EVENTS
- 1494 – Christopher Columbus first spots Jamaica.
- 1856 – The judo World Championships are first held.
- 1913 – The first Indian full-length feature film is premiered. The release of Raja Harishchandra marked the birth of the Indian film industry, the world’s largest in terms of films produced and ticket sales.
- 1937 – Gone with the Wind, a novel by Margaret Mitchell, wins the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
- 1958 – Truman Capote’s book “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” is published. The novella is one of the U.S. author’s most popular works. he 1961 film of the same name starring Audrey Hepburn is classic in its genre.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s, movie - 1978 – The Digital Equipment Corporation sends the world’s first spam email. A representative sent out 600 emails and sold computers for $12 million. Unsolicited bulk emails have since become a scourge of the digital age as spammers attempt to achieve a similar success.
- 1979 – Margaret Thatcher is elected British Prime Minister. The conservative politician was the first female head of state in Europe. During her 11-year reign, her sweeping economic reforms polarized the British public and her toughness earning her the nickname The Iron Lady.
- 1999 – A tornado produces the highest wind speeds ever recorded. The F5 tornado hitting parts of Oklahoma City caused the record wind speed of about 301 mph (484 km/h). 45 people were killed, 665 injured.
BIRTHDAYS
- 1469 – Italian writer and statesman Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527) was born in Florence, Italy
- 1898 – Golda Meir (Prime Minister of Israel)
Golda Meir - 1919 – Pete Seeger (American singer-songwriter, guitarist)
- 1921 – Sugar Ray Robinson (American boxer)
- 1933 – James Brown (Singer)
- 1934 – Frankie Valli (Singer)
- 1947 – Doug Henning (Magician)
- 1951 – Christopher Cross (Singer)
DEATHS
- 1481 – Mehmed the Conqueror (Ottoman sultan)
Mehmed the Conqueror - 1916 – Patrick Pearse (Irish activist)
- 1987 – Dalida (Egyptian/French singer, actress)
- 1999 – Godfrey Evans (English cricketer)
- 2014 – Jim Oberstar (American politician)
