Events
1900 - British troops are defeated by Boers at Ladysmith, South Africa.
1904 - Battle of Port Arthur: A surprise torpedo attack by the Japanese at Port Arthur, China starts the Russo-Japanese War.
1910 - The Boy Scouts of America is incorporated by William D. Boyce.
1915 - D.W. Griffith's controversial film The Birth of a Nation premieres in Los Angeles.
1918 - The Stars and Stripes newspaper publishes for the first time.
1922 - President Warren G. Harding introduces the first radio in the White House.
1924 - Capital punishment: The first state execution using gas in the United States takes place in Nevada.
1943 - World War II: Battle of Guadalcanal - United States forces defeat Japanese troops.
1949 - Cardinal Mindszenty of Hungary sentenced for treason.
1955 - The Government of Sindh abolished Jagirdari system in the province. One million acres (4000 km²) of land thus acquired is to be distributed among the landless peasants.
1960 - Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom issued an Order-in-Council, stating that she and her family would be known as the House of Windsor, and that her descendants will take the name "Mountbatten-Windsor".
1962 - Charonne massacre. 9 trade unionists are killed by French police at the instigation of Nazi collaborator Maurice Papon, then chief of the Paris Prefecture of Police.
1963 - Travel, financial and commercial transactions by United States citizens to Cuba are made illegal by the John F. Kennedy administration.
1968 - American civil rights movement: A civil rights protest staged at a white-only bowling alley in Orangeburg, South Carolina is broken-up by highway patrolmen leading to the deaths of three college students.
1971 - The Nasdaq stock market index debuts.
1974 - After 84 days in space, the crew of the first American space station Skylab return to Earth.
1974 - Military coup in Upper Volta.
1978 - Proceedings of the United States Senate are broadcast on radio for the first time.
1979 - Denis Sassou-Nguesso became the President of the Republic of the Congo for the first time.
1986 - 1984 Summer Olympics head of the LAPD bomb squad, Arleigh McCree, and his partner Officer Ronald Ball of the Firearms and explosives unit were killed while trying to dismantle two pipe bombs when they responded to a call. McCree was recognized as one of the top explosive experts in the world.
1989 - An Independent Air Boeing 707 crashes into Santa Maria mountain in Azores Islands off the coast of Portugal, killing 144.
1993 - General Motors sues NBC after Dateline NBC allegedly rigs two crashes intended to demonstrate that some GM pickups can easily catch fire if hit in certain places. NBC settles the lawsuit the next day.
1996 - The U.S. Congress passes the Communications Decency Act.
1996 - The massive Internet collaboration "24 Hours in Cyberspace" takes place.
1998 - First female ice hockey game in Olympic history: Finland beats Sweden 6-0.
2005 - Israel and Palestinians agree to cease-fire.
Births
1976 - Adam Piatt, American baseball player
1977 - Dave Farrell, American musician (Linkin Park)
1977 - Barry Hall, Australian rules footballer
1977 - Bridgette Kerkove, American actress
1977 - Yucef Merhi, Venezuelan artist
1977 - Mathieu Turcotte, Canadian short-track speed skater
1979 - Aaron Cook, American baseball player
1980 - Ralf Little English Actor/Comedian
1980 - Cameron Muncey, Australian guitarist (Jet)
1980 - Stephen Wright, English footballer
1981 - Myriam Montemayor Cruz, Mexican singer
1982 - Eric Alexander, American football player
1982 - Satomi Kōrogi, Japanese voice actress
1982 - Sousuke Takaoka, Japanese actor
1983 - Jim Verraros, American singer
1984 - Panagiotis Vasilopoulos, Greek basketball player
1987 - Carolina Kostner, Italian European champion figure skater
1988 - Keegan Meth, Zimbabwean cricketer
1989 - Danielle Harmer, English actress
1995 - Jordan Todosey, Canadian actress
Deaths
1975 - Robert Robinson, British chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1886)
1977 - Eivind Groven, Norwegian composer and ethnomusicologist (b. 1901)
1980 - Nikos Xilouris, Greek singer (b. 1936)
1982 - John Hay Whitney, American financier (b. 1904)
1984 - Karel Miljon, Dutch boxer (b. 1903)
1985 - William Lyons, British automobile manufacturer (b. 1901)
1987 - Harriet E. MacGibbon, American actress (b. 1905)
1990 - Del Shannon, American entertainer (suicide) (b. 1934)
1992 - Denny Wright, British jazz guitarist (b. 1924)
1993 - N. Shanmugathasan, Sri Lankan communist leader
1994 - Raymond Scott, American composer (b. 1908)
1996 - Del Ennis, American baseball player (b. 1925)
1998 - Halldór Laxness, Icelandic author, Nobel laureate (b. 1902)
1998 - Julian Lincoln Simon, American economist and author (b. 1932)
1999 - Iris Murdoch, Irish author (b. 1919)
2000 - Sid Abel, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1918)
2000 - Derrick Thomas, American football player (b. 1967)
2001 - Ivo Caprino, Norwegian animated film director (b. 1920)
2002 - Joachim Hoffmann, German historian (b. 1930)
2002 - Ong Teng Cheong, President of Singapore (b. 1936)
2004 - Julius Schwartz, American comic book and science fiction editor (b. 1915)
2005 - Jimmy Smith, American jazz musician (b. 1925)
2005 - Keith Knudsen, American drummer, vocalist and songwriter (The Doobie Brothers) (b. 1948)
2006 - Elton Dean, English musician (Soft Machine) (b. 1945)
2006 - Akira Ifukube, Japanese composer (b. 1914)
2007 - Anna Nicole Smith, American model, actress, and entertainer (b. 1967)
2007 - Ian Stevenson, professor and reincarnation expert (b. 1918).
1900 - British troops are defeated by Boers at Ladysmith, South Africa.
1904 - Battle of Port Arthur: A surprise torpedo attack by the Japanese at Port Arthur, China starts the Russo-Japanese War.
1910 - The Boy Scouts of America is incorporated by William D. Boyce.
1915 - D.W. Griffith's controversial film The Birth of a Nation premieres in Los Angeles.
1918 - The Stars and Stripes newspaper publishes for the first time.
1922 - President Warren G. Harding introduces the first radio in the White House.
1924 - Capital punishment: The first state execution using gas in the United States takes place in Nevada.
1943 - World War II: Battle of Guadalcanal - United States forces defeat Japanese troops.
1949 - Cardinal Mindszenty of Hungary sentenced for treason.
1955 - The Government of Sindh abolished Jagirdari system in the province. One million acres (4000 km²) of land thus acquired is to be distributed among the landless peasants.
1960 - Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom issued an Order-in-Council, stating that she and her family would be known as the House of Windsor, and that her descendants will take the name "Mountbatten-Windsor".
1962 - Charonne massacre. 9 trade unionists are killed by French police at the instigation of Nazi collaborator Maurice Papon, then chief of the Paris Prefecture of Police.
1963 - Travel, financial and commercial transactions by United States citizens to Cuba are made illegal by the John F. Kennedy administration.
1968 - American civil rights movement: A civil rights protest staged at a white-only bowling alley in Orangeburg, South Carolina is broken-up by highway patrolmen leading to the deaths of three college students.
1971 - The Nasdaq stock market index debuts.
1974 - After 84 days in space, the crew of the first American space station Skylab return to Earth.
1974 - Military coup in Upper Volta.
1978 - Proceedings of the United States Senate are broadcast on radio for the first time.
1979 - Denis Sassou-Nguesso became the President of the Republic of the Congo for the first time.
1986 - 1984 Summer Olympics head of the LAPD bomb squad, Arleigh McCree, and his partner Officer Ronald Ball of the Firearms and explosives unit were killed while trying to dismantle two pipe bombs when they responded to a call. McCree was recognized as one of the top explosive experts in the world.
1989 - An Independent Air Boeing 707 crashes into Santa Maria mountain in Azores Islands off the coast of Portugal, killing 144.
1993 - General Motors sues NBC after Dateline NBC allegedly rigs two crashes intended to demonstrate that some GM pickups can easily catch fire if hit in certain places. NBC settles the lawsuit the next day.
1996 - The U.S. Congress passes the Communications Decency Act.
1996 - The massive Internet collaboration "24 Hours in Cyberspace" takes place.
1998 - First female ice hockey game in Olympic history: Finland beats Sweden 6-0.
2005 - Israel and Palestinians agree to cease-fire.
Births
1976 - Adam Piatt, American baseball player
1977 - Dave Farrell, American musician (Linkin Park)
1977 - Barry Hall, Australian rules footballer
1977 - Bridgette Kerkove, American actress
1977 - Yucef Merhi, Venezuelan artist
1977 - Mathieu Turcotte, Canadian short-track speed skater
1979 - Aaron Cook, American baseball player
1980 - Ralf Little English Actor/Comedian
1980 - Cameron Muncey, Australian guitarist (Jet)
1980 - Stephen Wright, English footballer
1981 - Myriam Montemayor Cruz, Mexican singer
1982 - Eric Alexander, American football player
1982 - Satomi Kōrogi, Japanese voice actress
1982 - Sousuke Takaoka, Japanese actor
1983 - Jim Verraros, American singer
1984 - Panagiotis Vasilopoulos, Greek basketball player
1987 - Carolina Kostner, Italian European champion figure skater
1988 - Keegan Meth, Zimbabwean cricketer
1989 - Danielle Harmer, English actress
1995 - Jordan Todosey, Canadian actress
Deaths
1975 - Robert Robinson, British chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1886)
1977 - Eivind Groven, Norwegian composer and ethnomusicologist (b. 1901)
1980 - Nikos Xilouris, Greek singer (b. 1936)
1982 - John Hay Whitney, American financier (b. 1904)
1984 - Karel Miljon, Dutch boxer (b. 1903)
1985 - William Lyons, British automobile manufacturer (b. 1901)
1987 - Harriet E. MacGibbon, American actress (b. 1905)
1990 - Del Shannon, American entertainer (suicide) (b. 1934)
1992 - Denny Wright, British jazz guitarist (b. 1924)
1993 - N. Shanmugathasan, Sri Lankan communist leader
1994 - Raymond Scott, American composer (b. 1908)
1996 - Del Ennis, American baseball player (b. 1925)
1998 - Halldór Laxness, Icelandic author, Nobel laureate (b. 1902)
1998 - Julian Lincoln Simon, American economist and author (b. 1932)
1999 - Iris Murdoch, Irish author (b. 1919)
2000 - Sid Abel, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1918)
2000 - Derrick Thomas, American football player (b. 1967)
2001 - Ivo Caprino, Norwegian animated film director (b. 1920)
2002 - Joachim Hoffmann, German historian (b. 1930)
2002 - Ong Teng Cheong, President of Singapore (b. 1936)
2004 - Julius Schwartz, American comic book and science fiction editor (b. 1915)
2005 - Jimmy Smith, American jazz musician (b. 1925)
2005 - Keith Knudsen, American drummer, vocalist and songwriter (The Doobie Brothers) (b. 1948)
2006 - Elton Dean, English musician (Soft Machine) (b. 1945)
2006 - Akira Ifukube, Japanese composer (b. 1914)
2007 - Anna Nicole Smith, American model, actress, and entertainer (b. 1967)
2007 - Ian Stevenson, professor and reincarnation expert (b. 1918).
