- 1519: Maximilian I, German king and Holy Roman Emperor,
died. He was responsible for making the Habsburg family dominant
in 16th century Europe.
- 1580: Jean Baptiste van Helmont, Belgian chemist, born. He
invented the word gas and was the first chemist to take the
melting point of ice and the boiling point of water as standards
for temperature.
- 1729: Edmund Burke, British politician, political thinker
and author of "Reflections on the Revolution in France," was born.
- 1737: John Hancock, American Revolutionary leader and first
signer of the Declaration of Independence, was born.
- 1773: The first public museum in America was organized in
Charleston, S.C.
- 1816: France decreed that the Bonaparte family should be
excluded from the country forever.
- 1879: The Zulu War began between the British of the Cape
Colony and the natives of Zululand.
- 1893: Nazi leader Hermann Goering born; a World War I fighter ace,
Goering was Hitler's chief lieutenant until the Battle of Britain.
He committed suicide after being sentenced to death at Nuremberg in
October 1946.
- 1932: Hattie W. Caraway, a Democrat from Arkansas, became the first
woman to be elected to the U.S. Senate.
- 1950: The Soviet Union re-introduced the death penalty for treason,
espionage and sabotage.
- 1950: A Swedish tanker struck the British submarine Truculent during
the submarine's trials in the River Thames. Only 15 of 70 men on the
submarine survived.
- 1954: Queen Elizabeth opened a special session of the New Zealand
parliament - the first time the Queen opened a Commonwealth
parliament outside the United Kingdom.
- 1960: Nevil Shute, British novelist and author of "On the Beach" and
"A Town Like Alice," died.
- 1964: One month after Zanzibar became independent, the ruling
Zanzibar National Party government was overthrown in a coup.
- 1970: A Boeing 747 Jumbo jet arrived at London's Heathrow airport
after its first proving flight from New York.
- 1974: Libya and Tunisia announced they were to merge under the
combined name of the "Islamic Arab Republic."
- 1976: Dame Agatha Christie, queen of the detective story and creator
of detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, died.
- 1977: Anti-French demonstrations took place in Israel after Paris
released Abu Daoud, responsible for leading the 1972 Munich massacre
of Israeli athletes.
- 1990: Romania outlawed the Communist Party, the first Eastern
European state and Warsaw Pact member to do so.
- 1991: Both houses of Congress voted to authorize President Bush to
use force to compel Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait.
- 1992: The second round of Algeria's general elections was canceled
after strong gains by the Islamic Salvation Front in the first
round.
- 1996: Russian troops arrived in Bosnia at the start of the first
joint operation with U.S. forces in a potential combat zone since
World War II.
*Happy Birthday*
----------------
- Kirstie Alley, 44, actress
- The Amazing Kreskin, 64, illusionist
- P. W. Botha, 83, former pro-apartheid South African president
- Tom Dempsey, 52, NFL record-holder (tied for longest field goal at
63 yards)
- Joe Frazier, 55, boxer
- Rush Limbaugh, 48, commentator
- Bill Madlock, 48, MLB four-time NL batting champ
- Drew Pearson, 48, former NFL all-pro receiver
- Howard Stern, 45, radio shock jock
- Ricky Van Shelton, 47, country musician
- Vendela, 32, model, actress
- Wayne Wang, 50, movie director/producer