1993 Russian Revolution British DNA tests confirm that the bodies dug up in 1991 are of Czar Nicholas II, his wife, and three of his five children. They were killed in 1918 during the aftermath of the Russian Revolution. The bodies of his two other children, Alexi and Anastasia have never been found.

1965 First black woman U.S. ambassador Patricia Roberts Harris is sworn in as ambassador to Luxembourg.

1958 Landslide causes a 100 mph, 1,720 ft. high wave, Lituya Bay, Alaska.

1957 Nobelium The discovery is announced. It is element 102 and has an atomic weight of 253.

1947 First woman regular U.S. Army officer Florence Aby Blanchfield is appointed lieutenant colonel.

1922 Tarzan: Future Tarzan portrayer Johnny Weissmuller becomes the first person to swim 100 meters in less than a minute (58.6 seconds).

1918 Train Disaster Collision of two trains, near Nashville, Tenn., killing 101 people.

1893 First successful heart surgery Daniel Hale Williams sutures the heart of a stabbing victim at a Chicago hospital.

1877 First Wimbledon men's singles title is won, by Spencer W. Gore.

1868 14th Amendment ratified Defined U.S. citizenship and granted it to those born or naturalized in the U.S. It also stated that the rights of a citizen could not be removed without due process of the Law.

1793 Slavery Upper Canada passes the Act Against Slavery prohibiting slavery.

1776 Declaration of Independence New York votes to accept it, making it unanimous for all 13 colonies.

1976 Fred Savage American actor. TV: The Wonder Years (for which he was youngest person nominated for an Emmy for outstanding leading performer). Film: Austin Powers in Goldmember (2003, Number Three).

1964 Courtney Love (Courtney Michelle Harrison), American rock musician, widow of Kurt Cobain.

1957 Kelly McGillis American actress. Film: Witness (1985) and Top Gun (1986).

1956 Tom Hanks American Oscar-winning actor. Film: Big (1988) and Philadelphia (1993, Oscar). TV: Bosom Buddies (cross-dresser Kip Wilson/Buffy).

1955 Jimmy Smits American actor. TV: L.A. Law (Victor Sifuentes) and NYPD Blue (Det. Bobby Simone).

1952 John Tesh American entertainer, Emmy-winning composer. TV: Entertainment Tonight (host). Theme Music: Pan American Games (Emmy) and World Track and Field Championships (Emmy).

1947 O.J. Simpson (Orenthal James Simpson), American football Hall of Fame running back, sportscaster, actor. He was head of the San Francisco street gang "Gladiators" when he was 13. In 1994, he was arrested for and then found not guilty for the murder of his ex-wife and her 25-year-old male friend.

1945 Dean Koontz American author.

1942 Richard Roundtree American actor. Film: Shaft (1971, title role), and Earthquake (1974, Miles Quade). TV: Shaft (title role).

1936 James Hampton American actor. TV: F Troop (trooper Dobbs).

1933 Dr. Oliver Sacks English physician, author. His book Awakenings, describing his work in the 1960s with sleeping sickness patients, was made into the 1990 movie starring Robin Williams. Writings: The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat.

1932 Donald Rumsfeld U.S. Secretary of Defense (1975-77, 2001-). He holds the distinction of being both the youngest and oldest Secretary of Defense in U.S. history.

1927 Ed Ames American singer, with the Ames Brothers. Music: Rag Mop (1950, #1).

1916 Sir Edward Heath d. 2005 British prime minister (1970-74). An avid yachtsman, he captained Britain's winning team for the Admiral's Cup in 1971.

1911 John Archibald Wheeler American theoretical physicist. He coined the term "Black Hole" (1967) to describe a collapsed star. Quote: "If you haven't found something strange during the day it hasn't been much of a day."

1901 Dame Barbara Cartland d. 2000 British romance novelist. Her more than 600 books - sometimes written at a rate of one every two weeks - have sold over 600 million copies.

1894 Percy Spencer d. 1970 American scientist. While working for the Raytheon company, he stopped for a minute in front of a magnetron, a vacuum tube that generates high-frequency radio waves, and noticed that the chocolate bar in his pocket was melting, which inspired him to invent the microwave oven (1946). An orphan at age eight who never graduated from grammar school, he became Senior Vice President at Raytheon and received 150 patents.

1819 Elias Howe d. 1867 American inventor. He patented the first practical sewing machine (1846).

1802 Thomas Davenport d. 1851 American inventor. He built the first practical electric motor (1837).

2006 June Allyson b. 1917 (Ella Geisman), American actress, typically portraying "the girl next door." Film: Best Foot Forward (1943), Two Girls and a Sailor, and The Glenn Miller Story.

2002 Rod Steiger b. 1925 American Oscar-winning actor. Film: In the Heat of the Night (1967, Oscar) and The Amityville Horror (1979).

1992 Eric Sevareid b. 1912 American Emmy-winning broadcast journalist for CBS.

1974 Earl Warren b. 1891 American Chief Justice of the United States.  Quote: "It would indeed be ironic if, in the name of national defense, we would sanction the subversion of one of those liberties which make the defense of our nation worthwhile."

1932 King Camp Gillette b. 1855 American manufacturer, inventor of the safety razor (1895).

1850 Zachary Taylor b. 1784 12th U.S. President (1849-50), and father-in-law of Confederate Pres. Jefferson Davis. He died in office making Vice-Pres. Millard Fillmore president.

1797 Edmund Burke b. 1729 British statesman. Noted for his famous quote "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."

1440 Jan van Eyck b. circa 1386 Flemish painter, The Adoration of the Lamb (altarpiece at Ghent Cathedral) and the Arnolfini Marriage Portrait.

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