1991 The Soviet city Leningrad's name is restored to St. Petersburg.

1991 The Soviet Union recognizes the independence of the Baltic states Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

1989 The U.S. Embassy in Lebanon is evacuated.

1979 National Grandparents Day is proclaimed by the president. To be celebrated on the Sunday following Labor Day.

1969 H.R. Pufnstuf with puppets by Sid and Marty Krofft debuts on NBC. They sued McDonald's because of Mayor McCheese's resemblance to Pufnstuf and won $50,000.

1941 World War II Jews in German-occupied lands are ordered to wear a Star of David for identification.

1938 Boys Town is released, starring Spencer Tracy as Father Flanagan. Source: An Almanac of the Christian Church

1901 Pres. McKinley Shot The U.S. President is shot and mortally wounded by Leon Czolgosz. He died eight days later.

1837 First co-ed college Oberlin Collegiate Institute, Ohio grants women equal status, although it had allowed them to attend since its opening in 1833.

1687 Sir Isaac Newton completes the Principa Mathematica.

1522 First circumnavigation of the globe 31 survivors of the Magellan expedition reach San Lucar, completing the three-year voyage. Magellan was killed during the voyage.

1947 Jane Curtin American Emmy-winning actress, comedienne. TV: Saturday Night Live, Kate & Allie (Allie).

1944 Swoosie Kurtz American actress. TV: Love, Sidney (Sidney's roommate Laurie).

1944 Roger Waters English singer, with Pink Floyd. Music: Dark Side of the Moon (1972, #1), Wish You Were Here (1975, #1), and The Wall (1979, #1).

1937 Jo Anne Worley American comedienne. TV: Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In.

1899 Billy Rose d. 1966 (William Samuel Rosenberg), American songwriter. Music: Me and My Shadow and It's Only a Paper Moon.

1892 Sir Edward Victor Appleton d. 1965 English Nobel-winning physicist, discovered the conductive "Appleton layer" in the ionosphere making long range radar and radio transmission possible.

1877 Charles "Buddy" Bolden d. 1931 American New Orleans cornetist. He is reputed to have invented jazz music. Suffering from schizophrenia, he spent the last 24 years of his life in an insane asylum.

1876 John James Rickard MacLeod d. 1935 Scottish physiologist. He shared a Nobel Prize for the discovery of insulin (1921), although his primary role was only to provide the lab in which the work was done.

1766 John Dalton d. 1844 English chemist, physicist, perfected the atomic theory (1804).

1757 Marquis de Lafayette d. 1834 French general. He became the youngest major general ever in the U.S. army when he joined (1777) during the American Revolution.

1711 Heinrich Melchior Muhlenberg d. 1787 American religious leader, founder of the U.S. Lutheran Church (1748). Source: An Almanac of the Christian Church

2007 Luciano Pavarotti b. 1935 Italian tenor, one of "The Three Tenors." He was caught lip-syncing during a live BBC radio performance (1992).

1984 Ernest Tubb b. 1914 American country music Hall of Famer. Music: I'm Walkin' the Floor Over You (1942) and Goodnight, Irene (1950, #1).

1981 Christy Brown b. 1932 Irish author, artist, cerebral palsy victim. The movie My Left Foot was based on his 1954 autobiography - which he typed using the little toe of his left foot.

1966 Margaret Sanger b. 1883 American birth-control advocate. She coined the term "birth control" (1914) and opened the first birth-control clinic in the U.S. (for which she was promptly arrested).

1959 Edmund Gwenn b. 1875 English Oscar-winning actor. Film: Miracle on 34th Street (1947, Oscar as Kris Kringle) and The Trouble with Harry (1955).

1902 Sir Frederick Abel b. 1827 English chemist. With Sir James Dewar, he invented cordite, a smokeless explosive (1891). Used by the British army in WWI, it enabled the battlefield to remain visible during heavy bombings.

1311 Arnold of Villanova b. circa 1240 Spanish alchemist, the first person to produce pure alcohol.

972 John XIII b. ???? Italian religious leader, 133rd Pope (965-972).

<< 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