American politician, 2nd Mayor of the District of Columbia
American economist
American basketball player, actor, rapper
Italian painter, sculptor
English singer-songwriter, guitarist
Russian/American author, philosopher
French philosopher
German wife of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
American painter
German engineer, businessman, co-founded Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft
Portugal ceded the Canary Islands to Castile in exchange for claims in West Africa, as stated in the Treaty of Alcaçovas. This was a significant agreement that marked the end of the 15th-century Portuguese-African Wars, and paved the way for Spanish colonization of the Americas.
The Battle of the Alamo was fought in Texas during the Texas Revolution. A Mexican army of around 6,000 soldiers attacked the Alamo, a fortified mission, and overwhelmed the small force of Texans defending it. The battle lasted for 13 days, resulting in the deaths of almost all the Texans, including famous figures like William Travis, Jim Bowie, and Davy Crockett. The event became a symbol of resistance and sacrifice for Texans fighting for independence from Mexico.
The US Supreme Court ruled that Africans could not be considered US citizens under the Constitution, and that Congress could not regulate slavery in territories. This decision further divided the country on the issue of slavery and fueled tensions leading up to the American Civil War.
Dmitri Mendeleev presented the first periodic table of chemical elements to the Russian Chemical Society. The table arranged elements in order of increasing atomic weight and grouped them by similar properties, providing a framework for further scientific discoveries and understanding of the nature of matter.
Felix Hoffmann of the German company Bayer patented acetylsalicylic acid, commonly known as aspirin, which had been first synthesized two years earlier. Aspirin quickly became one of the most widely used painkillers, and it remains on the World Health Organization's list of essential medicines today.
Ghana became the first African country to gain independence from colonial rule. Kwame Nkrumah, a key leader in the fight for independence, became the country's first prime minister and later its president. The event was significant not only for Ghana but for the broader African continent, as it inspired and motivated other countries to pursue independence from their colonial rulers.
Svetlana Alliluyeva, the daughter of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, defected to the West, causing an international uproar. She approached the United States embassy in New Delhi and later became a naturalized US citizen, denouncing her father's regime and embracing capitalism and democracy. Her defection was seen as a significant symbolic blow to the Soviet Union.
193 people died when the Herald of Free Enterprise ferry capsized just minutes after leaving the Belgian port of Zeebrugge. The disaster was caused by the ship leaving the harbor with its bow doors open, allowing water to flood into the car deck and causing it to capsize. It remains one of the deadliest ferry disasters in history.