EVENTS
- 1633 – The Catholic Church forces Galileo Galilei to renounce his heliocentric world view. The Holy Office concluded that the Italian scientist, by stating that the Sun, not the Earth, is the center of the Universe, was “vehemently suspect of heresy”. Galileo spent the rest of his life under house arrest.
- 1918 – A Michigan Central Railroad troop train struck the rear of the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus train in Ivanhoe, Indiana. Fifty-three circus performers were killed. Of the circus animals not killed, most were maimed and had to be destroyed. The performers, of whom only three could be identified, were buried in a mass grave.
- 1940 – France signs armistice with Nazi Germany.
- 1941 – Starting at 3:15 am, some 3.2 million German soldiers plunged headlong into Russia across an 1800-mile front, in a major turing point of World War II. At 7 am that morning, a proclamation from Hitler to the German people announced, “At this moment a march is taking place that, for its extent, compares with the greatest the world has ever seen…”
- 1945 – Okinawa falls to U.S. troops. The Battle of Okinawa marked a decisive defeat for Japan during World War II as the archipelago represented the last line of defense for mainland Japan. The country surrendered two months after the end of the battle when two atomic bombs were dropped on the mainland.
- 1978 – A satellite of the planet Pluto called Charon is discovered.
Pluto & Charon - 1983 – The Space Shuttle retrieves a satellite from space for the first time.
- 1986 – Diego Maradona coins the phrase “Hand of God”. The Argentinian football star had scored a goal with his hand during the FIFA World Cup quarter-final against England. The referee allowed the goal, the Argentinian team were later crowned world champions. After the game, Maradona said that the goal was scored “a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God”.
- 1990 – Checkpoint Charlie is dismantled. The crossing point on the sector border between East Berlin and West Berlin had become obsolete with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Today, the former checkpoint, including the famous sign stating “You are leaving the American sector”, is a tourist attraction.
- 2005 – The movie Herbie: Fully Loaded is released.
BIRTHDAYS
- 1887 – Julian Huxley (English biologist)
- 1903 – John Dillinger (Bank robber)
- 1909 – Katherine Dunham (American dancer)
- 1940 – Abbas Kiarostami (Iranian filmmaker, poet)
- 1949 – Meryl Streep (Actress)
Meryl Streep - 1953 – Cindy Lauper (Singer)
- 1962 – Clyde Drexler (Basketball Player)
- 1964 – Dan Brown (Author)
- 1971 – Kurt Warner (Football Player)
- 1973 – Carson Daly (TV Host)
- 1978 – Champ Bailey (Football Player)
- 1979 – Joey Cheek (Speed Skater)
DEATHS
- 1874 – Howard Staunton (English chess player)
- 1969 – Judy Garland (American actress, singer)
- 1987 – Fred Astaire (American actor, singer, dancer)
- 1993 – Pat Nixon (American educator, 39th First Lady of the United States)
Pat Nixon - 2008 – George Carlin (American comedian, actor, author)
