< Back 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Next >

1943–Bobby Fischer, U.S. World Chess Champion (1972-1975), is born Robert James Fischer in Chicago, Illinois. Many consider him the greatest chess player of all time. Starting at age 14, Fischer played in eight U.S. Championships, winning each one by at least a one-point margin. At age 15, Fischer became both the youngest grandmaster up to that time and the youngest candidate for the World Championship. At age 20, Fischer won the 1963-1964 U.S. Championship with 11/11, the only perfect score in the history of the tournament. In 1975, Fischer refused to defend his title when an agreement could not be reached with FIDE over one of the conditions for the match. Afterward, Fischer became a recluse, disappearing from the public eye until 1992.


BC 141–Liu Che, posthumously known as Emperor Wu of Han, assumes the throne over the Han Dynasty of China.

670–Hasan ibn Ali, Caliph of Rashidun Caliphate, dies of poisoning in Medina, Al Madinah Region of Saudi Arabia, at age 45.

886–Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi, Muslim scholar and astrologer, dies in Wasit, Iraq, Abbasid Caliphate, at age 98.

1009–The first known mention of Lithuania is made in the annals of the monastery of Quedlinburg.

1170–In Essex, England, a dragon is reportedly seen over St. Ostwyth. It purportedly kindled the very air and in so doing, destroyed a house.

1202–King Sverre of Norway dies in Bergen, Norway, at age 52. Many consider him one of the most important rulers in Norwegian history.

1213–Hugh IV, Duke of Burgundy, is born in Villaines-en-Duesmois, France.

1230–Bulgarian tsar, Ivan Asen II, defeats Theodore of Epirus in the Battle of Klokotnitsa.

1276–Augsburg (in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany) becomes a Free imperial city.

1285–Emperor Go-Nijo of Japan is born Kuniharu-shinno. He was the 94th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.

1454–Italian explorer, Amerigo Vespucci, who made many voyages to the New World, is born in Florence, Republic of Florence, Italy. “America” was derived from his name.

1500–The fleet of Pedro Álvares Cabral leaves Lisbon, Spain, for the Indies. The fleet will discover Brazil, which lies within boundaries granted to Portugal in the Treaty of Tordesillas.

1522–Martin Luther preaches his Invocavit.

1562–Kissing in public banned in Naples, Italy, and is punishable by death.

1566–David Rizzio, private secretary to Mary, Queen of Scots, is murdered in the Palace of Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh, Scotland.

1661–Cardinal Mazarin, Prime Minister of France, dies in Vincennes, France, at age 58.

1765–After a campaign by the writer, Voltaire, judges in Paris, France, posthumously exonerate Jean Calas of murdering his son. Calas had been tortured and executed in 1762 on the charge, though his son may have actually committed suicide.

1776–The Wealth of Nations, a book on economics by Adam Smith, is published.

1796–Napoleon Bonaparte marries his first wife, Josephine de Beauharnais.

1811–Paraguayan forces defeat Manuel Belgrano at the Battle of Tacuarí.

1815–Francis Ronalds describes the first battery-operated clock in Philosophical Magazine.

1822–Charles M. Graham, of New York City, receives a patent for artificial teeth.

1824–Amasa Leland Stanford, businessman and politician, is born in Watervliet, New York. He founded Stanford University. He also served one two-year term as Governor of California after his election in 1861, and later eight years as a Senator of California.

1831–The French Foreign Legion is established by King Louis Philippe to support his war in Algeria.

1832–Abraham Lincoln, of New Salem, Illinois, announces that he will run for political office.

1834–The French Foreign Legion is founded.

1839–Composer, Modest P. Mussorgsky, is born Karevo, Toropets Uyezd, Pskov Governorate, Russian Empire. Many of his works were inspired by Russian history, Russian folklore, and other nationalist themes. Such works include the opera Boris Godunov, the orchestral tone poem Night on Bald Mountain, and the piano suite Pictures at an Exhibition.

1841–The U.S. Supreme Court rules in United States v. The Amistad that captive Africans who had seized control of the ship carrying them had been taken into slavery illegally.

1842–The first documented discovery of gold in California occurs at Rancho San Francisco, six years before the California Gold Rush.

1842–Giuseppe Verdi's third opera, Nabucco, makes its premiere performance in Milan, Italy.

1847–During the Mexican-American War, the first large-scale amphibious assault in U.S. history is launched in the Siege of Veracruz.

1856–Vaudeville performer, Eddie Foy, is born Edwin Fitzgerald in Greenwich Village, New York. Six-year-old Eddie began performing in the streets and local saloons to support his family. At 15, he changed his name to Foy and with a partner began dancing in bars, traveling throughout the western United States. Between 1910 and 1913, he formed a family vaudeville act, "Eddie Foy and The Seven Little Foys," which quickly became a national sensation.

1858–Albert Potts, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, patents the street mailbox.

1861–Confederate currency authorized in the denominations of $50, $100, $500, and $1,000.

1862–During the American Civil War, the USS Monitor and CSS Virginia fight to a draw in the Battle of Hampton Roads, in the first battle between two ironclad warships.

1864–Ulysses S. Grant is appointed commander of Union Army.

1888–German Emperor, William I, dies after a short illness in Berlin, Germany, at age 90.

1893–Cannibals in the Congo kill thousands of Arabs.

1895–Austrian writer, Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, dies of causes related to mental illness in Lindheim (Altenstadt, Hesse), German Empire, at age 59. His best known works are Legacy of Cain and Venus in Furs. The term masochism is derived from his name.

1896–Prime Minister Francesco Crispi resigns, following the Italian defeat at the Battle of Adwa.

1902–Actor, Will Geer, is born William Aughe Ghere in Frankfort, Indiana. He is best known for the role of Grandpa Walton on the long-running TV series The Waltons. Geer was blacklisted in the early 1950s for refusing to testify before the House Committee on Un-American Activities. As a result, he appeared in very few films over the following decade. He appeared in the films The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Lust for Gold, Convicted, Broken Arrow, Winchester ‘73, Salt of the Earth, The Searchers, Advice and Consent, Black Like Me, Seconds, The President’s Analyst, In Cold Blood, Bandolero! The Reivers, The Moonshine War, Of Mice and Men, Brother John, Jeremiah Johnson, Hurricane, and The Night That Panicked America.

1902–Architect, Edward Durell Stone, is born in Fayetteville, Arkansas. He designed Radio City Music Hall, Museum of Modern Art, and the Kennedy Center.

1904–Engineer, Paul (Wilbur) Klipsch, is born in Elkhart, Indiana. He was a high fidelity audio pioneer, known for developing a high-efficiency folded horn loudspeaker. The Klipschorn, which today is still manufactured and sold worldwide, proved quite popular. The Klipschorn is the only speaker in the world that has been in continuous production, relatively unchanged, for over 60 years. He was an eccentric, one example being that he wore a yellow "Bullshit" button behind his lapel and showed it to anyone he felt was making an outlandish claim. He was awarded the Audio Engineering Society's second highest honor, the Silver Medal, for his contributions to speaker design and distortion measurement. In 1997, he was inducted into the Engineering and Science Hall of Fame.

1906–Sculptor and painter, (Roland) David Smith, is born in Decatur, Indiana. He is best known for his large steel sculptures with hand-brushed finishes that suggest Abstract Expressionist painting. Smith's early work was heavily influenced by Surrealism, as was the work of many artists from the Modernist period. He often worked in series, one of his best known being one of his last completed works, the Cubis, consisting of abstract geometric shapes which explored the relationships between positive and negative space.

1907–The first involuntary sterilization law is enacted in the state of Indiana.

1910–The Westmoreland County Coal Strike begins. It involves 15,000 coal miners who are represented by the United Mine Workers.

1916–General Fransisco “Pancho” Villa leads 15,000 Mexican raiders on Columbus, New Mexico, killing 17 enemies.

1918–The Russian Bolshevik Party becomes the Communist Party.

1918–Politician, George Lincoln Rockwell, is born in Bloomington, Illinois. He founded the American Nazi Party. He was a major figure in the neo-Nazi movement in the United States, and his beliefs and writings have continued to be influential among white nationalists and neo-Nazis.

1918–Mystery writer, Mickey Spillane, is born Frank Morrison Spillane in Brooklyn, New York. He was an American author of crime novels, many featuring his signature detective character, Mike Hammer. More than 225 million copies of his books have sold internationally.

1921–Actor, Carl (Lawrence) Betz, is born in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania. He is best known for the role of Dr. Alex Stone on the popular TV sitcom The Donna Reed Show. He later starred in the TV series Judd, for the Defense.

1925–The first Royal Air Force operation conducted independently of the British Army or Royal Navy begins.

1926–Radio and television host, Joe Franklin, is born Joseph Fortgang in the Bronx, New York. The Joe Franklin Show began in 1950 on WJZ-TV (later WABC-TV) and moved to WOR-TV (later WWOR-TV) from 1962 to 1993. Franklin's guests included Charlie Chaplin, John Wayne, Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, Cary Grant, Andy Warhol, Salvador Dali, Rudy Vallee, Jimmy Durante, Madonna, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Bing Crosby, The Ramones, Captain Lou Albano, and five U.S. Presidents, juxtaposed with countless unknown local performers, fringe bands, balloon-folders, self-published authors, celebrity impersonators, and lounge singers. Woody Allen, Andy Kaufman, Liza Minelli, Barbra Streisand, Julia Roberts, Bruce Springsteen, Robin Williams, John Belushi, and Richard Pryor got their first television exposure on The Joe Franklin Show. Frank Sinatra appeared on the show four times.

1926–Japanese spiritual leader, Mikao Usui, dies from a stroke in Fukuyama, Japan, at age 60. He was the founder of Reiki, used as a complementary therapy for the treatment of physical, emotional, and mental diseases.

1928–Singer, Keely Smith, is born Dorothy Jacqueline Keely in Norfolk, Virginia. She was a Grammy Award-winning jazz and popular music singer, who performed and recorded extensively in the 1950s, with then-husband Louis Prima, and throughout the 1960s as a solo artist. At the 1st Annual Grammy Awards in 1959, Smith and Prima won the first Grammy for Best Performance by a Vocal Group for their “Top 20” hit That Ol' Black Magic. Her first big solo hit was I Wish You Love in 1957. She appeared in the films Thunder Road and Hey Boy! Hey Girl!

1930–Jazz musician, Ornette Coleman, is born Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman in Fort Worth, Texas. As a saxophone player, he was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1960s. His album, Sound Grammar, received the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for music.

1932–Eamon De Valera becomes the President of Ireland.

1932–The first Ford “Flathead” engine leaves the assembly line at Ford Motor Company.

1933–The U.S. Congress begins its first 100 days of enacting “New Deal” legislation. President Franklin D. Roosevelt submits the Emergency Banking Act to Congress. This allows the Treasury Secretary to call in all gold and gold certificates, and bans the hoarding and exporting of gold.

1933–Singer, Lloyd Price, is born in Kenner, Louisiana. His 1959 #1 hit, Stagger Lee, was considered so violent, Dick Clark asked him to tone down the lyrics when he appeared on American Bandstand.

1934–Actress, Joyce (Benignia) Van Patten, is born in Queens, New York. She appeared in the films Fourteen Hours, The Goddess, I Love You Alice B. Toklas!, The Trouble with Girls, Pussy, Pussycat, I Love You, Making It, Something Big, Thumb Tripping, Mame, The Bad News Bears, Mikey and Nicky, The Falcon and the Snowman, St. Elmo’s Fire, Blind Date, Monkey Shines, and Marley & Me. She is the sister of actor, Dick Van Patten. Vincent Van Patten is her nephew. She was married to actor, Martin Balsam.

1936–Country singer, Mickey (Leroy) Gilley, is born in Ferriday, Louisiana. Among his biggest hits are Room Full of Roses, Don't the Girls All Get Prettier at Closing Time, and the remake of the soul hit Stand by Me. Overall in his career, that spanned 15 years of chart success, Gilley has had 17 #1 hits on the Country charts. In 1970, Gilley opened up his first club in Pasadena, Texas, called Gilley's Club (replacing the club that was there called Shelley's Club). Gilley’s later became known as the "world's biggest honky tonk." Gilley's Club, and its mechanical bull, was portrayed heavily in the 1980 film Urban Cowboy. His cousins are singer, Jerry Lee Lewis, and evangelist, Jimmy Swaggart.

1936–Comic actor, Marty Ingels, is born Martin Ingerman in Brooklyn, New York. He is a comedian, theatrical agent, and, voice actor for cartoons and TV commercials. He is best known for his co-starring role on the TV series I'm Dickens, He's Fenster. He appeared in the films Armored Command, The Horizontal Lieutenant, Wild and Wonderful, The Busy Body, A Guide for the Married Man, For Singles Only, The Picasso Summer, and How to Seduce a Woman. He was married to actress, Shirley Jones.

1936–Actress and politician, Glenda (May) Jackson, is born in Birkenhead, Cheshire, England. She is a British Labour Party politician and former actress. She first became a Member of Parliament (MP) in 1992, and currently represents Hampstead and Kilburn. She appeared in the films This Sporting Life, Marat/Sade, Negatives, Women in Love, The Music Lovers, Sunday Bloody Sunday, The Boy Friend, A Touch of Class, The Romantic Englishwoman, The Maids, Hedda, House Calls, Stevie, Health, The Patricia Neal Story, and Turtle Diary.

1936–Indian guru and educator, Sri Yukteswar Giri, dies in Puri, Odisha, British India, at age 80. He was the guru of Satyananda Giri and Paramahansa Yogananda. Sri Yukteswar was a Kriya yogi, a Jyotisha (Vedic astrologer), a scholar of the Bhagavad Gita and the Bible, and an astronomer. He was a disciple of Lahiri Mahasaya of Varanasi and a member of the Giri branch of the swami order. Yogananda considered Sri Yukteswar as Jnanavatar, or "Incarnation of Wisdom."

1940–Actor, Raul Julia, is born Raúl Rafael Juliá y Arcelay in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He appeared in the films The Organization, The Panic in Needle Park, The Gumball Rally, Eyes of Laura Mars, Tempest, The Escape Artist, One from the Heart, Compromising Positions, Kiss of the Spider Woman, The Morning After, Tequila Sunrise, Moon Over Parador, Havana, Presumed Innocent, and The Addams Family.

1941–Criminal, Ernesto (Auturo) Miranda, is born in Mesa, Arizona. He was a laborer whose conviction on kidnapping, rape, and armed robbery charges based on his confession under police interrogation, was set aside in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case (Miranda v. Arizona, November 1965). It ruled that criminal suspects must be informed of their right against self-incrimination and their right to consult with an attorney before being questioned by police. This warning is commonly known as Miranda rights.

1942–The Dutch East Indies, represented by KNIL Commander in Chief Lieutenant General Hein Ter Poorten, unconditionally surrenders to the Japanese forces in Kalijati, Subang, West Java, and the Japanese complete their Dutch East Indies campaign.

1942–John (Davies) Cale, of The Velvet Underground, is born Garnant, Carmarthenshire, Wales. Though best known for his work in rock music, Cale has worked in various genres, including drone and classical, and studied music at Goldsmiths College, University of London. He was married to fashion designer, Betsey Johnson.

1942–Mark Lindsay, lead singer of Paul Revere & The Raiders, is born in Eugene, Oregon. The extraordinarily handsome pop idol helped to balance the overwhelming effect of the British Invasion that was flooding the American airwaves. He was working at his regular job at McClure Bakery in Caldwell, Idaho, when Paul Revere came in to buy supplies for a hamburger restaurant that he owned: this chance meeting began their professional relationship. Paul Revere and the Raiders had hits with Louie Louie, Steppin’ Out, Just Like Me, Kicks, Hungry, Good Thing, Ups and Downs, and Him or Me, What’s It Gonna Be, and Indian Reservation. Lindsay had a solo hit with Arizona.

1943–Greek Jews, of Salonika, are transported to Nazi extermination camps.

1943–Bobby Fischer, U.S. World Chess Champion (1972-1975), is born Robert James Fischer in Chicago, Illinois. Many consider him the greatest chess player of all time. Starting at age 14, Fischer played in eight U.S. Championships, winning each one by at least a one-point margin. At age 15, Fischer became both the youngest grandmaster up to that time and the youngest candidate for the World Championship. At age 20, Fischer won the 1963-1964 U.S. Championship with 11/11, the only perfect score in the history of the tournament. In 1975, Fischer refused to defend his title when an agreement could not be reached with FIDE over one of the conditions for the match. Afterward, Fischer became a recluse, disappearing from the public eye until 1992.

1943–Journalist, Charles (deWolf) Gibson, is born in Evanston, Illinois. He was a host of Good Morning America (1987-1998 and 1999-2006) and anchor of World News with Charles Gibson (2006-2009).

1943–Computer scientist, Jef Raskin, is born in New York, New York. He was a human-computer interface expert best known for conceiving and starting the Macintosh project for Apple in the late 1970s.

1943–Actress, Trish Van Devere, is born Patricia Dressel in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. She appeared in the films The Landlord, Where’s Poppa?, The Last Run, One Is a Lonely Number, The Day of the Dolphin, Movie Movie, and The Changeling. She was married to actor, George C. Scott.

1944–Japanese troops counter-attack American forces on Hill 700 in Bougainville, in a five-day battle.

1944–Soviet Army planes attack Tallinn, Estonia.

1945–The bombing of Tokyo, Japan, by the U.S. Army Air Forces begins, and it becomes one of the most destructive bombing raids in history.

1945–A coup d'état by Japanese forces in French Indochina removes the French from power.

1945–Robin (Leonard) Trower, guitarist with Procol Harum, is born in Catford, South East London, England.

1946–The Bolton Wanderers Stadium disaster at Burnden Park, Bolton, England, kills 33 people and injures hundreds more.

1949–The Cafe St. Louis, the first all-electric dining car, is put into service on the Illinois Central Railroad between Chicago, Illinois, and St. Louis, Missouri.

1950–Racecar driver, Danny Sullivan, is born Daniel John Sullivan III in Louisville, Kentucky. He earned 17 wins in the CART IndyCar World Series, including the 1985 Indianapolis 500.

1953–Soviet dictator, Joseph Stalin, is buried in Moscow, Russia.

1954–CBS newsman, Edward R. Murrow, publicly criticizes Senator Joseph McCarthy's anti-communism campaign.

1954–Political activist, Bobby Sands, is born in Whiteabbey, Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland. He was a member of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), who died on hunger strike while imprisoned at HM Prison Maze. The Irish hunger strike started with Sands refusing food on March 1, 1981. The significance of the hunger strike was the prisoners' aim of being declared political prisoners (or prisoners of war) as opposed to criminals.

1956–Soviet forces suppress mass demonstrations in the Georgian SSR, reacting to Nikita Khrushchev's de-Stalinization policy.

1956–An unbelievable 367 inches of snow is measured on the ground at the Ranier Paradise Ranger Station in Washington. It was a state record and the second highest total on record for the continental U.S.

1957–A 8.6 earthquake strikes the Andreanof Islands of Alaska. The quake triggers a Pacific-wide tsunami, causing extensive damage to Hawaii and Oahu.

1959–The first known radar contact is made with the planet Venus.

1959–The Barbie doll, made by Mattel, debuts with over 800 million sold. The first Barbie, referred to as a No. 1 Ponytail, sells for thousands of dollars today.

1959–Murder trial witness, Kato Kaelin, is born Brian Jerard Kaelin in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He lived on the property belonging to O.J. Simpson when the murders of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman took place. Kaelin was nicknamed "Kato" as a child after the character played by Bruce Lee in the TV series The Green Hornet.

1960–Actress, Linda Fiorentino, is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She appeared in the films Vision Quest, Gotcha!, After Hours, The Moderns, Shout, The Last Seduction, Men in Black, and Where the Money Is.

1961–Sputnik 9 successfully launches, carrying a human dummy nicknamed Ivan Ivanovich, and demonstrating that the Soviet Union was ready to begin human spaceflight.

1962–Dr. Howard Engstrom, designer of the Univac computer, dies at age 59.

1964–The first Ford “Mustang” is produced.

1965–Actress, Juliette Binoche, is born in Paris, France. She appeared in the films Family Life, Bad Blood, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Damage, The English Patient, Chocolat, Jet lag, Breaking and Entering, Summer Hours, Cosmopolis, Godzilla, and Nobody Wants the Night.

1965–Three white Unitarian ministers, including the Rev. James J. Reeb, are attacked with clubs on the streets of Selma, Alabama, while participating in a civil rights demonstration. Reeb later dies in a Birmingham, Alabama hospital.

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

1967–Trans World Airlines Flight 553, a Douglas DC-9-15, crashes in a field in Concord Township, Ohio, following a mid-air collision with a Beechcraft Baron. Twenty-six people were killed.

1968–This year's edition of Who's Who in America becomes the first to include notable rock stars other than Elvis Presley and The Beatles. Making the cut are The Rolling Stones, The Doors, The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, The Mamas & The Papas, The Monkees, and Donovan.

1969–The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, which had featured such rock bands as The Beatles, The Who, Jefferson Airplane, and The Doors, is canceled by CBS-TV. The show was popular with the American public and controversial with the network censors.

1969–Lawyer and television journalist on the FOX News channel, Kimberly (Ann) Guilfoyle, is born in San Francisco, California. She was married to politician, Gavin Newsom.

1971–Child actor, Emmanuel Lewis, is born in Brooklyn, New York. He is best known for title character in the 1980s TV sitcom Webster. He is also noted for his height, at 4 feet, 3 inches tall.

1971–Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria dies after a short illness in Cairo, Egypt, at age 68.

1972–Allen Klein, already accused of laundering money from UNICEF, which was to receive the royalties from The Concert for Bangladesh, turns over just one-tenth of the $1.2 million due the organization.

1972–In what will become a trend, pop artists unite to perform for a presidential candidate. Carole King, James Taylor, and Barbara Streisand among others, play a benefit show for Democratic presidential hopeful, George McGovern, at the Forum in Los Angeles, California.

1974–The Mars 7 Flyby bus releases the descent module too early, missing Mars.

1975–Construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System begins.

1975–Elvis Presley begins his final recording session at RCA's Hollywood studios.

1975–Mentalist, Joseph Dunninger, known as the “Amazing Dunniger,” dies of Parkinson's disease at his home in Cliffside Park, New Jersey, at age 82. He headlined throughout the Keith-Orpheum Circuit, and was much in demand for private entertainment. At the age of 17, he was invited to perform at the home of Theodore Roosevelt in Oyster Bay, and at the home of inventor, Thomas A. Edison, both of whom were avid admirers of his mysticism.

1976–The first female Cadets are accepted into the West Point Military Academy.

1976–Forty-two people die in the Cavalese cable car disaster. The steel supporting cable of an aerial tramway breaks as a fully-loaded cable car is descending from Mt. Cermis, near the Dolomites, northeast of Trento, Italy.

1977–Approximately a dozen armed Hanafi Muslims take over three buildings in Washington, D.C., killing one person and taking more than 130 hostages. The hostage situation will end two days later.

1978–President Soeharto inaugurates Jagorawi Toll Road, the first toll highway in Indonesia, connecting Jakarta, Bogor, and Ciawi, West Java.

1979–ABC-TV airs the rock documentary, Heroes of Rock 'n' Roll, narrated by Jeff Bridges and featuring clips of Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, and many others.

1982–"Krononauts" host an event in Baltimore, Maryland, asking time-travelers to meet and demonstrate future science methods of time travel.

1986–NASA announces that U.S. Navy divers find the largely intact, but heavily-damaged, crew compartment of the Space Shuttle Challenger. The bodies of all seven astronauts were still inside.

1987–The Chrysler Corporation offers to buy American Motors Corporation (AMC).

1987–The Songwriters Hall of Fame, in New York City, inducts Lennon and McCartney, Goffin and King, Mann and Weil, and Sam Cooke in their initial awards ceremony.

1989–The U.S. conducts a nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

1989–A workers’ strike forces financially-troubled Eastern Air Lines into bankruptcy.

1989–Photographer, Robert Mapplethorpe, dies from complications of AIDS in Boston, Massachusetts, at age 42. His remains were cremated and his ashes buried in his mother's grave in Queens, New York. Mapplethorpe established the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation before his death, which has functioned as his estate, promoted his work, and donated millions of dollars to fund AIDS research.

1992–Menachim Begin, Israeli Prime Minister (1977-1983), dies of heart failure in Tel Aviv, Israel, at age 78. An estimated 75,000 mourners were present at his funeral. Begin’s most significant achievement as Prime Minister was the signing of a peace treaty with Egypt in 1979, for which he and Anwar Sadat shared the Nobel Peace Prize.

1993–Swing bandleader, Bob Crosby, dies of cancer in La Jolla, California, at age 79. He appeared with his band in the films Let’s Make Music, Presenting Lily Mars, Thousands Cheer, When You’re Smiling, The Greatest Show on Earth, Road to Bali, and The Five Pennies.

1994–The IRA launches the first of three mortar attacks on Heathrow Airport in London, England.

1994–Writer, Charles Bukowski, dies of leukemia in San Pedro, California, at age 73. His funeral rites, orchestrated by his widow, were conducted by Buddhist monks. His work addresses the ordinary lives of poor Americans, the act of writing, alcohol, relationships with women, and the drudgery of work. The FBI kept a file on him as a result of his column, Notes of a Dirty Old Man, in the L.A. underground newspaper Open City.

1995–Publisher, Ian Ballantine, dies of a heart attack at age 79. Ballantine Books was one of the earliest publishers of science fiction paperback originals, with writers including Arthur C. Clarke and Frederik Pohl. During the 1960s, they published the first authorized paperback editions of J.R.R. Tolkien's books.

1996–Entertainer, George Burns, dies of cardiac arrest in Beverly Hills, California, at age 100. As much as he looked forward to reaching the age of 100, Burns also stated, about a year before he died, that he looked forward to death, saying that on the day he would die, he would be with Gracie again in heaven. Upon being interred with Gracie, the crypt's marker was changed to, "Gracie Allen & George Burns—Together Again." George had said that he wanted Gracie to have top billing.

1997–Observers in China, Mongolia, and eastern Siberia are treated to a rare double feature as an eclipse permits Comet Hale-Bopp to be seen during the day.

1997–Rapper, Notorius B.I.G., is shot dead by an unknown assailant in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles, California, at age 24.

2001–The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) sends Napster a list of 135,000 songs they want barred from the MP3-swapping website.

2005–Singer-songwriter, Chris LeDoux, dies of complications from the ongoing treatment for cholangiocarcinoma in Casper, Wyoming, at age 56. He was also a bronze sculptor and rodeo champion. During his career LeDoux recorded 36 albums (many self-released), that have sold more than six million units in America. Shortly after his death, LeDoux was named as one of six former rodeo cowboys to be inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

2006–British cabinet minister, John Profumo, dies from a stroke at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, South Kensington, London, England, at age 91.

2007–The U.S. Justice Department releases an internal audit disclosing that the FBI had acted illegally in its use of the USA Patriot Act, to secretly obtain personal information about U.S. citizens.

2011–The Space Shuttle Discovery makes its final landing after 39 flights.

2012–At least 130 rockets are fired into Israel from Gaza and 12 Palestinians militants are killed as part of the latest escalation in violence in the region.

2013–Asteroid 2013 ET comes within 606,140 miles the Earth’s surface.

2015–Trumpet player, Lew Soloff, of Blood, Sweat & Tears, dies of a heart attack in New York, New York, at age 71.

2016–Fire crews, responding to reports of a natural gas leak, are caught in an explosion that injures nine firefighters in Seattle, Washington. The explosion blew out windows in businesses and storefronts in the surrounding blocks. Three businesses were destroyed and a fourth was heavily damaged.

2016–Macedonia says it will no longer allow migrants through its southern border with Greece, effectively blocking the Balkan route for migrants from the war-torn Middle East.

2016–Actor, Robert Horton, dies of natural causes in a rehabilitation clinic in Los Angeles, California, at age 91. He is best known for his co-starring role in the TV Western series Wagon Train. He appeared in the films A Walk in the Sun, The Tanks Are Coming, Pony Soldier, The Story of Three Loves, Bright Road, code Two, Prisoner of War, and The Green Slime.

2017–A Motorway Bridge collapses near Ancona, Italy, killing two Italians and injuring two Romanian workers.

2018–The British music magazine, New Musical Express (NME), issues its final print edition after 66 years, becoming a purely digital medium.

2018–An Afghan War veteran and recently expelled resident takes an executive director and two psychologists into a room at the Veterans Home of California in Yountville, California. Seven hours later, California Highway Patrol officers find all of them shot dead.

2018–Album cover artist, Gary Burden, dies at age 84. He created iconic album covers for musicians such as Mama Cass, Joni Mitchell, Judie Sill, The Doors, Steppenwolf, The Eagles, Jackson Browne, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Monkees, Three Dog Night, America, The Byrds, Poco, and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Burden is considered as one of the pioneers of the concept of album cover art.


PHOTOS TOP TO BOTTOM: Amerigo Vespucci; David Rizzio; Amasa Leland Stanford; Eddie Foy and the Seven Little Foys; Will Geer; Mickey Spillane; Keely Smith; Lloyd Price, Marty Ingels; Mark Lindsay; Bobby Fisher; Robin Trower; Barbie No. 1; 1964 Ford Mustang; The Smothers Brothers; the Trans-Alaska Pipeline; The Rolling Stones; Ian Ballantine; and Chris LeDoux.
< Back 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Next >