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1603

1603

Events

- March 24 - Elizabeth I of England dies and is succeeded by her cousin King James I of Scotland, uniting the crowns of Scotland and England
- April 28 – Funeral of Elizabeth I of England in Westminster Abbey
- June 29 - Original Globe Theatre burns
- July 17 or July 19 - Sir Walter Raleigh arrested for treason.
- July 25 - Coronation of James I of England. By some criteria this was the start of the modern Great Britain
- November 17 - Sir Walter Raleigh goes on trial for treason in the converted Great Hall of Winchester Castle
- December 20 - Mehmed III Sultan of the Ottoman Empire dies and is succeeded by his son Ahmed I.
- Johann Bayer's Uranometria, an atlas of the southern sky, is published.
- Tokugawa Ieyasu granted title of shogun from Emperor Go-Yozei of Japan and establishes the Edo or Tokugawa Shogunate in Edo, Japan. This ends the Azuchi-Momoyama period and begins the Edo period.
- Accademia dei Lincei founded
- Huguenot Pierre de Gua is granted royal permission to settle in North America
- Rebellion in Transylvania
- Plague in England
- English crush Irish rebellion. Hugh O'Neill, 2nd Earl of Tyrone surrenders.
- Yaqob deposed as Emperor of Ethiopia by Za Sellase, who appoints his cousin Za Dengel to replace him.

Births

- January 27 - Harbottle Grimston, English politician (died 1685)
- March 18 - Simon Bradstreet, English colonial magistrate (died 1697)
- March 18 - King John IV of Portugal (died 1656)
- April 19 - Michel le Tellier, French statesman (died 1685)
- June 17 - Joseph of Cupertino, Italian saint (d. 1663)
- July 11 - Kenelm Digby, English privateer and alchemist (died 1665)
- August 17 - Lennart Torstenson, Swedish soldier and military engineer (died 1651)
- November 16 - Augustyn Kordecki, Polish prior of the Jasna Góra Monastery (died 1673)
- December 21 - Roger Williams, English theologian and colonist (d. 1684)
- Louis Abelly, French monk and priest (died 1691)
- Adam Adami, German archbishop and diplomat
- John Ashburnham, English Member of Parliament (died 1671)
- Daniel Blagrave, English Member of Parliament (died 1668)
- Johannes Cocceius, Dutch theologian (died 1669)
- Valentin Conrart, one of the founders of the Académie française (died 1675)
- Denis Gaultier, French lutenist and composer (died 1672)
- Joseph of Cupertino, Italian saint (died 1663)
- Axel Lillie, Swedish soldier and politician (died 1662)
- Shackerley Marmion, English dramatist (died 1639)
- Aernout van der Neer, Dutch painter (died 1677)
- Adam Olearius, German scholar (died 1671)
- Alexandre de Prouville, French stateman and soldier (died 1670)
- Abel Tasman, Dutch explorer (died 1659)
- Tokugawa Yorifusa, Japanese nobleman (died 1661) See also :Category:1603 births.

Deaths

- January 15 - Catherine Carey, Chief Lady of the Bedchamber to Elizabeth I of England
- February 23 - Andrea Cesalpino, Italian philosopher, physician, and botanist (born 1519)
- March 24 - Queen Elizabeth I of England, Wales, and Ireland (born 1533)
- March 25 - Ikoma Chikamasa, Japanese warlord (born 1526)
- June 27 - Jan Dymitr Solikowski, Polish archbishop, writer, and diplomat (b. 1539)
- July 4 - Philippe de Monte, Flemish composer (b. 1521)
- September 8 - George Carey, 2nd Baron Hunsdon, English politician (b. 1547)
- November 8 - Robert Catesby, English conspirator (b. 1573)
- December 9 - William Watson, English conspirator (born 1559)
- December 10 - William Gilbert, English scientist (plague) (born 1544)
- December 13 - François Viète, French mathematician (born 1540)
- December 22 - Mehmed III, Ottoman Emperor (born 1566)
- December 27 - Thomas Cartwright, English Puritan clergyman
- Peter Binsfeld, Bishop of Trier and witch-hunter (born 1545)
- Pierre Charron, French philosopher (born 1541)
- Baldassare Donato, Italian composer and singer (born 1525)
- Edward Fenton, English navigator
- Georg Friedrich, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (born 1539)
- Ralph Lane, English explorer (born 1530)
- Hugh Roe O'Donnell, Irish chieftain and rebel (born 1571)
- Grace O'Malley, Irish noblewoman and pirate (born 1530)
- Aleksander Ostrogski, Polish nobleman (born 1571)
- Krzysztof Mikolaj Piorun Radziwill, Polish nobleman (born 1547)
- Ikeda Tomomasa, Japanese kokujin and military commander (born 1544) See also :Category:1603 deaths. Category:1603 ko:1603년 ms:1603 simple:1603

March 24

March 24 is the 83rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (84th in Leap years). There are 282 days remaining.

Events

- 1603 - James VI of Scotland also becomes James I King of England.
- 1765 - American Revolutionary War: The Kingdom of Great Britain passes the Quartering Act that requires the 13 American colonies to house British troops.
- 1832 - In Hiram, Ohio a group of men beat, tar and feather Mormon leader Joseph Smith, Jr..
- 1837 - Canada gives Africans the right to vote.
- 1868 - Metropolitan Life Insurance Company is formed.
- 1878 - The UK frigate Eurydice sinks, killing 300.
- 1882 - Robert Koch announces the discovery of the bacterium responsible for tuberculosis (mycobacterium tuberculosis).
- 1898 - Robert Allison of Port Carbon, Pennsylvania becomes the first person to buy an American-built automobile when he buys a Winton automobile that was advertised in Scientific American.
- 1900 - New York City Mayor Van Wyck breaks ground for a new underground "Rapid Transit Railroad" that would link Manhattan and Brooklyn.
- 1923 - Greece becomes a republic.
- 1934 - U.S. Congress passes Tydings-McDuffie Act.
- 1944 - In an event later dramatized in the movie The Great Escape, 76 prisoners begin breaking out of Stalag Luft III.
- 1959 - The Party of the African Federation (PFA) is launched by Léopold Sédar Senghor and Modibo Keita.
- 1965 - NASA spacecraft Ranger 9, equipped to convert its signals into a form suitable for showing on domestic television, brings images of the Moon into ordinary homes before crash-landing.
- 1972 - The United Kingdom imposes "Direct Rule" over Northern Ireland.
- 1973 - Kenyan track runner Kip Keino defeats Jim Ryun at the first-ever professional track meet in Los Angeles, sanctioned by the International Track Association.
- Rock band Pink Floyd releases Dark Side of the Moon, which will go on to become one of the most influential and commercially successful albums of all-time.
- 1976 - Argentina's military forces depose president Isabel Perón.
- 1980 - Archbishop Óscar Romero is killed by gunmen while celebrating Mass in San Salvador.
- 1989 - Exxon Valdez oil spill: In Alaska's Prince William Sound the Exxon Valdez spills 240,000 barrels (42,000 m³) of petroleum after running aground.
- 1998 - Jonesboro massacre: In Jonesboro, Arkansas, two boys (aged 11 and 13 years) fire upon students at Westside Middle School; four students and one teacher are killed and 10 injured.
- 1999 - Kosovo War: NATO commences air bombardment against Yugoslavia, marking the first time NATO has attacked a sovereign country.
- 2001 - Apple Computer releases Mac OS X.
- 2002 - U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney returns from the Middle East and begins a propaganda campaign against Iraq's Saddam Hussein saying, "This is a man of great evil, as the President said. And he is actively pursuing nuclear weapons at this time."
- 2003 - The Arab League votes 21-1 in favor of a resolution demanding the immediate and unconditional removal of US and British soldiers from Iraq.
- 2100 - Polaris will be appear closest to the north celestial pole, at 1629.38" or 0.4526°

Births

1490 to 1899

- 1490 - Georg Agricola, German scientist (d. 1555)
- 1607 - Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter, Dutch admiral (d. 1667)
- 1657 - Arai Hakuseki, Japanese writer and politician (d. 1725)
- 1693 - John Harrison, British clockmaker (d. 1776)
- 1725 - Samuel Ashe, Governor of North Carolilna (d. 1813)
- 1725 - Thomas Cushing, American Continental Congressman (d. 1788)
- 1796 - John Corry Wilson Daly, Canadian politician (d. 1878)
- 1830 - Robert Hamerling, Austrian poet (d. 1889)
- 1834 - William Morris, English writer and designer (d. 1896)
- 1834 - John Wesley Powell, American explorer and environmentalist (d. 1902)
- 1835 - Jožef Stefan, Slovenian physicist, mathematician, and poet (d. 1893)
- 1855 - Andrew Mellon, American financier (d. 1937)
- 1855 - Olive Schreiner, South African writer (d. 1920)
- 1874 - Harry Houdini, Hungarian-born magician (d. 1926)
- 1884 - Peter Debye, Dutch chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1966)
- 1886 - Edward Weston, American photographer (d. 1958)
- 1887 - Fatty Arbuckle, American actor (d. 1933)
- 1889 - Albert Hill, British athlete (d. 1969)
- 1893 - Walter Baade, German astronomer (d. 1960)
- 1897 - Wilhelm Reich, Austrian-born psychotherapist (d. 1957)

1900 to 1999

- 1901 - Ub Iwerks, American cartoonist (d. 1971)
- 1902 - Thomas Dewey, American politician (d. 1971)
- 1903 - Adolf Butenandt, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1995)
- 1910 - Richard Conte, American actor (d. 1975)
- 1911 - Joseph Barbera, American cartoonist
- 1915 - Gorgeous George, American professional wrestler (d. 1963)
- 1916 - Donald Hamilton, Swedish-American novelist
- 1917 - John Kendrew, British molecular biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (d. 1997)
- 1919 - Lawrence Ferlinghetti, American author and publisher
- 1919 - Robert Heilbroner, American economist (d. 2005)
- 1923 - Murray Hamilton, American actor (d. 1986)
- 1924 - Norman Fell, American actor (d. 1998)
- 1926 - Dario Fo, Italian writer, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1927 - Martin Walser, German author
- 1928 - Byron Janis, American pianist
- 1930 - David Dacko, first President of the Central African Republic (d. 2003)
- 1930 - Steve McQueen, American actor, director, and producer (d. 1980)
- 1935 - Peter Bichsel, Swiss writer
- 1936 - David Suzuki, Canadian environmentalist
- 1938 - Holger Czukay, German musician (Can)
- 1938 - David Irving, British historian
- 1944 - R. Lee Ermey, American actor
- 1945 - Robert T. Bakker, American paleontologist
- 1945 - Curtis Hanson, American film director
- 1949 - Nick Lowe, English musician
- 1951 - Tommy Hilfiger, American fashion designer
- 1953 - Louie Anderson, American comedian
- 1954 - Robert Carradine, American actor
- 1954 - Donna Pescow, American actress
- 1960 - Nena, German singer
- 1962 - Star Jones Reynolds, American television personality
- 1964 - Annabella Sciorra, American actress
- 1965 - The Undertaker, American professional wrestler
- 1970 - Lara Flynn Boyle, American actress
- 1970 - Sharon Corr, Irish musician (The Corrs)
- 1974 - Chad Butler, American drummer (Switchfoot)
- 1974 - Alyson Hannigan, American actress
- 1976 - Aaron Brooks, American football player
- 1976 - Peyton Manning, American football player
- 1985 - Haruka Ayase, Japanese actress and model
- 1988 - Holly Brain, English Singer and Magician
- 1990 - Keisha Castle-Hughes, New Zealand-born actress
- 1990 - Andrew Aparicio, Hip Hop Producer

Deaths

809 to 1899

- 809 - Harun al-Rashid, Abbasid caliph (b. 763)
- 1361 - Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster, English soldier and diplomat
- 1381 - Catherine of Sweden, Swedish saint
- 1455 - Pope Nicholas V (b. 1397)
- 1563 - Hosokawa Harumoto, Japanese military leader (b. 1514)
- 1575 - Yosef Karo, Spanish-born rabbi (b. 1488)
- 1603 - Queen Elizabeth I of England (b. 1533)
- 1653 - Samuel Scheidt, German composer (b. 1587)
- 1773 - Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, English statesman and man of letters (b. 1694)
- 1776 - John Harrison, English clockmaker (b. 1693)
- 1869 - Antoine-Henri Jomini, French general (b. 1779)
- 1882 - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, American author (b. 1807)

1900 to 1999

- 1905 - Jules Verne, French author (b. 1828)
- 1909 - John Millington Synge, Irish playwright (b. 1871)
- 1916 - Enrique Granados, Spanish composer (drowned) (b. 1867)
- 1944 - Orde Wingate, British soldier (b. 1903)
- 1946 - Alexander Alekhine, Russian chess player (b. 1892)
- 1950 - James Rudolph Garfield, American politician (b. 1865)
- 1953 - Mary of Teck, queen of George V of the United Kingdom (b. 1867)
- 1962 - Jean Goldkette, Greek-born musician (b. 1899)
- 1962 - Auguste Piccard, Swiss physicist and explorer (b. 1884)
- 1972 - Cristobal Balenciaga, Spanish couturier (b. 1895)
- 1976 - Bernard Montgomery, British field marshal (b. 1887)
- 1980 - Óscar Romero, Archbishop of El Salvador (b. 1917)
- 1984 - Sam Jaffe, American actor (b. 1891)
- 1990 - Ray Goulding, American comedian (b. 1922)
- 1990 - An Wang, Chinese-born computer pioneer (b. 1920)
- 1993 - John Hersey, American author (b. 1914)
- 1999 - Gertrud Scholtz-Klink, German women's leader (b. 1902)
- 1999 - Birdie Tebbetts, baseball player and manager (b. 1912)

2000 onwards

- 2002 - César Milstein, Argentine scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1927)
- 2003 - Hans Hermann Groër, Austrian Catholic archbishop (b. 1919)

Holidays and observances

- Ancient Latvia - Kazimiras Diena observed
- World Tuberculosis Day

External links

- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/24 BBC: On This Day]
- [http://www.tnl.net/when/3/24 Today in History: March 24] ---- March 23 - March 25 - February 24 - April 24 -- listing of all days ko:3월 24일 ms:24 Mac ja:3月24日 simple:March 24 th:24 มีนาคม

Elizabeth I of England

Elizabeth I (7 September, 1533 – 24 March, 1603) Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes referred to as The Virgin Queen (since she never married), Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth I was the fifth and final monarch of the Tudor dynasty, having succeeded her half-sister, Mary I. She reigned during a period of turmoil in English history. Elizabeth's reign is referred to as the Elizabethan era or the Golden Age and was marked by increases in English power and influence worldwide. Playwrights William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, and Ben Jonson all flourished during this era. In addition, Francis Drake became the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe; Francis Bacon laid out his philosophical and political views; and English colonisation of North America took place under Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir Humphrey Gilbert. Like her father Henry VIII, she was a writer and poet. She granted Royal Charters to several famous organizations, including Trinity College, Dublin (1592) and the British East India Company (1600). The reign was marked by prudence in the granting of honours and dignities. Only eight peerage dignities, one earldom and seven baronies in the Peerage of England, and one barony in the Peerage of Ireland, were created during Elizabeth's reign. Elizabeth also reduced the number of Privy Counsellors from thirty-nine to nineteen, and later to fourteen. Virginia, an English colony in North America and afterwards a founding member of the United States, was named after Elizabeth I, the "Virgin Queen."

Early life

Elizabeth was the only surviving child of King Henry VIII by his second wife, Anne Boleyn, Marchioness of Pembroke, a former lady-in-waiting of Henry's first wife Queen Catherine of Aragon and sister of Henry's mistress Lady Mary Boleyn. She was born in the Palace of Placentia in Greenwich, on September 7, 1533. Henry certainly would have preferred a son to ensure the Tudor succession, but upon her birth, Elizabeth was the heiress presumptive to the throne of England. Her surviving paternal aunts included Margaret Tudor and Mary Tudor. Her maternal aunt was Lady Mary Boleyn. Her maternal uncle was George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford. Elizabeth was three years old when Henry had her mother executed on charges of treason (adultery against the King), incest with Elizabeth's uncle, and witchcraft, as a pretext to eliminate the wife who had failed to produce a male heir; he then married Anne's lady-in-waiting, Jane Seymour, who bore him Edward VI. Elizabeth was declared illegitimate, losing the title of Princess Royal, and was thereafter addressed as Lady Elizabeth and lived in exile from her father while he married his succession of wives. Elizabeth's first governess was Lady Margaret Bryan, a baroness whom Elizabeth called "Muggie". At the age of four, Elizabeth had a new governess, Katherine Champernowne, who was often referred to as "Kat". Champernowne developed a close relationship with Elizabeth and remained her confidante and good friend for life. She had been appointed to Elizabeth's household before Anne Boleyn's execution. Matthew Parker, her mother's favorite priest, took a special interest in Elizabeth's well-being, particularly since a fearful Anne had entrusted her daughter's spiritual welfare to Parker before her death. Later, Parker would become the first Archbishop of Canterbury after Elizabeth became queen in 1558. One companion, to whom she referred with affection throughout her life, was the Irishman Thomas Butler, later 3rd Earl of Ormonde (ob.1615). In terms of personality, Elizabeth was far more like her mother than her father: glamorous, flirtatious, and charismatic. Elizabeth also inherited her mother's delicate bone structure, onyx black eyes, and petite figure. The few charcteristics she inherited from her father were her auburn hair and her passion and vigor for ruling the people of England. Henry's last wife Catherine Parr helped reconcile the King with Elizabeth, and under the Act of Succession 1544 she and her half-sister, Mary, daughter of Catharine of Aragon, were reinstated in the line of succession after Prince Edward. Henry VIII died in 1547 and was succeeded by Edward VI. Catherine Parr, newly widowed, married Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley, Edward VI's uncle and brother of Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset and Lord Protector of England at the time, and took Elizabeth into her household. There, Elizabeth received her education under Roger Ascham. She came to speak and read seven languages: her native English, as well as Scots, French, Italian, Spanish, Greek, and Latin. She had an outstanding intellect, like her father and mother. Under the influence of Catherine Parr and Ascham, Elizabeth was raised a Protestant. Protestant] As long as her Protestant half-brother remained on the throne, Elizabeth's own position remained secure. In 1553, however, Edward died at the age of fifteen, after suffering ill health from birth and having left a will which purported to supersede his father's. Disregarding the Act of Succession 1544, it excluded both Mary and Elizabeth from succeeding to the throne and declared Lady Jane Grey, ward of Thomas Seymour, to be his heiress. The plot was formed by Seymour and John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland, whose son Guilford was married to Jane. Lady Jane ascended to the throne, but was deposed nine days later. Backed by popular support, Mary rode triumphantly into London, her half-sister Elizabeth at her side. Mary I contracted a marriage with King Philip II of Spain, seeking to strengthen the Catholic influence in England. Wyatt's Rebellion in 1554 sought to prevent Mary from marrying Philip and, after its failure, Elizabeth was imprisoned in the Tower of London for her alleged involvement in it. There were demands for Elizabeth's execution, but Mary did not wish to put her sister to death - it would set a worrying precedent for regicide. Mary did attempt to remove Elizabeth from the line of succession, but Parliament would not allow it. After two months in the Tower, Elizabeth was released but kept under house arrest in the care of Sir Henry Bedingfield at Hatfield; by the end of that year, when Mary was falsely rumoured to be pregnant, Elizabeth was allowed to return to court at Philip's behest. If Mary died in childbirth, he preferred Lady Elizabeth, under his tutelage, to succeed rather than Mary I of Scotland, who was next in line. Mary, Queen of Scotland was openly hostile to Spanish interests because she was of French descent, her mother being Mary of Guise. For the remainder of her reign, Mary Tudor, who was devotedly Catholic, persecuted Protestants whom she saw as heretics, and came to be known as "Bloody Mary" among her enemies. Mary urged Elizabeth to take up the Catholic faith, but the princess, instead of converting, kept up a skillful show of allegiance to suit her own conscience and ambitions.

Early reign

Bloody Mary In 1558, upon Mary I's death, Elizabeth ascended to the throne. During her procession to the Tower of London, she was welcomed whole-heartedly by the common people, who perfomed plays and read poetry exclaiming her beauty and intelligence. She was crowned on 15 January 1559. There was no Archbishop of Canterbury at the time; Reginald Pole, the last Catholic holder of the office, had died only a few hours after Queen Mary. Because the senior bishops declined to participate in the coronation (since Elizabeth was illegitimate under both canon law and statute and since she was a Protestant), the relatively unimportant Owen Oglethorpe, Bishop of Carlisle crowned her. The communion was celebrated not by Oglethorpe, but by the Queen's personal chaplain, to avoid the usage of the Roman rites. Elizabeth I's coronation was the last one during which the Latin service was used; future coronations used the English service. She later persuaded her mother's chaplain, Matthew Parker, to become Archbishop. He only accepted out of loyalty to Anne Boleyn's memory, since he found working with Elizabeth difficult. One of the most important concerns during Elizabeth's early reign was religion; she relied primarily on Sir William Cecil, later Lord Burghly, for advice on the matter. Her first act, the Act of Uniformity 1559 required the use of the Protestant Book of Common Prayer in church services. Papal control over the Church of England had been reinstated under Mary I, but was ended by Elizabeth. The Queen assumed the title "Supreme Governor of the Church of England," rather than "Supreme Head," primarily because several bishops and many members of the public felt that a woman could not be the head of the Church. The Act of Supremacy 1559 required public officials to take an oath acknowledging the Sovereign's control over the Church or face execution for treason. Many bishops were unwilling to conform to the Elizabethan religious policy. They were removed from the ecclesiastical bench and replaced by appointees who would submit to the Queen's policies. She also appointed a new Privy Council, removing many Catholic counsellors in the process. Under Elizabeth, factionalism in the Council and conflicts at court were greatly silenced. Elizabeth's chief advisors were Sir William Cecil, a Secretary of State, and Sir Nicholas Bacon, the Lord Keeper of the Great Seal. Elizabeth also reduced Spanish influence in England. Though Philip II aided her in ending the Italian Wars with the Peace of Cateau Cambrésis, Elizabeth remained independent in her diplomacy. She adopted a principle of "England for the English." Ireland, another country under England's rule, never benefited from such a philosophy. The enforcement of English customs in an effort to eradicate Catholicism from Ireland proved unpopular with its inhabitants, as did the Queen's religious policies. Soon after her accession, many questioned whom Elizabeth would marry. Her reasons for never marrying were many. It has been suggested she may have felt repulsed by the mistreatment of Henry VIII's wives, her mother's death always in her mind or perhaps psychologically scarred by her rumoured childhood relationship with Lord Thomas Seymour, while in his household. Contemporary gossip was that she had suffered from a physical defect that she was afraid to reveal, perhaps scarring from smallpox, although this seems unlikely as she did not contract smallpox until several years into her reign. There were also contemporary rumors that she would only marry one man, Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, with whom she was deeply in love, but with whom her council refused to sanction a marriage, partly due to his family's participation in the Lady Jane Grey matter, and partly due to what was viewed in some circles as the suspicious death of his first wife. A few historians have speculated that she was perhaps homosexual, but these have generally been dismissed. It is also possible that Elizabeth did not wish to share the power of the Crown with another, or given the unstable political situation, she feared an armed struggle among aristocratic factions, if she married someone not seen as equally favorable to all factions. Or, she could have remained unmarried and instead used the hint of marriage to her country's benefit when dealing with powerful suitors from Europe. Further, marrying anyone would have cost Elizabeth large amounts of money and independence, as all of the estates and incomes Elizabeth inherited from her father, Henry VIII, were only hers until she was married.

Conflict with France and Scotland

The Queen found a rival for her throne in her cousin, the Catholic Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots and wife of the French King Francis II. In 1559, Mary had declared herself Queen of England with French support. In Scotland, Mary Stuart's mother, Mary of Guise, attempted to cement French influence by providing for army fortification against English aggression. A group of Scottish lords allied with Elizabeth deposed Mary of Guise and, under pressure from the English, Mary's representatives signed the Treaty of Edinburgh, which led to the withdrawal of French troops. Though Mary vehemently refused to ratify the treaty, it had the desired effect, and French influence was greatly reduced in Scotland. Upon the death of her husband Francis II, Mary Stuart had returned to Scotland. In France, meanwhile, conflict between the Catholics and the Huguenots led to the outbreak of the French Wars of Religion. Elizabeth secretly gave aid to the Huguenots. She made peace with France in 1564; she agreed to give up her claims to the last English possession on the French mainland, Calais, which her sister Mary Tudor had all but lost during her reign, after the defeat of an English expedition at Le Havre. She did not, however, give up her claim to the French Crown, which had been maintained since the reign of Edward III during the period of the Hundred Years' War in the fourteenth century, and was not renounced until the reign of George III during the eighteenth century.

Plots and rebellions

At the end of 1562, Elizabeth fell ill with smallpox, but later recovered. In 1563, alarmed by the Queen's near-fatal illness, Parliament demanded that she marry or nominate an heir to prevent civil war upon her death. She refused to do either, and in April, she prorogued Parliament. Parliament did not reconvene until Elizabeth needed its assent to raise taxes in 1566. The House of Commons threatened to withhold funds until the Queen agreed to provide for the succession, but Elizabeth still refused. Different lines of succession were considered during Elizabeth's reign. One possible line was that of Margaret Tudor, Henry VIII's elder sister, which led to Mary I, Queen of Scots. The alternative line descended from Henry VIII's younger sister, Mary Tudor, Duchess of Suffolk; the heir in this line would be the Lady Catherine Grey, Lady Jane Grey's sister. An even more distant possible successor was Henry Hastings, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon, who could claim descent only from Edward III, who reigned during the fourteenth century. Each possible heir had his or her disadvantages: Mary of Scots was a Catholic, Lady Catherine Grey had married without the Queen's consent, and the Puritan Lord Huntingdon was unwilling to accept the Crown. Mary, Queen of Scots, had to suffer her own troubles in Scotland. Elizabeth had suggested that if she married the Protestant Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, then Elizabeth would "proceed to the inquisition of her right and title to be our next cousin and heir." Mary Stuart refused, and in 1565 married a Catholic, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley. Lord Darnley was murdered in 1567, and Mary then married the alleged murderer of Lord Darnley, James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell. Scottish nobles then rebelled, imprisoning Mary and forcing her to abdicate in favour of her infant son, who consequently became James VI. The succession question was becoming a heated issue in Parliament and 30 MPs were assigned to a special committee to debate the matter. On 19 October, 1566, Sir Robert Bell boldly pursued Elizabeth for the royal answer despite her command to leave it alone; in her own words "Mr. Bell with his complices must needs prefer their speeches to the upper house to have you my lords, consent with them, whereby you were seduced, and of simplicity did assent unto it". Bell would revisit this matter in 1575, as Speaker of the House of Commons, where he humbly petitioned Elizabeth "to make the kingdom further happy in her marriage, so that they might hope for a continual succession of benefits in her posterity", this event having been preceded by the last viable English heir to the throne, Catherine Grey passing on in 1568. Catherine had left a son, but he was deemed illegitimate. Catherine's heiress was her sister, the Lady Mary Grey, a hunchbacked dwarf. Elizabeth was once again forced to consider a Scottish successor, from the line of her father's sister, Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scots. Mary I, however, was unpopular in Scotland, where she was imprisoned. She later escaped from her prison and fled to England, where she was captured by English forces. Elizabeth was faced with a conundrum: sending her back to the Scottish nobles would create political problems; sending her to France would put a powerful pawn in the hands of the French king; forcefully restoring her to the Scottish throne may have been seen as an heroic gesture, but would cause too much conflict with the Scots; and imprisoning her in England would allow her to participate in plots against the Queen. Elizabeth chose the last option: Mary was kept confined for eighteen years, much of it in Sheffield Castle and Sheffield Manor in the custody of George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, and his redoubtable wife Bess of Hardwick. In 1569, Elizabeth faced a major uprising, known as the Northern Rebellion, instigated by Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, Charles Neville, 6th Earl of Westmorland and Thomas Percy, 7th Earl of Northumberland. Pope Pius V excommunicated Elizabeth for apostasy and for her persecution of Catholics; he declared her deposed in a papal bull. The Bull of Deposition, Regnans in Excelsis, was only issued in 1570, arriving after the Rebellion had been put down. Elizabeth then found a new enemy in her brother-in-law, Philip II, King of Spain. After Philip had launched a surprise attack on the English privateers, Sir Francis Drake and John Hawkins, in 1568, Elizabeth assented to the detention of a Spanish treasure ship in 1569. Philip was already involved in putting down a rebellion in the Netherlands, and could not afford to declare war on England. Philip II participated in some conspiracies to remove Elizabeth, albeit reluctantly. The 4th Duke of Norfolk was also involved in the first of these plots, the Ridolfi Plot of 1571. The Duke planned to wed Mary and overthrow Elizabeth. After the Catholic Ridolfi Plot was discovered (much to Elizabeth's shock) and foiled, the Duke of Norfolk was executed and Mary lost the little liberty she had remaining. Spain, which had been friendly to England since Philip's marriage to Elizabeth's predecessor, ceased to be on cordial terms. In 1571, Sir William Cecil was created Lord Burghley; a shrewd man, who always advised caution in international relations, he had been Elizabeth's chief advisor from the earliest days, and he remained so until his death in 1598. In 1572, Burghley was raised to the powerful position of Lord High Treasurer; his post as Secretary of State was taken up by the head of Elizabeth's spy network, Sir Francis Walsingham. Also in 1572, Elizabeth made an alliance with France. The St. Bartholomew's Day massacre, in which many French Protestants (Huguenots) were killed, strained the alliance but did not break it. Elizabeth even began marriage negotiations with Henry, Duke of Anjou (later King Henry III of France and of Poland), and afterwards with his younger brother François, Duke of Anjou and Alençon. During the latter's visit in 1581, it is said that Elizabeth "drew off a ring from her finger and put it upon the Duke of Anjou's upon certain conditions betwixt them two." The Spanish Ambassador reported that she actually declared that the Duke of Anjou would be her husband. However, Anjou, who is in any case said to have preferred men to women, returned to France and died in 1584 before he could be married.

Conflict with Spain and Ireland

In 1580, Pope Gregory XIII sent a force to aid the Desmond Rebellions in Ireland; but by 1583, the rebellion had been put down after a campaign waged by fire, sword and famine, in which a large part of the population of the western part of the province of Munster appears to have died; chilling, albeit approving, observations on the campaign are set out in A View of the Present State of Ireland by the poet, Edmund Spenser (first licensed for publication in 1633, four decades after it was written). In the same year Philip II of Spain and the Netherlands was crowned king of Portugal, thereby increasing his command of the high seas. After the assassination of the Dutch Stadholder William I, England began to side openly with the United Provinces of the Netherlands, who were at the time rebelling against Spanish rule. This, together with economic conflict with Spain and English piracy against Spanish colonies (which included an English alliance with Islamic Morocco), led to the outbreak of the Anglo-Spanish War in 1585 and in 1586 the Spanish ambassador was expelled from England for his participation in conspiracies against Elizabeth. Fearing such conspiracies, Parliament had passed the Act of Association 1584, under which anyone associated with a plot to murder the Sovereign would be excluded from the line of succession. However, a further scheme against Elizabeth, the Babington Plot, was revealed by Sir Francis Walsingham, who headed the English spy network. Having put the court on full proof of the charge, Mary Stuart was convicted of complicity in the plot on production of evidence produced by one of the earliest non-trivial code-breaking endeavours. It is likely, however, that Mary was framed. When Mary's enemies realized that deciphering the code did not provide enough proof, the decipherer was instructed to add statements that were not in the original coded document. The result was the "proof" used to convict her. Because this "proof" and conviction were presented to Elizabeth, she had no choice but to allow Mary’s execution to proceed. It was therefore against Elizabeth's wishes that the execution occurred at Fotheringhay Castle on 8 February, 1587. Elizabeth had stalled on the question of Mary's execution until this final, undeniable, evidence because she feared that establishing the principle that a monarch theoretically chosen by God could be tried—much less executed—for temporal crimes could lead to the end of the monarchy. In this she was to be proven correct and it was less than fifty years after her own death that Charles the First was executed by a parliament of "commoners". executed by a parliament of "commoners" In her will, Mary had left Philip her claim to the English Throne; under force of the threat from Elizabeth's policies in the Netherlands and the east Atlantic, Philip set out his plans for an invasion of England. In April 1587, Sir Francis Drake burned part of the Spanish fleet at Cádiz, delaying Philip's plans. In July 1588, the Spanish Armada, a grand fleet of 130 ships bearing over 30,000 men, set sail in the expectation of conveying a Spanish invasion force under the command of the Duke of Parma across the English Channel from the Netherlands. Elizabeth encouraged her troops with a notable speech, known as the Speech to the Troops at Tilbury, in which she famously declared, "I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a King, and of a King of England too." The Spanish attempt was defeated by the English fleet under Charles Howard, 2nd Baron Howard of Effingham and Sir Francis Drake, aided by bad weather. The Armada was forced to return to Spain, with appalling losses on the north and west coasts of Scotland and Ireland; the victory tremendously increased Elizabeth's popularity. The battle, however, was not decisive, and the war continued in the Netherlands, where the Dutch Estates were seeking independence from Spain. The English government was also concerned with the conflict in France and the claim to the throne of a protestant heir, Henry (later Henry IV). Elizabeth sent 20,000 troops and subsidies of over £300,000 to Henry, and 8,000 troops and subsidies of over £1,000,000 to the Dutch. Emboldened by the defeat of the ominious Armada, a massive English expedition in 1589, the Drake-Norris Expedition, was repulsed by Spain, with great losses. English privateers continued to attack Spanish treasure ships from the Americas; the most famous privateers included Sir John Hawkins and Sir Martin Frobisher. In 1595 and 1596, a disastrous expedition on the Spanish Main led to the deaths of the aging Sir John Hawkins and Sir Francis Drake. Also in 1595, Spanish troops under the command of Don Carlos de Amesquita landed in Cornwall, where they routed a large English militia and burned several villages, before celebrating a mass and retiring in the face of a naval force led by Sir Walter Raleigh. In 1596, England finally withdrew from France, with Henry IV firmly in control. He had assumed the throne, commenting with double-edged irony that, "Paris is worth a mass;" the Holy League, which opposed him, had been demolished, and Elizabeth's diplomacy was beset with new problems. At the same time, the Spanish had landed a considerable force of tercios in Brittany, which had expelled the English forces that were present and presented a new front in the war, with an added threat of invasion across the channel. Elizabeth sent a further 2,000 troops to France after the Spanish took Calais. Then she authorised an attack on the Azores in 1597, but the attempt was a disastrous failure. Further battles continued until 1598, when France and Spain finally made peace. The Anglo-Spanish War, meanwhile, reached a stalemate after Philip II died later in the year. In part because of the war, Raleigh and Gilbert's overseas colonisation attempts came to nothing, and the English settlement of North America was stalled, until James I negotiated peace in the Treaty of London, 1604.

Later years

Treaty of London, 1604 In 1598, Elizabeth's chief advisor, Lord Burghley, died. His political mantle was inherited by his son, Robert Cecil, who had been appointed Secretary of State in 1590. Elizabeth's popularity declined, partly because of her practice of granting royal monopolies, the abolition of which Parliament continued to demand. In her Golden Speech Elizabeth promised reforms, and shortly thereafter twelve royal monopolies were ended by royal proclamation; nevertheless, the reforms were superficial, and the granting of royal monopolies continued. During the Anglo-Spanish war Elizabeth also faced a rebellion in Ireland (the Nine Years War). The chief executor of Crown authority in the north of Ireland, Hugh O'Neill, 2nd Earl of Tyrone, was declared a traitor in 1595, but Elizabeth was determined to minimise expenditure from her treasury and accordingly authorised a series of truces with the earl. At the same time, Spain attempted two further armada expeditions against northern Europe, although both failed owing to adverse weather conditions. In 1598, Tyrone offered a truce, while benefitting from Spanish aid in the form of arms and training; upon expiration of the truce, the English suffered their worst defeat in Ireland at the Battle of the Yellow Ford. In 1599, one of the queen's leading noblemen, Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and given command of the largest army ever sent to Ireland, in an attempt to defeat the rebels. Essex's campaign was soon dissipated, and after a private parley with Tyrone—in which the latter sat on horseback in the middle of a river—it became clear that victory was out of reach. In 1600, Essex returned to England without the Queen's permission, an offence for which he was punished by the loss of all political offices and of the trade monopolies, his principal source of income. The succession to the throne had been the ultimate political concern in England since Mary Stuart's arrival in Scotland in the 1560's, and by the end of the century there was only one question in the minds of Elizabeth's advisors: who next? It is in this context that the behaviour of Essex is best explained. In 1601, he led a revolt against the Queen, but popular support was curiously lacking, and the former darling of the masses was executed. Charles Blount, 8th Baron Mountjoy was sent to Ireland to replace Essex. With ruthless intent, Mountjoy attempted to blockade Tyrone's troops and starve his people into submission; the campaign effectively cast the English strategy of the earlier Desmond Rebellion (1580–83) into a larger theatre, with proportionately greater casualties. In 1601, the Spanish sent over 3,500 troops to aid the Irish, with the justification that their intervention countered Elizabeth's previous aid to the Dutch rebels in the campaign against Spanish rule. After a devastating winter siege, Mountjoy defeated both the Spanish and the Irish forces at the Battle of Kinsale; Tyrone surrendered a few days after Elizabeth's death in 1603, although the fact of her death was concealed from the supplicant rebel with great skill and irony on Mountjoy's part. During her last ailment, the Queen is reported to have declared that she had sent "wolves, not shepherds, to govern Ireland, for they have left me nothing to govern over but ashes and carcasses" (The Sayings of Queen Elizabeth (1925) p.?). Elizabeth's successor promoted Mountjoy to the office of Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, an office in which he showed skill and moderation, until his early death in 1605.

Death

Elizabeth I fell ill in February 1603, suffering from frailty and insomnia. After a period of distressing reflection, she died on March 24 at Richmond Palace, aged 69; at the time she was the oldest English Sovereign ever to have reigned. This mark was not surpassed until George II turned 70 in 1753; he would die in his seventy-seventh year in 1760. Elizabeth was buried in Westminster Abbey, immediately next to her sister Mary I. The Latin inscription on their tomb translates to "Partners both in Throne and grave, here rest we two sisters, Elizabeth and Mary, in the hope of one resurrection." The will of Henry VIII declared that Elizabeth was to be succeeded by the descendants of his younger sister, Mary Tudor, Duchess of Suffolk, rather than by the Scottish descendants of his elder sister, Margaret Tudor. Had the will been upheld, Elizabeth would have been succeeded by Lady Anne Stanley. Alternative successors included James VI, King of Scots, first in line by the rules of male primogeniture, and potential claimants such as Edward Seymour, Baron Beauchamp (the illegitimate son of the Lady Catherine Grey) and William Stanley, 6th Earl of Derby (Lady Anne Stanley's uncle). It is sometimes claimed that Elizabeth named James her heir on her deathbed. According to one story, when asked whom she would name her heir, she replied, "Who could that be but my cousin Scotland?" According to another, she said, "Who but a King could succeed a Queen?" Finally, a third legend suggests that she remained silent until her death. There is no evidence to prove any of these tales. In any event, none of the alternative heirs pressed their claims to the Throne. James VI was proclaimed King of England as James I a few hours after Elizabeth's death. James I's proclamation broke precedent because it was issued not by the new Sovereign himself, but by a Council of Accession, as James was in Scotland at the time. Accession Councils, rather than new Sovereigns, continue to issue proclamations in modern practice.

Legacy

Accession Council Elizabeth proved to be one of the most popular monarchs in English or British history. She placed seventh in the 100 Greatest Britons poll, which was conducted by the British Broadcasting Corporation in 2002, outranking all other British monarchs. In 2005, in the History Channel documentary Britain's Greatest Monarch, a group of historians and commentators analysed twelve British monarchs[http://www.thehistorychannel.co.uk/site/tv_guide/full_details/British_history/programme_2652.php] and gave them overall marks out of 60 for greatness (they were marked out of 10 in six categories, such as military prowess and legacy). Elizabeth I was the winner, with 48 points. She also ranked #94 on Michael H. Hart's list of the most influential figures in history. Her achievements, however, were greatly magnified after her death. She was depicted in later years as a great defender of Protestantism in Europe. In reality, however, she often wavered before coming to the aid of her Protestant allies. As Sir Walter said in relation to her foreign policy, "Her Majesty did all by halves." But Elizabeth did help to steady the nation even after inheriting an enormous national debt from her sister Mary. Under her, England managed to avoid a crippling Spanish invasion. Elizabeth was also able to prevent the outbreak of a religious civil war on English soil despite inheriting probably the greatest potential for such a war in the country's history. In addition, all that she did was often done in the face of an all-male council and parliament which was often openly hostile to the idea of a female monarch. Many artists glorified Elizabeth I and masked her age in their portraits. Elizabeth was often painted in rich and stylised gowns. Elizabeth is often depicted with an ermine or holding a sieve, which are both symbols of virginity. Benjamin Britten wrote an opera, Gloriana, about the relationship between Elizabeth and Lord Essex, composed for the coronation of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. Notable portrayals of Queen Elizabeth in film and television have been plentiful; in fact, she is the most filmed British monarch. Those who have made an impression in the role of Elizabeth in the last 100 years, have included:
- French actress Sarah Bernhardt in Les Amours de la reine Élisabeth (1912),
- Florence Eldridge in Mary of Scotland (1936),
- Flora Robson in Fire Over England (1937) and The Lion Has Wings (1939),
- Bette Davis in The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939) and The Virgin Queen (1955) and
- Jean Simmons in Young Bess (1953).
- Perhaps most importantly, Glenda Jackson's seminal portrayal of Elizabeth I in the Emmy-Award winning BBC mini-series Elizabeth R in 1971. Jackson's role as Elizabeth is considered by many to be the defining portrayal of the queen. In recent years, the story of Elizabeth has been filmed more than ever.
- In 1998, Australian actress Cate Blanchett made her big break and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for her critically acclaimed performance in Elizabeth.
- Also in 1998 British actress Judi Dench won an Academy Award for her supporting performance as the Virgin Queen in the popular Shakespeare in Love, a performance of only eleven minutes.
- Miranda Richardson (in the 1986 classic BBC sitcom Blackadder — gave a comic interpretation of Elizabeth known fondly as Queenie), and in the event entered TV folklore.
- Helen Mirren gave a critically acclaimed performance in a Channel 4/HBO [http://www.mcdonaldrutter.com/Television/elizabethI/elizabethi.htm co-production] in 2005.
- The second installment for the film Elizabeth, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, is planned for 2006, with Blanchett, Hugh Dancy, Jeremy Irons as Leicester and Rush returning for the role of Walsingham.
- The English actress Anne-Marie Duff portrayed Elizabeth I in BBCs "The Virgin Queen" There have been many novels written about Elizabeth. They include: I, Elizabeth by Rosalind Miles, The Virgin's Lover and The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory, Queen of This Realm by Jean Plaidy, and Virgin: Prelude to the Throne by Robin Maxwell. Elizabeth's story is spliced with her mother's in Maxwell's book The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn. Maxwell also writes of a fictional child Elizabeth and Dudley had in The Queen's Bastard. Decades ago, Margaret Irwin produced a trilogy based on Elizabeth's youth: Young Bess, Elizabeth, Captive Princess and Elizabeth and the Prince of Spain. Lytton Strachey's "Elizabeth and Essex", is a reliable romantic reconstruction of the Queen's last political amour. Most fictional accounts of the reign "share too much" of the authors' private enthusiasms. In children's and young adults' fiction, Elizabeth's story is told in Elizabeth I, Red Rose of the House of Tudor, a book in the Royal Diaries series published by Scholastic, and also in Beware, Princess Elizabeth by Carolyn Meyer. The graphic novel Marvel 1602 by Neil Gaiman is set near the end of Elizabeth's reign.

Style and arms

Neil Gaiman Like her predecessors since Henry VIII, Elizabeth used the style "Majesty," as well as "Highness," and "Grace." "Majesty," which Henry VIII first used on a consistent basis, did not become exclusive until the reign of Elizabeth's successor, James I. Elizabeth I used the official style "Elizabeth, by the Grace of God, Queen of England, France and Ireland, Fidei defensor, etc." Whilst most of the style matched the styles of her predecessors, Elizabeth I was the first to use "etc." It was inserted into the style with a view to restoring the phrase "of the Church of England and also of Ireland in Earth Supreme Head," which had been added by Henry VIII but later removed by Mary I. The supremacy phrase was never actually restored, and "etc." remained in the style, to be removed only in 1801. She has been retroactively known as Queen Elizabeth I since the accession of Elizabeth II in 1952. Prior to that time she was referred to as Queen Elizabeth. Elizabeth's arms were the same as those used by Henry IV: Quarterly, Azure three fleurs-de-lys Or (for France) and Gules three lions passant guardant in pale Or (for England). Whilst her Tudor predecessors had used a gold lion and a red dragon as heraldic supporters, Elizabeth used a gold lion and a gold dragon. Elizabeth also adopted one of her mother's mottos, Semper Eadem ("Always the Same").

References

- Eakins, Lara E. (2004) [http://tudorhistory.org/elizabeth/ Elizabeth I.]
- Haigh, Christopher (1988) Elizabeth I. London: Longman.
- Jokinen, Anniina (2004). [http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/eliza.htm Elizabeth I (1533–1603).]
- Neale, J. E.. (1934). Queen Elizabeth I: A Biography London: Jonathan Cape.
- Perry, Maria. (1990). The Word of a Prince: A Life of Elizabeth I from Contemporary Documents Woodbirdge: Boydell Press.
- Ridley, Jasper Godwin (1987). Elizabeth I. London: Constable.
- Somerset, Anne (1991). Elizabeth I. London: Knopf. ISBN 0385721579.
- Starkey, David (2000). Elizabeth : The Struggle for the Throne. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.
- Thomas, Heather (2004). [http://www.elizabethi.org/uk/ Elizabeth I.]
- Weir, Alison. (1998). The Life of Elizabeth I. (1st American edition) New York: Ballantine Books.
- The History of Parliament, House of commons 1558-1603, Sir Robert Bell, Hasler, P.W., p.421-424, HMSO 1981
- Mannings, Speakers, p.244 p. 1850, Sir Robert Bell
- Elizabeth I : Red Rose of the House of Tudor by Kathryn Lasky

External links

- [http://www.badley.info/history/Elizabeth-I-England.biog.html Elizabeth I World History Database]
- [http://www.tudor-portraits.com Buehler, Edward. (2004). "Tudor and Elizabethan Portraits".]
- [http://www.marileecody.com/eliz1-images.html Cody, Marilee. (2004). "Portraits of Queen Elizabeth I".]
- [http://www.archsoc.com/games/Mary.html Stevens, Garry. (2004). "Bloody Mary: Further Intrigue in the Tudor Court".]
- [http://members.optushome.com.au/peterpanandwendy/The%20birth%20of%20Elizabeth.htm Dunn, Wendy J. (2002) "Birth of Elizabeth"]
- [http://tudors.crispen.org/tudor_women/ Crispen (2002) "Life of Women in Tudor England]
- [http://48.1911encyclopedia.org/E/EL/ELIZABETH_QUEEN_OF_ENGLAND.htm Elizabeth I in 1911 EB] Category:1533 births Category:1603 deaths Category:Londoners Category:House of Tudor Category:Henry VIII's children Category:Heirs to the English & British thrones Category:English monarchs Category:Queens regnant Category:British women ja:エリザベス1世 (イングランド女王) simple:Elizabeth I of England

April 28

April 28 is the 118th day of the year (119th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 247 days remaining.

Events

- 1253 - Nichiren, a Japanese Buddhist monk, propounds Nam Myoho Renge Kyo for the first time and declares it to be the essence of Buddhism, in effect founding Nichiren Buddhism.
- 1788 - Maryland becomes the 7th state to ratify the Constitution of the United States.
- 1789 - Mutiny on the HMS Bounty. Captain William Bligh and 18 sailors are set adrift and the rebel crew sets sail for Pitcairn Island.
- 1796 - The Armistice of Cherasco is signed by Napoleon Bonaparte and Vittorio Amedeo III, the King of Sardinia, expanding French territory along the Mediterranean coast.
- 1862 - American Civil War: Admiral David Farragut captures New Orleans, Louisiana.
- 1920 - Azerbaijan is added to the Soviet Union.
- 1930 - The first night game in organized baseball history takes place in Independence, Kansas.
- 1932 - A vaccine for yellow fever is announced for use on humans.
- 1945 - Benito Mussolini and his mistress Clara Petacci are executed by members of the Italian resistance movement.
- 1947 - Thor Heyerdahl and five crewmates set out from Peru on the Kon-Tiki to prove that Peruvian natives could have settled Polynesia.
- 1950 - King of Thailand, Bhumibol Adulyadej, got married with his queen,Queen Sirikit, after their quiet engagement in Lausanne, Switzerland on July 19, 1949.
- 1952 - Dwight D. Eisenhower resigns as Supreme Commander of NATO in order to run for President of the United States.
- 1952 - Occupied Japan: The United States occupation of Japan ends.
- 1965 - United States troops land in the Dominican Republic to "forestall establishment of a Communist dictatorship" and to evacuate U.S. citizens.
- 1967 - Expo 67 opens in Montréal, Québec, Canada
- 1969 - Charles de Gaulle resigns as President of France.
- 1970 - Vietnam War: U.S. President Richard M. Nixon formally authorizes American combat troops to fight communist sanctuaries in Cambodia.
- 1977 - The Red Army Faction trial ends, with Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin and Jan-Carl Raspe found guilty of four counts of murder and more than 30 counts of attempted murder.
- 1977 - The Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure is signed.
- 1978 - President of Afghanistan Mohammed Daoud Khan is overthrown and assassinated in a coup led by pro-communist rebels.
- 1981 - Galician current Statute of Autonomy
- 1987 - U.S. engineer Ben Linder is killed in an ambush by US-funded Contras in northern Nicaragua.
- 1988 - Near Maui, Hawaii, a flight attendant is sucked out of Aloha Flight 243, a Boeing 737, and falls to her death when an upper part of the plane's cabin area rips off in mid-flight. Metal fatigue is later found to be the cause of the failure.
- 1990 - After 6,237 performances, the Broadway musical A Chorus Line closes.
- 1994 - Former Central Intelligence Agency official Aldrich Ames pleads guilty to giving U.S. secrets to the Soviet Union and later Russia.
- 1996 - Whitewater scandal: President Bill Clinton gives 4 1/2 hour videotaped testimony for the defense.
- 1996 - Port Arthur massacre: Martin Bryant kills 35 people and wounds another 18 in Tasmania, Australia.
- 1997 - The 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention goes into effect. Russia, Iraq and North Korea were notable nations who had not ratified the treaty.
- 2001 - Millionnaire Dennis Tito becomes the world's first space tourist.
- 2003 - Apple Computer's iTunes Music Store launches, selling 1 million songs in its first week.
- 2003 - Iraq, 15 unarmed teenagers were killed by american forces in front of a school during a demostration; marking the beginning of the Falluja riots that took place during April 2003.
- 2004 - Pictures of abuse and torture of prisoners by U.S. armed forces at Abu Ghraib prison are first shown on 60 minutes.
- 2005 - The Patent Law Treaty goes into effect.

Births

- 1442 - King Edward IV of England (d. 1483)
- 1630 - Charles Cotton, English poet (d. 1687)
- 1686 - Michael Brokoff, Czech sculptor (d. 1721)
- 1715 - Franz Sparry, composer (d. 1767)
- 1758 - James Monroe, 5th President of the United States (d. 1831)
- 1819 - Ezra Abbot, American Bible scholar (d. 1884)
- 1838 - Tobias Michael Carel Asser, Dutch jurist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1913)
- 1874 - Karl Kraus, Austrian journalist and author (d. 1936)
- 1878 - Lionel Barrymore, American actor (d. 1954)
- 1886 - Ğabdulla Tuqay, Russian poet (d. 1913)
- 1889 - António de Oliveira Salazar, dictator of Portugal (d. 1970)
- 1900 - Jan Oort, Dutch astronomer (d. 1992)
- 1903 - Johan Borgen, Norwegian author (d. 1979)
- 1906 - Kurt Gödel, Austrian mathematician (d. 1978)
- 1906 - Paul Sacher, Swiss conductor (d. 1999)
- 1908 - Oskar Schindler, Austrian businessman (d. 1974)
- 1912 - Odette Sansom, French spy (d. 1995)
- 1916 - Ferruccio Lamborghini, Italian automobile manufacturer (d. 1993)
- 1921 - Rowland Evans, American journalist and commentator (d. 2001)
- 1924 - Kenneth Kaunda, President of Zambia
- 1926 - Harper Lee, American author
- 1928 - Yves Klein, French painter (d. 1962)
- 1928 - Eugene M. Shoemaker, American planetary scientist (d. 1997)
- 1930 - James Baker, American politician
- 1930 - Carolyn Jones, American actress (d. 1983)
- 1937 - Saddam Hussein, former leader of Iraq
- 1938 - Madge Sinclair, Jamaican actress (d. 1995)
- 1941 - Ann-Margret, Swedish-born actress
- 1941 - K. Barry Sharpless, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1943 - Jacques Dutronc, French singer and actor
- 1944 - Jean-Claude Van Cauwenberghe, Belgian politician
- 1948 - Terry Pratchett, English author
- 1948 - Marcia Strassman, American actress
- 1950 - Jay Leno, American comedian and television host
- 1952 - Mary McDonnell, American actress
- 1953 - Kim Gordon, American musician (Sonic Youth)
- 1955 - Paul Guilfoyle, American actor
- 1956 - Jimmy Barnes, Scottish-born singer
- 1958 - Hal Sutton, American golfer
- 1960 - John Cerutti, baseball player and announcer (d. 2004)
- 1966 - John Daly, American golfer
- 1966 - Too $hort, American rapper
- 1970 - Nicklas Lidström, Swedish Hockey player
- 1970 - Diego Simeone, Argentine footballer
- 1973 - Elisabeth Röhm, American actress
- 1974 - Penélope Cruz, Spanish actress
- 1974 - Richel Hersisia, Dutch boxer
- 1979 - Jorge Garcia, American actor
- 1981 - Jessica Alba, American actress

Deaths

- 1192 - Conrad of Montferrat, King of Jerusalem
- 1498 - Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland, English politician (killed in battle)
- 1533 - Nicholas West, English bishop and diplomat (b. 1461)
- 1695 - Henry Vaughan, Welsh poet (b. 1621)
- 1710 - Thomas Betterton, English actor
- 1726 - Thomas Pitt, British Governor of Madras (b. 1653)
- 1772 - Johann Friedrich Struensee, physician of Christian VII of Denmark (b. 1737)
- 1781 - Cornelius Harnett, American delegate to the Continental Congress]] (b. 1723)
- 1813 - Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov, Russian field marshal (b. 1745)
- 1816 - Johann Heinrich Abicht, German philosopher (b. 1862)
- 1841 - Peter Chanel, French saint (b. 1803)
- 1853 - Ludwig Tieck, German writer (b. 1773)
- 1858 - Johannes Peter Müller, German physiologist (b. 1801)
- 1905 - Fitzhugh Lee, American Confederate general (b. 1835)
- 1926 - Zip the Pinhead, American freak show performer (b. 1857)
- 1945 - Benito Mussolini, Italian fascist dictator (b. 1882)
- 1945 - Clara Petacci, Italian mistress of Benito Mussolini (shot) (b. 1912)
- 1945 - Roberto Farinacci, Italian fascist (b. 1892)
- 1954 - Léon Jouhaux, French labor leader, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1879)
- 1973 - Clas Thunberg, Finnish speed skater (d. 1893)
- 1978 - Sardar Mohammed Daoud, President of Afghanistan (shot) (b. 1909)
- 1970 - Ed Begley, American actor (b. 1901)
- 1992 - Francis Bacon, Anglo-Irish painter (b. 1909)
- 1992 - Iceberg Slim, American writer (b.