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2014–Fashion designer, Oscar de la Renta, dies of cancer in Kent, Connecticut, at age 82. He became internationally known in the 1960s as one of the couturiers who dressed the First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy.



888–Emperor Zhu Youzhen is born in Tang Dynasty's Bian Prefecture (present-day Kaifeng, Henan). He was the emperor of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period state Later Liang from 913 to 923.

1139–Henry X, Duke of Bavaria, dies suddenly in Quedlinburg, Germany, at age 31.

1187–Pope Urban III dies in Ferrara, Holy Roman Empire, at age 67.

1548–The city of Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Our Lady of Peace) is founded by Alonso de Mendoza by appointment of the king of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V.

1568–The Spanish Duke of Alba defeats a Dutch rebel force under William the Silent.

1572–Cristóbal de Mondragón, with 3,000 soldiers of the Spanish Tercios, relieves the siege of the city of Goes.

1632–Architect, anatomist, astronomer, mathematician, and physicist, Christopher Michael Wren, is born in East Knoyle, Wiltshire, England. He has been credited with the redesign and rebuilding of more than 50 churches in London, England, after the Great Fire of 1666, including his masterpiece, St. Paul's Cathedral. Wren was one of the founders of the Royal Society, and was its President from 1680 to 1682. His scientific work was highly esteemed by Sir Isaac Newton and Blaise Pascal.

1677–Stanislaw Leszczynski (Stanislaus I), King of Poland, is born in Lwów, Poland. He was also Grand Duke of Lithuania, Duke of Lorraine, and a count of the Holy Roman Empire.

1720–Caribbean pirate, Calico Jack, is captured by the Royal Navy.

1740–Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor, dies by consuming a meal of death cap mushrooms at Favorite Palace, Vienna, Austria, at age 55. He was King of Bohemia (as Charles II), King of Hungary and Croatia (as Charles III), and King of Serbia, Archduke of Austria. Maria Theresa takes the throne of Austria. France, Prussia, Bavaria, and Saxony refuse to honor the Pragmatic Sanction and the War of the Austrian Succession begins.

1781–The Patent of Toleration, providing limited freedom of worship, is approved by the Habsburg Monarchy in Austria.

1803–The U.S. Senate ratifies the Louisiana Purchase.

1818–The 49th parallel is established as the border between the United States and Canada.

1819–Persian prophet, Báb, is born Mirza Ali Muhammad in Shiraz, Qajar Iran (Persia). He was the founder of Bábism, and one of three central figures of the Bahá'í Faith.

1822–The first edition of The London Sunday Times is published.

1827–In the Battle of Navarino, a combined Turkish and Egyptian fleet is defeated by British, French, and Russian naval forces in the last significant battle fought with wooden sailing ships.

1854–Poet, Arthur Rimbaud, is born Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud in Charleville, Ardennes, France. He is known for his influence on modern literature and arts, which pre-figured surrealism. During his late adolescence and early adulthood he began the bulk of his literary output, but completely stopped writing at the age of 21, after assembling one of his major works, Illuminations.

1873–The Hippodrome is opened in New York City by showman P.T. Barnum. The impressive palace was the new home of “The Greatest Show on Earth,” the grandest circus in America.

1873–Yale, Princeton, Columbia, and Rutgers universities draft the first code of American football rules.

1874–Pioneer atonal composer, Charles Ives, is born. His early work was neo-Romantic, and throughout his career he used fragments of popular songs and hymn-tunes in his music. He once wrote that the greatest piece of music would involve putting the musicians on hilltops so that the music would ascend to the heavens, heard only by the Cosmos. His piece, The Unanswered Question, poses a philosophical inquiry about the meaning of life.

1877–Millionaire, Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt I, is born in New Yorl, New York. He was the third son of Cornelius Vanderbilt II. His siblings were Alice Gwynne Vanderbilt, William Henry Vanderbilt II, Cornelius "Neily" Vanderbilt III, Gertrude Vanderbilt, Reginald Claypoole Vanderbilt, and Gladys Moore Vanderbilt. Among Alfred Vanderbilt's many holdings were positions in the New York Central Railroad, Beech Creek Railroad, Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, Michigan Central Railroad, and Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad, as well as the Pullman Company.

1878–Old West businessman and organized crime boss, Lawrence Murphy, dies of cancer at age 47. He and his partner, James Dolan, were incitors of the Lincoln County War in New Mexico; perhaps the most famous range war in American history. It was Dolan, with Murphy's consent, who had the Jesse Evans gang kill their business competitor, John Tunstall. In response, Tunstill's partner, Alex McSween, organized the Lincoln County Regulators, which included Billy the Kid and Doc Scurlock. McSween had them deputized with the purpose of apprehending or killing those responsible for the murder.

1882–Actor, Bela Lugosi, is born Béla Ferenc Dezso Blasko in Lugos, Kingdom of Hungary, Austria-Hungary (present-day Lugoj, Romania). He is best known for the iconic role of Count Dracula in the 1931 film Dracula. He also appeared in the films Murders in the Rue Morgue, Island of Lost Souls, Night of Terror, The Black Cat, The Raven, The Invisible Ray, Son of Frankenstein, Ninotchka, The Wolf Man, The Ape Man, The Body Snatcher, Glen or Glenda, Bride of the Monster, and Plan 9 from Outer Space.

1883–Peru and Chile sign the Treaty of Ancón, by which the Tarapacá province is ceded to the latter, bringing an end to Peru's involvement in the War of the Pacific.

1885–Musician, Jelly Roll Morton, is born Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was a pianist, composer, and bandleader of Red Hot Peppers and New Orleans Rhythm Kings. He specialized in ragtime and early jazz. In 1915, his composition Jelly Roll Blues became the first published jazz composition.

1887–Prince Yasuhiko Asaka of Japan is born in Kyoto, Japan. He was the founder of a collateral branch of the Japanese imperial family and a career officer in the Imperial Japanese Army.

1904–Chile and Bolivia sign the Treaty of Peace and Friendship, delimiting the border between the two countries.

1906–Lee De Forrest, the father of radio, is given a patent for the vacuum tube.

1907–Television personality, Arlene Francis, is born Arlene Francis Kazanjian in Boston, Massachusetts. She was a regular on the panel of the TV game show What’s My Line? She appeared in the films Murders in the Rue Moegue, Stage Door Canteen, All My Sons, With These Hands, and The Thrill of It All. She was married to producer, Martin Gabel.

1910–The hull of the RMS Olympic, sister-ship to the ill-fated RMS Titanic, is launched from the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

1913–Entertainer, Grandpa Jones, is born Louis Marshall Jones in Niagara, Kentucky. He was a banjo player and "old time" country and gospel music singer. In March 1946, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and started performing on the Grand Ole Opry. In 1969, Jones became a cast member on the long-running TV show Hee Haw.

1927–Psychologist, Dr. Joyce Brothers, is born Joyce Diane Bauer in Brooklyn, New York. She wrote a column for Good Housekeeping for almost 40 years, and became, according to The Washington Post, the "face of American psychology."

1928–Mary Ingalls, older sister of author, Laura Ingalls Wilder, dies of pneumonia in Keystone, South Dakota, at age 63. Her sister would write the popular “Little House” books. In the 1970s, the books were turned into a long-running TV series, Little House on the Prairie, with Melissa Sue Anderson and Melissa Gilbert playing the roles of Mary and Laura.

1931–Baseball player and sportscaster, Mickey (Charles) Mantle, is born in Spavinaw, Oklahoma. Mantle played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the New York Yankees as a center fielder and first baseman, from 1951 through 1968. He was one of the best players and sluggers, and is regarded by many as the greatest switch hitter in baseball history. Mantle was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.

1932–Actor, William Christopher, is born in Evanston, Illinois. He is best known for the role of Father Mulcahy on the TV series M*A*S*H. He also appeared in the TV shows The Andy Griffith Show, Hogan’s Heroes, Gomer Pyle: USMC, That Girl, Columbo, The Love Boat, and Days of Our Lives.

1932–Michael McClure, leading member of the Beat Generation, is born in Marysville, Kansas. After moving to San Francisco, California, as a young man, he found fame as one of the five poets (including Allen Ginsberg) who read at the famous San Francisco Six Gallery reading in 1955, rendered in fictionalized terms in Jack Kerouac's The Dharma Bums. He is immortalized as "Pat McLear" in Kerouac's Big Sur. McClure has published eight books of plays and four collections of essays, including essays on Bob Dylan and the environment. His 14 books of poetry include Jaguar Skies, Dark Brown, Huge Dreams, Rebel Lions, Rain Mirror, and Plum Stones. On January 14, 1967, McClure read at the Human Be-In event in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, and transcended his Beat label to become an important member of the 1960s Hippie counterculture. He was a close friend of The Doors lead singer, Jim Morrison, and is acknowledged as having been responsible for promoting Morrison as a poet.

1935–The Long March ends. It was a mammoth retreat undertaken by the armed forces of the Chinese Communist Party a year earlier..

1935–Actor, Jerry Orbach, is born Jerome Bernard Orbach in the Bronx, New York. He is best known for his role on the TV drama series Law & Order. He appeared in the films Ensign Pulver, Prince of the City, Brewster’s Millions, Dirty Dancing, Someone to Watch Over Me, Crimes and Misdemeanors, Out for Justice, and Mr. Saturday Night.

1936–African-American political activist, Bobby Seale, is born Robert George Seale in Dallas, Texas. He was co-founder of the Black Panthers.

1936–Special educator, Anne Sullivan, dies while in a coma in Forest Hills, New York, at age 70. She is best known for being the instructor and lifelong companion of Helen Keller.

1937–Country singer, Wanda (Lavonne) Jackson, is born in Maud, Oklahoma. She success in the mid-1950s and 1960s as one of the first popular female rockabilly singers and a pioneering rock-and-roll artist. Her biggest hit was Right or Wrong. She is known to many as the "Queen of Rockabilly" or the "First Lady of Rockabilly." In 1955, Jackson briefly dated Elvis Presley while on tour with him. She was married former IBM programmer, Wendell Goodman.

1938–Photographer, Iain (Stewart) Macmillan, is born in Dundee, Scotland. He took the famous photos of The Beatles crossing Abbey Road, for the cover of their final studio album Abbey Road.

1939–Pope Pius XII publishes his first major encyclical, entitled Summi Pontificatus.

1941–During World War II, thousands of civilians in Kragujevac, in German-occupied Serbia, are murdered in the Kragujevac massacre.

1943–Actress, Noreen Corcoran, is born in Quincy, Massachusetts. She is best known for her co-starring role of Kelly Gregg in the TV sitcom Bachelor Father. She appeared in the films Plymouth Adventure, Hans Christian Andersen, I Love Melvin, Young Bess, Gidget Goes to Rome, and The Girls on the Beach.

1944–The Soviet Army and Yugoslav Partisans liberate Belgrade, the capital of Yugoslavia.

1944–Liquefied natural gas leaks from storage tanks in Cleveland, Ohio, and explodes, killing 130 people within 30 blocks of the disaster.

1944–General Douglas MacArthur fulfills his promise to return to the Philippines, when he commands an Allied assault on the islands, reclaiming them from the Japanese during World War II.

1946–The government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam names this day Vietnam Women's Day.

1947–The House Un-American Activities Committee begins its investigation into Communist infiltration of Hollywood, resulting in a blacklist that prevents some from working in the industry for years.

1947–The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan establish diplomatic relations for the first time.

1950–Musician, Tom Petty, is born Thomas Earl Petty in Gainesville, Florida. He was best known as the lead singer of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, but was also a member and co-founder of the late 1980s supergroup, The Traveling Wilburys. The Heartbreakers hits include American Girl, Don't Do Me Like That, Refugee, I Won't Back Down, and Free Fallin'.

1951–The “Johnny Bright” incident occurs in Stillwater, Oklahoma. It was a violent on-field assault against African American player, Johnny Bright, by a white opposing player during an American college football game. Bright's injury highlighted the racial tensions of the times and assumed notoriety when it was captured in what was later to become both a widely disseminated and eventually Pulitzer Prize-winning photo sequence.

1952–Governor Evelyn Baring declares a state of emergency in Kenya and begins arresting hundreds of suspected leaders of the Mau Mau Uprising, including Jomo Kenyatta, the future first President of Kenya.

1953–Actor, Bill Nunn, is born William Goldwyn Nunn III in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He appeared in the films School Daze, Do the Right Thing, Cadillac Man, Mo’ Better Blues, White Lie, New Jack City, Regarding Henry, Sister Act, True Crime, Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead, Extreme Measures, and Spider-Man.

1961–The Soviet Union performs the first armed test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile, launching an R-13 from a Golf-class submarine.

1962–The People's Republic of China launches simultaneous offensives in Ladakh and across the McMahon Line, igniting the Sino-Indian War.

1964–The Rolling Stones perform in Paris, France, for the first time. The concert ends in a riot, in which 150 people are arrested.

1964–Herbert Hoover, the 31st President of the United States, dies following massive internal bleeding in New York, New York, at age 90. In 1962, Hoover had a malignant intestinal tumor removed. At the time of his death he was the second longest-lived president after John Adams.

1967–An all-white Federal Jury convicts seven whites of conspiracy to murder three civil rights workers in Mississippi in 1964.

1967–Lulu sings the #1 song in America, To Sir with Love, on The Ed Sullivan Show.

1968–Former First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy, marries oil multi-millionaire, Aristotle Onassis.

1969–After issuing an official statement denying he is dead, Paul McCartney goes to Scotland to enjoy a vacation on him farm.

1970–Siad Barre declares Somalia a socialist state.

1970–Conservative blogger, political commentator, and author, Michelle Malkin, is born Michelle Maglalang in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She has worked as a columnist at The Los Angeles Daily News, and was a journalism fellow at the libertarian think tank, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, before becoming a nationally syndicated columnist with Creators Syndicate in 1999. Malkin has also been a regular commentator on Fox News. She launched a political commentary blog in 2004, and has been described as one of the five "best-read national conservative bloggers." MichelleMalkin.com is consistently listed in Technorati's Top 100 Blogs of All Types, and in 2011, PeakYou announced that Malkin's blog had the largest digital footprint of any political blogger.

1971–Rapper, Snoop Dogg, is born Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. in Long Beach, California. His music career began in 1992 when he was discovered by Dr. Dre. He has since sold over 23 million albums in the United States and 35 million albums worldwide.

1973–President Richard Nixon fires U.S. Attorney General, Elliot Richardson, and Deputy Attorney General, William Ruckelshaus, after they refuse to fire Watergate special prosecutor, Archibald Cox, who is eventually fired by Robert Bork.

1973–The Sydney Opera House is opened by Queen Elizabeth II after 14 years of construction work.

1974–The Walls & Bridges album by John Lennon is certified Gold.

1976–The ferry, George Prince, is struck by a ship while crossing the Mississippi River between Destrehan and Luling, Louisiana. Seventy-eight passengers and crew die, and only 18 people aboard the ferry survive.

1976–Drummer, Keith Moon, plays his last show with The Who at the Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Canada.

1977–Rock band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, suffer a devastating plane crash.

1981–Two police officers and an armored car guard are killed during an armed robbery in Rockland County, New York, carried out by members of the Black Liberation Army and Weather Underground.

1982–Sixty-six people are crushed to death during the UEFA Cup match between FC Spartak Moscow and HFC Haarlem at the Grand Sports Arena of the Central Lenin Stadium in Moscow, Russia.

1982–Sculptor, Korczak Ziolkowski, dies of acute pancreatitis in Black Hills, South Dakota, at age 74. He designed the Crazy Horse Memorial and died on site, still working on the project. He was buried in a tomb at the base of the mountain. After his death, his widow, Ruth Ziolkowski, took over the project as director of the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation. In 1939, Ziolkowski had assisted Gutzon Borglum in the carving of the Mt. Rushmore Memorial, also in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

1983–Country singer, Merle Travis, dies of a heart attack in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, at age 65. His hits include Divorce Me C.O.D., So Round, Fo Firm, So Fully Packed, and Wildwood Flower. His design for a solid body electric guitar with a single row of tuners, built for him by Paul Bigsby, is thought to have inspired longtime Travis pal Leo Fender's design of the famous Broadcaster in 1950. The Travis-Bigsby guitar resides in the Music Hall of Fame Museum.

1990–Actor, Joel McCrea, dies of pneumonia in Woodland Hills, California, at age 84. He appeared in the films These Three, Foreign Correspondent, Sullivan's Travels, Ramrod, Wichita, The Oklahoman, The Tall Stranger, and Ride the High Country.

1991–The Oakland Hills firestorm in northern California, kills 25 people and destroys 3,469 homes and apartments, causing more than $2 billion in damage.

1991–A 6.8 earthquake strikes the Uttarkashi region of India, killing more than 1,000 people.

1994–Actor, Burt Lancaster, dies of a heart attack at his apartment in Century City, California, at age 80. He is regarded as one of the best motion picture actors in history. He appeared in the films Sorry, Wrong Number, Jim Thorpe: All American, Come Back, Little Sheba, From Here to Eternity, The Rose Tattoo, Trapeze, The Rainmaker, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Sweet Smell of Success, Elmer Gantry, Birdman of Alcatraz, Seven Days in May, The Swimmer, Atlantic City, Local Hearo, Rocket Gibraltar, and Field of Dreams.

1996–The Beatles publicist, Geoff Baker, announces that “The Beatles are now bigger than The Beatles.” His statement is based upon the fact that the year 1996 is expected to be the biggest year for album sales ever for The Beatles. Thus far in 1996, The Beatles have sold 6,000,000 albums from their back catalog and a combined total of 13,000,000 copies of The Beatles Anthology 1 and The Beatles Anthology 2. With the release of The Beatles Anthology 3 only a week away, it is anticipated that total Beatles album sales for 1996 will exceed 20 million. Somewhat surprisingly, studies show that 41% of those sales are to teenagers who were not even born when The Beatles officially called it quits in 1970.

1999–Country singer, Johnny Cash, is listed in serious condition at Baptist Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee. A year after nearly dying from pneumonia, he finds himself battling the condition again.

2003–Character actor, Jack Elam, dies of congestive heart failure in Ashland, Oregon, at age 82. He appeared in the films The Sundowners, Rawhide, Rancho Notorious, High Noon, Kansas City Confidential, Cattle Queen of Montana, The Man from Laramie, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Once Upon a Time in the West, and Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid.

2006–Actress, Jane Wyatt, dies of natural causes in Bel-Air, California, at age 96. She is best known for the role of Margaret Anderson on the TV series Father Knows Best. She appeared in the films Great Expectations, Lost Horizon, Gentleman’s Agreement, The Man Who Cheated Himself, Never Too Late, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, and Amityville 4.

2010–Publisher, Bob Guccione, dies of cancer in Plano, Texas, at age 79. He founded Penthouse magazine. His publication was aimed at competing with Hugh Hefner's, Playboy, but with more extreme erotic content, a special style of soft-focus photography, and in-depth reporting of government corruption scandals.

2010–Farooq Leghari, eighth President of Pakistan, dies from heart disease in Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan, at age 70.

2011–In the Libyan Civil War, National Transitional Council rebel forces capture ousted Libyan dictator, Muammar Gaddafi, in his hometown of Sirte, killing him shortly thereafter.

2012–Activist, John McConnell, dies at age 96. He founded Earth Day, which is celebrated annually on the spring equinox. The Earth Day Flag, which McConnell created, is a symbol of Earth Day and is still part of the Earth Day Ceremony each year on the spring equinox at the United Nations. McConnell originated and promoted major ideas to relieve human suffering and promote the common good. His interests included proposals for solving many of the critical problems that face humanity today.

2014–Actor, L.M. Kit Carson, dies in his sleep of pneumonia in Dallas, Texas, at age 73. He first came to prominance by starring in Jim McBride's mockumentary David Holzman's Diary in 1967; the two would team up again in 1983, sharing screenplay credits for the remake of Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless. He also wrote the screenplay for Paris, Texas.

2014–Fashion designer, Oscar de la Renta, dies of cancer in Kent, Connecticut, at age 82. He became internationally known in the 1960s as one of the couturiers who dressed the First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy.

2015–Singer, Cory Wells, dies unexpectedly in his sleep in Dunkirk, New York, at age 74. He was one of the three original lead singers in the rock group Three Dog Night. He was known for his strong, soulful vocals and energetic performance style. The group was one of the most successful of the late 1960s and early 1970s: they earned 12 gold albums and recorded 21 consecutive Billboard “Top 40” hits, seven going Gold. Their hits include One, Easy To Be Hard, and Mama Told Me Not To Come. Unlike many other rock musicians of the day, Wells was able to abstain from serious drug and alcohol problems, and he chose not to squander his earnings on the lavish life style of a successful rock star, choosing to live a somewhat more moderate existence. Wells had been performing with the band up until September, when he developed severe back pain.

2016–Philippines President, Rodrigo Duterte, says he plans to cut ties with his country's former colonial ruler, the United States, while strengthening ties with China.

2016–The journal, Scientific Reports, publishes research from a team, led by Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum's Stephen Poropat, reporting the discovery of a new Australian dinosaur species, Savannasaurus elliottorum, using fossils first found at Winton, Queensland, Australia, in 2005.

2016–The Democratic National Committee apologizes, after one of its campaign buses dumped raw sewage in a storm drain along a road outside Atlanta, Georgia. The bus, which bears the slogan "Forward Together" and features the likenesses of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and running mate Tim Kaine, was in town for an early voting event. Gwinnett County fire hazmat crews cleaned up the spill, which included a large amount of drying toilet paper on the roadway.

2017–A 12 by 9 inch sketch of the Empire State Building by President Donald Trump sells at auction for $16,000.

2017–The fast-food chain, Kentucky Fried Chicken, only follows all five former Spice Girls and six guys named Herb on Twitter. It's famous fried chicken recipe also contains 11 herbs and spices.

2017–The Syrian Democratic Forces announce the "total liberation" of Raqqa, Syria, previously the de facto capital of ISIL.

2017–Police in the Republic of Malawi arrest 140 people after nine people are lynched for suspected vampirism.


PHOTOS TOP TO BOTTOM: Christopher Michael Wren; the Hippodrome in New York City; Bela Lugosi; Dr. Joyce Brothers; Michael McClure; Wanda Jackson; Tom Petty; Lulu on The Ed Sullivan Show; Korczak Ziolkowski; Burt Lancaster; Jane Wyatt; Cory Wells; and a sketch of the Empire State Building by Donald Trump.

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