1965 Cycling The use of performance-enhancing drugs is made illegal in bicycle racing.

1957 Four-minute mile Don Bowden becomes the first American to run a four-minute mile (3:58.7). Roger Bannister of Britain had done it three years earlier.

1925 Lou Gehrig begins his record 2,130 consecutive major-league games.

1869 Edison receives his first patent for his electrical vote recorder.

1813 War of 1812 - Don't give up the ship Ordered by U.S. Capt. James Lawrence after being mortally wounded in battle.

1809 1,000-mile walk Capt. Allardyce Barclay of Scotland begins his long journey. He had to walk one mile each and every hour for 1,000 hours. He finished on July 12.

1796 Tennessee becomes the 16th state.

1792 Kentucky becomes the 15th state.

1638 Great earthquake in Plymouth.

1956 Lisa Hartman American actress. TV: Tabatha (grown-up Tabatha from Bewitched) and Knots Landing (both Ciji Dunne and Cathy Rush).

1953 Diana Canova American actress. TV: Soap (Corrine Tate).

1947 Ron Wood British rock guitarist, with The Rolling Stones (1975-).

1940 René Auberjonois American actor of French-Canadian descent. TV: Benson (Clayton Endicott).

1940 Kip Stephen Thorne American physicist. Developed the theory of cosmic wormholes (1985) - based on Einstein's theory of relativity - in which long distance space travel would be possible without exceeding the speed of light.

1939 Cleavon Little d. 1992 American Tony-Emmy-winning actor. Film: Blazing Saddles (1974, the sheriff).

1937 Morgan Freeman American actor. Film: Driving Miss Daisy (1989, the chauffeur). TV: The Electric Company (Easy Reader).

1936 James Thomas Davis d. 1961 American soldier.  He was declared "The first American to fall in defense of our freedom in Vietnam" by Pres. Johnson.  He was killed when the truck he was riding in was struck by a mine and attacked by Viet Cong rebels.

1934 Pat Boone (Charles Eugene Boone), American singer. Music: Love Letters in the Sand (1957) and Moody River (1961).

1926 Marilyn Monroe d. 1962 (Norma Jean Mortenson Baker), American actress. Film: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), How To Marry a Millionaire (1953), and Some Like it Hot (1959).

1926 Andy Griffith American actor. TV: The Andy Griffith Show (Sheriff Andy Taylor).

1890 Frank Morgan d. 1949 (Francis Wuppermann), American actor. Film: The Wizard of Oz (1939, the Wizard).

1849 Freelan O. Stanley d. 1940 American automaker. He and his twin brother formed the Stanley Steamer Co. (1897-1924), which produced steam-powered automobiles.

1849 Francis E. Stanley d. 1918 American automaker. He and his twin brother formed the Stanley Steamer Co. (1897-1924), which produced steam-powered automobiles. He also invented a dry photographic plate used by the Eastman Kodak Co.

1843 Henry Faulds d. 1930 Scottish scientist, "Father of Fingerprinting." He was the first to suggest using fingerprints for criminal investigations (1880).

1815 Otto I d. 1867 King of Greece (1835-62). His unpopular rule caused him to be deposed in the revolution of 1862.

1801 Brigham Young d. 1877 Mormon leader. Founder of Salt Lake City and first Gov. of Utah. He left behind 17 widows.

2005 George Lawrence Mikan Jr b. 1924 American Hall of Fame basketball player, "Mr. Basketball." He was the first professional player to score 10,000 points. His proficiency at blocking shots at the rim that led the NCAA to ban goaltending. He was the first commissioner of the American Basketball Association (ABA, 1967).

1999 Sir Christopher Cockerell b. 1910 English inventor, holder of 98 patents, inventor of the hovercraft (1955).  He also invented devices to harness wave power for energy production.

1980 Rube Marquard b. 1889 (Richard William Marquard), American baseball Hall of Fame pitcher. He pitched 19 consecutive wins for the New York Giants in 1912 - a modern day major-league record.

1980 Arthur Charles Nielsen b. 1897 American marketing researcher. He founded A.C. Nielsen Co. (1923), which conducts radio and TV audience surveys.

1973 Mary Kornman b. 1917 American actress. She appeared in 41 Our Gang films.

1968 Helen Keller b. 1880 American author, lecturer. She overcame being both blind and deaf since the age of 19 months.

1962 Adolf Eichmann b. 1906 German war criminal. As a member of the SS, he organized the transportation of Jews to concentration camps for "the final solution." After the war he was discovered hiding in Argentina. He was then smuggled to Israel where he was hanged for his war crimes.

1959 Sax Rohmer b. 1883 (Arthur Sarsfield Ward), English author, creator of Dr. Fu Manchu (1913).

1952 John Dewey b. 1859 American philosopher, education reformer. He promoted the idea of learning by doing.

1943 Leslie Howard b. 1893 (Leslie Stainer), English actor. Film: Gone with the Wind (1939, Ashley Wilkes). He was killed by Nazis who, believing Winston Churchill was aboard, shot down his plane.

1941 Hans Berger b. 1873 German psychiatrist. Coined the term electroencephalograph (also known as an EEG) for the device used to record brain waves.  He was the first to record human brain waves and discovered the Alpha wave.

1927 Lizzie Borden b. 1860 (Lisbeth A. Borden), American murder suspect. She was accused of axing her parents to death in 1892; she was acquitted in 1893.

1925 Thomas Riley Marshall b. 1854 28th U.S. Vice-President (1913-21). Proclaimed "What this country really needs is a good five-cent cigar" (1915).

1879 James Shields b. 1810 American general, politician. He is the only person to have served as a U.S. Senator for three states: Illinois (1849-55), Minnesota (1858-59), and Missouri (1879). In 1842, believing that Abraham Lincoln had written disparaging letters to the newspaper about Shields, he challenged the future President to a duel. They met prepared for battle, but called it off at the last minute.

1872 James Gordon Bennett b. 1795 Scottish-born American publisher. Founder of The New York Herald (1835).

1868 James Buchanan b. 1791 15th U.S. President (1857-61). The only bachelor U.S. president.

1846 Gregory XVI b. ???? religious leader, 254th Pope (1831-46).

1660 Mary Dyer b. ???? American Quaker. Massachusetts had banned Quakers from entering the jurisdiction, the second offense being punishable by death. She violated this law and was hanged in Boston Common.

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