American actor James Dean is born (1931), and Queen issues Order-in-Council creating the House of Windsor (1960). Born on this day: Dmitri Mendeleev, Jules Verne and James Dean. Died: Peter I, John von Neumann and Mary.
29 events, 78 births and 77 deaths on this date.
James Dean, who would make just three major films in five years, was born on this day. He became a lasting symbol of teenage restlessness and was the only actor to earn two posthumous acting Oscar nominations.
Trailer screenshot · Public domainElizabeth II proclaimed the House of Windsor by Order-in-Council, setting out that her descendants would bear the surname Mountbatten-Windsor. It settled a family naming question that had divided the royal household since her marriage to Prince Philip.
Delaware, a slave state on the Union side, voted against the amendment that would abolish slavery nationwide. The state did not finally ratify it until 1901, long after the national amendment took effect in December 1865.
Mongol forces under Batu Khan, a grandson of Genghis Khan, stormed and burned Vladimir, one of the most important cities in the northern Rus' principalities. The raid was part of the wider Mongol invasion that swept through Russian lands in the 1230s.
Founded as a Protestant institution, Leiden is the oldest university still operating in the Netherlands. It has since produced sixteen Nobel laureates and ten Dutch prime ministers, and John Quincy Adams studied there.
Rudolphous · CC BY 3.0
King William and Queen Mary issued the royal charter creating the College of William & Mary, today America's second-oldest institution of higher learning. William and Mary then ruled England, Scotland and Ireland jointly until Mary's death in 1694.
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Russian chemist who arranged the known elements by atomic weight and predicted properties of undiscovered ones, such as germanium, gallium and scandium. His periodic table became the basis of modern chemistry.
Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain
Verne wrote adventure novels such as Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas and Around the World in Eighty Days, set against the science and machines of his own day. Readers still sometimes call him a father of science fiction.
Nadar · Public domain
James Dean was an American actor whose three starring films, East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant, made him a symbol of 1950s youthful rebellion. He died in a car crash in 1955, aged 24, and was later nominated twice for Best Actor, both posthumously.
Trailer screenshot · Public domain
Peter I, known as Peter the Great, ruled Russia for over four decades and turned it into an empire. He founded Saint Petersburg, built a navy, and pushed the country towards Western ideas and modern science.
Attributed to Jean-Marc Nattier · Public domain
Hungarian-American mathematician who helped build the mathematical foundations of quantum physics and game theory, and shaped early digital computing. He also worked on the Manhattan Project and advised on nuclear weapons and missile programmes.
Attribution
Mary, Queen of Scots, was executed at Fotheringhay Castle in England after nearly two decades in captivity. She had been queen of Scotland from infancy, and her claim to the English throne made her a lasting threat to Elizabeth I.
Unidentified painter · Public domain
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