On This Day: August 14 - Historical Events, Births & Deaths

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54 Events 164 Births 81 Deaths

2023 Former U.S. president Donald Trump is charged in Georgia along with 18 others in attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election in that state, his fourth indictment of 2023. ↗
2022 An explosion destroys a market in Armenia, killing six people and injuring dozens. ↗
2021 A magnitude 7.2 earthquake strikes southwestern Haiti, killing at least 2,248 people and causing a humanitarian crisis. ↗
2018 The collapse of the Ponte Morandi bridge in Genoa, Italy, left 16 people injured and 43 people killed. ↗
2015 The U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba re-opens after 54 years of being closed when Cuba–United States relations were broken off. ↗
2013 Egypt declares a state of emergency as security forces kill hundreds of demonstrators supporting former president Mohamed Morsi. ↗
2013 UPS Airlines Flight 1354 crashes short of the runway at Birmingham–Shuttlesworth International Airport, killing both crew members on board. ↗
2007 The Kahtaniya bombings kill at least 500 people. ↗
2006 Lebanon War: A ceasefire takes effect three days after the United Nations Security Council's approval of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, formally ending hostilities between Lebanon and Israel. ↗
2006 Sri Lankan Civil War: Sixty-one schoolgirls killed in Chencholai bombing by Sri Lanka Air Force air strike. ↗
2005 Helios Airways Flight 522, en route from Larnaca, Cyprus to Prague, Czech Republic via Athens, crashes in the hills near Grammatiko, Greece, killing 121 passengers and crew. ↗
2003 A widescale power blackout affects the northeast United States and Canada. ↗
1996 Greek Cypriot refugee Solomos Solomou is shot and killed by a Turkish security officer while trying to climb a flagpole in order to remove a Turkish flag from its mast in the United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus. ↗
1994 Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, also known as "Carlos the Jackal", is captured. ↗
1980 Lech Wałęsa leads strikes at the Gdańsk, Poland shipyards. ↗
1974 Turkey launches the second phase of the invasion of Cyprus, which eventually resulted in the Turkish occupation of 37% of Cyprus. ↗
1972 An Ilyushin Il-62 airliner crashes near Königs Wusterhausen, East Germany killing 156 people. ↗
1971 Bahrain declares independence from Britain. ↗
1969 The Troubles: British troops are deployed in Northern Ireland as political and sectarian violence breaks out, marking the start of the 37-year Operation Banner. ↗
1967 UK Marine Broadcasting Offences Act 1967 declares participation in offshore pirate radio illegal. ↗
1959 Founding and first official meeting of the American Football League. ↗
1948 An Idaho Department of Fish and Game program to relocate beavers known as Beaver drop occurred. This program relocated beavers from Northwestern Idaho to Central Idaho by airplane and then parachuting the beavers into the Chamberlain Basin . ↗
1947 Pakistan gains independence from the British Empire as the Dominion of Pakistan, due to the partition of India. ↗
1941 World War II: Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt sign the Atlantic Charter of war stating postwar aims. ↗
1936 Rainey Bethea is hanged in Owensboro, Kentucky in the last known public execution in the United States. ↗
1935 Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Social Security Act, creating a government pension system for the retired. ↗
1933 Loggers cause a forest fire in the Coast Range of Oregon, later known as the first forest fire of the Tillamook Burn; destroying 240,000 acres (970 km2) of land. ↗
1921 Tannu Uriankhai, later Tuvan People's Republic is established as a completely independent country (which is supported by Soviet Russia). ↗
1920 The 1920 Summer Olympics, having started four months earlier, officially open in Antwerp, Belgium, with the newly adopted Olympic flag and the Olympic oath being raised and taken at the Opening Ceremony for the first time in Olympic history. ↗
1917 World War I: The Republic of China, which had heretofore been shipping labourers to Europe to assist in the war effort, officially declares war on the Central Powers, although it will continue to send to Europe labourers instead of combatants for the remaining duration of the war. ↗
1914 World War I: Start of the Battle of Lorraine, an unsuccessful French offensive. ↗
1901 The first claimed powered flight, by Gustave Whitehead in his Number 21. ↗
1900 Battle of Peking: The Eight-Nation Alliance occupies Beijing, China, in a campaign to end the bloody Boxer Rebellion in China. ↗
1893 France becomes the first country to introduce motor vehicle registration. ↗
1885 Japan's first patent is issued to the inventor of a rust-proof paint. ↗
1880 Construction of Cologne Cathedral, the most famous landmark in Cologne, Germany, is completed. ↗
1848 Oregon Territory is organized by act of Congress. ↗
1842 American Indian Wars: Second Seminole War ends, with the Seminoles forced from Florida. ↗
1816 The United Kingdom formally annexes the Tristan da Cunha archipelago, administering the islands from the Cape Colony in South Africa. ↗
1814 A cease fire agreement, called the Convention of Moss, ended the Swedish–Norwegian War. ↗
1791 Slaves from plantations in Saint-Domingue hold a Vodou ceremony led by houngan Dutty Boukman at Bois Caïman, marking the start of the Haitian Revolution. ↗
1790 The Treaty of Wereloe ended the 1788–1790 Russo-Swedish War. ↗
1784 Russian colonization of North America: Awa'uq Massacre: The Russian fur trader Grigory Shelikhov storms a Kodiak Island Alutiit refuge rock on Sitkalidak Island, killing 500+ Alutiit. ↗
1720 The Spanish military Villasur expedition is defeated by Pawnee and Otoe warriors near present-day Columbus, Nebraska. ↗
1598 Nine Years' War: Battle of the Yellow Ford: Irish forces under Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, defeat an English expeditionary force under Henry Bagenal. ↗
1592 The first sighting of the Falkland Islands by John Davis. ↗
1385 Portuguese Crisis of 1383–85: Battle of Aljubarrota: Portuguese forces commanded by John I of Portugal defeat the Castilian army of John I of Castile. ↗
1370 Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, grants city privileges to Karlovy Vary. ↗
1352 War of the Breton Succession: Anglo-Bretons defeat the French in the Battle of Mauron. ↗
1264 After tricking the Venetian galley fleet into sailing east to the Levant, the Genoese capture an entire Venetian trade convoy at the Battle of Saseno. ↗
1183 Taira no Munemori and the Taira clan take the young Emperor Antoku and the three sacred treasures and flee to western Japan to escape pursuit by the Minamoto clan. ↗
1040 King Duncan I is killed in battle against his first cousin and rival Macbeth. The latter succeeds him as King of Scotland. ↗
29 BCE Octavian holds the second of three consecutive triumphs in Rome to celebrate the victory over the Dalmatian tribes. ↗
74 BCE A group of officials, led by the Western Han minister Huo Guang, present articles of impeachment against the new emperor, Liu He, to the imperial regent, Empress Dowager Shangguan. ↗

2004 Marsai Martin, American actress and producer ↗
2000 Johan Rojas, Dominican baseball player ↗
1998 Doechii, American rapper ↗
1997 Greet Minnen, Belgian tennis player ↗
1995 Léolia Jeanjean, French tennis player ↗
1994 Maya Jama, British TV presenter. ↗
1991 Richard Freitag, German ski jumper ↗
1991 Giovanny Gallegos, Mexican baseball player ↗
1989 Ander Herrera, Spanish footballer ↗
1989 Kyle Turris, Canadian ice hockey player ↗
1987 Johnny Gargano, American wrestler ↗
1987 David Peralta, Venezuelan baseball player ↗
1987 Tim Tebow, American football and baseball player and sportscaster ↗
1986 Braian Rodríguez, Uruguayan footballer ↗
1985 Christian Gentner, German footballer ↗
1985 Shea Weber, Canadian ice hockey player ↗
1984 Eva Birnerová, Czech tennis player ↗
1984 Clay Buchholz, American baseball player ↗
1984 Giorgio Chiellini, Italian footballer ↗
1984 Josh Gorges, Canadian ice hockey player ↗
1984 Nick Grimshaw, English radio and television host ↗
1984 Nicola Slater, Scottish tennis player ↗
1984 Robin Söderling, Swedish tennis player ↗
1983 Elena Baltacha, Ukrainian-Scottish tennis player (died 2014) ↗
1983 Mila Kunis, Ukrainian-American actress ↗
1983 Lamorne Morris, American actor and comedian ↗
1983 Spencer Pratt, American television personality ↗
1981 Earl Barron, American basketball player ↗
1981 Paul Gallen, Australian rugby league player, boxer, and sportscaster ↗
1981 Julius Jones, American football player ↗
1981 Kofi Kingston, Ghanaian-American wrestler ↗
1981 Scott Lipsky, American tennis player ↗
1980 Peter Malinauskas, Australian politician, 47th Premier of South Australia ↗
1979 Paul Burgess, Australian pole vaulter ↗
1978 Anastasios Kyriakos, Greek footballer ↗
1978 Greg Rawlinson, New Zealand rugby player ↗
1977 Juan Pierre, American baseball player ↗
1976 Fabrizio Donato, Italian triple jumper ↗
1975 Mike Vrabel, American football player ↗
1974 Chucky Atkins, American basketball player ↗
1974 Christopher Gorham, American actor ↗
1973 Jared Borgetti, Mexican footballer ↗
1973 Kieren Perkins, Australian swimmer ↗
1972 Laurent Lamothe, Haitian businessman and politician, Prime Minister of Haiti ↗
1971 Raoul Bova, Italian actor, producer, and screenwriter ↗
1971 Benito Carbone, Italian footballer ↗
1971 Peter Franzén, Finnish actor ↗
1971 Mark Loretta, American baseball player ↗
1970 Kevin Cadogan, American rock guitarist: 2005 ↗
1969 Tracy Caldwell Dyson, American chemist and astronaut ↗
1969 Stig Tøfting, Danish footballer ↗
1968 Ben Bass, American actor ↗
1968 Catherine Bell, English-American actress and producer ↗
1968 Darren Clarke, Northern Irish golfer ↗
1968 Jason Leonard, English rugby player ↗
1966 Halle Berry – American model, actress, and producer ↗
1966 Karl Petter Løken, Swedish-Norwegian footballer ↗
1965 Paul Broadhurst, English golfer ↗
1964 Neal Anderson, American football player and coach ↗
1964 Jason Dunstall, Australian footballer ↗
1963 José Cóceres, Argentinian golfer ↗
1962 Mark Gubicza, American baseball player ↗
1961 Susan Olsen, American actress and radio host ↗
1960 Sarah Brightman, English singer and actress ↗
1960 Fred Roberts, American basketball player ↗
1959 Frank Brickowski, American basketball player ↗
1959 Marcia Gay Harden, American actress ↗
1959 Magic Johnson, American basketball player and coach ↗
1957 Peter Costello, Australian lawyer and politician ↗
1956 Jackée Harry, American actress and television personality ↗
1956 Andy King, English footballer and manager (died 2015) ↗
1956 Rusty Wallace, American race car driver ↗
1954 Mark Fidrych, American baseball player and sportscaster (died 2009) ↗
1954 Stanley A. McChrystal, American general ↗
1953 James Horner, American composer and conductor (died 2015) ↗
1952 Debbie Meyer, American swimmer ↗
1951 Slim Dunlap, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2024) ↗
1951 Carl Lumbly, American actor ↗
1950 Gary Larson, American cartoonist ↗
1949 Bob Backlund, American wrestler ↗
1949 Morten Olsen, Danish footballer ↗
1947 Maddy Prior, English folk singer ↗
1947 Danielle Steel, American author ↗
1947 Joop van Daele, Dutch footballer ↗
1946 Antonio Fargas, American actor ↗
1946 Larry Graham, American soul/funk bass player and singer-songwriter ↗
1946 Susan Saint James, American actress ↗
1946 Tom Walkinshaw, Scottish race car driver and businessman (died 2010) ↗
1945 Steve Martin, American actor, comedian, musician, producer, and screenwriter ↗
1945 Wim Wenders, German director, producer, and screenwriter ↗
1944 Ahad Hosseini, Iranian Azerbaijani artist ↗
1943 Ronnie Campbell, English miner and politician (died 2024) ↗
1943 Ben Sidran, American jazz and rock keyboardist ↗
1942 Willie Dunn, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer (died 2013) ↗
1941 David Crosby, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2023) ↗
1941 Connie Smith, American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist ↗
1938 Bennie Muller, Dutch footballer (died 2024) ↗
1935 John Brodie, American football player ↗
1933 Richard R. Ernst, Swiss chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2021) ↗
1932 Lee Hoffman, American author (died 2007) ↗
1931 Frederic Raphael, American journalist, author, and screenwriter ↗
1930 Arthur Latham, British politician and Member of Parliament (died 2016) ↗
1930 Earl Weaver, American baseball player and manager (died 2013) ↗
1929 Giacomo Capuzzi, Italian Roman Catholic prelate, bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lodi from 1989 to 2005 (died 2021). ↗
1929 Dick Tiger, Nigerian boxer (died 1971) ↗
1928 Lina Wertmüller, Italian director and screenwriter (died 2021) ↗
1926 René Goscinny, French author and illustrator (died 1977) ↗
1926 Buddy Greco, American singer and pianist (died 2017) ↗
1925 Russell Baker, American critic and essayist (died 2019) ↗
1924 Sverre Fehn, Norwegian architect, designed the Hedmark Museum (died 2009) ↗
1924 Georges Prêtre, French conductor (died 2017) ↗
1923 Alice Ghostley, American actress (died 2007) ↗
1916 Frank and John Craighead, American naturalists (twins, Frank d. 2001, John d. 2016) ↗
1916 Wellington Mara, American businessman (died 2005) ↗
1915 B. A. Santamaria, Australian political activist and publisher (died 1998) ↗
1914 Herman Branson, American physicist, chemist, and academic (died 1995) ↗
1913 Hector Crawford, Australian director and producer (died 1991) ↗
1913 Paul Dean, American baseball player (died 1981) ↗
1912 Frank Oppenheimer, American physicist and academic (died 1985) ↗
1910 Nüzhet Gökdoğan, Turkish astronomer and mathematician (died 2003) ↗
1910 Willy Ronis, French photographer (died 2009) ↗
1910 Pierre Schaeffer, French composer and producer (died 1995) ↗
1900 Margret Boveri, German journalist (died 1975) ↗
1896 Albert Ball, English fighter pilot (died 1917) ↗
1896 Theodor Luts, Estonian director and cinematographer (died 1980) ↗
1895 Jack Gregory, Australian cricketer (died 1973) ↗
1895 Amaza Lee Meredith, American architect (died 1984) ↗
1894 Frank Burge, Australian rugby league player and coach (died 1958) ↗
1892 Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji, English pianist, composer, and critic (died 1988) ↗
1890 Bruno Tesch, German chemist and businessman (died 1946) ↗
1889 Otto Tief, Estonian lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Estonia (died 1976) ↗
1886 Arthur Jeffrey Dempster, Canadian-American physicist and academic (died 1950) ↗
1883 Ernest Everett Just, American biologist and academic (died 1941) ↗
1881 Francis Ford, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1953) ↗
1876 Alexander I of Serbia (died 1903) ↗
1875 Mstislav Dobuzhinsky, Russian-Lithuanian painter and illustrator (died 1957) ↗
1871 Guangxu Emperor of China (died 1908) ↗
1867 Cupid Childs, American baseball player (died 1912) ↗
1867 John Galsworthy, English novelist and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1933) ↗
1866 Charles Jean de la Vallée-Poussin, Belgian mathematician and academic (died 1962) ↗
1865 Guido Castelnuovo, Italian mathematician and academic (died 1952) ↗
1863 Ernest Thayer, American poet and author (died 1940) ↗
1860 Ernest Thompson Seton, American author, artist, and naturalist (died 1946) ↗
1851 Doc Holliday, American dentist and gambler (died 1887) ↗
1848 Margaret Lindsay Huggins, Anglo-Irish astronomer and author (died 1915) ↗
1847 Robert Comtesse, Swiss lawyer and politician (died 1922) ↗
1840 Richard von Krafft-Ebing, German-Austrian psychologist and author (died 1902) ↗
1817 Alexander H. Bailey, American lawyer, judge, and politician (died 1874) ↗
1814 Charlotte Fowler Wells, American phrenologist and publisher (died 1901) ↗
1802 Letitia Elizabeth Landon, English poet and novelist (died 1838) ↗
1777 Hans Christian Ørsted, Danish physicist and chemist (died 1851) ↗
1758 Carle Vernet, French painter and lithographer (died 1836) ↗
1742 Pope Pius VII (died 1823) ↗
1738 Leopold Hofmann, Austrian composer and conductor (died 1793) ↗
1714 Claude Joseph Vernet, French painter (died 1789) ↗
1688 Frederick William I of Prussia (died 1740) ↗
1653 Christopher Monck, 2nd Duke of Albemarle, English colonel and politician, Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica (died 1688) ↗
1642 Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (died 1723) ↗
1599 Méric Casaubon, Swiss-English scholar and author (died 1671) ↗
1552 Paolo Sarpi, Italian writer (died 1623) ↗
1530 Giambattista Benedetti, Italian mathematician and physicist (died 1590) ↗
1502 Pieter Coecke van Aelst, Flemish painter (died 1550) ↗
1499 John de Vere, 14th Earl of Oxford, English politician (died 1526) ↗
1479 Catherine of York (died 1527) ↗

2025 Mike Castle, American politician, 69th Governor of Delaware (born 1939) ↗
2024 Gena Rowlands, American actress (born 1930) ↗
2023 Delwar Hossain Sayeedi, Bangladeshi Islamic lecturer, politician (born 1940) ↗
2021 Michael Aung-Thwin, American historian and scholar of Burmese and Southeast Asian history (born 1946) ↗
2020 Julian Bream, English classical guitarist and lutenist (born 1933) ↗
2020 Angela Buxton, British tennis player (born 1934) ↗
2020 James R. Thompson, American politician, Governor of Illinois (born 1936) ↗
2019 Polly Farmer, Australian footballer and coach (born 1935) ↗
2018 Jill Janus, American singer (born 1975) ↗
2016 Fyvush Finkel, American actor (born 1922) ↗
2015 Bob Johnston, American songwriter and producer (born 1932) ↗
2014 Leonard Fein, American journalist and academic, co-founded Moment Magazine (born 1934) ↗
2014 George V. Hansen, American politician (born 1930) ↗
2013 Jack Germond, American journalist and author (born 1928) ↗
2012 Vilasrao Deshmukh, Indian lawyer and politician, Chief Minister of Maharashtra (born 1945) ↗
2012 Svetozar Gligorić, Serbian chess player (born 1923) ↗
2012 Phyllis Thaxter, American actress (born 1919) ↗
2010 Herman Leonard, American photographer (born 1923) ↗
2007 Tikhon Khrennikov, Russian pianist and composer (born 1913) ↗
2006 Bruno Kirby, American actor (born 1949) ↗
2004 Czesław Miłosz – Polish-born American novelist, essayist, and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1911) ↗
2004 Trevor Skeet, New Zealand-English lawyer and politician (born 1918) ↗
2003 Helmut Rahn, German footballer (born 1929) ↗
2002 Larry Rivers, American painter and sculptor (born 1923) ↗
1999 Pee Wee Reese, American baseball player and sportscaster (born 1918) ↗
1996 Sergiu Celibidache, Romanian conductor and composer (born 1912) ↗
1994 Elias Canetti, Bulgarian-Swiss author, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1905) ↗
1994 Alice Childress, American actress, playwright, and author (born 1912) ↗
1992 John Sirica, American lawyer and judge (born 1904) ↗
1991 Alberto Crespo, Argentinian race car driver (born 1920) ↗
1988 Roy Buchanan, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1939) ↗
1988 Robert Calvert, South African-English singer-songwriter and playwright (born 1945): 1712 ↗
1988 Enzo Ferrari, Italian race car driver and businessman, founded Ferrari (born 1898) ↗
1985 Gale Sondergaard, American actress (born 1899) ↗
1984 Spud Davis, American baseball player, coach, and manager (born 1904) ↗
1984 J. B. Priestley, English novelist and playwright (born 1894) ↗
1982 Mahasi Sayadaw, Burmese monk and philosopher (born 1904) ↗
1981 Karl Böhm, Austrian conductor and director (born 1894) ↗
1981 Dudley Nourse, South African cricketer (born 1910) ↗
1980 Dorothy Stratten, Canadian-American model and actress (born 1960) ↗
1978 Nicolas Bentley, English author and illustrator (born 1907) ↗
1973 Fred Gipson, American journalist and author (born 1908) ↗
1972 Oscar Levant, American actor, pianist, and composer (born 1906) ↗
1972 Jules Romains, French author and poet (born 1885) ↗
1967 Bob Anderson, English motorcycle racer and race car driver (born 1931) ↗
1965 Vello Kaaristo, Estonian skier (born 1911) ↗
1964 Johnny Burnette, American singer-songwriter (born 1934) ↗
1963 Clifford Odets, American director, playwright, and screenwriter (born 1906) ↗
1958 Frédéric Joliot-Curie, French physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1900) ↗
1956 Bertolt Brecht – German poet, playwright, and director (born 1898) ↗
1956 Konstantin von Neurath, German lawyer and politician, Reich Minister of Foreign Affairs (born 1873) ↗
1955 Herbert Putnam, American lawyer and publisher, Librarian of Congress (born 1861) ↗
1954 Hugo Eckener, German pilot and airship designer (born 1868) ↗
1951 William Randolph Hearst, American publisher and politician, founded the Hearst Corporation (born 1863) ↗
1948 Eliška Misáková, Czech gymnast (born 1926) ↗
1943 Joe Kelley, American baseball player and manager (born 1871) ↗
1941 Maximilian Kolbe, Polish martyr and saint (born 1894) ↗
1941 Paul Sabatier, French chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1854) ↗
1938 Hugh Trumble, Australian cricketer and accountant (born 1876) ↗
1928 Klabund, German author and poet (born 1890) ↗
1922 Rebecca Cole, American physician and social reformer (born 1846) ↗
1909 William Stanley, British engineer and author (born 1829) ↗
1905 Simeon Solomon, English soldier and painter (born 1840) ↗
1891 Sarah Childress Polk, First Lady of the United States (born 1803) ↗
1890 Michael J. McGivney, American priest, founded the Knights of Columbus (born 1852) ↗
1870 David Farragut, American admiral (born 1801) ↗
1860 André Marie Constant Duméril, French zoologist and entomologist (born 1774) ↗
1854 Carl Carl, Polish-born actor and theatre director (born 1787) ↗
1852 Margaret Taylor, First Lady of the United States (born 1788) ↗
1784 Nathaniel Hone the Elder, Irish-born English painter and academic (born 1718) ↗
1774 Johann Jakob Reiske, German physician and scholar (born 1716) ↗
1727 William Croft, English organist and composer (born 1678) ↗
1716 Madre María Rosa, Capuchin nun from Spain, to Peru (born 1660) ↗
1691 Richard Talbot, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell, Irish soldier and politician (born 1630) ↗
1573 Saitō Tatsuoki, Japanese daimyō (born 1548) ↗
1464 Pope Pius II (born 1405) ↗
1433 John I of Portugal (born 1357) ↗
1204 Minamoto no Yoriie, second Shōgun of the Kamakura shogunate ↗
1167 Rainald of Dassel, Italian archbishop ↗
1040 Duncan I of Scotland ↗
582 Tiberius II Constantine, Byzantine emperor ↗