EVENTS
- 1700 – The Battle of Narva occurred as eight thousand Swedish troops under King Charles XII invaded Norway, defeating a force of 50,000 Russians.
- 1782 – A provisional peace treaty was signed between Great Britain and the United States heralding the end of America’s War of Independence. The final treaty was signed in Paris on September 3, 1783. It declared the U.S. “…to be free, sovereign and independent states…” and that the British Crown “…relinquishes all claims to the government, propriety and territorial rights of the same, and every part thereof.”
- 1872 – The first-ever international football match takes place between Scotland and England.
- 1939 – Finland was invaded by more than 20 Russian divisions in the Winter War.
- 1940 – Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz are married
- 1947 – Civil War in Palestine. Also known as the Civil War in Mandatory Palestine, the conflict began the day after the United Nations General Assembly voted on a resolution that provided a partition plan for Palestine. The war was wracked by violence which began on November 30 after two buses full of Israeli passengers were attacked by Arab gunmen and snipers shot pedestrians in Tel Aviv. On May 14, Israel declared itself an independent state and on May 15, the Civil War turned into a regional war after a coalition of Arab states that included Egypt, Jordan, and Syria, joined the conflict.
- 1982 – Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ is released worldwide. Thought to be the best selling album of all time, the album, which had 9 tracks, won 8 Grammy Awards, including the award for Album of the Year in 1984.
- 1991 – The 1st world championship of women’s soccer takes place. The U.S. defeats Norway 2-1.
- 1993 – The Brady bill was signed into law establishing a 5-day waiting period for handgun sales.
- 1995 – Bill Clinton became the first American president to visit Northern Ireland.
- 2004 – Longtime Jeopardy champion Ken Jennings finally loses. He finishes with the largest game show winnings of all time of $2,520,700.
BIRTHDAYS
- 1667 – Jonathan Swift (Author – Gulliver’s Travels)
- 1813 – Charles-Valentin Alkan (French composer)
- 1835 – Mark Twain (American author)
- 1835 – Samuel Clemmons (Author known as Mark Twain)
- 1874 – Winston Churchill (Prime Minister of United Kingdom)
- 1929 – Dick Clark (American Bandstand Host)
- 1936 – 1960’s political activist Abbie Hoffman (1936-1989) was born in Worcester, Massachusetts. He leapt to fame as a member of the Chicago Seven, a group of young radicals accused of conspiring to disrupt the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
- 1962 – Bo Jackson (Football Player)
- 1965 – Ben Stiller (Actor)
- 1978 – Clay Aiken (Singer)
- 1982 – Elisha Cuthbert (Actress)
- 1990 – Magnus Carlsen (Norwegian chess player)
DEATHS
- 1900 – Oscar Wilde (Irish author, poet, playwright)
- 1935 – Fernando Pessoa (Portuguese poet)
- 1979 – Zeppo Marx (American actor, agent)
- 2007 – Evel Knievel (American motorcycle stuntman)
- 2018 – George H. W. Bush (American politician, 41st President of the United States)