1994 O.J. Simpson The Football Hall of Fame running back is arrested for the murder of his ex-wife and her 25-year-old male friend. Blood stains had been found in his home and in his car. He was later found not guilty of the crime.

1993 First woman to command an operational U.S. Air Force missile command Lt. Col. Patricia Fornes is sworn in as commander of the 740th Missile Squadron at Minot Air Force Base.

1972 Watergate Five men are arrested for breaking into the Democratic headquarters at the Watergate complex.

1963 Requiring the recitation of the Lord's Prayer or Bible verses in public schools is ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court.

1950 First human kidney transplant American physician Dr. Richard Harold Lawler implants a kidney from a deceased woman into a patient whose diseased left kidney had been removed.

1939 Voyage of the Damned The German liner St. Louis arrives in Belgium. It had been on a month-long voyage carrying more than 900 Jews attempting to escape the NAZIs by travelling from Germany to Cuba. All but 28 passengers were turned away by the Cuban, U.S., and Canadian governments and returned to Europe where many died in the Holocaust.  These events were the basis of the 1976 film Voyage of the Damned.

1928 First transatlantic flight by a woman Amelia Earhart takes off in the Friendship, completing the trip following day.

1871 Tallest married couple Anna Hanen Swan (7 ft. 5½ in.) marries Martin Van Buren Bates (7 ft. 2½ in.).

1843 Bunker Hill Monument is completed and dedicated, with an address given by Daniel Webster.

1775 American Revolution - Battle of Bunker Hill (Breed's Hill): Col. William Prescott proclaims "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes."

1953 Mark Linn-Baker American actor. TV: Perfect Strangers (Larry).

1951 Joe Piscopo American comedian. TV: Saturday Night Live and beer commercials.

1948 Robert Browne cartoonist, artist for Hi and Lois (1981-).

1946 Barry Manilow American Emmy-Tony-Grammy-winning singer. Music: Mandy (1975, #1), I Write the Songs (1976, #1), and he sang the McDonald's jingle You Deserve a Break Today.

1914 John Hersey d. 1993 Chinese-born American Pulitzer-winning author, journalist, A Bell for Adano (1944, Pulitzer).

1904 Ralph Bellamy d. 1991 American Tony-winning actor. Stage: Sunrise at Campobello (1958, Pres. Roosevelt, Tony Award), The Winds of War (Pres. Roosevelt), Rosemary's Baby (1968, evil doctor), Trading Places (1983, conniving billionaire), and as Ellery Queen in the films of the 1940s.

1882 Igor Fedorovich Stravinsky d. 1971 Russian composer, The Firebird, The Rite of Spring, and Petrushka.

1870 George Cormack d. 1953 American inventor of Wheaties cereal. The name "Wheaties" was chosen by a company-wide naming contest.

1742 William Hooper d. 1790 American statesman, signer of the Declaration of Independence.

1703 John Wesley d. 1791 English clergyman, founder of Methodism. He believed in salvation through faith. Source: An Almanac of the Christian Church

1239 Edward I d. 1307 King of England (1272-1307).

1996 Thomas S. Kuhn b. 1922 American science historian. His book, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962), was one of the most influential books in 20th-century social sciences, humanities, and philosophy.

1984 Swale b. ???? racehorse, Belmont Stakes and Kentucky Derby winner.

1981 Zerna Addis Sharp b. 1889 American author. She created the Dick and Jane primary readers. "Run Spot run. See Spot run."

1977 Wernher von Braun b. 1912 German engineer, SS Officer. He launched the first long-range guided missile (Germany's V-2, 1942) and the first rocket to reach outer space (25 miles, 1949). He also led the team of German rocket scientists who developed the Saturn and the Mercury Redstone (which put the first U.S. astronaut in space in 1961) and led the development of the Saturn V booster rocket which was used to put the first men on the Moon (1969).

1887 Mark Hopkins b. 1802 American educator. Pres. Garfield once commented, "A pine bench, with Mark Hopkins at one end of it and me at the other, is a good enough college for me!"

1881 James Starley b. 1830 British inventor, father of the bicycle industry. He also invented the open differential.

1851 John Brown Russwurm b. 1799 American publisher. He co-published the first Negro newspaper in American (1827, Freedom's Journal).

676 Adeodatus II b. ???? Italian religious leader, 77th Pope (672-676).

<< 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