Annunciation of the Lord solemnity, commemorating the announcement by the Archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary that she was to become the mother of Christ.

1993 Dave Thomas gets his GED The 60-year-old founder of the Wendy's hamburger chain - and high school dropout - passes his General Educational Development exam. He was then awarded an honorary diploma by a Florida high school who voted him "most likely to succeed."

1990 "Happy Land Social Club" Arson A fire started by a man angry with the coat check girl kills 87 people.  The fire exits had been blocked to prevent people from entering without paying.  In November of 1988, the club had been ordered closed due to lack of fire exits and a sprinkler system, however, this was never enforced.  This event is memorialized in song by Joe Jackson with Happyland and Duran Duran in Sin of the City.

1982 Cagney and Lacey debuts on CBS.

1958 Sugar Ray Robinson wins the boxing middleweight championship for a record 5th time.

1949 First British film to win the Best Picture Oscar Laurence Olivier's Hamlet, winning a total of five.

1934 First Masters golf tournament The winner was Horton Smith.

1863 First U.S. Medal of Honor Six Union soldiers become the first recipients of the award.  They had hijacked a Confederate locomotive and used it to damage the railroad and telegraph lines.  The leader of the raid, James J. Andrews, however, did not receive the award; He had been captured by the Confederacy and hanged as a spy. Film: The Great Locomotive Chase

1807 Slavery British Parliament abolishes slave trade.

1965 Sarah Jessica Parker American actress. Film: Hocus Pocus (1993). TV: Square Pegs (Patty Greene).

1948 Bonnie Bedelia American actress. Film: the Die Hard movies (rescued by Bruce Willis). TV: Love of Life (Sandy Porter).

1947 Elton John (Reginald Dwight), British singer, songwriter. He was the first Western rock star to play Moscow. Music: Crocodile Rock (1973, #1) and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973). Film: Tommy (1975, playing the Pinball Wizard).

1942 Richard O'Brien British actor. Film: The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975, Riff Raff the butler) and the sequel Shock Treatment (1981) which continued the story of Brad and Janet.

1942 Aretha Franklin American Grammy-winning soul singer. Music: Respect (1967, #1). She has more million-selling singles than any other female artist.

1940 Anita Bryant American singer, "It's not just for breakfast anymore."

1934 Gloria Steinem American feminist, founder of Ms. magazine (1971).

1920 Howard Cosell d. 1995 (Howard Cohen), American Emmy-winning sports commentator.

1919 Jeanne Cagney d. 1984 American actress, James Cagney's sister, and co-host of Queen for a Day.  She appeared in several films with her brother James, including Man of a Thousand Faces (1957).

1918 Jackie Condon d. 1977 (John Condon), American child actor, one of the original Little Rascals. He appeared in 78 Our Gang films.

1916 Jean Rogers d. 1991 (Eleanor Lovegreen), American actress, Dale Arden of the Flash Gordon movie serials (1936-38).

1908 Sir David Lean d. 1991 British director, whose films have won 28 Oscars. Film: Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), and Dr. Zhivago (1965).

1901 Ed Begley d. 1970 American Oscar-winning actor. Film: Sweet Bird of Youth (1962, Oscar).

1892 Andy Clyde d. 1967 Scottish-born actor. Film: Hopalong Cassidy movies (Gabby Hayes). TV: Lassie (Cully Wilson).

1871 Gutzon Borglum d. 1941 American sculpture. Works: Mt. Rushmore (1927-41), the colossal head of Lincoln in Washington D.C., and the twelve apostles for the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.

2006 Richard Fleischer b. 1916 American film director. Film: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954), Fantastic Voyage (1966), Dr. Dolittle (1967), Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970), Soylent Green (1973), and Red Sonja (1985).

2006 Buck Owens b. 1929 (Alvis Edgar Owens, Jr.), American country-western singer.  He helped create the "Bakersfield Sound" and was a regular on Hee Haw (Co-host).  He had 15 #1 hits in a row.

1992 Nancy Walker b. 1922 (Anna Myrtle Swoyer), American actress. TV: Rhoda (Rhoda's mom), McMillan and Wife (Mildred the maid), and in commercials as Rosie - the quicker picker upper.

1963 Davey Moore b. 1933 American boxer, World Featherweight Champion (1959-63). He died of injuries sustained when his head hit the bottom rope during a fight defending his title. As a result, the bottom rope was loosened and a fourth rope was added to boxing rings. He is memorialized in the Bob Dylan song Who Killed Davey Moore.

1918 Claude Debussy b. 1862 French musician, composer, known for his impressionist "tone poems."

1860 James Braid b. circa 1795 Scottish surgeon. He coined the term "hypnotism," of which he was a practitioner.

1857 William Colgate b. 1783 English-born American soap and toiletries maker, philanthropist, founder of what became the Colgate toothpaste company.  He also helped found the American Bible Society (1816).

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