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1928–Musician, Alexis Korner, is born in Paris, France. A tireless advocate of the blues, he brought American legends over to play in England, and his Blues Incorporated included young Rolling Stones Charlie Watts and Brian Jones, and Cream's Jack Bruce. Korner also had a tremendous influence on Eric Clapton, John Mayall, The Animals, and Led Zeppelin.



65–The freedman, Milichus, betrays Piso's plot to kill the Emperor Nero and all the conspirators are arrested.

531–A Byzantine army, under Belisarius, is defeated by the Persians at Al-Raqqah (northern Syria).

797–Empress Irene organizes a conspiracy against her son, the Byzantine Emperor Constantine VI. He is deposed and blinded. Shortly after, Constantine dies of his wounds and Irene proclaims herself basileus.

1054–Pope Leo IX, (1049-1054), dies in Rome, Papal States, Holy Roman Empire, at age 51.

1321–Gerasimus I of Constantinople dies.

1390–Robert II, King of Scots, dies at Dundonald Castle in Ayrshire, Scotland.

1452–Frederick IV, King of Naples, is born in Naples, Kingdom of Naples.

1506–The Lisbon Massacre begins, in which accused Jews are being slaughtered by Portuguese Catholics.

1529–The Protestant Reformation begins. After the Second Diet of Speyer bans Lutheranism, a group of rulers (German: Fürst) and independent cities protests the reinstatement of the Edict of Worms.

1539–Charles V and Protestants sign the Treaty of Frankfurt.

1560–Religious reformer, Philipp Melanchthon, dies from a severe cold and fever in Wittenberg, Germany, at age 63. He was a collaborator with Martin Luther in regard to the Protestant Reformation. Along with Luther, he is the primary founder of Lutheranism. His body was buried beside Martin Luther's in the Schloßkirche in Wittenberg.

1608–In Ireland, O'Doherty's Rebellion is launched by the Burning of Derry.

1677–The French army captures the town of Cambrai, held by Spanish troops.

1689–Christina, Queen of Sweden, dies an acute streptococcus bacterial infection known as erysipelas at Palazzo Corsini in Rome, Papal States, at age 62.

1713–With no living male heirs, Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor, issues the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 to ensure that Habsburg lands and the Austrian throne will be inherited by his daughter, Maria Theresa.

1721–Roger Sherman, a Founding Father of America, is born in Newton, Massachusetts. He served as the first Mayor of New Haven, Connecticut, and was also a representative and senator in the new republic. He was the only person to sign all four great state papers of the U.S.: the Continental Association, the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution.

1770–Captain James Cook, still holding the rank of lieutenant, sights the eastern coast of what is now Australia.

1770–Marie Antoinette marries Louis XVI of France in a proxy wedding.

1775–The American Revolutionary War begins with an American victory in Concord, during the battles of Lexington and Concord.

1782–John Adams secures the Dutch Republic's recognition of the United States as an independent government, and the house he purchased in The Hague, Netherlands, becomes the first American Embassy.

1793–Ferdinand I of Austria is born Ferdinand Charles Leopold Joseph Francis Marcelin in Vienna, Archduchy of Austria, Holy Roman Empire. He was Emperor of Austria, President of the German Confederation, and King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia.

1809–An Austrian corps is defeated by the forces of the Duchy of Warsaw in the Battle of Raszyn, part of the struggles of the Fifth Coalition. On the same day the Austrian main army is defeated by a First French Empire Corps, led by Louis-Nicolas Davout, at the Battle of Teugen-Hausen in Bavaria, part of a four-day campaign that ends in a French victory.

1810–Venezuela achieves home rule. Vicente Emparán, Governor of the Captaincy General, is removed by the people of Caracas and a junta is installed.

1813–Physician, Benjamin Rush, dies in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was a political leader and signer of the Declaration of Independence.

1818–French physicist, Augustin Fresnel, signs his preliminary "Note on the Theory of Diffraction." The document ends with what we now call the Fresnel integrals.

1824–Poet, Lord Byron, dies in Missolonghi, Aetolia, Ottoman Empire (present-day Aetolia-Acarnania, Greece), at age 36. The last few years of his life were spent in Italy, where he wrote much of his masterpiece, Don Juan.

1836–Businessman and philanthropist, Augustus D. Juilliard, is born at sea while his parents were en route to the United States. He bequeathed much of his large estate to the advancement of music in the United States. In 1920, trustees of his estate set up the Juilliard Foundation to accomplish his goals, and established The Juilliard School in New York City as a graduate music conservatory in 1924.

1839–The Treaty of London establishes Belgium as a kingdom and guarantees its neutrality.

1855–Napoleon III pays a visit to Guildhall in London, England. The building has been used as a town hall for several hundred years, and is still the ceremonial and administrative centre of the City of London and its Corporation.

1861–President Abraham Lincoln orders a blockade of Southern ports from South Carolina to Texas.

1861–A pro-Secession mob in Baltimore, Maryland, attacks United States Army troops marching through the city.

1865–The funeral service for Abraham Lincoln is held in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C.

1866–Oil magnate, Henri W.A. Deterding, is born Henri Wilhelm August Deterding in Amsterdam, the Kingdom of the Netherlands. He was one of the first executives of the Royal Dutch Petroleum Company and for 36 years (1900-1936) its Chairman and the Chairman of the combined Royal Dutch/Shell Oil Company.

1877–Ole Evinrude, inventor of the outboard marine engine, is born in Hunndalen in Vardal municipality (present-day Gjovik, Oppland, Norway).

1882–The triangle between Broadway, 42nd Street, and 7th Avenue is officially named Times Square in honor of the newly built Times Square building.

1882–English naturalist, Charles Darwin, dies of coronary thrombosis at Down House, Luxted Road, Downe, Kent, England, at age 73. He developed the theory of evolution expressed in his book The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.

1892–Charles Duryea takes the first American-made auto out for a drive in in Springfield, Massachusetts.

1897–The first Boston Marathon takes place in Boston, Massachusetts. John J. McDermott wins with a time of 2:55:10.

1897–Super-centenarian, Jiroemon Kimura, is born in the fishing village of Kamiukawa, Japan. He will live to the age of 116 (and 54 days). Four of Kimura's siblings lived past the age of 90, and his youngest brother died at the age of 100. Being born in the year 30 of the Meiji period, he lived in the reigns of four emperors, and during the premierships of 61 Japanese Prime Ministers, from Matsukata Masayoshi to Shinzo Abe.

1898–The 2nd Boston Marathon is won by Ron McDonald of Massachusetts, with a time of 2:42:00.

1899–The 3rd Boston Marathon is won by Lawrence Brignolia of Massachusetts, with a time of 2:54:38.

1900–(Daniel) Roland Michener, Governor General of Canada, is born in Lacombe, NWT (present-day Lacombe, Alberta, Canada).

1900–The 4th Boston Marathon is won by Jim Caffrey of Canada, with a time of 2:39:44.

1901–The 5th Boston Marathon is won by Jim Caffrey of Canada, with a time of 2:29:23.

1902–A 7.5 earthquake in Quelzaltenango, Guatemala, kills 2,000 people.

1902–The 6th Boston Marathon is won by Sam Mellor of New York, with a time of 2:43:12.

1903–The Kishinev pogrom in Kishinev (Bessarabia) begins, forcing tens of thousands of Jews to later seek refuge in Palestine and the Western world.

1903–Federal agent, Elliot Ness, is born in Chicago, Illinois. He was famous for his efforts to enforce Prohibition in Chicago, as the Chief Investigator of the Prohibition Bureau for Chicago and leader of a famous team of law enforcement agents nicknamed The Untouchables. His story was told in the 1960s TV series The Untouchables, and the film of the same name, starring Kevin Coster as Ness.

1904–A good part of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is destroyed by fire.

1904–The 8th Boston Marathon is won by Michael Spring of New York, with a time of 2:38:04.

1905–The 9th Boston Marathon is won by Fred Lorz of New York, with a time of 2:38:25.

1906–The 10th Boston Marathon is won by Tim Ford of Massachusetts, with a time of 2:45:45.

1906–Chemist and physicist, Pierre Curie, dies when he slips and falls under a heavy horse-drawn cart in Paris, France, at age 46. He dies instantly when one of the wheels runs over his head, fracturing his skull. Together with his wife Marie, he worked on magnetism and radioactivity.

1907–The 11th Boston Marathon is won by Tom Longboat of Canada, with a time of 2:24:24.

1909–The 13th Boston Marathon is won by Henri Renaud of New Hampshire, with a time of 2:53:36.

1910–The 14th Boston Marathon is won by Fred Cameron of Canada, with a time of 2:28:52.

1910–Historian, Andrew (Graham) Gilchrist, is born in the village of Lesmahagow, Lanarkshire, Scotland. He was a British Special Operations Executive operative, who later served as the United Kingdom's Ambassador to Ireland, Indonesia, and Iceland during the Cold War.

1911–The 15th Boston Marathon is won by Clarence DeMar of Massachusetts, with a time of 2:21:39.

1912–The 16th Boston Marathon is won by Mike Ryan of New York, with a time of 2:21:18.

1912–Chemist, Glenn T. Seaborg, is born Glenn Theodore Seaborg in Ishpeming, Michigan. His involvement in the synthesis, discovery, and investigation of ten transuranium elements earned him a share of the 1951 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. His work in this area also led to his development of the actinide concept and the arrangement of the actinide series in the periodic table of the elements.

1913–The 17th Boston Marathon is won by Fritz Carlson of Minnesota, with a time of 2:25:14.

1915–The 19th Boston Marathon is won by Edouard Fabre of Canada, with a time of 2:31:41.

1916–The 20th Boston Marathon is won by Arthur Roth of Massachusetts, with a time of 2:27:16.

1917–The 21st Boston Marathon is won by Bill Kennedy of New York, with a time of 2:28:37.

1919–Leslie Irvin of the United States makes the first successful voluntary free-fall parachute jump using a new kind of self-contained parachute.

1919–The 23rd Boston Marathon is won by Carl Linder of Massachusetts, with a time of 2:29:13.

1920–The 24th Boston Marathon is won by Peter Trivoulidas of Greece, with a time of 2:29:31.

1920–Comedian, Frank Fontaine, is born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He is best known for the character of Crazy Guggenheim on The Jackie Gleason Show.

1921–The 25th Boston Marathon is won by Frank Zuna of New Jersey, with a time of 2:18:57.

1922–The 26th Boston Marathon is won by Clarence DeMar of Massachusetts, with a time of 2:18:10.

1923–The 27th Boston Marathon is won by Clarence DeMar of Massachusetts, with a time of 2:23:37.

1924–The first national country radio show in America, The Chicago Barn Dance, debuts on WLS radio.

1924–The 28th Boston Marathon is won by Clarence DeMar of Massachusetts, with a time of 2:29:40.

1925–Actor, Hugh O'Brian, is born Hugh Charles Krampe in Rochester, New York. He is best known for his starring role on the TV Western The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp. He appeared in the films D.O.A., Rocketship X-M, The Return of Jesse James, The Cimarron Kid, The Lawless Breed, The Man from the Alamo, There's No Business Like Show Business, Come Fly with Me, In Harm’s Way, Ten Little Indians, The Shootist, Doin' Time on Planet Earth, and Twins.

1926–The 30th Boston Marathon is won by Johnny Miles of Canada, with a time of 2:25:40.

1927–Actress, Mae West, is found guilty of indecent behavior in her Broadway production Sex and is sentenced to 10 days in jail.

1927–The 31st Boston Marathon is won by Clarence DeMar of Massachusetts, with a time of 2:40:22.

1928–The 125th, and final, fascicle of The Oxford English Dictionary is published.

1928–The 32nd Boston Marathon is won by Clarence DeMar of Massachusetts, with a time of 2:37:07.

1928–Musician, Alexis Korner, is born in Paris, France. A tireless advocate of the blues, he brought American legends over to play in England, and his Blues Incorporated included young Rolling Stones Charlie Watts and Brian Jones, and Cream's Jack Bruce. Korner also had a tremendous influence on Eric Clapton, John Mayall, The Animals, and Led Zeppelin.

1929–The 33rd Boston Marathon is won by Johnny Miles of Canada, with a time of 2:33:08.

1930–The 34th Boston Marathon is won by Clarence DeMar of Massachusetts, with a time of 2:34:48.

1930–Actor, Dick Sargent, is born Richard Stanford Cox in Carmel-by-the-Sea, Califormia. He is best known for the role of the “second Darren” on the TV series Bewitched. He appeared in the films The Beast with a Million Eyes, Love Me Tender, Bernardine, Mardi Gras, Operation Petticoat, The Great Imposter, That Touch of Mink, Captain Newman, M.D., Billie, The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, and Live a Little, Love a Little.

1932–President Herbert Hoover suggests a five-day work week for Americans.

1932–The 36th Boston Marathon is won by Paul de Bruyn of Germany, with a time of 2:33:36.

1933–The United States goes off the gold standard.

1933–The 37th Boston Marathon is won by Leslie Pawson of Rhode Island, with a time of 2:31:01.

1933–Actress and sex symbol, Jayne Mansfield, is born Vera Jane Palmer in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. She was the B-movie Marilyn Monroe, until her untimely death in an automobile accident on the Lake Ponchartrain Bridge near New Orleans, Louisiana. She appeared in the films Pete Kelly’s Blues, Female Jungle, The Girl Can’t Help It, The Wayward Bus, The Burglar, Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?, Kiss Them for me, The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw, It Takes a Thief, Promises! Promises!, Single Room Furnished, and A Guide for the Married Man. She was married to bodybuilder, Mickey Hargitay, and their daughter is actress, Mariska Hargitay.

1934–Child actress, Shirley Temple, appears in her first movie Stand Up and Cheer.

1934–The 38th Boston Marathon is won by Dave Komonen of Canada, with a time of 2:32:53.

1934–Parody singer, Dickie Goodman, is born Richard Dorian Goodman in Brooklyn, New York. He is best known for inventing and using the technique of the "break-in," an early precursor to sampling, that used brief clips of popular records and songs to "answer" comedic questions posed by voice actors on his novelty records. His first record was The Flying Saucer Parts 1 & II, which he co-wrote with his partner Bill Buchanan, which featured a four-minute rewriting of Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds radio show.

1935–The 39th Boston Marathon is won by John A. Kelley of Massachusetts, with a time of 2:32:07.

1935–Comedian-actor, Dudley Moore, is born Dudley Stuart John Moore in Hammersmith, London, England. He appeared in the films The Wrong Box, Bedazzled, The Bed-Sitting Room, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Foul Play, 10, Arthur, Six Weeks, Lovesick, Romantic Comedy, and Unfaithfully Yours. He was married to actresses, Suzy Kendall and Tuesday Weld.

1937–The 41st Boston Marathon is won by Walter Young of Canada, with a time of 2:33:20.

1937–Actress, (Mary) Elinor Donahue, is born in Tacoma, Washington. She is best known for the role of Betty Anderson on the TV series Father Knows Best. She appeard in the films Mister Big, And Now Tomorrow, Winter Wonderland, Three Darling Daughters, Tenth Avenue Angel, An Old-Fashioned Girl, My Blue Heaven, Her First Romance, Love is Better Than Ever, Girls Town, Going Berserk, and Pretty Woman.

1938–The 42nd Boston Marathon is won by Leslie Pawson of Rhode Island, with a time of 2:35:34.

1939–The 43rd Boston Marathon is won by Ellison Brown of Rhode Island, with a time of 2:28:51.

1940–The 44th Boston Marathon is won by Gerard Cote of Canada, with a time of 2:28:28.

1941–The 45th Boston Marathon is won by Leslie Pawson of Rhode Island with a time of 2:30:38.

1941–Chef, Michel Roux, is born in Charolles, Saône-et-Loire, Vichy France.

1942–In Poland, the Majdan-Tatarski ghetto is established, situated between the Lublin Ghetto and a Majdanek subcamp.

1942–The 46th Boston Marathon is won by Joe Smith of Massachusetts, with a time of 2:26:51.

1942–Alan Price, the founder of The Animals, is born in Fatfield, Durham, England. The band was originally called The Alan Price Combo, and played mostly R&B songs. Group members overheard some fans talking about those "wild animals" on stage, and thus the band adopted a new name, The Animals. Price's organ work and the vocals of Eric Burdon were the core of their early hits, such as House of the Rising Sun. Alan Price went on to a very successful solo career, starting with a string of “Top 10” hits in the late 1960s with the Alan Price Set, which included his dynamic version of I Put a Spell on You. His most memorable solo work in the U.S. is the soundtrack for the cult film O Lucky Man!

1943–In Poland, the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising begins, after German troops enter the area to round up the remaining Jews.

1943–The 47th Boston Marathon is won by Gerard Cote of Canada, with a time of 2:28:25.

1945–The Rodgers & Hammerstein musical, Carousel, opens on Broadway.

1945–The 49th Boston Marathon is won by John A. Kelley of Massachusetts, with a time of 2:30:40.

1946–Actor, Tim Curry, is born Timothy James Curry in Grappenhall, Cheshire, England. He is best known for his role in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. He appeared in the films The Shout, Annie, The Ploughman's Lunch, Legend, Clue, The Hunt for Red October, The Three Musketeers, Charlie’s Angels, and Kinsey.

1947–The Stanley Cup: The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Montreal Canadiens, 4 games to 2.

1947–The 51st Boston Marathon is won by Yun Bok Soh of Korea, with a time of 2:25:39.

1947–Mark Volman, a member of the pop group The Turtles and the Flo half of Flo and Eddie, is born in Los Angeles, California. Volman was also a member of Frank Zappa’s group, The Mothers of Invention.

1948–Chiang Kai-shek is elected President of Nationalist China.

1948–Burma joins the United Nations.

1948–The ABC Television Network begins operation.

1948–The 52nd Boston Marathon is won by Gerard Cote of Canada, with a time of 2:31:02.

1949–The New York Yankees dedicate a plaque for Babe Ruth.

1949–The 53rd Boston Marathon is won by Gosta Leandersson of Sweden, with a time of 2:31:50.

1949–Paloma Picasso, artist and jewelry designer, is born Anne Paloma Ruiz-Picasso y Gilot in Paris, France. She is the daughter of artist, Pablo Picasso, and is represented in many of her father's works, such as Paloma with an Orange and Paloma in Blue.

1950–Argentina becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.

1950–The 54th Boston Marathon is won by Kee Yong Ham of Korea, with a time of 2:32:39.

1951–General Douglas MacArthur, having been fired by President Truman a week earlier as commander of U.S. forces in Korea, speaks before Congress, delivering his “old soldiers never die” retirement speech.

1951–The 55th Boston Marathon is won by Shigeki Tanaka of Japan, with a time of 2:27:45.

1951–Actor, (Donald) Barry Brown, is born in San Jose, California. He appeared in the films Halls of Anger, The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid, Bad Company, Premonition, Daisy Miller, The Ulimate Thrill, and Piranha.

1952–The 56th Boston Marathon is won by Doroteo Flores of Guatemala, with a time of 2:31:53.

1954–The Constituent Assembly of Pakistan recognises Urdu and Bengali as the national languages of Pakistan.

1954–The 58th Boston Marathon is won by Veikko Karvonen of Finland, with a time of 2:20:39. The seven-time winner of the Boston Marathon, 65-year-old Clarence Demar, runs his last race, finishing 78th.

1955–After six years of selling cars in America, the German automaker, Volkswagen, opens Volkswagen of America in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.

1955–The 59th Boston Marathon is won by Hideo Hamamura of Japan, with a time of 2:18:22

1956–Actress, Grace Kelly, marries Prince Rainier of Monaco.

1956–The 60th Boston Marathon is won by Antti Viskari of Finland, with a time of 2:14:14.

1957–Charles Funk, co-creator of the Funk & Wagnalls Encyclopedia, dies at age 76.

1958–The 62nd Boston Marathon is won by Franjo Mihalic of Yugoslavia, with a time of 2:25:54.

1960–Students in South Korea hold a nationwide pro-democracy protest against president Syngman Rhee, eventually forcing him to resign.

1960–Elvis Presley's first release since leaving the Army, Stuck on You, goes to #1. Meanwhile, Presley boards a train for Los Angeles, where he will begin filmingthe movie G.I. Blues.

1960–Baseball uniforms begin displaying the name of the player on their back.

1960–The 64th Boston Marathon is won by Paavo Kotila of Finland, with a time of 2:20:54.

1961–The 65th Boston Marathon is won by Eino Oksanen of Finland, with a time of 2:23:39.

1962–Soul singer, Jackie Wilson, begins a headlining stint at New York's famous Copacabana Club.

1962–The 66th Boston Marathon is won by Eino Oksanen of Finland, with a time of 2:23:48.

1962–Racecar driver, Al Unser, Jr., is born in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500. He is the son of Al Unser, and the nephew of Bobby Unser, both Indianapolis 500 winners.

1963–The 67th Boston Marathon is won by Aurele Vandendriessche of Belgium, with a time of 2:18:58.

1965–At a cost of $20,000, the outer Astrodome ceiling is painted because of the sun's glare. Unfortunately, this causes the grass to die.

1965–The T.A.M.I. Show (Teen-Age Music International Show) has its premiere in Great Britain under the title Teenage Command Performance.

1965–The 69th Boston Marathon is won by Morio Shigematsu of Japan, with a time of 2:16:33.

1965–Record producer, Suge Knight, is born Marion Hugh Knight Jr. in Compton, California. He is the co-founder and former CEO of Death Row Records.

1966–The 70th Boston Marathon is won by Kenji Kimihara of Japan, with a time of 2:17:11. Roberta Bignay becomes first woman to run in the Boston Marathon.

1967–The U.S. Surveyor III lands on the Moon.

1967–The 71st Boston Marathon is won by Dave McKenzie of New Zealand, with a time of 2:15:45.

1968–The 72nd Boston Marathon is won by Amby Burfoot of Connecticut, with a time of 2:22:17.

1968–Actress, Ashley (Taylor) Judd, is born in Granada Hills, California. She appeared in the films Kuffs, Ruby in Paradise, Natural Born Killers, Heat, Smoke, A Time to Kill, Normal Life, Kiss the Girls, Double Jeopardy, Someone Like You, Frida, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, De-Lovely, and Twisted. Her mother is singer, Naomi Judd, and her sister is singer, Wynonna Judd.

1971–Vietnam Veterans Against the War begin a five-day demonstration in Washington, D.C.

1971–Sierra Leone becomes a republic, with Siaka Stevens as President.

1971–The launch of Salyut 1, the first space station, takes place.

1971–Charles Manson is sentenced to death (later commuted life imprisonment) for conspiracy to commit the Tate-LaBianca murders.

1971–The 75th Boston Marathon is won by Alvaro Mejia of Colombia, with a time of 2:18:45.

1972–Bangladesh becomes a member of the British Commonwealth.

1972–The U.S. conducts a nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

1973–The Portuguese Socialist Party is founded in Bad Münstereifel, Germany.

1973–The USSR conducts a nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh.

1974–Politician, Ayub Khan, dies in Islamabad, Pakistan, at age 66. He was the first military dictator and the self-appointed second President of Pakistan, who assumed power in the 1958 Pakistani coup d'état, serving in office until his forced resignation amid a popular uprising in 1969.

1975–India launches its first satellite with help of the USSR.

1976–The 80th Boston Marathon is won by Jack Fultz of Washington, D.C., with a time of 2:20:19.

1976–The 5th Boston Women's Marathon is won by Kim Merritt of Wisconsin, with a time of 2:47:10.

1976–Percy Julian, holder of more than 138 chemical patents, dies in Waukegan, Illinois, at age 76. He was a research chemist and a pioneer in the chemical synthesis of medicinal drugs from plants. He was the first to synthesize the natural product physostigmine, and a pioneer in the industrial, large-scale chemical synthesis of the human hormones progesterone and testosterone from plant sterols such as stigmasterol and sitosterol. His work laid the foundation for the steroid drug industry's production of cortisone, other corticosteroids, and birth control pills.

1977–The Pulitzer Prizes are awarded. Reporting: Walter Mears of the Associated Press, for his coverage of the 1976 Presidential campaign; Fiction: No award given; Drama: The Shadow Box by Michael Cristofer (Drama Book Specialists); Non-Fiction: Beautiful Swimmers by William W. Warner (Atlantic-Little Brown); History: The Impending Crisis, 1841-1867 by David M. Potter, a posthumous publication. Manuscript finished by Don E. Fehrenbacher (Harper); Biography or Autobiography: A Prince of Our Disorder: The Life of T. E. Lawrence by John E. Mack (Little); Poetry: Divine Comedies by James Merrill (Atheneum); Photography: Robin Hood of The Chattanooga News-Free Press, for his photograph of a disabled veteran and his child at an Armed Forces Day parade; Music: Visions of Terror and Wonder by Richard Wernick (Theodore Presser Company). Writer, Alex Haley, receives a special Pulitzer Prize for his book Roots.

1978–Arista Records releases the Patti Smith Group's single Because the Night. It is co-written by Smith and Bruce Springsteen, and will become Smith's only charting single.

1978–Over 40 rock and roll performers petition President Jimmy Carter to end America's commitment to nuclear power. Some of the artists include Jackson Browne, The Doobie Brothers, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Carly Simon, Bruce Springsteen, and James Taylor. They will later present an anti-nuclear benefit concert.

1978–Actor, James (Edward) Franco, is born in Palo Alto, California. He appeared in the films Never Been Kissed, Sonny, The Company, Spider-Man 2, The Ape, Tristan & Isolde, An American Crime, Nights in Rondanthe, Milk, Shadows and Lies, Eat Pray Love, Howl, The Green Hornet, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Wild Horses, and Bukowski.

1979–Actress, Kate (Garry) Hudson, is born in Los Angeles, California. She appeared in the films Desert Blue, 200 Cigarettes, Dr. T & the Women, Almost Famous, Le Divorce, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Raising Helen, Bride Wars, and Nine. She is the daughter of actress, Goldie Hawn, and musician, Bill Hudson.

1980–For the first time, the five spots at the top of the Billboard Country Music chart are all female: Crystal Gayle with It's Like We Never Said Goodbye; Dottie West with A Lesson in Leavin'; Debbie Boone with Are You on the Road to Lovin' Me Again; Emmylou Harris with Beneath Still Waters; and Tammy Wynette with Two Story House (a duet with George Jones).

1981–Actor, Hayden Christensen, is born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He appeared in the films In the Mouth of Madness, The Hairy Bird, Free Fall, Life as a House, Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones, Shattered Glass, Awake, American Heist, and 90 Minutes in Heaven.

1982–Sally Ride becomes the first female astronaut.

1982–Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, fresh from the success of their New York Central Park concert the year before, reunite for a European tour. A proposed U.S. tour is cancelled due to renewed tensions between the duo.

1982–The 86th Boston Marathon is won by Alberto Salazar of Oregon, with a time of 2:08:51.

1982–The 11th Boston Women's Marathon is won by Charlotte Teske of Germany, with a time of 2:29:33.

1983–France conducts a nuclear test.

1985–Advance Australia Fair is proclaimed as Australia's national anthem, with green and gold as its national colors.

1985–The USSR conducts a nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan.

1985–Two hundred ATF and FBI agents lay siege to the compound of the white supremacist survivalist group, The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord, in Arkansas. The group surrenders two days later.

1986–Michael Spinks defeats Larry Holmes in 15 rounds for the Heavyweight Boxing Championship.

1987–The last wild condor is captured on the California Wildlife Reserve.

1987–The USSR conducts an underground nuclear test.

1987–The Simpsons premieres as a short cartoon on The Tracey Ullman Show.

1987–Actor, Hugh Brannum, dies in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, at age 77. He is best known for portraying the character Mr. Green Jeans on the kiddie show Captain Kangaroo.

1989–A gun turret explodes on the USS Iowa, killing 47 sailors.

1989–Author, Dame Daphne du Maurier, dies in Fowey, Cornwall, England, at age 81. Many of her works have been successfully adapted into films, including the novels Rebecca and Jamaica Inn.

1990–The TV docudrama, Summer Dreams: The History of The Beach Boys, airs on ABC-TV.

1991–Evander Holyfield defeats George Foreman by unanimous decision to retain the Heavyweight Boxing Championship.

1992–Comic actor, Frankie Howerd, dies of heart failure in Fulham, London, England, at age 70. After suffering a nervous breakdown at the start of the 1960s, he was seen for a season at Peter Cook's satirical Establishment Club in the Soho area of London. He was boosted further by success on That Was the Week That Was in 1963, and on stage with A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, which led into regular television work.

1993–The 51-day siege of the Branch Davidian compound outside Waco, Texas, ends when a fire breaks out. A total of 81 people die. Cult leader, David Koresh, commits suicide.

1993–South Dakota Governor, George Mickelson, and seven others are killed when a state-owned aircraft crash lands in Iowa.

1993–The 97th Boston Marathon is won by Cosmas N'deti of Kenya, with a time of 2:09:33.

1993–The 22nd Boston Women's Marathon is won by Olga Markova of Russia, with a time of 2:25:27.

1994–Rodney King is awarded $3,800,000 in compensation for his beating by Los Angeles police officers.

1994–The U.S. Supreme Court outlaws excluding people from juries because of gender.

1995–In what became known as the “Oklahoma City Bombing,” the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is bombed by domestic terrorists, killing 168 people.

1995–Convicted murderer, Richard Wayne Snell, who had ties to the Oklahoma City Bombing suspect, Timothy McVeigh, is executed in Arkansas.

1997–The Red River Flood overwhelms the city of Grand Forks, North Dakota. Fire breaks out and spreads in downtown Grand Forks, but high water levels hamper efforts to reach the fire, leading to the destruction of 11 buildings.

1997–Tennis player, Andre Agassi, marries actress, Brooke Shields, in Monterey, California.

1999–The German Bundestag returns to Berlin.

1999–In New York, Yoko Ono sues John Lennon’s former personal assistant, Fred Seaman, claiming he stole priceless items after John died. The lawsuit had been prompted by Seaman’s claim in a February 1999 letter to Capitol Records stating that a 1980 photo of John and his son, Sean, overlooking the beach in Bermuda, was used in last year’s John Lennon Anthology box set without permission. During the court proceedings, Yoko said of the photos in dispute, “I don’t know what photos they are, but they belong to me.”

2004–Norris McWhirter, co-founder of The Guinness Book of Records (with his twin brother, Ross), dies in Kington Langley, Wiltshire, England, at age 78. He was a writer, political activist, and co-founder of The Freedom Association.

2005–Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is elected Pope Benedict XVI on the second day of the Papal Conclave.

2005–Actress, Ruth Hussey, dies from complications of an appendectomy in Newbury Park, California, at age 93. She appeared in the films Maisie, The Women, The Philadelphia Story, Susan and God, Tender Comrade, The Uninvited, That’s My Boy, and Stars and Stripes Forever.

2009–Al Neuharth, founder of the daily newspaper USA Today, dies in Cocoa Beach, Florida, at age 89.

2010–Ringo Starr comments on the Vatican's recent "apology" for its part in the 1966 "Bigger Than Jesus" scandal, saying, "Didn't the Vatican say we were satanic or possibly satanic? And they've still forgiven us? I think the Vatican, they've got more to talk about than The Beatles."

2012–Levon Helm, member of The Band, dies from throat cancer in New York, New York, at age 71. He is known for his deeply soulful, country-accented voice, multi-instrumental ability, and creative drumming style that highlighted many of the Band's recordings (such as The Weight, Up on Cripple Creek, and The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down).

2013–Boston Marathon bombing suspect, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, is killed in a shootout with police. His brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, is captured while hiding in a boat in a residentual backyard in Watertown, Massachusetts.

2013–Journalist and publisher, Al Neuharth, dies at his home in Cocoa Beach, Florida, at age 89. He founded the daily newspaper, USA Today.

2015–An early Spring blizzard causes a 70-car pileup along I-80 near Elk Mountain, Wyoming, with seven people being taken to area hospitals and an 18-hour closure of the highway. Nearly 10 inches of snow falls on the area. No deaths occur due to the disaster.

2017–Washington State University professor, Peter Engels, and his team announce that they have created a fluid that displays negative mass.

2017–JO25, a near-Earth asteroid discovered by the Catalina Sky Survey in May 2014, passes within 1.8 million kilometers of the planet, the largest such asteroid to transit close to Earth since 2004.

2017–At least 17 new mass graves are discovered by United Nations investigators in Kasaï-Central, Democratic Republic of the Congo, mostly around the town of Tshimbulu.

2017–Commentator, Bill O'Reilly, is fired from Fox News, forcing him to vacate his long-standing show and time slot on the No. 1 news channel. O’Reilly will leave the network with $25 million, the equivalent of one year’s salary.

2017–Citing a drop in demand, the Dubai-based, United Arab Emirates-owned airline Emirates Air announces a cut in flights to five of its 12 U.S. destinations. The airline’s Dubai hub, third-busiest in the world, is a major stop for travelers in countries affected by President Donald Trump’s travel ban, and is also one of several Middle East airports affected by a U.S. ban on tablets, laptops, and similar devices in the passenger cabin.

2017–Former New England Patriots player, Aaron Hernandez, recently acquitted of a 2012 double murder (but serving a life sentence for a 2013 murder), is found hanged in his prison cell and is pronounced dead an hour later.

2018–Miguel Díaz-Canel is named the new President of Cuba. It is the first time in six decades that a Castro family member is not leading Cuba.

2018–Marking the country's 50th anniversary of independence, Swaziland's King Mswati III officially renames the country the Kingdom of eSwatini.

2018–Mount Kirishima in Kyushu, Japan, erupts for the first time since 1768.


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