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1968–Iron Butterfly's album, In-a-Gadda-da-Vida, featuring the 17-minute title track with one of the longest drum solos in rock history, debuts on the U.S. charts.


BC 356–Macedonian King, Alexander the Great, is born.

70–In the Siege of Jerusalem, Titus, son of Emperor Vespasian, storms the Fortress of Antonia north of the Temple Mount. The Roman army is drawn into street fights with the Zealots.

792–Kardam of Bulgaria defeats Byzantine Emperor Constantine VI at the Battle of Marcellae.

911–Rollo, the Viking (first ruler of Normandy, lays siege to Chartres, France.

1031–Robert II of France dies in Melun, France.

1156–Emperor Toba of Japan dies at age 53.

1189–Richard I of England is officially invested as Duke of Normandy.

1304–During the fall of Stirling Castle in Scottland, King Edward I of England takes the stronghold using the War Wolf.

1320–King Oshin of Armenia dies.

1402–Timur, the ruler of the Timurid Empire, defeats forces of the Ottoman Empire’s sultan Bayezid I.

1442–Le Thanh Tong, King of Vietnam, is born Le Hao at the palace in Hanoi, Vietnam.

1454–John II of Castile dies in Valladolid, Spain, at age 49. His reign as King, lasting 49 years, was one of the longest in Castilian history.

1519–Pope Innocent IX is born Giovanni Antonio Facchinetti in Bologna, Papal States.

1524–Claude of France dies at Château de Blois in Loir-et-Cher, Blois, France, at age 24. The exact cause of her death was disputed among sources and historians: while some alleged that she died in childbirth or after a miscarriage, others believed that she died for exhaustion after her many pregnancies or after suffering from bone tuberculosis, and some believed that she died from syphilis caught from her husband.

1592–During the first Japanese invasion of Korea, Japanese forces, led by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, capture Pyongyang, but they are unable to hold it.

1738–Canadian explorer, Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de La Vérendrye, reaches the western shore of Lake Michigan.

1789–Mahmud II, 30th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, is born.

1799–Tekle Giyorgis I begins his first of six reigns as Emperor of Ethiopia.

1807–Nicéphore Niépce is awarded a patent by Napoleon for the Pyréolophore, the world's first internal combustion engine, after it successfully powers a boat upstream on the river Saône in France.

1810–Citizens of Bogotá, New Granada, declare independence from Spain.

1836–Physician, Sir Thomas Clifford Allbutt, is born in Dewsbury, Yorkshire, England. He invented the six-inch medical thermometer. Before that, thermometers were 12 inches long.

1848–The first Women's Rights Convention (a two-day event) concludes in Seneca Falls, New York.

1858–The first tax on packages of cigarettes is levied.

1864–During the American Civil War, Confederate forces, led by General John Bell Hood, unsuccessfully attack Union troops, under General William T. Sherman, near Altanta, Georgia.

1866–In the Austro-Prussian War, the Austrian Navy, led by Admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff, defeats the Italian Navy near the island of Vis in the Adriatic Sea.

1871–British Columbia joins the confederation of Canada.

1885–The Football Association legalizes professionalism in association football under pressure from the British Football Association.

1889–Broadcaster, John Reith (1st Baron Reith), is born in Scotland. He co-founded the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).

1896–Super-centenarian, Eunice Sanborn, is born Eunice Allen Lyons in Lake Charles, Louisiana. She lived to be 114 years and 195 days old.

1903–The Ford Motor Company ships its first car.

1903–Pope Leo XIII dies at Apostolic Palace in Rome, Kingdom of Italy, at age 93. He was the first pope to never have held any control over the Papal States, after they were dissolved by 1870.

1910–The Christian Endeavor Society of Missouri begins a campaign to ban all motion pictures that depict kissing between non-relatives.

1917–The Corfu Declaration, which leads to the creation of the post-war Kingdom of Yugoslavia, is signed by the Yugoslav Committee and Kingdom of Serbia.

1919–Mountaineer and explorer, Edmund Hillary, is born in New Zealand.

1920–The Greek Army takes control of Silivri, after Greece is awarded the city by the Paris Peace Conference.

1922–The League of Nations awards mandates of Togoland to France and Tanganyika to the United Kingdom.

1923–Revolutionary guerrilla leader, Pancho Villa, dies by assassination in Parral, Chihuahua, Mexico, at age 45. As commander of the División del Norte (Division of the North), he was the most powerful military leader of the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua, which, given its size, mineral wealth, and proximity to the United States, provided him with extensive resources. Villa retired in 1920, and was given a 25,000-acre estate, which he turned into a "military colony" for his former soldiers.

1924–Actress, Lola (Jean) Albright, is born in Akron, Ohio. She appeared in the films The Pirate, Easter Parade, Julia Misbehaves, Champion, Tulsa, The Good Humor Man, When You’re Smiling, The Tender Trap, The Monolith Monsters, Kid Galahad, Joy House, Lord Love a Duck, The Way West, The Money Jungle, Where Were You When the Lights Went Out?, and The Impossible Years. She was married to actor, Jack Carson.

1927–Ferdinand I of Romania dies of cancer in Sinaia, Kingdom of Romania, at age 61.

1930–Actress and singer, Sally Ann Howes, is born.

1932–In Washington, D.C., police fire tear gas on World War I veterans, part of the Bonus Expeditionary Force, who attempt to march to the White House.

1932–German President, Paul von Hindenburg, dissolves the government of Prussia.

1933–Singer, Buddy (Wayne) Knox, is born in Happy, Texas. He is best known for his hit song Party Doll.

1933–Novelist, screenwriter and playwright, Cormac McCarthy, is born in Providence, Rhode Island. He was the recipient of numerous writing awards, including the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. Several of his books were adapted as major motion pictures, including No Country for Old Men, All the Pretty Horses, The Road, and Child of God.

1934–Police in Minneapolis, Minnesota, fire upon striking truck drivers, during the Minneapolis Teamsters Strike, killing two people and wounding 67 others.

1934–In Seattle, Washington, police fire tear gas on and club 2,000 striking longshoremen, and the governor of Oregon calls out the National Guard to break a strike on the Portland docks.

1935–A Royal Dutch Airlines plane en route from Milan, Italy, to Frankfurt, Germany, crashes into a Swiss mountain, killing 13 people.

1936–The Montreux Convention is signed in Switzerland, authorizing Turkey to fortify the Dardanelles and Bosphorus, but guaranteeing free passage to ships of all nations in peacetime.

1937–Inventor, Guglielmo Marconi, dies in Rome, Italy, at age 63. He was an inventor and electrical engineer, known for his pioneering work on long-distance radio transmission and for his development of Marconi's Law and a radio telegraph system.

1938–The U.S. Department of Justice files suit in New York City against the motion picture industry, charging violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act in regards to the studio system. The case would eventually result in a break-up of the industry in 1948.

1938–Actress, Diana Rigg, is born.

1938–Actress, Natalie Wood, is born Natalie Zacharenko in San Francisco, California. She appeared in the films Tomorrow Is Forever, Miracle on 34th Street, The Star, Rebel Without a Cause, The Girl He Left Behind, The Searchers, Majorie Morningstar, All the Fine Young Cannibals, Cash McCall, West Side Story, Splendor in the Grass, Gypsy, Love with the Proper Sranger, Sex and the Single Girl, Inside Daisy Clover, The Great Race, This Property Is Condemned, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, The Last Married Couple in America, and Brainstorm. She was married to actor, Robert Wagner

1939–Artist, writer, and feminist, Judy Chicago, is born Judy Cohen in Chicago, Illinois. Along with abstract expressionist, Miriam Shapiro, Chicago was instrumental in defining and fostering both feminist and installation art forms through their efforts at Cal-Arts, in which they involved many of the female fine art students in the project “Woman House.” Chicago went on to produce such major works as “The Birth Project” and “The Dinner Party,” which required the skills of many artists in support positions to accomplish.

1940–Denmark leaves the League of Nations.

1940–California opens the Arroyo Seco Parkway, the first freeway in the state.

1941–Soviet leader, Joseph Stalin, consolidates the Commissariats of Home Affairs and National Security to form the NKVD, naming Lavrentiy Beria its chief.

1943–Pope Leo XIII dies in Apostolic Palace, Rome, Kingdom of Italy, at age 93. Leo XIII was the first Pope to be born in the 19th century; he was also the first to die in the 20th century.

1944–Adolf Hitler survives an assassination attempt led by German Army Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg.

1944–The first Billboard music popularity chart is introduced.

1945–Singer, Kim Carnes, is born.

1945–John Lodge, of The Moody Blues, is born in Birmingham, England.

1945–French philosopher and Symbolist poet, Paul Valéry, dies in Paris, France, at age 75. In 1931, he founded the Collège International de Cannes, a private institution teaching French language and civilization. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 12 different years.

1947–Musician, Carlos Santana, is born in Mexico.

1949–Israel and Syria sign a truce to end their 19-month war.

1950–In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Harry Gold pleads guilty to spying for the Soviet Union by passing secrets from atomic scientist Klaus Fuchs.

1951–King Abdullah I of Jordan is assassinated by a Palestinian while attending Friday prayers in Jerusalem.

1951–Wilhelm, German Crown Prince, dies of a heart attack in Hechingen, Württemberg-Hohenzollern, Germany, at age 69. He was the last Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Prussia and the German Empire.

1954–Otto John, head of West Germany's Secret Service, defects to East Germany.

1954–A young Elvis Presley gives his first concert using a flatbed truck as a stage. Billed with Scotty Moore and Bill Black as the Blue Moon Boys, Elvis is playing the show to commemorate the opening of a new drugstore on Lamar Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee.

1954–Jay Jay French, of Twisted Sister, is born.

1957–Pete Shotton runs into Paul McCartney on the street in Liverpool, England, and on behalf of John Lennon and The Quarry Men, Shotton invites Paul to become a group member.

1958–Television spokesman, Billy Mays, is born William Darrell Mays, Jr. in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania. He was an American TV direct-response advertisement salesperson, most notable for promoting OxiClean, Orange Glo, Kaboom, and numerous other cleaning and household maintenance products. He was such a household name that his catch-phrase was "Hi, Billy Mays here with..."

1960–Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka) elects Sirimavo Bandaranaike Prime Minister, the world's first elected female head of government.

1960–The Polaris missile is successfully launched from a submarine (the USS George Washington) for the first time.

1961–The second issue of the music paper, Mersey Beat, in Liverpool, England, features The Beatles on the cover, along with a report on their recording session with Tony Sheridan in Germany.

1963–Actor, Frank Whaley, is born.

1964–During the Vietnam War, Viet Cong forces attack the capital of Dinh Turong Province, Cai Be, killing 11 South Vietnamese military personnel and 40 civilians (30 of them children).

1964–The press announces the issue of Beatles Ltd. shares.

1964–Chris Cornell, lead singer and guitarist for Soundgarden, is born Christopher John Boyle in Seattle, Washington.

1964–Rapper, Kool G Rap, is born.

1965–Kama Sutra Records releases The Lovin' Spoonful's first record Do You Believe in Magic.

1968–Paul McCartney and actress, Jane Asher, break their engagement. Reportedly, Paul found out about it while watching Jane give a television interview on the national British TV show Dee Time. Before long, Paul will begin seeing Linda Eastman, a professional photographer who specializes in candid photos of rock musicians.

1968–Iron Butterfly's album, In-a-Gadda-da-Vida, featuring the 17-minute title track with one of the longest drum solos in rock history, debuts on the U.S. charts.

1969–Astronaut, Neil Armstrong, first sets foot on the Moon. He pilots the lunar landing module Eagle to the Moon's surface and lands at the edge of the Sea of Tranquillity. When he descends a ladder, his boot sank three millimeters into the dust on the lunar surface, forming the first human footprint ever made there. He proclaims, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin establish “Tranquility Base,” while Michael Collins orbits above. Nearly 700 million Earthlings tune in, as the historic moment is televised around the world.

1969–A cease fire is announced between Honduras and El Salvador, six days after the beginning of the "Football War."

1971–John Lennon and Yoko Ono face the world’s media in another press conference for her book Grapefruit; this time at the Lennon’s spacious Tittenhurst Park mansion in Ascot, England. Due to the sheer volume of people present at this unique event, John and Yoko stipulate that at the very most they will spend no more than 15 minutes with each reporter-journalist.

1973–Rapper, Omar Epps, is born.

1973–Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway, is born.

1973–Martial artist and actor, Bruce Lee, dies.

1974–Forces from Turkey invade Cyprus after a coup d'état, organised against President Makarios by the dictator of Greece.

1976–The American Viking 1 lander successfully lands on Mars.

1977–The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) releases documents under the Freedom of Information Act revealing it had engaged in mind-control experiments.

1977–Record producer, Gary Kellgren, dies from drowning in a swimming pool in Hollywood, California, at age 38. He was operator and part-owner of two of the most popular recording studios on the West Coast (the Los Angeles Record Plant and the Sausalito Record Plant). He had engineered and produced albums by Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, Ringo Starr, George Harrison, Rod Stewart, Barbara Streisand, and Sly and the Family Stone.

1978–Child actor, Charlie Korsmo, is born.

1982–The Provisional IRA detonates two bombs in Hyde Park and Regent's Park in central London, England, killing eight soldiers, wounding 47 others, and causing the death of seven horses.

1984–Jogger, Jim Fixx, dies of a heart attack in in Hardwick, Vermont, at age 52. He is credited with helping start America's fitness revolution, popularizing the sport of running and demonstrating the health benefits of regular jogging.

1985–The government of Aruba passes legislation to secede from the Netherlands Antilles.

1987–Actor, Richard Egan, dies.

1989–Burma's ruling junta puts opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest.

1992–Václav Havel resigns as President of Czechoslovakia.

1997–During the Sri Lankan Civil War, Sri Lankan MP M.E.H. Maharoof is shot dead.

1997–The fully restored USS Constitution (a.k.a. Old Ironsides) celebrates its 200th birthday by setting sail for the first time in 116 years.

1999–The Chinese Communist Party begins a persecution campaign against Falun Gong, arresting thousands of people nationwide.

2005–Canada legalizes same-sex marriage, being the fourth country in the world to do so.

2005–Actor, James Doohan, dies of Parkinson's disease in Redmond, Washington, at age 85. He is best known for the role of Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the TV and film series Star Trek. When the Star Trek franchise was revived, Doohan reprised the role of Scotty in seven Star Trek films.

2006–Actor, Robert Cornthwaite, dies of natural causes at the Motion Picture and Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California, at age 89. He appeared in the films The Thing from Another World, Monkey Business, The War of the Worlds, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, Futureworld, Deal of the Century, and Matinee.

2007–Tammy Faye Bakker, wife of evangelist Jim Bakker, dies of cancer in Loch Lloyd, Missouri, at age 65.

2012–Gunman, James Holmes, opens fire at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, as it is showing The Dark Knight Rises, killing 12 people and injuring 70 others.

2013–Veteran White House reporter, Helen Thomas, dies after a long illness in Washington, D.C., at age 92. She joined United Press in 1943, and became the official UPI White House correspondent in January 1961. Thomas covered news on every U.S. President from Dwight D. Eisenhower to Barack Obama.

2015–After five decades, the United States and Cuba resume full diplomatic relations.

2015–A huge explosion targeting The Socialist Youth Associations Federation in the mostly Kurdish border town of Suruç, Turkey, kills at least 31 people and injures over 100 others.

2015–Cartoonist, Tom Moore, dies of throat cancer in El Paso, Texas, at age 86. He was the the talent behind the Archie Comic Book series from 1953 through 1988. He was also an illustrator for Snuffy Smith, Underdog, and Mighty Mouse.

2016–At least three French Armed Forces soldiers carrying out dangerous intelligence operations are killed after their helicopter is shot down near the city of Benghazi, Libya.

2016–Unilever buys Dollar Shave Club for $1 billion.

2016–Senator Ted Cruz, the runner-up in the race for the Republican Party presidential nomination, is booed off stage at the Republican National Convention after giving a speech in which he refused to endorse Donald Trump.

2016–Most of Fox News’ primetime lineup (including Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, Greta Van Susteren, Bret Baier, and Neil Cavuto) is reportedly willing to walk out of the network with Chief Executive and Chairman, Roger Ailes, if he is suspended by Rupert Murdoch.

2016–Breitbart tech editor and outspoken conservative gay activist, Milo Yiannopoulos, is "permanently" banned from Twitter. He has more than 338,000 registered followers.

2017–SpaceX CEO, Elon Musk, says he has received federal government approval for The Boring Company to build an underground 760 mph Hyperloop that will connect New York City and Washington, D.C.

2017–Ram Nath Kovind wins the Indian presidential election, after securing over two-thirds of the total electoral college votes.

2017–After serving more than eight years in prison for a botched bid to retrieve sports memorabilia in Las Vegas, Nevada, 70-year-old O.J. Simpson is granted parole. Simpson apologizes to the people of Nevada and says that he has been humbled by his time behind bars.

2017–Costume jewelry designer, Kenneth Jay Lane, dies at age 85. He launched his business in 1963, while producing bejeweled footwear for Dior and Arnold Scaasi. His talent at copying high end jewelry from a quick glimpse proved popular and his clients proudly wore the faux pieces. Jacqueline Kennedy was among those who commissioned fake jewels from Lane to wear while keeping the valuable originals in a safe. Lane also established a presence as a vendor of jewelry on the cable TV home-shopping network, QVC, with his twice-a-month, four-hour appearances in 1997 each taking in $1.5 million.


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