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

1656 - Guillaume Dubois (French cardinal and statesman)

1757 - Marquis de Lafayette (French soldier and statesman)

1802 - Alcide d'Orbigny (French naturalist)

1808 - Abd al-Qadir (Algerian political and military leader)

1814 - George-Étienne Cartier (Canadian politician)

1868 - Heinrich Häberlin (Swiss Federal Councilor)

1906 - Luis Federico Leloir (French-born chemist)

1954 - Ève Luquet (French stamp designer)

1957 - Michaëlle Jean (Haitian-born Governor-General of Canada)

1970 - Stephane Guivarc'h (French soccer player)

1973 - Greg Rusedski (Canadian-born tennis player)


Deaths

1683 - Jean-Baptiste Colbert (French minister of finance)

1808 - Louis-Pierre Anquetil (French historian)


Holidays/Celebrations

Canada - Stillbirth Remembrance Day (New Brunswick, Ontario, and Québec)


Milestones/Events

394 - Battle of the Frigidus

1776 - Guadeloupe: Hurricane killed more than 6,000 people

1944 - World War II: Belgian city of Ypres liberated by Allies

1952 - Canada's first television station, CBFT-TV, opened in Montreal

1963 - Strasbourg: Centre d'Études Internationales de la Propriété Industrielle founded


Errors and Omissions

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