EVENTS
- 1879 – Sandford Fleming proposes the use of time zones. The later introduction of Universal Standard Time, which is based on time zones, revolutionized time keeping.
- 1910 – The Boy Scouts of America begins.
- 1943 – World War II: Battle of Guadalcanal.
- 1950 – The Stasi, East Germany’s notorious secret police, is established. The “Staatssicherheit”, which was dissolved in 1990, is considered one of the most repressive intelligence agencies in the world.
- 1960 – The first 8 stars are added to the Hollywood Walk of Fame. More than 2400 five-pointed stars have since been embedded in the sidewalks of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street to honor stars of the entertainment industry.
- 1971 – Start of the NASDAQ stock market index.
- 2001 – Disney’s California Adventure park opens.
BIRTHDAYS
- 1700 – Daniel Bernoulli (Mathematician)
- 1820 – William Tecumseh Sherman (Civil War General)
- 1828 – Jules Verne (Author)
- 1925 – Jack Lemmon (Actor)
- 1931 – James Dean (Actor)
- 1932 – John Williams (American pianist, composer, conductor)
- 1940 – Ted Koppel (News Anchor)
- 1941 – Nick Nolte (American actor)
- 1955 – John Grisham (Author)
- 1974 – Seth Green (Actor)
DEATHS
- 1587 – Mary, Queen of Scots
- 1957 – John von Neumann (Hungarian/American mathematician)
- 1998 – Enoch Powell (British politician)
- 2007 – Anna Nicole Smith (American model, actress)
- 2007 – Ian Stevenson (American biochemist)