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1973–The Roxy Theatre opens on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, California. The night’s acts are Elton John, Carole King, Jackson Browne, and Neil Young and Crazy Horse.



622–Muhammad and Abu Bakr arrive in Medina.

835–Ahmad ibn Tulun, ruler of Egypt and Syria, is born in Baghdad, Abbasid Caliphate.

1058–Agnes of Poitou and Andrew I of Hungary meet to negotiate about the border-zone in present-day Burgenland.

1066–In the Battle of Fulford, Viking Harald Hardrada defeats earls Morcar and Edwin.

1187–Saladin begins the Siege of Jerusalem.

1260–The Great Prussian Uprising among the old Prussians begins against the Teutonic Knights.

1378–Cardinal Robert of Geneva, called by some the "Butcher of Cesena," is elected as Avignon Pope Clement VII, beginning the Papal schism.

1486–Arthur, Prince of Wales, is born Arthur Tudor at Winchester Cathedral Priory in Winchester, Kingdom of England. As the eldest son and heir apparent of Henry VII of England, Arthur was viewed by contemporaries as the great hope of the newly established House of Tudor. His mother, Elizabeth of York, was the daughter of Edward IV, and his birth cemented the union between the House of Tudor and the House of York.

1498–The Nankai earthquake generates a tsunami that washes away the building housing the statue of the Great Buddha at Kotoku-in in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan. Since then the Buddha has sat in the open air.

1519–Ferdinand Magellan sets sail from Sanlucar de Barrameda to circumnavigate the globe with about 270 men on his expedition.

1596–Diego de Montemayor founds the city of Monterrey in New Spain.

1697–The Treaty of Ryswick is signed by France, England, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Dutch Republic ending the Nine Years' War.

1737–The finish of the Walking Purchase, forces the cession of 1.2 million acres of Lenape-Delaware tribal land to the Pennsylvania Colony.

1792–French troops stop the allied invasion of France, during the War of the First Coalition at Valmy.

1835–Ragamuffin rebels capture Porto Alegre, then the capital of the Brazilian imperial province of Rio Grande do Sul, triggering the start of the 10-year-long Ragamuffin War.

1848–The American Association for the Advancement of Science is created.

1854–In the Battle of Alma, British and French troops defeat Russians in Crimea.

1857–The Indian Rebellion ends with the recapture of Delhi by troops loyal to the East India Company.

1860–The Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII of the United Kingdom) visits the United States.

1871–Bishop John Coleridge Patteson is martyred on the island of Nukapu, a Polynesian outlier island now in the Temotu Province of the Solomon Islands. He is the first bishop of Melanesia.

1881–President Chester A. Arthur is sworn in the morning after becoming president upon James A. Garfield's death.

1884–Editor, Max Perkins, is born William Maxwell (Evarts) Perkins in New York, New York. While at Scribner's, he brought the works of Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and Thomas Wolfe to the world's attention. He has been described as the most famous literary editor in history. After graduating from Harvard University in 1907, Perkins went to work as a reporter for The New York Times. He later applied for a job with the conservative New York publishing house, Charles Scribner's Sons. In 1919, he received a manuscript from a former Princeton student and army officer. Despite the fact that he had to fight to get it published, Perkins believed in the work of the young author, and in 1920, the book was released. It was This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald, which turned out to be a critical and financial success, and the start of a long association between the two. A few years later, In 1926, he published Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises. Some of the other now-famous authors discovered by Perkins include Ring Lardner, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, and James Jones. But Perkins is perhaps best known for his relationship with Thomas Wolfe: he spent months working with Wolfe until 1929, when Look Homeward, Angel was published.

1885–Jazz pianist, Jelly Roll Morton, is born Ferdinand Joseph la Menthe Morton in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was Morton, more than anyone else, with his Creole style and excellent piano skills, who transformed the rigidity of ragtime and ushered in the age of jazz.

1893–Charles Duryea and his brother road-test the first American-made, gasoline-powered automobile.

1906–Cunard Line's RMS Mauretania is launched at the Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson shipyard in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.

1909–The Parliament of the United Kingdom passes the South Africa Act, creating the Union of South Africa from the British Colonies of the Cape of Good Hope, Natal, Orange River Colony, and the Transvaal Colony.

1910–The ocean liner, SS France, later known as the "Versailles of the Atlantic," is launched.

1911–White Star Line's RMS Olympic collides with British warship HMS Hawke.

1918–Actress, Peg Phillips, is born Margaret Linton in Everett, Washington. She is best known for the role of storekeeper Ruth-Anne Miller on the TV series Northern Exposure. Phillips aspired to acting from the age of six, but only started working as an actress in her late sixties.

1924–Singer, Gogi Grant, is born Myrtle Audrey Arinsberg in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She had a hit with the song The Wayward Wind. In 1957, she supplied the vocals for Ann Blyth's portrayal of Helen Morgan in the biographical film The Helen Morgan Story.

1925–Ananda Mahidol, King of Siam, is born Mom Chao Ananda Mahidol Mahidol in Heidelberg, Weimar Republic. At the time he was recognized as King by the National Assembly in March 1935, he was a nine-year-old boy living in Switzerland.

1927–Actress, Rachel Roberts, is born in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, Wales. She appeared in the films The Crowded Day, Our Man in Havana, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, This Sporting Life, A Flea in Her Ear, The Reckoning, Wild Rovers, O! Lucky Man, Murder on the Orient Express, Foul Play, Yanks, and When and Stranger Calls. She was married to actor, Rex Harrison.

1929–Comedienne, Anne Meara, is born in Brooklyn, New York. She and her husband, Jerry Stiller, were a prominent 1960s comedy team, appearing as Stiller and Meara. She appeared in the films The Out-of-Towners, Lovers and Other Strangers, The Boys from Brazil, Fame, Awakenings, Reality Bites, Zoolander, Night at the Museum, and Sex and the City: The Movie. She was married to comedian, Jerry Stiller, and their son is actor, Ben Stiller.

1930–The Syro-Malankara Catholic Church is formed by Archbishop Mar Ivanios.

1933–Philosopher and theosophist, Annie Besant, dies in Adyar, Madras Presidency, British India, at age 85. She was a prominent British socialist, women's rights activist, writer, orator, and supporter of Irish and Indian self-rule. In 1890, Besant met Helena Blavatsky and over the next few years her interest in theosophy grew. She became a member of the Theosophical Society and a prominent lecturer on the subject. As part of her theosophy-related work, she traveled to India. In 1907, she became President of the Theosophical Society, whose international headquarters were in Adyar, Madras, (Chennai).

1934–Actress, Sophia Loren, is born Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone in Rome, Italy. She appeared in the films Quo Vadis, Anna, Woman of the Red Sea, Attila, Lucky to Be a Woman, Boy on a Dolphin, The Pride and the Passion, Desire Under the Elms, The Black Orchid, Houseboat, That Kimd of Woman, Heller in Pink Rights, It Started in Naples, The Millionairess, A Breath of Scandal, Two Women, El Cid, The Prisoners of Zenda, Marriage Italian-Style, Lady L, Arabesque, Man of La Mancha, The Voyage, Brief Encounter, and Grumpier Old Men. She was married to actor, Carlo Ponti.

1939–Actor, Michu Meszaros, is born Mihaly Meszaros in Budapest, Hungary. He is best known for performing with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus and was the man behind the costume in the sitcom Alf. Michu was two feet, nine inches tall. He appeared in the films Big Top Pee-wee, Waxwork, Warlock: The Armageddon, and Freaked.

1941–Four hundred three Jews (128 men, 176 women, and 99 children) are murdered by Einsatzkommando 3 in Nemencing, Latvia.

1942–In the course of two days the German SS murders at least 3,000 Jews in Letychiv, Ukraine.

1946–The first Cannes Film Festival is held.

1953–Singer, Ricci (Janes) Martin, is born in Los Angeles, California. His father was singer, Dean Martin, and his brother was musician, Dino Martin.

1957–Pianist and composer, Jean Sibelius, dies of a brain hemorrhage at his home, Ainola, in Helsinki, Finland, at age 91. Widely recognized as his country's national composer, Sibelius is often credited for supporting the rise of the Finnish national identity in the country's struggle for independence. The core of his oeuvre is his set of seven symphonies, which like his other major works, continue to be performed and recorded in his home country and around the world.

1961–Greek general, Konstantinos Dovas, becomes Prime Minister of Greece.

1962–Black student, James Meredith, is blocked from enrolling at the University of Mississippi by Governor Ross R. Barnett.

1962–A chart topper: Green Onions by Booker T. & The M.G.s.

1962–Actor and director, Rob Morrow is born Robert Alan Morrow in New Rochelle, New York. He is best known for his roles as Dr. Joel Fleischman on Northern Exposure and as Special Agent Don Eppes on Numb3rs. He has appeared in the films Quiz Show, Last Dance, Maze, The Bucket List, and Atlas Shrugged Part III.

1964–The Beatles finish up their first tour of America with a charity performance at the Paramount Theater in New York City. Attendance is 3,682, with ticket prices going as high as $100 each, a remarkable amount in 1964. The Beatles are disgusted at having to use one of the worst amplification systems they’d ever seen, and tempers flare in the audience between screaming teenagers and well-dressed socialites.

1967–RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 is launched at John Brown & Company in Clydebank, Scotland.

1967–Rick Nelson’s twin sons, Gunnar (Eric) Nelson and Matthew (Gray) Nelson, are born in Santa Monica, California. Their paternal grandparents were Ozzie Nelson and Harriet Hilliard from the TV series The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.

1969–Chef and TV personality, Anne Burrell, is born in Cazenovia, New York. She has hosted Food Network shows Chef Wanted with Anne Burrell, Secrets of a Restaurant Chef, and Worst Cooks in America. Burrell also serves as sous chef to Iron Chef Mario Batali on the Iron Chef America series. Burrell won the fourth season of the Chopped All-Stars Tournament.

1970–Syrian tanks roll into Jordan in response to continued fighting between Jordan and the fedayeen.

1971–Having weakened after making landfall in Nicaragua the previous day, Hurricane Irene regains enough strength to be renamed Hurricane Olivia, making it the first known hurricane to cross from the Atlantic Ocean into the Pacific Ocean.

1972–Police find cannabis plants in Paul McCartney’s greenhouse in Campbeltown, Scotland, and he is charged with drug violations. McCartney will plead guilty on March 8, 1973, and will pay a fine of £100 plus court costs.

1973–The Roxy Theatre opens on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, California. The night’s acts are Elton John, Carole King, Jackson Browne, and Neil Young and Crazy Horse.

1973–Billie Jean King beats Bobby Riggs in the Battle of the Sexes tennis match at the Houston Astrodome.

1973–Singer-songwriter, Jim Croce, dies in a plane crash in Natchitoches, Louisiana, at age 30. Croce had just completed a concert at Northwestern State University's Prather Coliseum in Natchitoches and was flying to Sherman, Texas, for a concert at Austin College. The plane crashed an hour after the concert. Between 1966 and 1973, Croce released five studio albums and singles. His hits include You Don't Mess Around with Jim, Operator (That's Not the Way It Feels), Bad Bad Leroy Brown, I Got a Name, Time in a Bottle, and I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song.

1977–The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is admitted to the United Nations.

1977–Voyager 2 is launched for a fly-by of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

1979–A coup d'état in the Central African Empire overthrows Emperor Bokassa I.

1982–The National Football League players begin a 57-day strike.

1984–A suicide bomber in a car attacks the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 22 people.

1985–Capital gains tax is introduced in Australia, one of a number of tax reforms by the Hawke-Keating government.

1985–Twenty-eight song copyrights are registered posthumously in John Lennon’s name. The songs all list a creation date of 1980, although some were actually written prior to that date.

1988–Actor, Roy Kinnear, dies of a heart attack brought on by injuries sustained after falling from a horse in Madrid, Spain, at age 54. He appeared in the films The Millionariess, The Boys, Heavens Above!, The Informers, Help!, The Deadly Affair, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, How I Won the War, The Bed Sitting Room, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, The Three Musketeers, Juggernaut, The Four Musketeers, Royal Flash, The Last Remake of Beau Geste, and Casanova.

1990–South Ossetia declares its independence from Georgia.

1993–Compilation albums by The Beatles, The Beatles 1962-1966 (the “Red” album) and The Beatles 1967-1970 (the “Blue” album), are released on double CD, digitally remastered by Parlophone in the U.K.

1998–The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum pays tribute to blues singer, Robert Johnson, with eight days of activities.

2000–The United Kingdom's MI6 Secret Intelligence Service building is attacked by individuals using a Russian-built RPG-22 anti-tank missile. The perpetrators remain unidentified.

2001–In an address to a joint session of U.S. Congress and the American people, President George W. Bush declares a "War on Terror."

2002–The Kolka-Karmadon rock ice slide occurs on the northern slope of the Kazbek massif in Northern Georgia, following a partial collapse of the Kolka Glacier. The resulting avalanche and mudflow kills 125 people (including a film crew of 27 people and Russian actor, Sergei Bodrov Jr.).

2003–During Maldives civil unrest, the death of prisoner Hassan Evan Naseem sparks a day of rioting in Malé.

2005–Activist and Holocaust survivor, Simon Wiesenthal, dies in Vienna, Austria, at age 96. He survived the Janowska concentration camp (late 1941 to September 1944), the Krakow-Plaszow concentration camp (September to October 1944), the Gross-Rosen concentration camp, a death march to Chemnitz, Buchenwald, and the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp (February to May 5, 1945). After the war, Wiesenthal dedicated most of his life to tracking down and gathering information on fugitive Nazi war criminals so that they could be brought to trial. In 1947, he co-founded the Jewish Historical Documentation Centre in Linz, Austria, where he and others gathered information for future war crime trials and aided refugees in their search for lost relatives.

2007–Between 15,000 and 20,000 protesters march on Jena, Louisiana, in support of six black youths who had been convicted of assaulting a white classmate.

2008–A dump truck full of explosives detonates in front of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan, killing 54 people and injuring 266 others.

2011–The United States military ends its "don't ask, don't tell" policy, allowing gay men and women to serve openly for the first time.

2014–Actress, Polly Bergen, dies of natural causes in Southbury, Connecticut, at age 84. She appeared in the films Escape from Fort Bravo, Cape Fear, The Caretakers, Move Over, Darling, Kisses for My President, and Cry-Baby.

2015–Actor, Jack Larson, dies in Brentwood, California, at age 87. He is best known for the role of Jimmy Olsen on the TV series The Adventures of Superman. Due to typecasting, he did little acting after the show ended in 1958. He appeared in the films Fighter Squadron, Belles on Their Toes, Three Sailors and a Girl, About Mrs. Leslie, and The Young Swingers.

2016–The European Union's 28-member states formally accept Bosnia and Herzegovina's membership application. The European Commission (EC) will later determine whether Bosnia meets the criteria to join the union, a process that is expected to take a year.

2016–In his final speech as President of the United States to the United Nations General Assembly, Barack Obama calls for a renewed commitment to collaborative efforts in facing many of the challenges confronting “an integrated world” community.

2016–A U.S. Air Force U-2 reconnaissance aircraft crashes in Northern California, shortly after takeoff from Beale Air Force Base, killing one pilot and injuring another.

2016–Film director, Curtis Hanson, dies of natural causes in Los Angeles, California, at age 71. He had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease. His films include The Dunwich Horror, White Dog, Never Cry Wolf, The Bedroom Window, Bad Influence, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, The River Wild, L.A. Confidential, Wonder Boys, 8 Mile, Adaptation, and Lucky You.

2017–Saudi Arabia lifts its 2013 ban on internet calls, effective midnight local time (21:00 UTC).

2017–Hurricane Maria makes landfall on Puerto Rico as a Category 4 hurricane. Effects are disastrous and the entire island loses power.

2017–Journalist, Lillian Ross, dies from a stroke in Manhattan, New York, at age 99. She was a staff writer at The New Yorker from 1945 until her retirement.


PHOTOS TOP TO BOTTOM: Cardinal Robert of Geneva; Diego de Montemayor founds Monterrey in New Spain; Max Perkins; Rachel Roberts; Jean Sibelius; Gunner and Matthew Nelson; Jim Croce; Robert Johnson; and Polly Bergen.

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