8 Dey 1384 | Thursday 29 December 2005

This day in four calendars

1874 (152 years ago) The military coup of Gen. Martinez Campos in Sagunto ends the failed First Spanish Republic and the monarchy is restored as Prince Alfonso is proclaimed King of Spain.
1911 (115 years ago) Mongolia gains independence from the Qing dynasty, enthroning 8th Jebtsundamba Khutughtu as Khagan of Mongolia.
1930 (96 years ago) Sir Muhammad Iqbal's presidential address in Allahabad introduces the two-nation theory and outlines a vision for the creation of Pakistan.
1937 (89 years ago) The Irish Free State is replaced by a new state called Ireland with the adoption of a new constitution.
1940 (86 years ago) World War II: in the Second Great Fire of London, the Luftwaffe fire-bombs London, England, killing almost 200 civilians.
2020 (6 years ago) A magnitude 6.4 earthquake hits near the town of Petrinja in Sisak-Moslavina County, Croatia, killing seven people.
2023 (3 years ago) South Africa files a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice over Israeli conducts in the Gaza Strip.
2024 (2 years ago) Jeju Air Flight 2216 crashes into a wall in Muan, South Korea, killing 179 of the 181 occupants. It is the worst aircraft accident on South Korean soil in history.

1709 (317 years ago) Elizabeth Petrovna, Russian empress (died 1762)
1721 (305 years ago) Madame de Pompadour, mistress of King Louis XV (died 1764)
1808 (218 years ago) Andrew Johnson, American general and politician, 17th President of the United States (died 1875)
1809 (217 years ago) William Ewart Gladstone, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 1898)
1938 (88 years ago) Jon Voight, American actor and producer
1962 (64 years ago) Carles Puigdemont, Catalan politician and journalist, former president
1963 (63 years ago) Ulf Kristersson, Swedish politician, Leader of the Swedish Moderate Party and 35th Prime Minister of Sweden
1972 (54 years ago) Jude Law, English actor

1825 (201 years ago) Jacques-Louis David, French painter and illustrator (born 1748)
1834 (192 years ago) Thomas Robert Malthus, English economist (born 1766)
1924 (102 years ago) Carl Spitteler, Swiss poet and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1845)
1926 (100 years ago) Rainer Maria Rilke, Austrian poet and author (born 1875)
1986 (40 years ago) Andrei Tarkovsky, Russian director and screenwriter (born 1932)
1986 (40 years ago) Harold Macmillan, English captain and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (born 1894)
2022 (4 years ago) Pelé, Brazilian footballer (born 1940)
2024 (2 years ago) Jimmy Carter, American politician, 39th President of the United States (born 1924)