1956 Sinking of the Andrea Doria The Italian liner Andrea Doria sinks after colliding with the Swedish liner Stockholm the night before. 52 of the more than 1,600 people aboard are killed. One of its lifeboats was found on a New York beach in 1981.

1947 National Security Act of 1947 The act is signed into law by Pres. Truman.  It created the "National Military Establishment" (NME). The name was later changed to Department of Defense since NME's pronunciation sounded too much like "Enemy." The act also created the CIA and formed the Air Force as its own military branch.

1945 World War II - Potsdam Declaration Issued by the U.S. and Great Britain, it called for Japan's unconditional surrender. They didn't accept.

1943 Smog The first case of "eye-irritating" smog in Los Angeles is reported. Visibility was reduced to less than three blocks.

1938 First televised suicide John Warde jumps from a New York City building.

1926 First Roman Catholic Church in the U.S. consecrated a Basilica The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Victory in Lackawanna, New York.

1908 Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is created.

1788 New York becomes the 11th state.

1775 Benjamin Franklin The colonial leader is chosen Postmaster General by the Continental Congress.

1946 Helen Mirren English actress. TV: Mystery! (Det. Chief Inspector Jane Tennison of "Prime Suspect").

1943 Mick Jagger (Michael Philip Jagger), British singer, with The Rolling Stones.

1940 Mary Jo Kopechne d. 1969 American teacher, secretary. She drowned when Sen. Edward Kennedy drove his car off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island.

1928 Stanley Kubrick American director. Film: Dr. Strangelove (1964), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), and A Clockwork Orange (1971).

1922 Jason Robards Jr American Oscar-winning actor. Film: All the President's Men (1976, Oscar) and Julia (1977, Oscar).

1922 Blake Edwards American film producer, producer of the Pink Panther movies.

1912 Vivian Vance d. 1979 (Vivian Roberta Jones), American Emmy-winning actress. TV: I Love Lucy (Ethel Mertz).

1902 Gracie Allen d. 1964 (Grace Ethel Cecile Rosalie Allen), comic, wife and partner of George Burns.

1894 Aldous Huxley d. 1964 British author. Writings: The Doors of Perception (1954, describing his psychedelic drug experiences and from which the music group The Doors took their name).

1886 George Barr McCutcheon d. 1928 American author. Novels: Brewster's Millions (1902, It has been the basis for at least six movies).

1885 André Maurois d. 1967 (Émile Herzog), French author. Writings: Ariel: The Life of Shelly (1923), which became the first Penguin Book.

1856 George Bernard Shaw d. 1950 Irish playwright, ardent supporter of the Fabian Society which promoted non-violent methods to gain equal rights for women and the fair treatment of the working class. Writings: Androcles and the Lion (1912) and Pygmalion (1913), which won both a Nobel Prize (1925) and an Oscar (1938) and was later produced as My Fair Lady.

1739 George Clinton d. 1812 American Revolutionary soldier, 4th U.S. Vice-President (1805-12), first governor of New York.

1030 Saint Stanislaus d. 1079 Bishop of Krakow, and patron saint of Poland.

1995 George Romney b. 1907 American politician, automotive executive, ex-Governor of Michigan. As chief executive of AMC from 1954-62, he bucked current trends and introduced the compact car (a word he coined).

1993 Matthew Bunker Ridgway b. 1895 American four-star general, "Father of the 82nd Airborne" and Army chief of staff (1953-55). He created the 82nd Airborne - the Army's first airborne division - during World War II.

1984 George Horace Gallup b. 1901 American pollster, inventor of the Gallup Poll (1935), which legitimized the use of polls to predict elections.

1980 Allen Clayton Hoskins Jr b. 1920 American actor, Farina of The Little Rascals. He appeared in 105 Our Gang films - more than any one else in the series.

1974 Gene Byrnes b. 1889 American cartoonist, creator of Reg'lar Fellers.

1926 Robert Todd Lincoln b. 1843 eldest son of Pres. Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln, US Secretary of War (1881-85). He was present when President Garfield was shot in 1881 and when McKinley was shot in 1901. He also claimed that Edwin Booth, brother of John Wilkes Booth who assassinated his father, saved him from serious injury at a railroad station in Jersey City in circa 1863.

1925 William Jennings Bryan b. 1860 American orator, called the Great Commoner, made his famous "Cross of Gold" speech at the 1896 Democratic National Convention, and was one of the prosecuting attorneys at the John Scopes Monkey Trial.

1879 Ed Hoyt b. ???? killed by Dodge City marshal Wyatt Earp, the only man Earp killed as marshal.

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

1863 Sam Houston b. 1793 American soldier, politician, governor of Tennessee (1827-29) and first president of the Republic of Texas (1836).

1471 Paul II b. ???? Italian religious leader, 211th Pope (1464-71).

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