EVENTS
- 1430 – Joan of Arc is captured by the forces of the Duke of Burgundy.
- 1787 – The Constitutional Convention began in Philadelphia with delegates from seven states forming a quorum.
Constitutional Convention - 1830 – The poem “Mary had a little lamb” is first published.
- 1881 – A boating disaster occurred in Canada when Victoria, a small, double-decked stern-wheeler carrying over 600 passengers on the Thames River keeled over then sank, killing 182 persons.
- 1844 – The first electric telegram is sent by Samuel F. B. Morse, the creator of Morse Code.
- 1883 – The Brooklyn Bridge in New York is opened to traffic.
- 1930 – Amy Johnson flies solo from England to Australia. The English aviatrix was the first woman to achieve this feat. Her 18,000 km (11,000 mi) flight aboard a de Havilland Gypsy Moth aircraft took her from Croydon, U.K. to Darwin, Australia in 19 days.
- 1956 – The first Eurovision Song Contest is held. Lys Assia won the first edition for Switzerland. The ESC is a major song contest in Europe and one of the world’s longest-running TV programs. It is held in a different country each year.
- 1970 – Engineers begin drilling the world’s deepest hole. The Kola Superdeep Borehole had reached the unsurpassed depth of 12,262 meters (40,230 feett) before the project was abandoned due to lack of funding.
- 2001 – 23 die in the Jerusalem wedding hall disaster. Hundreds of wedding guests fell two stories deep when a portion of the third floor collapsed. The tragedy was Israel’s worst civil disaster.
- 2001 – 15-year-old Temba Tsheri is the youngest person to climb to the top of Mount Everest.
BIRTHDAYS
- 1671 – Gian Gastone de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
- 1686 – Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (Thermometer inventor)
- 1819 – Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom
- 1941 – Bob Dylan (Singer)
Bob Dylan - 1944 – Patti LaBelle (Singer)
- 1945 – Pricilla Presley (Actress)
- 1963 – Michael Chabon (American author)
- 1963 – Joe Dumars (Basketball Player)
- 1967 – Heavy D (Rapper)
- 1979 – Tracy McGrady (Basketball Player)
- 1988 – Billy Gillman (Singer)
DEATHS
- 1153 – David I of Scotland
- 1543 – Nicolaus Copernicus (Polish mathematician, astronomer)
Nicolaus Copernicus - 1632 – Robert Hues (English mathematician, geographer)
- 1974 – Duke Ellington (American pianist, composer, bandleader)
- 2007 – Bill Johnston (Australian cricketer)
