< 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 >

1940–Actress, Lucille Ball, and Cuban musician, Desi Arnaz, are married. Although they played a happily married couple on the hit TV series I Love Lucy, their real-life marriage was extremely rocky. Lucy would file for divorce the day after their final TV show was filmed in 1960.


BC 3340–Date of the earliest believed record of an eclipse.

BC 30–Egyptian Queen, Cleopatra, commits suicide.

1707–The second Siege of Pensacola comes to end with the failure of the British to capture Pensacola, Florida.

1718–Charles XII of Sweden dies in Fredrikshald, Norway, at age 36. His body has been exhumed on three occasions to ascertain the cause of death; in 1746, 1859 and 1917. The 1859 exhumation found that the wound was in accordance with a shot during battle, while the other two analyses found that he had been murdered.

1782–Great Britain signs an agreement recognizing U.S. independence

1786–The Grand Duchy of Tuscany, under Pietro Leopoldo I, becomes the first modern state to abolish the death penalty (later commemorated as Cities for Life Day).

1803–In New Orleans, Spanish representatives officially transfer the Louisiana Territory to a French representative. Just 20 days later, France transfers the same land to the United States as the Louisiana Purchase.

1804–The Democratic-Republican controlled U.S. Senate begins an impeachment trial of Federalist Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase.

1829–First Welland Canal opens for a trial run, five years to the day from the ground breaking.

1835–Writer, Mark Twain, is born Samuel Langhorne Clemens in Florida, Missouri. Twain's most enduring fictions were autobiographical, including The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

1853–During the Crimean War, the Imperial Russian Navy, under Pavel Nakhimov, destroys the Ottoman fleet, under Osman Pasha, at Sinop, a sea port in northern Turkey.

1864–The Confederate Army of Tennessee suffers heavy losses in an attack on the Union Army of Ohio, in the Battle of Franklin.

1868–A statue of King Charles XII of Sweden is inaugurated in Stockholm's Kungsträdgården.

1872–The first-ever international football match takes place at Hamilton Crescent in Glasgow, between Scotland and England.

1874–Politician, Winston Churchill, is born Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill at Blenheim Palace in Woodstock, England. He was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. Widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the 20th century, Churchill was also an officer in the British Army, a historian, and a writer. Out of office during the 1930s, Churchill took the lead in warning about Nazi Germany and in campaigning for rearmament. At the outbreak of World War II, he was again appointed First Lord of the Admiralty. His steadfast refusal to consider surrender helped inspire British resistance, especially during the difficult early days of the war, when the British Commonwealth and Empire stood alone in its active opposition to Adolf Hitler. Churchill was particularly noted for his speeches and radio broadcasts, which helped inspire the British people. He led Britain as Prime Minister until victory over Nazi Germany had been secured.

1886–The Folies Bergère stages its first revue in Paris, France.

1900–Irish writer, Oscar Wilde, dies in a cheap hotel room in Paris, France, at age 46. He was buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery and his gravestone was designed by Jacob Epstein.

1914–Charlie Chaplin makes his film debut in Making a Living.

1915–Bluesman, Brownie McGhee, is born.

1916–Costa Rica signs the Buenos Aires Convention, a copyright treaty.

1918–Actor, Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., is born in New York, New York. He is best known for his starring roles in the TV shows 77 Sunset Strip and The F.B.I. He appeared in the films Band of Angels, Bombers B-52, The Deep Six, Too Much, Too Soon, Home Before Dark, The Crowded Sky, By Love Possessed, The Chapman Report, Harlow, Wait Until Dark, and Airport 1975. His daughter is actress, Stephanie Zimbalist.

1929–Rock ‘n’ Roll TV impresario, Dick Clark, is born Richard Augustus Wagstaff Clark, Jr. in Mount Vernon, New York. American Bandstand debuted nationally on August 5, 1957, with Clark as its host. The show took off, due to his natural rapport with the live teenage audience and dancing participants, as well as the non-threatening image he projected to television audiences. As a result, many parents were introduced to rock and roll music. Due to his perennial youthful appearance, Clark was often referred to as "America's oldest teenager." He appeared in the filsm Because They’re Young, The Young Doctors, and Killers Three.

1934–The LNER Class A3 4472 Flying Scotsman becomes the first steam locomotive to be authenticated as reaching 100 mph.

1936–The Crystal Palace in London, England, is destroyed by fire.

1936–Yippie activist, Abbie Hoffman, is born Abbot Howard Hoffman in Worcester, Massachusetts. He was arrested and tried for conspiracy and inciting to riot as a result of his role in protests that led to violent confrontations with police during the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Others arrested that day were Jerry Rubin, David Dellinger, Tom Hayden, Rennie Davis, John Froines, Lee Weiner, and Bobby Seale. Hoffman wrote Revolution For the Hell of It and Steal This Book.

1937–Paul Stookey, of Peter, Paul & Mary, is born in Baltimore, Maryland.

1939–Soviet forces cross the Finnish border in several places and bomb Helsinki and several other Finnish cities, starting the Winter War.

1939–The shortest man in the world, Chandra Bahadur Dangi, is born in Kalimati, Salyan District, Nepal. According to Guinness World Records, he was 21.5 tall and the shortest man who ever lived. Dangi was a primordial dwarf. He earned his title in 2012, when Guinness officials heard rumors of a man in Nepal who was two inches shorter than the current record holder, a 23.5-inch man in the Philippines.

1940–Actress, Lucille Ball, and Cuban musician, Desi Arnaz, are married. Although they played a happily married couple on the hit TV series I Love Lucy, their real-life marriage was extremely rocky. Lucy would file for divorce the day after their final TV show was filmed in 1960.

1943–Rob Grill, of The Grass Roots, is born Robert Frank Grill in Los Angeles, California. The band’s hits include Let’s Live for Today, Midnight Confession, I’d Wait a Million Years, Temptation Eyes, and Sooner or Later.

1945–Roger Glover, of Deep Purple, is born in Brecon, Wales.

1947–Civil War in Mandatory Palestine begins, leading up to the creation of the state of Israel.

1947–Playwright, screenwriter, and film director, David (Alan) Mamet, is born in Chicago, Illinois. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Glengarry, Glen Ross and Speed-the-Plow. Mamet has also received Academy Award nominations for Best Screenplay for The Verdict and Wag the Dog. He both wrote and directed The Spanish Prisoner, Redbelt, House of Games, Heist, State and Main, The Winslow Boy, and Oleanna.

1950–President Harry Truman threatens China with the atomic bomb.

1953–Edward Mutesa II, the kabaka (king) of Buganda, is deposed and exiled to London, England, by Sir Andrew Cohen, Governor of Uganda.

1953–June (Antoinette) Pointer, of The Pointer Sisters, is born in Oakland, California, at age 52. The vocal group had hits with Yes We Can Can, He's So Shy, Slow Hand, I'm So Excited, Jump (for My Love), and Neutron Dance.

1954–Sir Winston Churchill celebrates his 80th birthday in London, England. The festivities are said to be the greatest ever held for a British subject.

1954–In Sylacauga, Alabama, the Hodges meteorite crashes through a roof and hits a woman taking an afternoon nap: this is the only documented case in the Western Hemisphere of a human being hit by a rock from space.

1966–Barbados becomes independent from the United Kingdom.

1967–The People's Democratic Republic of Yemen becomes independent from the United Kingdom.

1967–The Pakistan Peoples Party is founded by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who becomes its first Chairman.

1967–Pro-Soviet communists in the Philippines establish Malayang Pagkakaisa ng Kabataan Pilipino as its new youth wing.

1969–A chart topper: Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye by Steam.

1969–The “Save Rave ‘69” benefit concert, to aid the youth culture magazine Rave, takes place in London, England.

1971–Iran seizes the Greater and Lesser Tunbs from the United Arab Emirates.

1972–White House Press Secretary, Ron Ziegler, tells the press that there will be no more public announcements concerning American troop withdrawals from Vietnam because troop levels are now down to 27,000.

1977–A chart topper: How Deep Is Your Love by The Bee Gees.

1979–Zeppo Marx, of The Marx Brothers, dies of lung cancer in Rancho Mirage, California, at age 78. He was the last surviving Marx Brother. He appeared in the first five Marx Brothers feature films, from 1929 to 1933, but then left the act to start his second career as an engineer and theatrical agent.

1981–In Geneva, representatives from the United States and the Soviet Union begin to negotiate intermediate-range nuclear weapon reductions in Europe.

1982–Michael Jackson's second solo album, Thriller, is released worldwide. It will become the best-selling record album in history.

1982–Adventure World opens in Perth, Australia. Rides and attractions include: Dragon’s Kingdom, Rail Ryder, Grand Prix Raceway, Bumper Boats, Kahuna Falls, the Shotgun, and the Tunnel of Terror.

1983–Radio Shack announces the Tandy Model 2000 computer.

1989–Deutsche Bank board member, Alfred Herrhausen, is killed by a Red Army Faction terrorist bomb.

1993–President Bill Clinton signs the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (the Brady Bill) into law.

1994–The MS Achille Lauro catches fire off the coast of Somalia.

1995–Operation Desert Storm comes to an official end.

1995–President Bill Clinton visits Northern Ireland and speaks in favor of the "Northern Ireland peace process" to a huge rally at Belfast City Hall.

1996–Eccentric entertainer, Tiny Tim, dies of cardiac arrest in Hennepin County, Minnesota, at age 64. He had a big hit with Tiptoe Through the Tulips in 1968.

1998–Exxon and Mobil sign a $73.7 billion agreement to merge, thus creating ExxonMobil, the world's largest company.

1999–In Seattle, Washington, demonstrations against a World Trade Organization meeting by anti-globalization protesters catch police unprepared, forcing the cancellation of opening ceremonies.

1999–British Aerospace and Marconi Electronic Systems merge to form BAE Systems, Europe's largest defense contractor and the fourth largest aerospace firm in the world.

1999–Jazz guitarist, Charlie Byrd, dies of cancer at age 74. He was instrumental in introducing Latin sounds, particularly the samba and bossa nova, to American audiences in the 1960s.

2005–John Sentamu becomes the first black archbishop in the Church of England, with his enthronement as the 97th Archbishop of York.

2007–Motorscyle stuntman and daredevil, Evel Knievel, dies of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in Clearwater, Florida, at age 69. Over his career, he attempted more than 75 ramp-to-ramp motorcycle jumps, and he suffered more than 433 bone fractures, earning an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records as the survivor of "most bones broken in a lifetime."

2012–An Ilyushin Il-76 cargo plane belonging to Aéro-Service, crashes into houses near Maya-Maya Airport during a thunderstorm, killing at least 32 people.

2013–Actor, Paul Walker, dies in a car accident in Santa Clarita, California, at age 40. He was best known for his role in the Fast and the Furious franchise. He appeared in the films Pleasantville, She's All That, Varsity Blues, Joy Ride, Eight Below, and Flags of Our Fathers.

2015–The U.S. Federal Reserve Board approves a rule prohibiting the government from extending emergency loans to "too big to fail" companies, a practice deemed essential during the global financial crisis of 2008 and 2009.

2015–The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 21) is held in Paris, France.

2015–The International Monetary Fund modifies its benchmark currency basket to include the yuan of the People's Republic of China. The basket also includes the U.S. dollar, the euro, the pound sterling, and the Japanese yen.

2015–The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports that at least 50 United States military instructors have deployed to northern Syria from Turkey and Iraq to train Kurdish forces ahead of an assault on ISIL's de-facto capital Al-Raqqah.

2015–Researchers at North Carolina State University discover a new diamond-like, solid phase of carbon, called Q-carbon, that can be attained at room temperature. The result is a uniquely crystalline material, harder than a real diamond and likely boasting a variety of new properties, most unknown or unstudied.

2015–The capitals of the world’s two most populous nations, China and India, are blanketed in hazardous, choking smog.

2016–A manuscript by Austrian composer, Gustav Mahler, sells for about £4.5 million at Sotheby’s auction house in London, England.

2016–The Indian Supreme Court orders that all cinemas must play the national anthem, and the audience must stand during its performance, before a film is screened.

2016–At least three deaths and several injuries caused by wildfires in Tennessee, are reported near Dolly Parton's Dollywood resort.

2016–Character actress, Alice Drummond, dies from complications of a fall at her home in New York, New York, at age 88. She appeared in the films, Where’s Poppa?, Man on a Swing, Thieves, King of the Gypsies, Hide in Plain Sight, Eyewitness, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Ghostbusters, The House on Carroll Street, Running on Empty, Awakenings, Nobody's Fool, I.Q., and To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar.


PHOTOS TOP TO BOTTOM: Charles XII of Sweden; Winston Churchill; Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.; Chandra Bahadur Dangi; David Mamet; Zulfikar Ali Bhutto; Zeppo Marx: Tiny Tim; Paul Walker; and Alice Drummond.
< 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 >