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2002–William Rosenberg, founder of Dunkin' Donuts, dies of bladder cancer in Mashpee, Massachusetts, at age 86. He had one of the most successful food businesses due to innovation: instead of the five different types of donuts that other donut shops carried, Rosenberg offered 52 different varieties. In 1955, upon opening his sixth shop, he decided to franchise his business as a means of distribution and expansion. At the end of 2011, there were more than 10,000 Dunkin’ Donut outlets in 32 countries.


BC 480–In the Battle of Salamis, the Greek fleet, under Themistocles, defeats the Persian fleet under, Xerxes I.

530–Pope Felix IV dies at age 40. He was the first non-Roman Pope.

904–The warlord Zhu Quanzhong kills Emperor Zhaozong, the penultimate Emperor of the Tang dynasty, after seizing control of the imperial government.

1236–The Lithuanians and Semigallians defeat the Livonian Brothers of the Sword in the Battle of Saule.

1408–Byzantine Emperor, John VII Palaiologos, dies at age 38.

1499–The Treaty of Basel concludes the Swabian War.

1504–Jan II the Mad (Jan II Szalony) dies in Wolow, Lower Silesian Voivodeship in south-western Poland, at age 69. A controversial figure, Jan II was praised by some historians for his ambitions and criticized by others for his fussiness and crazy ideas.

1539–Sikh religious leader, Guru Nanak, dies hortly after proclaiming Bhai Lehna as his successor in Kartarpur, Mughal Empire (present-day Pakistan), at age 70. He founded Sikhism.

1586–The Spanish are victorious over the English and Dutch in the Battle of Zutphen.

1598–English playwright, Ben Jonson, is indicted for manslaughter after killing actor, Gabriel Spenser, in a duel.

1601–Anne of Austria is born Ana María Mauricia at Benavente Palace in Valladolid, Spain. Many viewed her as a brilliant and cunning woman and she is one of the central figures in Alexandre Dumas’ novel The Three Musketeers and its sequels.

1692–During the infamous Salem Witch Trials, the last eight “witches” are hung in Massachusetts. When the turmoil finally settles, three women and seven men will have been executed, and over 150 others would remain in jail through the next summer.

1711–The Tuscarora War begins in present-day North Carolina.

1735–Sir Robert Walpole becomes the first British Prime Minister to occupy 10 Downing Street in London, England.

1761–George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz are crowned King and Queen of the Kingdom of Great Britain.

1774–Pope Clement XIV dies of scorbutic and hemorrhoidal dispositions of long standing in Rome, Papal States, at age 68.

1776–American patriot, Nathan Hale, dies by hanging in New York City, Province of New York, at age 21. He was a soldier for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He volunteered for an intelligence-gathering mission in New York City, but was captured by the British and executed. He said as he was being hung, “I regret that I have but one life to give for my country.”

1789–The office of United States Postmaster General is established.

1789–The Battle of Rymnik establishes Alexander Suvorov as a pre-eminent Russian military commander after his allied army defeats superior Ottoman Empire forces.

1792–Primidi Vendémiaire begins as year one of the French Republican Calendar as the French First Republic comes into being.

1823–Joseph Smith states he found the “golden plates” after being directed by God through the Angel Moroni to the place where they were buried. According to Latter Day Saint belief, the golden plates (also called the gold plates or in some 19th-century literature, the golden bible) are the source from which Joseph Smith said he translated the Book of Mormon, a sacred text of the faith. Some witnesses described the plates as weighing from 30 to 60 pounds, being golden in color, and being composed of thin metallic pages engraved on both sides and bound with three D-shaped rings.

1828–Shaka Zulu, Zulu chieftain and monarch of the Zulu Kingdom, dies in KwaDukuza, KwaZulu-Natal, at age 41.

1857–The Russian warship, Lefort, capsizes and sinks during a storm in the Gulf of Finland, killing all 826 people aboard.

1862–A preliminary version of the Emancipation Proclamation is released.

1863–President Abraham Lincoln makes his “Emancipation Proclamation” speech

1885–Lord Randolph Churchill makes a speech in Ulster in opposition to Home Rule.

1885–Film director, Erich von Stroheim, is born Erich Oswald Stroheim in Vienna, Austria-Hungary. He is best known for his performance playing a version of himself as Max von Mayerling in the film Sunset Boulevard. His films include Foolish Wives, Merry-Go-Round, Greed, The Merry Widow, Tempest, The Devil-Doll, and The North Star.

1888–The first issue of National Geographic magazine is published.

1892–The Lindal Railway Incident, provides inspiration for "The Lost Special" by A.C. Doyle and the TV serial Lost.

1895–Actor, Paul Muni, is born Frederich Meshilem Meier Weisenfreund in Lemberg, Austro-Hungarian Empire (present-day Lviv, Ukraine). He started his acting career in the Yiddish theatre. During the 1930s, he was considered one of the most prestigious actors at Warner Bros. He appeared in the films Scarface, I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, The Story of Louis Pasteur, The Good Earth, The Life of Emile Zola, Stage Door Canteen, Angel on My Shoulder, and The Last Angry Man.

1896–Queen Victoria surpasses her grandfather, King George III, as the longest reigning monarch in British history.

1902–John Houseman, film producer and actor, is born Jacques Haussmann in Bucharest, Romania. He is perhaps best known for the role of Professor Charles W. Kingsfield in the film The Paper Chase. He reprised the role of Kingsfield in the subsequent TV series adaptation of The Paper Chase. Houseman was also known for his commercials for the brokerage firm Smith Barney. He had a distinctive Mid-Atlantic English accent, in common with many actors of his generation. Houseman became the founding director of the Drama Division at The Juilliard School, and held this position from 1968 until 1976. The first graduating class in 1972, included Kevin Kline and Patti LuPone, with subsequent classes under Houseman's leadership including Christopher Reeve, Mandy Patinkin, and Robin Williams. He appeared in the films Seven Days in May, Rollerball, Three Days of the Condor, The Fog, My Bodyguard, Ghost Story, Bright Lights Big City, and Scrooged.

1904–Ellen Church, the first American female flight attendant, is born in Cresco, Iowa. She was a pilot and a registered nurse. Steve Stimpson, the manager of the San Francisco office of Boeing Air Transport (BAT), would not hire her as a pilot, but did pass along her suggestion to put nurses on board airplanes to calm the public's fear of flying. In 1930, BAT hired Church as head stewardess, and she recruited seven others for a three-month trial period. The stewardesses, or "sky girls" as BAT called them, had to be registered nurses, single, younger than 25 years old, weigh less than 115 pounds, and stand less than 5 feet, 4 inches tall. In addition to attending to the passengers, they were expected to (when necessary) help with hauling luggage, fueling, and assisting pilots in pushing the aircraft into hangars. An injury from an automobile accident ended Church’s stewardess career after 18 months.

1908–The Bulgarian Declaration of Independence is proclaimed.

1910–The Duke of York’s Cinema opens in Brighton, England. It is still operating today, making it the oldest continually operating cinema in Britain.

1914–German submarine, SM U-9, torpedoes and sinks the British cruisers HMS Aboukir, Hogue and Cressy on the Broad Fourteens off the Dutch coast, killing over 1,400 men.

1919–The steel strike of 1919, led by the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers, begins in Pennsylvania before spreading across the United States.

1926–Writers, Thomas Wolfe and James Joyce, are on the same tour bus visiting the battlefield at Waterloo. However, they do not meet.

1934–An explosion takes place at Gresford Colliery in Wales, leading to the deaths of 266 miners and rescuers.

1941–On Jewish New Year Day, the German SS murder 6,000 Jews in Vinnytsia, Ukraine. They are the survivors of the previous killings that took place a few days earlier, in which about 24,000 Jews were executed.
 
1947–Norma McCorvey, “Jane Roe” of the Roe vs. Wade abortion decision, is born Norma Leah Nelson in Simmesport, Louisiana. In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that individual state laws banning abortion were unconstitutional. Later, McCorvey's views on abortion changed substantially and she became a Roman Catholic activist in the pro-life movement.
 
1948–Gail Halvorsen officially started parachuting candy to children as part of the Berlin Air lift.
 
1949–The British, Canadian and U.S. governments jointly announce they had recently detected an atomic explosion in the Soviet Union. The blast, initially denied by Moscow, was later revealed to be the first test of an atomic weapon by the Soviet Union that occurred on August 29th.

1951–David Coverdale, of Deep Purple, is born in Saltburn-by-the-Sea, North Riding of Yorkshire, England.

1952–Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg, lawyer, judge, and politician, dies in Helsinki, Finland, at age 87. He was the first President of Finland. He played a central role in the drafting of the Constitution of Finland in 1919.

1955–Commercial TV begins in Great Britain. The rules state that only six minutes of ads are allowed each hour and no Sunday morning broadcasting is permitted.

1956–Billboard magazine reports on the concert circuit’s reluctance to deal with this new music known as rock ‘n’ roll. “With new experiences to their credit, such as calling riot squads and with scars such as damaged seats, some arena and stadium officials have turned their thumbs down to rock and roll.”

1956–A chart topper: Be-Bop-a-Lula by Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps.

1957–In Haiti, François Duvalier is elected president.

1958–Political and financial commentator, Neil (Patrick) Cavuto, is born in Westbury, New York. He hosts three television programs: Your World with Neil Cavuto and Cavuto on Business, both on Fox News, and Cavuto: Coast to Coast on sister channel Fox Business Network.

1960–The Sudanese Republic is renamed Mali after the withdrawal of Senegal from the Mali Federation.

1960–Actor, Scott Baio, is born Scott Vincent James Baio in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York. He is best known for the role of Chachi Arcola on the sitcom Happy Days and its spin-off Joanie Loves Chachi, as well as the title character on the sitcom Charles in Charge. He appeared in the films Bugsy Malone, Skatetown U.S.A., Foxes, and Zapped!

1961–President John F. Kennedy signs a congressional act that establishes the Peace Corps.

1962–Bob Dylan makes his first appearance at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

1965–The Indo-Pakistani War (also known as the Second Kashmir War) between India and Pakistan over Kashmir, ends after the UN calls for a ceasefire.

1965–Grace Slick makes her singing debut with Great Society in the North Beach section of San Francisco, California.

1970–President Nixon requests 1,000 new FBI agents for college campuses.

1973–The recording of the Paul McCartney and Wings album Band on the Run is completed.

1975–Sara Jane Moore tries to assassinate President Gerald Ford, but is foiled by Oliver Sipple.

1979–A bright flash, resembling the detonation of a nuclear weapon, is observed near the Prince Edward Islands. Its cause is never determined.

1980–Iraq invades Iran.

1980–John Lennon signs a new record deal with Geffen Records as he prepares to release Double Fantasy, his first album of new material in five years.

1988–A chart topper: Don’t Worry Be Happy by Bobby McFerrin.

1989–Composer, Irving Berlin, dies in his sleep of natural causes in New York, New York, at age 101. His first big success came with Alexander's Ragtime Band, and for the next 55 years he wrote some of the most memorable songs: Always, Blue Skies, A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody, God Bless America, There's No Business Like Show Business, and White Christmas.

1991–The Dead Sea Scrolls are made available to the public for the first time by the Huntington Library.

1993–A barge strikes a railroad bridge near Mobile, Alabama, killing 47 passengers. It is the deadliest train wreck in Amtrak history.

1993–A Transair Georgian Airlines Tu-154 is shot down by a missile in Sukhumi, Georgia.

1995–An E-3B AWACS crashes outside Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, after multiple bird strikes to two of the four engines soon after takeoff. All 24 people on board are killed.

1995–The Turner Broadcasting System is acquired by the Time Warner media conglomerate for $7.5 billion.

1995–The Nagerkovil school bombing is carried out by the Sri Lanka Air Force, in which at least 34 people die, most of them ethnic Tamil school children.

1996–Actress, Dorothy Lamour, dies in North Hollywood, California, at age 81. She is best known for her role in the “Road to...” movies, a series of successful comedies starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope. She also appeared in the films The Jungle Princess, The Hurricane, Tropic Holiday, St. Louis Blues, Johnny Apollo, My Favorite Brunette, The Greatest Show on Earth, and Donovan’s Reef.

1998–President Bill Clinton addresses the United Nations, asking world leaders to “end all nuclear tests for all time.” He then sends the long-delayed global test-ban treaty to the U.S. Senate.

1999–The U.S. Justice Department files a massive lawsuit accusing the tobacco industry of fraud, seeking to recover much of the cost of smoking-related illnesses.

1999–Actor, George C. Scott, dies of a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm in Westlake Village, California, at age 71. He was buried in an unmarked grave. Scott was the first actor to refuse the Academy Award for Best Actor (for Patton in 1970), having warned the academy months in advance that he would do so on philosophical grounds if he won. He appeared in the films The Hanging Tree, Anatomy of a Murder, The Hustler, The List of Adrian Messenger, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, The Flim Flam Man, Petulia, Patton, The Hospital, The New Centurions, Oklahoma Crude, The Day of the Dolphin, The Hindenburg, Hardcore, Taps, Firestarter, and Malice.

2001–Violinist and conductor, Isaac Stern, dies in New York, New York at age 81. Among Stern's many recordings are concertos by Brahms, Bach, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Sibelius, Tchaikovsky, and Vivaldi; plus modern works by Barber, Bartók, Stravinsky, Bernstein, Rochberg, and Dutilleux.

2002–William Rosenberg, founder of Dunkin' Donuts, dies of bladder cancer in Mashpee, Massachusetts, at age 86. He had one of the most successful food businesses due to innovation: instead of the five different types of donuts that other donut shops carried, Rosenberg offered 52 different varieties. In 1955, upon opening his sixth shop, he decided to franchise his business as a means of distribution and expansion. At the end of 2011, there were more than 10,000 Dunkin’ Donut outlets in 32 countries.

2003–Actor, Gordon Jump, dies of pulmonary fibrosis in Los Angeles, California, at age 71. He is best known for the roles of radio station manager Arthur "Big Guy" Carlson in the TV series WKRP in Cincinnati and Chief of Police Tinkler in the sitcom Soap. He appeared in the films Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, The Fury, Making the Grade, Moving, and Honeymoon Academy.

2006–Actor, Edward Albert, dies of lung cancer in Malibu, California, at age 55. He appeared in the films Butterflies Are Free, 40 Carats, Midway, The Greek Tycoon, The Squeeze, Guarding Tess, Space Marines, and The Man in the Iron Mask.

2007–Mime and actor, Marcel Marceau, dies in Cahors, Lot, France, at age 84. He is best known for his stage persona as "Bip the Clown." He referred to mime as the "art of silence," and he performed professionally worldwide for over 60 years. He was the most famous mime in the world.

2010–Singer, Eddie Fisher, dies from complications of hip surgery in Berkeley, California, at age 22. His hits include Any Time, Wish You Were Here, Oh! My Pa-Pa, Count Your Blessings, and On the Street Where You Live.

2013–At least 75 people are killed in a suicide bombing at a church in Peshawar, Pakistan.

2014–American talk show host, Skip E. Lowe, dies of emphysema in Los Angeles, California, at age 85. It is estimated Lowe conducted 6,000 cable television interviews from 1978 to 2014.

2015–Baseball catcher, coach, and manager, Yogi Berra, dies of natural causes in West Caldwell, New Jersey, at age 90. He played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Widely regarded as one of the greatest catchers in baseball history, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972. He received his famous nickname from his friend, Jack Maguire, who said he resembled a Hindu yogi whenever he sat around with his arms and legs crossed waiting to bat, or while looking sad after a losing game.

2016–Yahoo! discloses a data breach that compromised the details of 500 million users.


PHOTOS TOP TO BOTTOM: Anne of Austria; a statue of Nathan Hale; Erich von Stroheim; John Houseman; the Duke of York’s Cinema in Brighton, England; Be-Bop-a-Lula by Gene Vincent; Irving Berlin; Dorothy Lamour; a carton of Dunkin' Donuts; and Eddie Fisher.
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