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
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Birthdays
1698 - Pierre-Louis Maupertuis (French mathematician)
1797 - Hippolyte Delaroche (French painter)
1917 - Christiane Rochefort (French writer)
1938 - Hermann Huppen (Belgian comic book artist)
1975 - Cécile de France (Belgian actress)
Deaths
1105 - Rashi (French rabbi and commentator)
1704 - Pierre-Charles Le Sueur (French fur trader and explorer)
1793 - Charlotte Corday (French aristocrat and murderer)
1885 - Jean-Charles Chapais (Canadian politician)
1894 - Charles-Marie-René Leconte de Lisle (French poet)
1912 - Henri Poincaré (French mathematician)
1917 - Hector Malot (French writer)
Milestones/Events
1429 - Charles VII was crowned King of France
1453 - Hundred Years' War: Battle of Castillon - The French utterly defeated the English
1976 - Montréal, Canada: XXI Olympiad (Summer Olympics) opened
1791 - French Revolution: Massacre at the Champ de Mars, Paris, - 1200-1500 people killed, including women and children
1815 - Napoleonic Wars: Napoleon surrendered at Rochefort, Charente-Maritime to British forces
1816 - Sénégal: French passenger ship Medusa ran aground
1944 - Coutances, near St. Lô, France: Napalm incendiary bombs were dropped for the first time by American pilots on a fuel depot
1996 - Long Island, New York: Paris-bound TWA flight 800 exploded, killing 230 people
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