Cleopatra is restored to the Egyptian throne (47), and San Diego is incorporated as a city (1850). Born on this day: Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, Mariah Carey and Quentin Tarantino. Died: Yuri Gagarin, James I and Stanisław Lem.
31 events, 71 births and 62 deaths on this date.
Julius Caesar, who had occupied Alexandria, named her joint ruler with her younger brother Ptolemy XIV. Her hold on the throne then rested on Roman backing, which kept her in power for the rest of her reign.
Louis le Grand · Public domainCleopatraHear the story in ChunksSan Diego, first European settlement in what is now California, was granted city status this day in 1850. It has since grown into the second-largest city in the state, known for its navy links and mild climate.
Tennessee militia under Andrew Jackson stormed a fortified Creek stronghold in Alabama. The defeat broke Creek resistance and led to a treaty surrendering vast lands in present-day Alabama and Georgia.
Ralph Eleaser Whiteside Earl · Public domain
Andrew Johnson refused to sign the Civil Rights Act, but Congress overrode his veto and made it law anyway. The clash between the president and Congress over civil rights came in the years right after the Civil War.
Angry crowds in Cincinnati turned on jurors who had convicted a man of manslaughter, a verdict many saw as plainly wrong for what was clearly murder. The rioting spread over several days and ended with the county courthouse burnt to the ground.
The future director of Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction is born, and his violent, dialogue-heavy films would later earn him two Academy Awards. Known for cult films and sharp pop-culture references, he became one of the most talked-about directors of his generation.
Gage Skidmore · CC BY-SA 3.0
For the full day, download Chunks today. Every date, the stories behind them, and a new day each morning. Free to start.
Röntgen was a German physicist who discovered X-rays in 1895, a form of radiation that could pass through flesh and reveal bones. He became the first Nobel Prize winner in Physics in 1901.
Erwin Hanfstaengl · Public domain
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter known for her five-octave range and her whistle register. She is often called the Queen of Christmas, largely for All I Want for Christmas Is You.
Shawn Miller · Public domain
American filmmaker known for Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill, with films marked by sharp dialogue, graphic violence and pop culture references. Pulp Fiction won him an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and the Palme d'Or at Cannes.
Gage Skidmore · CC BY-SA 3.0
Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space, circling the planet once aboard Vostok 1. He died in a training flight in a MiG-15 jet, only weeks after being cleared to fly again.
В. Жихаренко / ТАСС Обработка: Roman Kubanskiy · CC BY 4.0
James VI of Scotland became James I of England in 1603, ruling both kingdoms as separate states under one crown. He was a writer too, and is remembered for pushing hard, and largely in vain, for a full political union of England and Scotland.
John de Critz · Public domain
Polish author best known for his 1961 novel Solaris, which asks whether humans can ever understand an alien intelligence. He also wrote philosophy, futurology and literary criticism, and his books have reached readers in dozens of languages.
Courtesy of Lem's secretary, Wojciech Zemek. Resize and digital processing by Masur. · CC BY-SA 3.0
Download on iOS
Download on Android