EVENTS
- 41 AD- Roman Emperor Caligula was assassinated at the Palatine Games by his own guard after a reign of just four years, noted for his madness and cruelty including arbitrary murder.
- 1679 – King Charles II of England disbands Parliament.
- 1835 – Slaves stage a rebellion in Brazil to end slavery. The Malê Revolt was instrumental in ending slavery in Brazil.
- 1848 – California Gold Rush starts.
- 1895 – Hawaii’s monarchy ended as Queen Liliuokalani was forced to abdicate. Hawaii was then annexed by the U.S. and remained a territory until statehood was granted in 1959.
- 1922 – The Eskimo Pie is invented.
- 1924 – Petrograd, Russia, is renamed Leningrad. St. Petersburg had became Petrograd in 1917.
- 1946 – The United Nations General Assembly passes its first resolution. Resolution 1 was passed to found the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission (UNAEC).
- 1972 – Japanese soldier Shoichi Yokoi was discovered on Guam after he had spent 28 years hiding out in the jungle not knowing World War II had long since ended.
- 1984 – The first Apple Macintosh goes on sale.
- 1990 – Japan launches its first lunar probe. Hiten was the first robotic lunar probe since the Soviet Luna 24 in 1976 and the first deep space probe that executed an aerobraking maneuver.
- 2003 – The United States Department of Homeland Security officially begins operation.
BIRTHDAYS
- 76 – Hadrian (Roman Emperor)
- 1712 – Frederick the Great (Prussian king)
- 1776 – E. T. A. Hoffmann (German jurist, author)
- 1925 – Maria Tallchief (Ballerina)
- 1941 – Neil Diamond (American singer-songwriter, guitarist)
- 1943 – Sharon Tate (American actress)
- 1949 – John Belushi (Actor)
- 1968 – Mary Lou Retton (Olympic Gymnist)
- 1987 – Luis Suarez (Uruguayan footballer)
- 1986 – Mischa Barton (Actress)
DEATHS
- 41 – Caligula (Roman emperor)
- 1895 – Lord Randolph Churchill (English politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer)
- 1965 – Winston Churchill (English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Nobel Prize laureate)
- 1986 – L. Ron Hubbard (American religious leader, author, founded the Church of Scientology)
- 1989 – Ted Bundy (American serial killer)