Oscar Wilde convicted of gross indecency (1895), and Pennsylvania and Maryland sign treaty ending the Conojocular War (1738). Born on this day: Pieter Zeeman, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Cillian Murphy. Died: Pedro Calderón de la Barca, St. Gregory VII and Wojciech Witold Jaruzelski.
29 events, 65 births and 59 deaths on this date.
On this day, a London jury found Oscar Wilde guilty of gross indecency over his relationships with men, a verdict that ended his success as a playwright. He was sentenced to two years' hard labour and never fully recovered his reputation.
Napoleon Sarony / Adam Cuerden · Public domainPennsylvania and Maryland settled a long-running boundary dispute and agreed to exchange prisoners, bringing an end to the Conojocular War. The treaty calmed a border feud that had turned violent between colonial settlers.
Wu Sangui, a Ming general guarding the Great Wall, made a deal with the invading Manchus and unlocked Shanhaiguan pass for them. With the way open, their army could march on Beijing, the capital, and the Ming's hold on China began to collapse.
A huge explosion tore through an ordnance depot in Mobile, Alabama, killing around 300 people. It came only weeks after the city had fallen to Federal forces, at the close of the Civil War.
Charles II came ashore in Kent after an invitation from Parliament, bringing the republican Commonwealth to a close. His return opened the Restoration, when the monarchy was restored after eleven years without a king.
Peter Lely · Public domain
In under an hour at the Big Ten Championships in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Jesse Owens won four events and broke world records. Nothing like it has been matched since, and one observer called it the greatest 45 minutes in sport.
Acme News Photos · Public domain
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Dutch experimental physicist who shared a Nobel award in 1902 alongside Hendrik Lorentz, for research on how magnets alter the light that atoms emit. He also taught at university and took photographs.
Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain
The American essayist and poet led the transcendentalist movement, arguing for self-reliance and the power of the individual. His essays, including Self-Reliance and Nature, shaped how generations thought about independence of mind.
User:Scewing derivative work: 2009 · Public domain
Irish actor best known for playing J. Robert Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer, which won him an Academy Award for Best Actor. He is also remembered as Tommy Shelby in the BBC drama Peaky Blinders.
JoshPopov · CC BY 4.0
Spanish dramatist and priest, often called the Spanish Shakespeare. He is remembered for his verse plays, above all La Vida es Sueño, which blended comedy, tragedy and metafiction in the Spanish Golden Age.
Unknown engraver. Cropped by User:Andrew Dalby · Public domain
Gregory VII led the Catholic Church from 1073 until his death. He is remembered for the Investiture Controversy, his fight with Emperor Henry IV over papal authority, and for making clerical celibacy obligatory.
Paul von Bernried, creator Armin P., original uploader · Public domain
Jaruzelski was the Polish general who led the country's communist government through the 1980s, imposing martial law in 1981 to crush the Solidarity movement. He later became the final president of the People's Republic before the office was restored in 1990.
Chepry 💬 ( Andrzej Barabasz ) 📷 🇵🇱 · CC BY-SA 3.0
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