< 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 Next >

1976–Singer, Jerry Lee Lewis, is arrested outside of Elvis Presley’s Graceland mansion in Memphis, Tennessee, after waving a pistol and demanding to see “The King.” He is charged with public intoxication and weapon possession.


BC 534–Thespis of Icaria becomes the first recorded actor to portray a character onstage.

912–Otto I, the Great Holy Roman Emperor (962-973), is born in Wallhausen, East Francia. Otto inherited the Duchy of Saxony and the kingship of the Germans upon his father's death in 936. He continued his father's work of unifying all German tribes into a single kingdom and greatly expanded the king's powers at the expense of the aristocracy.

1174–Saladin enters Damascus, and adds it to his domain.

1221–Alfonso X of Castile is born in Toledo, Kingdom of Castile.

1248–Conquest of Seville by Christian troops under King Ferdinand III of Castile.

1407–Louis I, Duke of Orléans, dies from stab wounds while mounting a horse in Paris, France, at age 35. It was an assassination by 15 masked criminals led by Raoulet d'Anquetonville, a servant of the Duke of Burgundy.

1499–Pretender to the throne, Perkin Warbeck, is hanged for reportedly attempting to escape from the Tower of London. He had invaded England in 1497, claiming to be the lost son of King Edward IV of England.

1508–Margaret of York dies in Mechlin, Flanders, at age 57. She was a daughter of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, and Cecily Neville, and the sister of two Kings of England, Edward IV and Richard III.

1510–The first campaign of the Ottoman Empire against the Kingdom of Imereti (present-day western Georgia) takes place. Ottoman armies sack the capital Kutaisi and burn Gelati Monastery.

1511–Anne of York, Lady Howard, dies at age 36. She was the fifth daughter of King Edward IV of England and his wife, Elizabeth Woodville.

1531–The Second War of Kappel results in the dissolution of the Protestant alliance in Switzerland.

1644–John Milton publishes Areopagitica, a pamphlet decrying censorship.

1733–The slave insurrection on St. John begins in what was the Danish West Indies.

1769–Ottoman ruler, Constantine Mavrocordatos, dies in captivity in Wallachia, Romania, at age 58. He was a Greek noble who served as Prince of Wallachia and Prince of Moldavia.

1808–The French and the Poles defeat the Spanish at the Battle of Tudela.

1810–Sarah Booth debuts at the Royal Opera House.

1863–The Battle of Chattanooga begins as Union forces, led by General Ulysses S. Grant, reinforce troops at Chattanooga, Tennessee, and counter-attack Confederate troops.

1867–The Manchester Martyrs are hanged in Manchester, England, for killing a police officer while freeing two Irish nationalists from custody.

1868–Louis Ducos du Hauron patents the trichrome color photo process.

1876–Corrupt Tammany Hall leader, William Magear Tweed (better known as Boss Tweed), is delivered to authorities in New York City after being captured in Spain.

1887–Actor, Boris Karloff, is born William Henry Pratt in Dulwich, England. He is best known for the role of the Frankenstein Monster in the films Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, and Son of Frankenstein.

1889–The first jukebox makes its debut in San Francisco, California, as inventor Louis Glass installs his “coin-operated phonograph,” at the Palais Royal Hotel.

1890–King William III of the Netherlands dies without a male heir and a special law is passed to allow his daughter, Princess Wilhelmina, to succeed him.

1910–Johan Alfred Ander becomes the last person to be executed in Sweden.

1914–The last of U.S. forces withdraw from Veracruz, Mexico, which was occupied seven months earlier in response to the Tampico Affair.

1918–Heber J. Grant succeeds Joseph F. Smith as the seventh president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

1924–Edwin Hubble's discovery, that the Andromeda "nebula" is actually another island galaxy far outside of our own Milky Way, is first published in The New York Times.

1926–Sathya Sai Baba, Indian guru and philosopher, is born Sathya Narayana Raju in Puttaparthi, Madras Presidency, British India. The Sathya Sai Organisation, founded by Sathya Sai Baba "to enable its members to undertake service activities as a means to spiritual advancement," has over 1,200 Sathya Sai Centres (branches) in 126 countries. Through this organisation, Sathya Sai Baba established a network of free hospitals, clinics, drinking water projects, auditoriums, ashrams, and schools.

1934–An Anglo-Ethiopian boundary commission in the Ogaden discovers an Italian garrison at Walwal, well within Ethiopian territory. This leads to the Abyssinia Crisis.

1936–Life magazine, created by Henry R. Luce, begins publication. It will have a successful run for 37 years.

1936–In a hotel room in San Antonio, Texas, blues pioneer, Robert Johnson, records his first tracks, including Ramblin' on My Mind.

1936–Actor, Steve Landesberg, is born in the Bronx, New York. He is best known for the role of police detective Arthur P. Dietrich on the sitcom Barney Miller. He appeared in the films Wild Hogs and Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

1939–In World War II, the HMS Rawalpindi is sunk by the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau.

1940–Romania becomes a signatory of the Tripartite Pact, officially joining the Axis powers.

1943–In World War II, the Deutsche Opernhaus on Bismarckstraße, in the Berlin neighborhood of Charlottenburg, is destroyed. It will eventually be rebuilt in 1961, and then called the Deutsche Oper Berlin.

1943–In World War II, Tarawa and Makin atolls fall to American forces.

1943–Civil Rights worker, Andrew Goodman, is born.

1945–Most U.S. wartime rationing of foods, including meat and butter, comes to an end.

1946–The French naval bombardment of Hai Phong, Vietnam, kills thousands of civilians.

1951–Actor, David (Stephen) Rappaport, is born in London, England. He is one of the best known dwarf actors in television and film, standing 3' 11". He appeared in the films Turkish Delight, Mysteries, Cuba, Black Jack, Time Bandits, Sword of the Valiant, The Bride, and Luigi’s Ladies.

1953–Pilot, Felix Moncla, and Lieutenant Robert Wilson disappear while in pursuit of a mysterious craft over Lake Superior.

1954–A chart topper: Mr. Sandman by The Chordettes.

1955–The Cocos Islands are transferred from the control of the United Kingdom to Australia.

1958–Author and screenwriter, Johnston McCulley, dies after a series of operations in Los Angeles, California, at age 75. He created the character Zorro, which was first serialized in the story "The Curse of Capistrano" in the pulp magazine All-Story Weekly in 1919. Many of his novels and stories were written under the pseudonyms Harrington Strong, Raley Brien, George Drayne, Monica Morton, Rowena Raley, Frederic Phelps, Walter Pierson, and John Mack Stone, among others.

1959–French President Charles de Gaulle declares in a speech his vision for "Europe, from the Atlantic to the Urals."

1959–RCA Records tries to allay worries that being in the U.S. Army will change Elvis Presley for the worse. A spokesman says, “It just ain’t true.”

1959–Actress, Dominique (Ellen) Dunne, is born in Santa Monica, California. She appeared on the TV shows Lou Grant, Fame, Hart to Hart, The Shadow Riders, CHiPS, and Hill Street Blues. Her father was writer, Dominick Dunne; her brother is actor, Griffin Dunne.

1963–President John F. Kennedy’s body lies in state in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C.

1963–The BBC broadcasts the first episode of An Unearthly Child, the first story from the first series of Doctor Who, which is now the world's longest running science fiction drama.

1964–The Rolling Stones show up late for the BBC radio shows, Top Gear and Saturday Club and are banned by the BBC.

1968–Rolling Stone reports that San Francisco's Family Dog has lost its license to operate out of the Avalon Ballroom, the site of the marathon dance concerts featuring the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Moby Grape, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and other psychedelic groups.

1970–The George Harrison single, My Sweet Lord, is released in the U.S.

1971–Representatives of the People's Republic of China attend the United Nations, including the United Nations Security Council, for the first time.

1972–The Soviet Union makes its final attempt at successfully launching the N1 rocket.

1973–Actor, Sessue Hayakawa, dies of a cerebral thrombosis complicated by pneumonia in Tokyo, Japan, at age 84. He was a Japanese Issei actor who starred in American, Japanese, French, German, and British films. Hayakawa was active at the outset of the American film industry, and during those early years, he was as well known and as popular as Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks. He appeared in the films The Beggar Prince, An Arabian Knight, Daughter of the Dragon, Daughter of the Samurai, Tokyo Joe, Three Came Home, House of Bamboo, The Bridge on the River Kwai, The Geisha Boy, Green Mansions, and Swiss Family Robinson.

1974–Sixty Ethiopian politicians, aristocrats, military officers, and others are executed by the provisional military government.

1976–Deep sea diver, Jacques Mayol, is the first man to reach a depth of 100m undersea without breathing equipment.

1976–Singer, Jerry Lee Lewis, is arrested outside of Elvis Presley’s Graceland mansion in Memphis, Tennessee, after waving a pistol and demanding to see “The King.” He is charged with public intoxication and weapon possession.

1978–A cyclone kills about 1,000 people in Eastern Sri Lanka.

1978–The Geneva Frequency Plan goes into effect, realigning many of Europe's longwave and mediumwave broadcasting frequencies.

1979–In Dublin, Ireland, Provisional Irish Republican Army member, Thomas McMahon, is sentenced to life in prison for the assassination of Lord Mountbatten.

1979–Singer, Marianne Faithfull, is arrested at the Oslo, Norway, airport for possession of marijuana.

1979–Folk-pop singer, Judee Sill, dies of a drug overdose at her apartment in North Hollywood, California, at age 35. She released two LPs, Judee Sill and Heart Food.

1980–A series of earthquakes in southern Italy kill approximately 3,000 people.

1981–President Ronald Reagan signs the top secret National Security Decision Directive 17 (NSDD-17), giving the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) the authority to recruit and support Contra rebels in Nicaragua.

1985–Gunmen hijack EgyptAir Flight 648 while en route from Athens to Cairo. When the plane lands in Malta, Egyptian commandos storm the aircraft, but 60 people die in the raid.

1990–Author and screenwriter, Roald Dahl, dies of myelodysplastic syndrome (a blood disease) in Oxford, England, at age 74. He rose to prominence in the 1940s, with works for both children and adults, and became one of the world's best-selling authors. His works for children include James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The Witches, Fantastic Mr. Fox, George's Marvellous Medicine, and The Twits. His adult works include Tales of the Unexpected and My Uncle Oswald.

1992–The first smartphone, the IBM Simon, is introduced at COMDEX in Las Vegas, Nevada.

1992–Country singer, Roy Acuff, dies of congestive heart failure in Nashville, Tennessee, at age 89. Acuff began his music career in the 1930s, and gained regional fame as the singer and fiddler for his group, The Smoky Mountain Boys. He joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1938, and he remained one of the Opry's key figures and promoters for nearly four decades. In 1942, Acuff co-founded the first major Nashville-based country music publishing company, Acuff-Rose Music, which signed acts such as Hank Williams, Roy Orbison, and The Everly Brothers.

1993–Rachel Whiteread wins both the £20,000 Turner Prize award for best British modern artist and the £40,000 K Foundation art award for the worst artist of the year.

1994–Pop songwriter, Tommy Boyce, who wrote The Monkees hits Last Train to Clarksville and I’m Not Your Stepping Stone with partner, Bobby Hart, dies of suicide at age 55. He had been suffering a long battle with depression.

1995–Film director, Louis Malle, dies lymphoma in Beverly Hills, California, at age 63. Malle worked in both French cinema and in Hollywood, producing both French and English language films. His films include A Very Private Affair, Viva Maria!, The Thief of Paris, Murmur of the Heart, Pretty Baby, Atlantic City, My Dinner with Andre, Crackers, Alamo Bay, Au revoir les enfants, and Damage.

1995–Saxophonist, Junior Walker, dies of cancer in Battle Creek, Michigan, at age 64. His group, Junior Walker & the All Stars, were signed to Motown in the 1960s, and became one of the label's signature acts. The group’s biggest hits are Shotgun and What Does It Take (To Win Your Love).

1996–Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 is hijacked, then crashes into the Indian Ocean off the coast of Comoros, killing 125 people.

2001–The Convention on Cybercrime is signed in Budapest, Hungary.

2003–Georgian president, Eduard Shevardnadze, resigns following weeks of mass protests over flawed elections.

2004–The Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi, the largest religious building in Georgia, is consecrated.

2005–Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is elected President of Liberia, becoming the first woman to lead an African country.

2006–A series of bombings kills at least 215 people and injures 257 others in Sadr City, making it the second deadliest sectarian attack since the beginning of the Iraq War in 2003.

2006–Playwright, Betty Comden, dies of heart failure in New York, New York, at age 89. With her partner, Adolph Green, she wrote many Broadway hits. They worked with Leonard Bernstein to create On the Town and Wonderful Town; with Jule Styne on Peter Pan and Bells Are Ringing; and they wrote the screenplay for the movie Singin' in the Rain.

2007–MS Explorer, a cruise liner carrying 154 people, sinks in the Antarctic Ocean south of Argentina after hitting an iceberg near the South Shetland Islands. There are no fatalities.

2009–The Maguindanao massacre occurs in Ampatuan, Maguindanao, Philippines.

2010–A North Korean artillery attack kills two civilians and two marines on Yeonpyeong Island in South Korea.

2011–After 11 months of protests in Yemen, Yemeni president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, signs a deal to transfer power to the vice president, in exchange for legal immunity.

2012–Actor, Larry Hagman, dies of throat cancer in Dallas, Texas, at age 81. He is best known for his roles on the TV shows I Dream of Jeannie and Dallas. He appeared in the films Ensign Pulver, Fail-Safe, In Harm’s Way, The Group, Beware! The Blob, Stardust, Harry and Tonto, Mother, Jugs & Speed, The Eagle Has Landed, Superman, S.O.B., Nixon, and Primary Colors.

2014–Politician, Marion Barry, dies of cardiac arrest in Washington, D.C., at age 78. He was Mayor of the District of Columbia (1979-1991 and 1995-1999).

2014–Clive Palmer, banjo player for The Incredible String Band, dies after a long illness in Penzance, Cornwall, England, at age 71.

2015–Blue Origin's New Shepard space vehicle becomes the first rocket to successfully fly to space and then return to Earth for a controlled, vertical landing.

2015–Cynthia Robinson, of Sly and the Family Stone, dies of cancer at age 69. She is known for being one of the first black and female trumpet players in a major American band, and also for being the only member of the original Family Stone clan to continue working with Sly Stone after the band fell apart in 1975.

2016–Serial killer, Stephen Port, is found guilty of four rape-murders in Barking, London, England.

2016–The water slide, The Verrückt, in Kansas City, Kansas, where 10-year-old Caleb Schwab died in August, will be torn down and replaced. The Verrückt (a German word for "insane" or "crazy") had been the park's marquee attraction and was listed by The Guinness World Records as the world's tallest water slide.

2016–Author, publisher, and road manager for Elvis Presley, Joe Esposito, dies from complications of dementia in Calabasas, California, at age 78. He first met Presley in 1958, while serving in the military at an Army base in Friedberg, West Germany. After Elvis' death in 1977, Esposito went to work for Jerry Weintraub, becoming the road manager for Michael Jackson, The Bee Gees, Karen Carpenter, and John Denver.

2016–Actor, Andrew Sachs, dies of vascular dementia in Northwood, London, England, at age 86. He made his name on British television, and rose to fame in the 1970s, for the role of the Spanish waiter, Manuel, in Fawlty Towers.


PHOTOS TOP TO BOTTOM: Otto I, the Great Holy Roman Emperor; Constantine Mavrocordatos; Boris Karloff; Robert Johnson; Elvis Presley in the U.S. Army; Sessue Hayakawa; Marianne Faithfull; the IBM Simon smart phone circa 1992; Junior Walker; Larry Hagman; and Joe Esposito (right) with Elvis Presley.
< 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 Next >