EVENTS
- 1513 – Spanish explorer Vasco de Balboa reached the Pacific Ocean.
- 1690 – The first American newspaper was published. A single edition of Publick Occurrences Both Foreign and Domestick appeared in Boston, Massachusetts. However, British authorities considered the newspaper offensive and ordered its immediate suppression.
- 1789 – The first U.S. Congress proposed 12 Amendments to the Constitution, ten of which, comprising the Bill of Rights, were ratified.
- 1846 – U.S. forces led by Zachary Taylor captured the Mexican city of Monterrey.
- 1890 – Yosemite National Park established in California.
- 1890 – Sequoia National Park is established by the United States Congress. The park, situated in the state of California is famous for its giant sequoia trees.
- 1962 – The People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria is officially created. Ferhat Abbas was appointed as the President of the Algerian National Assembly, and Ben Bella was seated as the country’s new Prime Minister.
- 1970 – The first episode of the TV show the ‘Partridge Family’ airs.
- 1977 – Runners run the first Chicago Marathon. One of the world’s six major marathons, which include the marathons in Berlin, Boston, London, New York, and Tokyo, the Chicago Marathon was initially called the Mayor Daley Marathon. The first race was won by Rhud Metzner.
- 1992 – NASA launches the Mars Observer. The robotic space probe’s main goal was to study Mars. Almost a year later all communications with it were lost.
- 2008 – China launches Shenzhou spacecraft with 3 astronauts. This was the third human manned space flight mission of China’s Space Program.
BIRTHDAYS
- 1897 – William Faulkner (Author)
- 1903 – Mark Rothko (Latvian/American painter)
- 1906 – Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) was born in St. Petersburg, Russia. He witnessed the Russian Revolution and went on to become one of the greatest Soviet composers.
- 1929 – Barbara Walters (TV Interviewer)
- 1932 – Glenn Gould (Canadian pianist, composer)
- 1952 – Christopher Reeve (Superman Actor)
- 1965 – Scottie Pippen (Basketball Player)
- 1968 – Will Smith (Actor and Rapper)
- 1969 – Catherine Zeta-Jones (Actress)
- 1975 – Matt Hasselback (NFL Quarterback)
- 1976 – Chauncey Billups (Basketball Player)
DEATHS
- 1066 – Harald Hardrada (Norwegian king and claimant to the English throne)
- 1929 – Miller Huggins (American baseball player, manager)
- 1971 – Hugo Black (American jurist, politician)
- 2003 – Edward Said (Palestinian/American theoretician)
- 2011 – Wangari Maathai (Kenyan environmentalist, Nobel Prize laureate)