EVENTS
- 1863 – During the American Civil War, William Quantrill led 450 irregular Confederate raiders on a pre-dawn terrorist raid of Lawrence, Kansas, leaving 150 civilians dead, 30 wounded and much of the town a smoking ruin. In 1862, Quantrill had been denied a Confederate commission by the Confederate Secretary of War, who labeled Quantrill’s notions of war as ‘barbarism.’
- 1879 – Oldsmobile is founded by Ransom Eli Olds of Olds Motor Works. The popular brand of car was first manufactured in Lansing, Michigan. The company was purchased by GM in 1908 and closed its doors in 2004.
- 1911 – The Mona Lisa was stolen by a worker at the Louvre museum.
Mona Lisa - 1931 – Babe Ruth hits his 600th home run.
- 1933 – Major League baseball holds it’s first All-Star Game.
- 1959 – Hawaii becomes the 50th state of the United States.
- 1982 – Rollie Fingers becomes 1st pitcher to get 300 saves.
- 1983 – Filipino opposition leader Benigno S. Aquino, Jr., was assassinated at the Manila airport while leaving his plane. Public outcry over the killing ultimately led to the collapse of the government of Ferdinand E. Marcos and the inauguration of Corazon C. Aquino, widow of the slain man, as president.
- 1986 – Limnic volcanic eruption in Lake Nyos in Cameroon kills about 1700 people. A high amount of carbon dioxide was released by the underwater volcanic eruption.
- 1991 – Latvia gains full independence from the Soviet Union. Founded in 1918, the Republic of Latvia was fully incorporated as a Soviet republic after the Second World War. Independence for the Baltic state was achieved after a peaceful revolution known as the Singing Revolution, which began in Estonia.
- 1993 – NASA loses communication with the Mars Observer almost a year after its launch. The robotic space probe was tasked with exploring and studying the Red Planet.
BIRTHDAYS
- 1765 – William IV (King of the United Kingdom)
William IV - 1936 – Wilt Chamberlain (Basketball Player)
- 1938 – Kenny Rogers (Country singer)
- 1952 – Joe Strummer (English singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor)
- 1959 – Jim McMahon (Football Player)
- 1967 – Carrie Anne Moss (Actress)
- 1984 – Eve Torres (American wrestler, model, dancer)
- 1986 – Usain Bolt (Sprinter)
- 1989 – Hayden Panettiere (Actress)
DEATHS
- 1762 – Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (English author)
- 1940 – Leon Trotsky (Russian theorist, politician, founded the Red Army)
- 1979 – Giuseppe Meazza (Italian footballer)
Giuseppe Meazza - 1983 – Benigno Aquino, Jr. (Filipino politician)
- 1993 – Tatiana Troyanos (American soprano)
