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

1913 - Charles Trenet (French singer and songwriter)

1914 - Pierre Balmain (French fashion designer)

1923 - Jean-Louis Roux (French Canadian actor and artistic director)

1937 - Jacques Santer (Luxembourg statesman)

1960 - Yannick Noah (French tennis player)

1981 - Mahamadou Diarra (Malian soccer player)

Deaths

1550 - John, Cardinal of Lorraine (French churchman)

1675 - Jacques Marquette (French Jesuit missionary and explorer)

1799 - Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (French playwright)

1900 - Jean Gaspard Felix Ravaisson-Mollien (French philosopher)

1910 - Pauline Garcia-Viardot (French mezzo-soprano and composer)

1922 - Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran (French physician)

Milestones/Events

1152 - Henry II married Eleanor of Aquitaine

1765 - Fire destroyed a large part of Montréal, Québec

1803 - Napoleonic Wars: The United Kingdom revoked the Treaty of Amiens and declared war on France

1804 - Napoleon Bonaparte was proclaimed Emperor of the French by the French Senate; the First Empire began

1959 - Conakry, Guinea: Launch of the National Liberation Committee of Côte d'Ivoire

1990 - France: A modified TGV train achieved a new rail world speed record

1995 - Alain Juppé became Prime Minister of France

Errors and Omissions

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