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1936–Astronaut, Ken Mattingly, is born Thomas Kenneth Mattingly II in Chicago, Illinois. He had been scheduled to fly on Apollo 13, but was held back due to concerns about his exposure to German measles (which he did not contract). Replaced by Jack Swigert, he missed the dramatic in-flight explosion that crippled the Apollo 13 spacecraft. However, Mattingly was involved in helping the crew solve the problem of power conservation during re-entry. He later flew as Command Module pilot for Apollo 16, making him one of only 24 people to have flown to the Moon.


BC 45–In his final victory, Julius Caesar defeats the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the Younger in the Battle of Munda.

180–Marcus Aurelius dies in Vindobona (present-day Vienna, Austria) or Sirmium, Roman Empire, at age 58. Commodus becomes the Emperor of the Roman Empire.

455–Petronius Maximus becomes Emperor of the Western Roman Empire, with support of the Roman Senate.

460–Saint Patrick, Irish Bishop and missionary, dies in Saul, County Down, Ireland.

624–Led by Muhammad, the Muslims of Medina defeat the Quraysh of Mecca in the Battle of Badr.

763–Arab caliph, Harun al-Rashid, is born in Rey, Jibal, Abbasid Caliphate (present-day Tehran Province, Iran). He ruled from 786 to 809, during the peak of the Islamic Golden Age. His time was marked by scientific, cultural, and religious prosperity. Islamic art and music also flourished significantly during his reign. He established the legendary library Bayt al-Hikma ("House of Wisdom") in Baghdad, Iraq, and during his rule Baghdad began to flourish as a center of knowledge, culture, and trade.

905–Li Yu, prince and former emperor of the Tang dynasty, is strangled to death at the She Festival in Jiuqu Pond.

1001–The King of Butuan in the Philippines sends a tributary mission to the Song Dynasty of China.

1008–Emperor Kazan of Japan dies in Heian Kyo (Kyoto), at age 39.

1040–King Harold Harefoot of England dies after a mysterious illness in Oxford, England, at age 24. His body was exhumed, beheaded, and thrown into a fen bordering the Thames. It was later recovered by fishermen, and resident Danes reportedly had it reburied at their local cemetery in London. The body was eventually buried in a church in the City of Westminster, which was fittingly named St. Clement Danes.

1058–Lulach, King of Scotland, dies by assassination in Essie, Strathbogie, at age 25.

1231–Emperor Shijo of Japan is born Mitsuhito-shinno in Japan.

1272–Emperor Go-Saga of Japan dies in Saga no minami no Misasagi (Kyoto).

1328–The Treaty of Edinburgh is concluded, bringing England to acknowledge the independence of Scotland under Robert I.

1337–Edward, the Black Prince, is made Duke of Cornwall, the first Duchy in England.

1452–The Battle of Los Alporchones is fought in the context of the Spanish Reconquista between the Emirate of Granada and the combined forces of the Kingdom of Castile and Murcia, resulting in a Christian victory.

1473–James IV of Scotland is born in Stirling Castle, Scotland.

1521–Ferdinand Magellan discovers the Philippines.

1560–Fort Coligny on Villegagnon Island in Rio de Janeiro is attacked and destroyed during the Portuguese campaign against France Antarctique.

1577–Martin Frobisher gets a commission from the Cathay Company to hunt for gold in the Arctic. He will return with tons of worthless pyrites, which are dumped as street ballast in London, giving rise to the legend that the “streets of London were paved with gold.”

1611–Princess Sophia of Sweden dies at age 63.

1677–The Siege of Valenciennes, during the Franco-Dutch War, ends with France taking the city.

1740–Justice of the Peace, Henry Fielding, writing under the name of Captain Hercules Vinegar, summons poet laureate Colley Cibber to court for “the murder of the English language.”

1741–Poet and playwright, Jean-Baptiste Rousseau, dies at age 69. He was particularly known for his cynical epigrams.

1753–The first official St. Patrick's Day is observed.

1755–The Transylvania Land Company buys Kentucky for $50,000 from a Cherokee Chief.

1762–The first St. Patrick's Day Parade is held in New York City by Irish soldiers serving in the British Army.

1776–British forces evacuate Boston, ending the Siege of Boston, after George Washington and Henry Knox place artillery in positions overlooking the city.

1780–George Washington grants the Continental Army a holiday “as an act of solidarity with the Irish in their fight for independence.”

1804–James Bridger, scout, fur trader, and mountain man, is born James Felix Bridger in Richmond, Virginia. He was of English ancestry, and his family had been in North America since the early colonial period. He would come to know many of the major figures of the early West, including Kit Carson, George Armstrong Custer, John Fremont, Joseph Meek, and John Sutter.

1805–The Italian Republic, with Napoleon as President, becomes the Kingdom of Italy, with Napoleon then becoming its King.

1824–The Malay archipelago splits into two domains after the Anglo-Dutch Treaty is signed in London, England. As a result, the Malay Peninsula is dominated by the British, while Sumatra, Java, and the surrounding areas are dominated by the Dutch.

1829–Princess Sophia Albertina of Sweden dies in Stockholm, Sweden, at age 75.

1834–Engineer-inventor, Gottlieb Daimler, designer of the first motorcycle, is born in Schorndorf, Württemberg, Germany. He was a pioneer of internal-combustion engines and automobile development and he invented the high-speed petrol engine.

1836–Texas abolishes slavery.

1842–The Relief Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is formed.

1845–Stephen Perry, of London, England, patents the rubber band.

1849–William II, of the Netherlands, dies suddenly in Tilburg, Netherlands, at age 56.

1852–Annibale De Gasparis discovers the asteroid, Psyche, from the north dome of the Astronomical Observatory of Capodimonte in Naples, Italy.

1860–The First Taranaki War begins in Taranaki, New Zealand, as a major phase of the New Zealand land wars.

1861–The Kingdom of Italy is proclaimed.

1888–Paul Ramadier, Prime Minister of France, is born.

1891–The SS Utopia collides with HMS Anson in the Bay of Gibraltar and sinks, killing 562 of the 880 passengers on board.

1894–The U.S. and China sign a treaty preventing Chinese laborers from entering America.

1895–Shemp Howard, of The Three Stooges, is born in Brooklyn, New York. His brothers are fellow Stooges, Moe Howard and Curley Howard.

1901–Eleven years after his death, a showing of 71 Vincent van Gogh paintings in Paris, France, creates a sensation.

1901–Film composer, Alfred Newman, is born in New Haven, Connecticut. In a career which spanned over 40 years, Newman composed music for over 200 films. He was one of the most respected film score composers of his time, and is regarded as one of the greatest musicians ever to work in film. His films include The Prisoner of Zenda, Gunga Din, Wuthering Heights, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, How Green Was My Valley, State Fair, Snake Pit, All About Eve, How to Marry a Millionaire, The Seven Year Itch, South Pacific, and How the West Was Won. His brothers are composers, Lionel and Emil Newman, his sons are composers, David and Thomas Newman, and his nephew is singer-songwriter, Randy Newman.

1908–The shortest World Heavyweight title fight takes place: Tommy Burns knocks out Jem Roche in 88 seconds.

1910–Luther Gulick and his wife, Charlotte, establish the Camp Fire Girls. They will formally announce the organization in 1912.

1913–Businessman, Clay (LaVerne) Shaw, is born in Kentwood, Louisiana. After serving in World War II, Shaw helped start the International Trade Mart in New Orleans, which facilitated the sales of both domestic and imported goods. He was known locally for his efforts to preserve buildings in New Orleans' historic French Quarter. Shaw was the only person prosecuted in connection with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. He was acquitted. Shaw was portrayed by Tommy Lee Jones in Oliver Stone's 1991 film JFK.

1917–Tsar Nicolas II of Russia abdicates the throne.

1919–Singer, Nat King Cole, is born Nathaniel Adams Coles in Montgomery, Alabama. Early in his career he was known as quite an excellent jazz pianist, recording with his trio, but his record label pushed him to become a singer to appeal to a larger audience. Commercial success followed with such songs as Mona Lisa, Ramblin’ Rose, Unforgettable, Nature Boy, L-O-V-E, Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Summer, When I Fall in Love, There’ll Never Be Another You, and many other hits.

1920–Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first President of Bangladesh, is born in Tungipara, Bengal Presidency, British India (present-day Bangladesh).

1921–Britain's first birth control clinic is opened in London by Dr. Marie Stopes.

1921–The Second Polish Republic adopts the March Constitution.

1929–General Motors acquires the German auto manufacturer, Adam Opel.

1930–Innovative jazz flautist, Paul Horn, is born in New York, New York. In 1998, he was able to record within the walls of the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet. Horn was the first westerner to be granted permission to perform inside this massive structure, considered the spiritual nexus of Tibetan Buddhism.

1930–Astronaut, James Benson Irwin, is born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He served as Lunar Module Pilot for Apollo 15, the fourth human lunar landing. He was the eighth person to walk on the Moon.

1930–Businessman and promoter, Alan (Richard) Williams, is born in Bootle, Liverpool, Lancashire, England. He was the original booking agent and first manager of The Beatles. In 1960, he drove the van carrying the young band to Hamburg, Germany, where they gained the vital show business experience that led to their emergence on the world stage. He fell out with The Beatles in 1961, over the payment of his 10% commission on a later trip the boys made to Hamburg. In 1975, he published a memoir, The Man Who Gave The Beatles Away, to which John Lennon gave his endorsement.

1931–In an attempt to lift the state from the hard times of the Great Depression, the Nevada State Legislature votes to legalize gambling.

1931–Actress, Patricia (Rose) Breslin, is born in New York, New York. She is best known for her guest roles in various television series in the 1950s and 1960s. She was seen in Robert Montgomery Presents, The People’s Choice, Maverick, The Millionaire, The Rifleman, Tales of Wells Fargo, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Perry Mason, The Twilight Zone, and Peyton Place. She appeared in the films Go Man Go, Andy Hardy Comes Home, Homicidal, and I Saw What You Did.

1936–Astronaut, Ken Mattingly, is born Thomas Kenneth Mattingly II in Chicago, Illinois. He had been scheduled to fly on Apollo 13, but was held back due to concerns about his exposure to German measles (which he did not contract). Replaced by Jack Swigert, he missed the dramatic in-flight explosion that crippled the Apollo 13 spacecraft. However, Mattingly was involved in helping the crew solve the problem of power conservation during re-entry. He later flew as Command Module pilot for Apollo 16, making him one of only 24 people to have flown to the Moon.

1938–Ballet dancer, Rudolf (Khametovich) Nureyev, is born in Irkutsk, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union. He will be the pride of Russian ballet until his defection to the U.S. in 1961. He danced with Dame Margot Fonteyn, the Martha Graham Dance Company, and was artistic director of the Paris Opera Ballet.

1938–Zola (Mae) Taylor, of The Platters, is born in Los Angeles, California. She was the original female member of The Platters from 1954 to 1962, when the group produced most of their popular singles. She appeared with The Platters in the first rock 'n' roll film Rock Around the Clock. She was married to singer, Frankie Lymon.

1939–During the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Battle of Nanchang between the Kuomintang and Japan begins.

1941–The National Gallery of Art is officially opened by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Washington, D.C.

1941–Jefferson Airplane guitarist, Paul (Lorin) Kantner, is born in San Francisco, California. Although the band was originally formed by Marty Balin, Kantner eventually became the main player Jefferson Airplane, leading the group through various successor incarnations of Jefferson Starship. Kantner has the longest continuous membership with the band; at times he was the only founding member still in the band from the original Jefferson Airplane line up of the 1960s. In 1969, Kantner and Grace Slick began living together publicly as a couple. Rolling Stone magazine called them "the psychedelic John and Yoko." Slick became pregnant, and their daughter, China Kantner, was born in 1971.

1942–The first Jews from the Lviv Ghetto in western Ukraine are gassed at the Belzec death camp in eastern Poland.

1942–General Douglas MacArthur arrives in Australia to become supreme commander of the Allied Forces in the southwest Pacific theater during World War II.

1942–Serial killer, John Wayne Gacy, Jr., is born in Chicago, Illinois. He was convicted of the sexual assault and murder of a minimum of 33 teenage boys and young men in a series of killings committed between 1972 and 1978 in his Norwood Park Township home. Gacy buried 26 of his victims in the crawl space of his home. Three victims were buried elsewhere on his property, while the bodies of his last four known victims were discarded in the Des Plaines River.

1944–Model and muse, Pattie Boyd, is born in Taunton, Somerset, England. Boyd began her fashion career in 1962, modeling in London, New York, and Paris. She was photographed by David Bailey and Terence Donovan, and appeared on the cover of Vogue. She was married to Beatle George Harrison, and later, to his close friend, Eric Clapton. Her sister is model, Jenny Boyd.

1944–Musician, John (Benson) Sebastian, is born in Greenwich Village, New York. He grew up surrounded by music and musicians, including Burl Ives and Woody Guthrie, and hearing players such as Leadbelly and Mississippi John Hurt in his own neighborhood. He formed the folkly rock group, The Lovin' Spoonful, in 1965. The band had hits with Do You Believe in Magic? and Summer In the City. Sebastian also had a successful solo career, starting it off by wearing a tie-dyed denim jacket and jeans when he performed at Woodstock in 1969. His godmother was actress, Vivian Vance.

1945–The Ludendorff Bridge in Remagen, Germany, collapses.

1947–The first flight of the B-45 Tornado strategic bomber takes place.

1948–Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom sign the Treaty of Brussels, a precursor to the North Atlantic Treaty establishing NATO.

1949–Actor, Patrick Duffy, is born in Townsend, Montana. He is best known for the role Bobby Ewing on the primetime soap opera Dallas. In 1976, Duffy landed the role of Mark Harris in the short-lived TV series The Man from Atlantis. He appeared in the TV movies The Stranger Who Looks Like Me, Enola Gay: The Men, the Mission, the Atomic Bomb, Strong Medicine, Texas, and Desolation Canyon.

1950–University of California Berkeley researchers announce the creation of element 98, which they name “Californium.”

1951–Hard rocker, Scott Gorham, of Thin Lizzy, is born in Glendale, California.

1951–Actor, Kurt (Vogel) Russell, is born in Springfield, Massachusetts. In the beginning of his career, Russell was a staple at the Disney studios, being cast in several squeaky-clean comedies. At age 11, he had a part in the Elvis Presley movie, It Happened at the World’s Fair, where he kicked the King in the shin, twice. He later doned the spangled “Elvis suit” for two films: the TV-movie, Elvis, and the feature-film 3,000 Miles to Graceland. He appeared in the films Follow Me, Boys!, The One and Only Genuine Original Family Band, Then Came Bronson, The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, Superdad, Used Cars, Escape from New York, The Thing, Silkwood, Swing Shift, The Mean Season, Big Trouble in Little China, Overboard, Tequila Sunrise, Tango & Cash, Backdraft, Unlawful Entry, Tombstone, Breakdown, Soldier, Miracle, and Death Proof. Kurt’s father was character actor, Bing Russell. He was married to actress, Season Hubley, and has had a long-time relationship with actress, Goldie Hawn.

1953–The U.S. conducts a nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

1953–Ken Lyons, bass guitarist for 38 Special, is born Kenneth Leo Lyons in Jacksonville, Florida.

1954–Actress, Lesley-Anne Down, is born in Wandsworth, London, England. Down achieved fame in the role of Georgina Worsley in the ITV drama series Upstairs, Downstairs. She appeared in the films All the Right Noises, Brannigan, A Little Night Music, The Betsy, Hanover Street, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Nomads. She was married to film firector, William Friedkin.

1955–Actor, Gary Sinise, is born in Blue Island, Illinois. Along with John Malkovich and others, he co-founded the Steppenwolf Theater Company in Chicago, Illinois. Sinise is a supporter of various veterans' organizations, both personally and through the Lt. Dan Band. He frequently performs on USO tours at military bases around the world, and volunteered for the National Vietnam Veterans Arts Museum now called the National Veterans Art Museum. He has appeared in the films Miles from Home, Of Mice and Men, The Witness, Forrest Gump, Apollo 13, The Quick and the Dead, Ransom, The Green Mile, Mission to Mars, Reindeer Games, The Human Stain, and The Big Bounce.

1956–Carl Perkins appears on Ozark Jubilee. It is his first television appearance.

1956–The 8th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards announces its winners. Best Dramatic Series: Producers' Showcase; Best Comedy Series: The Phil Silvers Show; Best Variety Series: Toast of the Town; Best Mystery Series: Dragnet; Best Action or Adventure Series: Disneyland; Best Audience Participation Series: The $64,000 Question; Best Music Series: Your Hit Parade; Best Documentary Program: Omnibus; Best Children's Program: Lassie; Best Actor: Phil Silvers; Best Actress: Lucille Ball. The ceremonies are held at the Pan Pacific Auditorium in Hollywood, California. The host is Art Linkletter.

1956–Comedian, Fred Allen, dies of a heart attack in Manhattan, New York, at age 61. His absurdist, topically-pointed radio show (1932-1949) made him one of the most popular and forward-looking humorists in the Golden Age of American Radio.

1956–French physicist, Irene Joliot-Curie, dies of leukemia in Paris, France, at age 58. Jointly with her husband, Joliot-Curie, she was awarded the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1935 for their discovery of artificial radioactivity. She was the daughter of Marie Curie and Pierre Curie. She was married to Frédéric Joliot-Curie.

1957–Ramon Magsaysay, President of the Philippines, dies with 24 others in a plane crash in Cebu.

1958–The U.S. Navy launches Vanguard 1 into orbit to measure the shape of the Earth.

1958–Actor, Christian Clemenson, is born in Humboldt, Iowa. He is best known for the role of Jerry "Hands" Espenson in the TV series Boston Legal. He appeared in the films Hannah and Her Sisters, Legal Eagles, Heartburn, Black Widow, Surrender, Broadcast News, Bad Influence, The Fisher King, Hero, Apollo 13, The Big Lebowski, Armageddon, Might Joe Young, and Ashley’s Ashes.

1959–A major uprising begins in Tibet against Chinese rule. The Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, flees the capital in disguise.

1960–President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs the National Security Council directive on the anti-Cuban covert action program that will ultimately lead to the Bay of Pigs Invasion.

1960–Actor, Arye Gross, is born in Los Angeles, California. He appeared in the films Exterminator 2, Just One of the Guys, Soul Man, The Couch Trip, Tequila Sunrise, Coupe de Ville, Hexed, The Prince and Surfer, Minority Report, and Atlas Shrugged: Part II.

1961–Dana Reeve, wife of actor, Christopher Reeve, is born Dana Charles Morosini in Teaneck, New Jersey.

1961–Actor, Casey Siemaszko, is born in Chicago, Illinois. He appeared in the films Class, Secret Admirer, Back to the Future, Stand by Me, Gardens of Stone, Biloxi Blues, Young Guns, The Chase, Of Mice and Men, and Milk Money.

1962–Billboard magazine reports that Ray Charles has started his own record label called Tangerine.

1963–Mount Agung erupts on Bali, killing more than 1,100 people.

1964–Beatle, John Lennon, gives an interview about his first book, In His Own Write, which is due to be published on the March 23rd.

1964–Actor, Rob Lowe, is born Robert Hepler Lowe in Charlottesville, Virginia. He appeared in the films The Outsiders, Class, The Hotel New Hampshire, Oxford Blues, St. Elmo’s Fire, Youngblood, About Last Night..., Square Dance, Masquerade, Bad Influence, Wayne’s World, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Contact, and View from the Top. In 2014, he began appearing in a series of humorous DirecTV commercials, each featuring two opposite Rob Lowes. His brother is actor, Chad Lowe.

1966–Off the coast of Spain, in the Mediterranean, the DSV Alvin submarine finds a missing American hydrogen bomb.

1967–Billy Corgan, of Smashing Pumpkins, is born William Patrick Corgan, Jr. in Elk Grove Village, Illinois.

1968–Violent demonstrations against the Vietnam war erupt outside the American Embassy in London, England. Over 300 arrests are made and 90 policemen are injured.

1968–Over 6,000 sheep are found dead in Skull Valley, Utah, due to the U.S. Army’s testing of nerve gas at the nearby Dugway Proving Ground.

1969–Golda Meir becomes the first female Prime Minister of Israel.

1969–Fashion Designer, Alexander McQueen, is born in Lewisham, London, England. He is known for having worked as chief designer at Givenchy from 1996 to 2001, and for founding his own Alexander McQueen label. McQueen is credited with bringing drama and extravagance to the catwalk. His "bumsters" pants spawned a trend in low rise jeans; on their debut they attracted many comments and much debate.

1970–The U.S. Army charges 14 officers with suppressing information related to the My Lai Massacre.

1972–Melissa Auf der Maur, bass player for both Hole and The Smashing Pumpkins, is born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

1972–Rapper, Sean (DeJean) Price, is born in Brownsville, Brooklyn, New York.

1973–The Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph, "Burst of Joy," is taken, depicting a former prisoner of war being reunited with his family: it came to symbolize the end of United States involvement in the Vietnam War.

1973–A 7.5 earthquake in Luzon, Philippine Islands, kills 14 people, injures 100, and causes an estimated $2 million in damage.

1973–Pop idol, David Cassidy, plays two sold-out shows at the Empire Pool, Wembley, London.

1973–Queen Elizabeth II opens the new London Bridge in London, England.

1973–Caroline (Georgina) Corr, of The Corrs, is born in Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland.

1974–Architect, Louis Isadore Kahn, dies of a heart attack in a men's room in Penn Station in New York, New York, at age 73. He created a style that was monumental and monolithic; his heavy buildings do not hide their weight, their materials, or the way they are assembled. Kahn was one of the most influential architects of the 20th century.

1976–The U.S. conducts a nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

1976–Four civilians are killed when the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) detonates a car bomb outside a pub crowded with people celebrating Saint Patrick's Day in Dungannon, Northern Ireland.

1979–The Penmanshiel Tunnel near Grantshouse, Berwickshire, Scotland, collapses during engineering works, killing two workers.

1979–Actor, Kurt Russell, marries actress, Season Hubley.

1985–Serial killer, Richard Ramirez, known as the “Night Stalker,” commits his first two murders in Los Angeles, California.

1987–IBM releases PC-DOS version 3.3.

1988–A Colombian Boeing 727 jetliner, Avianca Flight 410, crashes into a mountainside near the Venezuelan border killing 143 people.

1990–ARPANET ceases to exist.

1990–The town of Elba, Alabama, is flooded with six to 12 feet of water, causing more than $25 million in damage. The total flood damage across Alabama exceeds $100 million. Twenty-six counties in the state are declared disaster areas.

1990–Actress, Capucine, commits suicide by jumping from her eighth-floor apartment in Lausanne, Switzerland, at age 62. She is best known for her appearances in the movies The Pink Panther and What’s New, Pussycat?

1990–Rick Grech, of Blind Faith and Traffic, dies of kidney and liver failure in Leicester, England, at age 43.

1992–A referendum to end apartheid in South Africa is passed 68.7% to 31.2%.

1992–A suicide car-bomb at the Israeli Embassy attack in Buenos Aires, Argentina, kills 29 people and injures 242 others.

1992–Grace Stafford Lantz, cartoon voice of Woody the Woodpecker, dies of spinal cancer in Burbank, California, at age 88. She was married to cartoonist, Walter Lantz.

1993–A bomb attack in Calcutta, India, kills 86 people.

1993–Actress, Helen Hayes, dies of congestive heart failure in Nyack, New York, at age 92. In a career spanning 80 years, she garnered the nickname "First Lady of the American Theatre" and was one of 12 people who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony. Her stage appearances include The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night, The Glass Managerie, The Chalk Garden, Good Morning Miss Dove, You Can’t Take It With You, The Front Page, Harvey, and Long Day’s Journey Into Night. She appeared in the films A Farewell to Arms, What Every Woman Knows, Stage Door Canteen, Anastasia, Airport, Herbie Rides Again, and Candleshoe.

1996–Singer, Terry Stafford, dies of liver failure in Amarillo, Texas, at age 54. His big hit was Suspicion.

1997–CNN begins broadcasts in Spanish.

1999–Lillian McMurry, co-founder and owner of Trumpet Records, dies of a heart attack in Jackson, Mississippi, at age 78. Her label was the first to record slide guitarist, Elmore James, and harmonica ace, Sonny Boy Williamson. Big Joe Williams, Little Milton, and B.B. King also appeared on the label.

2000–Five hundred and thirty members of the Ugandan cult, Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God, die in a fire, considered to be a mass murder or suicide orchestrated by leaders of the cult. Elsewhere another 248 members are later found dead.

2002–Pat Weaver, American broadcast executive, dies in Santa Barbara, California, at age 93. He was president of NBC-TV between 1953 and 1955. He has been credited with reshaping commercial broadcasting's format and philosophy, as radio gave way to television as America's dominant home entertainment.

2003–Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Robin Cook, resigns from the British Cabinet in disagreement with government plans for the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

2004–During the unrest in Kosovo, more than 22 people are killed and 200 others are wounded. Thirty-five Serbian Orthodox shrines in Kosovo and two mosques in Serbia are destroyed.

2004–Radio and TV host, J.J. Jackson, dies of a heart attack in Los Angeles, California, at age 62. He was one of MTV's five original VJs (along with Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter, and Martha Quinn).

2006–Due to financial and legal problems, Michael Jackson closes his Neverland Ranch in California.

2006–Fashion designer, Oleg Cassini, dies of complications resulting from an aneurysm in Manhasset, New York, at age 93. He is best known for his appointment as exclusive couturier to Jacqueline Kennedy in 1961.

2007–Computer scientist, John Backus, dies in Ashland, Oregon, at age 82. He designed Fortran.

2008–New York Governor, Eliot Spitzer, resigns after a scandal involving a high-end prostitute. David Paterson becomes acting New York governor.

2008–Paul McCartney divorces former model and anti-landmines campaigner, Heather Mills, on the grounds of “unreasonable behavior.” Mills will be awarded $48.6 million in the divorce settlement.

2011–Country singer, Ferlin Husky, dies in Westmoreland, Tennessee, at age 85. He had two dozen “Top 20” hits in the Billboard country charts between 1953 and 1975. His hits include Gone and Wings of a Dove.

2012–John Demjanjuk, a convicted Nazi war criminal, dies from natural causes in Bad Feilnbach, Bavaria, Germany, at age 91.

2012–Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria dies of lung and liver complications in Cairo, Egypt, at age 88. His official title was Pope of Alexandria and the Patriarch of All Africa on the Holy Apostolic See of Saint Mark the Evangelist of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria.

2013–The largest meteorite (since NASA started observing the Moon in 2005) hits the Moon.

2016–Radar scans at the tomb of Tutankhamun, Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, reveal two chambers adjoining the tomb, raising the prospect of finding the resting place of Queen Nefertiti.

2016–Tribune Publishing, an American company whose Southern California media holdings include The Los Angeles Times and The San Diego Union-Tribune, wins an auction for bankrupt newspapers, Orange County Register (published in Santa Ana) and The Press-Enterprise (headquartered in Riverside) for $56 million, subject to judicial approval. The U.S. Justice Department has warned that a Tribune purchase could violate antitrust laws.

2016–Actor, Larry Drake, dies in Hollywood, California, at age 66. He is best known for the role of Benny Stulwicz on the TV series L.A. Law. He appeared in the films The Karate Kid, For Keeps, Darkman, Dr. Giggles, and Inferno.

2017–Three new pieces for the classic board game, Monopoly, a T-Rex, a rubber ducky, and a penguin, will replace the original pieces the wheelbarrow, thimble, and boot.

2017–An unknown perpetrator, using an Apache helicopter, fires upon a boat carrying Somali refugees off the coast of Yemen, killing at least 40 of them and injuring 35 others.

2017–Poet and playwright, Sir Derek Alton Walcott, dies in Cap Estate, Gros-Islet, Saint Lucia, at age 87. He received the 1992 Nobel Prize in Literature.

2018–Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers working out of the field office in San Diego, California, arrest 115 undocumented immigrants over a large, three-day sting operation.

2018–Cirque du Soleil performer, Yann Arnaud, falls to his death during a performance of VOLTA, a big-top themed show in Tampa, Florida.


PHOTOS TOP TO BOTTOM: Saint Patrick; pyrite; James Bridger; rubber bands; Nat King Cole; Paul Horn; Rudolf Nureyev; Pattie Boyd; Kurt Russell; Gary Sinise; Fred Allen; the Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso; John Lennon with his book In His Own Write; Golda Meir on Time magazine; David Cassidy; Capucine; the Helen Hayes stamp; J.J. Jackson; and Ferlin Husky.
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