Yuri Gagarin is born in Klushino (1934), and Lithuania is first mentioned in the Quedlinburg annals (1009). Born on this day: Yuri Gagarin, Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko and Bobby Fischer. Died: Hans Christian Ørsted, William I and Menachem Begin.
31 events, 74 births and 57 deaths on this date.
The future cosmonaut was born in the village of Klushino, in what was then the Russian SFSR. He went on to become the first person to fly into outer space, orbiting Earth in Vostok 1 in 1961.
В. Жихаренко / ТАСС Обработка: Roman Kubanskiy · CC BY 4.0A German monastery's annals record the earliest known written reference to Lithuania, a name that would later belong to one of Europe's largest medieval states. The entry describes the land only as a place the monks had heard of, so the record is brief but significant.
Skywatchers in China, Mongolia and eastern Siberia could see the comet in daylight while the Sun was blocked. Few people get to view a comet that way, making it a rare treat for watchers in the region.
Gold was found on Rancho San Francisco, six years before the rush that would bring fortune-seekers to California. The metal is dense, malleable and resistant to corrosion, which is why it has long been used for coins and jewellery.
Crowds in Constantinople rose against Emperor Constantine IX, angered by his favouring of his mistress Maria Skleraina over his wife, Empress Zoe. The uprising showed how fragile imperial authority in the city could be when the public felt its rulers had insulted them.
A group of members broke away from Milan Foot-Ball and Cricket Club, now AC Milan, and formed their own side. The new club, Football Club Internazionale, later known as Inter, won its first league title in 1910.
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Soviet pilot Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space, orbiting Earth in Vostok 1 in 1961. His flight made him an international celebrity during the Space Race.
В. Жихаренко / ТАСС Обработка: Roman Kubanskiy · CC BY 4.0
Born a serf in Russian-ruled Ukraine, he became the country's foundational poet through Kobzar, and also a painter. Exiled to Central Asia for his ties to a secret reformist society, he kept writing and drawing despite bans.
Taras Shevchenko · Public domain
American chess grandmaster who won the world title from Boris Spassky in 1972, then refused to defend it, and whose 1992 rematch in Yugoslavia led to a US arrest warrant. Born this day in 1943.
Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-76052-0335,_Schacholympiade,_Tal_(UdSSR)_gegen_Fischer_(USA).jpg: Kohls, Ulrich derivative work: Karpouzi · CC BY-SA 3.0
Ørsted, a Danish physicist and chemist, showed that electricity flowing through a wire can deflect a compass needle, linking electricity and magnetism. He also isolated aluminium, and was a close friend of the writer Hans Christian Andersen.
Christian Albrecht Jensen · Public domain
William I ruled Prussia and then became the first German emperor, with Otto von Bismarck as his chancellor. He died in Berlin on this day in 1888, aged ninety.
Wilhelm Kuntzemüller · Public domain
Begin led the Irgun militant group before Israel's founding and later became prime minister, where he struck a landmark accord with Egypt that won him a Nobel Peace Prize. He died in 1992, aged 78.
Menachem Begin 1978.jpg : USAF personnel derivative work: Ladislav Faigl ( talk ) · Public domain
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