Pope Leo X excommunicates Martin Luther (1521), and Washington breaks off diplomatic ties with Havana (1961). Born on this day: J.R.R. Tolkien, Michael Schumacher and Greta Thunberg. Died: Qassem Soleimani, Jaroslav Hašek and ʿAlī Shīr Navāʾī.
32 events, 64 births and 62 deaths on this date.
Pope Leo X formally excluded the German theologian Martin Luther from the Catholic Church after he refused to withdraw his writings criticising indulgences and papal authority. The ban was a decisive break, and it set Luther on the path that led to the Protestant Reformation.
Lucas Cranach the Elder · Public domainWashington ended formal ties with Havana after a series of economic reprisals between the two governments. The break came as Fidel Castro's communist government consolidated power, and it set the terms of a hostile relationship that lasted for decades.
Delaware, a Mid-Atlantic state, rejected secession as the Civil War loomed. Its decision kept it in the Union even though South Carolina had already seceded.
A fire broke out near the summit of the Eiffel Tower, damaging its upper section. The tower was a national symbol by then, so the blaze drew wide attention in Paris.
Benh LIEU SONG · Public domain
Hillary Clinton, a former first lady, took a Senate seat representing New York, and this seat made her the only first lady to have held elected office. She remained in the post until 2009, when she became secretary of state under Barack Obama.
United States Department of State · Public domain
The pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto created the opening link of bitcoin's blockchain, the public ledger the network still keeps today. It marked the start of the first decentralised digital currency, though its creator has never been identified.
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Tolkien was an English philologist who became one of the most influential fantasy writers of the twentieth century. He is remembered for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, which set the template for modern high fantasy.
Unknown photo studio commissioned by Tolkien's students 1925/6 (private communication from Catherine McIlwaine, Tolkien Archivist, Bodleian Library) · Public domain
German racing driver who won a record seven Formula One world championships, a tally matched only by Lewis Hamilton. He held most of the sport's career records when he retired, and remains the holder of the most fastest laps.
Original: Aécio Neves – Wellington Pedro/Imprensa MG / Derivative work: F1fans , FMSky · CC BY 2.0
Swedish activist who started a solo school strike outside parliament in 2018 at age 15. That protest grew into the Fridays for Future movement, and she still campaigns for climate action and human rights.
Anders Hellberg · CC BY-SA 4.0
Commander of Iran's Quds Force for over two decades, Soleimani was seen by many as the country's most influential military figure abroad. He was killed in a US drone strike near Baghdad airport, an attack that brought Iran and the United States close to open conflict.
Unknown author Unknown author · CC BY 4.0
Czech satirist and anarchist who is remembered for The Fateful Adventures of the Good Soldier Švejk, an unfinished comic novel about a bumbling soldier in the First World War. Its mockery of incompetent officials has been translated into around 60 languages.
Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain
A Timurid poet and statesman, he argued that Chagatai Turkic was better suited to literature than Persian, a view unusual in his day. His poetry in that language earned him the title founder of early Turkic literature across the Turkic-speaking world.
1486 artist, Herat · Public domain
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