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1985–Orchestra leader and jazz arranger, Nelson Riddle, dies of of cirrhosis of the liver in Los Angeles, California, at age 64. His work for Capitol Records helped to make vocalists Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, Judy Garland, Dean Martin, Peggy Lee, Johnny Mathis, Rosemary Clooney and Keely Smith household names. He found commercial and critical success again in the 1980s, with a trio of platinum albums with Linda Ronstadt.



BC 105–In the Battle of Arausio, the Cimbri inflict the heaviest defeat on the Roman army of Gnaeus Mallius Maximus.

BC 69–Forces of the Roman Republic, led by Lucullus, defeat the army of the Kingdom of Armenia, led by King Tigranes the Great.

23–Rebels kill and decapitate Xin Dynasty Emperor, Wang Mang, two days after the capital Chang'an is sacked during a peasant rebellion.

404–Byzantine Empress Eudoxia has her seventh and last pregnancy, which ends in a miscarriage. She is left bleeding and dies of an infection shortly thereafter.

618–Wang Shichong defeats Li Mi at the Battle of Yanshi, during the transition from Sui to Tang civil war.

869–Ermentrude of Orléans dies in Paris, France, at age 46. She separated from her husband, Charles the Bald, after he executed her rebellious brother, William, in 866, and retreated to life in a nunnery.

877–Charles the Bald, King of West Francia (843-877), King of Italy (875-877), and Holy Roman Emperor (875-877), dies while crossing the pass of Mont Cenis at Brides-les-Bains, at age 54.

1014–Samuel of Bulgaria dies of a heart attack in Prespa, First Bulgarian Empire.

1289–Wenceslaus III of Bohemia is born in Prague, Czech Republic. He was King of Hungary between 1301 and 1305, and King of Bohemia and Poland from 1305 to 1306.

1349–Joan II of Navarre dies in Navarre, Northern Spain, at age 37. She was the only child of Louis X of France, King of France and Navarre, and Margaret of Burgundy. Joan's paternity was dubious because her mother was involved in a scandal, but Louis X declared her his legitimate daughter before he died in 1316.

1413–Dawit I of Ethiopia dies after he was kicked in the head by one of his horses.

1539–Spanish conquistador, Hernando de Soto, and his army enter the Apalachee capital of Anhaica (present-day Tallahassee, Florida) by force.

1582–Due to the implementation of the Gregorian calendar, this day is skipped in Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Spain.

1600–Jacopo Peri's Euridice, the earliest surviving opera, receives its premiere performance in Florence, Italy, signifying the beginning of the Baroque period.

1644–Elisabeth of France dies in Royal Alcázar (present-day Royal Palace of Madrid), Madrid, Spain, at age 41. She was the eldest daughter of King Henry IV of France and his second spouse Marie de' Medici. As a daughter of the king of France, she was born a Fille de France. As the eldest daughter of the King, she was known at court by the traditional honorific of Madame Royale.

1683–German immigrant families found Germantown in the Colony of Pennsylvania, marking the first major immigration of German people to America.

1723–Benjamin Franklin arrives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the age of 17.

1738–Archduchess Maria Anna Josepha Antonia of Austria is born at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria.

1762–During the Seven Years' War, the conclusion of the Battle of Manila between Britain and Spain takes place, which results in the British occupation of Manila for the rest of the war.

1773–Louis Philippe I of France is born at the Palais-Royal, Paris, France.

1777–In the American Revolutionary War, General Sir Henry Clinton leads British forces in the capture of Continental Army Hudson River defenses in the Battle of Forts Clinton and Montgomery.

1789–During the French Revolution, Louis XVI returns to Paris, France, from Versailles after being confronted by Parisian women.

1820–Opera singer, Jenny Lind, is born Johanna Maria Lind in Klara, Stockholm, Sweden. She was known as the "Swedish Nightingale." One of the most highly regarded singers of the 19th century, she performed in soprano roles in opera in Sweden and across Europe, and undertook an extraordinarily popular concert tour of America beginning in 1850.

1829–Politician, Pierre Derbigny, dies after being thrown from a horse-drawn carriage in Gretna, Louisiana, at age 60. He was the sixth Governor of Louisiana. He only spent 10 months in office.

1846–Engineer, George Westinghouse, is born in Central Bridge, New York. He founded the Westinghouse Air Brake Company. Based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for much of his career, Westinghouse was one of Thomas Edison's main rivals in the early implementation of the American electricity system. Westinghouse's electricity distribution system, based on alternating current, ultimately prevailed over Edison's insistence on direct current.

1847–Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre is published by Smith, Elder & Co. in London, England. It is published under the name Currer Bell.

1849–The execution of The 13 Martyrs of Arad takes place after the Hungarian war of independence.

1854–The Great fire in Newcastle and Gateshead, England, starts shortly after midnight, leading to 53 deaths and hundreds of injuries.

1876–The American Library Association is founded.

1884–The Naval War College of the United States Navy is founded in Newport, Rhode Island.

1889–American inventor, Thomas Edison, shows his first motion picture.

1889–The Moulin Rogue night club opens in Paris, France.

1891–Charles I of Württemberg dies in Stuttgart, Kingdom of Württemberg, at age 68.

1892–Poet, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, dies in Lurgashall, Sussex, England. His last words were "Oh, that press will have me now!" He had been appointed Poet Laureate in 1850.

1898–Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, the largest American music fraternity, is founded at the New England Conservatory of Music by Ossian Everett Mills.

1903–The High Court of Australia sits for the first time.

1906–Actress, Janet Gaynor, is born Laura Augusta Gainor in Germantown, Philadelphia. She began her career as an extra in shorts and silent films. After signing with Fox Film Corporation (later 20th Century Fox) in 1926, she rose to fame and became one of the biggest box office draws of the era. She appeared in the films 7th Heaven, Sunrise: A Song of Two Humansl Street Angel, State Fair, The Farmer Takes a Wife, A Star Is Born, The Young in Heart, and Bernardine.

1908–Austria-Hungary annexes Bosnia-Herzegovina, sparking a crisis.

1908–Actress, Carole Lombard, is born Jane Alice Peters in Fort Wayne, Indiana. She was particularly noted for her energetic, often off-beat roles in the screwball comedies of the 1930s. She was the highest-paid star in Hollywood in the late 1930s. She appeared in the films The Arizona Kid, Twentieth Century, Hands Across the Table, My Man Godfrey, Nothing Sacred, Made for Each Other, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and To Be or Not to Be. She was married to actors, William Powell and Clark Gable.

1910–Eleftherios Venizelos is elected Prime Minister of Greece for the first time (seven times in total).

1923–The Turkish National Movement enters Constantinople.

1925–Journalist and author, Shana Alexander, is born Shana Ager in New York, New York. Although she became the first woman staff writer and columnist for Life magazine, she was best known for her participation in the "Point-Counterpoint" debate segments of the TV news show, 60 Minutes, with conservative James J. Kilpatrick.

1927–The film, The Jazz Singer, opens. It stars Al Jolson and is the first feature-length film with sound.

1930–William Faulkner's novel, As I Lay Dying, is published. It was the author’s favorite of his own works.

1930–Hafez al-Assad, President of Syria, is born Hafez ibn 'Ali ibn Sulayman al-Assad in Qardaha, Alawite State, Syria.

1939–Germany's invasion of Poland ends with the surrender of Independent Operational Group Polesie after the Battle of Kock.

1940–Music manager, Jerry Heller, is born Gerald E. Heller in Cleveland, Ohio. He is best known for managing West Coast rap supergroup N.W.A. and gangsta rapper, Eazy-E. But he rose to prominence in the 1960s and 1970s, importing Elton John and Pink Floyd for their first major American tours, and representing Journey, Marvin Gaye, Van Morrison, War, Average White Band, ELO, Eric Burdon, Crosby Stills & Nash, Ike & Tina Turner, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Otis Redding, The Who, Grand Funk Railroad, Black Sabbath, Humble Pie, Styx, REO Speedwagon, The Four Tops, Dr. John, Jose Feliciano, The Grass Roots, and The Standells, among many others.

1940–Actress, Ellen Travolta, is born in Englewood, New Jersey. She is best known for the role of Louisa Arcola Delvecchio, the aunt of Fonzie and mother of Chachi on the TV sitcoms Happy Days and Joanie Loves Chachi. She was also seen on the series Charles in Charge. Her brothers are actors, Joey Travolta and John Travolta.

1942–In World War II, the October Matanikau action on Guadalcanal begins as U.S. Marine Corps forces attack Imperial Japanese Army units along the Matanikau River.

1942–Actress, Britt Ekland, is born Britt-Marie Eklund in Stockholm, Sweden. She was a Bond girl in The Man with the Golden Gun. She appeared in the films G.I. Blues, The Prize, Advance to the Rear, Do Not Disturb, After the Fox, The Bobo, Machine Gun McCain, Get Carter, Engless Night, The Wicker Man, and Royal Flash. She was married to actor, Peter Sellers, and drummer, Slim Jim Phantom.

1942–Comedian, Fred Travalena, is born Frederick Albert Travalena III in the Bronx, New York. He was seen on the TV shows The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, The Tortellis, Murphy Brown, and Beverly Hills, 90210. He appeared in the films The Buddy Holly Story, Strange Hearts, and An American Carol.

1943–During World War II, 13 civilians are burned alive by Friedrich Schubert's paramilitary group in Kali Sykia, Crete.

1945–Billy Sianis and his pet billy goat are ejected from Wrigley Field during Game 4 of the 1945 World Series.

1946–Singer, Millie Small, is born Millicent Dolly May Small in Gibralter, Clarendon, Jamaica. She had a big hit with My Boy Lollipop.

1948–Summer and Smoke by Tennessee Williams opens on Broadway.

1951–Kevin (Patrick) Cronin, of REO Speedwagon, is born in Evanston, Illinois.

1951–W.K. Kellogg, American food manufacturer, dies in Battle Creek, Michigan, at age 91. He was the founder of the Kellogg Company, which still produces a wide variety of popular breakfast cereals.

1954–David (Kent) Hidalgo, lead singer of Los Lobos, is born in Los Angeles, California. In addition to his work with Los Lobos, Hidalgo frequently plays accordion, violin, 6-string banjo, cello, requinto jarocho, percussion, drums, and guitar as a session musician.

1955–According to Billboard magazine, Hollywood movie studios are preparing to cash in on the rock ‘n’ roll craze. 20th Century Fox is readying Do Re Mi, starring Jayne Mansfield, Fats Domino, and Little Richard. The film will be released in 1956 as The Girl Can’t Help It. Paramount is preparing to cast Elvis in Lonesome Cowboy, but in fact, that film was never made.

1955–LSD becomes illegal in America.

1961–President John F. Kennedy advises American families to build or buy bomb shelters to protect them in the event of a nuclear exchange with the Soviet Union.

1962–A chart topper: Sherry by The Four Seasons.

1962–Sylvia Beach, proprietor of the Left-Bank book store Shakespeare & Co., dies. It was the first to publish James Joyce’s Ulysses.

1963–Actress, Elisabeth (Judson) Shue, is born in Wilmington, Delaware. She appeared in the films The Karate Kid, Adventures in Babysitting, Cocktail, Back to the Future II and III, The Marrying Man, Soapdish, Twenty Bucks, Heart and Souls, Leaving Las Vegas, Deconstructing Harry, Molly, and Hope Springs. Her brother is actor, Andrew Shue.

1965–Lawyer and politician, Steve Scalise, is born Stephen Joseph Scalise in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is the current (2017) U.S. House of Representatives Majority Whip and representative for Louisiana's 1st congressional district, serving since 2008. He is a member of the Republican Party and was the chairman of the conservative House Republican Study Committee. On June 14, 2017, Scalise was shot at a practice session for the congressional baseball team in Virginia, and was taken to the hospital in critical condition. On September 28, 2017, he returned to the House, where he gave a speech about his experience related to the traumatic events.

1966–The California legislature outlaws LSD.

1966–Big Brother & the Holding Company perform at the Love Pageant Rally at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, California.

1967–Hippies in San Francisco, California, celebrate "The Death of Hip" by blocking the intersection of Haight-Ashbury.

1967–The UFO Club closes in London, England. Formerly the Blarney Club, the venue had become a favorite of psychedelic bands such as Pink Floyd.

1968–A promotional video of The Beatles performing Hey Jude is broadcast on the CBS-TV show The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.

1968–The Doors Are Open is aired on British TV. The show is a documentary about the psychedelic rock group, The Doors.

1973–Egypt launches a coordinated attack with Syria against Israel leading to the Yom Kippur War.

1974–Actor, Jeremy (Merton) Sisto, is born in Grass Valley, California. He is best known for the roles of Detective Cyrus Lupo on Law & Order, and Billy Chenowith on Six Feet Under. He appeared in the films Grand Canyon, Hideaway, Clueless, Moonlight and Valentino, White Squall, Some Girl, Without Limits, Now You Know, Thirteen, A Lot Like Love, Broken, and As Cool As I Am.

1976–Cubana de Aviación Flight 455 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean shortly after taking off from Bridgetown, Barbados, after two bombs explode. They were placed on board by terrorists with connections to the CIA. All 73 people on board are killed.

1976–New Premier Hua Guofeng orders the arrest of the Gang of Four and associates, ending the Cultural Revolution in the People's Republic of China.

1976–A massacre of students takes place, as they gather at Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand, to protest the return of ex-dictator Thanom, by a coalition of right-wing paramilitary and government forces. This triggers the return of the military to government.

1977–In Alicante, Spain, fascists attack a group of MCPV militants and sympathizers, killing one person.

1977–The first prototype of the Mikoyan MiG-29, designated 9-01, makes its maiden flight.

1978–Boxer, Ricky Hatton, is born Richard John Hatton in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. He is a former WBA (Super), IBF, IBO, The Ring Light Welterweight Champion, and WBA Welterweight Champion. On July 7, 2011, Hatton announced his retirement from boxing. He reentered the ring, then announced his final retirement in November 2012.

1979–Pope John Paul II becomes the first pontiff to visit the White House in Washington, D.C.

1981–Egyptian President, Anwar Sadat, is murdered by Islamic extremists in Cairo, Egypt, at age 62.

1985–Metropolitan Police constable, Keith Blakelock, is murdered as riots erupt in the Broadwater Farm suburb of London, England. When the rioters forced officers back, Blakelock stumbled and fell. Surrounded by a mob of 30 to 50 people, he received more than 40 injuries, inflicted by machetes or similar, and was found with a six-inch-long knife in his neck.

1985–Orchestra leader and jazz arranger, Nelson Riddle, dies of of cirrhosis of the liver in Los Angeles, California, at age 64. His work for Capitol Records helped to make vocalists Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, Judy Garland, Dean Martin, Peggy Lee, Johnny Mathis, Rosemary Clooney and Keely Smith household names. He found commercial and critical success again in the 1980s, with a trio of platinum albums with Linda Ronstadt.

1987–Fiji becomes a republic.

1989–Actress, Bette Davis, dies of breast cancer in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, at age 81. She is regarded as one of the greatest actresses in cinema history. Until the late 1940s, Davis was one of American cinema's most celebrated leading ladies, known for her forceful and intense style. She appeared in the films The Petrified Forest, Jezebel, Dark Victory, The Old Maid, The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex, The Little Foxes, Now, Voyager, A Stolen Life, All About Eve, The Star, The Catered Affair, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte, Dead Ringer, The Nanny, and The Whales of August.

1990–BBC Radio begins broadcast of a 10-hour series about John Lennon, “In My Life: Lennon Remembered.”

1992–Actor, Denholm Elliott, dies of AIDS-related tuberculosis at his home in Santa Eulària des Riu, Ibiza, Spain, at age 70. He appeared in the films The Ringer, The Holly and the Ivy, King Rat, Alfie, Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush, A Doll’s House, The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, Robin and Marian, A Bridge Too Far, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Brimstone and Treacle, The Razor’s Edge, A Room with a View, Maurice, and September.

1995–51 Pegasi is discovered to be the second major star, apart from the Sun, to have a planet orbiting around it.

1996–Actor-director, Ted Bessell, dies of an aortic aneurism in Los Angeles, California, at age 61. He is best known for the role of Donald Hollinger on the TV sitcom That Girl. Bessell moved into directing, helming episodes of The Tracey Ullman Show. He appeared in the films The Outsider, Lover Come Back, Billie, and Don’t Drink the Water.

1998–In the Philippines, the Supreme Court overturns a 1993 court decision convicting Imelda Marcos of graft and sentencing her to 12 years in jail.

1999–It is announced that a new 56-minute film featuring John Lennon, titled Gimme Some Truth, has been completed. The movie was edited from hundreds of hours of 16mm film shot by John Lennon and Yoko Ono in 1971, around the time that Lennon was recording his Imagine album. Most of the footage has not been previously seen. Picture Music International has sold the film to broadcasters in 13 countries, including the Czech Republic, Australia, Denmark, and the Netherlands. Plans are to release Gimme Some Truth on DVD in the fall of 2000, along with a remastered CD of the Imagine album (with alternate takes included as bonus tracks).

2000–Yugoslav President, Slobodan Milosevic, resigns.

2000–Argentine Vice President, Carlos Alvarez, resigns.

2000–Actor, Richard Farnsworth, dies from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his ranch in Lincoln, New Mexico, at age 80. He has been suffering from prostate and bone cancer. He appeared in the films Gunga Din, Gone with the Wind, Red River, The Paleface, Mighty Joe Young, The Wild One, The Ten Commandments, The Tin Star, Spartacus, Duel at Diablo, Texas Across the River, The Cowboys, Pocket Money, The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, Palillon, Blazing Saddles, The Outlaw Josey Wales, Comes a Horseman, Tom Horn, Resurrection, The Grey Fox, The Natural, Misery, and The Straight Story.

2002–The French oil tanker, Limburg, is bombed off Yemen.

2002–Prince Claus of the Netherlands dies in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, at age 76.

2007–Jason Lewis completes the first human-powered circumnavigation of the globe.

2011–Actress, Diane Cilento, dies of cancer in Cairns, Queensland, Australia, at age 78. She appeared in the films Moulin Rouge, The Truth About Women, I Thank a Fool, Tom Jones, The Agony and the Ecstasy, Hombre, Negatives, The Wicker Man, and For the Term of His Natural Life.

2012–Nick Curran, of The Fabulous Thunderbirds, dies of cancer at age 35.

2015–Singer, Billy Joe Royal, dies unexpectedly in his sleep in Morehead City, North Carolina, at age 73. His biggest hit was Down in the Boondocks.

2016–A study published in Nature magazine suggests that the natural human life span maxes out at about 115 years.

2016–U.K. Independence Party MEP and current UKIP party leadership favorite, Steven Woolfe, is hospitalised following an altercation with a fellow UKIP MEP inside the European Parliament.

2016–Seismologists announce the discovery of a previously unknown fault running under the edge of the Salton Sea in California, which may lesson some of the strain on the San Andreas fault.

2016–Hurricane Matthew moves towards the United States, with hundreds of thousands of people being evacuated from Florida and South Carolina.

2017–The Nobel Committee awards the global civil society coalition of The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons the Nobel Peace Prize "for its work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its ground-breaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons."

2017–U.S. film producer Harvey Weinstein (whose films include Pulp Fiction, Clerks, The Crying Game, and Sex, Lies, and Videotape) answers allegations made by The New York Times that he had settled eight sexual harassment claims made over three decades. Multiple Democratic donation receivers give their previous political funds to women's charities.

2017–A Trump administration executive order reverses an Obamacare policy that mandated employers and insurers to provide their employees with birth control, regardless of one's "religious beliefs" or "moral convictions."


PHOTOS TOP TO BOTTOM: Ermentrude of Orléans; Wenceslaus III of Bohemia; Benjamin Franklin arriving in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at age 17; Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte; Alfred, Lord Tennyson; Carole Lombard; Ellen Travolta; Millie Small; tabs of LSD; the Love Pageant Rally at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, California; Ricky Hatton; Bette Davis; Ted Bessell; and Richard Farnsworth.

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