Napoleon Bonaparte invades Austria (1805), and Turkey, Australia and Canada agree to send troops to Afghanistan (2001). Born on this day: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Süleyman Demirel and Alfred Wegener. Died: Theodor Mommsen, Ezra Pound and Alexander III.
31 events, 72 births and 59 deaths on this date.
Napoleon's army crossed into Austrian territory, opening a clash with the coalition of powers opposing France. Within a month he would win the decisive battle of Austerlitz, shattering that alliance.
Jacques-Louis David · Public domainThe French RevolutionHear the story in ChunksThree countries pledged soldiers to the coalition that was preparing to invade Afghanistan after the 11 September attacks. Turkey was the only Muslim-majority nation among them, a choice that gave the campaign broader regional backing.
North Korea's state newspaper began life as Chongro, a name it would later drop for Rodong Sinmun. The paper became the mouthpiece of the new government, carrying the party line to readers across the country.
Lincoln replaced General Winfield Scott with George McClellan, a young officer who had won early victories in western Virginia. The choice put a man with a talent for organising troops at the head of the Union forces during the Civil War.
Under a law reshaping India's internal borders along language lines, the Malayalam-speaking regions of the south were pulled into one state called Kerala. Today it is home to about 33 million people, and Malayalam remains its most widely spoken language.
Adams was the first occupant of what would become the White House, moving in as the national capital shifted from Philadelphia to Washington. Irish-born architect James Hoban designed the building, which British forces set ablaze in the War of 1812.
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Indian actress known for Hindi and Tamil films, who won the Miss World title in 1994 before becoming one of India's most influential celebrities. She has won two Filmfare Awards for Best Actress.
Georges Biard · CC BY-SA 3.0
Demirel was an engineer who became one of Turkey's most prominent politicians, serving as prime minister seven times before becoming head of state. He was elected president in 1993 and stayed in the post until 2000.
Public domain
Wegener proposed in 1912 that the continents slowly drift across the Earth's surface. His idea was largely rejected for decades until evidence such as palaeomagnetism backed it in the 1960s, forming the basis of plate tectonics.
Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain
The German historian who wrote the History of Rome, for which he won the 1902 Nobel Prize in Literature. He also studied Roman law and served in the Prussian and German parliaments.
Loescher & Petsch · Public domain
Ezra Pound was a central figure in early modernist poetry, helping shape work by Eliot, Joyce and Hemingway. His later support for Mussolini's fascism and wartime radio broadcasts for the Italian government overshadowed his literary reputation.
Alvin Langdon Coburn · CC0
Alexander III ruled Russia from 1881 until his death, reversing many of his father's liberal reforms. He was called the Peacemaker because Russia fought no major wars during his reign, and he signed the Franco-Russian Alliance.
Sergey Lvovich Levitsky · Public domain
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