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1946–Actress, Sally (Margaret) Field, is born in Pasadena, California. She began her career on TV, starring in two series, Gidget and The Flying Nun, plus the TV movie Sybil. She appeared in the films The Way West, Stay Hungry, Smokey and the Bandit, Heroes, The End, Hooper, Norma Rae, Back Roads, Absence of Malice, Kiss Me Goodbye, Places in the Heart, Murphy’s Romance, Punchline, Steel Magnolias, Not Without My Daughter, Mrs. Doubtfire, Forrest Gump, and Lincoln. Her step-father was actor-suntman, Jock Mahoney.


355–Roman Emperor, Constantius II, promotes his cousin, Julian, to the rank of Caesar, entrusting him with the government of the Prefecture of the Gauls.

1231–Emperor Tsuchimikado of Japan dies in Japan, at age 35.

1406–Pope Innocent VII dies of natural causes in Rome, Papal States, at age 66.

1479–Joanna of Castile is born in Toledo, Spain. Known as Joanna the Mad because in 1506, she was deemed mentally ill and confined to a nunnery for the rest of her life.

1494–Ottoman sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent, is born in Trabzon, Ottoman Empire.

1528–Shipwrecked Spanish conquistador, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, becomes the first known European to set foot in the area that would become the state of Texas.

1632–Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden dies in the Battle of Lützen in Electorate of Saxony, at age 37. He led Sweden to military supremacy during the Thirty Years War, helping to determine the political, as well as the religious, balance of power in Europe.

1650–William II, Prince of Orange, dies of smallpox in the Hague, Dutch Republic, at age 24.

1656–John IV of Portugal dies at Ribeira Palace, Portugal, at age 52.

1661–Charles II of Spain is born in Royal Alcazar of Madrid, Spain. His realm included the Southern Netherlands and Spain's overseas empire, stretching from the Americas to the Spanish East Indies.

1789–Pope Pius VI appoints Father John Carroll as the first Catholic Bishop in the United States.

1792–The Battle of Jemappes takes place during the French Revolutionary Wars.

1814–Adolphe (Antoine) Sax, the inventor of the saxophone and saxotromba, is born in Dinant, Province of Namur, Germany.

1817–Princess Charlotte of Wales dies after giving birth to a stillborn child at Claremont House, Surrey, England, at age 21.

1825–Architect, Charles Garnier, is born in Paris, France. At age 35, the relatively unknown Garnier won a demanding competition in two parts for the design of a new opera house, commissioned by the Emporer Napolean. It was named the Palais Garnier in his honor, and its opening was attended by many European heads of state. He went on to design numerous other grand public buildings, including the Opera de Monte Carlo.

1836–Charles X of France dies of cholera in Görz, Austria (present-day Italy), at age 79. His rule of almost six years ended in the July Revolution of 1830, which resulted in his abdication and the election of Louis Philippe, Duke of Orléans, as King of the French.

1844–The first constitution of the Dominican Republic is adopted.

1851–Charles (Henry) Dow, American journalist and economist, is born in Sterling, Connecticut. He co-founded the Dow Jones & Company. Dow also founded The Wall Street Journal. He invented the Dow Jones Industrial Average as part of his research into market movements. He developed a series of principles for understanding and analyzing market behavior which later became known as Dow theory, the groundwork for technical analysis.

1854–Composer, John Phillip Sousa, is born in Washington, D.C. He wrote the patriotic favorite Stars and Stripes Forever. He was known as the “March King.”

1856–Scenes of Clerical Life, the first work of fiction by the author later known as George Eliot, is submitted for publication.

1860–Abraham Lincoln is elected the 16th President of the United States.

1861–Jefferson Davis is elected President of the Confederate States of America.

1865–During the American Civil War, the CSS Shenandoah is the last Confederate combat unit to surrender after circumnavigating the globe on a cruise on which it sank or captured 37 unarmed merchant vessels.

1869–In New Brunswick, New Jersey, Rutgers College defeats Princeton University (then known as the College of New Jersey), 6-4, in the first official American intercollegiate football game.

1880–Yoshisuke Aikawa, entrepreneur and politician, is born in Yamaguchi, Japan. He founded Nissan Motor Company.

1888–Benjamin Harrison is elected the 23rd President of the United States.

1892–Journalist, Harold (Wallace) Ross, is born in Aspen, Colorado. He founded The New Yorker magazine and served as Editor-in-Chief of the publication from its inception until his death. The talent he attracted to the magazine included James Thurber, E.B. White, John McNulty, Joseph Mitchell, Katharine S. White, S.J. Perelman, Alexander Woollcott, St. Clair McKelway, John O'Hara, Robert Benchley, Dorothy Parker, Vladimir Nabokov, and J.D. Salinger.

1893–Businessman, Edsel (Bryant) Ford, is born in Detroit, Michigan. He was the only son of automaker, Henry Ford. He was President of Ford Motor Company from 1919 to his death in 1943. The line of cars launched by Ford under the name Edsel in 1957, is remembered as one of the classic marketing failures in automotive history.

1893–Composer, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, dies in Saint Petersburg, Russia, at age 53. While Tchaikovsky's death has traditionally been attributed to cholera, most probably contracted through drinking contaminated water several days earlier from the local river, some have theorized that his death was a suicide. He was the composer of The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, and The 1812 Overture.

1900–William McKinley is re-elected the 25th President of the United States. He would be assassinated in 1901.

1907–Donald (Lewes) Hings, inventor the Walkie-Talkie, is born in Leicester, England.

1913–Mohandas K. Gandhi is arrested as he leads a march of Indian miners in South Africa.

1914–Actor, Jonathan Harris, is born Jonathan Daniel Charasuchin in the Bronx, New York. He is best known for the role of Dr. Zachary Smith on the 1960s science fiction TV series Lost in Space. He appeared in many other TV shows, including Zorro, Father Knows Best, The Twilight Zone, Bonanza, Get Smart, Bewitched, Night Gallery, and Battlestar Galactica.

1916–Bandleader, Ray Conniff, is born Joseph Raymond Conniff in Attleboro, Massachusetts. He was a orchestra leader and arranger best known for the Ray Conniff Singers during the 1960s. They had an huge hit with the first of four Christmas albums, Christmas with Conniff, in 1959.

1917–In World War I, after three months of fierce fighting, Canadian forces take Passchendaele in Belgium.

1918–The Second Polish Republic is proclaimed.

1921–Novelist, James (Ramon) Jones, is born in Robinson, Illinois. He wrote From Here to Eternity, Some Came Running, and The Thin Red Line.

1924–Stanley Baldwin becomes Prime Minister of the U.K.

1928–Herbert Hoover is elected the 31st President of the United States.

1928–Arnold Rothstein, head of the Jewish mob in New York, dies after being shot and mortally wounded in New York, New York, at age 46. He was executed two days earlier by George "Hump" McManus, for failing to pay a large gambling debt.

1929–Prince Maximilian of Baden dies in Salem, Germany, at age 62.

1931–Film director, Mike Nichols, is born Mikhail Igor Peschkowsky in Berlin, Germany. This films include Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Graduate, Catch-22, Carnal Knowledge, Silkwood, Heartburn, Biloxi Blues, Working Girl, Postcards from the Edge, Regarding Henry, and The Birdcage. He was married to newscaster, Diane Sawyer.

1934–Memphis, Tennessee, becomes the first major city to join the Tennessee Valley Authority.

1935–Edwin Armstrong presents his paper, "A Method of Reducing Disturbances in Radio Signaling by a System of Frequency Modulation," to the New York section of the Institute of Radio Engineers.

1935–Parker Brothers acquires the forerunner patents for the Monopoly game from Elizabeth Magie.

1936–RCA displays television for the press.

1938–Singer, P.J. Proby, is born James Marcus Smith in Houston, Texas. He sang on many of Elvis Presley’s demos and enjoyed solo success in England during the British Invasion, before his pants split onstage, causing him to be banned from further appearances. Proby would go on to have a very interesting life, one with many unusual and strange happenings.

1941–During World War II, Joseph Stalin addresses the Soviet people for the second time.

1942–Model, Jean (Rosemary) Shrimpton, is born in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. She brought up on a farm, and was educated at a convent school. In 1960, at age 17, she began modeling, appearing on the covers of Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, and Vanity Fair. She is considered to be the first “supermodel.” She was described as having the "world's most beautiful face" and as "the most beautiful girl in the world." Her sister was actress, Chrissie Shrimpton.

1943–During World War II, the Soviet Red Army recaptures Kiev, Ukraine. Before withdrawing, the Germans destroy most of the city's ancient buildings.

1944–Plutonium is first produced at the Hanford Atomic Facility, and will subsequently be used in the Fat Man atomic bomb that is dropped on Nagasaki, Japan.

1946–Actress, Sally (Margaret) Field, is born in Pasadena, California. She began her career on TV, starring in two series, Gidget and The Flying Nun, plus the TV movie Sybil. She appeared in the films The Way West, Stay Hungry, Smokey and the Bandit, Heroes, The End, Hooper, Norma Rae, Back Roads, Absence of Malice, Kiss Me Goodbye, Places in the Heart, Murphy’s Romance, Punchline, Steel Magnolias, Not Without My Daughter, Mrs. Doubtfire, Forrest Gump, and Lincoln. Her step-father was actor-suntman, Jock Mahoney.

1947–Meet the Press makes its television debut.

1948–Deputy commander-in-chief of the Eastern China Field Army, General Su Yu, launches a massive offensive toward Xuzhou, defended by seven different armies under the General Suppression Headquarters of Xuzhou Garrison, the Huaihai Campaign. Then the largest operational campaign of the Chinese Civil War begins.

1948–Glenn (Lewis) Frey, of The Eagles, is born in Detroit, Michigan. He played guitar and keyboards with the band, and sang lead vocals on many of their hits, including Take It Easy, Peaceful Easy Feeling, Tequila Sunrise, Already Gone, Lyin' Eyes, New Kid in Town, and Heartache Tonight.

1948–Rushton Moreve, of Steppenwolf, is born John Rushton Morey in Los Angeles, California.

1949–Actor, Brad Davis, is born Robert Creel Davis in Tallahassee, Florida. He was cast in two major TV productions: Sybil and Roots. He appeared in the films Midnight Express, A Small Circle of Friends, Chariots of Fire, Terror in the Aisles, Blood Ties, and Rosalie Goes Shopping.

1955–Journalist, Maria (Owings) Shriver, is born in Chicago, Illinois. She is a member of the Kennedy family: her mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, was a sister of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Ted Kennedy. She was married to actor and politician, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

1957–Actress, Lori Singer, is born in Corpus Christi, Texas. She was cast as one of the students in the TV series Fame. She appeared in the films Footloose, The Falcon and the Snowman, Trouble in Mind, Made in U.S.A, Sunset Grill, Short Cuts, and F.T.W. Her brother is the actor, Marc Singer.

1958–Trace Beaulieu, comedian-puppeteer of Mystery Science Theater 3000, is born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. For the first eight seasons of MST3K (1 at KTMA and 7 on Comedy Channel/Central), Beaulieu wrote for the show, operated and voiced the Crow T. Robot puppet, and played the role of Dr. Clayton Forrester, the head mad scientist at Gizmonic Institute.

1962–The United Nations General Assembly passes a resolution condemning South Africa's apartheid policies and calls for all U.N. member states to cease military and economic relations with the nation.

1962–Annette Zilinskas, of The Bangles, is born Annette Celia Genevieve Zilinskas in Van Nuys, California.

1963–Following the coup and execution of President Ngo Dinh Diem, coup leader, General Durong Van Minh, takes over leadership of South Vietnam.

1965–Cuba and the United States formally agree to begin an airlift for Cubans who want to go to America. By 1971, 250,000 Cubans had made use of the program.

1965–Musician, Clarence Williams, dies in Queens, New York, at age 67. He was a jazz pianist, composer, promoter, vocalist, theatrical producer, and publisher. He produced and participated in early recordings by Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, and Bessie Smith. In 1943, Williams retired and sold his extensive back-catalogue of tunes to Decca Records for $50,000.

1966–The Beach Boys appear in concert at the Astoria Cinema, Finsbury Park, London, England.

1966–For the first time, the entire prime-time lineup on NBC-TV is televised in color.

1966–Bill Graham’s Fillmore Auditorium has its opening night in San Francisco, California.

1966–Actor, Peter (John) DeLuise, is born in New York, New York. He is best known for the role of Officer Doug Penhall in the Fox TV series 21 Jump Street. He appeared in the films Hot Stuff, Free Ride, Solarbabies, and Children of the Night. His father was comic actor, Dom DeLuise.

1967–Actress, Rebecca (Lucile) Schaeffer, is born in Eugene, Oregon. She began her career as a teen model before moving on to acting. In 1986, she landed the role of Patricia Russell in the sitcom My Sister Sam.

1968–Richard M. Nixon is elected the 37th President of the United States.

1968–A chart topper: With a Little Help From My Friends by Joe Cocker.

1968–Entrepreneur, Jerry Yang, is born Jerry Chih-Yuan Yang in Taipei, Taiwan. He co-founded Yahoo! in 1994, served as its CEO from 2007 to 2009, and left the company in 2012.

1969–John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s film, Rape Part II, is screened at the Mannheim Film Festival in Germany.

1970–Actor, Ethan (Green) Hawke, is born in Austin, Texas. He appeared in the films Explorers, Dead Poet’s Society, Dad, White Fang, Rich in Love, Alive, Reality Bites, Before Sunrise, Gattaca, Fast Food Nation, and Boyhood. He was married to actress, Uma Thurman.

1971–The U.S. Atomic Energy Commission tests its largest underground hydrogen bomb, code-named Cannikin, on Amchitka Island in the Aleutians.

1975–Three hundred thousand unarmed Moroccans converge on the southern city of Tarfaya, and wait for a signal from King Hassan II of Morocco to cross into Western Sahara.

1977–The Kelly Barnes Dam, located above Toccoa Falls Bible College near Toccoa, Georgia, fails, killing 39 people.

1979–Basketball player, Lamar (Joseph) Odom, is born in Queens, New York. As a member of the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA), he won NBA championships in 2009 and 2010, and was named the NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 2011. He was married to Khloé Kardashian.

1985–In Colombia, leftist guerrillas of the 19th of April Movement seize control of the Palace of Justice in Bogotá, eventually killing 115 people, 11 of them Supreme Court justices.

1986–A British International Helicopters Boeing 234LR Chinook crashes 2.5 miles east of Sumburgh Airport, killing 45 people.

1989–Parody singer, Dickie Goodman, dies of suicide from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in North Carolina, at age 55. He is best known for inventing and using the technique of the "break-in," an early precursor to sampling, that used brief clips of popular records and songs to "answer" comedic questions posed by voice actors on his novelty records. His first record was The Flying Saucer Parts 1 & II, which he co-wrote with his partner Bill Buchanan, which featured a four-minute rewriting of Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds radio show.

1991–The last Kuwaiti oil field fire is extinguished.

1991–Actress, Gene Tierney, dies of emphysema in Houston, Texas, at age 70. Acclaimed as a great beauty, she became established as a leading lady in Hollywood. She appeared in the films The Return of Frank James, Tobacco Road, Belle Starr, Heaven Can Wait, Laura, Leave Her to Heaven, The Razor’s Edge, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Whirlpool, Night and the City, Advise and Consent, Toys in the Attic, and The Pleasure Seekers.

1995–The Rova of Antananarivo, home of the sovereigns of Madagascar from the 16th to 19th centuries, is destroyed by fire.

1995–Art Modell announces that he has signed a deal that would relocate the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore, Maryland, to become the Baltimore Ravens (the first time the city had a football team since 1983, when they were the Baltimore Colts).

1995–Actress, Aneta Corsaut, dies of cancer in Studio City, California, at age 62. She is best known for the role of Helen Crump on the TV series The Andy Griffith Show. She was seen in many other TV shows, including Zane Grey Theater, Death Valley Days, Bonanza, The Real McCoys, Ben Casey, Gunsmoke, Columbo, Emergency!, Adam-12, and Hart to Hart. She appeared in the films The Blob, Good Neighbor Sam, A Rage to Live, Blazing Saddles, and The Toolbox Murders.

1999–Australians vote to keep the Head of the Commonwealth as their head of state in the Australian republic referendum.

2004–An express train collides with a stationary car near the village of Ufton Nervet, England, killing seven people and injuring 150 others.

2007–Country singer, Hank Thompson, dies of lung cancer in Keller, Texas, at age 82. His hits include Humpty Dumpty Heart, The Wild Side of Life, Most of All, A Six Pack to Go, and Oklahoma Hills. The 1987, the novel Crazy Heart by Thomas Cobb, was inspired by Thompson's life: specifically by his practice of picking up a local band to back him when he toured. In 2009, Cobb's novel was turned into a successful film starring Academy Award winner Jeff Bridges.

2012–Tammy Baldwin becomes the first openly gay politician to be elected to the U.S. Senate.

2013–Several small bombs explode outside a provincial office of the Chinese Communist Party in the northern city of Taiyuan, killing at least one person and wounding eight others.

2014–Rapper, Big Paybacc, dies of gunshot wounds in a McDonald's fast food restaurant in Palmdale, California, at age 38. His song, Gangster Love, glorified the culture of gangs and received more than 300,000 views on YouTube.

2016–Manny Pacquiao defeats Jessie Vargas in Las Vegas, Nevada, claiming the World Boxing Organization's welterweight title.


PHOTOS TOP TO BOTTOM: Roman Emperor, Constantius II; Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden; Charles Garnier; John Phillip Sousa; The New Yorker magazine; Jonathan Harris; Arnold Rothstein; P.J. Proby; Sally Field; Brad Davis; Trace Beaulieu; Clarence Williams; Rebecca Schaeffer; Ethan Hawke; Gene Tierney; and Hank Thompson.
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