EVENTS
- 1687 – Isaac Newton describes the Law of Gravity.
- 1775 – The Continental Congress adopted the Olive Branch Petition expressing hope for a reconciliation with Britain. However, King George III refused even to look at the petition and instead issued a proclamation declaring the colonists to be in a state of open rebellion.
- 1811 – Venezuela declares independence from Spain. Under the leadership of Francisco de Miranda, Venezuela declared its independence from Spain. This started the Venezuelan War of Independence. The country gained independence 10 years later in 1821.
Francisco de Miranda - 1865 – The Salvation Army is founded.
- 1865 – The first Speed Limit for automobiles is imposed in England.
- 1954 – Rock and Roll is born when Elvis records ‘That’s All Right’.
- 1973 – Coup in Rwanda. Then Army Chief of Staff, Juvénal Habyarimana, staged a coup and overthrew the President, Grégoire Kayibanda. Habyarimana then held the post of president for 20 years.
- 1975 – Cape Verde gains independence from Portugal. The Island country had come under Portuguese colonial control in the late 15th century.
- 1995 – Armenian Constitution is adopted. A nation-wide referendum led to the approval and adoption of Armenia’s constitution. The country had gained its independence after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.
- 1996 – World’s first live cloned mammal is born. Dolly the Sheep, a domestic sheep was cloned using cells from an adult sheep by a team led by Ian Wilmut and Keith Campbell at the Roslin Institute. While her birth was considered to be a success for cloning science, she did not live very long – scientists had predicted that she would live for about 12 years, but she died just a few months short of her 7th birthday.
BIRTHDAYS
- 1801 – Civil War Admiral David Farragut (1801-1870) was born near Knoxville, Tennessee
- 1810 – P.T. Barnum (Circus showman)
- 1853 – Cecil J. Rhodes (1853-1902) was born at Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire, England
Cecil J. Rhodes - 1911 – Georges Pompidou (French politician, Prime Minister, President of France)
- 1950 – Huey Lewis (Singer)
- 1963 – Edie Falco (Actress)
- 1975 – Ai Sugiyama (Japanese tennis player)
- 1983 – Zheng Jie (Chinese tennis player)
- 1985 – Megan Rapinoe (American Soccer Player)
DEATHS
- 1819 – William Cornwallis (English Admiral)
- 1826 – Stamford Raffles (British statesman)
Stamford Raffles - 1945 – John Curtin (Australian politician, 14th Prime Minister of Australia)
- 2006 – Kenneth Lay (American businessman)
- 2011 – Cy Twombly (American/Italian painter, sculptor)
