EVENTS
- Science Fiction Day
- 1788 – Georgia becomes a US state
- 1860 – Urban Le Verrier announces the discovery of the planet Vulcan. Despite a thorough astrological research, the planet was never actually sighted.
- 1870 – The construction of the Brooklyn Bridge begins.
- 1882 – John D. Rockefeller puts all of his oil holdings into the Standard Oil trust.
- 1929 – Canada and the United States agree on a plan to preserve Niagara Falls.
- 1905 – The Russians surrendered to the Japanese after the Battle of Port Arthur during the Russian-Japanese War. A peace conference was later held in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, with President Theodore Roosevelt serving as a mediator. In September of 1905, the Russians agreed to the Treaty of Portsmouth yielding Port Arthur and the Liaodong Peninsula to Japan. Russia also agreed to evacuate Manchuria and recognize Japan’s interests in Korea.
- 1942 – During World War II in the Pacific, the Japanese captured the Philippines capital of Manila and the nearby air base at Cavite.
- 1959 – Luna 1 is launched. In the space race, the Soviet spacecraft was the first to reach the vicinity of the moon and orbit the sun.
- 1960 – In Washington, D.C., Senator John F. Kennedy announced his intention to seek the Democratic presidential nomination.
- 1967 – Ronald Reagan is sworn in as Governor of California.
- 1971 – 66 football fans die in the Ibrox disaster. Over 200 people were injured in the crush, which occurred at the end of an association football game between the Glasgow-based clubs, Rangers, and Celtic, at Ibrox Park.
- 1974 – The maximum US speed limit is reduced to 55 MPH in order to conserve gasoline.
- 1981 – The “Yorkshire Ripper” is caught. Peter Sutcliffe confessed to murdering 13 women and was sentenced to life imprisonment.
BIRTHDAYS
- 1920 – Isaac Azimov (Sci-Fi Author)
- 1936 – Roger Miller (Song Writer)
- 1968 – Cuba Gooding Jr. (Actor)
- 1969 – Christy Turlington (Model)
- 1983 – Kate Bosworth (Actress)
DEATHS
- 1892 – George Biddell Airy (English mathematician, astronomer)
- 1904 – James Longstreet (American general, diplomat)
- 1960 – Fausto Coppi (Italian cyclist)
- 1989 – Safdar Hashmi (Indian playwright, actor, director)
- 1995 – Siad Barre (Somalian military officer, politician, 3rd President of Somalia)