EVENTS
- 1885 – Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is published
- 1929 – First Academy Awards are announced.
- 1930 – Pluto is discovered.
- 1943 – The Gestapo arrests German resistance fighter Sophie Scholl and other White Rose activists. 21-year-old student Scholl and her fellow campaigners were executed for having distributed flyers criticizing the Nazi regime.
- 1953 – The first 3D movie opens.
- 1954 – The first Church of Scientology is established. Despite many controversies, Scientology has gained thousands of members since its inception.
- 1977 – The Space Shuttle takes off on its maiden flight. The “Enterprise” was mounted on a Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft; the first free flight took place on August 12, 1977
- 1978 – Hawaii hosts the first Ironman Triathlon. Contestants have to swim 2.4 miles (3.86 km), bike 112 miles (180.25 km) and complete a marathon run measuring 26.2 miles (42.2 km).
BIRTHDAYS
- 1516 – Mary 1 of England (Queen)
- 1745 – Allesandro Volta (Scientist – the Volt is named for him)
- 1838 – Ernst Mach (Austrian physicist)
- 1892 – American politician Wendell Willkie (1892-1944) was born in Elwood, Illinois. He was the Republican nominee for president in 1940, running against Franklin D. Roosevelt.
- 1931 – Toni Morrison (Author)
- 1933 – Yoko Ono (Singer and wife of John Lennon)
- 1950 – John Hughes (Director)
- 1954 – John Travolta (Actor)
- 1957 – Vanna White (Wheel of Fortune)
- 1964 – Matt Dillon (Actor)
- 1965 – Dr. Dre (Rapper)
- 1968 – Molly Ringwald (Actress)
- 1974 – Yevgeny Kafelnikov (Russian tennis player