Today in Francophone History

Learn about important dates in French and francophone history: famous birthdays, holidays and celebrations, and other milestones. If the above does not match today's date or you wish to choose a specific date, please click here

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Birthdays

1496 - Mary Tudor (daughter of Henry VII of England and queen consort of Louis XII of France)

1555 - François, Duke of Anjou

1602 - Jacques de Billy (French mathematician)

1634 - Marie-Madeleine Pioche de la Vergne, comtesse de la Fayette (French writer)

1640 - Philippe de la Hire (French mathematician and astronomer)

1823 - Antoine Eugène Alfred Chanzy (French general)

1842 - Stéphane Mallarmé (French poet)

1959 - Luc Besson (French producer, writer, and director)

1977 - Willy Sagnol (French soccer player)


Deaths

1314 - Jacques de Molay (Frankish noble)

1823 - Jean-Baptiste Breval (French composer)

1907 - Marcellin Berthelot (French chemist and politician)

1941 - Henri Cornet (French cyclist)

1977 - Marien Ngouabi (President of the Republic of the Congo)


Milestones/Events

1314 - Jacques de Molay, the 23rd and the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, was burned at the stake

1871 - Adolphe Thiers, provisional French president, ordered the evacuation of Paris

1915 - World War I: Battle of Gallipoli - Massive British and French naval attack on the Dardanelles

1921 - The second Peace of Riga between Poland and Soviet Union: Soviets annexed Belarus and Ukraine, the latter's government emigrated to France

1940 - World War II: Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini formed an alliance against France and the United Kingdom

1961 - Cannes, France: Jean-Claude Pascal won the sixth Eurovision Song Contest for Luxembourg singing Nous les amoureux (We the lovers)

1962 - Algerian War of Independence: Evian Accords


Errors and Omissions

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