Muhammad and his followers conquer Mecca (630), and Irish government announces end of broadcasting ban on IRA and Sinn Féin (1994). Born on this day: William James, Theodosius I and Alexander Hamilton. Died: Edmund Hillary, Ariel Sharon and Thomas Hardy.
28 events, 66 births and 66 deaths on this date.
Muhammad and his followers took control of Mecca, and the Quraysh confederation of clans, the city's dominant power, surrendered. The event shifted the balance of power in Arabia and gave Muhammad's movement its most important base.
derivative work: Snitty ( talk ) Maome.jpg : Unknown · Public domainAfter fifteen years, Irish broadcasters were allowed to carry the voices of IRA and Sinn Féin spokespeople again. The move was part of the wider effort to bring peace to Northern Ireland during the Troubles.
Officials in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei, confirmed the first known death from a new coronavirus that was then spreading unseen. It was the first sign that the outbreak had turned fatal, and it came weeks before the city would be locked down.
Earhart completed a long over-water flight from Hawaii to California, adding to a reputation as one of the era's most celebrated aviators. She later vanished over the Pacific in 1937 while attempting to fly around the world.
Wide World Photos · Public domain
Carlo Tresca, an Italian-American journalist and union activist, was shot dead in Manhattan. He had been one of the most outspoken opponents of Mafia influence over the labour movement.
The German-born astronomer spotted Titania and Oberon from his observatory in England, the first moons of Uranus found since its discovery. His son John later gave them their Shakespearean names.
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American philosopher and psychologist who co-founded pragmatism with Charles Sanders Peirce and is often called the father of American psychology. His 1890 Principles of Psychology became a landmark text in the field.
Alice Boughton · Public domain
Theodosius I was the last Roman emperor to rule the whole empire, and he won two civil wars along the way. He helped make the Nicene Creed the orthodox Christian doctrine, and after his death his sons split rule between east and west.
Classical Numismatic Group · CC BY-SA 2.5
Hamilton was the first United States secretary of the treasury, building the young nation's finances under George Washington. He also wrote most of The Federalist Papers, arguing for the Constitution that created a stronger federal government.
John Trumbull · Public domain
Edmund Hillary was a New Zealand mountaineer who, with Tenzing Norgay, became the first confirmed climber to reach the summit of Mount Everest in 1953. Later he founded the Himalayan Trust, building schools and hospitals for the Sherpa people of Nepal.
Photographer unidentified. Retouched by TimofKingsland . · Public domain
A former army officer who shaped Israel's wars of 1956, 1967 and 1973, Sharon was prime minister from 2001 to 2006. His 2000 Temple Mount visit helped trigger the Second Intifada, though his role in the 1982 Lebanon War cost him ministerial office.
Avi Ohayon · CC BY-SA 3.0
Hardy first became famous as a novelist, with tragic books such as Tess and Jude the Obscure. He thought of himself chiefly as a poet, and set much of his fiction in Wessex, a region he drew from south-west England.
Bain News Service, publisher · Public domain
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