1971 D.B. Cooper The bandit hijacks a 727 jet and asks for $200,000 ransom. The next day he parachuted out of the plane with the money and was never heard from again.

1963 Kennedy Assassination Pres. Kennedy's assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, is shot and mortally wounded by Jack Ruby.

1953 McCarthyism Sen. Joseph McCarthy, on a radio and TV broadcast, claims the former Truman administration was crawling with communists.

1874 Joseph Glidden patents his barbed wire.

1865 The Black Codes are established in Mississippi, composed of discriminatory laws against the newly freed blacks.

1859 Darwin's On the Origins of Species by Means of Natural Selection is published.

1831 The principle of electromagnetic induction is demonstrated by English scientist Michael Faraday to a group of scientists.

1642 Tasmania The island is discovered, by Dutch navigator Abel Janszoon Tasman.

1954 Clem Burke (Clement Anthony Bozewski), American drummer with Blondie. Music: Heart of Glass (1979, #1), Call Me (1980, #1), and Rapture (1981, #1).

1950 Stanley Livingston American actor. TV: My Three Sons (Chip Douglas).

1946 Ted Bundy d. 1989 American serial killer. Convicted of two Florida sorority house murders, he was executed in the state prison's electric chair.

1925 William F. Buckley Jr American journalist. Quote: Idealism is fine, but as it approaches reality the cost becomes prohibitive. Source: Fifth 637 Best Things Anybody Ever Said

1912 Garson Kanin American director, playwright. Broadway: Born Yesterday (1946).

1910 Pegeen Fitzgerald d. 1989 American radio personality. She and her husband Ed hosted their radio program for 42 years.

1888 Dale Carnegie d. 1955 American author. Writings: How to Win Friends and Influence People (1936).

1877 Alben William Barkley d. 1956 35th U.S. Vice-President (1949-53).

1868 Scott Joplin d. 1917 American musician, composer, rag time piano player. Music: Maple Leaf Rag and The Entertainer.

1856 Harry Thurston Peck d. 1914 American educator, magazine editor, coined the word "Bestseller" (1895).

1849 Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett d. 1924 English-born American novelist. Writings: Little Lord Fauntleroy (1886) and The Secret Garden (1911).

1818 William Woods Holden d. 1892 American politician, governor of North Carolina (1865, 1868-71), first U.S. governor to be removed from office by impeachment (1871).  Although before the Civil War he favored expanding slavery, after the war his attempts to control the Ku Klux Klan using military force lead to his impeachment.

1784 Zachary Taylor d. 1850 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.

2005 Pat Morita b. 1932 (Noriyuki Morita), American actor. He was billed as the Hip Nip for his stand-up performances. Film: Karate Kid (1984, Sensei Kesuke Miyagi), for which hew was the first Asian-American nominated for an acting Oscar). TV: Happy Days (Arnold).

2004 Arthur Hailey b. 1920 British-born author, Hotel (1965) and Airport (1968).

1980 George Raft b. 1895 American actor. Film: Scarface (1932, Guido Rinaldo). He was reputed to be the world's fastest Charleston dancer.

1890 August Belmont b. 1816 Sr., Chairman Democratic National Committee (1860-72).  The Belmont Stakes thoroughbred horse race is named in his honor.

1742 Andrew Bradford b. 1686 English-born American publisher. He published the first magazine in America (1741, American Magazine).

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