1983 James Bond Octopussy premiers in the U.S., 13th in the James Bond series, it starred Roger Moore as 007.

1980 Richard Pryor Catches on Fire A mixture of cocaine and ether exploded in the comedian's face causing him to run screaming for nearly a mile with his clothes on fire.

1943 First ball-point pen is patented, by Hungarian Lasalo Biro.

1940 World War II Italy declares war on France and the United Kingdom.

1935 Alcoholics Anonymous The self help group is started when recovering alcoholic Bill Wilson contacts Dr. Bob Smith to help him resist the temptation to drink.

1924 First radio broadcast of a national presidential convention the Republican Convention in Cleveland, Ohio.

1902 First envelope with a window Patented by American inventor A.F. Callahan.

1898 Spanish-American War The first U.S. armed forces land at Cuba. During the next several days, U.S. forces and Cuban rebels clear the land of Spanish forces.

1854 U.S. Naval Academy graduates its first class.

1801 Tripoli declares war against U.S

1692 Salem Witch Trials Bridget Bishop is hanged making her the first of 20 people executed for witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts.

1652 First currency mint in America is established, in Boston, Mass. with John Hull as its master.

1982 Tara Lapinski American figure skater.  She became the youngest Winter Olympics gold medal winner in the 1988 Olympics.  She was also the young ladies world champion at age 14.

1955 Andrew Stevens American actor. TV: Dallas (Casey Denault).

1933 F. Lee Bailey American lawyer, talk show host, publisher of Gallery magazine.

1928 Maurice Bernard Sendak American children's author, illustrator. Writings: Where the Wild Things Are (1963).

1922 Judy Garland d. 1969 (Frances Gumm), American Oscar-Grammy-winning actress. She performed the song Over the Rainbow over 12,000 times. Film: The Wizard of Oz (1939, Dorothy).

1921 Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh, husband of Queen Elizabeth II.

1904 Frederick Loewe d. 1988 German composer of Lerner and Loewe, together they wrote My Fair Lady (1956) and Paint Your Wagon (1969).

1898 Hattie McDaniel d. 1952 American Oscar-winning actress. She was the first black woman to sing on U.S. radio, and was the first black actress to win an Oscar (1940 for her supporting role as Mammy in Gone With The Wind).

1835 Rebecca Latimer Felton d. 1930 American politician, first woman U.S. senator (October 3 - November 22, 1922).

1832 Nikolaus August Otto d. 1891 German co-inventor of the internal combustion engine (1867) and built a four-stroke Otto cycle (1876) which is used in most automobiles.

2004 Ray Charles b. 1930 (Ray Charles Robinson), American singer, composer, pianist, blind since the age of 6. Music: Georgia On My Mind (1960, #1) and Hit the Road, Jack (1961, #1). The movie Ray (2004, starring Jamie Foxx) is based on his life.

1988 Louis Dearborn L'Amour b. 1908 American author, his books - known for their authentic portrayal of frontier life - sold over 200,000,000 copies.

1976 Adolph Zukor b. 1873 Hungarian-born U.S. film executive, founder of Paramount Pictures. He distributed the first feature-length film shown in the U.S. (1912, Queen Elizabeth), which was made in France and starred Sarah Bernhardt.

1967 Spencer Tracy b. 1900 (John Edward Tracy), American actor. Film: Boys Town (1938, Father Flanagan), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941, Dr. Jekyll), and The Old Man and the Sea (1958, narrator).

1946 Jack Johnson b. 1878 American boxer. He was the first black heavyweight champion (1908-15). He was the first person prosecuted under the Mann Act. He had encouraged Lucille Cameron, a white woman, to leave a brothel and they subsequently crossed state lines. Even though he married her, and took her away from a brothel, he was still prosecuted and sentenced to a year in prison.

1927 Victoria Claflin Woodhull b. 1838 American politician. She was the first woman nominated for U.S. President - by the Equal Rights Party in 1872 with Frederick Douglas as her running mate.

1909 Edward Everett Hale b. 1822 American author. Writings: The Man Without a Country (1863).

1858 Robert Brown b. 1773 British botanist. Known for his description of the Brownian movement (1827), which is the rapid movement of minute particles suspended in liquid.

1836 André Marie Ampère b. 1775 French physicist, mathematician, for whom the electrical measurement "ampere" is named. He also developed the science of electro-magnetism.

1692 Bridget Bishop b. ???? hanged for witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts.

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