- 1419: The French city of Rouen surrendered to Henry V in the
Hundred Years War between England and France, completing Henry's
conquest of Normandy.
- 1807: Robert E. Lee, commander of Confederate forces during the
Civil War, was born.
- 1809: Writer Edgar Allan Poe was born.
- 1825: Ezra Daggett and nephew Thomas Kensett patented food storage
in tin cans.
- 1839: French painter Paul Cezanne was born.
- 1840: Antarctica was discovered by Charles Wilkes expedition.
- 1861: Georgia became the fifth state to secede from the Union.
- 1903: The first regular transatlantic radio broadcast between the
U.S. and England occurred.
- 1910: The National Institute of Arts and Letters was incorporated
by an Act of Congress.
- 1915: A patent was issued to George Claude for a neon tube
advertising sign.
- 1937: Millionaire Howard Hughes set a transcontinental air record
by flying his monoplane from Los Angeles to Newark, N.J., in 7
hours, 28 minutes, 25 seconds.
- 1937: Nap Lajoie, Tris Speaker and Cy Young were elected to the
Baseball Hall Of Fame in the second year of voting.
- 1938: GM began mass production of diesel engines.
- 1943: 1960s singer Janis Joplin was born.
- 1952: The PGA Tournament Committee voted to allow black golfers
to compete in golf tournaments.
- 1955: "Scrabble" made its debut on the board game market.
- 1955: A presidential news conference was filmed for television
for the first time, with the permission of President Dwight D.
Eisenhower.
- 1966: Indira Gandhi, the daughter of Nehru, was elected India's
third prime minister.
- 1972: Sandy Koufax, Yogi Berra, and Early Wynn elected to the
Baseball Hall of Fame; at age 37, Koufax was the youngest player
ever elected.
- 1977: In one of his last acts of office, President Ford pardoned
Iva Toguri D'Aquino, an American who had made wartime broadcasts
for Japan as "Tokyo Rose."
- 1979: Former Attorney General John N. Mitchell was released on
parole after serving 19 months at a federal prison in Alabama.
- 1983: Klaus Barbie, notorious SS chief of Lyon in Nazi-occupied
France, was arrested in Bolivia.
- 1985: "Born In The U.S.A." by Bruce Springsteen peaked at No. 9
on the pop singles chart.
- 1991: Eastern Airlines shut down operation.
- 1993: Israel recognized the PLO as no longer criminal.
- 1996: The NHL approved the move of the Winnipeg Jets to Phoenix.
- 1997: Poet and novelist James Dickey died at age 73. He was best
known for his first novel, "Deliverance," which was made into a
motion picture. He was 73.
- 1998: Rock 'n' roll pioneer Carl Perkins, whose hit song "Blue Suede
Shoes" helped lift Elvis Presley to stardom, died aged 65.
*Happy Birthday*
----------------
- Ottis "O.J." Anderson, 42, NFL running back
- Desi Arnaz Jr., 46, actor, "The Mambo Kings"
- Michael Crawford, 57, actor, "Phantom of the Opera"
- Stefan Edberg, 33, tennis player
- Phil Everly, 60, singer/musician, the Everly Brothers
- Shelley Fabares, 55, actress, "Coach"
- Tippi Hedren, 64, actress, "The Birds"
- Richard Lester, 66, film director, "A Hard Day's Night"
- Robert MacNeil, 68, newscaster/journalist
- Robert Palmer, 50, singer
- Dolly Parton, 53, country singer
- John Raitt, 82, actor/singer
- Dan Reeves, 55, NFL coach
- Jean Stapleton, 76, actress, "All in the Family"