cheng left as Chairperson of Taiwan Province Provincial Government.source
  • 1949Soviet Leader Joseph Stalin's 70th Birthday is Held in Moscow.source
  • 1949Joseph Stalin's 70th Birthday is celebrated in Moscowsource
  • 1956The Government of Northern Ireland under Basil Brooke uses the Special Powers Act to intern several hundred republican suspects without trial.source
  • 1962Rondane National Park is established as Norway's first national park.source
  • 1963Cyprus Emergency: Inter-communal fighting erupts between Greek and Turkish Cypriots.source
  • 1964The General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark supersonic attack aircraft, developed for the U.S. Air Force, makes its first flight, at Carswell Air Force Base, Texas.source
  • 1964The last whale is caught for the whaling industry, off the Kaikōura coast, due to a low level of whales.source
  • 1965The Soviet Union announces that it has shipped rockets to North Vietnam.source
  • 1965The United Nations adopts the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.source
  • 1965Pakistan's first nuclear research reactor, Pakistan Atomic Research Reactor-I, donated by the United States, reaches criticality.source
  • 1965A new 1-hour German-American production of the ballet The Nutcracker, with an international cast that includes Edward Villella in the title role, makes its U.S. television debut. It is repeated annually by CBS over the next 3 years but after that is virtually forgotten until issued on DVD in 2009 by Warner Archive.source
  • 1970The Grumman F-14 Tomcat makes its first flight.source
  • 1972Rhodesian Bush War: ZANLA troopers attack Altera Farm in north-east Rhodesia.source
  • 1975Venezuelan-born Carlos the Jackal masterminds the OPEC siege in Vienna.source
  • 1975Six people, including Carlos the Jackal, kidnap delegates of an OPEC conference in Vienna.source
  • 19771977-78 Balkans Cup: Albania defeats Yugoslavia 1-0 at Skënderbeu Stadium, Korçësource
  • 1979Lancaster House Agreement: A ceasefire for Rhodesia is signed at London.source
  • 1982Ernest Mühlen is appointed in Camille Ney's place as minister, whilst Jean-Claude Juncker is promoted to secretary of state.source
  • 1987Turgut Özal of ANAP forms the new government of Turkey (46th government).source
  • 1988Pan Am Flight 103 is blown up over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing a total of 270 people. Libya is suspected of involvement.source
  • 1988Pan Am Flight 103 is blown up over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing a total of 270 people. Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, a Libyan intelligence officer, was convicted of the bombing in 2001. Libyan refusal to extradite al-Megrahi for a trial was a major contributor to UN sanctions on the country throughout the 1990s.source
  • 1989Nicolae Ceaușescu addresses an assembly of some 110,000 people outside the Romanian Communist Party headquarters in Bucharest. Unprecedentedly, most of the crowd turns against him.source
  • 1991Alma-Ata Protocol signed by 11 of 15 former union republics except Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Georgia, declared USSR had effectively ceased to exist and established the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).source
  • 1992In Yugoslavia, President of Serbia Slobodan Milošević defeats Milan Panić in the Serbian presidential election.source
  • 1993Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki's VeggieTales is first released.source
  • 1994The Popocateptl volcano spewed gas and ash, which was carried as far as 25 km away by prevailing winds. The activity prompted the evacuation of nearby towns and scientists to begin monitoring for an eruption.source
  • 1997Brazil beats Australia 6–0 in the FIFA Confederations Cup final.source
  • 2001President Fernando de la Rúa of Argentina resigns in response to the riots against Argentina's economic crisis.source
  • 2004Ma On Shan rail line is opened.source
  • 2006The Juraj Dobrila University of Pula is established.source
  • 2007The Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia join the Schengen border-free zone.source
  • 2010The first total lunar eclipse to occur on the day of the Northern winter solstice and Southern summer solstice since 1638 takes place.source
  • 2012The music video for Psy's "Gangnam Style" becomes the first YouTube video to reach a billion views.source
  • 20122012 phenomenon: End of 13th b'ak'tun in the Mayan calendar, supposed end of the world according to new age beliefs. Festivities took place to commemorate the event in the countries that were part of the Maya civilization (Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador), with main events at Chichén Itzá in Mexico and Tikal in Guatemala.source
  • 2018The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes at 22,445 after its worst week since 2008.source
  • 2018December 19–21 – Gatwick Airport drone incident: Reports of drone sightings close to the runway at Gatwick Airport in England causes major disruption, affecting approximately 140,000 passengers and 1,000 flights, making it the largest disruption since ash from an Icelandic volcano shut the airport in 2010.source
  • 2018The 2018 Bahamas Bowlsource
  • 2020A great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn occurs, with the two planets separated in the sky by 0.1 degrees. This is the closest conjunction between the two planets since 1623.source
  • 2022Four soldiers are arrested after an alleged coup attempt the previous day.source
  • 2022December 21–December 26 – A major winter storm hits the northern United States and southern Canada. Killing at least 91 people, the storm also severely disrupts North American air traffic, with Southwest Airlines alone canceling more than half of its schedule.source
  • 2023Angola leaves OPEC after disagreements about crude oil production quotas. The price of oil falls by over $1 as a result.source
  • 2023The European Court of Justice rules that threats by FIFA and UEFA to sanction football clubs that wish to join the European Super League are unlawful.source
  • 2023The deadliest mass shooting in the Czech Republic's history occurs at a Prague university, with 15 killed, including the perpetrator, and 25 others wounded.source
  • 2025Two chairlifts collide at Savin Kuk in Žabljak, killing German footballer Sebastian Hertner and injuring his wife.source
  • 2025January 18 – The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations is held in Morocco, and is won by Senegal.source

Births

  • 968Minamoto no Yorinobu, Japanese samurai (died 1048)source
  • 1401Tommaso Masaccio, Italian painter (died 1428)source
  • 1468William Conyers, 1st Baron Conyers, English baron (died 1524)source
  • 1496Elisabeth Corvinus, Hungarian princess (died 1508)source
  • 1505Thomas Wriothesley, 1st Earl of Southampton, English politician (died 1550)source
  • 1516Giuseppe Leggiadri Gallani, Italian poet and dramatist (died 1590)source
  • 1538Luigi d'Este, Italian Catholic cardinal (died 1586)source
  • 1542Thomas Allen, English mathematician and astrologer, some suggest 1540 (died 1632)source
  • 1550Man Singh I, Mughal noble (died 1614)source
  • 1596Thomas Francis, Prince of Carignano (died 1656)source
  • 1596Peter Mohyla, Moldavian Orthodox Metropolitan of Kiev and Galicia (died 1646)source
  • 1603Roger Williams, English theologian and colonist (died 1684)source
  • 1615Benedict Arnold, Rhode Island colonial governor (died 1678)source
  • 1684Ippolito Desideri, Italian Tibetologist (died 1733)source
  • 1698Philip Wharton, 1st Duke of Wharton, powerful Jacobite politician (died 1731)source
  • 1734Paul Revere, American silversmith, engraver, and Patriot in the American Revolution (died 1818)source
  • 1773Robert Brown, Scottish botanist (died 1858)source
  • 1795Leopold von Ranke, German historian (died 1886)source
  • 1804Benjamin Disraeli, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1868; 1874–1880) (died 1881)source
  • 1876Jack Lang, Australian politician (died 1975)source
  • 1935Rinchen Barsbold, paleontologist and geologistsource
  • 1937Jane Fonda, American actress and activistsource
  • 1940Frank Zappa, American musician, composer and satirist (died 1993)source
  • 1977Emmanuel Macron, 25th president of Francesource

Deaths

  • 882Hincmar, archbishop of Reims (born 806)source
  • 956Sun Sheng, Chinese chancellorsource
  • 975Al-Mu'izz, Fatimid caliph (born 932)source
  • 975Caliph Al-Mu'izz dies in Egypt after a 22-year reign in which he has extended his realm from Sicily to the Atlantic. He is succeeded by his son Al-Aziz Billah as ruler of the Fatimid Caliphate.source
  • 1001Hugh, margrave of Tuscanysource
  • 1077Abu'l-Fadl Bayhaqi, Persian historian (born 995)source
  • 1081Abu al-Walid al-Baji, Moorish scholar and poet (born 1013)source
  • 1133Guigues III (the Old), French noblemansource
  • 1215Ali ibn Muhammad ibn al-Walid, Arab theologiansource
  • 1239Henry de Turberville, English nobleman and knightsource
  • 1247Roger of Salisbury, bishop of Bath and Wellssource
  • 1262Bahauddin Zakariya, Ghurid scholar and poetsource
  • 1277Al-Nawawi, Seljuk scholar (born 1233)source
  • 1285Ordoño Álvarez, archbishop of Braga (born 1198)source
  • 1308Henry I, Landgrave of Hesse (Henry the Child), German nobleman (born 1244)source
  • 1338Thomas Hemenhale, Bishop of Worcestersource
  • 1362Constantine III of Armenia (born 1313)source
  • 1375Giovanni Boccaccio, Italian writer (born 1313)source
  • 1495Jasper Tudor, 1st Duke of Bedford (born c. 1431)source
  • 1536Sir John Seymour, English courtier (born 1474)source
  • 1537Alexander Stewart (bishop of Moray)source
  • 1549Marguerite de Navarre, queen of Henry II of Navarre (born 1492)source
  • 154921 December Marguerite de Navarre, the princess of France, Queen of Navarre, and Duchess of Alençon and Berry (born 1492)source
  • 1597Petrus Canisius, Dutch Jesuit priest and saint (born 1521)source
  • 1608William Davison, secretary to Queen Elizabeth I of England (born c. 1541)source
  • 1610(December 11 O.S.) The second False Dmitry is assassinated by a Kasim Tatar prince, Peter Urusov. After both Dmitry and Urosov have been drinking, Urusov shoots the Tsar Dmitry, then decapitates him.source
  • 1610Catherine Vasa, Swedish princess (born 1539)source
  • 1663Thomas Bruce, 1st Earl of Elgin, Scottish nobleman (born 1599)source
  • 1669A papal conclave that will last for four months begins in Rome to select a successor to Pope Clement IX, who had died 12 days earlier. At the opening, 54 of the 70 members of the College of Cardinals are present. At least 21 Cardinals are considered for the papacy before Emilio Altieri is selected on April 29 to become Pope Clement X.source
  • 1731The Maharaja Chhatrasal, monarch of Bundelkhand in India (part of the modern-day states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh) dies at the age of 82. His kingdom is divided into four parts, with one part going to Baji Rao I of the Marathas and the other three going to his three sons: Harde Sah gets the Panna State, Jagat Rai gets the Jaitpur State and Bharti Chand gets the Jaso State.source
  • 1737Alessandro Galilei, Italian architect, mathematician (born 1691)source
  • 1741Bernard de Montfaucon, French Benedictine monk (born 1655)source
  • 1807John Newton, English cleric, hymnist (born 1725)source
  • 1824James Parkinson, English surgeon, apothecary, geologist, palaeontologist and political activist (born 1755)source
  • 1907Santa María School massacre: In Chile, soldiers fire at striking mineworkers gathered in the Santa María School in Iquique; over 2,000 are killed.source
  • 1940F. Scott Fitzgerald, American writer (born 1896)source
  • 1942Franz Boas, German anthropologist (born 1858)source
  • 2024Thirty-nine people died and another seven are injured after a multiple-vehicle collision occurs on the BR-116 highway in Teófilo Otoni, Minas Gerais, Brazil. It is the deadliest traffic accident on federal highways in Brazil since 2007, when numbers were first monitored.source