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1957–Comedy actor, Oliver Hardy, of Laurel and Hardy, dies from cerebral thrombosis in North Hollywood, California, at age 65. After suffering a heart attack in 1954, Hardy lost 150 pounds in just a few months in an attempt to improve his health. The weight loss made him almost unrecognizable. Two years later, after three strokes, he slipped into a coma and never recovered.


BC 322–The Battle of Crannon between Athens and Macedonia takes place.

317–Roman Emperor, Constantius II, is born Flavius Julius Constantius in Sirmium, Pannonia Inferior (Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia).

461–Roman Emperor Majorian is beheaded near the river Iria in northwest Italy, following his arrest and deposition by the magister militum Ricimer.

626–The Avar and Slav armies leave the siege of Constantinople.

936–The Coronation of King Otto I of Germany is held.

1106–Holy Roman Emperor, Henry IV, dies after nine days of illness in Liège, Lower Lorraine, Kingdom of Germany, at age 55.

1420–Construction of the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore begins in Florence, Italy.

1427–The Visconti of Milan's fleet is destroyed by the Venetians on the Po River in nortnern Italy.

1461–The Ming dynasty Chinese military general, Cao Qin, stages a coup against the Tianshun Emperor.

1616–Architect, Vincenzo Scamozzi, dies in Venice, Italy, at age 67. He designed Teatro Olimpico.

1679–The brigantine, Le Griffon, commissioned by René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, is towed to the southeastern end of the Niagara River, to become the first ship to sail the upper Great Lakes of North America.

1734–Duchess Maria Anna Josepha of Bavaria is born Maria Anna Josepha Augusta at Nymphenburg Palace, Munich, Bavaria.

1751–Wilhelmina of Prussia, Princess of Orange, is born Frederika Sophia Wilhelmine. She was the longest serving Princess consort of Orange.

1782–George Washington orders the creation of the Badge of Military Merit to honor soldiers wounded in battle. It is later renamed the Purple Heart.

1783–Princess Amelia of the United Kingdom is born at Royal Lodge, Windsor, Berkshire, England. She was the 15th child and 6th daughter of King George III of the United Kingdom and his queen consort, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

1789–The U.S. Department of War is established.

1791–American troops destroy the Miami town of Kenapacomaqua, near the site of (present-day) Logansport, Indiana, during the Northwest Indian War.

1794–President George Washington invokes the Militia Acts of 1792 to suppress the Whiskey Rebellion in western Pennsylvania.

1819–Simón Bolívar triumphs over Spain in the Battle of Boyacá.

1834–Weaver, Joseph Marie Jacquard, dies in Oullins, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France, at age 82. He invented the Jacquard loom.

1855–Politician, Mariano Arista, dies on board the English steamer Tagus while traveling from Lisbon, Portugal, to France, at age 53. He was the 19th President of Mexico.

1860–Astrologer, Alan Leo, is born William Frederick Allan in Westminster, England. He is often referred to as "the father of modern astrology." His work stimulated a revival of astrology in the Western world after its decline at the end of the 17th century. Leo was a devout theosophist and he worked many of its religious concepts, such as karma and reincarnation, into his astrology. His works include Practical Astrology, How to Judge a Nativity, The Progressed Horoscope, and Esoteric Astrology.

1862–Swedish Queen, Victoria of Baden, is born Sophie Marie Viktoria in Karlsruhe, Baden, Germany.

1876–Spy, Mata Hari, is born Margaretha Geertruida Zelle in Leeuwarden, Netherlands. She was a Dutch exotic dancer and courtesan who was convicted of being a spy for Germany during World War I, and was executed by firing squad in France.

1879–The Openshaw Citadel, the third Salvation Army corps, (called the Poor Man's Palace) opens in Manchester, England.

1884–Actress, Billie Burke, is born Mary William Ethelbert Appleton Burke in Washington, D.C. She is best known for the role of Glinda the Good Witch in The Wizard of Oz. She appeared in the films Dinner at Eight, Forsaking All Others, Becky Sharp, Topper, Eternally Yours, The Man Who Came to Dinner, Father of the Bride, Father's Little Dividend, The Young Philadelphians, Sergeant Rutledge, and Pepe. She was married to Broadway producer, Florenz Ziegfeld.

1890–Anna Mansdotter becomes the last woman to be executed in Sweden.

1907–Psychic and actor, The Amazing Criswell, is born Jeron Criswell Konig in Princeton, Indiana. He was known for his wildly inaccurate predictions. Criswell sometimes appeared in the movies of the eccentric writer and director, Ed Wood. He appeared in the films Plan 9 from Outer Space, Orgy of the Dead, Night of the Ghouls, and It Came from Hollywood.

1909–Alice Huyler Ramsey and three friends become the first women to complete a transcontinental auto trip, taking 59 days to travel from New York, New York, to San Francisco, California.

1911–Filmmaker, Nicholas Ray, is born Raymond Nicholas Kienzle in Galesville, Wisconsin. He grew up in La Crosse, studied theater at the University of Chicago, studied under Frank Lloyd Wright at the architect's Taliesin art colony in Wisconsin, and finally moved to Hollywood to become a director. His films include They Live by Night, Knock on Any Door, A Woman’s Secret, In a Lonely Place, Born to Be Bad, Flying Leathernecks, On Dangerous Ground, Macao, The Lusty Men, Johnny Guitar, Run for Cover, Rebel Without a Cause, Hot Blood, Bigger Than Life, The True Story of Jesse James, Wind Across the Everglades, Party Girl, The Savage Innocents, King of Kings, and 55 Days at Peking. He was married to actress, Gloria Grahame.

1925–Songwriter, Felice Bryant, is born Matilda Genevieve Scaduto in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Along with her husband, Boudleaux Bryant, she most notably wrote songs for The Everly Brothers, including Bye Bye Love, Wake Up Little Susie, All I Have to Do Is Dream, Problems, Bird Dog, Devoted to You, and Love Hurts.

1926–Puppeteer, voice actor, and ad man, Stan Freberg, is born Stanley Friberg in Pasadena, California. Freberg introduced satire to the field of advertising and he revolutionized the industry, influencing staid ad agencies to imitate Freberg by injecting humor into their previously dead-serious commercials. His advertising clients included Contadina tomato paste, Jeno’s pizza, Sunsweet pitted prunes, Heinz soups, and Chun King chinese food.

1927–The Peace Bridge opens between Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada, and Buffalo, New York.

1928–Magician, James Randi, is born Randall James Hamilton Zwinge in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is the co-founder of Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) and the founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF). He began his career as a magician under the stage name The Amazing Randi and later chose to devote most of his time to investigating paranormal, occult, and supernatural claims, which he collectively calls "woo-woo."

1928–Herb Reed, of The Platters, is born in in Kansas City, Missouri. He was the only member of The Platters who sang on all of the approximately 400 songs recorded by the group. His vocals can be heard on The Platters' biggest hits, including Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, The Great Pretender, Twilight Time, and My Prayer.

1929–Baseball player, Don Larsen, is born Donald James Larsen in Michigan City, Indiana. He was a Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. During a 15-year MLB career, he pitched from 1953-1967 for seven different teams: St. Louis Browns/Baltimore Orioles (1953-1954 and 1965); New York Yankees (1955-1959); Kansas City Athletics (1960-1961); Chicago White Sox (1961); San Francisco Giants (1962-1964); Houston Colt .45's/Houston Astros (1964-1965); and Chicago Cubs (1967).

1930–The last confirmed lynching of blacks in the northern United States occurs in Marion, Indiana. Two men, Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith, are killed.

1933–The Iraqi government slaughters over 3,000 Assyrians in the village of Simele. The day becomes known as Assyrian Martyrs Day.

1934–The U.S. Court of Appeals upholds a lower court ruling which struck down the government's attempt to ban the controversial James Joyce novel Ulysses.

1936–Reed player, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, is born in Columbus, Ohio. Blinded soon after birth, he learned to play tenor saxophone and flute. He took the name Rahsaan and toured with bassist Charlie Mingus before forming his own group. Kirk could play three different saxes at the same time, producing three-part harmony, and was especially known for his improvisations.

1937–Bluesman, Magic Slim, is born Morris Holt in Torrance, Mississippi. Slim's recording career began in 1966, with the song Scufflin', followed by a number of singles into the mid-1970s. In 1977, he recorded his first album, Born Under a Bad Sign, for the French MCM label. During the 1980s, Slim released titles on Alligator, Rooster Blues, and Wolf Records.

1938–The building of Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp begins. The Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp was the hub of a large group of German concentration camps that was built around the villages of Mauthausen and Sankt Georgen an der Gusen in Upper Austria, roughly 12 miles east of the city of Linz.

1938–Actor and director, Constantin Stanislavski, dies in Moscow, Soviet Union. He was known for developing the Stanislavski method, or as it came to be called, "method acting.” He described his approach as “Spiritual Realism.”

1939–Actress, Anjanette Comer, is born in Dawson, Texas. She appeared in the films Quick Before It Melts, The Loved One, The Appaloosa, Guns for San Sebastian, Rabbit Run, The Baby, and Screen Door Jesus.

1939–Actress, Verna (Frances) Bloom, is born in Lynn, Massachusetts. She appeared in the films Medium Cool, Children’s Games, The Hired Hand, High Plains Drifter, Animal House, Honkytonk Man, The Journey of Natty Gann, After Hours, and The Last Temptation of Christ.

1940–In World War II, Alsace-Lorraine is annexed by the Third Reich.

1941–Author, poet, and playwright, Rabindranath Tagore, dies after two long periods of illness in Calcutta, India, at age 70. Author of Gitanjali (Song Offerings), he became the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913.

1942–The Battle of Guadalcanal begins as the U.S. Marines initiate the first American offensive of the war with landings on Guadalcanal and Tulagi in the Solomon Islands.

1942–Author and radio host, Garrison Keillor, is born Gary Edward Keillor in Anoka, Minnesota. He is a storyteller, humorist, voice actor, and radio personality. Keillor is best known as the creator of the Minnesota Public Radio show, A Prairie Home Companion, which he hosted from 1974 to 2016.

1942–Singer, B.J. Thomas, is born Billy Joe Thomas in Hugo, Oklahoma. His biggest hit was Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head.

1943–Egyptian religious leader, Mohammed Badie, is born in El-Mahalla El-Kubra, Egypt. He is the Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood.

1943–Singer, Lana (Eleanor) Cantrell, is born in Sydney, Australia.

1944–IBM dedicates the first program-controlled calculator, the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator (the Harvard Mark I).

1944–Actor, John Glover, is born John Soursby Glover, Jr. in Salisbury, Maryland. He appeared in the films Annie Hall, Julia, The American Success Company, Melvin and Howard, The Incredible Shrinking Woman, A Little Sex, White Nights, A Killing Affair, 53 Pick-Up, and Scrooged.

1944–Attorney, Robert Mueller, is born Robert Swan Mueller III in New York, New York. He was the sixth Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

1945–Korean Prince, Yi Wu, dies after being mortally injured by the atomic bomb blast in Hiroshima, Empire of Japan, at age 32. He was a member of the imperial family of Korea, and a lieutenant colonel in the Imperial Japanese Army during the World War II.

1946–The government of the Soviet Union presents a note to its Turkish counterparts that refuts the latter's sovereignty over the Turkish Straits, beginning the Turkish Straits crisis.

1947–Thor Heyerdahl's balsa wood raft, the Kon-Tiki, smashes into the reef at Raroia in the Tuamotu Islands, after a 101-day, 4,300 mile journey across the Pacific Ocean. It was an attempt to prove that pre-historic peoples could have traveled from South America.

1947–The Bombay Municipal Corporation formally takes over the Bombay Electric Supply and Transport (BEST).

1948–Country singer, Hank Williams, makes his first appearance on KWKH’s Louisiana Hayride radio show.

1955–Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering, the precursor to Sony, sells its first transistor radios in Japan.

1955–Bill Haley and His Comets appear on The Ed Sullivan Show, performing their hit Rock Around the Clock.

1957–The Quarry Men perform at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, England. Paul McCartney isn’t with them, because he is away at Boy Scout summer camp. The Cavern is a jazz club, but skiffle is tolerated. However, when John Lennon dares to play Hound Dog and Blue Suede Shoes, the club owner sends him a note saying, “cut out the bloody rock!”

1957–Comedy actor, Oliver Hardy, of Laurel and Hardy, dies from cerebral thrombosis in North Hollywood, California, at age 65. After suffering a heart attack in 1954, Hardy lost 150 pounds in just a few months in an attempt to improve his health. The weight loss made him almost unrecognizable. Two years later, after three strokes, he slipped into a coma and never recovered.

1958–(Paul) Bruce Dickinson, of Iron Maiden, is born in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England.

1959–The Lincoln Memorial design on the U.S. penny goes into circulation. It replaces the "sheaves of wheat" design and will be minted until 2008.

1959–Explorer 6 launches from the Atlantic Missile Range in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

1960–Côte d'Ivoire becomes independent from France.

1960–Actor, David (William) Duchovny, is born in New York, New York. He is best known for the role of FBI Agent Fox Mulder on the TV series The X-Files. He appeared in the films Working Girl, Bad Influence, Don’t Tell Mom the Baby Sitter’s Dead, The Rapture, Beethoven, Chaplin, Kalifornia, Zoolander, and The Joneses. He was married to actress, Tia Leoni.

1960–Jacquie O'Sullivan, of Bananarama, is born in London, England.

1960–Shoe designer, Salvatore Ferragamo, dies in Florence, Italy, at age 62.

1962–Canadian-born American pharmacologist, Frances Oldham Kelsey, is awarded the U.S. President's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service for her refusal to authorize thalidomide.

1963–Patrick Bouvier Kennedy, son of President John F. Kennedy, is born at Otis Air Force Base, Bourne, Massachusetts. Being born five-and-a-half weeks prematurely, he died two days later.

1964–The U.S. Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, giving President Lyndon Johnson broad war powers to deal with North Vietnamese attacks on American forces.

1964–The U.S. weeklies review The Beatles first feature film, A Hard Day's Night. “Avoid this film at all costs!” declares Time. “Some Marx Brothers surrealism!” notes Life. “Amusing and engaging!” asserts The Los Angeles Herald Examiner.

1965–The infamous first party between Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters and motorcycle gang the Hells Angels takes place at Kesey's estate in La Honda, California, introducing psychedelics to the gang world and forever linking the hippie movement to motorcycle gangs.

1965–Mike Smith, lead singer of The Dave Clark Five, breaks two ribs when he is pulled off the stage by overzealous fans during a show in Chicago, Illinois.

1966–Race riots occur in Lansing, Michigan.

1966–Internet entrepreneur, Jimmy Wales, is born Jimmy Donal Wales in Huntsville, Alabama. He is best known as the founder of Wikipedia, a free, open content, encyclopedia that has enjoyed rapid growth and popularity in the 21st century.

1967–George and Pattie Harrison, on a visit to San Francisco, California, stroll through Golden Gate Park in the Haight-Ashbury section, the focal point of the “Summer of Love.” George gives a short, unplanned street performance using a borrowed guitar. Harrison’s reaction to the hippie lifestyle? He finds the hippie culture to be “wasteful and naive.” Disc and Music Echo will publish an article by Derek Taylor on his visit to Haight-Ashbury with George and Pattie.

1970–Four people, including the presiding judge, are killed in a courthouse shootout in San Rafael, California. Police will charge radical, Angela Davis, with providing the weapons.

1970–Four people, including the presiding judge, are killed in a courthouse shootout in San Rafael, California. The attack is an effort to free George Jackson from police custody. Police will charge radical, Angela Davis, with providing the weapons.

1972–Actress, Joi Lansing, dies of breast cancer in Santa Monica, California, at age 44. She appeared in the films Easter Parade, Blondie’s Secret, Take Me Out to the Ball Game, Neptune’s Daughter, On the Riviera, Singin’ in the Rain, The Merry Window, Touch of Evil, Queen of Outer Space, A Hole in the Head, Who Was That Lady?, and Marriage on the Rocks.

1973–Vice President Spiro Agnew admits that he was under investigation for crimes including fraud and bribery in his home state of Maryland.

1974–Philippe Petit performs a high wire act between the twin towers of the World Trade Center, 1,368 feet in the air.

1975–Actress, Charlize Theron, is born in Benoni, South Africa. She appeared in the films That Thing You Do!, Trial and Error, The Devil’s Advocate, Celebrity, Mighty Joe Young, The Astronaut’s Wife, The Cider House Rules, Reindeer Games, The Yards, Men of Honor, Sweet November, Monster, and North Country.

1976–Viking 2 enters orbit around Mars.

1978–President Jimmy Carter declares a federal emergency at Love Canal due to toxic waste that had been disposed of negligently.

1979–Several tornadoes strike the city of Woodstock, Ontario, Canada, and the surrounding communities.

1981–The Washington Star ceases all operations after 128 years of publication.

1984–1984–R&B singer, Esther Phillips, dies from liver and kidney failure due to long-term drug abuse in Carson, California, at age 48.

1985–Takao Doi, Mamoru Mohri, and Chiaki Mukai are chosen to be Japan's first astronauts.

1985–The White House Farm murders take place near the English village of Tolleshunt D'Arcy, Essex, England.

1987–Lynne Cox becomes the first person to swim from the United States to the Soviet Union, crossing from Little Diomede Island in Alaska to Big Diomede in the Soviet Union.

1987–Politician, Camille Chamoun, dies in Beirut, Lebanon, at age 87. He was the seventh President of Lebanon.

1989–U.S. Congressman Mickey Leland and 15 others die in a plane crash in Ethiopia.

1998–The United States embassy bombings in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya, kill approximately 212 people.

1999–The Chechnya-based Islamic International Brigade invades neighboring Dagestan.

2004–Firefighter, Red Adair, dies in Houston, Texas, at age 89. He became notable as an innovator in the highly specialized and hazardous profession of extinguishing and capping oil well blowouts, both land-based and offshore.

2005–Journalist and newscaster, Peter Jennings, dies of lung cancer in New York, New York, at age 65. Starting in 1983, he served as the sole anchor of ABC World News Tonight.

2007–Journalist and actor, Hal Fishman, dies of liver and colon cancer in Los Angeles, California, at age 75. He was a local news anchor in the Los Angeles area, serving on-air from 1960.

2008–The Russo-Georgian War begins over who will control the territory of South Ossetia.

2008–Talent agent and producer, Bernie Brillstein, dies of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Los Angeles, California, at age 77. He formed The Brillstein Company in 1969. There managed stars and developed television programming. He produced the shows Hee Haw, The Muppet Show, and Saturday Night Live.

2012–Three gunmen kill 19 people in a church near Okene, Nigeria.

2012–Critic, Judith Crist, dies in New York, New York, at age 90. She was a film critic and academic. She appeared regularly on the Today Show from 1964 to 1973, and was among the first full-time female critics for a major American newspaper, that being The New York Herald Tribune. She was the founding film critic at New York magazine, and became known to most Americans as a critic at the weekly magazine TV Guide.

2013–A bombing in a market in Karachi, Pakistan, kills 11 people.

2015–A group of assailants drag the five women out of their huts and lynch them in Jharkhand, India. The victims had been accused of being witches. Authorities arrested 24 people, believed to have been involved in the killings. More than 2,100 people were murdered in India between 2010 and 2012, for allegedly practicing witchcraft.

2015–Character actor, Terrence Evans, dies in Burbank, California, at age 81. He was cast in numerous TV shows, including Hart to Hart, Little House on the Prairie, The Greatest American Hero, The Dukes of Hazzard, Hill Street Blues, The Golden Girls, and Quantum Leap. He appeared in the films Fletch, Pale Rider, Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and What’s Love Got to Do with It?

2016–Iran confirms it has executed nuclear scientist, Shahram Amiri, by hanging for treason. Iranian judiciary spokesman, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i, says Amiri was charged with spying for enemies of the Islamic Republic of Iran.


PHOTOS TOP TO BOTTOM: Roman Emperor, Constantius II coin; the Teatro Olimpico; Princess Amelia of the United Kingdom; Alan Leo; Nicholas Ray, James Randi; Rahsaan Roland Kirk; Anjanette Comer; B.J. Thomas; the Kon-Tiki; Laurel and Hardy; Salvatore Ferragamo; The Dave Clark Five; Joi Lansing; Esther Phillips; Peter Jennings; and Terrence Evans.
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