TODAY IN HISTORY
19 BC — Death of Virgil, epic Roman poet.
1327 — King Edward II of England is murdered in Berkeley Castle; he is succeeded by his son Edward III.
1529 — Turks under Suleiman I lay siege to Vienna; Defensive League of the Powers in Italy is formed by the Pope, Venice, Florence, Mantua and Savoy.
1802 — France’s Napoleon Bonaparte annexes Piedmont.
1860 — In the Second Opium War, an Anglo-French force defeats Chinese troops at the battle of Baliqiao.
1938 — A hurricane kills more than 700 people in New England (US) and on Long Island.
1956 — Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza is shot by a liberal poet. He dies eight days later and is succeeded by his son.
1969 — More than 120 people are killed in rioting in western India that stems from alleged Muslim abuse of cattle, which Hindus regard as sacred.
1985 — Mexico counts at least 2000 dead from earthquake that devastated four states.
1994 — Prosecutors announce that child molestation charges will not be filed against singer Michael Jackson; but the case will remain open until 1999.
1999 — An earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale strikes Taiwan, killing at least 2321 people and injuring 8712.
2004 — Floodwaters recede and rescue workers reach homes buried in mud, but Tropical Storm Jeanne has killed more than 700 Haitians and left 250,000 homeless.
2005 — Indonesia scrambles to calm public fears of a possible bird flu epidemic after two children suspected of having the disease die, potentially raising the death toll to six.
2010 — Italian authorities seize $US23 million euros ($A24.89 million) from a Vatican bank account and say they have begun investigating top officials of the Vatican bank in connection with a money-laundering probe.
2013 — A four-day siege of the Nairobi Westgate shopping mall by Somali al-Qaeda-linked militants leaves at least 67 people dead and about 20 missing.
Louis Joliet, French-Canadian explorer (1645-1700); H.G. Wells, English author (1866-1946); Larry Hagman, US television actor (1931-2012); Leonard Cohen, Canadian poet-songwriter (1934-); Stephen King, US author (1947-); Bill Murray, US actor (1950-); Ethan Coen, US producer-writer of the Coen brothers (1957-); Curtly Ambrose, Antiguan cricketer (1963-) ; Liam Gallagher, British rock musician (1972-).