EVENTS
- 1803 – United States Senate ratifies the Louisiana Purchase to buy most of what is now called the Midwest.
- 1818 – The U.S. and Britain agreed to set the U.S.- Canadian border at the 49th parallel.
- 1935 – The armies of the Communist Party of China complete a 4000 mile, year long retreat called The Long March.
- 1944 – During World War II in the Pacific, General Douglas MacArthur set foot on Philippine soil for the first time since his escape in 1942, fulfilling his promise, “I shall return.”
- 1955 – ‘The Return of the King’, the final book in J.R.R. Tolkien’s the ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy, is published.
- 1962 – War breaks out between India and China. The month-long border dispute began after the Chinese launched a two-pronged attack on the border between the two countries. During the duration of hostilities, China and India did not officially declare war on each other nor cut off any diplomatic ties. The conflict ended with China taking control of Aksai Chin and both countries accepting a de facto border along what is now known as Line of Control.
- 1968 – Jacqueline Kennedy married multi-millionaire Greek businessman Aristotle Onassis, ending nearly five years of widowhood following the assassination of her first husband, President John F. Kennedy.
- 1973 – The first episode of ‘The Six Million Dollar Man’ airs on TV.
- 1973 – The ‘Saturday Night Massacre’ occurred during the Watergate scandal as President Richard M. Nixon fired Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus. Attorney General Elliot Richardson resigned. A firestorm of political protest erupted over the firings leading to widespread demands for Nixon’s impeachment.
- 1973 – Sydney Opera House opens its doors. The iconic building, which was declared as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, was designed by Danish architect Jørn Oberg Utzon. Construction on the performing arts center began in March 1959 and cost over $100 million.
- 1982 – Luzhniki Disaster. A stampede during a UEFA Cup soccer (football) match between Dutch club Haarlem and the Moscovian football club, Spartak at the Lenin Stadium in Moscow left about 60 people dead.
- 2011 – Muammar Gaddafi is captured. The deposed leader of Libya, Muammar Gaddafi, is captured by the National Transitional Council Forces. He was killed by the troops soon after.
BIRTHDAYS
- 1632 – Christopher Wren (British Architect)
- 1859 – John Dewey (American philosopher, psychologist)
- 1931 – Mickey Mantle (Baseball Player)
- 1950 – Tom Petty (Musician)
- 1958 – Viggo Mortensen (Actor – Lord of the Rings Trilogy)
- 1971 – Snoop Dogg (Rapper)
- 1979 – John Krasinski (Actor)
DEATHS
- 1890 – Richard Francis Burton (English soldier, geographer, diplomat)
- 1950 – Henry L. Stimson (American statesman, lawyer, politician)
- 1964 – Herbert Hoover (American politician, 31st President of the United States)
- 1984 – Paul Dirac (English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate)
- 2011 – Muammar Gaddafi (Libyan politician, Prime Minister of Libya)