Birth of René Descartes (1596), and Eiffel Tower opens to the public in Paris (1889). Born on this day: Johann Sebastian Bach, René Descartes and Joseph Haydn. Died: Isaac Newton, Selena and Charlotte Brontë.
33 events, 73 births and 72 deaths on this date.
René Descartes was a French thinker whose work joined two separate branches of maths into a new method, and whose 'I think, therefore I am' became one of philosophy's best-known lines. His ideas shaped both modern philosophy and the Scientific Revolution.
After Frans Hals · Public domainRené Descartes and the Birth of Modern ThoughtHear the story in ChunksThe tower, designed by Gustave Eiffel's company, was formally opened on the Champ de Mars as the showpiece of the World's Fair. Critics among France's leading artists had disliked its design, but it went on to hold the world's height record for 41 years.
Benh LIEU SONG · Public domain
In a televised address, Johnson told Americans he would not run for another term. He had won a landslide and pushed the Great Society agenda through Congress, yet he chose to step aside.
Arnold Newman · Public domain
Born to working-class parents in a village in Lower Austria, Haydn went on to shape the string quartet and the symphony, earning him the nickname Father of the Symphony. He spent years as court musician to the Esterházy family.
Thomas Hardy · Public domain
The son of a Tennessee politician, Gore later served as vice president under Bill Clinton. In 2000 he won the popular vote but lost the electoral college to George W. Bush.
Unknown photographer Unknown photographer · Public domain
Parliament in London punished the colonists of Massachusetts by cutting off trade at Boston's harbour until the destroyed tea was paid for. The measure angered colonists across North America and helped push them towards open revolt.
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Johann Sebastian Bach wrote across many instruments and forms, from the Brandenburg Concertos to the St Matthew Passion. He is remembered for his mastery of counterpoint, and his name was revived in 1829 when Felix Mendelssohn performed that Passion.
Elias Gottlob Haussmann · Public domain
René Descartes was a French thinker who joined algebra and geometry into analytic geometry, and whose claim "I think, therefore I am" anchored modern philosophy. He also helped shape the Scientific Revolution, and the Cartesian coordinate system bears his name.
After Frans Hals · Public domain
Austrian composer from a humble rural background who rose to become Europe's most celebrated composer, earning the nickname Father of the Symphony. He wrote a huge body of string quartets, symphonies and oratorios, including The Creation, while working for the Esterházy family.
Thomas Hardy · Public domain
Newton was an English polymath whose Principia set out the rules of motion and the pull between bodies that shaped physics for centuries. He died in London in 1727, leaving a method that still underpins modern science.
Godfrey Kneller · Public domain
Selena, the Tejano singer known as the Queen of Tejano Music, was shot dead in Corpus Christi, Texas, by the former president of her fan club. She had just become a crossover star, and her death shocked fans across the United States and Mexico.
Unknown. · Public domain
Known as the author of Jane Eyre, first published under the pseudonym Currer Bell, which has since become an English classic. Its school scenes drew on Cowan Bridge, where two elder sisters died, and its hero on a married teacher she loved in Brussels.
George Richmond · Public domain
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