EVENTS
- 1847 – The American Medical Association (AMA) is founded.
- 1895 – Alexander Popov demonstrates the world’s first radio receiver. The Russian physicist had initially built the device as a lightning detector. He achieved the first radio transmission between two buildings the following year.
Popov coherer radio receiver - 1915 – A German U-boat sinks the RMS Lusitania, killing 1,198 people.
- 1945 – Germany officially surrenders in WWII.
- 1946 – Sony is founded. The company started as Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering. It is now one of the leading manufacturers of electronic products.
- 1954 – The French Indochina War ended with the fall of Dien Bien Phu, in a stunning victory by the Vietnamese over French colonial forces in northern Vietnam. The country was then in divided in half at the 17th parallel, with South Vietnam created in 1955.
- 1992 – The 27th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, prohibiting Congress from giving itself pay raises.
- 1998 – Apple Computer unveils the iMac.
- 2000 – Vladimir Putin becomes President of Russia. The former KGB officer enjoys high approval ratings in his country as living standards in Russia have improved drastically under his rule. Internationally, he has been criticized for his authoritarian style of government.
BIRTHDAYS
- 1711 – David Hume (Scottish economist, historian, philosopher)
- 1812 – Robert Browning (Poet)
- 1833 – Johannes Brahms (Composer)
- 1840 – Piotr Illyich Tchaikovsky (Russian composer wrote The Nutcracker)
Piotr Illyich Tchaikovsky - 1861 – Rabindranath Tagore (Indian author, poet, Nobel Prize laureate)
- 1892 – Josip Broz Tito (Yugoslav marshal, politician, 1st President of Yugoslavia)
- 1892 – American poet Archibald MacLeish (1892-1982) was born in Glencoe, Illinois
- 1901 – Gary Cooper (Actor)
- 1919 – Eva Peron (Argentinian First Lady)
- 1933 – Johnny Unitas (NFL Quarterback)
- 1950 – Tim Russert (Journalist)
DEATHS
- 973 – Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor
- 1825 – Antonio Salieri (Italian composer)
Antonio Salieri - 1840 – Caspar David Friedrich (German painter)
- 1940 – George Lansbury (English politician)
- 2011 – Seve Ballesteros (Spanish golfer)
