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1921–Commercial artist, Harvey Ball, is born in Worcester, Massachusetts. In 1963, he created the “smiley face,” which became an international icon. The use of the smiley face was part of State Mutual Life Assurance Company's “friendship campaign,” with the company handing out 100 smiley pins to employees. The aim was to get employees to smile while using the phone and doing other tasks. The buttons became popular, with orders being taken in lots of 10,000. More than 50 million smiley face buttons had been sold by 1971. Ball never applied for a trademark or copyright of his smiley face and earned just $45 for his work ($315 in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars).


BC 48–Julius Caesar barely avoids a catastrophic defeat to Pompey in Macedonia.

138–Roman Emperor, Hadrian, dies of heart failure in his villa at Baiae, Italy, at age 62.

645–Prince Naka-no-Oe and Fujiwara no Kamatari assassinate Soga no Iruka during a coup d'état at the Japanese Imperial Palace.

649–Emperor Taizong of Tang dies at Cuiwei Palace in Chang’an, Tang China, at age 51. His death is initially kept a secret, but three days later, after his casket had been returned to Chang'an, it is announced, and Li Zhi takes the throne as Emperor Gaozong.

988–The Norse King Glúniairn recognises Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill, High King of Ireland, and agrees to pay taxes and accept Brehon Law. This event is considered to be the founding of the city of Dublin, Ireland.

1086–King Canute IV of Denmark is killed by rebellious peasants.

1103–Eric I of Denmark dies.

1212–The most severe of several early fires in London, England, burns most of the city to the ground.

1269–Emperor Duanzong of Song is born Zhao Shi in China.

1290–Ladislaus IV of Hungary is born.

1419–Emperor Go-Hanazono of Japan is born.

1451–James III of Scotland is born at St. Andrews Castle, Fife, Scotland.

1460–Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, defeats the Lancastrian forces and takes King Henry VI prisoner in the Battle of Northampton.

1499–As a companion of Vasco da Gama, Portuguese explorer, Nicolau Coelho, returns to Lisbon, Portugal, after discovering the sea route to India.

1509–Pastor and theologian, John Calvin, is born Jehan Cauvin in Noyon, Picardy, France. He was a reformer during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism, aspects of which include the doctrines of predestination and of the absolute sovereignty of God in salvation of the human soul from death and eternal damnation. Various Congregational, Reformed, and Presbyterian churches, which look to Calvin as the chief expositor of their beliefs, have spread throughout the world.

1512–The Spanish conquest of Iberian Navarre commences with the capture of Goizueta.

1519–Zhu Chenhao declares Ming Dynasty Emperor Zhengde a usurper, beginning the Prince of Ning rebellion. He leads his army north in an attempt to capture Nanjing.

1553–Lady Jane Grey takes the throne of England.

1559–Henry II of France dies of a mortal head wound from a lance fragment during a jousting tournament at Place des Vosges at the Hôtel des Tournelles in Paris, France, at age 40.

1584–William I of Orange is assassinated by Balthasar Gérard in his home in Delft, Holland, at age 54.

1631–Constance of Austria dies from a stroke in Warsaw, Poland, at age 42. She was Queen of Poland as the second wife of King Sigismund III Vasa and the mother of King John II Casimir.

1736–Maria, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh, is born.

1778–Louis XVI of France declares war on the Kingdom of Great Britain.

1789–Alexander Mackenzie reaches the Mackenzie River delta in Canada.

1806–The Vellore Mutiny is the first instance of a mutiny by Indian sepoys against the British East India Company.

1821–The United States takes possession of its newly bought territory of Florida from Spain.

1825–Richard King is born in New York, New York. He was the founder of the King Ranch in South Texas, which at the time of his death in 1885, encompassed over 825,000 acres.

1832–President Andrew Jackson vetoes a bill that would re-charter the Second Bank of the United States.

1834–Painter and illustrator, James Abbott McNeill Whistler, is born.

1839–Brewer and businessman, Adolphus Busch, is born in Kastel, Hesse, Germany. He co-founded Anheuser-Busch. He introduced numerous innovations, building the success of the company in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

1839–Composer, Fernando Sor, dies of tongue and throat cancer in Paris, France, at age 61. He composed some of the most beautiful works for classical guitar. Sor’s contemporaries considered him to be the best guitarist in the world.

1850–Millard Fillmore is sworn in as U.S. President, a day after President Zachary Taylor's death.

1851–Photographer and physicist, Louis Daguerre, dies. He invented the daguerreotype.

1856–Physicist, Nikola Tesla, is born in Smiljan, Austrian Empire (present-day Croatia). He was an inventor, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, and futurist, best known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current (AC) electricity supply system. Tesla went on to pursue his ideas of wireless lighting and electricity distribution in his high-voltage, high-frequency, power experiments in New York and Colorado Springs, Colorado, in early 1893. He made pronouncements on the possibility of wireless communication with his devices, and claimed to have invented a “death ray” weapon.

1867–Prince Maximilian of Baden is born Maximilian Alexander Friedrich Wilhelm in Baden-Baden, Grand Duchy of Baden.

1869–Gävle, Sweden, is largely destroyed in a fire with 80% of its 10,000 residents left homeless.

1871–Novelist, Marcel Proust, is born in Auteuil, France. He is best known for his epic work Remembrance of Things Past. The 3,200-page work featured over 2,000 characters, and was published in seven parts between 1913 and 1927. Proust is considered by many to be one of the greatest authors of all time.

1877–The then-villa of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, formally receives its city charter from the Royal Crown of Spain.

1882–In the War of the Pacific, Chile suffers its last military defeat in the Battle of La Concepción, when a garrison of 77 men is annihilated by a 1,300-strong Peruvian force, many of them armed with spears.

1889–Julia Gardiner Tyler, wife of President John Tyler, dies from a stroke in Richmond, Virginia, at age 69. She was the 10th First Lady of the United States.

1890–Wyoming becomes the 44th state of the United States of America.

1895–German composer, Carl Orff, is born in Munich, Germany. He is best known for his cantata Carmina Burana.

1897–American gangster, Legs Diamond, is born.

1899–Actor, John Gilbert, is born.

1900–The Victor Recording Company copyrights its trademark of a dog looking into the horn of a gramophone.

1907–Singer and guitarist, Blind Boy Fuller, is born.

1911–Actor, Terry-Thomas, is born Thomas Terry Hoar Stevens in London, England. He is a comedian and character actor who became known to a worldwide audience through his many films during the 1950s and 1960s. He appeared in the films I’m All Right Jack, Bachelor Flat, It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, Strange Bedfellows, and How to Murder Your Wife.

1913–The temperature in Death Valley, California, hits 134°F, the highest recorded in the United States.

1920–Network news anchorman, David (McClure) Brinkley, is born in Wilmington, North Carolina. From 1956 through 1970, he co-anchored NBC's top-rated nightly news program, The Huntley–Brinkley Report, with Chet Huntley. He then appeared as co-anchor and/or commentator on its successor The NBC Nightly News. In the 1980s and 1990s, Brinkley was host of Sunday This Week with David Brinkley, and he remained a top commentator on election-night coverage for ABC News.

1921–Sixteen people are killed and 161 houses are destroyed during rioting and gun battles in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

1921–Commercial artist, Harvey Ball, is born in Worcester, Massachusetts. In 1963, he created the “smiley face,” which became an international icon. The use of the smiley face was part of State Mutual Life Assurance Company's “friendship campaign,” with the company handing out 100 smiley pins to employees. The aim was to get employees to smile while using the phone and doing other tasks. The buttons became popular, with orders being taken in lots of 10,000. More than 50 million smiley face buttons had been sold by 1971. Ball never applied for a trademark or copyright of his smiley face and earned just $45 for his work ($315 in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars).

1921–Activist, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, is born Eunice Mary Kennedy in Brookline, Massachusetts. She co-founded the Special Olympics. She was the sister of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and Senator Ted Kennedy. Her husband, Sargent Shriver, was the U.S. Ambassador to France during the Lyndon Johnson presidency and the Democratic vice presidential candidate in the 1972 U.S. presidential election.

1922–Author and playwright, Jean Kerr, is born.

1922–Boxer, Jake LaMotta, is born in Giacobbe LaMotta the Bronx, New York. He was a former World Middleweight Champion and stand-up comedian. Nicknamed "The Raging Bull," LaMotta was a rough fighter who was not a particularly a big puncher, but he would subject his opponents to vicious beatings in the ring. He had one of the best chins in boxing history: in over 110 fights against the greatest middleweights, he was only knocked to the canvas once in his entire 14 year career. LaMotta, who lived a turbulent life in and out of the ring, was portrayed by Robert De Niro in the 1980 film Raging Bull. He appeared in the films The Hustler, The Doctor and the Playgirl, The Runaways, Confessions of a Psycho Cat, Firepower, Hangmen, and New Jack City.

1923–Writer, Earl (Henry) Hamner, Jr., is born in Schuyler, Virginia. He is best known as creator of the TV series The Waltons. As a novelist, he wrote Spencer's Mountain, which was inspired by his own childhood and formed the basis for both the film of the same name and the TV series, The Waltons, for which he provided voice-over narration. He also wrote several screenplays for The Twilight Zone.

1925–Meher Baba begins his 44 years of silence. His followers observe Silence Day on this date in commemoration.

1925–In Dayton, Tennessee, the so-called "Monkey Trial" begins with John T. Scopes, a young high school science teacher accused of teaching evolution in violation of the Butler Act.

1926–Actor, Fred Gwynne, is born Frederick Hubbard Gwynne in New York, New York. He is best known for his roles in the 1960s sitcoms Car 54, Where Are You? and The Munsters. He appeared in the films The Littlest Angel, Simon, So Fine, The Cotton Club, Off Beat, The Boy Who Could Fly, The Secret of My Success, Fatal Attraction, Ironweed, Pet Sematary, Disorganized Crime, and My Cousin Vinny.

1927–Kevin O'Higgins TD, Vice-President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State, is assassinated by the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

1927–Politician, David Dinkins, is born. He was the 106th Mayor of New York City.

1929–Writer, George Clayton Johnson, is born in Cheyenne, Wyoming. He most famous for co-writing the novel Logan's Run with William F. Nolan, the basis for the hit MGM 1976 film. He was also known for his television scripts for The Twilight Zone (including "Nothing in the Dark," "Kick the Can," "A Game of Pool," and "A Penny for Your Thoughts"), and the first telecast episode of Star Trek, entitled "The Man Trap."

1931–Actor, Nick Adams, is born Nicholas Aloysius Adamschock in Nanticoke, Pennsylvania. He was one of the hot young actors of the 1950s and hung around with other young stars such as James Dean, Dennis Hopper, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, and Elvis Presley. He starred in the Western TV series The Rebel. He appeared in the films Mister Roberts, Rebel Without a Cause, Picnic, Giant, Sweet Smell of Success, Sing, Boy, Sing, Teacher’s Pet, No Time for Sergeants, Pillow Talk, The FBI Story, and The Interns.

1938–Howard Hughes sets a new record by completing a 91-hour airplane flight around the world.

1939–Mavis Staples, of The Staple Singers, is born.

1940–The Battle of Britain begins in World War II, when at least 70 German bombers attack docks in south Wales.

1940–The Vichy government is established in France.

1941–Jewish people living in and near the village of Jedwabne in Poland are massacred.

1941–Singer, Ian Whitcomb, is born in Woking, England. He never particularly cared for the rock and roll style that became associated with British acts coming to America in the mid-1960s, preferring the blues and “Tin Pan Alley” style. His only Top 10 hit was You Turn Me On.

1941–Musician, Jelly Roll Morton, dies as a result of stab wounds in Los Angeles, California, at age 50. He was a pianist, composer, and bandleader of Red Hot Peppers and New Orleans Rhythm Kings. He specialized in ragtime and early jazz. In 1915, his composition Jelly Roll Blues became the first published jazz composition.

1942–Diplomatic relations between the Netherlands and the Soviet Union are established.

1942–An American pilot spots a downed, intact Mitsubishi A6M Zero on Akutan Island (the "Akutan Zero"). The U.S. Navy will use it to learn the aircraft's flight characteristics.

1943–During World War II, Operation Husky begins in Sicily.

1943–Tennis player, Arthur Ashe, is born Arthur Robert Ashe, Jr. in Richmond, Virginia. Ashe was the first black player selected to the United States Davis Cup team and the only black man ever to win the singles title at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, and the Australian Open. He retired in 1980.

1945–Actor, Ron Glass, is born Ronald Earle Glass in Evansville, Indiana. He is best known for his role on the TV sitcom Barney Miller. He appeared in the films The Crazy World of Julius Vrooder, Deep Space, Houseguest, and Death at a Funeral.

1946–Hungarian hyper-inflation sets a record with at 348.46 percent per day, or prices doubling every 11 hours.

1946–Actress, Sue Lyon, is born in Davenport, Iowa. She starred in the films Lolita and The Night of the Iguana.

1947–Muhammad Ali Jinnah is recommended as the first Governor-General of Pakistan, by the British Prime Minister, Clement Attlee.

1947–Singer-songwriter, Arlo Guthrie, is born. He is the son of folksinger, Woody Guthrie.

1949–The first practical rectangular TV tube is announced. The tube measures 12” x 16” and sells for $12.

1949–Singer, Greg Kihn, is born.

1950–Your Hit Parade debuts on NBC-TV.

1950–Politician, Prokopis Pavlopoulos, is born. He was President of Greece.

1951–During the Korean War, armistice negotiations begin at Kaesong.

1957–Activist, Cindy Sheehan, is born.

1958–The first parking meter is installed in England.

1958–Banjo player and songwriter, Béla Fleck, is born.

1958–Record breaker, Robert Earl Hughes, dies of uremia in Bremen, Indiana, at age 32. He was, during his lifetime, the heaviest human being recorded in the history of the world. At the age of six, he weighed about 203 lbs., and by age 10, he weighed 377 lbs. At his heaviest, he weighed an estimated 1,069 lbs. His excessive weight was attributed to a malfunctioning pituitary gland. The Guinness Book of World Records stated, "He was buried in a coffin the size of a piano case."

1959–Sandy West, drummer for the all-girl rock group, The Runaways, is born Sandra Sue Pesavento in Long Beach, California.

1962–Telstar, the first television telecommunications satellite, is launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, making it possible to relay television programs across the Atlantic. To commemorate the event, the instrumental hit, Telstar, by The Tornadoes, an English surf-rock group, made it to #1 for three weeks in November 1962.

1965–Princess Alexia of Greece and Denmark is born.

1966–The Chicago Freedom Movement, led by Martin Luther King, Jr., holds a rally at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. As many as 60,000 people come to hear Dr. King, as well as Mahalia Jackson, Stevie Wonder, and Peter, Paul & Mary.

1967–Uruguay becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty.

1967–New Zealand adopts decimal currency.

1970–Gary LeVox, of Rascal Flatts, is born.

1973–Great Britain grants the Bahamas its independence, after three centuries of British colonial rule.

1973–The National Assembly of Pakistan passes a resolution on the recognition of Bangladesh.

1973–John Paul Getty III, grandson of oil magnate J. Paul Getty, is kidnapped in Rome, Italy.

1975–Cher files for divorce from Gregg Allman, just 10 days after they were married. However, the couple reconsider, and a year later she gives birth to Allman's child, Elijah.

1975–Businessman, Andrew (Boulton) Firestone, is born in Santa Barbara, California. He is best known as the star of a season of the reality TV show The Bachelor: he was the third Bachelor in the series. Andrew selected and proposed to Jen Schefft, who accepted and moved to California to be with him. The couple decided to go their separate ways in December 2003, but remained friends. He is the son of Brooks Firestone, grandson of Leonard Firestone, and great-grandson of Firestone Tire and Rubber Company founder, Harvey Firestone and Idabelle Smith. He is married to actress-model, Ivana Bozilovic.

1976–The Seveso disaster occurs in Italy. It is an industrial accident in a small chemical manufacturing plant approximately 12 miles north of Milan in the Lombardy region. It resulted in the highest known exposure to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) in residential populations, which gives rise to numerous scientific studies and standardized industrial safety regulations.

1976–One American and three British mercenaries are executed in Angola following the Luanda Trial. It was for the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), to prosecute 13 foreign mercenaries who had served its defeated rival, the National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA).

1976–Musician, Elijah Blue Allman, is born in Los Angeles, California. He is known professionally as P. Exeter Blue. He is the son of Cher and Gregg Allman. His half-brother is Chaz Bono.

1978–ABC World News Tonight premieres on ABC-TV.

1978–President Moktar Ould Daddah of Mauritania is ousted in a bloodless coup d'état.

1978–Businessman and philanthropist, John D. Rockefeller III, dies.

1979–Rocker, Chuck Berry, is sentenced to four months in jail for income tax evasion. The frugal Berry usually asked to be paid in cash by promoters.

1979–Conductor, Arthur Fiedler, dies of cardiac arrest at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts, at age 84. He was a long-time conductor of The Boston Pops Orchestra, a symphony orchestra that specializes in popular and light classical music. Fiedler was appointed the 18th conductor of the orchestra in 1930. Fiedler made it his life's work, having the position for a half-century. With his direction, the Boston Pops made more recordings than any other orchestra in the world, most of them for RCA Victor, with total sales exceeding $50 million. Composer, John Williams, succeeded Fiedler as the orchestra's 19th director.

1980–Racecar driver, Adam (Kyler) Petty, is born in Trenton, New Jersey. He was the first fourth-generation driver in NASCAR history: his father was Kyle Petty; his grandfather was Richard Petty; and his great-grandfather was Lee Petty.

1980–Singer and fashion designer, Jessica Simpson, is born.

1981–Rock and roller, Jerry Lee Lewis, undergoes emergency stomach surgery.

1985–The Greenpeace vessel, Rainbow Warrior, is bombed and sunk in the harbor of Auckland, Australia, by French DGSE agents, killing Fernando Pereira.

1985–An Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-154 stalls and crashes near Uchkuduk, Uzbekistan (then part of the Soviet Union), killing all 200 people on board.

1989–The Monkees receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

1989–Voice actor, Mel Blanc, dies of coronary artery disease in Los Angeles, California, at age 81. He provided the voices for the cartoon characters Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tweety Bird, Porky Pig, Yosemite Sam, Pepe Le Pew, Speedy Gonzales, Wile E. Coyote, Road Runner, and many of the other characters from the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical cartoons during the golden age of American animation. He was also the original voice of Woody Woodpecker for Universal Pictures, and provided vocal effects for the Tom and Jerry cartoons directed by Chuck Jones for MGM.

1991–After 1,000 years, the Russian people are finally permitted to elect a President, when Boris Yeltsin takes the oath of office, after resoundingly defeating the Communist Party candidate.

1991–The South African cricket team is readmitted into the International Cricket Council, following the end of Apartheid.

1992–In Miami, Florida, the former Panamanian leader, Manuel Noriega, is sentenced to 40 years in prison for drug and racketeering violations.

1995–Artist and Beatles friend, Klaus Voormann, attends a meeting at the Apple Corps London headquarters, bringing with him a handful of sketches for The Beatles Anthology covers. Also in attendance are Neil Aspinall, Derek Taylor, David Saltz of ABC-TV, and Rick Ward, the art director for The Beatles Anthology project.

1997–In London, England, scientists report the findings of the DNA analysis of a Neanderthal skeleton, which supports the "out of Africa theory" of human evolution, placing an "African Eve" at 100,000 to 200,000 years ago.

1998–The Diocese of Dallas (Texas) agrees to pay $23.4 million to nine former altar boys who claimed they were sexually abused by Rudolph Kos, a former priest.

2000–The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), the world's second-largest aerospace group is formed by the merger of Aérospatiale-Matra, DASA, and CASA.

2002–At a Sotheby's auction, Peter Paul Rubens' painting, The Massacre of the Innocents, is sold for £49.5 million ($76.2 million) to Lord Thomson.

2005–Hurricane Dennis slams into the Florida Panhandle, causing billions of dollars in damage.

2007–Erden Eruç begins the first solo human-powered circumnavigation of the world.

2008–Former Macedonian Interior Minister, Ljube Boskoski, is acquitted of all war-crimes charges by a United Nations Tribunal.

2008–Wrestler and businessman, Hiroaki Aoki, dies. He founded the Benihana restaurant chain.

2011–Russian cruise ship, Bulgaria, sinks in Volga, near Syukeyevo, Tatarstan, killing 122 people.

2015–President Obama designates three new national monuments: Berryessa Snow Mountain in California, Waco Mammoth in Texas, and Basin and Range in Nevada. The monuments cover more than one million acres of public land.

2015–The opening ceremony for the 2015 Pan American Games takes place in Toronto, Canada.

2015–Actor, Robert Rees, dies of stomach cancer in New York, New York, at age 71. He is best known for the roles of Robin Colcord in the TV sitcom Cheers, and Lord John Marbury in The West Wing. He appeared in the films Star 80, A Christmas Carol, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Frida, and The Prestige.

2015–Actor, Omar Sharif, dies of a heart attack in Cairo, Egypt, at age 83. He appeared in the films Lawrence of Arabia, The Fall of the Roman Empire, Behold a Pale Horse, The Yellow Rolls-Royce, Doctor Zhivago, The Poppy Is Also a Flower, Funny Girl, Mackenna’s Gold, The Appointment, The Tamarind Seed, Juggernaut, Funny Lady, Top Secret!, and Hidalgo.

2016–The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain issue a travel warning for their citizens heading to American cities where protests are occuring following ethnic tensions in the country.

2016–Kem Ley, a popular Cambodian political commentator and frequent critic of Prime Minister Hun Sen, is shot dead at a gas station in Phnom Penh.

2016–Hamza bin Laden, the son of Osama bin Laden, threatens a genocide against the United States to retaliate for his father's killing.

2016–Joe Perry, of Aerosmith, walks off stage and collapses during a concert at Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York.

2016–Top bullfighter, Víctor Barrio, is gored to death in front of hundreds of horrified spectators during a bullfight in Teruel, Aragon, Spain.

2016–130th Wimbledon Men's Tennis: Andy Murray beats Milos Raonic (6-4, 7-6, 7-6).

2017–Seventy firefighters and 10 fire engines are sent to fight a blaze in a building at Camden Lock Market in London, England. No injuries or casualties are reported.

2017–In the Iraqi Civil War, Mosul is declared fully liberated from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

2018–Billionaire businessman, Carlo Benetton, dies in Treviso, Italy, at age 74. He was one of the co-founders of Benetton Group, the Italian fashion brand.


PHOTOS TOP TO BOTTOM: Emperor Taizong of Tang; James III of Scotland; James Abbott McNeill Whistler; Marcel Proust; Death Valley, California; Jean Kerr; Nick Adams; Jelly Roll Morton; Sue Lyon; Béla Fleck; Rascal Flatts; Arthur Fiedler; Mel Blanc; The Massacre of the Innocents by Peter Paul Rubens; and Omar Sharif.
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