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1950–Ransom Eli Olds, auto and truck manufacturer, dies in Lansing, Michigan, at age 86. He was a pioneer of the American automotive industry, for whom both the Oldsmobile and REO brands were named. The modern assembly line and its basic concept is credited to Olds, who used it to build the first mass-produced automobile, the Oldsmobile Curved Dash, beginning in 1901.


580–The Chinese invent toilet paper.

1071–The Seljuq Turks defeat the Byzantine army at Manzikert.

1214–Patriarch Michael IV of Constantinople dies.

1278–Ottokar II of Bohemia dies in the Battle on the Marchfeld near Moravia (present-day) Dürnkrut.

1346–In the Hundred Years' War, the military supremacy of the English longbow over the French combination of crossbow and armoured knights is established at the Battle of Crécy.

1444–In the Battle of St. Jakob an der Birs, a vastly outnumbered force of Swiss Confederates is defeated by the Dauphin Louis (future Louis XI of France) and his army of “Armagnacs” near Basel.

1469–Ferdinand II of Naples is born.

1498–Michelangelo is commissioned to carve the Pietà.

1676–Robert Walpole, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, is born.

1740–Joseph-Michel Montgolfier is born. He invented the hot air balloon.

1748–The first Lutheran denomination in North America, the Pennsylvania Ministerium, is founded in Philadelphia.

1778–The first recorded ascent of Triglav, the highest mountain in Slovenia.

1789–”The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen” is approved by the National Constituent Assembly of France.

1789–Prince Abbas Mirza of Persia is born.

1792–Politician, Manuel Oribe, is born. He was the fourth President of Uruguay.

1791–John Fitch is granted a U.S. patent for the steamboat.

1810–The former viceroy, Santiago de Liniers of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, is executed after the defeat of his counter-revolution.

1813–An impromptu battle takes place when French and Prussian-Russian forces accidentally run into each other near Liegnitz, Prussia (present-day Legnica, Poland).

1814–During the Chilean War of Independence, infighting between the rebel forces of José Miguel Carrera and Bernardo O'Higgins erupts in the Battle of Las Tres Acequias.

1821–The University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, is officially opened.

1826–Princess Alexandra of Bavaria is born.

1843–Charles Thurber patents a typewriter.

1850–Louis Philippe I of France dies in exile in Claremont, Surrey, England, at age 76.

1873–Inventor, Lee de Forest, is born. He invented the Audion tube.

1880–French symbolist poet, Guillaume Apollinaire, is born in Rome, Italy. He is considered to be one of the foremost poets of the early 20th century. His early work was influenced by Symbolism through the combining of traditional poetic structure with Modernist imagery. Some of his later work employed the use of automatic writing. Apollinaire was a great friend to the visual arts, in particular Cubism and Surrealism, which he promoted enthusiastically, and he is credited with naming the two art movements he so admired.

1883–The first of a series of increasingly violent explosions occurs on the Indonesian island of Krakatoa. On the morning of the next day, the world’s largest explosion will be heard 3,000 miles away. The volcanic island explodes, spewing five cubic miles of earth into the air, 50 miles high. It creates tidal waves up to 120 feet high, kills 36,000 people, and causes oceanic and atmospheric changes over a period of many years.

1893–Jack London returns to San Francisco. California, after spending eight months on a seal-hunting expedition aboard the Sophia Sutherland. He is only 17 years old.

1896–Super-centenarian, Besse Cooper, is born in Besse Berry Brown Sullivan County, Tennessee. She will live to the age of 116 (and 100 days).

1897–Politician, Yun Posun, is born. He was the second President of South Korea.

1898–Modern-art collector, Peggy (Marguerite) Guggenheim, is born to a wealthy family in New York City. Her father would be one of the travelers to go down on the Titanic. Peggy felt stifled by her life of luxury in New York, so she went to Europe, where she befriended the expatriate artists living in Paris, France, (including James Joyce, Marcel Duchamp, Ezra Pound, and Isadora Duncan) and became a collector of art. At her home in Venice, in a palazzo on the Grand Canal, she kept works by Picasso, Chagall, Dali, Pollock, Braque, and De Chirico. At the time of her death in 1979, the collection was said to be worth $30 million. Late in her life a good many of her acquisitions went to rest at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum on Fifth Avenue in New York City. At the time of her death in 1979, the collection was said to be worth $30 million.

1904–Christopher Isherwood is born in Disely, Cheshire, England. Three years spent in Berlin, Germany, from 1931 to 1934, will inspire a number of stories about the author and Sally Bowles, which will provide the source for the play I Am a Camera, which in turn becomes the musical and film Cabaret.

1909–Actor, Jim Davis, is born Marlin Davis in Edgerton, Platte County, Missouri. He is best known for the role of Jock Ewing in the prime-time soap opera Dallas. He appeared in the films The Beginning of the End, Oh! Susanna, Little Big Horn, The Big Sky, Alias Jesse James, The Magnificent Seven, Monty Walsh, Rio Lobo, Bad Company, The Parallax View, The Choirboys, and Comes a Horseman.

1910–Mother Teresa is born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu in Uskup, Kosovo Vilayet, Ottoman Empire (present-day Skopje, Macedonia). She became a nun and was the founder of Missionaries of Charity, a Roman Catholic religious congregation, which in 2012 consisted of over 4,500 sisters and was active in 133 countries. They run hospices and homes for people with HIV/AIDS, leprosy, and tuberculosis; soup kitchens; dispensaries and mobile clinics; children's and family counseling programs; orphanages; and schools. The recipient of the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize, Mother Teresa gave hope to millions, caring for, helping, and listening to the poor and downtrodden.

1914–The Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras is founded in Brazil.

1917–Actor, Mel Ferrer, is born Melchor Gastón Ferrer in Elberon, New Jersey. He appeared in the films Rancho Notorious, Scaramouche, Lili, War and Peace, The Sun Also Rises, The World, the Flesh, and the Devil, Ladies Man, Paris When It Sizzles, Sex and the Single girl, Wail Until Dark, A Time for Loving, The Net, The Visitor, and Nightmare City. He was married to actress, Audrey Hepburn.

1918–Actor, Richard Greene, is born Richard Marius Joseph Greene in Plymouth, Devon, England. He starred in the popular 1950s TV series The Adventures of Robin Hood. He appeared in the films The Hound of the Baskervilles, Stanley and Livingstone, Forever Amber, The Desert Hawk, and Lorna Doone.

1920–American women win the right to vote as the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified.

1920–Politician, Prem Tinsulanonda, is born. He was the 16th Prime Minister of Thailand.

1921–Journalist and author, Benjamin C. Bradlee, is born.

1922–Journalist, Irving R. Levine, is born.

1925–Director, screenwriter, and cinematographer, Pyotr Todorovsky, is born.

1930–Actor, Lon Chaney, dies of lung caners in Los Angeles, California, at age 47. He was called "The Man of a Thousand Faces." He appeared in the films Oliver Twist, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Monster, and The Phantom of the Opera.

1933–Film Producer, Robert Chartoff, is born in New York, New York. His films include Point Blank, They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?, The Strawberry Statement, Up the Sandbox, Rocky, Comes a Horseman, Raging Bull, and The Right Stuff.

1935–Politician, Geraldine Ferraro, is born.

1940–Chad becomes the first French colony to join the Allies under the administration of Félix Éboué, France's first black colonial governor.

1941–Film director, Barbet Schroeder, is born.

1942–In the Ukraine, at 2.30 a.m. the German Schutzpolizei starts driving Jews out of their houses, divides them into groups of 120, packs them in freight cars, and deports 2,000 to Belzec extermination camp. Five hundred of the sick and children are murdered on the spot.

1942–Singer, Vic Dana, is born.

1944–Maureen Tucker, of The Velvet Underground, is born.

1945–Politician, Tom Ridge, is born. He was the first Secretary of Homeland Security.

1946–The book, Animal Farm by George Orwell, is published.

1946–Valerie Simpson, of Ashford & Simpson, is born.

1949–Musician, Leon Redbone, is born.

1950–Ransom Eli Olds, auto and truck manufacturer, dies in Lansing, Michigan, at age 86. He was a pioneer of the American automotive industry, for whom both the Oldsmobile and REO brands were named. The modern assembly line and its basic concept is credited to Olds, who used it to build the first mass-produced automobile, the Oldsmobile Curved Dash, beginning in 1901.

1952–Mark Craney, drummer for Jethro Tull, is born in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

1952–Actor, Michael Jeter, is born.

1956–Actor, (Peter) Brett Cullen, is born in Houston, Texas. He appeared in the TV shows Falcon Crest, The Young Riders, The West Wing, and Desperate Housewives. He appeared in the films Wyatt Earp and Something to Talk About.

1960–Jazz musician, Branford Marsalis, is born.

1960–Model and actress, Ola Ray, is born. She is best known for the role of Michael Jackson’s girlfriend in his long-form video Thriller.

1964–On their first American tour, The Beatles perform one show at the Red Rocks Amphitheater in Denver, Colorado. Attendance is 7,000 (surprisingly, there were 2,000 empty seats).

1966–The Namibian War of Independence starts with the battle at Omugulugwombashe.

1967–At University College in Bangor, North Wales, The Beatles hold a press conference with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The Beatles announce that they have become disciples of the guru and that they have renounced the use of drugs. They become members of the Maharishi’s ”Spiritual Regeneration Movement,” which obligates them to donate one week’s earnings each month to the organization. They will soon decide to visit the guru’s Transcendental Meditation (TM) academy in Rishikesh, India, for meditation and study, and to become teachers of TM.

1967–Politician, George Lincoln Rockwell, dies from a gunshot wound in Arlington, Virginia, at age 49. John Patler, a former member of Rockwell's group, was arrested and convicted of the murder and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Patler was paroled in 1975m after serving eight years. Rockwell was the founder of the American Nazi Party.

1967–The Doors perform at The Las Vegas Convention Center. On a peculiar note, The Convention Center officials' major grievance is the profusion of shoes left behind after the show. Apparently, going barefoot was the order of the day, but footwear was required for admission to the show. Upon entering the venue, patrons quickly abandoned their shoes, neglecting to retrieve them when they left, leaving behind a mountain of footwear.

1967–Purple Haze by Jimi Hendrix is released.

1968–The 1968 Democratic National Convention begins in Chicago, Illinois.

1970–The new feminist movement, led by Betty Friedan, leads a nationwide Women's Strike for Equality.

1970–The strife-ridden Isle of Wight Festival kicks off in England. Thousands turn up expecting the concert to become a free festival, only to discover organizers have surrounded the place with a large metal fence. The freeloaders spend most of their time banging on the fence demanding entry. Worse yet, the promoters don't have enough money to pay their acts. During Joni Mitchell's set, one audience member grabs the mike to say the festival has turned into a “hippie concentration camp,” causing Mitchell to burst into tears. The festival also marks the last appearance by Jimi Hendrix.

1970–Guitarist, Duane Allman, joins Eric Clapton's Derek & the Dominos sessions at Criteria Studios in Miami, Florida.

1974–Aviator, Charles Lindbergh, dies at his home in Hawaii, at age 72.

1977–The Charter of the French Language is adopted by the National Assembly of Quebec.

1977–Author and illustrator, H.A. Rey, dies. He created Curious George.

1978–Albino Luciani is elected as Pope John Paul I.

1978–Sigmund Jähn becomes the first German cosmonaut, on board Soyuz 31.

1978–Actor, Charles Boyer, dies.

1980–John Birges plants a bomb at Harvey's Resort Hotel in Stateline, Nevada. The FBI inadvertently detonates the bomb while disarming it.

1980–Child actor, Macaulay Culkin, is born.

1980–Actor, Chris Pine, is born.

1980–Animator and voice actor, Tex Avery, dies.

1981–Union leader, Roger Nash Baldwin, dies. He co-founded The American Civil Liberties Union.

1981–Lee Hays, of The Weavers, dies.

1986–Actor, Ted Knight, dies of colon cancer in Pacific Palisades, California, at age 62. He is best known for the role of news anchorman Ted Baxter on the TV series The Mary Tyler Moore Show. He was seen in dozens of TV shows in the 1960s and 1970s. He appeared in the films Twelve Hours to Kill, Psycho, Cry for Happy, The Great Imposter, Two Rode Together, The Interns, The Candidate, Young Dillinger, Cold Turkey, and Caddyshack.

1987–Sonny Bono announces that he will run for Mayor of Palm Springs, California.

1989–Author, Irving Stone, dies.

1990–Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble play Alpine Valley, Wisconsin. For an encore, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Jimmie Vaughan, and Robert Cray join the band for a jam. In the early morning hours after the show, Vaughan's helicopter crashes on its way to Chicago, Illinois, killing everyone on board.

1993–Zydeco accordion player, Rockin' Dopsie, dies of heart failure at age 61.

1997–The Beni Ali massacre takes place in Algeria, killing 60 to 100 people.

1999–Russia begins the Second Chechen War in response to the Invasion of Dagestan by the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade.

2002–Earth Summit 2002 begins in Johannesburg, South Africa.

2004–Singer, Laura Branigan, dies in her sleep from undiagnosed ventricular brain aneurysm at her home in East Quogue, New York, at age 47. She had a big hit with the song Gloria.

2009–Journalist and author, Dominick Dunne, dies.

2011–The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Boeing's all-new composite airliner, receives certification from the EASA and the FAA.

2013–Nationwide protests are held across the Philippines over the Priority Development Assistance Fund scam.

2015–Two American journalists are shot and killed by a disgruntled former co-worker while conducting a live television report in Moneta, Virginia.

2016–Bolivia's deputy interior minister, Rodolfo Illanes, is kidnapped and beaten to death by striking miners.

2016–An assassination attempt against Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, is foiled by Czech police.

2016–A newly-discovered galaxy known as Dragonfly 44 appears to be made up mostly of dark matter.

2016–Barack Obama expands the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument off the coast of Hawaii, making it the largest national park on the planet.

2016–Turkey opens the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge in Istanbul.

2016–Hungary plans to build a second fence on its southern border with Serbia that would enable it to keep out any major new wave of migrants. The already existing razor-wire fence built along Hungary's border in 2015, has sharply reduced flows of immigrants.

2016–Fires in Indonesia burn and blow smoke into Singapore, engulfing the city-state into darkness.


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