AD 37 – Roman emperor Caligula accepts the titles of the Principate, entitled to him by the Senate.
193 – Roman Emperor Pertinax is assassinated by Praetorian Guards, who then sell the throne in an auction to Didius Julianus.
364 – Roman Emperor Valentinian I appoints his brother Flavius Valens co-emperor.
1802 – Heinrich Wilhelm Matthäus Olbers discovers 2 Pallas, the second asteroid ever to be discovered.
1842 – First concert of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, founded by Otto Nicolai.
1854 – Crimean War: France and Britain declare war on Russia.
1871 – The Paris Commune is formally established in Paris.
1939 – Spanish Civil War: Generalissimo Francisco Franco conquers Madrid after a three-year siege.
1959 – The State Council of the People’s Republic of China dissolves the government of Tibet.
1978 – The US Supreme Court hands down 5-3 decision in Stump v. Sparkman, a controversial case involving involuntary sterilization and judicial immunity.
1979 – A coolant leak at the Three Mile Island’s Unit 2 nuclear reactor outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania leads to the core overheating and a partial meltdown.
Births
1483 – Raphael, Italian painter and architect (d. 1520)
1836 – Frederick Pabst, German-American brewer, founded the Pabst Brewing Company (d. 1904)
1868 – Maxim Gorky, Russian novelist and playwright (d. 1936)
1903 – Rudolf Serkin, Czech-American pianist and educator (d. 1991)
1907 – Irving Paul Lazar, American lawyer and talent agent (d. 1993)
1914 – Edmund Muskie, 58th United States Secretary of State (d. 1996)
1928 – Zbigniew Brzezinski, Polish-American political activist and analyst; 10th United States National Security Advisor
1986 – Lady Gaga, singer-songwriter, dancer, producer
Deaths
1584 – Ivan the Terrible, Russian king (b. 1530)
1941 – Virginia Woolf, English novelist, essayist and critic (b. 1882)
1943 – Sergei Rachmaninoff, Russian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1873)
1953 – Jim Thorpe, American football player and coach (b. 1887)
1969 – Dwight D. Eisenhower, General and politician, 34th President of the United States (b. 1890)
1985 – Marc Chagall, Russian-French painter and poet (b. 1887)
1987 – Maria von Trapp, Austrian-American singer (b. 1905)
2004 – Peter Ustinov, actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1921)
2006 – Caspar Weinberger, American captain, lawyer, and politician, 15th United States Secretary of Defense and pardoned felon (b. 1917)
Edited from various sources including historyorb.com, the NYTimes.com Wikipedia and other internet searches