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

1477 - Anne, Duchess of Brittany (wife of Charles VIII of France)

1736 - Joseph-Louis Lagrange, comte de l'Empire (Franco-Italian mathematician and astronomer)

1739 - Charles François Dumouriez (French general)

1746 - Madame Stéphanie Félicité Ducrest de St-Aubin, comtesse de Genlis (French writer)

1794 - François-Vincent Raspail (French chemist)

1937 - Ange-Félix Patassé (President of the Central African Republic)

1946 - Marie-Paule Belle (French singer)

1979 - Pi Hongyan (French badminton player)

Deaths

1431 - Charles II, Duke of Lorraine

1670 - Nicholas II, Duke of Lorraine

1726 - Guillaume Delisle (French cartographer)

1907 - René Pottier (French cyclist)

1970 - Jane Bathori (French mezzo-soprano)

Milestones/Events

1919 - League of Nations founded

1924 - Chamonix, France: Opening of the first Winter Olympic Games

1969 - Vietname War: US-North Vietnamese peace talks began in Paris

2006 - Council of Europe passed a draft resolution condemning the atrocities and human rights violations of totalitarian communist regimes

Errors and Omissions

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