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1986–Artist, Georgia O'Keeffe dies of natural causes in Santa Fe, New Mexico, at age 98. O'Keeffe has been recognized as the Mother of American Modernism. While in Taos in 1929, O'Keeffe visited and painted the nearby historical San Francisco de Asis Mission Church at Ranchos de Taos. For the next 20 years, O'Keeffe spent part of nearly every year working in New Mexico. She collected rocks and bones from the desert floor and made them and the distinctive architectural and landscape forms of the area subjects in her work. In 1934, she visited Ghost Ranch, north of Abiquiu, New Mexico, for the first time and decided immediately to live there. In 1940, she moved into a house on the ranch property. The varicolored cliffs of Ghost Ranch inspired some of her most famous landscapes.


BC 12–Roman Emperor Augustus is named Pontifex Maximus, incorporating the position into that of Emperor.

190–Prince of Hongnong dies at age 13, after being poisoned by Dong Zhuo, a politician and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han Dynasty.

632–The Farewell Sermon (Khutbah, Khutbatul Wada') of the Islamic prophet Muhammad is given.

653–Prince Li Ke of the Tang Dynasty dies from forced suicide, at age 32.

845–Execution of the 42 Martyrs of Amorium takes place at Samarra.

961–The Byzantine conquest of Chandax is achieved by Nikephoros Phokas, ending the Emirate of Crete.

1079–Omar Khayym completes the Iranian calendar.

1204–The Siege of Château Gaillard ends in a French victory over King John of England, who loses control of Normandy to King Philip II Augustus.

1405–John II of Castile is born in Toro, Zamora. His reign as King, lasting 49 years, was one of the longest in Castilian history.

1454–Delegates of the Prussian Confederation pledge allegiance to King Casimir IV of Poland, who agrees to commit his forces in aiding the Confederation's struggle for independence from the Teutonic Knights.

1475–Sculptor, painter, and poet, Michelangelo, is born Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni in Caprese near Arezzo, Republic of Florence (present-day Tuscany, Italy). Many of his works in painting, sculpture, and architecture remain among the most famous and influential in history. In the late 1490s, he went to Rome, where he was able to examine many newly unearthed statues and ruins. In 1504, he completed one of his best-known statues, the huge marble “David,” which became the symbol of the city of Florence, Italy. The following year, he was commissioned by Pope Julius the Second to paint the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel ceiling. For four years, Michelangelo lay on his back on scaffolding, depicting nine scenes from the Book of Genesis, with paint and fresh plaster dripping onto his face. Michelangelo was also one of the developers of the Mannerist Style, which was to become the next major movement in art following the Renaissance.

1490–Ivan the Young dies of gout in Tver, Russia, at age 32. He was the son of Ivan III of Russia.

1521–Ferdinand Magellan arrives at Guam.

1558–Astrologer, Luca Gaurico, dies in Rome, Italy, at age 82. He was an astronomer, astrological data collector, and mathematician. His most famous work is the Tractatus Astrologicus, which contained the natal charts of popes and cardinals, kings and nobles, scholars, musicians, and artists. Gaurico systematically examined each natal chart, compared it to the life of the person in question, and in the case of living subjects, predicted the outcome of their lives and careers. Gaurico also attempted to calculate the exact date of Jesus' crucifixion, and the number of hours between it and the resurrection.

1619–Playwright, Cyrano de Bergerac, is born Hercule-Savinien Cyrano de Bergerac in Paris, France. In fictional works about his life, he is featured with an overly large nose, which people would travel from miles around to see. Portraits suggest that he did have a big nose, though not nearly as large as usually described. His works L'Autre Monde: ou les États et Empires de la Lune (Comical History of the States and Empires of the Moon) and Les États et Empires du Soleil (The States and Empires of the Sun) are classics of early modern science fiction.

1665–The first joint Secretary of The Royal Society, Henry Oldenburg, publishes the first issue of Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society.

1754–Henry Pelham, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1743-1754), dies in St. James's, Middlesex, England, at age 59.

1788–The First Fleet of Great Britain arrives at Norfolk Island (a small island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand, and New Caledonia) in order to found a convict settlement that would last until May 1855.

1806–Poet, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, is born in Durham, England. She fell off a horse as a child, and as a result was an invalid for much of her life. She was doted upon by her father until she was 40 years old, at which time she fell in love with the poet, Robert Browning, and secretly married him. Her father never allowed her back into his house, returning her letters unopened.

1817–Princess Clémentine of Orléans is born Marie Clémentine Léopoldine Caroline Clotilde at the Château de Neuilly in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. She was the youngest daughter of Louis-Philippe I, King of the French, and his wife, Marie Amalie of the Two Sicilies. She was the mother of Ferdinand I, Tsar of Bulgaria.

1820–The Missouri Compromise is signed into law by President James Monroe. It allows Missouri to enter the Union as a slave state, but makes the rest of the northern part of the Louisiana Purchase territory slavery-free.

1823–Charles I of Württemberg is born Charles Frederick Alexander in Stuttgart, Kingdom of Württemberg.

1831–Edgar Allen Poe is removed from West Point Military Academy.

1834–Toronto, Canada, is incorporated and William Lyon Mackenzie becomes its first Mayor.

1836–American pioneer and soldier, Jim Bowie, dies in a battle at the Alamo at age 40.

1836–American frontiersman, Davy Crockett, dies in a battle at the Alamo Mission, San Antonio, Texas, at age 49. Crockett is commonly referred to in popular culture by the epithet "King of the Wild Frontier." He became famous in his own lifetime for larger-than-life exploits popularized by stage plays and almanacs. After his death, he continued to be credited with acts of mythical proportion. These led in the 20th century to popular television and movie portrayals.

1842–Constanze Mozart, wife of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, dies in Salzburg, Austria, at age 80.

1849–Gun designer, Georg (Johann) Luger, is born in Steinach am Brenner, Tyrol, Austria-Italy. He designed the Luger pistol.

1853–The Giuseppe Verdi opera, La Traviata, premieres in Venice, Italy.

1853–Rancher and merchant, John (Henry) Tunstall, is born in Hackney, London, England. He spent six months investigating sheep ranches in California, but decided to try New Mexico, where land was cheaper and more abundant for ranching. Tunstall bought a ranch on the Rio Feliz, 30 miles due south of the town of Lincoln, and went into business as a cattleman. He became a prominent figure in New Mexico, and was the first man killed in the Lincoln County War. The English actor, Terence Stamp, played Tunstall in the 1988 film Young Guns.

1857–The U.S. Supreme Court rules that slave, Dred Scott, cannot sue for his freedom in federal court.

1869–Dmitri Mendeleev presents the first periodic table to the Russian Chemical Society.

1882–The Serbian kingdom is re-founded.

1882–Actor, Guy (Bridges) Kibbee, is born in El Paso, Texas. In the 1930s, Kibbee moved to California and became part of Warner Bros.' stock company, contracted actors who were cast in different productions in supporting roles. He appeared in the films 42nd Street, Footlight Parade, Little Lord Fauntleroy, Babes in Arms, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Our Town, and The Horn Blows at Midnight.

1885–Writer, Ring Lardner, is born Ringgold Wilmer Lardner in Niles, Michigan. Lardner started his writing career as a sports columnist, finding work with The South Bend Tribune as a teenager. In 1907, he moved to Chicago, where he worked at The Chicago Examiner, and then The Chicago Tribune. Lardner was a close friend of F. Scott Fitzgerald and other writers of the Jazz Age. His books were published by Maxwell Perkins, who also served as Fitzgerald's editor. To create his first book of short stories, Lardner had to get copies from the magazines he had sold them to: he held his own short stories in low regard and did not save copies. J.D. Salinger referred to Lardner in two of his works, The Catcher in the Rye and Franny and Zooey.

1886–The first alternating current power plant begins operation in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.

1888–Author, Louisa May Alcott, dies in from a stroke Boston, Massachusetts, at age 55. She was an American novelist best known for the novel, Little Women, and its sequels, Little Men and Jo's Boys. Alcott's early education included lessons from the naturalist, Henry David Thoreau, and she also received some instruction from writers and educators such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Margaret Fuller, all of whom were family friends.

1899–Aspirin is patented by Felix Hoffmann.

1900–Gottlieb Daimler, designer of the first motorcycle, dies in Cannstatt (Stuttgart), German Empire, at age 65. He was a pioneer of internal-combustion engines and automobile development and he invented the high-speed petrol engine.

1902–Real Madrid C.F. is founded.

1905–Country bandleader, Bob Wills, is born James Robert Wills in Kosee, Limestone County, Texas. With his Texas Playboys, he turned Western Swing into a national phenomenon during the 1930s and 1940s.

1906–Comedian, Lou Costello, of Abbott and Costello, is born Louis Francis Cristillo in Paterson, New Jersey. The comedy team’s films include Buck Privates, In the Navy, Pardon My Sarong, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man, and Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy. Costello starred in his last film The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock.

1912–Italian forces become the first to use airships in war, as two dirigibles drop bombs from an altitude of 6,000 feet on Turkish troops encamped at Janzur.

1912–Nabisco introduces the Oreo cookie.

1917–Harry Coover, the inventor of Super Glue, is born in Newark, Delaware. While much attention was given to the glue's capacity to bond solid materials, Coover was also the first to recognize and patent cyanoacrylates as a tissue adhesive. First used in the Vietnam War to temporarily patch the internal organs of injured soldiers until conventional surgery could be performed, tissue adhesives are now used worldwide for a variety of sutureless surgical applications.

1917–Actor-comedian, Frankie Howerd, is born Francis Alick Howard in York, North Riding of Yorkshire, England. Howerd was a regular feature in the 1950s version of the comic Film Fun, but when he began experimenting with different formats and contexts, including stage farces, Shakespearean comedy roles, and television sitcoms, he began to fall out of fashion. After suffering a nervous breakdown at the start of the 1960s, he began to recover his old popularity, initially with a season at Peter Cook's satirical Establishment Club in the Soho area of London. He was boosted further by success on That Was the Week That Was in 1963, and on stage with A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, which led into regular television work.

1920–Film director, Lewis Gilbert, is born in Hackney, London, England. He is films include the James Bond films You Only Live Twice, The Spy Who Loved Me, and Moonraker. He also directed the films The Ten Year Plan, Once a Sinner, The Good Die Young, Cast a Dark Shadow, Carve Her Name with Pride, Sink the Bismarck!, The Greengage Summer, Alfie, Friends, Educating Rita, and Shirley Valentine.

1921–The Portuguese Communist Party is founded as the Portuguese Section of the Communist International.

1923–TV personality, Ed McMahon, is born Edward Leo Peter McMahon, Jr. in Detroit, Michigan. He is best known for his work on television as Johnny Carson's sidekick, announcer, and second banana on The Tonight Show from 1962 through 1992. He also hosted the original version of the talent show Star Search from 1983 to 1995.

1923–Jazz musician, Wes Montgomery, is born John Leslie Montgomery in Indianapolis, Indiana. While many jazz players are regarded as virtuosos, Montgomery had a very wide influence on other virtuosos who followed him, having also earned the respect of his contemporaries. George Benson, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Johnson, Joe Satriani, Jimi Hendrix, David Becker, Joe Diorio, Steve Lukather, Larry Coryell, and Pat Martino have pointed to him as a great influence.

1926–Economist, Alan Greenspan, is born in New York, New York. He served as Chairman of the Federal Reserve of the United States from 1987 to 2006. He is married to journalist, Andrea Mitchell.

1926–Film director, Andrzej (Witold) Wajda, is born in Suwalki, Poland. He is best known for his trilogy of war films consisting of A Generation (1954), Kanal (1956), and Ashes and Diamonds (1958).

1927–Astronaut, Leroy Gordon Cooper, Jr., is born in Shawnee, Oklahoma. He was an American aerospace engineer, test pilot, U.S. Air Force pilot, and one of the seven original astronauts in Project Mercury, the first manned space program of the United States.

1927–Writer, Gabriel García Márquez, is born Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez in Aracataca, Colombia. Considered one of the most significant authors of the 20th century, he was awarded the 1972 Neustadt International Prize for Literature and the 1982 Nobel Prize in Literature.

1930–International Unemployment Day demonstrations are initiated around the world by the Comintern.

1930–Clarence Birdseye, of Brooklyn, New York, develops a method for quick freezing food.

1931–Stuntman-director, Hal (Brett) Needham, is born in Memphis, Tennessee. As the highest paid stuntman in the world, Needham broke 56 bones, broke his back twice, punctured a lung, and knocked out a few teeth. His career has included work on 4,500 TV episodes and 310 feature films as a stuntman, stunt coordinator, second unit director, and ultimately, director. He moved behind the camera in 1976 to direct Smokey and the Bandit. His other films include Hooper, The Cannonball Run, Megaforce, and Stroker Ace.

1932–Composer, John Philip Sousa, dies in Reading, Pennsylvania, at age 77. He was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era, known primarily for American military and patriotic marches. His best known work is The Stars & Stripes Forever, which is the National March of the United States of America.

1935–Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., 59th Supreme Court Justice (1902-1932), dies of pneumonia in Washington, D.C., at age 93. Holmes retired from the Court at the age of 90 years and 309 days, making him the oldest Justice in the Supreme Court's history. Holmes left his residuary estate to the United States government (he had earlier said that "Taxes are what we pay for civilized society"). His personal effects included his Civil War Officer's uniform, still stained with his blood and “torn with shot,” as well as the carefully wrapped Minié balls that had wounded him three times in separate battles. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

1936–Politician, Marion Barry, is born Marion Shepilov Barry, Jr. in Itta Bena, Mississippi. He served as the second Mayor of the District of Columbia from 1979 to 1991, and again as the district’s fourth Mayor from 1995 to 1999.

1939–Jerry Naylor, a member of Buddy Holly & the Crickets, is born in Stephenville, Texas.

1941–Actor, Ben Murphy, is born Benjamin Edward Murphy in Jonesboro, Arkansas. He was featured in 50 episodes of the Western TV series Alias Smith and Jones. He appeared in the films Yours, Mine and Ours, Griff, The Cradle Will Fall, and Lottery.

1941–John Gutzon de la Mothe Borglum, overseer and sculptor of Mount Rushmore, dies following complications after surgery in Chicago, Illinois, at age 73.

1942–Jazz singer, Flora Purim, is born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She has recorded and performed with numerous critically acclaimed artists, including Dizzy Gillespie, Gil Evans, Opa, Stan Getz, Santana, Jaco Pastorius, and her husband, Airto Moreira.

1943–Freedom from Want by Norman Rockwell is published in The Saturday Evening Post, with a matching essay by Carlos Bulosan as part of the "Four Freedoms" series.

1944–U.S. planes bomb Berlin, Germany, for the first time during World War II.

1944–Journalist and critic, Richard (Nelson) Corliss, is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the editor-in-chief of Film Comment (1970-1990) and author of the book Talking Pictures. He wrote for the publications Time, National Review, New Times, Maclean's, and SoHo Weekly News.

1944–Singer, Mary Wilson, of The Supremes, is born in Greenville, Mississippi. She is best known as a founding member of The Supremes. Wilson remained with the group following the departures of original members, Florence Ballard in 1967, and Diana Ross in 1970. The group’s hits include Where Did Our Love Go, Baby Love, Come See About Me, Stop! In the Name of Love, Back in My Again, Nothing But Heartaches, I Hear a Symphony, You Can’t Hurry Love, and The Happening.

1945–Operation Spring Awakening, the last major German offensive of World War II, begins.

1945–During World War II, Cologne, Germany, is captured by American troops.

1946–Ho Chi Minh signs an agreement with France, which recognizes Vietnam as an autonomous state in the Indochinese Federation and the French Union.

1946–Guitarist and composer, David Gilmour, of Pink Floyd, is born in Cambridgeshire, England.

1947–Pop singer, Kiki Dee, is born Pauline Matthews in Little Horton, Bradford, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. She is best known for her 1976 duet with Elton John, Don't Go Breaking My Heart, which went to #1 both in the U.K. Singles chart and the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart.

1947–Actor-director, Rob Reiner, is born Robert Reiner in the Bronx, New York. He got his start with the role of Michael Stivic in the TV sitcom All in the Family. As a director, his films include This Is Spinal Tap, The Sure Thing, Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally..., Misery, A Few Good Men, The American President, Rumor Has It..., and The Bucket List. He is the son of veteran comedian, Carl Reiner, and he was married to actress, Penny Marshall.

1947–Journalist, John Stossel, is born in Chicago Heights, Illinois. As a reporter, Stossel has received numerous honors including 19 Emmy Awards, and he has been honored five times for excellence in consumer reporting by the National Press Club.

1950–Albert François Lebrun, 15th President of France, dies of pneumonia in Paris, France.

1951–The trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, David Greenglass, and Morton Sobell, begins in U.S. District Court in New York City. All four were later convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage.

1951–Stedman Graham, Oprah Winfrey's longtime partner, is born Whitesboro, New Jersey. Graham has been dating Winfrey since 1986. They were engaged to be married in November 1992, but later decided they would rather have a "spiritual union." Graham is an entrepreneur and CEO of S. Graham & Associates, a Chicago-based corporate and educational marketing and consulting firm.

1951–Singer-songwriter and actor, Ivor Novello, dies suddenly from a coronary thrombosis in London, England, at age 58. The Ivor Novello Awards for songwriting, established in 1955 in Novello's memory, are awarded each year by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA).

1951–Volodymyr Vynnychenko, Prime Minister of Ukraine, dies in Mougins, France.

1952–Actor, John David Carson, is born in North Hollywood, California. He appeared in the films Pretty Maids All in a Row and The Day of the Dolphin.

1953–Georgy Maksimilianovich Malenkov succeeds Joseph Stalin as Premier and First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

1957–Ghana becomes the first sub-Saharan country to gain independence from British rule.

1959–Comedian, Tom Arnold, is born Thomas Duane Arnold in Ottumwa, Iowa. He has appeared in the films Hero, Coneheads, Undercover Blues, True Lies, The Stupids, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, and Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star. He was married to comedienne, Roseanne Barr.

1961–Minicabs are introduced in London, England.

1961–British singer-comedian, George Formby, dies of a heart attack in Preston, Lancashire, England, at age 56. Formby was considered Britain's first properly home-grown screen comedian. He was an influence on future comedians, particularly Charlie Drake and Norman Wisdom, and culturally, on entertainers such as The Beatles, who referred to him in their music. Since his death, Formby has been the subject of five biographies, two television specials and two works of public sculpture.

1962–The U.S. conducts a nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

1963–Child actress, Suzanne Crough, of The Partridge Family, is born in Fullerton, California. She is best known for the role of Tracy on the TV sitcom The Partridge Family.

1964–Constantine II becomes King of Greece.

1964–Nation of Islam leader, Elijah Muhammad, renames Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Cassius Clay, Muhammad Ali.

1964–Actress, Elizabeth Taylor, divorces her fourth husband, singer, Eddie Fisher.

1965–Premier Tom Playford of South Australia loses power after 27 years in office.

1966–A chart topper: Ballad of the Green Berets by Barry Sadler.

1966–A petition with 5,000 signatures, asking that the Cavern Club in Liverpool, England, be re-opened, is presented to British Prime Minister, Harold Wilson.

1967–Joseph Stalin's daughter, Svetlana Alliluyeva, defects to the United States.

1967–Jimmy Hoffa enters Lewisburg Federal Prison.

1967–Singer-actor, Nelson Eddy, dies of a Cerebral hemorrhage in Palm Beach, Florida, at age 65. A classically trained baritone, he is best remembered for the eight films in which he co-starred with soprano Jeanette MacDonald. Naughty Marietta was the surprise hit of 1935. Its key song, Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life, became a hit and earned Eddy a Gold Record.

1968–The first of the East L.A. Walkouts take place at several high schools in Southern California.

1968–Three rebels are executed by Rhodesia, the first executions since UDI, prompting international condemnation.

1970–Having run into some trouble with the law after his “family” murdered several people, cult leader, Charles Manson, decides to market his songs in order to raise money for his defense. He issues his album, Lie, complete with a cover emulating Life magazine, with the “f” taken out.

1970–An explosion at the Weather Underground safe house in Greenwich Village, New York, kills three people.

1970–Actor, William Hopper, dies of pneumonia in Palm Springs, California, at age 55. He played the private investigator, Paul Drake, in over 270 episodes of the TV series Perry Mason. He appeared in the films Track of the Cat, Rebel Without a Cause, The Bad Seed, The Deadly Mantis, and 20 Million Miles to Earth.

1972–Basketball player, Shaquille O'Neal, is born in Newark, New Jersey.

1973–U.K. promoters reach out to Colonel Tom Parker to book Elvis Presley for his first appearance in the country, at London's Earl's Court, but Parker, a Dutch immigrant secretly in the U.S. illegally, declines, fearing that his status would be discovered.

1973–Author, Pearl S. Buck, dies of lung cancer in Danby, Vermont, at age 80. Her novel The Good Earth was the best-selling fiction book in America in 1931 and 1932 and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1932.

1975–The Zapruder film of the assassination of John F. Kennedy is shown in motion for the first time to a national TV audience by Robert J. Groden and Dick Gregory.

1975–Iran and Iraq announce a settlement of their border dispute.

1975–”The separation didn’t work out,” John Lennon announces in a press release to the world about his reunion with Yoko Ono.

1976–Boxer, Maxie Rosenbloom, dies of Paget's disease of bone in South Pasadena, California, at age 68. He was nicknamed "Slapsie Maxie" by a journalist due to his open gloved style of boxing. In 1930, he won the New York Light Heavyweight title, and in 1932, he won the Light Heavyweight Championship of the World.

1981–Walter Cronkite, the dean of American television newscasters, says “And that’s the way it is” for the final time, as he closes the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite. An audience estimated at 17 million viewers saw “the most trusted man in America” permanently sign-off. Cronkite would be replaced by Dan Rather at the CBS-TV anchor desk.

1981–France conducts a nuclear test at Muruora Island.

1982–Billboard reports that Dick Clark has donated the “American Bandstand” podium to the Smithsonian Institution.

1982–Libertarian philosopher and writer, Ayn Rand, dies of heart failure in New York, New York, at age 77. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Rand developed and promoted her Objectivist philosophy through her nonfiction works and by giving talks to students at institutions such as Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Harvard, and MIT. She was the author of Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead.

1983–The first United States Football League game is played.

1984–In the United Kingdom, a walkout at Cortonwood Colliery in Brampton Bierlow signals the start of a strike that lasts almost a year and involves the majority of the country's miners.

1985–Enos Slaughter and Arky Vaughan are elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

1986–Artist, Georgia O'Keeffe, dies of natural causes in Santa Fe, New Mexico, at age 98. O'Keeffe has been recognized as the Mother of American Modernism. While in Taos in 1929, O'Keeffe visited and painted the nearby historical San Francisco de Asis Mission Church at Ranchos de Taos. For the next 20 years, O'Keeffe spent part of nearly every year working in New Mexico. She collected rocks and bones from the desert floor and made them and the distinctive architectural and landscape forms of the area subjects in her work. In 1934, she visited Ghost Ranch, north of Abiquiu, New Mexico, for the first time and decided immediately to live there. In 1940, she moved into a house on the ranch property. The varicolored cliffs of Ghost Ranch inspired some of her most famous landscapes.

1987–The British ferry, MS Herald of Free Enterprise, capsizes, killing 193 people.

1987–In the Colombia-Ecuador region a 7.0 earthquake kills approximately 1,000 people, leaves 4,000 missing, and 20,000 homeless.

1988–Three Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteers are killed by Special Air Service on the territory of Gibraltar at the conclusion of Operation Flavius.

1990–Ed Yielding and Joseph T. Vida set the transcontinental speed record, flying a SR-71 Blackbird from Los Angeles to Virginia in 64 minutes, averaging a speed of 2,124 mph.

1990–Colorado's strongest winter storm of the season moves northeastward across the state, producing 50 inches of snow at Echo Lake, 46.5 inches on Buckhorn Mountain, and 46 inches near the top of Coal Canyon. Several hundred rush hour commuters, including the state’s Governor, were stranded in blizzard conditions along Highway 36 between Denver and Boulder. Drifts up to 12 feet high had to be cleared southeast of Boulder.

1991–Record producer, Lex Luger, is born Lexus Arnel Lewis in Suffolk, Virginia.

1992–The “Michelangelo” computer virus begins to spread.

1994–Greek actress, Melina Mercouri, dies of lung cancer in New York, New York, at age 73. She appeared in the films Stella, Never on Sunday, Phaedra, Topkapi, A Man Could Get Killed, Gaily Gaily, and Once Is Not Enough.

2000–The 15th Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony is held. This year’s inductees are: (Performers) Bonnie Raitt, Earth, Wind & Fire, Eric Clapton, James Taylor, The Moonglows, and The Lovin' Spoonful; (Non-Performer) Clive Davis; (Sidemen) Earl Palmer, Hal Blaine, James Jamerson, King Curtis, and Scotty Moore; and (Early Influence) Billie Holiday and Nat “King” Cole. The ceremony takes place at The Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City.

2005–Actress, Teresa Wright, dies of a heart attack in New Haven, Connecticut, at age 86. She appeared in the films The Little Foxes, Mrs. Miniver, The Pride of the Yankees, Showdow of a Doubt, The Best Years of Our Lives, The Actress, Track of the Cat, The Search for Bridie Murphy, The Restless Years, The Happy Ending, Somewhere in Time, The Good Mother, and The Rainmaker.

2006–Dana Reeve, wife of actor, Christopher Reeve, dies of lung cancer in New York, New York, at age 44.

2007–The U.S. lottery “Mega Millions” sets a new world record at $390 million for the highest jackpot ever offered.

2007–Winemaker, Ernest Gallo, dies in Modesto, California, at age 97. He co-founded E & J Gallo Winery with his brother, Julio, in 1933. It is the largest winery in America, with about 25% of the wine market.

2008–A suicide bomber kills 68 people (including first responders) in Baghdad on the same day that a gunman kills eight students in Jerusalem.

2013–Rock guitarist, Alvin Lee, of Ten Years After, dies from complications of surgery in Estepona, Spain, at age 68. He had been hospitalized for a procedure to correct an atrial arrhythmia.

2014–Actress-singer, Sheila MacRae, dies of natural causes in Englewood, New Jersey, at age 92. She is best known for the role of (the second) Alice Kramden on the TV series The Honeymooners. She was married to actor-singer, Gordon MacRae, and their daughter is actress, Meredith MacRae.

2016–Nancy Reagan, wife of President Ronald Reagan, dies of heart failure in Bel Air, California, at age 94. She was the 40th First Lady of the United States.

2017–President Donald Trump signs a revised executive order of Executive Order 13769. The new order will put a 90-day hold on issuance of visas to citizens of six countries: Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. It also stops refugee admissions worldwide for 120 days. The order will go into effect on March 16, 2017.

2017–Film historian and television host, Robert Osborne, dies in New York, New York, at age 84. He was best known as the primary host for Turner Classic Movies (TCM). Osborne left the air in early 2016, due to an undisclosed health issue.

2018–Acording to Forbes magazine, President Donald Trump's net worth has dropped roughly $400 million since he has been in office, but he still remains the richest U.S. president in history with a net worth of $3.1 billion. Amazon.com’s Jeff Bezos is the richest man in the world with $112 billion, followed by Microsoft’s Bill Gates ($90 billion), Warren Buffet ($84 billion), and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg ($71 billion).

2018–A handwritten note (containing his theory for happiness) written in 1922 by the Nobel Prize-winning physicist, Albert Einstein, sells for $1.3 million at an auction in Jersualem.

2018–Daycare workers, Kristen Lauletta, Jessica Heyse, and Ashley Helfenbein, in Des Plaines, Illinois, are each charged with two counts of child endangerment and two counts of battery. For a year, the women had been giving 2-year-olds Melatonin-laced gummy bears to help the toddlers sleep at nap time. Some of the parents had noticed that their children were coming home groggy.

2018–Biologist, Sir John Sulston, dies in England, at age 75. For his work on the cell lineage and genome of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, he was jointly awarded the 2002 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Sydney Brenner and Robert Horvitz. He was Chair of the Institute for Science, Ethics and Innovation at the University of Manchester.


PHOTOS TOP TO BOTTOM: Roman Emperor Augustus; Michaelangelo; Elizabeth Barrett Browning; a Lugar pistol; Ring Lardner; Bob Wills; Frankie Howerd; Wes Montgomery; a vintage Birdseye ad; Jerry Naylor; The Supremes; John Stossel; Ivor Novello: George Formby; Elizabeth Taylor and Eddie Fisher; Nelson Eddy; Shaquille O'Neal; John Lennon and Yoko Ono; Ayn Rand; Georgia O'Keeffe; Melina Mercouri; and Sheila MacRae.
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