1974 U.S. ban on private possession of gold lifted The 41-year-old ban had allowed only industrial and numismatic purchases.

1970 Smoking The last day for cigarette commercials on U.S. TV.

1961 The Beach Boys The surfer group plays their first gig under that name at the Ritchie Valens Memorial Concert in Long Beach, California.

1909 Manhattan bridge opens.

1890 Ellis Island opens.

1793 Thomas Jefferson resigns as secretary of state.

1972 Joe McIntyre American pop musician, member of New Kids on the Block.

1959 Val Kilmer American actor. Film: Real Genius (1985), Willow (1988), The Doors (1991, Jim Morrison), and Tombstone.

1948 Donna Summer (LaDonna Gaines), American Grammy-winning singer. Music: Last Dance (1978) and She Works Hard for the Money (1983).

1947 Tim Matheson American child actor. TV: Johnny Quest (voice of Johnny).

1943 John Denver d. 1997 (Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr.), American Grammy-winning singer. Music: Rocky Mountain High (1972), Thank God I'm A Country Boy (1975, #1), and wrote Leaving On A Jet Plane (1969). He died when the small aircraft he was piloting crashed off the coast of California.

1943 Ben Kinglsey English Oscar-winning actor. Film: Gandhi (1982, Oscar, title role)

1942 Andy Summers (Andrew Somers), British guitarist, with Police. Music: Roxanne (1978), Message In A Bottle (1979, #1), and Every Breath You Take (1983, #1).

1940 Crystal Lee Sutton d. 2009 American union organizer. Due to poor working conditions, she helped unionize the workers at the J.P. Stevens textile plant in North Carolina. The film Norma Rae (1979, starring Sally Field) was based on her efforts.

1937 Anthony Hopkins British Oscar-Emmy-winning actor. Film: Silence of the Lambs (Oscar, he never met a man he didn't like - to eat) and Bram Stoker's Dracula (1993, Prof. Von Helsing).

1922 Rex Allen d. 1999 American singing cowboy, "The Arizona Cowboy," actor, and narrator of numerous Walt Disney nature films.

1912 John Frost d. 1993 British World War II hero, he was portrayed by Sir Anthony Hopkins in the 1977 movie A Bridge to Far.

1906 Leroy Edgar Burney d. 1998 U.S. Surgeon General (1956-61). He was the first U.S. federal official to acknowledge the connection between smoking and cancer (1957). He himself was a smoker.

1905 Jule Styne d. 1994 American Tony-Oscar-winning composer. Broadway: Gypsy (1959) and Funny Girl (1964). Film: Three Coins in a Fountain (1954, Oscar).

1869 Henri Matisse d. 1954 French painter. He founded the fauve movement (1905) and was one of the most influential of the modern French artists.

1996 Wesley Addy b. 1913 American actor. TV: Loving (Cabot Alden).

1985 Rick Nelson b. 1940 (Eric Hilliard Nelson), American actor, singer, teen-idol. TV: The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (playing himself). Music: Poor Little Fool (1958, #1) and Hello Mary Lou (1961, #1).

1979 Virgil Brown b. 1877 American bottler, developed the six-pack beverage carton. He also was a pioneer in vending machines and parking meters.

1948 Malcolm Campbell b. 1885 British auto racer. He was the first to travel five miles in a minute in an automobile.

1891 Samuel Adjai Crowther b. circa 1809 African missionary. He was a bishop the Anglican Church (1864), the first black African to receive the honor.

1864 George Mifflin Dallas b. 1792 11th U.S. Vice-President (1845-49).

1808 John Nixon b. 1733 American patriot. He gave the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence (July 8, 1776).

1802 Francis Lewis b. 1713 American patriot, signer of the Declaration of Independence.

1384 John Wiclif b. circa 1330 English religious reformer. He directed the first English translation of the Bible. Source: An Almanac of the Christian Church

335 Saint Sylvester I b. ???? Italian religious leader, 33rd Pope (314-335), performed (324 A.D.) the first public consecration of a Catholic church, the Basilica of the Most Holy Savior (now known as St. John the Lateran).

<< 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