1227: Genghis Khan dies
Genghis Khan, the
Mongol leader who forged an empire stretching from Peking to the Caspian Sea, dies in camp during a campaign in
China. The son of a Mongol chieftain, Khan united the many Mongol clans and tribes using both diplomacy and force, and was the leader of a great
confederation by the age of twenty-five. He organised fearful armies of up to 250,000 men fighting on horseback, and enemy armies and cities crumbled under their overwhelming show of force. The massacres that followed the invasions eliminated notions of further resistance. Those who survived were granted religious freedom and protection within the rapidly growing
Mongol Empire. Genghis Khan carefully picked his successors, and his massive
Asian empire lasted for another 150 years.
2005
Pope
Benedict XVI makes his first major foreign trip since becoming Pope, visiting his home country of
Germany. 1989
In England, Manchester United football club is sold for £20 million – the biggest deal in football history at the time.1971
In
Northern Ireland, the British army shoot dead Eamon McDevitt, an unarmed, disabled man during a
civil rights march. The army claimed that McDevitt was armed.
1971
The Vietnam War:
Australia and
New Zealand announce the end of the year as the deadline for withdrawal of their respective contingents from
Vietnam. 1969
The Woodstock music festival comes to an end in America.1964
South Africa is banned from participating in the Olympic Games because of its racial policies.1963
In America,
James Meredith, the first African American to attend the University of Mississippi, graduates with a degree in
political science. His enrolment in the university had originally been met with deadly riots, and he subsequently attended class under heavily armed guard.
1958
Vladimir Nabokov’s controversial novel
Lolita is published in the U.S.
1931
The Yangtze River in China peaks during a horrible flood that kills 3.7 million people directly and indirectly over the next several months.1920
The 19th Amendment to the American Constitution, guaranteeing women the right to
vote, becomes law.
1917
The First World War: The
Italian army launches their 11th battle against Austro-Hungarian troops on the Isonzo River, near Italy’s border with Austria-Hungary.
1868
French astronomer Pierre Jules Cesar Janssen discovers how to observe solar prominences without an eclipse, thus also discovering the new element of helium.1587
Virginia Dare becomes the first child born of English parents in the
New World - 7 days after the arrival of Sir Walter Raleigh's second expedition in North Carolina.
1943
Film
director Roman Polanski born in
Paris of Polish parents.
1937
US film
actor Robert Redford.
1931
American jockey Willlie Shoemaker.1922
American film actress Shelley Winters.1920
English Test cricketer Godfrey Evans.1917
US politician Caspar Weinberger
