2005 Hurricane Katrina "Now tell me the truth boys, is this kind of fun?" - House Majority Leader Tom Delay (R-TX), to three young hurricane evacuees at the Houston Astrodome.

1993 Suicide Doctor - Death #19 Jack Kevorkian assists in the death of 73-year-old bone cancer patient, Donald O'Keefe.

1982 First private rocket Conestoga I by Space Services Inc. successfully carries its payload into space.

1975 Viking II launched towards Mars.

1971 Attica Prison Riot Prisoners revolt at a New York state prison killing a guard. Forty-two people (including nine hostages) were killed four days later when 1,000 police were sent in to end the riot.

1968 First black male to win a major tennis title Arthur Ashe wins the men's singles division of the first U.S. Open championship.

1967 George of the Jungle cartoon debuts on ABC. "Watch out for that tree!"

1965 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is established.

1956 Elvis Presley makes his first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, singing Don't Be Cruel and Hound Dog. He was filmed from the waist up only.

1943 World War II The Allies land in Italy, starting the first Allied invasion of the European mainland.

1919 1500 Boston policeman go on strike, leading to riots.

1895 The American Bowling Congress is formed. Its purpose was to promote the sport.

1850 California becomes the 31st state.

1789 Bill of Rights House of Representatives recommends the adoption by the states of 12 amendments to the Constitution. Ten were adopted, becoming the Bill of Rights.

1776 The name "United States" is adopted by the Continental Congress.

1502 Columbus sets sail on his fourth voyage to the "New World."

1952 David Allan Stewart British singer with the Eurythmics. Music: Sweet Dreams (1982, #1).

1952 Angela Cartwright English-born actress. TV: Lost in Space (Penny Robinson).

1951 Tom Wopat American actor. TV: Dukes of Hazzard (Luke Duke).

1951 Michael Keaton (Michael Douglas), American actor. Film: Night Shift (1982), Beetlejuice (1988), and Batman (1989, title role).

1949 Joe Theismann American football player.

1946 Billy Preston American singer, songwriter. Music: Will It Go Round in Circles (1973) and Nothing from Nothing (1974).

1941 Otis Redding d. 1967 singer, "The King of Soul." Music: Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay (1968), his only Billboard #1, it was released a month after he died in a plane crash.

1925 Cliff Robertson American Oscar-Emmy-winning actor. Film: Charly (1968, Oscar for his portrayal of a mentally handicapped person).

1919 "Jimmy the Greek" Snyder (Demetrius George Synodinos), American oddsmaker.

1899 Neil Hamilton d. 1984 American actor. TV: Batman (Commissioner Gordon).

1890 Colonel Sanders d. 1980 (Harland David Sanders), American restauranteur, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken (1956).

1814 Royal Earl House d. 1895 American inventor. He patented a printing telegraph (1846), and was the first to use stranded wire for telegraph lines.

1754 William Bligh d. 1817 English naval officer, his crew on the HMS Bounty mutinied (1789), setting him adrift for 4,000 miles.

2003 Edward Teller b. 1908 Hungarian-born American physicist. He was the principal creator of the hydrogen bomb.

1999 Ruth Roman b. 1924 (Norma Roman), American actress.  She played the title role in the 1945 thirteen-episode serial Jungle Queen. TV: Knots Landing (Sylvia Lean).

1997 Burgess Meredith b. 1907 American actor. TV: Batman (the Penguin), The Twilight Zone (1959, Time Enough at Last - The book lover who finds himself blissfully alone with his books after a nuclear war). Film: Rocky (1976, Mickey, Rocky's trainer). He was blacklisted from films by Senator Joseph McCarthy hearings in the 1950s.

1993 Helen O'Connell b. 1920 American big band singer, popularized the songs Green Eyes, Tangerine, and I Remember You. She hosted the Miss Universe pageant for nine years.

1980 John Howard Griffin b. 1920 American author. His best-seller Black Like Me (1961) was based on his travels through the South after chemically darkening his skin to appear as a black man.

1978 Jack Leonard Warner b. 1892 American film executive, co-founder of Warner Bros. Pictures (1923).

1976 Mao Tse-tung b. 1893 Chinese Communist leader, "Founding Father" of the People's Republic of China.

1976 Consuelo Northrop Bailey b. 1899 American lawyer, politician, first woman to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court (1931) and first woman lieutenant governor (1954, Vermont).

1915 Albert Goodwill Spalding b. 1850 American baseball player. As manager of the Chicago club, he won the first National League Pennant (1876). He and his brother founded the sporting goods company bearing their name (1876).

1583 Sir Humphrey Gilbert b. circa 1539 English explorer, navigator. He established the first English colony in North America (1583, St. Johns, Newfoundland).

1513 James IV b. 1473 King of Scotland (1488-1513), outlawed golf (1491), although he later became a golfer himself.

1087 William the Conqueror b. circa 1027 King of England (1066-87).

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