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1967–Dick Clark announces that he is making a film about hippies: The Love Children, which stars Jack Nicholson, Dean Stockwell, and Susan Strasberg, featuring the music of The Strawberry Alarm Clock and The Seeds.


557–Constantinople is severely damaged by an earthquake.

835–Emperor Wenzong of the Tang Dynasty conspires to kill the powerful eunuchs of the Tang court, but the plot is foiled.

1287–The Zuiderzee sea wall in the Netherlands collapses, killing over 50,000 people.

1503–Prophet, Nostradamus, is born Michel de Nostre-Dam in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France. He was an apothecary and reputed seer, who published collections of prophecies that have since become famous worldwide. He is best known for his book, Les Propheties, the first edition of which appeared in 1555. Since the publication of this book, which has rarely been out of print since his death, Nostradamus has attracted a following that, along with much of the popular press, credits him with predicting many major world events.

1542–James V of Scotland dies at Falkland Palace, Fife, Scotland, at age 30. Princess Mary Stuart becomes Mary, Queen of Scots.

1618–Anna of Tyrol dies in Vienna, Austria, at age 33. She was Holy Roman Empress, German Queen, Queen of Bohemia, and Queen of Hungary.

1751–The Theresian Military Academy is founded as the first military academy in the world.

1782–The Montgolfier brothers' first balloon lifts off on its first test flight.

1788–Charles III of Spain dies at Royal Palace of Madrid in Spain, at age 72. In 1734, as Duke of Parma, he conquered the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily, and was crowned king, reigning as Charles VII of Naples and Charles V of Sicily.

1799–George Washington, the first U.S. President, dies from a severe case of epiglottitis at Mount Vernon, Virginia, at age 67. He was the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He presided over the convention that drafted the current U.S. Constitution. Washington has been widely hailed, even during his lifetime, as the "father of his country."

1812–The French invasion of Russia comes to an end as the remnants of the Grande Armée are expelled from Russia.

1814–In the War of 1812, the Royal Navy seizes control of Lake Borgne, Louisiana.

1819–Alabama becomes the 22nd state of the United States of America.

1860–Politician, George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen, dies at Argyll House, St. James's, Westminster, London, England. He was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

1866–Artist and critic, Roger (Eliot) Fry, is born in London, England. In 1905, he was named director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, where he became famous for his discovery of Cézanne, Matisse, Van Gogh, and other French painters whom he dubbed the Post-Impressionists. His books include Giovanni Bellini, Vision and Design, and Cézanne. He was part of the Bloomsbury circle, which included the novelist Virginia Woolf. In 1913, he opened a collective design workshop, the Omega Workshops, where artists designed practical objects like furniture and clothing.

1878–Princess Alice of the United Kingdom dies of diphtheria at New Palace, Darmstadt, Hesse, German Empire, at age 35. She was the third child, and second daughter, of Queen Victoria and Albert, Prince Consort.

1895–Poet, Paul Éluard, is born in Saint-Denis, France. He was a founder of Surrealism and one of the great lyrical poets of the 20th century. His first work, Capitale de la douleur, came from experiments with new verbal techniques, theories on the relation between dream and reality, and the free expression of thought processes.

1896–The Glasgow Underground Railway is opened in Scotland, by the Glasgow District Subway Company.

1900–In quantum mechanics, Max Planck presents a theoretical derivation of his black-body radiation law.

1902–The Commercial Pacific Cable Company lays the first Pacific telegraph cable, from San Francisco, California, to Honolulu, Hawaii.

1902–Actress, Frances (Elizabeth) Bavier, is born in New York, New York. She is best known for the role of Aunt Bee on the TV series The Andy Griffith Show. She appeared in the films The Day the Earth Stood Still, Bend of the River, The Stooge, Man in the Attic, The Bad Seed, and It Started with a Kiss.

1902–Julia Grant, wife of President Ulysses S. Grant, dies in Washington, D.C, at age 76. She was the 19th First Lady of the United States. Julia Grant became the first First Lady to write a memoir, although she was unable to find a publisher, and had been dead almost 75 years before The Personal Memoirs of Julia Dent Grant (Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant) was finally published in 1975.

1903–The Wright brothers make their first attempt to fly with the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

1907–The schooner, Thomas W. Lawson, runs aground and founders in a gale near the Hellweather's Reef within the Isles of Scilly. The pilot and 15 seamen are killed.

1909–New South Wales Premier, Charles Wade, signs the Seat of Government Surrender Act, formally completing the transfer of State land to the Commonwealth, creating the Australian Capital Territory.

1911–Roald Amundsen's team (comprising himself, Olav Bjaaland, Helmer Hanssen, Sverre Hassel, and Oscar Wisting) becomes the first to reach the South Pole.

1911–Entertainer, Spike Jones, is born Lindley Armstrong Jones in Long Beach, California. He was a musician and bandleader, specializing in performing satirical arrangements of popular songs. Ballads and classical works receiving the Jones treatment, would be punctuated with gunshots, whistles, cowbells, and outlandish vocals.

1912–Alfred “Freddie” Lennon, John Lennon’s father, is born in Liverpool, Lancashire, England. He was known as being very witty and musical throughout his life: he sang and played the banjo. He married Julia Stanley in 1938. John was their only child, but as Alf was often away at sea during World War II, he did not see much of his child during his infancy. John was sent to live with his Aunt Mimi Smith, who raised him into early adulthood. Alf had very little contact with his son until Beatlemania hit worldwide and they met again. They later had only intermittent contact with each other.

1913–Haruna, the fourth and last Kongo-class ship, launches, eventually becoming one of the Japanese workhorses during World War I and World War II.

1914–Lisandro de la Torre and others found the Democratic Progressive Party (Partido Demócrata Progresista, PDP) at the Hotel Savoy, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

1918–Friedrich Karl von Hessen, a German prince elected by the Parliament of Finland to become King Vaino I, renounces the Finnish throne.

1918–Portuguese President, Sidónio Pais, is assassinated.

1920–Musician, Clark Terry, is born Clark Virgil Terry Jr. in St. Louis, Missouri. He was a swing and bebop trumpeter and a pioneer of the flugelhorn in jazz. He played with Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Quincy Jones, and Oscar Peterson. He was also a member of The Tonight Show Band from 1962 to 1972. Terry's career in jazz spanned more than 70 years, during which he became one of the most recorded jazz musicians, appearing on over 900 recordings.

1935–Actress, Lee (Ann) Remick, is born in Quincy, Massachusetts. She appeared in the films A Face in the Crowd, The Long Hot Summer, Anatomy of a Murder, Wild River, Sanctuary, Experiment in Terror, Days of Wine and Roses, The Running Man, The Wheeler Dealers, Baby the Rain Must Fall, No Way to Treat a Lady, Sometimes a Great Notion, The Omen, and The Competition.

1939–The Soviet Union is expelled from the League of Nations for invading Finland.

1940–Plutonium (specifically Pu-238) is first isolated in Berkeley, California.

1941–Japan signs a treaty of alliance with Thailand.

1945–Poet and cultural critic, Stanley Crouch, is born in Los Angeles, California. He started out in the mid-1960s as an actor and jazz drummer, before becoming an instructor at Claremont College in California. His first book was a volume of poems, Ain't No Ambulances for No Nigguhs Tonight. In 1990, he became a contributing editor of The New Republic, and gained national attention for his collection of essays, Notes of a Hanging Judge: Notes and Essays, 1979-1989. The provocative essays covered a wide range of topics, from feminism and Black Power to boxing and jazz. Two more collections of essays followed: The All-American Skin Game and Always in Pursuit.

1946–The United Nations General Assembly votes to establish its headquarters in New York, New York.

1946–Actress, Jane (Mallory) Birkin, is born in Marylebone, London, England. She appeared in the films The Knack ...and How to Get It, Kaleidoscope, Blowup, Wonderwall, and Death on the Nile. She was married to composer, John Barry.

1946–Actress, Patty Duke, is born Anna Marie Duke in Elmhurst, Queens, New York. She is best known for her starring role(s) as identical twins in the TV sitcom The Patty Duke Show. She won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress at age 16, for her role in The Miracle Worker, which she had originated on Broadway. She appeared in the films The Goddess, 4D Man, The Miracle Worker, Billie, Valley of the Dolls, Me Natalie, You’ll Like My Mother, and Prelude to a Kiss. She was married to actor, John Astin. Her sons are actors, Sean Astin and Mackenzie Astin.

1947–Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, home of Real Madrid C.F., stages its first football match in Madrid, Spain.

1947–Politician, Stanley Baldwin, dies in his sleep in Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire, England, at age 80. He was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the only premier to have served under three monarchs (George V, Edward VIII, and George VI).

1948–Rock critic, Lester Bangs, is born Leslie Conway Bangs in Escondido, California. He was a music journalist, author, and musician. Often cited during his lifetime as "America's Greatest Rock Critic," he wrote for Creem, Rolling Stone, The Village Voice, Penthouse, Playboy, and New Musical Express, and was known for his leading influence in rock music criticism.

1953–Author and academic, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, dies of a cerebral hemorrhage in St. Augustine, Florida, at age 57. She left most of her property to the University of Florida in Gainesville, where she taught creative writing in Anderson Hall. Her land at Cross Creek is now the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park. 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.

1955–Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Ceylon, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Laos, Libya, Nepal, Portugal, Romania, and Spain join the United Nations.

1958–The 3rd Soviet Antarctic Expedition becomes the first to reach the southern pole of inaccessibility.

1960–Convention against Discrimination in Education is adopted by UNESCO.

1961–Tanganyika joins the United Nations.

1962–NASA's Mariner 2 becomes the first spacecraft to fly by Venus.

1963–The dam containing the Baldwin Hills Reservoir bursts, killing five people and damaging hundreds of homes in Los Angeles, California.

1963–The Beatles single, I Want to Hold Your Hand goes to #1 in the U.K.

1963–Singer, Dinah Washington, dies of an overdose of sleeping pills in Detroit, Michigan, at age 39. She had big hits in the 1950s with Unforgettable and What a Difference a Day Makes.

1964–Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States: The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the U.S. Congress can use the Constitution's Commerce Clause to fight discrimination.

1964–Actor, William Bendix, dies of pneumonia in Los Angeles, California, at age 58. He is best known for the starring role of Chester A. Riley in the TV sitcom The Life of Riley. He appeared in the films Woman of the Year, Lifeboat, Greenwich Village, The Blue Dahlia, The Time of Your Life, The Babe Ruth Story, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, Detective Story, Idol on Parade, and Boy’s Night Out.

1967–Dick Clark announces that he is making a film about hippies: The Love Children, which stars Jack Nicholson, Dean Stockwell, and Susan Strasberg, featuring the music of The Strawberry Alarm Clock and The Seeds.

1971–Over 200 of East Pakistan’s intellectuals are executed by the Pakistan Army and their local allies.

1972–Astronaut, Eugene Cernan, is the last person to walk on the Moon, after he and Harrison Schmitt complete the third and final extravehicular activity (EVA) of the Apollo 17 mission.

1980–Around the world, people gather in groups ranging from small, intimate get-togethers to tens of thousands, in remembrance of John Lennon. As a day of mourning for Lennon, 10 minutes of silence is observed at 2:00 p.m. EST. Many radio stations cease broadcasting during this time. In Liverpool, 100,000 mourners stage a seven-hour tribute to Lennon outside Liverpool’s St. George’s Hall. The ceremony ends with the 10 minutes of silence requested by Yoko Ono. Over 100,000 people gather to pay tribute at Central Park in New York City.

1980–Richard Gurley Drew dies in Santa Barbara, California, at age 81. He invented masking and cellophane tapes. He worked for Johnson and Johnson, Permacel Co., and 3M Company.

1981–Israel's Knesset ratifies the Golan Heights Law, extending Israeli law to the occupied Golan Heights.

1983–The third Congress of the Communist Youth of Greece begins.

1985–Baseball player and coach, Roger Maris, dies of Hodgkin's lymphoma in Houston, Texas, at age 51. He played four seasons in the minor leagues and 12 seasons in the major leagues, playing for the Cleveland Indians, the Kansas City Athletics, the New York Yankees, and the St. Louis Cardinals.

1988–The ET3 television network is launched in Thessaloniki, Greece.

1989–Actor and stuntman, Jock Mahoney, dies in Bremerton, Washington, at age 70. He starred in two Western TV series, The Range Rider and Yancy Derringer. He appeared in the films Showdown at Abilene, Joe Dakota, The Last of the Fast Guns, Tarzan the Magnificent, Tarzan Goes to India, The Glory Stompers, Bandolero!, and The End.

1992–In the War in Abkhazia, a helicopter carrying evacuees from Tkvarcheli is shot down, resulting in at least 52 deaths, including 25 children. The incident catalyses more concerted Russian military intervention on behalf of Abkhazia.

1993–Actress, Myrna Loy, dies from surgical complications in New York, New York, at age 88. She appeared in the films The Great Zeigfeld, Libeled Lady, The Rains Came, Love Crazy, The Best Years of Our Lives, The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer, Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, The Red Pony, Cheaper by the Dozen, Belles on Their Toes, Lonelyhearts, From the Terrace, Midnight Lace, and The April Fools.

1994–Construction begins on the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River.

1995–The Dayton Agreement is signed in Paris, France, by the leaders of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

1997–Kurt Winter, of The Guess Who, dies of kidney failure in Canada, at age 54. He left the group in June 1974, and was replaced by ex-James Gang member, Domenic Troiano.

1998–The Yugoslav Army ambushes a group of Kosovo Liberation Army fighters attempting to smuggle weapons from Albania into Kosovo, killing 36 people.

1998–Musician, Billy Preston, pleads guilty to insurance fraud and agrees to testify against other defendants in an insurance scam that netted about $1 million.

1998–Actor, Norman Fell, dies of cancer in Los Angeles, California, at age 74. He is best known for the role of Mr. Roper on the sitcom Three's Company and its spin-off The Ropers. He appeared in the films Pork Chop Hill, Inherit the Wind, The Rat Race, Ocean’s 11, PT 109, Fitzwilly, The Graduate, Bullitt, Catch-22, Airport 1975, The End, and For the Boys.

1999–Torrential rains cause flash floods in Vargas, Venezuela, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths, the destruction of thousands of homes, and the complete collapse of the state's infrastructure.

1999–Paul McCartney plays at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, England in a special end-of-the-century appearance. McCartney last played at the Cavern Club on August 3, 1963, as a member of The Beatles. The Cavern Club was rebuilt in the 1980s, since the original club was demolished in 1973. Since only 150 fans would be able to fit into the Cavern, free tickets were distributed through a raffle. Applications for tickets had come in from all over the world; one lucky fan in Tokyo, Japan, received a ticket. The show is also broadcast live over the Internet for everyone to enjoy.

2003–Pakistani President, Pervez Musharraf, narrowly escapes an assassination attempt.

2003–Actress, Jeanne Crain, dies of a heart attack in Santa Barbara, California, at age 78. She appeared in the films State Fair, Leave Her to Heaven, Margie, Apartment for Peggy, A Letter to Three Wives, Pinky, Cheaper by the Dozen, Belles on Their Toes, The Feastest Gun Alive, The Joker is Wild, and Hot Rods to Hell.

2004–The tallest bridge in the world, the Millau Viaduct, is formally inaugurated near Millau, France.

2006–Record producer, Ahmet Ertegun, dies from a head injury sustained during a fall in New York, New York, at age 83. He co-founded Atlantic Records and served as Shairman of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Ertegun has been described as "one of the most significant figures in the modern recording industry."

2006–Actor, Mike Evans, dies of throat cancer in Twentynine Palms, California, at age 57. He is best known for the role of Lionel Jefferson on the TV sitcoms All in the Family and The Jeffersons.

2008–Muntadhar al-Zaidi throws his shoes at U.S. President George W. Bush during a press conference in Baghdad, Iraq.

2010–Actress, Neva Patterson, dies from complications from a broken hip in Brentwood, California, at age 90. She appeared in the films The Solid Gold Cadillac, Desk Set, An Affair to Remember, David and Lisa, The Spiral Road, Dear Heart, All the President’s Men, The Buddy Holly Story, Star 80, and All of Me.

2012–Twenty-eight people, including the gunman, are killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Sandy Hook, Connecticut.

2013–A reported coup attempt in South Sudan leads to continued fighting and hundreds of casualties.

2013–Actor, Peter O’Toole, dies in London, England, at age 81. Known for his charisma and off-screen carousing, the actor suffered health issues in the 1970s as a result of his drinking, before making a big-screen comeback in The Stunt Man and My Favorite Year. O'Toole retired from acting in July 2012. He appeared in the films Kidnapped, Lawrence of Arabia, Becket, Lord Jim, What’s New Pussycat?, The Sandpiper, Casino Royale, The Lion in Winter, Goodbye, Mr. Chips, Man of La Mancha, Creator, The Last Emperor, and Venus.

2014–Model and actress, Bess Myerson, dies in Santa Monica, California, at age 90. In 2013, it was reported that she was suffering from dementia. She was crowned Miss America in 1945. Myerson was seen frequently on television during the 1950s and 1960s, and was a regular on the celebrity quiz show I've Got a Secret. She became a City Commissioner in 1969, beginning a prominent New York political career.

2015–U.S. Army sergeant, Bowe Bergdahl, will face a court martial on charges of misbehavior before the enemy and desertion, related to his capture by the Taliban-aligned Haqqani network in Afghanistan in June 2009.

2015–Thousands of residents are evacuated, as Typhoon Melor slams into tiny Batag Island in the eastern Philippines. Authorities shut schools and suspend fishing and ferry services in the central Phillipines.

2015–Businesswoman and philanthropist, Lillian Vernon, dies in Manhattan, New York, at age 88. She founded the Lillian Vernon Company. The Lillian Vernon Catalog, which the company launched in 1956, became an iconic shopping resource for American women, much like its competitor, the Sears catalog.

2016–The Federal Reserve System raises the benchmark interest rate in the United States to a level between 0.5% and 0.75%. This is only the second time in a decade that the Federal Reserve has increased interest rates.

2016–Satellite images show anti-aircraft guns and missile defense systems being built on artificial islands in the South China Sea.

2016–Yahoo! announces that ID information about more than one billion accounts may have been hacked in August 2013.


PHOTOS TOP TO BOTTOM: The Zuiderzee sea wall in the Netherlands; the Montgolfier brothers' first hot air balloon; Roger Fry; Frances Bavier; Alfred Lennon; Lee Remick; Patty Duke; Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings; The Beatles single I Want to Hold Your Hand on the Parlophone label in Great Britain; Eugene Cernan; Jock Mahoney; Norman Fell; Jeanne Crain; Neva Patterson; and Bess Myerson.
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