1993 Michael Jackson announces that his skin has lightened due to a medical disorder and that he has had very little cosmetic surgery.

1993 Coca-Cola introduces its new campaign theme "Always Coca-Cola."

1992 Mike Tyson The boxer is convicted of raping beauty contestant Desiree Washington. He was sentenced to six years in prison and fined $30,000.

1967 25th Amendment The Presidential Succession Act is ratified, designating the Speaker of the House and Senate pro tempore next in succession after the vice-president.

1964 International System (SI) of measurement (otherwise known as the metric system) is adopted by the Nation Bureau of Standards.

1962 Captured U-2 pilot Gary Powers is released by the Soviet Union in exchange for the Soviet spy Rudolf Abel.

1960 Jack Parr The Tonight Show host Jack Paar's water closet joke is censored, causing him to walk off the show the following night.

1861 Civil War Confederate Navy is established.

1763 French and Indian War Treaty of Paris between England, France, and Spain is signed, ending the war.

1967 Laura Dern American actress. Film: Blue Velvet (1986), Wild at Heart (1990), and Jurassic Park (1993).

1955 Kathleen Beller American actress. TV: Dynasty (Kirby).

1950 Mark Spitz American swimmer. He won 2 gold, 1 silver, and a bronze medal in the 1968 Olympics and 7 gold medals in the 1972 Olympics - the most ever won by a single athlete.

1944 Peter Allen d. 1992 Oscar-winning songwriter, actor. Music: Arthur's Theme (Oscar) and I Honestly Love You (hit for Olivia Newton-John).

1939 Roberta Flack American Grammy-winning singer. Music: Killing Me Softly with His Song (1973, Grammy).

1930 Robert Wagner American actor. TV: It Takes a Thief (thief Al Mundy) and Hart to Hart (Jonathan Hart).

1906 Lon Chaney Jr d. 1973 (Creighton Chaney), American horror actor, known for his monster characters such as the Wolfman, Frankenstein, and the Mummy.

1898 Dame Judith Anderson d. 1992 (Frances Margaret Anderson), Australian Tony-Emmy-winning actress.  Film: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958, Big Momma).  TV: Santa Barbara (Minx Capwell).

1893 Jimmy Durante d. 1980 American comedian. His trademark lines include "Ink-a-Dink-a-Doo" and "Goodnight Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are."

1890 Boris Leonidovich Pasternak d. 1960 Russian author. Writings: Dr. Zhivago (1955). He rejected the 1958 Nobel Prize for literature after his nomination caused criticism from the Communist Party and his expulsion from the Soviet Writers union.

2005 Arthur Miller b. 1915 American Pulitzer-winning playwright. Writings: Death of a Salesman (1949, Pulitzer) and View from the Bridge (1955). He was also married to Marilyn Monroe (1956-61).

1992 Alex Haley b. 1921 American Pulitzer-winning author. Writings: Roots (Pulitzer. It had the largest printing for a hard-cover book in U.S. history). In 1978, Haley admitted that he copied large passages of Roots from The African by Harold Courlander and settled out-of-court for $650,000.

1966 Billy Rose b. 1899 (William Samuel Rosenberg), American songwriter. Music: Me and My Shadow and It's Only a Paper Moon.

1957 Laura Ingalls Wilder b. 1867 American author. Her Little House books about her life on the frontier was the basis for the TV series.

1948 Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein b. 1898 Russian film director, one of the greatest directors of his time. He developed the montage style of editing.

1939 Pius XI b. 1857 Italian religious leader, 259th Pope (1922-39), created the Vatican radio station.

1923 Wilhelm Konrad Roentgen b. 1845 German physicist, discovered X-rays (1895). He died of cancer.

1912 Joseph Lister b. 1827 English physician, founder of antiseptic surgery. He performed the first operation using antiseptic (1867, mastectomy on his sister).

1868 Sir David Brewster b. 1781 Scottish scientist and inventor. He patented a kaleidoscope (1817), popularizing its use and instituted the use of flat Fresnel lenses in lighthouses, and discovered many important aspects of polarized light.

1829 Leo XII b. 1760 Italian religious leader, 252nd Pope (1823-29).

1045 Sylvester III b. ???? Italian religious leader, 146th Pope (Jan. - Feb. 1045). Became pope when Pope Benedict IX was forcibly removed. Benedict IX reassumed the papacy upon Sylvester's death.

543 Saint Scholastica b. ???? patron saint of scholars.

<< 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