EVENTS
- 1733 – Georgia becomes the 13th American Colony.
- 1879 – First artificial ice rink in the US opens.
- 1909 – The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is founded in the U.S.. The NAACP is one of the oldest and most influential civil rights organizations in the United States.
- 1912 – The last Emperor of China abdicates at the age of 6. Puyi was expelled from the Forbidden City after a military coup in 1924. He died on October 17, 1967 aged 61.
- 1924 – First presidential radio address: Calvin Coolidge.
- 1924 – George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” premieres. The piece is among Gershwin’s best-known compositions and one of the most popular pieces of the symphonic jazz genre.
- 1994 – Edvard Munch’s “The Scream” is stolen. The iconic painting, one of a series of four, was recovered several months later.
- 1999 – The impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton in the U.S. Senate ended. With the whole world watching via television, Senators stood up one by one during the final roll call to vote “guilty” or “not guilty.” On Article 1 (charging Clinton with perjury) 55 senators, including 10 Republicans and all 45 Democrats voted not guilty. On Article 2 (charging Clinton with obstruction of justice) the Senate split evenly, 50 for and 50 against the President. With the necessary two-thirds majority not having been achieved, President Clinton was thus acquitted on both charges and served out the remainder of his term of office lasting through January 20, 2001.
- 2002 – The trial of Slobodan Milošević begins at The Hague. The former President of Yugoslavia and Serbia died 4 years later, before the trial’s conclusion.
BIRTHDAYS
- 1809 – Abraham Lincoln (16th US President)
- 1809 – Charles Darwin (Theorist)
- 1870 – Marie Lloyd (English actress, singer)
- 1876 – 13th Dalai Lama
- 1877 – Louis Renault (French businessman, co-founded Renault)
- 1915 – Lorne Green (Actor)
- 1934 – Bill Russell (Basketball Player)
- 1938 – Judy Blume (Author)
DEATHS
- 1789 – Ethan Allen (American military leader)
- 1804 – Immanuel Kant (Russian/German philosopher)
- 1979 – Jean Renoir (French director)
- 2000 – Charles M. Schulz (American cartoonist)
- 2000 – Screamin’ Jay Hawkins (American singer-songwriter, producer, actor)