EVENTS
- 1844 – Siyyid `Alí Muḥammad Shírází founds Bábism. The Báb, as he called himself, created the religion which was a forerunner of the Bahá’í Faith. His teachings were seen as a threat by the Islamic clergy, and his followers were brutally persecuted by the Persian government.
- 1929 – The first talking cartoon of Mickey Mouse is released.
- 1934 – Bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde are killed in a shootout with police.
- 1949 – The Federal Republic of Germany is established. The proclamation of the Grundgesetz, Germany’s current constitution, marked the birth hour of the republic. The foundation of West Germany came four years after the demise of the Nazi regime and the end of World War II.
- 1951 – Delegates of the Dalai Lama sign the Seventeen Point Agreement. The contract affirmed Chinese sovereignty over Tibet. According to Tibetan officials, the document was signed under duress and is, therefore, invalid.
- 1969 – Rock band “The Who” release Tommy, the first rock opera.
- 1992 – The Italian mafia murder Giovanni Falcone. Falcone, a judge, was the mafia’s most prominent adversary. After he, together with his wife and three bodyguards, fell victim to a car bomb, Falcone became a folk hero in Italy.
- 1995 – Official announcement of the Java programming language.
BIRTHDAYS
- 1707 – Carl Linnaeus (Swedish botanist, physician, zoologist)
- 1810 – Journalist Margaret Fuller (1810-1850) was born in Cambridgeport, Massachusetts
- 1846 – The first American female attorney Arabella Mansfield (1846-1911) was born near Burlington, Iowa
- 1933 – Joan Collins (Actress)
- 1848 – Otto Lilienthal (German pilot, engineer)
- 1921 – Humphrey Lyttelton (English trumpet player, composer)
- 1954 – Marvelous Marvin Hagler (Boxer)
- 1958 – Drew Carey (Comedien)
- 1972 – Rubens Barrichello (Brazilian race car driver)
- 1974 – Jewel (Singer)
- 1974 – Ken Jennings ($2.5 million winner on Jeopardy)
DEATHS
- 1868 – Kit Carson (American soldier)
- 1906 – Henrik Ibsen (Norwegian poet, playwright, director)
- 1937 – John D. Rockefeller (American businessman, philanthropist, founded the Standard Oil Company)
- 1995 – Harold Wilson (English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom)
- 2009 – Roh Moo-hyun (South Korean politician, 16th President of South Korea)