1988 West German disco bombing A German woman is arrested for the 1986 bombing. The U.S. had originally blamed Libyan leader Muammar el-Qaddafi and retaliated by bombing Libya, killing his infant daughter.

1988 Iran-Contra Affair Vice-Pres. George Bush gives a sworn deposition to prosecutors, including testimony indicating his involvement. This information was not made public until five days before he left office as president (1993).

1973 Monopoly Atlantic City Public Works holds a hearing to change the names of Baltic and Mediterranean Avenues. The idea is vetoed due to a national outcry from Monopoly fans.

1966 Daktari The TV show debuts on CBS. It became the first U.S. TV show to be shown in the Soviet Union.

1960 CBN Pat Robertson forms The Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), the first Christian television network established in the United States.

1949 Los Angeles' first recorded snow fall

1935 Amelia Earhart The famed aviator becomes the first person to fly from Honolulu, Hawaii to Oakland California.

1861 Civil War Alabama becomes the 4th state to secede from the Union.

1787 Uranus Sir William Herschel discovered two of the planet's moons: Oberon and Titania.

1759 First American life insurance company It is founded in Philadelphia. They issued their first policy in 1761.

1980 Francesco, Fabrizio, Giorgio, Roberto, Letizia, and Linda Giannini Italian sextuplets. Source: Guinness Book of World Records

1974 David, Elizabeth, Emma, Grant, Jason, and Nicolette Rosenkowitz South African sextuplets. They were the first recorded surviving sextuplets. Source: Guinness Book of World Records

1946 Naomi Judd American Grammy-winning country singer. Music: Mama He's Crazy (1984, #1) and Why Not Me (1984, #1).

1929 Rod Taylor Australian actor. TV: Falcon Crest (Frank Argretti).

1908 Lionel Stander d. 1994 American actor. TV: Hart to Hart (Max the Chauffeur).

1886 George Zucco d. 1960 British actor, noted for his villainous roles. Film: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939, Prof. Moriarty).

1815 Sir John Alexander Macdonald d. 1891 Canadian politician, first prime minister of Canada (1857-58, 1868-73, 1878-91).

1807 Ezra Cornell d. 1874 American telegraph pioneer, founder of Western Union Telegraph (1855) and Cornell University (1865).

1757 Alexander Hamilton d. 1804 American statesman, the first Secretary of the U.S. Treasury.

2008 Sir Edmund Percival Hillary b. 1919 New Zealander explorer. He and Tenzing Norgay were first to summit Mt. Everest.

1991 Carl David Anderson b. 1905 American physicist. He discovered the positron (1932) for which he shared the 1936 Nobel Prize. He and his graduate student, Seth Neddermeyer, discovered the muon (1936, originally called mu-meson).

1988 Gregory "Pappy" Boyington b. 1912 American World War II flying ace. His book Baa Baa Black Sheep (1958) chronicled his days as head of the Flying Tigers.

1985 Charles "Commando" Kelly b. 1920 American soldier. He was the first WWII solider in the European war theater to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor. He had made several reconnaissance missions under fire and held off the Germans so others could evacuate an ammo dump.

1981 Richard Boone b. 1916 American actor. TV: Have Gun, Will Travel (Paladin).

1941 Emanuel Lasker b. 1868 German chess master, world chess champion (1894-1921).

1909 Joseph Wharton b. 1826 American steel magnate. He founded Bethlehem Steel Co. and the world's first business school: Wharton School of Finance and Political Economy at the Univ. of Pennsylvania (1881).

1891 Georges Eugene Haussman b. 1809 French financier. He was responsible for the rebuilding of Paris in the mid 1800s and for building its underground sewer system.

1874 Gail Borden b. 1801 American inventor. He developed a process for making condensed milk (1853).

1843 Francis Scott Key b. 1779 American lawyer, poet. He wrote The Star-Spangled Banner (1814) during the British bombardment of Ft. McHenry during the War of 1812.

1753 Sir Hans Sloane b. 1660 English physician. Upon his death, he gave a collection of items which formed the nucleus of the British Museum.

705 John VI b. ???? Greek-born religious leader, 85th Pope (701-705).

314 Saint Melchiades b. ???? African-born religious leader, 32nd Pope (311-314).

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