Today in the Past
Events
70 - Walls of upper city of Jerusalem battered down by Romans
489 - Odoacer attacks Theodoric at the Battle of Verona, and is defeated again.
1066 - William the Conqueror troops set sail for England
1290 - Earthquake in Gulf of Chili China, reportedly kills 100,000
1331 - The Battle of Płowce between the Kingdom of Poland and the Teutonic Order is fought.
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1694 - Hurricane hits Carlisle Bay Barbados; 27 Brit ships sink & 3,000 die
1787 - Constitution submitted to states for ratification
1822 - Jean-François Champollion announces that he has deciphered the Rosetta stone.
1864 - Centralia Massacre (Missouri): “Bloody Bill” Anderson
1864 - Jesse James’ gang surprise attack train: 150 killed
1894 - Aqueduct racetrack opens in NY
1903 - Wreck of the Old 97, a train crash made famous by the song of the same name.
1905 - The physics journal Annalen der Physik published Albert Einstein’s paper “Does the Inertia of a Body Depend Upon Its Energy Content?”, introducing the equation E=mc².
1908 - The first production of the Ford Model T automobile was built at the Piquette Plant in Detroit, Michigan.
1910 - 1st test flight of a twin-engined airplane (France)
1912 - W C Handy publishes “Memphis Blues” 1st Blues Song, 1912
1919 - Democratic National Committee voted to allow female members
1938 - British ocean liner “Queen Elizabeth,” launches at Clydebank Scotland
1941 - 1st WW II liberty ship, freighter Patrick Henry, launched
1950 - Heavyweight champ Ezzard Charles KOs Joe Louis in NYC
1953 - Typhoon destroys 1/3 of Nagoya Japan
1954 - Steve Allen’s “Tonight Show” premieres
1963 - At 10:59 AM census clock, records US population at 190,000,000
1964 - Warren Commission released, finds Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone
1973 - Nolan Ryan strikes out 16 in 11 innings, for record 383 of season
1979 - Congress’ final approval to create Dept of Education
1985 - Hurricane Gloria’s 130 MPH wind hits Atlantic coast
1988 - Grand jury evidence shows Tawana Brawley fabricated rape story
1988 - The National League for Democracy, led by Aung San Suu Kyi is founded.
1989 - Sony purchases Columbia Pictures for $3.4 billion cash
1996 - In Afghanistan, the Taliban capture the capital city Kabul after driving out President Burhanuddin Rabbani and executing former leader Mohammad Najibullah.
1998 - Google is launched.
2008 - CNSA astronaut Zhai Zhigang becomes the first Chinese person to perform a spacewalk while flying on Shenzhou 7.
Births
1389 - Cosimo de Medici, ruler of Florence and patron of the arts (d. 1464)
1722 - Samuel Adams, revolutionary rabble rouser/(Lt Gov-Mass, 1789-94)
1792 - George Cruikshank, London, caricaturist (Oliver Twist)
1817 - Hiram R Revels, Fayetteville NC, 1st black US senator
1840 - Alfred Thayer Mahan, US, naval officer (Influence of Sea Power)
1840 - Thomas Nast, political cartoonist of late 1800s America
1862 - Louis Botha, Greytown South Africa, 1st PM of South Africa (1910-19)
1885 - Harry Blackstone, Sr., American magician (d. 1965)
1907 - Bhagat Singh, Indian freedom fighter (d. 1931)
1922 - Arthur Penn, Phila, director (Miracle Worker, Bonnie & Clyde)
1922 - Carl Ballantine, actor (McHale’s Navy)
1925 - Patrick Steptoe, scientist (perfected in vitro fertilization)
1926 - Jayne Meadows, Wu Chang China, Mrs Steve Allen, actr (Dark Delusion)
1932 - Roger C Carmel, actor (Harry Mudd-Star Trek, In-Laws)
1933 - Will Sampson, American actor (d. 1987)
1934 - Dick Schaap, sportscaster/author (Bo Knows Bo, Instant Replay)
1934 - Greg Morris, Cleveland Ohio, actor (Mission Impossible, Vega$)
1934 - Wilford Brimley, Salt Lake City Utah, actor (Gus-Our House, Cocoon)
1936 - Don Cornelius, American television host (Soul Train), (d. 2012)
1942 - Dith Pran, Cambodian-born photojournalist
1943 - Randy Bachman, Winnipeg, rocker (Bachman-Turner Overdrive-Roll On)
1947 - Meat Loaf, [Marvin Lee Aday], Dallas, rocker (Bat Out of Hell)
You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth
Paradise By The Dashboard Light
1965 - Alexis Stewart, American radio personality
1979 - Christian Jones, Australian racing driver
1982 - Lil Wayne, American rapper
1984 - Avril Lavigne, Canadian singer-songwriter
Deaths
1259 - Ezzeline III da Romano, gentleman of Verona/”cruel monster”, dies
1557 - Emperor Go-Nara of Japan (b. 1497)
1590 - Urban VII, [Giambattista Castagna], Italian Pope (1590), dies
1876 - Braxton Bragg, American Confederate general (b. 1817)
1917 - Edgar Degas, painter, Paris
1940 - Julius Wagner-Jauregg, Austrian neuroscientist, Nobel laureate (b. 1857)
1942 - Douglas Munro, only US Coast Guard with WW II-Med of Honor, dies
1944 - Aimee Semple McPherson, Canada/US evangelist/faith healer, dies at 53
1956 - Milburn Apt, in X-2 rocket plane reaches 3370 kph, but, dies in crash
1956 - [Mildred] Babe Didrikson-Zaharias, javelin (Oly-gold-32), dies at 45
1965 - Clara Bow, US actress, dies at 60
1985 - Lloyd Nolan, actor (Dr Chegley-Julia), dies of lung cancer at 83
1993 - James H Doolittle, US air force general (Tokyo 1942), dies at 96
1998 - Doak Walker, American football player (b. 1927)
2003 - Donald O’Connor, American actor (b. 1925)
2009 - William Safire, American Columnist (b. 1929)
2010 - George Blanda, American football player (b. 1927)
2011 - Johnny “Country” Mathis, American country singer (b. 1933)
