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1970–Singer, Bessie Smith, finally gets a marker for her grave at the Mont Lawn Cemetery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 33 years after her death. Janis Joplin purchases the marker, stating that Smith was one of her greatest influences.


117–Roman Emperor Trajan is dies of a stroke in Selinus, Cilicia, (present-day Gazipasa, Antalya Province), Turkey, at age 63.

869–Frankish King, Lothair II, dies of a fever in Piacenza, Italy, at age 34.

870–Under the Treaty of Meerssen, King Louis the German and his half-brother, Charles the Bald, partition the Middle Frankish Kingdom into two larger east and west divisions.

1079–Emperor Horikawa of Japan is born Taruhito-shinno in Japan.

1220–Sweden is defeated by Estonian tribes in the Battle of Lihula.

1503–King James IV of Scotland marries Margaret Tudor, daughter of King Henry VII of England, at Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh, Scotland.

1576–The cornerstone for Tycho Brahe's Uraniborg observatory is laid on the island of Hven, between Scania and Zealand (Denmark).

1585–John Davis enters Cumberland Sound in search of the Northwest Passage.

1588–In the Anglo-Spanish War he naval engagement ends, ending the Spanish Armada's attempt to invade England.

1605–The city of Oulu, Finland, is founded by Charles IX of Sweden.

1673–Scottish spy, John Ker, is born John Crawford in in Ayrshire, Scotland.

1709–Bartolomeu de Gusmão demonstrates the lifting power of hot air in an audience before the King of Portugal in Lisbon, Portugal.

1786–Mont Blanc on the French-Italian border is climbed for the first time by Jacques Balmat and Dr. Michel-Gabriel Paccard.

1793–The insurrection of Lyon occurs during the French Revolution.

1794–Joseph Whidbey leads an expedition to search for the Northwest Passage near Juneau, Alaska.

1824–Maria Alexandrovna, German-Russian wife of Alexander II of Russia, is born Maximilienne Wilhelmine Marie in Darmstadt, Grand Duchy of Hesse, German Confederation.

1827–Politician, George Canning, dies in Chiswick, Middlesex, London, England, at age 57. He was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. His health declined and he died after just 119 days in office, the shortest tenure of any British Prime Minister.

1844–The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, headed by Brigham Young, is reaffirmed as the leading body of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).

1863–Following his defeat in the Battle of Gettysburg, General Robert E. Lee sends a letter of resignation to Confederate President Jefferson Davis (which is refused upon receipt).

1876–Thomas Edison receives a patent for his mimeograph.

1879–Physician and surgeon, Bob Smith, is born Robert Holbrook Smith in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. He co-founded Alcoholics Anonymous with Bill Wilson, more commonly known as Bill W.

1879–Revolution leader, Emiliano Zapata, is born Emiliano Zapata Salazar in Anenecuilco, Morelos, Mexico. He was a leading figure in the Mexican Revolution, the main leader of the peasant revolution in the state of Chiapas, and the inspiration of the agrarian movement called Zapatismo.

1885–More than 1.5 million people attend the funeral of Ulysses S. Grant in New York City.

1898–Adolph Sutro, 24th Mayor of San Francisco, California, dies in San Francisco, California, at age 68. He was the first German-American Jewish mayor, serving in that office from 1895 until 1897. He is best remembered for the various San Francisco lands and landmarks that still bear his name.

1896–Author and academic, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, is born in Washington, D.C. In 1928, with a small inheritance from her mother, Rawlings and her husband purchased a 72-acre orange grove near Hawthorne, Florida, in a hamlet named Cross Creek for its location between Orange Lake and Lochloosa Lake. Her best known work, The Yearling, about a boy who adopts an orphaned fawn, won a Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1939, and was later made into a movie of the same name. In 1942, Rawlings published Cross Creek, an autobiographical account of her relationships with her neighbors and her beloved Florida hammocks.

1907–Jazz musician, Benny Carter, is born Bennett Lester Carter in Harlem, New York. He was an alto saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. Carter was a major figure in jazz from the 1930s to the 1990s.

1908–Wilbur Wright makes his first flight at a racecourse at Le Mans, France. It is the Wright Brothers' first public flight.

1908–Judge and politician, Arthur (Joseph) Goldberg, is born in Chicago, Illinois. He was the sixth U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.

1908–Austrian architect, Joseph Maria Olbrich, dies of leukemia in Düsseldorf, German Empire, at age 40. He was co-founder of the Vienna Secession.

1910–Actress, Sylvia Sidney, is born Sophia Kosow in the Bronx, New York. During the Depression, Sidney appeared in a string of films, often playing the girlfriend or the sister of a gangster. She appeared in the films An American Tragedy, City Streets, Street Scene, Sabotage, Fury, Les Misérables, Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams, I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, Hammett, and Beetlejuice. She was married to publisher, Bennett Cerf.

1919–Film producer, Dino DeLaurentis, is born Agostino De Laurentiis in Torre Annunziata, Campania, Italy. He produced or co-produced more than 500 films, of which 38 were nominated for Academy Awards. His films include La Strada, Ulysses, War and Peace, Battle of the Bulge, Barbarella, Serpico, Death Wish, King Kong, The Shootist, Ragtime, Dune, Crimes of the Heart, and Blue Velvet.

1920–Blues singer, Jimmy Witherspoon, is born in Gurdon, Arkansas. Witherspoon's style of blues, that of the "blues shouter," became unfashionable in the mid-1950s, but he returned to popularity with his 1959 album Jimmy Witherspoon at the Monterey Jazz Festival.

1921–Director, producer, and screenwriter, William (Milton) Asher, is born in New York, New York. He was one of the most prolific early television directors, producing or directing over two dozen series, including I Love Lucy, The Dinah Shore Show, Our Miss Brooks, Make Room for Daddy, The Donna Reed Show, The Twilight Zone, The Patty Duke Show, Bewitched, Gidget, Alice, and The Dukes of Hazzard. He was married to actresses, Elizabeth Montgomery and Joyce Bulifant.

1921–Country singer, Webb (Michael) Pierce, is born in West Monroe, Louisiana. He was one of the most popular American honky tonk vocalists of the 1950s, charting more #1 hits than any other country artist during the decade. His biggest hit was In the Jailhouse Now. He was known for wearing flamboyant cowboy suits made the tailor, Nudie, in North Hollywood, California.

1921–Swimming actress, Esther (Jane) Williams, is born in Inglewood, California. She appeared in the films A Guy Named Joe, Bathing Beauty, Ziegfeld Follies, Till the Clouds Roll By, Take Me Out to the Ball Game, Neptune’s Daughter, Pagan Love Song, Texas Carnival, Million Dollar Mermaid, Easy to Love, Athena, Jupiter’s Darling, and The Big Show. She was married to actor, Fernando Lamas.

1922–Actor, Rory Calhoun, is born Francis Timothy McCown in Los Angeles, California. He appeared in the films A Ticket to Tomahawk, Return of the Frontiersman, I'd Climb the Highest Mountain, With a Song in My Heart, How to Marry a Millionaire, River of No Return, Marco Polo, Night of the Lepus, and The Main Event.

1922–Fashion designer, Rudi Gernreich, is born Rudolf Gernreich in Vienna, Austria. His avant-garde clothing designs are generally regarded as the most innovative and dynamic fashion of the 1960s. He purposefully used fashion design as a social statement to advance sexual freedom, producing clothes that followed the natural form of the female body, freeing them from the constraints of high fashion. He was the first to use cutouts, vinyl, and plastic in clothing. He designed the first thong bathing suit, unisex clothing, the first swimsuit without a built-in bra, the soft transparent No Bra, and the topless Monokini..

1925-Politician, Alija Izetbegovic, is born in Bosanski Samac, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. He was the first President of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

1926–Actor, Richard (Norman) Anderson, is born in Long Branch, New Jersey. He appeared in the films The Magnificent Yankee, Storm Warning, The People Against O’Hara, Scaramouche, I Love Melvin, Forbidden Planet, The Long Hot Summer, The Wackiest Ship in the Army, Johnny Cool, Seven Days in May, Kitten with a Whip, Seconds, and Play It As It Lays.

1927–The predecessor to the Philippine Stock Exchange opens.

1929–The German airship, Graf Zeppelin, begins an around-the-world flight.

1932–Country singer, Mel Tillis, is born Lonnie Melvin Tillis in Plant City, Florida. Although he recorded songs beginning in the late 1950s, his biggest success occurred in the 1970s, with a long list of “Top 10” hits. It was known that he had the speech impediment of stuttering, but it did not affect his singing voice. His daughter is singer, Pam Tillis.

1933–Soul singer, Joe Tex, is born Joseph Arrington Jr. in Rogers, Texas. His biggest hit was Hold On to What You’ve Got. In 1966, he converted to Islam, changed his name to Yusuf Hazziez, and toured as a spiritual lecturer.

1937–Actor, Dustin (Lee) Hoffman, is born in Los Angeles, California. He appeared in the films The Graduate, Midnight Cowboy, John and Mary, Little Big Man, Straw Dogs, Papillon, Lenny, All the President’s Men, Marathon Man, Straight Time, Kramer vs. Kramer, Tootsie, Rain Man, Outbreak, Wag the Dog, Runaway Jury, I Heart Huckabees, Meet the Fockers, and Last Chance Harvey.

1938–Actress and singer, Connie Stevens, is born Concetta Rosalie Ann Ingoglia in Brooklyn, New York. She is best known for her role in the TV series Hawaiian Eye. She had a hit record with Sixteen Reasons. She appeared in the films Rock-A-Bye Baby, The Party Crashers, Parrish, Susan Slade, Palm Springs Weekend, Two on a Guillotine, Never Too Late, Way... Way Out, Grease 2, Back to the Beach, and Tapeheads. She was married to actor James Stacy, and singer, Eddie Fisher. Her daughter is actress, Joely Fisher.

1939–Phil Balsley, of The Statler Brothers, is born. The group’s biggest hit was Flowers on the Wall.

1940–The Battle of Britain begins as Germany launches air attacks.

1942–The Quit India Movement is launched in India against the British rule in response to Mohandas Gandhi's call for “swaraj” or complete independence.

1944–Actress, Brooke Bundy, is born in New York, New York. She was cast in many TV shows, including The Donna Reed Show, Route 66, Dr. Kildare, Rawhide, Gunsmoke, The Big Valley, My Three Sons, Mannix, The Mod Squad, and The Partridge Family.

1940–The Battle of Britain begins as Germany launches air attacks.

1944–Porn actor, John Holmes, is born John Curtis Estes in Ashville, Ohio. He was one of the most prolific male pornographic film actors of all time, appearing in about 2,250 adult loops and pornographic feature movies in the 1970s and 1980s.

1944–Film director, Peter (Lindsay) Weir, is born in Sydney, Australia. His films include Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Last Wave, Gallipoli, The Year of Living Dangerously, Witness, The Mosquito Coast, Dead Poets Society, Green Card, Fearless, and The Truman Show.

1945–The London Charter is signed by France, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and the United States, establishing the laws and procedures for the Nuremberg trials.

1946–The first flight of the Convair B-36 takes place. It is the world's first mass-produced nuclear weapon delivery vehicle, the heaviest mass-produced piston-engined aircraft, with the longest wingspan of any military aircraft, and the first bomber with intercontinental range.

1947–Actor, Larry (Dee) Wilcox, is born in San Diego, California. He is best known for the role of Officer Jonathan "Jon" Baker in the TV series CHiPs. He appeared in the films The Great American Beauty Contest, The Girl Most Likely to..., The Last Hard Men, Deadly Lessons, The Dirty Dozen: Next Mission, and National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1.

1949–Actor, Keith (Ian) Carradine, is born in San Mateo, California. He appeared in the films McCabe & Mrs. Miller, A Gunfight, Emperor of the North Pole, Thieves Like Us, Nashville, Welcome to L.A., The Duellists, Pretty Baby, The Long Riders, Southern Comfort, Choose Me, Trouble in Mind, The Moderns, The Ballad of the Sad Cafe, CrissCross, Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle, A Thousand Acres, and Wooly Boys. His father was actor, John Carradine. His half-brother was actor, David Carradine. His daughter is actress, Martha Plimpton.

1950–Willie Hall, drummer for Booker T. & the M.G.'s, is born in Memphis, Tennessee.

1950–Businessman, Fergus McMaster, dies in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, at age 71. He was the founder of the airline company, Qantas.

1951–Film director, Martin Brest, is born in New York, New York. His films include Going in Style, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Beverly Hills Cop, Spies Like Us, Midnight Run, Scent of a Woman, Meet Joe Black, and Gigli.

1951–Politician, Mohamed Morsi, is born in El Adwah, Sharqia Governorate, Kingdom of Egypt. He was the fifth President of Egypt. He was the first democratically elected head of state in the 5,000 years of Egyptian history, in the election after the Egyptian revolution of 2011. General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi removed Morsi from office in the 2013 Egyptian coup d'état after the June 2013 Egyptian protests.

1951–Journalist, Randy Shilts, is born in Davenport, Iowa. He worked as a freelance reporter for both The Advocate and The San Francisco Chronicle. His books include The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk; And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic; and Conduct Unbecoming: Gays and Lesbians in the U.S. Military from Vietnam to the Persian Gulf.

1952–Drummer, Anton Fig, is born in Cape Town, South Africa. He is best known for his work in David Letterman's house band, the CBS Orchestra.

1952–Radio host, Robin (Ophella) Quivers, is born in Pikesville, Maryland. She is best known for being the long-running news anchor and co-host of The Howard Stern Show.

1953–Actor, Donny Most, is born in Brooklyn, New York. He is best known for the role of Ralph Malph on the TV series Happy Days.

1954–Short story writer and novelist, Elizabeth Tallent, is born in Washington, D.C. She studied anthropology at Illinois State University and had no intention of becoming a writer. She was, in fact, on her way to graduate school in New Mexico, when she and her husband came upon a fork in the road between Taos and Santa Fe. The couple decided to toss a coin to decide which way they would go. The coin said Santa Fe, and graduate school was out. Tallent began writing short stories, and sold her first one, “Ice,” to The New Yorker.

1955–A conference is held in Geneva, Switzerland, to discuss peaceful uses of atomic energy.

1957–Dennis (Arnold) Drew, of 10,000 Maniacs, is born in Jamestown, New York.

1958–Journalist, Deborah (Anne) Norville, is born in Dalton, Georgia. Norville is the anchor of Inside Edition, a syndicated television news magazine, a position she has held since March 1995.

1960–South Kasai secedes from the Congo.

1961–The Edge, guitarist for U2, is born David Howell Evans in Barking, Essex, England. He was raised in Ireland after moving there as an infant. A member of the group since its inception, he has recorded 13 studio albums with the band, as well as one solo record. As a guitarist, the Edge has crafted a minimalistic and textural style of playing: his use of a rhythmic delay effect yields a distinctive ambient, chiming sound that has become a signature of U2's music.

1961–Rikki Rockett, drummer for Poison, is born Richard Allan Ream in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.

1963–The Oregon band, The Kingsmen, release the record Louie Louie. Many American radio stations ban the song when they decide the indecipherable lyrics must be obscene. In the U.K., 25,000 copies of the single are destroyed by Decca Records.

1963–In England, a gang of 15 train robbers steal £2.6 million in bank notes.

1963–The Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), the current ruling party of Zimbabwe, is formed by a split from the Zimbabwe African People's Union.

1963–Yoko Ono’s daughter, Kyoko (Chan) Cox, is born in Japan.

1967–The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is founded by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.

1968–Richard M. Nixon is nominated for President at the Republican National Convention in Miami Beach, Florida.

1969–Photographer, Iain McMillan, balancing on a step ladder in the middle of Abbey Road, in London, England, takes photographs of John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison walking across the zebra crossing just outside Abbey Road studios. The Beatles cross several times, McMillan taking six shots while a policeman holds up traffic for them.

1970–Singer, Bessie Smith, finally gets a marker for her grave at the Mont Lawn Cemetery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 33 years after her death. Janis Joplin purchases the marker, stating that Smith was one of her greatest influences.

1973–Kim Dae-jung, a South Korean politician and later president of South Korea, is kidnapped.

1973–Scott Stapp, of Creed, is born Anthony Scott Flippen in Orlando, Florida.

1974–President Richard Nixon announces he will resign, following new damaging revelations in the Watergate scandal. He was the first U.S. President ever to do so. The House Judiciary Committee had, with bipartisan support (the Democrats and one-third of the Republican members), voted for three articles of impeachment: obstruction of justice, abuse of power, and contempt of Congress. A week later, one of the White House tapes was finally made public, showing the President’s direct involvement in the Watergate scandal cover-up. He officially left office August 9th, and was fully pardoned one month later by his successor, President Gerald Ford.

1975–Saxophonist, Cannonball Adderley, dies a cerebral hemorrhage in Gary, Indiana, at age 46. He was a jazz alto saxophonist of the hard bop era of the 1950s and 1960s.

1976–JC Chasez, of NSYNC, is born Joshua Scott Chasez in Bowie, Maryland. He started out his career as a cast member on The Mickey Mouse Club before rising to stardom with the boy band.

1980–The Central Hotel Fire occurs in Bundoran, Ireland.

1984–Actor, Richard Deacon, dies of cardiovascular disease in Los Angeles, California, at age 63. He was a regular on the TV sitcom Leave It to Beaver, but he is best known for the role of Mel Cooley on the TV series The Dick Van Dyke Show. He appeared in the films Invaders from Mars, Them!, Blackboard Jungle, This Island Earth, My Sister Eileen, Good Morning Miss Dove, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Carousel, The Young Philadelphians, A Summer Place, Dear Heart, Billie, and That Darn Cat.

1986–David Crosby, of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, is released from prison after serving time for drug and weapons charges.

1988–The "8888 Uprising" occurs in Burma.

1988–Princess Beatrice of York is born Beatrice Elizabeth Mary at Portland Hospital in London, England. She is the elder daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah, Duchess of York. Beatrice is seventh in line to succeed her grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.

1989–Space Shuttle Columbia takes off on a secret five-day STS-28 military mission.

1990–Iraq occupies Kuwait and the state is annexed to Iraq. This will lead to the Gulf War shortly afterward.

1991–The Warsaw radio mast, at one time the tallest construction ever built, collapses.

1991–Rock organist, Billy Preston, is charged with exhibiting pornography to a minor.

1991–Astronaut, James Irwin, dies of a heart attack in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, at age 61. Of the 12 men who have walked on the Moon, Irwin is the first to die.

1993–A 7.8 earthquake hits the island of Guam, causing around $250 million in damage and injuring up to 71 people.

2000–Attorneys General in 28 states file a lawsuit alleging that record companies forced discount stores to raise CD prices in 1995.

2000–Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley is raised to the surface after 136 years on the ocean floor and 30 years after its discovery by undersea explorer E. Lee Spence.

2004–Actress, Fay Wray, dies in her sleep of natural causes in New York, New York, at age 96. She is best known for playing the female lead in the 1933 film King Kong. Through an acting career that spanned 57 years, Wray attained international renown as an actress in horror movie roles. She was one of the first "scream queens."

2005–Actress, Barbara Bel Geddes, dies in Northeast Harbor, Maine, at age 82. She appeared in the films The Long Night, I Remember Mama, Blood on the Moon, Panic in the Streets, Fourteen Hours, Vertigo, The Five Pennies, Five Branded Women, By Love Possessed, and Summertree.

2007–A tornado touches down in Kings County and Richmond County, New York, as the first tornado in Brooklyn since 1889.

2008–A EuroCity express train en route from Kraków, Poland, to Prague, Czech Republic, strikes a part of a motorway bridge that had fallen onto the railroad track near Studénka railway station and derails, killing eight people and injuring 64 others.

2008–The opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics take place in Beijing, China.

2010–A mudslide in Zhugqu County, Gansu, China, kills more than 1,400 people.

2010–Actress, Patricia Neal, dies of lung cancer in Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, at age 84. She appeared in the films The Fountainhead, The Hasty Heart, Bright Leaf, Operation Pacific, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Stranger from Venus, A Face in the Crowd, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Hud, In Harm’s Way, The Subject Was Roses, The Night Digger, and Ghost Story.

2013–A suicide bombing at a funeral in Quetta, Pakistan, kills at least 31 people.

2013–Actress, Karen Black, dies of cancer in Los Angeles, California, at age 74. She appeared in the films You’re a Big Boy Now, Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, Cisco Pike, Portnoy’s Complaint, The Day of the Locust, Nashville, Family Plot, Capricorn One, Invaders from Mars, and Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean.

2015–Rapper, Sean Price, dies in his sleep in Brooklyn, New York, at age 43.

2016–Emperor Akihito of Japan says he intends to abdicate the throne due to old age.

2016–More than 50 protesters are killed by Ethiopian security forces and the government restricts internet and journalist access to the country.

2016–At least 70 people are killed and about 120 others are injured in a suicide bombing at a hospital in Quetta, Pakistan.


PHOTOS TOP TO BOTTOM: Cumberland Sound; Maria Alexandrovna; Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings; Sylvia Sidney; Rory Calhoun; Dustin Hoffman; Brooke Bundy; Keith Carradine; Randy Shilts; The Edge; The Beatles Abbey Road album cover photo session; Cannonball Adderley; the Space Shuttle Columbia; Fay Wray; and Karen Black.
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