- 1821: The Dominican Republic declared independence from Spain.
  - 1835: Hans Christian Andersen published his first book of fairy
    tales.
  - 1843: The first chartered mutual life insurance company opened for
    business.
  - 1878: The first telephone was installed in the White House.
  - 1887: Arthur Conan Doyle's sleuth Sherlock Holmes made his first
    appearance in print in "A Study In Scarlet."
  - 1891: In an effort to create an indoor sport for winter physical
    education, James Naismith nailed two peach buckets up on opposite
    ends of a gym and instructed his students to toss soccer balls into
    them, thus creating the game of basketball.
  - 1903: "The Great Train Robbery," the first Western film, was
    released.
  - 1913: The continuous moving assembly line was introduced by Ford.
  - 1913: The first drive-in automobile service station opened in
    Pittsburgh.
  - 1917: Boys Town was founded by Father Edward Flanagan west of
    Omaha, Neb.
  - 1918: The Danish parliament passed an act to grant Iceland
    independence as a sovereign state.
  - 1919: Lady Nancy Astor became the first woman member to take her
    seat in the British House of Commons.
  - 1929: The game of Bingo was invented by Edwin S. Lowe.
  - 1930: NHL dropped its 20 minute slashing-about-the-head penalty.
  - 1941: Japanese emperor Hirohito signed a declaration of war.
  - 1955: Rosa Parks, a black woman from Montgomery, Ala., was arrested
    when she refused to give up her seat in the front section of a bus
    so that a white man might be seated.
  - 1957: Sam Cooke and Buddy Holly and the Crickets made their debuts
    on the Ed Sullivan Show.
  - 1959: The first color photograph of Earth was received from outer
    space.
  - 1969: The U.S. government held its first draft lottery since World
    War II.
  - 1976: The Sex Pistols first attracted nationwide notoriety with
    their appearance on early evening television during which they used
    profanity. The press branded the band "rotten punks," making them
    the symbol for "punk rock."
  - 1976: Angola was admitted to the United Nations.
  - 1982: Michael Jackson's album "Thriller" was released and went on
    to become the best-selling album in history, with over 40 million
    copies sold worldwide.
  - 1988: Benazir Bhutto became the first woman elected to govern a
    Muslim nation when acting President Ghulam Ishaq Khan nominated her
    to be prime minister of Pakistan.
  - 1989: Mikhail Gorbachev became the first Soviet leader to visit the
    Vatican and meet the Pope. This meeting ended 72 years of Kremlin
    atheist ideology.
  - 1992: Amy Fisher was sentenced to five to 15 years in prison for
    shooting and seriously wounding Mary Jo Buttafuoco.
  - 1995: Former Barings Bank trader Nick Leeson pleaded guilty in court
    to two counts of cheating linked to colossal losses that broke the
    bank.
  - 1997: Stephane Grappelli, French jazz violinist, died aged 89.

  *Happy Birthday*
  ----------------
  - Woody Allen, 62, film producer/director/actor
  - Carol Alt, 38, model/actress, "Private Parts"
  - Bob Goen, 44, "Entertainment Tonight" co-host
  - Bette Midler, 53, actress
  - Richard Pryor, 58, actor/comedian
  - Charlene Tilton, 40, actress, "Dallas"
  - Lee Trevino, 58, golfer, two-time winner of 3 majors
  - Treat Williams, 47, actor, "The Devil's Own"