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1904–Boogie-woogie piano player, Clarence “Pinetop” Smith, is born in Troy, Alabama. He got his nickname as a child because he liked to climb trees. On December 29, 1928, he recorded his influential Pine Top's Boogie Woogie, one of the first "boogie woogie" style recordings to become a hit. Pine Top talks over the recording, explaining how to dance to the number.


BC 1184–Troy is sacked and burned, according to calculations by Eratosthenes.

BC 323–Alexander the Great dies in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar II in Babylon, at age 32. Mystery surrounds the cause of his death: everyting from malaria, typhoid fever, bowel perforation, acute pancreatitis, and meningitis to poisoning by any number of offenders. Alexander spent most of his ruling years on an unprecedented military campaign through Asia and northeast Africa, until by the age of 30, he had created one of the largest empires of the ancient world, stretching from Greece to Egypt and into northwest India. He was undefeated in battle and is considered one of history's most successful military commanders.

173–The Roman army in Moravia is encircled by the Quadi, who have broken a peace treaty. During a violent thunderstorm, Emperor Marcus Aurelius defeats and subdues them in the so-called "miracle of the rain."

631–Emperor Taizong of Tang, the Emperor of China, sends envoys to the Xueyantuo bearing gold and silk in order to seek the release of enslaved Chinese prisoners captured during the transition from Sui to Tang from the northern frontier. This embassy succeeded in freeing 80,000 Chinese men and women who were then returned to China.

786–A Hasanid Alid uprising in Mecca is crushed by the Abbasids at the Battle of Fakhkh. Idris ibn Abdallah flees to the Maghreb, where he later founds the Idrisid Dynasty.

840–Emperor Junna of Japan dies in Heian Kyo, Kyoto, Japan, at age 55.

1118–Roger of Salerno, Prince of Antioch, captures Azaz from the Seljuk Turks.

1157–Albert I of Brandenburg (also called The Bear) becomes the founder of the Margraviate of Brandenburg, Germany, and the first Margrave.

1183–King of England, Henry the Young, dies of dysentery at Castle of Martel, Limoges, France, at age 28. Beginning in 1170, he officially reigned alongside his father, Henry II of England. On his deathbed, he reportedly asked to be reconciled with his estranged father, but King Henry, fearing a trick, refused to see him: Henry the Young dies clasping a ring his father had sent instead, as a sign of his forgiveness.

1216–Henry of Flanders, Emperor of the Latin Empire, dies of poisoning in Thessaloniki, Greece, at age 40.

1345–Alexios Apokaukos, Chief Minister of the Byzantine Empire, is lynched by political prisoners during an inspection of a new prison. His head was severed and stuck on a pole. All 200 prisoners were massacred by Apokaukos’ supporters, even though some attempted to seek refuge in a nearby monastery.

1456–Anne Neville is born at Warwick Castle, Warwickshire, England. She became Princess of Wales as the wife of Edward of Westminster, and later Queen of England as the wife of King Richard III.

1488–James III of Scotland dies at the Battle of Sauchieburn, in Scotland, at age 36.

1509–King Henry VIII of England marries Catherine of Aragon.

1557–John III of Portugal dies of apoplexy at Ribeira Palace, Lisbon, Spain, at age 55.

1572–Poet and playwright, Ben Jonson, is born in London, England. He became an actor and playwright at age 22. When he was still quite young, he killed another actor in a duel and was arrested and indicted for manslaughter. He was very nearly hanged, but his ability to read and write saved him. He is the author of Every Man in His Humor, Volpone, and The Alchemist.

1578–England grants Sir Humphrey Gilbert a patent to explore and colonize North America.

1594–Philip II recognizes the rights and privileges of the local nobles and chieftains in the Philippines, which paves way to the stabilization of the rule of the Principalía (an elite ruling class of native nobility in the Spanish Philippines).

1727–George I, King of England and Ireland, dies of a stroke during a trip to his native Hanover in Schloss Osnabrück, Osnabrück, at age 67.

1742–Benjamin Franklin invents the Franklin Stove. He purposely did not patent it, so that others could freely copy the design.

1748–Denmark adopts the characteristic Nordic Cross flag, later taken up by all other Scandinavian countries.

1770–Captain James Cook discovers the Great Barrier Reef off Australia.

1775–The American Revolutionary War's first naval engagement, the Battle of Machias, results in the capture of a small British naval vessel.

1776–The Continental Congress creates a committee (Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston) to draft a Declaration of Independence.

1776–Romantic painter, John Constable, is born in Suffolk, England. Constable painted the landscapes of Dedham Vale, which surrounded his home. The area would become known as Constable Country. During his lifetime, his work did not sell well in England. Constable was far better appreciated in France, where his style would become the inspiration behind the Barbizon School.

1788–Russian explorer, Gerasim Izmailov, reaches Alaska.

1805–A fire consumes large portions of Detroit in the Michigan Territory.

1825–The first cornerstone is laid for Fort Hamilton in New York City.

1837–The Broad Street Riot occurs in Boston, Massachusetts, fueled by ethnic tensions between English-Americans and Irish-Americans.

1859–The Comstock silver load is discovered near Virginia City, Nevada.

1864–Composer and conductor, Richard (Georg) Strauss, is born in Munich, Germnay. During his lifetime, Strauss was considered the greatest composer of the first half of the 20th century. He is known for his operas, his lieder (especially his Four Last Songs), and his tone poems, including Don Juan, Death and Transfiguration, Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks, Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Don Quixote, Ein Heldenleben, Symphonia Domestica, and An Alpine Symphony.

1865–The Naval Battle of the Riachuelo is fought on the rivulet Riachuelo (Argentina), between the Paraguayan Navy and the Brazilian Navy. The Brazilian victory proves crucial for the later success of the Triple Alliance (Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina) in the Paraguayan War.

1892–The Limelight Department, one of the world's first film studios, is established in Melbourne, Australia.

1894–Entreprenuer, Kiichiro Toyoda, is born in Shizuoka, Empire of Japan. He founded Toyota Motor Corporation, the world's largest automobile manufacturer.

1895–Charles E. Duryea receives the first patent granted to an American inventor for a gasoline-driven automobile.

1895–Paris-Bordeaux-Paris is sometimes called the first automobile race in history, or the "first motor race."

1896–A U.S. Assay Office is established in Deadwood, South Dakota.

1898–Six hundred U.S. Marines land at Guantanamo, Cuba, during the Spanish-American War.

1898–The Hundred Days' Reform is started by Guangxu Emperor with a plan to change social, political, and educational institutions in China: it is suspended by Empress Dowager Cixi after 104 days.

1901–The bountaries of the Colony of New Zealand are extended by the United Kingdom to include the Cook Islands.

1903–A group of Serbian officers storm the royal palace and assassinate King Alexander Obrenovic and his wife, Queen Draga.

1904–Boogie-woogie piano player, Clarence “Pinetop” Smith, is born in Troy, Alabama. He got his nickname as a child because he liked to climb trees. On December 29, 1928, he recorded his influential Pine Top's Boogie Woogie, one of the first "boogie woogie" style recordings to become a hit. Pine Top talks over the recording, explaining how to dance to the number.

1910–Composer, Carmine Coppola, is born in New York, New York. His work includes music for The Godfather I, II & III, The Black Stallion, Apocalypse Now, The Outsiders, Gardens of Stone, Tucker: The Man and His Dream, New York Stories, and The Freshman. He was the father of August Coppola, Francis Ford Coppola, and Talia Shire; and grandfather of Nicolas Cage, Sofia Coppola, Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman, and Robert Schwartzman.

1910–Oceanographer, Jacques Cousteau, is born Jacques-Yves Cousteau in Saint-André-de-Cubzac Gironde, France. He was a French naval officer, explorer, conservationist, filmmaker, innovator, scientist, photographer, author, and researcher who studied the sea and all forms of life in water. He co-developed the Aqua-Lung, pioneered marine conservation, and was a member of the Académie française.

1910–Musician, Edwin Duhon, is born in Broussard, Louisiana. He was a co-founder of The Hackberry Ramblers, a band playing a combination of Cajun, Western swing, and country music. He played acoustic and electric guitar, piano, double bass, harmonica, and accordion. In 2002, Duhon and his partner, Luderin Darbone, received a National Heritage Fellowship from the U.S. National Endowment for the Arts.

1913–Football coach, Vince Lombardi, is born Vincent Thomas Lonbardi in Brooklyn, New York. He is best known as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers during the 1960s, leading the team to three straight and five total National Football League championships in seven years. They also won the first two Super Bowls following the 1966 and 1967 NFL seasons. Lombardi is considered by many to be one of the best and most successful coaches in NFL history.

1915–Socialite, Magda Gabor, is born Magdolna Gabor in Budapest, Austria-Hungary (present-day Budapest, Hungary). She was the elder sister of actresses Zsa Zsa Gabor and Eva Gabor. She was married to actor, George Sanders (who had previously been married to Zsa Zsa).

1917–King Alexander assumes the throne of Greece, after his father, Constantine I, abdicates under pressure by allied armies occupying Athens.

1919–Sir Barton wins the Belmont Stakes, becoming the first horse to win the Triple Crown.

1920–During the U.S. Republican National Convention in Chicago, U.S. Republican Party leaders gather in a room at the Blackstone Hotel to come to a consensus on their candidate for the U.S. presidential election. This leads the Associated Press to first coin the political phrase "smoke-filled room."

1920–Bir Bikram Shah Deva Mahendra, King of Nepal (1955-1972), is born at Narayanhiti Palace, Kathmandu, Nepal.

1920–Shelly Manne, drummer, composer, and bandleader, is born Sheldon Manne in New York, New York. Most frequently associated with West Coast jazz, he was known for his versatility, playing in a number of other styles, including Dixieland, swing, bebop, avant-garde jazz and fusion. Manne rose to stardom when he became part of the working bands of Woody Herman and Stan Kenton in the late 1940s and early 1950s, winning awards and developing a following at a time when jazz was extremely hot in America. He contributed to the musical background of hundreds of Hollywood films and TV shows including The Wild One, The Man with the Golden Arm, I Want to Live!, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Hatari!, The Pink Panther, and West Side Story.

1925–Novelist, William Styron, is born William Clark Styron, Jr. in Newport News, Virginia. He wrote Lie Down in Darkness, The Confessions of Nat Turner, Sophie's Choice, and the memoir Darkness Visible.

1927–Aviator, Charles Lindbergh, is awarded the first Distinguished Flying Cross.

1928–Alfred Hitchcock's first film, The Case of Jonathan Drew, is released.

1928–Queen Fabiola of Belgium is born Fabiola de Mora y Aragón at Zurbano Palace, Madrid, Spain. She was Queen consort of the Belgians for 33 years, between her wedding in 1960, and her husband's death in 1993.

1931–Actor, Tab Hunter, is born in Arthur Andrew Kelm New York, New York. He was given the stage name, Tab Hunter, by his first agent, Henry Willson. He appeared in the films The Lawless, Track of the Cat, Battle Cry, The Burning Hills, The Girl He Left Behind, Damn Yankees, They Came to Cordura, The Pleasure of His Company, Ride the Wild Surf, The Loved One, Birds Do It, The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood, Polyester, Pandemonium, Grease 2, Lust in the Dust, and Wild Bill.

1933–Actor, Gene Wilder, is born Jerome Silbermann in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He appeared in the films Bonnie and Clyde, The Producers, Start the Revolution Without Me, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask), Rhinoceros, Blazing Saddles, The Little Prince, Young Frankenstein, Silver Streak, The World’s Greatest Lover, The Frisco Kid, Stir Crazy, Hanky Panky, The Woman in Red, Haunted Honeymoon, See No Evil, Hear No Evil, and Alice in Wonderland. He was married to comedienne, Gilda Radner.

1934–Prince Henrik of Denmark is born Henri Marie Jean André de Laborde de Monpezat in Talence, Gironde, France. He was the husband of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark.

1935–Edwin Armstrong gives the first public demonstration of FM broadcasting in America, at Alpine, New Jersey.

1936–The International Surrealist Exhibition opens in London, England.

1936–The Presbyterian Church of America is founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1937–In what is called the Great Purge, the Soviet Union, under Joseph Stalin, executes eight army leaders.

1937–Actor, Chad Everett, is born Raymon Lee Cramton in South Bend, Indiana. He is best known for the role of Dr. Joe Gannon in the TV drama Medical Center. He appeared in the films Rome Adventure, Get Yourself a College Girl, Johnny Tiger, Made in Paris, The Singing Nun, The Impossible Years, Airplane II: The Sequel, and Mulholland Drive. He was married to actress, Shelby Grant.

1939–The King and Queen of England taste their first "hot dogs" at a party given by President Franklin Roosevelt.

1939–Christina Crawford is born in Los Angeles, California, to unmarried teen parents. The adopted daughter of actress, Joan Crawford, she wrote the book Mommie Dearest. In 1981, a movie version of the book was released, starring Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawford and Diana Scarwid as Christina. Christina Crawford was purchased (aka: adopted) from a baby broker in the state of Nevada, because Joan Crawford was formerly denied an adoption by Social Services for being an unfit candidate in California in 1940. Subsequent documentation showed that the adoption was handled by Georgia Tann through Tann's infamous Tennessee Children's Home Society. Christina was one of five children purchased (aka: adopted) by Joan Crawford. Christina had the role of Joan Borman Kane on the soap opera The Secret Storm from 1968 until 1969. She appeared in the films Wild in the Country, Force of Impulse, and Faces.

1940–Joey Dee, of Joey Dee and the Starlighters, is born Joseph DiNicola in Passaic, New Jersey. The group’s big hit was The Peppermint Twist.

1941–Author and illustrator, Daniel Carter Beard, dies in Suffern, New York, at age 90. He founded the Boy Scouts of America.

1942–The United States agrees to send Lend-Lease aid to the Soviet Union.

1942–Free French Forces retreat from Bir Hakeim after having successfully delayed the Axis advance.

1943–Mobster, Henry Hill, Jr., is born in Brooklyn, New York. Between 1955 and 1980, Hill was associated with the Lucchese crime family. In 1980, Hill became an FBI informant and his testimony helped secure 50 convictions, including that of mob capo (captain) Paul Vario and James Burke on multiple charges. Hill's life story was documented in the book Wiseguy: Life in a Mafia Family by Nicholas Pileggi. Wiseguy was subsequently adapted by Martin Scorsese into the critically acclaimed film, Goodfellas, in which Hill was portrayed by Ray Liotta.

1944–The USS Missouri is commissioned. It is the last battleship built by the U.S. Navy and the future site of the signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender.

1945–Actress, Adrienne (Jo) Barbeau, is born in Sacramento, California. She is best known for her role on the TV sitcom Maude. She appeared in the films The Fog, Swamp Thing, Escape from New York, The Cannonball Run, Creepshow, Back to School, Father Hood, and Across the Line. She was married to film director, John Carpenter, and Billy Van Zandt.

1948–Singer, Lynsey de Paul, is born Lyndsey Monckton Rubin in Cricklewood, London, England. She had chart hits in the U.K. and U.S. in the 1970s, starting with the single Sugar Me. Although never married, at various times de Paul was romantically linked with Ringo Starr, Roy Wood, James Coburn, Sean Connery, Bill Kenwright, Bernie Taupin, Chas Chandler, and Dudley Moore.

1949–Country singer, Hank Williams, makes his first appearance on the stage of Ryman Auditorium performing on The Grand Ole Opry.

1949–Frank (Lee) Beard, of ZZ Top, is born in Frankston, Texas. He was the only musician in the band without a long beard, an ironic fact considering his last name.

1952–Donnie Van Zant, of .38 Special, is born Donald Newton Van Zant in Jacksonville, Florida. Due to health issues related to inner-ear nerve damage, he retired from performing live in 2013. His brothers are Ronnie and Johnny Van Zant.

1955–At Le Mans, 83 spectators are killed and at least 100 others are injured after an Austin-Healey and a Mercedes-Benz collide. It is the deadliest accident in motorsports.

1956–The first Puerto Rican Parade is held in Harlem, New York.

1956–The Gal Oya riots begin, as the first reported ethnic riots that target minority Sri Lankan Tamils in the Eastern Province. One hundred and fifty people are killed.

1956–Football player, Joe Montana, is born Joseph Clifford Montana, Jr. in New Eagle, Pennsylvania. He is a retired Football Hall of Fame quarterback who played with the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs. While a member of the 49ers, Montana started and won four Super Bowls and was the first player ever to have been named Super Bowl Most Valuable Player three times. In 2006, Sports Illustrated rated him the number one clutch quarterback of all-time.

1959–Actor-comedian, Hugh Laurie, is born James Hugh Calum Laurie in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England. He first became known as one-half of the Fry and Laurie act with his friend and comedy partner, Stephen Fry. He was also in the cast of the TV shows A Bit of Fry & Laurie, Blackadder, and Jeeves and Wooster in the 1980s and 1990s. He appeared in the films Plenty, Mrs. Capper's Birthday, Peter’s Friends, Sense and Sensibility, 101 Dalmatians, Spice World, Stuart Little, and Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows.

1960–Surgeon and TV personality, Mehmet (Cengiz) Oz, is born in Cleveland, Ohio. Better known as Dr. Oz, he first appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2004, and later on Larry King Live and other TV shows. In 2009, The Dr. Oz Show, a daily television program focusing on medical issues and personal health, was launched by Winfrey's Harpo Productions and Sony Pictures.

1962–Frank Morris, John Anglin, and Clarence Anglin become the only prisoners to successfully escape from the prison on Alcatraz Island in the San Francisco Bay.

1963–Alabama Governor, George Wallace, defiantly stands at the door of Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama in an attempt to block two black students, Vivian Malone and James Hood, from attending the school. Later in the day, accompanied by federalized National Guard troops, they are able to register.

1963–President John F. Kennedy addresses Americans from the Oval Office, proposing the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It would revolutionize American society, offering equal access to public facilities, an end to segregation in education, and a guarantee of federal protection for voting rights.

1963–Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is arrested in Florida for trying to integrate restaurants.

1963–Buddhist monk, Thich Quang Duc, sets fire to himself on a Saigon street, to protest the treatment of Buddhists by the South Vietnamese government.

1964–Manfred Mann records Do Wah Diddy Diddy.

1964–World War II veteran, Walter Seifert, runs amok in an elementary school in Cologne, Germany. He kills at least eight children and two teachers, and seriously injures several more with a homemade lance and flamethrower.

1966-A chart topper: Paint It Black by The Rolling Stones.

1967–Billy Wells, the gong striker for Rank Films, dies in Ealing, London, at age 79.

1968–Lloyd J. Old identifies the first cell surface antigens that could differentiate among different cell types.

1969–A chart topper: The Ballad of John and Yoko by The Beatles. Only John Lennon and Paul McCartney played on this record.

1970–Anna Mae Hays and Elizabeth P. Hoisington officially receive their ranks as U.S. Army Generals, becoming the first females to do so.

1970–Lawyer and politician, Alexander Fyodorovich Kerensky, dies in New York, New York, at age 89. He served as the second Minister-Chairman of the Russian Provisional Government from July to November 1917. On November 7, 1917, his government was overthrown by the Vladimir Lenin-led Bolsheviks in the October Revolution. He spent the remainder of his life in exile. A leader of the moderate-socialist Trudoviks faction of the Socialist Revolutionary Party, Kerenski is a key figure of the Russian Revolution.

1970–Missionary and mystic, Frank Laubach, dies at age 85. While working among Muslims at a remote location in the Philippines, he developed the "Each One Teach One" literacy program. It has been used to teach about 60 million people to read in their own language. A a collection of his letters was published under the title Letters by a Modern Mystic.

1971–The U.S. ends a ban on trade with China.

1971–The U.S. Government forcibly removes the last holdouts to the Native American Occupation of Alcatraz, ending 19 months of control by the occupiers.

1971–A drunken Dennis Wilson, drummer for The Beach Boys, accidentally puts his hand through the glass door of his home, severing nerves that keep him from playing with the band for almost three years.

1972–An intoxicated train driver causes the Eltham Well Hall rail crash in Eltham, London, England, killing six people and injuring 126 others.

1977–Seattle Slew wins the Triple Crown.

1978–Altaf Hussain founds the students' political movement All Pakistan Muhajir Students Organisation (APMSO) in Karachi University.

1978–The British paper, News of the World, publishes the first part of its exclusive two-part series by Cynthia Lennon Twist, which is primarily excerpts from her new paperback book A Twist of Lennon.

1979–Chuck Berry pleads guilty to income tax evasion and is sentenced to four months in prison.

1979–Actor, John Wayne, dies of stomach cancer in Los Angeles, California, at age 72. Among the cast and crew who filmed the 1956 film The Conqueror on location near St. George, Utah, 91 people developed some form of cancer at various times, including Wayne, Susan Hayward, Agnes Moorehead, and director Dick Powell. The film was shot in southwestern Utah, east of and generally downwind from the site of recent U.S. Government nuclear weapons tests in southeastern Nevada. Many contend that radioactive fallout from these tests contaminated the film location and poisoned the film crew working there. Despite the suggestion that Wayne's 1964 lung cancer and his 1979 stomach cancer resulted from nuclear contamination, he believed his lung cancer to have been a result of his six-packs-a-day cigarette habit. An Academy Award-winner, Wayne was among the top box office draws for three decades. An enduring American icon, he epitomized rugged masculinity and is famous for his demeanor, including his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height. He appeared in the films The Big Trail, Arizona, Westward Ho, Stagecoach, The Fighting Seabees, Tall in the Saddle, They Were Expendable, Angel and the Badman, Red River, 3 Godfathers, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, Sands of Iwo Jima, Rio Grande, The Quiet Man, Hondo, Blood Alley, The Searchers, Rio Bravo, The Alamo, North to Alaska, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Longest Day, How the West Was Won, McLintock!, In Harm’s Way, The Sons of Katie Elder, The Green Berets, True Grit, Chisum, The Cowboys, Cahill U.S. Marshall, Rooster Cogburn, and The Shootist.

1981–A 6.9 earthquake in southern Iran kills 3,000 people.

1982–The Sentosa Musical Fountain is officially opened as part of the second phase of construction on the island of Sentosa, Singapore.

1982–Marco Arment, co-creator of Tumblr, is born in Columbus, Ohio.

1985–Karen Ann Quinlan dies in Morris Township, New Jersey, at age 31. She was an important figure in the history of the right to die controversy in the United States. When she was 21, Quinlan became unconscious after arriving home from a party: she had consumed diazepam, dextropropoxyphene, and alcohol. After she collapsed and stopped breathing twice for 15 minutes or more, the paramedics arrived and took her to a hospital, where she lapsed into a coma. Although Quinlan was removed from mechanical ventilation at her family’s request in 1976, she lived on in a persistent vegetative state for almost a decade until she died of pneumonia.

1987–Diane Abbott, Paul Boateng, and Bernie Grant are elected as the first black Parliamentarians in Great Britain.

1988–Nelson Mandela’s 70th Birthday Tribute is held at Wembley Stadium in London, England.

1988–Tusenfryd opens in Vinterbro, Norway. Rides at the opening of the amusement park include: Loopen roller coaster, Speed Monster, Log Flume, Wave Swinger, Bumper Cars, and a Carousel. The park has one of the most innovative entrances of any amusement park: an uphill ride on an escalator through one of the loops of the Speed Monster´s roller coaster.

1989–Thunderstorms spawn 11 tornadoes, including one that tears the roof off a restaurant at Bee Branch, Arkansas, injuring six people. The tornado also tossed one car into the restaurant and another car over it.

1990–The U.S. Supreme Court strikes down a law that would prohibit the desecration of the American Flag.

1991–Microsoft releases MS DOS 5.0.

1992–Tennis player, Tracy Austin, is the youngest inductee of International Tennis Hall of Fame at age 29.

1992–Marjorie Newell Robb, oldest living survivor of the Titantic disaster, dies in Fall River, Massachusetts, at age 103. Marjorie was returning from a trip to the Middle East with her father and her sister, Madeleine Newell. They boarded the RMS Titanic at Cherbourg, France. The night the ship struck the iceberg, Arthur Newell awoke his daughters and ordered them to dress themselves. They then headed up to the boat deck, where he reluctantly placed his daughters into Lifeboat Number Six. Marjorie and Madeleine both survived. Arthur perished, and his body was recovered by the CS Mackay-Bennett.

1993–The film, Jurassic Park, is released in America.

1994–Actor, Herbert Anderson, dies of a stroke in Palm Springs, California, at age 77. He is best known for his role on the TV series Dennis The Menace. He was seen in many other TV shows including The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, The Real McCoys, Perry Mason, Sea Hunt, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, My Three Sons, I Dream of Jeannie, Petticoat Junction, Bewitched, Family Affair, Adam-12, Green Acres, Batman, Dragnet, The Brady Bunch, Gunsmoke, Nanny and the Professor, The Rookies, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and The Waltons. He appeared in the films Night Passage, My Man Godfrey, I Bury the Living, Sunrise at Campobello, and Hold On!

1998–Amazon.com expands its product line to include compact discs (CDs). Up to this time, the giant Internet retailer had only been selling books.

1998–Compaq Computer pays $9 billion for the Digital Equipment Corporation, in the largest high-tech acquisition to date..

1998–Author, Catherine Cookson, dies in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, at age 91. Her novels, many written from her sickbed, continued to be published posthumously until 2002. She became the United Kingdom's most widely read novelist, with sales topping 100 million, while retaining a relatively low profile in the world of celebrity writers. Her books were inspired by her deprived youth in South Tyneside, North East England, the setting for her novels.

1999–Actor, DeForest Kelley, dies of stomach cancer in Woodland Hills, California, at age 79. He is best known for the role of Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy in the original Star Trek television series and film franchise. He also was seen in many other TV shows including The Lone Ranger, Gunsmoke, Wanted: Dead or Alive, Rawhide, Perry Mason, Bonanza, Have Gun Will Travel, and The Fugitive. He appeared in the films Fear in the Night, The Men, House of Bamboo, The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Raintree County, The Law and Jacke Wade, Where Love Has Gone, Marriage on the Rocks, Apache Uprising, Johnny Reno, and Night of the Lepus.

2001–Domestic terrorist, Timothy McVeigh, is executed by lethal injection for his role in the Oklahoma City Bombing at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana, at age 33.

2002–Antonio Meucci is acknowledged as the first inventor of the telephone by the U.S. Congress.

2001–Timothy McVeigh is executed for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing.

2002–American Idol debuts on the Fox Network.

2002–Paul McCartney marries former model, Heather Mills, at Castle Leslie in County Monaghan, Ireland.

2003–Network news anchorman, David Brinkley, dies from complications after a fall in Houston, Texas, at age 82. From 1956 through 1970, he co-anchored NBC's top-rated nightly news program, The Huntley–Brinkley Report, with Chet Huntley. He then appeared as co-anchor and/or commentator on its successor, The NBC Nightly News. In the 1980s and 1990s, Brinkley was host of Sunday This Week with David Brinkley, and he remained a top commentator on election-night coverage for ABC News.

2004–Ronald Reagan's funeral is held at Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.

2004–Cassini-Huygens makes its closest flyby of the Saturn moon, Phoebe.

2005–The G8 Finance Ministers agree to cancel the debt owed by 18 of the poorest countries.

2007–Mudslides in Chittagong, Bangladesh, kill 130 people.

2008–The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope is launched into orbit.

2012–Bujar Nishani is elected President of Albania.

2012–The Stanley Cup: The Los Angeles Kings beat the New Jersey Devils, 6 games to 1.

2012–More than 80 people die in a landslide triggered by two earthquakes in Afghanistan. An entire village is buried.

2013–Shenzhou 10, China's fifth manned spaceflight mission, and the second and final one to the Tiangong-1 space laboratory, is launched with three taikonauts for a 15-day mission.

2014–Actress, Ruby Dee, dies of natural causes in New Rochelle, New York, at age 91. Dee was cremated, and her ashes are held in the same urn as that of her husband, Ossie Davis, with the inscription, "In this thing together." She appeared in the films The Jackie Robinson Story, No Way Out, Go, Man, Go!, Edge of the City, Virgin Island, St. Louis Blues, Take a Giant Step, A Raisin in the Sun, The Balcony, The Incident, Buck and the Preacher, Cat People, Do the Right Thing, Jungle Fever, American Gangster, and Steam.

2015–Jazz musician, Ornette Coleman, dies of cardiac arrest in New York, New York, at age 85. As a saxophone player, he was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1960s. His album, Sound Grammar, received the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for music.

2015–Actor, Ron Moody, dies in London, England, at age 91. He is best known for the role of Fagin in the film Oliver! He appeared in the films Summer Holiday, The Mouse on the Moon, Ladies Who Do, Murder Most Foul, David Copperfield, Legend of the Werewolf, and A Kid in King Arthur's Court.

2017–First lady Melania Trump and the couple’s son, Barron, officially move into the White House, almost five months after President Trump was inaugurated. Mother and son broke with tradition by living at Trump Tower in New York City, so that Barron could finish the school year uninterrupted.

2017–Puerto Ricans participate in a referendum on the island's political status. Currently an unincorporated territory of the United States, Puerto Rico held a similar vote in 2012, in which a majority of voters opted for statehood, but this was rejected by the U.S. Congress due to a high number of blank ballots.

2017–After dozens of ducklings die due to a water-borne parasite, the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is drained and cleaned by The National Park Service.

2018–The 2015 Net Neutrality rules in the United States expires.

2018–NASA's Opportunity rover is temporarily shut down due to a dust storm on Mars.

2018–Africa’s most famous trees, the baobab (sometimes called the “Tree of Life”) are dying, and scientists suspect it is due to a changing climate.


PHOTOS TOP TO BOTTOM: Alexander the Great; Ben Jonson; John Constable; The Limelight Department; Clarence “Pinetop” Smith; Vince Lombardi; Shelly Manne; Tab Hunter; Chad Everett; Joey Dee and the Starlighters; Adrienne Barbeau; Joe Montana; Governor George Wallace; Do Wah Diddy Diddy by Manfred Mann; Alexander Fyodorovich Kerensky; John Wayne; Karen Ann Quinlan; a tornado; Herbert Anderson; DeForest Kelley; President Ronald Reagan's funeral; and Ruby Dee.
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