This day in history has seen some very rough weather and natural disasters. Earthquakes struck on this day in 1343 (wiping out Naples and other port cities in Italy), 1667 (killing over 80,000 people in the Caucasus region), 1759 (over 40,000 killed in Damascus and Beirut), and 1833 (reports only state that “numerous” people died in Sumatra). It was also on this day in 1703 that a one-week long windstorm in southern England…which ended up killing anywhere from 8,000-15,000 people…reached its peak intensity, with wind gusts of over 120 mph. In 1926 over two dozen tornadoes were reported in the United States, causing 75 deaths and 400 injuries. A typhoon slammed into the Philippines on this day in 1987, killing over a thousand people. And in 1996 an ice storm blanketed the central part of the United States, killing at least 26. Sometimes Mother Nature needs to remind us just exactly who is in charge, eh?

The earliest event that Wiki says took place on this day is “571 BC – Servius Tullius, king of Rome, celebrates a triumph for his victory over the Etruscans” and the most recent is “1999 – The United Nations establishes the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women to commemorate the murder of three Mirabal Sisters for resistance against the Rafael Trujillo dictatorship in Dominican Republic.”

A couple other things that also occurred on this day are:

1936 – Germany and Japan sign a treaty, promising to defend each other if either country is attacked by the Soviet Union.

1940 – First appearance of Woody Woodpecker.

2002 – US Department of Homeland Security officially established.

Happy birthday to Jenna Bush, Barbara Bush, Christina Applegate, Kevin Chamberlin, Amy Grant, Tracey Walter, John Larroquette, Ben Stein, and Percy Sledge.