< 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 >

1967–The Doors appear on The Ed Sullivan Show and perform Light My Fire and People Are Strange. Sullivan asks Jim Morrison to omit the line “Girl, we can't get much higher” from the song Light My Fire. Backstage, Morrison agrees, but on the show he sings it as written.


456–Roman General Remistus (magister militum) is besieged by a Gothic force at Ravenna and later executed in the Palace in Classis, outside the city.

879–Charles III, known as Charles the Simple, King of France, is born.

1111–Highest Galician nobility, led by Pedro Fróilaz de Traba and the bishop Diego Gelmírez, crown Alfonso VII as "King of Galicia."

1176–The Battle of Myriokephalon is fought between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Turks.

1179–Hildegard of Bingen, mystic, composer, and saint, dies in Bingen am Rhein, County Palatine of the Rhine, Holy Roman Empire, at age 81. She wrote theological, botanical, and medicinal texts, as well as letters, liturgical songs, and poems, while supervising miniature illuminations in the Rupertsberg manuscript of her first work, Scivias. She is also noted for the invention of a constructed language known as Lingua Ignota. Hildegard is considered to be the founder of scientific natural history in Germany.

1382–Louis the Great's daughter, Mary, is crowned "king" of Hungary.

1462–The Battle of Swiecino (also known as the Battle of Zarnowiec) is fought during the Thirteen Years' War.

1550–Pope Paul V is born Camillo Borghese in Rome, Papal States. He is best remembered as the Pope who persecuted Galileo Galilei.

1577–The Treaty of Bergerac is signed between Henry III of France and the Huguenots.

1620–The Battle of Cecora is fought between the Ottoman Empire and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth during the Polish-Ottoman War.

1630–The city of Boston, Massachusetts, is founded.

1631–During the Thirty Years’ War, Sweden wins a major victory at the Battle of Breitenfeld against the Holy Roman Empire.

1658–The Battle of Vilanova is fought between the Portugal and Spain during the Portuguese Restoration War.

1665–Philip IV of Spain dies in Madrid, Spain, at age 60.

1683–Antonie van Leeuwenhoek writes a letter to the Royal Society describing "animalcules": the first known description of protozoa.

1716–Jean Thurel enlists in the Touraine Regiment at the age of 18, the first day of a military career that would span over 90 years.

1775–During the American Revolutionary War, the Invasion of Canada begins with the Siege of Fort St. Jean.

1776–The Presidio of San Francisco is founded in New Spain.

1778–The Treaty of Fort Pitt is signed. It is the first formal treaty between the United States and a Native American tribe (the Lenape or Delaware Indians).

1787–Thirty-nine delegates from 12 of the 13 states of the Union sign the Constitution of the United States.

1809–Peace takes place between Sweden and Russia in the Finnish War: the territory to become Finland is ceded to Russia by the Treaty of Fredrikshamn.

1849–American abolitionist, Harriet Tubman, escapes from slavery.

1854–Businessman, David Dunbar Buick, is born in Arbroath, Angus, Scotland. He founded Buick Motor Company. He headed the company and its predecessor from 1899 until 1906, helping to create one of the most successful nameplates in American motor vehicle history.

1859–Joshua A. Norton declares himself "Norton I, Emperor of the United States."

1859–Outlaw, Billy the Kid, is born Henry McCarty in Manhattan, New York. He was also known as William H. Bonney. He was an American Old West gunfighter who participated in the New Mexico Territory's Lincoln County War of 1878. He is conisdered one of modern history’s most notorious outlaws and is known to have killed eight men.

1862–In the American Civil War, George B. McClellan halts the northward drive of Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army in the single-day Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest day in American military history. And the Allegheny Arsenal explosion results in the single largest civilian disaster during the Civil War.

1883–Pediatrician and poet, William Carlos Williams, is born in Rutherford, New Jersey. While still in high school, he made a decision to become both a doctor and a writer. He self-published his first book of poetry, Poems, in 1909. He was a prolific writer: He wrote more than 600 poems, four full-length plays, an opera libretto, 52 short stories, four novels, a book of essays, an autobiography, a biography of his mother, and a book on American history. His poetic work greatly impacted the Beat Generation writers. He also delivered 2,000 babies.

1899–Businessman, Charles Alfred Pillsbury, dies of a heart ailment in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He founded the Pillsbury Company and created the brand "Pillsbury's Best." It was claimed that "Pillsbury's Best" was the finest flour in the world, and its production techniques allowed Pillsbury to capture the market demanding high-quality flour.

1900–In the Philippine-American War, Filipinos, under Juan Cailles, defeat Americans, under Colonel Benjamin F. Cheatham Jr. (son of confederate general Benjamin F. Cheatham), in the Battle of Mabitac.

1908–The Wright Flyer flown by Orville Wright, with Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge as a passenger, crashes, killing Selfridge. He becomes the first airplane fatality.

1914–Andrew Fisher becomes Prime Minister of Australia for the third time.

1916–In World War I, Manfred von Richthofen ("The Red Baron"), a flying ace of the German Luftstreitkräfte, wins his first aerial combat near Cambrai, France.

1920–The National Football League is organized as the American Professional Football Association in Canton, Ohio.

1923–Country singer, Hank Williams, is born Hiram King Williams in Mount Olive, Alabama. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, Williams recorded 35 singles (five released posthumously) that reached the “Top 10” of the Billboard Country & Western Best Sellers chart, including 11 that ranked #1. His hits include Move It On Over, Honky Tonkin’, I Saw the Light, You're Gonna Change (Or I'm Gonna Leave), I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry, Why Don't You Love Me, Cold Cold Heart, I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You), Hey Good Lookin', Honky Tonk Blues, Half As Much, Jambalaya, Your Cheatin’ Heart, and Lovesick Blues. Country singer, Hank Williams, Jr. is his son.

1924–The Border Protection Corps is established in the Second Polish Republic for the defense of the eastern border against armed Soviet raids and local bandits.

1924–The Church of Central Africa Presbyterian is formed.

1925–Frida Kahlo suffers near-fatal injuries in a bus accident in Mexico, causing her to abandon her medical studies and take up art.

1925–Actress, Dorothy Loudon, is born in Boston, Massachusetts. She appeared in the stage productions of Anything Goes, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, The Women, Annie, Noises Off, Show Boat, and Dinner at Eight.

1926–Musician, Bill Black, is born William Patton Black, Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee. Black was the bassist in Elvis Presley's early trio and he later formed Bill Black's Combo. The Combo’s hits include Smokie, Smokie Part 2, and White Silver Sands.

1928–The Okeechobee hurricane strikes southeastern Florida, killing more than 2,500 people. It is the third deadliest natural disaster in United States history, behind the Galveston hurricane of 1900, and the San Francisco earthquake in 1906.

1928–Television and radio presenter, Brian Matthew, is born in Coventry, Warwickshire, England. He worked for the BBC from 1954 until 2017. He hosted Saturday Club (originally called Saturday Skiffle Club, starting in 1957, and changing to its more familiar name in 1958) and Easy Beat (starting in 1960). At the time, pop music played on BBC Radio was limited, and the demand for it among young people meant the shows attracted large audiences. Virtually all the big names of the era, including The Beatles, appeared on the shows. Matthew's voice is present on The Beatles' Live at the BBC and On Air–Live at the BBC Volume 2 CD compilations. On television, he was the presenter of Thank Your Lucky Stars from 1961 to 1966).

1928–Actor, Roddy McDowall, is born Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall in Herne Hill, London, England. He began his acting career as a child in England, and then in America, in How Green Was My Valley, My Friend Flicka, and Lassie Come Home. He was seen on dozens of TV shows. He also appeared in the films Midnight Lace, The Longest Day, Cleopatra, Shock Treatment, The Greatest Story Ever Told, Inside Daisy Clover, Lord Love a Duck, Planet of the Apes, 5 Card Stud, The Poseidon Adventure, Dead of Winter, and Overboard.

1930–The Ararat rebellion is suppressed. This was an uprising amongst the Kurdish inhabitants of the province of Agri in eastern Turkey against the Turkish government.

1930–Actor, David (William) Huddleston, is born in Vinton, Virginia. He was seen widely on television, including the shows Adam-12, Bewitched, Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Kung Fu, The Rockford Files, Police Woman, Charlie’s Angels, Columbo, and The Wonder Years. He appeared in the films Rio Lobo, Brian’s Song, Bad Company, Blazing Saddles, Billy Two Hats, Breakheart Pass, Capricorn One, Smokey and the Bandit II, Joe’s Apartment, The Big Lebowski, and The Producers.

1930–Astronaut, Edgar (Dean) Mitchell, is born in Hereford, Texas. He was an American naval officer and aviator, test pilot, and aeronautical engineer. As the Lunar Module Pilot of Apollo 14, he spent nine hours working on the lunar surface in the Fra Mauro Highlands region, making him the sixth person to walk on the Moon.

1931–The first long-playing record to rotate at 33-1/3 rpm was demonstrated by the RCA Victor company at the Savoy Plaza Hotel in New York. It would be another 17 years before RCA rival, Columbia, would begin mass production of the LP.

1931–Actress, Anne Bancroft, is born Anna Maria Louisa Italiano in The Bronx, New York. She appeared in the films Don’t Bother to Knock, The Kid from Left Field, Gorillla at Large, New York Confidential, The Naked Street, Nightfall, The Girl in Black Stockings, The Miracle Worker, The Pumpkin Eater, The Slender Thread, 7 Women, The Graduate, Young Winston, Blazing Saddles, The Prisoner of Second Avenue, The Hindenburg, Silent Movie, The Turning Point, Fatso, Garbo Talks, Agnes of God, ‘night, Mother, 84 Charing Cross Road, Torch Song Trilogy, Point of No Return, Malice, Mr. Jones, How to Make an American Quilt, G.I. Jane, and Up at the Villa. She was married to comedian, Mel Brooks.

1932–A speech by Laureano Gómez leads to the escalation of the Leticia Incident. Also called the Leticia War or the Colombia-Peru War, this is a short-lived armed conflict between the Republic of Colombia and the Republic of Peru over territory in the Amazon Rainforest.

1935–Counter-culture activist and author, Ken Kesey, is born Kenneth Elton Kesey in La Junta, Colorado. Kesey participated in the original trial testing of LSD in the early 1960s, and was instrumental in the organization of the San Francisco “acid tests.” He was one of the original Merry Pranksters, and friend to the band The Grateful Dead and Beat writer, Neal Cassady. He is the author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Sometimes a Great Notion.

1936–American sharpshooter and Wild West Show performer, May Lillie, dies from injuries sustained in a car accident at age 33. May and her husband, Gordon (Pawnee Bill) Lillie, were returning home to Pawnee, Oklahoma, after a local celebration when Gordon lost control of their car.

1938–Actor, Paul Benedict, is born in Silver City, New Mexico. He is best known for the role of English neighbor Harry Bentley on the TV sitcom The Jeffersons.

1939–The Harry James Orchestra and Frank Sinatra record All or Nothing at All for Columbia Records.

1939–The Soviet Union joins Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland during the Polish Defensive War of 1939.

1939–In World War II, the German submarine U-29 sinks the British aircraft carrier HMS Courageous.

1939–Taisto Mäki becomes the first man to run the 10,000 metres in under 30 minutes, with a time of 29:52.6.

1939–The Harry James Orchestra and Frank Sinatra record All or Nothing at All for Columbia Records.

1940–Following the German defeat in the Battle of Britain, Hitler indefinitely postpones Operation Sea Lion.

1941–Soviet forces enter Tehran, marking the end of the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran.

1943–The Russian city of Bryansk is liberated from the Germans.

1944–During World War II, German forces are attacked by the Allies in the Battle of San Marino.

1944–Allied Airborne troops parachute into the Netherlands as the "Market" half of Operation Market Garden.

1944–During World War II, Soviet troops launch the Tallinn Offensive against Germany and pro independence Estonian units.

1948–The Lehi (also known as the Stern gang) assassinates Count Folke Bernadotte, who was appointed by the United Nations to mediate between the Arab nations and Israel.

1948–The Nizam of Hyderabad surrenders his sovereignty over the Hyderabad State and joins the Indian Union.

1948–Actor, John Ritter, is born Jonathan Southworth Ritter in Burbank, California. He was best known for the role of Jack Tripper on the sitcom Three's Company. He appeared in the films The Stone Killer, Nickelodeon, Americathon, Hero at Large, They All Laughed, Real Men, Problem Child, North, Sling Blade, Tadpole, and Bad Santa. His father was country singer, Tex Ritter. He was married to actress, Nancy Morgan.

1949–The Canadian steamship, SS Noronic, burns in Toronto Harbour, killing over 118 people.

1954–The novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding is published.

1957–Malaysia joins the United Nations.

1961–The world's first retractable-dome stadium, the Civic Arena, opens in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

1964–The Beatles, on tour in America, perform at Municipal Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. This would become known as the “extra” show, because Kansas City Athletics owner, Charles Finley, paid The Beatles $150,000 to add a Kansas City concert to their tour. The Beatles added the song Kansas City / Hey Hey Hey Hey to their song list, with the Kansas City audience being appropriately delighted. The Beatles had to leave the stage in mid-concert until the audience calmed down. After the Beatles left Kansas City, the manager of the hotel they stayed in sold their bed linen to two Chicago businessmen for $750. Unlaundered, the sheets and pillow cases were cut into three-inch squares; each square was mounted on a card, packaged with an affidavit of authenticity, and sold for $10.

1965–The Battle of Chawinda is fought between Pakistan and India.

1967–The Doors appear on The Ed Sullivan Show and perform Light My Fire and People Are Strange. Sullivan asks Jim Morrison to omit the line “Girl, we can't get much higher” from the song Light My Fire. Backstage, Morrison agrees, but on the show he sings it as written.

1974–Bangladesh, Grenada, and Guinea-Bissau join the United Nations.

1975–A chart topper: Fame by David Bowie.

1976–The first Space Shuttle, Enterprise, is unveiled by NASA.

1978–The Camp David Accords are signed by Israel and Egypt.

1980–After weeks of strikes at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdansk, Poland, the nationwide independent trade union Solidarity is established.

1980–Former Nicaraguan President, Anastasio Somoza Debayle, is killed in Asunción, Paraguay.

1983–Vanessa Williams becomes the first black Miss America.

1985–Interior and fashion designer, Laura Ashley, dies of a brain hemorrhage in Coventry, West Midlands, England, at age 60. She had taken a fall down a flight of stairs 10 days earlier.

1987–Pope John Paul II embraces an AIDS-infected boy while visiting San Francisco, California.

1988–The XXIV Summer Olympics open in Seoul, South Korea.

1991–Estonia, North Korea, South Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, the Marshall Islands, and Micronesia join the United Nations.

1991–The first version of the Linux kernel (0.01) is released to the Internet.

1992–An Iranian Kurdish leader and his two joiners are assassinated by political militants in Berlin, Germany.

1994–Zydeco accordionist, John Delafose, dies in Lawtell, Louisiana, at age 55. He began his career playing in the fais do-do of his area, a Cajun dance party. Later he gained public recognition with the albums Joe Pete Got Two Women and Blues Stay Away from Me. In the mid-1970s, he formed the band The Eunice Playboys.

1997–Comedian and actor, Red Skelton, dies of a long undisclosed illness in Rancho Mirage, California, at age 84. He is best known for his national radio and television acts between 1937 and 1971, and as host of the TV series The Red Skelton Show. He appeared in the films Ship Ahoy, DuBarry Was a Lady, I Dood It, The Fuller Brush Man, A Southern Yankee, Neptune's Daughter, The Yellow Cab Man, Three Little Words, Lovely to Look At, and The Clown.

1999–The United States Postal Service (USPS) issues a postage stamp honoring The Beatles. The 33-cent stamp includes the words “The Beatles” and a picture of the yellow submarine (as depicted in the animated motion picture Yellow Submarine) on a blue background. The issue of the stamp is announced at a “first day of issuance” ceremony held at the Hard Rock Cafe in Denver, Colorado. The stamp is one of 15 postage stamps issued to represent the 1960s as part of the USPS continuing series “Celebrate the Century.” All 15 stamps were selected by nationwide balloting conducted in May 1998.

1999–Singer, Frankie Vaughan, dies of heart failure in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England, at age 71. He was a vocalist of easy listening and traditional pop music, with more than 80 singles in his lifetime. He was known as "Mr. Moonlight" after one of his early hits. He appeared in the films Ramsbottom Rides Again, These Dangerous Years, Wonderful Things!, The Heart of a Man, The Lady Is a Square, Let's Make Love, and The Right Approach.

2001–The New York Stock Exchange reopens for trading after the September 11 attacks, the longest closure since the Great Depression.

2006–Fourpeaked Mountain in Alaska erupts, marking the first eruption for the long-dormant volcano in at least 10,000 years.

2006–An audio tape of a private speech by Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány is leaked to the public, in which he confesses that his Hungarian Socialist Party had lied to win the 2006 election, sparking widespread protests across the country.

2006–Socialite, Patricia Kennedy Lawford, dies of pneumonia in Manhattan, New York, at age 82. She was the sixth of nine children of Rose and Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. She was a sister of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and Senator Ted Kennedy. She was married to actor, Peter Lawford.

2011–The Occupy Wall Street movement begins in Zuccotti Park in New York City.

2016–A doctor in Belgium euthanizes a terminally-ill minor, making it the first case of such procedure performed since the removal of age restrictions in 2014.

2016–An explosion occurs in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York, injuring 29 people. An IED had been placed outside of a dumpster. A second pressure cooker bomb is found three blocks away.

2016–A mass stabbing at Crossroads Center in St. Cloud, Minnesota, leaves 15 people injured. The suspect later dies inside the mall. ISIL-affiliated media wing, Amaq News Agency, claims responsibility for the act.

2016–An explosion occurs in a trash can in Seaside Park, New Jersey, shortly before the USMC 5K run is to begin.

2017–The 69th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards announces its winners. Best Dramatic Series: The Handmaid's Tale; Best Comedy Series: Veep; Best Musical or Variety Series: Saturday Night Live; Best Limited Series: Big Little Lies; Best Made for Television Movie: Black Mirror–"San Junipero"; Best Reality Series: The Voice; Best Actor: Sterling K. Brown; Best Actress: Elisabeth Moss; Best Comedy Actor: Donald Glover; Best Comedy Actress: Julia Louis-Dreyfus. The ceremonies are held at the Microsoft Theater, Los Angeles, California. The host is Stephen Colbert.

2017–At least eight people are killed and 137 others are injured after a strong storm hits western and central Romania.


PHOTOS TOP TO BOTTOM: Alfonso VII; Philip IV of Spain; an ad for Pillsbury's Best Flour; Bill Black; Anne Bancroft; Paul Benedict; John Ritter; The Doors on The Ed Sullivan Show; The Beatles Yellow Submarine U.S. postage stamp; and Patricia Kennedy Lawford.
< 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 >