1992 Pres. George Bush Bush vomits in the lap of the Japanese prime minister and collapses to the floor. Bush had ignored a physician's warning to stay in bed.

1987 First Dow-Jones index to close above 2000 Closing at 2002.25.

1982 The breaking up of AT&T

1955 Thorazine and reserpine The success of the two drugs in treating mental patients is reported by the New York State Department of Mental Hygiene.

1918 World War I Pres. Wilson delivers his "Fourteen points" speech outlining the U.S. peace aims of the war.

1815 Battle of New Orleans Although the War of 1812 had ended two weeks earlier, news had not arrived in time to prevent this battle. British troops suffered 2,100 casualties, while American troops led by Andrew Jackson suffered 13.

1721 25 girls from the house of correction in Paris arrive in Louisiana.

1705 Handel's First Opera Almira is performed for the first time.

1947 David Bowie (David Robert Jones), British singer. Music: Space Oddity (1969), The Jean Genie (1973), Fame (1975, #1), and Let's Dance (1983). Broadway: The Elephant Man (1980, title role). Film: The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976, title role) and The Last Temptation of Christ (1988).

1946 Robbie Krieger American guitarist, with The Doors. Music: Light My Fire (1967, #1) and L.A. Woman (1971).

1942 Stephen Hawking British physicist, author of A Brief History of Time, and one of the greatest theoretical physicists since Einstein. He appeared as a holograph of himself in a 1993 episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

1937 Shirley Bassey singer, recorded title songs for Goldfinger, Diamonds Are Forever, and Moonraker.

1935 Elvis Presley d. 1977 American singer, "The King of Rock 'n' Roll." He sold more than a billion records.

1933 Charles Osgood (Charles Osgood Wood III), American broadcast journalist.

1931 Bill Graham d. 1991 (Wolfgang Grajonca), German-born American concert promoter. He helped pioneer the mass rock concert as an American cultural event.

1926 Soupy Sales (Milton Hines), American comedian.

1924 Ron Moody (Ronald Moodnick), English actor. Film: Oliver! (1968, Fagin).

1923 Larry Storch American actor. TV: F Troop (Cpl. Agarn).

1912 José Ferrer Puerto Rican-born Oscar-winning actor. Film: Whirlpool (1949) and Cyrano de Bergerac (1950, Oscar).

1911 Butterfly McQueen (Thelma McQueen), American Emmy-winning actress. Film: Gone With the Wind (1939, Prissy). TV: Beulah (Oriole).

1909 Evelyn Wood d. 1995 American speed-reading instructor.

1868 Sir Frank Watson Dyson d. 1939 proved light is bent by gravity, as predicted by Einstein.

1862 Frank Nelson Doubleday d. 1934 American publisher.

1824 Wilkie Collins d. 1889 English writer. A very successful writer in his time, he wrote The Moonstone (1868), the first English language detective novel, which some still consider the best ever written.

1786 Nicholas Biddle d. 1844 American financier. As president (1822-36) of the Second Bank of U.S., he made it the first effective central bank.

1735 John Carroll d. 1815 American clergyman, first American bishop (1790), was in charge of the Diocese of Baltimore, and founded (1789) the first Roman Catholic College in the U.S. (Georgetown College in Washington D.C.) Source: An Almanac of the Christian Church

1081 Henry V d. 1125 King of Germany and Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (1106-25).

2007 Yvonne De Carlo b. 1922 (Margaret Yvonne Middleton), Canadian-born American actress. TV: The Munsters (Lily Munster). Film: The Ten Commandments (1956, Moses' wife).

1994 Pat Buttram b. 1915 (Maxwell Emmett Buttram), American actor. TV: The Gene Autry Show (Gene's sidekick) and Green Acres (Mr. Haney).

1981 Stymie Beard b. 1925 (Matthew Beard, Jr.), African-American actor, the derby-wearing Little Rascal. He appeared in 36 Our Gang films.  His trademark hat was a gift from Stan Laurel. He also played Monte in the TV series Good Times.

1980 John William Mauchly b. 1907 American computer pioneer. He and J. Presper Eckert invented the first digital general-purpose computer (ENIAC) in 1945. He and Eckert also started the first computer company (1947).

1956 Jim Elliot b. 1927 American missionary to Ecuador's Quechua Indians. His was killed by the Aucas while trying to minister to them. Quote: "It is dangerous to get the cart before the horse, but essential in God's program to get the heart before the course." His death was the basis for the book/movie End of the Spear. Source: An Almanac of the Christian Church

1941 Sir Robert Baden-Powell b. 1857 British major general, founder of the Boy Scouts (1908) and the Girl Guides (1910).

1919 Jim O'Rourke b. 1850 American baseball player, made the first hit of the first National League game (1876), for Boston.

1642 Galileo Galilei b. 1564 Italian astronomer, physicist. He built the first complete astronomical telescope, which he used to prove that the Earth revolved around the Sun. He was imprisoned by the Catholic Church for this belief.

1198 Celestine III b. ???? Italian religious leader, 175th Pope (1191-98).

<< Previous | Today | Pick a Day | My Birthday | Surprise Me | Next >>

Celebritize Yourself
Add YOURSELF
or Someone You Love
to THIS Trivia List

Amaze Your Friends with
Your/Their Celebrity Status

Add Trivia to Your Website