Leif Erikson Day celebrating Leif Erikson's discovery of Vinland around the year 1000 (by Presidential Proclamation since 1964).

1992 First birth-control shot for women is announced by scientists in India. It is effective for a full year.

1992 A 30-pound meteorite strikes a parked car in New York. It penetrated the car leaving a small crater underneath.

1946 UFOs George Adamski witnesses a large cigar-shaped mother ship.  This was the first in a series of his famous sightings, including the one that made him one of the first abductees.

1930 First transcontinental flight by a woman Laura Ingalls, flying a biplane, arrives in Glendale, California. She had departed from Roosevelt Field, New York four days earlier.

1904 The American Tobacco Co is established.

1890 First manned, powered, heavier-than-air flight French inventor Clément Ader, during secret military tests, flies his batwing monoplane 160 feet (50 meters), crashing on landing. However, his craft was not well controlled, leaving controlled flights to later aviators. Source: Myth Information: More Than 590 Popular Misconceptions, Fallacies, and Misbeliefs Explained!

1888 Washington Monument The first national monument to honor George Washington is opened to the public.

1865 First U.S. underground oil pipeline A five-mile stretch of line is completed by Samuel Van Syckel in Pennsylvania.

1776 Mission Delores The mission is founded. It is the oldest building in San Francisco.

1948 Jackson Browne American singer. Music: Doctor My Eyes (1972), Running On Empty (1978), and Lawyers In Love (1983).

1944 John Entwistle British musician, with The Who. Music: My Generation (1965) and Pinball Wizard (1969).

1940 John Lennon d. 1980 British musician, member of the Beatles. He was shot and killed by Mark Chapman, for whom he had signed an autograph for earlier that day.

1938 Russell Myers American cartoonist, creator of Broom-Hilda (1970).

1925 Johnny Stompanato, Jr d. 1958 American murder victim. While fighting with his movie star girlfriend, Lana Turner, Turner's 14-year-old daughter rushed in and fatally stabbed him with a carving knife.

1916 Harold Robert Perry American clergyman, first black American-born Catholic bishop (1966, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New Orleans).

1908 Jacques Tati French actor, director. Film: Monsieur Hulot's Holiday and Mon Oncle.

1889 Rube Marquard d. 1980 (Richard William Marquard), American baseball Hall of Fame pitcher. He pitched 19 consecutive wins for the New York Giants in 1912 - a modern day major-league record.

1863 Edward William Bok d. 1930 American Pulitzer-winning author. Books: The Americanization of Edward Bok (1920, Pulitzer). Editor: The Ladies' Home Journal (1889-1919).

1859 Alfred Dreyfus d. 1935 French army officer of Jewish descent. In 1894, he was of convicted of treason by an anti-Semitic military court. A national scandal erupted in 1897 when evidence surfaced indicating his innocence. He was again convicted, but was pardoned by the French president.

1757 Charles X d. 1836 King of France (1824-30), his unpopular rule led to a revolution in which he lost the throne.

1991 Joseph "Mr. Google Eyes" August b. 1931 pioneer rhythm and blues musician.

1972 Percy Pearl Washington b. ???? American heavyweight, the world's heaviest woman (880 pounds). Source: Guinness Book of World Records

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

1958 Pius XII b. 1876 (Eugenio Maria Giovanni Pacelli), Italian religious leader, 260th Pope (1939-58), was elected pope on his 63rd birthday. In 1952 he declared TV a threat to family life, and proclaimed (1950) the dogma of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.

1911 Jack Daniel b. 1846 (Jasper Newton Daniel), American whiskey maker. He died of blood poisoning from a wound incurred while kicking a safe because he had forgotten the combination. (Biography: Blood and Whiskey: The Life and Times of Jack Daniel).

1906 Joseph Farwell Glidden b. 1813 American farmer. He invented the first practical barbed wire.

1047 Clement II b. ???? religious leader, 149th Pope (1046-47).

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