Events on Aug 14
- 0554Ravenna becomes seat of Byzantines milt Governor in Italy
- 1248Construction of Cologne Cathedral begun
- 1281Kublai Khans invading fleet disappears in typhoon near Japan
- 1385Portuguese defeat Castilians at Aljubarrota, retain independence
- 1395Utrecht Bishop Frederik of Blankenheim occupies Coevorden
- 1457Oldest known exactly dated printed book (c 3 years after Gutenberg)
- 1498Columbus landed at the mouth of the Orinoco River in Venezuela
- 1551Turkish fleet under Dragut occupies Tripoli
- 1559Spanish explorer de Luna lands in Pensacola Bay, Florida
- 1585Queen Elizabeth I refuses sovereignty of the Netherlands
- 1597Cornelis de Houtmans fleet is 1st Dutch visit to Java
- 1624Dutch fleet ceases Callao the Lima in Peru
- 1636Spanish troops occupy Corbie at Amiens
- 1642Able Tasmans ships Heemskerck / Zeehaen depart out of Batavia
- 1678Battle of Mons-French repulse William of Orange
- 1743Prussian army occupies Saksen, beginning 2nd Silezian War
- 1756French capture Fort Oswego, New York
- 1758Battle at Zorndorf: Prussia beat Russia, 1000s killed
- 1762English fleet occupies Havana
- 1765Mass colonists challenge British rule by an Elm (Liberty Tree)
- 1782Suriname forbids selling slave mothers without their babies
- 1790Sweden and Russia sign Peace of Verela
- 1813British warship Pelican attacks and captures US war brigantine Argus
- 1816Great Britain annexes Tristan da Cunha
- 18201st US eye hospital, the New York Eye Infirmary, opens in New York City
- 1824General Lafayette returns to US
- 1825Dutch King Willem I throws foreign students out
- 1842Seminole War ends; Indians removed from Florida to Oklahoma
- 1846Henry David Thoreau jailed for tax resistance
- 1848Oregon Territory created
Born on Aug 14
- 1552Fra Paolo Sarpi [Paulus Venetus]: Expert / philosopher
- 1675Johann Georg Christian Storl: Composer
- 1688Frederik Willem I: King of Prussia (bodyguard of giants)
- 1714Claude-Joseph Vernet: French painter
- 1737Charles Hutton: Mathematician
- 1740Pius VII [Luigi B Chiaramonti]: Bishop of Imola / Pope (1800-23)
- 1742Marie Allard: French ballerina (Auguste Vestris)
- 1758Carle [Antoine CH] Vernet: French painter / lithographer
- 1769Friedrich Ludwig Dulon: Flautist / composer
- 1777Hans Christian Oersted: Den, physicist / chemist (View of Chemical Law)
- 1784Francesco Capaccini: Italian Cardinal / diplomat
- 1810Samuel Sebastian Wesley: Composer
- 1814Henry Hayes Lockwood: Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1899
- 1821Clement Hoffman "Rock" Stevens: Brigadier General (Confederate Army)
- 1823Karel Miry: Composer
- 1824William Terry: Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1888
- 1836Walter Besant: Writer / philanthropist (Rebel Queen)
- 1840Baron Richard Freiherr von Krafft-Ebing: Psychiatrist
- 1842Henry Duff Trail: Journalist / author
- 1850Earnest YY [Bachigaloupi] Tourniaire: Actor (Kloris & Roses)
- 1860Ernest T Seton: Naturalist / painter / author (Buffalo Wind-1938)
- 1861Bion Joseph Arnold: Electrical engineer / inventor
- 1867John Galsworthy: England, United Kingdom -- Author (Forsyte Saga-Nobel 1932)
- 1868Leone Sinigaglia: Composer
- 1876Alexander I Obrenovic: King of Serbia / Yugoslavia (1922-34)
- 1876Sibilla Aleramo [Rina Faccio]: Italian feminist / poet (Una Donna)
- 1878Harald Kidde: Danish writer (Aage og Else)
- 1883Ernest E Just: Biologist (pioneered cell division)
- 1891Marinus de Jong: Composer
- 1892Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji: Composer
Died on Aug 14
- 1167Raynald van Dassel: Archbishop of Cologne
- 1433Johan I: King of Portugal (1383-1433), dies at 76
- 1587Gugliemo Gonzaga: Composer, dies at 49
- 1727William Croft: Composer, dies at 48
- 1763Giovanni Battista Somis: Composer, dies at 76
- 1778Augustus Montague Toplady: Hymn writer (Rock of Ages)
- 1785John William Fletcher: Evangelist
- 1788Thomas Sheridan: Actor / biographer / lexicographer (Intelligencer)
- 1794George Colman [the Elder]: Playwright
- 1833Luigi Cagnola: Architect
- 1834Friedrich Christian Ruppe: Composer, dies at 63
- 1844Henry Francis Cary: Translator (Dante)
- 1856William Buckland: Dean (Westminister) / geologist
- 1858George Combe: Phrenologist
- 1863Colin Campbell: British officer (Cawnpore), dies at 70
- 1867Niccola Benvenuti: Composer, dies at 84
- 1870David [James] Glasgow Farragut: Admiral
- 1884Arnoldus Pannevis: South African shipping agent / linguist, dies at 46
- 1887Richard Jeffries: Naturalist / essayist
- 1922Alfred CW Harmsworth: 1st viscount Northcliffe / newspaper magnate
- 1923Jacob T Cremer: President (Dutch Handel-Mij), dies at 76
- 1928Klabund [Alfred Henschke]: German writer (Spuk / Rasputin), dies at 37
- 1932Rin Tin Tin: US Hollywood-dog
- 1936Rainey Bethea: Hanged, last US public execution
- 1937Sapper: British soldier / Novelist (Bull-Dog Drummond), dies at 48
- 1938Landon Ronald: Composer / pianist, dies at 65
- 1941Josef Jakobs: German spy, executed in Tower of London
- 1946Susan St James [Susan Jane Miller]: LA California, actress (Kate & Allie)
- 1949Husni al-Barazi: Premier of Syria, shot to death
- 1949Husni el-Zaim: President / Dictator of Syria, shot to death
Historical events on August 15
- 0778Battle at Roncevalles: Basques beat Charles the Great
- 1308Johannieter knights conquer Rhodos on the Greece
- 1457Earliest dated book, "Mainz Psalter, " completed
- 1519Panama City founded
- 1534Ignatius of Loyola forms society of Jesus / Jesuits
- 1548Mary Queen of Scotland (6) arrives in France
- 1549Portuguese missionaries Franciscus Xaverius lands in Kagoshima Japan
- 1620Mayflower sets sail from Southampton with 102 Pilgrims
- 16351st recorded US hurricane hits the Plymouth Colony
- 1668Rijnbond disbands
- 1684Spain and Germany sign cease fire with France
- 1741French troops attack the Rhine
- 1748United Lutheran Church of US organized
- 1785French Cardinal De Rohan arrested
- 1795Joseph Haydn leaves England forever
- 1824Freed American slaves forms country of Liberia
- 1832Gregory XVI encyclical On liberalism and religious indifferentism
- 1843National black convention meets (Buffalo NY)
- 1843Tivoli Park in Copenhagen opens
- 1848M Waldo Hanchett patents dental chair
- 1858Regular mail to Pacific coast begins
- 1861Lincoln directs reinforcements to be sent to MI
- 1863Submarine "HL Hunley" arrives in Charleston on railroad cars
- 1864Off New England coast, CSS Tallahassee captures 6 yankee schooners
- 18672nd Reform Bill extends suffrage in England
- 1870Transcontinental Railway actually completed in Colorado
- 1876US law removes Indians from Black Hills after gold find
- 1886Guy Hecker scores 7 runs in 1 game
- 18924th and last British government of Gladstone forms
- 1893US no longer allowed exclusive rights in Bering Sea
Born on August 15
- 1432Luigi Pulci: Italy -- Poet (Morgante)
- 1619Hubertus Quellinus [Quellien]: Flemish cartoonist / copper plate
- 1688Frederick-William I: King of Prussia (1713-1740)
- 1702Francesco Zuccarelli: Italian rococo painter / etcher
- 1725Ferdinando Bertoni: Composer
- 1727Johann Georg Holzbogen: Composer
- 1736Johann Christoph Kellner: Composer
- 1740M Claudius: Writer
- 1741Thomas Norris: Composer
- 1771Walter Scott: Scotland, United Kingdom -- Novelist / poet (Lady of Lake)
- 1776Gottlieb Schick: German painter (Apollo under the Hirten)
- 1776Ignaz Xaver von Seyfried: Composer
- 1782Henri MG Earl the Merode: Belgian revolutionary (Souvenirs)
- 1785Thomas De Quincey: England, United Kingdom -- Writer (Confessions of English Opium Eater)
- 1787Alexander Aliabiev: Composer
- 1788Carel SW van Hogendorp: Dutch colonial director
- 1794Elias M Fries: Swedish Botanist (System mycologicum)
- 1803James Douglas: Father of British Columbia
- 1822Wilhelm Rust: Composer
- 1823Orris Sanford Ferry: Bvt Major General (Union volunteers)
- 1829Eduard de Hartog: Composer
- 1839Hugh Archibald Clarke: Composer
- 1845Walter Crane: England, United Kingdom -- Painter / illustrator (Beauty & Beast)
- 1851[Georgette A] Helena Amelung: Dutch actress (Scapegoat)
- 1856J Keir Hardie: 1st Labour representative in British Parliament
- 1860Florence Kling DeWolfe Harding: 1st lady (1921-23)
- 1860Roosje Vos: Dutch union organizer
- 1865Johan[nes] B Schepers: Frisian writer (Braga)
- 1872Harold Fraser-Simson: Composer
- 1872Rubin Goldmark: Composer
Died on August 15
- 0423Flavius Honorius: Emperor East Roman Republic (395-423)
- 1038Stefanus I [Arpad]: 1st King of Hungary
- 1057Macbeth: King of Scotland, slain by Son of King Duncan
- 1118Alexius I Comnenus: Emperor of Byzantium (1081-1118)
- 1464Pius II [Aenea S Piccolomini]: Italian Pope (1458-64), dies at 58
- 1576Baliny Valentin Bakfark: Composer
- 1600Johann Baptista Serranus: Composer, dies at 60
- 1615Cornelis C Vrancx: Flemish Poet / writer (Comfort of Soles)
- 1619Miriam Bella: Head of Jewish community of Cracow
- 1666Johann A Schall von Bell: German Missionary / astronomer
- 1725Gerard Noodt: Lawyer, dies at 77
- 1728Marin Marias: Composer, dies at 72
- 1729Benjamin Neukirch: German Poet (Herrn von Hofmannswaldau), dies at 64
- 1758Pierre Bouguer: French Mathematician (fotometrie), dies at 60
- 1798Felice Alessandri: Composer, dies at 50
- 1807Johann N Tetens: German / Danish philosopher / mathematician, dies at 70
- 1848Timothy Olmstead: Composer, dies at 88
- 1852Johan Gadolin: Finnish chemist (discovered yttrium), dies at 92
- 1853Giovanni Battista Polledro: Composer, dies at 72
- 1864Daniel Phineas Woodbury: US engineer / Union General Major
- 1901Karl Weinhold: Germany -- Sociologist, dies at 77
- 1907Joseph Joachim: German violinist / composer, dies at 76
- 1915Albert Siegfried Bettelheim: Jew convicted of murder, lynched
- 1918Peter Gast: Composer, dies at 64
- 1935Gerard Brucken Fock: Composer, dies at 75
- 1935Wiley Post: Aviation pioneer, killed in plane crash in Alaska at 36
- 1935Will Rogers: Humoprist, killed in plane crash in Alaska at 55
- 1936Grazia Deledda: Sardina / Italian Author (Nobel 1926), dies at 64
- 1936Stanislaw Niewiadomski: Composer, dies at 76
- 1951Artur Schnabel: Austria / US pianist (Reflections on Music), dies at 69
Events on Aug 16
- 1290Charles van Valois weds Margaretha van Anjou
- 1513Battle at Eguinegatte / Guinegate: Maximilian and Henry III beat France
- 1625Earnest Casimir of Nassau-Dietz appointed Viceroy of Drenthe
- 1691Yorktown Va founded
- 1717Prince Eugenius of Savoye occupies Belgrade
- 1743Earliest boxing code of rules formulated in England (Jack Broughton)
- 1748"Geldermalsen" sails to East-Indies
- 1777Americans defeat British in Battle of Bennington, Vermont
- 1780British decisively defeat Americans in Battle of Camden, South Carolina
- 1797Comet C / 1797 P1 (Bouvard-Herschel) approaches 0.0879 AUs of Earth
- 1812Gen Hull surrenders Detroit and Michigan territory to England
- 1819Manchester Massacre: English police charge unemployed demonstrators
- 1829Siamese twins Chang and Eng Bunker arrive in Boston to be exhibited
- 1834Charles Darwin climbs Mt Campana in Chile
- 1861President Lincoln prohibits Union states from trading with Confederacy
- 1861Skirmishes at Fredericktown / Kirkville, Missouri
- 1863Chickamauga campaign Georgia
- 1863Emancipation Proclamation signed
- 18644th day of battle at Deep Bottom Run Virginia, Federal assault
- 1864Battle of Front Royal VA (Guard Hill)
- 1876Opera "Siegfried" premieres in Bayreuth
- 1882British under General Wolseley land in Alexandria
- 1890Alexander Clark, journalist / lawyer, named Minister to Liberia
- 1894Indian chiefs from the Sioux and Onondaga tribes met to urge their people to renounce Christianity and return to their old Indian faith
- 1896Gold discovered in Klondike, found at Bonanza Creek, Ala
- 1898Edwin Prescott patents roller coaster
- 1903Tigers play a home game in Toledo Ohio, Yanks win 12-8
- 1904New York City begins building Grand Central Station
- 1905Mbunga-rebellion occupy German post Ifakara East-Africa
- 1907Abd al-Hafid proclaims himself Sultan of Morocco
Born on Aug 16
- 1397Albrecht II von Habsburg: King of Bohemia / Hungary / Germany
- 1550Carolus Gallus [Karel de Haan]: Dutch lawyer / pastor / vicar
- 1622Tsjerk H de Vries: Fleet guardian
- 1769Jean Aime Vernier: Composer
- 1776Philipp Jakob Riotte: Composer
- 1795Heinrich August Marschner: Composer
- 1816Joseph Robinson: Composer
- 1817Henry Winter Davis: MC (Union), died in 1865
- 1828Joseph Bradford Carr: Bvt Major General (Union volunteers)
- 1831Edward Payson Chapin: Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1863
- 1832Wilhelm Wundt: German physiologist / psychologist / philosopher
- 1836John Farmer: Composer
- 1837Emile A H Seipgens: Dutch priest / beer brewer
- 1845Gabriel Lippmann: French physicist
- 1846Justus van Maurik: Dutch cigar manufacturer / writer / editor (Groene)
- 1860Jules Laforgue: Uruguay -- French poet (Les Complaintas)
- 1862Amos Alonzo Stagg: Football pioneer, inventor (tackling dummy)
- 1864Ferdinand C S Schiller: British philosopher (Riddles of the Sphinx)
- 1868Bernard MacFadden: Publisher (Physical Culture, True Romances)
- 1868Charles Sanford Skilton: Composer
- 1871Zakhary Petrovich Paliashvili: Composer
- 1877Karl L Hoschna: Composer
- 1882Pierre H Ritter, Jr.: Dutch literary / head (Utrecht Newspaper)
- 1884Adrian S Oppenheim: Dutch lawyer / adviser (British Petroleum / Shell)
- 1884Hugo Gernsback: Sci-fi writer (1960 Hugo)
- 1885Charles Carson: London, England -- Actor (Cry the Beloved Country)
- 1887Nadia Boulanger: Conductor (1st woman to conduct Boston Symphony)
- 1892Harold Foster: Cartoonist (created "Prince Valiant")
- 1894George Meany: NYC, New York -- Labor leader (headed AFL-CIO)
- 1895Jacinto Guerrero: Composer
Died on Aug 16
- 1508Henry van Stolberg and Wernigerode: German Viceroy of Friesland, dies at 41
- 1532Johan de Standvastige: Monarch of Saxon (Schmalkaldisch)
- 1603Silvio Antoniano: Italian Cardinal / Theologist (Tre libri), dies at 62
- 1661Thomas Fuller: English Prime Minister, dies at 53
- 1675Bogdan Chmilnicki: Cosack leader / murderer of 300, 000 Jews
- 1678Andrew Marvell: English Poet (Definition of Love), ODs at 57
- 1705Jean / Jacobus Bernouilli: Swiss mathematician, dies at 50
- 1738Joe Miller: English comic
- 1748Pietro Giuseppe Sandoni: Composer, dies at 63
- 1786Henri-Jacques de Croes: Flemish Composer / bandmaster, dies at 80
- 1799Vincenzo Manfredini: Composer, dies at 61
- 1807Claude C Saunier: French furniture maker, dies at about 72
- 1831Eduard Brendler: Composer, dies at 30
- 1854Duncan Phyfe: Furniture maker
- 1864John Randolph Chambliss, Jr.: Planter / Confederate, dies in battle at 31
- 1870Ludvig Anton Edmund Passy: Composer, dies at 80
- 1886Swami Ramakrishna: Indies philosopher, dies at 50
- 1894Herman van der Tuuk: Dutch linguist (Toba Batak grammar), dies at 70
- 1910Charles Ferdinand Lenepveu: Composer, dies at 69
- 1911Karl Munzinger: Composer, dies at 68
- 1920J Norman Lockyer: English physicist (discovered helium in Sun)
- 1929Frank Valentine Van der Stucken: Composer, dies at 70
- 1938Robert Johnson: US Delta-blues singer / guitarist, poisoned at 27
- 1940Billy Fiske: US RAF-pilot / 2nd lieutenant, dies of injuries
- 1940Henri Desgrange: French cyclist / founder (Tour de France), dies at 75
- 1944Roman Padlewski: Composer, dies at 28
- 1945Nico Richter: Composer, dies at 29
- 1945Takijiro Ohnishi: Led Japanese kamikaze pilots (harakiri)
- 1946Herman Harrell Horne: Philosopher (idealism)
- 1948Babe Ruth: Baseball legend (New York Yankees), dies in New York at 53